He he!

I have found that I have a guilty pleasure. It really is evil though. I live in the "fancy" part of Fresno. I live here because it's safe (for Fresno), it's new and, most importantly, it's close to my parents.
So as I drive around, I see people in their Mercedes, BMW's and the like. I appreciate these cars, but I have to admit I am a tad bit jealous. God is gonna be mad about that.
So all these rich people, who for the most part, think they are above the law, speed. They speed a lot people. So about three times a week, motorcycle cops sit on Fort Washington at various locations and work their radar. Let me just remind everyone that this is a four lane road that has a 35 MPH speed limit.
Yesturday, my wonderful Mother called to tell me that there were five cops working their radar on Fort Washington, so when I drove to school I wouldn't get a ticket. As I drove down this special street, a motor unit pulled out and stopped a brand new, shiney black Lexus. I smiled, BIG! I was happy to see that.
Today David took Gavin to the Dentist's office and on the way there, he called to let me know that a Range Rover was pulled over by another motorcycle cop. I was happy he told me this.
I have always been a speeder. I used to drive everywhere at about 60 MPH. This has changed, since I turned in my badge and because we can't afford a ticket or our insurance to go up. I know, I am growing up! I know that those Officers are told several times a day, "Do you know who I am?" and "I know Chief Dyer" and on and on. It amazes me how people always think that since they pay taxes and "contribute" (in their minds) they deserve a "get out of jail free" card. Maybe we should all obey the rules of the road and work on our observation skills by watching the posted speed limit!

Lonely kid

It all started yesterday when I was getting ready for school. I came out of the bathroom to be greeted by Quinten. He walked into the room, raised his hands to me so I would pick him up, and whispered "I love you Momma" in my ear. I just thought it was a good morning.
Today Quinten got up and hung out with Gavin while I got up, made my coffee and livened up. On the way to church the kid does a 180! We get out of the car and he starts telling me how he didn't want to go to church today and that he wanted me to hold him. We went inside for donuts and he wouldn't let me put him down. I tried several times to put him down because wearing heels and a skirt and holding a 35 pound kid isn't the best thing for my back or my attitude.
As I was sitting in his Sunday school class loving on him and trying to make him feel better, I ask him what his issue is. He digs his face into my arm and tells me he misses me. Ahh, that made it all okay.

Hot already?

This weather has been ridiculous lately. I am not a big fan on summer here in sunny California, but having summer in April-that's not even right. It has been 96 degrees for the last couple days, making going outside even for a short time, a sweaty mess. The boys have been helping David in the mornings in the backyard, which we are trying to make beautiful, and by the time they come inside to get ready for school, they need showers. David worked hard this weekend and put up window tint on some of the windows to make the house cooler and block out the sun, which has helped quite a bit. I am hoping that my air conditioner doesn't have to be used yet because there are only a couple $300 bills I can handle. Another thing I am dreading for the hot weather? Transferring all my winter clothes into storage and getting out my summer clothes. That is a big job and I don't know if I have the energy to do it yet.

Are you kidding me?

Tonight I had school, so the boys had to go to Grandma and Grandpa's house to be babysat. The twist tonight was that it was Gavin's open house at school.
At about 4:15 I fed them hot dogs and apples so they wouldn't be hungry at school. After they were finished I had Quinten go to his room to put his shoes on and sent Gavin to the bathroom to get his teeth brushed.
After Quinten was done, we went over to the bathroom, where Gavin had prepared Quinten's toothbrush for him.
I sat Quinten on the counter and started brushing, but the reaction wasn't normal. He had an uncomfortable, sour face. Then Gavin says, "How does it taste Quint?". I didn't catch it right away and then the light turned on. I took the toothbrush out of Quinten's mouth, looked at Gavin and proceeded to ask what he had done to it. Gavin actually kept a straight face while he told me, "Nothing". I asked Quinten if the toothpaste tasted funny and he said that it did. I looked back at Gavin and turned up the interrogation heat. He finally told me that he was trying to clean Quinten's toothbrush with hand sanitizer. I looked at him and yelled, "Are you kidding me?". His expression told me he knew what was next. He tried to explain that it was for the betterment of his brother's dental hygiene, but none of which I wanted to hear.
I grabbed his arm, which was covering his bottom and told him he better move it, or the results would be detrimental. He refused. I finally wiggled that arm out of the way, only to be greeted with another arm. I finally grabbed him by both arms, took him to the hallway, placed him face down on the carpet, sat on his legs so he couldn't kick me, and gave him a really good whooping.
He was then sent to his room for 5 minutes while I regained my composure. If you hadn't noticed, I lost it a minute earlier. Gavin was ordered to apologize and to do so in a very nice way!
We then went to my parents, which I couldn't have been more happy for by this time. I explained to my Mom what happened and she called him a name, which Mennonite's don't type on blogs. I told her not to check his bottom for a couple hours, until the welts go away.
It always feels good to vent to another Mother, who understands. She didn't look at me crazy or argue with my reaction. She agreed! That was exactly what I needed because even when your kids act like the devil's spawn, you still feel guitly for disciplining them. The reasoning behind this reaction is still unclear to me.

Summer

As I sit here I think of all the things I would like to do this summer. Being that school is gonna be out pretty soon, I feel as though I should start planning, or at least hoping, it all turns out.
First, I need to get family pictures done. I haven't had a group picture since Quinten was 18 months. I haven't had Gavin and Quinten's picture done since last year. Yikes, I am way behind. The thing that's holding me back? There isn't a picture people around here. The closest one is in Visalia and that is an hour away.
I want to take the boys camping this summer. I think that it is very important that the boys grow up to be boys and do boy things. Am I a huge fan of camping? Not really, but I want the boys to be able to sleep under the stars and play at the beach. We will see.
I really want to go to Las Vegas for a few days. The bad part is that I wouldn't have a babysitter so there would be two little ones coming along. They would like it because all the hotels in Vegas have swimming pools, but it's just the fact that David and I couldn't go out at night. We both hate gambling, but love to eat and have a couple drinks.
Disneyland....need I say more. I have been checking the prices and they are just too high. I can't see spending $60 per ticket. And if we are driving all that way get there, we would want to go for more than 1 day. Yeah, that's why this will probably not happen.
So as I sit here and brainstorm, it helps me put things in perspective. I can hope at least three of this things come to life, but realistically, maybe two. I hope this summer turns out to be fun for all of us.

Dolly's color

Over the last couple days we have been doing color at beauty school. I love color because it totally transforms a person's look.
So my Dolly had a reddish-brownish nasty color that needed some spunk. I took the bottom portion of her hair and colored it dark burgundy red. Then a weaved the sides and bangs with blonde. Lastly I bleached out the top to a straight blonde. I added some pink and yellow for fun. Here is the finished product. I am happy with it. I showed my Mom and she told me that she would "never have her hair like that". Sorry Mom, but this hair style does have an age limit and you are over it by 20 years!

movie time

I watched a grip of movies the last couple days because the boys were sick and I have been really tired because of it.
Gavin was up two nights in a row and without a day to re cooperate, Quinten was sick last night and we will see about tonight.
Anyway, Tuesday afternoon the boys and I watched Bedtime Stories with Adam Sandler. I wasn't sure about this one at first because I had heard mixed reviews. The boys loved it and I actually sat down and watched it too. I really enjoyed it. I watched all but the last 15 minutes, when I was getting something ready for school.
Then yesterday I watched Yes Man with Jim Carrey. Let's just get something clear here...I love Jim Carrey! He is my all time favorite comedic actor. So, I laughed at all the things he is known for and just enjoyed the time of peace and relaxation. I would watch this movie again with David, although I think twice would be my limit.
This morning, I watched Marley and Me with Jennifer Aniston. I was kinda sad today because Audrey was coming to town and I couldn't see her because of Quinten and his fever (he was up most of the night so I was not a happy girl today). I loved this movie, although I cried for the last half hour. I was too lazy to get up and get a klennex so I used my t-shirt, which David thought was really gross, but whatever. He asked me how the movie was and I burst into tears and told him that it was sad and bah, blah, blah. He looked at me like I was a crackhead. I think it was so sad to me because my old wiener, Klyde, is getting kinda gimpy and old and I know that eventually I will have to end his posh life here on earth and that makes me sad.
So all the movies were returned to the Red Box and now I am stuck with my DVR and plain old television. Poor me.....

Salon

Lately I have been thinking a lot about what is after beauty school for me. Do I want to work at a trendy salon and pay a grip of rent, or do I want to work at an okay salon for a reasonable price or do I want to work from home.
I have been thinking how convenient it would be if I worked out of the house. Now don't get me wrong, I wouldn't wash hair in the kitchen sink. We have an "office" that is used to hold David's gear that would be transformed.
I have a vision. I want to put a dark slate tile on the floor with black grout. All the baseboards and casing around the doors would be black. The full wall (without any windows, etc), would be transformed into a mirror. I would paint the walls a dark color and decorate with a classy meets vintage theme. There would be a fridge, so I could pamper my clients with soda, water, etc. I want to put a small plasma TV on the wall so whoever is over, can catch up on their show or put on a show for their kids.
I would try to purchase a sink and chair from a salon that is going out of business or ebay, which ever. I can always re-furbish and make a nasty item into a beautiful one. It amazes me to this day what a little polish or 409 can do.
I am very excited about my idea. I know this would be a lot of work and in a perfect world it would work out. It may not work because of the amount of time and money it would require, but it is something to work toward. I guess I need to focus first on graduating and passing state board.