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!!