GET OUT AND VOTE!!!!

If you don't go vote, you lose the right to complain about anything governmental. So there.

Trick or Treat!

Our little chef and ghoul, ready for a fun night of trick or treating.

As always, it was a lot of fun. The weather was absolutely perfect!

Because we live in a semi-rural area with no streetlights, sidewalks, and a lot of distance between the houses, it's easier to transport the kids from each cluster of homes by trailer. There are several in our area, and they get decorated with lights, hay, etc. The family we went with had us all over for pizza before hand.

Once it was dark, the kids loaded up on the trailer, accompanied by a small flotilla of golf carts. I've renamed my neighbor's 'hood "The Hickory Springs Country Club" due to the number of golf carts they have! Right before we took off, "Freddie Kruger" burst out of the woods complete with goalie mask and running chainsaw. You've never heard 15 little girls scream so loud!

Our last stop of the evening was a real treat. There is a small, private riding facility on our road, a very high-end place. Some of the best riders in the nation have trained there. We went to trick or treat there, but nobody was home but the horses. So, we went into the barn and found treats for the horses and met them all before heading home.

It was a great fall evening!

The Most Patient Horse in the World

Meet Huckleberry.





How many horses do you know that would put up with this?





He's the cutest little pony and he lives at the barn where Bridget takes lessons. While he's generally used with young beginners, some kids DO ride him over jumps at a full canter. He's about a hundred in horse years and just loves his job.





As part of this weekend's horse show (Bridget did not compete - still not ready to make that leap), there was a costume parade.





Bridget and two of her barn buddies wanted to enter. We mommies said "Only if you figure it out for yourselves, we are not sewing costumes anymore!" So, on Saturday those 3 crazy girls dug through all their old costumes and decided to be a punk rock band with a horse.

Besides having to do very little work, wanna know what the best part was?

They WON!

Wheeeeeeeee!

If you read THESE POSTS, you'll recall that we spent several wonderful days in Destin, FL this summer.


Aidan and I got to go parasailing. It was a blast. Here are some photos!

Weekend Update

Just your average run-of-the-mill weekend in the Glynn household. But Papa Bud was commenting on how much he likes hitting the blog for the goings on, so in honor of his birthday, I'll do another post, even though there is no big news or extraordinary accomplishments.

Little Miss had a swim meet today. This photo is her "warming up" before her event. Little Miss and Aidan are two completely different kinds of competitors. To Bridget, the meets are big, overwhelming, and scary. Just to compete in one is a triumph for her. Today, she swam a 100 yard event for the first time. She said "Mom, on the last 25 yards, I felt like I was going to throw up!" I told her that is EXACTLY how it should feel, so she did it right!

We had to arise at 6:30am to get to the meet which was in south Fort Worth. After she was done with her events (about noon), we headed to the Las Colinas Equestrian Center (yes, it's as big and fancy as it sounds!), to see a couple of her friends compete in a Very Big Horse Show.

The Boys had the "day off." Aidan and his friend Mo spent much of the day running around in the woods with their BB guns looking for things to shoot (sorry Judy!). Mostly grasshoppers and wasp nests, but they DO try to bag the occasional bird. Not with much luck though. Ray worked in the newly cleaned garage putting the final touches on a piece of cabinetry he's building for a friend.

Bridget and I eventually made our way back home and I tried to cobble together a quick "mock" paella for dinner. It was not a success.

Yesterday (Saturday) also started off early with Bridget needing to be on the soccer field by about 7:30am. Her team pulled out a rare win. I think this will be Bridget's last season of soccer, it is really not "her sport." She is finally willing to let it go and try something else. After soccer, we hit the farmer's market and loaded up on tomatoes and peaches, then tried a new breakfast joint. Full of biscuits and gravy, we ambled to the baseball field to watch Aidan play in a nail biter that eneded in a tie.

After the ballgame, we had a Family Event called Clean Out The Garage. The dog hair, sports clutter, wood shavings, spider webs and birds were threatening to take over the place and make Ray nuts. OK, me nuts too, as most of that flotsam & jetsam gets tracked into the house.

After dinner, we built a bonfire out back and roasted marshmallows. The kids are perfecting their technique for the most perfect golden brown marshmallow with a warm liquid center that Ray and I love so much!

It's now Sunday evening and all is quiet. Steeling myself before another busy week which includes one baseball game, one writing contest practice session, eight swim practices (at 3 separate pools), one day of "work" on a consulting gig I picked up, one geography bee practice session, one PTA meeting where Bridget's class is performing, a few hours volunteering at the school, one riding lesson, one Boy Scout meeting, one Parks & Rec meeting where a friend and I are lobbying for more horse trails, one soccer game, one "Sock Hop" at Bridget's school (where IS that darn poodle skirt, anyway?), one "social" for Aidan's swim team, and one horse show where I must contrive a halloween costume for the horse.

Zoom zoom

Went to an air show over the weekend. LOTS of fun, especially w/ Ray as the guide.





Saw the USAF Thunderbirds. AMAZING!





Very hard to photograph..... ;-)

Head Games

I always knew that motherhood involved wearing lots of hats. Chef, taxi driver, laundress, etc. are the obvious ones. But I never knew I'd have to don the hat of Psychologist quite so often.

I often find myself saying "I'd hate to go through life with Bridget's head." That little girl can psych herself out ninety-six ways to Sunday. This would be a typical conversation:
"Mommy, what if a big monster came and stomped on our house while I'm sleeping?"
"Sweetie, there is no such thing as monsters, so it wouldn't happen."
"Yes, but what IF??? What if it DID happen?"
"But, it's not GONNA happen, so there is no point in speculating!"
"Yes, but what if it DID happen?"

..... and on, and on, and on..... unfortunately, her worries aren't just limited to the fantasy world.

"What if I miss my swim event?" (like I would EVER let that happen?)
"What if I flunk my test?" (a straight-A student? C'mon!)
"What if the horse bucks me off?" (You will hit the ground. Can't you figure out that one on your own?)
"What if, what if, what if....."

Aidan is a little less silly, but still requires regular Mom Therapy. He was injured several weeks ago and it's been a slow recovery that has impacted his swim training. The first meet of the short course season is this weekend. He is SO WORRIED that the coaches will think he's "slacking" if he doesn't turn in a whole slew of "best times." He's worried he's entered in too many events and won't have the stamina to do well after 4 weeks of abbreviated training. I'm not supposed to "coach" him, so I mumble platitudes and fire off an email to his coaches to make sure they know they've got a head-case on their hands, they promise to talk w/ him at practice.

I can't ever recall being worried about stuff like this before a swim meet.

He worries his hair looks funny. He worries he's not popular. And you know what I am learning? There is nothing I can say to assuage these fears. I try to tell him that everybody thinks they're not as popular as the next kid. He says I'm wrong. I tell him that unless you have serious bed-head, or a mohawk, nobody really notices your hair. He says I'm wrong.

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe everyone notices that I'm overdue for my hair color, haven't plucked my eyebrows or shaved my legs in way too long. Maybe everyone notices the dust bunnies under my bed and the crumbs on the floor near the toaster. If that's true, then everyone notices the empty soda cans and crumbled goldfish littering the floor of my car and the chipped polish on my pinky toe.

OK. Now I'm worried.

Still Breathin'

I know I haven't written in a couple of weeks.

My bad.

Just a little busy and adjusting to the new "back to school" schedule. It always takes me a couple of weeks to find my rhythm when the schedules shift so drastically. Which days Aidan has to be picked up early. Which days I need to arrive at pickup w/ the car loaded w/ snacks, sports equipment & homework supplies. Which days I am carting extra kids, which days someone is getting mine. Which days to have a casserole in the oven, and which days to plan a "grill it quick!" type of meal.

Haven't figure it out yet.

Add in a little extra chaos of having painters in the house for the next 3 days so I can't really run any errands, trash the kitchen cooking, etc.

What I WILL say is that LIFE IS CRAZY. But I already knew that.

Aidan has swim practices 6 times a week at 2 different pools. Each practice is 2+ hours and add in transit time (20 - 45 minutes each way) and he's pretty much out of pocket at least 3 hours each day. Doesn't leave a lot of time for homework, food, sleep - muchless FUN. Add in boyscouts and baseball and mix thoroughly to combine, spicing up with rain-out schedule changes frequently.

Bridget swims 2-3 times a week a ONE pool which is a completely different pool than the 2 Aidan trains in. She also plays soccer, and this week we are adding Girl Scouts and back to riding lessons just to up the difficulty factor for the Logistics Department (aka: Mom).

BOTH kids are managing to keep up the "A" level school work, but there hasn't been a lot of time for friends.

We are rectifying that this weekend for Aidan, who has been particularly cognizant of his overwhelming schedule and lack of social opportunity and very worried about his "social standing" which isn't what he'd planned (his words, not mine).

So, he gets to invite a group of boys over to spend the night in THE CLUBHOUSE which is finally "done." A project like this is never ever really DONE, as you always think of new and interesting things you can add. But it's kid-ready - I just need to remember to go out and put down some serious bug spray in a 30' perimeter.

Any takers on what % stays out there all night, what % returns to the house, and what % just decides to go home?

First Day of School 2008

Always a milestone. Always bitter sweet.

I spent a lot of time with the kids this summer, and for that I am grateful. I'll miss them during the days, but will get a lot more done!

Bridget is going into fourth grade. Always a big year in terms of expecting more responsibility from the kids. Fewer reminders, fewer "mulligans." If they forget their homework or lunch, tough cookies!

Aidan starts Big Bad Middle School. Well, I'm pretty sure it's not Big and Bad these days, but no matter how much anti-bully indoctrination they've thrown at the kids the last several years, kids STILL will be kids and can be cruel. I think Aidan is a pretty normal kid though and there are easier targets than him out there, so he'll be fine. He really enjoyed orientation and seeing friends, the excitement of changing classes, having a locker, etc. But still quite a bit of nervousness..... lots of questions and "what if..." posed to me over the last few days. He's even started calling me "Mommy" again. Very sweet and I know he is maybe grieving in his own way for the childish things of elementary school. Like recess!

Enjoy the photos!

Notes From the Road - Part III

Wednesday was just another crappy day in paradise. More beach time, and this time joined for a couple of hours by our friends the Jacksons who also were vacationing in Destin at the same time.

It was a bit hotter, so I spent a LOT of time in the water. Barnacle Bridie is a bit less clingy today.

Aidan began a sand castle which Ray and Bridget helped him finish. Before it was time to go, he finally released The World's Largest Hermit Crab back into the wild. I'm sure the hermit crab was ecstatic not to have to endure the car ride back to Texas.

Sushi was the dinner du jour, followed by a game of checkers on the giant checkerboard. The kids whooped us good!

Thursday AM and time to hit the road. Five states in one day. 14 hours total in the car. We actually lengthened our trip a bit by going through Alabama and Mississippi on back roads. Wanted to go deeper into those states for a little "local color." Very beautiful scenery and you don't have to get too far off the beaten track for life to be completely different from ours. I didn't keep count, but I'm pretty sure I saw more mobile homes than standard houses.

Mid-day, when we were still in Mississippi and Butterfly Bladder Bridget had to go potty (again!). I checked the map, and the next town was Bukatunna. Just a wide spot in the road, really. With two gas stations. Randomly pulled into one and hustled Bridget thru the little store to the loo. What a pleasant surprise, perhaps the cutest (and cleanest!) public restroom I've been in! Cute sconces on either side of the vanity mirrors, pot-pourri on the counters. Anyway, business accomplished, back out into the store and I notice they have a cafe of sorts. All the patrons are at least a hundred. And wearing plaid. And goggling at us foreigners in the SUV, wondering how come we're sooo far off the super-highway. I see Ray at the head of the cafe line with a big smile on his face.

THIS is why we come on the back roads. They were frying up chicken giblets! In the back woods of Mississippi! They pair perfectly with Diet Doctor Pepper and we enjoyed a box for the next several miles.

So.... if you ever find your self in Bukatunna, MS..... it's an Exxon station. Tell 'em the yuppies in the SUV sent ya.