Untitled, cause I just don't know what to say

Wow. It'd been awhile. I've missed my peeps. So much has happened. Where to begin?

Sadly, my sister's fiance died. He lasted a month and 10 days, and then past. My sister put it so perfectly. "The Surreal has become Real". Who does this happen to?! You go in to have surgery and never wake up. The Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda hits you hard.
Sort of takes the life out of you. How can you watch someone go through this, and have no idea how to help them. Time will tell.

I on the other hand, slipped TWICE on the front deck and have only had the use of 1 arm for a few weeks. I sprained/slightly tore my rotators cuff. Fun times. Thankfully it's my left arm, but it still sucks being 1 armed.

I want to wish everyone a Happy and Healthy Holiday season. I'll be back, just taking the time to heal. This year, make sure everyone knows what you mean to them.
You, my blogging peeps, I cherish and miss. Happy Holidays!

Life for what it is. Fragile.

OK. I'm sitting for the first time in weeks. Not true. I sat for three days straight while doing all the paperwork that comes with the end of a fundraiser. Proudly I can say, since we gave the 10-yr-long, same Yankee candle fundraiser the boot, and went with something different and diverse, we made over $13,000.00. We get a great portion of that and are using the money to plan a (HOPEFULLY) awesome Fall Festival, on Halloween day. We had "take the Halloween, out of Halloween" as the Principal requested, and planned all fall themed things. We have a large group of Cherokee Nation Native Americans and a Chief coming in to do a show, a huge pumpkin patch, made by us, Scarecrow contest, parties, and really nice safety goody bags for the kids for Halloween night. I'm happy to pat myself on the back, because we've all worked really hard, and it's coming together pretty well. I will be BEYOND relieved when it's over.

The Fundraiser explained in great detail to me why I will never have a desk job. TOO. MUCH. PAPER. And a whole lot of other work to go with it. I told the Pres. I did my time and don't even ask for help on the next one. (I know she saw the sucker tattoo on my forehead). I could go on for days about all this crap so here's the gist of it all...Yadda, yadda, yadda, Oh and I'm so happy I took on the Terracycle, wash-out-the-nasty-smelling-Juice-pouches and recycle them program. Just a Tip: You might want to snatch up some stock, from the heavy duty yellow rubber glove company. I just might bring the economy back with that. Nahh...That will take a miracle. Or a man named Obama.

On to sadder news. I'm not going to get into great detail, for the privacy of my sister, but I'll give you the basics.
Monday October 13th, her boyfriend we in to the hospital to have hip replacement surgery. (this was the second try...the first time they realized he was a diabetic and postponed the surgery.) Round 2: He goes in that Monday, they give him a spinal, and twilight sleep anesthesia, rolled him to his side and he flat lined. They had to perform CPR for about a minute and he went right in to ICU in Critical condition, no surgery. That was 9 days ago and he is still in a coma. Not breathing on his own, and when the sedative wears off, there's no response. So, Keep him in your thoughts and prayers. We're really not sure what's going to happen....
We have surrounded my sister with love support and best of all, comfort food. Sometimes, there are just certain foods that make you feel SO. MUCH. BETTER. Mine are my grandmother's macaroni and cheese, Her Codfish and potato balls, scalloped potatoes, and as of this past week, Eggplant Parm. has been added to the list. What makes your heart and body all warm, fuzzy and comforted??

It's worth a try....

SO school started on the 8th. By the 10th, my youngest was home sick. BY the 11th, I had it too. What a great way to start the first week of school! I'm still fighting the stuffiness, but feeling better. Life has been CRAZY busy. I thought PTO secretary was going to be an easy, little work job, just like last year. Wrong. Being that I am home all day, I get to take care of the majority of the things that need to be done. Just slap a label on me that says PTO 's Bitch.
I have spent everyday, all day this week being all consumed with this stuff. I know it's for the kids, but I wonder if I could get them foot the bill for my vodka intake everyday....they've driven me to that point, why shouldn't they support my new habit?! It's for a could cause people, ME!!!

Isn't this the truth!!!

A friend sent this to me and I was in tears. I'm sure it's made the rounds, but I couldn't help myself. If anything, it's a good lesson for our daughters right?! How many times has this happened, and with kids in the stall?! Have a Good laugh and a Great weekend!

When you have to visit a public bathroom, you usually find a line of women, so you smile politely and take your place. Once it's your turn , you check for feet under the stall doors. Every stall is occupied.
Finally, a door opens and you dash in, nearly knocking down the woman leaving the stall.

You get in to find the door won't latch. It doesn't matter, the wait has been so long you are about to wet your pants! The dispenser for the modern 'seat covers' (invented by someones Mom, no doubt) is handy, but empty. You would hang your purse on the door hook, if there was one, but there isn't - so you carefully, but quickly drape it around your neck, (Mom would turn over in her grave if you put it on the FLOOR! ), yank down your pants, and assume ' The Stance.'
In this position your aging, toneless thigh muscles begin to shake. You'd love to sit down, but you certainly hadn't taken time to wipe the seat or lay toilet paper on it, so you hold 'The Stance.'
To take your mind off your trembling thighs, you reach for what you discover to be the empty toilet paper dispenser. In your mind, you can hear your mother's voice saying, 'Honey, if you had tried to clean the seat, you would have KNOWN there was no toilet paper!' Your thighs shake more.
You remember the tiny tissue that you blew your nose on yesterday - the one that's still in your purse. (Oh yeah, the purse around your neck, that now, you have to hold up trying not to strangle yourself at the same time). That would have to do. You crumple it in the puffiest way possible. It's still smaller than your thumbnail .
Someone pushes your door open because the latch doesn't work. The door hits your purse, which is hanging around your neck in front of your chest, and you and your purse topple backward against the tank of the toilet. 'Occupied!' you scream, as you reach for the door, dropping your precious, tiny, crumpled tissue in a puddle on the floor, lose your footing altogether, and slide down directly onto the TOILET SEAT. It is wet of course. You bolt up, knowing all too well that it's too late. Your bare bottom has made contact with every imaginable germ and life form on the uncovered seat because YOU never laid down toilet paper - not that there was any, even if you had taken time to try. You know that your mother would be utterly appalled if she knew, because, you're certain her bare bottom never touched a public toilet seat because, frankly, dear, 'You just don't KNOW what kind of diseases you could get.'

By this time, the automatic sensor on the back of the toilet is so confused that it flushes, propelling a stream of water like a fire hose against the inside of the bowl that sprays a fine mist of water that covers your butt and runs down your legs and into your shoes. The flush somehow sucks everything down with such force that you grab onto the empty toilet paper dispenser for fear of being dragged in too.
At this point, you give up. You're soaked by the spewing water and the wet toilet seat. You're exhausted. You try to wipe with a gum wrapper you found in your pocket and then slink out inconspicuously to the sinks.

You can't figure out how to operate the faucets with the automatic sensors, so you wipe your hands with spit and a dry paper towel and walk past the line of women still waiting.
You are no longer able to smile politely to them. A kind soul at the very end of the line points out a piece of toilet paper trailing from your shoe. (Where was that when you NEEDED it??) You yank the paper from your shoe, plunk it in the woman's hand and tell her warmly, 'Here, you just might need this.'
As you exit, you spot your hubby, who has long since entered, used, and left the men's restroom. Annoyed, he asks, 'What took you so long, and why is your purse hanging around your neck?'

This is dedicated to women everywhere who deal with a public restrooms (rest??? you've GOT to be kidding!!). It finally explains to the men what really does take us so long. It also answers their other commonly asked questions about why women go to the restroom in pairs. It's so the other gal can hold the door, hang onto your purse and hand you Kleenex under the door!
This HAD to be written by a woman! No one else could describe it so accurately!

They're gone!

The kids started school yesterday and I cried the whole drive home after dropping off my son. He didn't cry at all. He loves preschool so far, and I am happy for that, but I do miss him. My daughter started the 3rd grade and is very excited. In between all that yesterday, I made this:

Some NJ Supreme Court Circuit Judge was retiring, so My Uncle asked me to make this . (He's a judge too.) I'll get a call to day, to see how it was. A little harder then I thought to add all the details. Live and learn right?!

????????

Can anyone, PLEASE explain this to me?

All but 1 are essentially empty. Husband's excuse is "just in case I run out." What are you going to do SCRAPE the last bit of residue out and spread it on your pits?? If I catch you with items from the kitchen, you'll be banned forever.

COUNT IT DOWN!!

School starts in 4 days. 4 looong days. The reason we're starting so late is that the school took all the in-service days that are sprinkled throughout the year and put them all at the beginning. Um, Thanks for that. Everyone else is back in school and my kids are bored to tears. I'm also watching the same little girl I did last year. Except this year she's even more bratty. She is a child of an ugly divorce and I should feel sorry for her but I don't. She knows how to play the part very well. She sneaky and conniving and I've heard her more then once, trying to co-erse my son into doing something she knows they're not supposed to be doing. It's been 2 days, and am this close to telling her Dad I can't watch her this year. My daughter can't stand her, and is cranky every morning, because she has to get up and deal with this kid. Oh wait, that's me too.
This is also the guy who would take WEEKS, and at times MONTHS to pay me. I'm stuck here. This year I'll be driving the kids to school in the morning, since my son has to be at preschool the same time the girls bus comes. So parents, what would you do? Do I make him sign a contract? Do I tell him no, I can't do it this year? His other option is the early morning program at school. It would cost him $6. Yup that's it. He just doesn't want to go 1 street out of his way. Grrrrr.....I hate starting off the year this way!!!! HELP! Send Ideas and suggestions!

A little lost....

My parents picked my kids up yesterday afternoon for a 2 night sleepover. Today, I only had to make some cupcakes, while my husband was at work, and that was about it. What did I do before kids???? I finished a great book that I've only been able to read before bed. But other then that, I was a little lost. What the heck am I going to do with my self when they're both in school? I can only knit so many sweaters....

Weekend update

This weekend was busy! Friday afternoon I had a 5 hour PTO brainstorming Meeting. WOW! Lots to think about for the upcoming school year. I'm big on promoting "going green" this year. Lots of great recycling programs for the school, that I know in a few weeks, I will regret taking over. But it's for the good of the earth right?!

Onto the electrocution; I left an anonymous message for code enforcement. Two reasons for leaving it anonymous A) the person's house that we were at is on the Town Council. She's also the Top Realtor in our area. I didn't want to start any trouble for her. B) I just want the guy fined and signs put up. I left my number for further questions, but didn't leave my name. I don't mind filing the complaint in my name, but don't want to get the property/homeowner involved. I will let you know what I find out.

Saturday I made these:




The boat was HUGE and fondant rope, yeah, not so easy to make knots out of. The wee baby smash cake was so cute!




This cute little cake was also for a first Birthday and the top tier was her smash cake. I was pretty pleased with them, except for the ropes....live and learn.
We still have 2 weeks before school starts. Everyone is BORED. Everything has been done and done again. So, what to do with them for the next 2 weeks????

It's shocking.

Late yesterday afternoon, a friend called and asked if we wanted to go fishing at a different lake then ours. I was restless, yet still had a slight headache, but I said yes. We went, sat in the shade and had a really nice 2 hours of fishing. The only thing the kids caught was a turtle, but we could see fish everywhere.
(Side note: If turtle catching were an Olympic sport, my daughter and her friends would own the gold. 19 in 1 day. AND many by hand.)
After we left the lake, we drove down the road to a big old farm house that my friends husband was working on. He was going to meet up with us while we were fishing, so we stopped to tell him we were headed home. Behind the house is a HUGE horse farm. Acres and acres.
Near where we were, was a momma horse and her colt. The colt was so cute and playful, the kids were so excited. I'm watching this from the truck and and out of the corner of my eye, I see my daughter scream and start crying, shaking. She was holding her arm, so I thought she had scratched herself against the old wire fence. Two seconds later, I realized chances were good the fence was electrified. I was right. Thank all things sweet and holy, that she didn't actually wrap her hand around the wire. She only touched her forearm to it. It sent electricity all the way up her arm, where she said it felt like it exploded. I was scared to death. And PISSED OFF. The fence was old and the electric part was the tiny wire running across the top. NOWHERE, down the length of houses that backed this farm, was there a sign stating that it was an electric fence. The house that we were at, has tenants with children!! It ends up that my friends Mother-in-law has taken this guy to the township repeatedly about putting up a sign. He hasn't. NOW, he has to deal with me. He's lucky my daughter was hurt badly. Still, there is NO excuse!!
I'll let you know when I'm the new owner of that horse farm.....

Seriously? Seriously.

This week my parents are in The Hamptons. My father works for GE, something to do with Worldwide infrastructure, computers, 4 am conference calls and some travel. For fun, he's a actor. Check him out later. DennisMcGeady.
Onward. He's in this play this week.

"COURTROOM COMEDY IN PREMIER AT OLD WHALER’S CHURCH
A raucous courtroom comedy based on the craziness of a real life divorce case will have its premier at the Old Whaler’s Church in Sag Harbor on Thursday, August 21 for a three-day run ending on Saturday night. The play, entitled “The Cat, the General, the Wife, the Judge and Calzone,” was previously performed on May 15, 2008 to a SRO audience in a stage reading at the Helen Mills Theatre in New York City.
." His lawyer "Charles O'Gorman" is the well-known actor and SAG member, Dennis J. McGeady who has appeared in the CBS soap, "The Guiding Light"; the ABC Pilot "Dirty Sexy Money", and NBC "Law & Order Criminal Intent". The play will starting off-Broadway in the fall.

Anyway, they are staying at the Director's house. Which happens to be a convent. Yes, I did say CONVENT. An old retired, partially renovated convent. My Mother calls last night and says she's sitting around the pool, having a drink. I could NOT stop laughing.
" I'm sorry Mom, but if you were in my head right now, this whole convent-drinking-swimming-haunted convent picture in my head has you laying around the pool with nuns in habits serving you."
"There are no Nuns, Kell"
"I know, but the image in my head is running it's own comedy show right now."
"I'm thinking we should plan a family reunion here in the off season. It's a good location for the NYC, Hamptons, and New Jersey relatives."
My end of the phone...silence. I am laughing SO. HARD. "Mom listen to the words that are coming out of your mouth. A Family reunion at a convent. A) there are no families in convents. B) This does not mean I will call you Mother Superior, and C) Can we have it catered and make all the waitstaff dress like Nuns and Fathers?"
"No Kelly, and stop making fun. This place is beautiful."
" I'm sure it is Mom, but Seriously?
"Seriously Kell. Start planning the menu. The kitchen is huge."
"Well it would have to be to make porridge and stuff to the nun. Oh and can we hire Sally Fields? And maybe bring the Ghost Hunters with us?"
" Your Father just returned from rehearsal, smart-ass, I have to go."

I'll keep you posted on how the show goes.....this whole trip is going to be very funny, I believe.

Thanks for the warning, buddy.

For the past 2 nights, my son (and my husband and I) has slept like crap. He's up, or talking in his sleep, in my bed at 11, and just all around miserable. Yesterday he wouldn't nap. It's 10:30 am and I've already tried to get him down today.
He woke up at 7:30 this morning, slid out of my bed and went to see if "TT" was up. No such luck for momma. He comes back into my room, throws the covers off me and SCREAMS "MOM GET UP! I HAVE AN ATTITUDE!"
You sure do buddy, you sure do. It's going to be a loooong day.

Not this time kiddo. They're saving that job for you.

While watching TV with my 8 year old, a commercial came on.
"I don't like that old white haired guy. Or that other guy. They're mean in these commercials."
I sat speechless.
"I really wanted a woman to be president."
Um, ok. Who are you and what happened to my child? Or better yet, How do you feel about the price of oil, the foreclosure rate, and the bombing of Georgia?

Happy 3rd Birthday Baby Boy!!

Three years ago, This past Sunday, August 10th, this came in the mail. No, not really, I just think this picture is so cute.





He was welcome by all, as he was an amazing surprise. After years of trying and refusing to





do in-vitro, we were blessed with his arrival. He went on his first vacation to the Outer Banks at 3 weeks old.


He gave Power to the People.
He made a really cute pumpkin.

He was a really good charmer with that smile!


He let us dress him up like a little doll.
Yeah, we had a thing for hats....





He was a very hard worker at a young age.


He could wrangle a vacuum with the best of them.




He could relax with friends, or on the beach.



He kept his mother's love of cheese puffs and sleep from the womb.


He was a very sharp dresser....sometimes.



You grew to love Monster Frucks.....I mean Trucks. And this one in particular. At the age of 2 you walked up to him and told him you LOVE monster trucks. So he broke the rules and let you do this:


So, in Honor of your Third Birthday I presented you with this. It so important to me that my kids have memorable cakes. I think this tops them so far. I'm not sure which he found cooler though.......the cake or his gift.

Happy Birthday Bubbah O'Riley!
(yes I know they spell it differently on the song!)

Ship of Fools

What a weekend!! The Water Carnival was a BLAST! I made mojitos for the pre-party and we had lots of yummy food. Chicken wings, Mozz. sticks, I made delicious zucchini fritters, crab dip, and crudite. For the boat, I made lemon drop shots. The pictures really tell the story:

These were SO good!! Mozz and parm cheese, zucchini, flour, egg, breadcrumbs, all fried into yummy goodness.

Here comes the ship of fools. We were 45 feet long. 4 canoes put together, with trolling motors for easier steering. Mike in the yellow shirt is a genius and had this thing perfectly rigged so no one could tip it.

Aimed at the back of the boat. Captain Mike was so proud of his ship of fools, WITH Mardi Gras beads, that we did throw. Then the front of the boat...My Husband was all the way in the front.

This float was very well done. It didn't win....this whole thing is very political apparently. The same people win every year. They made a pyramid, but I'm not giving them the satisfaction of posting it. :) Here are some other cool ones:

Here are the police....yelling at us, because we parked ourselves directly UNDER The fireworks, and were being showered with ash.....hence the name of out boat.....Ship of Fools.

And of course the best part of the evening was when we decided to beach and go get a funnel cake. Let me start by saying I had a few mojitos and a few shots. When we decided to get back into the boat, I put Riley in, and then started to attempt to lift my leg to get into the boat. I was wearing a pair of my husband flip-flops, (so I didn't ruin mine.....it's cedar water) jeans (the mosquitoes are awful) and a tank top. My flip-flop sunk into the sand. As I attempted to wrench it out, I lost all balance. I couldn't get my other foot out of the sinking sand and in very slow motion, Tipped to the left and leaned like the leaning Tower of Pisa. Except, I went all the way down. Into the water. In jeans.

Yesterday, my friend Corrine (the dark haired one in the picture) went to the local Wawa and ran into one of the town Police officers. He said we were a huge hit from the shore, and looked like we had a lot of fun. He also heard that someone went overboard. I didn't go overboard I just got really WET and SANDY. See? That's how rumors start......Next year, we're going to attempt to actually make a float out of 7 canoes. I'll be the dry one next year.

Addtion: I found this picture that somone on shore took of us.

So. Wiped.

We have been going and going since last weekend. Here are the cakes....except STUPID me forgot to take a picture of the Elmo cake. Doesn't matter, the red got too dark and my husband said it looked like Elmo's evil Twin. Nice. Thanks for being SO supportive BABE! The Event planner was VERY happy with the cake and a friend of mine called and said she had been at the party and The EP truly was happy. It's a good thing, ' cause at this point I would have happily kicked her in the ass. The penguin came out cute, just a little square looking to me. Was a huge hit though.


We spent the week canoeing, boating, swimming and just running in general. This weekend our town does a "Water Carnival" and people decorate their boats and make big floats out of them. Then there's fire works, bands, and it's great fun. We are attempting to tie 5 canoes together, in an odd formation....not just end to end. Should be interesting, and we'll see WHO goes overboard first.
Getting ready for Riley's birthday party next weekend. He wants a "Monster Fruck cake". A friend of mine suggested I make a 1/2 sheet, make it look like a dirt track and add some little trucks. I was APPALLED! My 2 year old has thrown a challenge on the table. He wants a 3D monster truck and that's what he's going to get. The "Grave Digger" to be specific. A big old Black and green truck. She laughed at me for excepting the challenge from a 2 year old. We'll see who laughs last.....
Have a great weekend!!!

Big plans

Today I will be baking. And baking. AND baking. Nothing like waiting till the last minute for all the orders tomorrow. I am the worst procrastinator, and yesterday we spent the day on the lake with friends, in canoes and a catamaran. (Which ultimately flipped) WAY to much fun to walk away from to bake. A Bikini, Elmo and a penguin for today. Oh and one is for THE EVENT PLANNER. We'll see if she lives through this cake order......
Have a GREAT weekend!

Good Old Crayola

Dear Crayola,
My son discovered a new color yesterday and I would like to see it in the upcoming boxes, for the new school year. You people seem to think it looks like "Macaroni and cheese". When I asked my son what color it was his reply made much more sense. "O'de lellow" Apparently when you cross yellow and orange you get that color. Not "Macaroni and Cheese" "Apricot", or the other 400 names you have for the same color.
Please remedy this situation immediately, so that I don't have to tell him he's wrong, and his school won't think he doesn't know his colors. 'Cause he does.....and better then you people it seems.
Regards,
Mrs. Kelly Green
P.S. Could ya fix that crayon too? I'd like the 'Mrs.' added please.

Ice Cream Day and an attempt at payback

Sunday was National Ice Cream Day. So, I decided we would celebrate on the Holiday itself. Every year since I was little, and my Mother was little, we have one day during the summer that you eat nothing but Ice Cream. Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, snacks. The above picture shows exactly what you need to survive the day. Lots of ice cream, ice pops and some tequila. That was for me to survive the sugar high that the kids have all day. Chocolate sauce, Caramel, sprinkles, cherries, cones, you name it and we had it. I usually do it on a week day, but my Husband always misses out, so I decided to do on a day when he could participate. And participate he did. I can only eat so much before I something with substance. I bought some sun chips and spinach dip and then made beef satay with peanut sauce to fill bellies, that had nothing but ice cream in them all day. I shaved the beef, marinated it and skewer it. The measuring cup has the peanut sauce in it. YUM!Moving on. I decide to shave the beef with a clever while it was still frozen, to get perfectly shaved slices. I was to lazy to get out my meat slicer. While I was doing this, everyone else was outside relaxing. And Yes, he picked that spot all by himself. We were cracking up. To him, it looked like a little hammock underneath!
Back to my payback. While on vacation in the Outer Banks a few years ago, I had the scare of a lifetime. We rented a huge house, on the beach with a pool, with 3 other families. We all took turns, as couples cooking dinner. This was our night, and we had finished up, and I was taking the garbage out. It had to go to the street, so here I was walking down this 1/4 mile long driveway, pushing a huge garbage can. In the PITCH black. The house was set so far back from the street, you couldn't see a thing. The next thing I know, someone pokes me in the sides (my MOST ticklish spot) and yells AAHHH. I drop the garbage can, scream bloody murder and turn around to swing my fist into my attacker. Who happened to be my husband. Apparently he tip-toed down the driveway, giggling like a little girl, ready to attack. I had been so scared, I instantly burst into tears, called him every name and curse. Then I started really swinging. I was livid. He knows I scare very easily and this had been his perfect opportunity. Fast forward to this year, yesterday.

Here I am shaving beef, while he lays in the hammock. My mind starting racing as I was doing this. I can't stand the sight of blood. I hit the floor immediately, if I do. So I start with ketchup.....
I slathered it all over my hand and the counter. Then I add Maraschino cherry juice.

I wrap my thumb in a paper towel and watch out the window and wait for him to come in. He starts to come into the house and I run for the back door, quietly telling him I need help, and I don't want to scare the kids. I'm holding onto the counter, like I'm getting close to fainting. He doesn't even look at my thumb and What do I get? "Piss poor attempt babe. You're not pale and I would have found you on the floor. That was really sad. You'll never get me back." WTF???!!! DAMN IT!! I tried I really did. Thankfully he doesn't read this, 'cause now it's on.

Something occurred to me. A neighbor of just found out she's pregnant. (Thankfully, she knows him well enough and will think this is Hysterical.) I'm going to go buy a test, ask her to take it and then have it ready when he gets home from work one day this week. I'm not sure if it will scare him, as much as it will give him a heart attack. Either way, I. WIN.

In a nutshell.... a coconut sized nutshell

This story begins with the fact that this was the first time in 20 years that all 5 siblings and their mother were in the same place at once. My Husband was so excited, as were the rest of the family. A few pix to show. All 5 and Mom together!! The one that belongs to me is far left.

I survived the plane ride very nicely. No vodka, but with the assistance of xanax. I put on my tunes, closed my eyes and ended up sleeping for a bit until my brother-in-law and husband woke me by poking me in the side. I opened my eyes and they were both to inches from my face with gum sticking out of their mouths. Lovely. Great week, except my poor Mother-in-law did not get the C.O. to her newly built house until the day after we arrived. And we were staying there.....

Bar by the pool at M-I-L's house. B-i-l from Va, Hubby, B-I-L, B-I-L, (they're married partners) S-I-L and her BF. (possibly soon to be husband. I love him.)

Very cool Sailfish carving made from tree roots at M-I-L's house.

The wedding....WOW. Most unorganized event I have ever been to. What makes it worse is that the bride is the GM of a hotel. There were people in the wedding party, that didn't even know they were until the rehearsal dinner at my Mother-in-laws, the night before. AND if you were in the bridal party, you had to wear all white. It was on the beach, with a black and theme. The bride and groom wore black and everyone else wore white. ALL 20 PEOPLE IN THE WEDDING PARTY!!! It was obscene. Not enough limos, so people had to take other transportation, and with that being the case, loss of communication. After the wedding, the bride said to head back to the hotel. Those of us in other cars did just that. We received a very nasty call (from the bride)when we were almost back to the hotel asking where the hell we were. Hhmmm, going where you told us to?! Apparently she had decided on the way back that they were going to some far off place to have pix taken. We had 3 of 5 siblings of the groom in our car, so we were holding up the pictures. We got lost and when we did arrive she screamed across the beach, "it's about time, Hurry up!!!!" My wonderful husband and his brother flipped her the bird. This was the first time we were meeting out new sister-in-law and let me say, that I have no desire to ever see her again. Thank Jeebus they live in Florida. Oh and they met on Match.com 6 months ago and she's 2 months preggo. He's 44 and she's 38. Any bets on how long this lasts????

The wedding party, including my in-laws, but the mother of the bride didn't get the message to come to this far off land....sad to say, she's in hardly any pictures. ORGANIZATION would have been helpful.Me, my Husband and my 'FRO. It was so windy my curls just exploded and unless I kept myself facing into the wind, I couldn't see a thing.

The reception was only a 3 hour cocktail and hors de oeuvres party, from 7-10. We didn't get back to the hotel until 8:30. The rest of the wedding party didn't arrive for another 1/2 hour!! People had left, they were so annoyed. There were no hot hors de oeuvres being past until the bride and groom showed and everything else sucked. Other then the wedding itself, it was an awesome weekend. I don't think I have laughed so hard in so long. There is WAY more to this story, but it's just too much to tell! I will post an album, because I got lots of great pix.

3 of 4 brothers.
My S-I-L looking, oh so hot! Unfortunately, this was for the rehearsal dinner, and it was too dressy, so she changed. She looked so good! I miss her dearly, she moved to AZ.

4 out of 5 siblings. We arrived on M-I-L's 65Th B-day, so the next night she got us clams and all 2 lb. lobsters. YUM! S-I-L and BF and a friend of my Husbands, since childhood, enjoying lobsters!

This past week, I took over a friends daycare while she was on vacation and I had a 14 month, 2, 5,7, and 8 year old, for the week. They were all pretty good kids, but I was exhausted from partying for 5 days and not going to bed til 2 am! I literally landed Sunday night and they all arrived Monday morning. Whirlwind week.

Today the kids and I made Jam and pie from the 12 lbs. of blueberries we picked this weekend. Trying to finally relax and unwind.

Oh and this conversation took place:

Me: "T, I really am getting so tired of your....(pause)"

2 year old laying on the floor, playing: " AT-TI-TUDE."

I guess I can add that to the list of things I say WAY to often.