Vacation Was Good and Now We Prepare for School

Very quick 10 minute blog. Vacation was fabulous with the good, the bad, and the ugly. I fell down twice, don't ask me how. Once I fell all by myself in my kitchen and the second time I fell at Baskin Robbins. Probably a message that I did not need to be eating ice cream.

That makes this Anne Taintor magnetic postcard even funnier now. I used it on my skirt! blog when I was getting ready to go on vacation.

I ran around town with the kids to the doctor, the dentist, the Children's Museum, and the Museum of Natural Science. Then we ended it with a fabulous 3 days at the beach. I absolutely LOOOVED that and will do it again one day. We rented a cute cute cute little hotel called The Breeze on Surfside. It faces the beach and we spent the entire day on Saturday on the beach. I have the tan to prove it.

I came back with a broken a/c in my SUV but that's fixed for now. I also found out that my little one has a bacteria in his tummy. Something we will have to treat for 14 days. FUN!! More on that later!

School shoppng is almost done, at least all the uniforms part. All we need are back packs and lunch kits now. I wonder if they sell lunch kits with a GPS inside for my little one. He is guaranteed to lose his lunch it at least twice in the school year.

This is the last weekend of our summer vacation and our 14th anniversary. Our last anniversary. Bittersweet...We are trying to decide if we should do anything. Maybe dinner with friends on Saturday.

"i carry your heart with me"

I thought of this poem by ee cummings when I was thinking of writing this blog. I thought it said, "I carry you with me" but it actually says, "I carry your heart with me." Same difference.

(Miranda's Lego Hello Kitty House with tiny Hello Kitties & a tiny purse.)

I'm on vacation this week with the kids. I'm a stay at home mom for a week, but I'm not going to do much cleaning and housework, just cooking for the kids. We have plans every day this week.

Today was my relaxation day. I only planned to do two things. I took my son to the doctor and found out he has acid reflux, my poor boy. He's already a picky eater as it is and now he can't have any carbonated drinks, spicy food, or red sauce. We were also going to go to the library but the library we were going to was closed today while they get on their new schedule. So I came home to relax but ended up doing a bunch of other things, like working.

Later I was forced to play with this Hello Kitty doll house with my daughter. Well, not really forced. I played Hello Kitty's twin sister Mimmy. It was fun. I hardly ever play dolls with my daughter, but I was reminded of how much I used to love little dolls and houses like this one above when I was a little girl.

As a working mom I don't get to spend as much time with my kids so weeks like these are precious as well as exhausting. But even when they're not with me during the week while I'm at work they are with me. Almost weekly I can open my purse on any random day and I'll find a toy that hitchhiked a ride with me to work.

Once a few weeks ago I was getting off my SUV for a sales call and I noticed that the kids left their ruler in the back seat. I grabbed it and stuck it in my folder in case I needed it. In the end I didn't need it, but when I went back to my SUV I glanced down and saw a tiny green monkey stuck by his head in one of the holes a the top of the ruler. I laughed at the thought of what would have happened if I DID need the ruler and I pulled it out in the middle of the sales call. I told the kids the story and I told them that the monkey wanted to come to work with me. It was a crazy looking monkey too, with a little pink tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth.

That's not even counting all the little toys that stay in the back seat of my SUV too. I carry them to work with me every day and when I see them I'm reminded of my kiddos. That's why I said, "I carry you with me" because my kids are with me in a way every where I go.

This week is our week or as my daughter is calling it, "Mommy Week." We are going do a variety of things that include the museums and then the beach. I'm really looking forward to the beach part! We'll be there 3 days and I'm planning on just lying on the beach with a drink in one hand and a book in the other. I've never stayed right on the beach before. It's a really small motel and all the rooms face the ocean. I can literally walk out of my room, across their lawn and I'm on the beach. I can't wait!

The Remodeling Continues...

It's Sunday night and I feel like I didn't even put a dent in the cleaning or laundry yet I'm exhausted. Yesterday I offered to help shovel some of the dirt back in the holes around my house. They were from the plumbing work that was done. I only did a little narrow trench that went from the city water line to the kitchen. Just that little bit kicked my butt.

Image from theplumbingworksnc.com

This morning I woke up totally sore and tired but I had to do laundry. I'm having someone come help me with the cleaning this week, but I wanted to at least pick up the trash and junk from all the plumbing work. I also wanted to do laundry so she won't feel compelled to help with that too. Let's just say I had lofty goals.

My feet are killing me from being on my feet most of the day for two days in a row and I think I'm even more sore and tired now. My lower back is hurting too. Now would be a good time to cash in the Daily Deal coupon I bought a couple of months ago for a massage. I need to call tomorrow to make an appointment for this week.

Despite all the work that we are doing now, Rey actually doing the work and me helping out where I can and cleaning, I can really envision what it's going to look like when it's all finished. I'm excited about the end result and I can't wait to post pictures.

My Very Own "This Old House"

I am finally doing something that I have been wanting to do for a very long time. I'm starting a home-remodeling project. I feel like I'm in the middle of one of those home improvement shows like "This Old House."

Today is currently Day 3 with no restroom but it's also the day that I'm having my toilet installed in a different spot and I'm getting my wonderful six foot Kohler jacuzzi tub. It's a good day! After those two important pieces are installed we're adding the beautiful new Kohler pedestal sink. Then tomorrow or the day after we are going to Home Depot to buy all the beautiful tile for the floor and walls that we'll be adding this week. I can't wait!

After the restroom we will continue with the kitchen. Now that the plumbing is almost all done we can work on the rest. I want a Mexican Frida Kahlo kitchen. We were looking at pictures today and I'm thinking cobalt blue tile, sunflower yellow, and Mexican tile floor. Pictures of that idea to come later when I talk more kitchen.

Other major future projects will include a new roof, a porch, and fixing all the trim on the outside. After the major projects I can proceed to the smaller ones, like painting all the walls and refinishing my hardwood floors. Yes, a lot of work, but I know that when it's all done it will all be worth the wait.

I love looking at books, like one I picked up for free at work, "Restoring a House in the City." Now that my house is being worked on I especially love looking at ideas. It's almost hard to believe I'm finally restoring my own old pre-WW2 house.

"Keep Moving Forward"

My kids were watching "Meet the Robinsons," by Disney this morning. It reminded me of how much I love the quote "Keep Moving Forward" and how much it applies to me right now.

http://www.waltdisney.com/

I also realized that I haven't blogged here about my impending change. I blogged about it over on skirt! but somehow never managed to mention it here. I know it's because even though I know it's inevitable, and there really isn't anything I can do, I sill feel a certain amount of guilt bestowed upon on me by society. That feeling that I'm a failure, even if I know it's not true. Yes, I'm talking about divorce- that dreaded word that I haven't used until now.

My days are numbered and although we are getting along just fine right now, very soon I won't be married and I'll be Loida Casares again. It's been almost 14 years since I've gone by that name. I wonder if I still know that person.

As self-reliant as I am, and as much as I believe in keeping my identity, I can't take away the fact that I've been married for that long. In those 14 years I've been a wife and a mother. I believe that when we give birth we give away a little of ourselves, both physically and emotionally. We have to give away a part of our body in order to give life to our child. Then as we raise our children we give away part of ourselves emotionally. As a wife we compromise a little or sometimes a lot. It's part of being a mother and a wife, but now I'm only going to be a mother.

I'm going to move forward with the plans that I have for the house and for the kids. I'll be starting a home remodeling project and I'm going to finish editing my novel for self-publishing. I also have to start working on middle school tours and applications this fall for my daughter. Life goes on and I do know who I am for the most part. The parts I don't know I'll have time to figure out in this new chapter of my life.