A whole lotta nothin'

We are down to our last few days before school and work starts up again.

I have mixed emotions.

I will be good to get everyone out of the house and back to a schedule

BUT

that also means that Abby's volleyball season goes into full swing with her first game Tuesday night.

AND

Gabby's competitive volleyball season begins as well as weekly softball practice for both girls. Add that to the homework they will have each night you can see what I am dreading.

These few days are the only days of rest we have left until real life hits us in the face.

We have totally become house hermits! I have enjoyed watching MANY games of football and MANY movies. We have done a little shopping. You know, doing our part to stimulate the economy! I have a pair of black boots coming from Clark (my fav shoe store). They had a great sale and I NEEDED a pair of black boots to wear with my black skirt. Because I am trying to be cool and it is just NOT happenin'. FYI, if they don't have your size, they send them to your house for FREE!!!

I am working on a Shutterfly photo book of our vacation. It is much easier to show pictures if they are not on your computer :} I don't print pictures, just keep 'em on my computer and backed up on Picasa. Love Picasa!!

Gabby is working on studying for her last 2 finals on Monday. She will be happy when they are over but she is not overly concerned about either one. Abby just wants to get back into the grove and get classes started already.

Yesterday I laid down the law with the girls. I decided to get a workout in before grabbing a shower. My body is as shocked by this as you are! After my workout in Hawaii, I headed upstairs to grab a nice warm shower with my yummy smelling Philosphy (if you have never tried Philosphy, do, you will LOVE IT - qvc.com has it for good prices) shower gel. Gabby was already in and out of the shower so I should have known that my shower would not be warm. I got to take a lukewarm shower and got in and out in record time. From now on, if the girls take a shower in the morning, they are limited to 10 minutes PERIOD! Gabby's shower went 20 MINUTES!!! She is a tiny girl, how does it take 20 minutes to wash??? Anyway, I will be picking up a timer and using it for their morning showers. I don't care if they take a long shower at night - I don't generally need a lot of hot water in the evenings. I'm just tired of ALWAYS getting the cold one in the morning :}

Well, I better start supper. Chicken wrapped with bacon - yummy!!

Hugs,
Jeanette

We are one rockin' family!

Whew! We had one rockin' new year :} We decided that we should probably not have anyone over since Gabby had been sick on Monday and really did not know if one of us would be next.

We decided to grab some Nick 'N Willy's Pizza (it is a take n bake pizza place a few miles from our house) Their pizza is lighter than most so we like it. In between football we flipped to some other channels and caught a few sit coms here and there.

Around 10pm my DH decided he was tired and went to bed. WHAT??!!! One down, three to go.

At 11pm First Daughter came on so the girls and I decided to watch it. Abby fell asleep very early into the show and went to bed about 11:30pm. Two down - two to go!

I kept an eye on the clock so Gabby and I could say "Happy New Year" to each other. We did and then we heard a bit of celebrating outside by the way of fireworks.

We finished watching the movie (I fell asleep about 12:15 due to taking two Benadryl's because my eyes were itching so bad). Gabby beat us all in staying up late. We headed to bed at 1am.

I know what you are thinking - this is one rockin' family! I am sure you wish you could have partied with us don't ya?!

Well, next time I'll invite ya'll to hang with us.

God bless your New Year!

Jeanette

Life is too fun or not :}

I have just discovered that this is my 100th post!

Woo Hoo :}

And it appropriately falls on New Years Eve - a night for celebration.

Today found me finishing up putting away the Christmas decor. The house is pretty much back in order except for these people that I live with are still here during the day! What is up with that?!

Gabby is feeling much better and got to go to the dentist to get that tooth filled today. Our dentist is very good about having to re-schedule when the kids are sick. So, after the dentist (she did not have to have it numbed - YIPEE!) we went over to Coldstone to get her a cherry cheesecake shake - her favorite (and probably the reason she got the cavity in the first place but who cares :}) I also wanted to see how things were going in the cake department. There were 3 cakes in the display so I guess I know what I am doing all of next week. The day shift gals have a bunch of cakes made but don't have time to decorate them. I told them I did not care, I was on vacation and I'll be in next week to get it all put back together. They feel bad but it is not their fault.

When we got home, I started back on the laundry. Opened up the dryer and low and behold there was money! Woo hoo!! I just earned 40 bucks :} I was doing the girls' clothes so I knew that one of them had left money in their pockets. My guess was that it was Gabby's because she always puts her money in her back pocket. While folding that load of laundry, I earned 140 bucks!!!! That was some load of laundry. I did give the money back to Gabby because it was pretty much her Christmas money that she had left over from vacation. She was in her bedroom laughing the whole time I was folding that laundry. Then out pops a question that only Gabby could ask. One of her $20's was slightly torn and she asks.....

"Mom, if this twenty is torn in half would I have $40 dollars?"

I was still shaking my head in disbelief when I answered.

"No, Gabby, you would have a 20 dollar bill torn in half. That does not mean you would have twice the amount of money."

Yep, she is an A student that really needs to think before asking some questions. I blame it on her daddy :} Cause it doesn't come from my side of the family, unless you count my sister Janeie :} My daddy used to call her a dingbat so maybe I'll start to use that term.

I am still chuckling about this when the fighting begins. WHAT?! What is there to fight about?! "She was gonna....." "No I wasn't......" "So, I did......" "And then she did......" blah blah blah blah blah......

They need to go back to school!

Is anyone else out there getting the "What are we doing today?" question? I have made the same reply over and over. "I don't know what we are doing. I planned everything we did all of last week down to what we were eating every night so I'm not planning anything this week! If you wanna do something, let me know." I guess doing the laundry and running the vacuum doesn't constitute any fun for anyone other than me (big choking cough and ahem's inserted here). I'm tired and just wanna stay home but I'm sure we will be heading out to do something big and exciting.

We are headed up to my MIL's tomorrow after Abby's volleyball practice. Can you believe the kids have to practice on New Year's Day????!!!! I about blew a gasket over that one and told Abby she may not go just to prove my point (you don't own every day of Christmas break and there are some days that are off limits). Even my DH was surprised and annoyed. Enough ranting - SORRY!

I'm gonna crash for a bit before all the partying starts. Maybe catch a nap so I don't fall asleep at 8pm. A nap will definitely happen if I have to keep watching all the financial stuff my DH has on.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Jeanette

BOO - Sick Kid!

It is a good thing that we made it home!

Just in time to have a sick kid.
This is not abnormal for us.
We always have a sick kid over Christmas break.

Gabby went to Sam's with me this morning. We had just started shopped (from my two page list) when she says "Mom, I don't feel good." This royally ticked me off! I had just picked her up from home, she could have told me at home that she did not feel good and she could have stayed home. Instead she drags herself through the store 'cause I am NOT leaving a store once I get there. After Sam's I always head over to Walmart to pick up everything I can't get at Sam's. I quick dropped Gab off and told her to get the groceries put away and her clean clothes hung up before plopping on the couch. She was to get a tooth filled this afternoon and I figured she was just freaky out about that.

Abby & I headed out to Walmart. We just got everything put away when Gab announces I think I gonna throw up. I told her to get to the bathroom. She made it and the hurling began. She has been on the couch all day and I am sure I will get to sleep on the loveseat to keep an eye on her overnight. Course, my DH has been in his man cave (aka - basement) for the day and had no idea that Gabby was sick. Tomorrow the girls are to get their haircut and I rescheduled Gabby dentist appointment for Wednesday. Praying she will be better by then!!

My battery is about to die so I gotta run. I am too lazy tonight to run and plug it in :} Hey, I'm entitled - I went to two groceries stores today AND found a place to put it all!!

Hugs!

Jeanette

Disney @ Christmas.....

I can't believe I am getting to post again today but I have the vacuuming done and the laundry is well under way. I can't believe how much laundry we have. I am still working on the colored clothes!!! I think I am on load number 5. We are still waiting for Gabby's bag to arrive.

Here is the lowdown on our vacation. Please be advised that you may need kleenex for all the tears of laughter AND this will probably be a long post so grab your box of chocolates that I know each of you received from Santa and chill with me for awhile.

Sunday came early for us. We had a 6am flight in a town an hour away so we were up at 2:45am to get out the door by 4am or before. If you remember, the midwest was getting ice and snow last weekend so we decided to get out the door as early as possible without being ridiculous. We really did not get much sleep at all. The ice on the power lines started exploding off the power lines right about the time we headed for bed. Every once in awhile we head a huge BANG that would wake us up. Anyway, we were all excited to be heading south so we got rolling in record time.

Our girls were flying for the first time so they were a little scared. The first flight went great with little turbulence. The flight out of Atlanta was a nightmare. We did not have any airplane trouble just a screaming family with the dad yelling as loudly as the kids were arguing. I was lucky enough to be in the seat in front of the 2 year old that was happy to kick my seat for at least half the ride. I don't know about anyone else but I don't think it is EVER a good idea to have two young siblings sitting in seats by themselves without parental supervision. He's touching me, he won't give me that game......it just went on and on. Touchdown never felt so good! We landed in Orlando before noon and it was gorgeous - sorry but I must rub it in a little. The temps when we left was zero with way below zero wind chills. The temps in Orlando was about 75 degrees and sunny. It was like a breath of fresh air!

We dropped everything off at our rooms, changed into some cooler clothes and hit Hollywood Studios for a few hours. Not long after our dinner, Gabby and my DH started to not feel so well. We headed back to the hotel and were happy to see our bags had been delivered. Out came the Tums (cause I have traveled enough with my kids to know that Tums cure EVERYTHING) whether is actually does or not! We went to bed early because the two hours of sleep we had gotten just wasn't doing it for us. I know - your shocked!

Monday morning we slept in - like we did every other day! We only got to the park before 10am on one day. We headed for Animal Kingdom to get it out of the way. It is our least favorite park that Disney has. We did get the Fast Pass for Expedition Everest and while we were waiting for our time to ride we were people watching. The little boy next to us was inspecting his belly. I was laughing at him until - POP - our pops his winky dink. By this time I am roaring and nudged Bill to turn around. This as the people walking by have noticed it too. His mom was so absorbed in her magazine that she did not notice. It took about 2 minutes for her to look up and scream - OH MY NO!!!!! As the tears were streaming down my face......

Expedition Everest was AWESOME by the way. It was Abby's least favorite ride - don't think she liked the backwards in the dark loop that we did. The rest of us LOVED IT!!!!

We did the late Fantasmic show on Monday night too. Good show but it was cool so we were in our coats and mittens. The breeze was cold!!!!

Tuesday we had planned to head over to Epcot but after waiting for an Epcot bus for well over 1/2 hour, we decided to jump over to the Magic Kingdom. Tomorrowland is our favorite area and I was crowned the Commando Commander for my 630,000+ score in the Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger ride. We drug the girls over to Space Mountain cause we did not get to ride this 7 years ago when the girls were smaller. Abby is not much of a roller coaster girl but we got her to ride everything that we did. Space Mountain is a roller coaster in the dark. You can't see anything! My DH had yet another laughable moment when the gal in front of him lost her hair. YES! She lost her wig during the ride. She kept say "I lost my hair, I lost my hair!" My DH thought she was saying "I lost my head or I lost my hat". Her wig had dropped into his lap and he did not know it! All this while Gabby kept saying, "Dad are you alright, dad are you alright?" All because he was the only one NOT screaming! We headed for Splash Mountain right after and this is where my DH lost his hat - but we did get a great picture before it flew off!

Wednesday we headed over to Epcot. Abby and I did the green Mission to Mars while my DH and Gabby decided that they were too cool for the green and did orange instead. The Mission to Mars is a simulator ride. They both came off the ride a bit green around the gills so we decided to do a calm ride. Abby and I loved it - cause we are too cool to be sick the rest of the day!! They have revamped the big Epcot ball ride a little but it was still a bit dated.

Christmas day we decided to stay far away from the Magic Kingdom and just stayed at Hollywood Studios. We hit the big rides including the Rock and Roller Coaster before heading over to have Christmas dinner at the 50's prime time dinner. I'm telling you, that is one great place to eat. Great down home cooking and you are "related" to everyone while you are eating. Our waiter was Uncle George and he quickly named Abby "princess". He caught her with her elbows on the table twice and let her know that grandma would be out to have a chat with her if he caught her again. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes and collared greens (if someone from down south would tell me what that is I would be grateful). It tasted like green beans and spinach but I am sure there was something else in there. Dessert was Dad's Brownie Sundae. YUMMO!

Friday found us bouncing from park to park to do some of the rides we really liked. We did head back over to Epcot after having dinner at the ESPN Club. We quickly went through the countries and headed home before the big Illuminations show. Both Gabby and my DH were having tummy issues again!

Saturday we went to downtown Disney to blow some time before we had to head to the airport. We were thankful that our flights were pretty much on time and we did not have any weather issues. We heard horrors stories! Our flight from Atlanta to Bloomington was pretty rocky. Gabby about lost it - she was terrified. She has decided that she is not really a fan of flying - the take offs and landings really worried her. I remember having those same issues the first times that I flew.

That pretty much does it for our trip - I could never write everything that happened to us while we were there. But it was good to get away - just as good to get home. Gabby's bag has just been delivered and we are happy to be home. Gabby has yet to get out of her jammies but I have a feeling that she will be spending hours tonight working on her nails and hair.

With that, I will leave you with the picture we have tons so it was hard to chose. I'll post a link to our pictures once I get them loaded into Picasa.

This is Abby and Gabby while we are waiting to be let into "It's Tough to be a Bug" show. They are standing in front of a huge ball of bug "dung" and have on their "bug eyes". It was a fun show and one we hit every time we go to Disney. We laugh at all the screaming kids that get freaked out by the huge bugs on the scream. Aren't we terrible!!

Hugs all!

Jeanette

Home & Happy!

Hi to all my blogging buddies!

We made it home LATE last night - with only one bag going MIA. Our plane got home at 9pm but with a plane load of missing bags and us being the last in line meant that we left the airport about 10:15pm. The one missing bag contains mostly Gabby's things and our toothbrushes, of course. A quick stop to CVS before heading home scored us some toothbrushes and bubble gum - because you can't find gum ANYWHERE at Disney and my DH was in severe withdrawal. We finally made it home about 11:15, drug the bags inside and started sorting - cause who can go to bed with all that laundry stinkin' up the bags?!

We had a great time but I'll have to fill you in later. I need breakfast and a shower in my own house with my own shampoo and my own bath wash. It will be next to heaven!

My washer is moving full force and we will be home all day today. Maybe I'll be able to get some pics loaded up for you to see.

The weather was in the 80's all but one day. It was wonderful to be in capri's and short sleeves again!!! We enjoyed our time (even with upset tummies half the time!) My guess is that our bodies can't digest "real" food and go into shock when eating meatloaf and mashed potatoes!! I did great but everyone else had issues. What is up with that???

Hugs to all and I pray that you each had a blessed Christmas!

Jeanette