Insanity is brewing....

Two years ago, the kids and I made a cross-country trek to Pennsylvania and back to visit family and friends. I haven't been back home since then, and I've been itching to go. So now that we have new wheels, I am seriously considering another trek.

The 2009 trip crossed 7 states and was a total of 2941 miles from start to finish over a period of 11 or 12 days. It was an amazing trip, and we had so much fun! Believe it or not, other than one major (videotaped) outburst from the boys, it was peaceful - my kids like to travel! It was so great to be able to get away from everything and just take my kids and go - we didn't have a really tight schedule and didn't *have* to be anywhere by any certain time so we really enjoyed it. We packed lots of food and drinks in the ice chest and basically only stopped for gas and potty breaks, so we made really good time. We got to see some friends that I hadn't seen in *gasp* 20 years and we spent some time with family as well.

I am considering a bigger trip this time - I have been bouncing ideas off of a few friends and figuring and refiguring routes to include things that we want to do. Right now, if we manage to do EVERYTHING, it will be a total of 3708 miles - that's just from stop to stop, not including the running around we'll be doing at each place. One leg of the trip is still extremely tentative and may not happen at all - if we have to skip that portion it will still be 2880 miles.

And get this - if we do it all, we will cross 18 states and Washington, DC! How cool is that? If that leg is skipped, then it will be 12 states plus DC. There will be a couple of long days in there - upwards of 16-17 hours of drive time - but there will also be some days that only include 3-4 hours of driving, so it'll all even out. And as anyone who knows me know - I *love* to drive!

Have caffeine, will travel!!!

So, as plans progress and more details are worked out, I will be making announcements. And with the wonders of modern technology nowadays, we can even blog along the way! ;) ....although I might try to get a laptop before then so that we don't have to do it all via phone.

But for now, I have to put aside the plans and get back to real life. There are dishes that need to be done, laundry that needs to be done (go figure), and I really need to mop the floors (ew).

And in case you missed the announcement from earlier this evening, click here!!!

Quick announcement...

OK, I took a little bit of a plunge and/or leap of faith, and I created a facebook page for Non-Stop Mom. It's very bare right now, but as I figure out the concept of a "page" and how to work it (facebook isn't very forthcoming with easy ways to do things) I'll be adding more to it. I'll post my new blog entries there, so you can either follow here on blogger or there - or both!

Non-Stop Mom on facebook!!!

(OK, and just in case I didn't do that link right, just search for "Non-Stop Mom" and look for my boots!)

Now, back to dinner preparations.....spaghetti, anyone?

Where were you?

I had the opportunity to go to Oklahoma City about a year and a half ago to visit a friend. While I was there, we went into the city and visited the memorial that was built as a result of the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah building. I had never been to a memorial like this, and found it to be beautiful, peaceful, sad, inspiring...walking around the area where the building used to stand, seeing the chairs that represented each of the lives lost 16 years ago today - it made me realize how often we take life for granted, and how things can change forever in a split second.

I remember that day vividly - I was living in Delaware at the time, but worked in Elkton, Maryland for W.L. Gore & Associates in one of their labs. We didn't have access to a television, but we had a radio. We couldn't stop what we were doing because of the tests that were being run in the lab, so we had to continue to work while we listened to the reports. The whole thing was so very surreal.

Do you remember where you were?

Outdoor fun and stuff

Yesterday afternoon, the two youngest and I decided to walk to the park, and then we went to the grocery store after that to get a few things - the one really good thing about living in our ghetto-house is that it is really close to just about everything that we need - I think we've walked to the grocery store more than we've driven to it! There's a cute little playground behind it, so I let the boys play for a little while, until the group of older kids that was there got to be a little too obnoxious for my taste.

Watch out! Coming through!

Geronimoooooooo!!!

Today there was a breakfast at my daughters' school for the students who made honor roll - I am very proud to say that they both did!!

Me with my beautiful and smart daughters and my youngest son

Later today I went down to my friends' house to work on the garden. I got yellow, white, and green onions, asparagus, and some spinach planted before I had to leave to get home to get the 5 year old off of the bus. Unfortunately I was late getting home because I got stuck in traffic:

Once I got home and the bus driver circled back around to drop him off, we worked on the yard a bit. It desperately needed to be mowed for the first time this season, so I fired up the mower and got started. And let me just say, for the record, dog owners who rent a house and then move out and leave their dog toys in the yard should be hunted down and shot - or at least severely punished. This one stopped the mower dead and led to some very colorful language for a good 10 minutes or so....

But we have some more blooms....can you spot the critter in one of the pictures?

And after all of that fun and excitement, I had just a few towels to wash...in addition to the other 87 loads of laundry that I think I've done today....

Let's see....the youngest one will be out of the house in about 14-15 years. Maybe I can sleep then....

Our trip to the circus

I just remembered (or was reminded) earlier this evening that I never posted pictures from our circus trip on Friday! So, here are a few highlights (keep in mind that I have a crap point & shoot camera....)

My little clowns!!

Going for a ride - the younger one loved it, the older one, not so much.

Tiger jumping through the ring of fire.

They flew through the air with the greatest of ease....

Amazed!

Crazy mohawked motorcycle rider on one end, scantily clad chick on the other, going in circles at a high rate of speed way high up above the floor. Insanity.

Deep in conversation during intermission.

My kid has never met a stranger - regardless of size.

Focus - something he doesn't do very often.

Getting sleepy....

This was the only act that made me really nervous - he stacked 8 chairs on top of each other and then balanced on them. Yikes.

Playing with the elephants.

Hard to see, but there are two motorcycles going in circles at a high rate of speed inside that cage. And the pink blob at the bottom is a woman standing in the middle of it. Another yikes moment.

Closing ceremony

"Thanks for coming, folks!!"

Super-Duper Saturday

I wanted to post all of this yesterday, but by the end of the day I was so tired that I just couldn't even bring myself to sit down at the computer.

It didn't start out so stellar - I woke up at 4:45am with my face smashed against the wall beside my futon, pinned there by not one, but two small bodies. And one of those bodies decided to wet the bed. Not his bed, mind you - MY futon. So once I finally got up, I had to pull the cover off of the futon (no small feat) to wash it, and then I planned to take the big cushy mattress pad to my friends' house to use their (bigger than mine) washer to wash it.

Suddenly there was a knock at my door. There stood a teenaged boy, obviously amused by my mid-calf length Penn State sweatshirt that I sleep in occasionally. He indicated that he was the grandson of my neighbor, and that he and his father were here to cut down some trees that I had mentioned to my neighbor that I had wanted to get rid of. After some discussion, a quick change of clothes, and relocation of the new van, they got to work. In the meantime, I tossed some banana bread into the oven.

Once they were done (they even removed the trees! woot!) I gave them a loaf of still-hot banana bread as a tiny thank you gift....

This one was having a long-term disagreement with the edge of the garage roof.

Then we took off to our friends' house, late as usual. As I was pulling into their driveway, I realized that I had forgotten their banana bread and the mattress pad. D'oh! The kids went outside and played while I went to the jewelry party that was happening inside, and then later I ran back home to get the stuff that I had forgotten.

One of her friends was there, and she mentioned that she had been spring cleaning and had several bags of her daughter's clothes that she needed to get rid of - our ears immediately perked up, and we ran to her house to go through the clothes. We each came out with a giant bag of clothes (and shoes) for our girls. Bonus!!!

We hung out, the kids stayed outside and played their hearts out, and then we had some burgers and hot dogs for dinner. After we all ate and it got dark, the kids went outside to play flashlight tag while we jumped into the hot tub for a while. Heaven!!

There was a beautiful full moon out and it was just a relaxing evening. For a change, the kids weren't constantly at each others' throats, and there was a minimal amount of bickering and tattling.

Then, the high point of my night. It was late when we left - I'm not even sure what time it was, but it was dark out. As I was driving, I suddenly realized something....

I HAVE DASHLIGHTS!!!!

OK, so what's the big deal about dashlights, you ask? I'll tell you - the She-Beast didn't have any. I had to buy a little LED flashlight to keep on the dash so that I could shine it on my dashboard every few minutes to check the oil pressure and my speed. I giggled like a little girl most of the way home at the simple joy of having dashlights.

I might have been a little tired too.

Fingerprint Friday - Brotherly Love

First off, go check out my friend Beki's blog at The Rusted Chain - she has a wonderful blog and makes gorgeous jewelry!

I had the opportunity to take my two youngest to the circus today - a first for both of them. When we got there, we had to go up an escalator to get to the upper level. The younger of the two immediately grabbed onto his big brother for security....and didn't let go until we were back on solid ground!

As much as my kids get on each others' nerves (and occasionally my own) I am often reminded in little ways of the bond between them. Seeing interactions like these make me realize just how much I have been blessed - even though I don't always see it.

More pictures from the circus later.... :)