Some deep thinking....

So, anyone that knows me knows that I have quite a generation gap between kids. My oldest is 23 & my youngest is just shy of 5 years old. Lately, I've struggled with the differences in phases & it's really hard to not somehow feel a little misplaced. I'm needed, I'm not needed, I don't know anything, I'm the smartest person in the world, we're close, we're not.... I'm confused! I admit, watching my 2 older boys move on to independent living was hard but not for the obvious reasons. Somewhere along the way I missed that part in the manual that says as time goes on, they go out of their way to show you in every way possible that they have not only severed the cord but chopped it up into little pieces, run over it multiple times & then blown it up! In many ways my 20-something year olds & my 10 year old daughter are on the same developmental page! I'm a complete moron & know absolutely nothing! They are moving heaven and hell to show me that they are independent and that my "mom" services are no longer needed. I expect this from Kaydee (my 10 year old)... it's in the book... really!!! Been there, done that, expected it & am once again wearing the t-shirt (though i admit, after this many years since i last wore it, it's a little snug). What shocks the hell out of me is that I'm apparently re-visiting this again with my oldest kids! Really???? WTH??? I have always been blessed that through every stinking phase, one thing always remained....communication. For some reason, that seems to be dwindling though. I just seem to roll with the punches these days and quite frankly, I'm not liking it! Not a bit! I've never been the average Mom & I have done the best job that I thought could be done. I have very few regrets which is a blessing in itself. I guess that's why some days this all seems so un-justifiably hurtful..... well beyond detachment. For Kaydee, it's a given & I can deal... it will change when we progress to the next phase but at what age do the phases stop? Seriously, I want to know! *crickets chirping* That's what i thought.... there is never an end. We all continue to evolve into who we are meant to be and striving to become. This shouldn't deliberately exclude your Mom though.... if you have a great relationship with her.... right? Am i delusional? What am i missing? I'm obviously missing pages from my elusive parent manual.... is anyone willing to loan me a copy..... before I lose my mind.... please??? UGH! For now I suppose that i should just take comfort in the fact that to at least 3 out of my 6 kids I've still hung the moon. I guess it's true that you can't make all of the people happy all of the time. *sigh* Hopefully the next post will be a happier one. Until then...CIAO! : /

Yay for the end of AUGUST!

I am elated! 2 more days and August will be once again behind me. August is the WORST month of the year for me. It ranks #1 as the all time busiest month of the year! UGH! I have been SO busy with job, family & just balancing the many hats I have to wear lately. August seems to be the month where EVERYONE wants a piece of me and then there's the added bonus of the heat here in AZ ...one of our hottest months! UGH! I'll spare you the yucky details....just know that I'm crazyhappyexcited (yes, i deliberately made that 1 word!) that it's almost OVER! LOL! *end of ventfest* ; ) On the upside, I did manage to steal some much needed *me* time over the weekend. Kevan & I had a great time with friends, family & even got to spend some time with BOTH of our grown boys! So, I guess I can't complain too much... life is good; that is a fact!
I noticed that my FB account has mysteriously resurfaced.... maybe a glitch.... who knows? I do know that the little hiccup I had with that account did certainly put some things into perspective for me though. I am now happily at the point that I can take it or leave it..... a good thing for sure! : ) Sometimes we all need a reminder, kick in the pants.... however you want to look at it. I got mine and have been pleasantly surprised with how much more I have accomplished without that little outlet. Things that make ya go hmmmm! ; )
Looking forward: Hmmm, let's see.... I am really looking forward to cooler weather, getting crafty, holidays, enjoying outdoor activities with the kids & all of the awesome things that Fall holds for me. : ) I also have some pretty cool bloggy ideas for prompting me to keep up here. Well, time to get back to month end stuff & some upcoming state meetings....whoopie! I hope that everyone has a wonderful week! See ya soon! CIAO! : )

Let's just see if this works....

hmmm.... blogging from my phone? Yea for technology....sometimes not so much though. ; ) I've been asked by a few "how come you haven't blogged?".... in fact *someone* (you know who you are...heehee) recently told me i hadn't blogged since last October! I hadn't realized just how long it had been! Surely there's the "life happens" excuse but there's also that crazy advancement in our times called "social networking". I've come to realize that it has become my biggest pitfall. There's hardly an escape....unless of course you eliminate all cell phones & computers from your existence and sheepishly crawl back into the dark ages. Even if you did, you're bound to hear a majority of your friends exclaim at various points of the day "did you see what so & so posted?".... it's in a lot of ways like *cyber payton place* i tell ya! I had to take a long look at cyber time vs. real time & I gotta say.... I was less than pleased with my scale of priorities. It was too much of an escape & far too easy to access. So in short, after some account issues I think I have decided to suck it up, get past the yucky withdrawls & get a life. : ) This is not to say that it isn't ok for anyone else. Social networking is a great way to connect or stay connected with the ones we care about. It's just not for this girl....at this point in time. When I can rationalize why I never had time to till & replant my garden this year but have a flourishing virtual farm, there's a problem. If I blogged as much as i networked I'd never come up for air! LOL! For now, I'll simply look at my account issues as a blessing in disguise. : ) Hopefully now I'll have the time I never seemed to have to keep this bloggy thing going as it was meant to be.... as well as actually accomplishing a few neglected goals and maybe seeing some of my friends in real LIFE & not just on a status post. What a concept! That sure beats anything a social network could ever offer! So with that said, thank you Mr. Hacker or FB hiccup....which ever was the cause....I'm once again where i need to be. : ) CIAO! I'll be blogging & reading very soon....promise! ; )

Blogging hiatus....is there a such a thing?

If so, I'm one of a few that has taken a bloggy break....judging from my long list of those that I follow....Wow! lots to read and catch up on! My email inbox too has been sadly neglected & is now asking me if I want to "compress" my files/emails to save space... I don't think that's a good thing... LOL! What can I say? Life happens? Always tons going on here! *sigh* I won't bore ya with the long list of "whys".... besides, some of the "whys" might sound pretty pathetic... quite a bit are legit though. I've missed not catching up with everyone and hope everyone is doing well and gearing up for the holidays!

This is my favorite time of year. I love the cooler weather & that I've been able to keep my windows open a time or two over the past week! The holidays are coming and that always inspires my creative side. : )

Today, I'm on a mission to rearrange my living room... exciting huh?! This is by FAR the worst space in my house to decorate AND it's the first room you see when you walk in to the house. It's smaller than any living room I've ever had and absolutely nothing seems to fit or look good. I need one of those decorating show people... guarantee they'd agree with me! LOL! I've had tiny apartments with bigger living room spaces! What makes this so difficult is not only is it a small space but the ceilings are vaulted.....BIG, HUGE VAULTED ceilings in a tiny room! You would think that a simple fix would be tall/bigger furniture... the trick is finding big things that will fit in this tiny area. *sigh* .... my dilemma for the past year now! Grrr.... If anyone knows any tricks or has any suggestion, I'd gladly welcome them! : )

Hope everyone has a terrific weekend!

~CIAO~

payback SWEET payback *sigh*

And a Happy Father's Day too! So, my sweet husband thought it would be hilarious to capture a shot of me doing some yard work.... a REALLY not-so-flattering picture which has now been mysteriously deleted from his phone FOREVER (meant to be said like "Smalls" said it in *The Sandlot*... FOR--E--VER!!! If you haven't seen the movie, you need to.). He's very fortunate to still have a working phone. I think I've mentioned that I live in the house of pranks.... right? Well, his was tough to top and then I remembered... I HAVE A BLOG! Bwahahahaha! Kevan thought it would be funny to send his pic of me to our son who sent it on to....hmmm... pretty much everyone in his address book that knows us.... which probably led to that out of control spiral of text sending. Needless to say, I'm pretty sure that there isn't a Marine in California that hasn't had a laugh at Kyle's Mom! Geez, I've wondered since if my picture has surfaced overseas yet. hmmm.... Anyhooo, I've been called the paparazzi around our place. I'm usually toting a camera or have it within arms reach.... unless of course my battery is dead. I'm not the most proficient in keeping that darn thing charged. Ok, I'm getting off base and It's time to get to the good stuff! *insert evil laugh here* I've gotten pics of Kevan making crazy faces or worse, I'll get the gestures that say "I've had enough of the camera" (though I won't post those). So without further adieu.... Happy Father's Day to the funniest, sweetest, most loving & generous man I know! All joking aside, he truly is my best friend, my soulmate and the best Dad any child could ask for. Mushy moment over... now for the picture you've all been waiting for.... and the one that will probably earn the payback that I will inevitably regret. Keep in mind... this is all in FUN.... nasty, rotten, evil FUN! Did I mention that a GREAT sense of humor is essential in this household? I guess it can't be helped in a house full of boys.... poor Kaydee & I are hugely outnumbered so we have to play dirty. heeheehee! Here goes.... Ah yes, I believe this was the runway shot featuring the new Strawberry Shortcake attire. Kevan proudly modeled Kaydee's hat after she had been asked to put it away several times.... Dontcha just wish she had put it away Kevan? Remember while I was sweltering from the heat while working in the yard as you sat snickering in the shade..... remember I said "payback"? Let the games begin.... just as soon as I hide all phones & cameras of course! ; ) I wish all of the Father's out there a wonderful, relaxing day! Oh, and if you are relaxing and you've been known to play pranks on your hard working wife... you may want to get up from watching that NASCAR race and check on her whereabouts.... she COULD be blogging.... about YOU! heeheehee!

Just a little recap of the last few....

I had a few minutes to upload some pics & thought I'd sneak in and blog a bit. : ) We've been on the go with the c-r-a-z-y list of summer activities and I've barely had time to come up for air.

We visited the Arizona Science Center over the weekend. They are featuring the Lego Castle Adventure right now and can I just say AWESOME?! This worked out perfectly as we're in virtual Scotland (Kevan's ancestry roots) this week and there were some fantastic lego castles to explore. The kids had a blast! The best part about the Science Center is that it is totally kid friendly. They can play, run, touch, smell and we don't have to worry about ANYTHING breaking! Kaydee wore a princess costume out of their dress-up bin to fully play the part! Kaydon ran around freely, astonished that he didn't hear the words "no-no" once & yes, that is a mohawk (Kevan did it, I plead the 5th)! LOL! We stayed and played until closing time. On our way out Kaydee crossed over a floor ventilation grate and the rising air lifted her dress. When I turned to see what was taking her so long to catch up I couldn't help but laugh at the way she seemed so fascinated with this final feature at the science center. Well, it really wasn't a "feature" per se but to her it was. Of course I had to get pictures. She posed, laughed & quickly gained attention as the "little Marilyn". Now she wants to know who Marilyn is. Dare I tell her? Maybe another time... perhaps when my little diva in training is about 30?! LOL! I don't think she needs anymore encouragement in that department but oh boy, what a ride I think we're in for! Eeek!

Also, yesterday we began Summer camp at Crocodile Dock VBS. Here are a few shots of Kaydee on her first day. They transformed the church auditorium into a swamp! How cool is that? The group leaders were sporting bright neon green streaks in their hair and everyone got their very own necklace & bracelet. She was a little shy at first but quickly warmed up as one of her group leaders was also a substitute teacher at her school. She also recognized some buddies from school. It also helped that she was placed in what she calls "the coolest group EVER" because they are called the opossum BLOSSOMS! There's no denying the girly-girl in her... that's for sure! When I asked her what the best part was, she was quick to reply with "no work!". *sigh* So with that comment I can only assume that we've finally reached that age where she is not so excited about school or more specifically schoolwork. Speaking of age.... my little girl turns **9** in just 14 days! I can't believe how fast time seems to be flying! Having 2 grown kids already it's hard not to reminisce about every milestone.... both then & now with each of my kiddos. So that's what has been on my plate. What's on your plate? More soon...hopefully! ; ) ~*~Ciao~*~

whew! busy, busy, busy!

Yep, I'm still here. Still running like crazy. Since summer vacation began, I've had to speed up to keep up.... if that makes ANY sense. I've been busy with kids, appointments, meetings, crafts, virtual traveling, & working on a host of other irons in my fire. I'm also in training for my online business.... not quite ready to launch just yet but coming soon. *fingers crossed*
I've tried to keep up on my blog roll. Sometimes it's easier to read and comment then to think creatively enough to post on my own. Ever feel like that? LOL! By the end of the day lately it seems I'm lucky if I feel that I have more than 2 brain cells to rub together.
I have a few layouts & collage pieces that I've worked on here and there....truly my sanity time to be able to lose myself in something creative! : P
Posting might be a little few and far between until I can get through some of my classes & some of the kids activities but we'll see. I'll be checking in at the very least. : ) Hope everyone is having a fantastic summer! ~*~Ciao~*~