Mission Sunday: It's Personal

When she was 6 and meeting my parents for the first time, they asked what she wanted to be when she grew up. "A Pediatrician."

*****

When she was 11 she came home from youth group one night and said that she was called to be a medical missionary to Sudan, Africa.

*****

At 13 she was a part of a youth mission group that went to Guatemala for 2 1/2 weeks.

*****

At 20, her dreams will begin to come true. This is the organization that will take my baby to Africa on the first of many journeys to that far off land.


Malawi Mountian Project - Water Wells For Africa from WaterWellsForAfrica Org on Vimeo.

*****

As her mother I have a dozen emotions about this, but it all boils down to this: Missions is her calling, and God would not have called her if He didn't intend on keeping her safe. So I trust that He will be as faithful to her as she is to Him. As much as her father and I love her, God loves her more. It's that simple, yet that complicated.

*****
For 6 1/2 weeks this summer our girl will be in Africa: helping with medical clinics, at water well dedications, ministering to the people of Malawi, doing youth programs.

If you would like to partner with her in for this trip, here are a couple of ways you can help:

Pray: We are all called to pray for missionaries. Will you add the team to your prayers for the months of June and July?  If you would like to officially be a prayer partner with us, please email me (headlessfamily5 at gmail dot com) and I can give you more details of the trip and some specific things that the team has asked for us to pray for.

Give: Some are called to give, and if this is you, here are a few ways to do so.
Water Wells For Africa: Donations page. (They accept Pay Pal. Easy!)
Send Ben to Africa One young man's unique way to raise the money for the trip. Ben will be shooting a documentary of the WWFA work while he is on the trip.

*****
You see? It's personal.

Good Start, It's the Finish that Needed a Little Help

Today I planted flowers and cleaned the kitchen... all before 9:30 am.

Then I helped the boys to clean up a mess on the back patio before the gardeners got here. Showered. Went to Costco.

[Note to self: Do Not take the entire family to Costco ever again. I totally could have gotten out of there for HALF the cost.]

...and after that? I kinda putzed out. HD went to another store for the few things that we couldn't buy at Costco. I helped him fix dinner while sipping my wine.

I made the kids do the dishes.

There's always tomorrow.

Getting Busy

I'm keeping myself accountable, people.

Here's what I got done today:

• ALL of the ironing, except what was washed today.
• ALL of the clothes washed and folded, about 6 loads.
• swept and mopped: kitchen and dining rooms.
• cleaned the kitchen and ran/emptied the dishwasher.

I've been on my feet all day and I'm pooped, but I did it.

Check in all weekend because come hell or high water I'm going to work like this ALL weekend long. I'm not going to be paralyzed anymore.

Gush

I have awesome kids. No, they are not perfect, but damn, are they good at school.

Headless Boy #1's report card:
Reading: A
Writing: A
Math: A
Social Studies: A
Science:A
Teacher Notes: "[Headless Boy #1] is a wonderful young man and and I am happy to have had him in my class this year. He has made many fine contributions to our class and is an inspiration to his classmates. With his friendly, cooperative attitude he will always be a pleasant addition to any class. I know that [he] will be successful at whatever he attempts in the future."

Headless Boy #2's report card:
Reading: A
Writing: B
Math: A
Teacher Notes: "[HB#2] continued to progress well through the third trimester. His bench mark scores and grades indicate that he has mastered third grade curriculum. He should feel very proud of his consisteent effort throughout the year. He was a joy to have in class and will be missed. Good Luck in fouth grade, [HB#2]!"

We are so proud of both of them!

Paralyzed

It happens several times a year. I've got a sh*t-ton of things to do and a perceived little time in which to get them done. Currently on the To-Do list:

• Clean the kid's bedrooms, rearrange furniture, hang pictures, etc.
• Deep clean the living room. And I mean deep, since it hasn't been done since the flood. (I know. I did say paralyzed, though, didn't I?) The dust is EPIC.
• Clean and prep my room for painting. The (second to) last frontier in Operation Eradicate The Pink.
• Finish planting: the pots for the front of the house, the pots on our back patio, the front flower bed, the side "experiment" flower bed, the flower bed in the center of our front yard. (This doesn't count the other areas that need to be completely dug up and re-landscaped.)
• Get Headless Girl packed for her 6 week mission trip to Africa. (I didn't mention that? I will. I deserves a whole post on it's own.)
• Get ready for my own trip to Las Vegas next weekend.

There's probably more but my head just exploded.

But did you notice? Up there? I said perceived.

I am a housewife. A stay-at-home-mom. Yes, I have lots of responsibilities, but I also have a ton of freedom. Don't want to do the laundry today? No problem! It will still be there tomorrow. Would rather spend an hour surfing blogs? Hey, the dishes just phoned and they said they'll wait for you. I, literally, have all day to choose how, what, and in what order I get things done. There in lies the problem: there is so much to do, so many things calling my name, (yes, including the husband and children!,) that I have a difficult time doing ANYTHING,  and I trick myself into a panic attack just thinking about all that I need to be doing. Paralyzing.

And utterly ridiculous. For the last 3 or 4 months I have been watching my husband bust his ass at work. There have been a few changes, several new projects, and more than a few new responsibilities, and here I sit thinking I'm 'paralyzed'. And that is just wrong. And selfish.

So today begins what (I hope,) will be the start of a new chapter for me. It's the last day of school for the kids, so today will be all about fun for them, but for me? I'll be starting. I'll prioritize and just START.

To hell with Paralyzed. I'm better than that and my family deserves more.

(Minor) Phillies

Last night was the last game of the regular season for my boys. It was great.... HB#1 pitched the first no-hit inning of the night and HB#2 hit a big RBI. This season has been so fun!

Honestly, I love baseball. I love Little League. I love OUR Little League.

Playoffs begin next Tuesday. It's a 2-week, double elimination tournament, so we have at least 2 more games. I'm thinking we'll have at least 3 more games. (Our boys are on a streak. Yay!)

What activities do your kids do that you love?

Go-To Meals: Chicken Divan

We all have them: the go-to meals that we love, that are easy, and that our kids will actually eat! This is one of my favorites from my childhood. My mom made it a lot, which was fine with me because the left-overs are terrific.

Chicken Divan

Broccoli (2 10 oz packages, frozen, or fresh), cooked. (I use my steamer and slightly under cook it.)
3-4 boneless chicken breasts, cooked

Sauce: Combine:

2 cans cream of chicken soup ( I use the low fat/low sodium variety.)
1 cup mayo (Again, I use lite mayo.)
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. curry powder

Directions:
Cook the chicken. (I freeze the broth in ice cube trays to use in other recipes later.)

Cook the broccoli. (In the photo I used a large bag of frozen florets, but typically I get fresh and use most of the stems, too.)

While the chicken and broccoli are cooking, mix up the sauce.

Slice or chunk the chicken and add it to the sauce.

Alternately, you can just layer the ingredients in a large baking pan. Mine is a 9x13 pyrex. Broccoli, chicken, sauce. Spread the sauce around to cover the broccoli.

Top with 1/2 cup shredded cheddar and bread crumb mixture. (1/2 cup soft bread crumbs mixed with 1 tablespoon of melted butter.)

Bake in 350 oven for 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly. Serve with white rice.

Enjoy!!

Five Fabulous Friends

Thanks to Trop50 for sponsoring my writing about fabulous bloggers. This year Trop50 is granting 50 Fabulous Wishes. Click here to enter for a chance to win $1,000 to celebrate a friend with a refreshing attitude about looking and feeling fabulous!


For years before I started blogging, I really felt alone. Not in the literal sense, but in the "I'm drowning in diapers" sense. Yes I had a few friends, but most of them were long distance, so getting together over coffee wasn't quite that easy! Once I found blogs, a whole world opened up to me that I only vaguely knew of. All of a sudden I was able to make connections all over the world, and commenting was a great way to stay connected, especially when I only had a few minutes to spare.

Me and Carmen, BlogHer '09

 The first blogger that ever responded to one of my comments was Carmen of Mom to the Screaming Masses. She was fabulous then, and continues to be fabulous. Through thick and thin our friendship has grown and she is one friend that I know I couldn't do without.

Busy Mom, JavaJenn, and Liz. Photo shamelessly stolen from Liz's Flickr. They may kill me for using this picture.

Amazingly, these three fabulous women have taken me in, (like I'm homeless or something?,) and I'm lucky to have them on my side, day in and day out.

Elizabeth writes at Busy Mom and we have bonded over our oldest children, (girls!,) and a wry sense of humor: she writes it and I laugh at her. She is my voice-of-reason sounding board; every girl needs that friend in the mix! We even went to the same university. Well, she was there a year after me, (long story,) but still! Same place!

Jenn is a tall glass of Texas Sweet Tea. We bonded over drinks at BlogHer '09 in San Fransisco in the wee hours of the morning on the front steps of the hotel. How many people can say that? She writes one of the oldest and most respected mommy blogs, Mommy Needs Coffee, and is always there to be supportive to me, and anyone close to her. I missed seeing her last summer and can't wait to see her this year.

Recently, Liz and I found out that we have one of those eerie, "what a small world" connections. Liz lives in New Jersey and I live in California, but apparently an entire country couldn't stop her niece and my daughter from going to the same high school and being on the cheerleading squad together. We only make fun of her "Joisey" accent because she lets us. Kinda. You can find Liz blogging at This Full House.

Stacey and Babynater at BlogHer '10. Photo by me.

The other fabulous thing that blogging has done for me is opened my eyes to things that I never would have seen, much less understood. Stacey of Is There Any Mommy Out There? is one of those writers that should be getting paid the BIG bucks. (Shouldn't we all?) She is informative, poigniant, and pee-your-pants funny. I've learned so much from her...mostly that no, I don't want a dog like Hampton Noodle.

Blogging has made my life infinitely more fabulous by introducing me to these amazing women. Who is on your Fabulous list?

Don't forget to enter the 50 Fabulous Wishes contest for a chance to win $1,000 to celebrate a friend with a refreshing attitude about looking and feeling fabulous. I was selected for this Tropicana Trop50 sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do. I received compensation to use and facilitate my post.

American Idol-Top 3

So this is it. Scotty, Lauren, and Haley. I'm highly disappointed that James didn't make the top 3, especially over Haley, but he will certainly have a great career. I just hope he has a great mentor to guide him. He seems so young; I'd hate to see him get eaten alive by the business before he has a chance to really make a name for himself.

OK, so they get to pick their own song from their own idol for round 1. Let's go!

Scotty: Amazed by LoneStar. He did a fantastic job and like Beyonce said, he really showed off his range well. Who knew that he could go that high? Such a cute kid.

Lauren:  She's a Wild One by Faith Hill. She seems a little winded...going too fast for the music, maybe? Or is it her nerves? Honestly, she's not breathing at all! She sounded good but couldn't keep up, it seems.

Haley: What is and What Should Never Be by Led Zeppelin. Wow. Strange song choice, but let's see how it goes. Eew. I'm not a Zepplin fan so I didn't like it at all but Headless Dad is a fan and he liked it. I guess that one is a toss up! So cool that her Daddy got to play with her tonight, though.

Round 1 to Scotty!

Round 2: Songs chosen by Jimmy. I'm kinda excited for this. Jimmy knows music and has worked with them enough to know what they'll sing well.

Scotty: Are You Going to Kiss Me or Not?  Huh. I don't actually think it's a great choice for Scotty. Sure, it fits, but it just didn't fire me up. Not seeing the same thing that the judges are, I guess.

Lauren: If I Die Young  So so so much better this round. She is so much more relaxed and happy. First chills of the night. Finally! Lauren is my hands-down favorite of the final three. HB#1 says that Lauren should win.  Sidenote: Her audition is my all-time favorite of any year of Idol, ever. Wasn't that the best when she told Steven to sing with her?

Haley: Rhiannon I actually got chills from Haley for the first time this season. She departed from the original version and that was good because she made it her own. HD said "very sexy".

Round 2 to Haley!

Round 3: Judges choice

Scotty: She Believes In Me  He finally caught me when he got to the chorus. He's going to be a Nashville star, no doubt. Very nice, Scotty, and the judges agree with me.

Lauren: I Hope You Dance  She did very nice. Good song choice for her. I'm concerned about her outfit choices. The dress looks a little too Disney Princess to me. Thoughts?

Haley: You Oughta Know  Yes! Alannis! Um, not quite for Haley. It isn't working for me so far but she is kicking it up in the chorus. I didn't really like it and the arm flailing has got to go. Seriously. Stop.

Round 3 to Lauren!

My Top 2: Lauren and Scotty. I have to stick with my feelings from all season on this. I like Haley ok, I see her talent, but she's just not my style. I'm sure she will have a career in music, but Lauren and Scotty have wider appeal.

Phew. It's been a long night? What did you think?

Wordless Wednesday: Sam Boyd Stadium

Jumping on the Random Bandwagon!

I have to write something to push those awful, angsty posts down some. To update, No, we're not headed for divorce court. We, like many other couples, have our cycles, and you have just witnessed one of the down cycles. It doesn't happen very often. I have never written about it before, and we snap out of it quickly. Someday I may write about it more thoroughly because I think I've learned a lot and have some wisdom to share, but not today. Oh no, not today. Today is for the Random.

• School is out one week from tomorrow (Wednesday). I'm not ready for non-stop fighting. Hold me, please.
• Mother Nature apparently didn't get the message that it is SPRING and we live in SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. The cold and rain has GOT to STOP. I'm normally the one that loves cold weather but if you've been keeping track, we had: a freezing cold June '10, a cool summer, no deadly heat wave, a rainy fall, an exceptionally rainy and cold winter, and it hasn't stopped. I JUST WANT A LITTLE SUNSHINE AND WARMTH. please?
• I really hate May. The end of school parties, end of baseball parties, end of scouts parties, park days, party days, assemblies, all of it. And everything requires $5 for this and $10 for that, or send snacks or drinks or, or, or, OR. All while I'm trying to enjoy my last few days of solitude. *sigh*
• I need to download a bunch of pictures. 
• I'm torn about James being voted off American Idol. I would have preferred Haley to go, but she's been improving for the last few weeks so I'm not surprised. I still stand by my post, and think that Lauren should win so she will have the extra layer of protection that being the Idol winner will give her for the first year or 2 of her career.
• Why would an amusement park close at 6pm on a Friday night? Honestly. Friday is going to be a beautiful day and I wanted to take the kids to Knott's and they close at 6. I'm SO not driving all that way, paying for parking, and only getting to spend 2 hours and drive home in rush hour traffic. Nope, not gonna do it.
• My parents are headed to New Orleans for a family wedding. Just in time for the flooding! Yay! Join me in being worried, won't you?
• Speaking of my parents, my brother wrote a spectacular piece about my mom. Go check it out!

Your turn! Tell me something random from your life right now...

Who Wins?

Not long ago when my parents were visiting my mom and I were having a discussion about who 'wins' in my marriage. You know, the discussions about what to say yes to the kids about, what/where to have dinner, what we spend money on, you know, pretty much everything. My HB#2 was listening and he said "Dad always wins!" We laughed. It was pretty funny that at 9 he sees some major life patterns in our household and recognizes them at such a young age.

But it's actually not all that funny. A pattern is starting to emerge that I don't like very much, and it's not because I want to be in control. Remember that discussion we had back in January about video games? Well, I lost that one. Then HD got the boys XBOX Live, against my better judgement.

The latest is airsoft guns. HB#1 has been bugging us about getting them "because all his friends have them, Mom." Our standard answer lately is that "We're still discussing it. We'll let you know."

So, this afternoon #1 had a friend over and asked if his friend could bring some airsoft guns to play with over here. I reluctantly said ok to that. The kids didn't have any bullets, (ammo? pellets? What do you call them?), so HD took them to the store to get some.

You get 3 guesses on what they came home with, and the first two don't count.

So tell me. Who wins in your house?

American Idol-Top 4

I can't believe we're already at the top 4. It seems like just yesterday that we were at the beginning of hte voting. Sorry about my absence last week. I told you it was a doozy, and that included Wednesday night.

Round 1: Songs that Inspire

James: Don't Stop Believin'- Oh my gosh. This song defined junior high for me. I used to listen to my Journey tape on my Oh-So-Cool Walkman while I was ice skating at the lake. I thought I was so cool. I think James is doing a great job with this song, one too many screeches, but all in all decent, and the judges agree.
Haley: (Title. Why do I always miss these? It was that Michael Jackson song.) I'm no Haley fan and this performance is NOT helping. At all. She had some really awful notes in there, and she moves like I don't know what. Weird, and apparently the judges agree with me. Except for Steven who likes everything.
Scotty: Where Were You- Unbelievable. This was the absolute perfect song choice and he sang the snot out of it. My first chills of the night.
Lauren: Anyway- I love Lauren but I think I was hoping that she would be farther along with her confidence than she is. She did a lovely job but could have nailed it even more if she had belted it even more. (And the dress? Not a fan.)

Round 2: Leiber and Stoller hits, Lady Gaga as a coach (Really? Let's see how this goes.)

Haley: I Who Have Nothing- Haley nailed this one vocally. Holy cow, she nailed this one, and good. (I still think that she has some awkward movements.)
Scotty:Young Blood- Oh my. The clips of Scotty and Gaga had us rolling! While the first song I can totally see on a Scotty album, this song, while cute, had me scratching my head. At this point in the competition I don't see this being the right song for him. Although, I do see what Randy was saying. Who knows.
Lauren: Trouble- I don't like this song for Lauren, either. It just isn't her. She sang it good, and performed well, but I didn't like the song.
James: Love Potion #9- (Cracking me up to see Jimmy laughing at Gaga and James. Ha!) I love James' version of this song. I can actually see it as a single. He made it modern and fun.

A note on Lady Gaga: I don't get her, I'm not particularly fond of her music, but I think that she gave some great performance tips. Who knew? And that clip of the Poker Face video? I had forgotten that she was actually pretty before she got so weird. What the hell was she wearing? Did you see those shoes? Aye carumba, no wonder she falls and hurts herself so often!

Well. After a night like that I don't quite know what to say. There is no clear bottom 2 and not one clear winner. Personally, I would send Haley home based on my feelings for her over the course of the season. I see Scotty rocketing to the top of the Nashville scene regardless of if he wins. I would love to see Lauren win, and I think that it would be good for her to be under the Idol banner and protection for the first year or two of her career. She is so young and having an extra layer of protection could benefit her. (As opposed to someone like Casey who needs to be able to direct his own career.) James will likely do well, Idol or not, but I also think that he could use the guidance of some of the Idol experts. So ultimately, my top 2 remains Lauren and James.

Tell me, oh internets, what do you think?

Not Getting Better

First, I wrote about why I hate the month of May.

Then I verbally vomited the suck that was my weekend. And started my period. (Is it any wonder that I wrote that yesterday? I know. *sigh*)

Then, today I went to bowling with high hopes of snapping out of my funk. I typically enjoy seeing my friends and getting out of the house for a few hours. Not today.

There is someone on my league that I have a hard time with. I've known her for several years and time has not softened my outlook on this particular relationship. She is highly competitive, where I go bowling for fun. She creates drama wherever she goes; I tend to shy away from conflict. She is controling; I could care less. We couldn't be more opposite.

There has been literally dozens of times over the years that I've had this blog that I've wanted to write about her antics and shied away from it. I'm not really sure why... I guess it's that conflict thing.

Anyway, today we learned that she had made a decision for our league that she had no power or authorization to make and it really pissed me off. The worst part about it is that I let it get to me while we were bowling and I bowled like crap. My first game was a 104, second a 133, and third a 114. (My average is 140. Those games were awful, thankyouverymuch.) We lost 3 of four games. 2 weeks ago we were in first place and after today we'll be in third, thanks to me. I cannot believe that I let it get to me like that.

I have let it go in general but I'm tired of letting it go. She causes problems. It's not fair to the rest of the league. And it's not fair that I can't get over it faster. Yes, I know that is MY issue, but it's still not right for one woman to cause so many problems for so many other people.

I'm Not Complaining

OK, well maybe I am.

A little. But just a little.

You know that post about DSSMD that I wrote? I wrote it because I need it. I wrote it because I married a man that is missing the gift giving gene, and when your husband is missing it it gets passed along to the next generation unwillingly.

Last week was the worst week in a very long time for several reasons, many of which I won't go into. Suffice it to say that I had to pick up the pieces of a few different situations that had absolutely nothing to do with me. I can handle it, fine, but I was also trying to be optimistic about the weekend that we had planned. So I laundered and cleaned in preparation for our departure on Friday. Off to Sin City with an (almost) renewed attitude and, albeit a little forced, smile on my face.

[The trip was semi-business related, but also for the boys. Supercross East Coast/West Coast Finals. Owners of my husband's company, clients, loud motorcycles, loud music, scantily clad women. Clearly not a trip for me, right? Dutifully, I shut my mouth to do what I needed to do.]

Friday afternoon we went straight to the New York, New York to have lunch and ride the roller coaster. HB #1 is now my Coaster Buddytm and we had a nice time wandering the casino. Headless Dad decided that it was time to go to our hotel so we could get a little rest before our evening. Made sense. Next: check in, nap for HD, I take boys to the pool. (Isn't it always the mom?) We had plans for the evening with business associates so we checked the kids in to a kid's club and had a lovely dinner with 3 other couples.

And that concludes the pleasant portion of the weekend.

Saturday was hot. And have I mentioned that we were in the middle of the desert? My kids have started to love the races, which is totally fine, and I don't mind watching our friend race-that part is exciting and fun, but have you ever been to a Motorcross or Supercross race? There is a lot of hurry-up-and-wait time. Did I mention that we were in the middle of the desert? It was hot. And windy. And HOT. And dusty.

HD had offered to cook for the Team and all of the guests which also put me in the position of 'second-tier hostess'. Which is 'fine' but also weird when it's not my motor home, not my stuff, not my call on a lot of things, er, anything. So between being the smiley corporate wife and watching my kids, I was also trying to help feed about 60 people.

Then my #1 son decided to do something not so smart. Supercross is sponsored by Monster Energy drinks and they flow freely at these events. Of course, since we were in Vegas HD told the boys to have whatever they wanted. (You can see it coming a mile away, right?) Yep, HB#1 had 3 of those damn things on a relatively empty stomach and was a shakey, almost pukey, mess. (I had suggested that 2 be the limit but was somehow over-ruled.) Luckily the food was ready and I was able to pump him full of protein and bread and water and he came around pretty quickly.

Once we got into the stadium I stepped in gum. Niiiice. Then an usher yelled at me for being in the wrong seat and kept telling me to move. (Our party had an entire row of seats and it didn't really matter which seat I was in.) Interestingly enough, she ended up being WRONG-she was reading the other ticket wrong and had the wrong row entirely. Surprised? Me neither. (She never apologized, either. *itch.) In the middle of all of that juggling I ended up dropping a $3 bottle of water under the bleachers where I couldn't reach it and realized that HB#2 had done the same. Double highway robbery, thankyouverymuch. I'm so glad that I gave a bottled water company $6. Ahem.

After the races were over we tried to get out of the parking lot. Note to UNLV Sam Boyd Stadium: Your traffic control measures SUCK. You clearly have never hosted a capacity event before. Your venue holds over 36,000 people and I only saw 3 traffic control people, and that includes police.  Our hotel was 5 minutes away and it literally took us 1 1/2 hours to exit the parking lot and get back to the hotel after the event was over. Unacceptable, Las Vegas. No wonder no one will consider moving a professional sports team to your city.

Which brings us to Mother's Day, and the reason that I started this post in the first place. My husband does not plan ahead for holidays/birthdays/Hallmark holidays. Which I know, and you'd think I'd be aware of by now, right? And possibly anticipate and not be upset by? And who knew that 3rd and 5th grades were the year that teachers stopped making gifts in class? So we got up and I packed for everyone (because apparently I'm the only one who knows how to throw dirty clothes in suitcases,) and we went and had a completely mediocre breakfast and got on the road. My lovely daughter got me a card, flowers, and an Amazon card, so clearly it's not a female related recessive gene. So at around 4:30 my husband takes the boys to get me cards. 4:30 on Mother's Day. He didn't even get me one. (Not that I'm his mother or anything but I did push 2 of HIS children out of my nether-regions.) Then comes home without dinner, which was supposed to be procured on the card mission. So he goes back out. (OK, that part is good. I didn't have to cook. Credit where credit is due.) To get Chinese. Not my favorite and only 1 dish out of 5 is something that I like. *sigh*

OK, I get it. It was a working weekend for him with his company and clients. We had a log day driving back and no one wanted to cook. I understand that. I'm just disappointed that with him knowing that all of this was going on that he couldn't go before the weekend and get me a card to say, "Hey, I know this is going to suck for you. Thanks for doing it for me and for the boys." I honestly don't think that would have been too much to ask for, but apparently I'm wrong.

So my incredibly long-winded post to rant about my sucky Mother's Day is over. Please don't tell me about the darling macaroni necklaces that you got, or the breakfast in bed, or the jewelery that your husband gave you. I'm just not ready to hear it yet.

Maybe tomorrow.

Coast to Coast. Or Just Up the Coast

I was compensated for this opportunity by Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity.  All opinions are my own.


When I was growing up we didn't go on road trips like other families. Oh, we took vacations, just not like the other families who got to drive to grandma's house or to visit cousins in the next county. Our vacations all started the same: we got up in the middle of the night to go to the Disneyland hotel to catch the LAX shuttle to ride standby on a flight.That's what you do when your dad is a commercial airline pilot.


Most times we would fly to Memphis to visit family but we also got to go to fun, vacation-like destinations like Hawaii and Orlando. I think I was actually about 9 when we actually took our first road trip. We hopped in our very hip, '70's brown conversion van. You know the kind. Fully equipped with a bed in the back and a wet bar. My brother and I slept in a tent at each evening stop at a KOA campground. Those memories are permanently in Instagram in my mind.


I've been lucky to be able to give my kids the best of both worlds: the fly-away vacations and the road trip. There is such beauty in both, but the road trip is so uniquely American. 


Last year for Spring Break we rented a car, loaded it up and headed north. We had only a few plans of where to stop and where to stay. We went to Solvang and Morrow Bay and saw a California mission and Elephant seals and the Golden Gate Bridge. We ate fresh danishes as big as a plate, drank small-batch wine, and splurged on seafood at Pier 39. My boys gazed at the power of the Pacific Ocean.

Now that my parents live a few states away it is harder to keep them instantly connected with my boys as much as they would like. Each evening my dad would wait for me to upload the days pictures and share them through Facebook or my blog. It would have been fantastic to be able to share them instantly.

*****

I can't wait to find out what it would be like to be able to share real camera photos instantly. Samsung has made it possible by introducing the SH100, a WiFi-enabled camera that can instantly upload your vacation shots to your favorite social media site, skipping the wired connection all together.

The Samsung mobile team is taking the month of May to travel from Los Angeles to New York to show America how it works. You can follow the  Coast to Coast Campaign on Facebook to see the pictures of the camera crew's travels . Can you imagine being that camera and all of the amazing sights and beautiful people that you would see? Very cool, indeed, my friends, with no dad waiting for the day's shots!



I know I'll be following the journey. Will you?

Don't forget to 'like' the Samsung page to get daily updates of where the camera is today!

Double-Super-Secret Mother's Day

I love the concept of Mother's Day. I really do, but does any of us really and truly get all of the things that we want on that Sunday?

OK, the macaroni necklaces are awesome (not kidding,) but most moms still end up cooking/cleaning/being the disciplinarian/changing a diaper or two. And what about all of you single moms out there? You deserve Double-Super-Secret Mother's Day even more.

During my first year of blogging I remember seeing this on someone's blog. A day that we moms really took care of ourselves...especially if you still have very young children or are single. Here are the rules:

• You can't do this on actual Mother's Day because usually your kids will want to do things for you. That's OK. Let it happen and enjoy it. OH! And don't get disappointed when you still have to change a diaper. That's what DSSMD is for.
• Choose a day either during the week when the kids are in school or on a weekend that you can ship the kids to a friend or family member. Just tell them that you have errands to run. (It's kinda true.) Take a vacation day if you work and leave the kids in daycare.
• Plan your day alone with your favorite book or magazine as your only pal. Or schedule it with a truly great friend. Whatever is going to make you relax!
• Treat yourself to a mani/pedi/facial/massage. Or go out to lunch. Or to a chick flick. Or laying on a blanket in the park reading that book. Or shopping (window, or the more expensive variety, whatever is in your budget.) The key here is to do one, or two, or a dozen things that you usually don't/can't/won't do with your kids in tow.
• Try to preplan all of the days details so you'll be totally free. Does that mean your kids might have McDonalds for dinner that night? Maybe, but easy and relaxed (For YOU) is the goal of the day. 
• THE KEY HERE IS THAT NO ONE BUT YOU KNOWS THAT IT IS DSSMD. 

I haven't scheduled my own day yet becuase it totally snuck up on me, but rest assured that I will carve out ONE day between now and the end of the month. I'm totally taking this day because the kids will be out of school in a couple of weeks and then I won't get the chance again until August. A mental health day for me, if you will.

So schedule it and follow through. You deserve it, Mom!


Image courtesy of ClassyMommy.com

Wordless Wednesday, Or Not: Eggs

Hey look! Easter, a week late!

My parents have been here for a week. I didn't intend to go the week without posting, but that's what happened. Life happened. And this:

• We watched the Royal Wedding, in 2-3 hour increments.
• We've been to 2 baseball games, finally winning on Tuesday night. (Whoot!)
• We played Monopoly.
• We ate.
• We drank wine.
• We went to Costco. 
• We just WERE. It was quite nice, actually.

 Oh, and I wrote about 9-11 over at Inland Empire Family on Monday. You should check it out.