Just a weekend

David had the kids this weekend. He took Jason and Jessica up to Columbus, GA, Saturday for a soccer play date. I traded vehicles with him Friday night so they could travel in the Jeep.

David's truck is on its last leg. Actually it should have died a painful death years ago but for some unknown reason it is still running.

David has never wanted me to drive the truck because it could break down at any time, but he agreed because he had no choice. He couldn't take a chance of driving it to Columbus. Besides, I assured him, I wouldn't need to use it much so there wouldn't be any problems.

I drove it to Dale's Friday night. I was kind of worried that I would make it. The truck's engine sputtered every time I stopped at a light and it had absolutely no pickup. It was all I could do to get it to go 60 mph. I didn't dare pull out in front of anyone, not even if they were aways away. And the lack of side mirrors made it that much more hard to drive.

On my way home Saturday afternoon, I got a flat tire coming off I-10. I was sitting at a light when the man next to me told me my tire was flat. It went flat fast because I stopped at that light with a full tire, and when it turned green and I stopped at the next light it was flat. So I pulled off into the first gas station I could find and called AAA. Thank GOD for AAA; it's so worth the $57 membership!

I called David to tell him what had happened. After he calmed down enough to listen, I asked him where the spare tire was. It's in your garage, he said. WHAT?

Well what do you want me to do? Have AAA tow the truck to my house and have them put the tire on? Or, tow me to a tire store (which I had no clue where one was nearby)? He couldn't answer me.... all he could say was do what I thought best.

After about 45 minutes, the AAA tech showed up. He put enough air in the tire so I could follow him around the corner to a Discount Tire store.

I then proceeded to spend the next 2 hours waiting for a new tire to be put on.

My whole Saturday wasn't ruined, however, because Dale came over and cooked me Etouffe with crawfish and shrimp. It was fantastic. It was such a treat to have him cook dinner for me... and he can really cook! Later we watched the FSU football game... yes I actually watched football.

Today, he mowed my lawn for me. This man is so sweet.

Cell-out

I did it.

I have become one of the millions.

One of the millions who have a "cell" phone.

Okay, I have had a cell phone for several years... a prepaid one. I bought it when I went to New York City the first time. It made sense to make calls on it rather than pay the outrageous hotel fees, plus I would have something for emergencies.

I have been using this phone for 4 years now. At first, I never used it. But as time went by, it was convenient to have.

Really convenient.

I would be in Publix and need to ask a question about something and I would be able to just call home and ask... No second-guessing.

Over time, my need to use it increased. I had it on in the car after work so the kids could call. I had it on when I went anywhere away from the kids.

I found myself adding $10 every week. I finally had to ask myself... "What is the point in having a prepaid cell phone that costs almost as much as a 'real' cell phone?"

In addition, the kids had been harping on me to get their own cell phone. And they were relentless in their pursuit.

You don't need one, I would say over and over, like a broken record. My logic was unheard however. According to them, it wasn't fair. All of their friends had a cell phone. It's true, unfortunately, but that doesn't mean I will cave and get them one.....

Until yesterday.

I went to Sprint. David has his cell with Sprint and is very happy. I went down there with the intention of getting myself a phone... myself only.

But after about 15 minutes, I ended up getting the kids a phone.... I broke down and got the FAMILY plan.

God help me, I caved..... but the kids are so happy. And I am happy too, I have to admit.

The phones are all alike, except for the color. Mine is blue, Jessie's is pink, and Jason's is black.

I can see the value of them having a phone now. God, I am SO brainwashed I know. But I can see it.

Birthday girl

Jessie turned 13 yesterday. She's finally a TEEN!! Well technically she's been a teen since she turned 10 but now the sound of teen is in her age.

We celebrated this past Saturday. She had two friends come over for a sleepover. They played music and made up dance routines all day. It really brought back memories of when Laurie and I used to make up dance routines and cheers.

Her bootie included...

Two Webkins animals (a dog and an elephant)... Webkins is apparently the new Beanie Baby. For a mere $14.00 you get a stuffed Beanie Baby-like creature but the difference is that you adopt the creature and can go to the Webkins website and play games, etc., online.

It was funny because I knew she wanted a Webkin very badly, so I went to Blue Abaco to buy her one. They did the gift wrapping very nicely in a white bag with pink and white tissue paper. But the bag had their name and logo on it and I knew if she saw the "Blue Abaco" logo she would immediately know what was in the bag. She was the one who told me that Webkins were sold there.

So, being the crafty person that I am, I taped an index card with her name written on it over the Blue Abaco logo. She would never know now!!

Then her friend Morgan arrived with the EXACT same bag!!! And the sticker was showing!! God, I thought to myself, she's gonna know for sure now. I mean the bag was identical... same tissue paper and all. However, Jessie must have been too excited to notice, because she never picked up on it. While she was opening Morgan's bag, I was praying that it wasn't the same Webkin!!

She also received...

Some clothes from Grandma Jill that look fabulous on her. One such item is a black skirt that swishes and sways when she walks. It's scary to see my daughter with hips, I tell you.

Gift cards to Claire's and Justice for Girls from dad.

A CD of Hannah Montana, the latest in tween music. Actually she's very good. She is the daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus, if you remember him.... Achy Breaky Heart.

A Nintendo DS and game called Nintendo Dogs. Actually she is buying the Nintendo DS with money from her grandparents, but I went ahead and bought it for her in advance so she would have something to play the game on.

She had a very good birthday I think. Here are some pics.

Trying

There is only so much in life that I can take.

I am trying to get divorced.

I am trying to deal with two teenage children who are challenging.... SO challenging.

I am trying to date a man who means so much to me.

I am trying to get dad to spend more time with the kids.

I am trying to work full time.

I am trying to get the kids counseling.

I am trying to be a better parent.

I am trying... I am trying.

But yet, I feel like I am failing.

Leaning to drive

Today, on my way to work, as I was sitting at a traffic light staring vaguely ahead and singing to my CD, I noticed a car coming from the opposite direction making a u-turn. The car was white. An older model car, big like a Cadillac, and it was leaning very much towards the passenger's side.

It was so lopsided that I thought the car would surely flip over. But it didn't. It looked like someone had jacked up the driver's side so that it towered above the passenger side.

And after the driver completed the u-turn, the car stayed that way. I thought it must have had a whole lot of weight on the passenger side to keep it down like that.

It really looked odd.

The light turned green and as I passed the car, I looked over and noticed that there was a VERY large woman holding a baby in the passenger seat.

Arrr, it's Talk Like A Pirate Day.... again!!

Thanks to my cousin's blog for a reminder that today is Talk Like A Pirate Day. I love this day. Here is my pirate name. I think it suits me. What do you think?

My pirate name is:

Mad Anne Flint

Every pirate is a little bit crazy. You, though, are more than just a little bit. Like the rock flint, you're hard and sharp. But, also like flint, you're easily chipped, and sparky. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
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Bite the bullet

I have got to get a dryer. My dryer died a few months ago and I have avoided making a decision about whether to have it repaired (new motor) or to buy a new one or to buy a used one. So in the interim, I have been using a clothesline in the back yard.

I don't really mind hanging out the clothes actually, except for the times I did and went somewhere and it rained (that has happened twice) or the fact that I cannot just do laundry whenever I want... I have to wait for sun! The problem is that don't have enough line to hang everything any more and there is no where else to put line.

My back yard looks like a danger zone as it is already and I am sure the neighbors are less than thrilled. There is clothesline strung over every available inch of usable space, zig zagging in every direction. I have to be careful not to decapitate myself when I am mowing.

Today, as I was hanging out my second load, I ran out of line. I began to think about what was different. Why did I run out of room? I still had two loads left to wash.

Then I noticed that the majority of the clothes belonged to Jessica... way more clothes than she would wear a week, so I decided to count them. She had 16 shirts and 10 pants/shorts/skirts for one week! When is she wearing all these clothes?

If I had a dryer, I wouldn't have to deal with lack of space to hang clothes, or rain, or embarrassing my children because my underwear is viewable out the back door.

It's time to just bite the bullet and get a dryer.

Birthday continued

We celebrated Jason's birthday formally today. David, mom, and aunt Jeannie came over. I told them to come between noon and 1:00 pm, so naturally they showed up at 11:00 am. Mom made a chocolate cake (organic) and brought the candles.


Jason got lots of nice presents: a tennis racket and balls; a soccer ball pump kit, a mini soccer ball for juggling, clothes, a lava lamp, and the biggie present, a 19" LCD flat panel TV. He was floored by the TV.


Jason told me afterwards it was one of the best birthdays he's had in a long time. Tonight we went to the FSU Women's soccer game. They won against Auburn 3-0. He met his friends Sam and Ben there and they came home with us to spend the night.

They are all in his room now playing soccer.

Birthday boy

The boy turned 15 today. I can hardly believe he is that old. We will celebrate tomorrow with cake and presents, but tonight he opened one present from me.... a mouse for his laptop.



He loves the one I bought myself a few weeks ago and I thought I bought the exact same one, but turns out I didn't. So I gave him my mouse and took his new one. Now I have to get used to it or take it back. It's not as nice and is thinner and harder to fit in my hand. I may be taking it back, actually.

On another note, an obviously out-of-tune note, this was the reaction I got when I sang happy birthday to him.

Spot's revenge, part 2

I knew it as soon as I opened the door to the garage this morning. Spot whizzed past my leg and into the kitchen at 90 miles per hour headed straight for the food dish.

Crap, I thought out loud, Spot was trapped in the garage all night. I immediately smelled confirmation.

He pooped.

I quickly checked the roof of my Jeep, pleased to find nothing. I looked around some more and eventually located his "revenge" behind the washer.

Waiting in Jacksonville

This past weekend we went to a soccer tournament in Jacksonville. Jason's team won for their age bracket (U15) and that was great... but it was a LONG weekend. Rain forced the Saturday afternoon games to be cancelled and rescheduled, which, in turn, caused the games scheduled for Sunday to be pushed back and so on and so on. As a result, we spent much of the weekend either waiting for the rain to stop or waiting for the game ahead of us to finish because it started late. It was very frustrating to say the least but there were some funny moments.


Waiting around for a game to begin.

When there is lightening, a siren sounds, games are immediately stopped, and everyone is supposed to retreat to their cars for 20 or 30 minutes. Three short sirens indicate when it is safe to resume play.

On Sunday, while waiting for the girls team playing before us to complete their game, which started late, the sky got very dark and we heard thunder in the distance. We knew what was coming and were bummed because of the rain delays that had occurred already and we hadn't even gotten to play yet. Sure enough, right at the end of the girls' game, the siren went off. We went to our cars and the boys kind of stood around in front talking. It wasn't raining, nor was there any more thunder, but we had to wait for the three sirens.

About 20 minutes into the wait a car alarm began going off. At the same time, the referees took the field and the boys followed. I overheard someone say that it was the three sirens and I said, "Isn't that a car alarm?" No one replied, so we piled onto the stands happy that we could finally watch some soccer.

About 30 seconds into the game, the siren went off. Everyone in the stands began booing and awwwing. Then another siren went off... then another. We quickly realized that it was the three "okay to come back" sirens and busted out laughing because the refs and boys had mistaken the car alarm as the siren. Note, they sound nothing alike!