Whenever the girls start off a story with “don’t be mad” then I know they’ve torn up something of mine or Derek’s (or the house).  This time they “accidentally” knocked my straightener off of the bathroom counter …. but they suggested that I just tape it back together and keep on using it.

I let them feel bad about it for a whole day before I told them that I had already planned on buying me a new one before that one was even broken.

After the last kid moves out, we’re buying

- a new couch

- new cups

- new silverware

- new sheets

- new towels

… and then we’re changing all the locks on the house !!!  muaaaaaaaaahahahahaha

 IT WAS AWESOME !!

Derek and I had been getting on each other’s nerves, so I retreated to the bedroom to watch a little TV.  I was laying there enjoying the cool breeze when I smelled it … a strange, burning smell.  It didn’t go away after a few minutes.  I assumed it was something outside, so I walked downstairs to have Derek investigate.  That’s one of the funny things about being married to a firefighter …. they can identify what’s burning by smell (and the color of the smoke).  It took him less than a minute to declare ” that’s not a fire outside … that’s cigar smoke.” 

So back up the stairs we went … straight to Bryce’s room.  The room wasn’t smokey at all, so we don’t know if it was just his clothes or if he had actually been smoking in the room.  We know that he smokes.  We know that he dips chewing tobacco.  Should a person who has asthma and allergies be doing these things?  Probably not.  Should parents who have talking until they are blue in the face keep trying to convince a grown child that he’s being an idiot?  What’s the point?  Derek calmly told him to take all of his smoke saturated clothes downstairs and wash them. 

I’m telling you … his room smelled so bad that it actually made me gag.  GAG !!!

It smelled like a 1920′s brothel surrounded by a zombie swamp covered in a grass fire with dirty diapers.  IT WAS AWFUL !!! Ok … I confess that I don’t really know what a brothel or a zombie swamp smell like … but it has to be close to this.

The only thing that kept me from screaming and losing it was the chant that ran through my head …

TEN MORE DAYS !

TEN MORE DAYS !!

TEN MORE DAYS !!!

- talk to people I shouldn’t be talking to

- eat too much

- drink too much

- be gripey for no real reason

- spend money on stuff that I don’t need

then I tell myself “You did good today, Gina”

I like being proud of myself.  Let’s see how I do today.

The episode featured Pastor Joel Osteen who talked about how negative attitudes about our lives can affect so many things and he suggested that we stop using negative statements to describe ourselves and to change them to positive, hopeful statements … and I agree.

http://www.oprah.com/oprahs-lifeclass/Oprah-and-Joel-Osteen-I-Am-Life-Is-How-You-See-It

I spend way too much time saying things like:

I am broke.

I am tired.

I am fat.

when I should be saying things like:

I am working to pay off debt.

I am working to be more rested and less stressed.

I am working on becoming healthier.

What “I am” statements can you change from negative to positive?

This Oprah show was on yesterday … it couldn’t have come at a better time

http://www.oprah.com/oprahs-lifeclass/Oprahs-Lifeclass-Oprah-and-Iyanla-Vanzant-on-Hard-Conversations

Glamour Magazine’s interview with Pink … I so want to be her friend!

http://www.glamour.com/entertainment/blogs/obsessed/2013/04/pink-june-cover-excerpt.html

My kids are fascinated with energy drinks, probably because they know that I hate it when they drink them  … I don’t care how cool it is to have kidney failure

I tore this article from Family Circle and left it on the dining room table for them to read … did they?  probably not

http://www.familycircle.com/health/family/health-risks-energy-drinks/

This place is stunning … absolutely stunning .. no other way to describe it

http://www.vanityfair.com/society/2013/05/photos-houghton-hall-guest-book

Pro Volleyball player, Gabrielle Reece, wrote a book about her unique attitude on life … I need to listen to this woman !!!

http://www.gabriellereece.com/tag/my-foot-is-too-big-for-the-glass-slipper/

Derek and I have become fascinated with “porch sitting” … it’s what old people like us do instead of sitting in front of the TV for hours … we now sit on the porch for hours, just talking and watching the world go by

http://www.southernliving.com/home-garden/decorating/charming-southern-front-porch-00417000082409/

The grown son is buying a house…. per his mother’s instructions, because evidently she knows EVERYTHING about his finances. 

She called the bank.

She met with the lender.

She met with the appraiser.

She calls the son to make sure that he’s got everything copied and turned in.

She called the lender to make sure that the son turned everything in.

… and on and on and on.

NO!  NO !!  NOOOOOOOOOO !!!

The whole point of parenting is to raise your children so that they can eventually take care of themselves.  I don’t know every single thing about my grown, twenty year old daughter’s life and I don’t need to know, I don’t want to know.  I have my own things to worry about, I don’t need to worry about the things that SHE needs to worry about.  It will be the same way when our oldest boy child moves out.  He will be grown so he can take care of himself.   

Here’s the thing …. if you teach a kid to do things for themselves, then they will know how to do things for themselves, but if you always do it for them, then they will always expect you to do it for them. 

http://slappyintheface.com/2011/06/memaws-hallway/

Now it’s been updated with our new pics

We don’t change the pic of the kids who have already graduated …. so the ones for Rachel and now for Bryce will stay that way forever …. so sad … wait … not really.