Vacation at Home

No, we didn't go away for spring break.
We're home.
I'm cleaning and running errands.
Dylan is putting up with me.
Today we're going shopping and
tomorrow is a visit to the OBGYN.
Needless to say - he's thrilled.
"I have to sit in the waiting room
at the LADY'S DOCTOR??!!!!!"
"UGH!!!"
"I'll love you a thousand times more
than you love me if you don't make me
go to the Lady's Doctor."

Ok.
Maybe I'll call Grandpa and see if he
wants some company tomorrow.

Anyway, here are some pics of my boy and
a giant icicle he found this winter.
This is what I have to deal with.

Ready For Easter

I was up early this AM.

Lots of candy.



Which became part of my Easter gifts
for the kids. Water bottles.



Then rows of Easter cupcakes.
(thank you Pillsbury)





Yum.

Lovin' These!

Look at my new shoes!!!!
ORANGE SUEDE driving mocs!


They are sooooo yummy!

And look at these!!!!

I've been looking at Wellies for quite some time, looking
for just the right pair.
Well, I found these at TARGET!
Love the color!
And they're not high, just mid calf.
And they were only $19.99!!!!
They're garden boots.
Love.
Them.

My Worst Birthday

This is my worst birthday.
And the crazy thing is....
The crazy thing.......
IT'S NOT EVEN MY BIRTHDAY.

Today is Dylan's birthday.

Today Dylan turned 13.

I
AM
THE
MOTHER
OF
A
TEENAGER.

ME!!!!
I have a TEENAGER!!!
When did I get so old?

Seriously, this is worse than when I
turned 30, which didn't bother me one bit.
31 bothered me. I was "in my 30's".
40 didn't bother me at all.
I even forget that I'm 42. I was telling
someone I was 43 and Dylan corrected me.
See??? I don't even KNOW how old I am.

BUT I DO know that I am now the mother of a
TEENAGER!!!

I spent today making cupcakes:

Baseballs.
These are the last 8.
You can tell I was over them by this point.

I asked Dylan if he had a good birthday.
"Um, yeah!"
He rec'd teenager currency (iTunes gift cards)
-tickets to the US Open in June - very excited.
-a "T" rated game for the WII, because he can now play "T" rated games.

We also went out for sushi:




Yeah, today was pretty good, but it's
still my worst birthday.

Yummy Dinner

I've been making "double dinners"
each Sunday night and bringing the second
to my parent's house each Monday morning
on my way to work so my mother wouldn't have
to worry about cooking too much.
Even though her treatment is going well,
she's very tired.

So the other day she sent me home with
a recipe and some skirt steak.
Made it last night.
Soooo good.

Marinate skirt steak in:
olive oil
6 cloves of garlic, sliced thin
2 tablespoons of fresh rosemary

Cook in pan on stove
Salt and pepper
Reserve marinade
5-7 minutes each side.

Remove steak.
Wipe pan clean.
Add remaining marinade
Cook till garlic is browned.
Spoon over steak.

Made this last night, did not
cook marinade, decided not
to have too much garlic.

Delish!
Served with simple spinach salad
and baked spuds.

Yum.
Quick and Easy.
Try it.

So Neglectful

I know, I've been so neglectful.
I'm just so tired!

My business trip to Atlantic City was great.
It was the American Camping Association Conference.
I am now so ready for camp!
I took quite a few seminars on staff training,
so now, I'll be training the staff. Can't wait.
I also started a camp blog, still in the works.

Things at school have changed.
I am no longer the permanent substitute.
I'm now working for camp full time.
(the camp is part of school)
Enrollment is a little slow, which is to be
expected with this economy.
I have been on the phone all day
every day calling families getting them to
enroll. So far, so good!
I love camp and I'm loving working there.
*for any new readers, I have some pretty funny
camp stories in my archives*

I'll be better with my blogging.
I have so much to say!
Hope you are all well!

I'm Leavin' On A Jet Plane.....

....well, actually, I'm driving.

Yes, I'm off on my first business
trip and it's in ATLANTIC CITY!

No.
I don't gamble.

I know.
What the heck am I gong to do there?

Well, I guess I could go to some seminars.
This is the American Camping Conference for
summer camps.

I'm driving down with a co-worker after school.
My camp director, aka, my summer husband is
already there.

Looking forwarad to it!

Wonderful People

You are all wonderful.

Thank you so much for the well wishes.

It means a lot.

Thank you.

The BEST News!!!!!!!!!

November
Mom - brain tumor, surgery, removed.

January
MRI - large black spot on MRI of where
tumor had been. Still lots of swelling.

February
Chemo and radiation

March
MRI - large black spot now a TINY TINY SPOT!
NO SWELLING!!!!!

Doc said he couldn't have asked for better results!!!

Thank you God.

Me And My Shadow

I was asked to shadow a little guy in school.
I'm not sure how long I'll be doing this, I think
until they find someone to do it full time.
He's little.
He's ADORABLE!
He's a busy little guy.
He just needs someone to keep him on task.
While it's not always easy, I do enjoy my time
with him. He's so sweet.
I wonder what's going on in his head.
It seems there is an awful lot going on in there.
He's so bright, but he has so much other stuff
going on. He's very busy. Very busy.
Did I mention that he's a busy little guy?
The teacher said I have a calming effect on
him. I think it's because I'm a mom.
I just want to hug him and tell him he's
perfect just the way he is and everything will
turn out fine in the end.
But since I can't, I'm happy to play blocks with
him, watch the gears turning in
that busy little brain of his
- and enjoy his smile.

The Best....

After getting 1 1/2 hours of sleep the night
before, I decided to go to bed early last night.

In bed at 9:00.
Comfy pjs.
Window cracked a little bit.
Perfect sleeping conditions.

I'm waking to what I think is my alarm
clock going off.
- (it was Paul snoring)
and I think, "yawn, ok, time to get up".

I look at the clock....

11:45pm

I was overjoyed!
I had an entire night's sleep ahead of me!
The best!

This and That

Wow, it's been a whole week since I posted.
Well, let's see, what's been going on.

The economic crisis has hit our school.
We had contract negotiations last week.
I went into my meeting feeling great-
came out of the meeting biting my nails.
A lot of changes were in the works at school,
and I was part of them.
One week later, I had my final meeting.....
HELLO RAISE!
HELLO NEW POSITION!
HELLO NEW RESPONSIBILITIES!
-that's all I can say right now, well, that, and the fact
that I'm very happy. I've stopped biting my nails.

I need a new book to read.
Any suggestions??

Mom is very tired.
I'm cooking for her.
Today I made 2 meatloaves and
a hen house of chicken cutlets.
Lots of mashed spuds and lots of stringbeans.
And while cooking, I stepped in a puddle of
mashed potatoes, barefoot.
Yeah.