Nothing shocks me anymore

March Reading

2011-03-23T14:43:00.001-07:00

This has been a slow read month for me. I have been just too danged busy with the twins turning 6, preparing for school carnival, Twins club events and state paper work.. that I have had no energy for my own reading.

This is what I have!

America's Cheapest Family- Steve and Annette Economides

Pretty self explainable.. plus they have been on TODAY enough times! The are well known for their frugal-ness and they are willing to share the info. Many of their ideas go way to frugal for me.. but I was able to gather some nifty info! Easy read!

The Coupon Mom's guide to cutting your grocery bills in half- Stephanie Nelson

This lady has made a name for herself for figuring out how to use coupons. Good guide for those who are coupon illiterate...

More writing..

2011-03-16T13:40:00.001-07:00

I was volunteering today and Madeline's teacher Mrs. Tobin handed me this paper to read. She had been absent on Monday after she fell and injured her knee over the weekend. She had the substitute give a writing assignment about a time the kids got hurt.

Madeline wrote.

I was walking home fome bob evins and I tript on a bump. I skekapt my ney and it starid to bled. My mom put a band aid on my ney.

I had to laugh because that happened on Sunday night so the *injury* was the fresh on her mind. The blood she was referring to was just the tiniest amount from the skin rubbing off.. But ointment and bandages were necessary to make her world better!

Tonights Homework...Handwriting

2011-03-16T13:31:00.000-07:00

Madeline's

The assignment was write a story.. Start the story, "Spring is when..."

Spring is when the flouwers blom. It is when we go swimming. I can ride my bicke. You can ride your sckodor. You can ride your forweler.

Andrew's was to write about what you like to do on a rainy day!

On a rain day I stay in my hows. I lay in my bed. I lay on my wolo(wall) and do nuthing.

What I am reading.. Finishing up February...

2011-02-26T18:14:00.001-08:00

2/2/11- The Year My Son and I were Born by Kathryn Lynard Soper

Non fiction writing, Soper shares her pain, joy, and frustrations starting with the 10 week premature birth of her 7th child. Soper and her husband soon learned that their son carried an extra chromosome sending them into the world of Down Syndrome. Soper shares her emotions in dealing with the diagnosis, how to accept a child that will not be *Normal*, and how she feels she no longer fits in with her faith and those around her.

2/8/11 Why My Third Husband Will Be a Dog by Lisa Scottoline

Scottoline is an award winning author who also writes a column for her local paper in thePittsburgarea. This book is a compilation of her newspaper columns.. She shares stories about living alone, divorce, being a single mother, dealing with her elderly mother and all her daily chaos! Easy to read short chapters, en lightning and entertaining.

2/13/11 After all these years...by Susan Isaacs

Fictional story... Rose wakes up in the middle of the night and heads to the kitchen for a snack. When she shuffles into the kitchen she stumbles into a lump on the floor. Initially she fears she has stepped on the dog.. but quickly remembers the dog dies a few weeks ago. She flips on the lights to see her husband, lying on the kitchen floor with a knife in his chest. Her soon to be Ex husband... who moved out of the house months ago... and in with his new lover....

The story follows Rose as she is quickly named the suspect, how she outsmarts the police and escapes her house the evening before they plan to arrest her for murder, and how she goes onthe lam trying to find the real murderer and the reasons why...

2/19/11 Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua

Non Fictional writing.. The best synopsis comes from the cover of the book...

"This is a story about a mother, two daughters and two dogs. This was supposed to be a story of how Chinese parents are better at raising kids then Western ones. But instead, it's about a bitter clash of cultures, a fleeting taste of glory, and how I was humbled by a 13 year old."

Chua writes about her attempt to raise perfect Chinese daughters, even though they are not really *Chinese* daughters....They are American daughters, born and bred and not as easily molded by control and manipulation...

The last two books I had never heard of. They were on the New Release Shelf at the Library and well worth the time it took to read them!

2/25/11 The Good Sister by Drusilla Campbell

Roxanne has spent her entire life caring for and protecting her younger, weaker, *fragile* sister Simone. In the end there is nothing she can do to help her... Story looks at three generations of women, Ellen, her daughters Roxanne and Simone, and Simone's daughter Merell, Valli, Victoria, Olivia and Claire... and the secrecy, the violence and lies that surround them.

Book discusses physical abuse as well as Postpartum Psychosis Disorder.

2/17/11 Mothers and Other Liars by Amy Bourret

Ruby was 19 when she was stopped at a rest area for a break on her drive cross country. When she went to toss her candy wrapper in the trash she was shocked to see an infant carrier with a baby in the can. Assuming that the child was abandoned by her parents Ruby takes her and raises her as her own. Lark was 9 years old when Ruby happened to read a story in a tabloid about a woman who admits she was part of a duo who stole the vehicle that held a newborn when the driver stepped away at the gas station. The photo accompanying the article looks exactly like the first photo Ruby took of Lark all those years ago... Ruby struggles with what to do.. and in the end decided on telling the truth.. no matter what pain that may cause....

Tonights Homework...

2011-02-23T16:46:00.001-08:00

What sport would you participate in at the Olympics? Why would you choose that sport?

Madeline wrote...

I like volleyball. You can play in your bathing suit. You can play on the sand. It is a fun sport. You can hit the ball over the net.

(granted she only had any idea about volleyball after I had her watch a youtube video of Kerri Walsh and Misty May Trenner! )

Andrew had the same assignment and he wrote his paper out all by himself and brought it to me to read...

If I had a trofey I will put it under my bed and hide it. If I had inoer(another) trofey now I will put it in a nuer plac i will put it on my shelf..

Nice try.. but not on topic son!

See what it feels like???

2011-02-21T18:14:00.001-08:00

This afternoon Madeline was on the kids computer trying to play one of the educational games Michael installed. Andrew was sitting on the couch behind her trying to tell her what to do next, which way to go, what she did wrong and how to fix it. This went on for almost 10 minutes. No arguing.. just a back and forth banter with Andrew getting more and more frustrated with her lack of compliance with him.

Finally, whatever game she was playing, she lost. Andrew gets up off the couch and walks away saying, " See! You never listen to anything I say Ma-de-lin!"

I looked over at Michael and turns away from them and to me and we just start to laugh...

See what it feels like kids?

February Reading...cont...

2011-02-19T08:14:00.000-08:00

2/2/11- The Year My Son and I were Born by Kathryn Lynard Soper

2/8/11 Why My Third Husband Will Be a Dog by Lisa Scottoline

Scottoline is an award winning author who also writes a column for her local paper in the Pittsburgarea. This book is a compilation of her newspaper columns.. She shares stories about living alone, divorce, being a single mother, dealing with her elderly mother and all her daily chaos! Easy to read short chapters, en lightning and entertaining.

2/13/11 After all these years...by Susan Isaacs

The story follows Rose as she is quickly named the suspect, how she outsmarts the police and escapes her house the evening before they plan to arrest her for murder, and how she goes on the lam trying to find the real murderer and the reasons why...

2/19/11 Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua

Non Fictional writing.. The best synopsis comes from the cover of the book...

Hacky Valentines Day.

2011-02-14T13:12:00.000-08:00

Yes, Hacky.... as in Cough, cough, choke cough...As in Influenza!

Saturday we decided to go out to dinner. We did not even leave the house until at least 530pm. Everyone was fine. In the amount of time it took us to drive into Belden and go to CiCi's Andrew was pale with flushed cheeks and obviously fevered. He went back and forth from shaking and wearing a coat to fine. We ran our errands and headed home. I popped some Tylenol in him and sent him to bed. At midnight I took him to the bathroom and dosed him with Advil.

Sunday morning I woke up coughing, Michael woke up coughing and Andrew was still a Hot Mess.. Literally..I decided I needed to get food in the house before I was full blown sick.. Good choice on my part. Michael ended up making dinner and I ended up napping from 630pm until 9pm. I got up long enough to have a cup of hot, sodium free, chicken broth ( AKA- nasty).

This morning Madeline and Ben were healthy still so they were shipped off to school. I called the Dr office and was told to come on in since the Dr was already in. I LOVE it when that happens. Of course Andrew decided at THAT moment to start puking in the bathroom sink. Yeah for being tall enough to make in into the sink! (as a mom I have learned to appreciate the small blessings thrown my way)

We see the Dr. She checks him out. She asks if anyone else is sick. I nod.. "Michael and I are too" She asks for our symptoms. I tell her all about our joys.. She diagnoses us all with influenza. Tells me to keep doing what we are doing, Tylenol and motrin swap, fluids, and lots of rest. She advises me to not bother going to the Dr for myself, Tami flu is not all that it is cracked up to be. Will only help shorted the duration of the illness minimally, we are otherwise healthy, the cost is $$ and the side effects are nasty! Good enough for me!

So my second blessing of the day was only 1 office visit co-pay!

Since everything comes in threes I consider that Ben and Madeline got off the bus still healthy my third blessing.

Fingers crossed that I do not have to edit that last line...

Happy Valentines Day!

2011-02-14T13:10:00.001-08:00

I bought my husband a card for Valentines Day, the same as I do every year. The same as I do for Sweetest Day, every year. He forgot to get me a card. He said he thought we did not do that.

That is O.K. though. Instead he did the dishes.

Weighing in on things that matter...

2011-02-10T05:09:00.000-08:00

I can officially say that I am MOST definitely under the weight I was when I got pregnant with the twins!! WOOHOO!

No.. I did not say that I LOOK like I did when I had the twins.. Just under that weight.

I only gained 21lbs with them. Within 2 weeks I was easily fitting into my pre pregnancy pants.. Then reality hit.... I spent the next year sitting on the couch nursing 2 babies.

And the next few years chasing toddlers and preschoolers.

Personal exercise was never a priority of my time or financially affordable.

But things have changed and Michael and I are both intently focused on food choices, caloric intake and portion control.

AND IT IS WORKING!

Now to find a place that is affordable to start to work this mass back into some sort of shape...

After that..

To see if I can find a loophole in the insurance plans that will pay for a body that has been wrecked by an overstretched pregnancy! lol

Andrews writing Homework...

2011-02-09T19:14:00.000-08:00

The assignment tonight was to ~Write a letter to your Valentine~ Madeline chose to write a note to her friend Caroline. Andrew chose himself. This is is what he wrote...

Dear Andrew

I like my self

And my smily.

I like my bad.(dad)

I like my mom.

I like my famley.

Too cute!

February Reading...

2011-02-08T07:01:00.001-08:00

2/2/11- The Year My Son and I were Born by Kathryn Lynard Soper

2/8/11 Why My Third Husband Will Be a Dog by Lisa Scottoline

Scottoline is an award winning author who also writes a column for her local paper in the Pittsburg area. This book is a compilation of her newspaper columns.. She shares stories about living alone, divorce, being a single mother, dealing with her elderly mother and all her daily chaos! Easy to read short chapters, en lightning and entertaining.

The Ups and the Downs

2011-01-11T05:24:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I weighed myself to have a Monday to Monday comparison... *Officially* in that 7 day span I lost 2.4 lbs. Not the 4lbs+ that Saturday tried to convince me but still a justifiable and healthy loss.

I will take it!

Last night was CMOMC meeting and my goal was to not eat the dessert. Which is actually pretty easy.. I have everyone get food and then I start the meeting! The problem is after the meeting it is so easy to go pick at the snacks and chat.. A few things helped.. I do not like cream chicken sammies so NO worry there! I don't like snack meatballs so much either so easy there.

Thank you to Lori and David who unknowingly helped me avoid the table!

This morning I weighed myself.. I know it is not the best habi to weigh in everyday but I prefer to see the little changes for self motivation..

This morning shows a 1.6 drop from yesterday.. To believe or not believe.....That is the question..

I will check daily for my own personal interest but only count the Monday numbers across the board for actual loss...

SO the Funny......

This morning we are on the way to the bus and I ask Maddie if she remembered the shoes to change into from her boots.. She did not of course.. So I go to run back to the house...

Holding my scrubby track pants waistband the entire time.. Then I realize.. my underwear are falling down and that was making it really hard to keep going.. I had to lift my coat, dig in grab my skivvies and pull them up to keep on running!

Good thing these pants are falling apart.. I hate waste and will not feel guilt at all when I finally toss these aside!

And reality is.....lol

2011-01-09T04:35:00.000-08:00

Today I am right back to where I was on Friday.. Obviously yesterdays scale was off..Oh well... It was a nice thought.

And still a motivator!!

Sooooo excited!!!

2011-01-08T19:57:00.000-08:00

SO this morning as my usual I went to the bathroom when I woke and then went to the kitchen to weigh myself. When I glanced down to see the number I laughed because I KNEW I must have fidgeted too much.. That number was just too low compared to yesterday..

I flipped on the light, reset the scale and stepped on again and did not move.... and I waited..

THE SAME NUMBER POPPED UP!!!!!!!!!!!

I did the math(which was easy) and realized I supposedly lost 4.2 pounds since yesterday.. HUH?

Is that even possible?

Yesterday I ate a new cereal for breakfast.. All Bran.., I ate what felt like a HUGE lunch... I shoveled the entire driveway of the snow that was out there already... I ate a good dinner with the kids.. I even ate a big enough helping of dessert I felt sick... ( sugar free pudding, banana, vanilla wafer and real freshly made whipped cream)

How does this compute? I was just hoping to not gain...

Oh well I figure I will enjoy that loss today and tomorrow when I show a gain of 3lbs I will get a good laugh...

Later on after kids were settled playing I got bundled up and headed out to shovel the new accumulation of snow.. While I was shoveling I realized today was January 8. That caused me to stop and pause for a moment...

December 8th was when we made the choice to make all these changes... December 8th was the day we decided to work together to fight this battle, lower portions, eat less carb, to better ourselves..

It has been 1 month.. It has been 1 month and with todays starting weight...

I HAVE LOST TWENTY POUNDS!!!!!!!

What an awesome feeling that was.. Sure, I realistically expect to see this to be untrue in the morning.. But for today... For today I have lost 20lbs!

WOO-HOO.. that is such a motivator.. That is such a milestone number.. Sure maybe on some people it is a HUGE obvious change.. It is not that obvious (in my opinion) for me.. Unless you really knew what my boobs looked like.. because unfortunately.. The Boobs have left the building....

To be continued...

What I am reading this year...

2011-01-07T19:06:00.001-08:00

I want to see how many *adult* books I read this year.. So I figured if I list them here then I will know! Also then if I want to share good reads then I will actually remember what I read!

So to start the year:

1/7/11 Losing It- Valerie Bertanelli

Interesting read.. not life shattering but interesting and not too heavy

1/13/11 Without Pity- Ann Rule

My Madeline.. the Hypochondriac

2011-01-05T18:07:00.000-08:00

We started back to school on Monday..

So far this week my daughter has complained -

"My hip hurts!... Both of them do..."

"My tongue hurts.. there is a bump on it"

"My throat hurts!"

"My head hurts here.. and here..."

"My tummy hurts"

If this is how K goes.. I will be so doomed once she hits the teen years...

Exciting!

2011-01-02T07:05:00.000-08:00

Getting dressed for church this morning has proven to be an uplifting experience. This particular pair of pants fits looser then the last time I wore them!!! Up until now I have not noticed any change in my lower body.. Being able to button and zip these and have a little extra room is very exciting! The shirt I picked to go with it fits a little looser too.. but only b/c my boobs have shrunk!

Not excited about loosing the girls but I will take the small victories where ever they come!! WOOHOO!

Resolving to Reduce...in 2011

2011-01-01T08:51:00.000-08:00

I never make resolutions, why would I, I would just ignore them like everyone else does theirs!

So this year I have one simple goal.. A very attainable goal..

Simply to Reduce....

A simple plan that can be achieved in many different areas..

Reduce my weight...

Reduce my stress...( LOL.. still not sure how to do THAT!)

Reduce clutter in this house

Reduce debt

Reduce(hopefully) costs... more careful spending to help with that debt reduction...

Mentally I am already cleaning the basement! I have piles sorted down there and I know which will go to the donation center at church(clothing with life still left )..

which items I will take to the Crisis Pregnancy Center(crib mattress, mattress covers, crib sheets),

which items I can drop at the local Head Start Center( some educational toys, lots of books etc)

Now if only I could reduce that Mini Van..... Need to keep posting that on Craigslist!

Losing it....

2010-12-31T19:45:00.001-08:00

I am starting the New Year weighing 12lbs less then I did when I started December!!!!

Here is to being a **LOSER** next year!1

The first official day of Summer break!

2010-06-07T10:49:00.001-07:00

Actually it was last Friday but I planned so many things that day there was real vacation involved!

So we start today! I want to have some sort of schedule to the day. I absolutely hate to look at the clock and see 1145am and realize nothing has been accomplished. Relaxation is fine and well.. laziness bothers me! So I did allow some video games this morning while I did a few things. Then I shut them down! Then I got the kids moving along! So far- on this fine cold windy June day I/we have:
played some video games
taken dirty laundry downstairs and pulled the dry out and flipped loads.
Emptied the clean dishwasher and put them away.
Made the kids breakfast and loaded those dishes into the empty washer
Make my hubby a mug of coffee and took it to his work. ( okay fine i carried it over to the recliner.. but still I did that!)
ordered everyone dressed, all teeth brushed and beds made.
library books gathered and off to the library for new books, sign up for summer activities and some educational computer games.
Ran to the grocery store for dog food( I keep forgetting that one!)
Home again!
I fixed the kids a quick morning snack of juice and strawberries.
Took the kids outside and instructed them to pick up all toys/chairs/junk in the yard and put it away so I could mow.
Pulled out the tractor and mowed the back yard. Had kids help me pull all the trimmed bushes behind the barn so I could mow around the fire pit.
Came in and prepared lunch for the kids, b/c no one mentioned to daddy they still had not eaten lunch!
Time to load lunch dishes into the machine and check on defrosting turkey breast that will be tonight's supper.
(kids are currently fighting over who gets to sweep the basement where Michael is working between calls/meetings)

So far this is my day.. a work in progress. There will be days I do more.. and days I do much less!

Time to use those brand new permanent markers..

2010-04-20T07:57:00.000-07:00

I defrosted a freezer bag of cooked chicken yesterday. Half the bag went onto a yummy BBQ chicken pizza.. The rest was just staring at me in the fridge. The obvious answer is soup. Too bad my people don't like soup. Then I thought about a MoM's friend who just had a baby.. Soup is a simple lunch.. you scoop out the veggies and noodles and give that to the kids. So I decided to whip it up and then let it do its thing while I ran a few errands.
Into the fridge/freezer I went. Last of a bag of carrots, few stalks of celery, bay leaves, frozen quart bag of homemade chicken stock, baggies of leftover canned broth I froze instead of wasting.
Into the pot went the frozen broth to defrost. I scraped and chopped the carrots, finely chopped the celery leaves and chunked the celery down.. perfect sizes for toddler fingers. I grabbed a can of broth to give more liquid. A few shakes of black pepper, a few garlic cloves cracked for a fresher homemade flavor. I tossed the veggies into the liquid and turned the crock pot on to warm. I figure I will toss the hot liquid into the crock and the veggies will have lots of time to soften.
Before I go to dump the soup I grab a spoon to taste for seasoning... The first taste was not right... I stirred it a bit more and tried again...

CRAPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP! That last little baggie was not the dregs of a can of broth.. it was lemon juice..... Now only if I were Greek could I save this pot....

Sorry Amanda... No soup for you!

It is Ohio... There will be snow in Feb.. GET OVER IT!

2010-02-16T07:34:00.000-08:00

I am cracking up at newspaper articles where people are talking about being "over " all the snow.. ready for spring etc.. Maybe they missed the memo that Ohio can have snow into May.. That Spring is not a guarantee here in O-HI-O. Head south my friend! Head south...

So MY big complaint is not really that big... I am so grateful that our school system has this cool auto dial line where they call you and tell you school is cancelled. The downside .. that call comes at 540am.. and scares me every time. The positive is I roll over and turn the alarm off. DONE! try to go back to sleep.

So this morning the dog wanted to go out. I ignored her for a while but she is persistent so I was up at 315am taking her out. Seriously what are the chances that at that exact moment, you know where I am standing in the door to my house wearing only a t shirt... the road crew drives down the main road and turns onto my street to plow. Dog is barking, I have no doubt the neighbors could hear her. I flipped the lights off and hoped that the plow driver couldn't see anything/ wasn't paying attn.

So I was actually surprised school was called off.. roads were being worked on all night, plowed and salted. Must be the amount of snow. It is still snowing - late morning. I am putting off pulling out the snow blower. I hate to have to do that with the kids in the house. Un-At-tended... that is the equivalent to TROUBLE!

I am sure I will have to do it.. I *will* take photos so send to my sweetie. So he can see what he is missing here in OHIO!

Madeline-isms

2010-02-10T17:31:00.000-08:00

Sometimes after talking to my daughter I am left scratching my head.. The things she says make me wonder what is going on in that head .. Today...for example.. she says..

"WHEW! That snow is so deep.. I was almost stuck to death...- while playing in the backyard and trying to walk through drifts.

" Mama.. when we go inside can we have some hot chocolate so I can cool off?"- there was snow.. I don't need to explain that it was NOT hot outside

THEN after brushing her teeth I had her rinse with kids ACT fluoride rinse. She informs me...

" That pink is burning me.. It is burning my eyes so bad. " so I ask her. Did you get it in your eyes?
" NO, just in my mouth.. and it is making my eyes burn SO badly"

Happy February!!! ( forget that it is already the 7th)

2010-02-07T18:47:00.000-08:00

I am such a liar! I swore to myself I would try to post something everyday.. I obviously am not as interesting as I thought I could be...

Lets see.. What do I want to remember in 5 years....
We got a LOT of snow this weekend... Woke up Sat and there was so much snow the side door was drifted up to the door handle...
There was so much snow the front door could not open to let the poor dog out.
Michael was so excited to be able to get out and actually PLAY with his new snowblower. We called across the street and told Bob to not kill his back trying to shovel out. Michael walked out our drive. Across the road to blow out B/E. Bob filled the blow with gas and Michael headed next door and helped M finish his driveway. THEN he headed down and started in on J/M drive. He caught up with F and they figured that they took care of everyone that needed the help.

The kids are trying to figure out the mystery of the missing bird feeder. The 2liter soda bottle feeder.. The bottle is MIA... there are no footprints in the back yard... it was tied in at one point.. HMMMMMMM Swiper the fox? A crazy squirrel? You be the judge...

I was awoken this morning to defend Madeline. Ben offended her by accusing her of being "Born in the 90's"... I have no idea what I am going to do when they all hit puberty..

The Saints won the superbowl.. not that I actually watched the superbowl.. but it was background noise...

Why I Coupon...

2010-01-05T13:19:00.000-08:00

I am really lucky to have a local grocery store that doubles coupons. Giant Eagle doubles coupons up to .99. (They also have a gas promotion where for every 50.00 you spend you get .20 off every gallon of gas. )

So I collect coupons. A LOT of coupons. Every couple weeks I get a sackful of coupons from the inlaws who gather them from friends- Grandfather in law finds it interesting that I get so excited about coupons. Here is an example of WHY I get giddy when presented with coupons.

Marcal/Small Steps is a paper product brand that is more organic b/c it is recycled and environment friendly. They also are way overpriced. IMHO! But they put out pretty good coupons. Not good enough to use regularly but I cut and save them Just.In.Case. and I waited.. patiently...

Last week the new sale ad came out and I flipped when I saw that this brand of TP/PT/Napkins was on sale 2 for $4.00. I grabbed my coupons and planned my attack. I ran out and bought everything I could. Then over the weekend I received my much coveted sack of coupons and my Sunday paper had 4 fliers in it... I set to work after dinner. MORE COUPONS!!!

When all is said and done I used coupons that were for 2.00 each item, 1.50 off each item and 1.00 each item.

On my 2 shopping trips I purchased.

6- 2 packs of paper towels
9-4packs (double roll) toilet paper
2-250ct pack of napkins.

Total cost.....$ 9.00!

That saves me a run to BJ's to stock up on my paper goods!

I have found a positive to cold weather

2010-01-04T07:59:00.000-08:00

Kids are all at school/preschool. I come home and shower. While I let my hair partially dry I fold and put away 4 loads of laundry. Pull out the hair dryer and dry the mane.. put some simple make up on and go to grab some clothing... I grab a pair of jeans. Cannot figure out which shirt I will be most comfortable in. Which is the most flattering... long enough to cover the *bulge*.. Then it hits me.. It is FREEZING outside. Who the hell cares what shirt I am wearing? I will have my long coat on and will likely not be anywhere long enough to unbutton it anyway! SWEET!!!! I grab the first white t shirt I see and a pair of random socks b/c who will look under my pants anyway?

ready to go..

So I have come to the conclusion that as long as my face and hair are presentable and my pants are long enough... The rest is FINE! Thanks Ohio weather! You made my day!

Kicking off the new year...

2010-01-02T19:08:00.000-08:00

The year ended with a great aunt of mine passing away. Which means the new year starts with a funeral...Mom flew in from FL for the service which worked out as Michael had decided to take the 3 kids out for Daddy/Kiddie day..

Mom and I started the day out on the most altruistic way.. We donated blood.. Okay SHE donated the blood. My blood retrieval did not go as planned. Initially I started a good strong flow then it trickled out. Three different nurses and techs checked and could not figure it out. I was set up for a double red cell donation and they could not even get a full single donation out of me. The decided that it was not going to happen and stopped it. When they were unhooking me and tearing the tubing apart they figured it out.. Blood Clots. They tech must have jarred my needle when she was trying to get it in proper position b/c it started to prematurely clot and there was a clot in the needle and a HUGE one stuck in the beginning of the tubing. I was bummed. I was donating like I do a few times a year.. but this time there was a gas card promotion and since I was doing a double donation I was due to get 2 $25.00 gas cards... In the end I got them b/c I was there to donate and it was totally out of my control. THEN b/c mom went to donate with me she got a card too.. She tossed it my way so that is $75.00 in gas cards.. AWESOME!!!!!

Then we continued on.. Took her to get her glasses adjusted, grabbed a quick lunch and off to the memorial service. After the service we ran to Chapel Hill and I managed to buy 3 pairs of jeans/pants at LB. This is amazing for me b/c I now pretty much double my pants supply.. Sad.. I know...
I attempted to buy some boots... Boots are pretty important in Ohio. My zipper busted the first real snow we had. Nice....No luck with that little task.. Thank you Payless, Famous Footwear and Target for NOT stocking a full selection of super huge footwear...

After returning home we go to listen to all the stories the kids told, how they ate at Cici's pizza, shopped at the Dollar Tree and went to the Planetarium and Discovery Museam at McKinley Monument.

The day ended with mom entertaining the kids with Perfection and Scrabble. Now as long as Maddie doesn't really have a sore ear.. ALL will stay good...

Happy New Year 2010!

2010-01-01T21:38:00.000-08:00

I can honestly say that this was the first time since before we had kids that I managed to stay up until/past midnight( at least that did not have someone attatched to my chest.) We spent the evening hanging out with friends and watching the *ball drop*

New Years day was spent doing laundry. Lots and Lots of laundry. But all of our bedding is fresh and clean.

Dinner was chinese buffett. YUM! and my house doesn't smell like pork and sourkraut.

Peer Pressure WORKS!

2009-11-08T19:54:00.000-08:00

Yesterday(Saturday) I took Maddie out for a few errands and left the boys to clean up the yard and play. When we arrived home about 90m later I was Shocked and Amazed, when I pulled into the driveway, to see Andrew come speeding down the driveway at me on TWO WHEELS!. Michael was watching him and me to see my reaction. He was flying down the driveway and up and down the road.. like he had been doing this for months.. not minutes!

Apparently while I was gone he took the wrench and removed his own training wheels. Michael decided to roll with it and found gloves, knee pads and a helmet and pushed him along. It took minutes and he was on his way. Ben, the group giver-upper, threw himself to the ground upon seeing his baby brother riding away. Ben doesn't like to ride his bike and anything he cannot get in .04 seconds is not worth any effort on his part. Michael tried to get him to ride but he refused. Oh well...

SO this afternoon, after church and lunch we head outside to enjoy the lovely November Indian Summer weather. Maddie starts pulling off her training wheels b/c if Andrew can do it so can she. Ben was whining and being a brat... I have no problem with that term! Maddie started to get it and was coasting up and down the road. Ben... not so much. I asked the neighbors if we could borrow their two wheeler that is smaller then Bens- no problem! He refused. Practically the entire neighborhood was outside and he just refused and walked away.

By this time Maddie has gotten it. Bill and Alice have arrived ( g-grandfather and *Auntee*). Bill is working with the kids giving pointers to Maddie and determined to get Ben on a bike. I told him to go grab Anthony's bike next door to try it. Andrew was wanting his brother to do it so badly he rode over and walked back the bigger bike. THEN he ran back to get his bike. After much cajoling we finally got Ben on the bike. Gave the talk about balance and not leaning to the sides. The next thing you know he is gone! Riding up the road like he has been doing it all summer! I had tears in my eyes.. FINALLY he feels a triumph! The BEST BEST BEST part was that as he was riding up the road and WE were screaming and yelling at him all the neighbors can running to see him shouting congratulations to him. He so needed that.

What an amazing 24 hours..All 3 of my children found their wings and are their ability to ride Big kid bikes!

Tuesday..

2009-11-03T19:20:00.000-08:00

Sucked..

I hope to not have to repeat today...

Ever...

The End

Stick a fork in me I am done!

2009-11-02T17:54:00.000-08:00

Today has been a whirlwind kinda day! I managed to snag an early appointment to get Ben in to the Pediatrician so I took him with me to drop the littles off at preschool. As a special treat I picked him up a kids hot chocolate with lots of whipped cream at Starbucks. He was so excited about his special cup! In and out at the Ped.. 1 ear infection. Then I picked up my cell phone at the Sprint store and we hit the mall.. Maddie longlegs needs legging and pants that fit. So we wandered the mall until the stores opened at 1030am. Looked around, bought little, rode escalators at Sears and ended our trip with breadsticks and root beer.. his all time favorite mall treat!
Just enough time to drop the prescription off at the store and pick up a few things.
Yesterday I had called a friend and told her I would be by tonight to watch her kids so they could go have an adult dinner to celebrate their anniversary. Since I was not needing to wait on Ben and the bus I told her we would be over before her Dr appt.. so they could both go and have the afternoon.

Seven children Seven years and under.. That sounds horrid.. It was not bad at all.. Loud maybe but not bad. Sure there were the expected like- random hair pulling, pushing, SHREEKING, laughing, giggling, name calling ( if I hear stupid again I might shreek myself). This house is perfect for marathon chasing I do admit. The rooms roll in and out of each other- when the gates are down the chasing in on. And they chased and laughed and screamed and shreeked. and I pretty much ignored it. I am sure there has to be 1 neighbor who was wondering what the hell was going on over there! LOL...

After friends returned we chatted a bit and then we packed up. Kids were exhausted and grumpy. Halfway home I get a call from my concerned hubby. He had dialed home on his cell by using the home button.. the phone rang twice and a man answered! He hung up and tried again.. this time it rang like normal and went to voice mail. Needless to say he was very concerned. I called neighbor#1.. her husband was out picking up a child from an activity. I called neighbor #2- her husband was out with 2 children. Neighbor#3 was home so he came over and came in the house with me to make sure things looked fine. Sadly it was the same as I left it hours earlier... I was hope I had been the victim of a drive by housekeeping.. So apparently the cell system crossed signals and either misdialed or just went goofy. Not the best night for that to happen.

Kids are in bed. Mama is tired. I would like to place my order for tomorrow to be a nice, quiet, uneventful laundry filled Tuesday!

Good intention...

2009-11-02T04:09:00.001-08:00

I told myself yesterday that I would try to post something every day.. It might not be life altering or hysterical.. but something. More to keep journal...
Time change was yesterday. We FELL back and gained an hour... The kids did not get the memo and we were up at the new 6am... which was the old 7am.. their normal internal clock wake up... and of course I was the one up with them. I was already tired b/c I had been up with Maddie when she wet her bed and Andrew for who knows what...

It was a long day. I made Tres Leche Almond Muffins... YUMMO! Went to early service at church, then ran to get Ben a haircut. Home to make lunch and prepare dinner for the Crockpot. Kids played outside and Michael built a 2 stair ramp for the front porch.. For both our geriatric dog and his mom and her bad knees.. ( I am sure she will be thrilled to have the dog included in this step purpose!)

Did the dinner/bath/bedtime routine. I was exhausted at 9pm... I was sleeping nicely and was so warm when I was awoken by Michael and Ben around 3am.. My baby has ear pain. I medicated him and cuddled him for a while...Got him tucked back in bed...

So my plans for the day will include a call and run to the Pediatrician, most likely a run to the grocery store for meds and quiet time with my big boy! Not that bad of a plan!

Hack, Hack, Cough, Wheeze....

2009-10-13T06:57:00.000-07:00

I cannot even put the sound of snot into a single word..... Tis the sounds of illness at my place....
I fell into a cold the 2nd week of September and since that was MOM sale week I was not sitting still. I drugged myself up well and worked the sale, prepared for and handled first club meeting of the year then went to collapse. Only to find out the kids and Michael managed to get the cold. It seemed fairly normal. Lots of boogers, coughing, cough medicine... but it never wanted to go away. It has drug on and on. Last week Ben came home from school sporting a nice fever and miserable disposition. I kept him home for two days and ended up with a script for Amoxil. Dr figures he is fighting a sinus infection and we hoped that this would push it all through. Maddie and Andrew were with us but actually were presenting as though they were doing better.

WRONG

Sunday they both seemed yucky when we woke so we stayed home from church. By early evening the fevers were in full effect and misery was spreading. I managed to get snuck in between appointments on an already full Columbus Day Monday and found myself with two more orders for medication. I hope this works for all three.

SO between the snot, the medication, the tissues, the hand sanitizer, the coughing, the cough medication and the yelling to STOP coughing in each others faces... I am just praying neither Michael nor I get sick again...

Happy Fall Y'all!

When life hands you ripened produce...

2009-09-22T07:19:00.000-07:00

You do the right thing.. and give it away! My mom was given a basket of tomatoes and peppers from her baby brother. She took a whopping 3 and left the rest for me. So I did the good daughter thing and took them.. Directly from her place and to my next door neighbors! Thankfully I was able to leave 3/4 of the peppers there-(there is a birthday coming up which means Italian sausage and Peppers...Happy Birthday A!) So I was still left with more then a half dozen peppers and about 10 tomatoes. I washed everything and stared at them for a while. I decided to seed and chop the peppers for my own future crock pot nights. Since I was on a roll I did the same with the bag of onions I had on my counter. Tossed them in with the peppers.

Now onto the tomatoes... I decided that I would cook them down and make some juice to freeze until needed. So I got to work.. chopped them down and gave them a quick run in the food processor. Tossed them in a pot and set them to cook. About 90m later I turned the heat off and let it cool. After dinner I poured into a fine mesh sieve and used a spatula to push all the juice out. I tossed the pulp and grabbed a freezer quart bag to store the juice in. When I went to pour the juice into the bag the bowl slipped out of my hand and almost all the juice went splashing on the counter and floor... I was so pissed I poured the rest down the drain and finished the dishes!

This morning as I was making coffee I noticed gnats... I hate these things.. They make me miserable because they irritate my husband and when he is crabby.. you get it...
So this morning I found myself peeling and slicing softball sized peaches... They are in the freezer to be used when the house is chilly and I feel the desire to bake! Since Pears do not have the same usability the kids will be eating lots of fresh pears today!

Who needs toys?

2009-09-22T07:15:00.001-07:00

My Tastefully Simple order arrived this morning in two boxes. This is important because this means there are many many bags of air and sheets of bubble wrap to be jumped on. Even though we asked them to NOT jump on the bags of air but rather twist them to pop them.. they jumped anyway.. I am sure that half the office ceiling is on the floor downstairs...

After that fun game Maddie and Andrew hit my room and found my roll of raffle tickets. They are playing Thea-TE-er. Tearing the tickets apart and telling each other which room they can go into.

Maybe I can introduce them to Mr. Chlorox Wipe and they can play Hotel-Cleaner?!?

Kid-isms...Things heard in the mama-mobile...

2009-09-21T10:47:00.002-07:00

Madeline and Andrew are on week 3 of preschool. I am already seeing/hearing improvement in Andrews speech.. Or that fact that he is actually talking loud enough for me to hear and comprehend. I love that he is speaking up to argue with Maddie about what is happening in class.. or what might happen, or what was said... He cracks me up.

"We painted in class, becaws, we were reading the chick chicka story, becaws the letters climbed the coconut tree. Know why mama? becaws they had to get to the top, becaws they was having to be at the top......" Becaws is the new word around here. Hardly ever used properly it still brings me a chuckle to hear him try to express a complex thought.

I informed them we actually have a children's story collection with a copy of Chicka Chicka Boom Boom in it. I said I could find it and we could have Ben read it to us later. Andrew refused. "Becaws if it is the same as Miss.Katera(teacher) book then we already read it, becaws we heard it and it is not the different one."

Both kids are fighting a head cold and are stuffy and congested. I sent them to school because they are not dying and I paid for that time already! I picked them up and could tell Andrew was pretty sluggish so I informed them right away we had to go buy dog food and grab lunch then we would go home and have quiet time on the couches in our special blankets watching a movie. They liked this idea, I figured it would go over much better then saying they had to lie down and rest....
Of course they requested McDonald's Nuggets. I gave in and treated them. After nearly finishing her food Maddie calls to me and questions " Mama, are these the same chicken nuggets that the other McDonald's uses?" I told her that they were and since she had a stuffy head that might be why they taste funny today. I glanced up and saw her little face all twisted up in perplexed look in my rear view mirror.. she then shook her head and said" Nah.. I think they are different because I tasted the fries and they taste the same as the other fries.. They have different nuggets..." Okay then...

Back by popular demand...

2009-09-21T10:47:00.001-07:00

NAH! Mainly b/c my mama told me to... and the kids were making me laugh this morning...

Pictures

2009-05-31T05:33:00.000-07:00

While we were sitting drinking coffee last night Michael took a photo of me with his I-Phone. I was less then thrilled. as he goes to archive it he notices a photo of Madeline standing in the living room holding her stuffed dog. He looks at it oddly and tells me he doesn't recall taking this photo and shows it to me. It was cute.. I tell him it was in all likelihood Andrew- the kid with the camera obsession. SO he digs deeper in the archives... more at least 2 more of her that day dancing around with her dog, in the sunshine, barefooted in a sundress.... I will post them when he emails them to me..

Crazy kids, crazy Andrew.. Crazy daddy for leaving and unlocked I-phone lying around. That little "slide to open" can not outsmart a 4 year old....

Date Night- what is that? and life drama...

2009-05-31T04:57:00.000-07:00

Michael will be traveling a LOT this summer so I wanted to try to plan a night out where we could just spend some time together and not wrangle kids... something we rarely to never have. So I called up mom over a week ahead of time and asked if they wanted a evening with the grandbabies? They totally understood my request and agreed without hesitation to take on the crew. So my mind started to wander.. What can we do? Where can we in our child-less-ness go????? Michael has gone to PF Changs while on work dime before and has said he cannot wait to take me to try it. I know that they are building one at Summit Mall.. I *thought* I had heard it was to open in April.. so surprising him with that for our evening out would have been a blast... I was getting excited.. Planning a little surprise, the anticipation of it all....Unfortunately, after checking I saw that there are no listing for PF Changs in Akron yet.. I googled a little more and saw that it is still listed as *Coming Soon*. Back to the drawing/planning board.....

Then.....

I got the flu... or something like it...

Lucky me..

Picture this...

Friday morning.. I was on a roll... getting stuff done left a right.. I had a HUGE list of things to do and things already done.. I was on fire... Had JUST finished squeezing a mixture of soynut butter and honey into a bunch of celery sticks and lining them with raisins to take in for Ben's *beach day* afternoon snack... ( I am that mom.. the one who spends 4.99 on a small jar of peanut free spread to make a simple cool snack and not cause any allergic drama)... I was doing the dishes when me midsection started to ache. So sudden.. out of the blue... Did not feel like indigestion.. did not feel like colon.....But it hurt...Oh ye Gawds it hurt....

Of course during this time Andrew reminds me it is lunch time and he is "starbing"...... OMG how can I think.... SO I scramble 3 eggs and toast some bread.. super fast simple hopefully filling food... because mama is going to die pretty soon.. food...

I plate up lunch and run to the bathroom......... Naw... that did not help the pain or nausea at all.. still there.. So I find myself sitting on the stool cleaning the toilet and dry heaving.. the toilet must be cleaned especially if I will be using it.. b/c I was praying at that point for something to happen to remove the pain from my body....

nope, nothing, nada..

but the toilet was now clean...

Michael is downstairs on a conference call. Kids are finishing lunch.. There is NO WAY I am going to be going anywhere. So I call the school and have the secretary let the teacher know I am not bringing a snack in due to illness. Then I call my friend Krista to go pick up club newsletter and come get my labels and stamps.. They NEED to get mailed today and there is NO way I will be managing that task... two things handled.. two more to go.. What can I do with these kids? So I fall back on every mom saver... I filled them each a juice sippie cup, tossed granola bars on the table like I was feeding the animals at the zoo and turned on Noggin....I locked the gate to the stairs and forbid them to go downstairs and bother daddy... Then I went to my bed... ( of course they ignored my forbidding and were downstairs soon enough.. but what position was I in to deal with that?)

Michael realized soon enough that something was wrong.. He made fun of me and called me a lazy faker but I know he KNEW... I mean sure I have lazy lay around days but I don't ever crawl in bed and act like I am dying.. I am not THAT dramatic.....

I went from bad to worse to where the heck am I through the night... The intense body aches, the hours of freezing under 4 heavy layers to the disoriented sweating in the middle of the night.. I was so confused as to WHY my clothing was wet? let alone my hair and nose....

Thankfully I awoke sore, achy and weak..I saw thankfully because the wall of nausea was gone and I actually felt a normal temperature....Michael had taken over the kids.. even if that meant he was asleep in the recliner with them watching tv on him.. at least he was up and I was still in bed.

I took to the day slowly.. very slowly... From a very long shower where I sat on a stool b/c I could not stand to going back to bed to rest and gain strength again... ( I cannot remember the lat time I was so ill.) Slowly with a little coffee and some bread and peanut butter from my hubby I was back on my feet... back to bossing the kids around.. definitely not full speed but back...

I was able to strip the bed and take that down to get washed. Michael worked the living room and I helped the twins by ordering them around in cleaning their room... Ben was a super big help by putting away all the laundry as I folded and directed him. I sat outside with the kids for a while mainly just to get some air and sun... per the orders of my friend Carol.

I told mom to not worry about taking the kids but she insisted.. said if nothing else I would have peace and quiet in my illness... Thankfully I was feeling better by evening so we did go out.. NO partying, no clubbing, no drinking, a simple low key night.

We FINALLY tried 91 Wood Fired Oven.. I mean it only opened around the time BEN was born.. it is only 4 miles from us.. we pass it daily... so we went... and ..... it was okay.... for the price I would hope it was better.. but it was okay... So now that THAT mystery is solved we can check that off our list.. We made it out in time to grab a movie at the cheapo theater so we booked it.. We got there, grabbed tickets and were in our seats with 5 minutes to spare to see "Paul Blart Mall Cop" We had wanted to see it and even though it is on dvd now... it was fun to see in the theatre... We followed that up with a drive and grabbing some (Unnecessary) dessert and coffee at Olive Garden. It was quiet, it was peaceful.. it was too much food and driving on my still weak gut but I survived.

We got home and the house was quiet. We sat and relaxed for a while then headed to bed. Of course since no one was here to wake me my bladder did... Thank you to my lovely internal organ for that... so here I am.. I have total opportunity to sleep in and I cannot..Another day.. Another decade.....

Who needs toys?

2009-05-21T19:46:00.000-07:00

When you have a .97 water sprayer from Walmart...

or a brand new roll of scotch tape..( see the spot on the wall just behind Madelines head.. yup that was her attempt at hanging pictures...)

She went through quite a few outfits until she found the right one for the work day....

My Ben

2009-05-21T19:34:00.000-07:00

" My brother and sister are the BEST!" all because they picked out Bakugans for his birthday gift. Truth be told Madeline wanted to get him a princess lawn chair and Andrew choosing these was totally self serving. He hoped that if we bought Ben these 6 new Bakugans Ben would give HIM one of the old ones....

Captain Temper Tantrum getting reading to toss a fit when we jokingly told him he was not going to get to open any presents that night( his actual birthday!)

Good Morning Sleepy Head! Woke everyone up and dragged them To McD's for a birthday surprise breakfast.

That was one Windy Saturday.. Look at that amazing sky. Ben was standing on the picnic table and the wind was pushing his shirt.

Just to make things much easier...

2009-05-21T19:29:00.001-07:00

I ate the last ice cream bar.. Problem solved!

The many moods of Andrew

2009-05-21T19:19:00.000-07:00

This boy is so silly. The first picture he was SO mad at me. I locked the van because he kept getting into it looking for gum and honking the horn. SO when I locked him out he was so mad he tried punching the van door.. Like that really showed me! LOL

The next picture he was so happy daddy rubbed green hair paste in his spikes.

Lastly this is a picture of "wrestling" They all want to do it. Strip their shirts off and knock each other over and pin someone down.. ususally goes on until someone starts crying. Then I get to say. TOLD YOU SO!

Throwback to the 80's

2009-05-21T19:12:00.000-07:00

As you can see Maddie is all ready for a night of roller skating.. She has on her velour leotard, her princess stickers/tattoos, single knee pad and spiderman roller skates.

Injuries..

2009-05-21T19:06:00.001-07:00

This will be the summer of injuries.. I have no doubt. So far Maddie scraped her chest by playing in the neighbors massive over grown bush. She still has abrasions on her rib cage and of course the tape marks from the band aid she reacted too.. Then tonight she walked by Ben trying to hit a baseball and he actually made contact.. the ball slammed into her ribs.. add that to the blister on her ankle.

Andrew walked into Ben's path tonight also and got cracked with a bat to the mouth.. We will see how fat that lip looks tomorrow.

Ben- so far so good.. guess it pays to be the aggressor?

There is only one ice cream bar left in the freezer...

2009-05-21T19:00:00.001-07:00

We were outside playing in the yard this evening and Andrew comes up to me as asks for a Popsicle. I told him we had none( which is true). He tells me I am wrong that there in fact is one left. I tell him I am sorry but we have no Popsicles in the freezer BUT I will buy some at the store tomorrow. "Yes there is mama!( stomping his little foot), it is long, and skinny and bwown and has a stick in it!"..... AHHHH! I know what he is talking about now... so I tell him that THAT is an ice cream bar and we only have ONE left. Since there is only ONE left I cannot let him have it because that will not be fair to his brother or sister OR the two neighbor boys who are playing with us. Andrew looks at me and replies " If they go back to they owns house and daddy and Ben and Maddie gets lost.. then I will be only one and I can have the bwown thing!"

Smart boy!

Why now?

2009-05-06T18:18:00.000-07:00

I would like to know WHY, now that I am in my 30's, I suddenly am affected by seasonal allergies? I check the weather and there is a flashing banner that reads. "High pollen counts" TRUST me.. I did not need to read that banner to KNOW that fact. My nose is pouring, my head is throbbing, my eyeballs ache- I only wear my contacts for absolutely necessary things then rip those suckers out. I chased 1000mg of tylenol today with a mouthful of childrens allergy meds b/c I was too miserable to look for adult benadryl. Trust me.. that stuff tastes HORRID!

Amazing...

2009-04-22T16:09:00.000-07:00

My children are sitting on the floor together playing with Legos. Fairly quietly. Moments like this are few.. Usually a fight breaks out right from the start...I dare not even grab the camera.. Why ruin a good thing?

What seemed like a good idea...

2009-04-04T07:19:00.000-07:00

Sunday after the Multiples club Easter party we went and met the in laws for a quick dinner. We headed home and took a detour up Wise ave and Michael thought the kids might like to feed the ducks at Price Park some of the leftover PBJ's we had. So we stop. No one else was there b/c they were smart enough to realize IT WAS FREEZING! I bundle the kids up and divvy out sammies. Andrew enjoys throwing entire sandwiches at a duck then CHASING it and screaming DUCK at the tops of his lungs. We were not sure who to be concerned for a) The duck that might get smooshed by him OR b) Andrew who might be bitten by a ticked off duck. So we yelled at him to STOP harassing the poor ducks. But he stayed near enough the parking lot so he was fine. Ben was feeding and chasing but not quite as obnoxious as Andrew. Madeline was doing a good job of feeding and entertaining but started to wander. So after having to focus on Andrew and his duck chasing we notice Maddie has ventured TOO close to the pond. She was standing right next to it. Not ON the wall but next to it. For most 4 year olds this might not be too much of an issue BUT Madeline is special. She often times cannot stand on her own two feet on flat ground without losing her balance and tripping over the air in front of her..SO we yell at her to step back a few jumps. She yells back "I'm fine" we yell again to MOVE BACK. she finally does. At the exact moment that she has moved back into a safer spot Ben comes running out of nowhere towards her pretending to chase a duck. As he gets closer to the pond he makes a turn to keep running back towards the parking lot..... BUT......He hits a muddy puddle.. that was not so much a MUD puddle but a POOP puddle.. Yep.. duck poo... total body slide. The kind that would win him accolades and great rewards in the baseball diamond but NOT so much in this situation. He gets up and is covered. Michael and I look at each other and all I can say is " guess he IS getting a bath tonight." I open the van and grab my pack of diaper wipes and antibacterial wipes. 1. I make him wipe his hands about 10 times. After each wipe he tosses that into the trash and gets another wipe. 2. I carefully remove the poop coat and offer more wipes. 3. I have him remove his shoes which I lay IN the poop coat. 4. I lift him into the van and make him remove his pants( his only worn twice khakis). We go home- obviously we are not dressed to go anywhere else at this time...So we get home and I make everyone strip in the laundry room. I dumped my LAST scoop of Oxyclean,2 scoops of Borax and a LOT of super hot water into a large pot I use for soaking stuff like this. I put in Maddies tights and both boys khakis into the bucket and use a hanger to push it all in to be soaked. The rest of the night was full body scrubs and bedtime routines... I left the laundry to soak. So the goal of today was to wash poopy coat, poopy clothing, my own jacket( just in case) and the party clothing which all managed to have Easter colored paint on it. Michelle- I question the washable -ness of the pink paint.. I think you were lied too!

Exhaustion...week in review

2009-04-04T07:14:00.000-07:00

Michael was traveling this past week. I never sleep great when he is gone. For one I stay up too late because that is the ONLY time I have peace and quiet. Then I end up sleeping like crap because I actually have the entire bed to myself and the room is quiet. SO I guess you can say I have grown accustomed to listening to snoring and farting and fighting for my leg room...LOL

So he left on Monday afternoon and drove to Columbus and returned Thursday night. He was coming in at dinner time so I was able to plan and prepare a nice dinner. I don't waste my time putting a lot of effort into meals when he is gone- no one appreciates it! I actually use weeks he is gone to play Mother Hubbard and use whatever we have in the freezer, fridge and pantry all up. Saves money and keeps me creative! LOL

So Monday night after a quick dinner we had to head to the mall. If you read the previous post you already know Ben ruined his shoes with duck poo.. They were already starting to fall a part I found out so it was time to replace anyway. So we hit SEARS and grabbed a new pair of Sketchers then we went upstairs to use the potty (duh) and then I actually found a few deals on the clearance rack. ( It is about time they started to actually use clearance prices and not just a few dollars off). Grabbed a few dresses for next winter for Maddie- although now I question if they will be long enough then for Miss. Leggs ( bought a 5 and a 6!). Andrew has a handful of jackets from Ben but they all seem small on him. I grabbed a beautiful fleece lines jacket for him for 3.99! Bought it in a 5 so it will fit all fall on my *little* man! Ben's sizes were slim picking but I managed to grab a long sleeved shirt for next year and a pair of pants for next year also. I also grabbed a hat/glove/scarf set for 2.99. I really should go back and buy a few more. Or maybe I should go to the school and find all the matches to the ones I have singles of here...

Pretty much the rest of the week was uneventful. Worked around the house, Library time, homework and playing outside after school. Evenings are the pain in the neck with nice weather. Dragging the kids in to make dinner, eat that, give baths, pick up the bedrooms/living room/kitchen and get everyone into bed before it is totally dark outside.. For this reason alone I cannot wait until summer.

The kids were so excited that Daddy was coming home on Thursday. I had Sweet potatoes baking in the oven, chicken thawed to grill, bread rising to be baked. Michael got home and pulled into the driveway. I yelled at the kids( who were scattered all over the neighborhood) to come home daddy was home. Ignored. I think he was home almost 20m before I managed to drag everyone and their bikes home...Welcome home daddy...LOL

So now it is Saturday. I need to finish his work clothing laundry and get that dried and ready to repack b/c he leaves again on Monday. This time I have EVERYONE all day, all week due to spring break. I am already planning my days to keep everyone busy and off each others nerves....

"The electric bill is too expensive"

2009-03-27T05:16:00.000-07:00

That is the line we told Madeline and Andrew last night when to informed them no more nightlight in their room. Actually it is a real light. The room is weird and has a light in the center of the room and one that aims into the closet. We put a low wattage bulb in that one and that is what stays on all night. BUT lately we (I) have had too many middle of the night visitors and was getting perturbed with the invasion. So Michael said no more light.

We waited until bed time and he told them the electric bill was too high and since they are now FOUR they can be like Ben. All light will be off and they will have their bedroom door open instead of shut. We HIGHLY doubted that would fly. We anticipated tears and crying and whining. What we actually got was 2 sleeping kids. Someone came to my bed sometime during the night. I am not sure b/c I did not look and told them to go back to bed.. and he/she did! :)

So here I type. 8:22am and my babies are still in bed.. Unbelievable... totally... Especially because Andrew has a habit of getting up before Ben...

If it makes the kids happy...

2009-03-26T10:51:00.000-07:00

Michael is such a pushover when it comes to the kids. As I have posted previously he *entertains* them by allowing them to draw on his legs with washable markers so that he knows where they are when he is on call... Well they have gotten quite good at this. Maddie is perfecting her letters on daddy's legs regularly. So the legs eventually got old. After much prodding he will take his shirt off and they will draw on his belly and chest.. There are usually a few tic tac toe boards going....

So last night he was allowing them to have free access... Maddie was in her glory putting whiskers and make up on her daddy. She was diligently working on making his eyebrows *perfect*. It was quite hilarious. She drew on both then attached them from outside to outside and inside to inside brow edges. The whiskers extended to his ears... He was looking mighty.....bizarre. LOL!

So as I was getting the clan ready for bed Michael went online to redbox.com and found that both movies he wanted were available. So we reserved them for pick up. I was so tired and looking forward to hitting bed early myself when I laughed and stood up to grab my purse. I looked at Michael and said " well I guess I need to be the one to go get the movies." He looks at me like WHY? I remind him " Your awfully sexy there for a trip to the movie box.. stud" He went and looked in the mirror and laughed.. He had totally forgot about his *make-up*...

I SHOULD have let him go.... now THAT would have been a LOL!

Webkinz.

2009-03-22T16:47:00.000-07:00

It' s like crack... only for kids... That one word is all I hear.. All. Day. Long.

Before school Ben is begging to play WEBKINZ! I tell him no b/c he cannot handle getting dressed and eating without running late.

As soon as Ben is gone Andrew is whispering in my ear. want to play webkinz.....

If Maddie sees me pick up my laptop she yells ANDWEW! Mama playing webkinz! Hurry up!

I am about to toss those dreaded stuffed animals.....

Absolute and Total Exhaustion!

2009-03-21T18:07:00.000-07:00

Today was the Spring/Summer Sale for the Mothers of Multiples club. We moved THOUSANDS of dollars of stuff.. and I mean we MOVED it. My entire body is beat. My feet from standing, my back from stopping to tear price tags and use the registers. My hands from everything that required.. well fingers and hands...LOL! I slept like crap last night which did not help me prepare for this long day. I hit the ground running to get ready, get to the sale and work. Trained newer members on checkout, helped wrangle customers, and pretty much ran from here to there. I do much better being on the go and NOT sitting in one place.. so MANY THANKS to you great ladies in the *Godfather Den* who did nothing BUT sit, and type, and type and type. You guys are wonderful!

Now I am so tired I am sitting here.. just waiting for the bedtime fairy to come put me to bed....

Since we are on the subject.....

2009-03-10T20:34:00.000-07:00

Today was definitely a nap day. I pulled the littles onto my lap and covered us with a comforter and turned on the tv to try to get them to relax and fall asleep. I turned on Food TV and it was 30 minute meals. It was the last 5 minutes and R. R. was plating her meal. ( You have to know that the kids ADORE Racheal Ray.) So she puts some bruscetta on her plate, then she puts some salad.. all the while going on and on about how wonderful these flavors are. She then grabs a pot of Lentils and spoons a HUGE pile onto the plate. Both kids automatically react with "EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW" All of the sudden Andrew points out that " that stuff looks like poop mama!" I laughed b/c it did appear to be rather unappealing. She then places 2 links if sausage on top of the lentils. Maddie laughs and tells her brother " Look Andrew, it looks like she put poop ON the poop!"

What nice age....

Fun and Games with Daddy..

2009-03-10T20:23:00.000-07:00

As I have blogged before Michael has *unique* ways to entertain the kids when I am not around. I had my Mothers of Multiples meeting on Monday night and the kids were telling me on Tuesday that they played *pictures* with the easel. Michael later explained that they played pictionary- He drew pictures and awarded points for the one who guessed the correct answer.

SO tonight after we had all gone out to walk Sunnie and run around we headed in for showers and random picking up. After all bathes were taken and teeth were brushed we were spending some time with the kids. Andrew and Ben were arguing over the easel and Ben ended up sent to couch to watch only. Andrew started to draw and was trying to get everyone to guess what he was drawing. (I was reading and did not have my glasses on so I was not watching this until Michael directed me to.)

Andrew draws his picture and Michael told him he needed a clue. Andrew looks at his Daddy and he purses his lips and goes " PWSTHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" " PWSTHHHHHHHHHHHH"
Michael was not getting it. He tells Michael he needs another. So Andrew looks at him and starts to motion a swirling motion going down toward the floor and tells his Daddy " going down, going all the way down." At this last clue Ben jumps up and yells " It's POOP!" Andrew jumped up and down and yelled. "YES! I drawed POOP! You win Ben!"

That's my little artist......

Madeline and Andrew turned FOUR!

2009-03-04T19:23:00.000-08:00

Today my babies turned 4. Such a bittersweet time for me. I am so excited for all they are doing and learning but so sad that I am moving so far from that sweet small baby stage. Back in December I bought the Melissa and Doug double sided easel for them and stuffed it in the closet. The deal was way to great to skip out on that night while lurking on Amazon.com.

Monday night I slipped out with Ben to hit a local store to get spill proof pain cups, rolls of paper and paint brushes to go with the easel. We then walked down to the Hallmark and Ben picked out a Webkinz for each sibling. It was Michael's idea but we let them come from Ben. I was under STRICT instructions to NOT pick out anything silly or *gay*- ex. a snake, a gerbil or maybe a frog.... Michael thinks the Cow Webkinz I picked out for Ben for Christmas falls in that category although Ben absolutely adores his cow... Bennie. SO Ben picks out a white Lamb for Madeline and INSISTED that his brother needed the.... TREEFROG! No amount of argument of suggestion worked. Michael looked at me like I was crazy.

Last night I had Ben help me wrap the small items we bought. I also informed him we would be surprising the kids with an evening out at Chuck E Cheese and then the ice cream shop(cold stone- I am the queen of online coupon specials!)

This morning I woke as normal to get Ben ready for school. He was SO excited and got read quickly. Andrew was up early as that is his way. Madeline was still asleep in bed but he was NOT going to let that last long. He ran in a awoke her up by throwing her wrapped gift from him and yelling she needed to come open it in the living room before he left. Both kids were THRILLED about their Webkinz. Andrew was even more excited when he realized that he could now spin the Wheel of WOW himself! LOL.

The day proceeded as normal. We had breakfast and headed out to the library for reading time. We stated late and I allowed them to play on the computers for a while. They begged me to go to *Taco Bells* for lunch so we did. We brought daddy home lunch and spent time playing *video games* on Xbox and watching Little Einsteins. We decided to go to Pizza Hut and get evening Buffet but when we got to the one by CEC we realized they no longer DO the buffet at night... ARGGGG! SO we just ordered and ate quickly so we could get to playing.

Who would have ever imagined that CEC would be PACKED to capacity on a Weds evening? Since it was such a special day we HAD to wait in the stinking line and go in. The place was packed. When we finally got to the counter and paid for tokens I found out WHY. A local school was doing fundraiser night. Oh Yeah.....

We spent out 140 tokens and ended up leaving with the tickets. They were so understaffed and we refused to wait any longer. It was just too late to do the ice cream so we headed home. Michael stopped and ran into Acme and grabbed the tiniest cake I have ever seen. We came home and put candles in that. Sang and cut cake. 3 glasses of milk manged to get spilled during this short lived festivity...

Everyone is tucked into bed, faces and hands scrubbed, teeth brushed and rinsed in fluoride. Kids still have not opened their easel! Friday the in laws will come over and we will do dinner and they will get the real cake/ice cream party kind of birthday night.

Back Again...A little more focused.

2009-03-04T19:15:00.000-08:00

Almost daily I have looked at this blog and just not had the UMPH to write. Life just moving on here as normal.

February is always a tough month for me as that is the month of my fathers birthday as well as his passing.. And my grandfathers passing- which happens to have been ON my fathers birthday. Then there is my niece's birthday, one of me dearest friends twin daughters birthday and my cousins baby girl- her birthday... all which ALSO happen to fall on the day my father was born... SO PLEASE nothing else EVER happen on the 9th of February. Then my previously mentioned dear friend- her birthday IS the day my father passed away in 1992- then 8 days later is MY birthday.. which is also the birthday of a cousin, the day before this is the birthday of my brother in law. THEN the following week is the anniversary of my sister and brother in law....
Ben was ill and was off school a few days with the random winter viral illness that needs no run to the DR. I ended up catching his junk and it settled into my sinuses so that is starting to go away FINALLY. Then there was the Mothers of Multiples outing I organized and got to go to alone due to all three kids having the start of a cold.... SO for a short month I deal with a lot of stuff!

Interior Design

2009-01-30T05:58:00.000-08:00

Andrew decorated the doors last night instead of going to bed when I told him to. He dug his monkeys out of the toy box and hung them on the door handles. His rational? "I want the doors pwetty"

Who can argue with that?

Dog Gone...

2009-01-30T04:51:00.000-08:00

This is what happens when two three year old children play with the bag of dog food before it makes it to the kitchen. I had brought the 18lb bag upstairs and had put it down to deal with something else more pressing. They decided it was a fun thing to drag around and lay on. I yelled at them and they finally left it alone. So after dinner I was straightening and went to grab the bag to pour into the big container. I flipped it UP over my shoulder and it started to RAIN dog food. Almost a third of the bag was on my feet before I realized it was the seam that had given way and NOT a tear. Dropped the bag and repositioned it. Took it and dumped it. Then I grabbed the camera. I KNEW Sunnie would be enjoying this tragedy. She got her fill then Andrew and I hand scooped the rest into her food dispenser. Then we got to do a full on living room/hallway/kids room clean up! So the carpet is nice and clean this morning!

Shaking her head in wonder...

2009-01-29T09:46:00.000-08:00

This week the news was hit with two stories of unthinkable loss.. in California and now Ohio there are cases of familial murder-suicide after the family lost thier income and obvioulsy felt such desperation that this was how they dealt with it.. and I read this on CNN today...

Florida couple pays $155K to have dog cloned
Posted: 12:35 PM ET
(CNN) — Every dog has his day, but Sir Lancelot — or at least his carbon copy — has a second one.
A Boca Raton, Florida, couple paid a California firm $155,000 to clone their beloved Labrador Retriever, who died from cancer a year ago. The clone, a 10-week-old puppy dubbed Lancey, was hand-delivered to them earlier this week by Lou Hawthorne, chairman of BioArts International.
Edgar and Nina Otto said they began thinking about cloning Sir Lancelot about five years ago. “I said ‘Well, you know, it wouldn’t hurt to have his DNA frozen,’ and that’s what we did,” Nina Otto told CNN affiliate WPBF.
The Ottos were one of five families to bid and win a BioArts auction for a chance to clone their family dog, according to a BioArts statement. Lancey is the world’s first commercially-cloned dog, the company said; the Ottos are the first of six current clients to receive their clone.

Un Flippin Believeable... So help me if I HEAR about them getting foreclosed on...

Strange...

2009-01-29T05:07:00.000-08:00

Maddie just tells me this..

"I heard something strange in my room Mama. It was Jesus. He was in my room"

So i say.."really? Jesus is in your room!"

"NO! it was God.. HE was in my room. He was Praying..Like this ( demonstrates praying hands) and he said he loves all the little children"

She then shakes her head up and down and repeats. " It was strange, strange.. it was strange"

Musical Interpretation..

2009-01-26T08:05:00.000-08:00

The kids really like to sing.. I gave up on correcting their errors and just embracing them because they are too funny.

Maddie likes to sing "Up on the House Top"- "....Up on the house top clik clik clik.. down through the chimney with his friend Nick"

She is also a Bon Jovi Fan..OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOO we haf way thereah OHHHHOOOHHHH Livin on a prawah take my hand and your making me swearah.. OHHHOHOHH Livin on a pra-wah.....

Ben ( when not grounded) is a hard working drummer on Rock Band. Here I thought he was working hard on the drumming only.. But he is absorbing the words too..

He caught me offf guard singing Gunpowder and Lead by Miranda Lambert yesterday.
"I'm going home gonna get my shopgun go to the door and take a single rest"

Michael had no idea what he was trying to say but I knew b/c I listen to her music. The actual words are "I'm going home, gonna load my shotgun, wait by the door, an light a cigarette"

Barack Obama's biggest fan....

2009-01-16T15:49:00.000-08:00

Maddie LOVES Barack Obama. I am not sure why.. she surely doesn't understand politics, (we are still mastering look before you enter the road) she has no idea the significance of the first Black President or the race involving women in top roles.. Nope.. She is just infatuated with the soon to be Mr. President.

Or so I thought...

Tonight while Ben was reading to us from his school Weekly Reader Madeline joined us at the table and looked on to see what he was reading about. All of the sudden she jumps up in her seat and gets all excited yelling.. LOOK! LOOK! its Barack Obama!

WRONG!

Ben was reading to us about Martin Luther King Jr.

So I thought about it and came to this conclusion. We live in an area that has a very low percentage of any minority, with the exception of Hispanic migrant workers in the summer pretty much all you see in the Hartville area are Caucasian people. Heck the kids are not overly interested in Old Order Amish or Mennonite people when they see them. There are only a few black families at our church, that attend the service we do, so unless their kids are the same age they don't see them in the classrooms. The don't see many others that are not Caucasian and when they do they have not noticed there is a skin color difference. Ben just realized tonight he was white and MLK JR was black.

So I conclude this.. Maddie thinks all Black men in a business suit are named Barack Obama.. I definitely want to see her watch TV Monday AND Tuesday...

Don't we all just LOVE Chuck E. Cheese?

2009-01-10T09:46:00.000-08:00

Taken from Ohio.com~~

Jan 10, 2009
During the past three years, Fairlawn police have been called to the Chuck E. Cheese's on West Market Street 49 times.
That's more calls than any other stand-alone business in the city — including bars.
Only Summit Mall, a 120-store behemoth, produces more police reports.
Apparently, this is not particularly unusual. The Chuckster seems to be developing a national reputation for disorderly conduct.
If you haven't parented young kids during the past couple of decades, Chuck E. Cheese's is a nationwide chain of human anthills that are half-gaming parlor, half-pizza parlor, designed specifically for children. Well, except for the beer and wine.
I always thought the availability of alcohol was a well-conceived bribe to win over parents who normally would not be amenable to spending a couple of hours in a place where the noise level approximates that of the Blue Angels' afterburners.
Over the years, I have occasionally screwed up my courage and ventured into the never-ending whirl of yelling, running, screaming, jumping, falling, leaping and crashing. I am always struck not only by the incongruity between fuzzy robotic cartoon animals and free-flowing Budweiser, but also by the big age range among the kids.
Obviously, a big age range creates big size differences. And when large kids and small kids are mingling in an atmosphere of perpetual chaos — crawling through mazes and diving into small plastic balls — things can get a bit dicey.
Mix in a wide cross section of adults — including the type who never use their turn signals and wouldn't hold the door for somebody without a court order — and perhaps it's no wonder things can get a bit messy. Or more.
Major blow-ups According to the Wall Street Journal, law-enforcement officials across the country say Chuck E. has played host to a remarkable number of arguments and fights, mostly involving adults.
At some locations, the confrontations have been so heated that maybe Chuck E. — a smiling mouse who wears a ball cap — ought to vacate in favor of the Chucky in the horror movies. In Brookfield, Wis., last year, seven cops were needed to break up a melee involving 40 people who were knocking over chairs and screaming at each other right in front of the stage where a singing chicken and a guitar-playing hound dog deliver their merry tunes.That was only one of 12 fights there that required police action. Whack-a-Mole, indeed.
In Toledo, four mothers were arrested after a brawl that followed an argument about the length of time someone's daughters were hanging out at a drawing machine. Ten people squared off. In the featured bout, one loving mother was using the entrance rope as makeshift nunchucks, swinging the metal hook at another of the loving mothers. What's next, beer pong in convents?
''A lot of it is perceived actions against children, or somebody bumps into somebody and it becomes verbal,'' Fairlawn Police Chief Kenneth Walsh says. ''And a lot of it . . . is the 'Mother Bear' feeling. They're protecting their children. There's a dispute over [game] tokens or somebody thinks another customer is using a machine too long, and it becomes argumentative.'' Walsh says none of his 49 disturbances ended in an arrest. Often, he says, at least one of the squabbling parties has departed by the time officers arrive.
Jackson is mellower In contrast to Fairlawn's track record, Chuck E.'s joint on The Strip in Jackson Township seems downright sedate.Jackson Township Police Chief Harley Neftzer says that last year, his department was called to only four incidents that merited a report: two thefts, a fire and a shoving match in the parking lot. ''I don't have any grandkids yet,'' Neftzer says, ''but I wouldn't be hesitant about sending anybody at all to our particular location.''
The Chuck E.'s are owned by a Texas company, CEC Entertainment, which runs more than 525 of them, 19 in Ohio and three near Akron. The third is in Parma, near Parmatown Mall. A spokesman for the Parma Police Department says their Chuck's doesn't have a reputation for brawling, but that things have not always been dreamy.
''For a while, they were hiring our officers to work in there because of incidents of theft and things of that nature,'' Detective Marty Compton says. ''You know, a parent gets up to go play with their kid and all of a sudden somebody walks out with a purse.''
Liquid courage?
Although mixing toddlers and booze might sound dissonant, authorities say alcohol usually is not a factor in the flare-ups. Nationally, only a few Chuck E.'s have discontinued liquor sales. Beer and wine are still available in this area, including Jackson Township, where Chuck has been leading a mellow life.
Lindsey Phillabaum, a manager there, attributes the lack of arguments to her particular clientele. She also says employees try to swoop down on any conflicts before they escalate.
In Fairlawn, says General Manager Jamie Rohrer, the problem is not so much the type of people but their number. ''It's just because it's crowded,'' she says. ''People just get irritated. When it comes to people's kids, they just get off the edge.'' Her palace of overstimulation has taken to hiring off-duty sheriff's deputies on winter weekends, which are the biggest period of the year both for crowds and disagreements.
But keep in mind that, even in Fairlawn, you're not exactly taking your life in your hands. Conflicts are relatively rare, and often a good time can be had by all.
Even adults (not mentioning any names) have been known to revel in some of the games of skill. As corporate spokeswoman Brenda Holloway points out, ''We served approximately 75 million people in 2008, and the occurrences are actually very rare.'' Still, whether Chuck E. Cheese's is consistently ''a magical place for families,'' as its telephone greeting insists, is open to debate.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I was holding my breath until I got to the part that MY local CECwas the good one.. Not that we go there that often but at least when we do the chance of my getting into a rumble with some spastic mother hen is on the low end..... Personally I have always wondered WHY an establishment that is for the entertainment of young children sold alcohol. Sure many people need to numb out the loud annoying noises.. But doesn't this just encourage drinking and driving? And since I DOUBT that every child leaving there (with their handfuls of balloons, cotton candy and cheap toys) is properly buckled into a child safety seat... we are very lucky to NOT hear of more accidents on the strip/portage/Everhard roads...

Then there are the issues of cleanliness, germs and it being a pedophiles paradise.... Thanks anyway.. We will just avoid it as much as possible!

Why the hold up???? Charge him NOW

2009-01-05T18:29:00.000-08:00

Boy, 4, shoots babysitter for stepping on his foot
January 05, 2009 9:08 PM EST
JACKSON, Ohio - Police say an angry 4-year-old Ohio boy grabbed a gun from a closet and shot his baby sitter. Nathan Beavers, 18, was hospitalized Sunday with minor wounds to his arm and side after the shotgun attack. Police say another teen was also injured.
Witnesses told police the child was angry because Beavers accidentally stepped on his foot. Beavers was watching the child at a mobile home in Jackson with several other teenagers and several other children.
Jackson County Sheriff John Shasteen says authorities are investigating. The child has not been charged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What are they waiting for??? Get on the ball people CHARGE this 4 year old with something, lock him up, stand him in a corner.. SOMETHING.... There are random teenagers at risk....

Can we all say it together.. SUPERVISION.. and repeat... SUPERVISION....

Now lets see what the parents have to say about WHY this kid had the access, the ammunition and the ability to shoot his big footed sitter....

Sense of purpose.

2009-01-04T05:13:00.001-08:00

I woke today with such a sense of purpose! I had set the alarm because we have gotten lazy during vacation and my *Internal Alarm Clock Andrew* has been failing me with his prompt 730 wakings. Alarm rang. I stretched, jumped up, headed to the kitchen and made coffee while loading the dishwasher. Took my shower and am drinking my coffee.. SO many things can and need to be done today..

OOPS! Here is my alarm clock boy now!

I have a running list in me head of what needs to be done right away after church so I can get it all done... Hopefully everyone cooperates and I can push them all along my planned out path..

I'll try to update later whether I stay the track or like new years diets I fail just out of the gate:0

Another one bites the dust...

2008-12-29T13:00:00.000-08:00

Yup, that is right.. We killed another toy already.. Andrew has also lost his inflatable chair to the great unknown... Personally I would not have bought these monsters ANYTHING inflatable.. BUT Ben wanted his brother and sister to have them and Daddy could not say no....

The holiday behind us.....

2008-12-28T19:41:00.000-08:00

Can I tear down the tree yet? This past week has been chaos... Sunday we had my husbands family party at our house. During the afternoon I noticed Ben was getting crankier and more miserable then ever. I decided to see if he had a temp and he did. This is important because I only get a temperature when I am SERIOUSLY ill. The kids have taken after me in that respect. So a temp is HUGE- he was pushing 102. I medicated him well that night and planned on calling the Dr first thing in the morning. Poor Ben woke up Monday morning miserable. I gave him water and he fell back to sleep. Slept in until 11am! So I had made the appt for him when I noticed Andrew had this HUGE raw looking spot on his tongue.. No explanation for it, no injury.. it looked like a good chunk of his tongue was torn off. I called back and they added him to the list.
~~but wait.. it gets better~~
If you recall it was FREEZING that day.. single digits. I took the van to get gas and came back. When I was ready to go warm the van to take the boys to the Dr the Battery was dead. We knew this was coming but THIS was not a good day for it. SO I had to rip 2 car seats out and put them in Michael's car, yell at the boys to get ready and GO! Of course we got stuck behind an accident and were slightly late.
Got to sit and explain all the latest medical woes to the Nurse Practitioner who we were seeing. Andrew kept coughing while we were talking. So she checked him first. Looked at his tongue, felt his throat, checked his ears.. YES.. he has two ear infections.. How did this happen???

So then she gets to Ben.. Two more ear infections.. So that is 40 in copays, 18 in antibiotics and another 18 and change for probiotics so I can try to counter all the meds they are on....

Spent Monday and Tuesday cuddling and comforting sick little boys. Weds found me fighting something in my intestines which led into the cold that I am finally getting over. Now today Madeline is starting to sneeze, snot and cough..
Will it ever end? Will the junk go away?

So the important information is that Christmas was nice, way too much stuff and the kids will not keep things picked up. Ben is thrilled to have Rock Band drums to play on and I can already see that he has picked up rhythm.. Now if I could figure out how to get him pitch...
We lost two presents already.. on Christmas day in fact. The super nerf blaster thing... well that great pump action power broke instantly. Plus the inflatable princess chair blew out a seam right away. Nice...

So that is the life in my house.. Sickness and broken toys.. Happy New year!

Cough, Cough, Wheeze, Snort... repeat...

2008-12-21T05:36:00.000-08:00

Can anyone STAY healthy? My goodness this is getting annoying. Ben did a round of antibiotics for a single ear infection in November. Took maybe 8-10 days and he was complaining again.. This time we hit the Pediatrician (last time was urgent care) and she found double ear infections and the same upper respiratory crap that everyone else has that is VIRAL! So 5 more days of meds and he was fine. Thursday he comes home from school super cranky.. I assumed he got a purple day but he said no.. stayed green.
After a while of Mr. Crabby pants I felt his head.. WARM! His temp was around 100 so I popped him some Tylenol and juice.. He was fine. Went to school on Friday and seemed fine. So yesterday he is congested again.. Coughy, snotty, nose getting red from being rubbed.. SICK again.
Michael went to bed complaining that he comes home healthy from a trip and now feels his throat itching.. .I swear half of his problems are allergies BUT what are you going to do..
Andrew is rubbing up against me coughy and snotty... YEAH ME!

PLEASE can they all stay healthy? My neighbor said that 1st grade sucked for them too.. She stayed home and did not do preschool either. Also half day K. So when full day 1st grade came it beat the crap out of her daughter too. This year 2nd grade she is MUCH healthier.. GOSH I hope that is the truth... Which also REALLY adds to my desire to put them in 3-4 day preschool next year.. BUILD, build build those immunities...

Off to the store soon for Michael's prescriptions, more sinus meds and maybe tissues??

Portraits

2008-12-16T05:17:00.000-08:00

~BUSINESS PLUG~

I wanted to get a nice photo of all the kids for holiday gifts. I Usually go to Picture People and have to travel to Chapel Hill Mall and battle the mall crowd. I decided I would rather shove splinters under my nails then deal with that on a Saturday in December. I called Portrait Innovations in Green and made an appointment there. I figured I would get at minimum the the $10 package and hopefully at least 1 kid would be cooperative.

AMAZING!

I believe this was the absolute BEST photo session I have ever experience. They have a photographer and a handler to the shots. I sat in a chair from the waiting room and they did the work. All I did was pick out the pictures! I usually am sweating by the end of a picture shoot b/c I am running around keeping kids in the frame, on the spot, not fighting, smiling and not pouting.

I will definitely be back. We need a new family portrait and the twins have a birthday coming up in March. I plan to keep them in business and send others there also!

Morning Breath

2008-12-16T05:13:00.000-08:00

The twins have horrible morning breath. It is truly foul. They are also very snugly in the morning and want to curl up on our laps and rock. Michael has taken to joking with the kids about eating stinkbugs in the night.

This morning the two slept in later then their usual ( Hallelujah!). Ben was almost out the door when Maddie walked in the room, Andrew followed minutes later. Andrew climbed on my lap and was in my face telling me how he made his bed. I recoiled at the smell and gave him a hug and told him he must have eaten a LOT of stinkbugs last night. He looked at me and asked if I ate stink bugs at night. I said NO mama never eats stinkbugs. He leaned over and gave me a huge kiss on the lips and proclaimed "THERE! now you have stink bugs too!"

Out of the mouths of babes...

2008-12-16T05:08:00.000-08:00

On Saturday I had a friend and her kids over for the day. I had to leave around 645pm to take Ben to a late bday party. Since she had an hour drive ahead of her she planned on putting the kids in their pajamas and then bathing them in the morning before church. I told her to just bathe them here.. Why wait till the morning.. So the baby sat by the kitchen watching me load the dishwasher while my friend got the tub ready and washed her 5y/o daughter and Maddie. When they were done I gathered the baby, lotion and all the clothing and started to get the girls all greased and dressed while my friend refilled the tub and bathed her 3 y/o son and Andrew. This worked out great b/c my two would be ready for bed after we returned from being out and her evening was done except for the drive.

While I was getting shoes and socks on everyone my friends daughter looks at my feet and then ran a finger on my heel.. She looked at me and said " I tell my mom this and I will tell you.. YOU need to Ped-Egg!"

I laughed so hard. I offered to get her mine and put her to work on my feet. She looked at me like I was crazy and told me " OH NO! That is too dangerous for a kid!"

Saturday Morning Fun!

2008-12-13T06:08:00.001-08:00

You know things are looking barren when you realize that you have enough time to empty and clean out the refrigerator while the french toast sticks are cooking in the toaster oven! AND you actually do it!

I'll admit it. I am weird in the fact that I like seeing things get *Mother Hubbard* like. I like seeing that I am using it all and things are not going to waste. I hate finding 2 month old yogurt cups back on the bottom shelf or shriveled petrified carrots and celery in the crisper drawer...

I picked up the Market Day order in Tuesday and that brought in a package of personal pizzas, gingerbread cookies to bake, popcorn chicken, shrimp(for Christmas), some chicken breasts and previously mentioned french toast sticks. So my freezer is looking fine.

Today I am picking up an order from Angel Food Ministries, http://www.angelfoodministries.com/, for the first time. When I first heard about it there was never a site local to me. Our church participates so I thought I would give it a try. I bought 1 regular box and a fruit/veggie box.. The kids will be thrilled with fresh fruit. I just opened my last can of mandarin oranges for breakfast.

So after I pick up my order and put that away I can make a list and see what I still need.. I know bread and orange juice top that list... Maybe the twins and I will hit Marcs tonight while Ben is at his Pump it Up Bday party!

~*~ See what fun you are missing Michael.. While you are *stuck* at the Colorado Country (country club) Christmas party.... I will be scavenging the junk aisles at Marcs.. WITHOUT YOU!~*~

Inquiring minds want to know.....

2008-12-12T14:17:00.000-08:00

WILLMAR, Minn. - A 50-year-old man who told authorities he was fed up with teens toilet-papering his house decided to defend his property — with a squirt gun filled with fox urine.
Now, Scott Wagar is in trouble with the law.
Wagar pleaded not guilty on Wednesday in Kandiyohi County District Court to misdemeanor assault and other charges. He was released on personal recognizance.
According to police, Wagar was on his property Sept. 16 when he used night vision goggles to see 15-20 people running toward his place. He told police that he told them to leave, swore at them and sprayed them with the fox urine. He also allegedly struggled with one of the teens.
A phone message left at a home listing for a Scott Wagar was not immediately returned to The Associated Press.
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28191199/?GT1=43001

So my question is...

Where did this guy get the Fox Urine???????

Wrapping packages...

2008-12-12T11:38:00.000-08:00

The kids are *helping* me wrap for the adopt a family, cousins, daddy.. that kind of stuff.. Maddie and Andrew found some leftover scraps of paper. So they have VERY nicely folded and wrapped and taped and found scissors and cut ribbon.. Brought it to me and had me tie a knot in the ribbon...

I just realized they forgot to put anything IN the wrapping paper...LOL! But they are folding very nicely!

We can plant an apple tree..

2008-12-11T13:17:00.000-08:00

Maddie comes up to me, out of nowhere, and says excitedly,

" We can get a pile of dirt, poke a hole in it, put the seeds in and pour water on and it will grow into an apple tree!"

I laugh and say "You want to plant an apple tree?"

She nods emphatically and says "Oh yes! I have the seeds in my pocket!" and she sticks her fingers in and brings out a few little apple seeds.

Apparently she took Bens apple core out of the trash and tore it open for the seeds...

Is she trying to tell me something?

2008-12-10T07:59:00.000-08:00

The other morning Madeline came out all messied haired from her bedroom and climbed up on my lap for a cuddle. She looks up at me and says ( with her nasty morning breath), " I slept in my bed all night.. But I need to go practice my jump rope.. I just cannot do it all myself"

I was like WHAT? where did that come from?

So then last night I was talking to my friend Robyn when Maddie stops by me and proclaims " I need to go practice ice skating mama"

WHAT???? Robyn was like " did she just tell you she needs to practice ice skating?" I laughed and said.. that is what she said..

SO now she just tells me I need to get her into diving practice.. b/c she is still holding her nose shut. This kid is cracking me up.
The only thing they have ever used a jump rope for is a whip or a lasso, she has never seen an ice rink besides on the television and the closest she has been to a diving board was at my friend Debs house back in August.

Crazy girl.. I think she watched too much tv!

It only took 2 days....

2008-12-09T05:29:00.001-08:00

I pulled out the tree and a pile of ornaments and the kids had a blast decorating Saturday evening. You can see the musical holidays *decorations*. The Grinch, grandma who got ran over by a reindeer, the singing snowman and the musical bears... None had even been batteried up yet. I put them ALL away yesterday. I have no idea how many times I had to tell the kids to put the ornaments BACK on the tree, stop swinging the Grinch by his hat, Stop hitting each other with the snowman pillow. All chose to ignore me( Ben was home with bi-lateral ear infections) so when I saw that someone ripped the tasseling off the decorative pillow I grabbed an empty tote and piled it all back in and put it away. I threatened them with removing the entire tree. I *think* they believe me or at least fear I might follow through with this one... So for now.. things are a little more peaceful.

Doesn't it just figure...

2008-12-07T11:02:00.000-08:00

Michael is getting ready to leave (for way too many days) tomorrow and his ear is killing him. He was put on antibiotics on Friday for the sinus mess.. so is it an infection or just water from the shower? THEN I have Ben.. The sinusy stuff is apparently coming back.. Sounding congested again. Yesterday he complained about his ear for a while. I gave him some Motrin and a decongestant. He stopped complaining. NOW after church he is fussing that his throat is hurting him some.. I see some red in his throat but then, I am not a Dr.

I envision that my week will be starting with dropping Michael at the airport and driving to the Pediatricians.... yeah.

Well, I learned at 5:00am....

2008-12-05T06:18:00.001-08:00

That the child who has no issue with wearing his sisters fluffy pink ballerina costumes all day long DOES have an issue with waking up to find out he was dressed in pink footed jammies for bed!

Andrew fell asleep on the way home from Target last night and despite my best efforts, refused to wake up. SO I stripped him and went to gather jammies. Maddie found her Princess jammies and dressed herself. I only had 1 clean set left in the closet. Being that I was too lazy to walk down to the dryer I grabbed those and proceeded to dress Andrew in the adorable light pink jammies with dark pink dots. He never woke enough to process the whole event so I rocked him a few minutes and laid him in bed.

Fast Forward...

Around 5am- after a few hours of tossing and turning sleep I was finally in a good dozy state- I feel a cold nose on my face and I pop open my eyes as I JUMP up in my bed. I grab Andrews hand and head to the bathroom as this is usually the issue. Not this time. Andrew stands in the hall and starts to cry LOUDLY. "Why I wearing girl jammies? I NOT wear girl jammies" WAHHHH. I grab him and drag him OUT of the hall so Ben nor Maddie get the desire to get up that early. I hug him and rock him and just tell him nothing was clean. I also told him it was his fault b/c he was asleep when I put him in them. Who cares if it is blaming the victim! I rocked him a few more minutes and tucked him in bed. When he woke later around 730am he again realized his predicament and went to work correcting it immediately. Since the closet was unlocked he got into the drawers and came out dressed in a air of BOY underwear, jeans and a pirate t-shirt.. A VERY masculine outfit for a 3 year old.

He's a hard working man.

2008-11-29T18:09:00.001-08:00

Andrew was hard at work in his room this afternoon. He was using his Melissa and Doug wooden tools to build with. I took a peek on my was past and smiled at how busy he looked. I was laying on my bed reading when Michael came in stifling a laugh. He caught Andrew in the middle of *working*. He was watching him build when all of the sudden Andrew picks up his cell phone( one of our old Verizon phones he carries with him all the time) and goes " Hello? What do you want.. I am busy building Hedicoptors. Okay Bye"

Took cute! Michael said he was so serious he had to laugh. That boy can make us laugh some days!

I am Thankful for my Pediatrician and her great staff!

2008-11-29T05:54:00.000-08:00

I loved my old pediatrician but when Michael got his new job in March 07 our current office took every insuarance.. BUT our new one... GRRR! I had been very happy there with the staff and our primary Ped. Having to change against our wishes really bummed me out. With my background in CPS I have an intimate knowledge of the local Medical staff.. Whom I might be willing to go to and those whom I would not trust a stuffed animal too. I knew getting into one I wanted would be hard. But I had no problem whining and begging and using my life lines.... I am really pleased with Dr Kungle and Childrens Physicians. If I want my child seen it will happen. If I call with a question I get an answer.. No hemming and hawing.. No " WOW the Dr really needs to see your child".. cannot answer that on the phone kind of answers.

I will admit it. I am cheap. But on the other hand I am very intelligent and down to earth. WHY should I spend $20 per child to be told to buy an OTC medication for a cough. I can diagnose that myself. Recently I called in b/c i was wondering if this Upper Respiratory Junk was going on too long. I caved and called in. It was going on 3 weeks and Andrew was sounding like a little smoker. She said if I did not hear from the Dr then call my pharmacy after 12pm.. Within the hour the Dr called. Asked what was going on with the kids. What they were doing. I told her about the clear snot, the colored snot, the smokers laugh, bouncing Andrew on my knees and using his back ans my drum set, the elevated mattresses and humdifier. Instead of the " Bring them in" I was bracing myself for her response was " Sounds like your doing all you can.. this is the season.. Use Delsym if the cough is really causing him distress and of course call back if you get symptoms like ear infction of sore throat!" YEAH! Confirmation that I was on the right track and it was FREE!

Which brings me to today..... Yesterday afternoon Andrew fell asleep on my and when he woke he had huge gunk in his eyes.. I thought nothing of it.. Then later they start looking blood shot and gunky.. yeah... This morning his eye is more bloodshot and although I don't see gunk( he might have wiped it out himself) is is dull and off looking. I call the office hoping to get in since the copay for an office visit is $15.oo less then urgent care. I talk to a wonder nurse who patiently listens to my symptom list while I am chasing Andrew and the booger he is trying to blow on me. Her response to me. "Oh yuck that is no good.. Lets call you in a prescription.." and proceeds to get my info.. WHAT? No visit that I have to race through Belden traffic to get to? no picking up germs from sick waiting room kids? No getting there to see the eye looking 75% better? NOTHING but the meds.

I know if I sounded unsure of what was going on I could get in. If the symptoms were more pressing I would be seen and necessary attn received.. BUT I called in with questions and descriptions related to conjunctivitis/Pink eye and I will get... a medication!

I am so grateful for that! Now I guess I should go check on the coughing child huh?

Bumper sticker

2008-11-25T12:23:00.000-08:00

I saw this bumper sticker on a car today and it just cracked me up! Obviously I find humor in the little things.

Chat Chat Chat Chat

2008-11-25T12:03:00.000-08:00

Where are we going mama? Why mama? What are we going to do? Why is the ground white? Is it because it is snowing? Why is it snowing mama? Can I wear these shorts? Why not? Is it because it is cold? Can I watch tv? I want kid shows? Not that one. Not that one. Not that one.. YESYESYESYEY. MAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAM.. I pooped.. Wipe my butt.. not too hard. Mama.. I want a juice. not that kind. Yes that kind. Do cats have eyes? Do dogs have eyes? Do trees have eyes? Why not? To potatoes have eyes? They do? Where? How? Does leaves have eyes? Why is Ben going to the Dr? Is it b/c he is sick? Can I go? I want some of his medicine. I am sick too. (cough, cough) Can I have a vitamen then? I want to play with that. I want to see it. You have better listen or santa will not bring you any toys andwew..........
Wemember.. God is watching you...

** A brief overview of what I hear in any random 60 minute time frame if my day coming out Maddies mouth**

How daddy maintains control of the kids in the afternoons

2008-11-17T13:15:00.001-08:00

A few weeks back I was busy folding and putting laundry away and left the kids in the living room where Michael was studying for some computer exam. The kids were being really calm and I did not hear him yelling at them so I continued to work and get things done. When I finally came out this is what I found. Crayola Washable markers are great for tattooing and pedicuring.

Monday in Ohio...esp. for thos who are not here..

2008-11-17T13:11:00.000-08:00

The snow is flying. It looks much more dramatic through the window. I promise. Kids are amazed at the corn field next to us having snow on the stalks still standing.. Not sure WHY that is so fascinating but it works for them!

Not Me!

2008-11-14T06:18:00.001-08:00

Not me! Not me! That is all I hear these days.. at least when they are not blaming someone else for their faults. The latest was just this morning. I went to clean up the bathroom. I know 'nuff said! So I go in and grab a bag to dump the trash. Clean off the bathroom counter putting away toothpaste, brushes and combs. I go to open the window to get fresh air in there and I feel the wetness seep into my sock... EWWWWWWWWW! The grout in front of the toilet is discolored and wet. Nice. I look around and yes.. the entire side of the toilet is nasty.. I think we need to plan a toilet training seminar this weekend. So I pick up the trash can and the toilet brush and move them. I turn to put the stool into the tub to get it out of my way... and what do I see? YELLOW all over the inside of the tub.. I storm into the living room and ask Andrew if he peed in the tub.. He looks at me.. quiet and guilty like.. and says.. NOT ME. ARG!!!!!!

So the bathroom has had a total scrub down. It no longer has a urinal smell.... What am I going to do with these boys???

Funny things they say...

2008-11-03T08:06:00.000-08:00

Saturday Andrew ran across the street and asked our neighbor Maria if she wanted mushrooms. She looked at him funny so he questioned her.. "Don't you want to come burn mushrooms with me?" I laughed and clarified he meant to toast marshmallows!

Just now driving home from the gym Maddie was looking into the sky and said.."OH! I see the plump.. I see plump." I looked where she was looking and had no idea what she was saying.. I also looked for a pump of some sort.. Then I saw it. The Gooodyear Blimp! She saw it again and was so excited to see the PLUMP following us home...

I guess this is what is meant by "Knock Em Dead"

2008-10-31T12:47:00.000-07:00

WZZM 13 News - Print Editon

RAVENNA, Mich. (WZZM) - Teammates in his bowling league think after rolling a perfect 300 game Don Doane's heart just gave out. "You get nervous shooting a 300," says teammate Todd Place. "The pressure keeps building," says bowling alley owner Jim Nutt.
Minutes after achieving the life long goal of a perfect game the 62 year old bowler collapsed and died at Ravenna Bowl in Ravenna. "Don just collapsed," says alley owner Nutt. " At first we thought he just fainted." "Then when I rolled him over I realized it wasn't good," says teammate Place.
The teammates say he was giving a high-five minutes before. They tried to revive him but Doane never spoke another word. He died of what was apparently a massive heart attack "He looked fine, reached across the table and gave me a high-five and he fell over," says Place.
"I think he died by the time he hit the floor." Don Doane was a member of the "Nutt Farm" bowling team at Ravenna Bowl for 45 years. His teammates says its strange not to see him on league nights.
"It was like a book, a final chapter," says Place. "He threw his 300 game with all of his friends, gave each other high-fives and it's like the story ended. He died with a smile on his face."
"Don will be a legend," says Nutt. 'It's something that will never be forgotten as long as people bowl here." Ravenna Bowl is planning a memorial ceremony for Doan's' wife Linda and son Chad.
Phil Dawson

When I was teenager a friend was saying how her grandfather was talking about dying after a few people he had known had recently died of illness. He stated that if it were up to him he would chose to die on the golf course.. and he wanted to fuss so just a pine box for his burial.
Don't you know a few short weeks later after finishing a 18 hole round of golf my friend grandfather sat down on a bench for a minute and keeled over dead. Instantly. Went the way he wanted. Simple and peaceful.. They finished his dream by having a simple pine box built and a big old post funeral dinner....

Hurry and grab the gloves!

2008-10-29T06:42:00.001-07:00

There is snow on my porch! The kids are thrilled. Trying to explain to them that it will not last is pointless. It is really not noticeable from the frotn window because it is not sticking to the grass so you only get the ground effect from the porch view!

YEAH for my first photo attempt!

Dinnertime bribery works!

2008-10-28T16:17:00.000-07:00

I made a dinner that I knew woudl not go over well: Turkey Mignon, twice baked potatos and chinese broccoli. I gave each child a small portion as well as a serving of applesauce. Ben immediatly starts to whine. Andrew tosses all the broccoli in his mouth without thought. Maddie starts in on her applesauce. I sat with them ( waiting to eat with Michael who was on a call in the office) and encourgaed them to try it all. I provided ketchup for those who have sauce issues. Ben was just being bratty and refused to try anything.. I KNOW if he just stops whining he will eat the turkey, applesauce and potatoes. He flat out refuses.

So I bring out the big guns.

I tell them all that whoever eats their dinner will get an ice cream sundae. (I just grabbed the leftover ice cream from my moms freezer today.) Maddie becomes a freaking mad woman. My non meat eater devours all her turkey and then eats the inside of the potato. I was in AWE! She was leary of the broccoli after she sampled the seasoning. I gave her credit.. ususally she eats an entire head of broccoli herself. So with Ben off in his own pout land and Andrew watching to see if I will give in we go make a sundae. I put vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup, sprinkles and whipped cream together.. along with their favorite a *magic* cherry. She proudly takes it to the table and starts eating it like there is no tomorrow.. bragging the whole time.

Look what I got!

Mine is the biggest ice cweam ever.

Lookey what I got.. YUMMY

All of the sudden she stand up and starts to moan.. it gets louder and louder and she flings herself across my lap..
RUB MY HEAD, rub my head mama.. it hurts mama.. my face hurts...

I was laughing so hard. My little girl has her first ice cream headache. All that showing off brought her pain and agony. I rub her for a moment and she jumps right back into her seat and cleans her bowl.

Andrew not to be outdone eats his turkey and takes 2 bites of his potato. He then goes to the kitchen to await my arrival so he could oversee the sundae building event. He was much more civilized in his eating and avoided the headache.

Dishes have been done and sadly.. Ben received no ice cream. stubbornness got the best of him again...

There is always one non believer.

2008-10-27T11:04:00.000-07:00

Due to the nasty coughing coming from the twins room Michael and I felt it was necessary to pull out the vaporizer. So I dug into the depths of the linen closet and pulled out the machine. After a thorough scrubbing and rinsing I filled it and carried off to the bedroom. They desperately needs a nap. I plugged it in and immediately gave the lecture about NOT touching this. I told how it will help their cough, it will make them feel better and how very hot it is. I warned them over and over to NOT touch the machine, the plug or the steam. Michael then comes in and goes over it.

Wouldn't you know.. Madeline had to check it out herself. Now she has a slight steam burn on her palm/thumb.. Go figure.. that thing is HOT!

Language and threats

2008-10-24T08:20:00.000-07:00

I love this stage where they are learning new words all the time but pronunciation and usage is not perfect. If you ask Andrew where he lives he will say "Canton, Ho-Hi-Ho" He likes to talk about how daddy spent the week at work in "cowumbus"

Our regular attendance at First Christian Church, http://www.firstchristian.info/
is providing lots of new songs and stories from all the kids. Ben had me in tears a few weeks ago. They talked about the story of Steven and how he was stoned. To really send the story home they held a fake "stoning" They all crumpled up green paper and *STONED* one of the Childrens Ministry leaders b/c it was his birthday! I only hope that the next class birthday at school doesn't lead him to ball up his homework and start his own stoning...

Recently overheard while the children were playing.

Maddie- Stop it Andwew- that is mine
Andrew- No, I play wif it...
Maddie- Stop it Andwew, God is watching you.. God can see you.. He gonna be mad atch you!

Today is an inservice day so Ben is home. SO we are sitting at the table eating breakfast together and Ben does something.. I cannot even remember what it was(Isn't that sad?). I rolled me eyes at him and told him to just stop it. Mother Maddie had to interject and question her big brother with " Stop it Ben! Is that reawy Necessary?" I almost chocked on my cheerios!

M&M's- They do melt in the nose....

2008-10-23T19:38:00.000-07:00

I am in the kitchen this afternoon doing dishes and talking to a friend on the phone. Maddie and Andrew keep trying to *help* me so I send them on their way with cups of juice and 1 small fun size bag of M&M's to split. Shortly after this Andrew comes back to the kitchen whining..nothing unusual about that. I finally understand that he keeps repeating " It hurts.. my noses hurts" I tell Kelly "I think he stuck a piece of candy in his nose..gotta go." and hung up the phone.

I so wish I had photos of this but there were more important things to deal with. There was BLUE running out of his nostril.. YES I said BLUE. The shell was melting away but the candy was lodged so tightly in there that there was no way I was going to be able to grab that sucker. I tried to push it down by applying pressure and that was a waste. I went and found the tweezers and he FREAKED. Poor guy ran and hid behind the couch. Tried to call a few neighbors but of course no one was home to help me hold this kid down. (Michael was of course out of town when I needed him).

SO I call the Ped office and laughing hysterically they advise me to pack him up and bring him in.. They will rally the troops and be prepared to hog tie him down for me. NOW here is where the fun time comes in. Today was the last day of Ben being "Star Student of the week" So I had already made snacks to take to school and had a book to read at the end of the day to the class.. So I am supposed to be there in an hour and now I have nose boy to deal with...I call the school and the secretary tells me if I bring them by she will run out and grab the snacks for me to send in.

Even though it is quite chilly I grab the the sandals because they are the first shoes I see. Maddie complies but Andrew starts to freak out. TOTAL freak out. Crying and chanting "I no go to the Docto, NO Docto." Then it happens.. He lets loose a big sneeze and all of the sudden a huge blog of chocolate goes rolling out his nose! I start laughing and grab the tissues. THANK HEAVENS! I was able to cancel the Dr appt and go to the classroom to read after all.

During the clean up I also learned one other thing. He had also shoved a green M&M up the other nostril but that one apparently was able to be pulled out..I hope he figured out ALL candies are bad.. NOT just blue M&M's.

Conversations NOT to be had at 735am.

2008-10-16T05:50:00.000-07:00

As with every morning I was prodding Ben to hurry up and finish breakfast, wash up, brush teeth and finish getting dressed. He walked past me and had his Kung Fu Panda T-shirt on and a pair of jeans. I noticed his zipper was down so I said to him " Pull that zipper up... hurry! Before your penis falls out" he laughed at me and tried to tug at his zipper one handed ( he still has the cast on his left arm) saying " It won't fall out.. I have on underwear!". I laughed and replied " OH! They have been known to fall out even with underwear PULL it up FAST!" He looks at me and then to his father as though to say mama is crazy.. Then Michael tells him to yes pull the zipper up " because one day your Penis will have it own brain."
Ben looks at us like we are both crazy and asks " what will my penis do with its own brain?"

I quickly replied "Nothing~! Just pull up your zipper"

I can only imagine how that phone call from the teacher will go.

These kids.....

2008-10-14T17:52:00.000-07:00

Are going to be the reason I suffer early insanity. I swear can ANYONE listen and follow simple directions.

DO not play in the water.

Pick up your toys in the living room and put them in YOUR room.

Stay out of Bens room.

See these are pretty basic and easy to follow. BUT.. they are still ignored.

I went to strip Bens bed today to change the sheets. As I pulled the sheet off I notice that the edging FALLS off the mattress causing the mattress side to fall off from the top.. Leaving me a cleare view od the inside of the mattress. NOW we already knew that a new mattress was necessary as this was Michaels way back in the day.. STILL... Thank You Madeline for lovingly tearing all the threads out of the seaming. That was so helpful.

So I leave that bed unmade to make sure that Michael saw this.. Tossed the blankets back on the bed until later.

While I was working on dinner I told all three to pick up the toys and put them away.. I knew I was being ignored by the screams of joy and laughter. I left eventually to stop all the fun and realized that Madeline and Andrew were playing in the bathroom sink and the floor was covered in water and wet towels. What an equal spanking opportunity!
I go back to finishing dinner while daddy gets to tell them how bad they are being. I eat quickly so I can shower before Parent Teacher Conference at 730pm. Quick shower and dressed.. OH CRAP! I need to make Bens bed. I stop in his room adn grab all the trash( his treasures I am sure) off the floor/dresser and pull the comforter off his bed.. The corner is wet.. dang kids obvioulsy spilled on this. I get everything off the bed and see that a good 1/4 of the mattress is DRENCHED in water.. I was so mad.. I coudl hardly see straight.. I KNOW that we need a new mattress and it is not a huge loss but still it pisses me off that I turn my head and they are terrorizing everything.. I swear they are worse now then when they were newly walking and really into everything.

So now I am getting finished to leave and Michael gets a call for work. I put the twins in bed at 7pm, send Ben to his room to pick up everything he already tossed on the floor since I picked it up half an hour earlier.

Then I hear the twins. LAUGHING

Go To Bed= jump off the dresser. DUH... I guess I should have known this.. So I spank them both on the butts now b/c I am really mad. They KNOW this is not allowed.

I storm downstairs and Michael is in his office, I look in and am like " I have to go NOW" he totally forgot I had to go talk to the teacher. He was no longer on a call.. just doing something.. I won't pretend to have a clue.

This day is almost over. I woke with a headache and killer sinus issues.. I end with the same headache and sinus crud.. I have medicated the best way I know how... Chocolate and Ice Cream.

I did it...

2008-09-28T14:59:00.000-07:00

I am trying to copy everyone else and start a blog. My stories on myspace have humored people and I have been told many times I should start a blog... So I will try this out...

Nothing shocks me anymore

March Reading

More writing..

Tonights Homework...Handwriting

What I am reading.. Finishing up February...

Tonights Homework...

See what it feels like???

February Reading...cont...

Hacky Valentines Day.

Happy Valentines Day!

Weighing in on things that matter...

Andrews writing Homework...

February Reading...

More Reading

The Ups and the Downs

And reality is.....lol

Sooooo excited!!!

What I am reading this year...

My Madeline.. the Hypochondriac

Exciting!

Resolving to Reduce...in 2011

Losing it....

The first *official* day of Summer break!

Time to use those brand new permanent markers..

It is Ohio... There will be snow in Feb.. GET OVER IT!

Madeline-isms

Happy February!!! ( forget that it is already the 7th)

Why I Coupon...

I have found a positive to cold weather

Kicking off the new year...

Happy New Year 2010!

Peer Pressure WORKS!

Tuesday..

Stick a fork in me I am done!

Good intention...

Hack, Hack, Cough, Wheeze....

When life hands you ripened produce...

Who needs toys?

Kid-isms...Things heard in the mama-mobile...

Back by popular demand...

Pictures

Date Night- what is that? and life drama...

Who needs toys?

My Ben

Just to make things much easier...

The many moods of Andrew

Throwback to the 80's

Injuries..

There is only one ice cream bar left in the freezer...

Why now?

Amazing...

What seemed like a good idea...

Exhaustion...week in review

"The electric bill is too expensive"

If it makes the kids happy...

Webkinz.

Absolute and Total Exhaustion!

Since we are on the subject.....

Fun and Games with Daddy..

Madeline and Andrew turned FOUR!

Back Again...A little more focused.

Interior Design

Dog Gone...

Shaking her head in wonder...

Strange...

Musical Interpretation..

Barack Obama's biggest fan....

Don't we all just LOVE Chuck E. Cheese?

Why the hold up???? Charge him NOW

Sense of purpose.

Another one bites the dust...

The holiday behind us.....

Cough, Cough, Wheeze, Snort... repeat...

Portraits

Morning Breath

Out of the mouths of babes...

Saturday Morning Fun!

Inquiring minds want to know.....

Wrapping packages...

We can plant an apple tree..

The first official day of Summer break!