I WASN'T MURDERED

This past weekend was my big Orlando getaway. The last time I blogged was from the Denver airport on my way out of dodge. Any of you who know me personally, know that I have been sharing this excitement for months now. Most people who are not bloggers have just been skeptical that somehow, someway I was going to be murdered. Better yet, some of you have even thought that I'd be taken to some far off land where my kidneys would be extracted and sold at market value. I'm here to tell you that I survived Orlando 2011 and I am already marking my calendar for Orlando 2012.

I can not even begin to tell you how great it is to be in a room full of other women who really "get" it. With women who do not say dumb things like "she's really great for me" or better yet "we are SO bonded, he really opens up and talks to me"..... WHATEVER!! The insight and camaraderie of the 68 women bonded us instantly. No one cared if you were short or tall, thin or fat, gay or straight, single parenting or co-parenting, rich or poor, had adopted locally or internationally, had 1 or 14 children, home schooled or public or private schooled, are vegan or vegetarian or a carnivore, are a working mom or stay at home mom, blog or not, are atheist or a pastors wife, old or young, or any other combination you can think of. NO. ONE. CARED! It was enough to know that we are all fighting for the same outcome; to raise happy healthy humans. That alone was enough to bring us together like soul sisters.

We ended up with 7 different villas with an average of 10 women in each house. In my villa alone we had close to 50 kids from all over the world. China, Haiti, Ethiopia, United States and Russia to name a few. With 6 kids I looked like child's play compared to the women who are raising 10 or more children. I am now aware that I am not the only women who drives a giant pimped out van for her everyday ride. We laughed so hard we cried and cried so hard we laughed. We shared our innermost thoughts (none of which you'd really like to know) and our everyday struggles. We let down our guards, kicked off our shoes (and suits), ate until our bellies were full, and let each other into our private worlds. It was amazing, it was refreshing, it was a welcomed unforgettable time. I am not speaking for everyone, but for me, this is one of the things that I will forever remember as a "game changer", another item checked off my bucket list. No, I don't have "Travel across the country and meet up with 67 women you don't know" on my list, but I did have "Let my guard down, open up and meet people who don't fit in the worldly box", and I did just that. I will forever be bonded to these women who are fighting my same fight, who will tell me to "get up" when I fall down.

Here's a peek at how much fun I had:

Now, obviously, this is NOT real. This is henna. But......................................

This one, on the other hand, is real. It was my first tattoo and I am loving it. I am planning on adding a different little item to her representing each run I run from now on. It is on my lower back.

So, I'm back. A little more colorful and a lot more fueled for these six kids who wear me out!!

PUtTinG My neCk OUt ThEre!

So, I'm doing something really nutty.

I'm doing something that I never in a million years would have seen myself doing.

I'm doing something so outrageously out of character that I may even shock all of you!

I'm going on a trip.......ALONE!

Ok, so I wont end up alone but I am packing up, leaving my family and then meeting up with a slew of other moms who I've never physically met. Go ahead and reread that last line. Yes, you are understanding me right, I have never met any of these women (ok, so I know one of them but not real well and not until I moved did we know we had such a big part of our lives in common) and I am going to go spend 4 days with them. It all started last year and you can read all about their story here but being that I am so totally jealous I wasn't part of the "original Orlando RAD moms club", I am not going to dwell on last year. I can play that bratty kid role well and I know that all these moms can handle it too, considering what they are dealing with on a daily basis! Although, as much as I am planning on holding a grudge, I am just way too excited to be able to pull that one off!

Anyway, in March (just 189 days, 4,536 hours,a little over 6 months, 27 weekends, or however you choose to see it) I will be meeting up with a circle of moms from all over the U.S. We are meeting in Orlando, very little of us know each other or anything about one another. We found each other through our blogs or you tube videos and what we do know is that we GET IT, which is invaluable in this fight we are fighting. Most of us have RAD kids and as much as we appreciate and love our everyday friends and family, their is nothing like looking at someone in the eyes who knows exactly what you are going through. Who doesn't judge us for our words or actions but respects us for continuing to keep our heads above water and not fleeing from our duties. Who, when you say "ugghhhh, this person criticized me to my face like I am the crazy one!" look at you and say "They just don't know like we know!" It's going to be refreshing, It's going to be uplifting and I am going to leave knowing that on my hard days when even my closest friends don't have any words of comfort for me, that these moms will! I'm looking so forward to it that I can hardly stand myself!

I will leave my house, after packing just one suitcase. Drive down to Orlando, where I am meeting up with these mammas. Stay for four nights in a Villa we rented where we will eat, drink and talk, talk, talk and talk. Get back in my car and drive back home. On the surface it doesn't sound like much, but I am sure it will be a life changer for me! Plus, doesn't it just seem like a big 'ole sorority? I mean c'mon, two houses full of women who have nothing in common but three little letters! That is a sorority if I have ever heard a sorority described! Hmmmm....that makes me think I need to make up some t-shirts.....how sad, these poor women have no idea who they are dealing with!