Things I'll Miss and other Rambling Thoughts

Things are buisiness as usual here at the ranch. Tuesday and Wednesday were spent at Great Grandpa's wake and funeral respectively. People have asked why I took 3 young kids to such things, and well, how will they ever learn about anything if they're not taught? I made sure the boys were in shirts and ties, and Madilynn was dressed in her nice little dresses. The kids did really well, considering the emotional magnitude of everything going on. I guess they ARE worth keeping for a little while.

Tomorrow we finally close on the new house. As we've been getting ready to go, I've been taking pictures of the old house. I realized that one of the things I'll miss most about our home is the boys room. When you look up, there are clouds on the ceiling (thanks to Aunt Chris) and airplanes flying. On the walls are trucks and trains and fire engines. Cute little boy stuff. In the new house, Jack wants his room to be painted black (his favorite color) and have stars and planets painted on the walls and ceiling. Could be cool, minus the black paint. But it's so grown up, not little boy-ish at all. Sad.

Happy as I am to be moving into the community we'll be moving to, I'll miss our old house. All the memories we've had started here. This is where John and I had our first home and made a family. But I guess that family thing goes with us where ever we go and the new house will hold lots of new memories for us too.

Nate has gotten even more ornery than usual. John told him to use the potty this morning. Nate did not want to use the potty, so he went in the bathroom, stood in front of the toilet and peed his pants. Totally on purpose. He has also been sneaking up the stairs to eat the candy hearts off the graph Jack made at school last week. He doesn't care about learning the colors, he's just eating them off the paper, glue and all. It explains a lot.

It's been stupid cold the past few days, and the kids and I are all going stir crazy. We've gotten the bouncer back out just to help burn off the energy but they need to be outside swinging and doing the monkey bars. I need to be meeting up with my mom friends and watching the kids play while we drink our Cafe Mocha's. Goodness knows you can't get on the phone because ONE of them (or all 3) will start their caterwauling. Ugh.

Last week Mads got an ear infection and, good news, she's legal to sit forward in her carseat. At just a bit over 18 months, she finally weighs 21 pounds exactly. She comfortably wore 12 month dresses to the wake that were a bit short, but fit her perfectly thru the waist. I hate trying to dress her since she's so stinkin tall and skinny. She can wear 18 month shirts and tight jammies, but she's still in 12 month pants (even some 9 monthers if they're long enough), and 12 month dresses since the 18 month ones make her look like she's wearing a tent they're so baggy. The kicker is, SHE EATS LIKE A FREAKING HORSE. At the luncheon after the funeral, she ate soup (I strained the veggies out and gave them to her), salad (She was probably the only person in the restaurant eating the pickled beet on top of the salad), mashed potatoes, pork, and beef. When I put Green beans on her plate she promptly picked them off and put them on the table. Same thing with chicken. Maybe they were too healthy for her? She also had no trouble with her ice cream (and whipped cream topping). I hope her metabolism keeps up throughout college at the very least.

I should probably make the boys clean one of their 15 messes in this house. Things are always such a disaster, I can't wait to move and get rid of a bunch of stuff.

Sigh...

Sadness

John's Grandfather passed away late yesterday afternoon. We'll be busy this week with the final goodbyes. What I find the saddest about the ordeal is that between us there are no longer any grandfathers. Years and years of history are now gone, as our own representatives during WWII are gone.

It has been a challenge trying to explain what is happening to Jack. Nate and Maddie are really too little to understand, but Jack is a thinker. Any answer we give him, there are always 12 more. For instance, we told him Great Grandpa was in heaven with God and Jesus. But we also told him we have to go to a Wake and Funeral. After explaining "wake" and "funeral" he wants to know why we have to do that if Granpa is already in heaven? What happens to your bones, do they go to heaven too? Can you walk in heaven if your bones are in a coffin in the ground (I swear he asked that).

Then we try to explain, no your soul goes to heaven. That is an entire can of worms I cannot even begin to write about since there would be pages and pages. John actually resorted to explaining a person's soul by comparing what happened to Granpa to a Tom and Jerry Cartoon the kids watched Saturday while I was at work. Remember the episode where Tom rides the escalator up to heaven....? Oy!

I went to the bookstore and got a couple of things I thought may help. There is also a VERY loveley book called "Tear Soup" but it was kinda over my kids' heads, so I got "When dinosaurs die" instead. It was illustrated by Marc Brown, so all the dinos look like Arthur Characters, but it explains things pretty well. There isn't really any all encompasing books out there, so I have to skip over the parts where "people die from accidents, sometimes they die suddenly and sometimes the die from DRUG OVERDOSES". He's smart, but not smart enough to know I changed the words to "Old people go into the hospital if they get sick and then they go talk to God and Jesus in Heaven". It seems to work. I am currently looking for Maria Shriver's books "What's Happening to Grandpa" and "What is Heaven" About Alzheimer's and Heaven respectively, but I can't find them anywhere. Sigh. Maybe I'll try the library, but I have such a big fine there, it's actually cheaper for me to buy those books....

John went to work in the city today, so I'm sure I'll be fielding a ton of questions today. I have a bit of a cold, so I'm debating whether to get my butt in gear and go work out, or have a p'jammy day here since we'll be busy the rest of the week.

Have a good week everyone. Keep John and his family in your prayers, and ANY suggestions to explain Death and Dying would be appreciated.

Nightmares, Coping, and Some Apologies

This is the black ribbon symbol Northern is asking anyone with a personal web space to use to honor and remember the victims. I didn't sleep very well last night, talked to Bro about 18 times, and promptly called him as soon as I woke up. He didn't wake up until 11:15 because he didn't sleep well either. He kept having nightmares...it could've been him.

Anyway, today I'm exhausted, but in a much better frame of mind. I was such a horrible mother yesterday...Here kids, here's your movie, enjoy! John was at the hospital visiting Grandpa and I was fielding calls regarding not only grandpa, but my brother is well. (For those of you who don't know, John's Grandfather's long battle with alzheimer's is quickly coming to an end. Within the next several hours.) It was a very emotionally charged Valentine's day, and I still even got roses and a Dumbo card from Nate (awwwww!).

To cope I went shopping for the boys to all have something appropriate to wear to the wake and funeral. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find size 5 slim pants?

So, to anyone who got a weird random e-mail from me, Sorry. To anyone who got a weird Blog comment (Juli? Domestic Goddess?) Sorry. And Jen, who had to take my frantic "Oh my god, turn on the news my brother is there" phone call. Sorry. And Karin and Ralph whom I kept calling for odd little things at odd little times. Sorry. I think I was on emotional overdrive.

Tomorrow I plan on working out before work. That should help a bit too.

For now, all is quiet here, but that will change in the very near future. Thanks everyone for your love and understanding and support.
J-

More Shooting Details...

As I stated Earlier, Richie Is a-okay. But there's this thread in my mind saying..."there's nothing to say the gunman couldn't have walked into his classroom and started."

It feels horrible to think that I'm glad he was in another building at the time. It's scary to think : "My brother was there at this exact time. I'm nauseous just thinking about it. 6 dead...Very near him...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/niu_shooting

Crazy People, Crazy World, Thanks to God My Bro is okay

You can read all the sordid details here regarding the shooting today at Northern Illinois University. http://www.niu.edu/index.shtml

I wish I could go on about how scary school shooting are these days, but I can't. I am emotionally exhausted.

My brother was on campus during the time of the shooting. He is a TA, and a grad student at NIU. He was in a building across campus, but until the gunman was found dead, it was a bit of a rollercoaster. I was the first actual person he could talk to to let know he was okay. He is okay. That's all I need to know.

Currently, he is staying the hell away from campus for awhile and spending time with his girlfriend in Rockford. He is 30 minutes from me and I'm okay with that, even though I told him to get his ass over here and he declined saying he needed to see Anna for Valentine's day. I don't give a scrap about V-Day, I just wanted to have him in my living room watching ESPN and telling bad jokes. But he's away from campus, and since my dad says I'm not as cute as Anna, I guess I'll let Rich's little transgression slide.

I Pray for the families of victims. I selfishly Thank God I am not one of them.

FANTASTIC News, Not So Great News, WHAT IS THE DEAL??

Remember this? This is the house I'm supposed to be moving into Friday. Well, closing on at least. We got word Monday that the appraisal came thru at over $100 Grand more than our offer. Instant Equity, FABULOUS! (Not so great for paying insurance on, but still...)

We were all set to close on Friday the 15th. Happy Heart Day and all. I even had the window guy all lined up for that broken side light. But now the Seller's lawyer is waiting on some BS document, blah blah blah. Our lawyer is doing pretty good work trying to get things together. It looks like it will be a definite go next week, but it has to happen before Friday, since we're only locked into our mortgage interest rate until then.

It should not be this hard to buy a house. Especially one that has been on the market for 220 some odd days. Remember the good ole days when you called some neighbors over, hammered some nails into wood, erected a home, and then had some stew and bicuits to celebrate? Now we've got appraisals, inspections, finance guys, lawyers, agents, surveys, etc. all involved. It's CRAZY!!!

My mantra is This happens for a reason...it happens for a reason...gives us more time to sell our house...it happens for a reason...

But when you have babysitters lined up for the weekend, the kids are excited to see gramma and grampa, and you have people coming to help move a few things and unpack and clean and start priming and painting...well, it gets frustrating.

Hmph.

Thank you..Thank you Very Much

I'm in a bit of a quandry. Yesterday we got more snow, but it was the good, light fluffy kind that's easier to shovel than what we got last week. So Jack and I went out to shovel. I tried to snow blow, but the snow was actually too light.

We also did my next door neighbor's, and the pregnant gal across the street again. No biggie. RAK week and all. Wellllll, about 6:30 my doorbell rings. I'm thinking it's a freecycler (www.freecycle.org) coming to get some goods I'm giving away, but it was the gal across the street giving me a Thank You card. And a hug. That made my day. It's enough to know you're appreciated.

She ran back home, I opened the card, and found a $50 gift card to Panera. It's pretty awesome and all, but all I did was snow blow her driveway (she had more buildup on hers) a few times. I think $50 is a bit much, but on the same hand, don't want to offend them either. So, What are my options? Write a Thank you note for the Thank You note? Return the $50? What?

Help!

Check These Out!

These are the websites for the mom at Jack's school who makes hair bows (previous blog). They are darling, and since Mads now owns a ballerina one, I can attest that they are great quality.

Help another mommy out!

www.punkynmunky.etsy.com

OR
www.punkynmunky.blogspot.com

Enjoy!!!

Important Legit Website...esp If you have kids!!!

If you didn't get the e-mail from me, check it out. I did. Scary stuff.... All you have to do is type in your address to see how many criminals and/or sex offenders live near you and how far they are from your home. Assuming, of course, they are all registered. Consider this your PSA for today.

www.FamilyWatchDog.us

Thank Goodness for those Creative Moms and other Joys of Thrift Shopping

Today was Jack's Valentine's day party at school and I was the mommy in charge. Which really means I organized the little groups the kids went into (after having our parent meeting a week ago), read the story, and helped clean up. Thank goodness for all the creative moms who came up with games to play and cool prizes.

One mom tie-dyed pillowcases and brought in Valentine's stencils and fabric markers for the kids to decorate a valentine's pillow. It was SO cool, never something I'd have ever thought of, and nothing I could have ever done. All the kids had a great time working on them though. This same mom also organized a "fill the bucket with candy hearts" game, where you relay race to fill a bowl at the other end of the room with candy. I sorta just supervised and made sure Nate and Mads didn't wreck havoc on the classroom.

Another mom has started a bow making business and donated these darling little bows for the girls to wear and gave me one for Maddie. Maybe my little muppet will have enough hair to wear one someday. I hope.

It was fun, and before I took the little ones to the party, I hit up Ace and got a free Pottery Barn Color fan that will help deciding colors to match my $30 Pottery Barn Curtains. Sweet deal, thank you clearance racks.

I also took the little ones to the Thrift store, and I didn't find much, but I couldn't really look with them running around like beasts. However, the lady in the store ripped off tags from 2 little Beanie babies and sent the kids home with them. It was definitely a Random Act of Kindness that was appreciated. I will have to go back to the Thrift shop and look for some pants for Jack. I also saw some really cute Cloche style hats (that I LOVE) that I wanted too....

Now it's snowing, and we're homebound all day, so I'm going to go scrub the floor and pack. You never know when someone will come by to see the house. (Are your fingers still crossed for us on that one, my friends??)

Small Milestones

Nate only had one accident today in his underwear. AND he went poo poo potty all by himself. Maybe we are finally getting somewhere, even if I have to remind him to go every 1/2 an hour. Whatever works. He's definitely arguing about it less, and his self-help skills are improving in that he can do a relatively good job taking off pants, and putting them back on. Now, to work on his aiming and shooting skills...

Jack had his favorite person in the world over today for a playdate, I got to bring JT home with us from school. He did a great job of being a host. We are learning to ask our guests what they'd like for lunch and snack and to play what they'd like to play for at least a little while. All these fun social skills...

Maddie said "Hungry" today. She also yells at the boys constantly with a very emphatic "NOOOOO", and yells at them to "Dit down". Not even 18 months or 20 pounds and she is on her way to Yale. That is fantastic for me! Early Retirement for sure.

Now to enjoy time with Hubby. Since I barely see him these days, it's more like, "Hubby who?"

The Kindness of Strangers

It's "Random Acts of Kindness Week".
http://www.actsofkindness.org/people/days.asp

Pay it forward.

Happy Valentine's Day.

"both my parents taught me about good will
and i have done well by their names just the kindness i've lavished on strangers
is more than i can explain

still there's many who've turned out their porch lights
just so i would think they were not home
and hid in the dark of their windows
till i'd passed and left them alone" ani difraco--32 flavors

Omaha, maybe?

Dear Juli,

We miss you. Often Jack brings up when we're going to Omaha again. It is hard to remind him of the 9 hour car trip, and then throw 30 below (with wind chill) wheather on top of it. This time he wants daddy to come. Maybe I can convince Daddy-O to go during the College world Series. You know we are Baseball Freaks here. In fact, February 14th is a big day. "Pitchers and Catchers report". I am not sure what that means, but for baseball people, it is a big deal. Forget "Show your Wife how much you love her" day. It is all about the "BIG SHOW". What- Evah!!!

I will visit again someday, if only to see the Omaha Zoo. That place is phenomenal.

I hope ya'll are feelin' better.

Love,
Jen

Silly Maddie!

She wants to be a big kid so bad. Nate's hat, Jack's shoes, and of course no shirt or pants. She dislikes clothing lately, so we run a "clothing optional" home.

Smashing outfit! The Beckham's have nothing on her fashion savvy.
Awwwww........

I wouldn't trade that smile for a million dollars. Even with the nose to mouth snot trail.

Who's Building the Better Model?

Who had more fun with K'Nex? Uncle Richie, or Jack?

Braveheart Makes a Visit

When you hear several "thump thump thump thumps" at bedtime going from boys room to your room, you know it's not good. When you hear water running you think 'What is goin on?" You know when hubby comes downstairs with all of your dental floss unraveled you know it's even worse.

"Braveheart came to visit"

Me: Huh?

"Nate painted himself with a tube full of desitin, all over his face. Then he wrapped himself up in dental floss"

Me: No photos?

"No"

Me: Huh. Why are these damn kids obsessed with putting diaper cream anywhere but on their butts? Makes for a great moisturizer though.

Crap. Now I need new dental floss.

Dear God, what IS that SMELL???

You would think that because I change about 15 poopy diapers/pullups a day I'd be used to odd smelling things by now. Not so. Last night we were on a hunt for what we presumed to be a rotten diaper full of "fun nuggets" somewhere in the living room. We narrowed down the origin of the smell to the dress ups box. Did someone poop in a costume, unbeknownst to us?

Nay, no diaper here. The source of the evil nose hair burning smell was a "not sure how old it possibly could be cuz we haven't seen it in a while" sippy cup full of milk, dripping into the dress ups box.

My nose, and subsequently my queasy stomach may never recover.

Snow Day + Classic Nate Move = Lot's of Toon Disney time

We have been slated to get about 14 inches of snow. If we have any less than that I'd be amazed.

Since John was in the city today, it fell upon my shoulders to be constantly clearing the driveway. It's great that we have the hand me down snowblower. It came in handy today. I did our driveway, my next door neighbors,(who is an octogenarian with a wife who has terminal lung cancer) and the people across the street. They're a lovely young couple (just like us) with a 2 year old, and she is pregnant(NOT just like us). Her hubby was obviously not home, and if their driveway wasn't cleared, he would've never made it in, so I took care of them today too. NOT a big deal.

However, the first clearing was great. Mads was napping, so the boys came out to play. It was 30 degrees warm and they had a little fun. The second clearing, Nate was napping, so I put Jack in charge of Mads and went out for a little while to do the 3 driveways. Since the plows had started coming around by then, I had to do the ends of the driveways by hand, and I am already damn sore all over for it.

The third clearing...I took all 3 out with me. Maddie lost her gloves midway thru and didn't like it too much. Her poor little fingers got all red and angry looking. I discovered that I had lost Nate. I called and called his name, no answer. Finally, I saw the door to the house from the garage open and I shuffled Maddie back home (I was across the street). Nathan had gotten himself in, taken off all his snow gear (which is usually a hugely traumatizing experience) and sat his happy butt on the couch, thumb in mouth, T.V. on. He didn't even care.

That is classic Nate. My little couch Tater. SAAWEEET!!!

Photos...

Hello there Evil Spidey/hook/light Saber man. And Tigger too.
Maddie as Tigger. Nate as her collossally headed nemesis.
Pirate Cochese comes to dinner.

Why I hate Potty Training. Here, wipe yourself???

Dinner with a Super Hero.

Two of My Favorite Things...

Tonight's episode of "Ace Of Cakes" was Chef Duff (See previous post) hosting a girl for Make A Wish (see favorite sites). Since I've had enough kids on my caseload who have benefitted from Make a Wish, and I love Duff so much, I got a little misty eyed.....

It just doesn't get any better.

Why Today Was a Great Day in Mommy land...

1.) I got 3 really good Free tunes on itunes, and bought the new Counting Crows song for a buck. Good stuff.

2.) Nate colored with Magic Marker all over my stairs. While I was talking to the lawyer and loan officers alternately, while making dinner. I don't care who you are, that's just funny (albeit Frustrating). I'm never going to hear the end of it from Darlene about why I'm always letting my kids play with magic markers....

3.) Nate has just requested and is dancing to "Paradise City", or as he calls it.."Take me Hooowme!".

4.) Jack had an AWESOME day at school. He has sufficiently buttered up his teachers by telling them how pretty they are.

5.) I got to play Chutes n Ladders.

6.) I read 3 Chapters in "Loving Frank".

7.)I fed the kids at our usual dinner time (John wasn't home) bathed them, brushed their teeth, put Maddie to bed, and then John and I got to eat a Quiet dinner in peace. It was a wonderful 3.5 minutes.

8.) It's snowing out, maybe 12 inches. That means I have an excuse not to Swim tomorrow (With triathalon training, I decided Weds. is my swim 3/4 of a mile day).

9.) Kim called to check on me. I never get to talk to her, so it was nice. She offered to help with our move.

10.) I think Nate is trying to do the 2 year old equivalent of a stage dive, right here in the basement. I love this kid, he's a riot. Jack is happy he made it to whatever level he's on in Star Wars Legos. Jack knows some words to Itsy Bitsy Teensy Eeensy Weensy Yellow Polka Dot Bikini. They are both happy, fun loving boys. What would I do without them?

Congrats!!!

Congrats to Me. I'm going to be an Auntie Again...

Although, maybe this time I might be an Uncle????

Little Crushes

I think, when you're married little crushes on the opposite sex are okay. As long as they're a long shot and relatively harmless. So, am I pining after Brad Pitt. Eww. No. Do I REALLY love Tom Brady. No. Can't stand FAke teeth. However....

Well, Stephen Colbert. Any guy that is as SMART as he is and witty and can throw an educated quip in here and there, well, I can't help it. John is pretty smart and funny and has the same hair do as Stephen Colbert, so maybe that is why I like him. Just change the eye color and add glasses and it's very much John....Hmmm....
My other "Crush"? Okay, Any Man who can take flour, butter and Sugar, and turn it into a tank or even the Taj Mahal, or most recently viewed the castle Hogwarts from the Harry Potter series... well even if you're not really cute I love you just a little bit. And Chef Duff has such a super personality, that I love him just a little bit more.
I know I'm weird. I don't care. It's why I loved John Cusak and Jeremy Piven (pre Entourage--- HOLLA Chicago boy!) before they were celebretards. (side note: a VERY good friend of mine has a friend who dated Jeremy Piven in the late 90's. She dumped him cuz he's an ass, but I don't care....Isn't PCU the BEST movie EVER?).

Ladies, who do you love (secretly of course???)....

My Whole Tom Brady "Issue"

Quick, take a look at him. What's the first thing you notice? Much to my husband' s chagrin, the first thing I see when I look at you (or Tom Brady) is your teeth. Some guys notice eyes. Some women notice how big a guys pecs are. All I see are teeth. Bad teeth (crooked, black or missing) indicates bad breath and worse hygiene. Good teeth (white, straight, etc.) indicates truly how you feel about your appearance. Not to mention, good oral hygiene can prevent heart attacks because icky stuff can very easily worm it's way into your blood stream via gingivitis or worse. Anywhooo....
Such a Handsome Devil... He has beautiful teeth. He really does. But I have a HUGE problem trying to listen when he speaks. I think they're veneers. Maybe one too many sacks knocked out a few of his pearly whites, but he talks like he has a sock in his mouth. John says I am crazy and probably the only person in America to notice. I don't care. Now you all are aware too. I think he thinks he's so hot, so hey, check out that gorgeous smile and "oh by the way I dumped my girlfriend when she was pregnant with my baby so I could date a supermodel. But I look great in those Cologne ads, thanks to my fake teeth."

Whatevah! Keep smilin' Tommy, even though your Pat's LOST IT!!!

85% Certain

Following up on a previous post, I think I am doing the Triathalon in July. I'm pretty sure I got Choices to make:


1.) When to start training. April, May?
2. Do I still try and do the Susan Komen 3 day walk, or do I train for one or the other?
3.)Who can I convince to do it with me?

The "MotherHood Myth"

"Being a Mom is the GREATEST THING EVER"! I actually cringe when I hear someone say those words, or read them in written form. Either the author/speaker is a liar, or overly enthusiastic about what is by all accounts the most terribly wonderful thing ever.

I don't know why this is on my mind. Can't explain it really. I read a quote by Felicity Huffman in the book, "I Was a Really Good Mom Before I had Kids". It's a good read. During an interview, she was asked if being a mom was the best job she's ever had. She responded (paraphrased) that she resented that question because if you answer honestly that you are not LOVING every single waking, puking, floor pacing, rip your heart out during routine well baby shots, clean the floor for the 8 thousandth time that day, wash another load of laundry moment you must be a bad mother. Society, and other moms expect those of us who stay at home to have those feelings, and as Felicity very clearly pointed out, sometimes that is just bunk.

Is being a mom great? Sure. But I hate saying it's the "BEST THING EVER"!! That implies that your entire existence as a mom is just that. An entire existence as a mom. You have no outside interests. No hobbies, nothing that separates the YOU from the THEM, and for sheer sanity's sake you need to have a ME and YOU separation from your kids.

It's like saying that your wedding day is the best day of your life. I got married 7 years ago. That implies that in 7 years I haven't had a really good day since. Not so. I loved my wedding. Loved the wedding day. Probably loved the days I spent at the swim up bar on the honeymoon even more. Do you get where I'm going with this???

I can't say that the days my kids were born were the best days of my life either. Happy, absolutely. But I do not consider it even a good day when I'm writing in agony, puking for 8 hours every 3 minutes (with each contraction), and have a blood transfusion looming over my head. Not the BEST DAY EVER.

It just implies too, that all the little moments don't really count. You have to have some BIG event to make a day special or memorable. Sledding with the kids on Friday was by far one of the best days of my life. We were out as a family, having a GREAT time, and I thought as I held Maddie while going down the hill..."THIS is the great stuff".

I do love being home, but I don't love every second or every minute of it. I love that a lot of my friends stay home and we can coffee clutch and commisserate together. I love being in control of how I want my kids raised and disciplined, and shown love at random times during a day. We do lots of hugs.

But, being a mom is not the pinnacle of my life. That just sets up failure in other areas of my life. I love my kids, they are amazing, funny, adorable little creatures. But I want them to know that they can do anything they want to in life, and not have to be slotted as just one thing. Good luck to them!!!

I know other mommy's read this blog. Do any of you ever feel like you've lost who you are, and just need to break away, just a little bit to be something more, and the best YOU that YOU can be?

Sheesh, now I sound like a girl scout campaign! Ugh!

Toe Hair

I had a most disturbing dream last night. Maybe someone who has a dream meanings manual they can enlighten me. I had a dream/nightmare that I had such long and substantial toe hair on my big toe that I had to use scissors to cut a few inches off before I could shave it. How gross is that? I wonder if this has anything to do with my severe aversion to weird and offensive over use of body hair. Toe hair. EEEEEWWWWWWWWW!

C'mon. Give me a break.

What does it mean?

SNOW DAY!

Yay! Today was a snow day. Nate did have his little 2 year old class, so we braved the roads, which at 9 weren't so very bad and we had a good time. I love spending that time with him, and he loves going to school. He'll be interesting next year!

We decided to take the kids out sledding. It's about 30 degrees, and perfect out for it. Maddie LOVED it. Check out my little Nanooks of the North!

Getting ready to go. Madilynn is not so sure of being bundled "Ralphie" style. Jack is VERY excited to hit the powdery hills.

Here she is, going all by herself. She would go down and yell, "WEEEEEEEEE". She didn't even really mind when she went down tandem with Nate and he rolled over the top of her and said, "Dat was fun guys. Do again!" Maddie had to be rescued from being face down in the snow while he was laughing, and she was A-Okay with it. Fun stuff!

"WWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!"

Nate couldn't make it up the hill. So he just camped out and ate snow. And yelled for us to come get him. He's a funny guy!

Here they all go!!! Look out below!!!

Thank You Writer's Strike

Thanks to there being not an ounce of TV worth watching, I started and finished Dan Brown's Angels and Demons in about a week's time. I'm pretty confident that I'll have Loving Frank done by my next book club meeting.

I've also become a Perez Hilton Junkie. (www.perezhilton.com) and am in love with a song he posted as "worthy". Sometimes his taste isn't so bad.

If you can, check out Leona Lewis' "Bleeding Love". It's good.

If we didn't have kids, we'd see movies. For now there's books, Perez, and Superbad....

What are ya'll watching, if anything?

The Kids Just Seem Out of Control Lately

Okay, John actually uttered those words yesterday when I gave him a rundown of the morning's drama. I think he thinks I lack control over the beasts, but if I yelled at them all the time, that's all I'd be doing. I can't go there. I'll get a sore throat.

I am TRYING very very hard to keep the kids in bed. They are usually up in the a.m. by 5:30/6. I've taken away t.v. time in the morning hoping to strip them of any incentive. I've tried the whole "Stay in Bed until 7 thing". That doesn't work with 2 boys whose entire goals in life are to become Darth Vader when they grow up. Fabulous.

Thus, my solution was to intall a "No Breakfast Until 7 a.m." policy. This would've been great except last Friday Nate got into the bread in the fridge (I refuse to go downstairs even) and I had a loaf of mushed dough and its resulting crumbs all over my kitchen and living room.

Fast forward to yesterday and the whole reason the kids are wacky "out of control". Jack wanted to make breakfast. I told him no. He went down anyway and when I meandered down I found an entire gallon of milk spilled on the floor, some soggy shredded wheat in bowls filled to the brim and a look of guilt. Jack had to clean it up, even if he wasn't directly responsible. I DID tell him no for heaven's sake.

Then, as I was getting Mads dressed I heard an UH OH and crunching in the kitchen. Run downstairs (Note in previous blog: I should NEVER turn my back. Not even to brush my own teeth) and I find Nate amid a pile of Doritos (the WHOLE BIG BAG from Costco) and he had knocked over the vinegar I use to clean the floors with so there was a soggy Doritoey mess everywhere. Fantastic.

I did get it all cleaned up though and the house looked great for our showing today. Operation Make rooms look bigger is another blog entirely though.

I'd better run and divert any potential disasters............

"It Always sounds Like a Zoo Over There!"

My mom usually calls me 3 times a day. My dad at least once. My sister sometimes twice. My brother doesn't call as often as that, but often enough. Every time someone in my family calls I am likely to hear one of two things:
1.) What the HELL is going ON over there?
AND
2.) Why does it always sound like a zoo when we call?

Answers (choose one or all):


1.) I am usually alone for 14 hours a day if not more. I feed (3 meals daily or 21 meals weekly not to mention snacks) , clothe, bathe, run to school, run errands with, clean house, minimize tv watching of, teach reading and phonics to, run to Dr.'s visits, get out of the house for showings, do laundry for, and all the other daily "mom" stuff for 3 children 4 and under DAILY. Usually when someone calls I'm so desperately craving adult interaction and I don't get it because of the above chaos so it sounds like a zoo.

2.) Usually someone is calling during dinner time or some other meal prep time. These kids are VULTURES, and snipers. You'd think they never eat by the whining and screaming you hear when someone calls. As in "FEED ME NOW LADY!"

3.) The boys fight. End of story.

4.) They try to 'roller Derby' and strong arm Maddie. She doesn't like it so she screams.

5.) I turned my back for 2 seconds. Mayhem ensues.

6.) Nate got too close to Maddie. She didn't like it so she screamed.

She screams a lot.

Now Jack is saying he wants a dog for Christmas. Is he CRAZY??? No way. I clean enough poop up on a daily basis, and 3 young uns is enough of a zoo.

So, stop asking. Yes, we're crazy here. But it's good, right?


Yes, it's good because someday the house will be quiet. And then what will we do?

Up to My Elbows in MOIST Meat, and other Trials of Cooking for 9 hours Straight....

Jen, Jennifer, and I (uh huh, another JEN) got together Sunday to do our once a month cooking, that really lasts us almost 3 months. It's fabulous though, and I'm not complaining. Except for the fact that we had no booze...but we had a GREAT time anyway, and my freezer is full of stuff that will get eaten before we move. What's more, it's quick and easy to heat up, so if we have a showing it's a better alternative to constant fast food or pricey restaurants for a month or more.

The Jen Trifecta worked very well and very smoothly together. None of use really "measures" exact amounts on anything, which is great. We have done this before with someone who needs EXACT AMOUNTS. Sometimes, when a recipe calls for 3/4 C onions, you just eyeball it. Or a Tablespoon of Garlic? We Rachel Ray it and "palm it". So our Three personalities gel well, except where vocabulary is concerned.

Apparently, there are certain words in the English Language that bug the hell out of some people. Not good if they are OT's (occupational therapists) trying to desensitize kids on a daily basis at work. Unfortunately, I was the one responsible for mixing the Meat Mix for both our Salisbury Patty dishes and our meatloaf dishes. Jen and Jennifer went to Sam's and bought 9 POUND tubes of meat. It was the most disgusting, suggestive thing I've ever seen. A meat tube? Sealed in a plastic prophylactic. Gross. And I got into it up to my elbows. 21 lbs. of meat worth altogether.

And, dare I say the word MEAT? No, it grosses out the OT. Dare I say "MOIST". I think I made her puke. So, as many times as I could on Sunday, I made mention of My Moist Meat. Take it in any context you like. However, I wonder if there's any word in the English Language hated more than the word "moist." I doubt it. Ask around. It's right up there with the "C" word, or the "P" word.

Another word that was Taboo for the day was crevice, so I kept referring to "Moist Meat and Cre-VASSES (British Style) which almost got me kicked out of our little cooking club.

It was totally worth it though. You learn a lot about someone when you're in their kitchen for 9 hours, elbow deep in Moist Meat and giggling as if you'd tossed back one too many. I can't say there are too many words per se that I actually can't stand to hear uttered, but I'm sure there's a list out there somewhere. Anyone care to share?

Maybe, Oh, I got it. I really don't like the word "hemorrhoid". Or it's best friend "Roids". It feels weird to say.

Now, Obsequious. That's a good word.......

Right at this Moment...

I am replying to e-mails, blogging, and Jack is sitting next to me singing "paradise city" by Guns N Roses. He knows More of the words than he should.

That's what I get for working Saturdays. His Dad teaches him all that stuff. At least it's relatively harmless.....

Moving?

Things are coming along nicely with the new house. We set up our financing yesterday for the new mortgage, and are locked in at a 5.5%rate. I knew there was a reason we didn't close in January! Someone 'up there' must be looking out for us, at least a little bit anyway.

On Monday our realtor asked if we could change the close date to Feb. 8th. We don't care, just set it up and let's get it done. If Feb. 8th is a done deal though, then we're hoping to have the house ready to move in by March and move our crap and kids early March.

So, that's the latest update. Until we hear from our lawyers....

Better get moving on this house! :-)

Winter Fun

Cue the Indiana Jones Music. Mr. Dressups created this from a cowboy hat, a pirate shirt, and the sail from his Pirates of the Carribbean boat. I love it. He is so imaginative and playful, especially on his good days.
Nate lives hard and happy. Such joy! Tonight he told John that his beer "needs to be in Nate's belly". So much for that speech eval, he made that request damn clear, didn't he?

Maddie has Bobba Fet. You know, the bounty hunter from Star Wars. That's my girl!

No more Bobba Fet, just a happy little Fraggle.

Inspection Day

Our inspection went relatively well today. Structurally the house is aces. Mr. Previous Homeowner pulled a few stunts, to be explained in a moment, but the house is in good shape. We even already have a radon pole in the ejector pump in the basement that goes to the roof. Rock on.

This is the back of the house. See where we need a new deck? The sliding door in the middle is the kitchn, the one on the right the garage, or where Criag swears Nate will drive the car out of Ferris Bueller style.
This photo shows Maddie's bedroom bathroom. She's the girl so she gets her own. The boys will share a jack and jill bathroom. I only put this picture on to show you all disgruntled displaced previous homeowners Shenanigans. Check out the Shower...Oh! You can't. He took all the shower heads when he left.

This is to be my sanctuary. My reading room. Ahhh... This is the fireplace in the sitting room of the master bedroom. Nice, isn't it?

This is what you see when you walk in. To the left is the dining room. To the immediate right (not pictured) is the office, complete with unstained roughed in french doors. The open room on the right is the dining room, and the opening behind that is the coat closet/bathroom. (Yes, the house has 3 and 1/2 bathrooms).

This is the dining room, and you can see the butler pantry through the door. Following that hallway to the left is the laundry room/garage and if you keep going straight the kitchen. I hate that chandelier. It's going bye-bye. Hopefully someone on Freecycle will want it.

That's it for now. Other than the owners before us also took all the aerators off the sinks in the master bathroom, and rigged the sinks to leak. The front right burner on the stove top wouldn't light, but that's about it.

Now, Who's going to help me clean and paint the joint?

Any takers?

Looking forward to Monday

We finally have our home inspection scheduled, and it's set to take up to 3 HOURS. The lady explained since we'll have 3 and 1/2 bathrooms and all the piping and waterworking etc. Plus, we have to let the dishwasher run about 8 thousand times thanks to the anti-freeze in the pipes. It's the only appliance that regurgitates water instead of just shooting it out.

Wish us luck. Hopefully I'll be able to post some more photos Monday afternoon.

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. day by the way. What an inspiring man.

Missing....

1.) I'm really, really missing the show "6 Feet Under". You know, the one about the fam that ran a funeral home. That was quality t.v., none of this constant barage of reality garbage.

Guess I'm stuck just listening to the Soundtrack, esp. Sia's "Breathe Me." FYI, Nate is 'partially' named after Nate Fisher. I love Peter Krause and the character he created. And I fell in love with the name. And, as SuperNurse Karin said, "I've never known a Nate that wasn't hot". True,true.

2.) My kids. I'm at work getting ready to go on my last home visit of the day. Last therapy session of the weekend, Whoo Hoo!

3.) Sleep. Stinkin' kids up at 5:30! (I did pick up that Ferber sleep book though. Maybe it will help?) I have taken Julianne and Leslie's advice and am trying the whole"Stay in your room until 7" thing, but it's not working because 2 boys in the room create mischief. The new rule is "No breakfast/t.v. until 7". They don't care, they are now into fixing their own cereal (mess) and watching Pay Per View.

And I'm too tired to yell at them or care.

4.) Wine. Could use a glass right now, but that's borderline unprofessional, don't you think?

5.) Out of state friends and family. Especially the ones we only see once or twice a year. (Or when someone gets married).

6.) Lunch. Forgot to eat today and had to treat kids in the meantime.

7.) My workout. I'll have to double it for tomorrow (Go Sporty, Go sporty, go, go go, Go Sporty)!

9.) Free time. In general.

Sigh......
What are ya'll missing lately?

Sporty?

I'm laughing as I type this. I just erased the Spice Girls poll, and for some reason, most voted me as being the "Sporty" Type. I am not sporty, gang. Just cuz I exercise doesn't make me sporty. Fun fact: I've never been in an organized sport in my life, aside from Gymnastics and Swimming, so for people to think I'm athletic is a gas. I'm not really athletic, I just kinda look that way I guess....

What's even funnier is that some voted me in as "Scary". I'm not scary, am I? Hehe. I'll take it though, that Mel B. kicked some booty on Dancing with the Stars. If I had her bod and her dancing ability, I'd be aces. I'll pass on the Eddie Murphy as baby Daddy thing though.

Too fun. Hope everyone is having a great weekend in the cold. And as quoted from the Chicago Tribune "If you think it's cold here, try Antarctica".

No thanks.

No jumping into ice holes for me, thankyouverymuch.
BTW, a side note: Congrats to Matt and Rene on baby to Be this summer. It's their first, and we're sooo excited for them!!!

Registered

Yesterday was busy. We had Jack's parent/teacher conferences, and all in all they went well. No new informatin, except that he's borderline genius and should skip a few grades...KIDDING! Academically though, he is doing JUST FINE-probably better than most June boys who are forever handicapped by being a lefty. I'll take it though.

Later in the afternoon I had to register Mr. Jack for Kinneygarten. It was surreal knowing that I have a kid old enough to be in 'big kid school' but the process itself was relatively painless and pretty quick to boot. I'm sort of hoping he gets afternoon kindergarten, but I'm not going to be upset one way of the other if he gets morning. I just want afternoon so I can sign Nate up for a.m. preschool and then have special afternoon time with him. We'll see.

So, in a nutshell, next year I'll have 2 kids in school. Whatever will I do with just one kid? It's been so long that I've forgotten what it's like to have only one, and I'm looking forward to it for sure!

It Sickens me

That I am actually looking forward to baseball season. Maybe just looking forward to spring. Maybe the Cubs will make it to the World Series, what with the renovations at Wrigley and all....

It's too damn cold out, what is it, like -4?? And all I keep thinking of is Matt jumping into a hole carved into the icy sea in Antarctica. Your visual? A Big half naked (in boxers) white guy in ANTARCTICA getting ready to jump into A HOLE IN THE ICE!!!! His mother must've been proud when he sent us all that photo.

And I keep thinkin'...it was colder there then, than it is here now, and there is no way in HELL I'd be out in my skivvies jumping into a hole in the iced over ocean.

Time to curl into my electric blankie next to my heat radiating husband. My toes are cold and he just LOVES it when I put my cold toes on his warm legs. Loves to be startled awake by his half reptilian wife.

Damn it's cold out!

Fresh Download

Good Charlotte's "I Don't Wanna Be in Love". Put it in my "workout" file.

Now to figure out how to burn these tracks onto discs....

Musings...

*Why does Play-Doh bother selling multicolored dough? It always turns into a non-descript gray-green blob anyway.

*What exactly, do kids find so tasty about Play-Doh?

* Will we ever find out Barack Obama's political agenda? (Lord I hope NOT!) Change is NOT always good. Especially when we're not sure what "change" dude has in mind. Way to coin a phrase for the 08 election year though.

*When will Rudy give up the whole "Look what I did on 9/11" gig? Let's evolve. Progress people, progress.

*Damn! Forgot to set parental controls on the t.v. Yesterday I came down in the morning and found the boys GLUED to Fantastic Four on PAY PER FREAKING VIEW! How did they figure that crap out?

* Thank Goodness all they were watching was the "Fantastic Four" and Not "Debbie Does the Fantastic Four". You CAN get playboy on pay per view. How DID they figure that out?

*How do you EVEN do the parental control? Why are my kids more technologically inclined than me? CRAP!

*How much does a Pay Per View movie even cost?

*Why do my kids keep putting inedible objects in their mouths? For crying out loud, they don't have Prader-Willie! http://www.unmcoc.org/manual/pws/index.htm (In case you're wondering what it is--scroll down to the appetite part).

*Is blogging a cure for chronic insomnia? I should hope there's something out there.

Just finished Reading....

"Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen and I am SO stoked to talk about it in Book Club on Sunday. This was an awesome story about a depression era circus train and how the narrator (at age 93) needs to clean his conscience of a long ago murder and scandal. It was a delicious read. Highly recommended.

Go get it on tape Ma, you'll thank me.

Now, on to reading "Loving Frank" about Frank Lloyd Wright. After that one I'll probably want to head to my old stomping grounds in Oak Park and do the walking audio self-tour.

I smell a book club field trip comin' on.........

House issues

Our lawyer is trying to kick ass. I love her, since she's a pretty hardcore woman just trying to get this crap moving. Long story short, we STILL don't have a close date on the new house because the seller STILL has to dewinterize (per acceptance contract) in order for us to get our home inspection. Our lawyer is pushing for Feb. 12th, which actually is awesome, since it gives us that much more time to sell our current home, and offers less of a possibility that we'll be floating 2 mortgages for very long. At least, that is our hope. Looks like we won't be hosting the Superbowl this year, gang.

I just keep thinking, all these things are happening for a reason. There is a reason we didn't close last Friday as originally planned. There is a reason rates keep dropping. There are reasons that I just have to trust and believe in, and everything will work out as it should.

Now to get this house sold in a timely manner and move forward with this whole business. According to the desk clerk at the Y (who also lives in my neighborhood), the exact same model of my house sold for under 200K, and it didn't have a basement, skylight, or fireplace like we do. The old guy who lived there also died in there, so his sister who lives in Fla. priced WAY low just to get it off her hands. The lady at the Y also said that her next door neighbor who is selling the exact same house as we are (basement, fireplace, etc.) hasn't had even 1 person come look at it. THAT makes me feel good, because they're priced at over $25,000 higher than we are. We've already had several showings, and more already scheduled for this weekend, so things are at least moving in the right direction for us, even if we haven't had any offers yet.

They'll come though. I'm sure of it!
(Are you keepin' those fingers crossed for us?)

Considering....

Doing a triathalon. The Danskin one has The Breast Cancer Foundation as it's official charity, so even more reason to do it. http://www.danskin.com/triathlon.html

Any reasons to do it, or not do it would be appreciated. If I do decide to do it, I'd better get moving on the whole training thing because while I could do each event on its own, putiing all 3 together may be a challenge.

It's a conundrum.

Beer Snobs

We are what you'd consider "Beer Snobs", meaning we don't just drink any ol' beer just to catch a cheap buzz. In all my life I've never bought Bud Light. It's too Ghetto. Miller light is better, but we're snobs. John brews his own, so when we're not drinking some form of microbrew, we enjoy a good Sam Adams, Goose Island, or our fave German (warsteiner) and Irish (Smithwicks--pronounced SMITTICK'S!!) standards.

Although I fear the following photos are a prelude of bad things to come in the teenage years, please refrain from calling CPS. The bottles were empty and our in-house comedian thought he was funny. And to be honest, he was.
Mmmmm....He will totally be the one throwing a kegger when he's 16 or so. Jack will have to be the brains behind the operation, and he will have Mads bring her "hot friends". Somehow in the confusion he will wind up totally innocent I am sure. He's just that kind of guy.

Slainte!

House Nibbles

We have another showing tomorrow afternoon. That makes our 4th independant showing in less than a month, and then add our Realtor showcase on top of that. Not too bad in this market I'm thinking, but we still haven't gotten any offers.

You never know, so keep your fingers crossed for us. I really must remember to get that Statue of St. Joseph.

Whatever works, right?

More Sickies

The flu virus (not rotavirus, thank goodness) has now made it's way from Maddie to Jack. He kept complaining about his belly hurting yesterday, so, in a classic "Parent of the Year" Moment I suggested he go to the bathroom, and I went to the basement to look up all the Kindergarten information I needed to download.

It was really quiet upstairs, so I went to check on him and found him sound asleep on the bathroom floor, curled tight into a little butt naked ball, complete with a very unclean behind and business in the toilet. I started to clean him up, and he woke up complaining about his belly. I said, "Do you need to throw up?" and with a "YES!" he proceeded to projectile vomit all over the bathroom until I heave-ho'ed him up to the toilet.

The poor kid did it a few more times throughout the night, but seems okay today. However, John and I are wiped. Nate was up at 5:15 as per usual, and as usual he woke up the baby because King Collosus isn't exactly the quiet type.

I spent a good chunk of the night in Jack's bed, just rubbing his back and consoling him, and then to be up again at 5 for the day is seemingly crazy. I was just a little glad when my first patient of the day today cancelled, and I didn't have to treat any babies until noon. It gave me time to get a little more coffee down the gullet.

WE. NEED. A. BREAK.

We both do, really. Just to recharge, and reconnect. Hopefully it will happen somewhat soon, because I don't think either one of us can keep running on damn near empty for much longer.

Bacon-Ator

Juli has turned me on to reading other SAHM (Stay at Home Mom) blogs. I particularly enjoy http://dooce.com/

She not only has a great entry regarding her daughter--we ALL struggle, don't we?, But has a really great link to a You-Tube Comedy video about...well, bacon. I personally don't eat pork, but it made me laugh until tears came from my eyes.

Click above. Scroll down to "Bibbity bobbity bacon".

Thank me later.

School Daze

Today was Nate's little preschool class. It's really more of a mom and me class than a preschool class, but it's housed at the same place Jack goes to school, and he got a new Buzz backpack for Christmas, so he really thinks he is hot stuff heading off to "Nate Cool".

I LOVE doing this class with him. He's so proud to do the little art projects, and he seems to enjoy the bulk of sensory play they have for the kids. Today's sensory experience consisted of Snow (the fake stuff) with shovels and buckets, snow in a pool (packing peanuts), and the ever-present play-doh. He does great work with parallel play with some of the other boys, especially with the cars, dinosaurs and fun little fine motor link toys. He doesn't do so well with sharing the cash register. He and his fave gal KiKi (Katie) used to go fisticuffs, now Charlie gets the brunt end of it.

A lot of the moms were talking about their potty training experiences. Glad I'm not the only one freaking out about that 3rd birthday coming up (okay, I DO have til June) and things not going perhaps as swimmingly as they did for the first kid they put in "big kid pants". Nate's getting there, except he only tells me he has to go Potty after the deed is done, which is great, since he's feeling the sensation and apparently not liking the wet pullup. Sigh. Sigh. Juli, I am truly jealous of Miss Gwyn. Got any pointers? I'm thinking maybe the first week of February we're going to go hardcore into those waffle-weave undies and I'll just have to make him sit in his stinkies. It worked for Jack! Or, maybe I should wait to go hardcore until after the move. Too hard to tell right now how Nate will fare with all the big changes coming up.

The mom's also got started talking about KinneyGarten. One lady lives in our new subdivision and I'm absolutely horrified that schools are now expecting kids to read by the time they leave Kindergarten. As in, 20 something sightwords, etc, and maybe even more. Thanks to Dubyah and No Child Left Behind, we're going to have a bunch of 2nd graders having school burnout.

Get this! This woman also said her daughter gets homework!!! In KINDERGARTEN! And, they're not always the easy, sorta fun practice sheets. She said there are times when her daughter DOES get frustrated with the work. Mom was a preschool director in a former life, so she realizes how developmentally inappropriate some of these standards are. Whatever happened to letting a kid learn to socialize, and LIKE school? I KNOW it's not the teacher's faults, as there is SO much top-down in education these days, and I KNOW Jack will be able to handle academics aces. I'm not worried about his academics, I'm worried about how he'll function academically if he's having social issues??

I am dreading kindergarten registration next week. Apparently, there's this gigantor packet to fill out, and you have to bring the REAL certified birthcertificate (which they said they take and make a copy of right there, so what's the point?), and forms, forms, and more forms to fill out. I'm guessing it's easier to go to Wal-Mart and buy a gun than register my Kindergartner for school.

I was semi-excited to find out that our new subdivision usually gets afternoon kindergarten, and I'm okay with that. It will be some nice quiet time with Nate, or a quiet nap time for all, depending on how the wind is blowing 9 months from now. We shall see.

Until then, I've got to start the paperwork for BOTH Jack and Nate since he starts pre-school for real next year. I haven't decided on morning or afternoon for sure for him, since I know afternoon classes are usually smaller and he'd probably do better with that; but as I said before, afternoon quiet time with him might be nice too...

All these crazy decisions!

A GREAT Report!

Yay! Miss Lisa said that Jack had not just a good day at school, but a GREAT day. Fantastico! He is so excited to earn the reward of a special sleepover at Aunties with Baby Brooke and Hunter Doogle Doggie. I hope beyond hope we're back on the right track, but we'll find out at Parent/Teacher conferences next week.

Jen and I met this morning to discuss cooking. We barely accomplished anything because we were too busy drinking our coffee. It was such a great time-out for me.

Today may be a good day.

Quick Prayer

Please, please PLEASE let whatever is going thru Maddie's intestinal tract be a weird random flu virus, bug thingy, and NOT rotavirus. I'm pretty sure that Miss 19 pounder will wind up in the hospital if this keeps up.

And OH! The stench. Please, not rotavirus!!! (Been there, done that with BOTH boys).

Ralph and Jen, I'm beginning to think that whatever was passed around by the big girls b/w New Year's and Cedarburg has nothing to do with Mads......

YUCK!

Random....

Brothers......

Cheese???
Not diggin' the whole Santa thing, presents or not!

You look smarter with that finger up your nose. Don't tell Ma!

If the boys were in Charge....

This is all we'd be eating at our little "family" (friends) gatherings. Check out http://www.gatorswingshack.com/

Apparently, their garlic wings are to die for. And us wives pay the beery, farty, smelly price for days afterwards.

As it is, I think Danielle's Brunch menu was TOP NOTCH!!!

Love you , my sweet little German Friends.

Now, let's get a little Irish in ya's!

What's Cookin' Good Lookin?

Jen and I are planning on doing another round of 30 day meals (www.30daygourmet.com) and we're getting together tomorrow while the big kids are in school in order to plan. We also have to make accomodations for her neighbor who wants to join us, and Sheila, one of the speechies at work. I am so severely looking forward to coffee and mindless gab with my friend, I don't even know how to contain myself. Nate and Katie will wander off and play nicely, since Katie is his boss and will tell him exactly what his place is in this world.

Mads will show a basic interest in Sammy (beautiful, smiley, happy baby Sam) and then hopefully NOT break anymore of Jenny's mom's China.

Jenny and I will sit at her kitchen table, and gossip about work (she's an OT or occupational therapist at the Peds. clinic I work at) and just take sanctuary in how seemingly normal our kids and lives are. And, we will drink LOTS of coffee.

Somehow in all of this, we will plan a 30 day menu of meals for our families, but since we've done this a few times, we've got down pat what needs to go down as far as who buys what, and who brings what to cooking day. This cooking session will be extra fun, I LOVE her neighbor and am slightly jealous as everyone should have neighbors like her (okay, so my parents lucked out too), and Sheila who just brings that extra something to the table.

Maybe I can talk to her about that speech eval for Nate that I've been on the fence about....

Crap

Just totally lost my shit with the kids. Better check on dinner and pour another glass.

Listening to:

Regina Spektor.

Loving songs "Fidelity" and "Samson".

Get them on your i-tunes. I did, and I'm so, so glad.

Appropo

For reasons I can't divulge, the other day Cheryl called me a "boner". It fit the circumstances, and I kind of like the way it sounds. As in "Dude, you're such a boner". Makes me giggle thinking about it.

My brother refers to some people as douchebags, and to an extent he's right. That's a good phrase too. So good in fact, John Mayer wrote an ENTIRE blog entry on the word. (Or 29 entries on the word)
http://www.johnmayer.com/blog

And Johnny Mayer is right. It DOES feel good to say "Douchebag."

Try it. You'll be hooked.

There is no Cure for the Pukies

Yesterday Maddie caught the pukies that have been going around. No big deal, but really, if any of my kids were going to get the flu I'd have prefered one with a bit more meat on their bones than the baby about whom I am STILL fielding questions regarding whether or not she was a premie, and if she wasn't what's wrong with her. NOTHING. She's just tiny. I think as a DT I would know if she is lacking in some area of development.

Loooong story short, yesterday was our realtor showing, meaning realtors come and look at your home and "Pre-screen" for their clients who may be potential buyers, so we had the house spotless. I was supposed to be OUT until 12:30 or 1. Didn't quite work when Maddie started projectile vomit all over herself on the way home from picking up Jack from school. I had to rush her home with our realtor still there, but luckily no one came to tour as I threw Go-Gurts at the boys and threw Miss M. in the tub and tried to disassemble her carseat.

Later in the afternoon, the fit hit the shan when I have our Lawyer for the closing calling, Maddie is puking, and our window guys came to replace the cracked window in the boys' room. A man could not ever have handled the multi-tasking needed, but I handled it and treated myself to a nice glass of cab later.

On a side note the window guys couldn't have been nicer. They were really sweet with Jack who made friends with them and had to watch everything they did, since tools were involved. They weren't the worst looking guys either, but I'm sure I presented as a crazy lady in my running pants and lovely eau de vomit smell.

Cheryl's right, I'm such a boner.

Quote of the Day

Thank you Dear Abby! (I swear to God, found it in today's paper. Context=irrelevant)

"Giving birth to a baby is not like performing a pole dance."

Discuss.

Deflated

I THOUGHT things were going great yesterday. Nate asked the people at the Y to go Pee Pee Potty! Yay! That is a huge step from the kid who would yell "NO FANK YOU" at the top of his lungs at the mere suggestion of sitting on a toilet. Now he goes, but inconsistently. We'll get there. We have until August when he starts school......

However, when I went to pick up Jack from school, there was a not so very good report from the teacher. He is apparently defiant, combatitve, and refusing to see his teachers as authority figures. He's also telling people (no teachers) to "shut up" and knocking down block towers if other kids are building them. I felt like a wilting flower as the teacher was describing this to me. I can't have the kid no one likes! Heaven before Harvard! I didn't even have the energy at that point to get mad at him, and I got all teary talking to the teacher. Being a DT and a former teacher, I can see what road I'm on. Not a pretty picture- (even though Jen tells me to quit comparing him to the kids we see. Some of them are the worst of the worst, but still...) What is SO hard is that respecting adults is such a huge push for us. He's smart. Academically, I have no concerns. I just need him to realize that HE is NOT in charge. He has a big problem with that sometimes.

Not that it's an excuse, but usually REALLY REALLY naughty behaviour is a prelude of an illness to come. Jack cannot regulate his emotions, he loses all ability to filter inappropriate reactions if he is sick. Nevertheless, he's still busted big time.

Long story short though, he DOES in fact have a blazing ear infection in his right ear, and one working on the left. As I said, not an excuse, but at least it makes me feel a little less of a failure as a parent. He had a better day today, until the end when he was stealing marbles from the good job jar and putting them in his pockets. He had better shape up by Thursday when he goes back. Either that, or on the black market he goes!

Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho! Off to Cedarburg We Go!

Sunday we made a pilgrimage to a good friends house to celebrate our Christmas with Good Friends. Long title, but I'm not sure what else to call it. We went all the way 2 hours North to Cedarburg Wisconsin
http://www.cedarburg.org/
to find that we were NOT in the presence of 1 known preggo, but THREE! Congrats Lynn, Yelly, and Sheila. Our group is growing every few months with a huge baby boom happening this summer. And really, I'm SO SO SO glad I will never be wearing those shoes again. No more babies here, and that is A-OKAY with me! But, I hope things go smoothly for everyone.

We had such a great time. Happy New Year! Prost! Slainte!!!

Thank you, Little Green Butterfly

I couldn't sleep again last night, so I took a Lunesta sample. Not bad, the thing worked great until 5 a.m. when the boys decided it was party time. The only drawback is a weird taste in the mouth, and a groggy, head-achy feeling, but I also had a headache all day yesterday after being a passenger from here to Cedarburg, WI.

Maybe some time on the elliptical machine will help today.

Maybe I'm dreading the deep cleaning of the house that needs to come before our realtor showing tomorrow all morning....

Maybe I should get a script for those little pills of magic......

Let's see how far we've come...

How did we get here.....
From here?

The God of Small Things

Just finished reading this beautiful, engrossing novel. It's totally something you'd read in an English Lit class, except it's contemporary style is engaging enough for anyone--even those not seeking a PhD in Shakespeare.

It is about a very disfunctional Syrian Christian family in India surviving the 1960's and an ensuing tragedy and a teeny bit of their life beyond the tragedy. It's a good book because it made me want to find out more about the Indian caste system, paravans, Kathakali, and other things related to Indian culture (like, what IS the difference between a Sari and a Mundu?) There is everything in this novel, from a communist revolution to forbidden love, and I didn't find anything formulaic about it. Which is why I probably enjoyed it so much.

Just in case you're looking for a good, intellectually stimulating read....

Finally, A Contract!

We finally received our acceptance contract from the bank out East so we are to officially be owners of a new home soon. Our original close date was set for January 11, but as THEY have yet to de-winterize the house and we need to have a home inspection AFTER that, well, we're hoping our lawyer will be able to push the closing into February. That also gives us just that much more time to sell our current home.

Wish us luck on that folks! For now, I've been packing things like my twice used in 7 years waffle iron, and my Bob The Builder Cake pans, etc. I may go get a St. Joe statue tonight and dump him upside down in the yard somewhere. Every little bit helps!