So here's my morning so far ... and it's not even NOON ...

• Got up at 5:30 ... AM ... and drove 45 minutes to get my kids.
• Drove in the first real rain of this season and discovered that I need new windshield wipers ... SOON
  
• Remembered to get Lil Miss and myself dressed in REAL clothes because we had to go to SuperHell (Walmart) after dropping kids off at school
• Forgot to have Lil Miss go potty before we left
• Worried for 45 minutes that she would pee all over the backseat
• Had to take her inside the Ex's house for her to potty and see pictures EVERYWHERE of his girlfriend with my daughters.  It just stings a little
• Got the kids to school and drove to SuperHell
• Lil Miss didn't stop talking once
• DH kept texting and calling and calling and texting ... about the price of a whole chicken ... yeah, it was THAT important I guess
• Hoped to have a little extra for a present or two, but had to get all manner of detergents, so that didn't happen
• Lil Miss dumped a bottle of water all over the backseat and took fifty-eleven minutes to get out of the car while I had eleventy hundred bags in my hands
• Forgot tape
• Got in the house just in time to get a call that Flower Child left her lunch in my backseat
• Unloaded groceries while listening to "MOMMY I'm HUNGRY ... I'm hungry NOW" 29,000 times
  
• Her lunch was NOT in my backseat so I had to MAKE the lunch
• Had to drag our butts out in the cold crappy weather again to take Flower Child her lunch
• Decided to try to make myself feel better with a Peppermint Mocha ... that I may or may not have planned to add Baileys to
• Left my wallet {and all monies} at home

And just as I was about to let the tears start to flow ... I heard this on the radio

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGM6Xtx02M4

And I LOL'd all the way home.  I'm not saying all is right with the world again, but it's a little better ;-)

This week I learned that camping is hard with four children.

You would think that would be a given, wouldn't you? Especially since most people I know TOLD me I was one sandwich short of a picnic for even *thinking* about taking 4 kids camping.

My trip, in list form:

• We had to leave after 4pm because we had to wait for my stepson to get home - that is REALLY late when MOST people got to the campsite Friday MORNING and it's first come, first served
• The truck overheated TWICE on the way there
• DH got second degree burns when he opened the water tank and it boiled over his arm

and yet ... we pressed on ...

• We got to the campsite at 7 ... PM ... and there was only ONE spot left.
• We didn't realize that this site was the only one left FOR A REASON - to be mentioned in a bullet point later
• DH decided to put up the NEW, 2-room, 8-man, tent - for the FIRST TIME - before dinner
• Because I don't cook ... ahem
• We, or *HE*, started dinner at 8:30 ... PM
• My children are the hungriest people I have ever met - I'm concerned they have tapeworms - and they let me know every 5.3 minutes they were "STARVING TO DEATH"
• It was dark before dinner was done and we were bombarded by kamakazi alien bugs that I have NEVER seen before and it sent us all screaming into the night
• We promised the kids smores and I am a lady of my word so there HAD to be smores ... even if it was 10:30 at night
• I *TOTALLY* didn't do that just for myself ;-)
• We went to bed at 11 and eventhough the children were EXHAUSTED, they faught sleep ... and they faught HARD
• My step son rocks back and forth so hard in his sleep that DH woke up and freaked out thinking there was a racoon in the tent
• We awoke with the sun ... at 5:30 in the morning ... because it was beating down on our tent and it was already 150* inside ... ish
• In the morning we found that we had managed to pick the ONLY campsite with little to NO SHADE whatsoever, and more loose dirt than Kansas
• Lil Miss, my 4 year old, is the cutest (and clumbsiest) 4 year old you will find - within 5 minutes of arriving at camp she fell, face first, into the DUST and stood up looking she had gotten a spray tan
• After breakfast we tried to escape the already 95* heat (and this time I'm NOT exagerating) by treking down to the river to fish
• It was BEAUTIFUL
• DH was determined to teach my daughters to fish since neither of them had ever gone so this was going to be exciting for everyone!
• There were NO fish in this river ... I kid you not ... so DH & the girls were VERY dissappointed
• I was already MORE than ready to go home at this point but tried to keep cool by dipping my feet in the ice cold river

THEN it got bad ...

• My toes were numb by the time we left so when got out I slipped on the rocks
• I managed to bruise & skin both my shins from ankle to knee, my chest & my hands
• I ALSO managed to fall in the water ... on my camera
• I cried ... which always gives me a MEAN headache
• I forgot to bring tylenol
• We had to trek way back up the big o hill with my leg THROBBING with every step

And it was only 11:30am ...

• So we went back to camp to have lunch and ... spend some quality time sweating
• We hovered over the 3 leaves worth of shade we had in one corner of the campsite with the kids in the other
• It was about 100*
• It was the longest hour EVER.
• To cool off we went down to the bend in the river where it was shallow
• EVERYONE *ELSE* in the campground had the same idea
• There was no riverside beach or even shore, just rocks ... lots & LOTS of rocks

This was when I first started thinking "DAMN I *NEED* MY CAMERA!"

• It was beautiful & we were lucky enough to find a place that had a rock made dam that basically made a little kiddie pool!
• I was able to sit my chair (and my HUGE leg) in the water and play with the kids & prevent them from drowning
• I watched as all the other people there let their kids (about the same age as my two oldest) just swim around and go down the rapids and have a GOOD OL TIME
• I started REALLY looking forward to my kids' swim lessons & them being about 4 years older lol
• DH fished the whole time, moving up and down the river, so I minded the kids
• That was fun ... for awhile ... then when they started getting whiney and my headache reached migraine proportions ... it wasn't so fun anymore
• FINALLY he joined us after about 2 hours and then wanted to play in the water as the children started to scatter and try to climb on rocks and give their mother a heart attack considering what she had *just* been through
• When we left we went to the nearest general store, about 20 minutes of WINDY road away, where we got to pay like $20 for 8 Tylenol that didn't work - but at least it killed some time ...
• We got back to our site and moved our chairs over to the new 3 leaves worth of shade in the 104* heat
• I fell asleep in my camping chair as the girls colored or read & Lil Miss and the Boy played in the Kansas like dust/dirt

FINALLY ... it was time to make dinner and we PRAISED GOD, I'm not kidding ...

• When I wasn't spraying the kids down with bug spray, I was covering them in sunblock
• When I wasn't covering them in sunblock, I was wiping their faces/hands/arms
• When I was done wiping them ... it was time to reapply the bug spray

Now this is where the story takes an unexpected GOOD turn ...

• We all ate a lovely dinner together and it was MUCH earlier than the night before so the kamakazi bugs had not yet begun to strike
• After dinner we made homemade popcorn over the campfire! AND IT WAS GOOOOOOD :)
• It was actually cool enough outside to sit BY the fire!
• We ate popcorn and had funny face contests and the kids were SO cute
• This was the 50hundredth time I said "WOW I WISH I HAD MY CAMERA ... WAAAAAAAH!!!!!"
• And that is when my DH went to the truck and produced my camera in OK working order!
• My memory card still had the other pictures on it too!
• So I was able to take pictures of the popcorn, the silliness & the smores that brought the house down!
• DH found that if he put the lantern far FAR away the bugs were drawn over THERE and left us completely alone :)
• We all went to bed at a reasonable hour and slept reasonably well :) no racoons ;)

And then we awoke to the HEAAAAT ...

• DH went out and attempted to fish so I let the kids sleep until he came back
• I think he came back after aWHILE and it was STILL only 6:30am
• We ate a lovely breakfast that he cooked while I did the bug spray/sunblock lather/rinse/repeat dance
• And then it was time to get the @#$% outta there!
• It seemed like a sweet forever but we finally packed up, hoped in the truck and bid that little pit of hell goodbye
• We had toyed with the idea of stopping for lunch but after I saw 4 DIRTY faces in the backseat I figured that if we DID stop, we would have to buy us all new shirts to wear inside since I had only packed ONE PAIR OF WARM WEATHER CLOTHES, and that was just not in the budget

So we got home, bathed, scrubbed, scoured & just about took off the top layer of skin ... but all felt human again ... and it was good.

Honestly, I'm game to try the whole camping thing again ... and no I'm not drunk ... yet.

I just think if we get a better spot, with shade, no dirt, no bugs, no desert-like heat & no kids ... we should be GREAT! lol ;) J/K about the kids part ... maybe just LESS kids ... lol

I'm so frustrated right now I just want to break. down.

• My AC is not working downstairs and it's going to be above 100* for the forseeable future
• It's out of warranty and I don't even think we have the money to get them OUT here to see what the @#$% is the problem
• My downstairs toilet is not working because something was flushed down it that should not have been, and is now blocking everything, including toilet paper
• My car needs AT LEAST $1000 worth of work ... like, YESTERDAY
• DH was suppsed to get paid on a job on the FIRST and we STILL have not recieved that payment
• And now the guy who owes us isn't answering his phone
• I have had ALL FOUR of these crazy children for 5 days straight and I'm starting to loose my hair
• Seriously, my hair is falling out in clumps
• That could be because things are going from bad to worse, financially speaking, and I am LOSING it
• My 4 old is just NOT getting the potty training thing
• I just put my hand in S**T when I went to change her POOPY PULLUP
• That was the SECOND POOPY PULLUP TODAY and it was only 9:30am
• I am just plain EXHAUSTED emotionally
• DH is fishing AGAIN, and I have these four crazy people that just can't seem to understand that I am on the BRINK and they should probably take it easy on me
• I'm SUPPOSED to get my hair done today but I just can't get into it because I keep thinking "I SO should not be spending this money on myself" but DH insists ... because he is a sweet man
• He is also a procrastinator
• So am I
• This is NOT a good combination when it comes to things that neither of us want to do or think about
• I am still going through major amount of mommy guilt - I've just about convinced myself that my children will (or already do) think I'm a terrible mother and will grow up to blame me for everything ... and they'll be right
• Maybe sometime this week I'll go hang out at the scrappy store or something
• I miss my BFF, I think too much and sometimes talking it out {lucky her} is the only way to get it out of my head
• SHE NEEDS TO COME HOME lol
• Maybe I just need to get off this computer and stop whining ...

So in preparation for what will surely be the end to my sanity (camping with 4 children) DH and I made the decision to save a little money and look for the few (or 50) last minute items in the arm pit of Hell ... also known as ... Walmart.

I hate Walmart. I won't bore you with my reasons to hate Walmart as they are plentiful and just. Let's just say, I haven't been in YEARS and turns out, I haven't missed a thing.

It started out just fine though, see that's how they gitcha. They lure you in with their $2.00 Doritos and $0.25 crayon boxes. Then the next thing you know you're saying "HEEEY! This place ain't so bad after all!!".

That's just about the time when you're pulling up to the cash register and realize that you gave your husband your debit card earlier that day to get some cash out ... and then you remember how when you left the house ... 30 miles away ... that he said "oh no ... I left my wallet at the house" ... and that's when you put 1 and 1 together and get "HOLY CRAP WE DON'T HAVE ANY MONEY" ... and that's about the time you start cursing ... hopefully in your head ... and that's when you finally say (trying NOT to curse) "HONEY ... where's my debit card?!" And that's right about the time that the look of panic hits your husband ... and right after that is when you think to yourself "Yep ... shouldn't have come here ... this place is on cursed ground".

And THAT, my friends, is the LONGEST. sentence. ever.

So after much swearing and gnashing of teeth we looked to the bewildered cashier for assistance. DH explained that he had left his wallet at home and could we PLEASE leave our FULL cart in the front while we left to get it. After about 35 seconds of complete silence and staring contest, the cashier finally said "yeah" and walked away.

I figured maybe his oh-so-tight girl jeans were finally cutting off the circulation to his brain and he was about to pass out, that or the black hair dye had finally seeped in, but no he was just ... leaving. As is customary for Walmart employees we found.

FINALLY, some gently soul took our FULL cart to the front and off to the side. We said ... to no one inparticular it turns out ... that we WOULD be back TONIGHT and to please oh PLEASE not take our stuff back. So we left. Our heads hung with shame and woe ... well HIS anyway ... knowing we HAD to drive all the way home ... 30 miles ... and all the way back ... 30 MORE miles ... TONIGHT.

On the bright side ... according to Lil Miss ... today was the BEST. DAY. EVER!

We decided instead of the lovely dinner OUT we had PLANNED on ... complete with cocktails for us weakened by Walmart ... we would just grab something on the way. The problem is, Lil Miss doesn't eat fast food. Like NO fast food. I know, she's weird. So I ask her what she wants for dinner just for the fun of it and she says "I want a Krabby Patty!". So it stuck me, there is visually no difference between a Krabby Patty and a hamburger from Wendys! So we gave it a shot ... and it was good!

The whole time in the drive through she was singing the "It's the BEST DAY EVER!" song and when she got the 'Krabby Patty' she was so damned excited she ate the whole thing. Then she said to me, "Mommy, it really IS the best day ever ... ya know?" LOL

Now the plan was to run home, grab the wallet and head back to the store. But as we neared the house Lil Miss said she wanted to go home and go ni-night in her bed. And then she said 'stop pinching my mommy, I said what you told me to!' - lol - no but it was a pretty perfect set up ;)

DH took pitty on us poor Walmart whipped women and let us stay home while he went back to HELL and got our stuff.

The jury is still out on whether or not our stuff was reshopped or not. He left here an hourish ago and his phone was dying so I guess we'll see whether or not he had to get ALL. THAT. STUFF. ALL. DAMN. OVER. AGAIN ... or if the good people at Walmart took pity on our souls.

It was as if God was saying directly to me "Told ya not to shop there" and laughing at me. It's ok though, I laughed too. Cause we have that kind of relationship and I know it will all be ok if I simple learn a lesson from this experience.

DO NOT SHOP AT WALMART ... WHAT YOU SAVE ON DORITOS, YOU SPEND ON GAS! ;)

So I just came to the realization that my house, our home, is just a weekly pit stop for the Boy.

And by 'just' I mean like 35 seconds ago, but decided that if I tried to wait and form a more coherent post there would likely not be one.

We have my husbands 10 year old son 50% of the time. Since he was 5. So we've been doin this thing for quite awhile now and it just finally became clear to me, we are just a place he spends some time. We are not his home.

He came here last night for his Sunday-Tuesday stint and asked to call his mommy before bed. That doesn't usually happen but whatever. Well, it just happened AGAIN tonight. And because he left his door open I was treated to a little insight.

He talks to her like he's at a sleep over and just wanted to see what was going on while he was gone. He never calls here. Ever.

To say that my husband and his ex had a bad marriage/break up is like saying the Titanic hit a snowball. Things over there are scary to say the least but because we live in the great state of California, there is basically no way of getting custody. If I were to tell you of the things that go on over there you would surely weep for this boy ... and for us for having to deal with it.

But tonight what I heard was someone checking in on what was going on at "home". He doesn't feel at home here, no matter how much time he spends or how much better for him it might be.

Maybe a childs home is where there mother is. No matter how bad a mother it might be.

Which I must say, bodes WELL for me!

I have been struggling lately with my two older daughters life at their father's. Mind you, it is NOTHING compared to the calamity my step son lives with. But I'm still tortured by "My dad let's us do this ..." and "Dad takes us here ..." or "I made a list of all the ways you and Dad are different the other day and he does THIS more ..." - actual quotes.

I just get so tired of being compared to someone who doesn't have a troubled 4 year old to deal with. Someone who doesn't have a wife that requires attention. Someone who let's his children act like animals and run the show. It's just so draining sometimes to hear how I'm just not measuring up in their eyes.

But then this evening I thought, maybe "home" is where you mother is, no matter how bad a mother she is.

I don't think I'm a "bad" mother like take-my-kids-away-NOW kinda bad, I just think I make a LOT of mistakes and when you have someone you're constantly being compared to, it's hard to measure up.

So maybe there's hope. At least I hope there's hope. I have been in this 'How am I messing up my kids TODAY' kind of mood lately and I really need to find a way out of it. It's just so hard when they OPENLY compare you to your ex husband.

So on that note ... I need a glass of wine, for blessed is he that gave us wine! lol

So ... Day 6.

*Ya know, I never thought I would be one of those moms who had nothing better to talk about than potty training ... but in the last week it seems I have become one.*

We've gone 3 days without a peepee accident. I know, BIG YAY and all, but that's only because I remind her every 30-45 minutes to go potty. She hasn't yet told ME that she needed to go.

And maybe that's only because I haven't given her the chance?

At the same time as our celebration at no wet foot prints down the hall, I must also say that we have any where from 3-6 poopy/*sharty panties every. day. *shart = fart + sh*t* in case you weren't aware ;-)

And when I say we ... I mean ... SHE ... to be clear lol.

I'm just at a loss. Part of me keeps thinking there's something wrong. With her, with her system, with her making the connections. I just keep thinking she should be GETTING it by now when she just doesn't SEEM to be.

And maybe that's because it's only been 6 days?

I just don't know anymore. I just know that it's starting to consume my every waking MOMENT and THAT bothers me.

People also bother me. And so do bees. But let's get back to people.

I understand that when I whine and complain about my trouble with all of this CRAP (lol) that {somewhat} well meaning people feel the need to give me all the unwanted advice I can handle. And I'm *NOT* talking about *YOU* lovely ladies :)

Mostly I'm talking about these mommy group people. They all have 2-3 year olds right now which means that those who have successfully potty trained their first child think that they now hold the key to good parenting. That because they were able to potty train THEIR child at 2 in 2 weeks that they know EXACTLY what YOU are doing wrong. And they have NO PROBLEM telling you what that is.

It takes EVERYTHING in me not to say "I HAVE DONE THIS BEFORE YOU FREAKING PEOPLE I @#$%ING KNOW WHAT I'M DOING!!!!! IT'S NOT MY FAULT THIS CHILD IS ... DIFFERENT"

*Again, I'm NOT talking about you lovely ladies because I know you all mean well and aren't just tooting your own horn just to hear yourself toot.*

Anyway. So I guess I just need to get all that off my chest. It's been a long. LONG. 6 days.

This has been an eventful week. So eventful infact that it calls for a list!

Monday:

• Flower Child started her first Girl Scout Day Camp and was away from me and on her own (relatively speaking of course) for the first time other than school, from 9am-4pm.
• Had the OH-SO-IMPORTANT Brownie vest that I stayed up late working on (ironing on all the stuff I should have done WEEKS ago), thrown at me as she ran off to learn all things Brownie
• I was able to spend MANY hours with just Tween & Lil Miss and have very adult and EXTREMELY enjoyable conversations at Starbucks without much drama.
• We decided that when Lil Miss said she "never wanted to go to school or leave the house because she wanted to wear diapers FOREVER" ... it was time. And we took the diapers away from her and started SERIOUSLY potty training her.

Tuesday:

• I was able to get 2 girls to camp two cities away, go shopping, make it through Costco with 3 kids and NO potty accidents, get through the library with 3 kids and NO accidents ... all before noon.
• I survived SEVERAL poopy accidents ... and so did Lil Miss ... THAT is the miracle.

Wednesday:

• Dropped 2 little campers off and noticed that Flower Child didn't even look back as I left, just ran off to her new best friends. She was so excited and into the activities that she barely even noticed I was there ... *tear*
• Then I was able to have another lovely leisurely breakfast at Starbucks, just Tween & I. In which we discussed the economy, when is a good age to get married, and our favorite colors :)
• Planned Lil Miss's birthday party with BEYOND limited funds, but I think I found a way to make it work :)
• Had a great Girl Scouts Meeting - have I mentioned that I'm the Co-Troop Leader?!
• The girls earned their next patch that I need to iron on and I think I'm as excited about as they are :)
• Had a mini melt down at Lil Miss's 70hundredth accident that made me doubt my parenting, most of the choices I've EVER made, and sent me knee deep in a glass of Zin.
• Realized I'm ALSO knee deep in PMS...
• Realized that PMS week was a BAAAD time to force the potty training issue.

Thursday:

• Today started out with 3 accidents and a GREAT BIG SIGH ...
• However after I ran the girls to camp, I was able to run to Target, just Tween & I!, and we found some awesome stuff for Lil Miss's birthday.
• We had so much fun together looking at dresses for her and finding just the right toys that she is going to FREAK over when she opens them!
• Tween asked if we could "go hang out at Starbucks together again today" which MADE MY DAY :)
• It really does my heart good that at her age she WANTS to hang out with me.
• I'm about ready to hit the dollar store & Kmart for the rest of the decor for Lil Miss's party - AAAAALL ALOOOOONE lol
• Then tonight is the Farmer's Market where we've found some INSANE deals and we've been eating SUPER healthy which has been great for my health issues of late
• and THAT is a-hole-nother post...

Brandon has been home all week. That's been REALLY good for this whole potty training business but really BAD as far as money is concerned :-/ It's really bad. But on the bright side, at least he's been here to help me with the potty training and to give me some time out alone with the girls.

So that's been *MY* week or almost week anyway. Hope you're all enjoying your summer!

Why is it that when things are good ... they are REALLY really good. But when things are bad ... they are REALLY really bad?

Is there no in between?

I've been down in the dumps for awhile. It's basically stress related, so I'm not overly concerned that I'll fall into a depression hole or anything. But it's still becoming something I'm struggling to overcome everyday now.

My mom thinks I'm depressed. Based on a 5 minute conversation mind you ;-) She is concerned though, and I love her for that. She asked if I needed her to come down here and help me out more often, to which I answered in my typically flip way:

"Well, not really, unless you bring money with you ... OR take one of the kids BACK with you" - kidding, mostly...

Maybe it's just that blue-ness that seems to come with winter, even though it's been unseasonably lovely out actually.

I just don't know what to do for these daily stress out sessions I've been having. I usually just end up:

• doing the bare minimum around the house & with the kids
• praying for nap time to sit and veg in front of soaps and listen to pretty rich people whine about THEIR problems
• fall asleep JUST before the kids get home or the baby wakes up which puts me in a TRULY grumpy mood
• doing the bare min for dinner & with the kids
• praying for bed time & a glass or two of wine

Hmmmm sounds a little more depressing when I spell it all out like that.

I just don't know how to break the cycle, cause I know most of what I do during the day is stressing me out even more.

And though it appears that I'm looking for advice, I'm really not ;-) I guess I just needed to vent a little. I feel bad putting all of this on DH because he's depressed right now too and THAT just makes us both feel worse. So I think we have come to an unspoken agreement not to tell each up just how STRESSED OUT we both are. I'm SURE thats completely unhealthy, but at this point, we're just trying to get through another day...

Much of this is money related. It's tough right for lots of people and I don't pretend to think that we have it worse than anyone else. It's just the worst that WE have ever been through. We keep sinking deeper and deeper and deeper and I don't know how to get back out.

Ugh ... like I said, just venting. It's another SUPER stressed out day and my cell phone usage is restricted and I'm kinda freaking out.

I'm sure it will get better ... I just hate the feeling of 'just getting through' every day.

Is it just me, or has the cold and flu season come MUCH earlier this year?

I'm currently listening for the 3rd of 4 children to fall to the stomach flu that has invaded our house.

The Boy brought it home Monday and puked the whole way home after school. Then down the hall and all over the bathroom. Then all over his bed as well.

Yes, it WAS as much fun as it sounds.

Lil Miss woke up at 3am covered in IT and after a bath we had about an hour to rest before leaving to get Tween and Princess for school. She lost it a few more times on the drive but was ok when we got home.

We basically passed out most of the morning. I'm PRAYING that she's done now ... especially since Princess went to bed early complaining of an upset tummy.

So basically I'm just waiting to hear her tiny little cries so I can run in and start the whole process al over again. SIGH ...

Seems like most people I know have already dealt with at least one bout of sickness this year. It's BARELY fall and it's beginning already. The worst part being, if most of the people you know are getting sick, then you can't be far behind.

OH and if you have kids, forget about it, this is just the beginning of a stream of snot, puke, aches & pains and whining ... my GOD the whining. UGH I'm so tired of it already.

I guess it's time to pull up my big girl panties and deal with it.

I am having 14 people in my house tonight. My fav aunt and uncle are up from So. Cal and many of our guests tonight have never seen the house. I volunteered to make cakes because we are celebrating two birthdays tonight and I have NO extra money to buy cakes.

So as I am upstairs cleaning EVERYTHING with mass amount of bleach *did I mention that my aunt is an admitted germ-a-phob?* I find that I needed something from downstairs ...

I come down to find Lil Miss in the kitchen ...

Quiet ...

And with a VERY GUILTY LOOK on her face ...

Then I see this ...


Those are tiny Lil Miss pick marks. And as I ran down the stairs shreaking OHMYHOLYCRAPWHATDIDYOUDOTOMY*CAAAAKE*?! everyone with in ear shot ran for cover.

Well ... I don't really know what I'm doing or what I WILL do, but here's what we have so far ...

What's left of my cake. Pray ... not for me ... or for my cakes ... but for the quick healing of my child behind should my attempts to "super glue" the cakes into form with frosting, fail.

Egh ... tune in tomorrow for the thrilling conclusion! LOL

I have to laugh ... or else I'd CRY ... and drink ... but that's later ;-)

I am just NOT in a happy way right now.

Part of it I'm sure is due to 'coming down' off all the excitement of having out of town friends visit and all that goes into it. Part of it is financial issues. Part of it is not having my usual outlet for venting since all my friends are traveling.

But what has really got me down today is the phone call from DH earlier that he is seriously considering taking a steady job 3 hours away. Now for him, commuting that far is not an option because he has a truck, tools, and pays $4.50 a gallon for gas. So that means ... you guessed it ... living there and coming home on weekends.

Well as you can imagine I was over joyed.

The thought of running four kids to and from school and other parental units in cities far far away ALONE sounds AWESOME!

Making dinners, cleaning house, grocery shopping, evenings, mornings, school functions - all sound SO ENTERTAINING to do ALONE.

Watching stupid or amazing TV and having no one to mock or enjoy it with sounds RIVITING!

Going to bed ALONE and having the house completely quiet except for all those creaks and cracks you never hear when your man sleeps next to you sounds like it won't TERRIFY ME in the least!

Listening to 1-4 kids telling 1-4 stories at THE SAME TIME with no one there to rescue me sounds like THE FUNNEST EVENING EVER!

OK, I know, I'm whining. I am. People work with this situation all the time. People in the military, or working away from family to make ends meat or whatever, people do it all the time. But not us. We don't function as well away from each other as we do together. I suppose that sounds lame, but my life has become so centered around him and this family we have together, that I just don't know how well I will do if he's only there on weekends! Or more to the point, how well WE will do.

I know we'll just do it, find a way. Make it work and all that. But really, I just don't know how OUR relationship will handle it. The more we are together, the more we WANT to be together and feel the NEED to be together. That's just how we are.

So I wonder...if we learn to live apart on a daily basis, how will we be when we're together? I mean I get the whole "absence make the heart grow fonder" thing, but if it's a way of life, will we just grow apart?

I know of a few women around here who have husbands that work certain hours that they are away MOST of the time or only come home on weekends. These relationships are LESS than healthy. But how much of that is due to the time cercumstances? And have they just not tried hard enough to appreciate the time they have together?

And then there's the fact that I RELY on him for A LOT. I mean, if he's gone for a WEEK he could come home and find our house taken over by spiders! And we all cower in the corner under their new regime! Or we weigh 300lbs each because I CAN'T COOK! and we have to eat out all the time! Or the garbage in the garage reaches the ceiling because HE's the one that takes it to the can!!!! MY GOD! CHAOS! UTTER CHAOS!

Ok, so the last part was a little over dramatic, but the rest could be true!

I guess I've gone on long enough with my whinning, but I had to get it out and I really had no one to talk to. All my friends are traveling and I just can't bring myself to worry him about it. He has enough on his mind and on his shoulders. What I say to him is "I'll support whatever decision you make because I know it's best for our family. We WILL make it work."

And then find a way to make myself believe it and ... make it work.

AWWWWW...So we finally got a night OUT of the house ... together! We were celebrating.

My talented, smart, motivated hubby took his California State Licensing test to become a Tile Contractor and passed the first time! From what I understand, that is a tough thing to do. But he did it!

This is something he has wanted since before I even knew him. But because of the costs and time and motivation, he never went for it, until now.

I knew he would pass. In fact, it never even crossed my mind that he wouldn't. I called my mom a few days earlier to watch the kids and told her what was going on. She said she would love to watch them, but to be prepared because these state licensing exams are VERY difficult to pass and that we could go out and comisserate if nothing else. I told her "Oh no, he'll pass, we'll be celebrating for sure" ... and we did!

OMG, we went to the Elephant Bar and they make a MEAN rasberry lemon drop you guys ... not to mention the mai-tini I am modeling for you here :-D

Hahahaha, now while I was taking pics of my totally girly-foo-foo drinks, DH kept saying "well how come you don't wanna take a pic of mine :-(" But he just had some regular no-frills thing, so next he ordered some crazy looking concoction here JUST so I would take a pic of him holding it!

So that was a great night.

Well, about two weeks later as we were waiting for his license process to finish, we got some unexpected news.

No ... I'm not pregnant. But it was just as bad as THAT would have been ;-)

With no warning, and not so much as a word from his own boss, my DH was laid off.

He called me Feb. 22nd at about noon and said "When can you come pick me up?". He had a company vehicle and they met him out at a job site and said "We'll drive with you to unload your truck", handed him his last paycheck, and that was that. No 'thank you for your hard work and sometimes 14 hour days', just a paycheck and kick in the ass.

And the REALLY shitting thing was, it was ONE FREAKIN DAY short of his ONE YEAR anni with that company. So he didn't get his full vacation pay. He barely got more than a normal paycheck!

Now, I think I handled this WAY better than the last time. Mostly because I knew we had a contingency plan in place. He had his Tile Installers license coming, and that was good, but then we found out it would take WEEKS to get his numbers and be able to work.

And I don't know if you all know what's going on out here in Cali, but the housing market is in a slump. It's a normal part of this cycle and won't last forever, but STIIIIIILL...

So we are holding up as well as can be expected, but we are back to a family of 6 with no income. It's not the end of the world, but to an OCD FREAK like me, it ain't pertty when I start wondering whats going to happen when the bills are due next month.

*I* have however, decided to do something about it! More on THAT tomorrow in my TAT!

It hit about a week ago. It got the baby first. Then the rest starting falling like flies. By Wednesday this plague upon my house had them all coughing and crouping, sneezing and dripping, whining and BITCHING. And yet, it has not hit me...

I have an iron lung appearently. And an immunity of super human proportions. Perhaps because I have drank my weight in cranberry/pomegranate green tea with honey over the last three days.

To be surrounded by the amount of CRAP that I am, and to hold out with only a slightly sore throat in the morning, I must be blessed ... OH and have the patiences of a SAINT.

I have 5 children ranging in ages from 2 - 32. It seems the oldest and the youngest are giving me the most problems. Terrible Two has been HELL.ON.WHEELS since about Monday - throwing fits, throwing toys, and throwing her little weight around like she OWNS the place. Which is only different this week by the amount of GOO that is coming out of several of her orafices.

DH however ... is driving me out of my ever-loving mind. He, unfortunately, has something the rest of us don't.

He has the "Man-Cold". Which differs from the regular cold in that it is IMMENSLEY worse, requires constant attention, and is far more horrible than ANYTHING anyone else is going through at any given time. He came home the DAY I mentioned that the kids weren't feeling well and decided he was getting sick too.

Now I don't mean to say that I think ALL sickness is in your head, but I will say, that for the two of us, it seems to be. I decide that I am not getting sick. I can't. All you mothers know what I'm talkin about.

Can I get an AAAAAMEN?!

But HIM. He comes home and says 'MY LUNGS ... It's ATTACKING MY LUNGS" - which because of his fake stuffynose sounded like "BUY LUGZ" - I should have bought the Lugz. Considered it a reward for all the CRAP I would have to wade through over the next week. I attempted to banish him to the bedroom and get him out of my hair, and off my computer, but we can't find the remote so he has planted himself on my couch ... ahhhhh LOVE.

I REALLY AM TRYING FOLKS. I love him, and them, all very very much. But there is only so much snot wiping, med administering, cough hearing, whine ignoring, need answering that one woman can take.

Pray y'all. Not for me. For them. If they don't get over this soon, I will go insane and I will take them with me.

Okay, I won't lie {this time ;-)} I didn't post yesterday - I know I know - bad! But I was very busy!

Yesterday started with my journey to the center of the earth, or Tracy, so I was UP and TIRED and CRANKY as my body again betrayed me and I started my . 4 days early again. That also happened to be the day I hosted our weekly playdate at my house. A lot of people have been sick lately so I wasn't really sure who was coming. I had also posted that the playdate would be open to come and go from 9:30 to 3:30 as is customary these days, even though I wouldn't even get home until 8. So it wasn't shaping up to the be the best day.

No one even showed until 11! But I was MORE than fine with it since at 9:30 I was actually still in my jammies, covered in muffin batter, and the baby was running around in her diaper. So we were ALL glad they weren't on time ;-) And SEVERAL people showed up who didn't say they were coming so it ended up being a FULL HOUSE let me tell you! There were 7 moms and 8 kids! It was nuts. And about an hour in I was quietly wondering why in the CRAP I put myself through this as all the conversations revolved around getting teeth and breastfeeding and pregnancy - none of which I can relate to anymore. Maybe it wasnt just the conversations that bothered me, it was the length of time and way they were discussed.

These chicks, or well a couple of them, I think only show up so they have people to tell the same stories to over and over and over again. And they won't let you in! They competely ignore what you said that was related to the conversation and go back to what they were saying - OR - they JUMP into OTHER conversations and turn it to their crazy kid. Sorry, it just bugged me yesterday. Perhaps it was because there are too damn many of us! The kids seemed to stress a bit this time, they seemed to act like i felt. So once a few of them left things seemed to get better. Over all it was a good time I guess.

Then after they left it was time to get ready for our big date! For my birthday my mom asked if the girls could come over and help her decorate her Christmas tree and we could go out ... ALONE! So we got ready WAY fast, drove em down, dropped em off, and went out to dinner :-D For my birthday my mom gave me a gift cert for our favorite place we used to go to all the time. I miss that place. It's dim lit, romantical, has amazing food and great drinks = heaven :-D So we hung out there for a couple hours just talking and kiss a little ;-) Then the live music started and it was nice ... for about 5 minutes. Then it was loud. So it was time to go ;-)

And because my body betrayed me {and I'm not THAT open} this is where the story ends :-D I will post more later though! Today is shaping up to be a much better day! I got to sleep in, have my coffee, and I smell sausage! So thanks for checkin in! Talk to you later!

Let the 'Birthday Weekend' begin! :-D

Have you ever had that moment where you quietly wonder if your baby hates you?

I had that moment today, when I finally realized what was going on, THAT was the first thought that came to mind..."Why does my baby hate me? Perhaps she was serious when she told me 'No more peas'."

While sifting through my MANY recipes and compiling a list of things I want to bake for friends and family this year, I looked over my shoulder at my baby. Which I HAD done many times, but since she wasn't in mortal danger I didn't look TOO closely.

Until I saw that look of PURE GUILT or Evil ... jury's still out ... and then she raised her hand ... IT HAD AN INK PEN.

I looked over, as if in slow motion, and let out the scream of 'oMG!THATSA*PEN*WHATDIDYOUDOYOULITTLES**T!' and as I screamed that scream that I am SURE you parents know {or WILL KNOW} my 5 yr old looked over the couch at the calamity and I think they both pooped themselves just a little...


THIS IS MY WHITE DINNING ROOM CHAIR ...

And as I screamed out 'My GOD why?!' I looked to my left and discovered that it was not ONE CHAIR ... OR TWO CHAIRS ... it was THREE ...

That was when I thought to myself, while looking at their terrified expressions, I wonder if she hates me? So what else could I do? I laughed. I laughed that maniacle laughter of the damned - or of a mother who has reached the line where you either laugh or you cry.

So as I ran to grab my oxyclean, and thought to myself "If this works...I am sending in my story to the Oxyclean people and they shall sing it from the mountain tops" - I even contemplated using my video camera to capture the miracle if it worked on the first chair. That's when my inner blogger ran for the camera to take BEFORE pictures ;-)

UNFORTUNATELY I HAVE NO AFTER PICTURES. Oxyclean has betrayed me and we are no longer on speaking terms. I found one, maybe two, possible products that MAY work and I'll be off to the store as soon as the hubs comes home. But even after all this I was laughing it off and saying 'Well at the worst, we'll just recover the chairs I guess, but that SUCKS.'

I needed to do something that made me feel better, made me laugh again, and something that related somehow. I was posting my story on my 'Mommies Message Board' and thought that her sweet angelic picture on there staring at me was MOCKING me somehow - soooooo that is when I opened up my MSPaint {as I am too poor to have anything else ;-)} and got to work.

I think it captures her inner spirit - don't you?

And after I started feeling a little better and thinking that recovering the chairs wouldn't be THAT hard I discovered the ENTIRE ARM OF THE COUCH - ALSO WHITE - COVERED in ink pen. ::SIGH::

That is when someone on my message board wrote - at JUST the right time - "Just remember, she loves you ... she just loves drawing too ;-) "

So that is my story for today, hope you enjoyed it as much as I DID :-D Til Tomorrow...

Today I got out of the house ... with no kids ... TWICE! I know I know, I am spoiled.

I started the day off just drinking coffee at the bar with the hubs waiting {im}patiently for the semi-local Walmart Photo shop to open. I got an email letting me know that 1/3 of my photo order {1/7th of my ENTIRE order} was ready for pick up! It was the photo I'm putting in our Christmas cards and I REALLY wanted to get those out so I sacrificed the CHAOS that is our house on a Sunday morning and went to Walmart.

Last night I finished sorting out and addressing all the cards so I'm ITCHING to get this OFF my list! The cards are handmade and therefore a bit bigger than the normal ones and all the envelopes say "MAY require additional postage" SO that means I drag one or more kids to the post office tomorrow, bright and early. F.U.N. But at least that will be done. I wish I had a printer, I LOVE getting the Christmas Letters with the cards and the pictures! I sent cards to people I haven't spoken to much this year and it would have been great to get them all caught up, BUT, I guess not this year.

I did get some pricing done though, and got one present for the hubs, something he TOTALLY won't be expecting :-D We ended up getting a small personal loan - ONLY because we got a good interest rate and will be able to pay it off when we get the taxes back in like FEBRUARY. So we're not being TOTALLY irrisponsible, just trying to do what we can to get through this financially rough time of year. And we're using it for things like taxes and for the hubs to get his flooring and tile licenses, and for things like timing belts and tires. The last of it is for presents.

So he has this great idea of getting bikes for the kids for the big Santa present. And that SOUNDED like a grand EASY idea :-D HA! It started out that way. I found resonable bikes at some online stores but they were out of stock, so I when I was out I went to two stores and found that they didn't have THOSE bikes in stock either but had different ones for only ONE kid, then I came home and found a cheap one in an add, went BACK out to the store to OF COURSE find that they were out of stock. So I looked online again and the ones they DID have in stock would be TOTALLY out of our budget by the time we paid for shipping.

::sigh::

So after battling for space in Target {why or why would I subject myself to Target on a weekend in December when I could just go during the week? OH yeah, no kids :-D = time well spent} I left with some clothes for the baby and a gift for the man. We have discussed it and the bikes are just too much work {and MONEY} for gifts that can't properly be enjoyed during the winter, so they will wait until their birthdays!

Anywho {as if you're still reading ;-)}, in between those two stops, the hubs and I took the boy and the baby to the store to get a tester Prime Rib. He decided he has perfected turkey and must now move beyond it and perfect a prime rib recipe. So since he has a kind heart {and would hate to give family the heaves} we got one early to practice on. I guess his kindness only extends to EXTENDED family ;-) I am excited though! We got all the trimmings and as I sit here it's smellin up the whole house in that yummy prime ribby smell :-D

So I guess I should get going and get the table set, or potatoes made, or see what fun Christmas movie is on tonight - thank you ABCFamily's 25 Days of Christmas shows! Thanks for checking in and I'll talk to ya tomorrow!

So back on the 4th I was FROSTED! and so yesterday I chose who my FROSTee would be and went shopping! YAY! I picked out a couple inexpensive things and threw them together, what'dya think?!

I think it came out WAY cute! Ok so what I got was a cute platter that has a Santa on it and says "Santa's Cookies". Then I put this awesome Christmas shaker set! I mean nothin says Christmas like a cocktail set! Am I RIGHT?! ;-) And a big Santa cookie, and a cute little coco/marshmellow set...

I also included two coffee mugs that match the napkins. I folded the napkins and placed them draping out. Then I got these two little cups shaped like ornaments and filled one with candy and one with a cute Santa snowglobe ornament! Now, what would you pay for aaaaaall this LOVELY merchandise?! $99.95?! $49.95?! NOPE! For the low low price of $13.99{ish} you can be FROSTed in STYLE ;-) Thank you Target's {semi}dollar aisle, I say SEMI because they SLYLY have a $2.50 AISLE RIGHT next to the $1.00 stuff so if you aren't paying VERY close attention you might not see the difference! Well, not *I* so much as my DH who thought I got all this great stuff for a buck - mwa ha ha haha >:-D

So I just need to make a cute little card, write that HELLA long poem, wrap the whole thing up to seal it away from the elements, and take it on over! Shouldn't take long - HA!

Yesterday I organized a few things LIST wise for Christmas, decided who was getting what as far as friends go, and then went to the store to complete that list. So I feel much more organized and closer to being done as well. I still need to go to one more store, or well maybe two :-D And I should have everything ready to start! Hehe, start.

Today I was a bit more cranky that usual, lately anyway. I picked up my kids at their dad's house about an hour away as usual for Wednesdays and Fridays but now that means getting up at 5:15 and hightailin it to the car NO LATER than 5:40 to get there by 6:30-6:45 and back on the road no later than 6:50 to get to the school no later than 7:45 ... are you tired yet? Cause I was. OH ... and then there was the LITTLE matter of TORRENCIAL RAIN. It was SUPER stormy here last night, so windy that the door hanger Christmas thing was banging so hard on the door DOWNSTAIRS that it woke me up and I thought someone was breaking in! So this morning the roads were a MESS, but I perserviered. I got em here with time to spare and then as I got home discovered by kids lunch on the seat beside me ... SIGH ...

So I went home, fed kids, showered, fed kids, did my hair, make up, fed kids ... again, got kids ready to go, went down to the school, had to park HELLA far because they are so messed up and have NO parking WHAT SO EVER for parents who just need to RUN in real fast and dont wanna get HELLA kids outta the car in the freezing rain, got hella kids outta the car in the freezing rain, ran in the lunch, ran back out with a 2 year old attempting to repel from my arms to the street below, shoved them back in the car, took them back home so Princess could tinkle before getting on the bus, changed her clothes because we didn't make it, ran back to the bus stop, threw her on the bus, grabbed a Starbucks and were not-so-quickly on our way to the Friday Playdate :-D

The 'Mommies' have a standing playdate every Friday. It used to be at this one girl's house I will just say that I left early, which I never do. Not because we didn't have a great time, I guess it just wasn't my day. Plus two girls I really click with weren't there so that kinda lost it for me.

So anywho that's the story for today. Well that and the baby is up cranky from her nap, she was a POOP at the playdate today, I haven't defrosted chicken for dinner tonight yet, I volunteered to make a not-so-easy dinner and have no desire what-so-ever to get up OFF my butt and do it. As the baby screams at me "COME ON COME ON COME ON COME ON" not that she indicates WHERE she would like me to go, just that I should be going there NOW.

SO thanks for checkin in :-D and listening, talk to ya Tomorrow!

Well, today has not been the best day. It started off just fine, I was excited about having company over tomorrow and even cleaning! I had the Christmas music on for inspiration and decided to pay some bills! YAY! *said with a sarcastic tone*

Then it all fell apart. When I say all, I mean pretty much ANYTHING that involves money.

I had a certain credit card with a high credit limit, paid off, and set aside for emergencies {read: holidays} and it was going to be used for this time of year to get us through this VERY expensive grouping of property taxes, holiday dinnerS, presents, anniversary, AND my birthday.

Now, I am the first to admit, it was not a perfect plan. I KNOW I should have been proactive and perhaps saved money to pay for these things seen's how none of them come up out of the blue. But with the house and many other things that came up this year, this was my "Get Us Through The Holidays Plan".

Now I attempted to use said credit card the other day and it was declined, so I called them today and received some very bad news. They had decided to close the account. It's a convoluted story and I just don't wanna get into it. They told me I could reapply, so I did, THAT is when the told me it didn't matter AT ALL that I was a previous customer of like 10 FREAKIN YEARS, or that they shouldn't have closed the account AT ALL. OH and they also told me that I would find out *IF* I was CHOSEN or not, and what my limit would be within 30 days.

NOOOOOW, tell me folks, HOW MANY DAYS LEFT UNTIL CHRISTMAS?!

Things are different now then they were 10 years ago and I have a feeling I will NOT be getting the same set up I had before. AND *IF* I did, it could be too late.

SO, since I have gotten little for my kids, nothing for my husband family and friends, have a big dinner coming up, my 30th birthday, some fun craftsy holiday stuff I wanted to do, and TAXES - I am kinda freaking out here.

To add insult to injury, I received a certified letter today from a company who fraudulently stole money from us a while ago and "claim" we owe them much much more. We have had many issues with the company and their scare tactics and I literally get so upset when they contact us that I feel like throwing up. They say we received services from them that we did not and that we owe them apx $10,000. They are very persistant and now claim they are taking us to court. MUCH OF THIS appears to be a scare tactic and receiving the certified letter today ... well it just completed my day.

So I tried to block it out and continue trying to clean/decorate. Then one of my BFFs called and said those words that seem to just make me BREAK DOWN "How are you? Is everything OK?" Well, I just cried and cried. I told her my sob story and she gave me some very good advice. Now, I just have to tell my husband. I was good though today. I kept it all in {hence the break down} cause he FREAKS OUT about money, and I REALLY didn't want to upset him at work. Plus, I needed to come up with a plan.

The two of have found that when a situation comes up one of us MUST stay strong for the other one. We CAN'T both loose it at the same time, or be planless. THAT just ends in frustration and chaos. So we have unspokenly taken opposite roles every time something has come up. If I am upset and worried and freakin out - he is calm and collected and reassuring. If he is freakin out and scared - I am cool and organized and come up with a plan. It has saved us many many times I think.

So now I am sitting here DREADING telling him. I think I have a plan but I just really don't know. I can't tell him before dinner because I have to run to the store afterward. So I gotta hold on to this for what feels like FOREVER.

If you are a praying person, and I know some of you are, please pray that we find a way out of this MESS. That we are still able to have a nice Christmas and don't pull our hair out in the process. OH and pray that those horrible horrible people at that "company" die in a fiery accident that destroys every trace of their very existance. Ok, maybe not THAT much, but the fire part would be ok I think :-D

Until tomorrow then, thanks for listening, it really helps.

Well, kinda. More like venting to you - oh gracious internet - so I don't blow up at my husband who really is doing the BEST he can with the oh so limited time he has.

My $5 disposable, high quality, top O the line window cover just fell down. Why? because it was held up with high quality, fancy, blue tape - as it has been for over a month - that's why. As lovely as my new neighborhood is, I don't really want to expose it to the chaos that is the Rockwell household, or me in my underware.

I am also tired of digging for all the kids' clothes in gigantic piles because their dressers are still in the boxes they came in, or half put together taking up space in my beautiful closet!

I also hate looking at the wall where the baseboards should be. When my talented DH installed our tile, it got a little messy, as tile install do. So the walls have thin set and all other manner of crap all over. Plus, the paint stops there, but not in like a line, but in roller strokes.

I also would LOVE to have my beautiful granite counter tops grouted. They have been installed for weeks, sans grout. I am also looking forward to having a backsplash instead of just seeing where the former backsplash was. I can't wait for the grout to be finished on the floors too where it ran out.

And as much as I LOVE dusting, I kinda can't wait for the construction dust not to make my coutnertops and cabinets looks gray.

And as fun as it is to play Count The Nail Holes, I am looking forward to having the trim painted on the door to The Boss's room. I am very glad she now has a door, don't get me wrong, I am super impressed with DH for getting a door for free, installing it, and drywalling it in where there was only an opening before. It's just hard have it stand out cause it's only primered and the nail holes show.

And as fun as it is to hear "Oh hun, just wait and let me do it MY way" {read: the RIGHT way} I hate hearing it everytime I ask where the hammer is. Or the paint. Or the GROUT - maybe he's right about that one...

I know, it totally sounds like I am just bitchin up a storm here - 'there goes Bitchy McBitch on another rant about how bad things are - WHATev' - I know, it sounds terrible.

I just don't function as well living in chaos. It bothers me to look around and see things half done when I can't FIX them or do anything about it. I have control issues :-D I have many issues, control is a big one though. It bothers me because I am pretty much constantly surrounded by it on a 24 hour basis and can't do anything about it.

Except play Bitchy McBitch. But I don't want to play that with my wonderful hubs because he does work so damn hard and there just aren't enough hours in the day or pain med scrips. So I don't want to vent to him - LUCKY YOU GUYS! :-D Really, I am thinking of him, see how sweet I can be - LUCKY HIM! ;-)

I know moving and settling in takes time, and I know that it WILL all get done at some point, I just need to find the patience to wait for it. AHHHHHHH self awareness . . .

Also, I really CAN'T complain to him cause there IS stuff I COULD do, I have haven't. There are boxes I could unpack, toys I could put away, rooms I can semi-organize - I just haven't. UH OH - there goes ANY sympathy I just had right?! Again, I tell you - oh lucky internet peeps - cause you can't make me do NUTHIN! - HA! ;-)

Ok, rant/vent session over for today. I appreciate any and all support and will accept any and all comments of support - comments of 'get over yo damn self' = DELETE. :-D

TNT!

So...tired...drove many...many miles...good day...but very tired...no time for...details...only time for list...and talking like...William Shatner...

The first day of school in O-town:

• Got up at 5:55, looked at the clock and thought "WHY THE @#$% IS THE ALARM SET SO EARLY?" then remembered it was for me...
• Lil B and Mad didn't eat cause they weren't hungry ona counta it was before DAWN
• Got out of the house pretty close to on time, an HOUR before school started, took the backroads cause the freeway was CRAP, got to the school in the midst of the worst traffic EVER
• Didn't get to walk her up to the class cause she would've been late by the time I unloaded the crew, first time I haven't done that since she was a kindygardener
• Headed to my second home for the breakfast of champions - Starbucks coffee and bagel for me, muffins for the kids
• While congratulating myself on being the master of my universe, my baby pushed my purse which knocked my coffee, which drenched my 5 year old in scalding hot coffee
• After the shock and awe of the situation had thoroughly set in I picked up my SCREAMING child and raced to the bathroom, remembered to grab the baby who was also now screaming because I wrenched her away from her muffin
• Did I mention the place was PACKED? Well it was...
• Found that child A was now screaming not because she was hurt, but because she was so upset that her brand new, first day of school, perfectly accessorized "outfit" was RUINED!


• Had to make an emergency run to teh nearest Target to get a new "perfect" outfit and made the mistake of trying stuff on for myself :-(


• Went to park to sit and fill out paperwork the teacher wanted back TODAY, which was hard with Mad making mad dashes for the street everytime I start spelling out lil B's name for the 4538th time


• Found papers in her backpack STILL when I got home after school


• The pre-walk on my house made my damn week. It could not be more perfect! And all the imperfect stuff will be fixed by the final walk next Tuesday :-D


• Sprinted out the door of my new house to take lil B to school, remembering on the way that I had forgotten to feed her


• Made her WOLF down a warm PB&J I had prepacked this morning


• SAW THAT HOE from yesterday and she never made the attempt to appologize and since I was a little afraid she might shank me, I didn't say anything either {YOU NEVER KNOW HOW THOSE CHOLA'S ROLL}


• Ate lunch with DH at Taco Bell - those 23,975 calories never tasted so ok-ish


• Drove to a nearby city with a park on the river thinking it would be a little cooler - HA!


• Hung out about 20 minutes and it was time to go get R from school


• SHE HAD THE BEST DAY EVER! Made friends, likes her teacher, loves her school, life is GREAT!


• Took her to the park JUST as Mad fell asleep, I stay in the car with sleeping child and let other child run and run


• Until it was time to go get the OTHER child from school!


• Lil B HAD THE BEST DAY EVER! Made friends, likes her teacher and loves her school - best part - NO BULLYing ATTEMPTS MADE! w00t!


• Take Mad from the stroller and back into the carseat for the 34,586 time today, and that was one time too many


• SHE DONE LOST HER MIND - started screaming and hollering and BEGGING for juice


• I only gave in because she hadn't had much in the way of fluids today so we went to Rite-Aid and all got NICE ICE COLD BEVERAGES AND WERE IN HEAVEN


• Until I had to take it away from her to get it rung up - WHOLY @#$% was she PISSED


• Drove 10 hours to take children to their dad's house, run an errand, and return home - THANK GOD


• Made 2 trips to unload the car from today's adventure


• Made a list of all the CRAP I need for tomorrow when I LEAVE the house at 6:30 for another 10 hour adventure in faux homelessness


• Ate apple pie and ice cream for dinner as poor DH falls asleep on the couch from pure exhaustion after another 16 hour day at work and then working at his mama's house


• REALLY enjoyed eating pie for dinner - CAUSE I CAN! w00t!


• Blogged and tried to keep my eyes open and fingers typing - for your enjoyment folks, I do this for YOU! ;-) No not really, I needed to vent and you all can just LIKE IT! ;-)

Okay...enough...for me...must sleep...and get stuttering problem..........LOOKED at ;-)

TNT!