MIne

I make no apology for who I am. This is my blog. I write about things that make me happy, piss me off, make me sad, tickle me pink. I share with whoever because this is my therapy, it helps to keep me sane. When I am struggling with something I feel is unfair, whether it is on CNN or in my backyard, I share. I welcome all feedback. I have inadvertently hurt feelings when I share my opinions. That is not my intention, I immediately edited or deleted the posts when it is brought to my attention. Thankfully, there have only been a couple of instances where I vented and then thought. That is all I am going to say on the subject.

I took 411 in to the specialist today for her ears, she got a glowing bill of good health. She was very relieved to not need tubes, it scared her. Even though I explained that her 4 year old cousin had them and they didn't bother her, 411 was still not happy. She kills me.

Chick is postponing her departure for the summer till JULY so she can participate in the fundraising for our trip to Washington DC. It is weird having her here but at least I'll get to celebrate her birthday with her this year. I haven't gotten to do that since she was 5. She will still get 5 weeks with her father's side of the family, not much more though since school starts August 14th. I think that is just stupid early. She is excited because she got to choose her classes, one of the perks of being in high school. Oh god, I have a high schooler.

On the other end of the spectrum, Mr is EXCITED about kindergarten. He is looking forward to seeing Riles everyday. That is his bestest girlfriend ya know. ;) I am more excited because I know he will be in school ALL day. Siiiiigggggghhhhhhhhhh

Bubba, I am fighting a battle with my little preteen. He doesn't think he has to follow rules or do chores. I know this is normal and once again, I should be thankful for my blessings of such a textbook child. BUT damn is it frustrating.

I am putting together boxes for my any soldier project. I had them all addressed and ready to go and then found out about the large flat rate boxes the post office offers for a discount to military addresses overseas. So I went and got a couple of these and transferred all the goodies to these. Well now they are not full and I am not sending them without them being packed to the brim. It costs the same to mail them, might as well make it a really really good.

perspective

So here I am sitting in my cooled apartment after spending the weekend relaxing at our camping spot surrounded by friends and family. I just read an email from Snatch, stuck in an earthbound hell, don't have what they need, can't get them, struggling to communicate with anyone that isn't in the military. Dealing with so much personally and working 16-20 hours a day because there isn't really a choice. Then there is my mother in law, who just found out that she has cancer. AGAIN. Granted, the bright side to that is that she beat it so bad it took 30 years to come back, but it is still terribly worrisome when someone you love has to face something so major. And there isn't a damn thing you can do to fix it.
I personally believe that when things like this happen, it puts perspective in life. They help me to realize what is truly important. I love Snatch like he is my own little pain in the ass brother and I just want him to be safe and come party like a rock star with us. I love my mother in law and hope that her spunk carries her through this latest ordeal. I am blessed to be able to sit here and write what I want about my feelings, my thoughts, my opinions . To share with all of you these without fear of sanctioned murder just for being a woman. I have four spirited, healthy, intelligent children and a husband that loves us all.

Spring things

411 and Bubba had a spring concert/play called BUGZ, it was soo cute. 411 picked out her outfit all by herself, she was so proud.




















Mr and his faux-hawk enjoying a bubble bath




















Bubba the "Army Ant", I really had to struggle with him to get him to wear the camo. LOL it was more making him narrow it down to which camo.



















Here he is doing his rap solo, Eminem he is not but he had a ball. If you look towards the upper left of the kids, there is 411 groovin' away.















Mr. graduated Preschool last night. He was so cute, the teacher was just amazing. They had a section called "show off time" and they all got to show off all of their hard work. This was either Tooty-ta or Going on a Bear Hunt. My mom came down for the occasion and she was impressed too with Miss Stef-ee-ee's hard work. I can only hope that all my kids' teachers care as much as she does.

oompa loompa

SO I had written this long ole post yesterday, I was rather pleased with myself. When I hit publish, blogger deleted it. Let's see if I can recapture the gist.
Mikey remembered Mommie's day (yeah!) with a early morn trip for Krispy Kreme and roses.
Went to my mother in laws for a get together, that was really nice, no fights.
Chick won first place in a corner conference art fair for her collage.
I went to the oral surgeon, he wants to pull 5 teeth and send me to an orthodontist for braces for a year before he will do the realignment on my jaw.
My mother. I have to love her. She is always teasing me about how I thought she was out of touch and it is just so funny that Chick thinks the same of me. This is in between giving me asinine parenting advice and lecturing me on my weight and my daughters' weight. The thing of it is, yes, she probably did have similar experiences but her ideas on handling them sometimes are just not plausible. Like Mr being the high spirited imp that he is, she regularly recommended spanking him. I finally told her beating him is not going to do any good so come up with something else. Now she will just go, 'I don't know what you are going to do with that kid'. I know she means well, I do, and I should be thankful I am even in contact with her as I know a lot of people that don't have that luxury. BUT I am raising kids in the 21st century, not the 60's (and eighties for my late in life self). I am trying to grow as a parent and a person and while I believe a swat on the butt once in awhile will not kill anyone, I do not believe it is the answer for every problem. Like Chick's attitude will not be adjusted by smacking her no matter how much I want to. And the simple fact I want to is probably a warning against it in itself. I will figure it out, I have faith in my capabilities.

LOVE IT!!

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/parenting/five-things-you-should-never-buy-as-a-mothers-day-gift-167260/

Another cool website

When Mikey was in Kosovo, one of the coolest things they did was establish schools for the children. Some of them had never had any kind of formal education and they were heading into early teens. It is one of the coolest, most under recognized efforts our troops do. Anyway, as I was surfing around http://www.anysoldier.com/ (wink) I found a link to this site http://www.operationdreamseed.org/ They have links to send school supplies to distribute to the kids. I think this is just awesome. The power of the web is amazing.
Speaking of the site http://www.anysoldier.com/ , Mikey and I found a contact that he had been stationed with in Germany, so that is who we are sending our boxes to. I was telling my mom about it, and she was surprised that I wasn't sending them to Snatch. I explained that he has so many people sending him packages, he doesn't really need anything. While there are men and women in the desert for the second and third time with nothing being sent to them. I feel like this is the way I can show my families support for the sacrifices they make. Oh and the post office now has a larger flat rate box (stuff as much as you can in it) that they offer a discount to for APO/ FPO addresses. About time the USPS caught on !

Here is my mom, nephew and me. I wish I could take a good picture once in awhile.....















This is Lewis, my nephew, my sister Terrie, and her husband David.


















And lookie what we found Sunday after I came back.





















And here is the baby of the batch. How it was found is beyond me!

What a difference

a few days make. The big news I guess would be that Blondie no longer lives with us. Unfortunately, it was an unpleasant leaving. I was very upset Tuesday but after hearing from the home provider and the therapist that I had handled things well I felt better about things. Mike and I were talking as well and we came to the conclusion that she had decided what she wanted to happen and would go to whatever extremes she needed to accomplish that. It is frustrating that things couldn't have resulted in a happier conclusion but you live and you learn.
I have gone through my entire closet twice to try to find something I feel looks nice and I am comfortable in. That is the major problem about not having to dress professionally for a job, I just don't do it often enough. I did buy the cutest shoes for what I thought I was going to wear. When I tried it all on, I hated it. So back to the closet I go.
I have lost my five pounds for the month!! YAHOO!! See, Chick and I are going to Washington DC next May. I figured out if I lost 5 pounds a month, I would lose the weight I want to and be almost exactly where I want. And 5 pounds a month is a goal that is achievable. With all the mouth surgery they want to do, I should be able to keep on task plus.
Speaking of oral stuff, the update on that is, I went to the dentist. Who, by the way, was very gentle and didn't make me freak once. The basic diagnosis was that I need three teeth pulled, my jaw cut and realigned, a crown and a bridge. Yeah, lots to look forward to. I am going on the 7th for the surgery consult.