Still Unable To Solve The Pat Benetar Mystery

According to ITUNES, somebody in my house has listened to "Hit Me With Your Best Shot", 354 times.
Nobody is 'fessing up.
I have my suspicions...

One Christmas Down... 3 To Go

Last night, we celebrated our first Christmas of the season, with HH's family. We also got to meet our new nephew (born in November) for the first time. It really was a wonderful and relaxing evening... that is, until the gastrointestinal issues set in;)
All I want for Christmas is a stomach of steel!!!

Be Very Afraid...

'cause 3 of my family members can now officially kick your butt!!!

New Moon Party & Midnight Premier

Last night, the girls and I attended the midnight premier of New Moon.
More later... didn't get home until 3am... gotta go nap!

Seen On Reilly's Facebook Page

One of Reilly's closest boy friends, took a facebook quiz and answered this question about my daughter...

If Reilly Strong were a serial killer, what would their nickname be?
the silent strong
Yesterday at 8:04pm via Friends Exposed · Comment ·LikeUnlike · See Wall-to-Wall

He's definitely got her pegged;)

Oh, Baby!

Just in case you were wondering how I've been spending my days while my kids are at school...






I've been watching Baby Gavin on Mondays & Wednesdays since the middle of June.
Isn't he adorable?
He's pretty much non-stop giggles and smiles... that is, when he's not crying and pooping;)
He seems to tolerate me ok, but he is totally enamored with the kids... especially Sydney.

Well, I'm off to take my computer to be fixed and then to the dentist.
Have a wonderful Wednesday!!!

Proof That One Visit Can Change The Way You Feel About Church...

Congratulations, Miss Henson (our TKD instructor and friend)!!!!

Licensed To Drive

Above photo was taken on Tuesday morning BEFORE Sydney took her written test for her driver's permit for the first time.
Notice, how happy and excited she looks.
As we exited the testing center, she did not appear so joyous. In fact, she was down-right upset.
You see, she failed her first test EVER.
Her geometry teacher, who happened to be in the waiting room, tried to cheer her up by telling her, "If it's any consolation, I just graded your last quiz, and you got a hundred."
I tried to ease her pain by telling her that I don't think that I ever even passed a geometry test when I was her age.
Yeah, neither worked for this over-achiever. She was upset and embarrassed.
So, she went home and REALLY studied her driver's manual. She also took practice exams on the internet.
The next morning, we made the trek (the bureau was across town) and she PASSED her exam.
I can't believe that she's going to be driving on her own in less than a year.
Man, I feel old!

We Survived Halloween!

Last night was pretty chaotic, but we survived another Halloween.
Reilly dressed as a cowgirl and went over to Deidre's house, where they helped with a haunted yard & attended a haunted garage. She had a blast, but was a little traumatized over the fact that a little boy had his bag of candy stolen by a couple of older boys. While she did not witness the incident, she did see the little guy crying hysterically and being led away by his mother.
HH took Griff trick-or-treating in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, nobody got that he was a "nerdy" baseball player, so he had to revise his costume half-way thru the evening. His favorite treat was a can of Sprite. I'm sure HH would have sprung for a case of the stuff, if Griff would have agreed to forgo the 2 1/2 mile trek in the cold.
Sydney, attended a party in the neighborhood. HH & Griff walked her over at around 6:45. When I talked to HH later, he asked me if I knew that boys were going to be there. I had to remind him that Sydney IS 15 years old and is in the 9th grade. It was pretty funny. He also said that the house at the end of the party cul-de-sac had a huge screen with a football game playing on it. I'm sure that he & Griff hung around there for a while!
I picked Syd up at around 11:30. I was amazed at the set up... kids were sitting around a huge fire pit. There were tables covered with candles and food and The Shining was playing on a huge screen in the garage. The garage walls were covered with flouressant graffiti. I was pretty impressed with the set up!
I spent the evening volunteering in the youth area at my church with Deidre's parents, Julie and Scott. There were very few kids, so we took them up to the gym where they played games.
Anyway, after church, I picked up Arby's and headed home to eat a late dinner with my boys.
Just think... only 8 more weeks until Christmas!

Another Year, Another Fall Party

I finally agreed to co-coordinate Griffin's room parties at school this year.
When the girls were younger, I was room parent several years.
I planned fun, interactive, upbeat parties, and although I complained about the amount of time and work they took, I still enjoyed the events.
By the time Griffin started school, I was a little older, a little less energetic & more-or-less "over" the elementary school party scene.
I know this is pretty typical for parents of multiple children, but I still feel tremendous guilt over this.
I'm really going to make an effort to be more involved with Griffin's school activities.
By posting this declaration on my blog, I'm hoping that you will help to keep me accountable.
I'm also hoping that it will be one less "my mother screwed up my life" moment, Griffin will have to discuss with his therapist in years-to-come;)

Anyway, here are a few pictures from the party...

Pick Up Lines

I walked into the kitchen this evening, to find the girls deep in conversation.
Sydney saw me and quickly said, "Quick, tell us who has the best pick up line".

Sydney's pick up line: You must be a book, 'cause I'm checking you out!

Reilly's pick up line: Did you just break wind? 'Cause you're blowing me away!

Personally, (if I weren't married & I was into the cheesey pick up line thing) I think I would prefer hearing Sydney's line.
Reilly's delivery was much smoother, though. And, she had motions... always a plus, in my book.
I was unable to come up with a winner, so I'm leaving it up to you.
Please comment and let me know which of these pick up lines is your favorite!
If you know a funnier one, leave that as well:)