Way Back Wednesday...on Saturday.

How many of you guessed that I would miss Way Back "Wednesday"? Never mind, don't answer that.

I feel bad about disappointing everyone that clicked over here on Wednesday expecting a blast from my past. (Okay, so there were probably five people that clicked over...but don't tell me that, my fragile self-esteem can't handle the knowledge that only five people read my blog).

Anyhoo... I thought I would try to make it up to you five by posting some priceless pics of...myself.

Let me preface this picture posting by telling you that the following were taken at age 17. At 17, I had several body piercings, my hair changed color on a monthly basis, and I was opposed to any type of UV light touching my skin (and therefore my complexion was a whiter shade of pale). To say that I was not the "Glamour Shots" type of gal would be a huge understatement... but my mother-in-law (at the time) prodded me into going.

And now...without further ado...I present: Glamour Shots!!!

Okay, if I am being objective, I would have to say that this first picture isn't too bad. The mushroom puff hair-do does leave something to be desired, but in general it's not terrible.


Moving on... shot number two...

Oooohhhh...look at the red finger nails. Why did they tell me to hold up four fingers? Does this strike anyone else as odd? Nevermind that this picture also accentuates the fact that I was in dire need of having my roots "done".


Photo numero three...or what I refer to as "Peacock Pose"...

Seriously, what is up with the feather boa? Why am I holding it above my head? I look like a turquoise and white peacock in dire need of having it's roots done.

Now, for the fourth and final pose.

Perhaps their intentention was to make me look like some sort of biker babe...hmmm...not so much.

I remember posing for this picture. Not only did I have to don an itchy emarald green bustier...but I was required to bend in contortions of an unnatural nature in order to get my head to look straight on my asymmetricaly bent shoulders. Perhaps I had to hold my shoulders in that position in order to offset the weight of the ginormous chandelier earrings?

My friend Murphy

Background:
Until this year, I had two school schedules to navigate...Forrest's Sumner County schedule and Hannah and Sophie's private-school-loosely-based-on-Metro's schedule. Sumner county and Metro rarely have spring break at the same time. In fact it has only happened 3 times in the past 8 years. 2003, 2005 and 2008.

Technically, we are supposed to have Hannah and Sophie every other spring break...but if their spring break and Forrest's spring break fall at different times, we let their other mom have them. If it works out that everyone is on break at the same time, we take a mini-trip with the kids. In 2003 we went to St. Louis, in 2005 we went to Florida and last year we went back to St. Louis.

This year we moved to three schedules, Hannah and Sophie on their Metro-ish schedule, Chloe and Cammie on the Sumner county schedule and Forrest on JPII's-we-make-our-own-schedule-that-has-absolutely-nothing-to-do-with-either-one-of-the-other's schedule.

A few months ago I wrote the words "spring break" on my calendar...from March 16th through March 21st. I talk to "D" (other mom) and we decided to split spring break this year.

Timeline:
March 9 (Monday): Mark and I return from Vienna.
We find out that Cammie didn't feel well and had missed school.

March 10 (Tuesday): Cammie and Chloe both say they feel bad (we think that they may just
want to stay home because they missed us).
By lunch time they both have fevers.

March 11 (Wednesday): Both girls still have fevers.

March 12 (Thursday): Both girls still have fevers but they are considerably lower.
I check my calendar and see SPRING BREAK written in big letters.
I call Mark and ask if he would like me to check on last minute deals for a cabin in
Gatlinburg. He says yes.
I find a great deal on a great cabin and book it for Sunday through Tuesday.
Two hours later I am on the phone with Rachel and I tell her about the great deal
I found and how we are leaving right after church on Sunday.

Rachel: "You do know that it's not spring break, right"? she asks slowly.
Me: (thinking that she is talking about the current week we are in since my kids have
missed so much of it)..."Oh, I know, that's next week".

*crickets chirping*

Rachel: (more slowly than last time) "Nooooo. Tomorrow is teacher's in-service. They have
school on Monday, spring break is around Easter".

Me: silence... followed by "Oops".


Did I mention that there is a no-refund policy on last-minute cabin rentals?

I tell Mark and we decide that since the girls have only missed a few days this week and two days in November that we will go ahead with our plans to go to Gatlinburg...what's the harm in missing two more days?


March 13 (Friday): Teacher's In-Service, No School
Both girls are fever free.

March 14 (Saturday): Everyone feels fine.

March 15 (Sunday): Everyone feels fine.
Drive to Gatlinburg after morning service.

March 16 (Monday): Everyone feels fine. Have a great day hanging out together.

March 17 (Tuesday): My friend Murphy comes to visit. You know Murphy right? As in
Murphy's Law.

Chloe wakes up and promptly pukes.
On the drive home Cammie comes down with a high fever.

March 18 (Wednesday): Both girls have fevers.

March 19 (Thursday): Both girls have fevers.
Go to doctor, both have some sort of viral "thing".

March 20 (Friday): Chloe wakes up better but can't go to school until she has been fever free
for 24 hours...it has been less than 12.

Cammie still has a fever.

March 21 (Saturday): Both are fine and fever free.

March 22 (Sunday): Chloe is fine...Cammie has a fever after lunch. She has developed a
sinus infection.

March 23 (Monday): Chloe is finally back in school.
Cammie is at home fighting off a sinus infection.

This is what my friend Murphy taught me:

Planning a trip when your kids have "only missed a few days"...could turn into one of them missing 8 days in a row and the other missing 9 and counting.

One blonde moment while filling out the calendar and I am well on my way to being turned into the police for a truancy violation.

New things...

1. Obviously the background on the blog has changed. I realize that it is a little on the feminine side, but I like it...except for those little round things that I assume are meant to resemble brads, those I could do without.


2. We went to Gatlinburg for a mini-spring break trip with the kids. Funny story...coming tomorrow. The "new" thing is this:







You may be wondering why I consider a pot of Taco Soup a "new thing"...then again you may not be, either way, I'll tell ya'. This picture of taco soup represents eight years of vacations and good intentions.

Just about every vacation we have ever gone on (especially the ones with kids) we (meaning "I") have made plans to cook meals in our room/cabin/campground. Plans that included a menu, the purchasing of provisions, and cutting down on the costs of our trip. Every single time we have fell victim to the "we're on vacation, why should we cook and clean up...what kind of vacation is that???" mentality.

Camping at Land Between the Lakes? Hot dogs on the grill, baked beans and s'mores? How about ditching the tent and heading to Miss. Patty's for pork chops instead??!!

St. George Island, Florida where there are only two restaurants? Spaghetti and garlic bread in the kitchen? Ooohhh...I think I remember seeing a seafood restaurant on the drive-in...it's only 45 minutes away, why not??!!

Holiday World? Cereal bars in the room for breakfast? We could eat a real breakfast at the Denny's next door instead!!

And that is a brief history of our cooking on vacations saga.

Until this time.

We planned on eating four meals in the cabin...and we did!!! We ate dinner (spaghetti, garlic bread, brownies) in the cabin on Sunday night after we arrived. Mark made pancakes and bacon for breakfast on Monday, we had grilled cheese and tomato soup for lunch and then, taco soup for dinner that night.

*sniff* I am so proud of us *sniff, sniff*

3. I have been thinking about posting more often. Really, I have. And not only because my sister, Amy, and various others (you know who you are)...have been requesting that I (nagging me to)update more regularly.

In a previous post I covered the issues that hinder my posting process. Annnd I am fairly certain that we have established that I have OCD. The good thing about OCD is that it positively thrives on "themes". So, I thought if, maybe, I came up with a few (somewhat corny) themes for certain days of the week...perhaps it would help me to post more than once or twice a month.

Obviously I like the "random" lists, so I plan on doing one of those each week. That "theme" doesn't strike me as too corny.

So, are you ready for the corny one?

I'm thinking that "Way Back Wednesday" could be fun.

What is "Way Back Wednesday"?

Well, obviously it will take place on...you guessed it...Wednesday. Annnnd it will feature pictures.

What kind of pictures?

Pictures like this:

Me, age 3... getting a bear hug from Billy Bob. Surely you know who Billy Bob is. Showbiz Pizza's Rock-afire Rockstar, that's who. Until that silly mouse known as "Chuck E. Cheese" came along, it was all Billy, all the time.

And there will be pictures like this:

Me. Circa 1982. Clutching my E.T. doll that Santa had brought me. See those hard, plastic eyeballs on E.T.'s big, misshapen head? Well one of them melted and...It.Traumatized.Me.

Seriously. To this day, I can't think about E.T. without picturing his little melty eyeball.

Do you see that look of woe on my face? Deep down, I must have known that his demise was imminent. One day, I left him lying on the living room floor...and the floor heater turned on (you can find a pic of an old floor heater here). I found him with his little eyeball melted into a stringy, plastic mess of a puddle. Sad day.

And, sometimes there will be pictures like this:

Forrest. Age 2 and a half. Rockin' the ninja costume...except for the work boots. What was I thinking? Ninjas do not wear work boots. Poor kid. (Obviously my OCD had not kicked in at this stage in my life. Because now? There is NO way I would let my ninja out of the house wearing work boots. I would color those puppies black with a sharpie if necessary).

And that's all I've got for tonight. You may be wishing that I had stuck with bi-monthly posts before this is all over with.

Touching base...

1. Vienna was fabulous! Pictures and details coming soon.

2. Cammie has added more to our ongoing birds-and-bees discussion...those details too, shall follow.

3. Forrest has a girlfriend and they are going to a youth service and fellowship this weekend. Together. In the same car. Lord, help me. BUT, it is our car and we are going too...a nice old-fashioned "family date". We like the "make sure a bible can fit between you when you sit together" way of thinking. Fortunately our truck has captain's seats...so there is a nice wide aisle between them.

4. I know I am way behind on the photo blog. I know. It is causing me much woe. Oh, no. Ummm...is that tacky poem helping to distract you from the fact that I am way behind on the photo blog? The good news is...I have taken the pictures, I have a list, I am going to update...tomorrow! Fo' real.

5. I have a great life, and I am so thankful for it. It's something I think about on a regular basis, but I don't say it often enough. Life, is truly good.