where did my june go???

how old and crotchety do I sound when i say time is going by too fast?
I fail to believe June has come and gone already. Because when I was a youngun' July meant my summer vacation from school was 1/2 over. The 4th of July has always been on my list of favorite holidays, but once it was over all I could do was look with dread upon the impending doom of the start of school. But I don't have to do that now that I'm all growed up. Oh but wait, I do. Because I've lost my rocks and decided that since I have approximately 7.6 extra seconds every day, I should head back to the collegiate game. At least I've chosen a school that doesn't go back until mid-September so that gives a couple of extra weeks of summer. Right?? Right?!?!?
The difference is, that for some bizarre reason I am looking forward to it. I think kicking my brain back into gear and working again, has made me see how much I have missed using adult brain cells. Don't get me wrong, I have loved being a mama bear and raising my chiclets. I'm grateful for it. However, even though I'm just getting started, I can see a dim light at the end of the tunnel. When Ryan goes to school all day in 1st grade, we can have 2 incomes. We haven't had that in YEARS. It will be so cool!!
I keep waiting for someone to find out I'm going back and look at me like I've lost my mind, but so far only one person has done that, and I don't value her opinion much. Everyone else has been uber-supportive and been excited for me. That makes me think maybe, just maybe, I can do it.

lucky 13...

so, 13 years ago today, I walked down the aisle and entered into the state of wedded bliss. Not all of our 13 years have been blissful, but that would just be boring and make you throw up in your mouth a little bit, now wouldn't it? I thank my lucky stars that Matt & I found our way to each other and that we still like each other after living in the same house together for this long. He puts up with my quirkiness (aka bitchy mood swings) and I put up with him leaving his dirty socks on the floor and used tissues on whatever he happens to be standing next to. And we still love each other. Better yet? We still LIKE each other. He's still my best friend. The first person I tell my brilliant plans to, the first person I bounce ideas off of. The person whose opinion I value the most.
He didn't snicker at me when I told him last week I wanted to finish my degree. I expected him to roll his eyes because as long as he's known me, I've been deciding what I want to be when I grow up. I feel like I have finally come to a plan (at least for the next phase of Amy-as-a-grown-up), and I was nervous to mention it to him. I was afraid he'd list all of the negative stuff that was brewing in my own head (like where will I find time, how will I afford it, and homework, and exams, and homework, and exams) instead he said he couldn't wait to watch me graduate in the shoe. And that's just one of the reasons why 13 years later I still love him the bestest.

she's not dead...

just on vacation. And trying to plot out the rest of my life.
Am I:
a. a stay at home mom
b. a jewelry lady
c. a preschool director
d. all of the above
If you answered d. you've just won a fabulous weekend for 2 Buckeye Lake! OK, not really, but you can drive over and come with us next time we go.
Several moments of the last 2 weeks have been spent thinking I've completely lost my mind for thinking I can take on the preschool thing. I probably have. But when I'm knee deep in it, it's fun and I'm using my brain for something other than toilet cleanliness and laundry tackle-ing. And frankly, that's enjoyable! Who knows what the future holds? We shall see how it pans out in the fall.
On another topic... Some people just can't be made happy. Most of the crafty people I know (and even some of you non-crafties) enjoy homemade gifts. I, myself, would prefer homemade over store-bought anyday because I know what goes into pulling something together with your own 2 hands. Not to say I don't enjoy a good Starbucks gift card now and again (yoooohooooo, Matt....) but I love getting something that comes from the heart. Especially if it's wicked cool. I know now that not everyone in my world can be pleased by something homemade and as such will be purchasing from a store from this point forward for said person. So HA! No more gifts from the heart, made with pure love for you, said person!!!

i don't know about myself sometimes...

I read LOL cats daily because I just think they're cute. Sometimes I come across one that has me gasping for air in laughter.
Like this one.



I have no idea why. But that totally cracked me up. Must be that the rest of my day has sucked ass. But... I was nice to someone today, so I have that going for me :)

random acts...

i flipped on the ellen show today. Mostly because David Cook was performing today, but also because she always makes me laugh. After David sang (YUM), her next guest was Dr. Wayne Dyer. Apparently a month ago he was on the show and they challenged the entire audience to practice random acts of kindness daily. He is one of those people that believes small bits of kindness can change the world. It was a really good show and they interviewed a lot of the audience members who had participated. What I noticed most was not how their kindness changed another's world, but how it just made them feel better. What struck me most was that he said that it becomes habit really fast. And that if you just consciously try to be nice to a stranger once a day, that soon, you just do it, because it's what you do, not because you're trying to. Interesting concept! Going out of your way to do something nice for someone else makes you feel good and you never know when letting someone go ahead of you in line at the grocery, might just be the only thing nice that happened to them that day.
So go on. Get off of your ass and do something nice today for someone else. And then do it again tomorrow. Wouldn't it be nice to be the bright part of another person's day?

is that your phone?

just think of the money we'll save...

hannah already knows pretty much everything she needs to know. No, really. Just ask her. She'll tell you.
Today she learned all about the esophagus and how food can get lodged in it. She learned the Heimlich maneuver, and how to do it on yourself if you're ever alone when you start to choke. Her kindergarten teacher is very hands on with the kids. Obviously. So, as she is explaining to me how to Heimlich yourself, and how we have a breathing tube and a swallowing tube, and how sometimes food goes down the wrong tube, she pauses and says, "did you know all this already mom?"
"Yes, dear, I did."
She replies with, "oh, so you learned it in kindergarten, too?"
"Umm, no I learned it in college".
She very matter-of-fact like says "Oh, well then I don't even need to go to college then!"
Well I guess not. Good, I can go buy some shoes or fill up my gas tank with all of that money we have socked away for her college education.

things that made me smile today...

it takes a lot to make me smile today. I'm feeling a little like Eeyore.
However, Ryan is always good for a few smiles. He has been in a sunny mood today. I told him how nice it was that he was in such a good mood today, and he asked me what a mood was. So I tried to explain "mood" in a way that he would understand. "It's how you feel and act every day. You can be happy, or sad, or funny..." and he says "or cranky, like you mama?" Yes, son. I believe you grasp the concept. It made me smile in spite of my grey mood.
Then Hannah came home from school. After lunch Ryan asked her to read a book to him. Fish Out Of Water is his current favorite, so Hannah began reading. She still does a lot of sounding out but when she came to the pet store owner's name (Mr. Carp) she read it out loud without sounding it out much. Mr. Crap is the new name of the owner of the pet store. That made me laugh out loud.

mom!! I peed standing up!!

subtitle: my son is going to kill me for posting this if this blog still exists when he is 13 years old.
Ryan has had some bizarre fear of peeing standing up. He's never been cut off by the toilet seat, but I think in the back of his mind somewhere he visualized it being a possibility. We tried all the various tricks for getting boys to stand (i.e. fruit loops floating in the water- why does it appeal to boys to try to shoot down fruit loops anyway??) but it never worked. Finally I just thought...hmmm...his wife might thank me one day because she never has to clean his pee from around the rim of the toilet. He can sit for the rest of his life if he wants. I do.
So today...I'm on the phone with a friend of mine who works at a real job with a real paycheck. The same friend who questions my sanity at least once monthly because the thought of staying home makes her cringe in much the same way that the thought of working full-time makes me cringe. Mid-sentence I had to stop, because Ryan came flying in the room with his face all lit up and he was so excited that he was stuttering and speaking in tongues. When I finally got a legitimate sentence to spew out, it was "Mom mom mom mom I peed standing up!!! I peed standing up! Can I get a high five?" I completely dissolved in hysterics- but not until after I gave him his high five. I guarantee nothing that fun would've happened if I was in an office working at a 'real job'.

happy may...

mine won't be happy until about the 3rd week or so. May is consistently known as "volunteer month" in this house. Although in all fairness to May, it is actually in APRIL that I do the volunteering, it just all happens in May.
I practiced saying no in the mirror. Because I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggonit people like me! I should be able to say it better than I do. Instead I get Catholic guilt (and I'm a watered down Catholic, Lutheran girl) because I'm letting people down.
However, I got better at it this year. Several people have asked me to do things, and I surprised my ownself by saying "I have too much on my plate already. I'd love to help you, but I know I couldn't give you 100%" And you know what? I didn't spontaneously combust! Who knew? I still have too much on my plate, but it was stuff I mostly anticipated having on my plate. After this weekend when the Preschool's Mother's Tea is over, I'll almost be able to have a life again. I've mostly maintained a good attitude this week (shaddup Matt) even though it was the busiest of my existence. Only a slight exaggeration. I think I only cried in complete desperation once. Compared to this time last year, that's golden.
I think I'm slowly learning that "No." is a complete sentence.

it's friday...

so it MUST be funny!

This was almost more than I could bare. This dog could be one of my very own. If any of my dogs still had their testicles, that is.

just makes me wonder...

what did this piggy see that took him by surprise? Feel free to take a guess in the comments section.
From personal experience, I'm guessing this little piggy's person had the AUDACITY to take his pigloo away. The pig probably turned around and caught his person in the act right as she was replacing said pigloo with something ignorant... like a cardboard tube. Just a guess...

bloom where you're planted...

i didn't get to appreciate this last spring. I was wonderfully surprised to find out that one of the trees in front of our house was a flowering tree. I've never had one, but always wanted one. It had approximately 3 blooms on it, and then we had a wind storm and suddenly, no blooms. I never got to see it in full bloom. This year, it is bursting with blooms and making me ever so thankful for Spring and this place I am currently planted in.

peeves...

since i have nothing much exciting to say, i'll just keep borrowing from other people's ideas this week. MZed listed her pet peeves and asked for everyone else for theirs. I'm not letting her off the hook however. She still owes us her 5 things list. I can't wait to hear 5 things I don't know about her :)

So my pet peeves?? They change day to day actually. Most often on my list?

1. people who drive down country roads with their brights on. And don't turn them off for oncoming traffic. Matt, I'm looking at you.

2. Business owners who don't check the spelling on their outside signs. Seriously, no matter how much I like your food, I can't go into a restaurant that keep trying to sell me "really graet food" or "yumy chiken sandwiches". And BP down the street? I'm counting you in this. You've been try to sell me a $19 corn dog for 2 weeks. I have to assume it's really $1.90 or something like that. But, advertising a $19 corn dog for 2 weeks? Not even the world's finest corn dog is worth that much money. Pay attention to your signs. It makes some of us twitch to have to pass by those things every day.

3. People who assume I live the life o' leisure because I don't have a job. Oh yeah. It's all bon bons around here. Believe me.

4. The girls in the locker room at the gym who are fixing their hair and makeup BEFORE they work out. Really, girls? Get over yourselves.

5. Cell phone users with the ear buds. MZed, totally with you on that. I really hate to look like an ass when I answer someone who isn't talking to me. Also, the people who are sitting in restaurants with their friends, talking on phones. I divorced the friend who always did that to me. It's so rude. Unless it's an emergency, don't talk on your phone when you are out with other people.

6. People who honk at green lights when the light has been green for approximately 2.3 seconds. Really, are you in THAT big of a hurry? R-E-L-A-X.

That's my list today. Tomorrow it will be something else.

5 things...

i've been avoiding this for a few days. Jen tagged everyone for a list of five things that few people know about you. I haven't done it yet, because I'm having a hard time coming up with 5 things that ANYONE would find interesting.
Here goes nothin'

1. I can also tie a cherry stem in a knot with my tongue. And Jen...the coincidences just get creepier :) Although in my defense if someone forces me to prove this, I haven't done it since college and I'm guessing my tongue is out of practice. But...how about that for college money well spent?

2. I once held a mountain lion (a sleeping one) for an x-ray of his broken leg. I also held a wallaby (a not sleeping one) for an exam on his infected ear.

3. I can still do the splits- all 3 ways. No one will get this unless they are a former dancer.

4. I cannot fathom a life with no coffee. I just can't. Don't ask me to.

5. I once rode in an elevator with John Black from Days of Our Lives.

There you go. Now the rest of you have to do it too. Mel? Janet? Tee? Elle? MZed? I'm looking at you!

best ever birthday party...

so most of ry's buddies are of the preschool variety. DUH, since that's where he hangs out, it should come as no surprise. I don't know many of their moms, so I felt a little odd having their children come to an event. When the rest of my children were turning 4, they had friends that had come about because I was friends with their mommies. Convenient that we were all having babies at the same time! Ry is a different story. He left all of his built-in friends in Michigan and had to start fresh at the beginning of the school year. I have become friends with one of the moms in his class (she's not in the class, her son is actually, but you get my meaning?) and as luck would have it, her son is one of Ry's best buds. I decided in lieu of a party with children and parents I didn't know all that well, that we'd take Ryan and Joe (his bud) out to lunch and to a movie. We left the older 2 chiclets at grandma's house (because Hannah doesn't have the capacity to allow her brother a day that was about him. She would have spent the day showing off and doing things to bring attention to herself. Since it WASN'T her birthday and all. But I digress...) and Matt and I took the 2 boys out for a day. We went to Steak and Shake because the boys were all about a giant milkshake, and then to Horton Hears A Who. I ADORED the movie and the boys did too. It was a wonderful day and Ry had the time of his life! Best part? It didn't involve any soul- sucking, light-blinking video games, nausea inducing noises, or germ infested party facilities. It could have been one of my top 3 favorite kid birthdays of all time.
Horton got 8 solid thumbs up from us. It will definitely enter our DVD collection ASAP!

four years...

ryan's fourth birthday was this past week. We celebrated in normal style, birthday cake for breakfast, all that good stuff that earns me mom of the year status, even if just for the morning.
Again I find myself in shock that four years have come and gone since my little man of mischief has come into my world. He makes me laugh at least twice a day. He also makes me cringe once or twice a day. It all evens out! I can't imagine the world without him in it. He's a ray of sun, a mess of laughter, all underneath his crazy curly hair.
Happy Birthday little man :)

fresh...

that's what i feel. I love the first few days of spring in Ohio. Those first days of back-to-back 60 & 70 degree days. When you can leave the house and not have to pile on jackets, gloves, hats, boots, etc, etc, etc. My very favorite thing hasn't happened yet, but I think this weekend, I'll get it. The first fresh cut grass. I can wait a few more days. In the meantime I get to open the windows, let the breeze blow in. Spring has o-fficially arrived. Thanks Mother Nature :)

because i *heart* joy...

i forgot how much i missed 'my name is earl' until it aired again last night. I cannot express how very much I love Joy's character . I found this Earl outtake to share. Laugh away.

no fair...

i'm sure in the fine print of the mommy contract i signed there is an illness clause. I'm positive I saw it somewhere. Because ***I*** do not have time to be sick. I got hit by a flu bug Tuesday and yesterday was spent in complete oblivion. I slept about 22 of the 24 hrs available to me. I guess that means I needed it because I feel marginally better today and am not a pool of whiny human like I was yesterday. Thankfully Matt was able to work from home yesterday as I don't know what I would have done if I had to be responsible for my 3 chiclets.
But...in better news...it is warm enough to open windows!! Release germs into the outside world!! Smell the fresh air instead of blah inside air!! Look at the buds peeking up!! It's totally spring!! Do you hear me Mother Nature??????? IT. IS. SPRING. This means no more snow, cold weather, ice, etc. Got it? GOT IT???