Speechless

How is it possible that I can think of nothing to write about?

Zilch. Zip. Zero.

I'm sure my closest friends and family would a) be shocked and b) suggest it's because I don't shut up enough and maybe I have finally run out of words.

My kids are still super cute, but I was away from them a lot this weekend at a Beth Moore conference and so I witnessed a limited number of adorable episodes, and most of them were repeats.

I could tell you about my amazing time at the conference, but I am still processing what my take away was (is). I will say, however, that the woman is stinkin awesome. She is funny, relatable, the real deal, and wise, wise, wise.

I have a few soap boxes I could rant about, some serious, some just pet peeves, but who wants to hear my loud opinion?

I will confess that I am mildly jealous of my daughters' skills. The girl is 9 and can dance and play soccer like a champ. I have never personally been on a winning team, nor was I ever known for my athletic prowess.

Aha. A few sports stories at my expense guaranteed to make you snicker if not guffaw.

I went to a wonderful private school. There were 74 students in my graduating class. Our varsity teams were competitive, our cheerleaders and pom pom girls were talented and were always part of those big groups you see on Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. But one of the luxuries afforded to us because we were small was we had opportunities to play sports we wouldn't have had at larger schools. Most of our sports had a "B" team and for a small window of time in late jr. high and part of high school (depending on the sport), all you needed was a permission slip and a physical to make the team.

When people ask me if I played sports in high school, I can say without any hesitation or dishonesty that I played basketball, volleyball, and softball. Now, if Josh isn't with me, the conversation can end there with their admiration and my pride still in tact. If Josh is there . . . well, the conversation usually goes something like this:

Josh: Well . . . define "played" (with a smirk and jerky laugh)
Me: Hush! I played those sports.
Josh: Yeah, she was an aggressive post player with an appetite for the ball.
Me: Shut it, Josh. I followed my coach's instructions and asked for the ball . . . a lot . . . by clapping my  
           hands . . . but whatever. It was fun and we made memories.
Josh: Tell them about your triple over time game.
Person we are talking to: WOW! Triple overtime!
Josh: (Laughing with his stupid hand over his stupid mouth.) Tell them the score, Rach.
Me: hmm to hay
Person: What?
Me: Ten to eight
Person: Oh.
Josh: (Feigning forgetfulness) And who were you playing?
Me: (So over it by now) The deaf school.
Josh: (rolling on the floor every time)
Person: Oh
Me: But those girls were mean and they never called fouls on them and yes that was a low scoring game  
           but we got better!
Josh: Right, why did he take y'all out for pizza?
Me: (sigh) because we broke 20 points . . . (and beating him to the punch) even though we still lost by
          15 . . . thanks, Josh.

And if we started out talking about softball or he manages to steer the conversation that way he will ask me to tell the story of how when it was my turn to practice batting, my coach would tell the outfield to go take a water break because I was up.

Volleyball was probably my best sport, but when I say best, I just mean there are no embarrassing stories to go with it.

But you know what? I got to experience sports. I got to be on a team. I got to build character.

And I can make Josh laugh every time I reenact my basketball skills.

The Great Storm of 2011

Maybe that title is a little dramatic . . . but it was a BIG storm around here. Thursday night a much anticipated front moved through the state and with it came some huge storms. The first one that we noticed hit around 10:00/10:30. Around then we saw a huge flash of lightening followed by no cable. Boo. We are sorely dependent on our cable for more than television . . . it also provides service to our phone and our internet, so while we could call out on our cells, from 10:30 that night until sometime after 12 on Friday we were cut off from all other forms of media and communication. Normally I would say that it was inconvenient at best, but Thursday night (early morning?) when the tornado sirens were going off we were clueless as to where the storms actually were. Sometimes when they go off, the tornado is somewhere like by the airport and nowhere near us, but since we didn't know where it was this time, we drug our sleeping babies and puppy dog to Josh's office under the stairs. We did have the thought to bring Caroline's radio as well and were able to find a station covering the weather. Once we believed it was safe, we put everyone back to bed and fell into ours completely exhausted.

And then I got a text from our local NBC station at 2:26 informing me that we would be under a severe thurnderstorm warning until 2:15. Did you follow that? It sent me a message after the warning was over that the warning was coming. All the while the sirens are still going off and I never got a text message for that. Go figure. Technology can only get you so far. I personally felt ok about the storms because my stomach never got unsettled.

Without getting too detailed, let's just say my gut is the best predictor of storms I know. My biggest fear in a tornado is where I will actually be when it hits our house . . . I hope the bathroom really is a safe place to be . . .

When we got up Friday morning, other than being tired, we were no worse for the wear. A few of my friends and I checked in with each other to make sure everyone still had roofs and upright trees. Around 8:30, my cousin's wife called and asked if we were ok. I was thinking how sweet it was that she was checking on us when she told me that my aunt and uncle's house had sustained quite a bit of damage when a large tree fell on it.

Y'all. When I say a tree fell on it I mean a tree moved into their sun room and left nothing in the ground. It wasn't a large branch flying off . . . there is a sideways tree in their house.

Nature is amazing and frightening.

Their best guess is that a tornado came through their neighborhood. When I took them some lunch I was shocked at the damage and debris, and true to form, some yards and houses were untouched while others were in total disarray.

The wonderful news is they are ok. They were home and in their "safe place" as the meteorologists say. There is damage that is inconvenient and it is hard to see your home damaged--it's just unsettling because we all want our homes to be our sanctuaries from the crazy world NOT the crazy place.

The truth is, I started this post Friday and never got a chance to finish it and while I am sure I had a wonderful outline for it in my head with clever and witty and meaningful comments to accompany the riveting stories, now all I know is I have a headache and no clue where I was headed with it. So I have gone back through and changed it to the correct tenses for a Saturday post instead of a Friday one and now I am heading to get several Ibuprofen . . .

Next week I will be a better more interesting blogger, tonight I am going to bed.

Confessions of a tired mom

Here are my confessions (not to be confused with a random list because that occurs on Fridays) . . .

*Last night I fell asleep at 7 . . . missed bedtimes, conversation with Josh, and Law and Order SVU . . . I think I could do it again tonight. I think our life is catching up with me.

*I am mostly recovered from our break in, but I have issues leaving our house between 9-3 since the police said that is when grab and go burglaries are most likely to occur. And I still breathe a sigh of relief when I come home to find the front door shut.

*I found a tick on Bo today and am so disgusted. I loathe bugs, especially small ones stuck in my child's body. I smothered it with alcohol and then yanked and yanked with the tweezers but could not get it out. We ended up driving to Josh's office so he could pull it out (and to soothe my pride, I should tell you it took him a couple of minutes). I guess daily full body checks are in order since the kids love to play in our woods.

*I guess this is more of an announcement than a confession . . . check out Bethany Christian Services' spring fundrasier "High Heels and Pig Tails." This is an easy and fun way to care for the fatherless (and those who want to be fathers and mothers). Bethany is a non-profit adoption agency that has been a huge part of my life for a long, long time. We fostered through it when I was younger and then my mom started working for them. I have a handful of friends whose families are grown completely or partially through Bethany. It is one of those organizations and causes that I am very passionate about! This event is a fun fashion show and brunch featuring "Bethany families" Saturday, April 30th from 11am-2pm at Next Level Events. For more information, call their office 664-5729.

*I started a book a couple of days ago that has me dying for chances to read it. It's a silly, mindless book but I am into the characters and want to know how it ends. I have been very thankful for this beautiful weather because I can sit in my chair outside while the kids play and ride bikes and read with less guilt than I have when I let them watch tv so I can read. Just being real.

Love, love, love her

There are times as a parent where you are so snookered with one of your kids, you just almost can't stand it! I mean absolutely can't imagine anyone or anything cuter or sweeter.

Can you blame me? Look at this little piece of yumminess . . .

Right now she and Bo are downstairs playing Batman and Robin . . . like the old days playing, not on the Wii, but running around calling each other Batman and Robin and saving Gotham from the evil Penguin and Joker.

Lest you think that I am totally naive, I could name 16 people off the top of my head that are actually sweeter than her. Bless her heart. She was born with some gall and spunk in her. But I adore her and find her irresistible.

Earlier today she stomped her foot and yelled, "NO!" at me. I swatted that cute hiney and told her that she was not allowed to stomp her foot and yell no to Mommy.

Do you know what that teeny little bundle of joy did? She stomped her feet and yelled, "DORA!" instead.

I promise. I couldn't make that up if I tried.

Online directions and hotels

So far with dance, we have been lucky enough not to need to stay at a hotel for a competition. This past weekend, however, with Josh's family being in town, I didn't want to worry about getting to a friend's house too late, so we ponied up and got a hotel room. I found a great rate at one of those online discount websites and read it to make sure I could cancel and that I wasn't being swindled. After a really bad experience a few years ago with expedia, I was wary, but it all looked good, so I clicked pay. After I entered all of my info and debit card number and pressed process payment, the website informed me that there would be a $24 nonrefundable processing fee. I was irritated because it was no longer a great deal.

Too late to do anything about it and running out of time to get ready for the rest of the day, I copied the address on their site for the hotel, plugged it into google maps, and sent it to my phone.

Fast forward to 11:30 Saturday night, when, after 30 minutes of following the directions over and over again, I broke down and called the hotel. They gave me better directions and we pulled into the parking lot ready to shower and crawl in bed. When we checked in we found out there was one room left . . . a king size handicap access room. I will be honest, I was irritated again because I had booked 2 double beds so Caroline and I could spread out, but at that point, I just wanted to go to bed.

I love the smell of a hotel. I can't explain it, but I do. So I was disappointed when we walked into an odd shaped hotel room that smelled like a bathroom at a camp site. I couldn't figure it out until Caroline got in the shower and ran out panicked, "MOMMY! THE WATER ISN'T DRAINING-IT'S RUNNING EVERYWHERE!!"

I dashed over to the bathroom in my sock feet and discovered that the water was out of the bathroom and standing in the bathroom. I called the front desk and the lady said, "Yeah, you are in a handicap access room so there are no sides to the shower. We recommend laying a bunch of towels on the floor. Will you need extras?"

Um, what? Yes. I will need extra towels. And that explains the wet smell.

Who doesn't put a drain in the floor?

The next morning I padded into the bathroom, wrung out my socks and showered, stepped on the wet towels and tried to make it to a dry place to put on new socks. We went downstairs to eat and checkout and I explained to the lady up front that it smelled bad and was wet and she attempted to adjust my rate.

Guess what? If you use an online service, the hotel cannot refund your stay or adjust your rate. Did everyone but me know that?

So they gave us some free bottles of water.

Because apparently we hadn't had enough water at that hotel.

Pictures and Recaps

I LOVE a rainy Monday. I am sitting in my house with the lights out and the blinds open enjoying the rain and light thunder. My little 2 are in the playroom, the washing machine is running, and for the first time in I cannot remember how long, I have nothing to do and no where to be. Happy. Happy. Happy.

I am not sure where to even start. It has been a fun and jampacked few days! We had so much fun with Josh's family . . . I think we all gained about 10 pounds. (Why is it that we feel the need to eat when we all get together?) Anyway, I think we made some progress on helping Prego Mego get ready for John Tyler's August arrival. Megan is such a cute little pregnant mama . . . and I can't find the ultrasound picture I saved on my phone, but that baby boy is soooooo handsome and adorable. I am in love.

Here are some highlights in pictures and video. . . .

Uncle Will riding the scooter

Guess what came in the mail?

Guess who won't take it off?

 Life long best friends at competition in Dallas

 Celebrating an AMAZING weekend for RCDC with our fabulous directors

 FIRST PLACE in Musical Theatre and OVERALL!!!

A full weekend of soccer and dance catches up with her

Tune in tomorrow for a little word to the wise about booking hotels and what happens when you get the wheelchair room . . . you won't want to miss our Arlington Adventure!

Big, crazy week

If only carpool was where the craziness of the week ended . . . we've had a rampant case of strep (5/6 have had it so far) . . . and some doofus decided to kick in our front door while I was at the doctor with Tru and steal our TV and all of Josh's watches. Including the engraved one I gave him on our wedding day AND the one he got on his first father's day. Sad.

God was so good to protect me and the kids and Tate. It's all just stuff anyway. Replaceable and unimportant in the grand scheme. The officers who responded to my frantic 911 call were so kind and Mandy rescued my kids so they could play instead of watching CSI fingerprint our house.

On a side note, only one CSI girl came out. No music was playing. She made no speculations. It was nothing like the TV show.

Anyway. We have moved on. I have been so thankful that God has honored the prayers of my friends and my mind has stayed relatively peaceful and calm given the circumstance. I didn't even ask Josh to not go out of town (but I am glad he is back!).

We kept it light with the kids--talking about how these thieves were not scary people, they were stupid, selfish, lazy people. And we laughed and plotted about setting booby traps like on Home Alone.

And now, fun times are upon us--Josh's parents, brother, sister and her husband have come to visit!! We are having fun and have been out and about shopping for my sweet, precious nephew, John Tyler . . . bedding, and strollers, and swings-OH MY!! I just LOOOOVE getting ready for a baby (and I won't lose sleep with this one!). I cannot wait to spoil him ROTTEN!!

We will wrap up the week with a soccer game and then Caroline and I will drive to Dallas for her dance competition.

And next week I will sleep.

And hopefully potty train Sascha.

I cannot imagine a house without diapers. And the money we will save.

Maybe I will stock up on more Target jewelry for burglars to turn their noses up and leave behind.