I haven't posted in a while. I am back at work after 2 weeks of medical leave. I didn't have time to write on my blog during those two weeks. I was way too busy buying things on ebay to even think about my blog. I think Dave is very happy I am back at work.

Kelsey had a Cross Country meet to qualify for the state finals meet. She was disappointed that she didn't qualify. Only the top 30 girls qualified, I think she came in somewhere in the mid forties. She shaved a minute 5 seconds off her personal best. Pretty awesome I would say but what do I know?? I took her to McDonald's after her meet. She mentioned to me that if her Spanish teacher should ask, that I was to tell her that my name is Linda. I asked, "Why did you tell her my name was Linda?" She had a perfectly logical explanation. Their seating chart is done alphabetically by their mothers name, her friend Nichole's mother is Lisa so Kelsey was quick on her feet so she could sit by Nichole. Somehow the honesty lesson must have fallen on deaf ears.

Ryan had 9 or 10 boys over for a Halloween party and trick or treating. He was playing in the woods in the afternoon with two of his friends. They found a tree that had fallen over and was stuck on another tree. They decided it would be a good idea to try and knock the tree over so it didn't fall on anyone. What they didn't anticipate was that the tree would fall in the opposite direction and whack my precious baby in the back of the head. He had a huge goose egg on the back of his head. I had to call the exchange and explain that my son was hit by a tree. Leave it to a Murphy. He was able to go on with his party as planned and felt OK considering the huge bump on the back of his head. We had to wake him up last night to make sure his pupils were still the same size and he remembered his name.

I normally post pictures of my kids on Halloween. This year I am going to refrain from posting all the skanky costumes. Lauren was a Show Girl, she left the house in a blue bra and a Kleenex for a skirt, Erin was somewhere in Alabama half naked dressed as an army girl. She had a quarter yard of camouflage fabric covering very little, Shannon wore a sailor outfit. Hers was actually pretty modest aside from the red stilettos. Sam wore her Bumble Bee outfit again and I've been told she received an offer for dinner and a movie based on her get up. Yeah for bumble bees. (maybe I should borrow the costume)Kelsey was a football player and had no skin showing, aside from her forearms. Yeahh for Kelsey!!(she always was my favorite) Ryan was the "Situation" from Jersey Shore and Maggie was Thing 2. I was a stressed out mom due to the fact that I had a house full of boys and my boy had just been whacked in the head with a tree!! I really need to drink more.

We just got back from a road trip to Nashville. We surprised Erin and drove down for her game. I invited her best friend Allie and knew that she would be thrilled to see her. Erin and Allie have been best friends since 1st grade so she is like family, she understands all the Murphy dysfunction. Erin's team was having lunch at her coach's family church in Nashville. We walked in the room where the team was seated and looked around searching for Erin. One of her friends nudged her and had her turn around. (they knew we were coming) I can't remember who she ran to first, I think it may have been Maggie. Just as she was ready to give me a big hug she spotted Allie behind me. I told her, "Go ahead, go hug her." I think what she though I said was, "Erin , please physically push me out of the way to get to your best friend, I don't mind really." Lucky for her, I still love her despite being cast aside. My best friend Katie and I are like that, we complete each other. It's kind of weird and our husbands have learned to understand that we are part of the same person. Erin and Allie are like that and I am glad that she has such a great lifelong friend. (even if she did push her mother)

The car ride was fun, our DVD player is broken so we only had each other for entertainment. That is scary!! We were forced to play Would you rather for hours. That is when you see how twisted your kids are. Ryan asked me, "Mom, would you rather lick peanut butter off a hobo's beard or kill Rick Springfield." "Umm, I'm gonna have to go with killing Rick Springfield. Sorry Rick."

Tomorrow is my surgery, we have to be at the hospital at 5:30, when I told Dave, he said, "You do mean PM right???" I am a little sad that it's the end of an era. I asked Dave, "Aren't you even a little bit sad that we can't have any more kids?" He said, "God No."

Erin called on Friday whining like a little baby because none of her sisters would let her borrow a pair of their ugg boots to keep in Alabama. Her feet are cold in the morning when she walks to class and all she has are her flip flops. No one felt sorry for her and gave up their Uggs, she finally called Lauren and asked her to lend her some money so she could buy her own. Today she called me to tell me she was headed to the beach. I guess her feet warmed up????

Raising teenage girls is oh so much fun. Kelsey and I are kind of like oil and water. We went on a 5 hour road trip a couple of weekends ago for her soccer team. I used that time to try and calmly explain a few issues since I had her strapped in the car and she was unable to roll her eyes and walk away. Ok so she COULD roll her eyes but she could not walk away.

Kelsey has a bad habit of involving herself in as many activities as she can. Don't get me wrong I am glad that she is a kid that likes to be involved but she still needs to be a functioning member of the family. By this I mean; It is not acceptable to use the front room of the house as a dumping ground for all of her stuff. She packs bags for Cross Country, bags for soccer practice, bags for sleep overs, bags for snacks and bags for the sake of bags. She is kind of like a bag lady.

Problem being, she loses her bags week after week. I bought her new expensive Cross Country shoes and she lost them three days later. They were eventually found in a "Bag" in someones trunk. She lost her bag with her deodorant and just grabbed mine off my dresser, stuck it in a bag and lost that too. When she packs her lunch, she is in such a hurry that she drops half the pretzels on the floor and leaves the lid off the huge 5lb jar of pretzels that I buy at Costco. The dog loves it when Kelsey packs her lunch!!

Her asthma has been bad all week, she can't find her inhaler. (I think it may be in a bag somewhere)

Yesterday morning I was trying to get ready for work, Kelsey was in a hurry and had packed her lunch real quick and was waiting for Shannon so she could leave for school. I walked in the pantry and stepped on three pretzels. I noticed the lid was laying on the floor next to the huge jar of pretzels. It looks as if our five hour chat on the way to Rockford IL fell on deaf ears. I asked her, OK yelled at her to get her butt off the couch and pick up the pretzel crumbs and put the lid back on the pretzels.

Dave cornered me and gave me a few suggestions on a better way to deal with teenagers. He said, "You shouldn't yell at her." No one wants to start their day with their mom mad at them." Oh I see, I should have said, "Good morning Kelsey, how was your slumber?? I just stepped on some pretzels, I will think of you fondly all day when I feel the tiny little crumbs between my toes, and when I smell myself while sitting at my desk because I had to use Old Spice again because you keep taking my deodorant." "You may consider joining a few more clubs at school, I would love to rearrange my day to pick you up when you have after school activities and please, please make sure you order at least one T-shirt for each activity and club that you belong to. After all we do have a golden check book."

Kelsey is my 5th teenage daughter, I am still practicing. I figure by the time Maggie is a teenager I may just hide in my room in the fetal position and let Dave handle things. After all he is an expert!!!