I'm so happy it's summer! I've done nothing but read blogs all day and shirk my responsibilities!
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
More Contests...
Adventures in Baby Wearing is having a contest too! Check out these cute earings by Cheeky Jewelry....
I'm so happy it's summer! I've done nothing but read blogs all day and shirk my responsibilities!
I'm so happy it's summer! I've done nothing but read blogs all day and shirk my responsibilities!
What's on Your IPOD?
More specifically, what helps you get your move on, when you're working out? I'm gonna list mine and I'm hoping ya'll have some suggestions for me, because I need a little something new to spice up the workout. I've got to get off this plateau I've hit.
(* Beware some explicit lyrics)
Justine's Workout: (That's me)
1. Beautiful by Bethany Dillon
Because that's what I want to be....
2. Eye of the Tiger by Survivor
Charlie put this one on my list because he thinks it's funny that I like to box.
3. Fergalicious * by Fergie
Because that's the goal....
4. It's Showtime! by David Lee Roth
HOOOOOOOO-WEEEEEEEEEEEE!
5. Get the Party Started by Pink
I love the Angry Chicks...
6. U + Ur Hand * by Pink
Good for boxing and ditto the Angry Chicks. I sometimes repeat this one a lot, helps me run. (And I use the term "run" loosely.)
7. Girls Just Want to Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper
Gotta have a sense of humor...
8. Since U Been Gone by Kelly Clarkson
Goodbye song for Ice Cream. Or Fat. It works both ways.
9. Wind it Up by Gwen Stefani
I dare you not to.
10. Girl all the Bad Guys Want * by Bowling for Soup
Another of Charlie's picks, because, obviously I am... (not)
11. Family Affair by Mary J. Blige
I love the commercial that plays this song where the chick is walking and all the famous good-looking guys are checking her out. Some kind of water, wouldn't they be hacked that I can't remember the brand!
12. Whip It by Devo
Whip it good!
13. Goodbye to You Patty Smyth
Cause I'm an 80's girl.
14. Breakaway by Kelly Clarkson
Take a risk, take a chance....
15. One Last Breath by Creed
That's usually all I've got, it's cool down time...
16. Brave by Nicole Nordeman
I wanna be.
Okay, as Pat Benetar would say, HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT! FIRE AWAY!
(* Beware some explicit lyrics)
Justine's Workout: (That's me)
1. Beautiful by Bethany Dillon
Because that's what I want to be....
2. Eye of the Tiger by Survivor
Charlie put this one on my list because he thinks it's funny that I like to box.
3. Fergalicious * by Fergie
Because that's the goal....
4. It's Showtime! by David Lee Roth
HOOOOOOOO-WEEEEEEEEEEEE!
5. Get the Party Started by Pink
I love the Angry Chicks...
6. U + Ur Hand * by Pink
Good for boxing and ditto the Angry Chicks. I sometimes repeat this one a lot, helps me run. (And I use the term "run" loosely.)
7. Girls Just Want to Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper
Gotta have a sense of humor...
8. Since U Been Gone by Kelly Clarkson
Goodbye song for Ice Cream. Or Fat. It works both ways.
9. Wind it Up by Gwen Stefani
I dare you not to.
10. Girl all the Bad Guys Want * by Bowling for Soup
Another of Charlie's picks, because, obviously I am... (not)
11. Family Affair by Mary J. Blige
I love the commercial that plays this song where the chick is walking and all the famous good-looking guys are checking her out. Some kind of water, wouldn't they be hacked that I can't remember the brand!
12. Whip It by Devo
Whip it good!
13. Goodbye to You Patty Smyth
Cause I'm an 80's girl.
14. Breakaway by Kelly Clarkson
Take a risk, take a chance....
15. One Last Breath by Creed
That's usually all I've got, it's cool down time...
16. Brave by Nicole Nordeman
I wanna be.
Okay, as Pat Benetar would say, HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT! FIRE AWAY!
Fun Contest
Look at this cute bag!
You could win it, but I hope it's me and not you. Just go to Pinks and Blues Blog and sign up! Hurry, times short... and may the better girl win!
Friday, May 25, 2007
Another Day in the ER
Yesterday I ignored the number one rule of parenting.
Okay, maybe not specifically the number one rule of parenting, but more specifically the number one rule of "What to do when your child calls from school saying they're sick". I'd been in the driveway talking to my neighbors when Melee' called early in the day..
"Hello."
Silence "Um........Mom? It's me. .......Melee'."
"Yes baby?"
"Um...I need some lunch money..........I owe some money,........and they won't let me have my report card if you don't bring it today."
"Okay, how much do you need."
"Um..fifteen dollars..........I mean,...........I don't owe fifteen dollars,.............but I think fifteen dollars would be good."
As I get a lot of calls from school, I wasn't totally shocked when I looked down and saw the school's number again on my caller ID at 2:20 in the afternoon. But when I answered the phone it was Melee' and he was crying. His stomach hurt really bad and he wanted me to come get him. We usually have to work our way up to the cry, so when he started with the cry, I put the Little's in the car and drove over to the school. My red flags went up when I rounded the corner to the nurses office to find him doubled over and bawling. His tears can be alarming both in their size and voracity, but this was a new one even for me. I could tell by the look on the nurses face that this was something she had never experienced with Melee', and she has a lot of experience. So I asked if she could go get my niece from her fourth grade room and I got on the phone with the Dr.'s office, told them I was wondering about his appendix. They said to come over right away.
On the last day of school, the mothers on my block, fill up coolers full of water balloons, we arm ourselves with our best water guns and let the kids have it as they walk home from school. When I pulled out of my driveway I had left my neighbor Chase as she was filling her balloons. Safe in the knowledge that I would be right back, I didn't even close my garage door. So I made a quick call to Chase to let her know we would be headed to the Dr. and would miss the festivities and would she please be on the lookout for John just in case I wasn't back in time for the Jr. High bus.
We got to the Dr.'s office and waited. His pain had subsided. There I sit with two toddlers and two fourth graders in an 8 X 8 room with eye-spy being our only entertainment for the half hour wait. In the meantime, Chase and my other neighbor call me to see if everything was alright. "You know what it is?" Sharen says, "It's that fifteen dollars worth of lunch!"
The doctor came in and started with the standard questions.
When's the last time you ate? "12:00"
Vomiting? "No"
Diahrea? "No"
Fever? "No"
Where does it hurt? "Here"
Show me with one finger.
Does this hurt? "No"
Does this hurt? "No"
Does this hurt? "TSSSTT" Bingo!
Have you gone to the bathroom today? "No, it doesn't hurt like that."
What does it hurt like? "Like 12 shots in my stomach at one time."
So she turns to me and says she can't be sure, blah, blah, blah, but he's indicating the right area, so she wants to send us to the surgeon. She leaves the room and I start my flurry of calls. First to Charlie, then to my brother to see if he can pick up the kids and watch them, then to Chase and Sharen to have them meet John at the bus and after hitting him with a water balloon, tell him Krull is coming to get him.
After some bloodwork and tears, the Dr. comes in and hands me the surgeon's number and a map to the Texas Children's Pediatric hospital in South Houston. As I don't like to drive in unfamiliar places during traffic and while looking at a map, I called Charlie and softly whined "I WISH YOU WERE ALREADY HERE, WE HAVE TO GO TO TEXAS CHILDREN'S AND I CAN'T DO THAT BY MYSELF!" "I'm on my way baby, I'll be there in five minutes." (Woops, maybe I shouldn't have yelled." By the time I got to the counter to pay, Krull was there to take Zoe and the Little's. No problem, he'd take them to his house and they would order pizza and swim in his pool.
On the way to the hospital there were lots of tears over having missed the water balloons and swimming with friends, then John called and wanted to know could he please stay so that he could go down the street to our pool and play with all his friends. I said no, that I was sorry, but if we ended up in surgery (which I'm whispering so as not to further alarm Melee') that he would have to spend the night at Krull's. There was much arguing (him) and apologizing (me) and it ended with him hanging up on me. We get to the ER and there is no line. We sign in and before we can fill out the two page form we've been to the
Admitting nurse:
When's the last time you ate? "12:00"
Vomiting? "No"
Diahrea? "No"
Fever? "No"
Where does it hurt? "Here"
Show me with one finger.
Does this hurt? "No"
Does this hurt? "No"
Does this hurt? "TSSSSTT" Bingo!
Have you gone to the bathroom today? "No, it doesn't hurt like that."
What does it hurt like? "Like 12 shots in my stomach at one time."
The Attending Resident:
When's the last time you ate? "12:00"
Vomiting? "No"
Diahrea? "No"
Fever? "No"
Where does it hurt? "Here"
Show me with one finger.
Does this hurt? "No"
Does this hurt? "No"
Does this hurt? "TSSSST!" Bingo!
Have you gone to the bathroom today? "No, it doesn't hurt like that."
What does it hurt like? "Like 12 shots in my stomach at one time."
And finally to the radiologist to do the sonogram, but she threw us a curve ball:
Vomiting? "No"
Diahrea? "No"
Fever? "No"
When's the last time you ate? "12:00"
Have you gone to the bathroom today? "No, it doesn't hurt like that."
What did you have for lunch? "A bean burrito and more beans."
Charlie and I just looked at each other and started laughing. That, my friends, was the most expensive bean burrito I have ever had to pay for. That's right, he had 911 gas.
Oh, they went through the whole nine yards, took the pictures. Made him drink Gatorade to see if he could hold it down. The actual surgeon came by and went through the questions, told us if it was appendicitis, that it was too early to tell and to watch him closely for the next twenty-four hours, blah, blah, blah...
But Charlie and I both knew it was all about the bean burrito. In the meantime, my brother Krull had text messaged Charlie and said, "Dude, your son just threw a steamer in my pool. You owe me BIG!" And that's just two reasons why poop jokes are a big hit around the table every year at our Thanksgiving Dinner!
It's been thirteen years now that I've been a mother, and I don't know how I could have forgotten. The number one rule is ALWAYS MAKE YOUR KID SIT ON THE POT BEFORE YOU TAKE THEM TO THE DOCTOR!
Okay, maybe not specifically the number one rule of parenting, but more specifically the number one rule of "What to do when your child calls from school saying they're sick". I'd been in the driveway talking to my neighbors when Melee' called early in the day..
"Hello."
Silence "Um........Mom? It's me. .......Melee'."
"Yes baby?"
"Um...I need some lunch money..........I owe some money,........and they won't let me have my report card if you don't bring it today."
"Okay, how much do you need."
"Um..fifteen dollars..........I mean,...........I don't owe fifteen dollars,.............but I think fifteen dollars would be good."
As I get a lot of calls from school, I wasn't totally shocked when I looked down and saw the school's number again on my caller ID at 2:20 in the afternoon. But when I answered the phone it was Melee' and he was crying. His stomach hurt really bad and he wanted me to come get him. We usually have to work our way up to the cry, so when he started with the cry, I put the Little's in the car and drove over to the school. My red flags went up when I rounded the corner to the nurses office to find him doubled over and bawling. His tears can be alarming both in their size and voracity, but this was a new one even for me. I could tell by the look on the nurses face that this was something she had never experienced with Melee', and she has a lot of experience. So I asked if she could go get my niece from her fourth grade room and I got on the phone with the Dr.'s office, told them I was wondering about his appendix. They said to come over right away.
On the last day of school, the mothers on my block, fill up coolers full of water balloons, we arm ourselves with our best water guns and let the kids have it as they walk home from school. When I pulled out of my driveway I had left my neighbor Chase as she was filling her balloons. Safe in the knowledge that I would be right back, I didn't even close my garage door. So I made a quick call to Chase to let her know we would be headed to the Dr. and would miss the festivities and would she please be on the lookout for John just in case I wasn't back in time for the Jr. High bus.
We got to the Dr.'s office and waited. His pain had subsided. There I sit with two toddlers and two fourth graders in an 8 X 8 room with eye-spy being our only entertainment for the half hour wait. In the meantime, Chase and my other neighbor call me to see if everything was alright. "You know what it is?" Sharen says, "It's that fifteen dollars worth of lunch!"
The doctor came in and started with the standard questions.
When's the last time you ate? "12:00"
Vomiting? "No"
Diahrea? "No"
Fever? "No"
Where does it hurt? "Here"
Show me with one finger.
Does this hurt? "No"
Does this hurt? "No"
Does this hurt? "TSSSTT" Bingo!
Have you gone to the bathroom today? "No, it doesn't hurt like that."
What does it hurt like? "Like 12 shots in my stomach at one time."
So she turns to me and says she can't be sure, blah, blah, blah, but he's indicating the right area, so she wants to send us to the surgeon. She leaves the room and I start my flurry of calls. First to Charlie, then to my brother to see if he can pick up the kids and watch them, then to Chase and Sharen to have them meet John at the bus and after hitting him with a water balloon, tell him Krull is coming to get him.
After some bloodwork and tears, the Dr. comes in and hands me the surgeon's number and a map to the Texas Children's Pediatric hospital in South Houston. As I don't like to drive in unfamiliar places during traffic and while looking at a map, I called Charlie and softly whined "I WISH YOU WERE ALREADY HERE, WE HAVE TO GO TO TEXAS CHILDREN'S AND I CAN'T DO THAT BY MYSELF!" "I'm on my way baby, I'll be there in five minutes." (Woops, maybe I shouldn't have yelled." By the time I got to the counter to pay, Krull was there to take Zoe and the Little's. No problem, he'd take them to his house and they would order pizza and swim in his pool.
On the way to the hospital there were lots of tears over having missed the water balloons and swimming with friends, then John called and wanted to know could he please stay so that he could go down the street to our pool and play with all his friends. I said no, that I was sorry, but if we ended up in surgery (which I'm whispering so as not to further alarm Melee') that he would have to spend the night at Krull's. There was much arguing (him) and apologizing (me) and it ended with him hanging up on me. We get to the ER and there is no line. We sign in and before we can fill out the two page form we've been to the
Admitting nurse:
When's the last time you ate? "12:00"
Vomiting? "No"
Diahrea? "No"
Fever? "No"
Where does it hurt? "Here"
Show me with one finger.
Does this hurt? "No"
Does this hurt? "No"
Does this hurt? "TSSSSTT" Bingo!
Have you gone to the bathroom today? "No, it doesn't hurt like that."
What does it hurt like? "Like 12 shots in my stomach at one time."
The Attending Resident:
When's the last time you ate? "12:00"
Vomiting? "No"
Diahrea? "No"
Fever? "No"
Where does it hurt? "Here"
Show me with one finger.
Does this hurt? "No"
Does this hurt? "No"
Does this hurt? "TSSSST!" Bingo!
Have you gone to the bathroom today? "No, it doesn't hurt like that."
What does it hurt like? "Like 12 shots in my stomach at one time."
And finally to the radiologist to do the sonogram, but she threw us a curve ball:
Vomiting? "No"
Diahrea? "No"
Fever? "No"
When's the last time you ate? "12:00"
Have you gone to the bathroom today? "No, it doesn't hurt like that."
What did you have for lunch? "A bean burrito and more beans."
Charlie and I just looked at each other and started laughing. That, my friends, was the most expensive bean burrito I have ever had to pay for. That's right, he had 911 gas.
Oh, they went through the whole nine yards, took the pictures. Made him drink Gatorade to see if he could hold it down. The actual surgeon came by and went through the questions, told us if it was appendicitis, that it was too early to tell and to watch him closely for the next twenty-four hours, blah, blah, blah...
But Charlie and I both knew it was all about the bean burrito. In the meantime, my brother Krull had text messaged Charlie and said, "Dude, your son just threw a steamer in my pool. You owe me BIG!" And that's just two reasons why poop jokes are a big hit around the table every year at our Thanksgiving Dinner!
It's been thirteen years now that I've been a mother, and I don't know how I could have forgotten. The number one rule is ALWAYS MAKE YOUR KID SIT ON THE POT BEFORE YOU TAKE THEM TO THE DOCTOR!
Monday, May 21, 2007
Four More Days Till SCHOOL'S OUT!
First of all, whoever wrote The Twelve Bugs of Christmas, needs a good, swift, kick in the ass. I wish I knew David A. Carter so that I could just walk right up to him in the middle of May and just put my boot right in his butt. I've been upstairs for the last ten minutes singing, "On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, 12 yuletide bugs a-yodeling, 11 Nimble Bugs a nibbling, 1o Festive bugs a flying...." I could have jumped right out the second story window. Because you see, when someone discovers a book that they like (and usually one that you don't) they want you to read it everyday over and over and over...
*ahem*
Sorry, just needed to vent. I'm sitting here with my hair color on my head so I have approximately 25 minutes to fill you in since Mother's Day. I'm going with Light Ash Brown today with the highlight kit. I usually go Dark Ash Blond, but the other day John said, "Why is the hair on the top of your head black and silver?" and I said, "Because that's my real hair color." and he said "Oh! (pregnant pause) Well, it's just that it looked really shiny next to the orange color."
Man, do I have a lot of work to do before that kid starts dating. *sigh*
SO, I decided to shoot for a color a little closer to my original one and hopefully not something out of a four pack of Crayola Crayons.
It feels like I haven't written in F-O-R-E-V-E-R! Time flies when you're flunking the seventh grade. No, he's not really flunking, it just always feels like it. Actually he got a perfect score on his reading TAKS test and I was able to get him back into Honors English and Social Studies for next year. He's very excited and I'm happy for him. It's only taken me four short years to swallow the fact that this just isn't going to get any easier. The counselor told me the other day not to worry because if he doesn't grow out of it, they have colleges that specialize in helping kids with this attention deficit. "COLLEGE! YOU MEAN HE MIGHT NOT GET ANY BETTER ALL THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL AND THEN I HAVE TO LOOK FOR SPECIAL COLLEGES!" And that little piece of advice only cost me a hundred dollars. Can you imagine what the tuition for one of these special colleges runs?
I hit a big milestone last week. I've lost 29 lbs. and am finally back under 200 lbs. And yes, it turns out I took a little artistic liberty with the cartoon version of myself here on the blog. Of course, that's what I thought I looked like, till I met that fat chic in the mirror up at the gym. Luckily I'm starting to feel like my old self and the next goal is 175. Continuing to get up at 4:15 every morning and sticking to my diet should be a piece of cake in the summer time, right?
Right?!
Well, I've gotta go "Wash that grey right outta my hair...."
*ahem*
Sorry, just needed to vent. I'm sitting here with my hair color on my head so I have approximately 25 minutes to fill you in since Mother's Day. I'm going with Light Ash Brown today with the highlight kit. I usually go Dark Ash Blond, but the other day John said, "Why is the hair on the top of your head black and silver?" and I said, "Because that's my real hair color." and he said "Oh! (pregnant pause) Well, it's just that it looked really shiny next to the orange color."
Man, do I have a lot of work to do before that kid starts dating. *sigh*
SO, I decided to shoot for a color a little closer to my original one and hopefully not something out of a four pack of Crayola Crayons.
It feels like I haven't written in F-O-R-E-V-E-R! Time flies when you're flunking the seventh grade. No, he's not really flunking, it just always feels like it. Actually he got a perfect score on his reading TAKS test and I was able to get him back into Honors English and Social Studies for next year. He's very excited and I'm happy for him. It's only taken me four short years to swallow the fact that this just isn't going to get any easier. The counselor told me the other day not to worry because if he doesn't grow out of it, they have colleges that specialize in helping kids with this attention deficit. "COLLEGE! YOU MEAN HE MIGHT NOT GET ANY BETTER ALL THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL AND THEN I HAVE TO LOOK FOR SPECIAL COLLEGES!" And that little piece of advice only cost me a hundred dollars. Can you imagine what the tuition for one of these special colleges runs?
I hit a big milestone last week. I've lost 29 lbs. and am finally back under 200 lbs. And yes, it turns out I took a little artistic liberty with the cartoon version of myself here on the blog. Of course, that's what I thought I looked like, till I met that fat chic in the mirror up at the gym. Luckily I'm starting to feel like my old self and the next goal is 175. Continuing to get up at 4:15 every morning and sticking to my diet should be a piece of cake in the summer time, right?
Right?!
Well, I've gotta go "Wash that grey right outta my hair...."
Saturday, May 12, 2007
A Mother's Day Tribute to Me
As Karen and I walked into Mrs. Bell's section of the fourth grade mod, I realized we were expected to fold ourselves into two tiny rows at the back of the class to await the start of the "Mother's Day Program". After a few minutes of rearranging and squeezing ourselves in, as more mothers arrived, the substitute teacher apologized for Mrs. Bell's absence and said that the kids were ready with their program and would take it from there.
Sam started the program and it only took me a few seconds for it to register with horror, that the each of the kids would be reading aloud a letter that they had penned for us in honor of the day. As a group we shuffled around frantically for the kleenex box at the back of the class and I crossed my fingers as I sat on my hands and prayed "Please Lord, don't let my letter have TMI. Amen."
The following is my Happy Mother's Day Letter from Melee':
Dear Mom,
You have been kind to me for almost 11 years.
You always think of what I want. Like signing me up for baseball when I wanted to. You buy me things like video games. You always like me to be happy. You support my life.
Mom you have also been extremly cool through my life. You can take the heat of 5 children at one time. Another awesome trait you have about being cool is that your very modern style. My friends always like what I wear.
Helpfulness, is something you're great at. You help me on all my projects, especially the food project in 3rd grade. You also help me with problems, like when I had an inner ear infection.
I know for a fact that you're smart. You're the fastest thinker I know of. Plus you're 96% of the time right. You have a solution to every question or problem. Those things describe you.
Sincerely,
Jeremy
After the nervous laughter died down, I recieved my crepe paper flower and sighed with relief as another mother took her turn on the hotseat. It wasn't until later that I got to review my letter and take it all in. Not a bad letter all things considered, my kleenex moment was "You support my life.". You should have seen the mothers in the room, who know that I have four kids, do a 180 in their chairs at the mention of "you can take the heat of five children.". They don't know that I watch my niece in the afternoons. They must of thought I had one tucked away in the attic. And I love the fact that "my modern style" is all about him and has nothing to do with me. The kicker was "Sincerely".
Where's the love man!
I can see there's much work to do before next year's Mother's Day.
Happy Mother's Day to you All!
Sam started the program and it only took me a few seconds for it to register with horror, that the each of the kids would be reading aloud a letter that they had penned for us in honor of the day. As a group we shuffled around frantically for the kleenex box at the back of the class and I crossed my fingers as I sat on my hands and prayed "Please Lord, don't let my letter have TMI. Amen."
The following is my Happy Mother's Day Letter from Melee':
Dear Mom,
You have been kind to me for almost 11 years.
You always think of what I want. Like signing me up for baseball when I wanted to. You buy me things like video games. You always like me to be happy. You support my life.
Mom you have also been extremly cool through my life. You can take the heat of 5 children at one time. Another awesome trait you have about being cool is that your very modern style. My friends always like what I wear.
Helpfulness, is something you're great at. You help me on all my projects, especially the food project in 3rd grade. You also help me with problems, like when I had an inner ear infection.
I know for a fact that you're smart. You're the fastest thinker I know of. Plus you're 96% of the time right. You have a solution to every question or problem. Those things describe you.
Sincerely,
Jeremy
After the nervous laughter died down, I recieved my crepe paper flower and sighed with relief as another mother took her turn on the hotseat. It wasn't until later that I got to review my letter and take it all in. Not a bad letter all things considered, my kleenex moment was "You support my life.". You should have seen the mothers in the room, who know that I have four kids, do a 180 in their chairs at the mention of "you can take the heat of five children.". They don't know that I watch my niece in the afternoons. They must of thought I had one tucked away in the attic. And I love the fact that "my modern style" is all about him and has nothing to do with me. The kicker was "Sincerely".
Where's the love man!
I can see there's much work to do before next year's Mother's Day.
Happy Mother's Day to you All!
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
More Bad News
We took Charlie back to the doctor to have a new x-ray and see if he could quit wearing his couch cushion, I mean sling.
I came along because I wanted to make sure that he asked what would happen if he were to land on that shoulder again. After all, I do share DNA with my Worse Case Scenario Mom. I thought he'd say that it would shatter his entire shoulder. That it would be unrepairable. But is that what he said?
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO....
What he said was...
"Oh! You can't break it. It won't break."
That's right, they told my Thinks He's Twenty, Evil Kenievel, Need for Speed husband that he's now indestructible on the right hand side. I look for him to go out and break the left side soon and he'll be halfway to being the Six Million Dollar Man.
I came along because I wanted to make sure that he asked what would happen if he were to land on that shoulder again. After all, I do share DNA with my Worse Case Scenario Mom. I thought he'd say that it would shatter his entire shoulder. That it would be unrepairable. But is that what he said?NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO....
What he said was...
"Oh! You can't break it. It won't break."
That's right, they told my Thinks He's Twenty, Evil Kenievel, Need for Speed husband that he's now indestructible on the right hand side. I look for him to go out and break the left side soon and he'll be halfway to being the Six Million Dollar Man.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
FYI
Ace has decided his name is Jr. McJr.
No, I have not been letting him watch Gray's Anatomy. But I do think he's sunkin special.
I'll be crying on the day he starts saying something instead of sunkin.
I keep telling the boys to stop correcting him.
No, I have not been letting him watch Gray's Anatomy. But I do think he's sunkin special.
I'll be crying on the day he starts saying something instead of sunkin.
I keep telling the boys to stop correcting him.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Poop Debris
We've been without the use of our second upstairs bathtub for quite some time now. It started out to be a problem while taking a bath. You see, when I would drain the tub after the kids bath, there would be a little water trickle out of the air conditioning vent downstairs above the kitchen table. So we started tubbing the Littles in our bathroom and the boys still showered in theirs. It then progressed to a steady dripping of water during showers out of the vent and the nearby light fixture until finally, if you turned on the water, it seemed to be directly connected to the air vent/ light fixture in a water fountain sort of way. Bathtub closed for business. Until such time as Charlie could fit it into his schedule to "have a look at". Days became weeks and weeks started to stretch until one day as my washing machine hit the drain cycle, water started pouring out from under my downstairs toilet. I could not for the life of me figure out why the water in my washer was coming out from under the toilet. That is, until each one of the kids had gone into each of the three bathrooms and pooped in the three toilets.
That kind of thing never happens early in the day. No, it happens late in the evening after all the plumbers have gone home for the evening. I put a call into the answering service and they promised to put us at the top of the list for the following day. I'm not sure where I was the next day, but Charlie was home to meet the plumbers and we decided to let the plumbers have a look at the bathtub leak as well.
Six hundred dollars later, I had three working toilets, a draining washer, a newly caulked bathtub faucet and a clean out installed in the middle of my brick sidewalk in the backyard, with all the bricks laying hither, dither in my flower bed. I was relieved and angry at the same time. "You mean to tell me, that they think caulking around the faucet is going to stop the bathtub from leaking through to the air vent? What took so long? What do you mean they charged a hundred and fifty dollars to find the drain? Why did they put it in the middle of the sidewalk?" He explained it all away in the logical way guys do and I continued to bitch the way girls do.
Sure enough, two days later when we were given the green light to try the tub, it was a no-go. So Charlie climbed up on the table, cut open the ceiling and "had a look at it". It seems that some six hundred dollar plumber had stuck the brass fitting coming out of the tub, into a larger piece of PVC without really attaching or sealing it in any way. So off to the Ace Hardware he went and procured the proper fitting needed to fix the problem and did a very nice job, if I may say so. However, when we tried the tub, we still had a very small leak that we could not figure out where it was coming from. It had been a long day and the next day it rained, so it wouldn't have been good for putting up drywall anyway, so we put it off till the next weekend and before we knew it, Charlie had a broken clavicle and could not finish the job.
Which brings us to yesterday. Late in the evening, after dinner but before my Boy Scout Meeting, I threw the kids sheets in the washer and went upstairs to get ready. Then Charlie was yelling and when I got downstairs, the utility was flooded, from water coming out from under the toilet.
(Insert the string of curse words of your choice.)
So we got out my electric floor mop and started sucking up and dumping the wash water three cups at a time out the back door. Since I was running late, Melee' and Charlie took over the chore and John and I went on to our meeting. As we drove back into the driveway an hour later, I thought, "Strange, the driveway looks as wet as when we left." And the thought had not cleared my left ear when I see Charlie slinging another three cups out the back door.
"What's going on?"
"WATCH OUT, DON'T STEP IN ANY OF THAT, IT'S POOP WATER."
"What?"
"Ace evidently went upstairs and pooped in our toilet and has been flushing the toilet for the last ten minutes."
(Insert the string of curse words of your choice!)
At 8:00 last night I put in a call to the plumbers answering service where they assured me we would be the first stop of the day. Man, I couldn't wait till they got here. I was gonna give them a piece of my mind! What nerve they had! Six hundred dollars and I had not one thing to show for it. Except a hole in my kitchen ceiling and poop debris behind my downstairs toilet!
They got here around 9:00 this morning and before I had time to give them a piece of my mind, they pulled out a half a roll of paper towels out of the clean out drain. A hundred and fifty seven dollars later, I'm on my hands and knees cleaning up poop debris and composing a want ad in my head for a three year old.
That kind of thing never happens early in the day. No, it happens late in the evening after all the plumbers have gone home for the evening. I put a call into the answering service and they promised to put us at the top of the list for the following day. I'm not sure where I was the next day, but Charlie was home to meet the plumbers and we decided to let the plumbers have a look at the bathtub leak as well.
Six hundred dollars later, I had three working toilets, a draining washer, a newly caulked bathtub faucet and a clean out installed in the middle of my brick sidewalk in the backyard, with all the bricks laying hither, dither in my flower bed. I was relieved and angry at the same time. "You mean to tell me, that they think caulking around the faucet is going to stop the bathtub from leaking through to the air vent? What took so long? What do you mean they charged a hundred and fifty dollars to find the drain? Why did they put it in the middle of the sidewalk?" He explained it all away in the logical way guys do and I continued to bitch the way girls do.
Sure enough, two days later when we were given the green light to try the tub, it was a no-go. So Charlie climbed up on the table, cut open the ceiling and "had a look at it". It seems that some six hundred dollar plumber had stuck the brass fitting coming out of the tub, into a larger piece of PVC without really attaching or sealing it in any way. So off to the Ace Hardware he went and procured the proper fitting needed to fix the problem and did a very nice job, if I may say so. However, when we tried the tub, we still had a very small leak that we could not figure out where it was coming from. It had been a long day and the next day it rained, so it wouldn't have been good for putting up drywall anyway, so we put it off till the next weekend and before we knew it, Charlie had a broken clavicle and could not finish the job.
Which brings us to yesterday. Late in the evening, after dinner but before my Boy Scout Meeting, I threw the kids sheets in the washer and went upstairs to get ready. Then Charlie was yelling and when I got downstairs, the utility was flooded, from water coming out from under the toilet.
So we got out my electric floor mop and started sucking up and dumping the wash water three cups at a time out the back door. Since I was running late, Melee' and Charlie took over the chore and John and I went on to our meeting. As we drove back into the driveway an hour later, I thought, "Strange, the driveway looks as wet as when we left." And the thought had not cleared my left ear when I see Charlie slinging another three cups out the back door.
"What's going on?"
"WATCH OUT, DON'T STEP IN ANY OF THAT, IT'S POOP WATER."
"What?"
"Ace evidently went upstairs and pooped in our toilet and has been flushing the toilet for the last ten minutes."
At 8:00 last night I put in a call to the plumbers answering service where they assured me we would be the first stop of the day. Man, I couldn't wait till they got here. I was gonna give them a piece of my mind! What nerve they had! Six hundred dollars and I had not one thing to show for it. Except a hole in my kitchen ceiling and poop debris behind my downstairs toilet!
They got here around 9:00 this morning and before I had time to give them a piece of my mind, they pulled out a half a roll of paper towels out of the clean out drain. A hundred and fifty seven dollars later, I'm on my hands and knees cleaning up poop debris and composing a want ad in my head for a three year old.
Monday, April 16, 2007
Lucky 13
Friday the 13th was my 16th Anniversary. My husband reminded me that I forgot our Anniversary last year. I'll never live that one down. Not that we didn't celebrate, but these last few years, I rarely know what day of the week it is. My brother and sister-in-law kept all four of the kids overnight, so we went out to dinner and a movie. We ate at P.F. Chang's despite my "diet" and it was delicious! I got online and looked at the menu, and I realized I won't be eating there too often. After agonizing over my choices I settled on the Ginger Chicken and steamed Broccoli and we shared an order of Crab Wontons (worth every one of the 26 grams of fat, or 13 grams since we split them), then I analyzed the drink menu and the desert menu and decided to forgo both in favor of popcorn with a little butter on it. We saw Blades of Glory, because we're romantic like that. It was actually the second time for me to see it. Two thumbs up if you like dumb movies. I'll be singing "My Humps" for weeks.
Me and Charlie, back when we both had lots of hair. I'm laughing because my brother just dumped his handful of birdseed down the cleavage of my dress. Good times. It actually was the most beautiful day for mid-April in Amarillo Texas. They had snow on Easter this year. This was one of the best pictures, we took so many posed pics, that by the end of them I look surprised in all of them because I'm holding up my eyebrows while I'm trying to smile. Paris Hilton, I'm not. It's also one of the only pictures that you can't tell that Charlie has a mullet. (Ha! Ha!!) I loved his hair like that! Wouldn't let him cut it.
I was on the computer Friday when Charlie got home from work, and this is what I hear from the living room.
Ace yells "Daddy's home! Daddy's home!"
Then "DADDY'S HOME WITH FLOWERS!"
I got flowers, M & M's, two cards and a FOR SALE SIGN for the motorcycle. We'll see.
You can't see the M & M's because I already ate them, with a little help from my friends. He got two cards and a Chuck Norris T-shirt.
We're cheap dates, but we decided it didn't matter since we both hit the jackpot when we got married. :)
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
I Punched a Squirrel Because that's the Way I Play
I punched a Squirrel because that's the way I play. It makes me sound tough, doesn't it? :)
Another meme courtesy of Yerdoingitwrong. This one made me laugh outloud. It originally came from this blog. Pick the month you were born. Pick the day (number) you were born. Pick the color of shirt you are wearing. Now type out the sentence you made using the answers below:Pick the month you were born:
January----------I kicked
February--------I loved
March------------I punched
April---------------I swam with
May---------------I choked on
June---------------I murdered
July---------------- I did the Macarena with
August-----------I had lunch with
September------I danced with
October----------I sang to
November-------I yelled at
December-------I ran over
Pick the day ( number) you were born on:
1----- --a birdbath
2-------a monster
3-------a phone
4-------a fork
5-------a Mexican
6-------a flamingo
7-------my cell phone
8-------my dog
9-------my best friends' boyfriend
10------my neighbor
11------my science teacher
12------a banana
13------a fireman
14------a stuffed animal
15------a goat
16------a pickle
17------a squirrel
18------a spoon
19------myself
20------a baseball bat
21------a ninja
22------a snowman
23------a noodle
24-- ----your mom
25------a football player
26------my sister
27------my brother
28------an ipod
29------a permanent marker
30------a llama
31------a zombiePick
the color of shirt you are wearing:
White----------because I'm very pretty.
Black----------because that's how I play.
Pink------------because I'm cool like that.
Red-------------because the voices told me to.
Blue------------because I can see the future.
Green----------because I love to boogie.
Purple----------because your mom's cool.
Gray------------because the voices in my head told me to.
Yellow---------because someone offered me 1,000,000 dollars
Orange---------because I tripped over my house.
Brown----------because I love my pillow.
Other-----------because I'm a ninja.
None-----------because I cant control myself.
I kindly demand that you all play along. Because Annie said so. And then let me know if you did!
Another meme courtesy of Yerdoingitwrong. This one made me laugh outloud. It originally came from this blog. Pick the month you were born. Pick the day (number) you were born. Pick the color of shirt you are wearing. Now type out the sentence you made using the answers below:Pick the month you were born:
January----------I kicked
February--------I loved
March------------I punched
April---------------I swam with
May---------------I choked on
June---------------I murdered
July---------------- I did the Macarena with
August-----------I had lunch with
September------I danced with
October----------I sang to
November-------I yelled at
December-------I ran over
Pick the day ( number) you were born on:
1----- --a birdbath
2-------a monster
3-------a phone
4-------a fork
5-------a Mexican
6-------a flamingo
7-------my cell phone
8-------my dog
9-------my best friends' boyfriend
10------my neighbor
11------my science teacher
12------a banana
13------a fireman
14------a stuffed animal
15------a goat
16------a pickle
17------a squirrel
18------a spoon
19------myself
20------a baseball bat
21------a ninja
22------a snowman
23------a noodle
24-- ----your mom
25------a football player
26------my sister
27------my brother
28------an ipod
29------a permanent marker
30------a llama
31------a zombiePick
the color of shirt you are wearing:
White----------because I'm very pretty.
Black----------because that's how I play.
Pink------------because I'm cool like that.
Red-------------because the voices told me to.
Blue------------because I can see the future.
Green----------because I love to boogie.
Purple----------because your mom's cool.
Gray------------because the voices in my head told me to.
Yellow---------because someone offered me 1,000,000 dollars
Orange---------because I tripped over my house.
Brown----------because I love my pillow.
Other-----------because I'm a ninja.
None-----------because I cant control myself.
I kindly demand that you all play along. Because Annie said so. And then let me know if you did!
Monday, April 09, 2007
Ameme.
A meme courtesy of Annie... (Happy Blogiversary!)
1. What is your favorite kind of milkshake?
Chocolate! Is there any other kind?
2. What is your fantasy job?
My husband's. Only with pay equal to the amount that let's me shop at Target anytime I want and be able to afford a Merry Maid.
3. Do you consider yourself a "neat freak" or can you handle a little mess?
I am definitely NOT a neat freak, thus my need for a Merry Maid. I do get stressed out about the mess.
4. What are your thoughts about tattoos?
I thought I'd like to have one, but my husband says he'd divorce me. Then again, how's a tatoo gonna look when I get old and wrinkly?
5. Where would you go on your fantasy vacation? Who would you want to be with you?
Hawaii! Johnny Depp, I mean my cute husband!
1. What is your favorite kind of milkshake?
Chocolate! Is there any other kind?
2. What is your fantasy job?
My husband's. Only with pay equal to the amount that let's me shop at Target anytime I want and be able to afford a Merry Maid.
3. Do you consider yourself a "neat freak" or can you handle a little mess?
I am definitely NOT a neat freak, thus my need for a Merry Maid. I do get stressed out about the mess.
4. What are your thoughts about tattoos?
I thought I'd like to have one, but my husband says he'd divorce me. Then again, how's a tatoo gonna look when I get old and wrinkly?
5. Where would you go on your fantasy vacation? Who would you want to be with you?
Hawaii! Johnny Depp, I mean my cute husband!
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
What is NORMAL, anyway?
And here you were, thinking I was on a roll... I was, until Evil Knievel showed up.
I've decided that despite the fact that my better half would like me not to recount this story (and by better, I mean he better get a grip!), it's a story that must be told. Because the half of you that are coming this week, are going to find out anyway. And if I had to tell MY mother, well I'm outing him....
Evil Knievel had a small mishap on the new, shiny, red bike on Friday before last. Turns out that when you hit a curb, the bike will stop and chances are, you will not. So after consulting the Orthopedist last Monday, we are on the way to the surgery center today so that they can install a metal plate and some screws to put back together his clavicle. Because right now, he's got one shoulder and one slump. Oh it's gotten somewhat better over the last week, but we're only forty-one and I'm really not wanting to spend the next forty with Igor. Plus, who's going to do all my overhead work, like changing out my ceiling fans and light bulbs I can't reach. I think the clavicle is something that must be repaired! Don't you? He hasn't put up much of a fight, but he's getting a little nervous this morning.
And, no Daddy, he hasn't gone down and gotten a For Sale sign for it yet. And, yes, I'll go down and get one today and make sure I put it on his bed tray after he gets home. I'll bet Evil Knievel was divorced.
Post Script...
Surgery was Tuesday. He was still a little sensitive about me posting about it, but now that he's had the surgery and all is well, I got the green light. The surgery went great, a little too great if you ask me. I wanted him to have enough pain that he had to pause before he got on that bike again, unfortunately, he's been relatively pain free. After the follow up appointment he said maybe he should be a stuntman when he grows up. We got a nice flower basket from some of the guys at corporate where he works, the card read "I told you so, you moron."
I've decided that despite the fact that my better half would like me not to recount this story (and by better, I mean he better get a grip!), it's a story that must be told. Because the half of you that are coming this week, are going to find out anyway. And if I had to tell MY mother, well I'm outing him....
Evil Knievel had a small mishap on the new, shiny, red bike on Friday before last. Turns out that when you hit a curb, the bike will stop and chances are, you will not. So after consulting the Orthopedist last Monday, we are on the way to the surgery center today so that they can install a metal plate and some screws to put back together his clavicle. Because right now, he's got one shoulder and one slump. Oh it's gotten somewhat better over the last week, but we're only forty-one and I'm really not wanting to spend the next forty with Igor. Plus, who's going to do all my overhead work, like changing out my ceiling fans and light bulbs I can't reach. I think the clavicle is something that must be repaired! Don't you? He hasn't put up much of a fight, but he's getting a little nervous this morning.
And, no Daddy, he hasn't gone down and gotten a For Sale sign for it yet. And, yes, I'll go down and get one today and make sure I put it on his bed tray after he gets home. I'll bet Evil Knievel was divorced.
Post Script...
Surgery was Tuesday. He was still a little sensitive about me posting about it, but now that he's had the surgery and all is well, I got the green light. The surgery went great, a little too great if you ask me. I wanted him to have enough pain that he had to pause before he got on that bike again, unfortunately, he's been relatively pain free. After the follow up appointment he said maybe he should be a stuntman when he grows up. We got a nice flower basket from some of the guys at corporate where he works, the card read "I told you so, you moron."
Monday, March 26, 2007
Rocks Are a Kids Best Friend
There was a lot of beautiful scenery on the way to Diamond Crater State Park, winding hilly roads, trees, and way off you could see the mountains, punctuated by the ever-present background music of four kids. "Are we there yet?" "How far is this place?" "When are we going to get there?" "Is that it?" And us singing along, "NO!" "We don't KNOW!" "Just a few MORE MINUTES!" "NO! Those are COWS!" Luckily it was only about a 15-20 minute drive.Evidently there are a LOT of folks hoping to strike it rich at the Diamond Crater, because the parking lot was packed! They had a big info center so you could watch a video about the history and see some exhibits with examples of the kinds of rocks that you might find while digging. We did a cursory glance of the diamonds and went to the tool rental. We bought four hand shovels and rented one bucket and one set of screens. On the way out to the fields, we saw that three diamonds were found the day before and the pressure was on! Hmmm, thirty-seven acres, where to start? We let the kids pick a sight and then we got to digging. At least some of us did...
Two hours later, Peach had the bucket filled with potato sized rocks that were so heavy I could hardly pick the thing up and she was not willing to give up one of them. So on the way to the rock washing station, I lightened the load one rock at a time while she wasn't looking. We washed up, went out to the parking lot and unloaded food for a picnic. Up the hill to the picnic tables and I was so tired I didn't think I was going to make it. Unfortunately, no one was as tired as I was, after lunch they were refreshed and ready to get back to digging in a new spot. I'm too OCD for diamond digging. "What if there was a diamond in the old place I was digging and I just hadn't got to it yet? What if the diamonds are all over there? Or over there?" Again...I'm easily overwhelmed. We dug for another hour or so, till Ace pooped and a diaper change was necessary and believe me, once we trekked up that hill to the car again I was not going back!
They sold firewood at the visitor center and we picked up three bundles because we had heard it was supposed to be chilly that night and all the logs and sticks were wet from the night before. We headed back to camp and by 5:00 we were starting the charcoals for dinner. We had a very fine meal of grilled baja chicken, corn on the cob and some ranch style beans. Beans and a campfire, right? Finished up dinner enjoyed our fire for a little with more Smores on vanilla wafers and I was ready to hit the hay. Since I had slept in all my clothes the night before, I decided I would lighten up a little and put on my pajama pants, I dressed the Littles in their long john's. Peach wanted me to sleep next to her, so I took Charlie's place on the air-mattress, put Ace beside me so he could sleep in the crack. (Cause you know..with a big person on each side, he wasn't going to sink in.) It started to get cool, so I had Charlie bring me my sweatshirt and I put it on. Melee' slept in Ace's spot on the air mattress next to the tent wall as his mattress could not be repaired with duct tape. By midnight I had my sweatshirt hood pulled up and the drawstring closed tight enough that only my nose was sticking out and it was running. Charlie was complaining about having to sleep in the crack and we had some big laughs. He said "Your nose is running to keep it warm." and I said "Yeah, but it's making my ear cold." ewww :) At 4:30 Peach woke up and said "MOMMA, I HAVE TO GO TO THE BATHROOM!" "What?" "I HAVE TO GO TO THE BATHROOM!" "Can we go outside and squat by a tree?" "NOOOOO!" "Are you sure? It's really cold and it's a long way to the bathroom?" "NO MOMMA I HAVE TO GO THE BATHROOM! REAL BAD!" So we had to shod our feet, and put on jackets and we had to hike the one block gauntlet to the restrooms. Luckily we were able to warm up with the hand dryers for the walk back. "MOMMA, I'M REALLY COLD." "Shhhh, people are sleeping." "BUT I'M SHAKING!" "Shhhhh, I know baby, we're almost there." "LOOK MOMMA, LOOK AT ME SHAKING, CAN YOU HEAR MY TEETH SHAKING?" "Shhhhh, yes, everybody can hear you baby...." Back to bed and just as I drift off to sleep I hear something rustling in the leaves outside our tent. I jab Charlie "What's that!" "I think it's John, JOHN is that you?" "Yes, I'm getting my sweatshirt, I'm really cold." "Come in here and sleep with us."
So that's how we ended at 7:00 in the morning. Five men deep on the king size air mattress and one little girl snug inside her Hello Kitty fleece sleeping bag. Good times.
Friday, March 23, 2007
The Great Outdoors
By the time we got to the Daisy State Park (Diamond Crater State Park was full) it was almost dark so we scrambled to get our tent set up and get some hot dogs cooked and get the new propane lantern put together and lit before it got dark. It was a little overcast so we put on the rain fly for just in case. Charlie, being the real outdoors man, said "I've never put the rain fly on before. Usually when John and I go with the boy scouts and it rains, I just sleep in the car." Way to be prepared Dad. We got it all done, air mattresses blown up, sleeping bags rolled out, duffel bags and pillows put in the tent and we even ate a couple of Smores. On vanilla wafers. Because I forgot the graham crackers. Way to be prepared Mom.
Off to bed I went with the Littles a little bit after 9:00. The boys stayed up playing with the fire till just after ten and then they retired for the evening. We have a large two "room" tent and then John brings his own small tent because he's a boyscout like that. Charlie and I have two twin air mattresses connected in the middle and I just cover the whole thing with sheets. Ace on the far left next to the wall of the tent, me in the middle, Charlie next. Then Peach has her own blow-up Hello Kitty sleeping bag/mattress combo and then Melee' on his own single air mattress on the far right wall. As soon as Charlie comes to bed, it starts to sprinkle. It rained. all. night. long. Thunder, lightning the works. (Remember why we didn't camp in Texas? That's right, rain.) It takes less than an hour before I'm sleeping in the crack of the mattresses. Every time the wind would pick up, I'd pray "Please Lord, don't let a tree fall on our tent, Amen" And at some point in the night I jabbed Charlie awake and said "What's that?" (I'm thinking, "Tornado?") and he says "That's just the logging trucks going by on the highway." "Oh. Okay." I got back to sleep and slept pretty well the rest of the night, in five minute increments. 
When we woke up the next morning we found Melee's mattress had had a leak and he had slept in his sleeping bag on the concrete pad. Up at the crack of dawn, we slaved over a small propane stove for a hearty breakfast of ham and egg taquitos. The kids went down and explored the lake shore and the boys tried to catch a fish. Peach and Ace grabbed a couple of sticks and I think they were playing some sort of "Bridge to Terabithia" kind of game, but at one point I heard Peach say "ACE, GRAB A STICK AND HIT A BABY!" I only noticed it because she yelled it about three times and we were the only people up and awake in our area of the campground. Evidently they put us in the "retirement village" section. So I look over and they're crouched over some small bush and whacking at it mercilessly.
I could see through the bush enough to know they weren't whacking at any wildlife, so I did what any good mother would do. I left them to it. It warmed up pretty quickly and after gathering all our food boxes, we loaded up and headed for the Diamond Crater.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
The Simple Life IV or Spring Break 2007
The original plan was to go to Rusk and campout and then ride the train over to Palestine, picnic then back to Rusk for another night of camping. But as with most plans for Spring Break and three day weekends, it started to rain. It rained for four days and we decided against mudding it for the last half of the week. So instead, we came up with a much more ambitious plan that meant driving for at least six hours, all the way to Arkansas’ Diamond Crater State Park.
It would have been a six hour trip, but since I’m doing everything my trainer tells me, I continued with my daily water consumption of 16 oz of water every couple of hours, which of course, meant a potty stop every couple of hours. And really, that shouldn’t be any different than Charlie guzzling down Diet Dr. Pepper non-stop on every other trip we’ve taken, because we also have to stop often. The difference being that A) I’m more discriminating about where I want to stop and B) when everyone sees Momma get out of the car, EVERYONE wants to get out of the car. Then when Momma gets something new to drink, EVERYONE wants something new to drink and maybe a snack to go with. And C) since we gave up fast food for lent and I’m watching my waistline, we had to stop at a fine dining establishment (or Appleby’s) for lunch. Eight hours later we were in Arkansas. (Cue the Deliverence music.)
I don’t get out of the house much, much less the state of Texas, and while I’ve seen a lot of farms and ranches and long dirt roads, I found Arkansas to be (ahem) quite rural. But no matter how unstable your shack, evidently it must be garnished with a satellite dish.
Tomorrow’s Installment: “Digging for Diamonds”
(John has an undisplaced fracture of the distal radius. Cast on Thursday)
It would have been a six hour trip, but since I’m doing everything my trainer tells me, I continued with my daily water consumption of 16 oz of water every couple of hours, which of course, meant a potty stop every couple of hours. And really, that shouldn’t be any different than Charlie guzzling down Diet Dr. Pepper non-stop on every other trip we’ve taken, because we also have to stop often. The difference being that A) I’m more discriminating about where I want to stop and B) when everyone sees Momma get out of the car, EVERYONE wants to get out of the car. Then when Momma gets something new to drink, EVERYONE wants something new to drink and maybe a snack to go with. And C) since we gave up fast food for lent and I’m watching my waistline, we had to stop at a fine dining establishment (or Appleby’s) for lunch. Eight hours later we were in Arkansas. (Cue the Deliverence music.)
I don’t get out of the house much, much less the state of Texas, and while I’ve seen a lot of farms and ranches and long dirt roads, I found Arkansas to be (ahem) quite rural. But no matter how unstable your shack, evidently it must be garnished with a satellite dish.
Tomorrow’s Installment: “Digging for Diamonds”
(John has an undisplaced fracture of the distal radius. Cast on Thursday)
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Back in the Swing
Wow! Have I been out of it or what! This morning when I decided to visit my poor neglected blog, Blogger would not let me go to my old comfortable place, it made me go to the NEW AND IMPROVED BLOGGER, and that's when I found all of you were just sitting here waiting for me! All those fun comments! (And a couple of advertisements I forgot to reject) You guys made my day!
So to recap, don't tell my Mom about the M.O.T.O.R.C.Y.C.L.E. And I've lost fourteen pounds, and found a few muscles I forgot I had lying around. Thank God I've been pressing forty pound toddlers and curling twenty pound grocery bags or I would have been in DEEP trouble. WARNING: Exercise NOW BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!!!!!! I always thought, "Hey, I'll eat a little less, walk around the block a couple of times this week." Well NO WONDER I HAVEN'T LOST ANY WEIGHT IN THE LAST TEN YEARS!! THIS STUFF IS HARD!!! John fell down while rollerblading in the street yesterday and we're waiting for the call from the Dr. to see if his arm is broken. (Cause I'm a looser Mom who doesn't insist on him wearing the proper saftey gear.)
I'll fill ya'll in on our Spring break. I've moved my workout to 5:00 a.m. (yea, you heard me right, all prayers would be greatly appreciated), so I'm hoping to have enough time to get back to my daily blog.
And finally, I'll leave you with this scene from bathtime the other night...
"Okay, Peach, stand up. Hold my hand and step out..."
"EWWW Momma, Ace tee-teed in the bathtub!"
"It's okay, tee-tee is sterile."
"Momma! Ace steriled in the bathtub!"
Thanks everybody, and have a good night!
So to recap, don't tell my Mom about the M.O.T.O.R.C.Y.C.L.E. And I've lost fourteen pounds, and found a few muscles I forgot I had lying around. Thank God I've been pressing forty pound toddlers and curling twenty pound grocery bags or I would have been in DEEP trouble. WARNING: Exercise NOW BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!!!!!! I always thought, "Hey, I'll eat a little less, walk around the block a couple of times this week." Well NO WONDER I HAVEN'T LOST ANY WEIGHT IN THE LAST TEN YEARS!! THIS STUFF IS HARD!!! John fell down while rollerblading in the street yesterday and we're waiting for the call from the Dr. to see if his arm is broken. (Cause I'm a looser Mom who doesn't insist on him wearing the proper saftey gear.)
I'll fill ya'll in on our Spring break. I've moved my workout to 5:00 a.m. (yea, you heard me right, all prayers would be greatly appreciated), so I'm hoping to have enough time to get back to my daily blog.
And finally, I'll leave you with this scene from bathtime the other night...
"Okay, Peach, stand up. Hold my hand and step out..."
"EWWW Momma, Ace tee-teed in the bathtub!"
"It's okay, tee-tee is sterile."
"Momma! Ace steriled in the bathtub!"
Thanks everybody, and have a good night!
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Shopping for DUMMIES
Reason 582 Not To Take Toddlers Shopping In Stores That Don't Have Baskets
When you go in to the Lane Bryant in search of a Sports Bra, that is exactly like the one you already have but in a different color, they will hide in the middle of every rack you pass. Then they will take the arms of the mannequins and try to dance with them, and when you chase them away from the headless girls, the toddler boy will circle back around and start patting her on the butt. And when you see what he's doing you think to yourself "Please Lord, let that be a mannequin and not the saleslady!" Then you will drag them back to the lingerie department and when you momentarily let go of their hands, they will go over to the big circular table that has a thousand pair of perfectly fanned out panties spiraled around it and the girl toddler will say in her best outside voice "EEWWW are those UNDERWEAR!?" and you'll whisper "Yes, there nice new, clean underwear." Whereupon she will lean over the table grab a handful and start sniffing them.
When you go in to the Lane Bryant in search of a Sports Bra, that is exactly like the one you already have but in a different color, they will hide in the middle of every rack you pass. Then they will take the arms of the mannequins and try to dance with them, and when you chase them away from the headless girls, the toddler boy will circle back around and start patting her on the butt. And when you see what he's doing you think to yourself "Please Lord, let that be a mannequin and not the saleslady!" Then you will drag them back to the lingerie department and when you momentarily let go of their hands, they will go over to the big circular table that has a thousand pair of perfectly fanned out panties spiraled around it and the girl toddler will say in her best outside voice "EEWWW are those UNDERWEAR!?" and you'll whisper "Yes, there nice new, clean underwear." Whereupon she will lean over the table grab a handful and start sniffing them.
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Dueling Forties
It's hard to admit you're becoming middle age. I thought I was going to see it coming. I knew something was up because sometimes when I'm shopping in Lane Bryant I think "I'm too old to be buying this sparkly crap!", then I go next door to Catherine's and say "Oh my God! Is that seersucker capri-pants with an elastic waistband?! I'm too young to wear that!"
And then one morning you wake up and your husband has a new shiny red Kawasaki ZX-1430958 in the garage and you've just hired a young, cute personal trainer at the gym and you realize "WE'RE HAVING A MIDLIFE CRISIS!"
And every time he tells me how fast that dang motorcycle goes, I tell him how many push-ups I did that day. I haven't told him yet that my trainer is so short, I could put him in my pocket. Gotta keep him on his toes. I don't want him picking up any drunk women at the Plantersville Chevron who want to go for a ride on the bike. Plus it might keep those Valentine flowers showing up year-round! I think it really irritates him that my trainers name is Charlie too. It really irritates me when he pulls up videos on You-tube of smart-a** showoffs, videoing themselves riding those mortorcycles at ridiculous speeds, while weaving in and out of traffic. The plus side is that I've lost eleven pounds and if he brings home any drunk women from Plantersville, I'll be able to kick their butt!
And then one morning you wake up and your husband has a new shiny red Kawasaki ZX-1430958 in the garage and you've just hired a young, cute personal trainer at the gym and you realize "WE'RE HAVING A MIDLIFE CRISIS!"
And every time he tells me how fast that dang motorcycle goes, I tell him how many push-ups I did that day. I haven't told him yet that my trainer is so short, I could put him in my pocket. Gotta keep him on his toes. I don't want him picking up any drunk women at the Plantersville Chevron who want to go for a ride on the bike. Plus it might keep those Valentine flowers showing up year-round! I think it really irritates him that my trainers name is Charlie too. It really irritates me when he pulls up videos on You-tube of smart-a** showoffs, videoing themselves riding those mortorcycles at ridiculous speeds, while weaving in and out of traffic. The plus side is that I've lost eleven pounds and if he brings home any drunk women from Plantersville, I'll be able to kick their butt!
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Dear Faithful Reader,
Hey girl!
I've been right here. Walking on the treadmill of life, or the elyptical of life, I have foot trouble you know. And you'd think that since I've been walking the elyptical of life for the last four weeks, I would of lost a pound. Hell no! I've only been walking thirty minutes everyday and I have yet to figure out how it blows a hole in my day that I can't seem to recover from.
I get up around 7:00, a little before on a good day. Then I wake up Melee' go downstairs and load or unload the dishwasher depending on the day. Make sure he gets his cereal and brushes his hair. (Boy will just go to school with his big bed head if you don't say anything to him.) ** Pay attention here, this is you first clue for whether or not you want multiple children ** By that time the Littles are up, I usually have their clothes set out and I have Peach dress herself and I have to get Ace's diaper changed and get him dressed. Critical Mass happens right when Melee' and Zoe (my niece) are set to walk out the door and the Littles are either chanting "I want meelk, I want meelk..." or they're trying to sneak out the front door with the big kids. Normally one is chanting, the other sneaking. And Melee's trying to walk out the door without his backpack. I try to either fold a load of clothes or start a load and call up the stairs for John. Try to get the Littles to eat something, pack Peach a lunch if it's school day and fix her hair. Second and third calls up to John and he's usually just down in the nick of time before the bus arrives at 8:30. After John is gone I usually get at least one phone call and then I try to eat my oatmeal, brush my teeth and make sure I have appropriate clothes on. (One afternoon I took John to Faith Formation, where I'm a teacher helper and I looked down to discover I had on my houseshoes.) Then I start gathering lunch boxes, diaper bags, purses, keys, gym membership card, cell phone, earphones, and any other miscellaneous paperwork etc. and the goal is to leave by 9:15. Peach dropped off at 9:30 and then Ace and I head to the gym. Get him checked in, find myself an elyptical with a t.v. and start watching The View at 10:00. 10:30 I pick up Ace and we run our errands, grab lunch and pick up Peach at 1:30 then home, books, nap. I then sit catatonic on the couch until the kids get up/home at about 3:30. Oh sure I do a couple of loads of laundry, finish whatever I didn't get done in the kitchen and then get ready for snackfest and homework. The afternoon is largely a blur, John gets home at 4:30 and then I go to the pantry and figure out what's for dinner. (I'm the Rachel Ray of canned food.)
Then Monday night there's Boyscouts where I'm the treasurer. (Please shoot me.) Tuesday night is Viola lesson, Tuesday/Thursday Melee' has drama, and we just started baseball season.
Bedtime is 8:00 for the Littles, 8:30 for Melee' and God help me, John stays up till 9:00. My husband and I then stare at the T.V for an hour before we go upstairs to stare at the T.V. in the laying down position. (And to be fair, I stare at the T.V. more than he does.) Then we drift off only to find that we have to get up and do it all over again tomorrow.
The other day I almost drew a cartoon of myself with a raincloud following me around to post but I decided that was sort of a downer, and I'm nothing if not optimistic.
Thanks for checking in with me! I've been stalking the cute pictures of "the boy". I have been wanting to blog about something that I'm just not ready for my Mom to read, but my Dad found out the other day, so I may as well. Stay tuned....
I've been right here. Walking on the treadmill of life, or the elyptical of life, I have foot trouble you know. And you'd think that since I've been walking the elyptical of life for the last four weeks, I would of lost a pound. Hell no! I've only been walking thirty minutes everyday and I have yet to figure out how it blows a hole in my day that I can't seem to recover from.
I get up around 7:00, a little before on a good day. Then I wake up Melee' go downstairs and load or unload the dishwasher depending on the day. Make sure he gets his cereal and brushes his hair. (Boy will just go to school with his big bed head if you don't say anything to him.) ** Pay attention here, this is you first clue for whether or not you want multiple children ** By that time the Littles are up, I usually have their clothes set out and I have Peach dress herself and I have to get Ace's diaper changed and get him dressed. Critical Mass happens right when Melee' and Zoe (my niece) are set to walk out the door and the Littles are either chanting "I want meelk, I want meelk..." or they're trying to sneak out the front door with the big kids. Normally one is chanting, the other sneaking. And Melee's trying to walk out the door without his backpack. I try to either fold a load of clothes or start a load and call up the stairs for John. Try to get the Littles to eat something, pack Peach a lunch if it's school day and fix her hair. Second and third calls up to John and he's usually just down in the nick of time before the bus arrives at 8:30. After John is gone I usually get at least one phone call and then I try to eat my oatmeal, brush my teeth and make sure I have appropriate clothes on. (One afternoon I took John to Faith Formation, where I'm a teacher helper and I looked down to discover I had on my houseshoes.) Then I start gathering lunch boxes, diaper bags, purses, keys, gym membership card, cell phone, earphones, and any other miscellaneous paperwork etc. and the goal is to leave by 9:15. Peach dropped off at 9:30 and then Ace and I head to the gym. Get him checked in, find myself an elyptical with a t.v. and start watching The View at 10:00. 10:30 I pick up Ace and we run our errands, grab lunch and pick up Peach at 1:30 then home, books, nap. I then sit catatonic on the couch until the kids get up/home at about 3:30. Oh sure I do a couple of loads of laundry, finish whatever I didn't get done in the kitchen and then get ready for snackfest and homework. The afternoon is largely a blur, John gets home at 4:30 and then I go to the pantry and figure out what's for dinner. (I'm the Rachel Ray of canned food.)
Then Monday night there's Boyscouts where I'm the treasurer. (Please shoot me.) Tuesday night is Viola lesson, Tuesday/Thursday Melee' has drama, and we just started baseball season.
Bedtime is 8:00 for the Littles, 8:30 for Melee' and God help me, John stays up till 9:00. My husband and I then stare at the T.V for an hour before we go upstairs to stare at the T.V. in the laying down position. (And to be fair, I stare at the T.V. more than he does.) Then we drift off only to find that we have to get up and do it all over again tomorrow.
The other day I almost drew a cartoon of myself with a raincloud following me around to post but I decided that was sort of a downer, and I'm nothing if not optimistic.
Thanks for checking in with me! I've been stalking the cute pictures of "the boy". I have been wanting to blog about something that I'm just not ready for my Mom to read, but my Dad found out the other day, so I may as well. Stay tuned....
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