Sunday, October 30, 2005

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

Thursday, October 27, 2005

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???"

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

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.

Saturday, October 22, 2005

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!

Saturday, October 01, 2005


Already Daddy's little girl at 4 days old!!! Posted by Picasa

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! Posted by Picasa