Bethenny's Back!!!

Over the past year I think its safe to say that I have become somewhat of a Bravo reality TV junkie. It started with the Real Housewives of New York, closely followed by the Real Housewives of New Jersey, then Flipping Out, the Rachel Zoe Project, the Real Houswives of DC, Atlanta, and of course, Beverly Hills. But I think my all time favorite reality show on Bravo is probably Bethenny Getting Married. So I am super excited to be writing this post during the commercials of the season premier of Bethenny Ever After. Mondays just got a little easier knowing that whatever happens during the day I can look forward to cracking up at whatever Bethenny, Jason, Bryn, & Cookie are up to. If you have never watched the show you should check it out. It comes on Monday night at 10/9 central on Bravo. Trust me. Watch it. I hope you enjoy it like I do!!

Spring Fever

After what seemed like an eternity of freezing cold temps, I am oh so happy to report that I have been able to break out the spring wardrobe this week. Its been warm and sunny every day and its got me itching to spring clean. I just have one little problem: By the time I get home from work, get the girls fed, bathed, and to bed, my internal on/off switch turns to off. Even if its only nine o'clock. This happens to me every year during tax season and I get so frustrated and down on myself. Its so hard to keep up with everything. I'd hire a cleaning service just to come in and do a one time deep clean, but who am I kidding? With two little ones running around that would be money down the drain within 24 hours. So its gonna have to be up to me. And the hubby. The truth is I really can't be too depressed about the current state of my home for at least two reasons.

1. Its been way worse than this at more than one point in time.
2. I actually broke down and painted one of my hallways last weekend and am in the process of prepping my laundry room for painting. Let's face it, any type of redecorating is going to put a kink in the housekeeping schedule.

I am not sure what possessed me to paint any room of my house during this time of the year. I guess I have just been in a home decorating lull for so long that I had to do something for fear that my kids would graduate high school and our house would still look almost the same way it did the day we moved in. Maybe I am exaggerating a little, but let's face it. Sometimes you just have to stop talking and start doing. And that's just what I did. I'm glad I did. The hallway looks much better. We have a tiny bit of touching up to do but not much. I can't wait to see the finished product. Painting the hallway actually gave me the confidence I need to tackle the laundry room. Hopefully painting the laundry room will give me the confidence to tackle the guest bathroom, bedroom, etc. I'll keep you posted. Maybe I'll even get adventurous and figure out how to post some before and after pics. Maybe this will motivate me to quit putting off projects I want to do around here. Maybe.

Dinner with the Girls

Tonight after work I had the wonderful pleasure of dining with four women that I am privileged to have met. It was supposed to be five, but one of them had to re-schedule a hair appointment so she wasn't able to come. We all met a year and a half ago when all of our kids started K3 at the same school and were put in the same class. We were all "new parents" to the school and I guess we sort of bonded over the year. Sadly, most of our kids got separated for K4, but we moms have stuck together. Tonight was actually only our second "girls' night". The first one we had was back in November when one of the ladies was getting ready to welcome her second baby boy into the world. We actually did it as kind of a surprise shower for her and ended up having so much fun that we thought we should make it a regular thing. I guess its just taken us a while to find a date that worked for everybody. I especially treasure my time with my friends during these months. I work so much extra that I really need that time to laugh and talk about things other than work. The only downside to girls night is that I never know what to expect when I walk through the door at home. Luckily tonight it wasn't bad at all. I had a little clean up to do in the kitchen but that was about it.

Its a good thing that's all I had to do because I am still fighting this crud. I am feeling much better, but I know the only thing that's truly going to help is rest. Unfortunately, there's not a lot of that to be had anytime soon. A co-worker told me that her daughter's preschool teacher told her that this has been the worst year for sickness in her classroom that she can remember. I'd believe it. I have gotten two notices from Haley's school saying there had been confirmed cases of flu and strep throat in her class. It must be by the grace of God that we haven't had any of that. I guess I need to pray hard that it stays that way! Right now I am taking it one day at a time.....

I Need a Sick Day

After successfully making it through the entire month of January without so much as a sniffle, my sick-free streak has come to an end. It started on Sunday. I woke up with a sore throat. Determined not to let the sore throat win, I drank five Emergen-C packs throughout the day and managed to work on laundry, bake the most delicious cake ever, and cook the best potato soup ever. We had family over for dinner and the first half of the Super Bowl and when everyone went home and it was time for bed the house was still clean. I thought I had conquered this illness that was attempting to invade me. I was wrong. I woke up yesterday morning to the same sore throat. But, like any good accountant would do in the middle of tax season, I dragged myself out of bed and to the office. I drank four Emergen-C packs and lasted until about six thirty in the evening. I went to bed last night feeling pretty good. Then I woke up this morning with - you guessed it - a sore throat. Only today it has lingered. Continuously filling myself with Emergen-C has not seemed to help. At least I am not plagued with all of the other fun stuff that is going around like a stuffy nose, cough, fever, or heaven forbid the flu. Its just a really annoying sore throat. Oh how I wish I could call in sick tomorrow. The mere thought of having an empty, quiet house all to myself for at least eight hours is very appealing to me. Don't get me wrong, I love my family, but a little solitude and rest is just what I need every now and then. Especially when I am not feeling well. Oh- and before I forget, in case you aren't familiar with Emergen -C, its 1000 mg of vitamin C and 7 B vitamins. It comes in individual packs that you mix with a glass of water. I heard about it from a co worker. Anyway since I will NOT be calling in sick tomorrow, its time to call it a night. Here's hoping I won't wake up with a sore throat in the morning.

Brrr...its cold!!!

I am so ready for warm weather. I absolutely HATE the cold weather we have been having lately. That's really sad considering I live on the Gulf Coast. Let's face it.....there are places that have had snow and ice repeatedly dumped on them this year so I guess I really shouldn't complain just because we've had some low temps. When I first moved down here, I wasn't a fan of the mild winters believe it or not. I had a hard time wrapping my mind around the fact that you could literally wear shorts and flip flops on Christmas Day. OK so I still think its weird to wear shorts and flip flops on Christmas, but its nice to be able to wear long sleeves and a light jacket rather than a sweater and a heavy coat.

I am also ready for more daylight. Every morning my alarm goes off at 5:30. For those of you who are fortuneate enough not to have to wake up at so evil an hour, its dark outside at 5:30. So I hit snooze and then my alarm goes off again at 5:40. Still dark. The process repeats twice. Finally at 6, I know there is no way I am getting Haley to school on time and me to work on time if I don't get up so I drag myself out of bed, rush to get all of us ready and out the door. Then by the time I get to the office I am completely frazzled and realize it could have been totally avoided if I had only gotten up on time. Fast forward to the end of the day. Its 5 p.m. And once again, you guessed it, its dark outside. To make matters worse I get to stay at work until at least six, even seven some nights, until the middle of April. So by the time I finally get home it looks like it should be midnight rather than 6:30 or 7:30. I come in, spend a few quality minutes with the kiddos before they have to go to bed, and then I feel like its time for bed myself. Only that doesn't happen because there's dinner to clean up after and clothes to fold. Oh yeah, and occaisionally the hubby likes it if I spend some time with him as well. That brings me to now, 10:52 p.m., and I am convincing myself that tomorrow will be the day that I will not hit the snooze button. I will get up on time, work some magic to find an outfit that will not cause me to freeze all day long, and make it to the office feeling as non frazzled as I can. Maybe if I keep telling myself that it will actually happen. Maybe.