RSVP's - Are They A Thing Of The Past? You Decide

Abby's birthday is smack dab in the middle of December, which is both, fabulous and horrible, all at the same time. So in an effort to escape the madness of trying to throw a birthday party during the middle of holiday season, we've made a tradition of celebrating her birthday on the weekend directly after Thanksgiving. It's just easier that way.

Of our three kids, Abby is the one who begins planning next year's party immediately after she finishes opening her birthday presents at this year's birthday party. She LOVES to celebrate the beginning of another fabulous year with her friends. After all, who doesn't like a great party, right?

This year she has chosen to throw her bash at a local joint with inflatables galore. You know, the kind with inflatable mazes, inflatable slides, bounce houses, etc. It has been a breeze to arrange the party - made a few phone calls, picked up a cake, and have drinks in a cooler waiting to be iced down. Ahhhh....bliss! Minimal work, and the party is set to go? BONUS.

My only gripe is that we have received RSVP's on about HALF of the invitations that were sent out. WTF?!? Isn't it proper etiquette to respond if a response has been requested?!?

Have we, as a society, regressed to the point that responding to an RSVP request has become a trivial inconvenience and unimportant? We're only talking about making a phone call here people! Nothing more than sending an email, making a quick call, or even a firing off a text message. It's not like you have to solve the health care debacle or bring our troops home from Afghanistan!!

It's also much easier for us to respond now, than it was for our predecessors in the early 20th century. We don't have the burden of sending one of our children or field hands into town advising Maude that the brood of unruly heathens will be attending their barn raising next weekend, along with a heaping plate of fried yard bird to share, of course. (yard bird = chicken)

Here are some good ideas of ways to decline an invitation, if you need some help:

• I can't come because I have a bit of a tummy bug, and every time I throw up, I shit my pants at the same time. It's kinda like a shart...somewhere in between a shit and a fart. Grab an adult diaper and a raincoat then, cuz your invitation has just been REVOKED!
• We probably shouldn't....my son has thick green snot oozing out of his nose and a croupy cough. No Vap-O-Rub or cough drops in these goody bags....NEXT!
• We'll be driving back from the camp ground and will probably smell like a wildebeest. This is not a name-that-smell party...catcha next time!
• Your daughter didn't come to my daughter's party. Oh, so we're playing the tit-for-tat game, eh? I get it. Move along now.
• I'm in the process of alphabetizing my recipe cards according to the Dooey Decimal System. You're lame. You shouldn't be at my party anyway.
• If I'm out too late one of the other "Sister Wives" will call dibs on my designated night with Kody. *gagging like I have a hairball*
• We have a prior engagement. Simple. To the point. Flawless.

Bottom line: If someone sends you an invite that requests an RSVP....for the love of all that is Holy, RESPOND!

Burnt Out....Schmurnt Out... Blah Blah Blah

Even as I sit here typing...I feel exhausted, lukewarm, and burnt out.

I had an epiphany yesterday while I was outside talking to my friend Amy. Did you know that Thanksgiving is NEXT THURSDAY?! Oh yeah. It is. And my kids will be out of school for the ENTIRE week.

The kids being out of school is a great thing - no lunches to pack or blaring alarm clocks early in the morning. NO HOMEWORK or Tuesday Folders. But the horror of this realization lies in the fact that the holidays have officially arrived, and the impending chaos is merely DAYS away.

I'll let you chew on that thought for a minute.....

Okay! Refocusing. Back to why I'm feeling the slow buuuuurn of BURN OUT?

There is always a list of things that I need to get done, errands to run, and items that need to be addressed. I have lists in my cell phone, lists in a spiral, mental lists, the family calendar to contend with, and items "not to forget" tucked under magnets on the fridge. It's the way I function.

Some might say, "Well, you need to create one big list and only use that one, single list." To those people I kindly say, "BITE ME!" If I existed and functioned solely in front of my refrigerator all day long, one list would definitely work. But alas....I do not.

Lately, the biggest pet peeve that I hear around the house is, "MMMOOOooommmMMM, you for got to (fill in the blank) again?!" It. Makes. Me. NUTS!

We have three kids.

Each of them have homework EVERY weeknight. More often than not, they have homework in two or three subjects, in addition to trying to squeeze in some "recreational" reading. Then there are the school projects. The word "project" strikes fear and loathing deep in the recesses of my soul. Although it is enjoyable to see the creative juices at work in my children, I immediately start to feel a little more overwhelmed as soon as the word is uttered aloud. It's just one more thing added to the load.

My JOB (the one that I drive to and get paid for) isn't overly stressful, but there are always things to be done. Billing, invoicing and past dues. Files to set up. Employee related items to address. Supplies to be ordered. Tax forms to file. And when the job is over for the day, I can't turn it off because I sit across the dinner table from my boss...and we "talk shop".

If I'm not doing things at home, I am running around doing things for the house, or working. Finding the time and manner in which to get "it all" done, and get "it all" done WELL is the bane of my existence. I struggle with personalizing my children's successes and failures, and the inference that their accomplishments are a direct reflection on my investment in them. I know it's NOT, but I am the one who gets the progress reports, receives the phone calls, sees the grades, and feels the pressure of knowing what they need to be working on....in addition to their already assigned homework. *grimace*

Maybe while the kids are out of school next week I'll be able to coast a little, take a few deep breaths and relax.

I NEED IT. Because I am burnt out.

When The Tooth Fairy FAILS

The Tooth Fairy that visits our house is, shall we say, "challenged".

After countless mishaps and blunders, we have adopted a procedure, of sorts, to try and avoid the awkward morning moments when everyone exchanges the sad looks of disappointment. "She forgot again?" Yeah, THAT look.

The procedure goes like this:

1. The tooth falls out
2. Everyone gets really excited
3. The tooth NEVER goes upstairs, but rather is placed in an OBVIOUS location on the kitchen counter.
4. Children go to sleep with visions of mucho bucks dancing in their heads
5. Said children awaken the next morning to find that "mucho bucks" actually only means $1
6. Everyone gets really excited
7. Procedure repeats itself as the next tooth falls out

On the Friday before Halloween, Abby lost a tooth that she had been patiently waiting on to fall out. This was super exciting! We squeeled with excitement! We hugged, hooted and hollered! Then, she put her tooth on the counter (just as the procedure dictates) and waited.

The next morning we discovered that there had been no exchange. The tooth was still there, not mucho bucks. In an effort to dumb it down for the tooth fairy, she put her tooth in her special "Tooth Fairy" box and put it out on the counter. Again.

And once again, when she woke up Halloween morning, Abby found that there had STILL been no exchange. Who hires these losers?!?! So, in a last ditch effort, she decided that a note to the Tooth Fairy was in order. This is what she wrote:

Tooth Fairy pleace take my

tooth. it is in the big tooth

this is what it

looks like

(drawing of tooth) open it

Needless to say, the Tooth Fairy made the exchange that night. Finally.

The only thing that I could think of to console my daughter's dashed expectations of the loser Tooth Fairy? "I bet she's been a little confused, Abby. She's probably trying to figure out where the REAL teeth are versus all of the fake vampire teeth that kids have out on their dressers for their costumes this year."

Nice, huh?

Linking up with Wordful Wednesday over at pBd

Wordful Wednesday: Halloween

Has Nacho Libre gone to the dark side?

NO!!! It's Nacho Cheese!!

Nacho Cheese practicing his awesome ninja moves....

lest some unsuspecting fool try to sabotage his trick-or-treat bag.

Ghoulish Vampiress

Here's my ghoul....standing still long enough for her

silly mother to snap a picture or two. "Oh Mom!"

Hope your Halloween was a blast, too!

Linking up with Wordful Wednesday

Chasing the Little White Ball

Today Conner participated in his first high school golf tournament.

We've been anticipating this day for months, so it was a little hard to turn off the excitement and anticipation in order to fall asleep lastnight. Plus, I've been [somewhat] trying to mentally plan out this day for about a week now....if I should do to work afterwards, what time to head to the course, what I should wear, etc., so all of those thoughts were whirling around in my mind, too. Big decisions for a proud momma.

Conner hit some really great shots! He hit a 240-yard drive off of the tee box that was perfectly straight. Incredible!! On a par 3, he 7-ironed the ball onto the edge of the green from off of the tee box. W-O-W! There were several other really great hits that he made, but those were just a couple of the ones that made me want to jump out of the golf cart, hoot, holler, and completely disrupt play. :) HAHAHA

I am not generally a huge fan of golf, but watching Conner hit the sticks was REALLY exciting.