Long time between posts...

To my avid and usually silent readers, I apologize. Been very busy at home. To update: I have not killed Julius... He is doing much better and his sister has picked up the torch in his stead. She is now an emotional, attitude-y mess who loves to push my buttons. My cousin has moved out and I'm in the process of reclaiming my home, purging the remenants of the previous owners. I even gardened over the weekend! First time ever and I'm soo sore. I just hope the new garden fares better than every houseplant I've ever owned. We had the evil maple tree cut down... no more sewage should be backing up into my living room! (see before and after pics... the white gutters will make more sense when the house isn't scab-red!) We've also cleaned out the downstairs bedrooms and re-organized. It's very tiring but rewarding. Let's see... We played the ponies (Not to be confused with pony-play!!! Ha ha, Tanya) at Churchill Downs, lost the farm, but had a ball. Softball season is in full swing. Olivia is now with a bunch of pre-teens, and I swear they are cycling together. The last game had three players leaving in tears and an untold number of parents pissed off at their little girls. (Thankfully, Olivia had her tantrum before the game). Ryan took pictures at Nina's wedding, which was so fun. I'm so glad we were invited. Now I just have to light the fire under him to get them all edited. And, indy.org is using some of his pictures without permission for their Garfield park listing... but it's cool that they liked them enough to steal them. My best friend just graduated from law school and will be a menace to courtrooms everywhere! You go girl! And finally, we have a new addition to the family... Audie the Praying Mantis. Carnivore bugs are way-cool.

I need a moment to vent

OK... so I understand Julius is 12, and it is quite possible that 6th graders are the most obnoxious people in the whole world, but I may have to put him in a hole until he is 25 and a respectable person again. I love him... he is so funny and smart... he's really cool to talk to... I love him...but damn! So he has started on a new "I don't want to live here anymore" and "I want to go live with dad" and doing the boundary testing thing I thought was over when he was 3. I know my goal is to make an independent person out of him, but when he does this 'you can't make me' thing it drives me nuts! What makes it worse, I think, is that it's Elvin's expressions and attitudes coming out of him. Not only does it push the very same buttons that Elvin used to infuriate me, it scares the hell out of me that Julius might grow up to be too much like him. In all fairness, I realize this is my mother's revenge. I remember telling her that I wanted to live with my father... but with me it wasn't so realistic because my dad's been practically AWOL since I was a toddler. And, I know this is directly related to him getting into trouble for getting grounded for getting kicked out of band. So, I probably shouldn't wig out and imagine a horrible future for a kid that doesn't learn impulse control and respect for authority. Breathe deeply, Jen... It's going to be a bumpy decade.

I need a vacation!

So, I'm just now getting to the point where I can post about my vacation. Boy, we had a good time... Even Julius. We played on the beach, spent time with Ryan's grandparents, went to Busch Gardens, and saw a dead giant squid at the aquarium. The kids actually behaved very well. Ryan, Olivia, and I got a sunburn. The kids' allergies go away in Florida, but aparently I develop allergies there. Skills were honed: Julius perfected his Sean Connery impersonation and Ryan took about a thousand pictures. A good time was had by all. Family Pics are on my web album... fancy-schmancy pics are on Ryan's

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ryan_baxter_photography
http://picasaweb.google.com/jenniferbaxte
(or you can just click on my slideshow to get to my albums)

Vacation is almost here!

Yeah! Tomorrow we leave for vacation. I'm so excited. This is the first time I have ever been on my own vacation. Every other time, me and the kids were tagging along with the family. It feels good to be on this side of financial struggle. Ryan is excited... Olivia is excited... Julius is still opposed to anything that may resemble fun. It's like that cruise ship commerical. He'll have fun in spite of himself. Ok... so I have to share. Ryan bought himself a cowboy hat! Hee, Hee, Hee! It will look stunning with his shiny basketball shorts. See ya'll in a week!

My Ticket to Hell

Greed:	Medium
Gluttony:	Low
Wrath:	Very Low
Sloth:	Medium
Envy:	Very Low
Lust:	Very Low
Pride:	Very Low

Take the Seven Deadly Sins Quiz

So I took this quiz online. Maybe I thought I'd find out what I'm going to hell for, although this is by no means an exhaustive list, I'm sure. While I'm not surprised by sloth, the greed did catch me off guard. I guess it's something I'll have to work on.

New Toys!

I have my new laptop! The unexpected downer is I'm finding myself feeling too old to learn new technology and got very frustrated. I had to back up, remind myself how young I am and start again.
Plans for vacations would be coming along well except Julius doesn't want to go to Florida! Elvin doesn't have a sitter, so they "have" to come with me to the Sunshine State. I don't understand my son's aversion to anything outdoors. I was never an active girl, but I'd never scowl at the chance to play at the beach for a week! Oh well, once again I must force my son to have fun, and I'm sure he will. Olivia is getting very excited, but she said she would be either way. I'm just afraid this is my last chance at a family vacation before they become teenagers and completely unpleasant to be around. I'm also afraid of how my haircolor will go with a tan or what I look like in a bathing suit, but such is life.

Julius' Future

I wonder if Colbert did impersonations of the president when he was 11?