I promise I haven't been on vacation.

I need to go on one and will be going on one soon but not just yet...

Life has been busy and I haven't had too many deep thoughts lately. Sometimes I do think of something deep and then I forget it. Such is life right?

We are winding down to the last 5 days of school. The nightly homework is minimal and all BIG projects are completed. Well, except for my big project... As a co-room parent I am helping to plan and execute the 5th grade end of year party. The third graders have a party too but I will hand that off to my other co-room parent. Next year Nic will no longer have parties and I'll give Will and his parties my full attention.

We had a great Memorial Day weekend. We had nice family time, mellow time, neighborly time and reflecting time. I watched the Indy 500, well the last 150 laps, I went to church and missed the first 50. I had DVR'd it but didn't see a good point to starting from the beginning. I got the idea. I thought all day of the Krider clan and extensions of people who were in IN having a blast, enjoying each other's company. We so wish we could go but the 12-14 hour trip makes it hard when we have school on Friday and Tuesday. Maybe next year we won't have ice days and we'll get that Friday off. Maybe... I am not committing mom!

I am spending my evening being inspired by watching the 2009 Scripps National Spelling Bee. Did I spell that right? These kids are AMAZING. They are down to three spellers and the competition is as fierce as the AI finals or the Dancing With the Stars finale. I would have a hard time spelling some of these kids' names let alone the words they are spelling. Some are having a hard time pronouncing the words but they can spell them so I guess that is all that matters. I am enthralled by them. Sorry I didn't call you back Denise, I got sucked in!

OK, more importantly than the spelling bee, today Fred and I celebrate our 16th wedding anniversary. We had a mellow day that included going back to sleep after the boys were off to school and a leisurely lunch at the Fox Sports Grill. We also picked out but did not pick-up some patio furniture. I will pick it up this weekend before our next round of guests who arrive next week. I am most excited about the set because it includes a fire-pit and we'll get to have S'mores in our own backyard!

Fred left this afternoon to attend our Niece Megan's high school graduation. 16 years ago she was the flower girl who wouldn't walk the aisle and now she will walk the stage and get her diploma. Yeah Megan! We can't wait to see you next week right here on out door step!

Progress and Privacy

Seems like the world is shrinking everyday. And as more people know more people they also know more about those people's business. Goings and comings. Actions and reactions etc.

Like, those of you who follow me on Facebook know that I had hamburgers for dinner. Yum. Those of you who read this blog know that I left my house on Sunday. Apparently some people are bothered by other people knowing quite so much info. Fred recently read an article about identity theft and it seems that I have shared too much in the last two years. Not that I want to take a word of it back. I get it though. I respect that. So here's the deal. I am going private with this blog...

What does that mean? Does it mean that I can not follow Susan through her amazing, wonderful, exciting and adventure filled life anymore? NO! You just need to have my permission to do so and then log-in to read the latest. Not so hard really. Lots of people do it. Now I am going to be one of them.

So, effective June 1, 2009 you will need to ask my permission just one time to follow me on my journey through space and time. I highly recommend that you ask, and if I know you I'll say YES! It's gonna be a fun summer and you wouldn't want to miss out would ya?

If you have any questions just leave me a comment and I'll be in touch!

Busy busy week!

Whew! I am worn out and sick because I had a crazy busy week the likes of which I have not seen in quite a while.

Monday I wanted to do some insurance shopping but woke a bit unmotivated and the weather was not inspiring. Eventually I pulled myself together and headed out. As I was leaving the hood i called my pal Sabrina and she was willing to join me in my great escape/escapade. We ended up having CiCi's for lunch and found a few things off of the insurance replacement list. Fred had left for NY Monday AM so we had a mellow evening and looked forward to a more productive Tuesday.

Well, Monday night I stayed up too late but did work on a plan of attack for Tuesday. I had specific items chosen to look for at specific stores and planned to make great progress on "the list". Well, I should have known that Target would not be done as quickly at it could have been so I only got to two more stores and Kroger before I needed to be home to meet the boys. Managed to knock out enough and planned to go out again on Wednesday.

Well, plans are made to be changed right? I got a call from school on Wednesday asking me to sub on Wed and Thurs for the computer teacher. With no good reason to say no and lots of reasons $$$ to say yes I got myself to school and pretended to teach computers. It was a pretty great gig for two days but unfortunately I think I picked up a little bug along the way. I guess if I am going to sub I need to take some vitamins and build up my immunity a bit. Friday I was still felling fine so I attended the volunteer luncheon at school then worked a 3 hour shift helping with a water station at field day. It was a totally fab day and the kids had a blast. i stayed busy and out of trouble and brought home a sunburn to boot.

Friday afternoon/evening turned into our regular kids run wild and parents visit while we watch them night. We eventually came in and ordered some yummy pizza for dinner at 8:30. Better late than never!

Today I woke up at 1:30AM. Tried to fall back asleep and finally gave up and hopped on the computer from 2-4. A storm rolled in that then kept me up a bit longer. I FINALLY fell back asleep and got up for the day around 8. It has been a long day and I have knocked out a box or two of tissues. I have tried very hard to do enough but not too much around the house. I did go out a bit ago to get some cold meds from CVS so I hope I can sleep a little better tonight.

I am very hopeful that tomorrow will be a better day. I would love to get to the mall and check out the new Lego store that opens this weekend. I have a few items off of the insurance list that I need to get there too so that would be a good use of time and resources. I did keep up on the laundry today but should pay some bills tomorrow as well. We'll see what the day holds...

The Gift of Motherhood!

So Mother's Day is upon us and I just wanted to share the guys that make me a mom!

The joy that they bring me far outweighs the frustration. I am so blessed to have these boys and I hope that I am being the best mom, a mom they deserve, each and every day!

For Mother's Day they brought me Cinnamon Rolls in bed this morning and they helped me pick out a new bike! I have to take care of some motherly duties today, my own fault really since I didn't do laundry yesterday, and we are going to go have some fun buying some more replacement stuff today. We are closing in on the d-day date for replacing stuff we lost in the fire so shop we must! Hopefully we can get the shopping and laundry done so I cna go ride bikes with my boys. They are almost more excited than I am. I hope I can keep up, or at least up-right! (The last bike I rode was a stationary one at the gym a few years back.)

Wednesday already?

I'll tell you what, when my weeks are slow they just slip right past. Monday the boys were off school for a staff development day. We slept in a little late, they played with friends from the hood and we ran just a couple of errands. Tuesday was back to school but you know when you miss the real Monday that the whole thing is just a little off.

I did attend my first PTA meeting last night. I have been involved in parent organizations before but this one seems the most well organized. I have taken on the challenge of the school directory next year. The expectations are fairly low and I fully intend to exceed them. As a frequent newcomer/outsider in communities I appreciate a good school directory.

Not too much else new here. Fred is still working locally. The plant in MX was closed for Mon and Tues due to the H1N1 scare. They are up and running today and he's hoping he might get down there as soon as next week. We'll wait and see. Most of the schools that were closed around here are reopening this week so hopefully this "pandemic" scare is slowing down a bit. We continue with life as usual. Homework, end of school countdown, and I'm still packing for our trip to Walt Disney World in my head. I can't wait to see Mickey! 38 days!

Domino's Bread Bowl Pasta

YUMMMMMMM!

Yep, we all enjoyed it. The bread bowl Pastas as supposed to serve one but could easily be shared. The pasta and fillings are hot and well seasoned and everyone tried what they wanted and a few even went back for seconds. I ordered pizza to supplement the bread bowls because I wasn't sure exactly how we were going to share them, it all worked out just fine and we lots of left-over pizza for Monday! If you order the bread bowls on-line you can save $1.00 on each. We thought they were a good filling deal at $4.99-$5.99 each depending on the variety. They even have the option to build your own bowl... check it out at http://www.dominos.com/home/index.jsp!

Kennedy excited about the MAC N CHEESE Bread Bowl Pasta!

The tough critics, gave it good reviews!

The tasting party lasted longer than any of us had planned but the kids played surprisingly well together despite the 8 year age range and 4 grades represented and one lone girl. There were only two events that involved parents getting involved so I call that a SUCCESS!

The atrocious weather combined with the great disposition caused the party to go long. We had great conversation and had fun storm watching as a group. The consensus was that our house was the safe place to be considering all of the lightning activity. The kids believe that lightning won't strike the same place twice. We'll let them believe that. Whatever gets them through. Eventually there was a break in the action and the two families that joined us made it home safely.

I leave you with the satisfied face of our youngest taste tester! That pretty much sums it up!

Swine Flu Panic & Pizza!

So, I have no worries but apparently plenty of other people do. Fred can't get to Mexico for awhile, not all bad. The rest of the year of faith formation has been cancelled and there will be no hand holding in church for a period of time. There are multiple school districts in our area that are closing to disinfect and highly suggesting that kids and families do not congregate during the closure. It is putting many families in tough spots when it comes to childcare and things. Tough spot to be in. The decision in this house is that FISD gets closed we are headed to Indiana. We'll keep you informed if we start packing the van.

Our week has been mellow here. Pete got some VERY expensive dental work done on Tuesday. I went to the dentist yesterday and it was nearly as expensive or as painful. Thank God. The boys had TAKS tests this week, Math for Will and Science for Nic. They both ran in after school to announce their first place finish. As in, "I was first one done!" We wait a few weeks for the results and hope that everyone does well enough.

School is winding down and we are gearing up for summer here. Plans for the Disney trip are falling into place. We are swapping dog sitting with our neighbors and I have packed my bags in my head two or three times. I am so psyched to get away. I think we are at about 6 weeks. It should fly by... field day, end of school parties, RoughRider Baseball, another special group of guests from Indiana. It will be a blur but I promise to have my camera handy.

Well, I need to go check on the boys and work on the house a few minutes. I am hosting a Domino's House Party tomorrow night. We'll be trying the new Domino's Bread Bowl Pasta. I am all one for pasta and it would be a good pizza alternative. I'll have a full report on Sunday!