The Tale of Shrek, a Mini bar and a One-legged, Tatooed Musician

So, the kids are on day 4 of their 6 day youth choir trip to Oklahoma. Lauren has called us 3 times, all with good reports about how much fun they're having. We haven't heard from Josh yet, but that means that all is good. We typically only hear from him when he's upset about something so no news is good news. The house is so quiet right now the only things I can hear are my typing, the hum of the computer and one of my dogs snoring! Awesome!

The kids left Sunday around 6:45 a.m. and we headed home with the intentions of getting ready for church. Well, after my bath I came out to see where Rick was and found him snoring on the couch. I laid down as well and, needless to say, we didn't make it to church. I awoke to the sound of Rick vacuuming and joined him in the attempt to have a tidy house for the next 6 days. What a treat that I haven't picked up anybody else's stuff for 4 days now. Rick's on his own!

We had a great time at the hotel on Sunday and Monday! It's a gorgeous place with a great staff and beautiful rooms. After we checked in we went to one of our favorite restaurants in all of Houston. It's called Cafe Caspian, a Persian place, about 3 minutes from Susie and David's house. They had already eaten so we had a table for 2 and it was awesome as usual. They make kofta (they call it Koobideh), a grilled meat dish, as well as my Uncle Kamal does and that's hard to beat! Yum. We had planned on going to see a movie but we were too tired and headed back to the hotel.

Monday morning we ordered breakfast in bed, which was fabulous and a nice indulgence. You know, spending money is a funny thing. We write checks, big checks, HUGE checks, left and right for school tuitions, therapy, medications, etc. and don't even think twice, because we know the kids need it and they're worth it. That's kind of the attitude we went into this week with. Rick and I need this pampering and are worth it, dag nabbit, at least that's what we told ourselves as we took a Coke and a Sprite out of the mini bar in the room!! Isn't it sad that a $3 Coke is a splurge!! Oh well, you parents understand the mind set.

After breakfast, Rick had to have a quick meeting with someone while I soaked in the huge tub. Poor Rick couldn't get away from work, even on his day off, but at least he compromised and asked the guy to come meet him at our hotel. After that, we jumped on the Metro rail (I'd never been on it before) and went to the Museum of Natural Science to see the Planetarium's movie on black holes and the IMAX 3-D movie about the Galapagos Islands. It was great. We also got free tickets to their Geopalooza exhibit and saw incredible geodes, fossils, etc. On our way back to the hotel on the rail we passed by The Continental Club on Main Street. Rick's step-brother, Glover Gill, plays his own Tango music there on Monday nights, so we decided to go before we went to dinner. It was so great, listening to Glover and watching various people dancing to his music. What a different scene from our normal suburban lifestyle. FYI - Click on the link to the club, then 'Upcoming Shows', then 'Glover Gill' for more info about Glover and his music.

Monday night we ate at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, where you can practically cut your filet with a fork. Don't ask me about the name; I still don't quite get why it's called that but who cares, it's deeeelish, as my Aunt Robin says!! We took bread pudding with whiskey sauce to go and ate it in bed while watching TV at the hotel. Hey, that's better than Sunday night, when returning for dinner we watched the movie Shrek! Yea, no kids and what do the Raineys do, watch cartoons in a hotel!! Oh well, at least I didn't sing "Baby Beluga" or some Disney song as we were driving in the car. I have been known to break into song of such types even with my teenager children. They roll their eyes but secretly I think they like it. Hee hee.

So, we're home now and I'm quite enjoying myself, especially seeing as our house is clean and we prefer to sleep in our own bed. The dogs are very happy we're back and have been following me from place to place all day. We're not done celebrating "KIDlessness" yet and will be going out to dinner with my friends, Hilary and Amy, and their husbands to The Melting Pot tonight. We've never been there before so I'm really looking forward to it. Between, our adventures of the past few days, our loving pets, our tidy home and the sweet phone calls from our daughter things are wonderfully gushy around here. Wanna bet that ends approximately 2 minutes after the kids come home on Friday evening? Oh well, it's nice while it lasts!

So.... where was I?

Well, lots have happened around here since I last blogged. I've been a bit under the weather lately and didn't have the energy to even type. The last life and death episode of my mom's just put me over the edge, but I'm doing better now.

So, Josh graduated from 8th grade and will be in high school next year. OMG, I can't believe he's old enough, or that I'm old enough to have 2 kids in high school. His graduation was nice and he received an award for highest achievement in science. We received his class photo that evening. It's hilarious. Picture 5 kids, trying to look as morose as possible. Josh's friend, Major, was the only one who smiled at all. I've never seen kids be more proud of a dismal demeanor than these 5 (excluding Major). They probably worked up a sweat trying to look disgusted. Can't you just picture the photographer trying to encourage them to smile:

Photographer: Okay, everyone sit up straight and smile. Say "cheese"!
Kids:
P: On the count of 3, everyone say "money"!
K:
P: Hey, guys, give me a little smile. Think about summer vacation coming up!
K:
P: Josh, tell a joke that will make them smile!
K:
P:Girls, give me just a little something, huh?
K:
P: Okay, no smiles. I get it. Let's just sit up straight!
K: (kids slouch even more)
P: Okay, fine. You win. Just sit. (Internal monologue - Teenagers! Give me those nose-picking Kindergartners any day!)

Lauren finished school 2 days later and they had a wonderful celebration at the Monarch School. Every kid gets recognition, so it makes for a long afternoon, but it was well worth it. Lauren received a Presidential award for academic recognition (my democratic and Canadian readers, just bite your tongue for a moment!) and a few other awards. It's great to see kids that work so hard to regulate themselves every minute of the day to be recognized and rewarded for it. Their accomplishments are inspiring. Monarch does amazing things, I'll tell ya! It was announced that Lauren won honorable mention in a city-wide writing contest for the Houston Bar Association (bar as in lawyers, not booze) about why we need laws. She got a nice letter and certificate. The best part, according to Lauren, was the $150 cash award! Click here to see the story and her essay.

So, now I'm home with 2 teenagers, all day, every day. Oh, such joy!

Actually, there is light at the end of the tunnel. The kids leave tomorrow morning for their annual youth choir tour. They are going to Oklahoma to perform their musical and put on a Vacation Bible School all week for their host church. This is Lauren's fourth tour and Josh's first. I was supposed to go, but with me not feeling well, I decided not to push myself. I didn't think I was up to sleeping in a gym on a cot, surrounded by 35 teenagers, showering at a local high school, etc. Nope, not this year.

So, what will Rick and I do with ourselves? Move and leave no forwarding address? Well, not that drastic, but we are going to stay in a hotel for 2 nights. Rick can't take both days off of work so we got a hotel downtown, so that Rick won't have a long commute and that I can do fun things while he's slaving away earning a living for us. I'm thinking museums, a bit of shopping, getting a massage, etc. Then, when Ricky-poo arrives it's off to dinner, movies, Starbucks, etc. We sooooooo need some time away! We're staying here for the first time. It has rave reviews so I'm really looking forward to it.

Just think of it: 6 days of no fighting, 6 days of only picking up after myself (Rick is on his own), 6 days of no fighting, 6 days of no eye-rolling, 6 days of no strange noises from the male spawn of Ricky, 6 days of no teenage attitude, did I mention 6 days of no fighting? Woo hoo, I can't wait!

Hello..... anybody there.......

Yes, I'm still here. Just a bit dented but still here. I'm working on coming up with something clever for my next post but didn't want you to think I'm done blogging. Oh, there's soooo much more to say..................

Talk to you soon!!!!!