Spoiling the Spoiled

Blogspot is misbehaving tonight...so some pictures are out of order. Please see pictures and then read post as it appears below.

Our niece, Caroline Elizabeth Martin, was baptized Saturday at Prince of Peace Catholic Church in Buford.

Chance rides the mechanical bull at Relay for Life

My Mother's Day party on Sunday night.

Charley and his group at Relay for Life.

Did anyone really think she'd stop texting for the event?

Wow...it has been several days since my last post. This end of school year thing is really taking its toll on my time. That, and the several huge projects I have hanging over my head!

Thursday night Charley and I welcomed the opportunity to escape for the night. Since our trip to Orlando in October was a success and Jim and Linda didn't go running, screaming from our home, we have tried to get away for a night when the opportunity presents itself. Our destination of choice? Athens, of course. Eighteen miles in distance but a complete world away. When I cross over from Jackson County into Clarke County, I suddenly feel about 20 years younger. I like to put on some REM and grab a Flagpole, sit on the hotel bed and plan out our evening of fun. You CAN go back to college, no matter how old you get, and the best part is now I am old enough to appreciate everything but still young enough to blend in downtown.

Our evening ended up where it usually does, at the Copper Creek Brewing Company on Washington Street. This is kind of the nerdy man's pub. It's not unusual to see professors grading papers at the bar. But the music is good, the food is excellent, and their rotation of house brews is beyond compare. I always leave there refreshed, and looking forward to my next trip away from reality. Thanks Jim and Linda, and thanks Caitlyn for being such a help.

Outside Copper Creek on Washington Street in Athens.

We enjoyed seeing Jeff, Julie and family at the Gwinnett Relay for Life on Friday. This event was HUGE and I had no idea how big it was. More on this and the rest of our weekend in the pictures.

Harry is coming along in his potty training. I'd love to have him out of diapers before our trip to Philadelphia in late June, but I think that goal is a little lofty. He just doesn't seem to care. He's proud of himself when he goes, but equally proud of himself when he "cuts the cheese" in his diaper (his word for any diaper activities). The big funny so far with his potty training came on Saturday. Most of you have already read this via Facebook, but I'll go over it again. On Saturday we went to see Jim's little girl baptized at Prince of Peace Catholic Church. Harry had been doing good for several days with his training, so we allowed him to wear one of his Toy Story pullups instead of a diaper. We have to wonder what the people at Huggies were thinking when they put Buzz and Woody on the crotch of a little boy's pullup. Did they ever stop to imagine a little boy, nearly three years old, go up to a group of people in church, point to his privates and say, "I've got a Woody?" I THINK NOT.

In a follow up to my previous post, I informed the people at BPC that June 6 would be my last day with the acolyte program. A big thank you needs to go to Alex Cook. His kind words went a long way toward making me feel like less of a flake.

I have a confession to make now...many of you are aware of my debilitating addiction to television spoilers. With all the information out there, it is so easy now to find out ahead of time little snippets of what might happen on my favorite shows. There are message boards, speculation threads, blogs, photo sites, illegal video clips, and people like Korbi and Ausiello to feed the frenzy. There are executives like Hart Hanson, who thrill in mysterious, one-line Twitter posts meant to rile the fan base. I was doing so well. At Caitlyn's suggestion, I had sworn off the spoilers cold turkey. I had deleted all my bookmarks and even disabled my account at The Lab, the unofficial Bones forum. I had done so well...I had gone nearly three weeks without so much as looking at a TV Guide. I was feeling better, mentally and physically. I had even started to realize that people like Booth, House, and Peter were fictional characters and what happened to them had no effect on my real life.

I might need a Number 9 to get through the Bones season finale!

Then it happened...an email with the title, "You Have a Private Message at The Lab." HA! They won't suck me in because I disabled my account. I don't remember my password! I can't possibly read this. But then I began to wonder what would happen if I clicked the link. Would it take me to a page that said my account had been disabled? What could the message possibly say? I had been off the site for weeks. Surely no old thread I had posted on had made its ways back to the top. Or had it? Maybe I should just click the link and get it over with...I won't be able to log on anyway since I disabled the account. Or did I?

Fortunately (or not) the link took me back to the site, as if I never disabled my account. So here I am, back on the crack as Caitlyn would say. Back to spoilers, back to speculation, back to being an Aushole. At least we're only about ten days away from the end of the season for Bones, the show that causes me the most anguish. If you need me before then, I'll be in The Lab.

On a final note, I'd like to say a bit about Mother's Day. I'm not going to get real sappy because I am not sappy, and neither is my own mother. But I would like to tell her how special she is and how much I appreciate all she has done and continues to do for me. She is a real gem. I am also blessed to have some other wonderful women in my life...my mother-in-law, sisters-in-law, aunts and friends. I hope the day was special for all of you. And to my children...Caitlyn, you are what first made this day possible for me to celebrate. You made me a mother and each new experience with you is special. Chance, you made me a mother for the second time and taught me how to appreciate little boy humor. Maisy, it is because of you that I decided to leave the traditional job and see what I could make of myself from home. And Harry, you are the icing on my cake. I am so proud of them. On days like today when my patience is thin and my agitation level is high, I hope they realize how special they are. Two girls and two boys...snips, snails, sugar, spice, light sabers, Hulk hands, bugs, makeovers, Tree Hats, video games, crowns, magic wands, and all...my hands are full but so is my life.