Anything and Everything.

Chapter One The laughter died in a split-second. No one saw it coming. Metal snapped, scrapped and twisted. The air reeked of something salty and mercurial. Life changed forever. May 24. 10:17 p.m. The rain poured down, blanketing everything in its path with a cold wetness that chilled to the bone. The dark sky blew up with arcs of forked lightning, lighting up the area for miles. In the distance, sirens wailed, getting louder on approach. Gasps and inaudible sounds came from the onlookers who stood around drenched yet watching. Unable to help. Unsure of where to start. *** Aurora drove through the pounding rain, with her momma in the passenger seat, and Carmen behind her. Normally Carmen would drive, as she attended the University there, but tonight she let Aurora take the wheel. They enjoyed a perfect girl’s weekend– eating more than normal, staying out late and shopping. Laughing, and singing off key to an old country song on the radio, they headed back to their...

Making up chore charts has been something I've done for my kids since they've been old enough to read. Afterall, I have my own chore chart (aka - my to-do list) hanging on the fridge that I must follow. ;) I like to change it up, make it interesting and fun. We're all part of this household, so we all need to pitch in and keep it clean and tidy. My children do not earn money for their chores. We tried this and it was an epic fail. They didn't care. My children, ages 8 & 11, do however, earn electronics time. They do not get time during the week, I'd rather they play outside or read or both. Their time to play with these coveted machines is on Saturday & Sunday mornings, since they get up at the crack of dawn, and I'd much rather sleep. ;) Now, with them playing their DS's, X-BOX games, computer games, what-have-you this mom gets to sleep in and they get to play. Win-win. For all of us. So... I wanted to make the chores FUN and I like giving the...