**Imagine me peering up at you, with my head still on the table**

I’m a soccer mom.

The girls are both going to be in spring soccer, and practices start next week.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad they’re excited to be involved in some sort of team sport.  It’s good for them.

On the other hand, there are days I feel like I’m still 25 and I should be worrying about what adult beverage I’m going to have and where I’m going on vacation.

Now it’s about soccer shoes, shin guards, practices, games, and getting a good folding chair where I can place my ass while this is all going on.  It’s about getting homework done, not spoiling the kids but letting them have a fun childhood.  Bedtimes, baths, brushing teeth, eating good food, doing well in school, making friends, birthday parties and loving your sister.

This was my plan, don’t get me wrong.  But it feels like I created this plan just a few months ago instead of 15 years ago.  Time sure flies when you’re having fun…and taking care of two small humans.

Now, I just need to know…is it mandatory that I get one of those soccer ball stickers for my car?  God, I hope not.

So, Kerri actually left the bartender life to become a pilot.  But now, here she is, at home with her little one.  What does she do?  She starts her own at-home business (becomes a MOMtrepreneur).  She started making hair clips and bows.  They’re so cute! And definitely something you can’t find just anywhere.  As they say,  a picture is worth 1,000 words:

Aren’t they cute? I’m a little jealous, though.  Why?  Well first off, I’m not that crafty.  Not in real life, anyway.  I can be crafty on my handy dandy laptop, but not with actual MATERIALS.  Look:  I made this ninja over the weekend:

Cute, huh?  But I digress……

So, I’m jealous that she’s crafty.  And I’m jealous that her daughter will actually wear hair clips.  Not mine.  Not for longer than 30 minutes, anyway.  But, I’m not very much into accessories, so I guess I can’t expect my kids to be into them.

But I think it’s awesome that she started a business.  So, you should check out her blog, Elle Belle’s Bows! And us moms?  We’re like that.  I’ve been a virtual assistant, hocked my t-shirts online (still do that), and done all the boring paperwork gobbidy-gook for the restaurant from home.  Oh, and gone back to school.  My friend watches kids for extra cash.  One of our waitresses also bakes cookies on the side.  You can’t keep a mom back.  The internet has opened up all sorts of opportunities for moms, and I love to see a mom start something new.  Or finish something they started.  Or go back to school.  Or keep on working outside the house.  Anything but that whole stereotypical fifties mom wearing an apron and having a martini and dinner ready for her husband as he walks through the door.

Nothing against the boys.  They’ve been starting businesses forever.  But to juggle the kids, a business, the house, the laundry…you get the idea.  Moms really DO rock.

And that’s all I have to say about that

Next stop?  Grocery shopping.  They wanted to go into the Eagle’s Nest (which is a little child care facility inside of Giant Eagle).  Fine with me…more alone time.  I was so happy with their behavior, I bought them some silly bands to split.  We came home, they played more.  There was NO FIGHTING.  They agreed on what they wanted for dinner.  They ate nicely.

Would you like to know what they are doing right now?  They are doing their Summer school work.  Without complaining.  Dare I even say, enjoying it?

If I was transported into another dimension, I’d like to stay here, please.  Next I’m going to see if they clean up like they said they would.  Then it’s our favorite summertime show…Wipeout. (Oh my gosh, as I type this they just shared their candy!!!!!!!!!!!)

There are parts of summer that get a little trying, though.  Although Becca and Chloe generally get along, there will be afternoons where they can’t be in the same room together without being mean to each other.  I’m sure there will also be lots of “I’m bored!!!” and “There’s nothing to do!”  I’ll take it though.  I think I’m ready.  But if you talk to me in August, I might be singing a different tune.

My friend Marlo asked me yesterday if I was going to be sad that they are both going to be in school all day come the fall.  You know what?  I’m not.  I don’t mean that in a greedy way, though.  I will definitely miss all our little conversations and cuddles.  And I WILL like to have some time back to myself.  But more than anything, I’m proud of them.  I’m proud of they way the girls became great friends on vacation.  I’m proud of they way they made friends in the pool.  I love that they are buddies, and ready to take on the Primary School as a team. I’m proud that they’re not extremely annoying or mean to other people.

I really think that I will enjoy watching them flourish, watching them make more friends, help people and become more confident.  I’m excited for the unknown that will happen as they grow older.  I will mention, though, that my tune may again change when they are older…like 13 and 15.  I can’t see that being too easy.

Have a great weekend, and GET READY FOR SUMMER!

Chloe’s graduation ceremony was very cute (her teacher has always done a great job!).  It will be strange not driving to the preschool…I’ve been driving there for four years.  Here’s a little clip of Chloe.  She must have still been on vacation mode, too.  She yawned through the entire thing.

And here’s a little clip of her getting her preschool diploma:

I am ALMOST back into the swing of things.  However, after a very fun pool party at our friends’ home, I was a bit sluggish today.  Those frozen concoctions were going down way too easily!  So, now that Memorial Day Weekend is almost over, we’re gearing up for summer.  I think we’re all ready for later bedtimes and a bit of sleeping in.  Talk to you all soon!

But we had a blast.  We went on the kids’ favorite, the Jackrabbit at least three times.  We hit all of the classics…the Paratrooper, the Kangaroo, the Pirate Ship, the Turtle.  We went on Noah’s Ark, which completely freaked Becca out. (Chloe was a little scared too, but she just hides it better).  I think that most of Becca’s problem was having a couple of 11 or 12 year old boys behind her, making extra noise.  Becca was actually tall enough for the Racer and The Exterminator.  Which she thoroughly enjoyed (although, because The Exterminator is dark, she just sort of clenched my hand in fear the entire time.  But when we exited, she was really excited about it.).  The kids played games, won stuffed animals, got their cotton candy and had an overall great day.

Because the lines were so short, we really had ridden all that we wanted to ride by 4:30.  So, we headed home.  On the trip back, I asked the girls what their favorite part of the day was.  Chloe said it was winning the stuffed animals and riding the Jackrabbit.  Becca said stuffed animals and the Racer.  Then I asked what their least favorite part of the day was.  I was expecting Becca to say that it was Noah’s Ark, but she threw me a curve by saying that it was riding the three rides she rode in Kiddieland.  Chloe agreed.

There’s a little part of my heart that is sad about that.  They used to be so excited to get on those rides.  They look at me, so proud that they could ride something on their own.  That day, however, they looked at me like I was making them watch a documentary on making cheese.  I guess I can’t avoid the fact that they have to grow up.  At least I get to ride the fun rides with them!

Speaking of that, I had the opportunity to cross something off my bucket list (the Skycoaster).  Problem was, they were only accepting triple rides (meaning you had to have three people to go).  The girls were tall enough to go on, and I actually pressed it a bit.  Chloe was more than willing, but Becca wasn’t so sure.  Then Tony looked at me and very gently asked, “Do you want to be the Mom who scars them for life on Mothers’ Day?”

OK, guess not.  I’ll have to try another day…

Yesterday I had our day all planned out.  The weather was crappy.  Windy, cold and rainy.  And I knew it was going to be like that.  So, the plan was to do our little Saturday morning routine at the restaurant and then hang in the house.  I had the girls all prepped for an afternoon of jammies, movies and the Wii.  Perfect.  And while they were doing that, I was planning on catching up on some housework (you know, clean a couple of bathrooms, vacuum, laundry) and some internet work.  But wait…there was more.  After putting them to bed, I planned on reading my new book from Charlaine Harris (Dead in the Family (Sookie Stackhouse, Book 10)) for a couple of hours before watching Betty White host Saturday Night Live.

It all started out great.  The girls (after a little, um, “discussion” about what they were going to watch) settled in to watch Goosebumps and All Grown Up.  I chatted with Tony for a bit, got some work done, and we all decided to have a snack of ice cream about 3:30.  That is the time of day that my energy hits that gigantic dip.  I brewed coffee and sat on the couch with the kids, enjoying Rugrats:  All Grown Up.  Well, I think I was actually enjoying the inside of my eyelids.  Then it happened.

The power went out.

Thank God the coffee had already brewed!  We sat and waited for a couple of minutes to see if it was just a flicker (because that happens more often than a long stretch of no power).  No go.  The kids continued to play, but I was sort of stuck.  Couldn’t do laundry.  Couldn’t vacuum.  The bathrooms that needed cleaned were the ones without windows, so that was out.  No internet.  So, I started reading my book.

And that’s what I did until the power came back on around 6:00.

It put me in a great mood.  I happily made dinner.  I set the kids up in Chloe’s room for their quasi-sleepover.  I kept on reading.  I surrendered my to-do list for a day of doing what I wanted to do. I mean, I had to diffuse some fights.  I had to freak out when they wouldn’t just LAY DOWN AND GO TO BED AT 10:00.  But I finished my book.

Just in time to watch Saturday Night Live, which was awesome! This was probably my favorite:

And guess what?  I DID vacuum this morning.  And do some laundry.  Oh, and I got breakfast in bed!  (Watermelon , a fiber bar and iced tea from Chloe.  Iced tea and a salami sandwich with a broken up string cheese on it from Becca.  Awesome.)

Have a great Mothers’ Day!!!!

Dropped the kids off at school and went for a quiet shopping trip.  I needed some life supplies at Target.  It was quite peaceful.  I compared laundry detergents, got some self tanners, and even picked up some shorts for the kids.

I saved the fun stuff for last…I love looking at the clearance clothes at Target.

Then I faced the fact that I had to buy a bathing suit for vacation.  It’s only a few weeks away.  I found one on clearance! Score! I even found a second that was on sale! Awesome!

I picked Chloe up from preschool, we ate lunch and Chloe set up shop on the couch for a bit while I did some work.  Chloe was invited over to the neighbor’s house for a couple of hours.  Score again! Two hours of no interruptions (well, no interruptions from kids).  I wrote the restaurant schedule, I worked on the event calendar, I paid some bills.  I still had time.  I decided to try on my new bathing suits.

Um.

I’m just gonna sit here in the fetal position for a while, mmmmkay?

Next?  Hair cuts for the girls.  Then we were off to neighborhood happy hour.  Beer and snacks for me, and lots of kids, swings and a trampoline for the kids.  We had a great time, and we didn’t leave until midnight.  I must say, I have a great bunch of neighbors.  The only thing missing on Friday were mani/pedis

Saturday I got to see my brother and his family, and enjoy the AWESOME EASTER BREAD that my Dad makes.  He ships it up to us from Florida.  Yummy.  I thought for sure that the girls would be sooooo tired that they would have fallen asleep by 8:00.  notsomuch.  I think the bath (that I couldn’t skip, because they were absolutely filthy) woke them up.  Easter involved another egg hunt (in which both of my kids won prizes – THANK GOD!) and dinner with family.  Beautiful weather all weekend.

Today they spent the day at my sister-in-law’s while I went to work.  Another beautiful day.

I’ll end the update with a couple of things that Chloe said.  Last night she asked me if, when you go into the hospital to get your baby taken out, do they give you a tattoo?  I explained that no, that’s not how it works.  When she asked for more info, I told her that, WHEN I WAS A GROWN UP, I paid a tattoo artist to give me a tattoo.  She told me that she wants a star tattoo.  Then I told her how much it hurts.

She’s weighing all the facts.

At my sister-in-law’s today, while Chloe was inside and my SIL was outside, she opened the door and asked “Aunt Missy, is skin meat?”

Uh….OK.

And I’ll leave you with that.

Her husband surprised her with a limo ride from work (at 10-ish in the morning) to a day spa.  Surprise number one.  A bunch of us met for dinner.  Surprise number two.  Then we went to a bar.  More friends there.  Surprise number three.  I think she had a fun birthday.

I was glad that I was able to come out.  Although I was only able to stay for dinner and a couple of drinks after, I had a really good time.  It was nice to be out with grown ups.  No kids.  Love ‘em, but they’re not really the “dinner with some conversation, then some drinks” type

My kids were at my brother’s house.  They had a blast.  They always have fun when they’re with sitters.  And even though I had a great night out, I always end up paying for it one way or another.  My kids were up late.  Not anybody’s fault (well, except maybe for me).  They always stay up late with a sitter…whether they’re at our house or at somebody else’s house.  I think it’s just all the excitement. But they weren’t cranky.

The logical mind would think that maybe they would sleep in the next day.

Fast forward a bit.

“Mom?  Mom. Mom!  It’s seven-three-two.”

“Uh, thanks Chlo.  How about you let Mommy sleep until eight-zer0-zero?”

“OK, Mom.  I’ll cuddle.”   “Mom?  It’s seven-three-three.”

“Mom?  It’s seven-three-four.”

Yeah, that was all I needed.  I was just a little tired (and really, that wasn’t sarcastic…I was only a little tired).  Becca woke up at 8:15.  Which was fine.  We were headed out to an Easter Bunny Breakfast and Egg hunt that morning.  Do you remember?  Remember the fight last year? Well, this year Becca got two tickets.  Chloe didn’t get any.  Becca gave a ticket to Chloe.  Becca got a stuffed animal.  Chloe got a big plastic egg filled with pop rocks.  You know where THAT went.  But, I digress…

So, we headed home.  Had a mellow afternoon.  They headed outside to play with some friends.  And then it hit them.  They were crabby.  And sensitive.  Tears.  Everywhere.  They were just exhausted.  Hell, by that time I was more than a little tired.  They needed some quiet time.  So we all laid down on the couch and watched a movie.

So, the trade off for having a fun night with friends?  Crabby kids the next day.  Never fails.

We (a bunch of moms) have decided that the next big night out involved a hotel room and sleeping in.  Definitely.

We just have to convince the dads.