Astronomical Wines Event

Just some laid back fun!

The Pink Palace Museum threw a little fundraiser last night. Alcohol and a planetarium show are a great combination! The food was good, the wine was perfect. Robin and Greg loved the vodka teas.

My dear friends and, of course, my good looking man there!

Middle school is a total loss. Burn it down. Start over.

I just have one question? Is there anyone in the county school system who has spent a single day in a REAL business meeting?

We had middle school orientation the other night, and I am pretty convinced now that it is the blind leading the blind there.

FIRST, orientation was two weeks after the first day of school. Maybe they don't understand what orientation is? Maybe they don't know the definition of the word? Either way... strike one.

So we get up there are they are doing a ppt presentation about the process and procedures for interacting with the school. The woman talking couldn't project her voice out of her own shadow, so I sat there a listened to her mumble for 15 minutes.

Then, this almost made me yell at her, she "dismissed" us so we could go to the classrooms. How old do you think I am?

I am here for you to impress me. What are your test results? What is the racial make up of the school? What is the teacher ratios and book fund look like?

Instead she wanted to make sure that we got the grading folders back on Thursdays! Some of the parents had questions, which she couldn't answer, so we waited until someone could go fetch another teacher that could. Way to impress!

So we are DISMISSED and we walk all the way down to the classrooms and they are locked. Go figure! They didn't want us there to begin with! The teacher tells us to meet with the other teachers while she goes and gets the key so Tom I just walked out of the school.

They want parents to volunteer to help out at the school. Tell you want, I will volunteer, but only if I can run the entire orientation program next year.

So the ambulance just left and I am fully consciousness again and the first thing I do? Get on my blog and record this dear diary moment.

I just got THE bomb dropped on me. My little princess, in all of her innocence just informed me that she is giving me permission for Tom and I to get married so we can make her a baby brother.

Upon questioning her, it seems that she just wants another brother and doesn't really want Tom and I to get married. She is just smart enough to realize one is not happening without the other. Whew! At least we got that lesson!!

But the plot thickens....

Prince is also ALL ABOUT having a baby brother! Counting the dogs, Callie and Maya, testosterone is in short supply in our house. Seems the lizards, Spike and Thadius don't factor into this equation.

So let's review, two for baby brother, two so totally freaked out we don't know where to submit the NO ballot.

Feeling at little put on the spot, Tom and I try to explain that we are investing all our time, energy and love into just them. That they are our focus. The kids were crushed, so to pep them up, I maybe let it slip that my friend, Bonney, is pregnant. I might have also promised to babysit the new bundle of joy when it is born in May 2010 so we could play with a real baby.

Anyone else have babies to offer up for some free babysitting? Please!

Get excited, grandma.

We have REAL pictures of the kids!

One of my dearest friends has decided to become a professional photographer. She just got a brand new mega awesome camera and asked me if she could borrow my kids for a shoot. Um... Hell to the ya.

These are just a couple of the amazing photos we got.

She just looks like a princess!

Talk about capturing his essence. This is just SO him.

I just love this one. I can just see him in another 15 years dressing like this. It just makes me want to cry!

So now, grandma, auntie, grandpa.... order away! Go to http://www.jenhowellphotography.blogspot.com/. She is just building this site, so bear with her as she tweaks it and continues to add photos. Your patience will pay off with some breath-taking photos. And for my jealous friends... I will share my secret photo friend. Email her at jhowellphoto@gmail.com.

Silence is better.

For those of you who have seen my post, Sharing the pain, you are pretty up to speed on the saga between X and the children. I scanned and emailed the princess's heart felt message and emailed it to X since he has moved and left no forwarding address, phone number or other way to contact him.

This is the response I received a week later.

Well quiet frankly I am just overwhelmed with your sense of responsibility and deep longing for your child.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME? You couldn't be bothered to write more than a one sentence response to your daughter, who is clearly torn up missing you?

You think I am your god damn operator and you can put breaking her heart off on me? You need to pick up the phone and call her yourself.

In fact, why did you bother to respond at all? Idiot.

The Golden Dollar.

On the way home from Rollercoasters, the kids were playing a game that Prince made up called, Booster. It seems it is some kind of racing game were each child gets to pretend to have some "special ability" that gives them a heads up in the race, like invisibly or something . The winner of the race gets a Golden Dollar.

Princess was NOT impressed with this prize and no longer wanted to play. Prince really tried to sell it by explaining that if you have one golden dollar, you get respect. If you get two golden dollars, that you get respect and rich. If you get three golden dollars then you are famous and if you get four..... well then people just give you money wherever you go.

Peeking Behind the Curtain.

My kids attend a group therapy program for children of divorced parents called, Rollercoasters. It helps them deal with the ups and downs of family life through this transition. My kids love this session and look forward to it every week. For me though, it is just an hour I sit in the lobby because there are NO PARENTS ALLOWED.

Yesterday though, I ran across the street to pick up some school supplies while they were in session. When I came back they were outside drawing pictures on the pavement, so I managed to get a couple of pictures of the group (with permission of course).

What do these pictures tell you about their inner well being? They tell me that we need to also be enrolled in art classes.

IHOP has a kids eat free special, so to make life a little easier, we ate out. His majesty just couldn't resist the allure of a chocolate smiley face platter. And he ate it all.

The Making of Stonehedge

What do my kids do when I am not there? Seems my young prince is working on his next architectural masterpiece.

Who can say no to this face?

The princess and I clowned around a little while we watched our prince play soccer. And just look at all these teeth that are coming in!

Don't you just love those storm clouds in the background?

Ground Control to Major Tom...

Commencing countdown, engines on.

Wait, wait. I like this seat better, has a better view.

Now, BLASTOFF!

Is there an 12 step program for ebay?

I remember I was so proud of the $20 I made on my first sale, even though after buying the box, paying for shipping and the ebay fee I actually only made like $4. Now, I have accumulated almost $200 while by clearing stuff like old cameras, game systems, a computer desk, rugs, etc. out of the attic and the office closet. The kids think this is great. They are just sure that they we are just rolling in money now that we are selling our trash on ebay. They are the first to fetch their unwanted toys and such for me to list... even though most of it just ends up going to Goodwill.

I do admit that maybe I got a little carried away. Like the time stayed up until almost midnight watching the final minutes of on my Yughio cards go past $50 cheering as though it was the Super Bowl. Tom was on the phone with me for a few minutes and quickly realized I was preoccupied.

Tom also felt the need to mention that maybe I have a problem. Before he went out of town for the week, he was compelled to check and make sure that when he came home, I wasn't going to have sold the house for $80. I mean come on... Who sells houses on ebay? The shipping would kill you.

So just to prove I don't have a problem. I decided to take a break from it for awhile. Just not post anything. I was cleaning my room and when I opened up my nightstand drawer and saw it. And old ipod. It works, has a charger, headphones even music on it. I could totally get like $30 for it.

I mean, it is just one more little item. Surely that doesn't count, right?

Sharing the pain.

There is no greater pain than watching someone you love hurt. To some degree, that is just one the burdens of motherhood I guess. Watching your children get hurt, suffer, learn and grow. This letter to their father just breaks my heart. Our little princess poured her soul out during a free moment in school.

My darling little princes, I am sorry he can't get his life together enough to make room for you. That he doesn't want to put the work in to show you how beautiful and wonderful you are. That he can't seem to understand that you need him.

And most of all, I am so sorry he will never understand or appreciate your love.

My only hope is that you will grow up and KNOWING that I do. I appreciate your love for him. I stand it awe of your gifts, your beauty and your brilliant love even if it is spent on those who don't deserve it.

I know that he is just the first of many painful lessons to come in this life. And while I wish you weren't learning this at the age of 7, while I can't stop it no matter how much I want to, please remember that you will NEVER be alone.

Skate PAARRRRRTAY!

Thank you Bethany, for inviting us to the skate party. It might have been the greatest moment of our young lives. They played Thriller which happens to be our favorite Michael Jackson song. Although we totally wrecked trying to dance while skating, it was worth it!!

Hope you had a great birthday!

A glimpse into the mind of a princess.

I learn so much from the worksheets our little princess does in school. For example, I didn't know her favorite hobby was shopping.

I never knew she wanted to visit Texas. I am still not sure why.

Nothing beats, "I do not like fits." When she gets upset, she melts down into "fits". And that is what she is talking about there.

What a sweet and precious child. She is going to grow up to be such an incredible woman. You can see it all starting to sprout here.

Off to the races.

Can you imagine that this is a face that woke up with tears?

That's right. I woke her up and told her today was going to be the first day of school and before her eyes were open there were big crocodile tears rolling down her cheeks. That's ok. Every woman knows that when you are just dreading facing the day, a really cool hair do can make you smile. She just loved it because she thought her hair looked like a flower and that it matched her dress. Ya. That's it. All part of my master plan.

And carrying a book bag that is bigger than her.

Checked on her at lunchtime and she was still a happy camper. And that smile wasn't just from that candy she is eating, she said she had a great first day.

Our big 5th grader, who is now in middle school, went to school all by himself on the first day. This picture isn't his first day because he actually goes to school with Tom since they have to leave before I am ready.

So many changes in his life. They change classes through out the day. They change clothes for gym. They have lockers! Prince was practicing his locker combination all weekend. He came up to me and asked me for a piece of gum. I answered, "yes" but then he continues, "Oh, I know. You want me to do my locker combination for your first!". "Umm. Ok, sure."

The adventures don't stop there. We also started soccer this week. Because they don't have practice at the same time, I took prince to his practice while princess ate dinner with Tom. Then we switched and prince and I are home for dinner while Tom and her majesty take to the field.

Ah, yes. Back to the old routine, wake up, run crazy, hit the bed.

Date Menu

Tom and I are not only trying to raise kids to be happy, healthy, smart, etc. We want them to understand what a loving home environment is. You don't just live together, you work to keep each other happy.

So we have the things that we do with the kids: the soccer, the boy scouts, the girl scouts, the basketball, etc. It keep the kids active, surrounds them with friends they might not meet in school and immerses them in their community. It also keeps us cheering for them, bonded to them, supporting them and getting out of the house together.

And Tom and I do the same for each other with our "date nights". Nevermind that the kids think this is completely ridiculous. Why does Tom have to take mom to a restaurant? Because he is, "hoping mom will kiss him," he explains. Our precious 9 yr old prince thinks it is just silly for a boy to WANT a girl to kiss him, but our little angel finds that sweet and does everything that she can to help support Tom's mission. Including encouraging me to hug and kiss him when it isn't date night.

This weekend, after the school bags were packed, the princess had a freshly painted ceiling and to celebrate Tom being home for a whole week, we planned a date night. I am in the bathroom getting ready when there is a knock at the door and two voices call out in unison, "SPECIAL DELIVERY". I open the door and they present my "date menu" and tear off down the hall. Rena calls back over her shoulder, "it's from TOM."

Tom not only gave me a list of restaurants to choose from, but did the research for the movies in our area. He went through all of the trouble to tape the two sheets together so it folded like a book. I'm impressed.

We went to Fresh Slices for dinner and saw "The Ugly Truth". What a great date!

Contractor Extraordinaire

And so begins the series of repairs from the latest misfortunes with the plumbing. This weekend, we started her majesty's room. This leak is from the water heater.

I am sure that we could have hired a painter and it would have taken him like an hour, but instead I thought, it is the ceiling in the smallest room in the house. I will just go ahead and paint the whole thing. And what a great opportunity to choose a slightly warmer color! Brilliant, right? One gallon of paint, 3 different roller brushes, a foam brush and 24 hours later, my masterpiece is complete.

Say wha?

One of the best parts of being a mother is watching your children grow. That doesn't mean that you always understand them.

Encouraging the princess

Yesterday at daycare, one of the teachers french braided our little angel's hair. She LOVED it and wanted it to be done just like that again. Well I haven't braided hair in like... 10 years. This is the best I could do, but I still have a happy customer.

What it means to be understood.

Our vet has a little offer where owners bring their dogs in every Tuesday and have their nails trimmed. I have finally gotten into a habit of taking both Maya, the 3 year old Chihuahua who HATES the vet, and Callie, the 8 month old Westie who LOVES the vet. Needless to say I am sure that I provide the day's entertainment for the staff with Callie trying to drag me around the store to chase her little cat friend and Maya who spends the whole time shivering with fear trying to climb into my shirt to hide.

Tom was out of town but saw on the calendar that I was taking them. This is our text thread.

Tom: "Hey hun, how did the dog's trip to the vet go?"

Me: "Like always. It ended with me threatening to kill them in the parking lot."

Tom: "Well at least there were no surprises..."

Tom knows... this is how we roll.

Kitchen woes

I hate grocery shopping. It's boring, usually crowded and I feel like I just buy the same things every week. Granted I have a lot of factors working against me: my kids are pretty picky eaters, my gift is not the culinary arts and we have no time to experiment with a bunch of new recipes. AND let's not forget that Tom hates cleaning up the kitchen after I have attempted to "cook". But I hate eating the same foods over and over again. I don't like creating meals. I just want to mix them. Take the pre-made bread, cut holes in the tops, pour in the soup and hola! You know, meals like that. Say, that is a good one. (Note to self, Weds. is soup bowl night.)

So I have attempted to find some joy in this weekly ritual. I have really gotten into the coupon shopping and challenge myself to beat my savings every week. I scour the weekly ads, clip coupons, print coupons, add discounts to my Kroger Plus Card from Cellfire, Shortcuts.com and CouponMom. That was entertaining for a couple of weeks. But it takes A LOT of effort. I probably spend two hours a week matching offers with sales and stores to create my weekly menu.

Wouldn't it be the BEST sales idea ever if in the weekly grocery adds, on those little side flaps they took all of their sale items and featured dinner recipes for each night of the week? Hot damn. I would be all over it. I would just start calling the store and having it delivered. Yes... I'll take your week of specials, no Monday and two Fridays, please? (note Kroger CEO's, this blog is dated. I WILL notice if you rip off this idea).

So this week I have created my own "sales specials" meals. Sorry in advance for the mess, hun.

My first attempt: poached chicken in an avocado sauce, sweet potato and carrot pancakes and a salad. See it sounds good on paper, but didn't really work out. 1. The chicken is suppose to be served cold. I am not so much of a fan of cold meat. 2. The pancakes turned out more like hash browns. I really need a grater. 3. NEVER, EVER serve my kids anything with a green sauce. You are just wasting your time. I forgot that little rule, but don't worry, I wrote it down this time.

My associate chefs were also feeling creative and broke out the easy bake over for some homemade pretzels.

This is a glimpse of the masterpiece before they went into the oven. They looked better coming out, but didn't taste very good. That wasn't the important part though. Rolling the dough was the best!! Or maybe it was painting them with the brown sauce. Either way it definitely wasn't the waiting for 10 minutes for every single pretzel to cook.