Happy Memorial Day

We all love to see pictures like the one above. However in order to get to that homecoming this is a more accurate image:

Thank you to everyone that has defended our country.

It's June...

...In my head anyway. All I can think about is the beach. Water. Sand. Sun. Heat. Starbucks. Ooops. You know what I mean.  June (ish) hits & I need to be there. It's like yearly therapy. The girls are already asking when we're going.  My question is WHO is going.  Kiki wants to go, Tamica & her daughter & yesterday Mar asked me when we're going. I say the bigger the group the better! I can't wait.

I've been saying that my brain is long gone. Yesterday I had proof (as if it's ever really needed!).  We were hanging out with Mar and her son & in my head all day is that I have to go to work at 8.  I call Kiki because she's supposed to watch the kids & I remind her. There's this pause..."Work?   You don't have work." 

Me: "Yeah, I do at 8."

Kiki: "It's aholiday. A GOVERNMENT holiday. You work for the GOVERNMENT. I doubt your office is open,"

Me: "OMG. OMG. You're right."

Yeah. DEEDEEDEE. I needed to be told or else I would have shown up sunburned & cranky.

Speaking of sunburned & cranky. I had a census worker at my door the other day. That became funny & fast. I instantly was squinting (sun, you know..) to read her badge to see if I recognized her name (code for have I audited her lately). She tried telling me that my form was incomplete. Truth be told, it was. You don't NEED my kids birthdates. You don't. You just need to know they exist for a headcount. She copped I-work-for-the-gov. attitude with me. That was the point where I lied told her I recognized her name, that I worked in field opps admin & BTW, I know that she doesn't NEED & won't get in trouble for not securing birthdates. Her face then, was funny.  Funnier yet when she had to come back 5 minutes later to ask about my new neighbor.

BINGBONG (doorbell) I open the door and chuckled and said, :Do you need a proxy?"  (Another person to verify people in a neighboring home).

She was cute. Not.

Yeah. Beach.

I keep forgetting but here is my latest running playlist since a few of you have asked. (STEAL MUSIC KEV)

Tell Me (Remix) ~ Bobby Valentino

Why Don't You Love Me ~ Beyonce

Not Myself Tonight ~ Christina Aguilera

Starstruck ~ 3oh3

Uprising ~ Muse

Baby By Me ~ 50 Cent

Paparrazzi ~ Gaga

Rude Boy ~ Rihanna

Flesh for Fantasy ~ Billy Idol

Take It Off ~ Kesha

A Lil Bit ~ Drake

Bust A Move ~ Glee Cast

Nothing On You ~ BoB

Peep Show ~ 50 Cent

Tearin' Up My Heart ~ Nsync

Me & U ~ Cassie

Release Me ~ Agnes

Lil Freak ~ Usher & Nicki Manaj

OMG ~ Usher

Lying Is The Most Fun A Girl Can Have With Her Clothes On ~ Panic at the Disco

Hotel Room ~ Pitbull

Calle Ocho ~ Pitbull

Million Dollar Girl ~ Trina

Strawberry Shortcake Popsicle- That's What's For Breakfast

Why? Because my schedule is all kinds of jacked up that's why. Now that I have fully adjusted to being up all nite (code for, I CANNOT sleep at nite on days off!) I am working evenings for 2 weeks. You know, just long enough to readjust to sleeping only to switch back again.  I wouldn't care if I didn't have kids but obviously, I do.  And it is a crazy busy week coming up.

2 parties today & tomorrow...Em & B's school b-day  snacks, 3 (or is it 4) softball games,  Field Day at school. The double birthday party.  I won't know my name by this time next week.

I tracked down Maya's MIA eye doctor. We needed her pediatric records which were easy to get. Then the surgeon wanted the records from the guy she saw over 18 months as a toddler. This doc was an ass plain & simple.  When the surgical coordinator went looking for him she couldn't track him down. I think I knew he was leaving our area but by then we had ditched him anyway.  I actually found him on Friday, in CANADA. He moved back there (I vaguely remember knowing he was Canadian) 8 years ago & was flattered that I went thru the trouble to find him. Needless to say his phonecall was VERY nice & chatty. He pointed me to the doctor that now has all of his old Pennsylvania records so I was thrilled.

The Crayola Factory- B & Her BFF'S

Cabri, Brianna, Molly & B

Catch My Breath

I'm bouncing between stressed/overwhelmed & I've got it all under control do you believe me?  These next two weeks are filled with... stuff.  Commitments... Places I need to be on top of all the other, places that I need to be.

We've already discussed the crazy new work schedule. This week things are messy. I am supposed to be tye-dyeing first grade tshirts right now but am instead patiently waiting for my new stacked washer & dryer to be delivered. IF they get here before ten then I need to run to the school to do the tshirts because B expected me to be there. Speaking of the school, it is a second home you all know this right?? I walked the kids there on Friday & realized I forgot bake sale money. I ran home & got it, brought it into the school office & then found out that the bake sale itself had precious little to offer. I ran to the grocery store then & grabbed about 10 boxes of cosmic brownies & a pile of cookies to fill in some space.

3 trips to the school before 10am.

That's my life.

There are 4 softball games this week. One field trip. I NEED to find someone to make Alice In Wonderland cupcakes for the kids b-day bash. NYC is I think this Saturday which means a nice chunk of cash out the window and somehow I have to make the actual trip live up to B's hopes. Em is easy. When asked what she wanted for her birthday she said an ipod & more books.  Told her we'll get her Ipod in NY so that it's special for her too.

Next week is field day at school & it lands on B's birthday. That means by pure coincidence she gets a bounce house, DJ, face painting & relay races all day long. Of course I'll be there all day for that. First-second-fourth grade graduations follow. The double birthday is as planned & paid for as it can be. I wrote out 50 invitations last night & they went to school with them today.

Constant juggling. Work called me off last night because the computers were down for upgrades. I can make up the hours & figured extra sleep was a gift except that I am having a hard tme sleeping at night now. Unless I'm in a coma. Otherwise I'm awake a lot and my body is ready to go. I guess that's good right?

Getting Better :)

Does That Make Me Crazy? Probably.

Psst! 

I'm still here.

Seriously, I am.

Life has just gotten really crazy.  My work hours changed & gulp...gulp... I now work graveyard fulltime. What? You say government offices aren't open overnite?  Yeah. That's what I thought too.  I thought wrong. Prepartation for day to day operations happen betyween midnite & 8am. So does payroll so if you are in this state & work for the Department of Commerce I'm likely the one processing your time sheets & getting you paid.

Your welcome.

Ironically, I love the skeleton crew that works. I love having my lunch at 4am & listening to my ipod in an empty lobby of a historic building that is usually jam packed. I love going across the street to the coffeehouse when it opens at 6am & seeing people just starting their day while knowing my work is almost done. I'm a vampire by nature. I love late nights & early mornings so this caters to my internal clock. It's all those nasty afternoon hours that I struggle with. Did I mention graveyard pays time & a half & eliminates my need for daycare once school gets out in 2 weeks? Didja know 8 hours a day daycare for 3 kids is $246 bucks a week?  Yeah, you'd stay awake all night too now wouldn't you??

I'm seriously loving it but I have to say the not sleeping enough is really, truly hard. Typical day, run home get kids up & out to school. Clean up, throw dinner in the crockpot, run errands then sleep from 11-1:30. Get kids, homework, dinner, someone usually has a softball game, slushies, showers bed for kids. I get out the stuff to get them ready for the next day & sleep for another hour or two if lucky, jump in the shower and go to work. There are days that this hasn't happened. I got up at 7am on Weds. and was up until 9:30pm FRIDAY night.  That is just bad. So bad. Non functional bad. Friday morning the world was spinning but my mind was running. By afternoon I was flipping my phone to check email & dozing off while the page loaded.  Not pretty. Sleep is vital. I slept 11 hours last night & fully intend to repeat that tonite before going back to my 5 day insanity this week.

Kids are great. Wrapping up the school year. Fun day (DJ, bounce equipment, relay race etc.) at school is on B's birthday, B & Emmy's double birthday bash is just days away, there's a field trip this week but before that I get to help her class tye dye shirts to wear on the trip... I could go on forever.

Extremely important is a planned trip to NYC. It has been B's big wish since Xmas. To go to NYC to go to The American Girl Doll Store. That (& the overpriced doll) is her birthday gift from me. I just can't wait, so much good stuff is coming I just need to figure out how to stay awake!

Summer Weather Is Here!