Oh Please Come to my Pity Party!

I have a lot going on in my head these days and I can't seem to find peace lately. Which really kind of stinks. It doesn't help that "you-know-who" is back again this week (not sure what is going on with my body at this point) and it's even worse than last week.

I see my house as unorganized, Little G has been extremely grumpy and clingy the last few days, and I feel like I rarely get a break or any time to myself (although as I type this, all 3 of my guys are asleep). I feel unmotivated in many ways.

I did however, apply lip gloss to my lips for the first time today in probably weeks, on my way to church. How can it be that my life is so crazy busy that I don't even have time for full completion of the makeup process anymore? That's just not right. See, when I was still working and pregnant with Little G, I shared a cube with the nicest lady who became a friend of mine. Her makeup was always perfect, including her lips. Mine, not so much. But, she didn't have any children at the time. She always wanted them but it was never the right time. I know she would have traded perfect lips for a child and day of the week. And I know I need to be thankful for my beautiful family but sometimes it's so hard when you feel like you are losing yourself in the process.

On the positive side I have been working out, which is a great thing to do for myself. I have a wonderful husband who is willing to help where he can, but it's so hard when the boys want only me and a lot of time that is the case. Do you remember those rubbery toys that were characters with really long, stretchy arms and legs? Sometimes that is what I feel like, being pulled in all directions and stretched to my limits.

I KNOW I am not the only mother or father for that matter, that feels this way. I know there are peaks and valleys in anything we do in life. I guess I am just kinda hangin' out in the valley right now, looking at the mountains I have to climb.

OH and to add to my woes. I lost my keys on Wednesday and still have not found them. We figure they have to be somewhere in the house because I remember the last time I used them was that afternoon but they don't seem to respond very well to "here keys keys, here keys keys, where are you?" I have never wanted an inanimate object to sprout legs (and ears) more than now.

Another positive - I am currently doing a bible study with the moms from a playgroup I am in (Natalie is leading us) and it's called "Guilt-free Motherhood." I read a lot of it tonight since I had some catching up to do (!) and I think it's going to be really good. One of the main goals of the study is to help you have a scripture based "blueprint" for parenting and to be a more proactive mother than a reactive one. I hope and pray that it helps 'cause golly it sure sounds good.

Also positive, we spent some fun family time together at the local pool today. I failed to grab the camera on our way out but rest assured that we all had fun in the water. And last night Tim made some rockin' fajitas on the grill. Oh they were so good. Just as my life is, even if it does get overwhelming sometimes, I know it's really good and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Now if I could just get on top of one of those peaks...

Maybe I will just stand on top of the laundry pile. That should certainly do the trick! ; -)

Scrappin' Sunday

Here's a page I just "whipped up" yesterday. I admit, I "stole" the page idea from the recent scrapping convention that I attended. But don't worry, I spent plenty of $ there! Thank goodness for my picture phone so I could replicate this one! Hope you like!

This is The B Man helping his Great Grandfather (a.k.a G.G. Gordon) fill the bird feeders at Tim's grandparents' retirement community. This is their new tradition together after we have lunch with them at their place. So sweet.

Mosaic Me

I found this at Boys Rule My Life and thought it was really neato!

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.

b. Using only the first page, pick an image.

c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.

1. What is your first name? Elaine

2. What is your favorite food? Chocolate

3. What high school did you go to? Westwood

4. What is your favorite color? Blue Green

5. Who is your celebrity crush? Matt Damon

6. Favorite drink? Martini

7. Dream vacation? Paris

8. Favorite dessert? Cheesecake

9. What you want to be when you grow up? Writer

10. What do you love most in life? Family

11. One Word to describe you. Creative

12. Your flickr name. The Miss Elaine ous Life (came up with nothing... so used miss elaine)

1. Elaine Palmer, 2. coffee and chocolate mousse cake, 3. Westwood Village Sunset, 4. RGB - Barcelona, 5. 1 March 2007, 6. martini out of the blue, 7. Paris, l'amour..., 8. cheesecake for Lianna!, 9. The Writer, 10. Duck Family Portrait, 11. spotted or striped anywhy..fashion!, 12. Miss Elaine Full Length Nightgown in Light Petal Pink

ALERT - The Real Elaine May Have Been Abducted

Don't worry, I'm here. I think.

I told Tim tonight that I would rather go work out than have dessert.

Something has gone horribly wrong here (or right!)

So, next time I post a picture (of myself) it will be when I have lost that pesky 10 pounds.

At this rate that should be pretty soon (hint, hint, please send encouraging thoughts for me to keep it up!)

Austinification

Here are some highlights from our trip to Austin. I love that my kids have fun with their cousins and with their Grandma & Grandpa. (oh and I guess with aunts & uncles too!)

After we got in town we checked in at Mom and Dad's and then loaded back up a few hours later to go over to my bro's house (with a little detour over to IKEA first). The kids had fun in the sprinklers and such and then we devoured some burgers and tots (as in the tater variety).

The kids had a blast with this sprinkler thingy that my SIL found somewhere for a steal, I am sure (she always finds the coolest stuff for little to nothing!).

Little G thought the kids were quite humorous. My nephew Daniel wasn't quite as impressed with their antics.

He was too busy gettin' his drink on.... OH just kidding! The bottle was already empty, I think.

After splash time and drinks burgers it was time for a bath. Can you believe they all fit? (apparently a bath comes with popsicles at my brother's house...)

On Sunday we did go to church (Oh why oh why did they not include a cry room when they remodeled my parent's church? Someone give me ONE good reason!!) and the neighborhood pool but I didn't take any pics there.

Then on Monday we went to Zilker Park and rode the park train, the Zilker Zephyr. It was fun but hot. So afterwards we dipped our feet in the "pool" at Barton Springs which is a spring-fed water hole within the park that is quite chilly.

I have lots of great memories of Zilker Park field trips when I was a kid. And I have only swam in Barton Springs once, when I was willing to freeze my tushy off. Not so much these days.

The park also has a great playscape with a really neat old firetruck the kids can play on and it's also known for it's wonderful trails for hiking, running and biking around Austin's Town Lake. Visiting the park made me a little homesick actually. At least I can share the town I grew up in with my kids.

On the train with Grandpa

The B Man is ready to ride - let's go people! It's hot out here!

We went right under this cool tree during our ride. I had to take a picture.

After the train ride it was time for some refreshment in the form of ice cream and snow cones. And yes, The B Man did have some of both. Ah the treats of summer!

So after dessert, a little dip in the water and some play time, it was time to be on our merry way...

And no visit to my parents is complete without some time spent out on their front deck hanging out and watchin' the kids play on the lawn. Oh look quick, it's actually a pic with me in it. Don't blink or you'll miss it (me and G on the deck).
That's about it except I have to post this last pic of Little G because it's most certainly one of THE cutest things this mother has ever seen (even with the comb-over look!).

K, that's it, I promise. Wasn't this like the longest post ever? Thanks for hangin' in there if you did... : )

Here I Go Again

Do y'all ever get tired of my lists? Sorry if you do, but it's just who I am. I obviously do NOT get tired of making them so... here we go again! : )

* I went and worked out this morning! Did you read that? WORKED OUT! We finally joined a fitness club and I dropped the boys in the child care and had healthy time to myself! Oh the joy!

* Thank you to these ladies for the Good Mail in the last couple of weeks.

Tina, Kelli, Jody. Here's a picture of the little personalized/scrapbooky notepad that Tina sent. A girl after my own heart! : )

Now I have to get to the post office to send the things I have packed up. I know, slacker...

* There is a TON of laundry after the trips (Tim to Vegas, us to Austin) and I just have to get started but the motivation is not there. Maybe if I got up for the computer....

* This little birdie charm from Anna was waiting for me when I got home yesterday. Thanks Anna - it's so cute I cannot wait to wear it! Now if the one-year-old would just stop pulling at my necklaces... Here is the card that Anna painted and the charm.

* Christel posted about the little scrapbook I sent her that she "won" from me during the bloggy giveaway. She even put pictures up of each page so I can remember what it looks like. Thanks Chistel! She also tagged me recently. I promise I will do it soon!

* Portable DVD players in the car for kids to watch might be one of THE best inventions yet.

* Kathryn & Amanda were my only linkers for the little Summer Vacation Carnival - thanks girls. But, after studying the bloggy "pros" and how they do carnivals I realized that I need to give a little more notice and make sure I know how to actually use Mr. Linky first. I will try again, because that is just who I am!

* I know we are all God's creatures but the tiny black ants that insist on being in my kitchen are about to get annihilated. Sorry dudes.

* Ok, next time I decide to invest in something kid-related I am going to ask you ladies out there in blog land for your 2 cents first. I mean if I had known that most of you abhor Nuby sippy cups I never would have bought 6 of them. So which ones do you use? A couple of you spoke up, but not all...

*How is the 4th of July only like a week away already? Does anyone else feel like this year is flying by?

Alright, gotta go start that laundry....

Wordless Wednesday #22 - Sprinkler Fun

Okay, not so wordless, but it needs a little explaining since there are some girls in the pictures. HA! My cute nieces, Catherine and Grace - Catherine in the first pic, Grace in the last. This was some fun the kids had in my brother's back yard while we were visiting them on our little trip. I just love that you can hook a hose up to a contraption and the kids just go nuts for it. Ah... to be young and easily amused again...

I will have more pics from our trip later in the week...

More WWs at 5 Minutes For Mom!

Monday Mish Mash

So, I am in Austin and if you are reading this that means the auto-posty thingy did it's job just right. Yay!

Here are some random thoughts for a Monday. Take 'em or leave 'em (I suggest you take 'em, but that's just me...)

*How come you can never find a tissue when you need one? You know when your one-year-old has a snot capsule (aka booger) the size of Texas on his nose while your nusing him and it ends up on you. And the tissues are well, in the other room. Yuck.

* Why do kids always get candy at the end of any kind of school program/year/educational function? I mean quit with the tootsie rolls already people! Can't the teachers just give stickers and pencils and other junk we don't need but cannot consume? (yes, at the end of VBS there was a plastic baggie with candy...) Here's a little video from VBS for your viewing pleasure. The B Man is front and center in the dark green shirt and Thomas sunglasses on his head. He would not wear the separately purchased t-shirt that all the other kids in this frame are sporting. My son is not a conformist, I can tell you that.

* Nuby sippy cups claim to be "no spill" but if that is true I am a monkey's uncle (and I am not, by the way).

* Hagen Daas ice cream is good. Especially the chocolate. Not sure how I would know this. ahem.

* Can a 13-month old have popcorn? I guess so since mine did on Friday.

* Leaving the freezer door to the extra fridge in the garage slightly ajar in 98 degree heat is not a good idea and it is NOT good for the taste of the thawed and then refrozen chicken nuggets that the household's 4-year old now says "taste funny." Just FYI... (p.s. I didn't leave the door open, the hus did).

* I've joined a photography group from this blog, so that I can learn how to use my camera more effectively. Our first assignment is to read the manual to our camera. Someone shoot me (no pun intended). But I will do it for the love of all that is picturesque.

* When the child's prizes for being good come in a 3-pack and you are only giving one at a time, don't forget to hide the other 2. Just speakin' from experience here.

Hope everyone who reads this is havin' a great Monday. It's possible people - think positive!

A Meme & Departure

Steph at The Daily Grind tagged me for the "Crazy 8's" Meme, so here goes!

Eight Things I Have a Passion For:

1. Chocolate in pretty much any form.
2. My family & friends
3. Home decor
4. Photographs/Scrapbooking/Memory making
5. Music and Singing
6. The ocean/beach
7. Writing
8. Humor

Eight Things I Would Like to do Before I Die:

1. Travel to several places in Europe
2. Live in a house with a bigger kitchen and bigger closets
3. Publish an article in a magazine
4. Wear a designer evening gown
5. See my grandchildren grow up
6. Perform in a large, professional choir again
7. Celebrate my 50th anniversary with my husband (and 60th, and 70th...)
8. Complete this long-a** meme! : )

Eight Things I Say A Lot:

1. Seriously?
2. Why is your brother crying?
3. I love you.
4. Timothy!!
5. Amen.
6. I'm blogging. (in response to "what are you doing?")
7. Are you kidding me?
8. What's for dessert?

Eight Books Magazines I Have Read Lately:
(I don't read that many books...)

1. Parents
2. Real Simple
3. Vogue
4. Health
5. Better Homes & Gardens
6. People
7. My Big Backyard (kids mag)
8. Catholic Digest

Eight Movies I Have Seen Eight Times:

1. Big
2. Shawshank Redemption
3. Return to Me
4. Good Will Hunting
5. Pretty Woman
6. Titanic
7. Steel Magnolias
8. The Jerk
   

Eight People I Invite to do this Meme: (these are the first 8 people who commented on my last post.)

1. Becky
2. Lisa
3. The Angel Forever
4. Brittany
5. Krystyn
6. Tranny Head
7. iheartchocolate (me too, by the way)
8. Misty

Whew! That was a long one, but fun!

In other news... the boys and I are heading to Austin tomorrow to hang out for a few days with family and do some fun summer stuff while Tim hits "Sin City" for a little down time with some of his co-workers.

If I get to it, tomorrow I may set up an auto-post for Monday (since the internet at my folks house is still back in the dark ages...) but if not I will "see" y'all middle of next week. I will miss you dearly oh internet friends!

I leave you with this... : )

Thank God It's Over

I had a bad day yesterday.

A little background would be good, right?

Something that hasn't been in my life for almost 2 years came back Wednesday night. Let's just say between being pregnant for 9 + months and nursing for 13 now, "this" just hadn't returned. Until now. And it's here with a vengence. I was not happy to have to find that box of female parephenalia in my cabinet. I haven't missed it one bit.

The day started out fine. The B Man is in VBS this week and he's loving it. I dropped him off and Little G and I came back home for a few hours of down time, which we had.

When I picked Ben up I decided that we would go out and grab some lunch since I was NOT in the mood to hunt anything out at home and well let's face it, the microwave needs a break every now and again, right?

So, we headed for Chick-Fil-A where we had a nice lunch until...

Until I requested that The B Man leave his sandals on while playing inside the play area. I just didn't want him barefoot in there. He didn't understand my reasoning and I didn't understand why he didn't. LONG and painful story short - after he launched into quite possibly the biggest public fit EVER... I had to take both of my kids out of there, one screaming the other crying. Not pretty folks, not pretty at all.

And of course a neighbor of ours had to be in there with his daughter and witness the entire scene. And let me tell you, it was a sight to see and HEAR.

I was embarassed and quite frankly my feelings were hurt. Part of the reason we were out to eat in the first place was because The B Man has been really good lately. The day before yesterday he cleaned up the toys in every room where there are some, without even being told. Lately he's been so good with his brother and listening so well too.

But yesterday at that moment in time, all bets were off. I don't know, maybe he could sense that I was a little "off." Whatever it was that set him off, I really don't know. I came home and cried a lot and called Tim and like the knight in shining armor he is, he came home early and let me sleep it off, well as much as I could anyway. I had forgotten how much hormones can mess with you. Haven't missed them either.

The B Man and I ended the day with prayers and hugs and kisses as usual, but I do have to say that I am darn glad yesterday is over. Here's to a better one today. : )

Wordless Wednesday #21 - Photo Op

Here's what you get when you try to take a picture of two little boys together for their Daddy on Father's Day.

See some more WW at 5 Minutes for Mom.

Oh, and scroll down to my summer vacay post below for some pretty hilarious pictures of vacations past! I am entering it in Scribbit's June "Write Away" contest just for fun!

Summer Vacation Carnival!

The summer vacation was pretty much a given in my family while I was growing up. Every year Daddy would take a week or so off from work and we would drive somewhere, whether it be Colorado, California or even the Texas coast. My parents would load up the truck and camper with all the neccessities and we would be on our way, down the open road.

I was born in California, towards the end of the 9-year stint that my family was there while my father worked for IBM. We moved back to Texas when I was 16 months old but my parents adored Cali and there were two big trips back, one when I was 3 and again the summer after I turned 12. I obviously don't remember the first one very well, but the second trip was quite memorable and included side trips to San Francisco and Disneyland (pictures to follow).

Probably THE most vivid memories come from one of our trips up to Colorado, in which my paternal Grandmother or "Granny," joined us. I believe I was 8 years old and my brother Larry was the only one of my three brothers to go with us. The other two were too "old" for vacationing with the family anymore. I wonder why (stay tuned...).

So, we drove up to Colorado in the camper/truck combo while my grandmother kept a notebook in which she wrote the name and population of every. single. town. we passed through. She was diligent, let me tell you. This was a woman who hadn't done a lot of traveling outside of her small town in Texas so this was quite a thrill for her.

Daddy had the wild idea to drive the camper/truck up a mountain. On a dirt road that was very steep. My grandmother was praying the rosary the entire way down. The next day - our brakes went out on the truck. God Bless! Can you imagine if they had gone out the day before? It's possible that I might not be here to blog about this right now. Just think what might have been if my Granny hadn't been praying the entire time (scaring the you-know-what out of her granddaughter by the way!) We were however, in the middle of absolutely nowhere when they did give out (another off-roadin' trip of Dad's) and had to wait quite a long time for a passer-by to "rescue" us (this was before cell phones!). We had no brakes. In Colorado. Yeah, not good.

If I recall, it was during that same trip that we had some really "interesting neighbors" at the K.O.A. where we camped. It was a husband and wife team and he was having a little trouble getting his fire started. But with a little help from some erratic lighter fluid usage, he went from no fire to WAY TOO MUCH fire in 0 to 3 seconds. After things calmed down and we realized we were not going to have to evacuate our camp site, we laughed and laughed at him. A lot.

When we got home from that trip the empty kegs were still on the patio from the party my brothers had thrown. Geez guys, couldn't you at least have gotten rid of the obvious evidence?? No WONDER they didn't want to go with us. {wink, wink} Our matching brown '80's sofas never smelled quite the same after that. I can't remember what the punishment was but I do believe there was some yelling, if memory serves...

Unfortunately all the pics of that trip are buried somewhere at my parent's house but I will share some other random ones below.

I am gonna say we are in Colorado in this one, but on our way to California, and this is probably 1978. I LOVE my brother Steve's knee socks - same ones as shown in my previous post. And where are we posing, like in the middle of the highway? Hello people, not safe! I am sure Daddy was all about the mountains in the background. Look, SNOW!

I am guessing my brother Chris took this one since he is the only one not in the picture. I have absolutely no idea where we are, but I was only 2-ish so give me a break. I love my Mom's handbag in this one. Hmm, I wonder if she still has it.... Oh and check out Daddy's famous "burns." Where's a razor when you need one?

Here I am during one of our MANY trips down to the Texas beach. I don't look very thrilled but I do remember loving that swim suit. I mean "Can-I-please-just-sleep-in-it-too" LOVING It. Not sure why now. I think this is probalby '82 or '83.

This was on our way down to another trip to "the coast," as we always called it. The drive from Austin down there is BOR-ING so fields full of cotton became quite interesting. This was taken during my chubby but tan days. Loving the mullet - aren't you?

Here are my parents at Disneyland in 1987. I love how happy and carefree they look. We had a great time on this trip, in which some of us drove (mom, dad, my oldest brother Steve) and my other two brothers, Larry & Chris flew in. We were all together again for vacation. Even Steve's then "girlfriend," who is now his wife of almost 20 years, flew in for a couple of days!

Same trip - I took this picture of Larry, Dad, Mom and Steve in front of the beautiful Golden Gate bridge. Golly I love to visit California! And yes, the bridge is gorgeous but those clothes - WOAH! Check out Steve's rockin' bandana (I will be lucky if he ever speaks to me again after this post, won't I?) Love you Steve!

Here I am in the rain on our trip to Washington D.C. in 1990. It was just Mom and Dad and I that trip and it rained A LOT. I think this is somewhere in Tennesse, on the way there. Yeah, uh... this was the trip where we had to illegally park by the Smithsonian so my father could run back in to see "Archie Bunker's" recliner. Oh and Mom and I thought The Mall in D.C. was a shopping center and we were just a little disappointed to find out it was something else entirely. What can we say, we like to shop.

So there are some highlights from my family Summer vacations (this could go on forever, but most of the pics are still at my parent's house). I only hope that Tim and I can provide such great memories for our kids, as we venture out with them each summer. Where are we going this year you may ask? I don't know yet. Can you believe it? Hopefully somewhere in August.

Now it's your turn to share your summer vacation stories. Can't wait to hear about them and see some pics!

**Okay, so no Mr. Linky today. I may still try to do it tomorrow but I can't even seem to get started on their site. Bummer. So, if you post about your summer vacations this week PLEASE leave your link in the comments! Have Fun!**

Summer Vacation Extravaganza!

Okay, so last week I got to thinking about summer vacations (especially after mentioning them in my Father's Day post) and decided that I had a few good pictures and stories to share about the MANY vacations that we took as family when I was growing up.

And, well, I figured a lot of you have them too. Certainly I can't be the ONLY one whose father drove them around the country every summer, right? And boy have I got some knee socks of my brothers' to show you! Oh yeah baby! (see below)

So, I thought, "why not try out my first little carnival, all about summer vacations as a kid?" Yep, that's what I thought. So please, I would love it if you would share a post this week about family vacations of yore. I am trying to use the ole Mr. Linky, however we are not getting along so great right now. I will post my "official" summer vacation post later today and hopefully have the linky up (if "he" and I can come to an understanding...)and y'all can share your stories all week (if no Mr. Linky, then just leave your link in the comments or your short story there...).

And come back later for more of this. : )