Saturday fun…

This morning, the girls and I got up early to go back-to-school shopping (against my better judgment). We went by Target and got almost everything on Abby’s list. She’s still missing a 1st grade writing tablet (if you know where I can find one, please let me know) and the “perfect” backpack. I never knew it was such an ordeal to find one. After that, we went to buy Abby some school shoes and then decided to go to the pool for the afternoon.

What fun we had! There were tons of people there… lots of kids and we definitely had to be careful jumping into the water (so as to not jump on top of someone else). At one point, Abby was showing Maggie how to jump off the side of the pool into my arms and that led to me launching the girls high in the air over the pool. Abby was a chore to “throw”, but Maggie… I could really get her soaring! It was difficult for me to catch her after I tossed her up in the air. All-in-all, we had a blast! Maggie still won’t take her water wings off, but that makes me feel a bit better anyway when there are tons of other people there.

Ok, I don’t feel so bad now… I finally got some recent pictures of the girls up here…

sisters…

I took this picture several weeks ago when the 3 of us girls went to the lake to feed the ducks. Well, that trip involved some rabid ducks who tried to gang-up on us, but that’s another story. Anyway, after we ran out of bread, Abby and Maggie were standing there enjoying the scenery and I snapped this sweet shot. How peaceful and loving they look. Too bad they don’t look like this all the time…

weekend fun…

I hope you know that I will not step foot in Target or WalMart or OshKosh this weekend… all the people hoping to save 75 cents will be out in masses this weekend shopping like maniacs b/c it’s back-to-school tax free weekend. No thank you! I am taking Abby to the store for some new tennis shoes, but that’s about it. We can go shopping another time when it’s not so crowded. Anyway, I do need to go out this weekend and see if I can find a bookshelf. I’d like to find something I can refinish… something old that needs a bit of TLC, so I’m going to hit my favorite little antique stores and thrift shops in hopes of finding a gem. I’ll paint it or stain it if need be, but I do want something wood and sturdy – not made out of partical board.

Another thing I’m doing this weekend is making memory boards to go over Abby and Maggie’s new beds at the apartment. I bought the stuff at Hobby Lobby the other day and want to get those done so that I don’t have tons of extra stuff to do when I move in (I know I haven’t talked much about “what’s going on” right now, but I’ll get into all that later). Anyway, if you don’t know what a memory board is, you can see a picture of one here and here and here. They’re a super cute way to display pictures and other momentos. Shannie said she’d help me put them together, so I may run out there at some point today to drink a few beers and work on the boards. The fabric I got is really cute… I’ll post a picture when I get them done.

Actually, I need to run out to Shannie’s anyway. Our friend Em just had a baby and I’m taking her a dish of lasagna for dinner this weekend. She just had her 3rd girl. Her poor husband… he’s outnumbered! That’s what we do when one of us has a baby or is going through hard times… we all make a meal and take it to the family in need. It’s a great way to show you care without buying a bunch of useless stuff for a gift. Besides, after having a baby, dinner is one less thing you should have to think about. Maybe I’ll make 2 dishes, so I can keep one too. Hmmm…..

decisions decisions…

Abby always wants to have a pool party… she loves the water so very much. Well, this year her birthday happens to fall on a Saturday so we’re definitely going to have her party on that day. The main problem to this scenario is that it’s the Saturday of Labor Day weekend. YIKES! There’s no way they’re going to let me reserve the pool for her birthday party on a holiday weekend. In comes some fast thinking on Mommy’s part… I suggested Abby think about having her party elsewhere this year and she came up with Pigtails and Crewcuts. This place is so cute and if you havbe one in your town, you have to go check it out. It’s a kids salon that does manicures, haircuts, princess parties with a dress-up fashion show, etc. It makes the dreaded haircut FUN for little tikes.

Anyway, that’s what she’s chosen, so I’m trying to decide what I want to do for her invitations. I already know what’s going in their party bag: finger nail polish, lipstick, a candy necklace, and other various girly stuff like that. We’re only inviting 4 of her closest friends (that place is a bit expensive), so it should be a fun (yet small) party! Now what should I have put on the cake?

My sweet, funny, quirky grandmother passed away this morning at around 11am, so I will be MIA for a few days. Blog-on without me…

brief hiatus…

I know, I know… It’s been almost a month since I’ve posted anything. The truth of the matter is that I haven’t felt much like writing. I’m not exactly ready to “air my dirty laundry”, but my husband and I are going to be parting ways… That being said, I’m apologizing to all (3) of you who have kept reading and hoping that one day I would put the pen to the paper (or fingers to the keyboard) and fill you in on the last month of my life. It’s been a rough one, but I know we will (all 4 of us) survive. No details right now though, please.

I must say that I have the best friends in the world. Throughout all of this, my real-life friends and confidants and also my internet “friends” have been wonderful and truly loyal. I have had people come out of the woodworks offering up places to stay, happy hour trips, girlfriend dinner dates, you name it… and I truly appreciate it – from the bottom of my heart. These are times when you need friends… lots of them!

Shannie has been great through all of this and I must (shamefully) say that I haven’t kept up with her blog like a true friend would. Sure we see each other several times a week and hang out all the time, but I have almost felt like since mine was “on hold”, I didn’t want to read anyone else’s “memoirs” either. Well, lo and behold, she up and gives me a blogging award today. Hot damn, Shannie, that makes my day! Even though I haven’t posted in about a month, I’m still award-worthy? That is probably the kick-in-the-butt I need to get back started writing. I can’t exactly award 7 other blogs at the moment (since I’ve been on such a hiatus), but I accept this award with pleasure. Thanks Shannie!

So to all my loyal “athletic” supporters, I thank you from the bottom of… well… my bottom! My 12 step program is this (well, there are only 3 steps but you get the picture): I promise to try and start writing again. All too soon, I will have new diggs with a new address, but the same old Laura will still be in here. I promise to pick up my camera and take some (long overdue) pictures of the girls for your viewing pleasure. And I promise (no matter how hard it is) not to ever go a whole damned month without writing… ever again! Shannie can hold me to it and talk bad about me to the whole blogosphere if I balk on that one.

yummie!

Shannie drove by my office today to deliver my camera that I left at her house over the weekend, and look what her little girl brought me! A strawberry cupcake wrapped in pink cellophane! Yummie! Well, not exactly – she held it all the way to my office… in her warm little hands… and it’s a bit squishy.

Thanks Aves! It smells good anyway…

trying to keep busy…

Since the girls left, I’ve been trying to keep busy in the evenings… Yesterday evening, a girlfriend of mine from work came over and we walked the neighborhood. Whew! She is as tall as I am, so we were a good match – tackling the hills. I normally have to slow down for my friends, but not her… she kept up with me perfectly. After our walk, we decided to grab a bite for dinner and we had a great time getting to know each other better. It was great. Tonight, the same girl invited me to go to the gym (where she is a member) and run on the eliptical after work. Perfect! Nothing like physically tiring yourself out to make the mind wander…

I haven’t heard from the girls yet today. Maybe they’re still at dinner somewhere. Oh well, I’m sitting at home in front of the computer eating a small salad and it’s only 8:00. Wonder what I can straighten tonight? Should I tackle the playroom?

lonely week…

Patrick’s family always goes to the beach this week – the week of July 4th. We’ve gone for many years now. We used to only go for part of the week, but in recent years, we’ve gone Sunday thru Sunday and it’s been a nice long vacation. Well, due to certain circumstances (which I’m not ready to talk about yet), Patrick took the girls to the beach with his parents this week. I’m flying out on Friday to go to my Dad’s for the weekend. His birthday is the 4th and I’ve missed lots of them for our beach trip. Not to mention my grandma isn’t doing too well and I feel the need to see her one more time. But, Oh my goodness – talk about lonely! I miss my little girls so bad… and it’s only Tuesday! I just hope they’re having fun and are completely enjoying themselves!

What have I been doing since they’ve been gone? I’ve cleaned out the linen closet, I’ve done tons of laundry, I’ve straightened out my baking dish cabinet and my pots-and-pans… tonight I may clean out my closet and the hall closets.

I’m feeling the need to straighten and clean while they’re gone.
I’d post pictures of my lovely straightened kitchen cabinets, but my camera is at Shannie’s house (I left it there on accident this weekend).

I finally got my camera back. Here is a picture of one of my nice clean cabinets:

I’m still alive…

Sorry I’ve been MIA lately. I’ve had a bit of drama going on in my life and I haven’t felt much like writing. Just so that you know I’m alive, I’m posting this little video a friend of mine at work sent to me to cheer me up the other day. If you remember Show Biz Pizza (or even know about Chuck E Cheese), you’ll appreciate this. It’s like the Muppets (for adults)…

Sorry I can’t figure out how to embed this into my post. Shannie, can you help me figure it out? Here’s the link. It’s really funny…