Is This Thing On?! Testing...

Let's see if I can remember how to do this... It's been a while, a long while, since I blogged. Busy work led into an out-of-town Mother's Day trip that became a week-long trip for a funeral that led into craziness upon my belated return to home that led into a quick trip to Dallas to visit family that led into a visit from my in-laws. I could probably throw in a few more snags in my schedule, but I think you're getting the idea of why I've been absent. Now, my problem is that my blogging brain never took a day off and I don't even know where to start. I have all sorts of entry topic ideas and tons of photos and events to catch you up on. Where do I start?! I think I'll just throw a potpourri entry out to you and hope that by tomorrow my thoughts will be better organized and we can forget this month of blogging ever happened.

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The kids are still a hoot. And, I do mean a hoot. While at my parents' house, they discovered an ottoman in the playroom that was fun to push around. Rather than describe the fun and games, you can see for yourselves, but please don't turn me into Child Protective Services, they were truly having fun and it was all their doings. 

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We are in full swing of summer and have been at the pool every day for the past two weeks. Sometimes it's only for 30 minutes (because Abigail has finally shivered and turned blue long enough to complete her idea of fun), but Cooper always comes prepared with full swimming gear. The only reason that is notable is because Cooper has no desire to swim. He won't go further than the first step into the pool, but he's certainly working on his Michael Phelps Halloween costume. (Please don't tell Daniel about the pink goggles.)

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Mother's Day didn't go completely as planned, but Abigail didn't fail to treat all the moms in attendance at the Mother's Day lunch I served. She (with the help of Aunt Kelly Ann) created beautiful masterpieces of colored sand for all the deserving moms.

I think I'll display my treasured sand art alongside the pillow she made out of a hand towel for me last year. 

Now I've started wondering...  Where is my Mom proudly displaying all the wonderful artwork and gifts I created for each of her Mother's Days. I've never noticed a curio cabinet with lighted glass display shelves, but I'm sure it's there somewhere to feature my talents through the years.

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American Idol ended last night, so I learned on the Internet today. Surprisingly, I don't feel like I missed anything after not seeing this season. My only worry today about Idol is that Yahoo! categorized the article about the finale/winner in the News section. That's troublesome to me, as I've learned over the past few (enjoyable) months of no TV that the results of shows such as American Idol are certainly not news, and I don't even think entertainment. 

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I've had quite a few hours in the car over the past few weeks and that is always my chance to enjoy talk radio. I used to endure long commutes until I began working from home, and entertaining talk radio was a highlight of my commute that I do miss every once in a while. On one of my recent trips I heard all kinds of interesting stories...

1. Kids who didn't get to go to their high school prom due to swine flu closings are now suing. I can't recall if they are suing the school district, health department or pig farmers. Either way, there just seems to be something really wrong with that. I wouldn't mind mediating and letting them know there are much more enjoyable things to come than prom. They are not missing out.

2. The State of Texas has a bill trying to become legislation that will limit the times (not between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.) TV stations can run commercials for suggestive products, such as Viagra. Apparently parents have been put in awkward situations of having to explain Viagra to children too young for that discussion. What are kids watching?! I've seen Noggin and I don't recall Viagra ever being an issue in between episodes of The Backyardigans and Imagination Movers. Did it ever occur to these parents to TURN THE TV OFF! It's our job as parents to legislate what our children are exposed to, and not the government's job. Goodness sake, people.

3. A recent story about a mom and son evading the law because the court has ordered the 13-year-old boy to undergo chemotherapy for Hodgkin's Lymphoma. I'm not sure how I feel about this issue, but I am certainly concerned about the court mandating medical care in a situation where the parents and child have religious reasons for denying the care. The court stated that the teenager is not old enough to determine what is best for his own health. Apparently the only time a teenager knows the best course of healthcare for themselves is when the resulting death will be an aborted baby, otherwise, he/she is too young to make such lofty decisions.

4. I know there were many more stories that piqued my interest, but this is going on too long, and really, no one has the time or desire to read through all my opinions. Seriously. There's a lot of them.

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Okay, I promise I have many more pics to share and even some great new recipes to impart. The kids and I have one more quick trip this weekend, but I'm committing myself to getting back on this blogging train no matter what. I missed you guys!