Serenity Now

It is official... my family history book is finished and off to the printers. But I'm afraid it is a little too late. My parents are no longer responding to my emails or my phone calls. My bridges are burned apparently. All of the assignments I gave and questions I asked has done them in and they are screening their emails and my phone calls. - sigh-

I had to use Brett's knee surgery to get a response only I didn't tell them it was knee surgery I just emailed and said "Brett's surgery went well". THAT got a response! I know, I know, the devil on my shoulder made me do it.... but my multiple phone messages to call me just weren't working.

Perhaps my nephew is right ... blood is thicker than water but pancake syrup is thicker than blood ergo pancakes are more important than family. They sure taste better! (this is what you get when I stay up too late reading)

At least April still takes my phone calls and my emails. What a trooper! I hope she still does AFTER reading the book. My fingers are crossed! In fact I hope I still HAVE a family after they all read the book. Frankly it is 316 pages so the chances that they even read the whole thing or any of it are slim to none so I'm probably pretty safe. Aren't I? Maybe.

It is interesting to go through family photos and stories though. Take this one for example...


I don't know what's worse... my hair, my glasses, or my shirt. Other than the year I was 5 and cute in my pretty pink dress, I think I've been going through an awkward hair, clothing, glasses stage my whole life. Perhaps one day I'll feel comfortable in my own skin - by then I will be old, gray and wrinkly. I have the old and wrinkly part started, I just need to get going on the gray. :)

My body may be 40 but my mind just can't seem to accept it. Brett kept hounding me for months about what to do for my 40th and I kept saying nothing because I thought if I denied it, it wouldn't happened. A few days before, however, I realized that it was going to come whether I accepted it or not. So I decided that if I was going to turn 40 anyways I might as well invite some of my friends over. They might as well be family because just like my family they teased me about turning 40. They even gave me gifts to show that I am officially old ... medication

and reading glasses.

Thanks for a great time guys!

I may be down but at least I'm not out like the poor coyote below...

Brett and boys went on a father/son camp out and came across a headless coyote strung up as a no trespass warning (creepy by the way). It was also a warning to them that the camp out was cursed. They tried to set up the tent and the wind took Sheriff off of his feet. They tried again and the wind tore the tent apart and bent the poles. Brett decided it was the devil's campground, threw the broken tent in the back of the truck and headed off to find a hotel for the night. no kidding. They stayed in a hotel (they were 2 hours away from home) ate a great continental breakfast, played a round of bowling and then came home. They had more fun than the others who stayed at the camp (especially the coyote).

ah memories.

Now you may think by the title of this post that I am about to blog about kids... you would be wrong. I'm about to blog about my own whining. Recently I was whining/complaining AGAIN about the track system and how much I really don't like it. A whining miracle happened on my 40th birthday. (Good things apparently CAN happen when you turn 40). The school board met and decided to switch certain schools to traditional and my boys' school is one of them. (cue hallelujah chorus)

Someone on the school board must have read my blog!!! (yeah right)

Finally our neighborhood will be going to school at the same time. No more having to say to my kids "I'm sorry we can't invite your friend over right now because they are on a different track." No more cooped up kids fighting with each other on week three of off-track. No more cramming all our summer vacations into 3 short weeks of summer. We can have a REAL summer. At least until they go back to tracks again. With my luck they will go back to tracks next year so I had better enjoy it while I have it!

I sure hope I like having traditional school. :)

The day has finally arrived despite my prayers to the contrary and my railing against time.... I turned 40 today. I am not the only one expressing sorrow over this much dreaded event. When I opened the door to my six-year old's room to have him get ready for school - he told me he had peed the bed. I assumed he was expressing his dismay over my 40th birthday. When I went to help him find socks in my five-year-old's bedroom and there were none in the drawer - I looked behind the dresser and found underwear that Smiley had peed in. I assumed he was also expressing his feelings over my 40th birthday. I didn't DARE go down to Sheriff and Wanabe's rooms for fear of what I might find in their rooms. Can you blame me?

Instead the heavens opened and poured out rain to show me that they too know how I feel about leaving my 30's and entering the dreaded 40's. My older sister Sheri told me that she LOVES being in her 40's because she feels like in her 40's she feels freer to tell people what she REALLY thinks. Don't let that idea fool you. Sheri has ALWAYS told people what she thought - turning 40 had nothing to do with it.

I wondered if I would look and/or feel different when I woke up this morning.

This was me taken just last week:


This is me today at 40:


They say you need to do your makeup differently when you enter each new decade so I might need to go to a department store and get some tips on covering up all the wrinkles I'm getting.

I MUST be getting old if I'm actually thinking of getting make-up tips! I never worried about it before! It must be a sign of senility. I'm comforted by the fact though that one of my boys when he learned of his aunt Sheri's age said "wow! She's REALLY old!" I may be old but my sister is REALLY old. Sorry April... that must make you REALLY REALLY old.

I'm currently taking a six week photography class at one of our local universities on using natural light. It is great and I'm sure I'll forget everything I'm learning in no time flat as I retain very little these days what with turning 40 soon. Get out the walker people!!!

Sheriff was working on his spelling at the table and I brought out my camera to use the light coming in from the window and this is the look I got from him...


He did eventually cooperate though...


I can now sympathize with my father when he went to the CNE all those years ago and was approached by an encyclopedia salesman. "Can I interest you in a set of encyclopedias?" the salesman asked my father.

"I don't need a set of encyclopedias," my father replied, "I have a teenager who knows it all." (he wasn't referring to me)

I have a ten-year-old who already knows it all. I don't even finish my sentence and he is saying to me "I KNOW!!!"