Oh My!!!

Well, don't I have a lot to update you on! Let's see.....

As a celebration of the last weekend before school, we took the kids to downtown Frederick to walk along the Creek and then to dinner....

The girls love walking along the Creek.

And Sydney loves to "cut up" at dinner.

Everything I love is right in this picture.

And THEN it was the first day of school!

Here's my baby girl - a first grader {sniff, sniff}

And my other baby - Fourth grade now.

Where have the last ten years gone and how do I get them back?????

A little nervous laughter helps to keep the "first day of school" jitters away!

So sweet...

And THEN - this weekend was opening weekend in football and both girls are cheering.

(Our schedule is a little crazy)


Mini-pony Sydney...hamming it up as usual!

GO SYDNEY!!!

A bunch of five year olds doing cheerleading stunts.

Feel free to close your eyes...

I do.

And here's Liv - Pony cheerleader!

They are cheering for a rival of the school that I attended in High School.

It's a little difficult to scream "GO LANCERS!"

I feel like a traitor....

Isn't she CUTE?????

They had a balloon launch for the mother of one of Liv's teammates who was tragically killed in a helicopter accident a few weeks ago. It was very moving....and so touching to see her young daughter get out there and cheer after the balloons were let go...

Liv ROCKED the HOUSE!

The big girls doin' their THANG at halftime.

My Saturdays for the next three months will be spent watching this.

They love it, and I love watching them

(even though it was SOOO H O T today and I had to sit in the sun for 6 hours and felt like a big sweatball and now we're all exhausted and cranky).

Take what you can get, when you can get it

I've looked back over my blog for the past several weeks. I realized that I really was lax in keeping up with it.

And I felt guilty.

For half a second.

Then I thought about this summer. It was the first summer in a very long time that I wasn't in school. That I threw my schedule out the window. You see. when I'm in school, I'm very regimented. I'm very schedule oriented. I thrive on that.

When it goes away, and I'm not pressed for time? Life gets even more chaotic. I can't explain it. But not having classes, homework, exams - PRESSURES - this summer, has been ...liberating.

I took an entire week off to do NOTHING.

I've never done that. Ever.

I can honestly say that, even though we didn't go on a week long family vacation, this summer has been so much better than I ever imagined. I spent time with my kids. I hung out with my hubby. I almost feel like, even though EVERY WEEKEND we had something happening, we kind of folded in on ourselves and just made a little cocoon where the 4 of us were together.

It was actually....wonderful.

When a friend would call - at the last minute - and say "Hey - come play at the pool" - we did.

When there was nothing in the fridge for dinner, and neither of us felt like cooking - we went out.

I didn't think about the fact that I only had so many hours in the day, the week, the month, to get things done.

So I didn't get all the laundry done on Saturdays.

So the house didn't get cleaned.

Who cares?

We played at the pool. Or went out with friends. Or simply sat and relaxed.

It was - heavenly.

Don't get me wrong, as wonderful as these past two months were, I need the time crunch, I need the stress, I need the order.

But it was nice to have a break.


And now it's coming to an end. The girls start school on Monday. I start Wednesday. I'm already having panic attacks about the fact that the school shopping isn't done, the house isn't as neat as I want it, their drawers and closets haven't been culled and old clothes boxed up, their shirts and shoes and pants arranged and folded or hung in perfect order.

The girls started cheerleading - three times a week for 2 hours a night. I have to get them there. Then I have to get them home. And they have to have their cheerleading clothes washed, dried and ready to go. They have to have dinner before they go, bottles of water to take with them, and oh, did I mention we both work full time?

So today I had a mini meltdown (in my head) about how can we possibly keep up with it all and still be sane, and still work, go to school, be a family, function....when I walked into the house.

The girls had left it a mess.

There was no dinner prepared.

There was no dinner even contemplated.

Laundry was piled.

I felt defeated before I even got through the door.

But, then I noticed - it was quiet.

The babysitter had fed the girls and taken them to cheerleading practice.

Brian stood in the kitchen looking at me.

It was 6:00, and I had to pickup the girls in an hour and a half.

We both smiled .

Then we walked upstairs.

Who cares about laundry? Who cares about dinner? Who cares about clutter?

If the two of us don't function as a couple, as a team, the rest just falls apart.

And sometimes, you just have to take what you can get when you can get it.

And you enjoy it.

Beaches, Gay Bars and Burns.....

The ocean is quite possibly my favorite place in the world. Not necessarily the beach, but most definitely the ocean. The sand I can take or leave - makes no difference to me - but there's something about the ocean that immediately relaxes, makes me feel at peace, and makes me feel at home. Perhaps from spending so much time on the ocean as a young child? I don't know....all I know is that I am never happier than when I'm at the ocean.

We traveled to Dewey Beach to see friends and spent a couple of days in the sand playing with the kids.....

We laid in the sun, played in the waves and in the sand and generally had a great time.....

My friends two boys were there too...the girls had a great time playing with them for a few days.
We told all the kids to "grab a hand" we were walking through the parking lot on the way to dinner.

Evan, age 9, grabbed Sydney's hand.....

And held it the whole way to the restaurant....

The restaurant was right on the Sound and the weather was simply beautiful - 80's, sunny, blue skies, no humidity and a nice breeze every day and night.....

Staci checking out the restaurant.

Sharon trying to be cool...

...and Staci laughing at her.

All the kiddos

Colin, Evan, Olivia & Sydney

After two days, we sent the kids to my in-laws at Bethany Beach for two nights and had some adult time. Friday night we went up to Rehobeth Beach to meet up with Cye and Tara.

Brian got his oysters....

And Sharon got sick.

Just kidding!

Me & Staci

Sharon & Staci

Cye & Me

Cye & Tara

Three high school buddies...

MANY years later.....

After Happy Hour it was off to the sing Karaoke. Woot!!!
The bar was predominantly gay and there were some very entertaining singers and dancers.
We all love this place!!

I have now had numerous cocktails and am enjoying myself immensely. Unfortunately, Cye knows this and has taken advantage of the situation and has now talked me into getting up and singing with her.

Cye loves Karaoke.

She also knows that if I have enough to drink I'll get up there with her.

What the hell, right???

If you're in a gay bar, and they are singing karaoke and you are there enjoying yourself, then I think it should be a requirement that you get up and sing.

Oh Yeah. We're clearly feeling very happy now....

And really, what dorks we are....

Apparently, we provided much entertainment to Brian, Staci and Sharon who sat back and enjoyed the show. (And I'm not talking about the drag show...)

Ah yes - there we are....singing our little hearts out. Off key, probably, at that time of night.

Evidently we thought we were AWESOME.....

I think the huge round of appaulse we got was due to the fact that we were leaving the stage, rather than the fact that we were actually any good..... but, whatever.

The Jolly Trolley on the way back to Dewey. I was pretty Jolly. From what they tell me.

The next evening we stayed in Dewey.

No more karaoke to entertain me.

There was this though....

Apparently this dude lost a bet. That's what I'm going to tell myself anyway....

Brian's cousins were also in town and we were lucky enough to meet up with them Saturday night and we got to hang out all night.

Phil, Me, Jess (Brian's Cousin) and Brian

Sunday it was home again, home again, jiggity jig. We picked up the kids and left for Frederick....and promptly ran into a monsoon with torrential downpours, high winds, tornado warnings and wicked lightening. Since my husband decided that his farmers tan should be evened out and "since he's American Indian" he would be "OK" if he laid out all day on Saturday without sunscreen....he couldn't move, much less drive.

So, I had to drive through the hurricane.
And listen to him moan about how miserable he was.
He's started peeling now and looks as if he has some horrible skin disease.
I won't touch him.
Seriously. It's pretty gross.

(Note to Brian - you are only 1/8 Indian. SPF is your friend. Just sayin'.)


And lastly, one of my favorite pictures of the trip.