End of Year Madness - Oh My!

If you had doubts about my sanity before, well then let me assure you I am for sure insane currently.  Every mother feels a little frazzled at the end of the school year.  I am exactly one week away from the last half day of school; it's so close, but still unreachable or at least it feels that way.  So I just keep breaking it down to smaller chunks of time so I don't get overwhelmed.  Each morning, I repeat the mantra: "I just gotta survive today."  And it's been that way the whole month of May.  Here's what we've been up to:

Women's Club of Manheim Adopted a Block
Softball and Play practice galore
Softball games every Tuesday and Thursday
Math Night at Doe Run
Temple Trip to Washington DC
Graduation Parties (x3)
Cinco De Mayo Party
Celebrity Scoop Fundraiser
Board Meetings, Monthly Meetings and Presidency Meetings (WCM, PTO, Primary, Library, etc...)
- that's a whole lot of meetings if you get my drift
Weekly volunteering in the boys' classrooms
Spring Cleaning
Foster Care Training
Foster Care Recertification
Choir Concerts, Orchestra Concerts
First Grade Musical
Day Camp planning
Taxes finalized - ugghhh
Teacher Appreciation Week
Thank you gifts for officers (Order, prep, deliver)
Working at the School Store
4 Newspaper articles and photo shoots to Promo different events
Parental Visits galore
Lots of end-of-year Field Trips
Special Auxiliary Training
Middle School Book Fair
End of Year Carnival at the Elementary School
Dental visits
Many abandoned Book Clubs "Ain't nobody got time for that"
Relief Society Socials
End of Year Banquet
Order, Sort and Deliver Yearbooks (add a final sale for those who forgot to order originally)
Field Day Instruction
Scholarship Banquet
Activity Day and Scouts
Sporting Tournaments
Barnstormer Baseball Game
Memorial Day Picnic
Hiking
BBQ's
Planning, helping, and/or running fundraisers (Manheim Rock n' Glow 5K and RAINN em in)
Buying, making, sewing costumes for RAINN
Regular and Skype Assembly at the Middle School
Breakfast with Friends (a girl has to take a break every now and again)
Attend Bella's musical 3 out of 4 Show times
Run a mile fun run with younger kids, turn around and run a 5K with Bella
Clean Up Race starting at 11pm
Bake for a bake sale
Bake for end of year parties
Race a human powered horse for hours while eating and playing with friends

So that covers May through the end of the weekend June 2nd.  And next week...well I'll let you know how it went if I survive.  (Pictures to come)

Bachelorette Season Premier Highights

Well it's official.  Desiree has all the tools she needs to be a handy woman.  I don't know which was worse, the guy who showed up in stiff full metal armor approaching both the stairs into the house and Desiree with stilted terminator steps or the guy who asked, "Will you accept these abs?" appearing shirtless straight from the limo,.  On this guy's plus column is the fact that he is totally hot and practically a neighbor to my husband's Texas roots, but still everything about him screams douche baggery even in his job title which is Drilling Fluid Engineer. 

One thing is for sure.  I have never seen a lot of men look this awful in suits since my high school prom.  The wardrobe people must know that the casting is done so that when they spend the rest of the season predominantly undressed they will look good, but that doesn't translate well to a sample rack suit.  So when most of the men have upper bodies that are bigger than The Incredible Hulk, invariably the sleeves are too short and the buttons strained.  Add to that eye sore filled visual some very short suit pants, due to very large although deliciously "bite"able tushes from all the gym hours and you are starting to get the picture.  Last, top that off with a bunch of hipsters sporting totally inappropriate shoes, think Converse, sneakers, and other assorted non-formal footwear.  All that I can say is Eeks.

In typical fashion the season was filled with awkward dancing and poetry, manipulation via children from previous relationships, cheesy sentiments, fiery magic, the worst self designed suit possibly ever made and assorted riff raff nonsense.  The most awful by far were the ER doctor who while having one on one time takes off and puts on his glasses repeatedly, seriously no fewer than 6 times in their conversation and pair him with uber creeper guy who had some seriously misguided fantasy suite seeking idea on night one that skeeved Des out to where she gives him the boot before the Rose Ceremony even happens. 

In the end, one thing remains the same as with other seasons, I am totally riveted.  Can't wait to find out what my new tag line of stupidity will be for the upcoming year.  And hopefully I won't unwittingly be repeatedly saying something sexually graphic to people like last year before someone explained what it meant to me.  Sorry folks.  I guess the old adage is true.  You learn something new everyday, even through the Bachelor/Bacherlorette Franchise.  Hope you enjoy watching as much as me!

Over and Over

There are certain facts that I have to relearn over and over.  They are:

*I know better than the average woman how a man thinks.

I love a new pair of running sneakers something fierce.

**I can actually sing.

**I look a lot younger than I actually am.

 

I love going out with friends.

**I love staying in with friends even more.

I love gifts, but not at the expense of blowing the budget.

 

I may not like chocolate in theory but sometimes it's just what I need.
Sight reading piano music on demand for our church choir is good for me.
Sometimes the worst memories in life are the best experiences.

The Golden Rule really is golden.
***Just thinking "I'm Trying To Be Like Jesus" makes me laugh.
I really do have more energy than the normal person.
My husband is spectacular and I constantly underestimate him.

* Story 1 - The end of school year brings tons of activities for our family and meetings for me.  Think concerts, musicals, productions, meetings, etc..Because of this, I have been wearing nicer clothes. One day a neighbor stops me and says you look delicious again today.  I said thank you.  I explained that it was that time of year where I had to dress up regularly because of appointments.  She said in all seriousness to me, "No, it's because your hubby is home."  I laughed and continued on my way.  And was reminded that if I was trying to impress my hubby it wouldn't be with business dress, it would be with nakedness.  This concept along with others seems to allude most women.

** Story 2 - The other night I went out with friends.  We were supposed to go to dinner, then relax at a friend's house.  Everyone was claiming they needed an earlier night.  Low and behold, friends text and we end up at a local favorite where Karaoke is being held and they insist on carding me because no one believes I am older than 21.  I don't actually want to sing and after some ridiculous singing my friends agree I should back up dance and not sing.  Eventually my friend talks me into a duet, Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" where she abandons me.  Everyone is going wild, and the DJ confirms after that there were moments of brilliance in my singing.  I guess being sober and not tone deaf really makes me a passable singer.  Also I realized that I really would rather stay in and do chill stuff more often.  I'm getting too old for that other business.

*** Story 3 - I was in a church meeting.  We were discussing dealing with difficult people.  And the kindest, most wonderful, what would appear to never be angry woman says, sometimes when I want to say something really mean, I think to myself "I'm Trying To Be Like Jesus."  A good concept but she was so passionate about this and it was so unexpected that I just cracked up, wondering what her idea of really mad is.  To this day when I start to get really angry I remember this story and can't help but start laughing.  It works for me too, maybe not for the same reason, but I'm sticking with it.

 



It's Mother's Day

If marrying Travis was the best thing I ever did, then having kids is the best thing that ever happened to me. Because with those decisions, I've become more than I could have ever been and I'll spend the rest of my life living up to what my kids believe I am. There is no gift needed in this household because my kids are the greatest gift I have. Happy Mother's Day!

 

Oh What Do You Do?

When your hubby is home for a long time? 

You go to the temple in April and May. 

Isn't he hot? 

Yes, yes he is!