Happy Turkey Day Everyone!

Hi all! I just wanted to take a few moments to say "Happy Thanksgiving" to everyone! While I am listing the things that I am thankful for over the holidays, be sure that I will be listing my online "blogging buddies" as well. May God bless you and your families! (And may you quickly lose those extra pounds that you KNOW you're going to gain!) LOL Sad but probably true. Especially in my case. Alan is off for Thanksgiving this year, so I will be cooking the noon meal and entertaining family at our house. While my mind reels with the amount of work to be done and food to prepare...my mouth is already watering at the thought of making all our favourite holiday dishes! Here's the starting lineup! *recipes available upon request!* LOL ;)

• Roasted Turkey w/ Gravy
• Slow-Cooker Stuffing
• Jellied Cranberry Sauce
• Green Bean & Corn Casserole
• Sweet Potato Casserole
• Veg-all Casserole
• Asparagus Casserole
• Mashed Potatos
• Orange Jello Salad
• Devilled Eggs
• Dinner Rolls
• Blueberry Cobbler

YUMMY! YUMMY! YUMMY!

SO...So....*sigh*...TIRED!

Okay guys, I am EXHAUSTED. I will admit that I actually slept in until 10:00 am this morning and it was devine! It's been a crazy month...well actually it started at the end of September when my third child was born. By the time we got home and I recovered from that experience, my oldest daughter came down with some kind of virus. She ran a low-grade fever and had a nasty cough. So we just administered over-the-counter cold and flu meds with Tylenol and she gradually got better. BUT...by the time she was recovering, the two-year old had come down with it and unfortunatly it seemed to hit her much harder. She ran a high fever. I'm talking 103.4. Had it gone up just 6 more tenths of a degree we would have had to take her to the hospital. It was really scary because she became somewhat lethargic and would barely respond to my talking to her. I scooped her out of her bed and tucked her in with me. Then I set the alarm clock to wake myself up in two-hour intervals at which times I alternately administerd Tylenol and Motrin around the clock until her fever finally broke at 5:30 in the morning. Now, during this time I was also giving the 4 yr old cough medicine every 4 hours and feeding the baby every 3 hours ....so I ended up staying awake all night long. Before I knew it 30 plus hours had passed before I got a chance to shut my eyes for a while. Then, as I'm sure you can guess...when the two year old got over the crud, the baby got sick. Now THAT was really scary. For those of you who may not know...if an infant under 8 weeks of age gets a high fever, they are automatically admitted to the hospital where they draw blood and run blood cultures to see if the fever has spread to their blood. They are also required to perform a spinal tap and draw spinal fluid from the spinal cord to check for meninjitis. If you have never experienced it with your kids..it's a TERRIBLE...HORRIBLE...SCARY...and PAINFUL process to be avoided at all costs! I went through it when Bugga-Bugga was seven weeks old and it was the worst thing I've ever experienced to this date. It's just so scary when a newborn gets sick because they are unable to take any kind of over-the-counter meds until they are at least 3 months old...and they can't blow their own nose..or tell you what hurts. She started with a cough and nasal congestion. I was really afraid it would settle in her lungs and cause pneumonia (which babies her size/age typically don't recover from). She was also having trouble eating. Partially because her nose was stopped up making it difficult to take a bottle, and sometimes if she did manage to get it down...she would throw it up 5-10 minutes later. Thank GOD, she never ran any fever. We ran a cool mist humidifier in our room where Baby Bug sleeps, and she slept upright in her swing at night rather than in her bassinet. We sprayed saline drops in her nose and used that horrible bulb syringe to suction out the congestion as best as we could. Because she is only 5 weeks old, there wasn't a whole lot we could do for her. I sat up around the clock by myself for three nights and days watching her just to make sure that she was breathing. Alan and I debated on whether or not to take her to the doctor for several days. (I wanted to ...he didn't). Finally I won (after breaking down, crying, and pitching a fit!) We took her to her pediatrician (whom I adore) about an hour's drive away. He was reallys surprised to discover that she had developed an ear infection. Usually with those, kids run high fevers. We were really blessed that so far she hadn't presented with one. He prescribed a shot of relatively strong antibiotics to hopefully knock out the infection before the fever came. And she is taking oral antibiotics twice a day in her bottle now. She seems to be feeling some better. At least she is eating and breathing better now. The doctor told us that she was throwing up as a result of the pain in her ear. It has been difficult to tell if she was hurting or not because she is such a good baby that she almost never cries. She has 7 days worth of antibiotics left to take, and then hopefully everyone will be bake to normal. I'm looking forward to getting some much needed/deserved rest. I haven't truly slept in three weeks!

Dance and Cheer the Sniffles Away!

Well, despite the fact that my kids still had the sniffles, against my better judgement I allowed them to go trick-or-treating anyway. (Honestly, I just didn't want to hear them whine for days about how I didn't let them go when they've been looking forward to it all month! LOL) It turned out fine though. Princess dressed up as a ballerina, and she got to wear her costume to Kindergarten. I went to school with her to help out with her class's party. All the kids had a blast. I got some great pictures! I was one tired Mommy after helping all the 3 and 4 year olds at her school play the "Buried Treasure" game. There was a sandbox filled with sand and hidden prizes. Each child got a turn with a plastic shovel to dig for one buried treasure each. My job was to try and keep everything IN the sandbox, ensure that the kids didn't get greedy and get more than their share, or throw sand on the other kids, etc. Afterwards, we came home, ate lunch, and took a nap! Then it was time to get Princess (the ballerina) and Bugga-Bugga (who was a cheerleader) back into their costumes. (Baby Bug declined to dress-up this year...mainly because she was too little for the newborn costumes!) Alan and I took the girls to my grandmother's house and parked in her driveway so that we could go trick-or-treating around her neighborhood. I know just about everyone in her neighborhood and that is the most popular area for trick-or-treating in our town. We went about 5:00...as soon as it started to get dark because I didn't want the girls to be out long or to get cold. There is a big circle and a smaller circle in that area, and we just went around the smaller one. Probably visited about 10 houses or so, and then went back to my grandmother's where she was waiting on the girls with a bag of pumpkin shaped sugar cookies for each of them. They had a good time, and so far no one is any worse for the exposure to the weather.

Another Year Older....and Hopefully Wiser

Yep! Today is my birthday. I am officially 26. Guess I can admit to that. At least until I hit 30, then I'm tempted to start counting backwards. Here are a few other "famous" people who share my birthday:

• Fydor Dostoevsky - Oct. 30, 1821
• Ezra Pound - Oct. 30, 1885
• Ted Williams - Oct. 30, 1918
• Henry Winkler - Oct. 30, 1945
• Harry Hamlin - Oct. 30, 1951
• Gavin Rossdale - Oct. 30, 1967
• Layne Nix - Oct. 30, 1980
• Ivanka Trump - Oct. 30, 1981

And here are some newsworthy events that took place on my birthday:

• NASA launches space vehicle S-203 - 1979
• Richard Arrington elected mayor of Birmingham, AL - 1979
• Calif Angel Nolan Ryan throws fastest recorded pitch (100.9 MPH) - 1974
• Jaqueline Kennedy marries Aristotle Onassis on the island of Scorpios - 1968
• Branch Rickey signs Jackie Robinson to Montreal Royals - 1945
• Clarence Birdseye sells 1st frozen peas - 1952
• Anne Frank (of Diary fame) is deported from Auschwitz to Belsen - 1944
• 1st Methodist church in U.S. initiated (Wesley Chapel, New York City) - 1768

No Balloon Animals Today, Dear...I Have a Headache

My kids have been feeling a bit under the weather the last several days, and as they are typical of most kids their age, the quickly tired of lying around watching cartoons all day. So...being the crafty mom that I pride myself on being, I scrounged through my closet and boxes full of craft goodies in seach of some inspiration. A light bulb went off in my mind as I came to a bag of mixed sized balloons. Ya know..the ones that you buy and then are annoyed to find tons of those long skinny balloons that are REALLY hard to blow up. I grabbed a couple of those and told myself that today is the day that I would learn how to make balloon animals. So, after several attempts and a few softly muttered creative oaths, I managed to product two really cute looking balloon weenie dogs! I was so proud! My 4 year old was impressed and my 2 year old was in love with hers. She carried it around on her shoulder all day saying "cute puppy!" Well, the next morning they were feeling a bit better. This is when a certain incident occurred that reminded me of a lesson I have learned since the birth of my daughter 4 weeks ago. Lesson being: It is physically impossible for ONE mommy to watch THREE kids simulataneously at all times. Alan and I attempt to keep the door to our bedroom closed 24/7 simply because there are things in there that the kids don't need to get into. And when I say kids: mostly I mean the 2 yr. old. She is notorious for playing in my makeup drawer (several months ago she decorated my room and herself with black mascara -- Thank God I don't use the waterproof kind!!!), getting into her Daddy's work stuff (ie. running the battery down on his maglight and police radio), and getting into any bottles of lotion or shampoo that should be lying around our master bathroom. Well, that particular morning I was trying to get Princess ready for her Kindergarten, get Baby Bug fed and changed, and get myself dressed when I lost track of Bugga-Bugga. (I swear they should come with tracking devices). Anyway...I knew I was in trouble when I didn't hear her. I quickly buckled the baby into her swing and ran down the hall towards my bedroom. Oh crap! Alan had left the door open when he stopped in to get some equipment he had left. Great! Not knowing what mess I would find when I turned the corner...I took a deep breathe and told myself to remain calm. I walked in the door...and didn't see anything. Didn't smell any strong lotion/shampoo scents...didn't see any mystery stains around the room....the makeup drawer was closed...but I also didn't see any 2 yr. old....until I walked around to Alan's side of our bed. She was sitting in the floor playing with...with...OMG! She was playing with a box of condoms that she had found in the headboard...and had ripped one open. I called her name and she jumped a little guiltily before turning to face me. Then, with a grin...she held up her prize. "Look Mommy!!!" she cried... "BALLOON!!! Make Puppy???"

Got an Octopus for Sale?

Know of anyone who has an octopus for sale? Cause I could really use the extra arms today! Two out of three of my kids are sick. Not BAD sick, but enough that they demand constant attention. Princess hasn't been to kindergarten since last Friday. She seems to have bronchitis on top of a low-grade fever that is a result of the flu shot she had last week. So she was up all night coughing. Bugga-Bugga (the 2 yr. old) had a fever of 101.9 this morning and is ill and cranky because she is cutting all 4 of her 2-yr molars at once. Thank goodness Baby Bug isn't sick. She just demands to be fed or changed constantly. It just always works out to where they all need me at the same time, and of course Alan is at work. Even worse, he got supeonaed to Grand Jury today so he is out of town and unable to drop in and lend a hand like he can sometimes do. PLUS, he has municipal court tonight, which means he won't get home until around 9 or 10 tonight. Ugh!

On a brighter note, thank you all for your prayers and kind comments. We are scheduled to have our car fixed on November 15th. (Yes, that's the earliest date our repair guy had an opening.) A very dear (and sexy...oops...didn't mean to let that slip...but he would So be on my list....ladies, you know what list I'm referring to...everyone has one!) friend of ours found out about our problems and gave Alan a check for $500.00 to cover getting our car fixed! I think I'm still in shock, but it's certainly a huge weight off our shoulders.

I am Tired of Being Pooped On!!!

*Sigh* Yes, you read that right. I am tired of being pooped on..in oh so many ways....by the baby, by my two-year old, by life in general. It has been one doosy of a week! I haven't blogged in forever because I'm doing good to be up and dressed...sometimes that last part is not even accomplished. A combination of sheer mental and physical exhaustion, getting up every 3 hours at night to feed the baby, a little depression, a lot of frustration, and the fact that I just plain like to stay in bed when it's cool outdoors (which it has been lately) have all contributed to the fact that I dragged myself out of the bed around 1:00 this afternoon and even that took a considerable amount of willpower. I can't even begin to describe what the last few weeks have been like. There are so many cliche phrases I could use but none could quite encompass the true nature of what I am feeling. One prime example of said phrase...."when it rains..it pours." Amen. Here goes. I had the baby three weeks ago...she's doing fine now that we changed her formula twice and FINALLY managed to clear up the worst case of diaper rash I've ever seen...poor thing. Just when she started being more content throughout the night (not having gas pains, or spitting up, or having bad diapers) and I thought I might actually get a little sleep, Alan had his wisdom teeth cut out on Monday. So after dragging his heavily drugged semi-unconcious butt home from the dentists office, I had 4 babies to take care of instead of three. He wasn't in much pain, but the medicine they used to knock him out while they did the oral surgery made him loopy and very nauseaous. Great! After sleeping for about 14 hours he finally came out of it and was able to help a little again. I still didn't want him walking around with the baby because I was afraid he'd get dizzy or sick and fall with her or drop her. But at least he was able to sit up and give her a bottle while I tended to everyone and everything else. One of which was changing a very stinky two-year old's diaper. OMG! I can't wait until she is potty trained! She stunk up the entire house!!! Then I gave the baby a bath and after I had JUST finished cleaning and drying her...was getting read to put on fresh clean clothes...she decides to poop. ALL OVER ME!!! In my hand (that was supporting her rear) and all over my leg. It was more than I could handle. I was yelling at Alan to come get her and gagging at the same time. Normally a dirty kid doesn't bother me. Gee...must make a difference when it's all warm and gooey and running down your thigh. Okay..that about sums up the literal pooping. Now for the figurative. We discovered this week that somehow while we were in the hospital having the baby, that some banking errors were made on our checking account that caused us to bounce not one...but FIVE checks. Now at a fee rate of $30 each...that's a hefty little sum. I never never never..bounce checks. I've had my checking account with the same bank branch for 10 years now and have maybe only bounced two in the entire time. So needless to say, I was in shock when I pulled up my account balance and it read -$360.00!!!! Alan called the bank and explained the situation and they graciously refunded $60.00 of the bounced check fees but we are still majorly in the hole. AND we have yet to pay our house payment or Cat's kindergarten tuition for this month and now cannot afford to do so. I don't know what we are going to do. I can't even buy groceries right now and we have nothing NOTHING in the house. No milk, bread, canned goods, cereal...no nothing. I can't even make a sandwhich. Fortunatly I had just bought diapers and formula before we bounced checks so the baby is taken care of ...but the rest of us are in trouble. On TOP of all that...our car broke down. Yes, the ONE car that Alan and I already struggle to share which gets him (or at least it did) back and forth to work and Cat to Kindergarten Monday through Friday. I am not a mechanical whiz when it comes to cars so I don't understand the entire concept...but basically something with the air conditioning system died, made a horrible clanking noise, and is killing off all it's friends by attacking them with metal shavings. So now we have to have a new AC compressor, condensor, belt, orafice tubes, etc. which will cost us around $300.00 in parts not counting the labor of whoever we can find that we can trust to put in in and not rip us off. And ontop of THAT...the right rear brake calliper is going bad and leaking brake fluid. AAARGGH!!! What a wonderful birthday present. Did I mention that next Sunday is my birthday? Ah well. Thanks for letting me vent!

Already Daddy's little girl at 4 days old!!! 

An Early Arrival!

Yes, there is a very good reason why I have not posted in SO long. I have been feeling rather yucky in these last few weeks of my pregnancy, and my visits to the doctor have been much more frequent. That however, has now come to an end as our third daughter (who will for now be referred to as "BabyBug") made her grand entrance into the world two weeks early. After having been to the doctor three times in one week, my labor was induced at 5:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning due to my blood pressure which had been high for several days and was continuing to rise. Baby Bug was born at 11:20 am on Tuesday, September 27th weighing 6lbs 13ozs. and measuring 19 1/2 inches long. She is a perfectly healthy, happy, beautiful baby girl! Alan and I are amazed at what a great demeanor she has. She eats well and sleeps well. She is always happy, never cries, and only makes the slightest fuss to let us know that she is hungry or in need of a change. Otherwise she is content to sit or lie wherever we put her, looking around curiously and happily at the world around her. God has truly blessed our family!



Happy Birthday!

A First-Hand Report from New Orleans

I wanted to share this email I received from a friend who received it from another friend who is a Dr. stranded in a hotel in New Orleans. I believe this email to be a true personal account of this man's experiences, and I am posting it exactly as I received it with no edits or grammatical corrections. You will note that some of his sentences or thoughts seem to be incomplete as he was in a hurry to get everything out during his limited access to the internet. I sincerely hope that he will not mind me posting his experience, as he did give permission to pass it on to those who may be interested in hearing a "dispatch" from the front line, so to speak.


From: Gregory S. Henderson MD, PhD <GSHend@mac.com>

"Thanks to all of you who have sent your notes of concern and your prayers. I am writing this note on Tuesday at 2PM . I wanted to update all of you as to the situation here. I don't know how much information you are getting but I am certain it is more than we are getting. Be advised that almost everything I am telling you is from direct observation or rumor from reasonable sources. They are allowing limited internet access, so I hope to send this dispatch today. Personally, my family and I are fine. My family is safe in Jackson, MS, and I am now a temporary resident of the Ritz Carleton Hotel in New Orleans. I figured if it was my time to go, I wanted to go in a place with a good wine list. In addition, this hotel is in a very old building on Canal Street that could and did sustain little damage. Many of the other hotels sustained significant loss of windows, and we expect that many of the guests may be evacuated here. Things were obviously bad yesterday, but they are much worse today. Overnight the water arrived. Now Canal Street (true to its origins) is indeed a canal. The first floor of all downtown buildings is underwater. I have heard that Charity Hospital and Tulane are limited in their ability to care for patients because of water. Ochsner is the only hospital that remains fully functional. However, I spoke with them today and they too are on generator and losing food and water fast. The city now has no clean water, no sewerage system, no electricity, and no real communications. Bodies are still being recovered floating in the floods. We are worried about a cholera epidemic. Even the police are without effective communications. We have a group of armed police here with us at the hotel that are admirably trying to exert some local law enforcement. This is tough because looting is now rampant. Most of it is not malicious looting. These are poor and desperate people with no housing and no medical care and no food or water trying to take care of themselves and their families. Unfortunately, the people are armed and dangerous. We hear gunshots frequently. Most of Canal street is occupied by armed looters who have a low threshold for discharging their weapons. We hear gunshots frequently. The looters are using makeshift boats made of pieces of styrofoam to access. We are still waiting for a significant national guard presence.The health care situation here has dramatically worsened overnight. Many people in the hotel are elderly and small children. There are ID physicians in at this hotel attending an HiV confection. We have commandered the world famous French Quarter Bar to turn into an makeshift clinic. There is a team of about 7 doctors and PA and pharmacists. We anticipate that this will be the major medical facility in the central business district and French Quarter.Our biggest adventure today was raiding the Walgreens on Canal under police escort. The pharmacy was dark and fulll of water. We basically scooped the entire drug sets into gargace bags and removed them. All under police excort. The looters had to be held back at gun point. After a dose of prophylactic Cipro I hope to be fine. In all we are faring well. We have set up a hospital in the the French Qarter bar in the hotel, and will start admitting patients today. Many with be from the hotel, but many with not. We are anticipating to dealing with multiple medical problems, medications and and acute injuries. Infection and perhaps even cholera are anticipated major problems. Food and water shortages are iminent.The biggest question to all of us is where is the national guard. We hear jet fighters and helicopters, but no real armed presence, and hence the rampant looting. There is no Red Cross and no Salvation Army.In a sort of cliché way, this is an edifying experience. Once is rapidly focused away from the transient and material to the bare necessities of life. It has been challenging to me to learn how to be a primary care phyisican. We are under martial law so return to our homes is impossible. I don't know how long it will be and this is my greatest fear. Despite it all, this is a soul edify experience. The greatest pain is to think about the loss. And how long the rebuild will. And the horror of so many dead people .PLEASE SEND THIS DISPATCH TO ALL YOU THING MAY BE INTERSTED IN A DISPATCH From the front. I will send more according to your interest. Hopefully their collective prayers will be answered. By the way suture packs, sterile gloves and stethoscopes will be needed as the Ritz turns into a MASH."

Greg Henderson

Long Time, No Blog

Hi Everyone,
Once again I find myself apologizing for the lack of posts on this blog. However, with only 6 weeks to go in this pregnancy, I have had neither the energy or the inclination to post lately. I'm just trying to survive the next month and a half. The baby has "assumed the position" ie. dropped very low, head-down and the resulting pressure is very painful. It's all I can do to walk, it hurts to drive or ride in the car, and sleeping comfortably is next to impossible. Plus, my hands and feet have begun to swell more than they have in my previous pregnancies, and I tend to keep a headache that Tylenol just doesn't faze. All in all, I'm sure I'm not the most pleasant person to live with these days, though I DO try not to take my pain and irribility out on the other members of my family. I wish I could morph into a bear and just hibernate the last six weeks away! LOL I could use some good sleep about now. I guess part of what bugs me too is the feeling that I may go into labor early, and I don't have everything together for myself or the baby. I still have no newborn clothes for her. My other two daughters were born in the middle of the summer and spent their newborn days in onesie's, t-shirts and diapers. This one being born a fall baby will need a few onesie's, and mostly the soft thin cotton, and the soft terrycloth footied sleepers which I don't have since my other girls' didn't need them until they were 6-9 months old. Then there is the fact that I wanted to be completely unpacked and settled and have my new house all clean before the baby makes her appearance. Unfortunatly though, although it's not bad...there are still unpacked boxes sitting in various corners that I just don't have the energy (or range of motion) right now to deal with. Just the little things like that are driving me crazy. On the flip side (in other words..enough of my whining...LOL) we are finally getting adjusted to our new household schedule that ensued with our oldest daughter's starting of kindergarten two weeks ago. She is still loving it despite how much she grouches about it when we are trying to get her out of the bed in the mornings. LOL She (like her daddy) is NOT a morning person.! And that would SO be an understatement. Anyway, we are all up earlier in the morning, taking turns dropping her off at school, dealing with new meal and nap times, going to bed earlier at night, and dreaming of the two weekends a month when Alan is off work and we can ALL sleep in.

Kindergarten Queen

Well, it seems that our little "Princess" has turned into the Kindergarten Queen. LOL I was worried about her having mixed feelings on her first day. I knew that she had been talking about going to school ever since she turned three. Knowing that she could start school at the age of 4, she would always tell people that she was already 4 when asked. Monday was her first actual day of kindergarten. It was also the first time her daddy and I had ever left her anywhere other than a friend or family member's home. Even though she appeared to be excited...I had my reservations. I tried as best as possible to explain that yes, we would be leaving her...but that we would come back to get her at lunch time. I explained her schedule...how she would get there and have free play, then Bible study, reading and writing, get to color, then have a snack and a potty break, go to music or art, and get to play on the playground, and then we would be there to pick her up. I also told her how her class would get to go the the big library down town (which she loves) and the roller skating rink once a month. The will also take field trips to the Pumpkin Patch in the fall, the zoo, and a couple of other places yet to be determined. Most importantly, I made sure she knew where the bathroom was and to tell her teacher if she needed to go other than at the "alotted time." When we entered the building on Orientation Day, her only fear seemed to be the stairs. Her Kindergarten is part of a large local church and it has steep staircases with echoing stairwells. She's fine going up, but is scared to come down. Fortunatly, we found out that her classroom is on the first (ground level) floor, so that isn't an issue. Anyway, we got up (her Daddy, and sister and I) and piled into the car so that we could all walk her in on her first day of school. She was dressed all cute in a little denim skort with a baby blue shirt, white lacy socks and her tennis shoes with laser lights that light up with each step. Her hair was pulled back in a neat little ponytail and she had a brand new lacy navy hairbow at the top. Armed with her "special" PINK Disney Princess backpack, she was ready to go. We were the first ones in her class to arrive after Mrs. S had unlocked the door. (The kids that got there early had to wait in another room). Princess walked right in...said "Hi" to her teacher, took off her backpack...got her daily folder out and put it in the designated basket, and I helped her find her cubby hole to hang her backpack in. Mrs. S asked Princess if she wanted to go with her to get the other boys and girls and obviously she did, because she quickly turned to Alan and me, gave us a quick hug, grabbed Mrs. S's hand and off they went down the hall. "Bye Mommy!" she called. "I'll have fun. Oh, and I'll color you a pretty picture!" and that was it. Alan and I looked at each other in amazement. While we were extremely grateful that she was adjusting so well, we kinda felt forgotten already! LOL It was "Mommy and Daddy who?" Nonetheless, we were very pround. Princess told us the next day that her cousin (who is 7 months older and in the same class) had cried and clung to his mother the first day. Actually what she said...and I quote is: "Andy cried and hugged onto his mommy. But I didn't cry. I'm a big girl...only babies cry!" I laughed until I nearly cried myself!

First Steps Down a LONG Road

My first child will be entering school on Monday. I still can't believe that the time has come already. Seems like just yesterday I was bringing her home all bundled up from the hospital. Now she is 4 years old and starting Kindergarten. Man, time sure does fly! We have enrolled "Princess" (she loves Disney Princesses and the color pink...and I got tired of referring to her as "4".) in a private Kindergarten rather than public school, and today we got to go for Orientation to see her classroom and meet her teacher. "Mrs. S" as she will be called for the purposes of this blog...was very nice. She is actually the daughter of a wonderful lady who taught the 3- year old group at the same Kindergarten when I attended the 4-year old class there 21 years ago. Princess was a little nervous upon entering the building. The school is part of a large church in town and I think she was intimidated by all the doors, stairs, etc. However, that soon changed when we got to her classroom and she spotted the bright red apple on the door with her name on it. We went in and she found "her" chair with her own namecard, tray of crayons, pencil, glue, and scissors...and her daily folder. Mrs. S told her how she would get to take the folder home to Mommy and Daddy each afternoon and bring it back to her each morning. She found her assigned "cubby hole" where she is to keep her new Disney Princess backpack and other belongings during classroom hours, and even more quickly she discovered the toys. There is a large bookcase full of her favourite storytime characters, and a little wooden kitchenette with sink, stove, and cupboards that quickly drew her full attention. There are only 12 other kids in her class, one of whom is one of her first cousins who she is pretty close to. That will help them both adjust more quickly I hope. (Though I think I am probably more nervous about her starting school than she is.) I just keep thinking to myself...this is her first step down a very long road. Thanks to "year 'round" schooling, Monday she starts down a path that will last for the next 14 years, and that's just until high school graduation! My baby will be just fine, but I don't think I'm ready for this!

Dr's Appointments Suck!

Hi All. Sorry it's been a while again. It has become increasingly difficult to remember to post my thoughts as they are scattered in all directions these days. "Princess" survived her check-up and routine vaccinations. No, it wasn't pretty. While she reacted rather well to the actual shot, the preparation for them left much to be desired. First of all they made her lie down and stretch out on this table. No 4 year-old I know likes to be confined. Especially not on a strange table in a strange place with a strange woman holding her legs down. Just not a happy situation. She was scared to death and screaming "no, I don't want a shot" at the top of her lungs. When they were actually given though, she relaxed a little and watched and handled it quite well. My only consulation was the chuckle I got out of thinking of all the other poor kids waiting in line behind us, hearing her scream bloody murder!!!

Yesterday, I went for my Dr's appointment. I had to have the stupide glucose screening done that tests for gestational diabetes. Yes, considering that I'm going on 31 weeks with this pregnancy, they waited a little late to do it, but I guess since I didn't have any problems with my other pregnancies, they weren't very worried about the chances of my not passing it. I'm assuming that I DID pass, since I haven't heard anything. It was still a yucky experience though. I don't mind the drinking the crap that tastes like carbonated snow-cone syrup, or even the drawing of blood an hour later. What I DID mind very much was the not being able to eat anything after midnight the night before. You just don't deprive a pregnant woman of food. We ate dinner about 7:30 the night before then I got the kids ready for bed, tucked them in, got a shower myself, changed the sheets on our bed, and went to sleep. So it was actually nearly 14 hours that I went without food. By the time I finally got to grab a bite to eat, I normally would have eaten twice in that time. SOOoooo...I passed out. Not once...but twice during my doctor's appointment. Fortunatly I felt it coming both times and was able to get to a place where I could lie down, and my nurses (also friends and sometimes Avon customers) brought me a cold wash-cloth and fanned me until I felt better. The first time I didn't go all the way out and was able to complete the first part of my exam and return to my husband in the waiting room while I waited on the required hour to go by before my blood could be drawn. About 20 minutes until that time though, I felt faint again and once again sought out my nurse for a place to lie down. That time I went all the way out and must have been out for quite sometime because when I came to, all my blood-work had been done and I was free to go in search of food! Thank God!

Sure to be a Memorable Moment

Well, tomorrow we have to take "Princess (4)" to the pediatrician for her well-checkup and the subsequent filling out of forms that are required by her kindergarten in order for her to be accepted on the first day. We have also decided to go ahead and let her take her first set of booster shots required before she starts first grade. The vaccines are normally given between the ages of four and six, and although she just turned four last week my husband and I decided to go ahead and get it over with for a few reasons:

1. It's easier to hold down an angry 4 year old than an angry 6 year old.
2. 4 year olds have a shorter attention span.
3. 4 year olds are more easily bribed.
4. At the tender age of 4, she has yet to comprehend exactly what the word "vaccine" means.
5. If she gets it over with now, we won't have to dread it for the next two years.
6. If I have to pay the freakin' copay anyway, they might as well work for it!

Her appointment is at 2:00 tomorrow. If you live in the immediate area, you might want to take cover just in case there should be some small shockwaves or tremors. LOL I'm sure this will be an unforgetable experience. It's so much easier when they are babies and can't retaliate. You just feel guilty and then get to cuddle them all better. Now she's big enough to yell, call names, and seek revenge. I guess I'll be sleeping with one eye open for a while!

Busy w/ Birthdays and Other Things

After getting an email from a blogging buddy, I realized that once again I had failed to post an entry in a while. Things have been busy around here as usual. My oldest daughter (pictured below) turned 4 on Wednesday! Yep, only ten days after my youngest turned 2! We had a small celebration (just the girls, their Daddy and I) on the morning of each of their individual birthdays, and then we had a joint birthday party for them both, the weekend between their birthdays (which this year happened to be Sat. the 16th). Our friends and family were invited, and we grilled hotdogs for lunch, had cake, punch, chips & dip, etc., and watched the girls joyously open their presents. It was fun! Tiring, but fun. I'm glad this next baby will be born in the fall. Too many birthdays back to back breaks the bank and me too! LOL Now that Cat is 4, she will be starting Kindergarten. In fact, her first day is Aug. 8th! Only two weeks + away. I'm curious to see how she will do on her first day. I've never gone ANYWHERE and left her before. (Other than her Nana keeping her, or our friends' daughter coming over to babysit for a bit, of course). I've never left her in a new place, with new people. I hope she will be excited enough about going to school, making new friends, etc. to get over my leaving her quickly. Of course, knowing how things normally turn out, it will probably be much harder on me than it will be on her. I can't believe my baby is old enough to start school!!! It seems like just yesterday I was bringing her home from the hospital. All 6 lbs. 10 oz. of her. Crazy!

Happy Birthday, Little Princess!

Happy Birthday...Baby Bugga Bugga!

For those of you who watch Dora the Explorer (willingly or otherwise) on a daily basis, yesterday was my Baby Bugga Bugga's 2nd birthday! She seemed to understand the concept because she was so excited when she woke me up at SIX IN THE MORNING! This after I stayed up late baking and decorating her cake in a Dora Theme (what else?) after she had gone to bed the night before. We put up some balloons and "happy birthday" banners and moved her booster seat to the "seat of honor" at the head of our dining room table. When she woke up and stumbled sleepily to the kitchen, she saw all the decorations and her presents and cake sitting on the table and got really excited. She came into my bedroom shouting "party party!" Her Daddy had already gone to work before she woke up, but I called him and fortunately he was able to come by to help us celebrate. 2 ran and got "soon to be 4" out of her bed and they both sounded like little elephants running down the hall. 2 climbed into the 'birthday chair' and we lit the candles on her cake. "Almost 4" and her Daddy sang Happy Birthday to her. I did not participate in the singing because I was holding the video camera and trust me...nobody wanted to hear THAT! LOL Within seconds the candles were extinguished and Bugga Bugga was ripping into her presents with glee! She received a bathtub/pooltime Dora and Boots from her sister, and a new Baby doll w/ accessories from her Daddy and me. Fortunately for us, she was more interested in playing with her new toys that demolishing her birthday cake (which was chocolate fudge w/ buttercream icing btw), so we weren't trying to deal with a sugar-wired two year old for the rest of the day. Believe it or not, she actually went willingly to take her regularly scheduled nap that afternoon. We are also grateful that Hurricane Dennis pretty much ignored us all together. Other than intermittent periods of really hard rain and a few strong gusts of winds, we did not feel the effects of it at all. We had really been expecting to spend the night by the light of 2's birthday candles due to power outages, but we were lucky this time.

A Sleepy Birthday Bugga Bugga!

My Avon 4th of July Sale!

4th of July Sale !!!

Need a last minute gift? The following items are things that I have in my personal inventory for immediate sale and delivery. All are new in packaging. Most of these items can no longer be ordered online or through the Avon brochure. I only have one of each item, so they will be sold on a first come, first serve basis.

Colors & Shapes Earrings

8 x 10mm gem-colored studs with silvertone. Pierced only. Sky Blue.

Item#: 161-339

Brochure: $14.99

Now $10.99

Textured Two-Tone Pave' Jewelry

Rhinestones in goldtone with silvertone details.
Necklace

16" chain with 3" extender.

Just $12.99
Earrings

Pierced only, 5/8" L.

Brochure: $9.99

Now $6.99

Silvertone Three Chain Anklet Bundle

9" L with 1" extender.

Item#: 091-002

Just $8.99 set of three

Stress Relief Massaging Pillow

Micro-beads mold to neck, lower back or other contours. Insert massage unit into zip pocket. Uses two AA batteries (not included). Nylon, 13" L x 8" W.

Item #: 182-124
Brochure: $19.99
Just $14.99

Elegant Rose Print Pajama

3/4-sleeve top with three frog closures; elastic-waist capri pant. Black polyester with floral print.

Size Large (14-16).
Brochure: $34.99
Item#: 228-313

Now $21.99 - save $13.00

Heart Wreath Knit Pajamas

V-neck top with adjustable keyhole. Ankle-length allover print pant. 100% cotton. S(6-8).

Item#: 303-650
Brochure: $24.00
Now $14.99

Tie Wrap Pajamas

Lace-trim top ties at the waist. Long, flowy pants. 100% nylon. Medium (8-10).

Item#: 232-824
Brochure: $25.00

Now $15.99 Lowest Price Ever

Medallion Chain Bracelet

Chic seven-strand chain bracelet with center medallion. Burnished silvertone with faux patina and peridot beads. 7" L with 1" extender.

Item#: 247-819

Brochure: $12.00

Now $6.99

Star Mesh Cami & Panty Set

100% nylon stretch mesh with bow detail. Available in size M(10-12).

Brochure: $19.99

Now $12.99 save $7.00

Herringbone Cap

Wool/polyester with cotton lining.
Item#: 237-625
Brochure: $7.99

Now $4.99

3 Piece Rose Print Travel Set

100% cotton with webbed piping and nylon lining. Large zip-top satchel with slit pocket, 13" L x 19" W (at bottom) x 7" D. 12" double webbed handles. Foldover garment bag with zip close and hanger loop, 40" L x 23" W x 2" D. Zip-top cosmetics pouch with slit pocket, 8" L x 10" W x 2" D. Outlet Exclusive
Item#: 056-684
Brochure: $39.99

Just $29.99

Colors of Feelings Bracelet

Colorful beads express your mood. One size stretches to fit most. Available in Blue (Peaceful) or Topaz Color (Creative).

Item#: 056-589 (Blue)
Item#: 056-665 (Topaz)
Brochure: $9.99

Now $4.99 each

To Buy or Sell Avon Products:
Email: craz4acop7@peoplepc.com
Need a brochure? Visit the online version...see below!

Current Brochure: http://www.youravon.com/catalog/2005/17/
Still Available: http://www.youravon.com/catalog/2005/16/
Last Chance: http://www.youravon.com/catalog/2005/15/

Please email me with any orders for the current campaign, on or before Tuesday, July 12th!!!

Recipe of the Week

Here is a recipe that I tried this week. It was a bit hit in our house. Even the rugrats ate it!

Simple Polynesian Sweet & Sour Chicken

• 2 chicken breasts cut into 1" pieces
• 1 small onion
• 1 bell (green) pepper
• 1 20oz. can pineapple chunks
• 1 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 2 Tbsp. worstershire sause
• 2 Tbsp. ketchup
• 1 Tbsp. honey
• 2 Tbsp. cooking oil
  
  Heat oil in skillet. Add chicken. Cook 3-5 minutes until outside is starting to brown slightly. Drain pineapple reserving juice in small bowl. Add to pineapple juice, the ketchup, worstershire sauce, honey, and cornstarch. Mix well. Chop onion and bell pepper into bite-sized pieces. Add chopped pepper to chicken and cook for about 3 minutes more. Then add your liquid sauce, onion, and pineapple. Cook another 4-6 minutes until onion is tender and sauce starts to thicken. Serve over rice.

Starting Out in the Can

Well, this day has certainly gotten off to an interesting start. I had a Dr's appointment at 8:30 this morning, so I had to get up pretty early to get the kids' breakfast made, grab a bite for myself to eat, shower, dress, and get ready to go. To top all that off, I was worried about getting back home from the doctor's in time for Alan to have the car to take to work. He can't afford to be late, because it might mess up all the extra security jobs for himself and everyone else too. Anyway, I was running late. I was just about to grab my keys and head out the door when "almost 2" comes bounding down the hall demanding that I "wash bankie" which of course is the pink blanket with the teddybear head and arms that accompanies her 24/7 wherever she goes. I thought her request was a bit unusual since she usually pitches a fit whenever I actually do throw the blankie bear in the wash. She doesn't like to be without it for even the brief time it takes for it to go through the wash and dry cycles of the machines. With barely a second glance I told her that it was okay, Mommy would wash him later. That's when I noticed that he was dripping water. Oh great! She wasn't asking me to wash him, she was telling me that she had already done so! AND to make matters worse, the only thing she could have reached to wash him in was.... (you guessed it)...the potty! I am now back home (duh) and anxiously awaiting the aforemention blankie's deliverance from the dryer. He's already been through a heavy duty wash cycle with bleach! We have a relatively child-proof house. We put the child locks on all the cabinets and drawers, and we have the child safety doorknobs on all the exterior doors as well as the doors to the bathrooms that usually prevent the kids from being able to open them on their own. HOWEVER, in my determination to NOT be late for my appointment this morning, I neglected to fully close the door to the master bathroom. "Almost 2" apparantly decided that it would be fun to "wash" blankie bear herself in the Tyd-Bowl blue toilet water. I guess I should just be grateful that the water wasn't green!

Homemade Heaven

I recently gave in to the urge to splurge and by myself that electric homemade icecream maker I have been debating over for the past few weeks. We have a new house, with a beautiful stained deck overlooking a huge backyard. All of which made me think to myself...what could be better than sitting on some patio furniture under and umbrella, enjoying some homemade ice-cream and watching the kids and dog run around in the backyard. Well, I finally gave into temptation and ordered both the patio furniture and the icecream maker from Brylane Kitchen. Boy am I glad I was weak! LOL I made my first ever batch of homemade icecream last night. Plain vanilla, and then I added some fresh peaches that I pureed. OMG! It is delicious! Wickedly, sinfully delicious. (And with that, I'm off to fetch another bowl full!)

Bathtub Bloopers

Bathtime has become a strange and major event in our daily schedule. We eat dinner and as soon as the kids are done, they excuse themselves from the table and immediately begin stripping! Naked children run rampant around my house while I clear the table and load the dishwasher. Meanwhile, Alan runs bathwater, rounds up the bathtub toys, and collects clean clothes to re-dress the rugrats in after their baths. After resounding demands for "bubble bath" and asking about 50 times whether they can get in the tub yet, I'm finally done with the kitchen and ready to bathe them. The girls pile into the tub, divvy up the bathtub toys, and fight for ownership of the most bubbles. I am reminded of a poem by Shell Silverstein that goes as follows:

There are too many kids in this tub.
Too many elbows to scrub.
I just washed a behind,
That I'm sure wasn't mine.
There are too many kids in this tub!

Anyway, after entering the tub 4 immediately starts squirting 2 with water, while 2 loudly demands to be made into a "teletubby." (Which means that when I wash her hair I have to make sure to bring it all into a soapy point ontop of her head at least once.) I have gotten into the habit of teaching the girls silly songs while they are in the tub. Mostly as a distraction so that I can bathe them quickly with the least amount of water-damage done to my own person. Anyway, after having successfully learned "twinkle star" and "the sunshine song," I introduced them to "London Bridge" this week. 4 has it down pretty well and was actually singing it to herself yesterday...mostly in tune. She did really well until right at the end. This is when I realized that perhaps the bathroom acoustics are not as great as I had once thought. I have recently noticed that it tends to phonetically distort consonant sounds when we sing. How did I discover this? Well, as I said before...4 was singing "London Bridge" quite flawlessly until the very last line when she proudly and loudly ended the tune with a resounding " MY BARE LADY!"

E-Rep No More

Okay, this is just a brief comment to tell anyone who may be looking for the link to my Avon webpage, that it no longer exists. I finally figured out how to cancel the blasted thing. Basically, I realized that I was being charged $17.00 a month for a service that I rarely use. (In the last 4 months I've had ONE customer who places her orders online. Everyone else just calls or emails me their product list.) I mean really! $17.00 a month! That really eats into what little profit I actually make on the stuff. Then again, it's also seven dollars more for that stupid website than I pay for my whole freakin monthly internet service. Bye, bye E-Rep page. Enough said. If you wish to place an order through me, please send me an email with the items you want included. I always look to find you the best current price regardless of what campaign we are in. Thanks!

Favourite Childhood Cartoon Meme

Okay, here are my 5 favourite cartoons that I watched as a kid:

1. Jem and the Rockers - a Barbie-type character, only much much cooler. She went by Jerrica during the day, and performed as Jem (the lead singer of Jem and the Rockers) by night. She also had the responsibilty of playing the heroine and fixing the problems caused by a rival chick band called the Misfits. Jerrica could communicate with this hologram named Synergy (I think...although my mind is pulling the name Dance from my memory bank as well) by pressing on her star-shaped earrings. In an emergency, Jerrica would have to disappear and morph ...a la Clark Kent/Superman style...into Jem to prevent some tragic disaster. The frequent disappearance confused the heck out of her sexy as hell but not too bright boyfriend. I think his name was Rico.
2. Gummi Bears - "Gummi Bears...bouncing here and there and everywhere..." I don't remember a whole lot about this cartoon other than there were a lot of little do-gooder bears who gained extra strength by drinking Gummi Berry Juice. There was a Grams bear, Grumpy Bear, and a little yellow bear with a funky hair do named Sunny.
3. My Little Ponies - Once again, the point/plot of this cartoon escapes my memory. I only remember something about a lot of fancy ponies with rainbow colored manes and tails. The girl in the cartoon was called Megan, and her personal pony's name was Sundance. I had the figurines of both of those along with several other ponies and the My Little Pony Stable/Castle.
4. Care Bears - Now this was a truly great cartoon. I'm so glad they have revived them and my daughters are now crazy about them. (In fact I'm in the middle of stitching a cross-stitch Care Bear picture to go in my soon-to-be-born daughter's room.) Each cartoon had a moral to teach and good always defeated evil in the end. The cast of characters include: Grumpy Bear, Cheer Bear, Friendship Bear, Good Luck Bear, Birthday Bear, Funshine Bear, Tenderheart Bear, Wish Bear, Love-a-Lot Bear, Share Bear, Grams, Baby Hugs and Baby Tugs (the boy and girl baby twin bears), and then of course all their Care Bear Cousins - Bright Heart Raccoon, Brave Heart Lion, Swift Heart Rabbit, and MANY more.
5. Rainbow Bright - Another unique character. The girl with the long blonde locks, a purple star on her cheek, and rainbow striped arms and legs. She had these little furry friends with star-shaped antennae called Sprites, and she frequently traveled on the back of a white stallion w/ a rainbow mane. Rainbow Bright and her colorful friends spent most of the episodes battling a villian whose name eludes me. The villian hated/feared color and tried to make the whole world all dark and gloomy. Rainbow and company's job was to restore color and cheerfulness. Yeah, sounds sappy...but as a 5 year old girl (future art student no less)...I thought it was the best!

Re: Meme - 5 Things You Miss About Your Childhood

Ok, since my girls are FINALLY taking their afternoon naps, I have a few minutes to respond to the meme I mentioned earlier. -A- tagged me with the question: "What 5 things do you miss most about your childhood?" So here goes.

1. I miss how safe our parents felt, allowing us to roam the neighborhood with all the other neighborhood kids unsupervised. Knowing and trusting that at least ONE of the other parents knew where we were or where we were headed at all times.

2. I miss the rare occasions when my grandparents had to pick me up from school because my mom was unavailable, and the excitement of knowing that when I opened the car door my grandfather would greet me with the phrase "this bus stops at the Dairy Queen."

3. I miss the excitement and nervousness of those few days before starting school after a long summer off, and shopping for that year's school supplies: the new spiral notebooks, scissors, trapper keepers, glue, and best of all, the smell of new CRAYOLA crayons with their unused perfect points.

4. I miss going outside to play as soon as the sun was up and not going in until the sun was going down: no worries about mosquitos and West Nile then. We'd spend all day making mud pies and mixing foul concoctions of berries, wild onions, leaves, water and acorns in a upside-down sawed off half-barrel, then stay out all evening playing frisbee with a glow-in-the-dark frisbee and chasing/catching lightening bugs.

5. But most of all I miss the innocence and carefree lifestyle that came with just being a kid -- Not having to worry about adult issues - taking for granted that there would be food on the table and a roof over my head tomorrow, and the next day, and the next...without having to think about how it got there; believing in Santa Claus and then being even more grateful later in life when I realized where all those gifts REALLY came from and the sacrifices that were made to provide them; just enjoying the egocentric world of a child where everything revolved around yourself and the biggest heartache was the breaking of a favourite toy, or outgrowing of a favourite outfit...not quite understanding emotional pain and suffering, or sickness and death... never loving so much that it physically hurt...never truly fearing for another person or attempting to take on superhuman traits to protect your loved ones from everything harmful. I guess as a mother of two (soon to be three) precious little girls and the wife of a husband I adore more than life itself...THAT is what I miss the most.

And now that I have dried my tears and restored the Kleenex to their rightfult position on the bathroom cabinet...I move my name to the bottom of the following list whose links I have added and will try to visit:

• http://luann919.blogspot.com
• http://marti2212.blogspot.com
• http://melslifeinanutshell.blogspot.com
• http://motherswork.blogspot.com
• http://craz4acop7.blogspot.com

AND, I pass the meme on to:

1. Birdie - http://blogs.salon.com/0003522
2. Ben & Syd - www.marriedinminnesota.com
3. Mike - http://blogs.salon.com/0004725
4. Redneck Diva - http://redneckdiva.blogspot.com
5. Heidi - http://www.heidimdavis.com/MoMMY.html

TAG! You're IT!

Carbon Cartoon Dating

Want to truly "date" yourself without revealing your age? Simple. Take a trip down memory lane and open a forum for the discussion of the cartoons you got up early to watch as a kid. Thanks to -A- 's lastest post, I have thus dated myself. Apparantly she and I have quite a bit in common. Which is nice actually. I can talk to someone else about the cartoons I watched as a kid. Can't talk to Alan about it. Being nearly 6 years older than myself, he was "too old" to watch the cartoons that I grew up with, and I didn't even exist when he was watching cartoons! LOL Most of his favourite cartoons and movies, superheros, and characters...I have never heard of. Oh well! :) SOooo...I'm starting a new meme. Name your 5 favourite cartoons that you watched as a kid and give a brief description or character listing of each! (No tag-backs!) I will post my own as soon as I respond to another meme. Yes, I have been tagged by -A-, who I am now tagging back...since technically, I have changed the meme! *evil laugh* :)

The Rules:

• Remove the blog at #1 from the following list and bump every one up one place
• Add your blog's name in the #5 spot
• Link to each of the other blogs (if you want to increase their "traffic" and thus your own).
• Finally, add 5 new blogs/links to take part in the meme!

*Note: You will NOT be shot if you choose not to participate. :)

TAG! You're IT!

1. -A- http://motherswork.blogspot.com
2. Ben - www.marriedinminnesota.com
3. http://sillyoldbear.blogspot.com
4. Birdie - http://blogs.salon.com/0003522
5. Patia - http://www.patiastephens.com

Link Lineup

Hi Guys and Gals,
I have gone through my list of blogs and webpages that I link to and done some belated Spring cleaning. If I removed your link (probably in error), or you would like your link added, please let me know by dropping a note in the comment section. If you have any other good blogs to recommend, you may do that as well!!!
Thanks!

What Breed of Puppy Are You?

I obtained this clever little blog filler from a link courtesy of Mike at Chew Toys

I Am a German Shepherd Puppy

Intelligent, quick witted, and a bit aggressive.You've got the jaw power to take a bite out of anyone you choose.

What Breed of Puppy Are You?

Baby Mozart...Great! Baby Picasso? Not so Much!

The day started off in a nice calm..NORMAL manner. Cat woke up first and came and crawled in bed with me. Ash woke up about 15 minutes later, observed that her Daddy was working today, and decided she was hungry. So I get out of bed and go to the kitchen to make some strawberry and blueberry muffins. Yum! 15 minutes in the oven and they are done. Called Alan, he came by to grab a few. The girls were settled at the kitchen table eating muffins, munching on the remainder of the KIX cereal they started while the muffins were cooking, and drinking their milk. They were content. Everything was as it should be. I quickly ate two muffins and drained the last of my own milk from my glass. Then I started thinking. I guess that was my first mistake. "Surely," I thought "surely since they are SO content, I can take 5 minutes to throw on my clothes...and maybe even get to pee without their company if I'm quick." Ever the prevenative mom, I looked around the kitchen to double check things just in case. All the knives were out of reach, light sockets covered, dishes put away...no spillables around, cabinets locked with the child-safety locks, storm door latched, etc. I then proceeded to err on the side of caution and went down the landing into the den where I made sure the computer desk drawer was locked, the chair pushed up, the computer off, and the basket of pens WAY up high out of reach. Satisfied that the immediate area was childproof, I proceeded down the hall to my bedroom where I dressed and made that oh so necessary trip to the bathroom. As I finished up and headed towards the bedroom door on my return trip, a familar smell teased my nostrils. "Hmm...strange. I know that smell..." I thought to myself. "It smells...like...like...OH $^*&! It smells like MAGIC MARKER!!!!" I run down the hall and all I can do is stare in horror at my kitchen. My NEW KITCHEN that we have not even made the first payment on yet. My NEW KITCHEN that we have only been in possession of for less than a week. There was black marker all over the new fridge, the lineoleum floor, the cabinet doors, a portion of the wall, even on the air vent. Identifying the culprit was not difficult, because Ash too was covered...her hands, mouth, chin, legs, toes, and outfit. Oh, and not only was the marker black, it was one of those PERMANANT KING markers that we used to label boxes when we packed. I have no idea where she found it since I have not seen one since we moved. I grabbed the offending object and threw it straight into the trash can. My next and last rational thought for a while was to get the kids out of my line of view before I murdered them. So I angrily dispensed them to their separate rooms and slammed the door. Then I phoned Alan who after having seen the damage for himself couldn't understand how I ALLOWED that to happen. Gee...I guess I'm just supposed to cross my legs and hold it for 12 hours until he gets home to watch the girls while I pee. After the initial shock wore off he realized that it was, in fact, NOT my fault. He made a quick dash to Walmart in search of something that would take off this PERMANANT marker that is made to NOT come off. Hmmm. I should have taken before and after pictures...but at the time I was too mad to see straight. Anyway, thanks to a wonderful product aptly named "OOPS" and a bit of elbow grease, we managed to restore our kitchen to its former glory and both our kids are still alive. I can't wait until naptime!

"Sleepless in...Alabama?"

Well, I think all the excitement (aka..stress) of moving this week has finally caught up with me. I am exhausted. I can't seem to get enough sleep. I took a good nap when the girls' took theirs yesterday afternoon. I was so out of it I don't remember having conversations with people (my husband included) who swear that they talked to me on the phone which I don't remember having ever answered. Um..that's a little scary. I didn't sleep well last night at all though, and I'm paying for it now. I'm praying the time to go by until I can feed the girls their lunch and lay them down so I can crash out myself. Blasted hormones! I nearly froze Alan to death last night because I was burning up. I had the overhead fan on high, the air on, and all the covers kicked off and I was STILL sweating. I couldn't get comfortable. Alan was wrapped up in the discarded covers, sleeping like a hibernating bear while I tossed and turned all night. No..I'm not bitter. LOL Maybe just a little envious. I'm about to the point in my pregnancy where I will get better quality sleep catching a nap here and there during the day than I will when I settle down for the night. Wonderful. I've really been looking forward to getting up in the middle of the night and cleaning house and folding laundry. *note the sarcasm, please.*

Missing in Action

There was another amusing incident that occurred today. My Avon order which I usually receive on Friday had been missing in action until it finally decided to show up this morning. I had left instructions with UPS when I changed our mailing address to have all packages left by the side door under the breezeway where they wouldn't get soaked if it rained. It never occurred to me exactly HOW close to the breezeway the fenced in backyard is. At least not until I was about to get the laundry out of the dryer this morning when I heard an awful shriek followed by ferocious barking. Naturally I ran to the backdoor to see what in the world was going on. I got there just in time to see my Avon order (two nice sized boxes) flying through the air to land haphazardly on my doorstep, and the rear view of a quickly retreating UPS delivery-lady. Apparantly she and our German Shepherd who resides in the back yard startled each other. I laughed until tears came out of my eyes. I bet that poor UPS girl was glad her uniform was already brown. *chuckling*.

Laughing at the Little Things

Since Alan is at work, I'm just kinda taking it easy around the house. I can't unpack much unless what I need is ontop of the pile because I'm not allowed to lift or move the boxes. Anyway, I'm just doing the little things...laundry, dishes...vacuuming the carpets (which strangely I'm enjoying). When we moved and set up the girls' rooms, we moved our almost two-year old, Ash, into a regular twin bed and out of the baby bed. We put one of the safety rails up to keep her from falling out, but there is still about a one foot gap at the head and foot of the bed where she can crawl in and out. So now rather than me coming to get her out of bed in the mornings when I wake up, she comes to get me. (Her sister, Cat, usually sleeps about an hour longer than Ash does). This morning I was sleeping deeply, having fallen back asleep after Alan got up to leave around 5 am, when all of the sudden I feel a tug on my hair. I grab it and pull back thinking it must have gotten caught on something (what exactly, I don't know...but then I'm never really rational when I'm asleep.) Then it happened again -- only this time the tug was accompanied by a tiny little voice. "Mommy...wake up. Peeezze...I hungy." I opened my eyes to find Ash standing there all fuzzy headed and bright-eyed, holding a fist-full of my hair...apparantly ready for breakfast. I got up and baked strawberry muffins and sat down with her to eat. She chattered happily the entire time we were sitting there. Alan came in to grab a quick bite, and she was singing when he walked in the door. Of course you could only understand about every third word, but it was SO cute. He asked her what she was singing and she said "Shunshine." You know..the one that goes "you are my sunshine, my only sunshine...." Then after her sister woke up and joined us, Cat would name an animal and Ash would immediate chime in with the appropriate noise. It just cracked me up!

Home Sweet Home

Well, we survived...thanks to some REALLY great friends who not only helped us move, but helped us paint, bought us dinner, and cut the grass at the old house and helped us clean it out before we turned in the keys. Let me just say that I am LOVING the new house. Even with all the huge boxes sitting around and getting in the way. We spent the first night in our new house on Wednesday. Fortunatly we had the presense of mind to get the beds unpacked and reassembled first. We climbed into bed on Wednesday night and Alan and I had the same thought. It felt like we were staying in a hotel suite or at someone else's home. It was great. (Only way it could have been better is if he and I hadn't both been so dead-tired!...LOL) ANYWAY...it took us until Saturday to completely get all of our stuff out of the other house. I haven't felt very well the past two days. Apparantly I overdid this week because I started having contractions Saturday afternoon, and I'm only 22 weeks. (23 tomorrow). I was more than a little worried, but Alan brought me home and literally put me to bed and would not let me lift a finger. Our friends finished helping him clean out the old house and brought us dinner Saturday night. We all slept in on Sunday, and I got most of the kitchen stuff unpacked. There are still about 6 huge boxes in there...but at least I have found enough plates, bowls, cups etc. for us to use in the meantime, and I've managed to get all the "pantry food" put away. Alan went back to work for the first time in a week today. I miss him. I'm not feeling well today either. Kinda nauseous. Did not accomplish a whole lot today. Oh well. We have all the time in the world now. As long as we can eat, sleep, and shower...I'm not in a HUGE hurry. It's getting increasingly difficult to manage things by myself and this pregnancy gets further along. Thank you all for the kind comment. Alan just walked in the door so I'm going to cut this short and go find him. *Hugs to all!*

Movin' on Up

Well Guys and Gals,
You may not see a post on this blog for a little while. I've got to un-assemble my computer set up sometime tomorrow or Tuesday so that I can move it along with ourselves and all our other wordly possessions to our new home! Hurray! It's about time. I feel like I have been waiting forever. Granted, it's a lot of work. Especially considering that I'm 5 months pregnant and can't really lift anything. I packed ALL the boxes though. Just had to leave them sitting in the floor until Alan got home to move them out of the way. We're trying to move across town without having to rent a Uhaul truck. Thank God for good friends and Southern gents. We'll have about 6 guys with pickup trucks on our doorstep ready to help us relocate on Wednesday morning. Another friend has to work but is lending Alan his truck and trailor. Hopefully we can move everything in one day. Then I'll just be the rest of the month unpacking and organizing. Since I can't physically move anything I guess I will be pointing and directing. Oh, and I have to get ready for the HUGE moving/yard sale I'm having at the end of the week. There is a lot of furniture and other stuff that we didn't want to move to the new house, so a friend gave me the idea to have a huge moving/yard sale indoors in the old house while it's empty before we hand over the keys. Everything that we don't sell will be swept off to various local charities. I'm hoping to make enough money to buy a new computer desk and a few other things we'll need. *Ahem* Like a new vacuum cleaner, since my sister-in-law borrowed mine and blew it up. Don't ask..I'm not even sure I know how it happened. Oh well. Wish us luck and I will be back soon. (I hope.)

Circle of Life

Continuing with my "this has been a really difficult week" theme, we had to attend a funeral Sunday afternoon. Funerals in general are not typically pleasant experiences, but this one was made more tragic because it was to honor the life and mourn the death of a child. A six month old baby to be exact. Although my husband and I are not extremely close to the particular members of the family, familial duty saw to it that we attend - which we did. The saddest thing to me...other than seeing that tiny white coffin...was seeing the childs' other brothers and sisters. He was one of a set of quintuplets who seemed to take on all the illnesses and problems that preemies sometimes experience in order to spare the other four any hardships. He never breathed "room air" on his own, experienced multiple surgeries, and never got to leave the hospital. The poor little guy had just taken all he could. The comfort is in knowing that God has another little angel by His side.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paying Respect

I want to share with anyone who might read this, an email that was forwarded to me today by a family member. It was sent to her by a friend who had just attended a military funeral for one of "our boys" who was killed in the line of duty in Iraq. What follows are her words...and then eventually several pictures taken. I will not comment further as I don't feel it is necessary. I hope this touches you as it did me.


" It can be argued, perhaps, the reasons we're in Iraq, but we cannot forget it is the nation's young people who are stepping up and going over there to do what they see as their patriotic duty. I could only wish that every college and high school kid, and some of the parents, would see this outpouring of respect for this fallen soldier. In my few 33 years on this planet it has been made clear to me that the best diplomat in the world, with few exceptions, has been the American GI. There's things wrong in America, but there sure as hell is a lot more that is right. Sometimes we forget that there is a huge price that has been paid for all the freedoms we enjoy and cherish in this country. Of course as many of you know I am a full blooded Texan and feel that we are the best state in the union, so the following story has to do with Texas. P.S. don’t know if the stat is true, but it has been sad that Texas has more of its boys in the military than the next 12 states combined. GOD BLESS TEXAS!

People can talk about Texas all they want, but this has renewed my faith in mankind. God bless America.
At least they give some respect for a soldier who has died. God bless them. Take a look at these pictures."

Amos and Abby 

The 4-legged Loves of our Lives....are Gone.

It has been a very difficult week. That my friends, is an understatement. I don't even know how to begin to write this post as I am so tired. Not physically, though I am a bit of that as well. Mainly though, I am just emotionally drained. My blood-pressure, I feel certain, has risen with our stress levels this week and though I have MANY things I need to be doing...I'm finding it an effort just to get out of bed and get dressed in the morning. Friday saw us driving about 3+ hours to Chattanooga, Tennessee where we made one of the most difficult transitions of our lives. We gave up our two precious puppies (our miniature dachshunds) two their new adoptive family. You can't even begin to imagine how difficult a decision that was for us. We have had Amos (a 5 year old male) since Alan and I were married. In fact, he was my wedding gift from Alan. I raised him, carried him in the pocket of my bathrobe when he was a tiny puppy, slept with him in my bed each night...loved him. Abby (the female) was only 8 months old. We have had her since January when my husband brought her home from work one day to "save" her and give her a home. She was a joy to wake up to each morning (as she also shared our bed). She is such an animated little pup...full of love. We had nick-named her "cartoon" because she just had that sweet, funny, unpredictable nature. Unfortunatly, she wasn't fully potty trained as her previous owner was an elderly lady unable to care for her. And though we were making progress, with packing for our move, our two children and the pending birth of our third, I also was unable to devote enough time to the task. Plus, as she was nearing a year old and Amos had not been fixed...we were looking at either choosing to breed them or having them both spayed/neutered and financially we couldn't afford to right now with everything else going on. Then too, we are moving into a new, fully-carpeted house. Right now we live in a house with all hardwood floors where accidents aren't such a catastrophe. In August my oldest daughter starts kindergarten. In October the new baby will be born. Basically it just came down to our love for the pups and our desire to give them the quality of life that we could no longer provide. They went to the home of an older couple who coincidentally already had two mini doxies. Their children are all grown, and they are completely devoted to their pups who have become their new kids. Someone is home with them at all times, they will still be allowed to sleep in the beds with their new owners, and the couple has a two-acre fenced in backyard that they will be able to play in (supervised of course.) I have heard from their "mom" and she is already planning their first vet trip for this years' shots and preventative meds. They are adjusting well. Probably a lot better than we are. We are going to be glad to be out of this house soon, because it's difficult to be here expecting to see them bounding around the corner at any moment...only to remember that they are gone. Our only consolation is knowing that we did what was best for them, and that they will be happy. To us they will never age, never suffer, never die. In our memories they will always be as they were last...healthy happy pups with their full lives ahead of them.

I Won! I Won!

Yep, little ole me who never wins anything can now claim fame as the co-winner of an original "Avon Haiku Contest" hosted by Birdie on her blog at http://blogs.salon.com/0003522/. In honor of May 7th, 2005 which as you will notice has the same numerical value as a haiku's syllables (5-7-5), Birdie posted a contest for all her readers, promising a box of Avon goodies to the one who could come up with the best Avon related haiku. To my surprise when I visited her blog today, I discovered that I shared the honor of that title with another fellow reader. Below is my "winning" entry:

Heard that Bust-Sculpt cream,
Has been used on men's *ahem* parts.
Wonder if it worked?

*** Interestingly enough, that haiku is derived from a true story told by a fellow Avon lady at one of our local sales meetings. Scary thought, huh? ***