Year in review

Waiting till (almost) the last possible second, but still, here it is - my bloggy year in review.

Reminder: It's the first sentence from the first post of each month of the year.

And here we go....

January - I'm hoping to update my ridiculously out-dated blogroll real soon, so if you read regularly and have a blog, and would like your blog to be included, please comment and let me know and I'll put you on!

February - Anyone have any prayers, good karma, or healing vibes to spare?

March - I’m about to prove what a big dork I am.

April - We really need to get this potty training thing going full force.

May - To blog or not to blog. That is the question.

June - Since I believe you can never have too many people praying and sending you good thoughts, I'm going to ask that you keep a friend of mine in mind.

July - Jaben's website... While still somewhat under construction, it's still a pretty good start for an 11 yr old with limited computer knowledge.

August - Just really, really, relentlessly busy!!

September - To celebrate the long weekend, we went to the zoo!

October - Yay for Dani!

November - All the cool kids are doing it, so why not some of us not-so-cool kids?

December - Yeah, it's that kind of day.

Actually, I think it's been that kind of year. Here's to 2008 being a better year for all of us!

Christmas is over!

Yay, Christmas is over for another year!

Yes, I am glad about that. No, I don't have pictures or gift lists to share. Sorry, I suck at all of that. Suffice to say, the kids got spoiled and are very happy with their Christmas loot. The house is a disorganized, filthy mess because I've worked the last 2 days and just haven't had time. I am, however, on day 1 of another 5 day vacation and things should be looking up by then.

Tomorrow we are going over to the old house to get out the rest of the junk we've got there. If we needed it, we'd have gotten it already - so should we go straight to the dump? Probably. Will we? Probably not. But hopefully it'll be done and we'll be all set when the sale (ohpleaseohpleaseohplease) goes final.

My car still isn't done yet. They're waiting on the new steering column, then it'll have to be put in. No idea when that will happen. I'm starting to miss my poor car. It's been 2 weeks now since it was stolen and I'm ready to put it all behind me. I don't think my insurance company will replace my mp3 player and that sucks big time because I really miss having it. The radio isn't so great when it's your only option. Maybe I'll get lucky, but without serial number and reciept (it was a gift!!), the chances of a replacement are slim to none.

Just waiting on New Years now. I fully expect 2008 to be better than 2007. This year wasn't the best. In fact, it was pretty rotten towards the end there. I'm just ready now for it to be over. Year in Review post to follow soon, but until then, enjoy the final days of 2007!

Merry Christmas!

I'm sure I won't get a chance to post tomorrow, so I wanted to wish anyone who drops by a very Merry Christmas!

Peace, love, and joy to you all! May God's blessings be abundent in your home this season and in the coming year!

Finally some good news!

Our house has basically sold!!!!!!!!

One week on the market - can you believe it??

The offer came to us yesterday and it was a liiiittle low. We couldn't accept it because we would've lost too much on the deal, so we countered at just a tiny bit higher. We heard from the realtor this morning that he ACCEPTED THE COUNTER!!!

Now, we still have to go thru the inspection and all that, but I'm sure it's structurally sound, and the buyer knows it's a big time fixer-upper - but he's buying it specifically to fix up. SO... as long as we do okay on the inspection, our house is SOLD!!

We're not making jack on the deal, but we figured out that carrying costs are $740/mo, so we kind of are making a bit, if you think about it that way. Breaking even on the sale is absolutely fine with me. With the market being what it is, can't ask for more than that. OMG - one week on the market!!!! And actually, this was the second offer, but the first was so low as to be laughable and the realtor turned it down without even checking. It was pathetic.

But WHO CARES because our house is (all but) sold!!!!!!

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ETA: I got a call from the place that is fixing my car yesterday. My poor, beat up Jeep will not be ready until next Thursday. They were going to try to have it back to me yesterday but when they got into the steering column to do the repairs, they found there was significantly more damage than first thought. So they have to replace the entire steering column. That means ordering and waitng for more parts (at Christmas, no less!), and waiting for it to be fixed. They're closed Monday and Tuesday, of course, so Thursday it is. We hope.

Best search ever!

Checking out what searches lead people to this blog, I found…

Muslim woman boobs out

‘Nuff said.

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I need to be quick here, but please look up Mrs. Grumpy on the bloglist to your right, and stop by and give her love. Her daughter is very ill and in the hospital. This family has been thru enough, so please send healing vibes!!

Rental cars and car seats

I have a car to drive now. The dealer who’s fixing my car talked to my insurance company and found that I am covered for a rental, under the circumstances. So yesterday I dropped by and picked up a really cute Chevy Cobalt. LOVED that car. Didn’t get to keep it tho.

The windshield washer fluid didn’t work, and with the snow, etc, and my commute, I couldn’t have that. I had a guy here at work look at it for me and he couldn’t get it to work either, so I called the dealer/rental place and they agreed to swap it out for me. So after work last night I picked up an absolutely beautiful Chevy Malibu. VERY nice car. A little too much car for me – the Cobalt was more me, but this’ll be juuuuust fine for a week or so until I get my Jeep back. It is an awesome car. Jaben loves it and would prefer to keep it… ahahahahaha!! Like that’d happen, even if I didn’t owe so much on the Jeep. Malibu’s are super nice cars and waaaay outside my price range.

And that’s another thing. I still owe quite a bit on that Jeep, and I’m certain that being broken into, stolen, and molested like it was, it’s not worth as much now. I’m afraid that, after all the progress I’ve made paying this loan down, I’m back upside down again and that pisses me off to no end. I wish I could come up with the money to just pay it off and not have to worry about it. Soooo not gonna happen, but it’d be nice.

I have moments when I do feel sorry for myself. It’s frustrating, I do everything right, as well as I can, and still can’t get ahead. And I know this theme is universal, it’s not just me, but I have needed a few moments here and there to wallow. As a whole, I know I’m handling this a lot better than anyone expected of me (being the emotionally stable person I am, ha-ha), and that’s good to hear, but I wish I didn’t have to deal with it at all. It sucks. It just sucks. Apparently locking your car, parking close to the store near lights doesn’t help after all. I wish I could afford an alarm system, but then again, what are the chances it’ll get stolen again? Especially in this area, it’s slim to none. Which is good, but that doesn’t help with the paranoia. I’ve got this super nice, rented car, that’s way outside what I could afford to pay for, sitting in the parking lot, and I’m worried about it now. That’s just not right.

On the up side, I got a great deal on a new car seat for Kyan. It was on sale for $34 (yay!) and it will convert to a booster when he’s ready. I discovered he was nearing the height/weight limits on his old seat anyway, so it would have had to be replaced with in the year, so it’s okay. And he really likes his new seat. He got very excited when I carried it in the house last night – he wanted me to open it right away. I made him wait until we had dinner, then we installed it and all went for a ride in the super-nice Malibu with a new car seat for Kyan. I offered the old car seat to Ky’s DCP, and she said she could definitely use it – but she had to promise she won’t put Kyan in it. Fortunately she’s a mom and she gets why I feel that way.

So, we’re getting there. It’s still just weird and rough. I think I’ll be happy when I have my own car back and can put all this behind me. It’s just kind of hard not to think about it when I’m driving a car that is so obviously not mine.

Belated thank you

Before it gets too belated, and even tho I'm absolutely certain that it won't be seen by anyone from the department, I want to extend a very heartfelt thank you to the Perkins Police Department, and Detective Jenkins in particular. They took good care of us and made things much easier than they could have been. Detective Jenkins made seeing my car, broken, violated, and in pieces, much easier than I thought it could ever be. After the initial shock, he made me (and my sister, who thoroughly enjoyed herself!) very comfortable and what could've been a painful process much easier.

So to the Perkins Police Department... thank you!!

And um... catch the bad guys, okay?

I win!

For worst week, that is.

Go ahead, try to compete. You don't want to, you won't win.

It started going downhill Weds night when my mom started having chest pains. They were getting really bad and so of course we all thought "heart attack" and took her straight to the ER. They actually did a pretty good job of taking care of her, and she was admitted. They did a ton of tests, and while I'm still not convinced at the results, she's okay now.

I got NO SLEEP that night and called off work on Thurs (obviously) to be at the hospital with her. It was a long night and day, and it was pretty much the scariest thing I've ever witnessed. It was awful, I had to call my sister in Delaware and let her know what was going on, and that was a horrible phone call to have to make. I've decided there are going to be some changes made, some big, some small, because this isn't happening again. And, thinking of my own children, I don't want to put them thru something like that.

After Jaben got out of school on Thurs, I picked him up and went ahead with the plans for the boys Christmas pictures, since mom was okay. My younger sister was with her so it was all good. We went up to the mall (I had a great coupon!), and the pictures came out beautifully! Kyan was awesome, and I think my kids are the most beautiful boys I've ever seen. They still take my breath away. I should have them back in about 10 days or so and will probably post some to share. So that was good, but when we walked out to the parking lot, the car was gone.

It had been stolen.

My car had been stolen while I was inside Sears getting my kids' Christmas pictures taken.

My sister called me while I was standing there trying to decide what to do (in my confusion I wondered if maybe I hadn't parked it where I thought I did) and she came right up. In the meantime, I flagged down a passing police car and told them what had happened. Turned out that they knew there was a stolen SUV in the area. The people who stole it used it as a getaway car in robbing another store in the mall.

This could only happen to me.

They tell me this is done by professionals. They steal a car from one side of the mall and park it in front of a store on the other side, rob the other store and use the stolen car to get away. They then dump the stolen car nearby and get into their own car. They can now drive right past the police without drawing attention. And that is what happened. My car was found in a restaurant parking lot nearby. The back window was smashed out, the steering column was destroyed (hotwired), and it was still running. The officers told me they had to turn it off with a screw driver. (insert giant sigh here)

So I spent today getting all this worked out. I had to meet the detective at the impound lot to identify what belonged to me in the car, and what didn't. They left the rock they used to smash out the window and break the steering column in the cup holder, pieces of my steering column were all over, and they went thru the entire car. My MP3 player was taken, but as far as I could tell just by looking, everything else was still there. They had left a nasty cigarette butt on the center console and tore thru all of my stuff.

My stuff. My car. Our things.

I am so creeped out and feel so violated. Jaben is the same. He's doing a lot better now than he did last night, but it's still just an awful feeling.

The car can't be towed to where it's being fixed until Monday, I need some sort of proof or reciept on the MP3 in order to get it replaced, and I have no idea when I'll have my car back, but there's no deductible on this, so that's good. I also will have a rental car Monday morning. That was a nice surprise since I neglected to get rental coverage. They said my coverage on this is comprehensive, which means anything I need, in this situation, is covered. So that's good - one less thing. And it won't cost me anything. Except some time, peace of mind, and a feeling of security. Pretty expensive, if you ask me.

Of course I was a wreck Thurs night and couldn't sleep, but that was okay because Kyan spent that whole night vomiting on me. About once an hour. Poor baby, and poor me. He's doing a lot better now and we're going to try some mashed potatoes in a little bit. I have my reservations on that one, but we'll see how it goes.

So all in all, I haven't slept in 2 days and, at least for the next 2 days I have no car. I will still have to be late to work on Monday so that I can do the paperwork on my car and get my rental. BUT -- other than Kyan's tummy, everyone is safe and well. It could've been worse... we could've been in the car when they wanted to take it. That's not something I want to think about.

So... I win, right?

Merry Christmas!

Christmas has come to our house! I will take pics of more decorations soon, but I got 2 uploaded tonight.

First, Kyan and Santa at the library. He wants to see Santa again so I will try to make that happen. Besides, it's a cute pic but not the best. This Santa, however, was GREAT! Real hair, real beard, sparkling eyes and sweet as pie! He was awesome!



And then, our tree. It's huge and bright and gaudy and perfect! We LOVE it! We haven't been able to have a big tree in years, but now we can have whatever we want. It's AWESOME!! The bigger and gaudier, the better!

The tree is wet and the kids are fighting

Yeah, it's that kind of day.

We actually had a good weekend, after a couple of bumpy weeks. I'm sure I haven't written about it, having been so long since my last post. 2 weeks ago, Jaben's fish, Bella, went to the big fishbowl in the sky. Then, this past Thursday, the bird, Retro, went to join her. Not a great time to be one of our pets. Or to be Jaben, for that matter.

But this weekend was okay. Jaben went to camp and tobogganing (which is a story in and of itself, and NOT a good one), so Kyan and I went Christmas shopping yesterday. I've got everything bought, thank God, except for stockings. That will probably either be done at the dollar tree or Big Lots. Cuz that's how I roll. Cheap, cheap, cheap.

Ooh, bad time to make bird jokes.

But anyway, the weekend had been fine, and we were waiting for Jaben to get back from camp (they were 2-1/2 hrs late getting back!!) so we could go get the tree. And it started raining. It hadn't let up by the time Jabe got back, but we went anyway. We ended up bringing a soaking wet tree into the house, and having it rain all over the blanket we put under it. It's a VERY good thing we did put the blanket under it. At the moment, the blanket is in the dryer and the tree is in the middle of the room (having dripped it's last drop), and we're just waiting on the blanket to put the tree back by the window. We'll decorate tomorrow when we're more certain to avoid electric shock.

That's it, in a nutshell. The bird and the fish have died, the tree is wet, Jaben's being a total pill (to put it mildly), the boys are fighting and I want to go to bed. I think I have a mild version of the stomach virus that's going around. Fun.

And um, yeah... this post sucked. Sorry.

That was a wash

So I guess I wasn't cut out for nablopomo this year. I think 10 days without a post pretty much proves that. The last week has been really busy and I would've had a lot to say, had I posted. But I didn't.

We had a great Thanksgiving. The night before, Jaben and I went to see Jamestown - Jill and Dave James band and it was so much fun! Jill and Dave are really sweet people to begin with and we know they're a lot of fun to be around, but their show was more than even we expected! We had a blast!! Jill says they're having another show in February, so if you're in the area I suggest you consider going - it's more than worth the price of the tickets!

On Turkey day, we went to my aunt Sandy's house. Everyone ate, drank, and was merry the whole day. Even the big kids got along - and the little kids didn't fight nearly as much as they usually do. Although that may be because Megan was good about hiding the toys they argued over the minute it began. WTG, Meg! So it ended up being a nice day.

Friday, we did nothing. It was nice, but I felt like such a slug because I'm not used to staying in pj's all day and sitting around like that. It felt weird!! So Saturday I cleaned some, then took Jaben and Kyan to see Bee movie!

Kyan's first theatre experience! And it went WELL!!!! Because it was his first time, we got popcorn and drinks and both boys got a candy, and wow even being a matinee it was REALLY expensive! So that won't be happening again for a while. At least not with all the extras. The movie, however, is cute and I do recommend it if you get the chance. If it kept Ky occupied, it MUST be good!

After that it was back to same 'ol same 'ol. Sunday was cleaning blah blah blah, and Monday - Fri back to work. I have figured out Jaben's play (The Nuttiest Christmas Carol) will be on Dec 15 at 7 pm at the theatre uptown for anyone who is interested. Tickets will be available at the door. It'd be great to have as many people as possible come out to support him. I'm sure if you know Jaben, you know how good this class has been for him and his self esteem and image. So if you can, come out and support my boy!

That's the short, not-so-detailed version of what we've all been up to lately. If I'd managed to keep up with nablopomo I could've made things more interesting, but now, with so much to say and so little time to say it... this is the best I can do. I'll be back again when I can -- hopefully much sooner than 10 days!

Yep, I blew it

I forgot to post last night.

I suck.

I have a good excuse tho.

I forgot.

And then I fell asleep.

Because Monday night I had 2 little boys in my bed and I was too squished and too busy playing the gravity game to be able to sleep. Jaben heard "noises" and Kyan generally joins me sometime in the night. That night, he found Jaben in "his spot" and screamed, at the top of his voice, "JABEN -- MOVE!" repeatedly. So, I pulled him OVER Jaben, to sleep practically on top of me, and that was pretty much the end of my sleep for the night.

And so last night, I went to bed early, and just as I was drifting off to blessed sleep, I thought, "NaBloPoMo... ahhhhhh... screw it."

NaBloPoMo - 1; Me - 0

My son is driving me bats

Yeah, that'd be Kyan. He's in a moooood tonight. I have this theory... the more ornery they are, the cuter they are. I think God did that for their own protection. As soon as I finish this post, the cute little bugger is getting a bath and going straight to bed. It's really for his own good, I swear.

I've read a few posts today cursing NaBloPoMo, and I know how they feel! It's insane that I feel like I have to post, because I said I would, but the only person I'd really be letting down is myself. But then I don't want to let me down either. And so I soldier on.

I have had a very cool visitor recently tho, who I feel I need to comment on. I had a nice comment from Mrs. Grumpy in my inbox today. I don't know if you've read her blog, but she's having a very rough go of it. She recently lost her husband and is now riding the roller coaster. And contrary to what she thinks, she's hanging on admirably. Few things in life will throw you into a tailspin like the loss of a spouse or child. Between Mrs. Grumpy and Rachel, who lost her daughter over the summer, I've learned so much about the strength a human being can possess. I can't imagine you two amazing women read my blog, even after knowing Mrs. Grumpy has visited, but if she or Rachel happen to stop by, I want you to know that I think you're amazing people.

If anyone else is reading this who hasn't had the priviledge to meet Mrs. Grumpy and Rachel, I urge you to visit their blogs. Say hi, let them know you stopped in. It's worth it, I promise. These are two very amazing women and I feel very lucky to have stumbled across their blogs.

17 things

Since it's 17 days into NaBloPoMo, I thought I'd do 17 things. But what things?

Oh! I know -- 17 things I'm not very good at!! Here we go kids!

1. Cooking - inedible pancakes... just ask Jaben, poor kid knows all too well.

2. Athletics - too clumsy for it.

3. Cleaning.

4. Doing my nails. I either put it off too long and they break, or I end up with polish all over everything.

5. Keeping my eyebrows up. You'd think, with giant caterpillars for brows, I'd be better at that. But I'm not.

6. Trimming toenails. Mine or the boys, it doesn't always get done when it needs to.

7. Managing money. I've seen worse, but I've seen LOTS better. I'd probably give an accountant a heart attack.

8. Relationships. Y'know, like with boys? But you kind of figured that out already, didn't you?

9. Waiting. I am so very impatient!! I hate waiting in line, in traffic, for a cd to burn... ugh, I hate waiting!

10. Lying. I've always been a terrible liar. But I think that's a good thing.

11. Singing. I want to be, I can kind of carry a tune, but I can't really sing. And I always wanted to be able to do that.

12. Taking time for myself. Between work, keeping up the house, Jaben's activities and trying to do things for and with Kyan, I don't often get around to me. Which might explain 4, 5, & 6.

13. Making lists of things I'm not very good at. 17 might have been a bit ambitious.

14. Breaking bad habits. I quit biting my nails years ago, but other things haven't been quite so easy.

15. Picking out decent clothes. I usually like what I'm wearing, but I wouldn't want to ask anyone else what they think of it.

16. Walking in heels. The few times I've tried it (once in really huge ones for a wedding), I've looked like Frankenstein. Never again.

17. HTML. I know a few small tricks, but that's about it. I have no memory for it and I really wish I did.

So there you have it, 17 things I'm not very good at. Maybe I should do things I'm good at next time. Boost myself up a bit, y'know?

The most wrong thing - By: Jaben

Today we're having a guest blogger... my older boy, Jaben, has graciously agreed to write today's post. So, without further ad-oo...

The most wrong thing
By: Jaben

Have you ever seen Family Guy? (I’m referring to the 100th episode, part two.) Well I have and the end is just, just… HORABLE!!! They show Stewie, (the evil baby) dead! I for one think this is just an outrage! They should never show that kind of thing on TV! If anyone reading this is saying… “He’s wrong! That was awesome!” Well than you’re messed up in the head man! YOU ARE SICK!!!

Me again... Yes, I do let him watch Family Guy. Yes, I know I shouldn't. But as you can see, he's smart enough to understand certain things aren't appropriate or funny. He's also smart enough to understand that some inappropriate things are kind of funny. And that's all I have to say about that.

I love Dr. Seuss

Does anyone read Dr. Seuss anymore? I was choosing a story to read to Kyan at bedtime and realized he's got a ton of Dr. Seuss books, and I love all of them! Tonight we read Green Eggs and Ham and it's just as much fun now as it was when I was little and used to read it. I swear I was still reading Dr. Seuss books in 5th grade. They're just wonderful.

Gosh, I remember Jaben loving Green Eggs and Ham so much he had his grandma make him some once. They were the grossest looking things ever, but he ate them up and loved them! I wonder how many other kids have done that?

But my all time favorite Seuss book is Fox in Socks. I love to read that one - it's a tongue twister from beginning to end, and it's such a challenge to me to get thru it without messing it up. It's one of the few we don't have. I think Santa needs to bring Kyan a copy of that for Christmas so we can read it together... it always makes me laugh and I think he'd really enjoy it.

Look, sir. Look, sir. Mr. Knox, sir.
Let's do tricks with bricks and blocks, sir.
Let's do tricks with chicks and clocks, sir.

First, I'll make a quick trick brick stack.
Then I'll make a quick trick block stack.

You can make a quick trick chick stack.
You can make a quick trick clock stack.

And here's a new trick, Mr. Knox....S
ocks on chicks and chicks on fox.
Fox on clocks on bricks and blocks.
Bricks and blocks on Knox on box.

Autumn leaves

There aren't a lot of things I like about this time of year. Let's face it, the weather is getting cooler, the days are getting shorter and the skies are gray more often than not. Yuck.

But - we do get some pretty leaves which, usually, make for some pretty good photo ops. So in the spirit of pretty leaves, this is the only halfway decent one I've gotten.

So far. Stay tuned, I hope to get more.



Yes, I know this is a cheater post, but I've got a killer headache tonight (another bonus brought on by fall -- it's allergy hell for me) and I almost didn't post at all. Will try to do better tomorrow.

geez louise

Seems I just can't get a break here. I had a decent day at work... busy, but it makes the time go. Lori was in a fair mood and that always makes it better. Never can tell with her since she started menopause. Mood swings. We'll all be there some day so I deal, but that wasn't the case today, so it was good.

But then I came home. The boys were fighting, my mother was in a mood, and by the time I finished the dinner dishes I'd had it with everyone. Took Jaben to scouts and Kyan and I went to Big Lots to get Jabe a cheap notebook to replace the one he lost and look around till it was time to pick him up. Course by the time we get home it's 8:00 already so everyone ends up going to bed later than usual, and this time for some reason Jaben decided to read to Ky. Which would be fine, but then Ky didn't want to sleep by himself and has been crying on and off ever since. And Jaben - well, after successfully sabotoging Kyan's bedtime, decided to take a BATH at 9:30. A shower I can understand, it's quick and he needed it. But a BATH?? Yeah, just to drive me nuts, I'm sure.

So, while my intentions were to try to write a light, hopefully funny post (been digging the nablopomo site for ideas) it's just not going to happen tonight. Sorry. Bitchfest is all ya get.

Between here and there

There is a very big difference between here and there. Although it's a small community in general, these two areas of town are completely different. I don't think there is a big economical difference, but the people are so very, very different.

There, most of the neighbors were rude, I worried about my kids when they went outside - I never knew what was going to happen.

Here, I step outside and say hi to the neighbors, I know my kids will be fine outside, and if something were to happen I would hear about it from whoever was a witness. And I would hear the truth.

There, if a child took something that belonged to another child, the story was deny, deny, deny. "Not my child." "You're a liar." "If you didn't see it, it didn't happen." "How dare you?" And my favorite... "I'll kick your ass!" And those are the supposed adults.

Here, if a child takes something that belongs to another child, the parent brings the child over, makes him give back what he took, and apologize. The child is punished and the parent is not only angry at the child, but embarassed at their behavior. It is so much easier to remember that all kids do these things and to forgive and move on when you know it's being taken care of in the home. When you know the parents are teaching the children better than that. When you know it's not condoned. Once a child leaves your sight (as they all must, at some point), you can't control their actions, you can only hope they remember what you've taught them and pray that they do right.

A good parent teaches his or her child to do right and corrects them when they do wrong. A bad parent defends the child, regardless of that child's actions. And that defense can make for an uncomfortable, sometimes dangerous neighborhood.

That is the difference between here and there. And I'm so glad that we're here.

Almost forgot to post!

I was just on my way to bed when I remembered I forgot to post! It's been a busy day tho. We had to go to the other house and get the lawnmower and other things out of the shed, as well as take out some trash. We're only allowed 3 bags a week, so as we're gathering things to toss, we're slowly getting them to the curb each week. When we finished with that, we had people over to watch the Browns - Steelers game, and of course being Sunday, I spent a lot of time doing laundry. The kids had a great time, all playing together and Kyan was so very sleepy when bedtime came! Of course he doesn't sleep as well at night if he hasn't had his nap, so he's already woken up once... hopefully that will be it for tonight. We'll see.

I'll try to be better tomorrow, but I'm very sleepy and off to bed myself. Night!

10 posts in 10 days! Check me out!

I'm really surprised that I've been able to keep up with noblopomo. I really wasn't sure I'd be able to do it, but here I am, 10 days in, and still moving along. Yay me!

I've been reading a lot of blogs lately (check out the updated blogroll to the right, you might find something new you'll like) and there's one I would like you to stop by and check out. The blog is called Clever Nonsense and it's written by a woman named Brandy, who I met on an expecting board when I was pregnant with Kyan. She's a working mother of 4 and is currently in the midst of her second battle with Hodgkins Lymphoma. She is amazing. I've never met Brandy, but I can tell you that she is one of the strongest, most upbeat, positive people you'll ever have the privilege of encountering.

If you've got the time, stop by and read a bit. I guarantee you'll be as astounded as I am by Brandy. Add her to your prayer list, drop her a comment and show her some love.

Long, busy day

It's been a long, busy day.

To begin with, I've started working on Fridays again. I had to... I need the money. I had set it up so that I'm only there 4 hrs, and can still take Jaben to school and pick him up, and today was the first day this was to happen.

Ah, the best laid plans....

7am the phone rings and it's the babysitter. Her grandmother had passed in the night. I'm so sorry for her, she was still at the nursing home when she called and she sounded awful. No problem - I can't imagine a better reason for being unable to work.

So, plan B. I call my sister and wake her whole house to get her to drive here to take Kyan. Sweet Jaben made her a pot of coffee and met her at the door with a cup. When I saw her later she said it was the worst coffee she'd ever had (FAR too strong) but she bravely drank some because Jaben made it. Things like that are why they love her.

So I got Jaben to school and made it to work only 1/2 hr later than planned. Got some stuff started but nothing finished, and was on my way home. It was semi-productive and I'll take that for the first day. When I got home, Ky was sleeping and that was good because I was able to clean up the massive toy pileup in the playroom. Mom showed up and I was able to pick Jaben and Adam up at school. Yahoo!

But then. Okay, ow. Jaben was having trouble keeping the laundry hamper/basketball hoop his grandma bought him upright, so I came up with a way to rig it so it'd stay. It works really well but in the process of said rigging, I hammered my right index finger.

Read that again. I hammered my right index finger. Yeah, it really f-ing hurt. The nail is bruised and the whole finger is swollen and here I sit, using a mouse and typing. Bright one, aren't I?

But I lived, and we took the kids swimming at the rec. The water was nice and warm but it was FREEZING in the locker rooms. They REALLY need to do something about that. Otherwise, it was a fun time.

Now, everyone has had their day - which weren't bad, even with a pounded (and really f-ing sore) finger - we've swam, had dinner, and Jaben is currently serenading me with his viola. I've missed the beginning of Ghost Whisperer to type this (and ouch my finger hurts from pounding the keys!!) so I'm going to go watch now. Yay for DVR! I can watch while it's still on and not miss anything!

And as an added bonus for reading that rambling... a pic of Kyan my sister sent me from her phone. Cute, isn't he?

I'll love you forever

If you haven't read the book I'll love you forever, you really should. Especially if you're a parent. .

When I first heard about it, I thought it was ridiculous. The basic idea is very sweet. A woman has a son who she rocks and sings to every night...

I'll love you forever
I'll like you for always,
as long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

It is very sweet. And she keeps doing this, every night, as the boy grows up. But then it gets weird for a little bit. The boy grows up to be a man and buys a house across town. So the mom straps a ladder to the top of her car, drives to his house in the dark at night and climbs the ladder up to his bedroom window to rock him and sing to him! It's bizarre!! It still makes me want to giggle, every time I get to that part. Every. Single. Time.

But then I get to the part where the mom gets old and is sick and probably dying - although they never actually say that because, despite the mom's catburglery of her son's house, it's still a children's book. Anyway, once I get to the part where the mom can no longer sing the song to her son, and he sings to her, then goes home and sings to his own infant daughter I still get all misty! I must've read this book 100 times by now (I've had it since Jaben was small) and I can't get thru it without at least some tears!

I know it sounds like an unremarkable, if somewhat odd book, but I highly recommend it. I probably haven't done a great job of selling it, but take my word for it. It's definitely worth purchasing and it's one of those books you will want to read to your kids again and again, and will probably still have on your bookshelf when you're old and can no longer climb the ladder to break into your child's window to sing the song.

You can call me anything but...

So I'm at work earlier and the phone rings...

Me: Roth Graphics.

Customer: Hi, is this Rebecca?

Me: Yes, it is.

Customer: This is XXXX XXXX. Hey... does anyone ever call you Becca?

Me: No. Well, my mother does, but just her.

Customer: (laughs) Oh-kayyyy... gotcha. So Rebecca....

Moral of the story? Don't call me Becca. Kthxby!

Are you busy?

I am. It seems like it just never ends. Work, clean, run the kids around, more work, more cleaning, laundry, outside work, still need to move stuff... I want a day to just sit around and do nothing!! The only way that'd happen would be if I was sick and who wants that? Ugh, no thank you!

It's going to be a busy month at work, so no chance of taking a slug day this month. Of course there's always the Friday after Thanksgiving. I'd like to go Black Friday shopping, but I don't have anyone to watch Kyan because my mom likes to go. It'd be awesome to get it all done in one day tho... ah to dream!!

It's incredible, I've got so very much to do, and yet nothing to write about. I'm beginning to wonder if this post every day thing was such a good idea. I need to make time to blog hop and see what everyone else is writing about. A little bloggy inspiration is in order! Any ideas?

CRASH!

The boys broke a picture frame tonight. Not too much glass around, but Kyan got sent to bed and Jaben got sent to take his shower. They were both very sorry, it was an accident for sure, but it's still broken.

Guess that's what we get for letting them ride tricycles in the house.

Buy tickets NOW!

Thought I'd post the poster (I did) for the CD release concert Jaben's drama teacher and her husband are having. This isn't the final version, but it's the only one I had on this machine. It's got all the right info and it does look pretty much like the one we're using. If you're in the area, I highly recommend going to the show... even if you don't like country music I think you'll like them. I might be biased, but they're really, really good.

Orlando Bloom is hot!

I should probably welcome all the teenage girls that title will bring in. But I couldn't help myself, Pirates of the Caribbean is on and all I can think about it how gorgeous Orlando Bloom is and how sexy Johnny Depp is. Well, now that Kyan has stopped with the boo-hoos, that's all I can think about.

He's been doing so good, since we moved, about going to sleep in his own bed. We have a deal that if he wakes up in the middle of the night he can come sleep with me then. And that's exactly what he'd been doing, until last night when he slept thru. Which was GREAT! He's been napping really well in there too, and had a great one today - I had to wake him up because he'd slept too long. But tonight... he just didn't want to do it. He kept saying he wanted to be in my bed (even tho I'm not), and when I finally left him he cried, loudly, for a while.

But now, all is quiet and I can get in my blog post for the day. Which, of course, is all about Kyan's sleep habits. Oh well, I didn't have much interesting to write today anyway.

Except I cleaned the garage and now mom can park her car in it.

And we bought curtains for the house. Oh and the ones for the playroom are so very cool!! They're bluish stripes, but the colors change slightly, depending on your angle. They, and some of the living room curtains had to be ordered because they were out of stock, but soon, by Wednesday they say, the entire world will no longer be able to see what we're doing at all hours of the day and night. So long to livin' in a fishbowl!!

Day 2 and NaBloPoMo brings traffic!

Well, I've made it 2 days! I know, huge accomplishment, right? Day two has definitely brought thoughts of what to write about, a few small additions (I'm totally digging my new profile pic... it's cute, right??), and some visitors! There has been a definite spike in visits, brought on by the NoBloPoMo randomizer. I even got a couple of comments - and you can be sure I'll be stopping by your blogs!

It's weird, I've always like to write, have always wanted to write. And here I have the space and the freedom to do it, my own little corner of the interwebs, and I neglect it. Often. I get busy, or I can't think of anything interesting to add... but who really cares if it's great? It should be for me, for my boys. I've kept a better scrapbook of their lives thru this blog than I ever have with baby books or photo albums. Oh who am I kidding? Most of their pictures are in shoe boxes or, more recently, stored on hard drives and CDs. But this... this has their memories, chronicles their lives and might, one day, give them that amazing scrapbook I just can't find the time for. Printed entries, arranged in a book would be something they could both have, to take with them forever. Even this site, with all my randomness, might be a cool reminder of who we all were. Back then, when they were young.

Okay, enough of the sentimental stuff. I've got a cute Kyan story for today that I really hope comes across in text. It was a beautiful, crisp, sunny day today, and we'd gone to Goodwill to donate about 7 bags of old clothes (yes, I'm a hoarder). Since I didn't have to go further from the car than the 4 feet to the door, I left Kyan strapped into his carseat and just opened the door so he wasn't "alone," so he never got out of the car. He did his usual talking and singing to himself as I unloaded but I wasn't really listening. I know I probably should have been, but I wasn't really even paying attention when I got back in and started to drive away. What I did hear sounded something like, "Tunnay."

So I asked him, "Sunday, Ky? What about Sunday?"

There was a moment of silence from the back seat, followed by a very clearly enunciated, "It's -- sun-ny!"

Um, yeah, way to put Mommy in her place, kid.

Okay, maybe it doesn't come across in text very well. But trust me, I was put very firmly in my place by a 2 yr old today. Ouch. He got me back tho... later after we'd dropped Jaben off for camping with the scouts, I was treated to 15 straight minutes of...

Kyan: knock knock!
Mommy: Who's there?
Kyan: 'anana
Mommy: banana who?
Kyan" knock knock?
Mommy: Who's there?
Kyan: 'anana
Mommy: banana who?
Kyan" knock knock?
Mommy: Who's there?
Kyan: 'anana
Mommy: banana who?
Kyan" knock knock?

Repeat ad nauseum. He even kept it up when I got out to pump gas. Seriously, at some point this kid needs to learn the end of the joke. Which, if you don't know it (and I'm sure you must!) is that after repeating the banana part of the joke until the "who's there" person is ready to strangle you, you switch it up...

Who's there?
Orange.
Orange who?
Orange you glad I didn't say banana?

Nablopomo

All the cool kids are doing it, so why not some of us not-so-cool kids? Yes, it's National Blog Post Month, where you post every single day for an entire month! No cheating by back-dating posts or posting twice in a day or anything like that. Think I can do it?

Yeah, I know, my track record isn't all that great, but it's worth a shot! I just wonder if I can find enough things to post about for an entire month. Hm... maybe more posts about spaghetti up the nose?

For now, a pic of the boys right before trick or treat - which, btw, Kyan loved! He totally rocked at it and wanted to go again the next night. But I think I'll save those details for tomorrow. I need a whole months worth of posts, y'know!

Up yer nose...

Kyan has started putting things up his nose. So far it's been cheese and spaghetti, and an attempt at a crayon piece (it was too big, thank God). I've been able to get him to blow them out, so no trips to the ER... yet.

I don't know how to make him understand that you don't put things up your nose. I would have thought that when it hurt, he wouldn't have done it again.

Wrong.

So now what? What makes a weird-o kid stop putting things in his nose?? I'd only seen this on tv and in movies before now, not in real life, so I have no idea how to convince him that this is not okay. I mean, I've told him not to do it, but he doesn't seem to want to listen. Strange, for a 2-1/2 yr old not to listen, right?

Anyone know how to make a toddler stop putting things in his nose? I really don't want to have to go to the ER for an extraction, but if this keeps up, I'm afraid that's exactly what's going to happen.

I think I'll change his name to "Spaghetti Nose."

snicker snicker giggle giggle

Okay, so I'm updating a menu for a pizza place, and they've added a few things. But the menu is kind of written all over and it's not too easy to follow. Lori had talked to the manager without me present so I was figuring it out as I went along, when I come across a line that reads "with choice of m.Balls"

Begin juvenile snickering.

I call for Lori to come help me, trying really hard now not to laugh, and ask her what m.Balls are supposed to be. She takes one look at it and, apparently without thinking says...

meaty balls.

I got nothing done for 10 mins. In fact, I'm still giggling.

Too stupid to save.

Yeah, that's me. Too stupid to save.

I had typed out an entry using Word, like a good blogger. But I neglected to save, the computer froze up, and that was that.

I refuse to try to re-create a post that was, admittedly, half-assed at best.

I'm disconnecting the home computer tonight to move it to the new digs where the cable will be connected tomorrow. But since this is moving weekend, there probably won't be much from me for a few days.

Like that's unexpected.

But maybe there'll be pictures when I return! Wouldn't that be nice?? And maybe a post about something other than my house and moving!

We'll see...

Have a great weekend!

Goodbye, house

Excuse me while I have a sentamental moment. It just really hit me that this is the last weekend we will ever truly live in this house. I'm really ready to move, to move on... but there are so many bits of my life wrapped up in this house that maybe it's not so easy as I imagined.

At 15... I can still see my grandfather sitting on the edge of my bed (the only time he was ever in my bedroom) in the middle of the night, telling me my grandmother had passed away.

At 17... walking through the door as a high school graduate, and running right back out again to celebrate and party with friends.

At 19... moving out for the first time to go to college.

At 23... bringing home my first baby from the hospital, as a new single mom. God, that was the scariest thing I've ever done.

At 27... sitting on the couch in the living room, awake for the entire night, with Jaben on my lap dozing fitfully with his broken arm, still uncasted cradled against his tiny 4-yr old body.

At 32... (should I stop with the ages now??) the word "Pregnant" showing up on the test... unexepected, but not really, in the tiny bathroom off the living room. Bringing my second baby home from the hospital... more experienced, not as scared, but still the unknown. Seeing my first baby feed my second baby - his new, much loved baby brother - his bottle with the most tender, sweet look of wonder on his face.

Two sets of first steps, first words, first hugs, first "I love you..."

There is a lot of history in this house, a lot of memories... both good and bad. I have to remember that they don't stay here, they come with me. With us. It really is time to move on, that this new house, new neighborhood and new schedule are what we need now. This is a very good thing for my family, for my boys, for our lives. But even when it's the best, most exciting thing, when you've worked so hard for something and wanted it so badly... sometimes it's hard to leave a place filled with so many memories, so much of our lives. It's only across town, and this house with it's memories of our lives will always be here. And everything that happened, all of our memories will always be with us.

I can't wait to move, to move on... but I just needed a moment to say goodbye house.

As backward as a fundamentalist Muslim!

ME!! ME!! I AM! I AM!!

LMAO! This is exactly what was said about/to me:
“by making a nursing mother cover up because your son automatically sexualizes women when he sees a bit of flesh is akin to fundamentalist Muslims telling women to make sure they’re fully covered when going out in public so they don’t give men crazy ideas.”

That comment falls somewhere between the most ridiculous statement ever made (and rather infuriating, to boot) and hysterically funny! I’m not sure yet which it is. What brought on the charming comparison of myself to a fundamentalist Muslim? Simple… I stated in the comments of a blog (that I will not link to because I’ve already caused far too much debate on her blog, I like her, and I refuse to cause more) that while I am pro-breastfeeding, and wish I could’ve, I don’t support the right of a woman to pop her boob out wherever she wants without being discreet or covering up. Why, you ask? Because I’m the mom of a hormonal pre-teen boy and he’s uncomfortable with bare boobs in public and I really don’t think it’s appropriate for a grown woman to be flashing her girls around with out being aware of who’s watching.

I’m all for discreet breastfeeding. DISCREET, people. Don’t take your shirt all the way off and sit there topless, please. Don’t take off your bikini top and shoot me dirty looks when I cover my pre-teen’s eyes. I find it really scary that I’m expected to change the views and feeling s of a child – rather than the adult respecting the feelings and views of that child and covering herself. Or hey, sit on the other side of the booth… I don’t care. I just prefer you not flash your breasts in his face.

Comments like that do not help the breastfeeding cause. Sorry, they don’t. If you want me to respect your right to breastfeed (which I do, der), then please respect the rights of young boys and not flash your boobs at them. I understand that your child needs to eat, but if you’re respectful of my child’s discomfort and are cool about it, I’ll protect your right to breastfeed in public forever. It’s not me against you, or us against them… It’s about cooperation. And I am sick to death of the “my way or the highway” mentality. People won’t respect you or your rights until you respect theirs. That’s just how it is.

Hm… wonder how many flames I’m gonna get? Eh… only like 4 people read this thing anyway. *grin*

Finally

I was finally able to get online at home where I could reinstall my stat counter. So yay for that! I don't actually check it too often, but I do like to see what kind of google searches bring people here, and how many are visiting. When I think of it. So yay for that! At some point I want to add a new banner, but I'm just getting used to the new look (which I LOVE) and don't want to mess anything else up, so that might wait a bit.

As of right now, I have a 4 day weekend! My boss totally rocks! She tossed Monday off at me right at the end of the day yesterday. I think she's trying to get me to use up my days off before the end of the year (I've got tons), and make sure I get time to get my house ready. Not to mention that November is going to be insane and I'll probably be looking at overtime (which is much-needed right now!) so time home with the kids is welcome. I should be cleaning and doing laundry right now because I don't know what the rest of the weekend will bring. Probably a few trips to the dump, definitely a trip to Goodwill to make a donation, and absolutely haircuts for both boys when the best beautician in the world gets off work Sat.

The weekend of the 20th I'm taking a 5 day weekend (yes, I really do have that much time off saved) because we're supposed to be moving then (!) and I want to be home Jaben's first couple of days riding the bus to make sure we get him to the bus stop at the right time, and that he gets home okay. It would suck to miss the bus his first day and not have a ride home. I'm sure he'll be fine and he's plenty old enough to handle it on his own... but no matter how old he is, he's still my baby and I need to be sure he's okay.

Gotta go get things back in order in my disgusting house. I can't wait to move and actually have enough ROOM for things!!

YAY!

Yay for Dani! Not only is her blog one of my favorites, but she pointed me to Bloglines which totally rocks and makes blog surfing tons easier! I’m still figuring out all the bits and pieces there, but I’m so excited I’m able to read the blogs I was starting to have problems with. AND I will be adding some back into my blogroll because I love these blogs and I missed them!

I’d heard of Bloglines before, but didn’t know anything about it. So thanx again, Dani, for sending me that way. It really does make my blog reading tons easier!

In other news, the house is definitely coming along. The bathroom is basically finished, and the rest needs to be finished in a week and a half!! Wow, that’s so little time!! Send us all the good luck you can spare that we make it. We’re planning to move everything in on the weekend of the 20th… it’s going to be a crazy few weeks! For now, a few pics of the pretty bathroom….
























And of course a quick shot of my cute toddler checking out the new tub…

Adolescence sucks

I’m hurting for Jaben today. He’s losing his best friend.

Let me back up a bit. Jaben is a busy kid… he’s always got some activity or other going on, all summer he was gone at various friends’ houses during the day (and at least one night a week) because I work – and couldn’t see the point in paying for daycare for an 11 yr old. Just didn’t seem worth it. So, he spent lots of time this summer away from home and didn’t see his best friend, J, very often. None of this was avoidable, and none of it was Jabe’s fault. It’s just life.

Naturally, J found other kids to hang out with while Jaben was off doing his summer things. And gradually, as the summer wore on, J was available less and less when Jaben would call; he was turning down sleepover invitations, and generally just not around. I can’t very well blame him, he certainly couldn’t be expected to sit around at home alone waiting for Jaben to be available to him, and he needed friends and things to do.

Then school started again. For the first week or 2, things seemed fine. Jaben has been walking to school with J, but J no longer came home with Jaben after. Last year you could count on J always being there after school and, more often than not, staying for dinner. This year, he doesn’t even walk home with Jaben half the time. One day last week my mother went to pick Jaben up and saw J running away from the school with another boy. When she asked Jabe where J was, he said he’d gone to the back of the school to meet someone. Later, when they passed J and this other boy and Jaben yelled to J out the car window, the other boy yelled back, “Shut up, he doesn’t like you.”

Ouch. Jaben says J wouldn’t talk about him like that, wouldn’t do that to him. But I have my doubts. From the little bits I’ve seen of J in the past few months, I believe he’s changed. He’s not the sweet, loyal kid he was. He, understandably, wants to fit in, and unfortunately doesn’t have the strength of character (that I thought he had) to defy the other kids and stay friends with the one who’s not around so much. Jabe doesn’t hang around with the other kids in the neighborhood – he’s not home often enough and he’s not interested in the things they are (girls, defying authority) so he just doesn’t fit. No big deal to him because he always had J. But now…?

Jaben is having a hard time with this even tho he won’t talk to me about it. I feel a little sick for him today because he left for school 15 mins early. He said he was just ready to go, but I also know that the other boy meets J in the mornings now, and if Jaben doesn’t get there first, they simply leave without him. Seems like Jaben should forget it and move on, but he’s just not willing to let his friend go. He doesn’t get it that he can do better than someone who would treat him like that, that he’s got other friends who care about him and really wouldn’t blow him off… but he wants someone close by.

It’s really hard to watch. Jaben is so very smart, he’s got such a big heart, but he’s socially awkward and he honestly believes the best of people. He’s got very little common sense and he doesn’t read people well (he’s inherited these things from his mother – poor kid) and because of this, he’s going to get hurt quite a few times before he learns. And there’s nothing I can do about it. I can’t shield him from the bumps and bullies of adolescence, I can’t change it. All I can do is ride it out with him.

Fortunately, most of this will be over soon. Once we move, Jaben will be riding the bus to school and he will no longer be living in that awful neighborhood. I know I can’t protect him forever, but I feel like removing him from the situation is what’s best for him at this time. He’s not prepared yet. He’s immature for his age and, as long as he doesn’t get hurt, that’s fine for now. He needs to mature at his own pace and not be “into” girls or anything else until HE’s ready… and not pretend to be in order to impress his “friends.”

I know there are kids in the new neighborhood that are okay to hang out with. We’ve got family friends right up the street, and while they’re not home much more than we are, I know their son at least is a real friend to Jabe. And that’s important, even if they don’t see each other much at all. Also, when we were working at the house this weekend, we hadn’t been there 10 mins when a boy from Jabe’s class rode up on his bike to see him and took Jaben around quick to introduce him to a few friends. That just made me happy. He may not end up with a ton of friends, and maybe running from an increasingly bad situation isn’t always the answer, but in this case, I really think things will be better all around – but particularly for Jaben – once we’re gone.

Still and all… adolescence sucks.

That's done but it wasn't easy

I've re-added the blogroll.

It's not as full as it was because I've had to remove some people. Mainly due to blog overload. There seems to be a problem with bloggers just adding too much stuff to their blogs... you know, posting awards in the sidebar, animations and ADS. I've got nothing against these things, for the most part.

But there are at least 3 blogs I love that I can't even really access anymore because their ads, animations, awards, or photos take too long to load or are too big and either take entirely too long for the time I've got or simply freeze up my computer. I know blogher is extremely popular, but if you've got blogher ads on your site, I'm probably not going to be visiting anymore. The blogher ads are some of the worst for causing load problems for me and no matter how much I love your blog, I just don't have time for that. Sorry, I'll miss you, let me know if you're able to reduce some of what they've done to you, but for the time being I won't be visiting. Which sucks.

I'm still working on the whole customization thing myself (and wow this new set up on blogger makes it MUCH easier than the old one - if I'd known this I'd have updated my template much sooner! Even if it DID delete my blogroll it's totally worth it!) but if you don't know what you're doing, if you don't understand size and load times, please please please limit yourself on what you add. There are a couple of other blogs I went ahead and listed that I may not be able to check much longer because they're simply getting too big. I keep thinking of that whole organization thing... one in, one out. If you're adding something new, please remove something old. That will keep things running more smoothly, keep your load times down, and allow more people to access your blog. If you're not sure this applies to you or you think it might, it probably does. Removing one or 2 older things definitely makes a difference and might make it easier for more people to visit you. Just a thought, I'd hate to have to remove anyone else. I'm bumming about the ones that had to go because geez my blogroll is small now!

It couldn't be helped. I'd like to add more and I'll probably be searching for more imaginary friends soon, but for now it has to be what it is.

Hogwarts reputation!

I love Harry Potter, and while this quiz was pretty doofy, the results are fun!

What's Your Reputation at Hogwarts? (26 different characters)

Crazy Outspoken Psycho (Who's Original In Every Way)House: HufflepuffBest Friend(s): Blaise, Fred, George, and yourself.GryffindorsHarry: Thinks you hate him ever since you called him a "creep". (And is still a little upset that you never gave Cedric the chance to ask you to the Yule Ball so he could go with Cho).Ron: Likes that you don't bow down to Harry and that you wear whatever you want without being so self-consious.Hermione: Is envious of your hair. She loves how you color it, keep it shiny and tamed, and how you do it. Her favorite of your hair styles was your "Hot Pink Streaks" style.Oliver Wood: Has dreams about meeting you in person and falling head over heels for you immediately.Fred and George Weasley: Are your best friends and sidekicks. You assist them in every way possible, and vice versa.Seamus Finnigan: Likes that you wear different colored clothes and don't bother to always match but somehow manage to look great.Neville Longbottom: Thinks you're a little loopy but is still kind to you.Dean Thomas: Always compares his girlfriends to you.Ginny Weasley: Helped you add blue dye to your hair one day because she wanted to find out if you were actually that cool in real life.Parvati Patil: Copies your style profusely and relentlessly.Padma Patil: Secretly hates you ever since you mistook her for her sister and called her a "brainless fashion robot".HufflepuffsCedric Diggory: Was going to ask you to the Yule Ball but was cut short when George and Fred ran up to with a new idea for their shop and you excused yourself excitedly.RavenclawsCho Chang: Is upset that Cedric only asked her to the Yule Ball as a last resort, but still accepts the fact that you're much better looking than she could ever hope to be.SlytherinsDraco Malfoy: Wants to be able to express himself like you. He wishes he didn't have to care what other people of him and could just say "I don't give a fuck," with as much ease as you do.Crabbe: Is attracted to your bright hair and clothes.Goyle: Likes your really long eye lashes.Pansy Parkinson: Wishes she had beauty like yours.Marcus Flint: Likes your taste in music (electronic, indie, alternative) and almost mustered up enough courage to ask you to a concert.Blaise Zabini: Is one of your other closest friends because you got him to open up. He confessed everything to you and even cried a little on your shoulder, and you two are the best of friends.TeachersDumbledore: Has no doubt that you'll take your creativity to all new levels as you mature. (as in get older, not more... motherly).Professor McGonagall: Is proud, but watchful, of your ambition.Professor Flitwick: Likes you, but doesn't know you too well.Professor Trelawney: Asks you for your opinion on everything she does.Professor Snape: Loves how you brighten the room, but hates how you attract the attention.Filch: Envies you for having so much fun at school.
Take this quiz!








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Ah crap

I was messing around with templates, etc, and lost my blogroll. And now of course I don't have time to fix it. I'll put it back, I swear. I have a lot going on right now so it may take time. If anyone reads this and wants on the blogroll, might not be a bad idea to comment and leave your link. Otherwise I'll probably just go thru and add from my favorites list. I hate to think someone might get left out, but it's probably going to happen. Sorry!!

Um... ow!

One thing about having boys... those external boy parts and their sensitivity.

Ky likes to run around bare bottom after his bath at night, which is no biggie because he uses the potty a lot better that way. Last night he was doing that when all of a sudden he let out this horrible scream, started crying and dancing around the middle of the room holding "himself." We later figured out how he'd hit "it", but at the moment all I could do was pick him up and hug him. When Jaben figured out what’d happened, the kid went pale… he says that’s the worst pain there is. I’ll have to take his word for it.

So anyway, I’m sitting on the chair hugging him, rubbing his back and kissing his cheeks – cuz really, what else could I do – when Kyan, so tearfully pathetic says, “Mommy, kiss it!”

And I am such a good mommy – I laughed. Yes, that’s right, my baby hit his weewee for the first time hard, and mommy laughed. I so rock. I told him Mommy couldn’t kiss his weewee, but that it would feel better soon anyway. But then he decided he needed a Spongebob bandaid. Cuz you know, bandaids solve everything. And in my infinite wisdom, I put one on. It’s not ON the weewee, it’s above it, on the flat soft part, but still a rather sensitive area. That sucker is going to stay on there until it falls off in the bath tonight cuz NO WAY am I pulling it off!! Ow ow ow!! Course the bandaid was bugging him this morning, but there wasn’t anything I could or would do. It’s staying there. He’ll just have to have a soapy bath tonight.

I told the babysitter about it this morning so she’d know why there is a bandaid on his weewee, and she said what I thought… “I hope he doesn’t have a messy poop in there today.” LOL! Let’s hope for a good potty day!

Let’s move it!

Heh. I'm not antsy or anything, am I?

Upcoming events regarding the house…

Sept 28 (maybe) and 29 (for sure) will be a garage sale and painting party. Those who know where it’s located are VERY invited to come take some of the garage sale items off our hands, and of COURSE to come help paint the inside! I know, the outside needs a ton of work as well, but that will come. Right now we’re more concerned with making the inside nice. We say “livable” but it’s going to be NICE. So – if you’ve got no plans the 29th, grab your painting supplies and a potluck dish and come help us finish our new house! We’re all so very ready to move!

In the news with the boys, Jaben is applying for student council this year! It’s not an elected position at their school, they must fill out and application and, accompanied by 2 teacher recommendations, turn it in to the student council advisor who then chooses who represents their class. It’d be so good for Jaben to get this! If he gets on, he’s considering running for class president as well – which IS an elected position – but let’s take this one step at a time and hope he makes student council first.

As for Kyan – gosh, he’s getting so smart. Yesterday he was being a typical 2-yr old and making me crazy. This morning he saw me making my lunch and said, about the sandwich, “Dat por meeee?” (Is that for me?) Well… who could turn that down? So I got him a little paper plate, cut the sandwich into 4’s, and he had a bit of ham sandwich for breakfast. Heh. I think he wanted to be with me, because he actually sat at the kitchen table with it and talked to me while I made a new lunch. THEN… when I was tying my shoes to get ready to go, he started telling me the process of shoe tying… “cwoss dat dere…. Good job mommy! Den, go awound da twee….” Just too darn cute. He must’ve picked that up at the babysitters… she said she’s always teaching someone to tie their shoes!

So yeah, the boys are doing well. Jabe’s as anxious to move as the rest of us, but he’s doing well. We’re all just stressing about getting it all done, getting moved, then the task of getting the current house ready for sale and actually SELLING it. We won’t be doing much before putting it on the market… cleaning carpets, painting the whole place just plain white and probably replacing a window or 2, but that’s IT. Take it as it is… it’s not going for much, but we should at LEAST break even. Can’t ask for more than that, eh? Just pray it all gets done soon so we can move on to that phase of the process. I’m just so very ready to be settled and get that house ready to go. I know the market is crap, but I really do hope someone will take it. Can’t stress about that right now… too many other things to stress about!!

I will never understand people

I lurk on a few message boards generally to get information from the posters on subjects I’m interested in, or things about my kids. There is one board that has recently been having a debate regarding peanut allergies in school. A mom came on asking about certain precautions put in place to protect a child with a life threatening peanut allergy and all of a sudden it turned into this giant debate! One mother is even suggesting that putting restrictions on what she can send to school with her child, or having the parent of the child with the LIFE THREATENING allergy provide all snacks interferes with her child’s education. I can’t for the life of me follow that logic. At all. To me, it seems selfish and self-serving. It actually made me a little sick. I was going to post and let them know how disgusted I was with the replies, but have decided to avoid the board altogether from now on. I lost a LOT of respect for some posters and that makes their information less valuable to me.

I can’t imagine, as a mother, not being accommodating to ANY request made of my children, or me to protect the LIFE of a classmate. No pb&j at school? No problem. The other mother will provide all snacks? Great! One less thing for me to do! She might not provide the things I would, maybe it’ll be things my kids don’t like or contain ingredients I wouldn’t normally feed them – but they won’t DIE from it.

Another argument was about birthday celebrations. Apparently bringing in treats for a birthday is a big deal to some people. I wouldn’t know – I had a summer birthday, Jaben has a summer birthday, and Kyan isn’t in school yet. Are a few kids going to be sad that they can’t bring tootsie rolls or cupcakes for their buddies? Sure. Will it kill them to miss one year? Absolutely not. What it will do is teach them a lesson about sensitivity and empathy. I just don’t think an in-school birthday celebration is worth risking a child’s life.

I can’t imagine I’m in the minority with this. I’m actually amazed at how many people seem to have issues with accommodating life-threatening allergies, even going so far as to suggest the child be home schooled. Can you believe that??

Obviously, I’ve made my feelings on the matter quite clear, and this is definitely a vent. I am appalled at the “reasons” offered on this message board, so if you have one that might make more sense, please share. I am ALWAYS open to other points of view. I had no idea I would feel so strongly about this, but the very idea that protecting a child’s life wouldn’t be the priority of a mother simply made me sick. Shame on her.

Zoo Trip!

To celebrate the long weekend, we went to the zoo! To make it a bit more special and because we really needed to get out of dodge, we also got a hotel room for the night. We needed it badly and, aside from a few 2-yr old meltdowns (mild ones, at that), we all had a blast! Check out the pics below... aren't my kids cute?? And yes, the baby CAN swim... in his floaty suit!

Labor Day weekend

Well, school started for Jaben on Tuesday, and so far so good. I'm a little worried because it looks like his Adderall is going to run out 2 days before his doctor appt, and that would leave him 2 school days without it. I really don't want that. I need to call in an hour when they open and see if we can do something about that.

But as far as the weekend goes, today Kyan and I aren't doing much. I need a blood test, to do laundry, and get the house straight. We also need to make "you got thru the first week!" cookies for Jaben to come home to. Tomorrow, I'm getting new rear tires on my car and taking the boys to the Melon Festival. Saturday night, I need to stop by the bar where they're taking my cousin for her 21st birthday. I really don't have a lot of interest in bars these days so I probably won't stay long, but I want to say Happy Birthday and have a beer with her.

Sunday, we're going to the zoo! I can't wait to see how Kyan likes the animals!! After that, we're going to try to find a hotel with a pool and hide out for the night. We all need a break and to get out of town, and this would work perfectly. Hopefully we'll be able to find something nice, but reasonable, with a decent pool the boys can swim in. That would be lovely!

So Kyan's got a new thing this week... he can't stand tags in his shirts. If there's even the tiniest tag in the collar, he begs me to cut it off. The one I just put on him already had the big tag cut off, but he HAD to have the smaller one cut off too. He is not content until there are no tags left on his shirt. I'm sure he couldn't feel that little tag, but if he sees it - that's it. "Mommy, cut tag off." For now, it's kind of amusing, but I'm sure it won't be if I ever manage to have a garage sale and want to sell a bunch of his stuff... no tags means no sizes!

Oh well -- if it keeps him happy...

In the past week...

I have...

• had a birthday
• worked overtime
• gotten my biggest paycheck to date from my employer (due to the overtime)
• gone to Jaben's orchestra orientation
• found out Valley Beach is closed for the season (sob)
• chosen the flooring and paint color for our bathroom
• chosen the boys ceiling fans - Kyan's is SO CUTE!
• begun organizing my room for the move
• realized I need a lot more boxes to do the boys room
• bought the boys a GUINEA PIG

I need to upload the pics from my camera so I can fit more on it. Once I do that, I'll post a pic of Nibbles (our guinea pig). She is so cute and the boys just love her to pieces! We're still working on teaching Kyan to be gentle and careful with her, but he's doing okay. He loves having a pet he can pet and hold, and so does Jaben. We're now a 3 pet household - hard to believe for anyone who knows me. Ha! But they're "easy" pets... we have Bella the beta (our first pet), Retro the parakeet (#2, brought by Santa at Christmas), and now Nibbles the guinea pig. I should take quick pics of all 3 to post, but as I said, I've gotta unload my camera first. So... maybe another time!

Cheers!

1:20am

Finally the music has stopped.

I was awoken approximately 20 minutes ago by very loud, godawful country music coming from somewhere in the vicinity of my backyard.

I got out of bed and called the police - after one half-asleep misdial to the sheriff's office. They said they were already enroute. Apparently someone else had been woken by the godawful music too.

So now it's quiet, but I'm awake. Who plays music so loudly, in the middle of the night, that several neighbors - at least one from the next street over - call the police to shut you up?

I can't wait to get out of this neighborhood.

At least they didn't wake the boys.

Yup, we're still alive!

Just really, really, relentlessly busy!! I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted. I hadn't even thought much about it, really. I'm just not one of those bloggers who can post every day, or apparently even with some regularity. I'm kind of over feeling bad about it. If anyone reads the blog I'm sure they're aware by now that sooner or later, a post will come.

So, what's been going on. The new house is underway. Things are more of a mess than we'd first thought, so all the walls in the bathroom have to be removed and some areas treated because of MOLD! Yeah. Oh God mold. Fortunately, we've got a good guy working on it and he'll make sure it's taken care of. Just that it's one more thing we didn't count on. Things seem like they're going to cost much less than originally thought, so yay for that. That's going to help a lot as we continue to encounter the unexpected and hopefully it will all come together so that we can be IN by Halloween. That's the goal, anyway. I took some pictures when they had the floors ripped up to put in the new subfloors, and I need to get back over soon to get pics of the rest of the progress. I'm hoping to eventually post before, during, and after shots. We'll see how that goes.

Last week we went to Cedar Point with the family. My cousin and her boyfriend were visiting from Alaska so the whole group got together to ride coasters and eat fried junk food. It was GREAT! My mom had to work so she brought Kyan over for me for the twilight hours and I got to spend the day riding with Jaben. He was AWESOME!! He's rather short for 11, so this was the first year he was even tall enough for some of them. He finally got to ride the Raptor with me (my favorite!) and he LOVED it! I was worried because he's not big on flips, but when it ended he screamed "THAT WAS AWESOME!!" and set a great tone for the rest of the day. He didn't care for the new Maverick (which I LOVED) but he rode more rides that day than ever, so we had a blast! When Kyan came, I found out how truly fearless my baby is. He kept pointing at the giant coasters and asking, "I ride that?" Too cute! We took him to Camp Snoopy and he rode EVERYTHING! He was so cute on the Woodstock Express (giggled the whole ride!) that we bought the video at the end. I think we've seen it about 85 times now and he never gets tired of it. Just as an aside, the angle they shoot those from is not adult friendly and mommy looks like a sluglump. Niiiiiiiiiiiice.

I'm probably going to be working some extreme hours next week, so rather than wait and maybe miss the Huron County Fair next week, I went ahead and brought the boys to the Erie County Fair last night. We were not impressed. As we got there, Kyan got on the merry go round, then we went to look at other rides for Jaben and they shut them down for an hour!!!! We were so mad! So instead we went to play games (lots of useless junk there) and get something to eat. Eventually the rides started up again and the boys found one they could ride together and they loved it! Jaben got a real kick out of riding with Kyan (he's a blast on a ride), and so they went twice. It was so cool seeing them do this together. Can't wait till Kyan's even bigger and they can do more of that really great stuff together!! We only ended up staying about an hour and a half (small fair) and we were done.

On the way out, we ran into some people from a nearby haunted house, the haunted Hydro (only the best haunted house ever!!) and got to talking to a goul. Yes, he was dressed as a goul and had the COOLEST mouthpiece that gave him screws for teeth! Said he made it himself. Anyway, he told us they're always looking for volunteers and we should contact them!! I've ALWAYS wanted to work at a haunted house so we're definitely looking into it. If Jaben is old enough (website has no age limit listed) we're going to try for it together. That would be so much fun!!!

So, that's it for now. School starts soon and knowing me, I may not write again until then. But, we've been having a great summer, the boys are happy and healthy and things are trucking along.

Hug your babies, count your blessings

I feel compelled to write this down. I read a lot of blogs. Some every day, some once, twice, linked from other blogs, found by accident. This week, I found a blog that made my heart hurt and my arms ache to hold my babies.

I was reading this post on Tracey’s blog and went on to read about Hannah’s mom. I don’t think I’ve ever read anything so tragic, so loving, so beautiful, and so very full of pride and hurt. I ache for this mom, this family that I have never and will never meet. What a beautiful little girl, what a terrible loss.

The very thought makes me hurt all over. My stomach hurts, my heart hurts, my arms ache to hold my boys tight and protect them from all the horrible things that could happen. It happens every day to families who never think it could happen to them. It makes me want to be a better mom, to make sure beyond any doubt that they know I love them more than my next breath, that they’re the reason I get up in the morning, that those 2 sets of brown eyes are the most amazing things I’ve ever seen and oh God how very lucky I am to have them.

Don’t waste it. Hug your babies, tell them you love them, dress up in sparklies in honor of Hannah, play a silly game, pick some flowers, have a tickle fight. Above all, be there. Be the strength behind everything they do, love them so hard they feel it no matter where they are. We have no way of knowing what life will bring next, so live it as hard as you can.

To an athlete

I don’t know who wrote this, but if anyone knows, please share so that I can give credit where credit is due. I am working on a football program, and this is included, titled To An Athlete. However, it reminded me of my boys and I see that this is how Kyan feels about Jaben. Thinking about it as a little brother to big, it put a lump in my throat and of course I had to share.

There are little eyes upon you,
And they’re watching night and day;
There are little ears that quickly
Take in every word you say;
There are little hands all eager
To do anything you do;
And a little boy who’s dreaming
Of the day he’ll be like you.

You’re the little fellow’s idol,
You’re the wisest of the wise.
In his little mind about you,
No suspicions ever rise;

He believes in you devoutly,
Holds that all you say and do,
He will say and do, in your way
When he’s a grown-up like you.

There’s a wide-eyed little fellow,
Who believes you’re always right,
And his ears are always open,
And he watches day and night;
You are setting an example
Every day in all you do,
For the little boy who’s waiting
To grow up and be like you.

4th recap n stuff

We had a nice 4th of July, in spite of Kyan being sick and Jaben being at Boy Scout camp. I can't believe how much I'm missing him now and I can't wait for him to get home tomorrow! So for now, I'll recap the 4th... with pictures!

First, we went the the annual 4th of July parade. Jaben's scout troop came back from camp to be in the parade, so we were very excited! Here's Kyan waiting for the start of the parade... in the sprinkles that, thankfully, didn't last too long.



Jaben's float was one of the first to come by, and they were moving quite fast! This was the only picture I had time to get, and it wasn't a very good one. A good friend of mine got a better picture... in fact she got great pics of the whole parade! For her recap, go here: Palm Tree Fanatic

And here's Jaben, looking far too excited to be in the parade.



My cousin Timmy is in the middle school marching band. He plays drums, but as they passed us, he was pushing another drummer in his wheelchair. So, that's what I got my picture of.



Later, my aunt, my sister, her friend and kids came for a cookout. I didn't get pics of that because, as I said, Kyan's been sick. So we napped a bit and then ate. After that I took a trip with another mom out to Camp Firelands to visit our big boys for Parent's Night. Jaben was actually happy to see me and hugged me in front of his friends! Here's my sweet boy...



We had a picnic dinner with the boys while we were there. Here's Jaben and Logan (whose mom I rode with) having their dinner. Jaben is drinking root beer, btw!



We then took a fun, bumpy hayride back to the boys' camp area to see where they're living (amongst the big 'ol wolf spiders!) for the week. I forgot to get a pic of their camp, but I did get a pic on the hay wagon of Jaben and his tent mate, Matt.



One odd side... when we were on the hay wagon heading back to the front of the camp, I ran into someone I knew in high school! Hey Tina... remember Geneva?? Remind me to tell you about that! So very odd!

When we got back to the front, Jaben bought a slushie and I ran to the ladies room. There was quite a line and I guess he got tired of waiting for me. Poor kid was all worn out!



So... I took a couple of quick shots of the front of the camp because it was pretty. These pictures can't begin to do it justice. It was gorgeous!





And then it was time to leave. I did buy Jaben a pretty cool water bottle with all kinds of scout camping stuff inside it before we left, and he's been a bit bored at camp without enough scheduled activities to do (long story) so he said he wanted to come with me. Logan told his mom the same thing, but I don't think they really wanted to come home. I think maybe it was just a little hard to see us leave. I'm sure they're having fun and they'll be home tomorrow so we'll hear all about it.

We didn't go the fireworks that night because, as I said before, Ky's been fighting a cold. But we could hear them from our house! That was unexpected! It was nice, for once, not to have to fight traffic as well as actually get a halfway decent night's sleep. I did have to work the next day, after all.

Jaben's website

While still somewhat under construction, it's still a pretty good start for an 11 yr old with limited computer knowledge. I know - they're supposed to know more than we do, right? He's learning tho and this site might just end up being very cool. Check it out, increase his hit count and sign his guest book!

Jaben's games n stuff

PS He's at scout camp this week so it'd be very cool for him to come home to a huge increase in hits!

Fighting... with an 8-1/2 yr age difference?!?

Seriously... they're fighting today. There are 8.5 yrs between them and they are FIGHTING!

Um... like brothers?

Who would've thought that they'd already know how to push each others buttons so. I guess I don't need to worry too much about the age difference keeping them from having a normal sibling relationship. They've already mastered one of the most important parts of growing up with a sibling... driving each other insane! They are extremely supportive of each other tho. Kyan will be the first to clap and give Jaben a "good job!" when he's done something praise-worthy, and Jaben celebrates all of Kyan's milestones right along with the rest of us (using the potty on his own!!), so I know they love each other. I just think today they're having a day when they don't really like each other.

Normal, yes. Frustrating? You'd better believe it. I just gave my first double time out and... I didn't really like it. That was no fun. One of them looked at me like I was a moron (gotta love that pre-teen know it all phase) and the other one looked at me like I took away his puppy.

Hopefully we'll be able to move to the new house sooner rather than later, then they can have their own rooms as well as a playroom and maybe, just maybe, having that extra space will level things out a bit.

Oh, I didn't mention we're very likely moving to a new house? It's a family-owned home (meaning owned by my mother's family - it belonged to my grandma and grandpa) and it's recently been empty. It needs a lot of work (so does the house we live in now) but it's got enough bedrooms that everyone could have their own, plus there would be a rather large playroom, once we're finished with the remodel the kitchen will be huuuuuge, it has a gigantic back porch that will be screened in for hanging out and playing (yay for a rainy-day playspace!), a garage, and will have a large fenced-in yard! I do hope things work out because that would be so very nice. I'd love to be in the same area of the house as the boys, I'd love for them each to have their own rooms... and I'd love everything else we'd most likely end up having with this other house.

Plus, it's right up the street from some life-long friends of ours and it'd be very cool to have friends that close. Our neighbors here... well, they kind of suck. I'm very hopeful that this will work out and I'm definitely excited! I can't wait to get out of this house! Hopefully Sept-Oct..... Cross your fingers!!

Daycare switch hell

Have I posted that Kyan is at a new daycare? I don't know if I did. It's so hard to find the time to post anymore (especially since blogger is NO LONGER COMPATIBLE with my mac at work!) that I don't know what I've posted and what I haven't. Regardless, our super-wonderful-love-her-to-death daycare provider is moving to South Carolina and we're going to miss her like crazy. That also means we needed to find a new home for Kyan during the days. Lynn suggested someone, we met her, liked her, and started Kyan over there, and that's where things got rough.

Kyan isn't the most adaptable kid to begin with. He wants things the way he wants them and if he's not happy, he lets you know it. I wouldn't call him difficult, exactly, but headstrong for sure. Yeah, definitely headstrong. But that's not what this is. Lynn has a little boy, just his age, I think 2-3 months older, named Chad. He and Kyan are best friends, brothers. They have spent all day together since Kyan started there last August. That's not long to you and me, but to Kyan and Chad, it's been forever. I don't think they can remember ever not having each other.

So, while our new provider is great, she's not Lynn and she doesn't have Chad. And Kyan is very, very sad. I even got a call at work yesterday about how pitifully sad Kyan is. She said he's breaking her heart... he's not being difficult, he's not being whiney, but he's so very sad and nobody - not even Mommy - knows how to help him. He's grieving, he's hurting, he misses his friend so much, and he's not big enough yet to understand what's going on. I can't explain this one to him and it hurts to see him so hurt.

Lynn brought Chad over last night to visit and Kyan was so happy! After they left he smiled at me, jumped up and down and said, "I play Chad today!" That's the happiest I've seen him in a week. We're going out this morning, but after nap this afternoon we're going to go to their house to visit. I'm going to bring my camera and get some pictures so Kyan will have them, but we can't do this forever. They're leaving Weds to go look at a house Lynn's husband found and if they like it they'll stay to sign papers and do the closing. All they'll have left to do here is sell their house. So he can't get used to going to Chad's house to play.

I wish I knew what to do to make this easier for him. I wish there was some way to let Kyan know that Chad is okay, Lynn still loves him and they miss him, but they're going to be living somewhere else soon, too far to go play. I wish I could fix it all for him and I just can't. And that makes ME sad.