My husband completed a 340 mile race in a kayak down the Missouri river from Kansas City to St. Charles. He started on Tuesday morning the 11th and finished on Thursday the 13th. There was a storm that came through on Wednesday so he had to wait it out and it pushed him behind schedule. he was hoping to finish during daylight hours on Thursday. He finished at 3:30 Am Friday morning.

I woke up the kids and brought them down to the riverfront so they could see him finish. It is a pretty impressive accomplishment. There is no way you would catch me out on that river in a kayak...much less in the black of night with a little battery operated light.


With that said...ok he is is impressive yada, yada, yada. What I can't for the life of me understand is how he can complete a near impossible kayak race and he still can't master ordering his own food???

We went to White Castle Saturday night after our last soccer game. It was just Dave and I, Ryan and Maggie. Of course we went inside...the drive thru stresses Dave out. I had to use the restroom really bad after sitting in the cold at a soccer game.

I ordered our food and the lady was still figuring it out on the register when I said to Dave, "I am going to run to the bathroom before I pee in my pants, order drinks for Ryan and Maggie." He looked at me with sheer panic in his eyes and said, "Please don't leave, I can't do that." I said, "Are you flipping kidding me? You can kayak down a river but ordering two drinks is too difficult?" I left him standing at the counter with a deer in headlights look and went to the bathroom. He did just fine, just like I predicted.


Baby steps....baby steps. I will fix him someday if it's the last thing I do.



Kelsey called me today after school to let me know how mean Shannon is....(I think I already know) Anyway, Kelsey has cross country practice after school and she forgot to bring a sweatshirt. It is really cold out today. She asked Shannon if she could borrow her sweatshirt? Of course Shannon told her no, she has a volleyball game to cheer at tonight. It sometimes gets chilly in the foyer with people coming in and out. She didn't want to get cold. Never mind her little sister running seven or eight miles with the wind in her face.

They make me so proud!!!!

Lauren's 24th birthday was last week. A few days before, I stopped at the mall on my way home from work to pick up a few little extras for her gift. It is unusual for me not to rush home with a million places to be so I naturally enjoyed my leisure time and shopped for a while. I stopped off at the grocery store on my way home to pick up something for dinner.


When I got home, Ryan was asleep in the chair. I woke him up and asked him to help me carry in the groceries. He groggily walked towards me and said, "I can't, I'm stuck in handcuffs." He was in his boxers and nothing else.....other than the handcuffs. I asked him how long he had been like that? He never did give me an answer so I am assuming it had been a while.


Ryan received those handcuffs a while back and was always able to get himself out of them using a bobby pin. When he first got them he entertained himself for weeks, handcuffing himself to poles, treadmills, rungs of chairs etc, anything difficult so he could come away looking like Houdini. Apparently, he lost his touch. Eventually Maggie found the missing key and life was good again. I was thankful that I didn't have to go to my local police station with my naked boy in handcuffs.


Ryan let me know Wednesday morning that he had dress rehearsal for the school play (that I knew nothing about) I asked him what part he was playing and his response is, "I am a "cameo."

I am hoping he meant that he had a small non speaking part and that I didn't need to whip up a costume that resembled a woman's broach?? Why are my perfect children never the star of the play? I have seen more plays where Murphy kids are; towns people, chorus, sheep, trees, wood cutters, umpa loompas, shepherds, dancers and tech support. Cameo is a new one!!


Sam and Lauren are the same age until the 24th. It took Sam years to wrap her brain around the concept of being older...yet having a later birthday. The first 7 or so years of her life, she though I was scamming her. "How could Lauren's birthday possible be before mine, when I am older?" Now that she is a Wash U grad and a Certified Public Accountant...I think she's got it. I think????


The birthday seasons are beginning, Shannon will be 18 in November, Erin will be 20 in Dec, Ryan will be 13 in Jan and Kelsey will be 16 in Jan. Three big birthday's 13, 16 and 18...well according to Erin's ID....I think she may have already celebrated her 21st??????







Dave is currently on the Mo River completing a 340 mile race in a kayak...why do you ask??? Well, I'm not real sure. I talked to him this morning, he didn't sound too good. He should finish around 4 AM . I guess it would be rude if I asked him to take a cab home so I could sleep in??



Kelsey has a Cross Country Meet after school, Shannon is cheering at a volleyball game, Maggie has practice and Ryan is starring in the school play. I need to start a rent a parent program. I wonder if Dave could possibly pick up the pace a bit and paddle a tad bit faster...I could really use his help tonight.











I was greeted again this morning by a special surprise from Seamus in my bathroom. He loves to leave me little piles of love. Since I had my intestinal illness I insist that he is taunting me. He is purposely rubbing it in that his GI tract is A..OK. I was just not cut out to be the mother of a puppy mill animal. Children handcuffed to furniture...I can deal with that...Children wearing tight leopard print dresses...well OK that wasn't fun....but stepping in dog poop every morning?? that could make a girl crazy.

September came and went pretty quickly. Soccer season is always the busiest time for us. Throw in a little bout of diverticulitis along with a few homecomings along with a few soccer road trips and I am ready for a vacation. Oh wait...I had that in July. I actually get more rest when I go to work anyway.

Kelsey and Shannon still do not get along. Lauren gave Kelsey her old laptop and it is password protected. I know the password so I can use it, but she won't share it with her siblings especially Shannon.

They have figured it out a few times so she has had to change it. Her new password is ihateshannon. For those of you who aren't so quick, that is "I hate Shannon." I really enjoy the luxury of not having to go downstairs to use our home computer but....I feel like the worst mother in the world every time I type ihateshannon. What kind of mother does that?? The sad part is sometimes I am not too happy with Shannon when I type in the password. I'm thinking of talking to Kelsey to see if we can modify the password a bit. Shannonisoftentimescrabby, "Shannon is often times crabby" that would make me feel so much better as a parent.

Speaking of bad parenting, I kind of hit my breaking point last Thursday night. I have been burning the candle at both ends lately trying to catch up with work and fit in everything else in my schedule. I have been getting to work early every day to try and make up for all the follow up doctor visits that I have had since my illness. When I get home, I normally have about 7 minutes before I jump back in the car to drive the kids to whatever practice or game they have that evening. Thursday I had a little time to run 30 minutes on the treadmill before I had to pick Maggie up from soccer and then sit outside and freeze at her softball game. Dave took Ryan to practice then dropped him at home and went back to his office to catch up on some work. I was almost home around 9:30 when Kelsey called to let me know that I had to meet her at a gas station close to our house. She had a ride home from the "volunteer" activity that would take her to a gas station a few miles from our house. I already had my bathwater ran in my mind before the phone rang. I was so close to my evening ending.....


That is about the time that I lost it and poor little Maggie got the brunt of it. I went into my rant on how no one bothers to let the dog out and he just pees all over the house. The house was a wreck and I was exhausted. Everyone claims that the dog will not go outside for them. The dog is weird, I will give them that, but if they can't outsmart a puppy mill dog....we have bigger problems.

The dog is a little quirky like my husband. He can only go outside via the path between the recliner and the couch. God forbid we ever rearrange the furniture. If he is in the kitchen and you open the door...forget about it...you need to start in the living room. I have told them a million times, if he won't go out, put him on a leash. (the dog that is...not Dave)


Anyway...In the short car ride home to drop Maggie off, I let her know how I was fed up with their mess and the dog was going to the pound....or did I say I was going to "stab" the dog?? Tomato . Tomoto....

I also let Kelsey know by phone while I was waiting for her that she needed to pick some favorite activities because, come next week half of them would be going away. I think she was a little frightened to get in the car!!

When I got home the house was sparkling...little Maggie worked her little butt of during Operation Saving Seamus...I think she may have hid all the knives. Very rarely do I yell at Maggie, she has always been my easiest kid....boy was I missing the boat. I should probably write a parenting book!!!!!