The Happiest Place on Earth

Lauren and I are headed to Disneyland tomorrow.  My mom and my nephew, Hayes are joining us on our adventure.  I've been saving my money for three years, and waiting (for three years) for Lauren to actually grow tall enough to go on the rides.  I Love, Love, Love Disneyland.  Watching Lauren and Hayes anxiously count down the days has been so much fun.

But holy cow, I didn't know if I would get through this past week!  Seriously, I just about called "uncle!"

It all started when we got back from Phoenix on last Sunday and realized that our dog was missing.  Lately I've been having the feeling that she was on her way out, but I was so sad that we may have missed our chance to say good bye.  Monday, Ryan talked to the dog catcher and found that yes, they had found a big black dog that had died just down the street from our house.  Poor, poor Lauren was just distraught.  Truth be told, we are all feeling a little hole in our lives.

Tuesday, I broke down and took Syd to the doctor.  She's been having trouble with lower leg.  Well, good mother that I am, I've been ignoring a high ankle sprain.

Wednesday and Thursday I was at war with my dear teen-age son.  (Don't even get me going-I'm still hot about it.)

Friday Cade got a high ankle sprain in his football game.  What's up with all these weak ankles?  Oh yeah, that's the Jackson in them.  Good mother that I am, I'm ignoring that one as well. 

Saturday, my mom called to tell me that my dad had gotten sick at work, passed out and was being transported to the hospital in an ambulance.  Now let me tell you, there's nothing like a REAL problem to put all of my little whiny ones in perspective.  I had to quickly repent of being a whiner.  Luckily, he was A-OK.  He just hadn't eaten and then had taken his medication.  Come to find out, that's not a good idea.  I told my mom it was probably because she has been starving him on their South Beach diet kick.  Not enough pizza and burgers to keep him steady.

But back to being whiny..So just a few minutes ago, my dear teen-age son called from the Valley to tell me that something is seriously wrong with his ankle.  The bottom of his foot is numb and sharp pains are shooting up his leg if it moves wrong.  I told him to come home.  He didn't like that idea, so I'm continuing my mantra of ignoring it.

So, you can see that I certainly am in the need for Mickey and Minnie, and even Goofy to take me to a happier place. 

Although, I'm kinda thinking that it may be safer to just stay in bed....

Oh No,Not the Camera!

Nobody shouts for joy when I pull out the camera.  OK, Lauren does, but she's eight and gunning for "America's Next Top Model". 

This time, I had ammunition.  Great-grandma Ashton is turning 92 and she needs pictures of all of us.  Who can deny a Grandma?  It took 2 weeks (really) until we had ONE evening all together while the sun was shining.  I'm afraid we don't have another one of those evenings until sometime in December....

AWOL

I have neglected my blog lately because my life looks like this:

Which in real life (not just the life on my calendar) looks like this:

And this:

And of course this:

And finally this:

If you think my blog has been neglected....well you should see my house.  Phew!  It's a mess.  Well, it was a mess.  But today after Syd's game I washed dishes, clothes, and the floor.  It seems I have turned the corner.  It's sad to admit, but life looks so much brighter with a clean house.

So here's to a clean house, happy children and more time for blogging!

"Rhino"

Sometime in the course of Ryan's life, he picked up the nickname, "Rhino".  I want to say it was started by Roger Shumway, but I could be lying.  And there are a lot of you out there that may know the truth.  But since Ryan isn't around to ask, we are just going with it....

For me, it started off as pure laziness.  Sydney has become "Syd", Lauren becomes "Lou" and Ryan became "Ry".  But that "O" sound fits perfectly...  It certainly doesn't qualify as a term of endearment in my book, but dang, it does flow off the tongue so nicely.  "Hey Rhino, pass the milk,"  "What are you up to Rhino?" "See ya Rhino!"  Well, maybe you have to be there.

Anyway...my story...

You may recall the autistic boy that I'm teaching this year.  We'll call him "J".  Ryan had the pleasure of meeting him last week.  He came right up to Ryan and said in his little robotic voice, "What's your last name Ry-an?"  (Ryan had on his workshirt with the nametag).  So they proceeded to have a short conversation on makes and models of various cars.  I thought that was the ended of it.

But the next day, during class, I hear "Rhino!  Rhino!" accompanied by maniacal laughter.  I think, "Huh, J. must be currently fascinated by rhinoceros."  For the next few days I would hear "Rhino!" burst out in random discussion.  Finally it all clicked for me.

"J, are you talking about the animal, or did I call my husband Rhino when he was here?"

Maniacal laughter.

"Rhino, Rhino!"  "Yes, Rhino, your husband!"

I have learned two lessons from this:
A:  Watch what you say, kids will pick it up.  Thank goodness I hadn't said, "Dammit Ryan, what the hell?"  Not that I would have said that ;-)
B:  "Rhino" doesn't sound so good 100 times a day.  I'm a little sick of it.  I wonder if Ryan would answer if I started calling him "Cupcake"?

You've Got to Have this Recipe!

When I was a kid, Alice Traver was the gourmet cook of the neighborhood.  One of my first culinary memories is the day she brought over homemade eclairs.  Overused pun-but it was love at first "bite".  Since then, eclairs, cream puffs, and Bavarian Cream filled doughnuts have been near and dear to my heart/stomach.  Back in the day, when I had a little more time, I occasionally whipped up a batch of my own.  But with the discovery of this recipe...well, I'm going to have to work on my self-control.

You can find the recipe right here http://ashtonrecipes.blogspot.com/2009/09/eclair-dessert.html

Spoon Me Baby!

I seriously hate it when I can see myself (and Ryan) in the Fair animals....

Blogging in my Head

Oh, I am so witty.

WIIITTTTYYYY I tell you. All day long, I compose smart, sassy and/or thought provoking stories to add to my blog. Sometimes it's the only thing getting me through the day.

Unfortunately, I forget them by the time I get home from work.

Sorry.

But, I'm not kidding, I'm pretty funny. Maybe even clever. Occasionally hilarious. In my head, at least.