Ok, miss Rebecca tagged me again with a somewhat random type MEME. The topic is randomness but has some pointed questions so that's good. Here goes!

Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Wife/mother/homekeeperupper :-D
2. Customer Service Extrodinaire at Builder's Showcase Interiors
3. Customer Service with CheapBytes.com
4. Customer Service at Toys R Us - Hmmmm...I see a pattern immerging here - serving people with little to no recognition ;-)

Four movies I would watch over and over again (and probably have)
1. Sleepy Hollow (I watch this EVERYTIME I see that it's on)
2. Princess Bride (I've watched it enough to quote pretty much EVERY line, and I do ;-)
3. Office Space (BEST.MOVIE.EVER)
4. ANY episode of Seinfeld or Sex and the City (I have them all on DVD so that TOTALLY counts!)

Four places I have lived:
1. Morro Bay, Cali (where I was born - on the ocean - LOVE IT!)
2. Lodi, Cali (lived most of my life there - eh)
3. Phoenix, Arizona (moved as a just married 18 year old(!) my oldest was born there)
4. Stockon, Cali (sigh...SOON TO BE OAKDALE!)

Four shows I love to watch:
1. LOOOOOOOOST (that's LOST and if you haven't watched then you just don't know ;-)
2. Dancing with the Stars (LOVE IT!)
3. The Riches (it's on like FX or something - GOOOOOOD SHOOOOOW)
4. Dirt (also on FX or something - Courtney Cox Arquette is in it and it's awesome!)

Four place I have been on vacation:
1. Hawaii (when I was 16 when my grandparents lived there, *I* wanna live there!)
2. Disneyland (I know it's nothing spectacular, but to me it truly is magic, I could live there too! No, seriously.)
3. Laughlin, NV (quick trip but FUN, back when there were people to watch the kids! Ah the good ol days)
4. Dorrington, CA (Up in the mountains and BEAUTIFUL - my honey whisked me up there for my b-day right after he proposed to me :-D)

Four of my fav foods (only four?):
1. CHEESECAKE from the Blue Frog in Fairfield (my honey was at lunch there and brought me back a peice all the way to work, before we were even honeys)
2. CHEESECAKE from Marie Calendars (we had dinner there by accident, it was our non-official first date)
3. CHEESECAKE from Rosewood (that was our first real date and we go there EVERY time we get the chance)
4. CHEESECAKE well pretty much ANYWHERE ELSE ;-)

Four places I would rather be right now (again, only four?):
1. Disneyland (I told you, I could LIVE there)
2. A beautiful, warm, and not too crowded beach anywhere, with my honey
3. In the car on our way somewhere with all the kids
4. In my bed, taking a NAP

Four people to pass this MEME of sorts onto (HA FOUR!)
1. Sherry
2. Anyone is looking for something to blog about today...

TNT!

Today has been a rough day, and it's only 12:30 in the afternoon. With the baby being under the weather for the last few days I haven't been taking her naughty behavior too seriously but starting thinking differently last night. She'd been having "one of the those days" yet AGAIN and was having issues with going to bed. Usually she goes down at around 7ish but last night was up crying/talking/screwin around until 9:00. Not too serious, it was just hard to listen to her on the monitor for two hours and having to keep checking whether or not she had gotten out - which she has now mastered. Then I tried to go to bed but was all wound up so I ended up watching TV on the couch until almost 1(!). Then just as I was heading off to bed, the monitor LIT up with SCREAMING.

I don't know what it is about this kid but her scream could wake the dead, and bring them to your door to tell you to SHUT THAT KID UP! Normally, and with my other two girls, I would check on them but let them cry it out, I guess that's just how I roll. But if you have read any of my older posts you know that is NOT the case with this one. Which brings me to the question...

Is the last one ALWAYS the hardest?

I tried to let her cry but she was waking up my other kids and I don't know how to explain it but I KNEW she wasn't going back down. And that is what I mean. I have never experienced this level of stubborn with one of my kids. I mean all kids, especially at two, have a streak to them, but I just don't remember it being THIS bad. Which makes me wonder...Do I just not REMEMBER it that way? I mean I think there is a level of amnesia that over comes you to a certain degree, mostly with labor I have noticed. I can barely remember how awful it was at the time ya know? I look back on things I wrote afterward and THEN I remember more, but still, it just doesn't seem so bad. Do we do that while raising our kids too? If we didn't, would we ALL be an only child?

So when I knew she wasn't going back to sleep I brought her down and laid on the couch. It looked like she might go back to sleep for a few minutes, then she started wigglin and then got up and started handing me toys. Sigh...so much for THAT idea. So I took her in the bedroom cause I have it pretty secure in there, turned on a movie and laid down with her - it was 2:00am. I dozed in and out on and off, scared she would do something crazy like catapolt herself off the amoire and onto my head in some crazy kamikaze stunt. I was praying she would get tired and fall back asleep either on the bed, the floor, WHATEVER - somewhere - but NO. So, at 6:30 we all got up and started our day like normal - HA!

Now, I know a lot of people deal with the non sleep issue and this probably doesn't sound too bad but what I am mostly thinking about is my level of persistance with this one. I have always believed that my kids were a direct result of my parenting, that's easy to say when you kids are easy ;-) Now, understand I'm not trying to relieve myself of my part in her attitude problems. What I would really like is some advice. We try so hard to be firm with her, I've never dealt with a kid who was so willful and outright NUTS sometimes!

Got the girls to school and we were waiting outside for her class to open. She kept running around and falling down and running off so I picked her up and tried to keep her with me by the class door. She.lost.her.mind. She was throwing herself on the concrete, banging her head into the ground, and SCREAMING. When I picked her up she threw herself back with so much force I almost dropped her and banged into other people. All because she wanted to run around and I said no, all of this in front of A LOT of other parents. I felt like throwing MYSELF on the ground and banging my head into the ground, seems like that's what I'm doing anyway. That lasted all the way through the class and out to the car and ALWAYS gets worse when I try to put her IN the car.

Now don't get me wrong. I tell her no and I stick to it. It doesn't seem to matter. She loses her mind and acts like she gets her way - but she NEVER does! So WHY does she do it? Does she think EVENTUALLY I will give up? I sure feel like it sometimes. Lately, I have had to up the anty with my stubbornness. With this whole getting-out-of-bed-anytime-I-feel-like thing I have to stand by the door , out of sight, until she falls asleep so I can run in there and tell her no when she throws her leg over the bar. I was standing there one time, for 20 minutes, and thought to myself 'This is just a level of stubborn I have never dealt with before...I have to be MORE stubborn'. Is that the key? See, now I can't say I am the same with her than I was with the other girls, I realize I'm not. I just can't be. But is that just a cop out? I don't think I'm just being lazy or easy on her for any reason in particular. Maybe it's because I just don't have the time I did with the others. How do I make up for that? And is it too late?

I don't want to have a brat on my hands for the rest of time! I can barely handle her now, what is she going to be like as a teenager? It's not that I'm giving up or that I'm not doing anything about her behavior, I just need/want some ideas - maybe you've been through this before and have some tricks that worked? PLEASE TELL ME! I can use all the help I can get! Or maybe this is just a phase that I have been through before, I just don't remember, and this too shall pass. I don't know...I think it's the sleep deprivation talking. Or this crazy baby wandering around driving me CRAZY!!!!!! HEEEEELLLLLLPPPPPPP....

Well I got tagged again by one of those MEME things - w00t! Rebecca tagged me for this one and here are the rules:

1. Each player (?) starts with 8 random habits/facts about themselves, remember folks, let's keep it PG - well - maybe PG13 ;-)
2. Tagged people must write a blog about these habits or face death by ant hill.
3. At the end of your blog you must tag 8 people and run the risk of being ignored or alienated by these people, and post their names.
4. You must then leave them a comment on their site completely off the topic of whatever post you comment on, telling them they too have been "TAGGED!" and they must now read your blog and up your circulation numbers.

ON TO THE FUN!

Random Crap #1 - I am way to addicted to Starbucks. I enjoy my Venti Non-Fat No-Whip White Mochas so much that I create situations to justify getting one. "Man, it's Monday, I need a coffee" "WOW, Tuesday morning and all the kids are gone tonight, think I'll celebrate with a coffee!" "OH Wednesday afternoons are SOOOOO long, think I deserve a coffee" "GOOD JOB on getting up this morning - LET'S HAVE ANOTHER COFFEE!!" and so on...you should hear what I have to tell myself to justify the second coffee! Hey, at least I'm sending those Baristas through college!

Random Crap #2 - Thomas the Tank Train Engine WHATEVER freaks me the F**K out. I don't know why. I am well aware that it is a TOTALLY irrational fear (most of mine are) but that damn face is scary. I hate when that stupid shoe comes on TV when I'm not looking and I do look over to see it and I'm like AAHHH! Screw YOU crappy train and Alec Baldwin!

Random Crap #3 - I am a closet "Bachelor" Fan. Wow, I can't believe I just spoke (wrote) those words outloud. I haven't watched it in forever but this last season for some reason HOOKED me. I realized I would have to be a closet fan when DH says while watching a commercial for it "WOW, I am SO glad you don't watch those stupid shows...huh how could ANYONE watch that CRAP?" - I said something like "yeah" and watched it the next day online as soon as he left for the day ;-) And I don't know if ANY of you people were watching it this season but I TOTALLY CRIED when he choose that stupid girl over BEVIN! WHATEVER! I couldn't even listen to that other girl talk! He and Bevin were WAY cuter together too! UGH! WHATEVER! OK, that being said, if any one ever brings it up again I WILL DENY EVERYTHING ;-)

Random Crap #4 - I had like NO friends when I was a kid. I mean NO friends. In elementary school I was MORE than awkward. School was awful and I really had no idea how awkward I was until much much later. The only friend I had by my house would play with me after school but at school I wasn't allowed to talk to her or be her friend. What a bitch huh? I eventually came out of my shell in middle school and high school and evolved into the social butterfly you all know me as today *insert big smile and head tilt here :-D

Random Crap #5 - I watch the Backyardigans and Wonder Pets, and I like it. I even sing their songs! I even sing their songs when the TV is off! I think my baby likes it better when I don't. She kinda looks at my funny and stops singing until I'm done and starts again. Even my kids mock me!

Random Crap #6 - I value a sense of humor over good looks anyday. Don't tell my honey that, he thinks I married him for his sweet sweet ass ;-) I guess this is the reason I think Steve from Blue's Clues is better looking than say Jon Cluade Van Dam or somebody. NOW BEFORE YOU GO REPORT ME TO THE FREAK POLICE, I'm talking about Steve NOW not during the Blue's Clue's days, not that that makes a LOT of difference. He's a singer now and has this webpage that made me a little hot I admit - mostly because I was laughing so hard and he was just funny - check out the FAQs, but not in a corny way. And he just made me smile :-D NOW BEFORE YOU RUN TO GET THE FREAK POLICE ANYWAY check it out first before YOU mock me too!

Random Crap #7 - I have a linear line OCD kinda thing. I don't know how to describe it other than I like things even. Pictures, numbers, lines, decorations on tables stuff like that. I like equal numbered objects or equal mass on either side of an object. Weird, and hard to explain but it upsets me and I don't know why. I guess it's genetic though cause R and Mad have it too! R used to throw a FIT if her cup was not perfectly perpendicular to her plate and equadistant from the corner of her placemat, she was like 2 1/2. I just noticed Mad get upset at me the other day because I didn't put her sippy cup in the right place on the table and watched her pick up the cup and put it down in the right place and then turn the cup to face her. OCD man...

Random Crap #8 (FINALLY) - I actually do like these Meme things. I like thinking about off the wall stuff or just stuff in general that makes me think about myself. We spend so much of our time thinking about our kids or jobs or the house or whatever and don't get to just think about ourselves. So these MEMEs give you a chance (and excuse) to focus on you or what you think about WHATEVER it is. I think that is a great thing. Plus it gives me something to post about when I might not normally have posted and brings others into my world and let's me into theirs, or whatever ;-)

So I am tagging - SHERRY - and...um...I guess that's all :-( I guess I don't have many bloggy friends either or at least ones that haven't been tagged...It's LIKE GRADE SCHOOL ALL OVER AGAIN . . . NOOOOOOOOOOO!

;-) Sorta...

So there ya go, pass on this Random Crap About Me MEME or should as it turned out for me Embarassing Little Known Facts about Me...
:-D

TNT!

So our Memorial Day Weekend was somewhat uneventful.


Friday started with Mad covered in hives. Her cheeks were on FIRE and I ended up taking her to the doc to see what was up. Well, you can imagine what most people in offices are doing on the Friday before a holiday weekend, this was no exception. She took a look at her, said it was heat rash and sent us on our way. I tried, I really did, to tell her that was not it and why but it just didn't matter. She was feeling better Saturday so we went ahead with our day out together plans.

I was sitting here, drinking coffee, reading LOST blogs and minding my OWN business when it finally happened...

I look at my almost 2 year old on the chair next to me to see a BARE ASS staring back at me . . . and the ASS was NOT CLEAN . . .

Yeah that's right . . . I have NOW experienced that Missing Diaper Moment, the Dirty Ass Dilemma . . . the Poo on your SHOE (except I was barefoot!).

HOW you ask? HOW did you make it through almost 3 (THREE) babyhoods without finding the trail of poo coming from an abandoned diaper? I DON'T KNOW AND DIDN'T QUESTION IT FOR FEAR OF TEMPTING FAITE!!!!! Well, karma is a bitch and is kickin MY ass for laughing at all of YOU'RE stories of the poo poo suprise.

I really was starting to find that my morning was picking up. I was woken up EVERY 15-20 minutes last night (no exageration) to my baby TALKING. Either in her sleep or she just decided to forego sleep last night - either way - I woke up everytime she started talking. Then DH got up at 4 and needed SOMETHING, by the time I got back to sleep - she was UP and raring to go - at 5 (AM). I was so damn tired and would have shrieked when I looked in the mirror this morning, but all I could muster was 'aah'. Then I got up and made coffee the DH way and it came out GREAT! Things were looking up! Then after getting her breakfast (note to self: NO MORE EARLY MORNING FRUIT!) I sat down to a nice blog surfing session with my breakfast of champions - last nights brownies - w00t! Like I said...minding my OWN business...I did NOT expect to look down and see the poo poo plater.

I have never been through this before and it seemed to go in slow motion...imagine if you will...I look down, jump out of my chair and grab that nekid little baby to find that it was not your average CRAP . . . she had 'mud butt'. That is where the slow mo starts - I see and register the offense in my poor sleep deprived brain and scream "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO - Oh God, NOOOOOOOOO"

I run around carrying soiled child around looking for the dirty diaper and wipes she was playing with just a minute before. I turned around and around in circles like a LUNATIC looking for poo spots on the carpet but because we chose this RETARDED carpet that ALREADY HAS SPOTS I didn't know what was crap and what was just crappy carpet! I find and grab the wipes and try to figure out how to wipe her MUD BUTT without laying her down, meanwhile trying NOT to step in any AWOL shit that has to be SOMEWHERE. I managed to clean her with about 20 wipes as it was on the hands, feet, legs, knees, and all the cracks and crevices in between. Then I RUN and get a diaper, and onesie (SAY GOOD BYE TO DIAPER TIME MISSY!) and RUN back out before she has time to find the missing mess.

Then the REAL work begins - WHERE O WHERE did she go BEFORE I found her!!!!!! There is no discernable trail! I scouer the floor in the living room and into the dinning room only to be led to my NEW, WHITE, CHAIRS! I scream again - "dear GOD NO!" - you will be relieved to know that I am one of THOSE people who bought WHITE-micro-fiber-seated-way-to-expensive-to-have-around-little-kids furniture . . . and left the plastic on the chair seats :-D

SO, said POO was on the plastic, and the rest of the chair as well as the wood floor in the dinning room. But NO WHERE ELSE - WHA?! But I don't trust it...I got out the vacuum and spray bottle of oxy clean and sprayed EVERY DAMN SUSPECT SPOT I FOUND. Egh...I want to get the damn floor BLEACHED - I won't - but MAN I WANT TO! This just reinforces my choice for tiling the whole damn downstairs of the new house! Then I CAN bleach the shit! (pun intended).

So, I have now entered that faction of parents who have had the shit hit the fan in the most literal way. To have experienced the Poo being Threw, the Carpet Matted in Mud, the Shit Being Slung. I have yet to find floaters during bath time...but I can't imagine that is far behind. Perhaps that will be an entry for tomorrow!

TNT!

Let me preface this post by first saying that I am *NOT* a *FAN* of President Bush. I did not vote for him, I don't agree with how he has handled the war, and I don't think he is the most intelligent man. I say this because much of this post has to do with our president and I don't want anyone to think that what I am upset about is related to a right wing wacko mentality.

Ok, so I mentioned in my post yesterday that I would be talking about what my daughter heard in school. It started actually earlier on in the week on our typical ride home - the girls are asleep in the back, and it's just her and me. We talk about everything and anything. We actually have most of our meaningful discussions during these rides home when I feel like the best mom in the world :-D (totally not part of the story but whatever :-D) So on a ride home last week she started telling me about a writing assignment she had in class about the three legged frogs. I was like "Um, ok" she continues to tell me that there is this area (somewhere) where there are frogs that have three legs or one arm or one eye or something weird. She continued to tell me that this was due to pollution. And that pollution had to do with people dumping garbage where ever they wanted to. So I asked what the assignment was exactly and she said that she had to write a letter to President Bush asking him to do something about it. Now I really started to perk up because she said it with a tone. A tone of 'psssh like HE'D do anything about it'. So I asked, "Well what SHOULD he do about it?" She said "Well, I don't know. That wasn't what we were supposed to write about. We were just supposed to write him a letter telling him he needed to do SOMETHING about it". At first I thought, 'hmmmm, they could have made that a more thought provoking assignment. make em think about what COULD be done, not just by the president but by anyone. really get them thinking about how even a kid can have an impact.' you know stuff like that. But that was it. Until Saturday...



Saturday evening we got home late from being out at the new neighborhood. So I went upstairs to help her and my littlier one get dressed and in bed. As I was helping the little one, my 9 (NINE) year old says in that coaxing way-of-getting-you-to-ask-what-they-are-upset-about-without-saying-they-are-upset way "I woke up before we got home cause I couldn't sleep very well. That's why I woke up early today and yesterday too." - I was intrigued. So I asked her why. MY NINE YEAR OLD DAUGHTER SAYS "well, I'm just really scared about going to war. I know I'm only 9 but I'm about to be 10 and that means it's only 8 more years until I have to sign up for the draft." - !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - WTF?!?!?!?! "I really don't want to go to war but President Bush is going to make me because he is going to make the draft a law and that means I have to go as soon as I turn 18" - !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - WTF?!?!?!?!?!? I am SCREAMING in my head! I said "UM....WHAT?! Where did you hear that?" I was thinking she saw it on some stupid kid show, a cartoon, an old movie, the radio - some unreliable source that may spout off opinions and portray them as fact. I never dreamed she would say it was her substitute teacher.



I asked her what EXACTLY happened and what exactly she was worried about. Because as you and I well know - there is A LOT about her statement that is just factually incorrect and I just couldn't imagine that it could come from her teacher. She told me that it stemmed from YET ANOTHER WRITING ASSIGNMENT ADDRESSED TO PRESIDENT BUSH. They were told to write a letter to President Bush explaining how she would feel if inducted into the army by way of the draft - not worded like that you understand - but that is how I am relating it. She then told me about the president was GOING to reinstate the draft and that she WOULD be going to war. I of course stated and explained the two OBVIOUS points

1. He has NOT reinstated the draft and MOST LIKELY won't (and I told her why)


2. YOU ARE A GIRL - women are not required to go to war by the draft - it's only for men.

She tells me "NO! My teacher said girls have to go too! And that he IS GOING to start the draft". I had to KEEP telling her that it was incorrect information but she was still totally convinced that the teacher was right.

When you're a kid, the only law higher or equal to your parents is school. How can a teacher who is supposed to be 'teaching' you this stuff, be wrong? If this person is teaching you something, they HAVE TO know what they are talking about and therefore be RIGHT. So that lead into the discussion of how SOME teachers, especially in high school and college, teach opinion as fact. Then I had to explain the difference between the two and how that related to what the teacher had told her. I tried to explain that not EVERY person between the ages of 18-34 could leave - and I told her that if you have a past serious injury, or asthema, or are the sole provider for a family - OR A GIRL - that you don't have to go. She says "NO, my teacher said that even if you are overweight you have to go because they will make you lose weight". and then she says "OH GOOD that you and dad go though, I was worried that you would have to too." - I was like WOW, this REALLY affected her!

So when me telling her that it was NOT going to happen, and if it did she would NOT have to go - she was still upset and I don't think really believed me! So that lead into the discussion of WHY he won't reinstate the draft. THAT lead into the governmental process as a WHOLE. THAT lead into a discussion about how we the people DO have power - we can vote. If we don't like that the president decides on a draft we can then vote for a president that WON'T want a draft. She then says "YEAH, so then we can get RID of President Bush and the next president can get rid of the draft!" - I was REALLY suprised by how she basically blamed the president for something he hadn't even done! She was totally ANTI-Bush! And since she has definetily not picked up the hatred from me, I can only think it came from the teacher who set up *at least* TWO anti-Bush assignments.

Now, I'm not saying that these assignments shouldn't have been given, they could have just been a *LOT* less squed! The first could have had them thinking of solutions not blame. The second should have AT LEAST been portrayed in a FACTUAL invironment!

SO - today I marched my ass into the office to get some answers. I asked for some contact information on filing a complaint against a subsititute teacher. The vice principal only had the district phone number but then got me into the office with the principal. I did't want to come off like a righteously-indignant-my-kid-is-NEVER-wrong kind of parent so I really tried to keep my composure and organize my thoughts and words so it didn't show how my heart was pounding out of my chest! I told her that my daughter was losing sleep over it and that things were said that were incorrect and that I really didn't appreciate the propoganda going on. I told her that maybe if it were just the one incident I would't be as concerned, but it seemed she had an agenda and I didn't appreciate it. Then my kids teacher happened to walk by. The principal called her in and I'm on the fence about how it went after that point.

Before she came in the principal was listening intently to what I had to say. Not saying anything about my kid being wrong or misunderstanding or whatever - just listening and thinking that it didn't sound like something that should have been brought up. THEN, when the teacher came in she IMMEDIATELY got defensive. She wouldn't look at me, just kept looking at her boss. She KEPT SAYING 'well it wasn't in my lesson plan!" - I was like 'CHILL - DAMN - no one is insinuating that YOU had anything to do with this.' She still wouldn't look at me, and then said "i'm sure she just misunderstood. I KNOW the sub wouldn't have said that." - I was like "WELL, SHE DID. Misunderstanding or not, the information was INCORRECT." - Then the principal says something about making it known not to have any assignments about the war at all and I said "Well, I think it would have been fine if it was done in a FACTUAL environment!"

I mean, if she would have said 'they had a draft a long time ago, this is what happened - how do you think you would have felt?' - THAT would have been interesting, factual and thought provoking. BUT SHE DIDN'T. She told my 9 year old that the president WAS instituting the draft and she WOULD be going to war.

And *IF* she didn't, and my kid misunderstood, it must have been a pretty BAD explaination because my kid is pretty smart and picks things up pretty easy - she would not have jumped to those conclusions because she would have had the misinformation unless that teacher gave it to her. So, seeing that they were now "OH YEAH, she just misunderstood" - "It's no big deal, her teacher will pull her aside and talk to her about it" - I knew I done, they had decided that was the story and that was that. So I just basically pleaded with her to please tell ALL OF THE KIDS that it's not happening and give them the FACTS so my 9 year old *GIRL* isn't worried that she is going off to die in battle in 8 years.

Well I guess that's it. My train of thought TOTALLY derailed there when my connection went down and THANK GOODNESS for the new auto save Blogger feature - YAY! cause I didn't totally lose the post. So that's all for today... let me know what you thought about this situation I had here. I guess I'll wait until tomorrow (or so ;-) to post about the bbq yesterday chocked FULL of family fun! :-D *sacrastic tone implied...

TNT!

Tomorrow, Tomorrow . . . you're only 6 days aWAY! ;-) Sorry it took awhile...I just have been busy and tired and overwhelmed and busy and well, you know.

So. Monday evening was rough. I would love to tell you all what happened with said BOAT FIXER GUY NUMBER FOUR, but my honey says he would rather I not. I can say that the saga (AND BOY WAS IT!) is over. It got awhole lot worse but is now over and that is the best news EVER. So...

I guess not too much has been going on. Actually it is suprising how I just don't think of stuff unless it just happened. I mean if something happens on a Monday and I think about and post about it on Monday or Tuesday then there you go, but if I wait and decide to try posting about it a few days later...it just doesn't seem important. Well, that and I have forgotten all details ;-) Sometimes I can't even remember what happened during the week by the time the weekend gets here.

Mostly what we have been up to is thinking about and preparing for the house. I had to get all the kids' info turned in to the new school this week. I actually hadn't thought about it too much until this week and I called the new school to see what I needed. They told me I needed to get our stuff turned in ASAP because 5th grade was filling up FAST and they may have to transfer ONE of my kids to another school! THAT WOULD HAVE SUCKED! I could just imagine getting up to meet their dad half way some mornings and then taking and dropping B off and then driving and dropping of R. Not to mention, how do you pick up kids at two different schools at the same time?? Well, Friday was the day from CRAP. I ran around everywhere getting all their paperwork together and then had to run all the way down there to turn it in. So Mad didn't get a nap and was a pain in my rear end everywhere we went. The good news was though that I just barely skidded in and we're good to go!

Then I picked up my oldest at her afterschool thing for an awards assembly and I was the ONLY parent there! There were like 10 kids in her class, 15 in the other and I was the ONLY parent that showed up for the little awards thing. I was REALLY glad I went, I think(read: HOPE) she was too. You never know what age they go from wanting you around all the time to being embarassed by having their mommy there. I'm already trying to prepare myself for that stage so I don't make too big of a deal of it to her or myself. It's a normal progression and I don't want to take it personal or make her feel bad for growing up. I'm already preparing myself for the 'talk', you know 'birds, bees, and BOYS'. I really don't want to make her uncomfortable by being uncomfortable with her about it. It's is VITALLY important to make sure kids have the correct information and that they can communicate with you. I'm not talking about being 'friends' or anything, I just want her to know she can talk to me when she needs to know stuff and know that I will love her no matter what. Thank kind of came up the other day, not the birds and bees stuff (THANK GOD) but just incorrect information she got from a teacher that was really disturbing her. We had to get into the whole discussion of how SOME teachers teach OPINIONS and not FACTS and what the difference was, and why they were WRONG and why she doesnt have to be scared (OF THE DRAFT!), and how the governmental process works and ON AND ON! It was very indepth discussion and I was so GLAD that she had the thought to ask me or tell me that something upset her. When you're a kid you believe that teachers are teachers and therefore they know everything and what they say is fact. That is THAT! NOT THE CASE ANY MORE MY FRIENDS! I'll talk about that tomorrow, after I have a little conversation with the school that is...

Anyways. So yesterday we decided to clear out what we had left in our storage here so we didnt have to pay for it anymore since it was just a few little things, mostly his moms stuff was left from the last move. Then DH brought up getting a storage out in O-town since they just opened a new one a block from our new house! This way we can start moving stuff out of here NOW as we pack it and then we can move stuff in the same way. It looks like the house may not be ready until LATE August and school starts on the 14th! So for 2 weeks possibly I could be driving the kids to/from school from HERE everyday! 3 times a day! So I figured that once the house is done but we are busy tearing out floors and counters and painting, I could take them to school then go over to storage, grab some boxes and unpack while I wait for the kids to get out! Try and get some stuff done instead of waisting time driving back and forth (and back and forth and back and forth again!) I am hoping that works out timing wise. Either way, having a storage is going be a faster way of getting this stuff OUT OF HERE! w00t! :-D

So we went and did that yesterday with all the kids. Then he came back and took another load while I packed some more. Then we took a final load and decided to spend some time in our new neighborhood. We parked by our new house and walked by the pool and the house (drywall stage now - YAY!) then took the kids on the bike trail. It was like 7:30 or so and still nice outside. The bike trail that goes along behind some houses is all lit up and so CUTE! It had the yellow dashes in the middle and had lanes set up so bikers and walkers don't run into each other. It just look all mini and cute, I'll have to take a picture next time. YEAH THATS RIGHT, i forgot AGAIN. I am starting to feel like a failure as a blogger and scrapper! It was fun though, they ran and ran and ran some more and we walked and talked. We kept thinking about how it would be when we could do that after dinner with out the 45 minute drive home ;-) It really felt good too and they loved it! We kept thinking how different it felt there than any neighborhood either of us had ever lived in, child or adult. Maybe it's just because of who we are now, the family we are. He said he never thought he'd find a place we could live in that was affordable, yet sophisticated and not yuppie cityfied. But it's not countryfied either! Its not so much country as slow paced and still sophisticated. I absolutely love it. I really think I'll be able to walk that bike trail several times a week and work towards my health goals. It was just so damn easy! We could walk out the door and be there in less than a minute! And Mad is contained and semi content as long as we are moving so that works out great for both of us! And I won't have to worry about paying for/going to a gym and being around all those little tight bodies when mine is ... well ... NOT. So that will help with my insecurity probs until I can work to get over them, which I am.

I am just so filled with hope right now. For the house, for our lives, our family, the school situation, my health - so many things. I still have concerns about things, but I feel more able to handle them, just like I always do. I can't worry about everything that could happen, that would just be a waste of time and energy and create a bad frame of mind. So that I will work on too.

It's funny, I keep thinking of all this other stuff I could write/talk/blog about but then I'm like 'chill chica, save it for another day - leave em wanting more!' - as if all of you out there in the blogoshere are waiting for me to talk about something ;-) Well this will do for today I suppose and I will be back...someday ;-)

TNT!

Well Happy Mother's Day to all you mama's out there! I hope you got to relax/get out/do SOMETHING different than the norm!






Mother's Day round these parts wasn't too bad. And I say that will all love to my honey cause he really did A LOT to make it special for me. Including letting me have Mother's Day WEEKEND ;-) I just figure, we moms do so much for EVERYONE around us that one day is just not enough! So I have decided it is now known as mother's day weekend. That started when I wanted to watch something on TV and just blurted it out "HEY! It's mothers day weekend!" Then Saturday it was mother's day EVE. So that was pretty good cause he totally went with it. Partially because he didn't have a lot of extra money after this stupid boat CRAP so he got my flowers and a bottle of champagne, B made me a flower pot in preschool with our pic, and R got me a double frame with pics of her and B all dressed up and scrapped me a card! Sweet.



Now I know the usual ritual is to let me sleep in Sunday, the girls and he make me breakfast and I just sorta lounge around drinking mimosas all day. But come sunday morning, I just wanted something different. So after the baby was up at 6 I said (half-awake) "I wanna go to the beach" which probably sounded like 'wahanna go beahhhhh' but whatever ;-) So then when we both were more fully awake around 8 we decided yeah, we're gonna go hang out in the sun! We're gonna find a nice quiet beach and let the kids run and have fun and I'll relax and enjoy this nice bottle of champange he got me! HA!




So after changing the kids about 12 times - each - we finally left the house at 11:00!





Then we had to stop for lunch (woohoo - I traded THIS in loo of a lovely mothers day breakfast - go me! ;-).




Then gas. Then a store for benedryl (Mad keeps getting these red cheeks and nose - thought it was allergies). THEN we were on our way! They slept most of the way...





And 3 hours later...we found our beach. This is Dillon Beach. It was actually supposed to be the warmest on the coast that day and least windy - HA! I do love this beach though. The first time DH and I went away while we were dating we camped here. Over to your left here they have a camp site on the other side of the dunes. I was AWESOME. We put up the tent, shared a bottle of wine on the beach watching the sunset, then camped and had a great inexpensive brunch at the cafe over looking all of this - aaaaaahhhhhhh...the pre-Mad days.






So the girls ran and played in the cold-ASS water and we set up our little area. We were a little suprised because it was going to be near 90 at home and when we got out of the truck at the beach it was like bitterly cold! It was so windy I STILL have sand in my ears! I was scrapping sand off my face for HOURS after we left.



So playing in the water didn't last long... The older girls played in the sand with DH while Mad...



ate a sandy cookie - pretty much EVERYTHING was sandy at that point so she really didn't care and it kept her from chasing the kites and dogs and kids and seaweed and waves and EVERYTHING else she was running around after.




I enjoyed my champange :-D (oh yeah - that's sand in my glass alright)


So after R falling in the water and getting all wet and cold, the wind REALLY picking up, eating about a pound of sand, and Mad taking off in every direction, I decided this wasn't all that relaxing. So we packed up to head home. Still determined to get my damn picture, I started writing our names in the sand - by the time I had finished writing MOMMY the M was already blown away. SO I SAID F@&* IT. We still tried to get a pic of us but the it didn't go quite how I had hoped ;-)




We had all worn white shirts so I made the girls take off their jackets so we could see them, I forgot too :-/ and they were ALLL PISSSED OFF. So yeah, that is the look of 'damn it mom it's windy and I'm COLD and I could give a CRAP about your picture!' sighhhhhhh.... maybe next year . . . or something.


I am glad we got out of the house though. Even if everything in this house is still covered in sand. I am such a beach baby. I would have stayed if the kids weren't there, but that was why I wanted to go in the first place, they love it ALMOST as much as me ;-) OK, so now that you are totally bored with the really long boring post I will let you go...and I'll tell you about BOAT FIXER GUY NUMBER 4 (yeah FOUR) tomorrow cause the saga should be over by then.


WISH US LUCK! TNT...

I am starting a "Meme" - whatever the crap that means. I guess it means you get "tagged" and in return tag others with random questions like goals and favs and other stuff and they have to blog about random questions. In all honesty, I think its just a rouse to get people blogging more so that we who spend WAY to much time reading these blogs will have more to read, and blog about. Thus creating an on going cycle that leads to sinks full of dirty dishes, children watching too many cartoons, and deprived husbands . . . so here's MY CONTRIBUTION! ;-)

My "meme" is What are your goals in wifehood? What are the 5 things you love most about your husband and what are five goals you would like to accomplish in being a wife?

I submit this because I have been tagged with goals in general, goals in motherhood, fav songs, why do I blog and COUNTLESS others but nothing about this. In my opinion, being a good wife is JUST as important as being a good mother. Being loving and supportive to your spouse is just as important as being loving and supportive to your children. And yet we hear so little about it. So many people have screen names, blogs, passwords, and LIVES devoted to their children, but when do you see that kind of devotion to one's husband? So many times, the 'love's of our lives' take a backseat when children are born and I think that can become unhealthy. I adore my kids and of course they are of the utmost importance to me, but not at the exclusion of my husband. And yet, if you say that, some people think you have your priorities mixed up. Especially if you are REmarried, don't even get me started ON THAT! So I say, take some time, really think about this - what is about your husband that you love? and what are some goals you would like to have in the relm of marriage and being a wife?

Top 5 things I love about my honey, in no specific order:

• I love his manliness. I worked with my husband for a few months and never thought about dating him, until I was invited to go out on his boat with him and another person from work. Watchin him handle the boat and the look on his face was a total eye opener. He had this confidence and just exuded manhood, I was totally caught off guard! He always knows how to handle whatever situation comes up, he knows when to take control, and also when to let me handle things. He knows how and when to stand up to me and to call me on my sh**. I LOVE THAT. I can be a bit** sometimes and I need to be brought back down to earth. But he does it with love and just the right amount of boldness that it has made me such a better person. I always said it would take a pretty tough man to handle me, I was lucky to find one!

• I love his sensitivity. It is hard in this world to find a man who can be a man's man and yet be able to have a wonderful sensitive side. He can be so tough and yet has always shown me his sensitivity. He remembered the song playing on the radio the first time he told me he loved me. He cried at our wedding when he saw our children come down the aisle together and then me, his beautiful bride, right behind them. He knows when it is appropriate and important to express his feelings.

• I love his provider attitude. He has always taken care of me and our children. No matter what we were going through, financially and emotionally, he has ALWAYS been able to rise to the occassion. And he doesn't give off the attitude of doing it because he 'has to', he does it because that is who he is and he takes great pride in taking care of all of us. When he and I started dating, he cooked, cleaned, and supported himself and his son - a family of two. Then there was me, then I got pregnant and there was one more, then we got married and now all together there are 6 of us! That is a lot for a man to take on and to do so more than willingly. When we found out I was pregnant (QUITE unexpectedly) he had already decided that (if I wanted to) he wanted me to stay home with our baby, and that meant he would have to go from financially supporting two people, to supporting 6! So he went out and got a great job that paid WAY more and had the benefits we needed. He has done that again since we decided we wanted to buy a home. He has made the sacrifice of giving up a boat that he once LOVED so we could be in a better position to buy the home we wanted.

• I love how much he loves me and all the ways he shows me. Maybe it's because we are still technically newlyweds (2 years in November) but he is still so affectionate with me. He brings me home flowers, texts me little love notes during the day, cooks or cleans without me having to always ask for help. He even cleans the toilet cause he knows I HATE THAT. He has no problem filling in for me, in whatever area is needed, when I just can't find a way to do it. He understands that I NEED time alone. He understands that I need time with the chicas! He even lets said Chicas and all their chickitas (kids) come over and then he cooke for us all! He loves planning things for us to do together, out and alone, as a couple. He also is so good at the family stuff. He always treats my daughters the same as he does his two kids. We feel like family and that is great part due to him.

• I love that he and I are so alike. I was going to write that I love his sense of humor here, but that is so small compared to how much we really do have in common. I don't mean JUST the little things like music or something, I mean the big stuff, like sense of humor ;-) It would be really hard to be around someone all the time who just didn't get you. And since I am all about humor over here, that is one thing we just HAD to have in sinc. But so much of what we think about life, family, love, money, the way we act and think, is similar. Not so much that we boar each other though. We have differences of opinion all the time and we actually enjoy challenging each other sometimes. It makes for great conversation, tickle fights, and ... other things ;-) There are so many things that I can tell him that I can't tell another living soul, and I love that. I love having someone so close that you don't worry about judgements or the way something might sound or look. It's just honesty, no matter what the subject is, to me that is priceless. 5a. *Whispering* (He's also GREAT in the sac :-D Hehe - sorry, I just HAD that throw that one in there)

Now for my 5 Wifely Goals:

• I would like to make our Month-aversaries more special. When he and I got married, we decided that celebrating our wedding and our marriage was so much more important that one day a year. Se we decided to celebrate on the 20th of every month. Its a way for us to take scheduled time every month, at least, to remember that before there was a family, there was a couple. We need that time to get back to who we are together, alone. Lately, that has been more of a challenge for us. I really want to start using this again, it was so great to know that at least every 20th we had that time. Now we just take it where we can get it and thats just not enough. It always felt more special too, because of the symbolism, that was OUR day.

• I need to stop blaming PMS for my mood swings. I know it's partially caused by that because I can time it out, and I can tell that I am NOT acting like myself. But what I can do is try and preemt (sp?) it. There has to be SOMETHING i can do. Yoga? Midol? Wine? SOMETHING! I just hate that I will be upset about SOMETHING and take it out on him. And the poor thing doesn't even see it coming! I say something or snap and he gets this look on his face like "WTF???" And I KNOW it's my fault, and that I was wrong, but I can't SAY that! WHY???? I am looking at him thinking 'say you're sorry, tell him its PMS and that it will go away and that you are SORRY' - but I don't. And that is a goal :-D

• To be more affectionate. NO NOT LIKE *THAAAAT - well, yeah sure that too. But I mean like sitting close and holding hands and kissin and just being close to each other. He does that more than I do now sometimes. We were in line for the movies Sat. and just standing there, and i leanded in and started kissing him around his face, cheeks, eye brows, stuff like that, no big deal. Until he says "what's with you? Why you all kissin on me?" Not like, why, but more like why NOW, why don't you do this any other time? The first thing that came to me was "Cause we're standing still" And that was sooooo true. Thats what I used to do all the time. If we're just standing there, I just touch him, kiss him, some kind of contact. And when he said that, I couldn't remember the last time I had done that. That tells me we don't stand still enough. We don't make enough time to just BE. We're ALWAYS doing SOMETHING. I would like to make more time for him, to just BE with him.

• To focus on getting back to ME. Sounds strange doesn't it? But I think it goes back to the fact that so many of us women put our whole selves into being mothers and home keepers that we lose ourselves in the process. We think that we are doing whats right for our family but we are actually hurting everyone. If I am happy and strong and fullfilled within myself, I am more likely to be a happy wife and mother, thereby able to make everyone else happy too. I have heard of men saying that they lost interest in their wives because they didn't really even know them any more, that she had seemed to lose herself and the woman they loved was gone. I don't want that to happen to either of us! I don't want to just be partners, roommates, buddies. I want it all! If I am to have that, I have to take better care of myself - inside and out, body and soul.

• To make sure he knows how truly loved and cherished he is. I don't want to start thinking 'well, he knows how i feel' - he needs to HEAR it to SEE it - well ALL do. I am so lucky to have him and I want him to know I feel that way every day, no matter what. I always say that to my kids, I need to make sure he knows it too. I want to get him random cards and flowers maybe, like he does for me. I want to plan out more for his birthdays, fathers days. Make him feel as special as he does me. I think I'll start by printing out a copy of this and putting it like in his truck or his wallet or something. I think that is a GREAT idea.

So, there ya go, the 5 reasons I love my husband and my 5 goals for wifehood. Now, I'll go ahead and TAG those of you I know that read this...

REBECCA

SHERRY

HEATHER

MELANIE

ANNE

And I would LOVE to see your guys' posts about it and all the people YOU tag. This tag also goes out to ALL of you who actually read this WAY TOO LONG post...leave me a comment and let me know if you take the challenge, I would love to read your post! Maybe you can pass on some pointers ;-)

TNT! Happy 'Meme'ing!