Happy Birthday to an 18-Year Old

Today my oldest child is eighteen - EIGHTEEN. I'm not sure how it happened. Watching your kids grow is like holding a fistful of water. No matter how tightly you try to hold it, it slips through your fingers.

I remember when she was born. I was going to be the perfect parent. I would always understand and never yell. I would definitely never say, "Because I SAID SO."

Mwahahahahahahaha.

We have gone through all the firsts with her, first lost tooth, first training bra, first boyfriend, first boyfriend that made her cry, first driver's license...Yikes!

Somehow despite numerous parenting blunders, she has turned out great. Her first year of college starts in August. My wallet is thankful that it is a community college.

She will be majoring in drama, something she has been majoring in around the house for the last eighteen years.

It's fun to see what kind of person she is becoming. I hope her future is as grand as I imagine it.

The Vacation

I'd like to post a really exciting vacation story. But I don't have one. Sorry.

Our vacation started like every other vacation with me frantically washing clothes, checking packing lists and trying not to forget anything vital.

I noticed our neighbor across the street hadn't opened his garage door yet and it was already seven in the morning. This doesn't sound ominous but I swear this man leaves his house every day at six sharp and starts walking up and down the street staring at people. We were in the midst of a heat wave and visions of his overheated carcass moldering in his house were flashing in my head. Just as I was getting ready to peek in his windows and/or call the police to check on him, he came out of his house. Phew.

I don't know about the rest of you but starting out a vacation with a dead neighbor just seems like a bad omen to me.

The second part of our vacation, packing and driving four hours being the first, was leaving the kids with the in-laws. Mwahahahahaha!

The third part of our vacation was the fun part, just me and hubby in a motel room. Nobody was whining at us that they were bored. We had a TV watching, beer-drinking fest. Hey, it may be pitiful to the rest of you but it was just what we needed.

We took a walk down near the assorted piers the first night and a walk on the beach the second day. But honestly, the majority of our vacation was spent sitting on our butts.

The most active day we had was in Solvang, CA. It's a Danish style town about an hour and a half from Morro Bay. The big draw for my husband was Danish sausage and ebelskivers, both of which I find gross. Ebelskivers are ball-shaped, pancake like dough balls that are served with (gag) raspberry jelly. When you try to chew them, they stick to the roof of your mouth like glue.

Out of sheer desperation, I asked the waitress if they had any gluten-free breads. She thought I was asking for glue and told me they had tape if I wanted some. Hey, if I'd wanted glue, I'd have ordered ebelskivers. Sadly, this is more the way things go when trying to dine out gluten-free rather then the exception to the rule.

So that's the recap of our wild vacation. I hope everyone hung onto their seats while reading this.

The bright side of it all is nobody will ever see me in an "Old Hags Gone Wild" video.

Recovery Time

We are back from vacation. Much fun was had, perhaps too much. I have an ear infection and am feeling perpetually hung over.

For now, some pics.


Ginormous jelly fish


Hubby and jellyfish



Morro Rock at Morro Bay, California



Starfish. Alas, we couldn't find a pineapple

I'll Be Back Next Weekend, Promise

While we aren't leaving town quite yet, it takes me several days to pack. I pack up two kids, one husband and myself.

Inevitably, I forget the camera.

Then there is the stopping of the mail and papers, balancing the checkbook, baking the special gluten-free foods so our son doesn't starve while we are on the road, etc.

I should be back by the 19th or thereabouts, hopefully with pictures since I am going to try to remember the camera this time.

Not To Be Rude But...

Okay, am I the ONLY one tired of hearing sentences start with "Not to be rude but...?" Because the person IS going to be rude.

I told my MIL this and she said her unfavorite phrase is "thinking outside the box".

What's yours?
********************
I snuck into bed Sunday night and sprawled out. Heaven.

Within two minutes, the hallway light was on. Sammy peeked into the bedroom and saw me. His eyes lit up.

"Can I sweep wif you?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"YOU MEAN I CAN SWEEP WIF YOU!"

He got into bed with me only to start complaining his toenail was bugging him. When he started biting it, I took him to the bathroom to clip it.

We laid back down.

Then I noticed he didn't smell very good.

So we got up and gave him a military wash, clean shirt and underwear.

We laid down again.

Then he wanted my arm around him. The kid is about as big around as a drinking straw so I always feel like I'm going to crush him.

I gingerly put my arm around him. He was happy and went to sleep.

How I love that boy.