I have all the symptoms

Friday morning, I (as in by myself, no other parties, just me) will be climbing aboard an airplane headed for Philly. Yep, Philly. It might not *sound* all that exotic, but trust me, it is!

You see, months before my birthday rolled around, and especially long before I knew my birthday would fall 2 days after my mom's memorial service, I had informed Steve that ALL I wanted for my birthday was a getaway- just for me. Something I have not done in 5 years.

Steve would like to catch me on a technicality; but he can't. You see, there was this little trip to NYC about 2 1/2 years ago. Granted, he didn't go. But I did take Turner. I had to. He was 5 months old and I was nursing him day and night. My good friend Laura was having a Martha Stewart wedding (literally. Laura used to work at the Living magazine. Martha was there. Her wedding was in the the Weddings magazine. I pumped milk in the bathroom at the reception. Classy.) In no way shape or form do I consider that trip *by myself*. Although, it was a great trip and super fun to see friends.

Enough about that. This year, I wanted an actual trip by myself to meet up with my best friend, Lisa. Who happens to live right outside of Philly, in NJ. Originally, we had planned to both fly somewhere super fun and warm, preferably near water. But as the time got closer and the writing was on the wall in regards to my mom's situation, we decided it was best for me to fly her way and we'd stay in a bed and breakfast in a quaint shore town.

So that is exactly what we are doing. And I have all the signs of a woman ready to jet!

Little plane size toiletries? Check (I'll be darned if I'm paying $30 to check a bag for 2 nights.)
Chick Lit? Check (Because I don't have to talk to or entertain ANYONE on 4 whole flights.)
Laundry clean and ready to be packed? Check (I know its 2 days in advance, I just can't help it.)
Fridge stocked so dad doesn't have to think too much? Check ('nough said.)
Unable to sleep at night because I'm so excited? Check

There you have it. I know it's only 2 nights away, but still. You can't blame a girl for a little enthusiasm. Happy Birthday to me!

It's official, I'm a fossil

I've mentioned it before and I'll say it again, I'm such a technical laggard. I remember learning that term in high school and thought, "How lame!" Well, hello lame. I mean, look at my blog. There are so many super cute blogs out there. I've got the *house blog.* You know, the cheapest, most generic blog available. (Side note: I had to train Steve to order the *house wine* when we are out. He used to say, "Yeah, can I get your cheapest glass of Merlot? It would embarrass me to no end. That was just a bonus for 'ya. You're welcome.)

Back to my *house blog*: It's mostly because I'm not creative, partly because I'm too cheap to pay to have someone design it and slightly because I wouldn't even know WHERE to begin re-designing it. Plus I like to live by a simple little motto which states, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

I was reading some blogs today and I came across one that encouraged me to join SwagBucks. I've seen it on my friends' Facebook pages for months now. Someone sent me an invite a while ago and it intimidated me and so I didn't look into it.

Call it boredom. Call it a whim. Call it a rainy/stormy day getting the best of me. Whatever its called, I signed up for SwagBucks this afternoon. Now, I'm pretty sure there is a way I can promote it here on this blog and get some extra *bucks* but honestly, I don't know how. Nor am I sure you want to get a commercial from me. Perhaps once I *start* I won't be able to stop. I guess I haven't officially started yet, then, 'cuz I don't feel super committed.

I mean I've got coupons to clip, a blog to write, a house to clean, Facebook to keep up on. Oh and then there's those kids who live here and need parented. Do I really need *one more thing* to obsess over? Well, here goes.

If you have any SwagBucks advice you would like to pass along, I'm all ears. In the meantime, I've got to go tune up my Walkman and dust off the VCR; It's gonna be a long rainy day.

Anyone have a hammer I can borrow?

Because that's what I'm bringin' 'round here! A hammer. The kids who live with me, yep, they're totally out of control. I realize I've brought most of it on myself. With my mom's situation and all; let's just say discipline hasn't been the #1 most important thing lately. And boy, aren't kids smart? They sure can smell an opportunity when it's upon them. Manipulator's R Us. That's what this house should be called.

So, in an attempt to get things under control, I have armed myself with several books. First thing first, I got myself a copy of The 5 Love Languages for Kids. I'll get to that one of these days. Second, I did a bit of a re-skim of Boundaries with Kids (one of my personal favs)... but need to give myself a *pep talk* from it every once in a while. Third and perhaps most importantly, a book that I'm quite sure God led me to *accidentally.* It's called "Have a New Kid by Friday by Dr. Kevin Leman. What can I say? It was $5 at the check out at the book store and I was all, "Heck yeah, I 'd like a new kid by Friday." So, I bought it.

Oh. My. Word! It's just what the doctor ordered.

I can't put it down. I just keep shaking my head in agreement with all the stuff that he's saying. And it's really do-able stuff. The problem is: I can't read it fast enough. Not to mention, I've got to get Steve to read it so that we are on the same page- discipline wise (I'm sure no one else EVER has that problem.) But so far, I like what I've read.

Here's the thing... this parenting thing, it's hard work! I realize I can't just read a book and poof my three kids step in line. I need to be consistent. Loving. Encouraging. Firm. And most importantly, forgiving of them and myself. That, my friends, is hard work.

Well, I'm off to read a few more pages before nap time is over. Here's hoping that Friday comes quickly, 'cuz I need me some new kids.

In My Sleep

Remember how once upon a time I used to live in NYC? Yep. I was a 23 year old whipper snapper, running around Manhattan like I owned it. And I loved it. I worked at NYU doing college ministry with a Christian organization. It was *challenging* to say the least. My first year it was me and this freshman boy from Texas. We met weekly to pray for the campus. He left the following year. Guess he couldn't hack it. He headed back to the Lone Start State. But the following year we un-earthed about 6 or so Jesus followers. It was good times.

Well, the year prior to my getting there, a guy named Allen Wolf graduated from NYU film school was involved with our group and attended my church, Redeemer Presbyterian. He was a strong believer and a talented guy. From what I heard. He was, in fact, a legend. It was all, "Too bad Allen's not still here" that whole time it was me and the freshman Texan. Yeah, really too bad! You know what else is funny, the guy's from Dayton. Who knew. My life has now officially come full circle.

OK, so fast forward a (ackhem) few years to last night. (Yep, we're talking a 14 few years.) Steve and I went to a Dayton area showing of Allen's new film "In My Sleep." It was a film featured at the Cannes Film Festival. And it was good. And it had some cool spiritual themes with out being a cheesy *Christian* movie. In fact, some Christians might not be super happy with the subject matter; I for one thought it was brilliantly done.

After the film was over, Allen did a Q&A time. It was rather insightful. Again, some may not have been happy because he didn't use his platform to "share the Gospel." I thought he was spot on. I love that there is someone in the film world, grounded in his faith (from what I hear) and yet making good movies. Not cheesy. Not in your face. But subtle. I was going to introduce myself after the Q&A, but it looked like I was going to have to stand in line behind every 4th grade classmate and 70 year old Sunday school teacher who was in attendance. All so I could say, "Hi Allen, I'm Elizabeth and I used to work at NYU." Stupid. So I skipped it.

If you're in Dayton and looking for something to do this weekend, I'd recommend hitting it before it leaves town. It's out at the Greene and you can check the Internet for show times. You can also go to the movie's face book page and see if its coming to your town soon.

Getaway part two

I'm finally getting around to posting the second half of our Grandma getaway. What can I say? That Jake/Vienna interview took a lot out of me on Monday. I'm still a bit behind!

Are we the only ones who like to wash their car on vacation? Do we know how to party or what? I guess it IS a party when you let your kids do the work for you. Shhh.. don't tell Children Services.

Steve's parents live right across the street from Lake Erie. Which is nice. It makes me feel like we are on a real vacation. With water and sand and stuff.

Mostly my kids threw rocks into the water.



I'm not really sure why any of them had those rings. Not one of them went in.









In fact, this guy didn't even get near the water. But hey, it's better to be safe then sorry.

And if a tsunami happened, by golly, he would have been ready!













On Saturday, the 3rd, we headed into Cleveland to see Steve's sister's new apartment. *Luckily* she lives across the street from Crocker Park, a really cool shopping town that was having a blow out 4th of July festival complete with face painting, pony rides and a live band.





I know I'm biased, but isn't she one of the prettiest girls you've ever seen?! Wow.

And she loves her some face paint (or in this case, wrist paint.)








Did I mention people on stilts? 'Cuz they had that too!














Although the pony rides were a $5 per kid rip off, we splurged and did it (mostly b/c I knew it would be a good blog pic!) I'm sick, I know.

Here is the one picture of the one kid who smiled one time for my $15 investment.








Because then, the smiles stopped.



I'm not sure who is more unhappy looking, Olivia or the pony.


I'm going with the pony.





And Turner? At least he wasn't crying!


And I think I can read Quinn's mind from here, "They sure never made me do THIS at the orphanage!"

The happiest part of this picture? The DSW in the background.


The rest of the day was spent running around the shopping town in 95 degree heat, trying to track down *sparkly* silly bands. To no avail.


Happy 9th of July to you and yours.

What's up doc

Did you ever have one of those days where it just felt like your life got hijacked?

Welcome to my day.

Poor Turner. He's just an accident/boo boo waiting to happen.

Our family has battled MRSA for a few years now. If you don't know what MRSA is, thank your lucky stars. Its a staph infection that is impervious to antibiotics.

We usually know someone around here has it when a nasty boil somewhere on the skin appears. Then we know it's going to get passed around for a few weeks. And I'll tell you one thing about those boils... they hurt!

We noticed one last week on Turner's belly. Below his belly button but under is diaper line. Let's just say, not a good place to have a boil. There's really no good place to have a boil. But this is a REALLY not good place. Especially when you still wear a diaper.

After nearly a week off of workouts, I was looking forward to a kick-butt spinning class. The writing was on the wall, however, when we got up and the boil was still nasty looking so I got him in at the pediatrician.

I know I've *mentioned* my slight irritations with my pediatrician and his poorly managed office before. Well, today didn't help build his case. After sitting for a nice long while, he came in, gave it a quick look over and decided it was too big of a situation for him to handle, so he made us an appointment over at Dayton's Children's Hospital in their outpatient surgery office.

At 2:00 (right in the middle of nap time) all 4 of us headed over to be told there really wasn't much they could do surgically today. Come back Friday if it doesn't look better.

This is what the crew looked like on the way back from the hospital.

I basically looked the same way. But 40 minutes after arriving home, Olivia and I had to head back out for an appointment with her counselor. I've been taking O to see a Christian Counselor since April to help her over come some anxiety issues. Today was the day I intended to *break up* with Dr. Ruth (yep, that's what she asks to be called!) And if you were around at all in the 80's and remember trying to steal a listen to the Dr. Ruth call-in show, you'll know why I can barely call her that with out snickering. Mature, I know.

For a bunch of reasons, including the fact that I got in trouble last time we were there for my boys being *too loud* in the lobby for the hour we had to wait for O to talk to her, I've decided enough is enough. Needless to say, I wasn't exactly looking forward to the conversation. And yep, I got talked into coming at least one more time. We'll take it from there.

All in all, I spent WAY too much time in Dr.'s offices today. Tomorrow... I don't care who's sick around here. They are on their own!

Getaway part one

Cousins.



Summertime doesn't get any better than a trip to Grandma's when COUSINS are going to be there.



And there was plenty of fun to be had by all up in Ashtabula this past week.

Geneva on the Lake (an old school *resort* that is now a touch dumpy but perfect for our kids' ages) has become a family favorite. Rides, fair food, and games.


What a difference a year makes with this kind of stuff. Last year Olivia rode the bumper boats but kind of hated it. This year, she LOVED it.

As did I. Lucky me. Since Quinn wimped out at the last minute, I got to ride kid-free. I had so much fun slamming into my family. Pent up frustrations? Oops.


One night (right before bed) we let the kids frost cookies and decorate them.


I confess, it was all my idea.

Mostly because the tub of frosting called my name as we strolled through Giant Eagle that afternoon. What can I say? It was vacation and my defenses were down.

After the decorating session was over, the sugar buzz was palpable.


But it didn't really matter anyways. There was little sleep to be had at grandma's house this past week.

All three of our kids were in the same room and that is a recipe for noise (and heaps of fun.) I could listen to them enjoy themselves for awhile.
Then, I lay down the law.


The girls invented a game of store in grandma's bushes.


But they needed customers. Thankfully, grandma is always game for a newly invented game.


A new water table awaited our arrival. The kids really had fun with this table. Of course we have a pool and sprinkler at home that they are already bored with but they wouldn't leave this thing alone. Naturally, we came home with it at the end of the week. What are the chances it will go by the pool/sprinkler wayside in about 6 days?!


One thing we did NOT come home with was this Barbie Princess car (praise the Lord!). But the kids had soooo much fun driving this thing in circles around the driveway. This is another thing that has really changed in the past year.

Last year, Olivia would ride in it but would not drive.

This year, her brothers were lucky to get a turn. See how happy Turner was once he did?!



All in all, its good to have cousins. But its even better when you get to spend time with them!

We love and miss you Natalie and Carter.