More funny

Yet another funny story out of my house:

My Honey got a weight bench and weight set for Christmas. He got it set up the day after Christmas. I was cooking lunch (healthy macaroni & cheese) and Bubba asked if he could put in the cheese. I lifted him onto the counter so he could put it in. He says to me "Mom, have you been using the weights cuz you're strong." This was two days after the weights had been set up. What a crazy kid. Gotta love him.

Favorites

My favorite Christmas stories

My favorite Bubba Christmas story from this year:

We are on our way to Church on Christmas Eve. I reach into the back seat to grab a few tissues and Bubba asks "Why are you getting Kleenex mom?" So I tell him "because Christmas carols always make me cry." He pauses a moment and then says "Mom, listen to this ... " and then says in a sing-song voice "Christmas carol, Christmas carol, Christmas carol. Does that make you cry Mom?" Whose kid is that by the side of the road anyway?? Just kidding. My Honey was so proud.

My favorite Punkin Head story from this year:

Her favorite gift was a box of clothes. Auntie A bought her several pair of pants and shirts and wrapped them all together. She had the time of her life "trying them on" (see pix). It was so cute.

Fresh

I had a few extra minutes at the end of my day today so I re-read my December posts. What a downer I am lately. I will try to switch that up.

I decided to apply for the supervisor position. It can't hurt. Someone told my mom to tell me that you should always apply for promotions when they are available. It doesn't mean you have to take the job, but you should apply. Come to think of it, I should have talked to that someone about this whole deal, too late. Hind sight right?

And, really Christmas wasn't that bad for us. It was just everyone else's weight I was/am carrying around. I shoveled snow (we got 5 new inches today to go with the 6 from Saturday) and I feel a little better. I wish I could always remember how much better life is after a good hard work out. Especially one in the fresh air. Well its in writing now, maybe that will help me remember.

Christmas blues

It was a long weekend. Scratch that, it was a long 5 days into Christmas. I really didn't have much opportunity to re-charge this week and then it was Christmas Eve and then it was Christmas and now its the day after and WHEW. I am toast. I feel like I could sleep a week, I have not taken a shower, don't care if I ever do again, cant even muster the energy to get the Christmas presents put away. I did take the tree down tho, got that taken down before noon today. It looked so trashed I couldn't stand it another day. I had hidden a large box behind it and when I got the box out Christmas morning it tipped the whole thing, thankfully there wasn't much on the tree to begin with but it just looked so bad I had to take it down.

Its been a long time since I actually felt depressed after a family weekend. UGH. This Christmas just didn't go the way I had planned and it left me feeling pretty crabby today. Its after 3 and I still have not taken a shower. Pretty sad.

I think some of it was work. It was a sad weekend all over town, lots of people fighting with each other, going to jail, leaving their kids behind to figure Christmas out for themselves. We had 3 successful suicides, and an attempt. Not to mention all the people who shoveled the snow and then keeled over from heart attacks. Must have had 10 fatal incidents since Friday. Just left me feeling sad for the families left behind. Thankful I have mine, but still I couldn't shake that sadness.

The kids were great tho for all we put them through. Christmas Eve church at 10 am, breakfast at the C's. Then home so I could go to work. Bubba went to Chelan withe the C's. He had fun but was out late. Didn't get home until 10 pm. I worked until 3am then home for a nap until it was time to open presents. That wake up call came at around 7. We did our family stuff, then I went back to bed for a few hours. Went to the in-laws for 1:00 fondue, opened presents, went to my moms for 5:00 lasagna and then home by 8. It was too much for one day. Way to damn much. And no breaks. Thankfully the in-laws have a crib set up (they watch the kids while we work) but still, we went from one place to the next, no down time.

Punkin Head's favorite gift was a box of new clothes. She played with them for hours. Just taking them out of the box, holding them up, putting them on her head. It was cute. Today she got into a diaper bag and took out her new shoes and tried to put them on, when she couldn't get them on she "asked" for help "maaaaaaaaa, ahhhhh!" so I put them on her and now she is happy as a clam. How did I get a girly-girl? Already she likes clothes, shoes and jewelry.

Bubba's favorite gift was all of them. His dad taught him to say "thank you for the _____ its the best gift ever, I always wanted one of those!" with enthusiasm. It was very cute. His favorite gift actually appears to be a jack-in-the-box that Punkin Head got from someone at my Mom's house. All the gifts came fast and furious so I lost track of who gave what. It ought to make thank yous really easy ....

Oh well, its all good. I am not that bad off. Regular life resumes tomorrow. Back to work, that ought to shake my funk.

Change is in the air

Change is in the air. Without going into too much detail, I just need to talk this out.

For me work is changing. There is an opportunity to apply for two new jobs that I keep mulling over. One is a supervisor position, a job I have been doing a good portion of without the title for the past two years. The second is an operations director. A job I am qualified for on paper but I don’t think I would necessarily be good at right now in my life.

As of last Wednesday I had decided not to apply for either position. Since then My Honey and I have talked some about the supervisor job and I am unsure. His big question is this: If the job was going to be handed to you, you would have taken it right? Then why won’t you apply for it? What’s the difference? Even when I thought I would be promoted into the supervisor position I wasn’t sure I would take it. My big questions are; (1) Would I want to work as a supervisor under the potential operations candidates? Of the 3 I know have applied, my answer is no. Pretty much I am a chicken shit. I don’t want to be the beta group under a new management structure, a new management style (the 4th in 2 years) and all that goes with that. I must also consider can I work as a supervisor under these candidates and not lose my job because I don’t meet their expectations? (2) Can I work as a pee-on and not be a part of the problem? This could be my biggest challenge, almost as big as working as a supervisor. But as a pee-on I would no longer be privy to the admin stuff and maybe it would make it easier. I don’t know.

So how egotistical does this sound, lamenting about a job I haven’t even applied for, as if I would get it? And how much is that part of why I am considering not applying? What if I didn’t get it? Considering the competition, I doubt that would happen. (More ego I know, but I have been doing the job for 2 years and other candidates have not.)

So as I work this out, My Honey has acquired a new department at work. This new departmental responsibility just started yesterday but it has already resulted in several extra phone calls and working late yesterday (his first day). So as I consider this opportunity at my workplace, I also consider the effect of our jobs on the kids. What happens to them as we both get busy? What kind of pressure will I feel to be at work more, how resentful will I feel about that? How will the kids feel about that? How can I support My Honey in his new endeavor if I am too busy to even know what he is doing?

Pretty much I am not going to apply. But the deadline is the 31st if anyone has any suggestions.

What is the address of your emergency?

"9-1-1 What is the address of your emergency?"
"um, I am in L** and the power is out, do you know why?"
"Well sir/ma'am, the PUD has been working on that for a couple hours, we don't know when it will be restored."
"Okay, but do you know why the power went out?"
"No sir/ma'am, it may have to do with the weather. All that wet heavy snow has actually downed trees onto poles causing a lot of problems."
"Oh, okay." Click

This was my life for 10 hours yesterday. There has been some major weather come through my area, a ton of heavy wet snow and then rain, then freezing temperatures, then more snow and rain, now the wind. What a mess. This was the most typical 911 call of the day. We handled hundreds of them. We logged over 360 of them and I don't know how many hundreds more we just dealt with.

Good job us!

Sick sick sick

12/11/06 So what should I expect when Punkin Head throws up at 11 pm? A little help. Which is exactly what I got. A LITTLE help after the specific instructions “go ahead and strip the bed”. Which My Honey did.

Not that I needed any more laundry. Apparently I’m not even caught up from last week, I just folded a sweatshirt that Bubba got for his birthday last Monday. Sheesh!

As if it couldn’t get any worse, Bubba woke up at 4am with cramps in his legs…. I was sincerely hoping and praying that these days of sleeplessness would be over around her first birthday. So far we’re a month behind. I think this bout of sick is due to her immunizations last week, I remember Bubba having the same kind of thing.

12/12/06 For what ever reason I cannot get onto the blogger website tonight?? Does that mean I should just call it a day and go to bed like the rest of the household? Or should I give it a few more minutes and do another load of laundry, fold the stuff I got done today and stay up a bit later – it is only 9:00. That’s 4 hours earlier than I ever even think of going to bed.

It was Bubbas birthday today. I really wanted to make it a special day but I think I failed miserably. Well, not that bad, but it wasn’t his best day ever. I was too crabby, didn’t take the time to sit and play with him every time he wanted me to, I just felt like crap. I did do the school thing though. I went and stayed all day in his class and did his “works” with him. I am amazed at what he can actually do without me. I should give him more responsibility.

They have some neat things “works” they do at his school. Stuff that I wouldn’t think would interest kids, that they totally dig. One of the things he did today was a water work. He got a tray (everything is on a tray and you do it in your area of the table) that had a small rag, a turkey baster (you know, the thing you suck the juice out of the pan with when you cook a turkey) a piece of indented plastic, one looked like a pond, and a water pitcher with a spout. The “work” was to suck the water and then squirt it into the pitcher. Interestingly, I didn’t even wonder if the kids ever squirted each other until this very moment.

Another one was a counting thing to learn odd and even numbers. There were tiles numbered 1-10 and counting pieces about the size of a dime. The kids lay out the tiles and then count the pieces to match the number. So the 1 tile has 1 piece, the 2 tile has 2 pieces under it. BUT they have to place the pieces with a buddy, this is how they learn odd an even – the even numbers all have a buddy. Bubba is having trouble with this one, he wants to set the pieces up to look like dice instead of with buddies.

So at the end of class we did a snack for his birthday. His teacher had told me that there are a gluten and peanut allergy in his class so I was trying to think of something everyone could eat…. They got Jell-o jigglers (finger Jell-o) on cute animal plates. Am I the coolest Mom or what? Well I tried at least. Then we went to Dad’s work and shared the left-overs.

Cranky pants

Well, I am on my third day of my 4-day weekend. You'd think I would be relaxed and feeling great. Unfortunately I have not slept more than 4 hours at a stretch since I don't know when - Including this weekend. Punkin Head keeps waking - she got some molars. And if she didn't wake, Bubba had growing pains that woke him in the night. Its been a miserable week and a half. I feel like I need a caffine IV just to function. I am in a bad place right now.

But in good news, we had Bubba's 5th b-day party at McDonalds Saturday. It was great. If you ask him what was the best part he says "EVERYTHING!!" Apparently he really enjoyed it. Tonight we are having his family party at the Mexican restaurant he likes. He loves it when they sing. One year he chose Red Robin because he wanted them to sing to him. Funny kid.

Well, I thought I had a lot to say, but sitting by the fire reading sounds better to me.

Words words words

Everyone has new phrases and words this week. Punkin Head has her own version of "thank you, crackers, mom, dad, Harry and Hannah," which are absolutely adorable. She absolutely refuses please in any form, sign language or spoken. Bubba has a new phrase (thanks to 4 days with his Auntie Dani) "snap!" which pretty much means any word you want it to cuss or otherwise. My Honey counseled him on using it for good words only not bad words. Luckily he didn't pick up "suck!" and "I own your shorts!" from the adults playing Monopoly. OOPS! Forgot who we had in the room.

ps have I mentioned I LOVE the new beta-blogger spell check??!!

Birth day and Birthday

When he was first born we called him "Harry-Lou-Who" because he reminded us of the Who's from Whoville in the How the Grinch Stole Christmas. That picture is of him on his birth day.

Now, almost 5, he looks much more like a regular kid. Another photo taken at Guemes Island.

Did I mention My Honey bought a new camera?? It's great!!! Takes video too.

Speaking of birthdays; McDonald's is taking care of Bubba's 5th B-day party Saturday! Yay me, no work. No set up, no clean up, no cake, no prep. Just show up and let them take care of it all! Good idea Little Sister #1! And we went out at lunch and bought his present(s) so that is taken care of too. Ahhhh. Now if Christmas stuff felt that taken care of. Oh well, one holiday at a time.

Emotions

Photo: My Dad and my son playing a made up game at the Guemes House during our T-day vacation. Quite a sight. Kind of an emotional one for me; there aren't any pictures like that of me. But I am thankful that Bubba is getting to know his Grandpa and that I am too in the process.

For the past 10 years or so we have spent every-other T-Day at this house on Guemes Island with my Dad his wife, their kids and her mom and dad. It's really a very special time, although exhausting. There isn't a TV, telephone or radio in the house, the only way on or off the Island is by ferry. The weather this year was very bad, cold, wet and snowy!! We couldn't believe it when we woke on Saturday and we could see snow on the islands. Wow. It didn't stop us from our traditional 3 mile walk Friday, but it did on Saturday - too cold. We ate and drank and ate some more. Played plenty of Monopoly, Yatzee, I attempted Scrabble with Bubba, and did two puzzles. Can't leave Guemes without a puzzle getting done. It becomes the obsession.

So much for Disney

Yesterday Bubba came down from my bedroom where he had been watching the Disney Channel (I thought) and says "Mom, I can't watch that show on TV anymore, there are people smoking on it."

My first visual is of "real" people smoking. What show is on Disney where there are people smoking? Then I thought maybe he changed the channel so I asked him if it was still on Disney and he said yes. My next thought was "WHAT ARE THOSE DISNEY PEOPLE THINKING??" So as I went through my mental Disney catalogue - 101 Dalmatians; Cruella Deville smokes, Lady and the Tramp; Mr Darling smokes.... and the list goes on, I realized that it was probably "just" a Disney movie. But it was a great opportunity to talk to Bubba about how things around us, TV, books, magazines and people can influence us. That he will have to know what is right and wrong or good and bad and make choices about what to watch, who to hang out with and what to read.

We have had some big stuff this month. Growth. Sheesh, can't they stay little forever?

Party time

Now I am one.
Punkin Head's birthday is Saturday but we had her party last week. She was a good little guest of honor. Her Auntie D came to visit for the party with my Dad and his wife.

Aren't they cute? Cousin M came over to make cookies last week. They had a good time. It was interesting the difference in how the two kids (who are only 9 months apart) cut out their cookies; Bubba just did them willy-nilly all over the dough, Cousin M was careful to line them up in neat rows. Tells a lot about their personalities.

Loss

I lost a friend the other day. She was killed in a tragic collision on Blewett Pass Friday. I’ts been a sucky week. She left behind two teen-age girls. My heart aches for those girls. Aches big. Her name was Jennifer. I met her when I started to do Yoga. She was the instructor. She was a great instructor. Have you ever had a teacher of any kind that just knew how to get through to you? That just knew what you needed that day? She was that kind of teacher. She had a gift, she really did. And she could communicate with everyone - if they let her - to help them. I was blessed and touched and very lucky to know her. I really was.

Her memorial service was yesterday. It was the kind where people were asked to come up and share a story or memory or something. There must have been 300 people there. It was amazing. People kept saying the same kind of thing over and over - Jennifer was special. She had a gift. She had a light. She gave her all. She was open, accepting. Even if you didn’t know her, you knew her. And she knew you. It was really healing for her family. They don't live around here and they were touched at how many people Jennifer affected. Genuinely touched. You really never know, until someone is gone, who they touched. I was amazed at the "7 degrees of Jennifer." A lot of people I know knew her.

Life is a beautiful thing. Family is a beautiful thing. As we enter this season of Thanksgiving and Christmas remember to tell your family you love them. You never know when they will be gone.

I am going to go call my sister now.

Snow!

Can you see it, can you see it, can you see it??

It's snowing! Ahhh, I love it. The only thing I wish for every year is that it snows by my birthday. It usually does, at least a little. Mother Nature doesn't ususally let me down.

It probably won't stick, it will be gone in an hour or so, but it was worth it for the fix. Then it can come back in December in time for Bubba's birthday.

Another Hour

Ahhh, another hour to myself. Lucky me.

I keep reminding myself to tell this Punkin Head story:

She fell off My Honeys lap the other night - don't ask, he doesn't know. "She was there then she wasn't." Apparently she hit her jaw on Grandpa's chair and then fell to the floor. Somewhere along the way she also bit her tongue which bled. I am sure it was pretty traumatic for everyone there. Except for Bubba who said "that was funny."

I had called home that night from work as I usually do to get a kid update and see how My Honey was and he tells me the story: Baby fell out of my lap, hit her chin, bit her tongue etc. It was either that night when I went in to feed her or the next morning, but the funniest thing happened. She is saying "Da Da Da" as I go into the room, and I tell her "It's me Ma Ma." She keeps saying "Da Da Da." When I get to her crib I see her with her hand in her mouth still saying "Da Da Da" as if she is trying to tell me that she fell off daddy’s lap and hit her mouth. Amazing. It is scary how early they try to communicate. She is clearly wanting to do a better job of it too, she gets in the car with me and Bubba and its a competition to see who can get the most sounds out between her and him. What will that look like in a year? Bubba was speaking very well at 2. (And non-stop ever since.)

Its great to see her trying something though because I swear she is not the least bit interested in crawling or walking. But she can ROLL anywhere she wants to. Anywhere!

And lastly, its FRICKIN COLD here. Its been in the 50-60's until Sunday. Then it turned COLD. It's all of 35 degrees today. I know, it’s the end of October for goodness sake, but please, couldn't we have gradually eased into winter? BRRRRRRR

Celtic Horoscope

You Are A Chestnut Tree

You are a born diplomat with a well developed sense of justice. And even though you're impressive and intimidating, you're also fun to be around. You can be irritated easily, and you sometimes act superior. Nevertheless, you are sensitive of others feelings and very loyal. Sometimes you feel misunderstood and are fiercely close to those who know you best.

What's Your Celtic Horoscope?

Not sure about the "impressive and intimidating" but the rest is pretty good

Quiet Time

I love it when Bubba is off to preschool, Punkin Head is down for a nap and I have an hour to do nothing. It is so rare. So this is one of those hours and here I am. Not a bad place to be.

Yeah, I was pretty whiny yesterday. Since I don’t work for the next 3 days, work doesn’t seem so bad. But I go back for 7 days straight and I might turn into the whiny-one again.

Tomorrow is Halloween. Bubba has wanted to be a fireman ~ until two days ago. Then he decided he wanted to be a tyrannosaurs rex. I had to (gently) remind him that we were working on a fire-truck thing for the stroller and Punkin Head was going to be a Dalmatian (thank you to the creativity of my work-gals!!) So he remembered and we are back on track. Whew!

The stroller thing is just some cardboard painted red, with some fire-truck stuff on it. Well, it will be when we get it finished. That should happen today. Hopefully I can make it look mostly like a fire truck. We shall see! I considered trying to dress like a ladder or something. Someone else at work suggested a hose – “yeah, you could go as a hoser” she told me. I can be stuck in the 80’s I actually laughed at that. The term actually brings back a lot of memories. Memories of movies, people and events. Thank you 80’s. Where would I be without you?

Recent ramblings

Wow, its only been a week. What a week. I don’t even know where to start.
Kids: fine
Work: not fine
Family: not fine

That about sums it up.

Kids are doing good. Punkin Head actually slept through the night for the past few nights which is a nice change from waking at 1 or 2am and staying awake for 2 hours! Bubba is alright too.

Work is a mess. In October we started 10-hour shifts with alternating weekends off. It’s actually a dream (I have not had a Saturday or Sunday off in succession unless it was requested in years) but it has been quite a challenge because our workers are few. The beauty of shift work is the hours are flexible. The ugly of shift work is the hours can be flexed. My hours were flexed. Instead of going to work at 1pm and getting off at 11pm I will go in at 3pm and get off at 1am. UGH. This is only through the end of the year though. And I’ts actually better than working overtime. Plus I have alternating weekends off. Remember weekends off.

Family. I have a very sick grandma. We aren't especially close. She isn't the soft and cuddly one (that one has been gone for almost 20 years). Grandma has been in the hospital since the 16th. The Doctors have not been able to figure out exactly what is wrong. She is old (almost 80) and was in relatively good health. But she has some kind of infection where she has been unconscious since she came out of surgery on the 18th. They did surgery to check for kidney, stomach, bowel and/or liver problems. The good news was they found nothing wrong, even with her liver (the woman was a hard drinking smoker for most of her life). The bad news was they didn’t find anything wrong and she had difficulty coming out of the surgery. They had intubated her (put her on a ventilator) just prior to surgery and she hadn’t been off it until yesterday. So all of this is no big deal EXCEPT she is DNR (do not resuscitate). So the question in my mind for the past two weeks is how far is too far.

Not having talked to her myself about anything of this nature, it is totally not my place to even question what the kids (my dad, aunt and uncles) are doing, but I still have my own questions about what to do for my parents, My Honeys parents, My Honey, my kids and myself.

Granted there are a lot of issues; age, health, their wishes to name a few. But I have come to the conclusion that I could not make that decision for my immediate family. Even though I can seem to be emotionally removed from them, I don’t think I could make that choice, go through with it and live with it. Not only that, survivors would need somewhere to transfer that anger during grieving, and I don’t want to have to shoulder that. So I have told my mother-in-law and mom that they should consider someone that isn’t family to make those decisions. That’s the truth. As I watch my Dad, aunt and uncles deal with this, I feel bad for them that it’s their decision when the world is turned upside down for them anyway. Their Mother is in the hospital for goodness sake, and then asking them to decide whether she lives or dies??

Yeah, that’s my inner struggle for the past two weeks.

Potty Talk

Yesterday morning I am standing at the kitchen sink. My Honey came up behind me to give me a hug so we are standing there his front to my back.

Bubba comes up and says “Mom, move your bum. Dad move your … (he pauses) penis. I want in the hug.” That’s how my day started, in a fit of laughter I shared everywhere I could for the past 24 hours!

School Daze

I picked up Bubba from pre-school the other day and he comes running over with a girl. He says to me "This is my friend and I am going to marry her." Okay then, I think, lets explore this.
"You are? What's your friends name?" I ask
He looks at me, pauses, looks at her and says "what's your name?"
She answers and he says "Her name is _____, and I am going to marry her." Alright then, it's settled. It was so cute! I could hardly not laugh out loud! Kids.

On the way home I asked how school was. He told me fine, and then "I kissed _____." Hmmm, it must be love (ha ha ha) so we talked about how its not alright to kiss at school. But it took me back a few years. Like 30. I remember kissing boys at school. But not in pre-school.

We are having trouble getting into the swing of afternoon school. Luckily Punkin Head has started to nap between 9 and 11, so Bubba and I can concentrate (some days harder than others) on getting ourselves ready. I think that's what the challenge is, we BOTH have to get ready. I cant just get him ready and we're off, I have to be ready for work too. We're getting used to it, but its been quite a transition.

Vegas Baby

What a great trip! 5 days, no kids, nothing to do but nothing!

We really needed the time away. It was so nice.

We got there Wednesday, had a Bachelorette gathering for my sister (little sister #2) that night. Rented a Hummer limo for the 10-12 of us, cruised town. The driver took us to Freemont for the (not so) amazing light show. Her future in-laws kept her out until 4 am.

Thursday (day of the wedding) was busy, she had a nail appointment at 11, hair at 2. Needless to say she was trashed! ... The hair was a special event. She was having her hair and makeup done for the wedding. She also made an appointment for her daughter who is 5 to have her hair put up. It was so sweet! She (the 5 year old) sat like a princess while getting her hair done and then was angelic until it was time for the wedding.

The wedding was perfect. The weather held, not too windy, not too hot, just right for an outdoor wedding and the reception was great.

Friday My Honey and I wandered around town. Nothing too exciting. Checked out the mile-long mall thing. Those are some nice stores. Nothing like I have here in my little town! I was afraid to go into some of them because I am such white trash compared to their clients.

That night we went to the Rio for the Penn and Teller show. This was my drunk night and they were funny, funny, funny! (Or so I thought). I like the Rio, wouldn't stay there, its too far out of the way, but the Mardi Gras atmosphere is so fun!

Saturday we had tickets to see La Reve at the Wynn. What an amazing hotel! NICE. It is one of the newer hotels and it is classy. I really liked it. Not a place I could afford to stay, but it was a nice visit. We treated ourselves to a REALLY NICE dinner at the SW in the Wynn. Unfortunately we weren't dressed well enough to show us off on the patio, so we were seated in what I have affectionately come to call the "White Trash" section. It was (literally) in a back corner of the restaurant. But the view of the "pretty people" was great. The service (even in the "White Trash" section) was fabulous! I will have to remember to write about it. It's worthy of its own post! The show was, well ... interesting. It was like a Cirque du Soleil-type show. Doesn't really tell a story, just shows off amazing bodies and talents. The staging was fascinating!
Its a theater in the round, the stage was round and surrounded by water. Again, this show is worthy of its own post, because it will take too many words to describe it.

Sunday was check out day, but we didn't fly out until 7 pm. If I had to do it again, I would buy a pool pass or plan a spa day instead of wandering around the hotel. Big waste of money. I could have been REALLY pampered for what I lost at that stinking place. Oh well, it was a good time. Really good time. We won't wait 6 years to take an extended vacation by ourselves again.

My Dad and His Wife tell me that the kids were great, and I am choosing to believe that. (Its not easy!) They visited a wildlife refuge, kids discovery-type museum, went on nature walks and fed the horses every day. Fun stuff.

Music to my ears

We had a project helping a friend lay sod on Tuesday evening after work. Bubba and Punkin Head went to grandma's. Bubba decided to spend the night. As I was picking up Punkin Head Bubba got out a new box of toys including a musical recorder - you know the type you play? As we were telling him to put the toys away he starts playing. We tell him again to put the toys away and he says, without missing a beat "I know, I know, I just wanted to play a relaxing song." We all nearly fell apart laughing; first of all recorder music isn't that relaxing and second his song was far from any tune I know. Too funny. Too quick with a response. What kind of responses will I get as he gets older? Even quicker and more clever? Scary.

Punkin Head is sick. Seems like she has a little of everything. She sees the doctor in an hour. I hope they find something. She was awake screaming in pain for an hour last night. I called the on-call number and about the time they finally returned my call (THIRTY - yes 3-0 minutes) later she had just stopped.

It sounded like stomach pain to the on-call lady - who was calling from somewhere in Seattle? (Not sure I get that, but I will bring it up when I go in today.) Which is entirely possible. She has a terrible time with being regular. We had even started a new medicine to help her be more regular. It didn't work too well. So I am stressing that there is something wrong with her intestines and thinking of all the worst things that could happen. On top of that we leave for vacation on Tuesday. She has to be well by then, either that or it becomes grandma's problem and I hate the idea of that. So wish us well at the doctor. I hope there is something they can tell me.

Ahh haa moment

I had an ahh haa moment the other night. My Honey and I were out to dinner and I realized as I was talking to him that I have been searching for the wrong thing.

For the past I-don't-know-how-many-years I have searched for a good girlfriend. I have had a handful of good girlfriends over my lifetime but we are all in different places now and I am (finally) okay with that, but I think I need a good girlfriend in my life. So I search, I pray and I wait. And wait. And I get lonely and depressed. That depression has been a little worse with my whole hormonal, post-partum-ness. So I talked to my doctor. She was great. Thankfully she is not the kind to do pills, she suggested that it could be a spiritual matter (probably right) and that I need a good girlfriend.

I wonder what to do. Ironically I wish I had someone to talk to. I keep thinking about what a loser I must be, what do I do that makes people not want to hang with me? Why don't people ever call me? And stuff like that. Which I don't really think is true, but sometimes I just get down about me.

My Honey does what he can to encourage me. Suggests that I call others. He sees me happiest when I am helping someone else. So I open myself up to our church group we've been meeting with regularly. I tell them that I am looking for a good girlfriend. Not that they haven't been there for me, they have. But its that one-on-one that I think I need. And I am not going to them begging for a friend, I'm just putting myself out there; here's the real me. What I really want is an awareness of others around me, maybe there is someone that I see regularly that could be that good girlfriend?

So a couple weeks go by. I am totally aware of the women in my life. I silently critique them like I did men that I dated ("men", that's funny, they were all boys I married when I was 21). And do you know what I realized? I have a good girlfriend. I have about 10. I am blessed with at least 10 women who support me in different ways every day. Some through e-mail, some at work, some as a mom, some as a spiritual confidant. I was looking for that ONE person that would be it all. But that kind of friend is now many. And I need to learn the strengths of the women around me and lean on them when I am weak where they are strong. Wow. What an ahh haa.

Do you get it? Has anyone else gone through this? I feel so much better. I really do. I kept looking for that one good girlfriend. What I have is several and I am lucky I realized it before too late. Thanks to all of you that are my good girlfriends. I am lucky to have you.

Out of the mouths of babes

Bubba watched some kind of quiz show on PBS today about carnivores. I caught a few questions during the show, and on the way across town today I tested his memory retention.... The kid is too smart.
"What is a carnivore?" (me)
"A Tyrannosaurus Rex is a carnivore." (Bubba)
"Why?"
"Because he eats other dinosaurs, but a Triceratops isn't."
"Why?"
"Because he was nice to other dinosaurs"
"How was he nice?"
"Because he didn't eat them."
There you have it! PBS. Educational and informative. (Except for all those Chuck-E-Cheese commercials.) P.S. his enunciation of each word was spot-on. The kid amazes me, especially when he corrects my grammar.

The kids are good. My next youngest (YS #1) sister visited this past weekend. We had a shower for our next, next younger sister (YS #2) who is getting married in Vegas next month (only 21 days until a kid-free vacation!!!) It went really well. All of a sudden about 10 days before the shower I realized that I didn't know the theme ... It was at my house, I thought I had better be preparing to decorate.

So I call YS #1 and ask what the theme might be. She tells me that it just came to her the other night, it was going to be a Vegas theme (DUH) Since that's where the wedding is, it was perfect. So we bought Vegas-type stuff, cards, dice, chips, and Elvis to decorate with and it was great (Sorry no pics. We totally sucked.) The games went fine, the food was dee-lish (how could you go wrong when its catered from the best "foo-foo" place in town) and the guests were delightful.

YS #2 seemed to have a good time. She looked bee-yoo-tee-ful by the way. Simply divine (and it was only the shower, I can only imagine the wedding.)

Big plans for Labor Day. I actually have 5 days off. It should be nice. Hanging with my Dad's family and visiting a high school (HS) chum that is back in the state after an extended stay in Illinois. What on earth did Illinois have that Washington didn't? A job in the ministry. But now Washington has one too. Sounds like their reception has been very positive. Hopefully My Honey and I will be able to seal away one day and maybe overnight.

Yes, again, I canned peaches! Do I need post EVERY time I accomplish this weekly goal?? Yes, sorry if it bores you to death, too bad, I need the encouragement, I need to be reminded that I rock. (Even if it is just me telling it to myself.) Not only that, but I cooked dinner both nights too! That's double rockin' for me! Next week I actually want to start canning pears. We shall see what the farmers market has for me on Saturday. Pears AND peaches... that may be setting myself up for failure. Better stick with one.

Not what I thought

. . . The day before yesterday was horrible. So horrible I finally said to Bubba in the most motherly tone I have: "do not ask me another Why Question, I do not have any answers left. Do you understand?" I was just done. I hated myself for doing that, I really want my kid to learn and to be curious and not afraid to ask questions but I was done for that day. I really honestly could not answer another Why Question.

All day long I had been thinking of where I could go when My Honey got home, all I wanted to do was leave for awhile. So My Honey gets home and can tell I am frazzled. We talk for a few minutes and he finally says "Why don't I take Bubba to the pet store so you can have some peace and quiet?" I nearly throttled him. "What??!!! You leave and I stay home? Not a chance." was the thought I had, and he could tell. He patiently and lovingly told me that he thought it would help if he took Bubba and I could put Punkin Head down and just relax. Deep breath. I did see his point, it just wasn't what I had been thinking of and looking forward to all day. I agreed, and told him to bring home dinner. So they left, Punkin Head went to bed and I did relax.

An hour or so later they came home. And, get this, he remembered dinner! Not only that but he picked up a crab and a bottle of wine! What a good man. I ate the whole thing myself. Not as good as fresh out of the ocean, but it was fine.

Isn't that sweet? Sometimes he really pulls through, knows what I need even when I don't.

Again

I did it again. I canned peaches today! I didn't get quite as many jars because some of my fruit went bad, I think it was a little riper than last week, plus I waited an extra day. But I did it. I am so proud of me.

It was almost a bust, nothing was going right. Ran out of propane, Bubba didn't take a nap like I anticipated, had some extra house work because I am having a bridal shower here Sunday. But I DID IT. And I am glad. Plus the extra cleaning got done, My Honey happened to come home for lunch so I ran down and got a new propane tank (they don't fill them anymore) and Bubba rested quietly at least. So there bad karma, take that!

Hopefully I keep it up and get some pears done too. Go me!!

Books

So Thrusher "tags everyone in the world." Hmmm, am I up to the challenge? I am no good at authors, and I hope I get the titles right!

1. One book that changed your life: Created to be his Helpmeet by Debbie Pearl
2. One book that you've read more than once: Goodnight Moon
3. One book you'd want on a desert island: Something by J D Robb, but would I want to read it over and over? Maybe
4. One book that made you laugh: I know I laugh a lot when I read, just can't come up with one right now.
5. One book that made you cry: Anything with a sad story brings tears to my eyes.
6. One book you wish had been written: Something about working opposing shifts and having kids. Its a tough place to be right now, I would love to have someone else's insight.
7. One book you wish had never been written: There are some books I have not finished, but I think everyone deserves their own view and of you don't want to read it; don't.
8. One book you're currently reading: Blow Out by Catherine Coulter (happens to be sitting upstairs, that's how I got the author and the title right)
9. One book you've been meaning to read: 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - I have actually tried to read it 3 times. I don't think I have made it past chapter 2, maybe 3. Apparently I am not destined to be Highly Effective.
10. One book you'd like to write: Something people don't know about me is that I have always wanted to write a book. Probably fiction, maybe some kind of cop story. Maybe some day I will.

Thrusher added:
11. Some of your all-time top ten authors or books: Dr. Seuss & Sandra Boynton write great kids stuff. I loved the Harry Potter series. For Women Only by Shaunti Feldhahn (there's a men's version too) is a great book. I enjoy Shel Silverstein, and a lot more. I read what ever I can get my hands on, I just don't remember what it was.

Awards

This was a part of a previous post, but I thought it deserved a place of it's own:

A co-worker and I were invited to be a part of an awards ceremony recently.

A 5 year old called 911 to get help for his mother who was trapped between the garage door and the garage. He was given a "Hero" award by the City, the responding fire department and the 911 Center (where I work).

My co-worker handled the 911 call and I dispatched the fire department. It was pretty cool. He was pretty overwhelmed by the whole thing. But his parents, grandparents and the whole community were proud of him and wanted him to know what a good thing he did.

Here's what I would like the everyone to know about this deal: Always use your HOME phone to call 911.

We were able to get his mother life-saving help very quickly because he called from his home, not a cell phone and we knew EXACTLY where they were immediately. If he had used a cell phone, we would not have had the exact location. If he had used a voice over internet phone (VOIP) we may not have had his exact location as quickly. Always use a land line phone to call 911 if you can. The life you save could be your own.

Some VOIP carriers are doing a great job, but you need to test your phone. Call your local law enforcement dispatch center, ask them if you can do a test call and then do a test call, ask them what address shows. If it doesn't show your address, call your carrier. Make sure its working.

Cell phone companies are working on it. Right now in my area, we can do a "re-transmit" to get a location but its not the EXACT location and it takes about 10-15 seconds so if the line is disconnected then we may not get anything. Then it shows a location within about a block, which is okay, but not if there are 3 apartment complexes in that block. And if the phone isn't "phase 2" or the carriers in your area aren't "phase 2" then the 911 center isn't going to get your location.

Adjustment

Well, I don't know if the 2 hour nap helped or not. Bubba certainly woke in a better mood but our afternoon wasn't perfect. Then My Honey and I got to go out together for a few hours so I really don't know. Today may tell the tale.

It all started with choices. I give Bubba choices when I can; "Do you want toast or bread with your eggs?" That kind of thing. We have gotten to the point lately where he changes his mind. Now this I have a low tolerance for. Make up your mind and stick with it.

So he gets home from Chelan and all of a sudden we are back to mind-changing. Nope. Gonna put a stop to that right away. But putting a stop to it is tear-riddled when he's so over tired. So I ponder if its worth it. And I decide yes it is. So I continue my quest to help him make the right choice the first time. At one point we actually sat down and I said to him, "you must have gotten to change you mind with Auntie, well we don't do that here, we make a choice and stick with it." to which he replies (are you ready for this?) "I like it better Auntie's way." I just about fell over laughing. My Bubba. Too smart for me that one. Too smart.

Domestic Goddess?

Not really. But listen to what I did today:

I canned peaches. Canning is one of my favorite old-fashioned things to do in the Summer. I love to buy boxes of peaches and pears, get the kitchen all sugared up, fire up the stove, sweat away and can. Don't ask me why, maybe its the sweet treat in the middle of the blah winter that makes it so worth it, I don't know. But I look forward to Peaches and Pears every year so I can buy them and can them.

This year I have to approach it a little different, its a nap-time thing instead of an all day thing. And trust me, if you plan it right, you can get a dozen cans done in 2 hours. And that's from the box to the cooker and cooling. And Ahhh, I feel like a million bucks. Thanks to the in-laws who loaned me an outdoor cooker. I have a great stove, nice glass top, sleek black thing, but its crap for heating up a canner full of cans and keeping the water boiling hot. The cooker worked really well though. And it took a ton of extra heat out of the kitchen.

So here's how I did it, more for my notes, and motivation next year than anything else.

I washed the jars, lids and rings while we were out this morning. I got all the waters (sugar water, blanching water and canning water) boiling while I got lunch ready. Then I blanched the peaches, dunked them into a sink of cold water, peeled and sliced them into a bowl, Bubba helped put them in jars for awhile. His hands fit so much better than mine. When a jar or two were done I put the sugar water in them (note to self: I need to get a ladle that works better than the flimsy plastic one I have) cleaned the mouth of the jar, put the lid and ring on them. I have found over the years it's best to get them in the jars and covered as soon as possible because they'll turn brown.

When I had 6 jars ready to go, I put them out to boil. They boiled for about 15 minutes I think. And then I set them to cool. Well sort of, I took them out of the boiler outside and set them on the table outside where it's 95 degrees. That's cooler than boiling right? Anyway, then repeat and my dozen jars were done. Not a bad way to spend nap time. Well, napping would be better, but that's okay.

MMMMM. I am going to try to do that every week until the fruit is gone. I should get about 3 more weeks of peaches and then 4 weeks of pears I think. That should get us through the winter and have some to give away.

The past few years I have taken all my canning stuff to my Dads house and his wife and I spend a day canning. Its more fun that way. Maybe I'll take stuff with me Labor Day weekend.

KIDS:
This week has been an adjustment for Bubba. Not only is he still tired from his fantastic weekend away, he acquired some bad habits. Its been a real pain in the ass to bring him around. Hopefully a nap today will improve that a whole ton.

Punkin Head is getting another tooth. Nothing worse for a little baby than getting teeth. They just don't know what to do about it except cry, cry, cry. Which makes me want to cry, cry, cry. Ah well, they only last a few days and the babies don't remember getting them.

Sigh

Well, it happened. Bubba grew up.

It all started with an innocent day trip to the Moses Lake Aquatic Center last Saturday and culminated with weekend at Lake Chelan (my favorite place in Washington State.)

I don't know how he went from a day trip to a weekend away, but it happened. And it was hard. I didn't think letting him go away for the day with another family would be that bad, but it was. He was fine and so was I after awhile. And the kids had fun! He was invited by BB's family to go to the family aquatic center. This place is the best ever for little kids. It has a "zero-depth" pool, its like walking onto the beach, it just gradually gets deeper and deeper until its about 3 1/2 feet deep. There's two sets of small waterslides for tiny kids (or sissy kids) and another set for more experienced (braver) kids. PLUS giant waterslides for bigger kids and adults. It was the most surreal thing to pack him into someone else's car and watch him go away. Without me. Weird.

Then he was offered to go away for the weekend (with family). Even though he was with family it was still hard. He was almost an hour away, I had to work. What if something went wrong? But he was fine. Again it was weird to pack him and two days worth of overnight stuff into my sisters car and watch him go, but what can you do? Visit the next day. So I did. I took my niece with me we all had a blast. And Bubba didn't want to come home with us so he stayed again. Such a big boy. What's next? Riding a bike with no training wheels.

I love Lake Chelan. It is absolutely my favorite place in Washington. Maybe because it was so off limits when I was a kid, I dunno. But I love it up there. I just drive into town and feel myself relax. My sister's husband's family have a condo there so its comfortable, there's choice of a pool or the lake (it was a little windy yesterday so we opted for the pool) and I could take Punkin Head because there was a place for her to sleep. It was fabulous. I could spend weeks there. Unfortunately I only got to hang for a few hours, but it was worth it. You should see my tan!

I also enjoy the Aquatic Center. Its worth the 90 minute drive. Bubba, my niece another adult friend and 3 other kids went on Wednesday last week. What fun! I am not sure if I would go with 5 kids again, it was kind of unnerving to keep track of all them but it was a good time. Pictures to follow. My digital isn't waterproof, so we used disposable cameras and I will have to develop those pictures then I can post them.

Explanation

So where'd this and that come from? One (of the many) cluttered areas of the house that I rearranged yesterday. There were several photo albums from that era too. I was looking in the albums for a motivational picture of myself. I need something to get me motivated to work out. Nothing is doing it. And pictures of myself in too-big t-shirts just don't motivate me. No wonder My Honey always suggests something else. I dress totally frumpy most of the time.

Among this stuff is a box of old letters too. I have not been through it in 14 years or so. Someday I might, not right now. And I found a bunch of scrap booking stuff that I might get around to.
Probably not.

1983 or 1984 maybe

I wrote this once upon a time.

Mommies are always there
Mommies usually care
Mommies ask if you need help and don't favor one of the kids
Mommies don't force us to do or eat what we don't want to
Mommies understand if there is a problem and try to help
Mommies reason with us instead of yell at us
Mommies and kids try to understand each other
Mommies can't break the rules that are made but usually do!

There's a second verse, it starts with "If Mommies are always there, why weren't you?" and goes on in the same tone. I'm not going to publish that verse. But now that I am a Mommie I look at this and have to wonder, "would my kids write this about me?" Not at 4 1/2 years and 8 1/2 months old, but will they in 10 years? I pray not.

1988

A friend wrote this once upon a long time ago:

Once a day and sometimes more
You knock upon my daydream door
And I say warmly, "Come right in,
"I'm glad you're here with me again."

Then we sit down and talk things out
You tell me what it's all about

Until something I must do
Forces me away from you
With a silent tear and sigh

Though my daydreams bring you near
I wish that you were still here!

But what reality can not change
My dreams and wishes rearrange
Through my wishing you'll be brought
To me each day - a guest in thought.

Thanks for that oh so many years ago.

Change is in the air

I went into Punkin Head's room and found this the other morning. Hmmm, an upside down foot can only mean one thing... She rolled over. A quick peek over the railing confirmed this hunch. Yikes, that means she will be mobile soon. *sigh* the carefree days of having an infant that can't do anything for herself will soon be over.


This also means that even though I thought I might get to start sleeping through the night soon that ain't gonna be so. She hates her tummy. She woke up no less than 3 times the other night because she rolled herself onto her tummy and was uncomfortable. Luckily she went right back to sleep (or continued her sleep more comfortably) as soon as she was turned over. But DAMN 3 times?

Don't get me wrong, I know she needs to learn to live with it, to be comfortable on her tummy or to learn to roll back over, but for the time being I am not going to sacrifice (much more of) my sleep. She will just have to wait until my days off to figure it out. Then it doesn't matter as much if I sleep at night, I can take a nap.

Bubba is taking a swim lesson this summer. He is doing pretty well, being able to touch the bottom has given him an all new confidence. He even went off the diving board. This is huge, he is pretty cautious. He hates to be in another room of the house from everyone else. My sister called him "co-dependent" yesterday, I'd rather use the word "needy", although neither one is a great thing to be. So we work on it. Little by little. I hope he gets used to being alone - not alone, alone, but alone in the same house as someone else. Because it gets tiring and sometimes I want to be alone.

It's been a rough week. I had to rely on people who aren't always reliable recently and it took a lot out of me. That and the sleep deprivation reached its 2 week limit. Rough day yesterday. Thankfully I made it through and today has a much better outlook. First its my Friday, yay. Second, Grandma is back today and is going to watch the kids for some extra hours today so I can escape. And third, I have a massage tomorrow morning, ahhhh. Life looks good today.

Does my soul look like this?

I think so.

• You are very passionate and quite temperamental.
• While you can be moody, you always crave comfort.
• You are a grounded person, but you also leave room for imagination and dreams.
• Your feet may be on the ground, but you're head is in the clouds.
• You believe that people see you for how you are, not how you look.
• But deep down, you know that's not exactly true.
• Your near future is a lot like the present, and as far as you're concerned, that's a very good thing.
• For you, love is all about caring and comfort.
• You couldn't fall in love with someone you didn't trust.

For a look inside the room of your soul check this out:

http://www.blogthings.com/insidetheroomofyoursoulquiz/

Weather and other things

Lets see, the past week or so has been hot, hot, hot. (Not like the shirt.) Like triple digit temperatures. Its barely tolerable in our house, we don't have central air. We do have 2 wall air conditioner units, but they don't quite cool all the rooms. The kids have it the worst, I don't think it has cooled below 80 degrees in their rooms overnight for the past 3 nights. Miserable. Hopefully the heat wave will be over soon.

In family news:
We went on a date for our anniversary. We have been married fourteen years now. Whew! Quite an accomplishment if you ask me. We tried a new restaurant in town, it was pretty good then we went to a movie. I just finished reading The DaVinci Code so we saw that. It helped that I had read the book because there was a lot of stuff that My Honey didn't get. It sort of jumps around, and surprisingly it was kind of slow. It was nice to spend some time together.

Bubba went to a kid camp program last week with BB. "Creature Camp". It was a good break for us both. It was all about insects. He learned a new song (think "Head, shoulders, knees and toes")

"Head, thorax, abdomen, abdomen
Head, thorax, abdomen, abdomen
Antennae, wings, six legs, compound eyes
Head, thorax, abdomen, abdomen" absolutely adorable being sung by 4-6 year olds!
So he didn't want to hold the stick bug but he did want to hold the snake!

Hot, Hot, Hot

So I mentioned this HOT outfit a few days ago. I happened to wear it to work yesterday ~ at least 75% of the people I was working with complimented me on it. The thing is, I have worn said outfit at least 8 times before and never has anyone said boo about it. So I post that it's my hottest outfit and BAM! People notice it (no, they aren't reading my blog - trust me). So I have to wonder, is it really a HOT outfit or was I just thinking it was HOT and so I exuded hotness? I will never know. But it was really interesting.

In Kid News:

Punkin Head - *sigh* she is exhausting me. Literally. She has been waking (again) at 4am. Now don't get me wrong when I say this, but, "what was I thinking having a second kid?" I love them both dearly and I know that some day life won't be this exhausting but right now it sure has me down (again). So I keep on keeping on "this too shall pass." Vacation without the kids in Las Vegas is just a mere 9 1/2 weeks away (no pun intended - but thats actually pretty funny...) The kids will have a blast with Grandma and Grandpa and we will do Las Vegas.

Aside from the sleep issues she is a great baby. Rarely fussy, (when she wakes at 4am she goes right back to sleep after a bottle) smiles a lot, hasn't quite learned how to laugh out loud yet but you can tell when she thinks something is really funny. Luckily she hasn't learned to crawl either!! She is easy to entertain, her favorite toy lately is the car keys. And when she goes to sleep she goes right down. So in the grand scheme of things, she is a good kid.

Bubba, he is a good kid too. He was singing a song recently that went something like this "I was the only kid until you came along and now there are two." Aww, isn't that sweet, seems to me there was some kind of malicious verse too, but I can't remember it. I think he' s struggling with not being the "only" one these past two weeks. I have him enrolled in "Creature Camp" next week which will be nice. We can both use the break.

Camping 2

So the camping trip with my mom turned out to be a bust. What's fun about camping when its 100 degrees out during the day and the mosquitos come out durnig the night? So Bubba didn't end up getting to camp. No biggie, there is always next year.

He is the smartest 4-year old you ever will meet tho. This is a recent conversation with him:
"Bubba will you get me a coke out of the fridge in the garage please?"
"No."
*right, thats okay because I am too lazy to get it myself, why should I expect him to get it if I don't want to? I think to myself.*
A few minutes later My Honey comes upstairs:
"Dad will you get your wife a coke out of the refrigerator in the garage?"
The thing that is amazing and funny about this exchange is that my son calls me "your wife" to his dad. What 4 year old calls his mom "your wife" to his dad? The same one that calls his grandparents "your mom" or "your dad" when he is referring to them in casual conversation. Quite the brain that one. Never at a loss for entertainment in my house.

Tagged?

Thanks Thrusher for the tag, I had just about given up on you - not really!

5 things in my closet:
Maternity clothes - yes I know its been 8 months but I am slower these days
Cool purple flip flops
New running shoes
1 Hot outfit from Maurices (where I never shop because I am too old)
Sweaters - I was slow in the spring too

5 things in my fridge
Margarita mix
Formula
Dill pickles
Yougurt in a variety of flavors that don't have chunks
Sun tea

5 things in my car - which one??
Kid Car - the explorer
Car seats, crumbs (which are starting to smell), toys, blanket for the park and stroller.
Cool car - the jeep
Def Leppard CD, hat. What else would you need in the jeep??

5 things in my purse
Cool Razr cell phone that I dont know how to use except make calls and receive calls
4-color pen from work
3 sets of keys
iPAQ - this I know how to use
"Moonlit Path" lotion by Bath and Body works

Wow! That was a lot of work. Thanks for the brain exercise.

Camping 1

Well, we visited our family that was camping ... The Campground was just under an hour away, if you would call it that, it had a sign at the entrance "NO TENTS". Yep, thats right, no tents at a campground. It's a RV campground. It was nice tho, a lot of grass, a rushing river nearby and a large playfield. We enjoyed our visit, I enjoyed the Corona and margartia. And the family enjoyed the kids so it was worth it.

But, it reminded me that I am old. We might have been gone for a total of 5 hours or so (including drive time) and I crashed when we got home, we all did as a matter of fact. I remember the days of getting much less sleep, staying out in the heat for many more hours, and never taking a nap. Those days seem to be gone. Oh well.

My mom is going tent camping at a campground next weekend and would like Bubba to come. The park is nearby but we just aren't sure of the logistics. I work until 11 pm, if he had to come home who would go get him? What about Punkin Head? Would she be able to handle both the grandkids? We shall see. I think it would be fun for him to try, especially since its close to home and he could come home if there was a huge issue.

Plan B

I thought working Day shift would be fun and I would see the family more. Its actually exhausting and I haven't seen the family all week. Seems there is always something to do in the evenings. I will be glad to get back to swing shift. Give me lazy mornings any day, this having to be somewhere, in a reasonably good mood and ready to do something by 7am is for the birds - which are loudly chirping at that time of the day (just in case you didn't know). And its really too cold to enjoy the top off the jeep at that hour. I'd rather wait to drive home at 11pm with the top off. The air isn't quite as crisp, and its a nice way to unwind. Thankfully only two more days!!

In other news: We might go camping this weekend... probably not. One of my sis-in-laws and her new hubby are camping nearby. Possibly me and Bubba will stay overnight, but I haven't talked myself into it yet. I don't get enough sleep as it is, why would I want to go somewhere I know is going to be uncomfortable, worry about wild animals - you know mosquitos and such - and deal with a 4 1/2 year old that might get scared. Yeah, I haven't quite talked myself into it yet. Maybe tomorrow.

Punkin Head turned 7 months old. She is sweet but we have not quite figured out her night schedule yet. Should she sleep from 5 until 9 or not? Should she eat solid food at night or not? Should she ..... What I really want the difinitive answer to is this:
WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO TO GET HER TO SLEEP THROUGH EVERY NIGHT?
I don't mind feeding her at 11pm. I do mind getting back up at 3am to feed an already HEAVY baby when she doesn't even seem hungry. Once again, I will try to let her work it out this weekend. Maybe I can stand it ... maybe not. It always seems like theres something - teeth, constipation or just plain loud crying that justifies getting her up. Oh well. "This too shall pass." In the near future I will have two children that sleep through the night. (No there are not any more kids planned for this house.)

I planned the best birthday bash for My Honey this weekend. I invited random friends and family over for a BBQ and didn't tell him about it. The plan was his best friend was taking him golfing and they would get back just after the guests arrived. It was a psuedo-suprise. I didn't want people to park around the block and jump out and yell suprise, just to be there to greet him when he got home. That was the plan... best friend had to work. This I didn't find out until the day before the party. Plan B: I didn't have a plan B. So I came up with one - at around 3 on the day of the party. Have the babysitter show up, go "out to dinner" and after guests have started to arrive, babysitter calls and tells us we need to come home because Bubba is hurt or Punkin Head is inconsolable (both believable situations). Babysitter agrees, we are on track for Plan B.

Then I mentioned the party to Bubba. Who is silly enough to mention to the most social 4 1/2 year old that there is going to be a party and not expect him to tell his father?? ME. I hear Bubba asking My Honey to please "get the blue thing with the white lid down from the shelf in the garage" at around 5:15. Hmmm, could he be talking about the cooler, and what does he think he's going to do with it?? So My Honey asks him what for ... "for the pop, water and beer for your party tonite." It was all I could do not to bust a gut laughing, I backed into the bathroom and dried my hair to cover my giggle, and tried to think of something to say to get Bubba to shut up. Next thing I hear is him asking "Dad which shirt do you think I should wear to your party tonite?" Oh my, I am done now, what can I do?? Nothing. Fess up because I cannot keep a straight face anymore. So I tell - the babysitter is on the way, she is going to call in 30 minutes and theres a party here. Do you want to stay while people arrive or go so it will be a "suprise"? We ended up staying. It was still a great party. And the random friends were a lot of fun. He even said thanks which was a great compliment because while we have the most social kid, he is not a big party person. But it was people he knew, at his house, for him and it worked out alright. Yay me.

On and on

I had a post that I saved as a draft, I wasn't sure if I wanted to publish it or not because it was such a downer. I re-read it today and it wasn't really that bad so I published it. Maybe that whole weekend wasn't as bad as I thought at the time.

Lately things are busy. This is the first Tuesday morning I have not had to be at a 10am meeting in about 6 weeks. It's nice to sit and relax with Punkin Head.

Lets talk about Punkin Head. She has been awful lately. Not sleeping. Must be getting the next set of teeth I think. Her lower two teeth came in about 2 1/2 weeks ago and she is just not right the past three days - by that I mean not sleeping more than 3-4 hours at a time (bad for me) not eating (and as you can see she loves to eat) so I finally took her to the chiropractor yesterday...

Now don't go deleting my blog because I take my kids to the Chiropractor - its totally safe for them AND IT WORKS. Whenever Bubba is just too crabby or not sleeping good or complaining of leg pains I take him in and he is so much better. Almost always he sleeps better and always his leg pains are better. For Punkin Head same thing, I take her in, tell the Dr. she isn't sleeping well or not eating well or what ever and within an hour she is sound asleep and the nights go much better - I recommend it to everyone of all ages. My kids have gone since they were just a few weeks old. Now, off my soap box, where was I? I don't remember. Sleep depravation.

So she slept better last night, not 7 hours like I hoped, but 5 and she fell right back asleep for 3 more. And she woke up happy, thats a big deal too. I like happy kids.

Bubba has been alright lately. Except he and BB got into trouble again (same thing) and I don't know quite what to do. I sat them both down and they got my evil eyes (very scary, ask my sisters) and I told them that the next time it happens I will spank my child and they will be separated for 15 minutes. I also decided if I could I would send BB home right away or pick my child up right away(but since his parents couldn't be reached for a couple more hours that wasn't possible). What a hassle. My mom suggetsted that Bubba might feel like hes not getting enough attention with the baby and all, and when he gets into trouble he gets attention and blah blah blah. She could be right. Kids know how to get attention, let me tell you a true story:

When I was 5-ish I pretended I was deaf. I had EVERYONE fooled. My mom and dad, my babysitter and the DOCTORS. I was able, at 5-ish, to ignore the tone-test. When they tested my hearing I didn't respond. How does a 5 year old do that?? I don't know. I don't remember it either but I know its possible to be deliberately bad so I have to keep that in mind too. Plus he is 50% me so that means he has that naughty side too.

Anyway, he is sweet. He takes good care of me. Just the othe night at bed time he tells me: "Mom I telled Dad about the way he treats you."
*Hmmm, he treats me fine* "What do you mean Bubba?"
"About the dustpan and broom, I telled him to put it back when he uses it so you can find it"
*crack up inside* "thanks Bubba, I appreciate that"

Back story: last week I was having a fit because I could not find said dustpan and broom. Turned out My Honey had used them in the garage and they had not been returned to "their spot". I was talking out loud (maybe it was more like a rant) about how things should be put away so the next person could find them and on and on. Apparently it impacted Bubba. And he made sure to tell his Dad. Thats my boy, he takes good care of me.

Is that it? No there's change at work too - the new Director started the first. She is alright. I am anxious to see how things work out for us all and specifically myself. More on that when I sort out what's okay to post and what's not...

Speaking of work, we had flash flood warnings last night. And we really had flash floods. Our dispatch center was inundated with hundreds of calls from people all over reporting that there was so much water it was pushing manhole covers up from the manholes all over town!!! Thats a buncha water. (Mostly its desert here so any rain for more than 10 minutes is a lot.) There were several mudslides, too. One that totally blocked a roadway for 7 miles with mud that was 4 feet deep at places. This mudslide also trapped some people in their house. Not sure the outcome of that, they did transport 2 to the hospital. It was a righteous good time because it was so busy but it sobered us up when we had the report of people trapped in their house. (Dispatchers aren't tough all the time)

Anyway, I think that's it. That catches me up for the past two weeks. Hopefully life has slowed down and I will be more consistent. Right, that's so not me!!

Update

Well, the meeting with BB, his mom, Bubba and I went well. We laid down the law and told them that they need to work on good behavior or they will have to be in different classes at school. We also reminded them that ALL the parents agree and that Miss C at school will know what we agreed to so there is some accountability there too.

I know that sounds harsh but they needed it. And yes, we would put them in different classes - it is not an empty threat. We also told them we will make an effort to get them together outside of school to play, also not an empty promise, we will get them together.

It is fortunate that I worked with BB's dad for the past few years, (although we never got the boys together until they were in school) because this situation was easy to talk about and work through. He and I knew some of eachothers philosophy about kid-raising and it just really made it a lot easier to talk to his wife without feeling like I didn't know anything about them. We didn't have to start with "So how do you handle this kind of thing?" It was more like "I think this will work, what do you think?" We shall see.

Woe is me

I have been trying to sleep for the past 2 hours. I had a little success then Punkin Head woke up and now my mind is reeling and won't shut down.

Its been a long week. My Honey went out of town on business last week from Sunday through Wednesday. I adjusted my schedule so that I could be home earlier with the kids. Usually I work until 11 pm, I made a change to 7 pm for last week. It worked out nice but I have not had any time to myself. I know, how selfish of me, but sheesh, I need it.

So he gets back to town and I end up working Friday night (one of my days off). Not a HUGE deal except that we just have not seen eachother pretty much since Mothers Day. (So here I am at the computer instead of in bed). In addition to that there is laundry (from his trip) dishes, grocery shopping and other miscellaneous stuff (except the house cleaning which I hire out - I know, how selfish) that only I seem to be able to do. Pretty much by Saturday, my only day off this week I am cranky. I am especially cranky when he goes golfing. I don't even remember Saturday anymore. Must have been the Red Wine.

Sunday I am scheduled overtime (OT) at work that may keep me there until 3am - Its Memorial Day weekend and one of our dispatch areas is a resort town ... So I make arrangements to sleep at the in-laws because they are out of town and I figure it will be quiet. At 2 my sister in law shows up to take care of the kids because of golf and I head to work. Fortunately it wasnt too busy so I was released at 11pm. On the way home I am having this internal debate - Do I go home and sleep knowing I will not get a good nights sleep or should I just go to the in-laws even though I got off way earlier than I thought I would?? I debate until the very last place I could turn that wouldn't make it (too) out of the way to go there and decide to go home instead.

Good thing.

My Honey ended up in the ER. Heart problems. Or thats what we thought it was. He woke when I got home and was very nauseus and had numbness in his left hand/fingers. One wouldn't get too concerned about this except that he had a real heart attack last year so every twinge seems like a big deal. He took a nitro and tried to relax. I called his sister to have her come over to stay with the kids. Called work to have them send an ambulance and got prepared for a long night. And it was a long night. I didn't leave the hospital until after 4am. My Honey stayed the night so they could observe him.

They don't think he had a heart event. He checked out fine. But the stress. On top of that, Bubba didn't sleep very good while we were gone - go figure. So when I got home BOTH the kids were up, Punkin head had just eaten so she went right down, and Bubba crashed. Thankfully they both slept pretty good. I didn't. I had to be up early enough to call and cancel the golf game that had been planned - that ended up being 7:30. And then the kids woke up. So I had about 2 1/2 hours of sleep. Finally at 2:00 the hospital released My Honey. I had another short nap from 3-5 so I am running on 4 hours of sleep essentially and you would think that I would have crashed out?? But no. Can't sleep.

Too much stuff on my mind. Work, kids, My Honey, not sleeping. UGH.

06/13/06 I wasnt sure if I wanted to post this, but I decided to go ahead today.

More trouble

More trouble at preschool yesterday. I won't go into details, suffice it to say that it had to do with naked butts, Bubba and BB. Thankfully we are (still) on good terms with BB's parents so we are all working together to get through this. By "through this" I mean to help the boys act appropriately together (from playing quietly at school to keeping their clothes on) and to get to the root of the problem.

So what is the root of the problem? Do they not get to see eachother enough so when they do see eachother its such a rush they can't control themselves? Do they need to see eachother more outside of school? Do they bring out the worst in eachother? Can we help them bring out the best in each other? I don't know. At least we are getting this challenge in preschool where there isn't a lot of other stuff to have to worry about too - homework and such. Thankfully BB's family is great to work with. And fortunately its the end of the school year too. Although if they go all summer without much interaction how much chaos could that cause for the fall??

Well, BB and BB's mom are coming over for lunchand a talk (but no playdate because of yesterday's incident) so hopefully they will see how serious this is. Wish us luck.

You Belong in Rome

You're a big city girl with a small town heart Which is why you're attracted to the romance of Rome Strolling down picture perfect streets, cappuccino in hand And gorgeous Italian men - could life get any better?

What City Do You Belong In?

Wow that almost fits me!! Small town heart, cappuccino, romance, I am quite satisfied with my Honey although he is not Italian! Click to check what city you belong in.

Thanks Thrusher for the link!

Shots and hurricanes

Yesterday (although its 3am so it still feels like today) was Punkin Head's 6 month check up. She checks out fine except for that exceptionally large head of hers. It is off the charts - but so was Bubba's at 6 months. She weighed in at 18.5 pounds - and yes that is GIANT size for a 6 month old (also following in Bubba's footsteps) and I believe she was 26". She just keeps growing and growing. She also had to get shots. 2 in each leg. She was so brave. She just cried a tiny bit and then actually SMILED at the nurse. What a nice girl. This does not follow in the footsteps of her brother who used to pass out from crying. We used to call them "blue faced fits" and had to warn the babysitters so they wouldn't call 911 - true story!

Speaking of Bubba, on Friday, Saturday and Sunday he kept asking about hurricanes. What are they, why? Do they kill people, why? Could they happen "in our world", why? ("In our world" means where we live in 4 1/2 year old speak). So finally Sunday afternoon I asked him if he wanted to look hurricanes up on the computer and see what it had to say. Okay he tells me. So we did. We used Encarta and had a great time checking out a few video clips, looking at the map of the world to see where they happen and where we live and does it look like there are any hurricane patterns around us? No he realized there aren't. Whew! Hurricane season at my house is finally done. But I had to wonder where the sudden obsession came from. So when my Honey called I mentioned it to him. Turns out we had a dust storm then a heavy rain here on Thursday night that must have started him thinking about hurricanes from what he had seen on TV. (Yes we let our kids see destruction on TV) and he must have worried that we were having a hurricane and that it would destroy "our world". Such a sensitive kid. Not sensitive like he cried with worry but sensitive more like obsessive. Do those two work together?? Anyway that was that. After we looked it up, no more questions about hurricanes! Amazing kid.

Preschool trouble

Can you believe that Bubba is getting in trouble at preschool?? He is. He and his Best Buddy (BB) are disruptive. Bubba is often sent to the "table for one" (Montessori "time out") to get ahold of himself because he is being too loud. Not bad, just loud in the classroom.

So yesterday my Honey drove BB and Bubba to preschool in the jeep with the top off. Thats a huge treat!! Needless to say they were both wound tight. To the point of the teacher Miss C asking me if I would consider putting Bubba in the afternoon class next year so that they wouldn't be together because they cause such a disruption in the classroom. YIKES!! Actually, I think it is hilarious!! I understand the seriousness of it too, we are going to work with Bubba and BB to help them help eachother get control because they really like eachother and neither of them have any other friends. Thats one of the trials of having grandma watch the kids, no social circle. But the joy of it is never having to worry about who is with my kids so the pay-off has been worth it.

Mother's Day

Mother's Day was nice. We left town for the weekend. My Honey and I got to spend some time together alone in Seattle - gotta love Pike Street. The weather was nice and I got a new phone. A "shaver phone" according to Bubba. (You figure it out). I am still figuring out all the cool stuff it does.

We spent the weekend with my Dad. He and his wife manage the stables in their community so Bubba gets to go help feed the horses, their 14 year old daughter (my sister "Little D") loves Bubba and they were willing to watch the kids all day so we could spend the aforementioned time alone in Seattle. They do my heart good. All weekend Bubba kept saying "Happy Mothers Day" it was really cute.

Punkin Head did really well sleeping in her playpen, the only thing was she woke up during the night. So much for that good nights sleep I had mentioned. She finally got back into it last night which was just in time. Yesterday it was hard to be nice but today it might have been impossible to be nice.

She is getting so big! She will be 6 months tomorrow and I am sure she weighs at least 20 pounds, and she is almost too long for her car seat. She is starting to get strong enough to sit up and she loves her daddy! He can walk into a room where she is, go right to her and when she sees him her whole face lights up. Its just amazing. Did I have that effect on Bubba? I don't think I did.