from His House to my house

Savannah is fine. I haven't really been able to talk to her, but everyone that she is staying with assures me that all is well. Just as long as she doesn't come home with her aunt's accent and a taste for Old Style beer...

I have totally been enjoying my time. Monday I packed a little bit, went out on the boat that afternoon and later had dinner with my family (left-over wedding food). I don't think I told you Savannah was the flower girl. She did so well!

Tuesday I went to work and had the most productive day I've had in weeks. Things just fell into place and I was kicking butt and taking names! Figuratively speaking, of course. No children were harmed that day.

Then I had a super, amazing, fun, successful shopping trip with mama on Wednesday. I hadn't had a shopping day like that since before Savannah was born. I got a mirror, a chandelier, a chair, 2 shirts, fabric to recover 7 chair seats and a few other little things all for about $65! How did I manage that? Most of it came from thrift stores. I don't have any before pics, however, because I worked like a dog all day! My parents helped me recover 7 seats, sand down the table, I cleaned and painted a chair, painted the chandelier and STILL managed to come home, clean up and go out with the girls!
Downtown they have a Thursday afternoon concert series and 7 of us lovely ladies made a night of it. Only one injury, one lost piece of jewelry and a $200 bar/food tab so I'd say it was a successful night.
Today I'm finishing up the thrift store projects and having dinner with some friends. And I still have 2 days before they get home!!

Snap, crackle, pop!

I hope everyone had a nice Memorial Day. Mine included catching up with my old friend the Today show, some quality time with Wii Fit, a boat ride on the lake, riping staples off the bottom of my dining chair (to reupholster), packing some glassware and checking in on Savannah.
Yep, she and Steve made it to IL just fine, but I'll be damned if they didn't make a trip to the ER within hours of being there!
So I'm at my niece's birthday party last night when I get a call from Steve around 7:30. I can hear Savannah whimpering in the background. "What are ya'll doing?" I ask. "Savannah's mad because I hurt her." "You hurt her? What happened?" "Well," he says, "we were playing helicopter and I was swinging her around when I heard a crackle (his word) and she starting saying her arm hurt." "Well, I don't know what you want me to do about it 800 miles away. I guess you know where the ER is if she's still complaining about it in a half hour."
So...he calls me back later and says they, along with his sister who works at the hospital, are headed to the ER. And then suddenly he says he has to go. He will call me back when he knows something.
Now I am an easy going person. I don't worry, I don't obsess and I don't fuss over people. I won't call you to make sure you got there OK and I don't agonize over little stuff. Same rules apply to motherhood. But when Steve told me they were at the ER, I was freaking out! Damn, Steve! He's back home for a few hours and he's already damaged our child!
He calls me back a little later and says she is fine. She had Nurse Maid's Elbow (Google it. I did) and it's OK now. The swinging got her arm out of joint, but moving it during the x-ray got it back into place. He said she was happy, and moving it and that you'd never know the difference.
Whew!
I checked on them today and she is fine. Just figures, though. I guess that's what I get for not going.

Home Alone

Guess what?... No....guess again... Nope... Give up? Here's the deal: I am home alone for not 1, not 2, not even 5 or 6, but 8, count 'em 8 glorious days!!! That's right. Steve and Savannah have left town for the week. I didn't go because originally we thought we'd be in the new house by now (see previous post) and I'd have a week to unpack in peace. Since that didn't happen I will use the time to get a little work done, get some house projects done, go shopping, go out with the girls, and whatever else I want to do. I will NOT do laundry, wipe any one's hiney (other than my own, of course), cook dinner, pick up dirty dishes from around the house, or have to put the toilet seat down.
Oh sure, I will miss them and be glad to see them when they get home. But until then, mama's going to enjoy some time off!
P.S. If you haven't caught any of the fabulousness that is the all 80's weekend on VH1 Classic, you are missing some huge hair-dos, unbelievable outfits and some fugly rocker dudes. Seriously, the lead singer of REO Speedwagon looks like Howard Stern on a bad day. And this crap right here makes me glad I went to church 3 times this weekend (wedding). Ugh!

Probability

Your math lesson for today: probability. Some of you that know me may be saying, "Wha? I thought Steve was the math brainiac." Well, he is, but I actually did pretty good in my statistics class in college so there!


-The probability of Savannah having to poop is dependant on variables a and b, where a= me having just gotten completely undressed in the dressing room at TJ Maxx and b= our food having just arrived to the table.


-The probability of Steve being caught up on all his crappy, testosterone filled shows (24, Battlestar Gallactica, The Unit, Dollhouse) that he DVRs is increased when I secretly delete some to make room for my DVRed shows like Days of Our Lives.


-The probability of me still having a job in the school system come July is dependant on variable b, where b= political BS/stimulus money/governor's agenda/my boss getting let go from her job.


-The probability of me getting a raise is the same as the probability of Miss California attending the nuptuals of Cynthia Nixon and her "charming" fiance.


-The probability of my computer not self-destructing before I finish this post depends on whatever the heck is making this crazy beeping noise as if it were on a heart monitor. I'm not kidding.


-The probability of us moving into the new house this month: 1/12, except where the variables are amplified by cosign x, where a= number of weeks the pool has had a leak and b=the pounds of concrete that have yet to be poured, the probability is equal to: not a chance in hell.

Do you copy?

I was going to play a cute little Q&A meme, but I couldn't copy and paste the questions. Then, I had an awesome post in the works that I was going to finish, but I couldn't copy and paste that either! Crap!
Know those "sell you stuff" parties where you invite all your "closest" friends (aka anybody with a wallet and an address) hoping they will buy lots of overpriced junk so that you can earn $50 in free over-priced junk? Well, I went to one of those the other night. I was really glad to go b/c it was more like a girls' night out and because the hostess WAS the product rep, there was no obligation to buy anything. And because she was the rep, she let everyone put their name in the hat to be the "mystery hostess" (aka winner of the free stuff). That's right. I won the free junk! Whoo-hoo! Now, would any of you lovely ladies like to host a party so I can earn MORE free stuff???
I am so kidding...

Picks of the Week

I finally sat down and had some quality time with my camera, my computer and the USB cable. What does that mean for you? An update with pictures!
OK. Here is my hairdo photo. I had another one but the background was too dark and you couldn't separate my hair from the background. Anyway, I think I found the trick today. I like the ends flipped under, not out. It was a little too "shag" looking that way. Not a bad self-portrait if I do say so myself!
We went to Charleston a couple weeks ago to visit some friends who were in town from IL. We had a great time visiting old favorites (did I tell you I lived there for college?) and the weather was not yet sweatin-my-ass-off, so it made for a nice day! This was a really cute pic of Savannah and her Daddy.

The Poultry Festival (aka Chicken Fest) was this past weekend. It was OK. We only made it to the parade and it was less than fabulous this year. IT was also pretty hot so we didn't stick around long. Here are the girls stealing a cool moment in the shade.

Then we went to the zoo this week with some friends. The weather was perfect and the kiddos enjoyed a morning out. Here's a cool pic of the flamingos. Good thing they're so gorgeous because they STANK!

And last but not least, I have a YAGBTS update for you. I saw this painted on the ol' rock the other day and HAD to take a picture. As I was taking the photo, Savannah asks what I'm doing. "Taking a picture of this redneck crap," I said without really thinking. Then from the backseat I hear, "what redneck crap? I want to see redneck crap." fabulous.

Lost? Me, too!

I know, still no hairdo pics, but I will load them tomorrow, maybe. I took a self-pic, Andrea, so it's not the best. I'm off to go meet with a landscape guy. I met with my friend's mom yesterday, who is a master gardener, so maybe between the 2 of them, I can finally get something together for the landscaping!
After that, I am coming home to watch the season finale of Lost! Man, I never thought I would be into a science-fiction show with so much weird stuff going on, crazy black smoke and rabid Polar Bears and stuff, but I was hooked from the beginning. Oh, and Sawyer ain't too bad to look at either.
It's been a good week for TV from what I hear. First Joan Rivers and her drama on Celebrity Apprentice (I don't watch it), then Penny missing Leonard on Big Bang Theory (who knew a show about physicists could be so funny?), next was Dancing With the Stars and Idol (I haven't kept up well with either but that was a great performance by the guys last night on Idol) and tonight Lost.
Set your Tivos and DVRs, ladies and make sure you have fresh batteries.... for the REMOTES! I know what you were thinking... yeah, you Tattooed Mini-Van Mom...

Mother Clucker

Savannah is actually napping right now so I thought I would stop by for a minute... I asked her this morning what she was going to get me for Mother's Day. She said, "a wallet." "Why," I asked. "Cuz you have to pay more money." Nice observation, kiddo.
All this Mother's Day talk and sweet posts many of you are writing got me thinking... If you still have your mom, be very thankful. If you have a great relationship with your mom, be very thankful. I know some friends who have lost their mom already. I just can't imagine what that must be like. On the other hand, I love my mom and she's been great but I feel like my relationship with her is strained. For all of high school and college, she was the "fun" mom, silly to be with, fun to go shopping with, sending me all kinds of cute care-packages. She never pried and wasn't at all over-bearing. She let me have my Independence.
But now some years have passed and she just seems different. I think she's had a lot of "demons" to deal with in her life and some are catching up to her. We certainly don't talk about it. No, we are a private family and it's nobody's business. That's her stance, anyway. I dunno. Maybe she just needs some Prozac.
Switching gears...this weekend is the Poultry Festival! That's right! Who doesn't love a Southern festival celebrating some kind of produce/byproduct/internal organ (chitlins, anyone?)!? We kick things off this evening with some live music and the carnival rides. Saturday morning is the fabulous parade and craft vendors. But don't go home yet! Come back that night for a street dance, fireworks and beer trucks! Because nothing says, "chicken industry" like a drunk teetering on the railroad tracks. Ya'll come on! It's going to be a clucking good time!

Not much

I've had a lot of different things going on lately with school, the house(still not done) and our social calendar. Just busy, but a good busy. I also got my hair cut. I know, "Let's see it!," you say. Well, self-portraits are hard to do and I don't feel like making the effort. I'll put it this way: it more resembles the 3 year-old pic in my header than it does in my year and a half old profile pic. Got it? I'll see what I can come up with this weekend.
If I don't post before then, happy Mother's Day!