Exile island sounds nice right about now

Hello there! Sorry for the delay in blogs. Life has been busy and the time just seems to tick away. Between play practice, scouts and playing taxi driver to the masses I have been a bit tied up. I will try to be better about keeping up with updated news.

Today is a snow day for the children. However it barely snowed and is now raining. I would prefer at this point to be sent to Exile island in Micronesia (survivor fans would know about this) right about now as opposed to entertaining kids. I can see it now..... warm air, bath tub temp. water, coconuts and a sandy beach with no one to bug me. What a peaceful thought. Back to reality. Perhaps I should sign up for the show. They need to cast more middle aged women whom are multi-taskers, as opposed to these skinny girls with no labor skills. That would be reality to have it set up with nothing but average working moms and dads with families at home all cheering you on the the million dollar prize.

Last weekend Tom and I did have a break from the smallest two and enjoyed a movie and dinner afternoon. For those of you seeking a good date-night comedy I suggest "Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins". Tom and I laughed until our sides were aching. We then puttered off to the Hibachi a Japanese restaurant. This was one of the first times we were without the little guys that I wasn't putting Tom up for some taskings. In the past we usually paint, remodel, clean-out or have some sort of project that we accomplish while the little guys are away. It was nice to be able to just relax this time.

Suppose I'll go recruit some bakers and make cupcakes and cookies!

You "Auto" Know

On yet the coldest day our vans heater mysteriously stops working. About 2 months ago our minivan finally rolled over 100K miles. Shortly thereafter the check engine light appeared. Tom assured me that this was a preset warning signal that was set off to bring us back into the dealership for an over priced check-up. However on my way to the med. clinic this morning I became frigidly aware that the heat was not working at all. Cold air was streaming through my already frozen torso and numbing my limbs. Apparently it now appears as if the thermostat in the van is shot. This added to brakes that thunk and shocks that make horrendous noises when run across any uneven roadways. Perhaps you remember a previous blog where I could have sworn I heard some sort of racket coming from this van just weeks ago. Yes the incident where my oldest called me "delusional". Who's delusional now?

Coincidentally I drove past what I would appear as my "only" solution. That 2008 Honda Odyssey I've always wanted. You know the one! It is silver with leather seats, DVD (with headphones), stow away seats, in-dash GPS navigator, sound proof cockpit that drowns out whining, sibling rivalry, and overall fussiness ( I must be dreaming now). But there she was parked at the Honda dealership calling out my name. It was as if a tracker beam was pulling me in. Then I switched back into reality and pulled into the Dollar Tree parking lot for some great Valentine bargains. A girls gotta dream!

Anyway, just a quick note to wrap up the pinewood derby business. Joshua took second place in the race. We are now off to the district championship to race against the other winners from surrounding packs within our county. He was so proud of himself. Dad was tickled pink too! The two of them were like strutting peacocks. While they showed great sportmanship at the race, the hi-5's were aplenty back home. Great job boys!

T minus 6 days

Only 6 more shopping days left until the "sweetheart" of all holidays arrives. I love chocolate! So I'm all about any holiday that is centered around sweet milk chocolate and that "love" thing too! Ran to Wal-Mart today and picked up my boxes of sweethearts for my preschooler's, but I suppose I will take my boys back out tonight to pick out their very own Valentine's to give (I can't take all the fun out of this holiday). The hubby and I will celebrate the weekend following. I am fortunate enough to have parents that give me a much needed break from the kids every couple of months. I know they would take them more often but the distance between our homes is a bit too much with all of the kids activities (Thanks Mom & Dad ;-) ).

This weekend will breeze by pretty quickly. We have registration for pinewood derby cars tonight. This is where they measure and weigh them and do a practice run down the track to ensure that the care is completely operational. Then we have to be back Saturday morning for the race by 8:30 (did I mention that I have to bake items Friday night for the bake sale for scouts). Then run Kyle to practice Saturday morning and register the little guys for little league sometime between 9am-noon. I was hoping to squeeze in a hair appointment tomorrow, but fat chance on that one. These pinewood derby races can last several hours with a pack the size of the one we are in. To top things off my middle guy "Joshua" is serving his first Sunday morning as an acolyte. I can't wait! Kyle was one too at his age and they are just so darn cute in those white robes (kinda angelic).

Well off to start mixing and baking! Enjoy the weekend.

Voted!

Just got back from the polling station. Casted my ballot and ran for the hills. It's only the beginning of February and we still have almost 9 more months of this election bull to put up with. Election coverage eats up nearly half of the evening world news. While I did my civic duty, I'm really not a political kind of person. I vote purely on issues and ideals and morals and less based on political party. However, the primary election has you pigeon-holed into picking only a candidate from your registered party. No fair! I wanted to cast my ballot on the opposition's race, but no can do. Better luck at the general election. Well between now and November I'm sure that whatever mud hasn't been slung will be loaded on catapults and the stuff will get deep.

Super Bowl Widow

I was officially a Super Bowl widow last night. For the first time ever my husband left me home alone during the game. :-) I was happy!!! I'm not much of a sports fan and neither is he really, but an evening of peace and quiet was nice. Our oldest was invited to a party as well, so it was just me and the little guys. Considering their early bedtime since it was a school night I had 31/2 hours of quiet time. I'm not totally unAmerican, I did have the game on for the first two quarters (on mute). I wasn't that impressed with the commercials..... but I did enjoy the half-time show. Goodness sake's Tom Petty is starting to look a bit old, though.
I surprised myself asnd was able to accomplish quite alot in my 31/2 hours. I organized the entertainment center, cleaned and decluttered my bedroom and did my taxes. All while washing and drying multiple loads of laundry. Mission accomplished. Too bad these games don't come around more than once a year. Perhaps I should convince my husband to begin to watch basketball. Isn't there a month long spree of games in March. Imagine what I could do if I had a month's worth of weekends available.