Enjoy Pizza at SLICE and Raise Money for Children's of Alabama

Great new restaurant in Lakeview that is running a promo fundraiser for the
Children's Hospital Auxiliary!  If you have a hankering for really good
pizza and need a Tuesday night early week break - NEXT Tuesday - March
13th they are running the attached special to benefit Children's.

Please pass along to anyone else you may think would support the cause or
feel free to post in your company break rooms :)  !

Many Thanks - sarah

________________________________________________

Enjoy some dough while you raise some!

Bring the attached flyer or tell your server at Slice Pizza on Tuesday,
March 13, 2012 after 5PM and 10% of total sales will benefit the Auxiliary
and Children's of Alabama.

Important information:

Slice Stone Pizza & Brew
725 29th Street So
Birmingham, AL  35223
205-715-9300
SliceBirmingham.com

Remember 3/13/12 AFTER 5PM Slice Pizza in Lakeview to raise money for our
patient needs.

2011 Christmas Preview

I am slowly getting ahead of myself this year!  I might actually get my cards in the mail before Christmas.  I also am dedicating 2012 to more posts as it looks like I'll be able to upgrade our internet service - HOORAY!

Thanks Shutterfly for another easy way to get my holidays started.  I have used them for my photobooks and holiday cards now since the first year I started, and truly love their site.  I'm even working on approval from Briarwood to setup a site for our class to share photos of the kids events this year, have to get administration and all the parents to agree, but their classroom site options seem to have thought of everything...we shall see!

Let the holidays begin!

Charming Holly Wreath Christmas

Personalize your Christmas card at Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

Note: I always disclose special offers, I did get a $10 credit for posting this to my blog.   But since I love Shutterfly anyway - WIN WIN for me!

My Rant Answered

He just knows when to show me up.  Tuesday I rant about the difficult life I lead, all self pity and depressive thoughts.  And last night, He shows up with this...

I posted a pic to facebook taken with my iPhone, but it didn't truly capture the unbelievable color of the sky.  Because of the thunderheads in the distance to the west and also to the east there was a shadow that crossed completely over our house.  I should have taken a movie clip of it but by the time I realized what was happening and grabbed my camera it was darkening too quick.

Needless to say - THIS is the reason that even through the rants, I stay.

There Is Only So Much I Can Take

I didn't intend for the next post to be a rant, but it is going to be. 

One of the main reasons that I have not kept up with this blog to be completely and utterly honest, is because I can't. 

No, not I can't because I don't have the time, but no I can't because I have a piece of crap laptop that is 6 years old with a modem that is outdated, we live in the middle of the freaking country where I can't even have the opportunity to have DSL and I just don't have an HOUR to sit and wait for the sites to load that I need to get to using the wireless PC card that is now 5 years old setup through an EVDO wireless router that only gets 2.5% of the 54 max mps speed.

That's what I've been doing for the past 45 minutes until I finally told Cory I was using his laptop to write this post, that's right, not asked, TOLD, since he was the one that we decided needed one more urgently right now.

I guess I feel the need to be a bit bitter, self absorbed and downright openly frustrated at what's been happening in my household when it comes to technology and the ability for me to indulge in purchasing some for myself.  I tend to put off purchasing things that would make my life easier - all of our lives easier, since I'm the one paying the bills, running the majority of the household and keeping up with our day to day contacts with family, friends, school and the like on email, etc. for whatever everyone else needs.  (Technically I think that's a portion of the definition of a mother isn't it?)

So, with that said, I think I'm planning to indulge soon.  No we do not have expendable cash for the purchase and I don't exactly know how I'm going to figure out where to find the money to pay for it, but something has to give.  I cannot blame my husband (entirely) for this situation, because I did not bring up the issue with him until I am so far gone angry about it that it becomes a major catastrophe - which is entirely my fault, not his.  And if he by some act of God reads this, he will read it completely wrong and assume I am ranting at him, rather than my own stubborness.  However, not aiding this is what inevitably turns into his immediate reaction when I do finally break down - that we need to sell this place and move somewhere more convenient - never small steps with him, always have to jump off the deep end of whatever we are facing.  That's not my intention, but a little help in managing a solution would be appreciated - and again, my fault for not approaching it the way it should be approached.

Needless to say, my 5 days from now I will post and will continue every week...yeah, not likely until I get this figured out.  I thought I had my ducks in a row last week.  Turns out they decided to scatter.

I Hearby Vow

Seriously, this was the outlet, the method to my madness.  My ability to escape through words from my far too busy, 4:30am to 10pm-ish life.  And I have neglected it far too much in the past year.

So, beginning yet this week I shall commit to one thing for myself that doesn't involve making certain my 5 year old can say his memory verse without fail in front of his teacher, cooking at least 4 meals a week where we actually sit together and partake of it, having the newly done laundry folded at least within 24 hours of it coming out of the dryer, planning out our weekly grocery shopping trip (trust me, this couponing thing can be a burden) and the other myriad of other things that consume me each day that drain the living spirit from my bones.  Perhaps I will then hear more often the words dearest to my heart these days. 

"Mommy!  Look!  I did it all by myself!"

Unplugged in my life sometimes means the opposite it does for most. 

Go my children, and become.  Mommy has some becoming to do as well.

Stayed tuned.  (And if you don't see something in the next 5 days, better text me.  I may have forgotten this moment of self indulgence already).

Kids Say the Darndest Things...

It's nearing the end of the school year at our daycare which means year end parties and collections of art projects handed over.

Yesterday was Jack's which is bittersweet because 2 weeks from today we will be off to "big school" starting our journey through education at Briarwood Chrisitan School in the 4K program. sniff.

Last night I sifted through the many glittered fish, pasted bunnies, handprint turkeys and construction paper wonders and came upon a section bound together of art pieces created by Jack with his descriptions of said pieces included. Items such as these fall into the PRICELESS ART GALLERY in my home. Here's a sampling of my two favorites.

The obsession continues.

See, even my 4 1/2 year old gets it...notice the resemblance to Yoda.

Thank you Ms. Catherine and Ms. Jodie for an amazing year and an amazing pack of memories that will be looked at many years from now with a smile!

Grandma Camp

My kids being the youngest on the Rath side and quite a few years off from Cullen, the last one born prior to them, are a bit "younger" in the mix of grandchildren, spanning from nearly 20 to 9. On my side, we have Caroline at 7 and then 4 boys 5 and under in the span of 14 months (mine being the bookends) and our (maybe) last little one of Alicia's is Jonah at 18months. We are just getting reved up there...

So it was a special treat for my two to spend four days at Grandma's house without Mom and Dad (we jetted off for a quick business trip to Vegas and flew out of Nashville to take the opportunity presented). We traveled down over the weekend and spent a few days all together, then flew out and left Grandma to fend for herself for four days. And other than a slight hiccup for her on the night we were to return just before bedtime when Jack thought I was calling and it wasn't me and he decided he had to talk to Mommy...which Mommy could not be reached being in the air on our way back and not to land until 11:30pm that night with an hour and a half drive back, imagine that juggling show for Grandma, phew!...they had an awesome time and are still talking about all they got to do. There was caramel corn, Reds baseball, swimming, kayaking, the library, soda fountain for milkshakes and even VBS to boot. I didn't get many pictures, but I did manage to record this video after we returned of the Memory Verse that they learned at VBS.

Grandma - this one is for you! Thank you for giving Cory and I that bit of time (even if it was for work) but mostly for spending time with Jack and Duke! We've been playing the Ten Commandments CD in the car every morning, Jack's favorite seems to be "Don't Bow Down to Idols". I asked today if they knew what the "Honor Your Mom and Dad" commandment meant. The response from Duke, "I don't know"...I have my work cut out for me but this tidbit makes me believe I'm headed in the right direction.