Post Christmas

I finally got it right! My kids were so excited by their gifts this year, there wasn't a 'oh...umm.... thanks' at all. Not once. YEAH!!
Christmas eve we let the demons open one gift and then the rest on Christmas day. On Monday we went out to Chelle's and visited for a couple hours. Mikey started playing poker and I took the kids home to get ready for the big fat mans visit. As soon as we got in the van to come home, Bubba asked if we could check to see where Santa was on Norad's website. We checked it out (all the while I am praying that he is not over Iowa cuz I gotta get 4 of them to bed). He was in South Carolina so we had time to make the reindeer food and sprinkle it outside, get jammies on and get everyone settled down. Then I had to move Mister because he is wound like a top and needs to be separated. 411 went out like a light in 2 minutes. Bubba comes around and says that he can't sleep, I told him it hadn't even been 5 minutes, he needed to go try again. 20 minutes later he comes back and says he still can't, I told him he had to try, try counting back from 100 with his eyes closed. Then I heard him crying so I asked him what was wrong. He told me "I am afraid I am going to ruin everyone's Christmas because I can't fall asleep". Talk about melting my heart. So I found him a tylonel and told him it had sleeping stuff in it. within 10 minutes, he was out.
I woke up at 4:30, I was so excited for the kids to find their stuff. Chick was up at 5:30 (because she set the alarm on her phone) and woke 411 up. By 6 everyone was up; Chick carried Bubba out to the living room because her wasn't moving fast enough for her. My mom got down here about 7:30, I was surprised. Later in the afternoon we went to see Mike's mom. Then we came home and were bums the rest of the night. I loaded Mike's MP3 player for him and he went to bed. I watched TRANSFORMERS with Bubba, what a cute movie. Of course, I remember Transformers from my childhood so it was kinda different for me. There was a scene or two that struck me as hilarious and me and the kids had to pause it because we were laughing so hard.
So today I get to clean up the house and try to get things back to normal. Yeah me!

purple polka dots

Most people think about what they are thankful for at thanksgiving. Not me, just shows what a weirdo I am. For some reason I think about it around Christmas, how lucky I am. I have compiled the top five list......

5. My home.
I have one. It may be a pig sty half the time, cleaning it my be like shoveling in a snow storm. But I have a warm place to sleep,eat,be. And I have been lucky enough to put things in my home that makes my life easier.

4.My health.
I don't have any diseases, heart problems, ear problems, lung problems. I have all the limbs and organs I was born with. So does my husband and children. That right there, I have come to believe, is a minor miracle.

3. My friends.
I am terrible at making new ones and really not good at maintaining long distance friendships. I know that the friends I do have love me and I can count on them to help if I ever need it. Ones I made at the age of 12 or 30, they will be there.

2. My husband
Despite the fact that he delights in making my blood pressure boil, he is a good man. He loves me and tolerates my wackiness (not without comment though).

1. My family
I know there is hostility throughout all families. This person is mad, that person started whatever. I have a brother that lives in Woodbine that refuses to acknowledge his mother and by extension any of his siblings. You take the good, you take the bad. My belief is that your family is always going to be your family and will be there in hard times (and good mostly). You can count on it and know that you will always be loved. I am so lucky to have such a broad based support system, I truly appreciate the love I feel. And to know that my kids are being raised with such a large well, it is amazing.

argh

We bought Blondie a MP3 player for Christmas and since she won't be here on the day of, I let her open it last night. She was very excited about it and wanted to fill it up as soon as possible, so we got on the puter and hooked her up. That made me think, HMm, I haven't added songs to mine in a long time, there is a bunch I need to add. So I get mine and make my sync list and down load it to my player. I thought. I went to look for a song I had just downloaded and it wasn't there, none of them were. So I went back and tried to do it again, the computer said these songs are already on the device. Well, if they are they are hiding. So this morning I dug out the driver disk for the player because I got to thinking, that used Musicmatch to download it the first time, maybe it isn't compatible with Windows media. So, I tried that. It had instructions to install to windows 98. That right there made me nervous since we are operating on Windows Vista. yeah, guess what? no dice. So I am going to go to the Philips site and see if there is an upgrade so I can load songs through vista or if I have to get a new Mp3.

Mr Christmas Program

This year Mr has a new preschool teacher, Miss Stephanie. It is her fist year teaching and let me tell you, I am very happy as a parent with her skills with my son. Since he is the fourth of my kids to go to preschool, I have dealt with a lot of different teaching methods. He loves her and is wanting to go to school to see her and do work for her.










Last night was the preschool's Chrstmas program, which is a first as far as anyone can remember. Mr was a Christmas tree....












Here he is in the actual play, he is in the back, you can kinda see him turning his head...
My camera died about 2 minutes into it so I didn't get very many shots and I was really REALLY bummed, it was so cute!!

The other day this was the view from my deck. I didn't add a color filter or retouch it in anyway, isn't it pretty?

YYEEEHAW

I am done Christmas shopping. Finished, finito, aint doing it no more. It feels so good because usually I am trying to grab that one last thing the day before and this year, I am ahead of the game. I can enjoy the rest of the season without that particular stress. Yippeee.

We watched 'Pursuit of Happyness' last night. I had avoided watching it because I had heard so many mixed things a bout it but everyone agreed it was a tearjerker. It was. If you are in the mood to bawl, it is a good choice, right up there with 'I am Sam'.

I ordered our Christmas cards, nothing like waiting till the last minute. I might have time to mail them out before the holidays. I just got the email saying they are ready to pick up. I am kind of disappointed in them, I should have taken the time to play wiht the picture more but they will work. Speaking of mail, my car loan company is like freaky fast with payments. I mailed a check on Thursday, it had to go to somewhere on the east coast, anyway, it was posting to my account by Sunday night. I have had debit transactions take longer. Weird.

Speaking of weird, Bubba has developed an allergy of some kind. He did it twice in one week a month ago and hasn't done it again. He complained of a tummy ache and then turned bright red and itched from hair to toes. We ran him to the urgent care and they said it looked like an allergy but it could be stress related the first time. The second time we took him to the er, which of course, by the time we got there, he was mostly over it because the benadryll and prednisone we had on hand from the last time had kicked in. Scary stuff. So I call the allergist to find out what the heck is going on. He doesn't have an available appointment til Jan. Of course not. It is crazy.

ok, ya'll know how I surf CNN and find stories that piss me off? Well, today I have a homegrown story. There is this guy, we'll call him... Phallus. Now Phallus had six children by six different women by the time he was 30. Then he met a girl recently graduated from high school and convinced her that she was the love of his life. Here comes baby number seven. The local tv station decides that this is interesting and asks for an interview, which he happily gives. When the reporter asks if he has thought of getting fixed, he was offended, why should he? Hmmm, because you aren't supporting your children that you already have, Phallus. Then the man complains because he has to pay too much (doncha just feel so sorry for him?) Well, the girl realizes that she isn't happy and Phallus doesn't want anything to do with any of his kids, including her baby so she leaves him. Apparently, that isn't acceptable because Phallus decides to punish the girl. He waits until she is in a new relationship and has a new baby with this man before he takes her to court for visiting rights. That's right, people, Phallus has decided he can't live without her baby in his life even though he has six other kids he has nothing to do with and there is a rumor of another on on the way from yet another woman. So, he is awarded one weekend day visits 9-4. The first day he was scheduled for a visit he doesn't show up till 9:30. For some strange reason, the baby (who is now 2 and doesn't have a clue who he is) doesn't want to go with Phallus. SO he tells the girl she needs to take the baby out and adjust the car seat and make it easier on him to take the baby. She tells him to quit traumatizing the baby and just leave. Which he does but ol' Phallus isn't done yet, he goes and gets the police because he is supposed to have visits and she can't keep him away from his baby. Forget the last two years apparently. (Here is where my blood pressure elevated) The police make the girl put her baby in his vehicle so he can leave easier even though the baby is screaming and crying and begging her mommy no. I know they were doing their job by upholding his court order but I think that is just cruel.

Do you hear what I hear?

Silence. Oh the luxury of silence!! After a snow day (well, ice day really) with all five of the sweet blessings and Mikey, I am thoroughly enjoying the lack of noise. Not that it was too bad, except the night before both Mikey and Chick had the flu and I had been up most of the night earning my Nightingale badge. Then you add in it is soooo hard for 5 kids to have the desire to let alone BE quiet, it made for a long day. They are in school and work now though so all is right in my world, 'cept for the hours of housework I am avoiding.
My mom called me, she is going to go spend the weekend before Christmas with my brother and his kids and then come down and spend Christmas eve/day with my family. That is of course weather permitting. And this is the woman who used the "jet stream" excuse. I spose I should explain that. When I was pregnant with Chick, I was staying with my sister in law that was about an hour and a half away from where my mom lived. It was 20 minutes off the highway to go to my grandmothers. Anyway, she hadn't seen me since I left for Korea 5 or 6 months before and was on her way to G'ma's. She said sure they would stop but never did and the next time I talked to her, she said the jet stream had interfered with their plans. You know the jet stream, the air currents a ways up. Yeah that was her excuse so until I see the whites of her eyes I don't get too excited, or at least try no to. Especially after Thanksgiving.
I have to take the 5 demons shopping today after school; Blondie has a Christmas concert tomorrow. I am not sure there is enough Prozac in my world for this but I am not left with many options. Hopefully she will fall in love with the first thing she sees. Yeah that's something to hope for.

Unloading the camera

Hey look what I found, Mr Big Head eating a bomb pop!!
Here is double trouble....
Here is a picture of our friend, the big eared bastard.
If you look really hard, you can see the effects of these cool glasses that I bought the kids...
And here is 411 all dollied up for her Christmas program.

I am ready

For some down time. It seems like there isn't enough time to get it all done. Now I find out that my children are being graded on how they dress for the Christmas program at school. In 2nd and 4th grade. It isn't such a big deal for me, I usually try to make sure they are presentable. Left over instructions drilled into my head from when I was in school and girls had to wear dresses and boys had to wear ties. But we all know there are families who really don't have the extra leeway to dress their kids up because their dress clothes might be a good pair of jeans. I think it is ridiculous that the teacher is mandating a dress code that not all kids are going to be able to follow and then downgrading them if it isn't to her standard. I really hope that part of the story isn't accurate but it is hard to tell since the woman hasn't sent any info out to the parents, is relying on the children to get the message to their parents.
I went to lunch with my mother yesterday. That was kinda nice. My Aunt Kathy had visited for a week or so and Mom is missing her something fierce. They are both in their 60's and she was telling me stories of them walking through the cemetery looking for places to jump out at each other. They are quite the pair.
Didn't someone once say never volunteer for anything? I know that is a written in stone thing for the army, you would think I woulda remembered that. My goofy butt volunteered to do the shopping for the Sweet Shoppe. It made the most sense since I have a few hours everyday during the day in which to get things done so off to Walmart and Aldi's I went. It wasn't too bad, I really need to get out more though, I was getting excited over all the little deals I was getting. That was till I went to Walmart. Why did I think going into bedlam was a good idea? Crikies, what is it about the holiday season that makes everyone so rude? It is all done now though so all we have to worry about it baking. Like mad devils. and dipping, can't forget the dipping.
I have Mr.'s x mas DONE. Chick needs sox and underwear and she is done. I even have Blondie down to sox and underwear. Bubba and 411, however, I am in trouble. I have bought everything on Bubba's list that I could find and I need a couple more to make things even. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find SIGMA 6 guys? I know, I know, toysrus prolly has them but UGGG! I hate that store. HATE IT!
I almost have Blondies stocking done, the kids are getting antsy. I told them I am not hanging stockings until I have hers done so everyone's can go up together. SO now my kids are riding me, got it done yet? got it done yet? I would like to think they are looking out for her. :)

Bartering

Maybe I am hormonal but I hadn't seen this one and it was so sweet. Even if it is a total work of fiction, it is nice to think in this day and age of so much ugliness, there is the possibility that people like this exist.


Bartering
I was at the corner grocery store buying some early potatoes. I noticed a small boy, delicate of bone and feature, ragged but clean, hungrily apprising a basket of freshly picked green peas. I paid for my potatoes, but was also drawn to the display of fresh green peas.I am a pushover for creamed peas and new potatoes. Pondering the peas, I couldn't help overhearing the conversation between Mr. Miller (the store owner) and the ragged boy next to me.
"Hello Barry, how are you today?"
"H'lo, Mr. Miller. Fine, thank ya. Jus' admirin' them peas. They sure look good."
"They are good, Barry. How's your Ma?"
"Fine. Gittin' stronger alla' time."
"Good. Anything I can help you with?"
"No, Sir. Jus' admirin' them peas."
"Would you like take some home?" asked Mr. Miller.
"No, Sir. Got nuthin' to pay for 'em with."
"Well, what have you to trade me for some of those peas?"
"All I got's my prize marble here."
"Is that right? Let me see it" said Miller.
"Here 'tis. She's a dandy."
"I can see that. Hmmmmm, only thing is this one is blue and I sort of go for red. Do you have a red one like this at home?" the store owner asked.
"Not zackley but almost."
"Tell you what. Take this sack of peas home with you and next trip this way let me look at that red marble", Mr. Miller told the boy.
"Sure will. Thanks Mr. Miller.."
Mrs. Miller, who had been standing nearby, came over to help me. With a smile said, "There are two other boys like him in our community, all three are in very poor circumstances.Jim just loves to bargain with them for peas, apples, tomatoes, or whatever. When they come back with their red marbles, and they always do, he decides he doesn't like red after all and he sends them home with a bag of produce for a green marble or an orange one, when they come on their next trip to the store." I left the store smiling to myself, impressed with this man. A short time later I moved to Colorado , but I never forgot the story of this man, the boys, and their bartering for marbles. Several years went by, each more rapid than the previous one. Just recently I had occasion to visit some old friends in that Idaho community and while I was there learned that Mr. Miller had died. They were having his visitation that evening and knowing my friends wanted to go, I agreed to accompany them. Upon arrival at the mortuary we fell into line to meet the relatives of the deceased and to offer whatever words of comfort we could . Ahead of us in line were three young men. One was in an army uniform and the other two wore nice haircuts, dark suits and white shirts...all very professional looking. They approached Mrs. Miller, standing composed and smiling by her husband's casket. Each of the young men hugged her, kissed her on the cheek, spoke briefly with her and moved on to the casket. Her misty light blue eyes followed them as, one by one, each young man stopped briefly and placed his own warm hand over the cold pale hand in the casket. Each left the mortuary awkwardly, wiping his eyes. Our turn came to meet Mrs. Miller. I told her who I was and reminded her of the story from those many years ago and what she had told me about her husband's bartering for marbles. With her eyes glistening, she took my hand and led me to the casket. "Those three young men who just left were the boys I told you about. They just told me how they appreciated the things Jim "traded" them.Now, at last, when Jim could not change his mind about color or size....they came to pay their debt.."
"We've never had a great deal of the wealth of this world," she confided, "but right now, Jim would consider himself the richest man in Idaho " With loving gentleness she lifted the lifeless fingers of her deceased husband. Resting underneath were three exquisitely shined red marbles.

The Moral : We will not be remembered by our words, but by our kind deeds. Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath.

sooooo

wow another week is gone. What a busy one it was. Our friend Zach came for the Thanksgiving holiday and had a great time with Mikey. I got up with Michelle Thursday and went and stood in line at 6 am to try to get a Wii. Yeah good luck with that, they are like phantoms this year. You have to be in the right spot at the right time I guess. Friday I got up and picked up Dianne and Michelle to go shopping at 3 am. That right there should tell you what a nut case I am. We dropped Chelle off at Walmart to wait in line while Dianne and I went to Best Buy's line. It paid off though because we got what we wanted and were in and out of the store in under 10 minutes when it opened. It was a long day but I got Chick and Mr almost all done. I had a lot of fun. Saturday Mike was sicker then a dog most of the day so he had to miss out on hunting. I know her was bummed, he had been looking forward to it for months. Chelle and her family and Dianne and her family came over to have turkey and noodles and play cards. That was a lot of fun till Bubba started having an allergic reaction. To what we don't know. He complained of a tummy ache and turned flaming red from top to toes and itched all over. So to the ER we went. Sunday Zach left to go home and we left to go get a tree. It is a long standing argument; I love real real trees and Mike wants fake. We got a fake one this year and got it half decorated when Blondie started having an anxiety attack. I took her down to the ER and we got home about midnight. Monday I had the flu, I couldn't move with fearing a mess. All day I felt like I had to get better to die. I must interject here that my 13 year old, the one that is giving me gray hairs from her attitude, the one that we have to tell to tune down the Nazi in her, took wonderful care of me. She kept the other kids from bugging me and got me all the ice water I could ask for. Then in the afternoon Blondie started saying her chest hurt again. So as soon as Mikey got home he had to take her to the urgent care clinic. They found she has pneumonia in one lung and bronchitis. Then this morning Chick felt ill. Just not fun around here.

WTF??

Here is a link that should make your blood boil. http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/11/19/saudi.rape.victim/index.html

Let me sum it up for you, a Saudi woman was kidnapped and gang raped by seven men. She had the audacity to want these men punished and talked to the government controlled newspapers about her ordeal. The courts sentenced HER to 90 lashes. Her lawyer thought this was wrong and appealed it so they not only INCREASED her punishment to 200 lashes, they threw in some jail time for her and revoked her lawyers license. And people have to ask why Americans think middle eastern countries are barbaric? I totally get that they have a different culture but I can not begin to understand humans treating other humans like that. This is the same country that condoned stoning a woman to death if she so much as talked to a man she wasn't married to. This isn't totally new though, there have been horrific examples all through time : the crusades, the holocaust, mass graves, genocide etc. It just it soooo sad that in 2007 a woman is at fault for being raped.

on another note, still getting ready for the big turkey day. I am down to cleaning my room and getting Mikey to put away his clothes. Wish me luck with that!!

Time is awasting

Wow, the week really flew by. I have been busy dealing with the drama of having two teens in my home, cleaning, a four year old that acts like an elf on speed, and various other day to day annoyances. I was reminiscing yesterday (alternating with cursing Mikey for not being home) and it amazes me how utterly average I am, what a depressing thought. Then I started thinking about where I started in life and realized that while other kids were wishing to be astronauts/firefighters/president/ballerinas/teachers/doctors/lawyers, I was wishing to be left alone by the various grown men in my moms life. While other kids were going to amusement parks with their parents, I was moving for the millionth time. While some kids were complaining that their parents were all up in their business, I was running wild all over Colorado Springs. My aspirations were to grow up to have a stable, safe, honest, alcoholic free (mostly), drug free, non scary home. I am content in accomplishing that. I have long felt guilt to a degree for not finishing college. That wasn't what I wanted, that was what my sister wanted for me. I understand that, I want my kids to be better then me. Smarter, funnier, more compassionate, kinder, more generous, more ambitious, more polite, more assertive; better. I sometimes think I am screwing them up but you know what? It could be so much worse. At least I am not using my children as begging tools. I don't take my kids shopping so I can spend their gift cards on myself they just got for their birthday. I don't lie to them and deny having said it. I don't let them eat hot dogs or not at all six days a week because my alcohol and cigarettes are more important. I don't beat them (even when I understand the urge). I don't drop them off without them knowing that I am coming back for sure. To my way of thinking, average or 'normal' is a good starting place for my kids and it is an accomplishment for me.

Another weekend gone.

Friday night I went up to the nursing home my Grandmother is in with my mom to have Thanksgiving dinner with her. It was one of the most uncomfortable, depressing things I have ever done. She didn't have a clue who we were. The only time she showed any interest in anything was when the singer started singing carols. I didn't see even a glimpse of the ornery, vibrant woman I knew as my grandmother. This is my mom, my g'ma, and me.

Saturday Mike and I were sitting around the house and he said he wanted hot wings. I told him that a poker party would go really well with them. So we called the local party spot (aka Chelle's) and asked if she wanted to have a cheap poker party. She said sure but only if Mike made wings. I took my camera, I swear I did, but did I manage to get even one shot? Hell to the no. Then Sunday, while we were having a lazy day, Uncle Wein called and told us to come out, there was a deer we needed to see. Apparently the neighbors had been raising this lil guy since he needed a bottle and he comes and goes and is extremely tame. It was an experience the kids loved!!

These are the days......

Despite popular belief , I do not enjoy being the bitch. I am having one of those days, I try to be a good parent and that results in my being called a bitch. I know that I can't always be the cool one and most of the time I am ok with being the bad guy. This morning I asked one of my teens to wear her coat. Since it is 25 degrees outside, I didn't see this as an unreasonable request. You would have thought I asked her to wear a moo moo. Keep in mind, this is a coat that she picked out herself last week. It is so stupid and trivial and I really shouldn't let it get to me. BUT the way I see it, I am unreasonable and bitchy about enough stuff, I shouldn't get this treatment when it's not warranted. Oh wait, in a teens eye, it is always warranted. Why is it that teens think you are the enemy? I lived through my teen years, I should have remembered them better before I decided to have kids. I need to find a parenting class on teens. Or some good happy pills. ;)

I love the internet

This summer 411 saw these cool things, Aquadots. they are basically little plastic beads you put together and then spray with water to fuse. She wanted them then and every time she sees them she asks for them, they are the first thing on her Christmas list. As a matter of fact, they are in the "top 12 toys" for this Christmas season. Imagine my surprise when I saw this...

http://www.ketv.com/family/14536526/detail.html

I am so scratching that from her list. And thanks to Whimpy, I am learning to research a little before I buy. There was a really cool Mac toy that looked like it would be a neat gift for Mr. Till WHimp looked up reviews and called to tell me that it didn't live up to expectations. I looked it up too and couldn't find a rave anywhere. The Leap pad Clickstart, however is SO going on Mr.'s Santa list. Not sure if I mentioned this before but www.bfads.net lets you look at the black friday ads before they are publicly released. This has been a wonderful tool for me as I always miss the ads when they do come out. I have to have a game plan, shopping this time of year without one would make me insane.

Sunday morning giggle

This is the conversation this morning after I asked my 7 &9 year olds to pick up their blankets from sleeping in the living room.
411: Mom, Bubba slept with me last night
Bubba: You sicko! You don't even know what that means.
411: uh-huh, it means being primitive!
It made me laugh, maybe it is the lack of sleep. Mikey and I got to go out last night to a chili cook off and hay rack ride. Mom came down and watched the kids. On the hay rack ride, they started passing around a bottle of Carmel vodka, it was really nummy. Then I had a couple of beers. I don't know why, I usually can't stand beer, but damn it was fun. I called mom and asked her to stay the night because Mikey and I were probably not going to be driving home. It has been a long time since we have gotten to be kid free grown ups having a good time. Poor Mikey isn't enjoying it as well this morning, a little peaked he is he is.

Bragging moment

I know that Michelle thinks blogs are all about bragging, so Chelle, don't read this one! I am going to brag on Chick, lil miss A HONOR ROLL!!! I am rather proud of her and really wanted everyone to know!

Speaking of Chick, here she is with the rest of the teens. She came up with her costume all by herself and wasn't going to go along with being a prom queen like the rest.













And here is JJ, I only wish I had gotten one of him walking in his skeleton suit, it was soooooo cute!!














411's goth look really didn't come through but it was an interesting look for her.














Mr Ghost, he had a ball with it. I was impressed, that is all he ever wanted to be for Halloween.














Bubba as a cowboy. He told me 2 days before his boots didn't fit so he had to wear his tennis shoes. He didn't care as long as he had spurs!!











I had a good time with Whimpy, Ribbit, Boo, Mikey and Christopher. The teens had a lot of drama but I liked where we were. Mr has become so animated, he makes us laugh most everyday. When we aren't trying to not kill him that is. Last night he was singing his Christmas song. I WISH I coulda gotten a sound byte of it. It went something like, 'Santa, bring me a radio i won't ask for more....rock and roll. bring me a big car and I won't ask for more.....rock and roll. bring me a lot of cars and i won't ask for more.....rock and roll.' I swear he was channelling axl rose at one point, had the dancing and singing into the broom down.

Sharing

My cousin sent me the last post in an email and thanks to yahoo, I couldn't forward it. I felt that it needed to be shared so I did it here. I also have some pictures to share.....

A shot that sorta gives you the idea of how many kids were getting into the groove at the party.

"spooky hollow" and some of the other treats. The mice were the cutest!

Blondie's 'Henry George Bob' Mr's 'haunted house' and Bubba's 'vampire with blood drop'

Chick and 411's unique presentations

When a Soldier Comes Home

When a soldier comes home, he finds it hard.......
to listen to his son whine about being bored. ....

to keep a straight face when people complain about potholes....

to be tolerant of people who complain about the hassle of getting ready for work....

to be understanding when a co-worker complains about a bad night's sleep.....

to be silent when people pray to God for a new car....

to control his panic when his wife tells him he needs to drive slower....
to be grateful that he fights for the freedom of speech...

to be compassionate when a businessman expresses a fear of flying....

to keep from laughing when anxious parents say they're afraid to send their kids off to summer camp....

to keep from ridiculing someone who complains about hot weather....
to control his frustration when a colleague gripes about his coffee being cold....
to remain calm when his daughter complains about having to walk the dog....
to be civil to people who complain about their jobs....
to just walk away when someone says they only get two weeks of vacation a year....
to be happy for a friend's new hot tub....
to be forgiving when someone says how hard it is to have a new baby in the house.....
not to punch a wall when someone says we should pull out immediately
The only thing harder than being a Soldier...
Is loving one.

Further proof

Now I am not a rocket scientist by any stretch, but I think there is some major common sense missing here somewhere.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,305458,00.html

This woman is 25, with 8 children , six of which are under 6, and 4 of which tested positive for cocaine. COCAINE people. On the video, it said there were allegations made to CPS in 2002 and again in 2005, apparently both those were unfounded. Cps were called this time because there was 11 people living in a one bedroom apartment. No one was home, they found these babies because one of the 11 month old boys was taken to the hospital with a broken wrist, arm and head trauma. The nurses were suspicious because he wasn't in any pain. Turns out he was high on coke. Sometimes, the idea of having to pass a test to have kids makes a hell of alot of sense.



The Halloween bash is over, I think it went well. We had 114 kids check in , there were a few that missed that step. Next year we are going to split the ages up though, the littler one like the games and the older ones liked the karaoke. 411 said her favorites were Dr. Insane and Mesmerelda. I thought that was cool since she knew all the behind the scenes stuff and was still impressed. When I find my camera, I will post pictures.
Parent teacher conferences are coming up, I am anxious to hear how Mr is doing. His teacher lives in the same apartment building and she says he is so neat to have in class but I will be interested to see what the aide has to say. I am not looking forward to Bubba's, he is still being a butt about getting his work done. He is always looking for ways to get out of it. I have a sneaky suspicion that this is just the tip of the iceberg and it is only going to get worse. I don't have PTC for the teens, that is probably for the best. I am not sure there is enough time in the night to go over their drama.

I love my children

That is my mantra that I am repeating (not so loudly now that they are gone) this morning. I am really glad that someone thinks I am strong enough to handle this daily but I am seriously doubting their judgement today. Everyone rides the big bus this morning since it is Wednesday. SO I have to get 5 ready instead of 4. That must be the reason why it is stressing me out. That or Bubba deciding that olive and yellow (no idea where those came from) wind pants match a bright blue sleeveless muscle shirt and then throwing a fit when I tell him I am not letting him out of the house like that. Or maybe it was 411 who needs her hair done right this second and is tromping around making as much noise as possible. Or Blondie who just glares and tries to intimidate me every morning and then denies it when I tell her I am not in the mood and to knock it off. Or it could be Mr who refuses to get out of bed and get dressed for 20 minutes and then jumps on me and demands that I make his waffles. But I am betting it is Chick who didn't finish the dishes last night (because she didn't start them till 9 even though she was told to do them at 7) and when I tell her she will do them tonight says ok; then starts telling me 'I am NOT washing this or that because that is from today' & (my favorite)' everyone is just making as many dirty dishes as possible because they know I have to do them'. So can you see where my mantra comes in handy? because all of this is happening at the same time within a half hour period.

A Pirates life for me

Not really anything new going on in my corner of the world, I will have to post pictures of the spooktakular we are getting ready for. It is going to be even more fun then last year, and a tad less stressful on the day of. We have it all set up (for the most part), the prizes all ready, the treat bags done, route for the hayrack ride planned. All we have left to do is buy the buns and make our goodies. There is like 4 other things around the area planned for that day BUT the kids were still talking about how cool the Halloween party was at Valentines day. So I am really interested to see how many kids we get.

Sunday, Uncle Ween and Aunt Kaffy took time from visiting Hadleigh to let my heathens pick out pumpkins from their pumpkin patch. It was really sweet of them and my kids were so excited to get to pick out their own. Now I just have to find time to get them carved. ICK!!

We got our re licensing review in the mail the other day. We get to keep being foster parents, for another year anyway. I had to giggle because in the review she had made little notations of all kinds of things. My favorite line was 'it is a very large apartment that is busy with a lived in look' . I spose that is an accurate way of summing it up. I am so easily amused sometimes.

Some small good news

I took Mr to the allergist today and he told me that he is pretty sure that Mr will outgrow his peanut allergy, maybe even before kindergarten. They did the skin test on him (that is where they poke him with like 15 different kinds of common allergies) and he reacted very minimally to two of them. They did discover the poor thing has a severe sinus infection. He did really well, it is amazing what a promise of a new car will get out of him.



I have neglected to mention my newest (great?) niece that was born on Oct 12. Her name is Hadleigh and she came into the world at a whopping 4 lbs and 14 ounces. She also has a heart problem and has already had a surgery. She will have to have another one probably within a couple of weeks. I mentioned her impending arrival a few posts ago. My heart goes out to her mommy and daddy, Stacy and Curtis. Last year ago, our nephew's son JJ was born and he had to have a surgery right away too (his was for a blocked intestine I think). And some people we know, Starr and Jeff had a baby that had heart troubles and had to have surgery right away too. It is so scary when it involves surgery but tenfold that when it is a baby, let alone a brand new one. Don't get me wrong, I think it is amazing what doctors can do these days. I am extremely grateful that medicine has advanced so much that these lil people have a fighting chance.

Not really anything new around here. Blondie and Chick are in a competition to see which one can get renamed GRUMPY first. Teens are fun. 411 is still angling for as much attention as she can get. Bubba is realizing that by doing his work, he is getting out of trouble. Mr has got his ornery on. He is so full of energy. Today we are going on a preschool field trip to a farm. That ought to be right up his alley with all the tractors and such.

Mikey got his new one ton paid for. He is on the lookout for a little truck to drive back and forth to work. It kills me, I knew he wouldn't last driving the old van. I am happy with my vehicle, I spose it is only fair that he be happy with his.

Monday Madness

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Mister's contribution to my blog :)

See, it was Monday when I started this entry, time has really gotten away from me. I have been running like mad. I heard a guy on the radio awhile ago on the AM side ( in the old van, that is all I got) that was talking about when he took some time off and stayed home with the kids so his wife could go back to work or school. He then goes on to say how easy it is to be home all day. PISSED ME OFF!! I was so furious. But I have been thinking about this for a while now. It all depends on your definition of easy. If you are talking heavy physical labor, yeah it is easier. If you are talking dress code wise, yep it's easier there too. And if you are talking commute, hands down easiest job ever. BUT if you wanna talk about stressful, underpaid, under appreciated, and flat out frustrating, I can't think easy is an accurate description. There was an article I read somewhere where the average stay at home mom, if paid for every job title she performs, would make like $130,000 a year. Like chef, laundress, chauffeur, seamstress, photographer, event coordinator, tutor, dishwasher, maid, daycare provider, advisor and pharmacist. Daily. The thing I don't' get, when did it become tacky to stay home to raise your kids? Seriously, I am amazed at peoples reactions when they find out I am a stay at home mom. Even people in the foster care system are kinda like 'ohhhh why?'

ANYWAY, hopping off the soapbox now. Did ya'll see that guy they arrested for raping a three year old girl on videotape. I won't rant and rave. All I am going to say is that I pray they "accidentally" put him in general population in whatever prison he goes to. As far as I am concerned, there is nothing too evil for him.

Ok, that was depressing, let's see, what has been going on? Hmmmm, appointments, meetings, more appointments, another meeting, yet another appointment. And tomorrow, guess what? Another appointment. This one is with the allergist, they are finally doing the skin test on Mr to see if he is allergic to anything else. I am crossing my fingers that he grows out of the peanut allergy. At my moms today, I asked him if he wanted some peanuts. He told me no. I asked him whynot? he told me, I am 'lergic. I am so relieved that he understands that he can't have peanuts and he is starting to ask before he eats stuff. Used to be he would ask halfway through something.

I had to get my first oil change in the new van today. I am just excited to go 'yeah, that shiny new red one, that's mine' Now I just have to find a crystal for the mirror......

Good Morning

This is how my day starts. I get Bubba up, I get 411 and Blondie up, I get Chick up. I go back to Bubba's room and wake him up again, I go back to Chick's room and wake her up again. I start the first of 15 loads of laundry. I tell 411 she is NOT wearing that, to go change. I make Bubba get out of bed and put clothes on. I yell down the hall to make sure Chick isn't still laying in bed. By this time the 20 questions from 411 has started. I tell her I don't know where her tennis shoes are since I don't wear them. Then Chick comes stomping out telling me that she can't find a bra. I tell her that she knows how to operate the washer, and maybe she should use that knowledge (which, by the way, she did when she wanted a towel for the pregnant stray). Off she huffs to her room. Blondie is up and dressed and staring off into space, until I leave the room, then she follows me. Tell Bubba that he has to wear his tennis shoes. And socks. Try not to laugh at the anguish on his face. Remind myself that 411 is trying new looks and she won't always look like a homeless child. Give Chick her meds, give Blondie her meds. I go to open the curtains in the living room and return to see Chick getting a bowl for cereal. I tell her that the last of the milk got used this morning. She gets all pissy because 'gawd, I only got 1 bowl of cereal yesterday' I explain there are 5 kids who want cereal, and apologize for not getting more milk. I go into the dining room to get the table straightened up since no one else seems to understand that seeing the top of the table isn't a special occasion. Chick decides to get waffles and has trouble with the toaster, to which she mumbles something under her breath about it not being plugged in. Blondie looks over and says 'hey, its not plugged in' . Just trying to be helpful. Next thing I know, Chick is bringing out the entire ugly attitude. I told her she needs to stop being so hateful, Blondie was just trying to help. To which Chick says, no, she was being really snotty to me. UMM, no, I was standing right here and she wasn't giving off any vibe of rudeness at all. So then Chick goes (this is my favorite part) "you are not hearing her right" .Are you serious right now? For pete's sake. I hope she gets over herself and has a good day but I am sure I will get the whole list of who did her wrong when she gets home from school.

People Piss me off

There is a person, A, who knows that a situation is not going to happen. There is no way it will be possible. So let's get the kids all excited about it and let them try to make it happen and when it doesn't, A can sit back and go, Gee, I really wanted it to work, I don't understand why it didn't. So then everyone else gets to look like the bad guy. It is bad enough that people in this world are manipulative, deceitful users but to drag the kids in on it is totally inexcusable. And if it was just this one person, maybe it would be different but I have seen this happen time and again. This is just the episode that blew steam out of my ears. I wish I could just stand by my old favorite, stupid should hurt. This incident wasn't stupidity though, this was calculation. Ok, I vented, much better now.

How I spent my weekend

Saturday we went and bought my new van. And I must mention that our sales guy, Chas Terry at Rhoden, was AWESOME. He made us feel like valued customers and that is not something you see everyday. I had to give him props. Anyway, on Sunday me and the girls went shopping for the Halloween Spooktacular with Dudette, Kizzie, Megs, Deanne, Whimpy and Cindy. After the first stop we decided that lunch was in order so we all went to the Olive Garden. This is one of my favorite restaurants of all time. Mikey hates it so I haven't been for years and years. Anyway, I was really impressed with all the girls behavior. They were very respectful and used their manners while we were eating. After lunch we went to Nobbies. That was a madhouse, kinda like a week before Christmas at Walmart. Then Cindy got sick and Wendy took her home. I have to give her kudos for facing Nobbies not feeling good. Deanne, the girls, Dudette and I then went to a dollar store to get the last little bit of odds and ends that we needed. Then we decided to stop by a thrift store to find prom dresses for Chelle's teens. Megs, Kizzie and Blondie are all going as prom queens/princesses. Chick didn't want to do it and is going as a roman goddess. 411 is going the opposite, she is goth. Complete with piercings, black make up and hair. It was a really quick stop, we found a beautiful dress for each of the girls that is similar in color to Blondies, so they will look like triplets. After this adventure, it was off to walmart. I am afraid to say this is where I pretty much left Deanne and Dudette to their own devices as far as finishing up the shopping. I thought they did awesome, they got all the decorations, candy and toys, and supplies for the games and still had about $100 left in the Halloween account. Hot dogs and pumpkins are all we have left to get. Now we just got to get the garages cleaned. That is a big PPBBBFFFFTTTTTT.



Here are the triplets, showing off their dresses..















and lil miss 411 in her 'tude.

Our Newest addition

Look what I got today!! We traded in the ugly truck and the Kia and I got a 2007 Grand Caravan. I am so loving the radio working, the seatbelts all working, the windshield not leaking, the smell. Mikey is taking over the other van as a work car. He is already talking about getting the windshield fixed, the radio fixed and fixing the air before summer. Yeah, I don't see it lasting that long, I will lay money he has a new work vehicle before then, any takers? :)

Zippidee do dah

Well, never let it be said that I don't give Mikey props when he deserves it. I have been teasing him about never doing anything for my birthday and I just knew he would blow off our 10th anniversary. I knew it. Stuff like that is just beyond his scope of important. All on his own, he arranged for Chelle to take all the kids and for us to have an evening out. I thought it was great that he was willing to go out to dinner on a work night and not even complain about being tired (not a lot anyway ) :) Nothing spectacular but then it has never been about that, just acknowledgement of some kind. Some no kid time was really good. Of course we spent a lot of the time out looking at stuff for the kids but hey, they weren't there driving me nuts. Speaking of looking at stuff, we checked out the new 08 Grand caravan's. I am so in love. I liked the Uplanders but I LOVE the caravan. Dianne had one and it finally died around 250,000 miles. That is just nuts. So I am hoping that maybe, just possibly, I can convince the gods that I really need one and I'll be able to get one. Soon.

Doing better today. Yesterday Chick and I spent the day together and met up with Chelle for lunch and a quick trip to the local dollar tree for some Halloween Spooktacular supplies. We spent 3 hours looking for shoes. 3 hours. We went to every store that sells shoes. We even went to the Buckle, which by the way, I wouldn't recommend unless you like being followed around and shown merchandise at every pause. That is not my preferred way to shop. After we finally found a pair of shoes that was way to expensive but by that time I just wanted to be done, Chelle came and we had lunch. After our adventures to the middle of Omaha, she brought us back to our Kia. Yeah, let me tell you about that damned thing. It is a gutless little thing normally but at least it doesn't smell, doesn't leak and all the seat belts work not to mention the radio and air conditioning. So Chick and I braved Walmart and then made another stop real quick to get gas. When we went to pull out of the gas station onto Broadway (the main drive in Council Bluffs), it wouldn't go. It rolled far enough into traffic that people were stopping to let us out but it wouldn't go any farther. Then I couldn't get it to go backwards either. Did I mention that this is at 5 pm or so? Really fun. I called Mike, he couldn't leave right that second but he was on his way as soon as he could. I called my mom who had driven down to stay with Mr after he got home from school to let her know I was going to be a little later. I tried to move it again, I got it to scoot back (after 5 full minutes of trying) 10 feet or so, so I was at least out of traffic's way. I called Mike again, called my mother again, and vented a little to Chick. I decided to try it again, and I noticed that the air was on. I turned that off and the little P.O.S. took right off like there had never been a problem. Made it all the way to Mike's shop without a problem. Then I had to go get Chinese because I didn't feel like cooking. :) Chick didn't want anything and Blondie doesn't like Chinese and it still cost me $40. It is nuts how expensive it is but damn is it good. I should have then been prepared for Chick coming into my room in the middle of the night to tell me she puked. She LOVES Chinese and something must have been bothering her pretty bad to miss out on it.
Mr was very good for my mom. Of course, she is convinced that he is Damien reincarnated. She never has sugar coated things for me and sometimes that hurts but I know when she says that my kids were good for her it is the truth. I always worry that people tell you that your kids were good and then go 'damn, I am glad they are gone' when you leave. Not that anyone would ever do that. ;)

I am sad.

Yesterday, Chick wrote me a letter. In this letter she tells me that I don't listen to her, I don't know what I am talking about when I make suggestions, and that I am comparing her to Blondie. It broke my heart. I have made a point of listening to everything she has to say since she learned to talk. I have worked really hard to make sure that we had what I thought was a good relationship. I have made jokes about my daughter thinks I am stupid because she is a teen. But she really does think I have no clue. How can she not know how proud of her I am? How does she not see that I think her individuality is amazing? I don't understand how she could possibly think that I would want her to be just like someone else. I thought I have made my opinions clear. Yes, I get mad at her behavior. That is because she is not perfect, no one on this planet is. Her and I are taking a mental health/mommy&daughter day tomorrow .
I am proud of her for writing it out for me and having the courage to tell me. That says something of our relationship, right?
I know that everyone with daughters has/will go through something like this but it truly, deeply hurts.

Aggravation

You know you have those days when you have to check the calendar to make sure God isn't playing some kind of joke and it isn't really a Monday, Again? This is one of those days. It seems amazing to me that on the days that everyone is home to pitch in cleaning, something always manages to come up. Spectacular phenomenon that leaves me to clean up after 6 other people. Many mini battles being fought daily that I am tired of.

There is the school. I am becoming less and less in love with the whole thing. If you have a student that has turned in 1 assignment out of 8, wouldn't you think there is a problem? I told the principal and whoever else would listen that Blondie was behind the curve. They finally scheduled testing last week and it won't be till Oct. 9th (at the earliest) that they do anything about it. I completely understand that she isn't the only student that needs help BUT!! I get a letter saying that she is failing 4 classes because she won't do her work. Really? Think that might be a problem? I have been trying to get some help since before school started and they are just now coming to that conclusion???

There is my niece, the fascinating psychological study, that is pissed at me because I wouldn't lie for her. It seems pretty easy to me, you pay your bills, you get good references.

I have insurance to deal with, yeah that is fun. Trying to deal with all that red tape and stupid applications and forms is enough to make me wanna scream.

Then there is Chick and her jealousy. I don't even know where to start with that. I have tried talking to her, rationalizing with her and all she wants to focus on is so and so is talking about/with/to Blondie. She is feeling so insecure which I get, it goes with the age. I just wish she had a little more self confidence. I had to move Blondie in with 411 last night, we'll see how long that lasts.

And on top of all of it, I get my mother calling me semi guilt tripping me about my grandmother. Or my lack of visits to be more precise. I feel bad that I don't take the time, but she doesn't have a clue who I am and doesn't talk anymore. The last visit that my mom went to at the nursing home, she found out that Grandma has to have her diaper changed every hour and is confined/restrained to a wheelchair. She doesn't recognize anyone and doesn't talk or even acknowledge that you are talking. If I had had an even semi close relationship with her I might be more apt to drive the 2 hours up there. As it is I feel I have enough on my plate and don't see the point when she doesn't understand what is going on around her. And truthfully, that makes me feel like such a bitch. It is one thing in my head but I can't stamp out that little morsel of guilt.

So, that is how this day is going and it is barely noon. Did I mention Mikey wants to go camping this weekend and it is supposed to rain all weekend? Perfect.

Now tell me why the rest of the world can't get along??

My niece sent this to me and I had to share..

In a zoo in California, a mother tiger gave birth to a rare set of triplet tiger cubs. Unfortunately,due to complications in the pregnancy, the cubs were born prematurely and due to their tinysize, they died shortly after birth.?The mother tiger after recovering from the delivery, suddenly started to decline in health,although physically she was fine. The veterinari ans felt that the loss of her litter had causedthe tigress to fall into a depression. The doctors decided that if the tigress could surrogateanother mother's cubs, perhaps she would improve.?After checking with many other zoos across the country, the depressing news was that therewere no tiger cubs of the right age to introduce to the mourning mother The veterinariansdecided to try something that had never been tried in a zoo environment Sometimes a motherof one species will take on the care of a different species. The only orphans" that could befound quickly, were a litter of weanling pigs. The zoo keepers and vets wrapped the piglets intiger skin and placed the babies around the mother tiger. Would they become cubs or pork chops?Take a look...you won't believe your eyes!!
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So today...

Nothing terribly exciting, same old same old. I helped my landlady clean an apartment this morning (that is what I needed the paint chips for), got Mr off to the bus, took care of Miss Smiley, got a call saying Bubba has detention on Thursday, AGAIN, got another call saying Chick was tossing her cookies at school. Yeah, real excitement. I ran into the teacher that is doing Bubba's testing for the Excel program. She told me that he blew her away. She asked him to name 2 of the US's enemies in WWII.( She said to me most kids in the 4th grade can't get Germany,Japan or Italy.) Bubba piped up with Hitler and Mussolini. That is my boy. Then she asked him how a private and a corporal were alike. I was like sure, anything military and he is a walking encyclopedia. This is the kid that was checking out WWII books in the first grade. I am kind of anxious to see the results of the testing.
I made a total of $10 at the craft show this weekend. Everyone says that I undercharge for the quilts but then no one will buy them. I was telling Mikey that it doesn't matter if I charge $1 or $1000 if no one is buying them. The kids were all excited because they got to keep one. I am on the lookout for more Bratz material, I have a niece with a birthday coming up that really wants a quilt with them and 411 snatched it up as soon as I set the box down after the show. At least my children think I am cool! ;)

Quilts