My vacation and other horrible experiences

My vacation is over and here I am to report back to my ever-growing public (don't fall off your chairs in laughter, it could happen...) about that oh so wonderful time of our lives, vacation.

well where does one start, I guess I could start with my dent, Dent? You ask, why start there, well that is where the hellish vacation starts, I dented my van, I take it to the repair ship, they tell me, ohh it'll take about 2 weeks for this to be fixed, at first I was going to go ahead and take the van and have the work done when I got back. But my representative assured me, I'd be able to take the rental car, even going so far as to call the rental company and asking if I could take the car out of state and finding out it had unlimited miles. So I take the rental, I take it to Georgia, and guess what, bad decision, very bad decision...

On the way to Georgia, everytime I'd be coming off an exit the oil light would flash on, the first time it did I stopped and put a quart of oil in the car, it was bone dry, well it kept doing it even after that. I get to Georgia, to Julie's house and talk to the rental company, they say, oh, just take the car to a particular oil changing company and have the oil changed on us. I tried unsuccessfully to let them know, I'm on vacation, I don't have time to drag, my things and my kids everywhere and that they needed to take the car (come pick it up) and give me one that worked... finally they brought another car, Julie and I get in it and go to get Rock Band from the store, while driving the wheel telltale light comes on... this light indicates that the air pressure in the tires is low! SO I drive it to the rental company and plead with them again, to not give me another lemon!

Finally I was given a car that didn't have any problems and I go on with my vacation. We were having a great time at Julie's, we went to the butterfly exhibit at Calaway Gardens, I went to Athens and saw my Aunt Karen and Uncle David, and cousins, and it was really a lot of fun. Then I call my friend Nicole who's housesitting for me while I'm away. She tells me did the body shop call you? Did they tell you the van was done early and you were being charged for eachday that the rental isn't turned in??? I was shocked!!! More than shocked really, numb! So many things had gone wrong with the rental car I thought well this about sounds right!

I went back to Julie's (she drove up and back with me)and called the body shop, the man I spoke, the man that had really encouraged me to actually go on vacation with the rental in the 1st place passed the buck! He said ohh that's just the rental companys policy!!!! You'll have to call them, well I didn't I called my insurance company (they had referred me to this company anyway)!

They spoke to the body shop and I'm quoting the insurance agent when he referred to the representative from the body shop, "well I didn't get that warm fuzzy feeling, he's a jerk", to make a long story short, I cut my vacation in half!!! I came home a week early, and the shop payed 2 days and the insurance company paid 2 days so I didn't have to pay for the rental. Which was horrible to deal with just in it's self.

So there's my vacation, it was fun with the exception of my car...

Clay's birthday

A belated post to let you all now that my baby is now 7!!! That's right, how does that happen anyway, i don't feel any older, how is it he grows inside me, comes out and in the blink of an eye, he's 7! Amazing Clay didn't have a big party this year, just family. We always go to my mother and father in laws house on Sunday and we just celebrated over there. Clay had a great birthday, we had a Transformer theme, he got tons of Ben 10 stuff and some coloring things and a High School Musical game. We had cupcakes that were Yummmy! And Julie (who made the yummy cupcakes) came up too, which made the party extra special). She'll have to start coming to all the family functions now, especially since her 3 year daughter has announced to her that she'll be marrying Clay someday!!

Anxiety anyone?

If so I've got loads to spare. I had my orientation for Nursing school on Friday. When I woke up that morning, I was so full of panic and anxiety that I felt like my stomach was in my throat. I went to the orientation and found out that I had a very good reason to be anxious. They freaking scaried the crap out of me. To start with the schedule will be insane and I haven't even gotten babysitting lined up for the kids yet!! I was waiting to know the schedule, hoping it would be something simple, like going all day 3 days a week, but no, it's more like 4 days a week with some full days and some half. Second, someone asked, "are we going to know the times of our clinicals before we start school so I can set it up with my work", their reaction? It's not our fault you have a job!!! Someone asked a similar question about clinicals for daycare purposes, again, their reaction? Not our fault you have a family???!!!

To top it all off, I'm looking at my packet and noticing all the thing STILL needing to be done by the 28th of July, and ohhh did I mention I'm going out of town on Sunday for 2 weeks~! I rushed over to Financial Aid, and was told I would have to appeal my hours because "I have too many hours" I HAVE A DEGREE!! They did not care, it was policy and it would delay my financial aid for 2-4 weeks! I rush out of their, go to the cashier's office to pay for my drug screen and get the paperwork to were I could get my test done, all of which were closed at 4pm and not open on Saturday. It was 3pm at that time and I had NO idea how to get to them. I still had to rush over and order my scrubs and ran back to the car, grabbed the cell phone (thank goodness I had it today), called Kayla and had her mapquest an address for me. Rushed over to a Quest Diagnositic center, got my drug screen just barely I got there at 3:45!!

I started to panic, and felt like I was going to be sick all over again, I didn't think I'd be able to do this, it was too much, how in the world am I going to do this!! I called Julie and talked to her, she made me feel loads better, but I still have that tightened feeling in my chest !!!! How am I going to do this? What if I can't do this?? What about daycare?? Financial Aid?? Studying?? Will I be able to pull this off??

Our new pet

About 3 weeks ago, the boys came into the house carrying a furry little bug, I thought it was a caterpillar (but now I think it's a moth) and we put it into a bug box purchased at the dollar tree and feed the thing. I would send Clay out for the leaves and he'd bring back lucious green leaves that the furry thing, now called Rex, would munch on until there were holes all through it. Rex was a pooper too, every morning I'd have to clean his little cage and we'd get him knew leaves. One morning I thought to myself, let's put sticks and grass and some different leaves in here, you know for variety... well I put the sticks, some grass, some dirt and some Hostas leaves. Later that day, I was observing Rex with my friend, showing her the very nice habitat I'd formed (for the Rex and the kids ofcourse) and noticed that poor Rex was on the top of the stick, farthest away from the Hostas??? Then I was informed by said friend, that Hostas are poisonious! Poor thing, he's probably thinking that geez, I can't find my home, I'm stuck in this little box and now that huge giant is trying to kill me!
Well I'm happy to report that Rex is doing well, he's now in his cocoon!! And although at first I thought I'd killed it for sure, I soon relieved that it was just getting ready to turn into the cocoon...

my birthday

This week was my birthday, I turned an age that I don't want to type, I'm turning middle age now and it is harder than ever to accept it... Well my birthday came and went this week, I didn't really do anything on the actual day, except I went to the water park at Easton with the kids and Clay had the man singing there sing Happy Birthday to me, which was very cute. Also Josh sent me 30 red roses, very cute. But the most fun I did was watch Becoming Jane with on the projector on Friday. Sophie made a cake (eventhough she had more important plans) and Kayla brought ice cream (yummy brownie and peanut butter cup) and Racheal brought the projector and the computer and the speakers, and Leah and Crystal came too. It was a fun, relaxing evening without children, without interupptions, and with loads of uncounted calories galore!! It was fun. So Happy Birthday to me!

4th of July Celebration

We had a lovely 4th of July. The day before, Sophie and I decided to teach the kids about the flag and have the kids make t-shirts with the flag on it. The funny thing about this is the questions that the kids came up with while Sophie was teaching them. Before I started the video camera or perhaps because of it was of the observations of Cregan and Jack.

Imagine if you will, Sophie with her all her teacheriness on, teaching my kids about the flag, Cregan raises his hand, polite, what a polite kid he is, I think, he is obviously going to make a profound statement of some sort on the history of our US flag... "Mrs. Sophie", he says, "When I grow up, I'm going to marry my brain." To which Jack raises his hand, "Well I'm going to beat my brain with a bat". So from that point on, I have to film this event, so that if anything else is said that amuses me or that I can hold to blackmail the kids with in the future, I will have taped...

The next day, was ofcourse rainy, just like last year, (do we live in Washington state or Ohio, geez). We trotted over to the Westerville Parade with Crystal and Zack, Sophie, Mike and Jack, and we caught up with the Lish's there. We had a great time watching the floats go by. I think instead of the 4th of July parade, I'll call it reverse Halloween, reverse Halloween, because my kids got as much candy as they would have Halloween trick or treating except they didn't have to go anywhere the candy was brought to them, including yummy yummy Cheryl & Co cookies!!

After the parade, everyone came to my house and also Sophie's mom and step-dad and we grilled out and ate and ate and ate! It was a grand old time of not counting calories or WW points, and then we all played a fun round of Catch Phrase. We had a great 4th, Happy Birthday USA!! And thank you to the troops (my baby Josh especially) for fighting to keep Independence Day going on!

Queen's Birthday

Before you read my entry I should preface with some background information: My mom is British, she was born and raised in England, all of my family on my mom's side are still in Britain (and so are the best chocolate's in the world). My friend, Sophie, is also half British, her mum is still around and lives in Ohio, about an hour away.

So for the Queen's birthday this year we (Mike and Sophie actually came up with the idea) decided to celebrate! We drove to Liz and Paul's house (Sophie's mum and step-dad) and what should we see in the driveway, but the British flag waving!! This was the start of the festivities... for dinner we had toad in a hole, yummmmmmy I absolutely love it, my kids weren't to sold on it though, next we made an effigy of the Queen from scrap fabric and the kids drew her face, we added twine for the hair and a crown for her head. Next while the bon-fire was getting started, Sophie and Liz decorated a gorgeous cake like the British flag. Then we had our parade!!! The parade consisted of kazoo's and streamers, someone holding the dear Queen and singing God save the Queen. We took our parade down to the bonfire and ate cake, again with the yummy! Then the finale of the evening was when we "sent the Queen home in smoke" or we burnt her. I know it sounds morbid, but there's a bon-fire and a stuffed "Queen" what's a person to do. The children had a grand time, they fell in love with "Nanny and Pop Pop" or Liz and Paul. And the Queen was celebrated and remembered for the evening.

So Happy Birthday Queen Elizabeth from the Hughes!

Toddler Genius

My son Collin is a toddler genius, if you've read my blog from about 6 months ago, you'd have seen my blog on him being a baby genius...http://hughesmom.blogspot.com/2007/09/smartest-boy-in-world-maybe.html.

well now I know he's the smartest toddler in the world, or atleast the most devious, you decide.

At night, I go through the nightly routine, baths, books, prayers, songs, tucking into bed and every night Collin has a new "ailment. It started with him coming in after the nightly routine and him limping, and saying ouch, ouch. I am concerned like any mom would be, and I tell Collin to come here, and place him on the couch, lean down and take a look at his foot. From the corner of my eyes, I see him grinning, GRINNING!!! There was nothing wrong with his foot AT ALL, he was playing me for a fool. I held him close and took him to bed and he eventually he fell back to sleep. Since then, he has had poor fingers that need "kisses, kisses" and more limping and one night he came in pointing to his head saying "hurt, hurt". Eachtime, I'm compelled to make sure he's ok, and eachtime, I see the grin and know I've been had.

So what do you think, Toddler Genius, or what??!!

Walls of Art

During the school year the kids bring home artwork at least once a week. Ofcourse it was really hard to throw out any of these beautiful creations that my darling kids had made, so I decided that I'd tape them to my hallway, Cregan's on one side, and Clay's on the other. At the end of the year, I took a picture of them and now have the art work forever!

4th of July Project

I love the 4th of July, so when Megan a good friend of mine said she was doing a project for the 4th, I totally invited myself in... Megan had this great idea to make Glory out of picture frames and wood lettering and while we were in the middle of the project, she got an even better one, to use a star to represent the O in Glory. I am officially inviting myself into all her future crafts!!

This one was so easy and turned out so cute. We took frames, mine was a 8x10 and a 5x7, and wood lettering for Y. We picked out Americana scrapbook paper and letters, then slapped it all together with a glue stick, throw in a star from JoAnn Fabrics and Viola, you are done!!!

Thanks for Megan for such a great project!