Did somebody say ...POOLS OPEN? Yippee....no more baths till Sept!

by teresa

Chris and I played tennis tonight while Katy took the kids in mom's pool (Nick was at a skating party). It was the first pool playtime of the year. When we came home we found three kids with blue lips and huge smiles. What is it about kids that makes them not bothered by the frigid temps. of a pool?

Where as I won't put a toe in till the pool temp is at least 80 degrees.

Kids have that "canonball off the diving board" attitude about everything in life. I miss that now that I'm a boring old grownup.

Wrinkles are hereditary....parents get them from their children.

by teresa

We had the final fundraiser dinner for Lauren at church last night.

She is only $67 away from her $1420 goal now. We are so happy....and thankful to all the people who helped her get this far. She leaves for Guatemala at the end of June...for eleven days.

Speaking of Lauren.....the funniest thing happened the other day.

Chris and I were running an errand together (at 11:30am...during school hours) and Lauren and two friends pulled up at the light next to us. Windows down...music blaring. We just sat there and observed for a moment....and then honked at her. I wish you could have seen her (and her friends) faces when they realized it was her parents in the next car. BUSTED! It turns out their yearbook teacher had sent them out on a food run for the class. I know the teacher personally....and she has done this before. Seeing as the yearbook has been out for awhile now....the class is pretty much over for the year. The look on her face was priceless though. Funny!

Later that same day we headed up to the high school with Ben, Nick, Kristian and Kai to play tennis. As we pulled in the parking lot we noticed Lauren's car was one of the only ones left. She had been at an Alpha meeting and pizza party after school hours. I guess it was over...and she and some of her friends decided to "chill". All the doors were open and the music was pumping. So we rolled down our windows and blasted my music (NPR...symphony music) as we drove up to her car. We invited all her friends to come play tennis with us. Lauren looked thoroughly mortified by her geeky parents...and all the children hanging out the windows. hee hee MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

Too much food

by teresa

We had a fun time yesterday with the family over.
Too much food though.
Always too much food.
I think I gained four pounds over the four day weekend.
Straight to the Y for me this morning....and every morning this week.

Katy got all settled in her new place...and her kids are so happy to be close by.
With only two and a half weeks left of school....we will all be pitching in to take them to their old school every morning to finish out the year with their classes.

Not much planned for this week. I think Chris is in town all week. I will go to the Y each morning...and then drag the family with me each night. Also want to start back with the tennis. Played a little over the weekend...and I got the spark back in me.

Kristian's softball season starts this Saturday....so we will set up camp (chairs, umbrella, cooler full of ice and drinks) at the field. I'll make sure to take lots of pictures.

Sitting on the porch drinking ice cold DIET cherry coke!

Happy Memorial Day

by teresa

Through the feel of war they brave this day

How proud they stand, their unselfish way

Our soldiers bear what we cannot see

They assure our right to live life free

Each trained will face an unknown fate

Our support they need, don’t hesitate

Just imagine how this land would be

Without their courage - catastrophe

All the liberties we have grown to know

Would not exist, this life would go

Find a thankfulness within your mind

Speak gratitude for our bravest kind

Have the willingness to show you care

For fallen heroes, hold back no tear

Reach out to God with his guiding light

For our troops do pray, both day and night

America raise your flags to wave

For we truly are 'home of the brave'

Just say no

by teresa

Have you ever seen the show Intervention on A&E?
We watched it last night and it was heart wrenching.
Each hour long show focuses on two addicts.
Their drugs (heroin, meth, cocaine, alchohol, etc), their daily routines, what they have lost by using....and the hardest to watch is the families that love them.
Interviews with moms and dads...children who miss their using parent...ex-wives longing for what "was".
The families get together with a professional interventionist and they ambush the user. They pour their hearts out to them....and then offer them a chance to get clean. This involves a trip out of town (that night) to a clinic for a couple of months.
At the end of the program they give you an update on how the persons life has changed...and if they are using again.
It is very touching...and you must sit and watch the next time you see it on.
We watched it with our kids. They had lots of questions (what is that? Are they sick? Did the Dr. give them the drug?).
Did you know that that the average age when a child first tries alcohol is 11; for marijuana, it's 12. And many kids start becoming curious about these substances even sooner. The two people on the show started drugs at Nick's age.
Just as we inoculate our kids against illnesses like measles, you can help "immunize" them against drug use by giving them the facts before they're in a risky situation.
When kids don't feel comfortable talking to parents, they're likely to seek answers elsewhere, even if their sources are unreliable. Kids who aren't properly informed are at greater risk of engaging in unsafe behaviors and experimenting with drugs.

by teresa

Man that felt good!
Slept till 9:00am this morning.
We all did.
We are beginning a four day memorial day weekend.
So no school or work till Tuesday.
But we have plenty to fill it.
Graduation party, cookouts, softball practice a luncheon meeting at church and moving Katy.
Somewhere in the middle of all that we MUST go see the new Pirates movie.

So....American Idol.
We enjoyed the finale so much.
Except for the the Golden Idol awards.
That was just plain mean.
I am the kind of person who can NOT bare to see someone be embarrassed or ridiculed.
I covered my eyes during those parts.
We DVR'd it..and have watched it a few times.
Well actually...Chris has watched the Blake/DougE. Fresh performance over and over.
If you could have seen that man's eyes light up when DougE. Fresh came on the stage.
He sang every word to the song....with a smile on his face and a shine in his eyes.
You didn't know that about the hubby did you?
He was a fiend for Rap music when we were teenagers.
MC Hammer, Doug E. Fresh, RunDMC, etc.

I'm off to go buy a new umbrella for our patio table.

Have a blessed day.

The tassel's worth the hassle!

by teresa

It's been super busy around here lately.
Lauren's graduation is less than a month away.
There are countless dinners, banquets and parties for church and school.
The three of us sat down yesterday and registered for the student/parent two day freshman debut at ODU. I am really looking forward to it. There are tours and classes for the parents...while the kids are taking a writing test and registering for classes. There is one class called "cutting the apron strings". Chris commented that I needed to take that class for sure. ha ha

She and her friend from church are talking about getting an apartment together. I think they are going out this weekend to look at some. How cool. Remember that excitement of getting your own place? She certainly works hard enough...and makes enough moolah. She is also the most responsible teenager I know. I forgot to brag on her the other day. She got to be the floor manager at Target on one of her shifts last week. She also got a nice raise and a perfect evaluation. She is the fastest...and has the highest number of RedCards (all us Targetaholics know what that is) on her team (it is all tracked electronically).

Tonight is another dinner fundraiser for Lauren's mission trip(which is five weeks away). She is now a mere $400 away from her $1420 goal. Awesome!

I will be heading to my sisters today. She called yesterday and said Kaden (yes baby Kaden) asked when I was coming over to visit. Like I don't see her every day already. But she likes it when I come to her house.
This will be a shorter trip after this weekend. She is moving two blocks over on Saturday.
Hooray!

Last night Chris and I took Nick, Ben, Kristian and Kai to the YMCA pool. It was a little chilly...but the kids had a blast. Kristian let us know that she would like to go everyday from now on. There was a swim team practicing on the other side of the pool. Nick expressed interest in joining.

I was a little disappointed with American Idol last night. Don't get me wrong...it was good. Just not super finale good. I think Jordin is going to win. She is a great singer...period. Blake...you know I love you man. But you just didn't shine last night. I hate that they sang songs we had already heard them sing. Booooring.

That's eight smoking hot lay-dees right there!

by teresa

Had a great time tonight.

I went to Lets dish with mom and some other women from our church.

It was a fundraiser for a young boy at church to attend an ambassador program to England, Scotland and Ireland this summer.

Two hours of dishing...and gabbing!

Now my freezers full again.

what some people will do for a funnel cake

by teresa

I had the worst leg cramps last night.

I should be in better shape than this people.

We all (except Chris) went to the Jubilee yesterday after church.

Parking was non-existent...so we ended up forever and a day away from the grounds. Lauren was ready to leave by the time we got there.

Ben and his friend walked us from ride to ride to ride. I think we were there for about four hours.

Katy looked like she was about to burst out little Mya right there (even though she has two months left).

Did I mention it was hawt? Very hot! And we all wore stupid jeans...which is not a good idea on a hot day when your going to be walking around for four hours. The kids didn't complain one time. They had a blast. And isn't that what it's all for anyway? The precious children? Nope! It's all for the funnel cake. God's little piece of heaven on Earth.

Click on picture to see all the Jubilation fun fullscreen!

by teresa

Thanks for all the high fives for Lauren.

She read them and loved it.

For the record....he has enjoyed two days of bus bliss since Lauren stepped in to handle the situation.

Today Nick will be going on a camping trip with the inlaws somewhere near Williamsburg. Tents, canoes, the whole nine yards. He is beyond excited...and he deserves to have a "Nick" weekend.

Ben will be having his bff spend the night while the house is brother free.

He is thrilled about this. I think he has plans on using his brothers psp while he's gone. Shhhh...don't tell.

Yesterday was a real treat. Ben's class had their last fieldtrip of the year. They went to the zoo and the park for a picnic. I had signed up to meet them there...but Chris surprised him by acompanying me. Ben's face lit up when he saw the both of us there. Chris got introduced to his teachers and friends. Finally Chris will be able to put faces to the names....as Ben raves about his school friends constantly. He is such a friendly guy!

Last night we went to the mall for dinner and shopping. I needed to spend my giftcard the kids got me for mother's day...and the boys had allowance saved up. They came home with model cars and nerf stuff and I came home with these. I love 'em!

Have a great weekend!

In the cookies of life, sisters are the chocolate chips.

by teresa

Lauren and Nick rarely get along.

Every little thing he does....bugs the living poo out of her.

And she has no problem letting him know it.

But let someone else say something to him....and that's a totally different issue apparently.

Yesterdays happenings:

Lauren and I are chatting when we hear Nick's bus pull to the corner.

After a couple of minutes and no door flying open (he usually burst through the door to go to the bathroom and get his snack) we went and looked for him.

Some trees were blocking our view...but we could hear voices at the corner.

I said..."oh no, someone has been picking on Nick on the bus....I bet they are down there right now."

Lauren looked at me incredulously.

I repeated my statement about the bully.....and what happened next still makes me smile....and laugh out loud a little.

My daughter (who wouldn't find fleeing a burning building a reason to rush or run) leapt off our front porch toward the street. Leaving Ben and I standing there with out mouths hanging open.

As she got to the street Nick came up....head down....looking blue....and surprised to see us there.

Lauren asked him what he was doing at the bus stop for so long....and he confirmed what we believed to be true. This person had picked on him the entire bus ride home and got off at the bus stop to continue.

Lauren asked Nick...which way they went. He pointed to the right...looking a little apprehensive about it. "Why", he asked? But she said nothing....she just gave chase.

What happened after she rounded the corner...I didn't see. But here's what Lauren told us when she came back home.

She saw a group of three standing a couple corners away. She ran up to these kids like a charging bull....I'm sure this was a bit frightening for them as my daughter is NOT a petite little flower of a woman. She frightens me sometimes :)

Here's how the conversation went:

Lauren: WHICH ONE OF YOU WAS MESSING WITH NICK GREEN ON THE BUS?

Bullies: uhhhhh....not me...one says. uhhhh....another speaks up....he was messing with me.

Lauren: Nick Green....messing with you? Yeah right! DON'T YOU EVER TOUCH HIM AGAIN!!! DO YOU HEAR ME? (Then she realized that she was now 18yrs old....so she held back from telling them WHAT she would do if they ever touched them again....also she said she was about to go all ghetto beat down on 'em).

Bullies: ran

She came back home (flushed, a little out of breathe, that curly hair flying this way and that) and looked on her calendar.
"I don't have to be at work till 5:00pm tomorrow.....I will be at the bus stop tomorrow when Nick pulls up."

For those kids sake....I hope they don't touch her brother!


Sisters annoy, interfere, criticize.
Indulge in monumental sulks, in huffs, in snide remarks.
Borrow. Break. Monopolize the bathroom. Are always underfoot.
But if catastrophe should strike, sisters are there.
Defending you against all comers.
~Pam Brown

I'm a Blaker girl!

by teresa

My song choice today is for my hubby.
Miss you :0)
By the way dear...I forgot...but I did take some of your clothes to the cleaners on Monday. So for the hour it took you to pack this morning because you couldn't find your new pants....soooreee.

It's beautiful here today.

High 70's, sunny, breezy.

Hello spring...glad to see you. Please stay awhile.

I did a workout at home this morning (thanks to FitTv's AllStarWorkout), read a little, went to the library (I have 5 books on a waiting list) and did one load of laundry.

Tonight's dinner at church is a fundraiser for Lauren's Guatemala mission trip. She's already raised over $500 of the $1400 goal. We hope tonight brings her a bit closer. She took tonight off so we could all go and help cook and set up. Should be a fun night.

I will make sure to tape American Idol just in case we get home a little late.

My prediction?

Jordin is going home.

Don't get all bent out of shape.
I love Jordin!
I love all three!
But if all three contestants had a new album release this week.....I would buy Blake's.
They are all super talented...but he is a TRUE STAR.
Great voice...look...moves...performer.
He's unique....and I believe that's what going to take him to the finals.

Maybe I'm wrong....we shall see.

His eye is on the sparrow...and I know he watches over me.

by teresa

Every time I put up a flower basket on the front porch a bird makes a nest in it.

This time it took less than a day for two birds to set up a little love nest.

Here's a picture of momma bird giving me the eye....and the next is a picture of what she's guarding.

I wonder what kind of bird it is? Usually we have little finches...but this it quite a bit bigger. I love how fearless she is. Right there on the front porch. Our family trouncing in and out right by her. She never budges. The daddy sits nearby in our big tree. Coming to chat with momma every now and then.

Update*

I guess momma bird doesn't like the paparazzi. Not too long after I took this photo she grabbed the egg and left.

Now I feel bad.

Big Momma

By Chris

Cousin Kai is a trip. He can turn on this crazy personality where he looses all inhibitions, screams, dances, talks in a funny voice and says anything that comes to his mind . . . instantly. Once, I took him to a football game and he decided it would be neat to hang his feet off the bleachers and kick the heads of the adults standing below. Stuff like that. So, Saturday I take him and Ben to 7-11. A big woman rings us up. I mean a really big, tough lookin' lady . . . someone who you know her kids and grandkids, etc. don't give any mess to. Kai looks at her and says in his crazy voice "BIG MOMMA!!!" She says nothing, and neither do I. Just swipe the card and go.

...and hot fudge was had by all

by teresa

Wow.
I haven't posted since Friday.
We have been so busy.
But in a good way.

Friday night Chris joined us at the Y.
The place was pretty much deserted...so we had a good time working out and trying every machine in the place. Then we let the boys get in the pool for a while ...as we sat and sweated off 10 pounds on the bleachers by the indoor pool. It was Hades hot in there!

Saturday's last game and party went great. We won the game 6 to 1. The other team was so rough (intentionally)...that it was a pleasure to beat them. Isn't that mean of me? It's just that when you see your kid getting kicked (in the stomach), or snatched to the ground by his jersey, or knocked off his feet from behind....you get a little of that physco mom thing going. I was videoing the game...and I am seriously erasing it because I sound like a screaming crazy woman. He even got smacked in the face after the game when the teams were shaking hands. Poor sports!.

The party was fun. Lots of food and the kids and parents loved seeing the season slide show.

My family really did it up for me on Mother's Day.
Some super gifts (purse, gift cards, handmade painted fish ala Ben), cards and dinner out(Italian). Chris and I taught Children's Church....so I even got to dress casual.
Chris even watched all the kids (Katy's and ours) while mom, Katy and I layed around watching home videos and eating some chocolate yummies(hot fudge cake...big, decadent, vanilla ice cream filled pieces of hot fudge cake).

So I am going to start my week off at the Y working off all the weekends indulgences.

OUCH!

by teresa

Two hours at the Y last night.

An hour in Total Body Blast class...and an hour on the machines (elliptical, stairmaster, weights).
I am hurting all over.

But I guess that's a good thing...right?

I have an appointment with my trainer PJ at 11:00 today. That sounds ridiculous coming from me. My trainer. hahaha

I'm a busy bee

by teresa

Just a quick update.

Lots of fun was had by all at the parents vs. the kids game on Tuesday.

I stayed on my feet the entire time (even though it was muddy and drizzling) and I even scored a goal.

Sadly I canceled the boys membership to karate. I have been having to twist their arms to go for quite some time. They just lost interest after two years.

But don't fret.....I found something to replace it.

I joined us (and by us...I mean ALL FIVE OF US) up in the YMCA.

The boys were excited...which made me happy.

I will post later about all the fun stuff the boys did last night ...and the workout that left me stiff as a board all night long.

I have lots to do today.

Babysit for Katy during her OB appt.

Order cake for Sat. party.

Pick up Chris car from getting inspected.

Read a book (just bought last night) for Sat. night book club.

Dig boys bathing suits out of the attic (they want to swim tonight after their workouts).

Finish the slide shows.

Make 15 copies of the soccer slide show for the parents.

Plus...all normal household chores.

Do any of you workout?

Tell me what you like...so I will know what classes to go to.

Pilate's? Yoga? Exercise ball? Aerobics? Spinning?

“If friends were flowers, I'd pick you”

by teresa

It's raining and my flowers are loving it.
I hope it clears up soon enough today for the soccer field to dry off.
Tonight is the parents vs. the kids game.
Last year it was muddy and I slipped and busted my butt(I went down in a James Brown side split) during the parents game.
Good times people.....good times.

I am almost done with the slide shows for Saturdays big party.
I know....I said I would never do another slide show.
But I can't help myself.
I really get into choosing the perfect song, and arranging the pictures just right.
I made a color one (to the song "Higher" by Creed) and a black and white one (to the song "I hope you had the time of you life" by GreenDay).
I need to transfer them over to my lap top...and then tweak it a bit.
I also need to take a couple of pictures tonight of one little girl. For some reason I didn't have many shots of her. Then I can add them in here and there.

The mother/daughter dinner was nice last night.
A little longer than I hoped (3 1/2 hours)...but Lauren had a good time...and it was nice to see all her friends from Alpha Phi Tri Hi Y.
There were fifteen graduating seniors. I remember four years ago at the same dinner. Watching the seniors getting recognized...all the tears and hugging. I remember thinking how adult they looked...and a little scared too. Scared they wouldn't see each other again (and most probably won't), scared to be out in the real world, scared to be the little fish in the big pond. I saw that again last night in the eyes of the fifteen.

Do you remember that feeling?
Are you friends with your BEST friend from school?
That girl you told all your deep secrets. That girl that was apart of every fun, happy, exciting thing in your young life?
I'm not.
How sad.

Birthdays, soccer and baby showers....what a great weekend!

by teresa

Our weekend was super.
Extremely busy....but full of fun and family.
We had two birthday parties, two soccer games and a baby shower.
Nick's birthday fiesta at Don Pablo's was a hit.
Man was that food yummy and we had a good time passing around the sombrero.

After we stuffed ourselves silly we headed over to George and Jackie's for some cake.
But not just any cake.
A litter box cake.
It looked just like a used litter box (with tootsie roll poop) but it tasted like cinnamon spice cake. I love mom's face when she ate the cake.

Friday we had a load of mulch dumped...so Chris has spent his free moments shoveling, spreading, planting, mowing and watering. I still have more plants to buy...and then we can do the backyard. Some birds have already started a nest in one of my hanging pots.

Tonight Lauren and I are attending a mother/daughter dinner. So I guess Chris and the boys will be fending for themselves.

If you want a little giggle....click over to this link and enjoy Ben singing karaoke to Nick's singstar game.

Too cute!

Next to last soccer game

Us 4 Them 0

Ben scored two goals. One game to go. :(

“It's beauty that captures your attention; personality which captures your heart.”

Queen Road Block

By Chris

The Queen of England is in Virginia. And, she was cruising down Interstae 64 yesterday between Richmond and Williamsburg. I know this because it meant that a peasant like me could not travel on I-64 to get home from Richmond. Yep, they closed the whole thing down to transport Her Majesty and company. No signs. No recommendations about how to heas east. Just police cars blocking the way. Now, that's the way to travel! I eventually found the alt. route home. I'm bloggin from Baltimore airport now, and, like the other day, the board indicates an on-time take off just 3 minutes from right now. Not likely, since they have not started boarding yet. The culprit this time is Southwest Airlines, so the cattle call lines they use instead of assigned seats are chomping at the bit and jockeying for position to get a good seat.

Sign says...stay away fool...cause LOVE rules...at the LA-A-AV SHACK

by teresa

Nick had a great birthday yesterday.
Chris didn't get home till around 7:00 so the boys and I ordered pizza for dinner (Nick's choice) and waited to open his gifts till Chris got home. Nick fell asleep for a couple of hours(from 5-7pm) ...so the wait wasn't so bad for him. We will be having the B I G family party on Saturday (Cinco de Mayo) at Don Pablo's Mexican restaurant. That's Nicky's favorite place. Everyone will come and join the fiesta. Of course we still had some cake last night after pizza. Gotta have cake on your birthday...right? Jackie and George are making a special cake for Saturday's party and he will get all his gifts from the rest of the family then. Of course my momma came over for cake last night too. That woman loves her some cake and ice cream!
We got him some books (of course) cool pens and junk and the PlayStation2 game Singstar. It's just like Guitar Hero...only you SING against each other. IT IS AWESOME! It grades you hitting notes, tempo and words. You can solo, duet,pass the mic or battle. It rates you from Tone deaf to superstar. Pretty cool. We all took a turn singing Love Shack, Respect, Sweet Home Alabama, Son of a Preacher Man and lots of current hits too. My hubby...Chris...belting out Love Shack actually made me pee my pants a little. He was singing the womans part and I was singing the mans. I swear it was the funniest thing I have ever seen. I MUST video next time!

Happy 12th Birthday Tricky Nicky! We Love You!!!

Airtran??!!@+##

By Chris

It's 8:25. Airtran's new, plasma flight info screen at the gate indicates my 8:10 plane is on time. Dummies. I did make it onto a plane. Sat down. Started reading. Then we were told to get off the plane, go to another gate, and get on a different plane. No plane here though. But, it still says on time. We have a centralized announcement in a male voice saying the gate changed again. Now a more animated lady voice just made this annc: "I don't know who is making that announcement. Newport News is at this gate. I do not know who made that other announcement.". Huh?? Do they have someone making rogue announcements? Now the plane is here. Here comes a repeat of the generic announcements we heard before we got on the plane that we exited earlier. In case we forgot in the last 10 mins that you can't smoke onboard and that we will be boarding by zones. And, oh yeah, they "appreciate" my business. That makes me feel much better. Now it's 8:35. And the screen still indicates an on-time 8:10 departure. Now, mild confusion is breaking out as some people contemplate which gate announcement is right.

Oop. Now we're boarding ... This is live blackberry bloggin, man. Crud. I am on the jetway, and she took my ticket stub(the part you usually keep, because they took the other half on boarding attemp one). And, I don't remember my seat number. I'll take any seat at this point . Bye

Jon + Bon + Jovi = cutie patootie!

Bon Jovi was on American Idol tonight.
*sigh*
I heart Jon Bon Jovi!
I enjoyed every single performance...because I love every single Bon Jovi song. And if you don't...then I don't think we can be friends.
My favorite being Blake(even though Chris sang my favorite song...Dead or Alive). Blake is super talented...and I can't wait to buy his CD when he is famous.

Although they were all good....I think the two going home will be Lakisha and Phil.

I spent the day stuck at home since my car was in the shop. We picked it up tonight...so I will be mobile and happy tomorrow. Thrift stores here I come. Ben is in dire need of shorts...and I always like to check there first before going to Old Navy.

Lauren brought home her graduation announcements today and they are so pretty. I can't believe it is only seven weeks away. Prom is on Friday and we have been on a last minute shopping frenzy for jewelry and undergarments. Remember last years solution to the backless dress. This year it was a little easier to find a strapless bra...since this years dress comes up all the way in the back.

Here's some shots we took tonight so you guys could see what it looks like. Of course I will post shots of her(with hair and makeup done) and Hunter the night of the dance.

Nick's Ranger Camping Trip...yee haw!