Friday, April 29, 2011



Yes, I woke up at 4am entirely in order to watch the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. And yes I did set my alarm to do so.

Amist the complaints of those I know, I must say in my defence that I am a TRUE romantic at heart and in no possible way could I not watch this fairytale coming true...this huge piece of history as it happened. I grew up adoring Princess Diana and being intrigued by the Royals in general. I watched (through books and tv and other medias) Diana marry and I watched her become a mother. I watched her reach out to help others and start wonderful charities. I watched her sons grow and prosper. I watched her funeral and continued to watch her sons become men. I have also followed Prince William and Kate. I simply find it all very intruging as do many others.

That being said, in no way does this overshadow what has happened to so many by the devastating tornados this past week. Nor does my excitement over the Royal Wedding mean I don't care about those such families. Both instances are pieces of history. One good and one devastating. Such is how life goes sadly enough. But I do hurt terribly bad for those in our southern states. I pray for each of them. I can't even fathom what they must be enduring at this time. My heart breaks for them. The fact that I found myself excited about watching a wedding does in no way make me a bad person! I was touched that so many in London that were interviewed sent condolences out to those who have been affected by the tornados her in American.

I find it annoying that I even feel as if I have to justify any of this but after such bitterness towards my excitment today I felt obligated to explain myself.



PRINCE WILLIAM ARRIVES AT WESTMINSTER ABBEY ALONG WITH PRINCE HARRY


THE ARRIVAL OF THE QUEEN


THE ARRIVAL OF CAROLE MIDDLETON


THE ARRIVAL OF PIPPA AND THE FLOWER GIRLS


THE ARRIVAL OF PRINCE CHARLES AND CAMILLA


KATE ENROUTE TO WESTMINSTER ABBEY - FIRST GLIMPSES OF THE WEDDING ATTIRE





KATE ARRIVES AT WESTMINSTER ABBEY






THE CEREMONY


Prince William whispered to Kate she looked beautiful.





The ring that almost didn't go on.....







THE CARRIAGE RIDE (SUCH A FAIRYTALE MOMENT!)





THE BALCONY

KISS NUMBER ONE FROM THE BALCONY
"Shall We Kiss" Prince William


KISS NUMBER TWO FROM THE BALCONY (NEVER DONE BEFORE UNTIL TODAY - GUESS HE WANTED TO OUTDO HIS PARENTS...LOVED IT!)
"Do you want this?" Prince William (Sorry but that comment to Kate before the 2nd kiss totally cracked me up! LOL)




JOY RIDE INTO THE FUTURE! (HOW UNEXPECTED AND FUN! THEY ARE SO HAPPY AND IN LOVE!)






THE CAKE (ONE OF TWO THAT IS)


GREETING GUESTS AT RECEPTION


This was a GORGEOUS wedding all around! Kate was breathtaking and elegant full of grace and poise. William was adorable and on the verge of giddiness...so much of his mother shining through. I can only imagine how big she was smiling down today. They said as Wills and Kate saw one another for the first time at the alter the sun began to shine outside and did so throughout the carriage ride back to Buckingham Palace. There is no doubt in my mind Diana had a hand in that! This was just magical! The joy and love and bond between Prince William and his beautiful Kate was so visible....it really was the ultimate fairytale!

I AM SURE THERE WILL BE MUCH MORE AFTER THE BIG DISCO PARTY TONIGHT! HOPE EVERYONE HAS A VERY ROYAL WEEKEND! =)

Monday, April 25, 2011

FINDING THE GOOD


Today I felt just like the man hanging from this helicopter with the shark right on his tail. The sharks were sure out to get me today. It was one of those days when I shoulda just stayed in bed!


I awoke this morning before the kids (FINALLY!) and was ready to face the day! I had laundry to do, dishes to load and rooms to clean. I sat down at the kitchen table to balance the check book when it dawned on me I hadn't put in a deposit so if our landlord were to go try and cash our rent check this morning it was not gonna clear.


(Little did I know this was ONLY the beginning!)

As soon as the boys were awake I loaded them right into the van, cobwebs and all. They thought another storm was coming since I was so quickly herding them into the van. This mom was on a mission!


In my rush, I had one kid in an oversized tshirt and pullup. One kid in a too small tshirt and undies and one kid in mis-matched jammies. None of them in shoes. Even I left with flannel pj pants and a hoodie on. Afterall, we were only going straight to the bank drive thru and back home. Who was gonna see us, right? WRONG!!!!

Less than 2 miles from home I feel and hear the dreaded...thud thud thud of none other than a flat tire. I instantly pull off the side of the road, turned on the flashers and prepare to call my mom. Then I realized....I didn't remember my cell phone either. So here we are...one hot mess looking mom and her 3 barely clothed sons who looked like orphans....stuck on the side of the road with a flat tire and no cell phone. Had I had rollers in my hair and a cig in my mouth it would have been the perfect picture of trailer trash!


Just when I was trying to decide which was worse
(a) TheBold 4 of us walking home the way we looked
OR
(b) Being stuck in the van for who knew how long with the boys


I was saved by a sheriff deputy who stopped and asked if we were ok. I explained the flat tire and lack of cell phone and she happily parked in front of us, lights on of course, and let me borrow her phone. GREAT! NOW WE LOOK LIKE WE ARE PULLED OVER!




This nice sheriff lady let me call mom who thankfully had her cell phone on for once! Then as she was about to walk back to her car to go I notice her walk to the back of my van and check my tags.


MY FEARS WERE CONFIRMED

WE DO LOOK TRAILER PARK!

We might as well had lights on my van as advertisements!



I do hope that our KY National Guard license plate was enough to make her change her mind! I swear I normally don't go out like this nor do my children. I can only imagine the thoughts going through her head....on second thought...I am NOT going there!


After I had sat there for over an hour (I can, in no words, describe how horrible that hour was) my mom finally arrived. She had been at the doctor's office when I called so we had no choice but to stay put. We had someone come change the tire and put on the spare from a tire shop down the road (less than a mile they drove to my van and took them 5 min flat to change the tire and the charge was $25!). They patched the 2 nail holes in the tire and we were on our way.


Once back at home I let the boys go out back since the sun was FINALLY shining. They were given STRICT instructions to STAY OUT OF THE MUD AND WATER! Naturally they didn't listen and I was on them every second to "get back on the deck". "Get out of the wet grass". So on and so on. They were, however, able to sneak a pail of muddy muck onto the deck to "wash" my glass patio table. THANKS BOYS! As I began to really wash the table off, the table proceeded to crash to the ground. The legs broke off in 2 places and that was all she wrote of my patio table. So much for outdoor dinners on our nice glass top table this summer. No money in the Hardin Family Budget for a new one until next year's tax refund. GRAND!


Having been in tears for approx 4 hours at this point I was pretty much spent. The boys' constant whining, fighting, bickering and screaming was about to send me to the nuthouse!


Somehow I found the inner strength to do the dishes and make a full dinner. I was so happy and proud that I had succeeded and had dinner ready to be plated at the exact time Joe should be walking in the door! Even the boys cooperated throughout my cooking (for the most part anyway). Then the call came. At the EXACT time Joe should be walking in our front door with dinner ready he was calling me...from his desk.....at work.....on Blankenbaker Pkwy. We live in far eastern Shelby County. Well, dinner was not gonna go in my favor either it appeared. By the time Joe arrived home the meat was luke warm, the mac and cheese thick and over baked, the gravy lumpy...it was a disaster! Hence more tears from me. My poor, wonderful husband ate it like it was the best meal he had ever had.


After dinner my husband cleaned up the kitchen, dishes and all. He sent me to my room to gather myself and have some time alone to do whatever I needed to do in order to relax and re-group and he handled the boys. Did I ever tell you how much I love that man??


In his own loving, special way he helped me to find the good in this horrible day! He helped me realize, just by action alone, how very much I am loved!!! Friends, it doesn't get any better than that!