You thought I left didn't you?

I know you're all probably falling over that I am finally posting something...or maybe you aren't even there because you gave up on me about a month ago...(please be the first). Well I am here and life is still strolling along at a rapid pace. Actually life is good, really good...we are all happy, healthy, and always trying to find a balance between supremely chaotic and Zen...I'll keep you posted on how that works out, but give me about 30 more years.

So I have so much to post and pictures, OMG the pictures from this summer...I figure I haven't really posted many since Memorial Weekend? Well unfortunately they are not going up tonight, I am too tired and using my teeny tiny bit of energy to sneak a post in. BTW - you may look at the post time and think "Vino Mommy, it's early...why are you tired?" and my answer to that is the time that shows up when I post my blog, does not actually coincide with the real time (i.e. CST). So anyways I digress...

It has been a busy, productive...scratch that...just busy summer. There has been softball, t-ball, tennis camp, weekends at the lake, sailing, a "Gadient Wedding" which is a feat in itself, shower, bacherlorette/bachelor party, Beyonce, picnic at the farm, work....(OMG - especially for Beer Daddy)...successful potty training, birthdays, no more training wheels, family visits and so much more...it's quite ridiculous and wonderful all at the same time.

So as I was running around tonight with Beer Daddy shuffling the kids to and from tennis camp and then home to eat dinner, which turned into a pit stop of cleaning the garage (I know freakin ridiculous how the man gets side tracked), to watering the plants, make dinner, do laundry, clean out the Mini from our weekend away, put crap away, bathe kiddos, brush teeth, blah, blah, blah...I thought of something..."In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes." - Benjamin Franklin.

Weird, I know...frankly I am not sure why it crossed my mind, but here's the thing Benny...I have a few more things I am completely and utterly certain of...

1. I will never be caught up with our laundry...ever.

2. Exhaustion is a part of Parenting that they down play...I will always be tired, even after a nap.

3. Chocolate & Vino are my vices...but in moderation they should not kill me...I hope.

4. Beer Daddy and I are late...pretty much always, timeliness is our kryptonite.

5. I never want my kids to grow up too fast, even at their worst...I really do cherish it all.

6. There is nothing sweeter than slowing down and experiencing life though the eyes of your child.

7. Family can be Friends and Friends can be Family.

8. Sometimes the truth really can hurt, no matter how hard you try to not let it.

9. I really did marry my Soul Mate.

10. I will always be forever wanting more time to write on my blog.

So there you go 10 Vino Mommy Truth's, they may not be yours, but they are most definitely mine. I may revisit this list as there is so much more that I am sure of but thought best to end this "renewal post" and keep you wanting more.

Until next time...

Really? 3 Weeks???

...GASP! I can't believe that I haven't posted in 3 weeks...I sort of hate myself for being such a lackey...but it has been a crazy, busy, insane time in the Gadient house. I have so many pictures to share (no really, TONS...) but tonight I am off to Beyonce with my best partner in crime...Stacy and oh yeah even though we aren't single, we are still putting our hands up! :)

BTW...after my stern lecture I had with myself I will be updating this blog o' mine this weekend or else...

My dogs are barking...

...I am so tired and my feet, OMG...are killing me! I have been traveling to NY once a month since December and you would think I would have found a pair of shoes that could with withstand the incredible amount of walking...but alas I am stumped.

On my last trip I had a record 5-6 blisters on each foot and no I was not wearing "hooker shoes" (use your imagination or ask Hola Carlos aka Catherine). So I was really excited when on my last trip to Indy I was certain I had found THE pair that could handle the rigorous amount of walking required when working in NY....or not. Such a bummer, because I swear they felt like pillows, comfortable as all get out and by they way, oh so cute!

Frankly I am becoming desperate because the dogs, they are barking and they are loud. I know my Dad is reading this and thinking why doesn't she wear her sneakers, because in my Dad's eyes you can wear them with anything. But I am pretty sure that sneakers with my suit/work clothes to meet with clients just might catapult me back into the 80's.

So if any of you have suggestions, I am all ears...or um eyes.

BTW...missing my guys oh so much tonight and can't wait to see them tomorrow...there will be some serious snuggle time in the Gadient house.

Don't hate me...hate the Internet...

I know I said no more 2 week spans between posts, but apparently my Internet did not get the memo. The good news is that we are back online and well better than ever...or well at least back.

So I am back in NYC for a quick trip and tonight I was too tired to do anything exciting. I am so lame that I went to the restaurant across the street and then back. Frankly waking up at 4AM after a long fun filled weekend to make a 7AM flight can drain you. According to Stacy I am to call her when I find my personality...apparently I wasn't the most talkative friend today...frankly I don't blame her, when I am this tired talking becomes a chore.

But alas I did promise you a story about Ross and his curious question "how do babies get in people's bellies?" So here it goes...Brian (aka Beer Daddy) and I took the boys for a walk on a beautiful Sunday morning and as we were walking the following ensued:

Ross: Mom, how do babies get in peoples bellies?

Me: (Thinking oh my god, oh my god, I am not ready to answer this question, he is only 5, why is he asking this, what do I say...I mean some people love each other, but some people don't...sometimes there are 2 Mommies or 2 Daddies...crap where do I begin?!?!?!?!)

Ross: Mom?

Me: (Looking at Beer Daddy for some help) Well Ross it's a long story that I will tell you later.

Beer Daddy: (Giving me the look of "way to bail on that answer") Ross, not everyone can have a baby just Mommies and when 2 people love each other they get together and have a baby.

Ross: Ok

Me: (Are you kidding me, they "get together" and have a baby? What kind of answer is that...why didn't I think of it...)

Beer Daddy: (Smirking)

After about 5 minutes...

Ross: Hey Mom, you said your story was long, is it different?

Me: Nope, I think Daddy said it all.

So there you go, our first "difficult" discussion regarding the birds and the bees. I know pathetic, but hell it worked and what did we learn...sometimes the simplest answer is the best.

And one more story, because is there anything better than what comes out of the mouths of babes? At dinner last week...

Ross: Mom, what is on your face?

Me: What?

Ross: That thing, it looks like a volcano or something.

Me: (Oh you mean that blemish on my face...why did I have kids?)

Beer Daddy: Ross that is not nice to say...you should apologize.

Ross: Well it does...

Gotta love them, they have no sensor that's for sure...I can't wait for his first pimple, I mean volcano.

Time Bandit...

...I have no real reason for not blogging as of late, however if I could pin the blame on something I would say my life has something to do with it. Just busy, you know that oxymoron being a "Working Mom" it's just that, life, well it never ceases to keep me moving at the max. I have had my share of relaxing moments, my birthday Spa Day for instance (Heaven!), last weekend at the lake, etc...it just seems like when you have those times the last thing I am thinking about doing is opening the laptop.

Of course I could blog after I get done with work, pick up the kids, stop at the grocery store, make dinner, play with the kids, give the kids a bath, read them a story, put them to bed, clean up dinner, start laundry, fold laundry...I sit on the couch with BeerDaddy, who has also competed in this marathon day and we chat about life's greatest mysteries, like are we out of milk, who is dropping off the kids tomorrow, when are we going to put this laundry away and then....it is 10:30/11 ish and we are exhausted, so we head to bed and race to see who can fall asleep first (I am the winner 99.9% of the time).

We are surely not alone in this "Rat Race" called parenting...but it can put a brake on the ol' blogging, which I really do find therapeutic. So now that I have gotten that diatribe out of the way, I can catch you up the life that is mine.

My birthday was fantastic, although I had a very slight, itty bitty midlife crisis turning 31, mainly because I found more gray hair, my face looked like I was aging and more importantly I was so excited to turn 30 and FINALLY be done with my 20's that I kind of forgot that the years keep coming. BUT...I did get over it and my guys had breakfast with me, I had an absolutely lovely day at the spa with my Mom, Grandma and Stacy...and capped the night off with a delicious dinner at our house with family and friends. Really it doesn't get any better (the cut, color & facial helped with the aging part too).

Ross is done with preschool and to say that I am going to be a puddle when he starts Kindergarten or graduates from High School is an understatement. I had to leave his last day of preschool ice cream social about 10 minutes early and found a few tears strolling down my cheek while walking to my car just thinking about my first baby moving on to the next stage of growing up...too fast I tell you, too fast. Quick cute story about his last day...I went to thank his teacher for all she had done this year and she said that "Ross had really opened up this year and...well the girls are quite smitten by him. And well Ross, he seems to be quite the keen on them as well." Oi vey...my little blond Casanova. Here are a couple pics of Ross with his teachers...

I have so much more to tell, but I need to sign off as last night the guy in the hotel room next to me (yes, I am on the road again, back in the Big Apple and more adventures to tell) vomited his brains out, literally. All night long and the intensity of the sound was unreal, I honestly have no idea how he could even possibly have enough in him to last that long, so I have decided he must have lost his spleen and a couple other organs throughout the night. Just in case you were wondering I am staying at the beautiful Grand Hyatt, however the walls are so thin, I think it is a requirement in NY that any sound must be magnified while in your hotel room. My guess is the only thing between the walls is a piece of vellum paper. So my plans to get some much overdue work done were shattered. I did however decide that I could not stomach listening to this again tonight as 2 pillows over my head with the tv on could not drown him out. So I went to the front desk asked if they could check to see if the person in the room next to me had checked out, explained why, the apologized profusely and asked if they could send up a bottle of wine for my troubles...of course not wanting them to feel bad I agreed...I know big of me.

More to come and no I will not wait 2 weeks or more...good stories are on the way and just as a teaser I'll just say that Ross posed this question to BeerDaddy and I on a recent walk "how do babies get in people's bellies?" YIKES!

Mother's Day 2009...

Biting the Big Apple...

...again I find myself sitting down to try and update my blog for the billionth time in the last couple weeks, however this time there will be success!

I am currently coming to you from the "Lake" aka Grandma's house on Lake Mille Lacs for the Fishing Opener and more importantly our annual Mother's Day Weekend. I look forward to this weekend for many reasons, typically it is the "kickoff" to the many weekend trips we will make here this summer (although we frequent the lake all year long), it is the FIRST of my Birthday Celebrations (I adore my birthday beyond words, why I don't know, I think it is something my Dad instilled in me and we both make sure our celebrations last a good month), and bonus now that I have Children I get to celebrate Mom's Day with my Grandma, Mom, Aunts, and now Cousin's Wives. The weekend pretty much sucks for the guys on many levels, not only do they get to submerge themselves in the freezing cold water to put the dock and lift in, BUT they also get to cook & clean all day Sunday for the Women. Lucky men, they should be so fortunate that they married us! :) So I spent the day playing outside with the boys and taking them for a spin on the four wheeler, now we are hunkered down inside while I enjoy a fine glass of Vino and the Men they are hovered around the fire trying to warm up....

The last couple weeks have been a little crazy, but life seems to be slowing or maybe it's that my travel scheduled has slowed. I was in NY last week for work and then a Friend/Coworker, Susie, met me out there for a little girls getaway. We had a BLAST! Needless to say we tore up NY in a few short days. The first night we had the best intentions to head over to Rockefeller Center for dinner, but ended up "stopping" for a drink at the hotel bar...yeah well that quick stop lasted a little longer because they carry one of my favorite Pinot Noir's (La Crema) and I can't have just 1 (again, that is why I am Vino Mommy)...at some point we managed to pull ourselves away and walked a couple blocks down to a place called McFadden's Tavern. Great burgers, but the music was way too loud for our old ears so we had to leave as we could only comprehend every 4th word we spoke (and no it was not because of the wine I had consumed). We spent the rest of the trip hitting up Chinatown for some "discounted" designer purses, Little Italy for lunch, Central Park with a pit stop at Tavern on the Green, Times Square, lunch in Tribeca and FINALLY mastering the Subway! There are so many stories but I will only make you suffer through 2 (Lance and Beerdaddy quit rolling your eyes)...

...first one happened while shopping in Chinatown, we were accosted about every 5 feet with someone asking us "you want Gucci, Coach, Prada...come with me" (you have to say it really fast and in your best Chinese accent) and then all of the sudden this man who appeared to be homeless or maybe he just had poor hygiene yelled into the crowd "THIS IS INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZED CRIME AT IT'S WORST, YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED". Ashamed, me? No. Giddy at the great deals and happy that I can help this Entrepreneur realize his/her dreams. Yes.

The second and the one that still has me laughing, is when Susie and I were walking out of Central Park and an older Asian man had photos displayed of famous NY landmarks and Central Park...we stop to look and he turns to Susie and the following conversation transpires...

Man: Foto (again use your best Chinese/English accent)

Susie: (Nods that it indeed is a photo)

Man: Foto, Foto, Foto, Foto

Susie: Yes (again, smiling that and acknowledging that they are photos and there are 4 of them )

Man: Fo Seasons, April, May, Fall, Christmas

Priceless I tell you, priceless. I will try and post some pictures from the trip in the next couple days, but until then I hope all of you readers that are Mother's have a wonderful day tomorrow...I know I will!