Selfish me!

Most women would be ecstatic when their husbands call home before 9am and say he's taking the rest of the day off.

Not me.

Selfish? Yes.

You see, the mornings are my ME TIME. It's when I am walking around a completely quiet house after the hustle and bustle of getting the kiddies on the bus. There's no TV on, no music playing no one talking.... except me and the voices in my head.

It's kinda my thinking time. Sometimes it's spent doing homework. Sometimes it's spent working out (at that time, I am listening to Shaun T on hip hop abs, but it's okay if he talks).

So when Hubs calls this morning and say, "I'm taking the rest of the day off. What did you cook. I'm hungry.", all I could think was DAMN! There goes my only day of working out this week!

SELFISH! I know!

Our Dollywood Vacation in Pigeon Forge! (singing) Awesome!

Last month, we took the most awesome-est (it's a word!) vacation we have ever taken and I have not yet gotten around to talking about it or posting pics.  I know I have been slacking, but between trying to maintain an A average in my online classes (which I have been doing very well, BTW), keeping the things the kids have to do in school straight, which I have NOT been doing very well, and running an FRG, I am a little over whelmed.

SO, at the end of last month, we went on our first REAL family vacation.  Where we actually paid for it.  Not the military.  Not a group retreat.  It was a family vacation.  It was a toss up between Disney World and Tennessee.  Disney lost due to the extreme Florida heat in August.

I must say, I am SOOOOOO happy that we decided on Pigeon Forge, Tennessee!

We stayed in a great cabin in the mountains that was so much like a home.  It was so comfortable that we decided to stay an extra day!

The kids loved it.  It was 2 floors with a pool table and a hot tub.  I don't think you can imagine HOW many times we had to hear, "Can we get in the hot tub?" and "Sure hope we're going to get in the hot tub today."  Finally, on maybe the second night, we all got in the hot tub.  Now, we can all say that we had our first experience in a hot tub.  And we did it together as a family.

We went to Dollyworld, Dolly Parton's Amusument park.  It was really nice.  I think we picked a great weekend to travel because it was the weekend before Labor Day and it was slow tourism.  Not good for business, but GREAT for us!  We were able to walk right to the front of EVERY line for EVERY ride and we had SOOOO much fun. 

I really expected the Amusement Park to be the best attraction, but there was so much more to Pigeon Forge and Gatlinsburg.  There was so much going on there that you need at least a week to see everything. 

We LOVED LOVED LOVED the Ripley's attractions. 

Believe it or Not, the 3-D Moving Theatre, the Mirror Maze was hilarious, the Aquarium was huge and the haunted house... well, we didn't exactly didn't get to see that, not with 3 very scared kids.  One wanted to go in, but decided it to be too much after seeing the very first "ghost".  LOL!

All in all, this was the best trip we could have taken.  I really enjoyed it and I know the kids enjoyed it.  And honestly, I think this has to be the first time I have seen Hubs so relaxed and having such a good time.  After a year tour in Iraq, this was great for him.  For All of Us!  Surely, this will become a regular spot for us!

Moving....

I'm in a funk today.  While Hubs is up whirling around the house on a mission to get everything in place to put in on the market, I am in a total funk and completely rebellious against help out because I am really hoping that by some grace of God we won't have to make this cross country move all that way to AZ.  I'm not in the least excited.  I have been a military child for the majority and have experienced move after move and the idea of having to uproot myself from somewhere I am completely happy with makes me sad. 

I do want the kids to have the military kids experience which they have not had.  Miss Missy, who will be 6 next month, learned to walk in this house.  When we moved here, Cam could reach the light switches and CJ rode the bus to school for the first time. 

I'm internally boycotting the move by not helping with the preparations and I know that's selfish of me, but just to see all of the paint being brought and the cleaning being done and the "unneeded" things being thrown out or given away is making me extremely..... grouchy.

Please excuse me while I go strangle so unsuspecting kids who are using my living room as a a dodge ball field!!!!

Clap Clap

Yesterday while I was working out my thighs were clapping when I jumped.

GRRRRRR!


This took me back to high school when my best friend and I use to talk about overweight people.


"WHOA!  When she walks her thighs clap!"  
Followed by Exploding laughter!!


For some strange reason, that doesn't seem so funny anymore....

You know what's funny?

  A few years back, there was nothing I wanted more than to find a job and get back into the workforce.  Now that they are all in school, I don't think I'm ready to go back to being a working mom.  Imagine that.

It's Fall Again

I have a love for the fall.

I love when the leaves start to change colors and the air gets a completely different smell to it.  I walked out my back door one day and said, "oh, it smells like fall."  Hubs looked at me like I was a little crazy.

What does fall smell like?

Well it's kind of indescribable.  Kinda smelling the skies are cooling off.  Or like smelling a cooler breeze. Not cool, mind you, but cool-er, as I am still living in Georgia at the beginning of autumn.  It is still hot.  And muggy.  Still miserable, but slightly more bearable... in the shade.  Not as humid, but humid and hot, nonetheless.

I went outside to snap a few pics this evening while hubs mowed the yard.  We are in preparation of selling this house.  While he is all gung-ho, I'm in a bit of a funk because I don't want to move.  Suck to have to move when I've gotten so comfortable.

I think my yard is a little confused by the changing seasons.


While my neighbor's little flowering tree is starting to get it's fall leaves....

my bush is sprouting new leaves...

my gardenia bush is still budding...

and my azaleas are in full bloom.

It's all so beautiful to me.  This is something I'm going to miss when I'm living in the desert in a few months.

Boooooo!