Laugh 'til ya cry?

I love to laugh. Hysterical laughing...my favorite. You know the kind of laughing where you can't tell if you are laughing or crying. The kind where you can't stop. Belly aching rolling laughter. Love it. It's so good for you too.

The other night Cam and I were lying in our bed with Mr. P and Tuba. The other kids were asleep and we were just snuggling before sending the last two to bed. Out of the blue Mr. P says, "So Mom you were really sick when you had me". I said back to him, "Well I did throw up a bunch but it's different than being sick like the flu. Having a baby hurts. The muscles in the mama do what is called contractions to help squeeze the baby down and out". He thinks for a minute and says back to me, "So it's like trying to get a really dry poop out". Cam and I burst out laughing. Then Mr. P joined in too...and then Tuba. The more I laughed the more I couldn't stop. I had tears rolling down my face and into my ears. I laughed and laughed. It was so fun. Kids are great!

Sunshine

Spring is here and we have had two days of sunshine and warmer temps. Yipeeee! I feel like a dark blanket has been lifted off of me. It is amazing what a little outdoor time can do for you. Since it's Confession Friday I'll confess that I do not make my kids play outside in the winter. I give it a lame attempt but fail miserably at it. So, from Oct. - Mar....or even April we play inside. I don't blame the kids. I mean 30-40 degrees and raining is not ideal for outdoor play. Plus, the muddy wet cleanup is awful so I just give in and let them stay inside. It would probably be better if I encouraged more outside play but it just doesn't happen.

This week I took full advantage of the nice weather and took the kids to the park two days in a row! I left a dirty messy house and went out to play. It is my New Year's Resolution so really I had no choice. :)

Tuba loves to push his siblings on the swings. What a good helper! We played at the playground, walked on the beach, looked at the airplanes flying overhead, got to see a train go by and saw a zillion dogs. A wonderful day!

Here's another confession for you. We are looking for our first family dog! Yep. Now, half of you are thinking, "Great! Every family should experience having a dog" and the other half of you are saying, "What are you nuts? The clean up, the extra work!". Well, I'm excited and the kids are over the moon. I always said when our youngest was potty trained that I would get a dog. And that time is here. I know what I want and think I have found the perfect dog. We are going to meet her soon and see if she is a good fit for us. Yipee! More details to come after meeting her. :)

Hot Tub Shop

Okay, my sister in law Cinn would like to know more about my stint at the Hot Tub Shop. I was in my early twenties, going to community college and newly dating Cam when I had this job. I worked part time answering the phone and helping customers. It was BORING! I hate a boring job. I'd rather work myself to death than be bored. Any day.
Let me tell you about the guy who owned the shop. Nasty. Yep. Picture this. He was probably around 40, stuck in the 80's....mustache, feathered mullet, tight jeans, belt, polo shirt tucked in to accentuate the pecs he thought he had....NOT!. He was proud of his Italian heritage and was full of himself. He liked to pretend he was born in Italy...he wasn't. He thought of himself as the self made man....I mean millionaire. Hmmmm. He did own his own shop but was not a millionaire. In fact his wife had a high paying executive job...that he didn't want anyone to know about. He was annoying but I could tolerate him most of the time.
The job came abruptly to an end one day after Mr. Boss Man made some disgusting comments to me. He thought he was bragging. He was going on and on about his Italian family and I was half listening until he started talking about how his Grandpa had been a Nazi. Huh? I became a bit more attentive. Mr. Boss Man went on to tell me about the war and how his Grandfather had kept teeth from Jews he had killed. And how Mr. Boss Man had those teeth at home. What? I was dizzy, I was sickened, I was out of there! I quit. Disgusting Boss Man was nastier than I thought. Good riddance.

Jobs

I was thinking recently about all the jobs I've had. Here's a list in order.

Jobs while in High School:
Bus Girl at Seahorse Restaurant
File Clerk at collection agency
Stock Room Clerk and Gift Wrapper at Nordstrom

Jobs after high school:
Salesperson at 579 Clothing store
Salesperson at Nordstrom-Christmas gift dept. and then Lingerie
Receptionist at a real estate office
Receptionist at a Hot Tub showroom
File Clerk/receptionist at Key Tech (a chemical packaging company)
Substitute teacher
Tutor at Sylvan
Private tutor
Community college instructor

I think that's it....does that seem like a lot? Some of these places have some good stories. Which of these jobs would you like to know more about...or hear stories about? Leave it in the comments.

Whoa!

I'm exhausted! Birthday extravaganza weekend. Today I got up to dirty bathrooms, dirty house and laundry up to the sky. All my weekend chores went undone as we celebrated Busy Guy's 5th Birthday. Everyone was well. Yipee! Whatever Baby George had was short lived and didn't spread. Thank YOU God!!
First thing Sat. morning the boys had testing for TKD. I was SO nervous that I cried and then thought I'd get sick. Of course the boys weren't nervous at all....just me. They did perfect. They had to perform in front of about 50 people and in front of the judges table. They did not get to go together and they did....PERFECT. We are so proud of our Orange Belt Boys!


After testing we went out for a victory lunch and then back to the TKD center for Busy Guy's birthday party. Loads of fun!
On Sunday after church we headed to my mom's house for birthday dinner and cake. It was also Grandpa and Auntie's birthdays this week too! We had a great time. Here is Sis snuggling on my sis....and on top of baby cousin due in July. :)

The Flow

I'm a planner and I love tradition. Every Saint Patrick's Day we have a big Irish dinner with beef stew and soda bread and mint chocolate chip ice cream pie. We take a hiatus from fasting for Lent to celebrate two of our boys' special day. Busy Guy was born on Mr. P's saint day! So fun. Now that Busy Guy is getting older he is having a "kid" birthday party as well as family dinner.

I am feeling stressed about this week. BG is snack person at preschool tomorrow. We did green muffins, slices of cheddar cut-out in the shape of shamrocks, apple slices and mint Hershey kisses with juice and fun shamrock napkins. Next up is dinner on Thurs. I was feeling bad that BG was sort of forced to have the Irish stew dinner each year when everyone else gets to pick what they want to eat. I mentioned to the boys that I could cook something else and they were glad....not many stew lovers in our clan. BG debated what to have and then he asked if we could go out for our favorite pizza. Hmmmm. At first I wasn't sure but the next comment form BG had me on board. He said, "you won't have to cook and clean". Well, I do love both of those things but this week I'm a bit stressed with all the birthday activities. So, we will be going out for Italian food at a restaurant owned by a Greek family on Saint Patrick's Day. LOL. Saturday is the b-day party. More posts about that later. The boys are also testing for their next belt level on Sat. Yipee. Wish them luck!

I'm rambling....the real point of this post was to say that I am a planner but sometimes I just have to go with the flow. It's good for me to be reminded of this fact. With all of these birthday/saint day/kid activities planned I am feeling extra pressure. Tonight Baby George got sick. Fever and throwing up. Ugh. I started to fret about how the week will be impacted. But, I know that no matter how it ends up getting changed it will be fine. It will be fun because we will all do it together. As long as this germ doesn't spread too far!! Yikes, I don't even want to go there in my mind.

Oh, and one more thing. A sweet BG story:

This week Sis had a terrible reaction after dinner (two nights in a row) she broke out in hives....all over! We think from tomatoes. So, she went in for a blood draw today to test for allergies. She did not cry or even wince! Amazing. Back to the part about Busy Guy. Upon hearing that Sis could not eat tomatoes...ie: pizza sauce he quickly offered to change restaurants. What a nice little boy! We are still going for pizza as there are many other choices on the menu...but we are taking Benadryl with us just in case.

Sunday of Orthodoxy

The following is from www.goarch.org

Today is the Sunday of Orthodoxy....which is the first Sunday of Great Lent. The dominant theme of this Sunday since 843 has been that of the victory of the icons. In that year the iconoclastic controversy, which had raged on and off since 726, was finally laid to rest, and icons and their veneration were restored on the first Sunday in Lent. Ever since, this Sunday has been commemorated as the "Triumph of Orthodoxy."

The children get to process with icons of their patron saints. Baby George LOVES his saint....I don't know what is up with the face. He thinks that's the way to pose for photos lately.
I love how Busy Guy is looking at Saint Moses of Ethiopia.
AND....Mr. P was enrolled as an Acolyte today. He got to serve on the altar. He was so cute. I got a little teary watching him. I missed him standing next to me too. He is getting so grown up! BaaaaaaWhaaaaaaaa! He did a great job and enjoyed himself.