My Options for Tonight

*Chocolate martini party with a girlfriend who also happens to sub teach at Justinbustin's school

*Cocktail party with friends of my sister's

*Out on the town with my girlfriend, KT, who is scarily my clone

*Texas Martini's at Trudy with Kels

What I'm doing instead...

*Packing.

Seriously?! SERIOUSLY?!?! I KNOW. Totally not freakin' me. I told myself that I would take it easy this week and not pack it in before I take off like I normally do, so hopefully we will get on the plane NOT sick this time. Freakin' a!! If I had known it would mean saying NO over ten times this week to fun , FUN things for me and/or the boys (playdates, basketball games, time with Auntie helping out watching a million probably sick kids) I might not've planned the trip at all. Just kidding (barely)! Gah.

Pain

My FIL had been paying rent on the properties my MIL acquired from the marriage for the last ten years. They have been talking about the lease coming up for two years now and the agreement was he was still going to lease, until yesterday. He told her he wasn't going to lease and she now has less than ten months to find a new tenant. His business is hurting with the economy but that doesn't give him any less reason to follow through on his word.

It makes me cry to think about it. The women who spend their lives in support of their husband to push them further in their careers who when it doesn't work out end up where? It's a little too late at that point to create a life of having a career at that point.

For all you career wives and career mommies out there, don't stop. Not just because of the ever possible possibility of divorce, but what happens if something happens to them. I so wish I had started my life later. Smarter. Gotten a head start on my own career. I might've still chosen to stay home with my boys for a while, but at least I would have SOMEthing under my belt to fall back on, even in hard financial times like we're going through right now.

I'm so grateful for my work situation right now, as I do have a friend who has a masters and makes about the same as I do working two days a week so I have nothing to complain about. However, when my situation ends it ends and I am back out there looking for something else. Kind of like my MIL right now.

Windows to my soul, or at least my living room

This is pretty disgusting, but I never realized how dirty my windows were until I cleaned them the other day! The paper towels I used to clean them were black!! Sad to say they were actually dirtier on the inside than on the outside.

First off, I never knew how to clean windows until my son taught me. I had done a few and then Shawners did one and his was cleaner than mine! I had been on his case about using too much windex in the first place until I realized his spot was extremely clean, so I started using much more windex on my windows. Wow they came clean quick! So much for trying to save money by not using very much windex. That was pointless if I wanted clean windows. I made sure to commend him telling him he taught Mommy how to clean windows ; ) .

So for the first time in two years (yeah, I told you it was disgusting) my windows are shiny bright clean.  It feels like I have a new house!

Shawnisms

"I love you. I have a good time with you every single day."

I wish I could freeze moments like these forever.

Girlified

All three boys are out of town and I had the first Saturday afternoon to myself in ten years. Wahoo!! My poor hubby and sister... to quote via text from Brando, "hellooooooo!!!!!????" and from my sister, "OMG you are SO unavailable today." I texted Brando back, "It's my first Saturday off in forever! I'm a little busy."

I slept in until 10:30am which is the first time I've done that in AGES. Then I leisurely got ready and headed over to see a friend's new apartment. We had a glass of wine and 2pm in the afternoon -hell yeah - then went to see Zack and Miri at the Ritz downtown. It was at the Alamo which is a dinner theatre so we ate artichoke heart and goat cheese pizza and drank a pitcher of sangria. Mmmm. We went to scope out the place she is getting married next spring and it is GORGEOUS. It's at the st*te cap*tol which apparently is a st*te park where you set up shop, get married, and go on your merry way. The location they picked inside is mind blowing. It's on the bottom level and it's an open atrium. It goes about two to three stories up and then it's open sky. There's a big Texas st*r in the middle where they are going to get married and have everybody around them. It brought tears to my eyes seeing it and imagining the scene. I'm so going to be a big baby when it happens.

I dropped her off then picked up my upstairs neighbor who also happens to be a substitute teacher at J's school. We headed to Pei Wei for some Thai Coconut Curry chicken, then to Main Event for a beer and conversation with Li and her boyfriend. We headed home and chatted til' the wee hours of the evening. Then I made myself a bubble bath and watched Ugly Betty until I crawled into bed halfway thru and fell asleep exhausted but happy.

This morning I woke up at 8am to meet K.T. for coffee and catch up with her since it seems like forEVER since I've seen her. I love her, she is the sweetest thing ever and so much like me with the energy I bubble over it's ridiculous. We talked for an hour and a half before she had to head off to work then  I came home and worked out for the first time since my surgery. Hell I needed it. I've gained 4 pounds because of all the loose jeans I've been wearing to make things comfortable! Not to mention the trips to Grandma's : ) and double stuffed oreos left over from Halloween : ) .

I am so perfectly content and satisfied, rather, girlified. I'm going to have to schedule myself a Saturday by myself at least once a month and ship the boys off to a guys night!

Girls Weekend

Just spent the most amazing weekend in Arizona with my grandma and cousins. The cousin I go visit in Laguna Beach and I had brainstormed this idea last time I went to visit her. Somehow she pulled it off and got the two difficult ones (my sister close to my age, B, and her sister, M)  to agree to a weekend and off we went. We didn't grow up together so it was a neat chance to get to know each other even more. Of course I knew my sisters and her, but it was fun getting to know M who is five months pregnant with her first child!! M is B's age and my cuz in Laguna Beach, Ann*e is my age. My other sister is 11 years older than me but still gets asked if she is the babysitter of my boys. B didn't know either of them prior to this trip very well at ALL and W only knew Ann*e and M when they were littler.

On top of that my sister who is closer to my age and I didn't grow up with my Grandma so it was a neat time to get to spend with her and get to know her more too.

We had a weekend full of massages, pedicures, yummy yummy food and desserts, shopping, laying out by the pool, sunshine, golf cart races, tons and tons of pictures, and way too much girlie giggling. It went a thousand times better than I ever expected out of all those dynamics. We presented my Grandma with a framed picture of all of us that has an extra large mat which we each wrote notes to her on describing how we feel about her, our favorite memories, and favorite qualities. We each read our note to her while the tears flowed. Her friend made us each pillows with a picture of the six of us embroidered into the pillow and so each of us came away with our own special keepsake.

I cried when I left. I texted Ann*e the next day that I don't think I've ever missed five people so much in my life.

I voted. Did you?

Yick

I just bit into an ant covered Kashi granola bar. Ouch. I had opened it just enough the other day for them to crawl and inhabit it unbeknownst to me as I reached up to the top cupboard, grabbed it, opened it, and took a bite in one quick motion. Not my finest moment.

Halloween Weekend

At our murder mystery dinner

Private Investigator aka PI

The non-murderous couple.

Making mulled wine for the setting: Colorado in the 80's. Mmmm, yummy!

My chocolate fountain is put to good use!

Oooh, creepy!

The alcohol we didn't end up drinking too much of...
notice the black rose bud in the martini glass

Hola! Been busy over here. Super fun weekend including a murder mystery dinner at Li's house. Brando was a private investigator, I was supposed to be his "seductive" wife, but I ended up more like a conservative schoolgirl. Kind of a slow night and not much alcohol was drunk, but it was fun being grown ups on Halloween for once. My sis took the kiddos out trick or treating and to our annual church event. Justinbustin was Peter from Narnia and Shawners was a dragon. My sister wore the princess costume I gave her to go with their outfits. They had a blast!

Saturday night Brando went to Sixth Street with me for the first time!! Whoohoo!! We had a gorgeous view sitting rooftop on top of a bar downtown watching the live band of the uncle of the little girl I nanny. He was so good!! The music reminded me of a mild Subl*me.

Today Shawners had his last clay art class and Justinbustin had a date with Mommy and Daddy all to his lonesome. We took him to Starbucks for treats then to the bookstore to read dragon books. I got my own fun little book there. There's a lot on exercise, but what I really wanted is the tips on organizing my wardrobe and quick beauty mishap fixes.

Loving the time change this evening as it's only 8:45pm and the kids have been in bed for an hour and fifteen minutes! I vacuumed my car and drove it thru the local car wash after I washed the wheels and windows. Love a good weekend and a clean car!