Early Checkout

I checked the boys out of school today at 1:30 so we could hit the road and head to Franklin, TN to visit some friends. I put my truck in the shop on Monday hoping I would have it back by today but they never called to say it was ready. What a bummer! So the kids and I had to take Brian's Lexus which he is a total freak about. We can't eat, drink, touch anything in that car. What a nightmare to spend 4 hours with the kids each way. Plus it has no TV. Luckily Brian won a lot of free personal DVD players when he worked in Finance so we just took those.

After checking them out we went home, dropped off their backpacks, then hit the road. I really wanted to make it before rush hour in Nashville. We only made one stop about 30 miles outside of Nashville and the kids were starving. I bought them a bag of chips but was worried they would mess up Brian's car so I only let them eat a few. I knew he would kill me if they made a huge mess. We got into Nashville right at 5:00 so the afternoon traffic wasn't so bad. We met at a place called Monkey Joe's. It had tons of bouncy houses and arcade games so the kids could burn off a lot of energy. The kids were so excited to see each other and picked up exactly where they left off. Their Mom Alley and I did exactly the same. Joey the little boy was in Austin's Kindergarten class from August until October. They also went to the same preschool and played together every M,W,F and Alley and I usually did something together on T, Th so our kids saw each other almost everyday. We were devastated when they moved.

On the bright side, Brian's work opened a dealership in Murfressboro which is only 30 minutes away from them. He has to go up there every other week so the kids and I have a free place to stay! Nothing like the word "free" right:-)

We left Monkey Joes around 7:30 then headed to our hotel. The boys have never stayed in a hotel so they didn't really know what to expect. Brian was already there so I text him when we were in the parking lot and he came down to meet us. He had to help us carry all of the CRAP the boys have to take out of town. It's so rediculous! We cleaned out the car then headed up to the room. If you have ever been to the Embassy Suietes on Ridgeway, this Embassy Suites is the exact same way. As soon as the automatic doors opened Kaleb said at the top of his voice "Wow, this is so fancy". I whispered to him "than act fancy".

We made it to the glass elevater suspended in water then headed up to the 7th floor. Once arriving at our room the kids ran straight to the bedroom and said "here's our room where are y'all sleeping." Brian and I laughed and said no, that's our room and y'all are sleeping on the couch. You should have seen their faces. We're sleeping on the couch? What??? Brian took the cushions off and told them to get there jammies on. I packed them on top because I knew we would need them first. They stripped down and had clothes all over the place within about 10 seconds flat. We weren't in the room 5 minutes before the room was trashed. How do kids do that?

I made them pickup there clothes and Kaleb said "Okay, where's the laundry shoot". Brian and I just looked at each other like what the crap. We told him there was no laundry shoot and he said "I thought we had maids in hotels". I laughed and said put it in the bag so I can take it home and wash it. I'm the maid! Then he wanted some water so he could drink out of the fancy glass cups in the bathroom. The first thing he asked for was where's the refridgerator with the icemaker. I told him there was a sink and he could drink tap water with no ice. Then Austin noticed there was only one bathroom. He said " Oh my goodness, do we all have to share the same one". They are spoiled brats! Brian and I were laughing so hard at them. Can you imagine if we took them camping! They have got it way too easy.

HOMEWORK

I absolutely hate homework. I picked the kids up from school at 4:00, came straight home, and dug my heals in. We didn't get done until 7:15! I did spelling words with Kaleb, while Austin helped me cook dinner. Then spelling words with Austin while we ate dinner. I'm so sick of spelling words I could scream!!!
With both of them bringing stuff home, its tough to fit it all in. The hard part is being a single parent at this stage in the kids life. They need a parent to sit with them the entire time their doing homework. Don't get me wrong, I am married but Brian doesn't get home till 7:30 so all the homework/enrichment is on my plate. The kids go to bed at 8:00 so I want them done with everything by at least 7. Kaleb's homework gets harder every week and I've found that I now have to Google some answers and he's only in second grade. Plus since Austin tested second grade reading, his enrichment has gone through the roof! I'm so thankful he's excelling but its a lot of responsibility. Of coarse you want to do whats best for your child but then again it makes you feel sorry for the kid. Since he's "advanced" he has to work harder and has double the homework the other kids have. What happened to playing outside and actually having a life? He has to read at least one book every night(which I don't thinks bad). Sometimes we both just want a night of pizza, movies, and snuggles. Ugh, why can't both of them be back in preschool:-(

Of coarse being a stay at home Mom is so easy. I seriously want to punch people in the face that say that.

Go Tigers!!

Brian and I have awesome season tickets to the University of Memphis basketball games. Tonight they played Tennessee and it was completely packed. I've NEVER seen that many people at a game, ever! It was crazy. Hardly any Tennessee fans were there but 2 of the minute few had to sit behind us. Just our luck! Oh well, at least we kicked their butts:-) I thought we would get ours kicked but the Tigers finally showed up. I'm so grateful that my parents watch the kids so I get to do fun things like this. It actually makes me feel young. Who would have thought:-)

Back to school with new clothes

This morning I finally ironed some of their new "Christmas" clothes. I took both of them shopping on Christmas break and let them pick out what they wanted. Stressing that the clothes were from Mom and Dad because they always say we never get them anything for Christmas. Too bad the man with the big beard and belly gets all the credit:-)

I've never done that and I have to tell you, it was a lot of fun! I always get what I want and never let them have an opinion. They were all sassy about their clothes and wanted to dress like the mannequins. Austin wore 3 shirts today! Apparently layering is the "in" thing. All I could think about was how much laundry I'm gonna have to do! Who wears 3 shirts to school? I do have to admit though, they were sooooo handsome!!!!!!!!

Facebook

I've decided to cancel my Facebook account. I spend way too much time on it worrying about everyone else and not enough time worrying about my family and home. I did not drop all of you as friends, I just decided to take a break. Until I get my house the way I want it, I will not be getting back on. Have fun playing in the drama without me:-)

Back to Reality

Today was the kids first day back to school from Christmas break. I truly enjoyed them being home and hated to see them go this morning. They were in good spirits and excited to see all their friends. We walked into school with three of our neighbors so it wasn't so bad.

I had great intentions of getting my bedroom and bathroom cleaned today but that didn't happen. One of my friends called and I was on the phone for an hour, then Brian came home for lunch. Before I knew it, it was 2:00 and I still hadn't worked out or gone to the grocery. Whew, I guess I'll try again tomorrow. I'm so ready to be productive. I did get a path cleared so if I have to get up in the middle of the night, I at least won't trip over anything.

After school I took the kiddos to the gym. It was so cold outside and we had nothing else to do. If we go straight home from school, the kids just want to play Wii or watch TV. I'm so tired of them being lazy. At least at the gym they get to play inside with their friends. But I do hate leaving them again.......

I should've checked their backpacks before we went to the gym. Both of them had about 45 minutes of homework and Brian had a dinner to go to. I have to sit with each of them the entire time so it’s a LONG hour and a half for me. I do Kaleb's first because it’s the hardest, but my goodness. I wish the stories he has to read weren't so long and boring. I do know everything about George Washington Carver though. Plus, every page he reads he has to check to see how many pages he has left. If he spent more time reading than worrying about when he will be done he would save at least 10 minutes.

2nd go at it

I took the boys rollar skating for the first time on 12/27 and they had an absolute blast! They've never shown any interest in it before but when one of my really good friends invited us to go, I said yes. Since then they have not stopped talking about it. I knew I had to take them one more time before school started back so I decided to take them today. I asked some friends to join us and it turned out to be like a party. The wives took the kids skating then we went home, got the husbands, and all of us went to La Hacienda for some margaritas. We let the kids have a table to themselves and they thought that was the coolest thing. It's the little things in life that make you feel special. I know all of our kids did today and thats what life is all about.