I Love Sundays

We work, we travel, we get out and about and that's just who we are. BUT, there is something about the slow, sweet pace of a Sunday that I just love. Max and Pia have started to understand that church is just what we do and I like that. I feel like for all of the other things we do wrong so much of the time that we might be doing that right. We are definitely working on church manners, but at least they know they are supposed to be there. We hauled a Barbie and Spongebob Legos to mass this week, but we made it all the way through without going to the bathroom even once. Amen to that! After church we worked in the yard for a few hours and it's amazing how great a couple of new flowers can make you feel on a Spring day : ) Ed had the brilliant idea to get out the kids' Bounce House so we could all be out front together and Max's friend, Beau, came over and played. I cleaned a little, made dinner, did laundry and thanked God for my many blessings. Sometimes a little bit of nothing is all we need.

p.s. Pia spent so much time in the sun, and the bouncer, and being dramatic because she didn't have a friend over that she wore herself out. She wanted to help make dinner and when I realized that no one had cried in a long time I went to look for her. I found her in her brother's room. I sure love that girl when she is sleeping . . .

PLAY BALL

It's baseball season and we are busy! I am married to a Sports Nut and I am slowly coming to realize that I also gave birth to one. Aside from his baseball card collection, attending more Major League Baseball games in six years than most adult men and a recent trip to Arizona for three Padres Spring Training games - he loves baseball (and football, and hockey and basketball . . .) We are in our second season of Little League and he's an Oriole. Ed also played Little League as an Oriole for several years and Max loves being on the same team that his Dad played on. We have games every Saturday from the end of February until the beginning of June and practice on Friday afternoons. It's a little consuming, but it's such a good feeling to see Max growing up and enjoying an activity so much. We had a late breakfast after his game this weekend and as we were leaving there was a little boy with his Dad that was on the team we just played against. As we walked through the restaurant to the parking lot the man says "Is that the lefty with the four outs?" That's right, baby! #6 is MY BOY! Go Orioles!

Girls' Weekend

Pia and I had a Girl's Weekend while our guys were in Arizona for Padres Spring Training games. We didn't do anything spectacular, but it was a lot of fun to spend time alone with her. I love that blonde haired, blue eyed girl like crazy. She makes me so insane so much of the time, but then again I can only tolerate myself for so long. That's right, I am sure that she is drama as payback for my own early years, but that is little consolation for me when I can't take anymore of her madness. There was not a lot of orchestrated madness over the weekend. Pia relished the chance to have my undivided attention and to call the shots without recourse. She got some new spring clothes and got TWO baskets of popcorn with M&Ms in our homemade movie theater. If life were always this easy with her, I wouldn't be so concerned about her turning 14. But I am sure something will change my mind soon. It always does . . .

Honey, I'm Home . . .

Holy Cow! An eight day business trip is a little more than this Mama can handle these days. I feel like I have been in Outer Mongolia for the last year, although I was only in New Orleans for a full week. And, BTW, one might prefer Outer Mongolia to Louisiana's favorite charity case! I was not doing business in the Ninth Ward, but that didn't prevent the overall lack of pride and sense of despair from creeping into our plans. I will pray hard that I don't have to go back anytime before I retire! I am no longer a fan of any kind of the Big Easy. Ooooooohhhhh . . . So, part of the "deal" with being a Meeting Planner at Prudential is planning and executing their Annual Sales Convention every single March. This year was my fifth and they never seem to get any easier. My philosophy in business, and life, is this - "unless you (I) have a better plan to get out of it, you might as well do it to your full capacity". I shared this with my team a few weeks ago before we left for this program. We had an uncommonly hard time planning this year's events and no one was much inspired to go out and give it their all. Unfortunately, five days before our flights were scheduled to leave, was not the time to decide it was too hard. Thus my pep talk, "if your new job doesn't start on Monday then it's too late for you. Suck it up, work hard and it will be over soon". I have never claimed to be a great leader, but it was a message from the heart. I had been telling myself the same damn thing for weeks. And it WAS hard and it IS over. I got to meet Bill Rancic (truly adorable, charming and talented), Mark Burnett and Dana Carvey. That was almost fun enough to make up for the rest, but not quite. I missed my family a lot and couldn't commit 100% like I have in the past. Is there a changing tide in my future? I don't know, but I won't have to worry about it until my next trip. So far, I've lived to tell about it and I still have a job.

Now, I have been home for three days and I still can't quite get the hang of it. I am truly exhausted! I have taken my babies to school at 7:15 AM for the last two mornings and went out last night with my handsome husband and all of his adult cousins. That was so fun, but I need some sleep!

My two special boys left bright and early this morning on a flight to Arizona for Spring Training and there went another early morning that I would have liked to stay in bed. Didn't happen, but maybe tomorrow. Pia and I are happily having a girl's day - shopping (of course), some light cleaning (her favorite, not mine) a lunch date and a movie theater in the family room. I have to dig out the nail polish shortly so we can get ready for our Sunday best tomorrow. Although she is terrified of the Easter Bunny, she is really looking forward to wearing her beautiful new dress to church and having lunch at her Grandma's house. She also gave me approval to have the Easter Bunny drop off her basket while she hides in her room. Smart girl! I am praying that she stayed up late last night while Ed and I were out and will drop off to sleep sometime around 7 PM. That would be a dream. The basket is stuffed and the Easter bunny will be all clear - hope I can stay awake longer than her. Sweet dreams, and Happy Easter.

No More Surveys, please

I have gotten two of those emails in the last couple of days asking what's under my bed and what my favorite smell is. I do like to RECEIVE those messages that tell me what my friends love eating and what book they're reading, but I detest having to return them. Call me selfish, but I am not returning one ever again. Instead, here is my list

10 Things I Love

• Hydrangeas
• Starbucks - love the coffee, love the cookies, muffins, mints . . . Love it all
• Children who like to snuggle
• The So Cal cool guy look - long sleeved button down shirt, nice jeans, flip flops. HOT!
• A great conversation with a girlfriend
• Photographs - old ones for memories, other people's to tell a story . . .
• Getting something (a room, my desk, a drawer) clean and organized. Sad I know, but I do love it
• The internet (search engines and family websites, especially)
• Gulf Coast Seafood - did you know you can't get grouper on the West Coast?
• The smell of leather
  
  10 Things I Wish I Loved
  
  
• Roses
• Other people's children. I LIKE them, and for my friends I will even hug, feed and care for them, but I struggle to think anyone's children are as perfect as mine.
• Television
• Art projects
• Politics - it's so much work to weed through all the negative press!
• Personal fitness
• Accounting
• Road Trips
• Discount Stores - I know there are deals to be had, but I can't find the charm in digging through a million things I don't need to find a full set of towels
• The Dentist
  
  There you have it - all your questions answered. Please continue to send me all your dirty details, I really do love seeing them. Please just don't expect a list in return. Have a great week!