Happy Holidays!!!!

The Monsters on Christmas Morning at the in-laws!

A Christmas picture is just as good as any other to begin this post since I have not posted here since about Halloween:)



We have had a busy few months around here. Foolishly, I thought having all three monsters in school all day-five days a week was going to open some time up for me. That has not been the case, someone always has something happening to keep me busy!

The monsters are progressing in school and some days are better than others for all of us:) I still have many days that I'd like to just lock the door and keep them all home with me so that I am the only CRAZY influence in their lives.

They are growing-up quickly...too quickly. I am now the mother of a 5, 8 & 9 year old, seems like just yesterday I found out I was pregnant, not 10 years ago!!! I wish there was a way to slow time down, as cheesy as it sounds, it is the one thing I wish I understood and took more advantage of when I was younger. Now there is little free-time, life just keeps happening!!!

I no longer have babies, not even toddlers, now I only have kids. One of which is trying to jump into double digits on his next birthday!!!! Oh how I need to make more time, learn to enjoy and live better in the moment. I guess that should be my goal for the coming year, reclaim my family before they are grown-ups:)

It's That Time Again

Parent-Teacher Conferences are tomorrow. It will be the first time we are going in for all three monsters. And while we are not expecting any surprises, it always unnerves me to sit and listen to someone else tell me about my children:)

It does feel alittle different this year though. I feel calm, and excited to hear what the teachers have to say. For the first time since school began for my sweet Killi, I feel like we have the right teacher and the perfect team to support her and I am hopeful that the conference will support that. As for Declan and Marg, I just hope to hear that they are working to their fullest potential, okay and I admit that I am wondering if Marg scored higher or lower on her kindergarten eval than Declan did:) So much excitement:)

Happy Halloween!!!!!

We made it a whole block this year trick-or-treating:) After just three houses Killian did ask her father why we needed to go to other peoples houses for candy when we have some at home:)

Not Really Feeling It.

I am having a very difficult time embracing the new school year. It has nothing to do with the teachers or staff because once the kinks of a new school year were worked out they have been great. I am just not feelin' it. What I think is getting me is the homework and the schedule, I am not really a fan of either. I mean I do get the schedule thing, I know that it is not possible for 700 kids to just come and go as they please from school, but the homework thing I don't get. I feel that the kids are in school for 6.5 hours a day and only awake for a total of about 12 so figure out a way to get the work done at school. If they need extra practice, find time in class, cut 10 mins off lunch:) just don't send the work home. They are kids, elementary school kids, they deserve to have the 4 hours between school and bed free for fun and relaxing activities.

I will say that the monsters seem to be enjoying themselves. They enjoy their classmates and their teachers and aside from Marge coming home VERY tired, I have very few issues. No crying from the Killi monster and Declan has never been so happy to go to school. I think I will just be thank that everyone is willing and able to go to school everyday and stop complaining about the schedule and homework:) I just hope the year continues on this path!

Week One Down!

We have all managed to survive the first week of school. Not only have we survived, but some of us have even enjoyed ourselves:) I will report, with mixed emotions, that all three of my monsters " love school". I am getting used to having them gone, but I was pretty busy this week so it is hard to tell how I will handle a slow week home alone:)

The car breaking down did mess us up alittle, but I am always happy to have an excuse to change a schedule:) For all of us the most difficult transition has been bedtime. We spent most of the summer with a bedtime between 10- midnight with rising times between 9-11 am. That worked for the summer since our pool didn't open until noon, but with the whole 8:40 arrival needed at school, bedtime has had to adjust. And it is. Most nights anyway.

We topped off our first week with a wonderful trip to the park with some of our favorite people, we even had some dads! The girls and I finished with dinner with friends while Ben and Declan hit the P-Nats playoff game.

Tomorrow morning we will head out for some Titans football then a quiet day at home and NFL watching on Sunday!

It Is Almost Time!

Tonight we went to "Meet the Teachers" that the monsters will have for the coming year. Everyone seemed pretty happy after we met the teachers. This is a very good thing since Killi was very nervous about her teacher, but once she was able to put a face to her teacher she was very excited! Our first stop was Declan's class and we really stayed only long enough to drop his supplies and grab the papers that needed to be signed. We said hello to the teacher and we went on our way. Next stop was Margaret's classroom. We filled out some forms and she chatted up the teacher and checked out her room. She seems fine with the idea of school, but I am not sure she is fine with the actual leaving:) I guess we will see how Tuesday goes. Hopefully there will be no tears...Well, at least not from her:) Last we hit Killi's class where we ran into some friends that she will be with and the "not mean teacher" :) I am glad we all made it through!

My expectations for the year are low, much lower than they have ever been before. I am not sure if this has come after years of reaching for the stars and never getting them or if I am just so sure that this will be a great year!

Sweet Summertime...

I am very torn on summer ending. A week from today, I will be spending my days alone at home. All three monsters in school full-day. I am happy for them. I know they will enjoy it and have fun, but what about me???? They are just ditching me! After 9 years of sitting at home with children, they are all leaving! How mean they are:)

I will be happy to see them go because the fighting has gotten out of control! Screaming and yelling at eachother all day long! My cupboard will be happy to see them go too! They seem to eat so much more in the summer!

I know I will enjoy them more when I do get to spend time with them, since I will miss them so much! And I am hopeful that they will feel that way about eachother too:)

I cannot wait to have time to clean the house, one room at a time and have the room I started in still clean when I finish the last one. I am excited to have time for my school work. And I am excited to spend some time with my husband.

I think I will find this to be a good experience for all of us, eventually, in a few weeks or months or...well I will tell myself that anyway:) It will be good!

For now I will enjoy my last few days of Sweet Summertime with the monsters!

Is It Too Much To Ask?

Dear Children,

Is it too much to ask of you NOT to behave like animals in public? I mean, if you really feel the need to act like animals, I will be happy to accommodate you when we are at home. I can put bowls on the floor next to the dog's and a blanket on the floor to sleep on, but my goodness, just act like the kind, respectful, intelligent children I know you are in public!

When you misbehave and act out in public, it is rude to the others around us, disrespectful to me and daddy and makes people think less of you. So, I am begging all three of you to remember your manners from this moment on!

Your Loving Mother,

Emily Fallon

Football

WOOHOO!!! Football starts tomorrow! I am so excited! There is nothing better than sitting out in the 100 degree heat at dusk while the buggies bite your legs:)

That is however that last bit of football complaining I am hoping to do. Declan is really looking forward to the season. His coach ROCKS and the games are alittle later this year, so it should be good! We are hoping that Declan figures out that it is tackle football he is playing and not flag:)

Biggest Joy of Parenting

This morning we had to make a run to the doctor for Killi & Declan. Just quick check-ups, but it ended up being sooooo very exciting! You see, all five of us now see the same family doctor, so when I walk in with the kids, he always asks them how their father is. Today started not differently. The doctor walked in the room, said hello to each monster and asked how daddy was. Well, my lovely monsters decided to give the doctor a BLOW-BY-BLOW of the argument that mommy & daddy had last night. It was great! Mommy was mad at daddy for...and because he...Gosh I love these monsters:) The only thing that saved these three was that they sure it make it out to be ALL Daddy's fault:)

So, we leave the office to rush home for Killi's tutoring session, where she no sooner started working when I hear her retelling the tutor the story of the "fight". Mind you, we again in the car home, discussed home things that happen at home stay at home! Things that we talk about as a family, stays with our family. For the life of me I cannot understand why my kids are not getting that! I mean I had that drummed into my head by the time I was their ages! Again I will say that it was still all daddy's fault in this story too:)

For the record and since the children have shared with EVERYONE already, I will tell you all that the "fight" was more about mommy & daddy being very tired and needing someone to vent to then anything good:) And, I think it is good for them to see us "fight" sometimes. To know and understand that things are not always smiles and laughs, sometimes life is hard, but that we always love each other.

Where Have I Been????

What an awful blogger I have been here! No news of the monsters for weeks and weeks! School I finally over for the year! I was very happy to see the year end. I am finding it difficult to feel like I am getting what I want out of the school system. I "like" everyone well enough teachers & staff, but I just didn't expect to have to fight so hard for what I think my monsters need. Plus the politics SUCK! I could never have imagined elementary school for my kids was going to be more difficult for me socially that Wall High School had been:) but it is!

Anyway, school is OUT! We have been spending our days at the pool and will do just alittle traveling, which will be a change for us. I wonder how we will like being home more than away for the summer, we have never done it!

The monsters quickly switched to a "summer schedule" of going to be LATE and sleeping their mornings away. It works here though because the pool doesn't open until noon so if the roll out of bed at 10:30, I can feed them and they are ready for the pool!

I will post pictures soon! Maybe from the FolkLife Festival if we can make it down there in the heat tomorrow!

Ah...

Perfect song on the radio
Sing along 'cause it's one we know
It's a smile, it's a kiss
It's a sip of wine, it's summertime
Sweet summertime-
"Summertime" Kenny Chesney

The weather is HOT and STICKY. The pool is open. We have made it to another summer! Declan and Killi are just about finished with school. We have abandoned what schedule we had and we are back to winging-it. The only schedule we have sort-of maintained is getting to and from school, and you see I said "sort-of":)

With the weather HOT and Ben traveling all last week, I have completely turned on the slacking mode. I have a messy house, a pile of laundry and no desire to do anything but sit on the beach with a book(I will substitute a pool since the ocean is 2 hours away). I hit the county pool once this week with Marg while those other monsters suffered at school and today we all hit the community pool.

I love the pool. I love that the monsters love the pool. They swim and play with their "summer friends" all the while getting exercise and tired:) We picked up some new goggles and sunscreen and we are good to go!

A few more days and school will be over and we will have very few commitments. We hitting my FAVORITE time of year!

Spoiled...

I love fireworks. Independence Day has always been one of my favorite holidays because of the fireworks. Because of this, my children have also come to love fireworks.

As of late, we have become quite a spoiled bunch with awesome firework displays for our viewing pleasure, about twice a month. It has been incredible! We are talkin' REAL firework displays, on par with any I have ever seen.

After last night's display, I did express concern that 4th of July way be a let down this year and that the fireworks would not hold the same level of excitement for me, but that feeling was gone once I started making plans for our firework viewing next weekend;-)

How lucky we are to be spoiled by fireworks!

Uncharted Waters

I need a nautical map, I have a feeling we are headed straight for the rocks! I am just going to admit it, I am not having an easy-go at it with this whole parenting thing. I feel like we take two steps forward and three back! I am frustrated and confused. I am at the point of asking my husband for parenting advice and assistance, for the first time.

Nothing seems to be working. I push, they push harder, why do they not pull anymore? What happened? I am not sure who thought it was a good idea to let them have opinions of their own and three different thoughts at that! This is insane! I want to change my parenting style now...I want to go with the philosophy that children should be seen and not heard! What was I thinking trying to raise vocal independent thinkers? Being open and honest is starting to haunt me now! How was I to know that at 8,7 & 5 they would have learned to speak up and out! Okay, I admit it, it was me! I did this! I made my bed!!! Now I want them out of it!LOL!

Well, tomorrow I will have to work on braking their spirit, once I get done with that maybe I can build them up again as little robots, brain-washed little followers;-)

Marg...

My darling 5 year old decided to share with me today that her daddy loves me only alittle, her brother not at all and her sister hates me, but that is all okay because SHE loves me...ALOT!LOL!

What am I going to do with her:)

Opening Your Eyes

As any parent knows, one of the most difficult things to do is see things that are wrong with your own child(ren). Amazingly, we can spot a child with "issues" miles away unless it is our own:) That always make me laugh;-)

With my three kids growing-up, what I am noticing is that the scale of "normal" is extremely varied(mostly from parent to parent:) For the most part, two are my three monsters are "normal", but really they are not. Declan is 8 going on 75, he doesn't always get along with his peers, as most of them are not into reciting US History. Margaret, my other "normal" child is 5 going on 16. She is too smart for her own good and has common-sense that spans far beyond her 5 years on this earth. Then I have Killi, who is does not fit the mold. She has some LD and is sweet and kind to the point of allowing others to walk all over her.

There you have it, three kids and not one of them fits into "the box". Declan and Maggie can, when they want to jump in the box, but Killi would rather use the box to make a car, plane or boat to take her away:) It has taken me some time to see that Killi is not near the box, she is in her own circle, and I love her for that. I have known for most of her life that she was a little "different" but I was not sure how. Now I know and I am happy that I know. I want other parents to know. To feel that calmness you get when you stop trying to force your child into the "box". Sure, it is nice when your child can do the "box" when they need or want to, but it is just as okay for your child to never hop inside.

Take a look at your kids, are they in the "box", a "circle" or maybe something else. Just see it. Recognize it. I know it is hard, but it is harder to be the child forced into a box that you cannot fit in. And next time you spot that kid that is "different" think about what others see when they look at your kids.

Mothers Day

As far as days as a mother go, today was a good one. The monsters slept in, there was little fighting and things were pretty quiet and that made for a pleasant day. Chocolate Chip pancakes for breakfast, cleaned bedrooms and a flag football game that was my day.

There is nothing I would rather be doing than spending the day with my family, there are never enough of those days!

8:15am is too early...

That is when, on our way to school, my son decided to ask me what "gay" meant. Since I believe in letting my children drive their knowledge on most issues, I respond with "What do you mean" in order to better understand his question so that I could give a good answer. So, he repeated "what does gay mean" and I answered that it originally meant merry & happy, but that not it is also used to describe people who like people of the same sex , I thin gave an example of a man that wants to marry another man or a woman that wants to marry another woman, not like mommy and daddy marrying each other. He said, okay and that he understood. He told me that at school some kids call other kids "gay" when they do stupid or mean things and I said that now he knows that the word does not mean stupid or mean. He said yep, then turned to me and said, "So, is that even legal? A man marrying a man or a girl marrying a girl?" I answered some place they can get married some not. He asked about where we lived, I said no. Then he kissed me an walked into school. I wonder how much time he is going to spend on that today:)

I am glad he asked though and now uses the word correctly and helps his friends do so too:) I wonder how many phone calls I will get over this one!LOL!

Trying New Things!

I am trying once again to regroup and refocus my family. We have been cutting back on lots of things and adding more "good" things. We have cut back on tv and started spending more time together. We are also trying to rethink how we spend our money by making sure that we spend based mostly on needs instead of wants.

We have only been at it a week, but it seems to be going well so far. We did great on our spending! And with a new attitude on my part, the entire family seems more positive! I hope we are able to keep it going!

Another Tough Week!

My poor Declan has had a rough few weeks. Sleep issues combined with anxiety issues have made life not so fun. This week I was determined to get him up and moving in the right direction and I did...until yesterday. Yesterday, I got a letter home from school informing me that a classmate of Declan's(also a fellow scout) lost his father. As you can imagine this send Declan into a frenzy of questions that ranged from "why did he die" to "is daddy going to die", not fun. Please understand that I know what my child is feeling in no way relates to the pain of his friend and his family, but it has renewed some of the anxiety we had been able to take away.

I wish there were simple answers to give in regards to death and dying. I wonder if a belief in something would make it easier or more understandable. Right now all I feel is sad; sad that a young boy and his family had to watch their loved one slip away. Sad that he will know that pain for the rest of his life and selfishly hoping that my children don't know that pain for a very long time. I know that Declan will work through this stress too and that in a relatively shot time he will find something new to stress over.

Right now I would like to send many thoughts to Declan's friend/classmate and his family.

Easter in NJ...At The Boardwalk, Of Course!

Here are some pictures of how we spent Easter Sunday:




It is always Great to spend the day at the boardwalk! 70 degrees and the beginning of April was a welcome treat to the weekend!

Advice

Today I was reminded of some great advice I was first given last year. The advice: "As a parent, YOU are your child's best advocate".

I Love My Monsters!

5 Years Ago Tomorrow...

We got this perfect little...Marg:)


And while she keeps me on my toes and challenges me EVERYDAY, I could imagine life without her. I love you Baby Girl!

Fitting In

As hard to believe as this is, I am having trouble fitting in somewhere. That somewhere is football for Declan. I felt the same way when tackle-football started last summer, but there I knew a few people and one was the coaches wife, so fall football was manageable; flag, I am not having the same luck. None of the kids go to the same school as my kids or live in our neighborhood, therefore, I know none of the parents and Declan none of the kids.

When I go to practice, I sit with the girls and read or do homework with them, but most of the time Ben meets me directly from work and I take the girls home. Alot of the other kids come to practice with their parents and their fathers hang by the coaches "helping out" and that is great, but Ben comes right from work in a suit and tie and little desire to run around dressed like that.

Because of these factors, I feel that neither Declan or I(and Ben) are really connecting to the team/parents/players. I also think this effects the amount of time he gets on the field. I am in NO way suggesting that Declan is the best one on the team or even good, but there are other kids that are just as bad. I also think that he is young and at 8, your really need a coach that teaches you the game and makes you want to love it and play. In the Fall for tackle he had that. His head coach for fall was wonderful and although Declan was not very good and lacked confidence, Coach Steve always made him feel like he wanted to keep trying.

I am sure I am just being an over-bearing mom who feels like they are being forced to watch their kid get picked LAST, every day in P.E. and that sucks. It sucks for me, but it really sucks for him. I wish I knew what to do to make it different.

For now I guess I will work alittle harder to fit-in. I will practice more with Declan so that he can improve his skills. And then I will hope that he is not taking all of this as personal as I am.

Fun! Fun! Fun!

We have spent the past two days livin' the good life around here! The weather has been GREAT! Yesterday, the Monsters skipped school and with the Kelleys, we spent the day in DC. We rode the Metro, which the kids love, then hit a few museums and the carousel on the Mall. It was an absolutely perfect day! And with the museums thrown-in, I feel like it was an educational day after all:)

Today was CRAZY with errands to run, Declan's football game and then a Taylor Swift concert out at UVA. The concert was a birthday gift for Marg. Before we hit the JPJ Arena at UVA, we made a quick stop at the Fashion Center in Charlottesville because they have a GAP and we do not and I could not let my 30% off go unused. I stocked up on ALL the girls clothes for summer, I am so excited. GAP clothes are my favorite for my girls because the wear so well and with my girls being as hard on clothes as they are, I need ones that will last. Usually however, I don't shop there as the clothes are a bit pricey, I always wait for the sales! Today, I got both! The dresses I wanted were ALL on sale and then I got my 30% off on top of that! For $200, I have all the clothes the girls need for summer!

After our shopping trip, we were off to the concert. There were LOTS and LOTS of little girls(not that I was expecting different:)! The opening act was LOUD and unknown. Kellie Pickler was good and funny as always and Taylor Swift while appearing to a bit high on herself, put on a very fun show that was age appropriate for the Monsters. She kept her clothes on the entire time and the was no stripper-pole which made her better than Hannah Montana. The girls had fun and that made Ben and I happy.

The ride home was LONG and now I am ready to sleep for days! I hope the kids sleep in just a little:)

Taylor Swift!

That is where we will be in 6 days! Next Saturday Night, Ben and I will be with the monsters celebrating Marg's 5th birthday with Taylor Swift. We have avoided Hannah Montana and the Jonas Brothers, but gave into Taylor Swift. I just hope we are not disappointed. I hope that she is as "family friendly" as I have heard she is. I am hoping NOT to see her ass or her swinging on stripper poles, that will make it a GOOD NIGHT!

Too Fast!

This morning while talking to my wonderful husband on the phone, for like the tenth time(I was very needy today:), he mentioned how fast the time has gone by with The Monsters. This got me thinking, which is never good and always leads to additional phone calls. The time has gone FAST! The days sometimes feel slow and LONG, but the years so fast. It really does seem like we just brought Declan home from the hospital to start this adventure going, but it wasn't. It was 8 1/2 years ago.

I sat and thought about how I made it through life with a 14 month old, and a newborn. Which at the time seemed hard, but only until I tried it again with a 3 1/2 yr old, a 27 month old and a newborn. Those days were LONG and there were times I was sure I was not going to make it until Ben got home from work, but I did and now, in the blink-of-an-eye I am the mother of an 8, 7 & nearly 5 year old.

When Maggie was born, Ben and I talked about me going back to work once the baby started kindergarten, which seemed like a lifetime away, now I am only 6 months from an empty house for the better part of the day. I am not sure how that happened!

While the time has gone by so quickly, I am happy that Ben has always pushed us to go on vacations. I often fought these trips especially in the early years, it is tough to travel with little ones, but we always went and looking back I am so happy we did. Happy because we have so many pictures and memories and easy reference points for life, but happier that we gave ourselves the time. Time to just be a family. Time to slow down and focus on us. It may only be a few weeks a year, but it is OUR TIME and I love and treasure that.

I still wish I could slow the big picture down, but I know it doesn't work like that. I know I need to enjoy each and everyday I get with Ben and the Monsters, sometimes I forget that...Today is NOT one of those days!

It's Official!

Yesterday our family got alittle bigger! My baby brother got married! Here are Mr & Mrs Bill Williams introduced for the first time!


I have been to many weddings in my life and I have to say that these two were among the happiest, calmest and excited couple I have ever been with on their wedding day. Not that I had doubts of there love before, but seeing them together on their wedding day, you could see that they really understand what getting married is all about. They did not get caught up in "perfectness" for the day, with flowers or formalities, all they wanted was to have those closest to them, share in their day. The last year has been a LONG one for our families, but even little tougher on them,but they were able to look at the big picture and moved ahead. What they ended up with was the most beautiful wedding day, it could not have come together any better!

I am so happy for them, but also happy for myself. Happy and thankful that Billy has found Kelly and extended our family even more. Kelly's parents and sister have not only welcomed Billy into their family, but us too and I hope that we have made them feel the same way.

To Billy and Kelly, I wish you all the happiness in the world! I love you both so much! Thanks for letting us be part of your special day and your lives.


And I could not resist throwing in a picture of the Cutest Monsters in the World;-)

All dressed and ready to head to the wedding!

Outfitted For The Wedding

Because my brother is getting married NEXT Saturday and we had nothing to wear to the wedding(not because it was last min, but because I suck;-)Ben, the girls and I spend Saturday afternoon shopping. Declan got lucky and was invited to a friends:)

So, off we went. We had a plan to follow, well as much as we follow a plan. First, a dress for me. Walked into the store and out with a dress in less than 20mins! Then cross to the mall for the Monsters! We walked into The Children's Place and hanging on the wall were the perfect black dresses for the girls and Ben found black pants and a sweater for the Boy! I threw in Easter Dresses for the girls and off we went, another store down and we were not there an hour yet!

Because we were so lucky in finding clothes, we had time to eat lunch and do the food shopping at Wegman's. We walked in ordered our pizza, ran through the store and picked up what we needed and were back in time to meet out pie coming out of the oven! It was perfect!

I am very happy we are all set for the wedding and for Easter now. It had been about 6 months since I had been in a Mall and I am hoping it can stay that way for another 6 months at least:)A far cry from my Jersey Youth days, when I was at the mall EVERY weekend;-)

Report Cards

After about a two-week delay, the kids finally got their second quarter report cards. And I have nothing new to report. Killi is working hard to keep-up and she is making great strides, thanks to her teachers and to her for working so hard! Declan is doing well, but is still very LAZY!

It kills me to watch Killi work so hard and struggle and then watch Declan do as little as he can and do great! It is so unfair sometimes! I wish I could just make school alittle easier for her and harder for him:) I guess it doesn't work that way though, so I will be happy that he is bright and completing the work at a high level and I will be so proud of her for working so hard everyday!

Oh and Marg does not get Report Cards yet, that is why she has been left out:)

It is Tuesday...

Tuesday the 16th of February and the kids are still not back to school. So far this month they have attended school for a total of 4 hours for Declan & Killi and 0 for Marg. Having the home would not be bad if the weather were better and we could get outside and do stuff. The weather is not and we spent alot of time inside as the only other option is shopping and boy does that get costly;-)

There seem to be snow showers or at least flurries everyday and melting is slow to happen! For a metro area with an average snow fall of about 15 inches, this winter at 50+ for everyone, has not been easy. Costs are adding up fast for communities. From employee overtime to plow and salt/sand for roads, costs are climbing high! And people's patience is very low!

I will be happy to get the kids off to school tomorrow, even if it is 2 hours late and Maggie will still be home. I will be happy mostly because I think they are incredibly bored and need a schedule back. I hope we miss the snow they are predicting for next week:)

Quick Trip To NJ!

After days and days in the house together, we decided it was time for a road-trip to NJ for the weekend. And I am so happy we went.

My mom was up from FL so that was an added push to go. We headed up Friday around noon which got us there in time for some good Jersey food for dinner! Saturday morning, the monsters went sledding with Billy, Kelly, Ang and Grammy, while I ate Windmill:)

Saturday night we went to a party at the Carrie and Allie's, where we partied with Kelly's family! It was so fun! It is nice when the soon-to-be in-laws are awesome!

Saturday night Bridget,Jim and Max came down too and spent the night! So we spent Sunday playing with them and having Birthday Cake for Uncle Jim!

Before we left on Sunday, I was lucky enough to get yo go with Kelly for her fitting and the dress is soooooo pretty! I want to have it for me:) I also got a Vic's pizza for dinner!

A quick and full trip, but fun! And just what we needed after being stuck inside, together, for DAYS!

Are They Kidding?

It is no secret that I am not the biggest fan of Scouts, boys or girls, but after reading the brochure for Girl Scout Camp for Killi, I HATE SCOUTS!

The programs looked very interesting and the prices not insane. It was not even that far from home. I was reading along with Killi and she seemed interested in attending, so I was really reading through and considering it.

Then BAM!!! I get to the back page where they go through the arrangements of camp and they very BOLDLY and CLEARLY state that your camper will not be allowed to call home, you can only visit during designated times and there are adults in the living quarters.

All that is fine if my kid is 11,12...but not 7!!!! And sleep away camp starts at 5!!!! At 7, you are telling me to TRUST that my kid will be fine alone for a week and too bad if she is not, I will NEVER know!!!WTF!!!

It is safe to say that my monsters will NEVER go any place that tells me that they cannot call or see them, so long as I remain the boss of them!

Add this to the list of reason THAT I HATE SCOUTS!

School, What's That?

Yeah, that is the question that the monsters are asking now! They have been out of school more since Dec.18 then they have been in! Christmas Break, MLK Day, Teacher work days and 3 Blizzards! It is CRAZY!

I wonder how the teachers will EVER get them back on track again! It is going to take a good solid week to remind them of all the rules and routines of school. Because if any of the other parents are like me, we have been trapped inside for so long that I really don't care what they are doing anymore so long as no one gets hurt and they are not up my ass!

In addition to The Monsters being home, Ben has not gone back to work and the Federal Government is closed again tomorrow as there is too much snow for mass-transit to run! So, to recap the week, we have been home together for 5 1/2 days with at least another 5 to go until they all leave to go back to school and work!

I am happy to say that we have had no real problems/fights/issues during all our Family-Time, we are just bored! We are not a family that every takes a "stay-cation", we are the family that runs to OBX or NJ for long weekends and we always spend Ben's vacation time away from home! So, this is alot of home time! I am not sure we have ever spent this much time in this house:)

I guess it is a good sign that Killi really missed us and wanted to come home from her sleep-over even after being invited to stay longer:) Family love is good! It has been boring, but it is good:)

Family Fun?

We have decided to venture out! Not the best idea as it seems everyone else also decided to head out! Nevertheless, we are out and at the movies to see The ToothFairy! I am sure it will be a wonderful and exciting movie:)

Home Bound

The official snow totals for Stafford County are 25.5 inches for the BLIZZARD of 2010! Schools have been closed since Friday and are now closed through at least Tuesday. I am not hopeful about Wednesday as the forecast is calling for a few inches on Tuesday night. Poor Killi thinks it is summer vacation, Maggie is working on week 3 of no school(with no plans to ever return:) and Declan is pretty bored with us.

What to do now? I guess it is time that I start doing some school work with everyone at home. Declan could be reading ALOT more and Killi has lots of math sheets and reading she could work on. And I am sure it would not hurt Maggie any if I did some reading with her. Now if I could only get motivated.

More of the White Stuff!

School is closed again tomorrow. Marg has not been to school in 2 weeks and Declan and Killi has spent 4 hours there this week. The forecast for the next two days is snow, snow and wind, snow 16-24 inches total unless the storm stalls in which case we could get more:)

I guess I have no choice but to embrace this family time and enjoy the snow!

School Days...What Are They?

As it stands right now Maggie has not been to school in a week and a half and Declan and Killi have been out since 1pm on Friday. The snow is falling again and there is about 1/2- 1 inch so far so I am guessing there will be no school tomorrow. I am really starting to feel like I should do some school work at home with the monsters! By the time poor Killi gets back to school it is going to take FOREVER to get her back on track! I am not sure I will be able to get Marg back in the doors at school and poor Declan is bored to tears with us:)

I guess tomorrow will be filled with more baking and a family LIPS competition on XBOX:)

WOW! Another One!

It snowed here on Saturday. A decent snowfall, about 8-10 inches. Tomorrow is Tuesday and school is closed AGAIN for snow that fell on SATURDAY! Good news for the kids though, Wednesday is not looking promising for school as another 2-4 inches are predicted for tomorrow night.

I am not sure if the school system knows or not, but I have vacation plans for late June, so enough with the snow days!

I am not sure I would mind the snow if I could drive in it, but I cannot, so we sit in the house. I am not really sure where we would go if I did drive since the ground is always wet or snow-covered. Maybe a playdate for tomorrow? Maybe McDonald's? Or Carlos for kids day. Probably just more togetherness with the kids at home:)

Rolling Along...

Ben is out-of-town for a few days and while we will miss him, I am hoping for some much needed down time. With Ben gone, dinner is simpler, the house is messier and bedtime is earlier:) As you can see, there is pro's and con's with him gone:) This week however, I have some really tired, grouchy kids that need 7pm to be bed time with NO LIGHTS and NO T.V.'s! My Monsters that used to be AWESOME sleepers are now up until almost 10pm every night and then are tired and grouchy in the morning! I will use this week to "try" and get back into a routine for bedtime. Let's hope we can get it done!

Tomorrow we need to finish Declan's Native American project and Killi has some homework to get done. It would be nice if I could get some school work done myself this week!

Today They Earned Their Name!

It gets to a point when the fighting is just too much! When you just cannot hear One more time how Every other mother is better than you are. When it is like pulling teeth to get ONE positive thing to come from their mouths! And what is BEST is when this all peaks on a day that YOU are trying to be nice and do fun things! Fun things that are not CHEAP! Because really nothing is better than paying for someone(or three someones) to treat you like CRAP!

I think I do ALOT for my family and moat if the time my family does do for me. And I understand that in every relationship there are points of give and take and that is not always even, but when you are doing and doing and have so much to do for yourself that you keep putting off, it just gets annoying!

So, after a movie and dinner at Sakura, and lots of hating eachother and me, I have decided I am done being a mom today. The Monsters can fend for themselves!

Mundane

That is how life has been around here since we returned from Florida. We are trying to get back into the swing of things and it seems to be taking forever!

Ben is traveling ALOT! The weather has been cold and gray for the most part and everything else is pretty routine. Winter in the mid-Atlantic is nothing to write home about. I guess the only good thing to say about it is that it doesn't last too long!

The monsters are all good and pretty busy. We are working on switching the kids rooms so that the girls have more floor space. But before this can be done we need to paint. Declan doe not feel he should have to sleep with sparkly flowers on his wall and Ben agrees:)

Declan and Killi have pinewood derby races coming up for scouts that Ben will hopefully be able to attend unless travel gets in the way:)

Really nothing else to say for now!