Seriously...

New computer arrived and already is having MAJOR problems! So unfair! Thanks for nothing DELL!

The Highlights... Day 1

WE MADE IT!!!

The salt farm outside of Amboy, California.We mysteriously got locked out of the RV.

But luckily... Mom remembered the secret passage and ABBY SAVED THE DAY!The infamous "Shoe Tree". I wonder which shoe finally broke the tree's back? The topper to the day? Route Beer 66 and roasted marshmallows.

Get Your Kicks on...

Steve and I recently decided to do something we never do... take a trip with kids and NO PLANS- other than we are bringing the RV! Crazy- I know! We agreed that we at least needed to plan a direction to start heading and then we would play it by ear. We simply said we would go south and then east (bypassing the dreaded LA traffic, crowds, and amusement parks. Scandalise! I saw this trip going one of two ways... 1. We would end up eating every meal in some roadside greasy spoon and spending the night in flea bag motels a long the way. Miserable. 2. We would love camping in the RV in the MIDDLE OF NOWHERE. Grilling burgers and dogs under the starry skies complete with a full moon. We chose Option 2. The kids loved the goofy Route 66 roadside stands. We put a giant K on the side of the road using beer bottles (I was assured this was art and not littering). We collected postcards and pins. We saw The Grand Canyon, the Hoover Dam and Lake Mead, and Joshua Tree National Park. We spent Sunday literally zigzagging between Arizona, Nevada, and California. Jack acted as Ansel Adams reincarnated, taking pictures of elk, the canyon, water, the funny hats that he saw, the kitchy things at the Sno Cap and Roadkill Cafe restaurants. We sang Jimmy Buffett, Jack Johnson, and Taylor Swift songs. We had a GREAT time!

Next stop???

YELLOWSTONE

No pictures can be shown because I am afraid that I might make all of you hate me with jealousy. :) Just kidding... Major computer virus is still plaguing our house.

BUSTED!!!

Abby decided to start pursuing a possible vocation last week... hair stylist. Her own hair stylist to be specific. I could have died...

The location for her new salon is under her father's desk at his office. It is a nice, small, private salon, big enough for only one person. It could use some sprucing up and decluttering but it seems to do the job just fine. I could have died...

This is the child who earlier in the week cried (tears and all) telling me that she didn't want David to cut her hair because she needed long hair like Kayden's (a little girl at school with the most beautiful hair and Abby's newest "best friend forever"). I could have died...

Have I mentioned that I have hair issues? Seriously! As a kid I had the worst hair, while my sister Lindsay was allowed to have cute pigtails with Shirley Temple ringlets I was forced (sorry Mom this is the way I remember it) a short Afro that was unmanageable and not cute. I could have died...

Growing up I swore that if I ever had a daughter I would not pass on my hair issues to her (like some mothers pass on their weight issues). She will have beautiful curly hair. She will get to wear hair clips, bows, and ponytails. I will buy her hair products that will help us both manage her hair with ease. I could die right now...

For some reason my sister shares my hair trauma. She put it best when she saw Abby on Friday...

"Abby, you know when your mom and I were little girls we NEVER cut our own hair? Your hair is precious, you need to take care of your hair, Abby. " Abby could have died...

Let's just hope my daughter has learned her lesson. If she cuts her hair again, I will surely die.

***I apologize for no after pictures. A major virus has taken over our media computer. I will post pictures after it is repaired and Abby's hair is repaired. :)

The Routine...

There is something comforting about a routine, the familiarity and rhythm of the monotony of doing the same thing the same way over and over again. Sometimes the predictability is annoying because the precedence has been set and enjoyed by most. Time to air dirty laundry... again... Our Sunday routine goes something like this- 6:40- First child wakes (the specific child changes from week to week). 6:55- First child awake wakes second child. 7:00- Both children wake parents, with requests of breakfast and / or television. 7:01- One parent says to the other parent (this alternates also), something to the effect of "they wake up before 7 on the weekend and you have to drag them out of bed on a school day". *** Some time around 8- children return with demands of food. 8:10- the parent that feels most guilty (usually Steve) rolls out of bed and again mumbles the parent mantra. 8:30- breakfast served. Television is switched from the Flintstones to NASCAR Raceday. I am not sure what happens between 8:30 and 10:30 because I am asleep. After all I am the parent who gets up the other 6 days of the week and drags the children from their slumber, makes breakfast and lunch, and gets 1 1/2 children ready for school. 10:30- 3 excited family member wish the last person awake a "good morning", the early riser parent and the late risers do the parent equivalent of a relay exchange (signifying that the first parent is not longer responsible for the needs for the children for at least 3 hours). For the next few hours kids play, parents read and use the computer, and the TV drones in the background. Jack asks no less than 10 times what time the race starts (this happens 52 weeks a year, even though racing only takes place 36 weeks out of the year. Between 12 and 1- One adult convinces the another adult to go pick up the obligatory steak sandwich from our favorite sandwich shop. By 2- Dad is asleep on the couch, comatose from the lull of racecars and the sandwich hitting the right spot. Jack is expertly keeping notes on the race. Mom and Abby find something to do. By 5- Dad is awake, race is over, Jack has downloaded the race, and Mom and Abby are bored. 6:30- Dinner (in or out). Maybe a trip to Target to pick up supplies for the week. 7- BEDTIME for kiddos. Clothes are set out for school. Jammies on. Teeth brushed. Homework is looked at. Kitchen is cleaned up. 7:45- Mom and Dad settle into a night of catching up on reality TV and sitcoms. What is your Sunday routine? *** I think that this has been a statement made by parents of school aged children for generations and for generations to come.

Day 3 of the sick kid forecast...

I am a mean mom. I readily admit that I deny my children luxuries that other kids take for granted. Being that I am in the middle of day 3 home with a sick kid (or so she claimed this morning when she cried about the possibility of throwing up at school), I am climbing the walls! I feel that if I have been home with a sick kid for 3 days (and eluded the germs) I am entitled to a few luxuries like:

• pay per view movies.
• hot cocoa upon request.
• getting a pass on cleaning the bathrooms this week.
• not going to the grocery store.
• eating take out.
• reading my book all day.
• taking a nap.
• long , hot baths.
• warm just out of the oven Tastefully Simple Beer Bread with homemade strawberry jam.

• Dad picking up Jack from karate and bringing home a dinner that I didn't have to call in, request, or have to make a decision about. (Hey! a girl can dream can't she?)
• And a new red Kate Spade handbag. Wouldn't be so bad either! Kind of like a "push present", but a "vomit gift".

It Doesn't Get Better Than...

Valentine's Day! If you are a 4 year old girl that is. This 34 year old girl can think of a lot of things better than Valentine's Day, but this blog isn't about me... Things heard coming from the backseat of my car today...

• "Oh that Sayler, she is such a sweet girl."
• "What a beautiful card Maya picked!"
• "This is the cutest puppy card I have ever seen!"
• "I am going to have to thank all my friends for all of my Valentimes (note the spelling) cards!"
• "I wonder how much candy I got. I certainly need to share some with Jack!"
• "Who made this delicious cake?"... that comment almost prompted me to swerve off the road to save the nice black leather in my new car.
• "Sienna gave me my favorite kind of candy. She is my best friend in the whole World forever!"
• "That Jacob is such a nice boy!"
• "Hee! Hee! I gave myself two Valentime's! That is so funny!"

Now I know who Valentine's Day is for... the 4 year old girl who could eat all the sap and then some with a spoon.