When do Moms get some love???

My husband fancies himself a race car driver, as do 4 or 5 of his dorky friends. While I like to make fun of his midlife career switch, I do envy him for having a hobby that lets him do some that he loves with his friends. For the record this is HIS hobby not mine. But for some reason so far for 2010 I have spent 3 entire weekends in less than 8 weeks camping in a parking lots, listening to dumb stories about the last race (and the next race), making sandwiches, cleaning up after "The Race Team", not to mention the countless hours I spent discussing and planning for these events (oops! I mentioned it). Granted I was there with my BFF, Sara but still not the way she or I would choose to spend several rainy and cold weekends.

So amidst racing, Sara and I came up with a plan for a "Girls Weekend" away. Nothing extravagant but a relaxing weekend away where we don't have to cook, clean, or worry about having the proper rain gear. April 16 to 18th was to be the weekend. Guess where I am now??? Sitting in my kitchen, yelling at the kids to clean their rooms AGAIN, wondering when is this mom going to get her time, and worrying about the budget. Where is Steve??? Camping in a parking lot, eating God knows what because I haven't stepped foot in a grocery store in at least a week, happy as a clam, drinking beer, driving cars, and telling the same dumb stories to the same dumb friends. LUCKY!

Our Cousin Patrick and his brother... (aka- That Keith...)

Have you met my nephew Keith? He has got to be one of the funniest kids around (or at least Lindsay and I think so). Abby has determined that Cousin Patrick's brother is "weird"!

A few weeks ago Keith spent the night for the first time, it was his preggo mom's birthday present. The kid can't help but to make you laugh. The evening started with Jack's room being locked from the inside to keep Keith from bringing 10,000 LEGOs into the rest of the house and all the kids being thrown outside. Banishment did not hinder Keith desire for those precious LEGOs, he returned to the house no less then 20 times with request of "I need just 1 (index finger up) more LEGO" and "excuse me , please, I need one more". NO GO! After dinner, the older kids swam in the hot tub while Keith attempted to drink the entire thing. Resulting in a hot tub full of barf, and the other kids running for the hills, declaring Keith "disgusting!" Bottomline is that Keith gets blamed for everything. I guess that is the curse of being the youngest cousin.

The latest conversation with Abby about Keith:

Abby- Keith is gross.

Mom- Why?

Abby- Keith eats dog food. (With a look of repulse on her face.)

Mom- Keith is 3, that is what 3 year olds do.

Abby- When I was three I didn't eat dog food.

Mom- (At a loss for words) Abby- Keith sat in the sand and ate dog food like this... (demonstrating Keith enjoying a tasty bowl of kibble) Mom- Do you think he does it to get a reaction out of you? (I realize that at 4.5 she is not going to understand that her cousin is a comedian and he is looking for her to react to his crazy behavior)

Abby- *SIGH* That is still no reason to eat dog food.

Mom- (She had me there) So what do you want for lunch? (I decided that changing the subject was my best bet for winning this argument.)

This week Keith officially turned THREE. What did we get him? A box FULL of LEGO men and his own dog food dish. :)

SURPRISE!!!

Abby loves music. Her repertoire includes the likes of Jimmy Buffett, Avril Lavine, Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus, Ke$ha, and her personal favorite... Taylor Swift. Last night Taylor was in Fresno performing and we got tickets to her sold out show! Abby had no clue until we were on our way to the show. It was awesome! "Oh THANK YOU Daddy!" The highlights were: 1. watching our 4 1/2 year old "Beatlesqe" scream for her girl. 2. watch her just about fall over when Taylor talked about he best friend "Abigail". And Abby convinced that she was most definitely talking about her. ADORABLE! 3. Abby telling us on the car ride home that Taylor most definitely knows her. LOVE IT! All of you Taylor Fans better watch out because there because Abby is her #1 FAN. I wouldn't mess with this little girl and her Taylor.

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. :)