From a high maintence woman to a maintance man

I WAS living HI on the hog.....the lady of leisure lifestyle and now back to reality. On Friday we tested out our new cleaning lady. She got here at 9:20 and was here until 5:20.....YIKES but man did she ever clean.....windows, blinds, pulled the stove out from the wall and cleaned....and all for a great price so we will keep her and after a few more cleans I will let her in and then go and return.....not comfortable with the key thing. But if you need a cleaning lady...lemme know she wants more homes. So then my leisure continued and Bepaw, came and got the kids and rode off into the sunset like my knight and shining babysitter. So Duke and I then headed off to Fool's Moon in Bandera....tiny little place with great steak and this Portabella mushroom Gorgonzola cream sauce that wow is sooooo goooood. Carolyn your new mission is to perfect this sauce.......I ate my entire steak so fast I physically hurt in a good way, then tried some Dr. pepper chocolate cake.....that was ok, but could have ended with a bowl of the sauce for the steak and been in heaven, but probably would have gotten a few looks....so if you want some great food, unique quaint atmosphere, and supposedly good wine...go Fools Moon Bandera on Main St......dinner only on Friday nights....

So then after dinner we went to see Evan Allmighty.....SHEEEP....cute movie but could wait for the rental. Then Saturday I was really high maintenance and went to La Cantera Spa and had a body polish and massage, facial, and French pedicure. AHHH so very nice and relaxing, and not that I am a spa connoisseur but I think I like the Hyatt Hill Country Resort Spa better only for layout but the massage here was better and softer at La Cantera....I am NOT a Deep tissue person I am naturally tight and knotty so for a masseuse to not work it all out is apparently very hard to resist and I usually end up sore but not here. So after my day of beauty I return home, and Duke was ending his day of pampering. His Jeep got new shoes....and really big ones too, so he took the top off the jeep and we went for a ride and it was lots of fun. Then grabbed a burger at Fuddruckers and saw Pirates of the Caribbean 3. A little long and I told Duke that the marriage during a battle was a bit much and he retorted but the fish people, now that is reality.....tooo shea....good movie none the less.

Sunday we awoke to the rain after 2 days of sun.....and headed to Kerrville to get the kids. So they come home with goodies from my parents recent trip to abroad and movies from Hastings and Mc Donalds toys......and the water guns Grandma bought stay there but apparently were awesome for water fights....so the brood is TIRED but so happy to have been there for the weekend. So we get back and I mowed the lawn and weed eated, taking advantage of a clear sky and ....b/c nothing is better for a new $65 dollar pedicure than weed eating.....and then we installed my new washer/dryer combo. Duke took the kids for a ride in the Jeep and Macy made it all the way back and crashed out at the top of the street too tired to continue, so Duke rigged up a fan in the garage to blow directly on her so she could sleep a bit, and I woke her up to eat dinner. So late Sunday night after baths I decide to try it out the machine.....on the spin cycle it was walking across the floor.....and on the dry it was really freaking hot .....like clothes steaming, side of the machine burning your hand HOT. So I called this morning and turns out there is a metal panel on the back of the washer that is for TRANSPORTATION only and needs to be removed BEFORE use......ahhh....so for the last hour I took out 4 screws.....the first 2 out with a little work, 3rd needed a few choice words to entice it out. Now the 4th, well it is still there, I have used all my choice words....twice at least and done a pretty good job at stripping the stupid thing out. So I tried channel locks....various screwdrivers and come to the realization I am a crappy maintenance man...out witted by a screw send me back to the spa! So I will let you know if you install the maching right, if it works then...... Also we finally got a new camera, the old one was having some screen issues so here are some pics off the new one.



Macy all tuckerd out in the Jeep with a fan on her. Daddys little Jeep princess

My little maintenance kidsTopless with big.....tires.....the JEEP people ....get your mind out of the gutter!The only visible proof I was pampered this weekend!

After creating heaven and earth,God created Adam and Eve and the first thing he said was "DON'T ! "
"Don't what? " Adam replied.
"Don't eat the forbidden fruit." God said.
"Forbidden fruit? We have forbidden fruit? Hey Eve..we have forbidden fruit! "
"No Way! "
"Yes way! "
"Do NOT eat the fruit! " said God.
"Why ? "
"Because I am your Father and I said so! " God replied, wondering why He hadn't stopped creation after making the elephants. A few minutes later,God saw His children having an apple break and He was ticked! "Didn't I tell you not to eat the fruit? " God asked.
"Uh huh," Adam replied.
"Then why did you? " said the Father.
"I don't know," said Eve.
"She started it! " Adam said.
"Did not! "
"Did too! "
"DID NOT! "
Having had it with the two of them, God's punishment was that Adam and Eve should have children of their own. Thus the pattern was set and it has never changed.



Not really sure it happened quite like that but a Mom can dream.....

So the rain is still here and I am in fear for my yards retaining wall.....I had a HUGE amount of water shooting out the middle of it....and checked after the rain slowed and it was leaning in the wrong direction so I pushed it back with my feet....my highly efficient power tool...we will see if it holds or if it crashes and burns......I am so done with the rain....the daily rain.....and guess what I looked at the weather today I guess a gluten for punishment and it said Definite Thunderstorms....and I think that the computer pointed and laughed at me.

AHH my poetic intervention

Ode to the rain you make our plants oh so green, my yard so mushy, my kids so cabin crazy and mean.

Ode to the rain, you drop the temperature of the air, my kids are pasty and grey because the sun is not there.

Oh ode to the rain, puddles are a treat of small feet, and the hordes of breeding mosquito's waiting for a feast to eat.

Ode to rain my patience is gone I need some sun to pull me out of this deprivation from the sun.

Oh ode to the rain such great plans for my yard, deck extensions and rock wall now all wait at the bottom of a wet vendors list ....waiting is HARD!

Ode to the rain that I did not buy a new car....now maybe not a Prius but an amphibious might not be to far.

Ode to the rain I have a water fall in my back yard, I thought my trashy pool broke but no just a natural flood from afar.

Ode to the rain my kids sadly request to swim every day, my only concession is it keeps MY bathing suit body away.

Ode to the rain GIMME A BREAK I live in Central Texas not in a flippin' LAKE.

Weekend recap

So today is the down hill slide of the weekend.....ahhh. I love the whole family just laying around watching TV and hanging out. It is my refill time to recoop.
So this weekend was a great one minus the rain on friday and saturday....my back yard is a mud slide....it is so gross and mushy but thanks to our neighbors power washer the flagstone is minus the layer of dirt and mold and ick that has been fermenting with all the rain, mud, shade....I had no idea it was as gross as it was.....eeeeeww and I had a couple other moments this weekend that had the very emotion come out of me.....After I mowed and weed eated ....I did ....Duke and I got me a weed eater I can do that is light and easy to start, so I have lawn duty now....and I kinda like it, I am with power tools so that means NO KIDS for 30 mins, any way, I decided power washing was a deacent idea to clean the drive.....well I had no idea it was as nasty as it was in spots it was BLACK.....no joke, HOW DID I NOT SEE THIS BEFORE! So 4 hours, 3 tanks of gas later my drive is white again and ready to be grubbied up by tires and such. Which took not time at all and the mini bike left a skid mark on the drive just moments ago....oh the pain but oh well. The SUPER DUPER GRODY Award goes to the washing machine! I was doing laundry on friday and noticed the rim of the washer was a little yucky and had some liquid fabric softener on it so I started the next load and begain to use a towel to wipe it up.....no biggie....then the bleach bin....and the lid....then in wiping what I thought was the final wipe on the inner rim....my hand hit an alien mass.....gooey and gross and green.....but very fragrant....upon closer inspection the ENTIRE inner rim was a good inch deep of the goo.....purple and green in color and like a gel, but smelled great.....it was fabric softener that never made it to the wash....this washer is the old school top load and the thing in the middle allows you to pour in fabric softener and it will do it for you, sucking it down the middle and pumping it out the top at the appropriate time....well it is not as efficent as I would like and kinda pools and sits and becomes goo..... I had no idea....and wow I went OCD on the thing until it was clean and tossed the towel I started with as well as an entire roll to paper towels. WOW so gross and I will think twice before I dump my downy in there again!

I also saw my old college sorority sister and roommate this weekend at her baby shower....she is having TWINS and is SOOOO tiny still and cute, she has the height on her side at 5 11 so she has room and is 24 weeks and each baby is allready 1 lb each! I predict she will have one of those pregnancies that people will envy....pregnancy agrees with Patti, she is glowing and beautiful. It was so good to see her and way too long in coming, I will have to do better.

In other news there is not much to report, Dale has been glued to the computer and the nick jr games.....Reid is really close to grasping the swimming consept and LOVES his teacher....my neighbors neice....which is HUGE for Reid and the lessons are my neighbors pool which is so convient and comfortable for him and me. Macy is a goof ball....but so dang cute she can get away with anything. Duke is great too he has been working on his Jeep lots and it has a new lift on it and some other stuff I either have really forgotten or have chosen to forget to get the total cost out of my head....but I will admit it looks COOL really cool...and he deserves it he has been working really hard. Ok well I am off to wash the stink off my body and call it a night... too bad my kids are not ready to do the same.

Picture of Perfection

So we went to take pictures and although I was less than thrilled with the 2 hour photo session and all the waiting and waiting and such....some of the pictures are so fantastic. So I guess all in all it was a success. Mom , Sam and sibs you are all getting some in the mail soon.

one....two....three..... (silence)

What is different in these 2 pictures?

Macy got her ears pierced today at of all places Walmart! I actually did some research and her pediatrician does not pierce ears, Claire's the selection of earring is limited at best, and I did not want a teeny bopper with black lipstick anywhere near this. And Walmart has a HUGE selection of earrings, piercing is free when you buy a set of earrings, and they have the rounded back on the post so there is no chance to poke her little head....which Clair's did not offer and it was done by 2 very nice older women who I am sure pierced their kids and grand kids ears. Best part she did not cry at all. I bought some Orajel...the tooth numbing stuff and put a little on her ear lobes and waited about 10 min's and we did it. We all were geared for the scream and tears and NOTHING.....she just sat and then smiled! The boys both agreed she was super brave and now we can accessorize....well in 6 weeks. She has been asking Daddy for jewelry and earrings for some time, and has tried to put on mine and Daddy finally caved last night to her " Daddy I want earrings, Please" . He was apposed b/c he did not want to ruin her innocence, piercings......getting all tatted up....what next. Ahhh Dukes logic.....nonsense I thought. And then just to prove me wrong we came home and she found a pen and tattooed her self.....guess Daddy was right.....

Ohhhh-wwweee Dat rite der is a BEAUT

We have had over our entire annual rainfall in the last 2 months....and my yard is a swamp and it really does not help matters that I am a total idiot and since we transfered the stuff from the storage unit to controls to the sprinkler system have been covered and out of sight out of mind I guess, so I have been watering my lawn 3 times a week.....yep IDIOT. I realized it the other day when I went out to check our white trash pool and the yard was wet.....but oddly it had not rained YET that day and it dawned on me. Then in check the pool saw that Duke did not close the drain right so there was a slow steedy drip out of the bottom of the pool, all of these items alone would be not worth mentioning but all of the damn things togeather equal a SWAMP and apparently I am the main toorist attraction for all the visiting mosquitos in the San Antonio area. Side note I had to drain my Chiminea that was FULL of water, and I think we have taken like 7-8 gallons of water out of the tad-pole-pond.....did I mention we joined redneck club.....tadpole ponds and above ground pools are required and the quick-crete retaining wall well that was the initiation. I feel like I need to elaborate. My dad started the tadpoles....in his "Water feature" he has been overrun and scoops out the little swimmers and no longer allows them to Swim with the fishes....they get to flop in the trash can....Dale SHOCKED said they are living creatures you can't do that and ONE came home....then that was cool and then MORE came and MORE.....they have played catch and release, Macy dyed their water with markers...non toxic ones and only one croaked, they scoop them into other buckets and some have paid the price and fallen through the cracks on the deck but alot have made full frog status.....you would think my mosquito problem would be less. Then clarify the pool.....I got it on a whim, Dale was trying to swim at the neighbors and they honestly could not hear him calling at the gate...."IS it a good time for me to swim", "can you come to the gate please"....seariously for like 10 mins and he is crying and pleading that "he will not give up hope, Zachary invited him".....and our neighbors open their pool to all, so I know it was just circumstance of waterfall, and radio..... so he comes home crushed and I said get in the car and we got the pool. Which is awesome, 8 ft by 2 ft, just the right depth, can swim, but no real worries, yet large enough for all of us to cool off. Ok well my yard is literally at a HUGE angle....very very steep. So the pool was off even with my valient leveling job....but that job placed the pool in the middle of the play area....bummer.....so Duke vents that he IS NOT going to dig a flat spot for 2000, for a 50 dollar pool....and it would ruin the yard and sprinkler system.....this is the WORST time of year.....yadda yadda.....so one night I say what about the quick crete bags people use on the banks of the river...hey that might work....so he researches it and wha-la about 60 bags later we have a 9 ft level pad for a pool. So the pool is up, full, flat and clorinated and filtered....and kinda hidden on the side yard so not Total trashy but don't tell the club....they might make me get a mullett. But it serves its purpose!

Forth of July was a rain out. We had a nice gathereing on the 3rd with our neighbors and then lit of a few things on the 4th here again with the neighbors. It was fun, mildly uneventful Dale got burned on his hand by a flying random firework and a neighbor singed his shorts on another, but we saw stuff blow up so it was good. Reid LOVED the sparklers and Macy liked them too. Dale was hiding in the back of the truck with a couple other neighbors being goofy. Macy wore her 4th dress.....good times.

Also Dale went Ice Skating and although I do not think Ice Hockey is in his future he did ok.....took a few really hard spills but got up and pushed on. GO DALE!

Reid in taking Swim Lessons at the neighbors pool with her neice and loves it....my goal of getting him swimming by Maui might just happen!

Macy is in a state of nakedness latley and is potty training and doing REALLY REALLY good....the school said no moves until august so she will HAVE to stay in Becky and Kathys room...YEA!.....uh I mean darn.....

The final funny thing was that the other day I did some yard work and trimmed a bunch of shrubs and asked Reid to help me pick up the branchs.....my genius said "ok "got his gator out took his sister drove over to the piles loaded them in the gator bed, took them to the drive way, dumped then and did another trip and another..... SO funny Macy was his helper and in her panties....but hey Good help IS hard to find and when you throw the stipulation of clothing you are really limiting yourself. I laughed so hard at my little manual laborers....even Dale came out and helped....Reid was like Tom Sawyer making work fun so others would help him....SMART!