What's wrong with people?

For the summer, we decided to let the kids have a little pool party. A nice way to reconnect with school friends and relax. Nothing fancy just the all American BBQ and a swim.

The kids were asked to pick a few friends each. Baby's list was done in 3 minutes, Firstborn took 3 days with drama and texts flying all around Dallas, possible causing Tropical Storm Alex, but we finally got the list together.

Baby takes one invite into camp for a boy he knows from school. Baby hands this snotty little devils spawn the invite and told him "I am having a pool party". The 2 horned wonder opens the invite, with not one thank you of course, and throws it down on the table.

Baby asks the all red one if he can see the invite to which this kid roars (with green pea soup spewing from his mouth) "Take it. I don't like you, don't want to be your friend or come to your stupid party!" WTF!! What sort of parenting is a child getting when he just hurts another child's feeling so bad without a single afterthought?

Obviously my first concern was for baby. I asked him how he felt and explained that if this boy could treat him like this he was not a friend or someone he should want to spend time with (tho I am yearning to get him in a dark alley. Is that wrong?) Baby replies " oh, that's OK mum, I gave his invite to a much nicer kid" Thank God for the resilience of children.

Meanwhile, mum, is still struggling with the question Why is it not legal to interrogate a child and stone his parents if you suspect he is Beelzebub and they are his creators?

I am very lucky....

Once in a while I like to give props to the man in my life. Soulmate is the best husband and friend a woman could ever want. He is kind, generous, humorous, loving, a great father and man. It would be nice if he put the toilet seat down once in a while or changed the toilet roll but hell we can't be greedy!

We had a really great July 4th weekend, we went to the Zoo, did the whole fair and fireworks thing and even had a day on July 5th without kids for a relaxing, exploring adventure. (Maybe camp isn't so bad).

This man comes home from work on Tuesday, after dinner, kids are in bed and we finally sigh relief to have time to ourselves and crack open a beer or three. Soulmate goes on to tell me what a great weekend he had and presents me with a jewelry bag. Inside is a beautiful ring of Amethyst, Topaz and other gems with a matching necklace. What a man! I love this guy!

I post these entries not only to thank him, but to share that there are these wonderful human beings out there and if you do not have one go get you some because you deserve it and are worth it. (I know I am)

Is it genetics?

My kids are the most uncoordinated creatures I have met. There, done, it's out there! Firstborn could not ride a two wheeler until she was 9! when she was toddler, the only way she could ride a tricycle was backwards. Huh?

Baby is just the same. He still has training wheels at age 7 and he is not a small petite child, he is tall and skinny and looks like a 20 year old riding a miniature cycle in a circus!

So in my infinite wisdom, or just desperation, this summer I signed the kids up for camp. They go alternative weeks to give me a break and allow me to actually get some work done for the dollars I am being paid. Camp is held at a gymnastic facility, they are horseback riding, swimming, performing gymnastics, using the zip-tie, scaling the rock wall, have archery and Tae-kwon-do lessons! wow right? What was I thinking?????

They have had two full weeks of this wonderful adventure and I have had three visits to the local pharmacy for supplies, two phone calls to the pediatrician, 1 day of missed camp and a helluva lots of stress! We have sustained a sprained ankle, strained tendon, bruised hand, black eye, bruised knee and we topped it of with one case of a stomach virus with vomiting and diarrhea that Mount Vesuvius would be proud off!

Next summer, art and music camp may be on the agenda but I would have the only kids that fall of the piano stool, sustain burns from the bow of the violin and get an allergic reaction to paint!....sigh....

More Tortola Stories.....

So?, you may ask, How was Tortola? How do I describe it?. The Island is hilly, the weather perfect, the Villa huge and the company, most of the time, got along with each other great.

Now a little unknown fact about Soulmate is that he is a man of excess. If he diets, it's water and bread only, if he gambles it's a second mortgage on the house, if he runs it's a 10k!

So first day in Tortola, picture us lying by the pool, drinking rum punch (or jungle juice) listening to some great music and having an all together fantastic time.

Late afternoon I retire for a short alcohol induced nap (just a short 3 hours). Get woken up, it's dark and it's time to eat. Hmmm I think I am gonna love this trip!

Meanwhile the rest of the party hounds have been drinking solidly thru my 3 hour nap, with no food and are completely hammered.

I sit down in the outdoor dinning area and Soulmate then proceeds to slur and drool while whispering sweet nothings, I think, in my ear (could have been a grocery list for all I could understand), starts jamming the tunes and getting down to the beat. He is smiling his adorable sexy smile and I should have known........

Next thing I know my Soulmate is dancing naked by the pool, then jumps in the pool, swims a naked lap, proceeds to jump out onto his belly, like a large mouthed bass, and slithers across the tile to the game room!

That's my soulmate! That's My husband! I am a very lucky woman, married 16 years to this fine specimen!.....and I wouldn't change a thing!

My recent vacation

Soulmate and I had an absolute awesome opportunity, Due to his hard work (cough..cough) and such high sales, the company offered a Company Annual Share Holders Meeting. It involved an all expenses paid trip to.......Cincinatti?.....No....Detroit?......No......Houston?...No. It was held in Tortolo, The British Virgin Islands! Wow, where do I sign up, here is my bag and can we stay two weeks?

It was an adults only trip (even better). So the task began, to decide what to do with the rugrats. Is Alcatraz still accepting house guests? The best solution seemed to be good 'ole father-in-law or Bebop as we call him. He was planning a trip anyway and now we would pay for it for him. Well, the foolish man agrees and arrived on our doorstep two days before the trip. Sister- in-Law also agreed she would help and came as well.



We went over the kids (and the dogs) schedule, I even had a binder full of instructions that would make a concierge of the finest hotel proud! We went over the security alarm system, we drove the route to the schools. It was only 5 nights and 4 whole days they would be fine right?.....

The morning we were due to leave we asked Bebop and sister-in-law to do a dry run to baby's school. It would reassure us that all would be OK while we were gone.

With bated breath we watched as Bebop reversed out of the driveway, proceed to drive over the neighbours front lawn, slammed my car down hard over the curb and finally left driving in the wrong direction away from school with sister-in-law laughing hysterically!

Hell!... Soulmate and I looked at each other, they will be OK right?, He won't kill them right? and if he does will this trip be worth it?

What do think?.....

Oil Spill and BP

I am not one that makes political statements in my blog or rant about the Obama administration (well, not in my blog anyway) but this BP oil leak is a beyond a joke.

I have written to our governmental administrators, BP and even the president. I kept it plain and simple with just a one question.....WTF?

I'm back......

OK, duly nagged for not updating my blog (you know who you are!) I have decided to get you caught up on events.The kids are out for summer (yeah???), Soulmate and I had a nice vacation away sans kids, I celebrated my birthday and anniversary, Good friends from NY have paid us a visit and my life continues to supply me with endless material to write in my blog.

First, as I have previously documented, Firstborn has always been a challenge. She is growing up, spreading her wings. testing her boundaries and all those other crap cliche's that apply to a mouthy 11 year old! Well, I am here to report she is doing sooooooooo much better.

She has calmed down, been more respectful and had actually been studying! What is the change you may ask?.. did I hit her in the head with a frying pan? (thought about it)... Did she smack her head diving in the bottom of the pool??? (possibly)...nope she has a boyfriend!

Gulp!....my 11 year old has boyfriend. now anyone who has known me from my childhood will tell you she takes after her mum, but I was NOT 11 when I became boy crazy, I was a very mature 13 year old so leave me alone.

We have over 800 text exchanges a day between these two, very cute and innocent, like ,what's your favorite color, what music you like, etc, thankfully none of the questions she likes to pose to me such as the ones about premarital sex and protection are noted! One of the rules we have with Firstborn having her own cell phone is that there is no privacy. I am allowed to listen to voicemail and read texts at anytime. I delete them after I have read them, she is not to delete anything. This appears to have worked so far, tho I am sure when I was on Vaca and her Grandfather was watching her, every forbidden word, photo and message flew across the lines exploding AT&T and causing down wires (She was allowed to delete her own messages while I was away otherwise her phone memory would be used up before I got on the plane!)

Anyway, we decided to meet this little cowboy who has my daughters, heart, to ensure that he fully understood the wrath of a 6ft 4 in Yank and a 5ft 2in, but very spunky, Brit. We invited him over for 2 hours for a BBQ and a swim.

When he arrived I met his mother, who proceeded to embarrass the kid, to the point of making him blush, by saying" don't be scared, he gets a little afraid of the deep end in a pool". My first impression was I love this woman!

So B friend arrives and the interrogation begins, What's your dad do? (He's a Marine) How long have you lived in Texas?(one year) Where do you live? (Nice neighbourhood) What's your mum do?(Waitress, divorced) Who takes care of you over the summer?(14 year old sister) and so on and so forth. He proceeded to answer every question shyly but confidently with lots of Sirs and Mam's thrown in. As your dad is a Marine you must have travelled a lot? (yes), What's your favorite country you have lived in?(England, I want to go back). ...what?...excuse me?..... Did you say England?(Yes, I loved it there)....... Well, now let me think, this kid is respectful, has calmed Firstborn down, helped her with her studies and loves England?...Hmmmm.......

I love this kid! I gave him the keys to the house and the code to the security alarm, he can come by anytime!