We are going to be late.

What is your gift giving philosophy when it comes to your children? Do you set a specific dollar amount and spend that much on each kid? Do you set a gift amount and only give that set amount of gifts? My philosophy is evolving. I LOVE giving gifts. I agonize over finding the right gift for people and get joy watching them unwrap and seeing the excitement in their faces. I really find joy watching my children open their gifts at Christmas. This has caused some problems for me. When #1, our little Diva, was born she was an only child for 3 1/2 years. And spoiled. I didn't even consider a dollar amount, gift amount or anything when buying her Christmas gifts. I just bought. And I bought throughout the year. It was common for Mr. Mayer and Diva to be buried in a mountain of gifts on Christmas morning. Then came #2 & #3 and I continued the same philosophy. However, our budget had changed drastically since I had quit my job. I spent a year hitting sales and finding amazing deals fo...

Hello friends!! I'm happy to report since my last blog I am feeling MUCH better. More and more like my old self every day. It's great. This past weekend Mr. Mayer and I traveled to Virginia to check something off of his bucket list he has been working very hard for. Thanks to our "Kewah" we were able to go kid free. The journey actually began last New Year's Eve when Mr. Mayer's cousin, Ryan, convinced  (I'm pretty sure whiskey was involved in the persuasion as well) him to run a marathon. Not just any marathon-the Marine Corp. Memorial Marathon. It's the 3rd largest marathon and participants are picked on a lottery basis. Mr. Mayer signed up thinking that his chances of being chosen were slim. However, in early spring Ryan text and said he had been chosen for the marathon. Mr. Mayer hadn't been notified so he thought he didn't get picked. Well, later in the day he got the text saying he was picked. Let the training begin!! Ryan created a trai...

Life has been pretty tumultuous for me lately. I haven't been myself. I've given up on a lot of things that I love and enjoy doing. Such as my blog. It had just become too much of an effort. Which is sad since writing has always been something I have really loved to do and been a great escape for me. Then my Mother has had another health crisis. This time it's pretty bad. That was the straw that broke this camel's back. I went to the doctor this week. I wanted to cancel a 1,000 times. I convinced myself I was just imagining things. But as each day passed I felt myself slip further down the rabbit hole. I come from a very long line of mental illness. It's scary stuff. Suicide, substance abuse and inpatient facilities unfortunately were something I was familiar with at a young age. Not for me, but for a lot of my loved ones. I have been asked the question for years "How did you turn out so normal?" I always laugh and say "I don't know." All th...

My Mother is 77 years old. She'll be 78 in a few months. Biologically she is my paternal grandmother. They became Mom and Dad decades ago and have been the only example of parents I've ever had. Her health is not good. At all. We've had some long nights at the hospital in the recent years. Each time being a little worse than the time before. Last week my Mother fell and broke her neck. Yes. Her neck. You always hear of older people breaking hips, shoulders, arms, etc. Not necks. But, that is exactly what she has done. She fractured her C1 in two places and severed her C2. She is in a hospital 4 hours from me. Mr. Mayer and I did not even hesitate for a second about traveling to be with her. My Mother and I do not have a perfect relationship. It has always been a bumpy one. I spent most of my adolescence rebelling against her and the majority of my adult life trying not to be anything like her. However, one thing I've learned is that at the end of the day she's still...

WHOO HOO!!! School started!! There's a picture going around on the Internet of a Mom jumping for joy on the first day of school. That's how I feel. For the most part summer went by at the speed of light. I wanted to make a lot of memories this summer and have a lot of fun. I think we were successful. However-the past 3 weeks have dragged by. We all survived each other this summer until 3 weeks ago. Then the fighting, yelling, crying and whining set in. I lost count how many fights I have had to break up recently. I think we all needed a break from each other. And, kids are creatures of habit. They thrive in routine and predictability. Our summer has been anything but routine and predictable. Every day was a new day with new adventures. I was excited for school to start so that we could get back into a normal routine as much as anything. And for their part the kids in this house were sooooooo excited for school to start. The Dudes started back at 2 day a week preschool yesterda...

The Dudes are growing and changing on a daily basis. When I look back to a year ago to today it makes my head spin. A year ago I wasn't sure #3 would ever poop in the potty and I didn't think either one of them would ever speak clear enough to understand. Today they are fully potty trained. Well...except when around water. #2 has the uncanny ability to have to poop anytime he is near a body of water. Yes. He STILL poops in the bathtub it you don't watch him. And when you go to a swimming pool prepare yourself. 20 minutes after arrival he will HAVE to go poop. Immediately. There were a few instances of poop in the pants at the pool. I had to threaten him with baby diapers to get him to stop doing that. Sheesh. Anyway...back on task. Growing up. Changing. They are BIG boys these days. As Mr. Mayer frequently points out they are REAL PEOPLE. It's amazing. The most recent thing they have been doing consistently is dressing themselves. It just happened one morning last week....

For all my FB friends you have seen this. I just cleaned it up and put it in a nice little package. Just a recap of our time at Disney World. Captains log 02 : we survived our first full day of captivity. We are becoming enmeshed with the local culture and adapting to our surroundings. The First Mate and I have found a local source of liquid and are taking full advantage. The soldiers in our company have maintained a steady state of wakefulness and have taken full advantage of the indoor plumbing. We have walked many miles and are told more to come tomorrow. So far we have all maintained our composure and have not turned on each other. It was touch and go with soldier #2 this afternoon when he was not rewarded for whacking some moles or shooting his target. However, after being distracted by dinosaurs and food all was well. Captains log: Star date 03 -we remain in captivity. I am unsure if our captors are sympathetic to our situation or wish to torture us. We have witnessed many...