Boohoo....

I'm changing the look...and the colors of my blog to show my love for VA Tech. As I am doing this, I watched the Hokies lead the game most of the way to lose it in the last two minutes. They lost the game 27-22...and they deserved to lose. It sucks to start the season off with a loss. I'm worried about the rest of the season too, because the Hokies looked pretty lackluster out there. They certainly didn't look like the Hokies that won the ACC Championship last December in Jacksonville, FL...that was a great game, and I was THERE!!! They better improve and win, win, win, win, win, win, win, win, win, win and win, so I can go to the ACC Championship again this year in Tampa, FL. GO HOKIES!!!

Whew!!!

I had a hard day yesterday...and last night I slept HARD. I feel so much better this morning.

We have nothing special going on today. We're having a playdate this morning, so I'll be scooting around the house making it look neater than it is. Then, we're off to preschool where I'll drop off the kids' forms, which were due last week. Great!!!

OMG

I can't stop hugging my kids. I had one of the worst scares of my life this morning. Tank knocked down the 36" TV in the basement. Thank God none of the kids were in front of TV, because it would've killed them. I need a drink...it's 5 o'clock somewhere, right? I'll settle for all the hugs they will let me give them.

Back to the Beach!!!

I'm back to the beach tomorrow...all by my lonesome!!! I'm leaving with Baby Bro. I'm going to miss some special ladies and a big & little man. The kids would kill me if they knew I was going to the beach...so I'm telling them I'm visiting a friend.

Banana Boat, I'm going to miss snuggling with you in the morning and also threatening to cut your hair off to put on mine. Have a great weekend...We'll catch up on Monday morning.



Tank, you make me laugh every morning, especially when you show me your freckle on your belly and on your butt. Be good for Daddy, and laugh all weekend. Everyone always comments on your dimples.



KK...I had a blast hanging out with you the last two weeks while Frick & Frack were at camp. You certainly are one of a kind.



And to my SWeetie, Thank you for taking such great care of us. You always go out of your way to make sure that we are happy!!! I love you more and more and more. Have fun this weekend.

Mim would be so proud!!!

On the way home from camp today....

Tank: MaMa, when are you going to sign me up for Karate lessons.

Me: When we go to the Y next week, I'll check into it.

Tank: Thank you, MaMa.

Banana: Hey, when are you going to sign me up for ballet lessons?

Me: Mmmm...I'll call Miss Missy to see where Little S goes.

Banana: Thanks, Mommy.

KK (my 3yo and aka C-Monkey): When are you going to sign me up for Irish dance lessons???

You should have seen the smile on my face when I heard that.

Me: I'm checking into that very soon, Baby Girl.

A story from long ago...

Back in the 80s, I spent my first two years of high school at Cardinal Spellman H.S. in the Bronx. I remember an incident in the lunchroom the first week of my freshman year. I was standing in line with a friend who was smacking loudly on her chewing gum, when a priest came up to Friend and said, "Hi, are you a member of the Bovine family?" She said, "No, I'm a Smith (obviously this is a name change)." I about bowed over and died laughing. Friend was so flustered and wondered what was so funny. Thank God for Scrabble that this City Girl knew what bovine meant.

Anyway, I kinda forgot this story....until yesterday when, my sister said I chewed gum just like someone we know very well!!!

Priceless

W is really dumb. I'm glad he's over in China for the Olympics during what seems like endless wartimes and economic crisis. Check this out!!! Keith Olbermann commented "That is a perfect analogy of our country and his presidency. Everything looks fine from his perspective!" Too funny!!!

What a Bargain!!!

I paid $3.62 per gallon on gas tonight. Too bad I wasn't filling up my "Don't Mess with Mama" truck!!! We were out at the club tonight...33 miles from our house. It's unbelievable that gas is 20 cents cheaper out there than here...and 60 cents cheaper than what we paid for it a week ago when we were in NY.

4 year olds and discpline

I started a word game with them. Now that we are back in VA, they start with 4 letters (usually P.O.O.L). For each tantrum, transgression, etc., they lose a letter; they still have to do their time-out. If they don't have all their letters, they can't go to the pool that day. They can earn their letters back by doing something nice...and outside of what they are told to do. They get more upset about losing their letters that they go out of their way to do something nice. For instance, today Tank was down two letters. I asked him to bring his shoes in from the deck. He brought his in...as well as his sisters. He earned one letter back. Also, if I find that they are not listening, all I have to do is threaten to take a letter away. They react quickly. I've noticed since I started doing this back in June, I don't raise my voice so much anymore.

I write their names on an index card each morning with the word of the day. On special occasion days, the word might be P.A.R.T.Y if we are going to a birthday party. On cloudy days, the word is P.A.R.K. When we were at the beach, it was I.C.E for ice cream.

As for crying and tantrums in the house, they can do it in the living room or in their bedrooms. They are free to join the rest of us once they are calmed down. I never thought this would work...but it does. Many times I go to check on someone, and he/she will be happily playing with the train table, reading a book, or even napping.

I don't know how long this is going to work...but it's working for now!!!

He's a jerk too!!!

First off, why do people cheat? Also, how could someone cheat when his wife is battling cancer. Argh!!! I've never been a fan of John Edwards politically, but it seemed like he and Elizabeth had a really great marriage. I just feel so bad for her. I really truly don't understand why it is so hard for these men to keep it in their pants. Is it just completely unreasonable to expect a man (especially one with "power") to be faithful to his wife??? John Edwards always seemed to me a Ken-doll version of the American president. Well, obviously, we now know he's no better than Bill Clinton.

I need to adopt the assumption that all politicians are scum so that stories like this don't seem like a surprise to me. How sad!!!

Good Books

I just finished reading three great (& funny) books by Brendan O'Carroll. They are The Mammy, The Chisellers, and The Granny. This wonderful trilogy is set in Dublin, Ireland and tells the story of a single mother and her 7 children after the death of her good-for-nothing husband.

One of my favorite lines is from the second book, The Chisellers. The mom had just won big in Bingo. When she shared the news with her 17yo son, the son congratulated her by hugging her. “Agnes closed her eyes and thought he might look like a man, he might talk like a man, but he still hugged her like a child.”

I feel that way about my children. Granted the As are not even 5 yet and my monkey just turned 3, but they will always be my babies. I'll always kiss them and hug them because they are MY babies...no matter how old they get. :)