better get going on that....

My middle daughter has a giant dry erase board in her room. She and her girlfriends made a list of the things they want to do this summer. Seems ambitious....

photos, please

Last year my camera broke, and I didn't replace it right away because I have a camera on my phone, and my kids have cameras and take tons of pictures. My oldest daughter bought me a new one last Christmas. I take it everywhere with me, but I hadn't realized how attached I had become until I had to send it out for repairs that took a few weeks. And now I have it back. :)

Graduation

Our oldest graduated from high school today. Way to go!

the golf cart?

My oldest got into the car today after school and said, "My last day of school and I got to drive the golf cart!"
"The golf cart? Really?"
"Yep. That was the last thing left on my high school bucket list!"

High school bucket list? You rock kid.

what a blast (from the past)!

Tonight my BFF crossed off something that was on her bucket list - and I got to be part of it. Our first "real" concert without parents was Rick Springfield at Alpine Valley. Man he was HOT. Turns out, he still is.

anyone else wearing lunch today?

So I was making lunches today and got strawberry juice on my shirt. I debated going upstairs to change and decided not, because changing my shirt would mean changing my pants and sweater too, and I only have brown pants clean and non-wrinkled, and don't feel like wearing brown shoes today. Besides, my manager spent a whole day wearing pants with baby barf on them last week  - AND NO ONE EVEN NOTICED.

I love working with other moms.

Mother's Day Flowers

Maybe with a coat of paint....

I stopped at Goodwill to look for a cabinet or dresser I can turn into a TV stand. Now I know where all the discarded country peg shelves have gone. I think I still have one in the garage attic.

I'm saving that for later....

The past couple of weeks the kids have been crazy-busy, and I haven't been as strict about making them put their stuff away (as if I was ever strict about it). The dogs have noticed and started taking the leftover lunches out of the kids backpacks. But instead of their usual MO, they have been hiding things in the plants and baskets around the house. Last week I found three packages of goldfish crackers and an apple while I was cleaning up, today this - a package of croutons from the kitchen cupboard, and a stuffed animal from the middle daughter's bedroom.

why do we live here again?

Wisconsin. Where blankets are perfectly acceptable outerwear fashion for May, and any outdoor sporting event without snow is considered "nice".

How I Spent My Spring Break....

While everyone else we know went to Florida, we stayed here in Wisconsin watching it rain/sleet/hail/snow. At least we can check off one home improvement project.

Before

After

The party's over....

what's one more

We are pet-sitting this week for my sister who is in Florida for spring break. I was worried about how our dogs would get along. But even Nike the crazy dog is ok with it.

Breakfast Milk

My kids are not a breakfast eaters on school mornings, and I never was as a kid either. My kids love Starbucks and chocolate milk so I figured mixed strong, over ice, they might drink Carnation Instant Breakfast. Score one for mom - two of the three like it.

This morning I mixed myself a travel container, but forgot it in the fridge. My middle daughter came home from practice, opened the fridge, and said, "Is that breakfast milk? Can I drink it!"

Hooray for Breakfast Milk!

Boston

This past weekend, I went to Boston with my two oldest girls on a music trip. We saw the JFK Museum, Bunker Hill, and Harvard. We had the most amazing pasta primavera, cupcakes, and bakery - ever. And we got to spend some quality time with Medford's finest while they rescued nine of our kids from the elevator when it got stuck between floors. Now that's a vacation!

Thunder dog

We had one of the first thunderstorms of the spring. Neither dog likes thunder, but Nike, the crazy dog, is petrified. Since the crate was already taken, she found the next best place she could to wait it out....

Who, me? Competitive?

My oldest and I went to a another college event. While the kids took a placement test, the parents had a separate program - a college trivia game. The facilitator gave us all a keypad control, and read the directions. The intent of the program was for us to learn some things about the college in a fun, interactive way. And then he mentioned prizes. Prizes? That changes everything.

And so it started. "These three businesses employ the highest percentage of our graduates." Duh, pick the answer with the biggest three. "I may have mentioned this in an earlier question... " You did, and I was paying attention, not like the 30% who answered wrong. "This building has a theater that can hold..." There's a map of the campus on the folder they gave us. "Remember you can poll your neighbor," he said. Poll my neighbor. Are you crazy? There are prizes.

I have used this keypad system before for trainings. All of my answers were recorded by the software and can be matched to the number on the keypad they gave me, which is listed next to my daughter's name. How's that for market research?

But hey, I won my daughter a college logo t-shirt...

Just call her Webster

We were on the way to a tournament with our youngest daughter and her friend. Her friend has a reputation as a reader, and my daughter was giving her a hard time about it. Her friend pointed out that kids who read have a better vocabulary than kids who don't. My daughter said, "Why do I need the word "domicile" when I have "house" and "home" already. Nope, I have all the words I need."

Now, why would a mother not be proud of that? (eye roll)

Estrogen, and lots of it

I am officially the mother of three teen age girls. My youngest turned 13 in March and the middle daughter made this awesome cake for her. Nike, the crazy dog, ate it.

So what's new around here?

Well, I didn't plan on taking a break from my blog, but apparently I needed to.

I am learning that my blog is a balance barometer - when I haven't posted anything for a while, I need to look at how I am spending my time. For the past month, our family has been juggling schedules that do not match at all. I have some big projects with looming deadlines at the office and the boss kinda likes it when I come in to work. The kids are in transition from winter to spring sports - winter sports aren't quite over but the spring ones have already started - double duty. With the time that's left at night I've been choosing between making dinner and doing laundry. Sad.

But I am re-balancing things. I cleaned the garage, got a haircut, and added music to my ipod. Hey, you have to start somewhere. And I updated my blog - there's progress.