A friend and blog reader emailed me the other day just to check and see how things are going in "Spotsville". I replied that things are hopping. And its true. I wish I could tell you all about it, but some things will have to wait. But first, I want to thank each and everyone of you for not only reading about my vida loca but also for caring about it. And to the many of you I keep in touch with outside the blog...I adore you.
So we are currently down in household size from 6 to 4. And no I don't mean because Mike is so busy working on the dining hall roof that he's hardly ever home. Although that is true and is a small bone of contention. I mean who else can say that the "other woman" is a tin roof her husband is building. Complete with "floating rafters" (whatever the hell that means). He even sent me a picture in a text message the other day of the roof. I answered "um. wow. It looks roof-y?"
No, Luke and Lu have called it splitsville. Well, actually, Lu decided it was splitsville and so he moved out roughly two weeks ago. Sometimes, things just don't work out and you have to move on.
And Bobby is leaving the nest. His brother bought a house and asked him to move in with him and his girlfriend. It's twenty minutes closer to town and not on a gravel road. We agreed that this was a good time for him to test his wings. We also made sure he knew that if it didn't work out he still had a home to come back too. I will miss him. And yet, I'm proud. It's a funny bag of mixed emotions.
And now for some random conversations that have taken place over the last few days:
***As Lu and I were standing in line to see the play "Forever Plaid" at the local community theatre:
Lu: *leaning over to kiss me on the cheek* Thanks.
Me: For what? The tickets were free.
Lu: No. For making me pretty.
Me: Um. Well, I didn't have a lot to do with that. That's more of a "thank the Universe" kind of thing. What brought that on anyway?
Lu: I was just looking around and looking at you and you're pretty and I look just like you, therefore I'm pretty too.
Me: Oh. Well in that case, you're totally welcome. You're really just glad I don't dress horrible and embarrass you, aren't you?
Lu: Yeah, that too.
***The other day when Mike came into my office in the middle of the day:
Mike: Are you working?
Me: Generally if you hear the keyboard typing non stop I'm working yes.
Mike: Oh then I won't bother you.
Me: You kind of already have so you might as well just tell me what you need.
Mike: I don't need anything.
Me: Then why did you come in here?
Mike: I was just checking on you.
Me: Checking on me how? What did you think had happened to me exactly?
Mike: I don't know.
Me: *sighing* well I'm glad we cleared that up. I'm fine thanks. I just bid on a new job. It would be a lot of articles though. I'd probably have to start taking myself a little more seriously and really putting in 6 to 8 hours a day.
Mike: you don't need to do that.
Me: I know. But I want to. And extra money would be nice, it would pay really well.
Mike: You don't need to do that because we keep you plenty busy around here taking care of us.
Me: Did you honestly just say I can't further my career because you and the kids are so needy?!
Mike: Yeah. That's pretty much it in a nutshell.
Me: You should probably leave my office now. *And that my friends, is why I'll never be famous. Because my family requires too much of my time.*
***Sean and I talking before he went to bed last night, Lu was in the room too.
Me: So who painted your nails this time?
Sean: Dawn at work. I need to take it off before Monday so she can do a better job. She was in a hurry.
Me: Are you going to take it off before your scout thing tomorrow?
Sean: Nope. I did the last one with sparkly pink nails that my supervisor painted.
Lu: Only you would be able to find a job where you get to do such ridiculous things and still get paid.
Me: Are you going to take it off before your date with Lizzie?
Lu: Where are you taking Lizzie?
Sean: Hamilton Family Diner. I promised her some ham fam next time she was back. And no, I'm not.
Me: I wish you would.
Sean: Why? Are you being gender stereotypical?
Me: No. I just don't like fingernail polish on guys. You know how goth guys wear black fingernail polish? I just don't like it.
Sean: It's not black. It's Burgundy.
Lu: *Explodes into giggles.* It's Burgundy!!
Me: I don't care what color it is, I just don't like it.
Lu: *more hysterical laughter* It's Burgundy!
Me: Um. Are you alright there Lu?
Lu: Yes. You guys just crack me up. You should blog this. It's Burgundy. *giggle snort*
And that's what's going on around here.
Have a great weekend,
♥Spot
Showing posts with label dysfunctional families. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dysfunctional families. Show all posts
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Monday, November 8, 2010
The one where Sean gets served
So not many people commented on my last blog so I'm thinking maybe you don't like it when I get serious or maybe it's just a skinny people boycott. Whatever. If you guys are going to play that game I guess I'll just go ahead and give you what you want. I know, you want the "funny". Fine. Here. I hope you all snort liquid out your noses. (No, really, I do!)
A couple of weekends ago, Sean's "not girlfriend"(which is a whole confusing state in and of itself) Lizzie came home from college for the weekend and we'd already planned that she would come to our house Friday night. We said we'd make dinner (and by "we", I totally mean "I") and then we'd (now I mean "we") teach her to play Mexican Train Dominoes. Don't laugh. It's fun. And we are all extremely competitive so it involves a lot of trash talking and a couple of swear words. So she arrived on a Friday night and we gathered round the table to chow down on some pork carnitas (duh, what else would you eat but Mexican food when you're going to play Mexican train dominoes?). It was Lizzie, Sean, Lu, Bobby (who was still off work from his accident) and myself. Naturally our dinner table conversation took several small leaps off track. And I'm just going to warn you right now-- if you get embarrassed about the word "vagina" or are easily offended STOP READING RIGHT NOW. Also, if you think you might feel the need to offer me parenting advice or something-- don't. I won't listen and I happen to think I've done a wonderful job. Thus ends the warning.
Me: Lizzie, how did W's 21st birthday party go? Wasn't it her first time ever drinking?
Lizzie: I don't know for sure that it was, but I know she was always against underage drinking whenever she was with K & I. But she drank alot and puked twice.
Me: Gross. But sometimes when you puke you feel better and can keep partying. Not that I recommend that.
Lizzie: Yeah, she puked the first time at the party and then the next time after we got home, she was on the porch and the window was open.
Sean: Did she make it to the bathroom at the party?
Lizzie: I don't know for sure.
Lu: Well I hope she didn't puke in her purse.
*We all start laughing*
Sean: Why the hell would she puke in her purse?
Me: That's totally gross. Who would do that?
Lu: Well it always seems like a good idea, until the next morning. It's just a really bad idea.
Me: Please tell me you don't know this from personal experience!
Bobby & Sean: She totally does! Look at her face!
*by this time we're all laughing hysterically*
Lu: It's really not that funny!
-now I know some of you are going "she just sort of admitted to getting drunk" and yeah, it can be viewed that way. But for the most part if you think your teenagers have never snuck a drink or two, you're fooling yourself. Besides, it's not like I can ground her for sins of the past. If you could, my parents would probably still be trying to ground me for shit I pulled they never knew about. There's got to be a statute of limitations on that kind of stuff-
From there, the convo takes a bewildering turn-
Lu: I don't know why Axel(my tiny female cat) is so mean to Sparkplug(Lu's male cat) anymore. They used to be the Romeo & Juliet of the cat world.
Me: She hasn't wanted anything to do with him since he came home from the vets.
Lu: Maybe she just knows he can't put out anymore. That's okay Sparkplug, you stay away from her vampire vagina.
*All of us turn to stare at her*
Lu: I read it in that cat book you got when Axel was pregnant. When cats have sex the female has these little barbs in there that make it impossible for the male to pull out before the deed is done.
Sean: So let me get this straight- you think cats have fangs in their vaginas?
Lu: No not fangs, barbs. But whatever, they're like vampires.
Me: *struggling for breath because I'm laughing so hard* Vampire Va-jay-jays! Man, where's Elly when you need her?!
Bobby: thank god humans don't have those.
Me: seriously, people would never have sex. And boys would learn to say no.
Sean: No! Keep that vampire vagina away from me girls!
Me: Do they sparkle?
Yeah, we ran that conversation into the ground. And the rest of the night anytime anyone said "vampire" we all started laughing again. Which was very confusing for Mike when he finally made it to the house.
Sean ended up winning the game. And the highlight of the game was Sean kept shouting "Stop looking at my dominoes Lizzie!!" He gets highly irate when you look at his dominoes. And then once, when he had to draw a domino, Lizzie told him he'd had one he could have played all along.
Sean: Then why didn't you tell me?
Lizzie: Because you keep yelling at me to stop looking at your dominoes! Besides, I needed that space.
Yes, Sean, you did just get served.
Hope Monday isn't treating you all too badly,
♥Spot
A couple of weekends ago, Sean's "not girlfriend"(which is a whole confusing state in and of itself) Lizzie came home from college for the weekend and we'd already planned that she would come to our house Friday night. We said we'd make dinner (and by "we", I totally mean "I") and then we'd (now I mean "we") teach her to play Mexican Train Dominoes. Don't laugh. It's fun. And we are all extremely competitive so it involves a lot of trash talking and a couple of swear words. So she arrived on a Friday night and we gathered round the table to chow down on some pork carnitas (duh, what else would you eat but Mexican food when you're going to play Mexican train dominoes?). It was Lizzie, Sean, Lu, Bobby (who was still off work from his accident) and myself. Naturally our dinner table conversation took several small leaps off track. And I'm just going to warn you right now-- if you get embarrassed about the word "vagina" or are easily offended STOP READING RIGHT NOW. Also, if you think you might feel the need to offer me parenting advice or something-- don't. I won't listen and I happen to think I've done a wonderful job. Thus ends the warning.
Me: Lizzie, how did W's 21st birthday party go? Wasn't it her first time ever drinking?
Lizzie: I don't know for sure that it was, but I know she was always against underage drinking whenever she was with K & I. But she drank alot and puked twice.
Me: Gross. But sometimes when you puke you feel better and can keep partying. Not that I recommend that.
Lizzie: Yeah, she puked the first time at the party and then the next time after we got home, she was on the porch and the window was open.
Sean: Did she make it to the bathroom at the party?
Lizzie: I don't know for sure.
Lu: Well I hope she didn't puke in her purse.
*We all start laughing*
Sean: Why the hell would she puke in her purse?
Me: That's totally gross. Who would do that?
Lu: Well it always seems like a good idea, until the next morning. It's just a really bad idea.
Me: Please tell me you don't know this from personal experience!
Bobby & Sean: She totally does! Look at her face!
*by this time we're all laughing hysterically*
Lu: It's really not that funny!
-now I know some of you are going "she just sort of admitted to getting drunk" and yeah, it can be viewed that way. But for the most part if you think your teenagers have never snuck a drink or two, you're fooling yourself. Besides, it's not like I can ground her for sins of the past. If you could, my parents would probably still be trying to ground me for shit I pulled they never knew about. There's got to be a statute of limitations on that kind of stuff-
From there, the convo takes a bewildering turn-
Lu: I don't know why Axel(my tiny female cat) is so mean to Sparkplug(Lu's male cat) anymore. They used to be the Romeo & Juliet of the cat world.
Me: She hasn't wanted anything to do with him since he came home from the vets.
Lu: Maybe she just knows he can't put out anymore. That's okay Sparkplug, you stay away from her vampire vagina.
*All of us turn to stare at her*
Lu: I read it in that cat book you got when Axel was pregnant. When cats have sex the female has these little barbs in there that make it impossible for the male to pull out before the deed is done.
Sean: So let me get this straight- you think cats have fangs in their vaginas?
Lu: No not fangs, barbs. But whatever, they're like vampires.
Me: *struggling for breath because I'm laughing so hard* Vampire Va-jay-jays! Man, where's Elly when you need her?!
Bobby: thank god humans don't have those.
Me: seriously, people would never have sex. And boys would learn to say no.
Sean: No! Keep that vampire vagina away from me girls!
Me: Do they sparkle?
Yeah, we ran that conversation into the ground. And the rest of the night anytime anyone said "vampire" we all started laughing again. Which was very confusing for Mike when he finally made it to the house.
Sean ended up winning the game. And the highlight of the game was Sean kept shouting "Stop looking at my dominoes Lizzie!!" He gets highly irate when you look at his dominoes. And then once, when he had to draw a domino, Lizzie told him he'd had one he could have played all along.
Sean: Then why didn't you tell me?
Lizzie: Because you keep yelling at me to stop looking at your dominoes! Besides, I needed that space.
Yes, Sean, you did just get served.
Hope Monday isn't treating you all too badly,
♥Spot
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
The one where horror writers are made not born...
I just want to let you all know up front that I'm going out of town tomorrow. And we all know that travelling Spot is not always blogging frequently Spot so I thought I'd warn you in advance. Of course, I'm going to Hildi's with my parents so I might turn into "I must blog in order to keep my half assed claim to sanity" Spot. We shall see.
Yep, I'm leaving my whole tribe and heading to Ohio with my parents. I'd promised Hildi I'd come visit her this month (our all time favorite) so we could do some Haunted Houses or see some scary movies together. And when my parents decided to go this week to watch Hildi's youngest she's (5) cheer with the high school cheerleaders at the football game, she suggested I come with them to save money, wear and tear on my knee and so they could baby me. Well, I don't know about the babying part, I'm more on the nurturing side, but at least I wouldn't have to drive alone now that my offspring have decided to get full time jobs. So plans were made and I'm heading off to their house tomorrow so we can head to Ohio bright and early Thursday morning. I'll be gone a week. I hope the cats and my house survive. I'm leaving Sean, Mike and Luke with head colds and crossing my fingers that Lu doesn't catch it. So we'll see what the week has in store for me.
Hildi's husband is one of those lucky so & so's who always seem to be winning something. Seriously, I don't think they've ever actually bought a TV. A couple of weeks ago, he did it again. Won a TV. So Hildi called and asked if I would like the TV from their bedroom. That sucker is huge. I said sure what do I owe you. And she said don't be silly, you can have it for free. Free is my favorite price so I graciously accepted and she sent it home with my folks. We picked it up from them last Tuesday. It was so large that we had to buy a new TV stand for the living room where we were putting the TV. That was fine with me because I was sick of the old one and in fact have plans to redo the living room decor anyway. Tuesday night when Sean got home he started clearing off the old entertainment center in order to put together the new one. I was busy in the kitchen, making dinner.
Sean: Hey mom! I found this really old thing. It's rectangular and black and covered in dust. It looks like it has some kind of tape in it.
Me: (turning around to see him holding up a VHS tape) Very funny dork.
Sean: Wow. I seem to have come across an even more ancient relic! It's so small. What can it be?
Me: (turning around again to see him grinning and holding up a cassette tape) Wow. That is old.
Sean: Do we even have a device that might play this anymore?
Me: Yeah, the stereo in there has a cassette deck. I think there's actually one in my SUV too. *Looking closer at the tape* OMG! That tape is from when I was little! It's probably got Aunt Hildi on it singing "I love a rainy night". It was her favorite song when she was three. Hold on to that.
Sean: We have to listen to it.
So after dinner, we sat down in the living room and Sean put the cassette in the player.
Me: So for my 7th birthday I asked for a cassette recorder and got one. I then recorded make believe radio shows, poems, songs, aunt Hildi and I singing. It was like a video blog without the video.
Lu: You were such a strange little kid.
Me: agreed. I'm just letting you know that I have no idea what you're about to hear. It's like a disclaimer.
*Sean hit play*
voice on recorder (which sounds oddly like Hildi's daughter): so now I'm going to sing a song I wrote. "Every body's got to die sometime, that's just how it goes, don't ask me why though, cause I don't really know." (only slightly off key)
Sean: Wow. You were a morbid little thing at seven, weren't you?
Me: Of course I was. What else would you expect? I was raised watching "Night Gallery" and "Twilight Zone", Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" and my bedtime stories were straight from Stephen King and Anne Rice. I read Poe's collected works at ten. I think morbid was more of a destiny for me than a choice. It really shouldn't surprise anyone that I turned out to be a horror writer.
Lu: You were weird.
Me: Whatever. With the ability to write lyrics like that and halfway carry a tune, I think it's a wonder that I'm not a rock star.
Sean: You are insane.
Me: By "insane" you totally mean "creative genius" right?
I'm not even going to dignify his response with repeating it here. I'm so misunderstood.
And then last night, I dreamed that Lizzie was cheating on Sean. Which is weird, because they aren't even dating right now. But there you go. If you're reading this Lizzie, don't do it. That guy was not as cute as Sean. And he was short.
Well, I'm off to start my packing. Maybe I can sing for my parents in the car. I'm sure they'll enjoy that. Especially if I make up my own songs.
♥Spot
Yep, I'm leaving my whole tribe and heading to Ohio with my parents. I'd promised Hildi I'd come visit her this month (our all time favorite) so we could do some Haunted Houses or see some scary movies together. And when my parents decided to go this week to watch Hildi's youngest she's (5) cheer with the high school cheerleaders at the football game, she suggested I come with them to save money, wear and tear on my knee and so they could baby me. Well, I don't know about the babying part, I'm more on the nurturing side, but at least I wouldn't have to drive alone now that my offspring have decided to get full time jobs. So plans were made and I'm heading off to their house tomorrow so we can head to Ohio bright and early Thursday morning. I'll be gone a week. I hope the cats and my house survive. I'm leaving Sean, Mike and Luke with head colds and crossing my fingers that Lu doesn't catch it. So we'll see what the week has in store for me.
Hildi's husband is one of those lucky so & so's who always seem to be winning something. Seriously, I don't think they've ever actually bought a TV. A couple of weeks ago, he did it again. Won a TV. So Hildi called and asked if I would like the TV from their bedroom. That sucker is huge. I said sure what do I owe you. And she said don't be silly, you can have it for free. Free is my favorite price so I graciously accepted and she sent it home with my folks. We picked it up from them last Tuesday. It was so large that we had to buy a new TV stand for the living room where we were putting the TV. That was fine with me because I was sick of the old one and in fact have plans to redo the living room decor anyway. Tuesday night when Sean got home he started clearing off the old entertainment center in order to put together the new one. I was busy in the kitchen, making dinner.
Sean: Hey mom! I found this really old thing. It's rectangular and black and covered in dust. It looks like it has some kind of tape in it.
Me: (turning around to see him holding up a VHS tape) Very funny dork.
Sean: Wow. I seem to have come across an even more ancient relic! It's so small. What can it be?
Me: (turning around again to see him grinning and holding up a cassette tape) Wow. That is old.
Sean: Do we even have a device that might play this anymore?
Me: Yeah, the stereo in there has a cassette deck. I think there's actually one in my SUV too. *Looking closer at the tape* OMG! That tape is from when I was little! It's probably got Aunt Hildi on it singing "I love a rainy night". It was her favorite song when she was three. Hold on to that.
Sean: We have to listen to it.
So after dinner, we sat down in the living room and Sean put the cassette in the player.
Me: So for my 7th birthday I asked for a cassette recorder and got one. I then recorded make believe radio shows, poems, songs, aunt Hildi and I singing. It was like a video blog without the video.
Lu: You were such a strange little kid.
Me: agreed. I'm just letting you know that I have no idea what you're about to hear. It's like a disclaimer.
*Sean hit play*
voice on recorder (which sounds oddly like Hildi's daughter): so now I'm going to sing a song I wrote. "Every body's got to die sometime, that's just how it goes, don't ask me why though, cause I don't really know." (only slightly off key)
Sean: Wow. You were a morbid little thing at seven, weren't you?
Me: Of course I was. What else would you expect? I was raised watching "Night Gallery" and "Twilight Zone", Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" and my bedtime stories were straight from Stephen King and Anne Rice. I read Poe's collected works at ten. I think morbid was more of a destiny for me than a choice. It really shouldn't surprise anyone that I turned out to be a horror writer.
Lu: You were weird.
Me: Whatever. With the ability to write lyrics like that and halfway carry a tune, I think it's a wonder that I'm not a rock star.
Sean: You are insane.
Me: By "insane" you totally mean "creative genius" right?
I'm not even going to dignify his response with repeating it here. I'm so misunderstood.
And then last night, I dreamed that Lizzie was cheating on Sean. Which is weird, because they aren't even dating right now. But there you go. If you're reading this Lizzie, don't do it. That guy was not as cute as Sean. And he was short.
Well, I'm off to start my packing. Maybe I can sing for my parents in the car. I'm sure they'll enjoy that. Especially if I make up my own songs.
♥Spot
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
The one where Sean trades invisibility for levitation
So it's Tuesday. I'm pretty sure Tuesday is like the most boring day of the week. Seriously, I mean you made it past Monday but it's not Wednesday so you're not half way through yet. And Thursdays are like a prelude to Friday, which is a great day because it's the start of the weekend. And Saturday is probably one of the best days of the week, followed closely by Sunday. What's left for Tuesday? Yep. Nada. Sorry Tuesday, you kinda suck. And it's grey and rainy again. This weather is really sapping my mojo.
First off, um, wow? I cannot believe all the interest I got in marrying Sean off. Don't you people read my blog? He's no Prince Charming. The lucky girl who gets him has got her work cut out for her. I did like Elly's suggestion of auctioning him off to the highest bidder and then partying with the money. But I'm pretty sure it's illegal in America to sell your minor offspring. Although, Sean tells me in Nepal it's perfectly alright. Something about the guy with the most goats. I don't know. And for all the mother's who asked...he's 16. Turning 17 this summer. He says he can wait for the right girl but he does add that cooking and laundry are two skills he highly prizes. Start training them now! And to J, who left the comment about a previous betrothal to her daughter, there's no contract signed. I have to keep his options open. Oh and one last thing~ mother's, you may want to remember that he plans to take over Slovakia so unless you plan on visiting them, you may not see a lot of your daughters. Please bear this in mind.
Sean and I have had a running joke about how he's trying to perfect the skill of invisibility. If you read the bloggess, you may know that she did a post on how invisibility was a lifelong skill. Therefore, Sean decided to go for it. Most nights, before he heads down to his cave we say goodnight and I always say~
Me: Goodnight sweetie. See you in the morning.
Sean: It's doubtful.
Me: Well, unless you perfect the invisibility thing.
Sean: I'm this close. *holds up thumb and forefinger a mere inch apart*
Me: Love you.
Sean: That's funny, I'm rather fond of me too.
So imagine my surprise when we had this convo the other night while watching T.V.~
Sean: How many volts in an outlet?
Me: You mean just a normal plug in?
Sean: Yes.
Me: 110. Why?
Sean: Well I need 40 more then.
Me: Um why do you need 150 volts?
Sean: I also need several rolls of aluminium foil and some wiring.
Me: *a little worried now* and um, why?
Sean: Well, you put blah blah blah at the four corners, then stretch the aluminium foil out and blah blah blah and then it levitates. (He didn't really say "blah blah blah" I just didn't understand so I kind of tuned out)
Me: How do you know?
Sean: I saw it on the science channel. No one's really sure why it works, but it does. So I have this idea. If I do it on a larger scale with a blah blah blah and a row boat and then I take blah blah blah intake pipes and a large fan blah blah blah car blah blah blah. What do you think?
Me: *glazed over eyes* Yeah, I don't really get what you're saying but um, sure?
Sean: oh fine, ignore me now, but when I'm rolling in my speeder, you'll be sorry.
Me: Speeder?
Sean: Like in Star Wars.
Me: Oh. You mean that land cruiser thing that they drive around in?
Sean: Yes like that. Only it may look more like a rowboat hover craft.
Me: Um. Yeah. Well I definitely want a ride.
Sean: We'll see. I don't know that you're being very supportive.
Me: Do you know if you pull this off, you'd have tons of people wanting to give you scholarships and stuff.
Sean: Yes, like MIT.
Me: And then you could get this awesome job and be famous and totally support me in my old age.
Sean: Why would I do that?
Me: duh. Because I support you. And I never tell you not to try any of your ideas. Like that time you electrocuted the pickle and the house smelled like burnt pickle for days. Or the time you made the static machine and kept shocking the cats and Lu with it? I'm totally supportive. Even when I have no idea how stuff works.
Sean: Maybe.
Me: So invisibility is on hold while you transfer your skills to levitation?
Sean: Yes.
Me: Good to know.
Think of the money we'll save on buying tires. And gas.
♥Spot
First off, um, wow? I cannot believe all the interest I got in marrying Sean off. Don't you people read my blog? He's no Prince Charming. The lucky girl who gets him has got her work cut out for her. I did like Elly's suggestion of auctioning him off to the highest bidder and then partying with the money. But I'm pretty sure it's illegal in America to sell your minor offspring. Although, Sean tells me in Nepal it's perfectly alright. Something about the guy with the most goats. I don't know. And for all the mother's who asked...he's 16. Turning 17 this summer. He says he can wait for the right girl but he does add that cooking and laundry are two skills he highly prizes. Start training them now! And to J, who left the comment about a previous betrothal to her daughter, there's no contract signed. I have to keep his options open. Oh and one last thing~ mother's, you may want to remember that he plans to take over Slovakia so unless you plan on visiting them, you may not see a lot of your daughters. Please bear this in mind.
Sean and I have had a running joke about how he's trying to perfect the skill of invisibility. If you read the bloggess, you may know that she did a post on how invisibility was a lifelong skill. Therefore, Sean decided to go for it. Most nights, before he heads down to his cave we say goodnight and I always say~
Me: Goodnight sweetie. See you in the morning.
Sean: It's doubtful.
Me: Well, unless you perfect the invisibility thing.
Sean: I'm this close. *holds up thumb and forefinger a mere inch apart*
Me: Love you.
Sean: That's funny, I'm rather fond of me too.
So imagine my surprise when we had this convo the other night while watching T.V.~
Sean: How many volts in an outlet?
Me: You mean just a normal plug in?
Sean: Yes.
Me: 110. Why?
Sean: Well I need 40 more then.
Me: Um why do you need 150 volts?
Sean: I also need several rolls of aluminium foil and some wiring.
Me: *a little worried now* and um, why?
Sean: Well, you put blah blah blah at the four corners, then stretch the aluminium foil out and blah blah blah and then it levitates. (He didn't really say "blah blah blah" I just didn't understand so I kind of tuned out)
Me: How do you know?
Sean: I saw it on the science channel. No one's really sure why it works, but it does. So I have this idea. If I do it on a larger scale with a blah blah blah and a row boat and then I take blah blah blah intake pipes and a large fan blah blah blah car blah blah blah. What do you think?
Me: *glazed over eyes* Yeah, I don't really get what you're saying but um, sure?
Sean: oh fine, ignore me now, but when I'm rolling in my speeder, you'll be sorry.
Me: Speeder?
Sean: Like in Star Wars.
Me: Oh. You mean that land cruiser thing that they drive around in?
Sean: Yes like that. Only it may look more like a rowboat hover craft.
Me: Um. Yeah. Well I definitely want a ride.
Sean: We'll see. I don't know that you're being very supportive.
Me: Do you know if you pull this off, you'd have tons of people wanting to give you scholarships and stuff.
Sean: Yes, like MIT.
Me: And then you could get this awesome job and be famous and totally support me in my old age.
Sean: Why would I do that?
Me: duh. Because I support you. And I never tell you not to try any of your ideas. Like that time you electrocuted the pickle and the house smelled like burnt pickle for days. Or the time you made the static machine and kept shocking the cats and Lu with it? I'm totally supportive. Even when I have no idea how stuff works.
Sean: Maybe.
Me: So invisibility is on hold while you transfer your skills to levitation?
Sean: Yes.
Me: Good to know.
Think of the money we'll save on buying tires. And gas.
♥Spot
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Friends, family and revenge...
Everyone who reads this blog rocks my socks. You will never know how much your comments meant to me last week. I could check my email with my cell phone while in town and the constant flow of comments and emails that were sent my way filled with support and comfort really helped. Some of them even made me smile, if only briefly. So thank you to all of you. And thank you for returning even when the blogs have been sad. I just needed to get it out.
One of the few bright spots in the week was getting to see relatives I haven't seen in a while. There aren't many who don't live around here; my aunt, uncle & cousins who live in Ohio near my sister and her family, and my cousin and his wife and baby who live about 3 hours away. And my two youngest cousins who live two hours away. Yes, my family is completely crazy (some certifiable) but I was really proud of the way we all pulled together. I had thought that it would be a clusterf*ck. Because it's a family that loves to argue. And I knew that some of the family hadn't realized that death might come so quickly. And some blamed themselves and others for decisions made. So when we all met at the funeral home, I truly expected it to go badly. I was completely surprised in a good way. Decisions were discussed and made quickly with very little dissent. At one point, angry words were spoken, but they were quickly dispelled with, everyone only concentrating on what they thought Grandma would want. And in the end, it was a beautiful funeral. I think it was exactly as she would have wanted it.
My children were amazing through the whole thing. They made me proud. Not only did they behave in a respectful manner towards everyone, they pitched in with my sister's children. They spent alot of time watching and entertaining their younger cousins to lesson the burden on Hildi & I. Part of it was because their really good kids. And part of it was because, well, who wouldn't rather be swimming at the hotel pool then standing around the last hour and a half of the viewing? I hate that it was for that reason we all pulled together so well, but I'm still proud.
So as not to be a total downer...we did have some fun, mostly of course, before grandma's passing, but some later in the week too. Lu's boyfriend Luke spent most of the week with us so he could help out with the little girls and also to be there for Lu. He'd made the mistake of telling Lu that the last time he spent the week with us he got tired of all the "ur mom" jokes. (so sorry that we have the sense of humor of 13 yr old boys). And she told me. And I told everyone. And we drove him crazy with it this last week. Even my Dad got in on the action. A typical example~
Lu: It's too big.
Sean: Ur mom's too big.
Me: That's what she said.
Dad: Who said?
Hildi: Ur mom.
You have no idea how many times we can work this into a conversation. Trust me, it's an astronomical amount. Poor Luke. And poor my mom, because she totally didn't get it most of the time. And poor Hildi's oldest daughter who still doesn't understand why we think it's funny to say that.
And then there was this conversation with Lu~
Lu: Cousin S's baby is sooo cute!
Me: Yeah he is. He looks just like his Daddy did. (my cousin and I are only 18 months apart in age and spent alot of time together growing up, even living in the same house from time to time).
Lu: Did he have blonde hair when he was little?
Me: No. His hair was always dark. We always had the same color hair. People thought we were brother and sister.
Lu: Well you don't have the same color hair now. He has sooo much gray!
Me: Um. Duh Lu. That's because I dye my hair!
Lu: Oh yeah.
My cousin thought this exchange was hilarious. Although I did point out that even if I didn't dye my hair, I'd still have less gray. And I finished the convo with a "nanny nanny boo boo". I'm still trying to get back at him for this one time...
Apparently, when I was 4 and he was 2 1/2, my mother and aunt heard screaming (me) coming from the bathroom. They rushed in and discovered me on the potty and my cousin standing in front of me with two huge handfuls of my hair. Seeing as how I had to use both hands to keep from falling in, he'd strategically planned his attack for when I was defenseless. Many years later, I felt compelled to pay him back. Being in possession of a photo of him peeing in the public swimming pool (he was like four at the time), I put it in a photo frame that sat atop one of those tabletop fountains. Appropriate, no? Then I gave it to him as a wedding gift. Don't cross me...
Again, thank you all. Have a peaceful Sunday!
♥Spot
One of the few bright spots in the week was getting to see relatives I haven't seen in a while. There aren't many who don't live around here; my aunt, uncle & cousins who live in Ohio near my sister and her family, and my cousin and his wife and baby who live about 3 hours away. And my two youngest cousins who live two hours away. Yes, my family is completely crazy (some certifiable) but I was really proud of the way we all pulled together. I had thought that it would be a clusterf*ck. Because it's a family that loves to argue. And I knew that some of the family hadn't realized that death might come so quickly. And some blamed themselves and others for decisions made. So when we all met at the funeral home, I truly expected it to go badly. I was completely surprised in a good way. Decisions were discussed and made quickly with very little dissent. At one point, angry words were spoken, but they were quickly dispelled with, everyone only concentrating on what they thought Grandma would want. And in the end, it was a beautiful funeral. I think it was exactly as she would have wanted it.
My children were amazing through the whole thing. They made me proud. Not only did they behave in a respectful manner towards everyone, they pitched in with my sister's children. They spent alot of time watching and entertaining their younger cousins to lesson the burden on Hildi & I. Part of it was because their really good kids. And part of it was because, well, who wouldn't rather be swimming at the hotel pool then standing around the last hour and a half of the viewing? I hate that it was for that reason we all pulled together so well, but I'm still proud.
So as not to be a total downer...we did have some fun, mostly of course, before grandma's passing, but some later in the week too. Lu's boyfriend Luke spent most of the week with us so he could help out with the little girls and also to be there for Lu. He'd made the mistake of telling Lu that the last time he spent the week with us he got tired of all the "ur mom" jokes. (so sorry that we have the sense of humor of 13 yr old boys). And she told me. And I told everyone. And we drove him crazy with it this last week. Even my Dad got in on the action. A typical example~
Lu: It's too big.
Sean: Ur mom's too big.
Me: That's what she said.
Dad: Who said?
Hildi: Ur mom.
You have no idea how many times we can work this into a conversation. Trust me, it's an astronomical amount. Poor Luke. And poor my mom, because she totally didn't get it most of the time. And poor Hildi's oldest daughter who still doesn't understand why we think it's funny to say that.
And then there was this conversation with Lu~
Lu: Cousin S's baby is sooo cute!
Me: Yeah he is. He looks just like his Daddy did. (my cousin and I are only 18 months apart in age and spent alot of time together growing up, even living in the same house from time to time).
Lu: Did he have blonde hair when he was little?
Me: No. His hair was always dark. We always had the same color hair. People thought we were brother and sister.
Lu: Well you don't have the same color hair now. He has sooo much gray!
Me: Um. Duh Lu. That's because I dye my hair!
Lu: Oh yeah.
My cousin thought this exchange was hilarious. Although I did point out that even if I didn't dye my hair, I'd still have less gray. And I finished the convo with a "nanny nanny boo boo". I'm still trying to get back at him for this one time...
Apparently, when I was 4 and he was 2 1/2, my mother and aunt heard screaming (me) coming from the bathroom. They rushed in and discovered me on the potty and my cousin standing in front of me with two huge handfuls of my hair. Seeing as how I had to use both hands to keep from falling in, he'd strategically planned his attack for when I was defenseless. Many years later, I felt compelled to pay him back. Being in possession of a photo of him peeing in the public swimming pool (he was like four at the time), I put it in a photo frame that sat atop one of those tabletop fountains. Appropriate, no? Then I gave it to him as a wedding gift. Don't cross me...
Again, thank you all. Have a peaceful Sunday!
♥Spot
Friday, April 2, 2010
Lumps, swollen knees, and breakdowns...
So...if you're looking for a happy funny post, I'd consider going elsewhere today. Like the Bloggess or other funny people. Because today I'm going to vent. Why? Because yesterday was pretty much the worst day in the history of my days. I mean, so far, because I'm pretty sure it might get worse as the week rolls on...
After I wrote my blog post yesterday, my Dad called. Apparently he'd received a call from my Mom saying that Grandma's condition had deteriorated rapidly and she didn't know who anyone was, they'd upped her morphine and she was probably at death's door. I was stunned, because seriously, she wasn't that bad off the day before. He was having a dilemma about weather to call Hildi and tell her to get here quick. So I told him I'd go to the nursing home, assess the sitch and call him back. Well, after that I didn't have the heart to keep reading blogs and commenting. (sorry peeps I missed getting around to.)
About this time, CJ's program coordinator called and I explained that we were facing an imminent death in the family and I wouldn't be able to get CJ as planned for the weekend. Then I burst into tears on the phone because it will be the first Easter EVER that he hasn't been with the family. But I absolutely cannot bring him into this situation or give him only half of my attention. Then I went to get in the shower and realized a cat had peed on the bathroom floor. As I'm cleaning this up (and cursing the cats), my hubby calls per my texted request. The noise in the background is so loud, I almost can't hear him. I have to shout "Grandma's worse and maybe dying today and I have to go to town and I had to cancel bringing CJ home and where the bloody h*ll are you??!" He tells me he's at the quarrry picking up a load of gravel. Seriously, I didn't even know he'd left the property. He can't take 5 seconds to text me and let me know these things?? Anyway, he's no help. So I shower and Sean and I head out. About 5 minutes into the drive, we realize my AC in my car is broken. It was supposed to have been fixed. NO. So now we have to roll down the windows and open the sunroof. Yay! I love the fine layer of gravel dust that coats absolutely everything after driving down the gravel road with the windows open, don't you?? NO. Not too mention, that when I get hot, I get way stabby. I shoot off a massively pissed off text to hubby and oldest adopted son who had supposedly fixed the AC (to the tune of $250 dollars).
We get to the nursing home to realize my mother is half delirious from lack of sleep, my grandmother is asleep finally (thank you mr. morphine), and the opinions of how rapid her decline is vary widely. So I drive my mom to my uncles in her car (to save the lives of all other drivers she may have come in contact with) and Sean follows in my POS, I mean, car. Along the way, my mother tells me that she's very proud that I'm now a paid writer and that I'm truly going after my dreams. I know now that she is beyond delirious. We get her deposited with strong admonitions to GET SOME SLEEP. Then I say screw it and take Sean to a favorite pizza place for lunch. Over extra large Cokes (thank you caffeine, thank you), salads and personal pizzas, I inform him that this moment may indeed be the highlight of my day. He asks what my mom and I were talking about in the car and I tell him. He looks thoughtful for a moment and then~
Sean: I think me and Lu and Dad have held you back quite a bit.
Me: Well, I suppose. But it was my choice to put raising a family and taking care of my home before my professional aspirations. Now, that you guys are older, I can pursue those goals. I don't regret that decision. Ever. Even if I wrote a bestseller and it was made into a blockbuster movie, no five star review will ever compare to the sense of pride I get when someone tells me how great my kids are.
Sean: Do you really feel that way?
Me: Of course. I mean good books are awesome. Good movies are awesome. But good people? They change the world.
Sadly? Lunch really was the highlight of my day. Bless you fountain Coke, bless you. I called my Dad and told him that it was hard to assess the sitch with Grandma asleep so I'd go back later and try to figure it out. But my spidey sense says that she's not going to pass away in the next 48 hours so Hildi could go with her original plan to be here on Saturday. But she might want to pack extra clothes and funeral clothes just in case. Then Sean and I ran a bazillion errands and grocery shopped. Somewhere along the way I began to have difficulty walking. My knee had been bugging me for a few days, but now it had swelled to twice it's normal size and was aching horribly. Thank goodness for carts. They offer support. Sean tried to get me to sit in one of those motorized scooters at the store. No thanks! We got everything done, I dropped him off to meet his ride to Civil Air Patrol and headed home.
Hubby and Lu carried in groceries and we put them away. The house looked great. But I realized the rug in front of the sink was soaked. I smelled it. Nope. Not cat pee (whew!). The sink is still leaking!! Hubby checks it. He's going to have to rip the entire cupboard out to fix it. Sh*t. Lu and I hurry around and head back out, so we can go back to the nursing home. By now it's 7 o'clock. I can barely walk and Lu is complaining that she's starving because she forgot to eat today. (Seriously? How come I never forget to eat??) We head to the nursing home. Two uncles, an aunt, a cousin, and an uncle's wife (she will never be considered an aunt) are there. No sign of my Mom. I call her. No answer. My uncle says she's still at his house sleeping. He and his wife get ready to leave. I ask them to please wake up Mom when they get home. Agreed. My uncle's ex-wife (my aunt) comes by. Grandma is sleeping through most of this, but finally my cousin gets her to eat three bites of strawberry shortcake and I get her to drink some water. She knows who Lu and I are, although she doesn't recognize my aunt. We leave there because it's now 9 and Lu is still whining she's starving. We go to Jimmy John's. They are out of bread and say come back in a half hour. True story. The sub shop ran out of bread.
We run to WalMart, where only 5 lanes are open and we stand in line to pay for our 5 items for 20 minutes. Lu is in a pissy mood and won't talk to me, so I forget the cardinal rule and make eye contact with the person in front of me. Now he's talking to me and he won't stop. Lu is giving me the evil eye. I'm pretty sure the guy is also staring at my cleavage. Creeper. Then he starts talking about hugs. Not happening mister, move along. Finally, we get to check out. Then we hurry back to JJ's with 5 minutes til closing. We grab sandwiches, chips and drinks for us and Sean and hurry to pick him up since we're already late. Oh! And then we almost get hit by two cars on our way out of town. The ride home is filled with giggles so that's good. We get home, congregate in the kitchen, finally eat supper (at 10:45 pm). We are all amazed at how swollen my knee is and how dumb I look limping around. And my nose piercing? Well it's been looking a little funny. So I take it out (which actually hurts worse than the piercing itself) and discover a horrid red lump. I think it looks kind of blisterish, so I sterilize a needle and poke it. It bleeds copiously. That was NOT a good idea.
Hubby: What are you 5??! What's that? I don't know. Let's poke it with a stick.
Hmmm...that was kind of the logic I used. I run in Lu's room to show her and she's completely grossed out. I went to bed. I looked it up on the Internet this morning and apparently it's a keloid, or build up of scar tissue. I'll have to see a doctor about it. But for now, I have a hideously ugly red lump on my nose. Ugh.
I did call my Dad and Hildi and tell her to stick to her original plan. I think my Gran will hold on at least for the weekend. I finally talked to my Mom and she was headed to the nursing home to stay the night. I'm headed back in later today.
I am an eternal optimist, but yesterday? Well, it tested even my powers of finding a silver lining. But it's got to get better, right??
♥Spot
After I wrote my blog post yesterday, my Dad called. Apparently he'd received a call from my Mom saying that Grandma's condition had deteriorated rapidly and she didn't know who anyone was, they'd upped her morphine and she was probably at death's door. I was stunned, because seriously, she wasn't that bad off the day before. He was having a dilemma about weather to call Hildi and tell her to get here quick. So I told him I'd go to the nursing home, assess the sitch and call him back. Well, after that I didn't have the heart to keep reading blogs and commenting. (sorry peeps I missed getting around to.)
About this time, CJ's program coordinator called and I explained that we were facing an imminent death in the family and I wouldn't be able to get CJ as planned for the weekend. Then I burst into tears on the phone because it will be the first Easter EVER that he hasn't been with the family. But I absolutely cannot bring him into this situation or give him only half of my attention. Then I went to get in the shower and realized a cat had peed on the bathroom floor. As I'm cleaning this up (and cursing the cats), my hubby calls per my texted request. The noise in the background is so loud, I almost can't hear him. I have to shout "Grandma's worse and maybe dying today and I have to go to town and I had to cancel bringing CJ home and where the bloody h*ll are you??!" He tells me he's at the quarrry picking up a load of gravel. Seriously, I didn't even know he'd left the property. He can't take 5 seconds to text me and let me know these things?? Anyway, he's no help. So I shower and Sean and I head out. About 5 minutes into the drive, we realize my AC in my car is broken. It was supposed to have been fixed. NO. So now we have to roll down the windows and open the sunroof. Yay! I love the fine layer of gravel dust that coats absolutely everything after driving down the gravel road with the windows open, don't you?? NO. Not too mention, that when I get hot, I get way stabby. I shoot off a massively pissed off text to hubby and oldest adopted son who had supposedly fixed the AC (to the tune of $250 dollars).
We get to the nursing home to realize my mother is half delirious from lack of sleep, my grandmother is asleep finally (thank you mr. morphine), and the opinions of how rapid her decline is vary widely. So I drive my mom to my uncles in her car (to save the lives of all other drivers she may have come in contact with) and Sean follows in my POS, I mean, car. Along the way, my mother tells me that she's very proud that I'm now a paid writer and that I'm truly going after my dreams. I know now that she is beyond delirious. We get her deposited with strong admonitions to GET SOME SLEEP. Then I say screw it and take Sean to a favorite pizza place for lunch. Over extra large Cokes (thank you caffeine, thank you), salads and personal pizzas, I inform him that this moment may indeed be the highlight of my day. He asks what my mom and I were talking about in the car and I tell him. He looks thoughtful for a moment and then~
Sean: I think me and Lu and Dad have held you back quite a bit.
Me: Well, I suppose. But it was my choice to put raising a family and taking care of my home before my professional aspirations. Now, that you guys are older, I can pursue those goals. I don't regret that decision. Ever. Even if I wrote a bestseller and it was made into a blockbuster movie, no five star review will ever compare to the sense of pride I get when someone tells me how great my kids are.
Sean: Do you really feel that way?
Me: Of course. I mean good books are awesome. Good movies are awesome. But good people? They change the world.
Sadly? Lunch really was the highlight of my day. Bless you fountain Coke, bless you. I called my Dad and told him that it was hard to assess the sitch with Grandma asleep so I'd go back later and try to figure it out. But my spidey sense says that she's not going to pass away in the next 48 hours so Hildi could go with her original plan to be here on Saturday. But she might want to pack extra clothes and funeral clothes just in case. Then Sean and I ran a bazillion errands and grocery shopped. Somewhere along the way I began to have difficulty walking. My knee had been bugging me for a few days, but now it had swelled to twice it's normal size and was aching horribly. Thank goodness for carts. They offer support. Sean tried to get me to sit in one of those motorized scooters at the store. No thanks! We got everything done, I dropped him off to meet his ride to Civil Air Patrol and headed home.
Hubby and Lu carried in groceries and we put them away. The house looked great. But I realized the rug in front of the sink was soaked. I smelled it. Nope. Not cat pee (whew!). The sink is still leaking!! Hubby checks it. He's going to have to rip the entire cupboard out to fix it. Sh*t. Lu and I hurry around and head back out, so we can go back to the nursing home. By now it's 7 o'clock. I can barely walk and Lu is complaining that she's starving because she forgot to eat today. (Seriously? How come I never forget to eat??) We head to the nursing home. Two uncles, an aunt, a cousin, and an uncle's wife (she will never be considered an aunt) are there. No sign of my Mom. I call her. No answer. My uncle says she's still at his house sleeping. He and his wife get ready to leave. I ask them to please wake up Mom when they get home. Agreed. My uncle's ex-wife (my aunt) comes by. Grandma is sleeping through most of this, but finally my cousin gets her to eat three bites of strawberry shortcake and I get her to drink some water. She knows who Lu and I are, although she doesn't recognize my aunt. We leave there because it's now 9 and Lu is still whining she's starving. We go to Jimmy John's. They are out of bread and say come back in a half hour. True story. The sub shop ran out of bread.
We run to WalMart, where only 5 lanes are open and we stand in line to pay for our 5 items for 20 minutes. Lu is in a pissy mood and won't talk to me, so I forget the cardinal rule and make eye contact with the person in front of me. Now he's talking to me and he won't stop. Lu is giving me the evil eye. I'm pretty sure the guy is also staring at my cleavage. Creeper. Then he starts talking about hugs. Not happening mister, move along. Finally, we get to check out. Then we hurry back to JJ's with 5 minutes til closing. We grab sandwiches, chips and drinks for us and Sean and hurry to pick him up since we're already late. Oh! And then we almost get hit by two cars on our way out of town. The ride home is filled with giggles so that's good. We get home, congregate in the kitchen, finally eat supper (at 10:45 pm). We are all amazed at how swollen my knee is and how dumb I look limping around. And my nose piercing? Well it's been looking a little funny. So I take it out (which actually hurts worse than the piercing itself) and discover a horrid red lump. I think it looks kind of blisterish, so I sterilize a needle and poke it. It bleeds copiously. That was NOT a good idea.
Hubby: What are you 5??! What's that? I don't know. Let's poke it with a stick.
Hmmm...that was kind of the logic I used. I run in Lu's room to show her and she's completely grossed out. I went to bed. I looked it up on the Internet this morning and apparently it's a keloid, or build up of scar tissue. I'll have to see a doctor about it. But for now, I have a hideously ugly red lump on my nose. Ugh.
I did call my Dad and Hildi and tell her to stick to her original plan. I think my Gran will hold on at least for the weekend. I finally talked to my Mom and she was headed to the nursing home to stay the night. I'm headed back in later today.
I am an eternal optimist, but yesterday? Well, it tested even my powers of finding a silver lining. But it's got to get better, right??
♥Spot
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Good News/ Bad News...
First...I've been so busy lately, I meet myself coming and going. This week is out of control. As a result, I'm behind on reading and commenting on other's blogs. I will catch up! Hopefully tomorrow before I head to Springfield to pick up CJ. We got some news on my grandmother yesterday and they've moved her condition to "comfort care". Which means they are only making her comfortable in these last few weeks. And we really are only looking at weeks. I'm spending a lot of time at the nursing home. I'm holding up well with regards to grandma. She's 87 and she's had a long life. At this point, she's not lucid much of the time, and I think she's ready to go. Spending that much time in the vicinity of my family however, is very trying. I may begin drinking heavily. I mean vodka in a Nalgene bottle could pass for water, right? I'm kidding. And then again. I'm not.
My Grandma and I
I wanted to participate in Little Miss Blogger's Rant and Rave Wednesdays, but I'm a day late and a dollar short (story of my life). So today is "Good news/Bad news" Thursday. Enjoy...
The Good News is I've started to find work on the Guru website. The bad news is some of the companies are less than professional.
The Good News is my family will all be here for Easter. Consequently, the bad new is that my family will all be here for Easter.
The Good News is one of my friends got an agent to ask for her novel manuscript, and I am sooo incredibly thrilled for her! Seriously, this is the best news ever. The bad news is I haven't even finished my novel.
The Good News is that puddle I stepped in on the floor of the kitchen and then tracked all over wasn't cat pee. The bad news is it was water from the sink which was leaking profusely. (now fixed)
The Good News is that Lu took me to see the new Nicholas Sparks movie "The Last Song" last night and it was amazing. The bad news is that I bawled my eyes out and have a lingering headache this morning. Not to mention how awful I looked when I walked out of that theatre!
The Good News is Sean had a telephone job interview and they really wanted to hire him. The bad news is they couldn't because of his summer jobs and trip so they told him to call back in the fall. Which means I continue to pay for his gas & insurance...and truck repairs.
The Good News is I started working out on my Wii Fit again with the kids and we are having a load of fun. The bad news is apparently I gained 5 lbs since January and if that thing yells out "obese" one more time I swear to Bob it's getting tossed out the window.
The Good News is I started submitting again. The bad news is I can't quite seem to find the time to write fiction. Darned kids thinking I should spend "family time" with them and all. Aren't they supposed to not like spending time with me by this age??!
The Good News is the weather got sunny and warm. The bad news is we hit a record high of 81 degrees yesterday. For real weather? The hell?! I do not want to go from heat to AC in the same week.
The Good News is Lu is cleaning my house today. The bad news is that I have to go to town to do the grocery shopping, pick up meds, and flea stuff for the cats. (Hello warm weather, please keep your pests outside).
That's pretty much my week in a nutshell! Feel free to play along.
Happy Thursday,
♥Spot
I wanted to participate in Little Miss Blogger's Rant and Rave Wednesdays, but I'm a day late and a dollar short (story of my life). So today is "Good news/Bad news" Thursday. Enjoy...
The Good News is I've started to find work on the Guru website. The bad news is some of the companies are less than professional.
The Good News is my family will all be here for Easter. Consequently, the bad new is that my family will all be here for Easter.
The Good News is one of my friends got an agent to ask for her novel manuscript, and I am sooo incredibly thrilled for her! Seriously, this is the best news ever. The bad news is I haven't even finished my novel.
The Good News is that puddle I stepped in on the floor of the kitchen and then tracked all over wasn't cat pee. The bad news is it was water from the sink which was leaking profusely. (now fixed)
The Good News is that Lu took me to see the new Nicholas Sparks movie "The Last Song" last night and it was amazing. The bad news is that I bawled my eyes out and have a lingering headache this morning. Not to mention how awful I looked when I walked out of that theatre!
The Good News is Sean had a telephone job interview and they really wanted to hire him. The bad news is they couldn't because of his summer jobs and trip so they told him to call back in the fall. Which means I continue to pay for his gas & insurance...and truck repairs.
The Good News is I started working out on my Wii Fit again with the kids and we are having a load of fun. The bad news is apparently I gained 5 lbs since January and if that thing yells out "obese" one more time I swear to Bob it's getting tossed out the window.
The Good News is I started submitting again. The bad news is I can't quite seem to find the time to write fiction. Darned kids thinking I should spend "family time" with them and all. Aren't they supposed to not like spending time with me by this age??!
The Good News is the weather got sunny and warm. The bad news is we hit a record high of 81 degrees yesterday. For real weather? The hell?! I do not want to go from heat to AC in the same week.
The Good News is Lu is cleaning my house today. The bad news is that I have to go to town to do the grocery shopping, pick up meds, and flea stuff for the cats. (Hello warm weather, please keep your pests outside).
That's pretty much my week in a nutshell! Feel free to play along.
Happy Thursday,
♥Spot
Thursday, March 11, 2010
For the love of Bob, make your own damn dinner!!
So, last night I got an email from Kathryn at From The Inside...Out. It's okay, go check her out, I'll wait. *tapping foot, counting to ten* Back? Awesome. Moving on...anyway, it said to call her because she had too much to say to type or text. So I headed in to hubby's office to use his phone. I figured Kathryn was calling for one of three things...a.) Medical advice. Because I've got those mad diagnostician skills I told you about. or b.) Parenting advice. Because I'm radically good at parenting. Everyone knows that. Again because I told them. Or c.) A good quote. Because I've become distinctly quotable thanks to Suzicate and unabridged girl. In truth, it was none of the above. It was more in the way of opportunity and information because she's become a mentor to me. Which I appreciate to no end. And yeah, we also just chatted because, hey, we're girls, that's how we roll.
Anyway, it ended up being a long conversation because, much like my blog, I tend to go off on tangents and wacky sidebars. Hubby came in and stood by his desk for a minute or two, until I shooed him away (yes, I shooed him out of his office. I gave him my "I'm very busy and your way close to me yelling" glare). And then Sean drifted in and I turned my back to him in my best "I'm very busy and so I'm ignoring you" signal. He left. Then Lu got home from work. Late. But she brought donuts so that was cool. The thing is...it was past dinnertime. Way past dinnertime. And since it had been before dinnertime when I started talking, my natives were getting restless. I overheard this conversation in the kitchen, outside the office door.
Lu: where's dinner?
Sean: She hasn't made it. She's been on that phone for like 3 hours!*as if! It was more like 1 & 1/2!*
Lu: Who's she talking to?
Sean: We don't even know but we're starving!!
How is it that it never occurred to anyone that they could start dinner on their own?? Lu was brave and came into the office. Since I'd overheard the convo, I started talking before she even opened her mouth~
Me: I'm talking to Kathryn from New York. It's about blog stuff. It's important. Can you just make some Spaghettio's or something? Please?
And off Lu went. About the same time, Kathryn's son Taylor came to her looking for dinner. My gosh, do they have an internal timer or something?? So we agreed to end our convo for the night. I made it into the kitchen in time to take over the grilled cheese sandwich making that was accompanying said Spaghettios. As this situation arose because I cook dinner every night, I'm pretty sure that my family is spoiled.
Anyway, one of the questions Kathryn asked me really made me think. Like all night long. Even though it was GhostHunter's night and I was busy watching Jason & Grant hunt ghosts, it was in the back of my head. The question was easy..."what do I want out of my blog"? But the answer is more difficult.
I started the blog for me. Kind of an online diary. I kept it secret at first from friends and family. I had the blog with my sister that they all read. This one, I wanted to be more about me. I wanted to be able to say what I felt without the possibility of hurting anyone's feelings or worrying anyone. I wanted to be able to break down, if that's what I needed to do. But somewhere along the way it became more for entertainment. I discovered that I liked being funny more than being serious. Oh, I know, every so often I still throw in serious, because you can't be funny 24/7. Not and be sincere as well. Because sometimes, life just isn't funny. As I gained readers and commenters and started following other blogs, I became part of a community. I began to care very much about my fellow bloggers. I even call many of them friends. And the blog became me talking to those friends. Sharing the insanity I call my life, and also anything I need to get off my mind.
And the other purpose that serves is that I'm writing. Everyday. Because writing is my passion. And my husband pointed out that I spend way more time writing my blog and commenting others than I do on my fiction writing. And he's right. The blog comes first and it takes roughly 4 hours a day to write, edit, post and then read & comment others. Four hours I could be writing fiction. (Or cleaning my house. Hahaha. Just kidding. That's not happening!!) But it doesn't matter. The truth is I do need to put more time and effort into the fiction writing, because maybe someday, that will help pay the bills. But the blog will still be. Why? Because it's gratifying. It's validating. It's what gives me the courage to write the fiction. And hopefully it will give me the courage to start submitting. And it gives me practice at writing. And practice makes perfect, or at least better.
So, what do I want from my blog? I want to entertain. I want to connect. I want to touch other people (no, not in an inappropriate way!). If I can make some money off of it? Well, hell yeah! Who doesn't need some extra cash nowdays?? But I don't expect it to make me famous. And if, at some wondrous magical point in the future, I get famous? This blog is still going to happen. Because this blog is the first thing I've done in a long time, that's just for me. It's my vice. And it's a good vice. Because it's cheap and not illegal. And I don't feel hungover in the morning. So, in essence, I'll keep writing if you keep reading. Okay, so we both know, that I'd probably keep writing even if you stopped reading, but it would be a hell of lot less fun!! And I'd probably get all depressed and start writing poetry about death and NO ONE wants me to go there...
air kisses to the people who help keep me going,
♥Spot
What do you want from your blog?
Anyway, it ended up being a long conversation because, much like my blog, I tend to go off on tangents and wacky sidebars. Hubby came in and stood by his desk for a minute or two, until I shooed him away (yes, I shooed him out of his office. I gave him my "I'm very busy and your way close to me yelling" glare). And then Sean drifted in and I turned my back to him in my best "I'm very busy and so I'm ignoring you" signal. He left. Then Lu got home from work. Late. But she brought donuts so that was cool. The thing is...it was past dinnertime. Way past dinnertime. And since it had been before dinnertime when I started talking, my natives were getting restless. I overheard this conversation in the kitchen, outside the office door.
Lu: where's dinner?
Sean: She hasn't made it. She's been on that phone for like 3 hours!*as if! It was more like 1 & 1/2!*
Lu: Who's she talking to?
Sean: We don't even know but we're starving!!
How is it that it never occurred to anyone that they could start dinner on their own?? Lu was brave and came into the office. Since I'd overheard the convo, I started talking before she even opened her mouth~
Me: I'm talking to Kathryn from New York. It's about blog stuff. It's important. Can you just make some Spaghettio's or something? Please?
And off Lu went. About the same time, Kathryn's son Taylor came to her looking for dinner. My gosh, do they have an internal timer or something?? So we agreed to end our convo for the night. I made it into the kitchen in time to take over the grilled cheese sandwich making that was accompanying said Spaghettios. As this situation arose because I cook dinner every night, I'm pretty sure that my family is spoiled.
Anyway, one of the questions Kathryn asked me really made me think. Like all night long. Even though it was GhostHunter's night and I was busy watching Jason & Grant hunt ghosts, it was in the back of my head. The question was easy..."what do I want out of my blog"? But the answer is more difficult.
I started the blog for me. Kind of an online diary. I kept it secret at first from friends and family. I had the blog with my sister that they all read. This one, I wanted to be more about me. I wanted to be able to say what I felt without the possibility of hurting anyone's feelings or worrying anyone. I wanted to be able to break down, if that's what I needed to do. But somewhere along the way it became more for entertainment. I discovered that I liked being funny more than being serious. Oh, I know, every so often I still throw in serious, because you can't be funny 24/7. Not and be sincere as well. Because sometimes, life just isn't funny. As I gained readers and commenters and started following other blogs, I became part of a community. I began to care very much about my fellow bloggers. I even call many of them friends. And the blog became me talking to those friends. Sharing the insanity I call my life, and also anything I need to get off my mind.
And the other purpose that serves is that I'm writing. Everyday. Because writing is my passion. And my husband pointed out that I spend way more time writing my blog and commenting others than I do on my fiction writing. And he's right. The blog comes first and it takes roughly 4 hours a day to write, edit, post and then read & comment others. Four hours I could be writing fiction. (Or cleaning my house. Hahaha. Just kidding. That's not happening!!) But it doesn't matter. The truth is I do need to put more time and effort into the fiction writing, because maybe someday, that will help pay the bills. But the blog will still be. Why? Because it's gratifying. It's validating. It's what gives me the courage to write the fiction. And hopefully it will give me the courage to start submitting. And it gives me practice at writing. And practice makes perfect, or at least better.
So, what do I want from my blog? I want to entertain. I want to connect. I want to touch other people (no, not in an inappropriate way!). If I can make some money off of it? Well, hell yeah! Who doesn't need some extra cash nowdays?? But I don't expect it to make me famous. And if, at some wondrous magical point in the future, I get famous? This blog is still going to happen. Because this blog is the first thing I've done in a long time, that's just for me. It's my vice. And it's a good vice. Because it's cheap and not illegal. And I don't feel hungover in the morning. So, in essence, I'll keep writing if you keep reading. Okay, so we both know, that I'd probably keep writing even if you stopped reading, but it would be a hell of lot less fun!! And I'd probably get all depressed and start writing poetry about death and NO ONE wants me to go there...
air kisses to the people who help keep me going,
♥Spot
What do you want from your blog?
Monday, March 8, 2010
I'm not lazy, I'm radical
So it turns out I'm a radical parent. Who knew? I thought I was just weird. But then I saw an advertisement for this show "Radical Parenting" on one of my favorite channels, Discovery Health. And yes, the fact that it's one of my favorite channels probably qualifies me as weird. The fact that Sean is addicted to it as well, and we've managed to suck Lu in a few times, probably doubles the qualification. Well I managed to DVR it and Sean and I watched it on Friday afternoon.
The program showed three different families with "radical" parenting styles. The first family were unschoolers. Unschoolers are homeschoolers who don't follow any kind of set curriculum. The let the kids learn through experience and set the tone for what they want to learn. I'd done some research on unschooling when we first decided to homeschool. I even knew a family in the area who "unschooled" their children. They came into the bookstore where I worked frequently and all three of their children were bright and inquisitive. A little lacking maybe in the social skills department, but um, the parents were a bit off kilter there as well. What we ended up doing was a mix of homeschooling and unschooling approaches. I didn't buy any set curriculum's, although there are a plethora of them to choose from. It just always seemed to me to defeat the purpose of why we were homeschooling to follow a set curriculum. I would still be trying to make my kids fit their thinking into a box. So I made up my own curriculum and we adjusted our schedule to fit the mood of the day. I won't call that unschooling because while the kids had a definite say, I still made the bulk of decisions and we still used some workbooks and had assignments. When we homeschooled for high school though, it was a large step closer to unschooling. Mostly because they'd already proved they were a step ahead of the norm and they were (are) inquisitive and motivated learners. If I had lazy students it would have been a different story. But it worked for us. I never thought of it as radical.
The people on the show let their kids make decisions about everything. When they went to bed, what and when they ate, what they wear. And I guess in some ways, we've run our house like that too. My kids have pretty much always dictated their bed times. Sean is an early to bed, early riser. And Lu has always been a night owl who thinks getting up before noon is "early". I stepped in and enforced an earlier bedtime only when they had to get up the next day. I think everyone's body rhythms are different so not everyone can keep the same schedule. Luckily, homeschooling allowed me to be accommodating. I have often let them pick their own meals, though not the time. We all eat together. That's just our family time. Sean and I now joke about who's turn it is to make breakfast and if I don't make it he'll say I'm "lazy". So when we watched the show and saw the kids getting their own breakfast I told him "Look! I'm not lazy. I'm radical. Which is way cooler. You're so lucky to have me."
Another family was "attachment parenting". This meant that they carried their baby in a sling or backpack everywhere. And let the kids sleep with them. Again, I didn't even know I was being radical. I never used a sling or a backpack, but I sure as heck lugged them babies everywhere. Especially Lu. That kid used to scream bloody murder when you set her down. I just carried her so she'd shut the heck up. I didn't know I was "attachment" parenting. But it may explain why, even now, when she's sick, she thinks I should be with her 24/7. Is there such a thing as too attached? And yes, our kids slept with us forever. It started because CJ hates to sleep alone. And of course, if one is there, you can't tell the others no. So no matter where they started out, their own beds, a pallet on the floor of our room, by 2 am we'd been invaded. And they slept mostly on top of me. I remember one night, when we had no air conditioning and all three toddlers were sprawled on top of me, looking over at hubby sleeping peacefully without even a chubby baby leg on him and thought "wow. I'm just going to melt into a puddle of sweat and no one will ever know what became of me. how is this fair??". Again, no idea I was radical. I just wanted to sleep through the night.
These parents also practiced "elimination communication". Say that three times fast! I dare you! Which essentially means no diapers. (eeewwww...) They pay attention to their babies cues that they need to potty. I'm drawing the line here. Especially if I'm lugging that kid around. I can only take being peed on so many times in one day, you know? But more power to you if you can do it.
The third parenting style was "gender neutral" parenting. This is where the parents let their kids play with anything. They let their boys wear mommies heels and have dollhouses. Is this radical, really? Sean and CJ both wore my heels from time to time. They both wore Lu's dress ups too. Sean and Lu played barbies together. Although, Sean's guy was always a GI Joe badass. Lu ran around with the neighborhood boys and played baseball and war. She went hunting with her dad and brothers. I never restricted the kids toys to gender appropriateness. Was I really being radical? Damn, I'm quite the rebel!
I can't wait to see what other radical parenting techniques I used! I'm pretty sure letting my kids run wild through the timber, play in creeks, climb trees and come back by dark is going to qualify me for "free-range" parenting. And the fact that I let my teenagers make a lot of their own decisions (and thus their own mistakes) is going to get me the "unparenting" badge. And maybe I can slide in on the "unconditional" parenting award since my kids didn't get bribes or routine punishments. And they know that I love them even when they screw up.
It's funny, because I thought I was just doing what felt right. And now I find out I was using all these radical techniques. Wow. I'm a pioneer in the field of parenting. Thank goodness my kids seem to be turning out well!! Can you imagine the criticism these movements would be getting if I'd raised a serial killer?? Or a teen mom? Everyone would be gunning for me..."gee thanks Spot. Way to ruin a whole movement." I guess the proof will be in their adulthood though. Check with me in ten years. Make sure the kids have made good lives for themselves. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed...
Are you a radical parent too?
♥Spot
The program showed three different families with "radical" parenting styles. The first family were unschoolers. Unschoolers are homeschoolers who don't follow any kind of set curriculum. The let the kids learn through experience and set the tone for what they want to learn. I'd done some research on unschooling when we first decided to homeschool. I even knew a family in the area who "unschooled" their children. They came into the bookstore where I worked frequently and all three of their children were bright and inquisitive. A little lacking maybe in the social skills department, but um, the parents were a bit off kilter there as well. What we ended up doing was a mix of homeschooling and unschooling approaches. I didn't buy any set curriculum's, although there are a plethora of them to choose from. It just always seemed to me to defeat the purpose of why we were homeschooling to follow a set curriculum. I would still be trying to make my kids fit their thinking into a box. So I made up my own curriculum and we adjusted our schedule to fit the mood of the day. I won't call that unschooling because while the kids had a definite say, I still made the bulk of decisions and we still used some workbooks and had assignments. When we homeschooled for high school though, it was a large step closer to unschooling. Mostly because they'd already proved they were a step ahead of the norm and they were (are) inquisitive and motivated learners. If I had lazy students it would have been a different story. But it worked for us. I never thought of it as radical.
The people on the show let their kids make decisions about everything. When they went to bed, what and when they ate, what they wear. And I guess in some ways, we've run our house like that too. My kids have pretty much always dictated their bed times. Sean is an early to bed, early riser. And Lu has always been a night owl who thinks getting up before noon is "early". I stepped in and enforced an earlier bedtime only when they had to get up the next day. I think everyone's body rhythms are different so not everyone can keep the same schedule. Luckily, homeschooling allowed me to be accommodating. I have often let them pick their own meals, though not the time. We all eat together. That's just our family time. Sean and I now joke about who's turn it is to make breakfast and if I don't make it he'll say I'm "lazy". So when we watched the show and saw the kids getting their own breakfast I told him "Look! I'm not lazy. I'm radical. Which is way cooler. You're so lucky to have me."
Another family was "attachment parenting". This meant that they carried their baby in a sling or backpack everywhere. And let the kids sleep with them. Again, I didn't even know I was being radical. I never used a sling or a backpack, but I sure as heck lugged them babies everywhere. Especially Lu. That kid used to scream bloody murder when you set her down. I just carried her so she'd shut the heck up. I didn't know I was "attachment" parenting. But it may explain why, even now, when she's sick, she thinks I should be with her 24/7. Is there such a thing as too attached? And yes, our kids slept with us forever. It started because CJ hates to sleep alone. And of course, if one is there, you can't tell the others no. So no matter where they started out, their own beds, a pallet on the floor of our room, by 2 am we'd been invaded. And they slept mostly on top of me. I remember one night, when we had no air conditioning and all three toddlers were sprawled on top of me, looking over at hubby sleeping peacefully without even a chubby baby leg on him and thought "wow. I'm just going to melt into a puddle of sweat and no one will ever know what became of me. how is this fair??". Again, no idea I was radical. I just wanted to sleep through the night.
These parents also practiced "elimination communication". Say that three times fast! I dare you! Which essentially means no diapers. (eeewwww...) They pay attention to their babies cues that they need to potty. I'm drawing the line here. Especially if I'm lugging that kid around. I can only take being peed on so many times in one day, you know? But more power to you if you can do it.
The third parenting style was "gender neutral" parenting. This is where the parents let their kids play with anything. They let their boys wear mommies heels and have dollhouses. Is this radical, really? Sean and CJ both wore my heels from time to time. They both wore Lu's dress ups too. Sean and Lu played barbies together. Although, Sean's guy was always a GI Joe badass. Lu ran around with the neighborhood boys and played baseball and war. She went hunting with her dad and brothers. I never restricted the kids toys to gender appropriateness. Was I really being radical? Damn, I'm quite the rebel!
I can't wait to see what other radical parenting techniques I used! I'm pretty sure letting my kids run wild through the timber, play in creeks, climb trees and come back by dark is going to qualify me for "free-range" parenting. And the fact that I let my teenagers make a lot of their own decisions (and thus their own mistakes) is going to get me the "unparenting" badge. And maybe I can slide in on the "unconditional" parenting award since my kids didn't get bribes or routine punishments. And they know that I love them even when they screw up.
It's funny, because I thought I was just doing what felt right. And now I find out I was using all these radical techniques. Wow. I'm a pioneer in the field of parenting. Thank goodness my kids seem to be turning out well!! Can you imagine the criticism these movements would be getting if I'd raised a serial killer?? Or a teen mom? Everyone would be gunning for me..."gee thanks Spot. Way to ruin a whole movement." I guess the proof will be in their adulthood though. Check with me in ten years. Make sure the kids have made good lives for themselves. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed...
Are you a radical parent too?
♥Spot
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
So there Universe, take that!
Yesterday morning = the morning from hell. Seriously. Monday morning around my house means very little. I mean hubby works from home and his job is pretty much 24/7 so there's no Monday. In fact, weekends are his busiest time so Monday kind of equals Wednesday for him or something vaguely resembling that analogy. Lu works retail so again no real Monday thing. Sean is home schooled and we don't really do set routines so we might work on whatever day starts our fancy. In fact, my foster son is the only one who has anything resembling a normal schedule (man, that has got suck monkey balls). So I don't dread Mondays at all. That does not stop Monday from messing with my head. It's like that thing that some religious people say "you may not believe in God, but he still believes in you" only replace "God" with "Monday" and "believes" with "hates".
First off, the cat wakes us up two minutes before my husbands alarm, by jumping on the nightstand and knocking all my crap (cell phone, books, glasses, lamp, clock) off of it. Then it takes forever to get hubby moving (it's the Monday curse). Which means that I am now awake which translates into "Shit. Now I have to pee." Then I look out the window and realize it snowed. And it's really cold in the house. So by the time I crawl back into bed, I'm shivering. Takes a minute to warm up and drift back off. Twenty minutes later, one of the cats is back and she's nuzzling my face. She gets a push and I pull the covers over my head. An hour later I can hear Hubby warming something up in the microwave. (Did I mention he's the 2nd noisiest person on the planet?) I glance at the clock and realize it's 7:30 and I listen. Nope. Noisiest person on the planet, aka foster son, aka Bobby is not up. I shiver my way into the kitchen to confront my husband.
Me: How come you didn't wake Bobby up? He has school! And it's going to take him extra drive time because it snowed?! I reminded you before you got out of bed!
Hubby: Relax, it's only 7. I have time.
Me: *walking backwards five steps to check the time on the thermostat* um. No. It's 7:30.
Hubby: Really? Wow I must have lost track of time. I'll go do it now.
I return to my warm cocoon, pondering how you lose track of time when you're watching one of those morning programs that has the time in the bottom left hand corner of your TV??! Then Bobby races upstairs, brushes his teeth, combs his hair, and slams out of the house in a whirlwind of very noisy activity. Would it kill that kid to shut the bathroom door in the morning?? Or not slam the front door?? I shake my head in frustration and drift back off...for twenty minutes. Then I awake to the sound of a cat digging their claws into the carpet in my bathroom. I lift my head. It's Axel. My insane cat. I go in and make her stop and realize that some kitty has decided to pee on the rug by the toilet. Gah!!! Earlier in the year, one of our kitties passed away from a kidney disease. But before she took her leave she managed to pee in various spots all over my carpeted house. I spent days cleaning carpets to get the smell out. I spent weeks shutting doors to keep the other kitties from those spots. We hadn't had a problem in months. Now, I know it wasn't Axel who committed the misdeed even though she was the one trying to cover it up. This cat is so anal about using the litter box that she wouldn't even use the one I set up for her in our family room when she was confined there with her kittens. She would paw the door to get out and go use the box downstairs. So I have no idea who the culprit is, but I'm pissed. And awake.
So I start to go to the kitchen for coffee, when I pass by my family room and realize some kitty has pooped on the throw rug in there. The hell??! I yell "who pooped in the family room??!" as though the responsible kitty would come forward. Sean (who is sitting in the family room on the computer and has quite obviously missed the pile of poop) turns around, spies it, and says "I was wondering why it smelled like ass in here! Oh, and I got an email that the IRS rejected my tax submission". Bloody Hell!! I get the stuff. I clean up the kitty potty messes. I glare balefully at every kitty I pass. I get coffee and head to the computer. The email says the IRS rejected the submission because the W-2 was not filled out correctly. The hell it wasn't! I log on to the freefile site and check. Yep. Filled in correctly. Stupid freakin bureaucrats. I think they just like to reject things for fun. So I redo and resend. Then I log into blogville and come up for air four hours later. Thankfully, Sean has brought me a bowl of cereal sometime in there.
Around this same time, Lulu finally drags herself out of bed. She, like her father, could sleep through the house burning down around them.
Me: Good morning princess sunshine! I'm about to make lunch. You want chicken salad or Tuna?
Lu: Tuna. It snowed.
Me: It's still snowing. The weatherman said it's just going to be flurries. No accumulation.
Lu: *looks out window again. Looks at me perplexed.*
Me: yeah, I know. Flurries on steroids. And there's an inch out there, Dad measured. It's just the latest in the Universe's attempt to send me a message.
Lu: *still looking perplexed, having slept through my horrible morning*
Me: It's been a screwed up horrible morning. I'm pretty sure the Universe was saying "Take some painkillers and go back to bed." But I don't like being told what to do, so I didn't. I fixed things. So there Universe! Take that. Flip off!!
Lu: you know you're really weird, right?
Me: *I grinned* Weird is a matter of perception.
Today was my husband's message from the universe in the form of snow drifted roads and the dishwasher backing up and overflowing all over the kitchen floor. He didn't take it lying down either. Up yours Universe. We do what we want.
♥Spot
First off, the cat wakes us up two minutes before my husbands alarm, by jumping on the nightstand and knocking all my crap (cell phone, books, glasses, lamp, clock) off of it. Then it takes forever to get hubby moving (it's the Monday curse). Which means that I am now awake which translates into "Shit. Now I have to pee." Then I look out the window and realize it snowed. And it's really cold in the house. So by the time I crawl back into bed, I'm shivering. Takes a minute to warm up and drift back off. Twenty minutes later, one of the cats is back and she's nuzzling my face. She gets a push and I pull the covers over my head. An hour later I can hear Hubby warming something up in the microwave. (Did I mention he's the 2nd noisiest person on the planet?) I glance at the clock and realize it's 7:30 and I listen. Nope. Noisiest person on the planet, aka foster son, aka Bobby is not up. I shiver my way into the kitchen to confront my husband.
Me: How come you didn't wake Bobby up? He has school! And it's going to take him extra drive time because it snowed?! I reminded you before you got out of bed!
Hubby: Relax, it's only 7. I have time.
Me: *walking backwards five steps to check the time on the thermostat* um. No. It's 7:30.
Hubby: Really? Wow I must have lost track of time. I'll go do it now.
I return to my warm cocoon, pondering how you lose track of time when you're watching one of those morning programs that has the time in the bottom left hand corner of your TV??! Then Bobby races upstairs, brushes his teeth, combs his hair, and slams out of the house in a whirlwind of very noisy activity. Would it kill that kid to shut the bathroom door in the morning?? Or not slam the front door?? I shake my head in frustration and drift back off...for twenty minutes. Then I awake to the sound of a cat digging their claws into the carpet in my bathroom. I lift my head. It's Axel. My insane cat. I go in and make her stop and realize that some kitty has decided to pee on the rug by the toilet. Gah!!! Earlier in the year, one of our kitties passed away from a kidney disease. But before she took her leave she managed to pee in various spots all over my carpeted house. I spent days cleaning carpets to get the smell out. I spent weeks shutting doors to keep the other kitties from those spots. We hadn't had a problem in months. Now, I know it wasn't Axel who committed the misdeed even though she was the one trying to cover it up. This cat is so anal about using the litter box that she wouldn't even use the one I set up for her in our family room when she was confined there with her kittens. She would paw the door to get out and go use the box downstairs. So I have no idea who the culprit is, but I'm pissed. And awake.
So I start to go to the kitchen for coffee, when I pass by my family room and realize some kitty has pooped on the throw rug in there. The hell??! I yell "who pooped in the family room??!" as though the responsible kitty would come forward. Sean (who is sitting in the family room on the computer and has quite obviously missed the pile of poop) turns around, spies it, and says "I was wondering why it smelled like ass in here! Oh, and I got an email that the IRS rejected my tax submission". Bloody Hell!! I get the stuff. I clean up the kitty potty messes. I glare balefully at every kitty I pass. I get coffee and head to the computer. The email says the IRS rejected the submission because the W-2 was not filled out correctly. The hell it wasn't! I log on to the freefile site and check. Yep. Filled in correctly. Stupid freakin bureaucrats. I think they just like to reject things for fun. So I redo and resend. Then I log into blogville and come up for air four hours later. Thankfully, Sean has brought me a bowl of cereal sometime in there.
Around this same time, Lulu finally drags herself out of bed. She, like her father, could sleep through the house burning down around them.
Me: Good morning princess sunshine! I'm about to make lunch. You want chicken salad or Tuna?
Lu: Tuna. It snowed.
Me: It's still snowing. The weatherman said it's just going to be flurries. No accumulation.
Lu: *looks out window again. Looks at me perplexed.*
Me: yeah, I know. Flurries on steroids. And there's an inch out there, Dad measured. It's just the latest in the Universe's attempt to send me a message.
Lu: *still looking perplexed, having slept through my horrible morning*
Me: It's been a screwed up horrible morning. I'm pretty sure the Universe was saying "Take some painkillers and go back to bed." But I don't like being told what to do, so I didn't. I fixed things. So there Universe! Take that. Flip off!!
Lu: you know you're really weird, right?
Me: *I grinned* Weird is a matter of perception.
Today was my husband's message from the universe in the form of snow drifted roads and the dishwasher backing up and overflowing all over the kitchen floor. He didn't take it lying down either. Up yours Universe. We do what we want.
♥Spot
Saturday, January 23, 2010
The one where Lulu acts like a 5-yr old and Sean tries to get me arrested...
First off...my apologies for not blogging the last two days. Thursday my folks stayed until about 2 before they went home and quite honestly I was too exhausted to do anything else the rest of the day. Like I didn't even cook dinner for my family. My hubby heated me up something in the microwave. I probably lost a corner from my "50's housewife" card or something! But it was a good visit with my parents and there will be more on that in the days to come.
And yesterday? Well I fully intended to blog when I got home from town but again with the tired. Okay. And we decided to watch a movie. But I commented on some blogs so that should totally count for something! We went to town yesterday for my dr. appt, Sean's appt, grocery shopping, to get movies and pick up med refills. It was not the best day ever. I have to go back to the doctor in 2 weeks so that's never good. Sean has a pretty good case of pneumonia. I had to go to 3 different grocery stores. And we never did get to see our friend K and her brand new baby M, which was the sole reason Lulu tagged along to town.
Now most of the time, I adore spending time with my children. With Lulu so recently moved back into the house, the dynamics are slightly off. And both children were slightly cranky yesterday. Sean due to the pneumonia and Lulu, well, because she can be?? So they were bickering with each other as well as me. By the time we hit Sean's appt, I had a headache. But as usual, his visit was a riot. My kids see a Nurse practitioner that they've been seeing since their old doctor retired about 8 years ago. She's a fantastic doctor. She and Sean have always had a very sarcastic relationship. So we leave Lu in the waiting room with her book and go back to the exam room. The nurse tells us that there is an NP in training and is it okay if she sees us first? No prob. She comes in and does her exam. Sean is on his best behavior, oddly enough. When she finishes, his regular NP comes in~
NP: Were you nice to her?
Sean: Of course!
NP: You can be as smartass to me as you like but you better be nice to new people.
New NP: (looks totally confused) He was nice to me.
NP: So what's going on? No. Wait. Let me guess...you have a fever and a cough? Geez. Can't you come up with something new? It's always the same with you. Pneumonia.
Me: He says he knew he was getting sick on Friday last week and still went to the polar bear camp out this weekend.
Sean: well I was already getting sick so what was the difference?
NP: What kind of stupid man logic is that?
Sean: if I stayed home every time I thought I might be getting sick, I'd never go anywhere!!
*** so then the NP stops and discusses some of Lulu's stuff with me for a minute. The outcome being that Lulu needs to get her flu shots and they can work those in today since she's in town with me. Then she turns back to Sean***
NP: Okay, it's all about you again. I'm your most humble servant.
Sean: You are anything but humble.
NP: Watch out pot...you're talking to the kettle. At least I don't need a garage size door to fit my inflated ego head into my house.
***they decide to do blood work to check for mycroplasm (the walking pneumonia germ) even though we all know it will be positive. Sean goes to the lab to get blood drawn and I go to the waiting room to tell Lu the nurse is going to call her to get her flu shots. She has a fit. Seriously, I mean like a five year old. Now, she hates shots but for real?! The H1N1 shot has saved lives this year. Could she be more ridiculous?***
Me: You're all the time wanting to be treated like an adult and right now you're behaving like a spoiled 5-yr old. That is what I'll treat you like.
Lu: Good! I don't care. I don't want flu shots.
Me: You don't want alot of things. That doesn't mean you don't need them. Are you going to make your children get shots?
Lu: Yes.
Me: Well then?
Lu: Not after they're eighteen. The choice should be theirs then.
Me: Why? Quite obviously, the good decision fairy does not come along and tap you on the head just because you turn eighteen.
Lu: *sticks her tongue out at me*
***the nurse comes and gets us. Lu gets numbing spray and shiny band aids. They even offer her a sucker. She whines about her arm hurting. I give up and take them both to lunch at Jimmy Johns. Where I try to ignore Lu as much as possible when you're sitting next to someone. Which leads to me reading the signs on the wall. Then I read one out loud***
Me: We'd love to see you NAKED but state health code requires the wearing of shirts and shoes.
Sean: Huh. Well since pants don't seem to be a requirement I'm not wearing any next time I come here.
Me: I think they just figure most people don't walk around pantless.
Sean: I'm not most people.
Me: Truer words were never spoken.
***Lu does get over her tantrum, although she continues to claim her arm is going to fall off. By the time we get through the second grocery store, I have a monster headache and I just want to go home and put on my pjs. And spend some time not with my children. At the checkout***
Me: You're supposed to push the cart a little around the side Sean.
Sean: well that's not how I do it.
Me: okay but I have to have room to get to the little thingy to write my check.
Lu: you should get a debit card. Checks take forever.
Me: (under my breath) I cannot wait to get home and get away from you two.
Cashier: (starts laughing hysterically)
Sean: What did you say?!
Me: Nothing dear. I love you.
Sean: (looks at cashier all serious like) She beats me.
Cashier: (more laughter)Really?
Me: No one believes you Sean. I think I'd have a better chance convincing people that you beat me.
Sean: show me the bruises.
Me: Oh honey. They're all on the inside.
Thankfully no one was really harmed in the making of this blog. I got about 30 minutes of peace eventually. Later, when I was telling hubby about my day I said~
Me: I'm exhausted. You're kids drove me crazy today.
Hubby: Yeah, I thought you were crazy taking both of them.
Me: Maybe next time you could say something, you know, before I do it.
♥Spot
And yesterday? Well I fully intended to blog when I got home from town but again with the tired. Okay. And we decided to watch a movie. But I commented on some blogs so that should totally count for something! We went to town yesterday for my dr. appt, Sean's appt, grocery shopping, to get movies and pick up med refills. It was not the best day ever. I have to go back to the doctor in 2 weeks so that's never good. Sean has a pretty good case of pneumonia. I had to go to 3 different grocery stores. And we never did get to see our friend K and her brand new baby M, which was the sole reason Lulu tagged along to town.
Now most of the time, I adore spending time with my children. With Lulu so recently moved back into the house, the dynamics are slightly off. And both children were slightly cranky yesterday. Sean due to the pneumonia and Lulu, well, because she can be?? So they were bickering with each other as well as me. By the time we hit Sean's appt, I had a headache. But as usual, his visit was a riot. My kids see a Nurse practitioner that they've been seeing since their old doctor retired about 8 years ago. She's a fantastic doctor. She and Sean have always had a very sarcastic relationship. So we leave Lu in the waiting room with her book and go back to the exam room. The nurse tells us that there is an NP in training and is it okay if she sees us first? No prob. She comes in and does her exam. Sean is on his best behavior, oddly enough. When she finishes, his regular NP comes in~
NP: Were you nice to her?
Sean: Of course!
NP: You can be as smartass to me as you like but you better be nice to new people.
New NP: (looks totally confused) He was nice to me.
NP: So what's going on? No. Wait. Let me guess...you have a fever and a cough? Geez. Can't you come up with something new? It's always the same with you. Pneumonia.
Me: He says he knew he was getting sick on Friday last week and still went to the polar bear camp out this weekend.
Sean: well I was already getting sick so what was the difference?
NP: What kind of stupid man logic is that?
Sean: if I stayed home every time I thought I might be getting sick, I'd never go anywhere!!
*** so then the NP stops and discusses some of Lulu's stuff with me for a minute. The outcome being that Lulu needs to get her flu shots and they can work those in today since she's in town with me. Then she turns back to Sean***
NP: Okay, it's all about you again. I'm your most humble servant.
Sean: You are anything but humble.
NP: Watch out pot...you're talking to the kettle. At least I don't need a garage size door to fit my inflated ego head into my house.
***they decide to do blood work to check for mycroplasm (the walking pneumonia germ) even though we all know it will be positive. Sean goes to the lab to get blood drawn and I go to the waiting room to tell Lu the nurse is going to call her to get her flu shots. She has a fit. Seriously, I mean like a five year old. Now, she hates shots but for real?! The H1N1 shot has saved lives this year. Could she be more ridiculous?***
Me: You're all the time wanting to be treated like an adult and right now you're behaving like a spoiled 5-yr old. That is what I'll treat you like.
Lu: Good! I don't care. I don't want flu shots.
Me: You don't want alot of things. That doesn't mean you don't need them. Are you going to make your children get shots?
Lu: Yes.
Me: Well then?
Lu: Not after they're eighteen. The choice should be theirs then.
Me: Why? Quite obviously, the good decision fairy does not come along and tap you on the head just because you turn eighteen.
Lu: *sticks her tongue out at me*
***the nurse comes and gets us. Lu gets numbing spray and shiny band aids. They even offer her a sucker. She whines about her arm hurting. I give up and take them both to lunch at Jimmy Johns. Where I try to ignore Lu as much as possible when you're sitting next to someone. Which leads to me reading the signs on the wall. Then I read one out loud***
Me: We'd love to see you NAKED but state health code requires the wearing of shirts and shoes.
Sean: Huh. Well since pants don't seem to be a requirement I'm not wearing any next time I come here.
Me: I think they just figure most people don't walk around pantless.
Sean: I'm not most people.
Me: Truer words were never spoken.
***Lu does get over her tantrum, although she continues to claim her arm is going to fall off. By the time we get through the second grocery store, I have a monster headache and I just want to go home and put on my pjs. And spend some time not with my children. At the checkout***
Me: You're supposed to push the cart a little around the side Sean.
Sean: well that's not how I do it.
Me: okay but I have to have room to get to the little thingy to write my check.
Lu: you should get a debit card. Checks take forever.
Me: (under my breath) I cannot wait to get home and get away from you two.
Cashier: (starts laughing hysterically)
Sean: What did you say?!
Me: Nothing dear. I love you.
Sean: (looks at cashier all serious like) She beats me.
Cashier: (more laughter)Really?
Me: No one believes you Sean. I think I'd have a better chance convincing people that you beat me.
Sean: show me the bruises.
Me: Oh honey. They're all on the inside.
Thankfully no one was really harmed in the making of this blog. I got about 30 minutes of peace eventually. Later, when I was telling hubby about my day I said~
Me: I'm exhausted. You're kids drove me crazy today.
Hubby: Yeah, I thought you were crazy taking both of them.
Me: Maybe next time you could say something, you know, before I do it.
♥Spot
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
A convo with Lulu...
So yesterday was one of "those days". You know, the ones where you bust your ass right up til bedtime? While I was out of town, the dirty laundry fairy apparently visited my house because I swear to Bob, every damn piece of clothing anyone owns in our house was in the dirty laundry pile. Seriously, I was almost afraid it was going to spring to life and start gobbling up cats or something. Add to this I have a sick child and my parents are coming tonight for a visit. Can we say mega-panic-mode? So here's how the day went:
I got up at 7 and got coffee. Logged on and started doing blog stuff, checking emails. Told husband to go wake up Bobby because he had a dentist appointment and if he didn't get up right now, he would miss it. Reminded Lulu of the time so that she would get off to work on time. Finally got the three of them out of the house. Made Sean something to eat and watched a DVR'd episode of Sanctuary with him. Got him settled in the family room and started on the laundry. Got a roast and potatoes in the crock pot and rolls in the pan to rise. Went back downstairs to clean kitty boxes and make boys beds, straighten their room and sweep. More laundry. Called my Dad to make sure they are still coming and warn them that Sean is sick. Discussed dinner plans for their visit. Made beds. Cleaned bathroom, my bedroom, Lu's bedroom, living room, and family room. Insert more laundry randomly. Also fixed Sean ham, egg, pepper jack cheese roll up for lunch. Loaded and ran dishwasher. Got a phone call from Manager of store who wanted to know if Lu had found a job. Relayed message to Lu so she could stop in after work. Finally took a shower. Proceeded to make mashed potatoes (I like mashed, hubby likes roasted), carrots with butter and brown sugar and bake the rolls to finish up supper. More laundry. Listened to Lu's day when she got home. Served and ate dinner. Finished wrapping parents Christmas gifts. Made and sewed pom-poms on two scarves I'd made for other people. Final laundry load folded and put away. Soooo ready for bed. Get ready, climb in, and Bobby gets home from work, and he and Lu pile on my bed for conversation. 11:45 pm...pass out. Add to that the fact that my body was in revolt from having no "down days" in the last week. Had to take an extra muscle relaxer after dinner.
After dinner Lu had invited DEBF (whose name will from now one be changed to EBIC~ ex boyfriend in counseling since he stopped drinking and is in outpatient counseling). She had decided that while she still cares about him deeply, it's not the romantic "I want to spend my life with you forever" thing it used to be. She'd put so much effort into getting over him that things had changed. And she needed to let him know that while she wanted to be friends and support his efforts, there wasn't a romantic chance for them. Obviously, this went over like a lead balloon. So he leaves and Lu goes to the bathroom and comes into her room and lays on the bed. I've finished wrapping and am delivering her laundry so I lay down beside her as she usually wants a cuddle and a chat after something like that. She snaps "I didn't invite you to lay down." Well, after the day I'd had, it royally pissed me off. In fact, I'm kind of still pissed off. Anyway, I left, got out my sewing and claimed the family room couch and TV. Eventually she wandered in and lay down on the floor. She tried to make conversation but I pretty much ignored her. Then I told her "I'm pretty pissed at you. That was extremely rude. A simple, I don't feel like talking about it would have done." She said she knew and she was sorry, she hadn't meant it to come out mean, she just wanted some time alone. Then the following convo~
Lu~ I think you should write a blog about being a mom.
Me~ isn't that what I do?
Lu~ No. I mean yes. But your blog is usually funny incidents. I think you should write one with Mom tips. Like how to be a better Mom. Because you're amazing at it. And some moms suck and maybe they'd read your tips and be better.
Me~ I'm not wearing my rubber boots, maybe you could stop stacking the shit so high in here.
Lu~ I'm not just saying it. Really. I mean look at all you did today! I'd never be that motivated. And you cooked Sean like three meals today. And lunch must have been awesome because he told me all about it.
Me~ Yep. I'm awesome and way unappreciated. But flattery is not making me less upset with you. You really really hurt my feelings. I never turn you away when you crawl onto my bed or want to talk. I've never said "I'm really busy, can we do this later?" the way my mom used to. Never. I am always there for you and drop everything if you or your brothers need something. I don't deserve to be treated like that. No one does.
Lu~ I know. And I really am sorry. I really didn't mean it the way it came out. I was just upset. I hate hurting him and seeing him cry. Can I have that cuddle now?
Me~ I suppose. (at which point she crawled up on the couch with me and we finished the movie I was watching. And then she offered to get the last load of laundry so I guess something good came out of it.)
Having semi-adult children is hard. I'm not sure I'm going to survive. Or maybe I just need to toughen up.
Anywho...on a different note entirely...I started the movie review blog. What Spot Saw.... Check it out if you like, I posted a link on the sidebar. Hope you like it. =] And on another good note...my parents are bringing pizzas and I don't have to cook. And I get Christmas presents!! And I get to give them theirs! And I know the kids got books and movies that I can make them share. And I know I got chocolate! So things are looking up...
♥Spot
I got up at 7 and got coffee. Logged on and started doing blog stuff, checking emails. Told husband to go wake up Bobby because he had a dentist appointment and if he didn't get up right now, he would miss it. Reminded Lulu of the time so that she would get off to work on time. Finally got the three of them out of the house. Made Sean something to eat and watched a DVR'd episode of Sanctuary with him. Got him settled in the family room and started on the laundry. Got a roast and potatoes in the crock pot and rolls in the pan to rise. Went back downstairs to clean kitty boxes and make boys beds, straighten their room and sweep. More laundry. Called my Dad to make sure they are still coming and warn them that Sean is sick. Discussed dinner plans for their visit. Made beds. Cleaned bathroom, my bedroom, Lu's bedroom, living room, and family room. Insert more laundry randomly. Also fixed Sean ham, egg, pepper jack cheese roll up for lunch. Loaded and ran dishwasher. Got a phone call from Manager of store who wanted to know if Lu had found a job. Relayed message to Lu so she could stop in after work. Finally took a shower. Proceeded to make mashed potatoes (I like mashed, hubby likes roasted), carrots with butter and brown sugar and bake the rolls to finish up supper. More laundry. Listened to Lu's day when she got home. Served and ate dinner. Finished wrapping parents Christmas gifts. Made and sewed pom-poms on two scarves I'd made for other people. Final laundry load folded and put away. Soooo ready for bed. Get ready, climb in, and Bobby gets home from work, and he and Lu pile on my bed for conversation. 11:45 pm...pass out. Add to that the fact that my body was in revolt from having no "down days" in the last week. Had to take an extra muscle relaxer after dinner.
After dinner Lu had invited DEBF (whose name will from now one be changed to EBIC~ ex boyfriend in counseling since he stopped drinking and is in outpatient counseling). She had decided that while she still cares about him deeply, it's not the romantic "I want to spend my life with you forever" thing it used to be. She'd put so much effort into getting over him that things had changed. And she needed to let him know that while she wanted to be friends and support his efforts, there wasn't a romantic chance for them. Obviously, this went over like a lead balloon. So he leaves and Lu goes to the bathroom and comes into her room and lays on the bed. I've finished wrapping and am delivering her laundry so I lay down beside her as she usually wants a cuddle and a chat after something like that. She snaps "I didn't invite you to lay down." Well, after the day I'd had, it royally pissed me off. In fact, I'm kind of still pissed off. Anyway, I left, got out my sewing and claimed the family room couch and TV. Eventually she wandered in and lay down on the floor. She tried to make conversation but I pretty much ignored her. Then I told her "I'm pretty pissed at you. That was extremely rude. A simple, I don't feel like talking about it would have done." She said she knew and she was sorry, she hadn't meant it to come out mean, she just wanted some time alone. Then the following convo~
Lu~ I think you should write a blog about being a mom.
Me~ isn't that what I do?
Lu~ No. I mean yes. But your blog is usually funny incidents. I think you should write one with Mom tips. Like how to be a better Mom. Because you're amazing at it. And some moms suck and maybe they'd read your tips and be better.
Me~ I'm not wearing my rubber boots, maybe you could stop stacking the shit so high in here.
Lu~ I'm not just saying it. Really. I mean look at all you did today! I'd never be that motivated. And you cooked Sean like three meals today. And lunch must have been awesome because he told me all about it.
Me~ Yep. I'm awesome and way unappreciated. But flattery is not making me less upset with you. You really really hurt my feelings. I never turn you away when you crawl onto my bed or want to talk. I've never said "I'm really busy, can we do this later?" the way my mom used to. Never. I am always there for you and drop everything if you or your brothers need something. I don't deserve to be treated like that. No one does.
Lu~ I know. And I really am sorry. I really didn't mean it the way it came out. I was just upset. I hate hurting him and seeing him cry. Can I have that cuddle now?
Me~ I suppose. (at which point she crawled up on the couch with me and we finished the movie I was watching. And then she offered to get the last load of laundry so I guess something good came out of it.)
Having semi-adult children is hard. I'm not sure I'm going to survive. Or maybe I just need to toughen up.
Anywho...on a different note entirely...I started the movie review blog. What Spot Saw.... Check it out if you like, I posted a link on the sidebar. Hope you like it. =] And on another good note...my parents are bringing pizzas and I don't have to cook. And I get Christmas presents!! And I get to give them theirs! And I know the kids got books and movies that I can make them share. And I know I got chocolate! So things are looking up...
♥Spot
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Don't leave the dyslexic girl in charge of the lottery tickets...
So as you know we road tripped to Ohio, by way of Springfield, and home, by way of Indianapolis over the weekend. Well we had a fabulous time with Hildi and her family and my cousins. Then we went to Indy and had a fantastic time with J and her family. We left her house around 1:30 pm yesterday and got in the car for another 5 hour stretch. Well after all the fun, Lu and I were a bit exhausted and maybe a tad cranky. So the trip was mostly us singing along to cds in order to not snap at each other. I did find out what Lu's thinking as far as her "boy drama" is concerned and I will totally relate that in another post. But other than that, there wasn't alot of talking.
Well having consumed two cups of coffee at J's, and having a monster size Coke in the car my bladder felt like it might explode. And for some totally insane reason, over half the rest stops along the way are closed. So we pulled off in some dinky little town to use the restroom in a gas station. Thankfully, said restroom was clean. Here's what happened on the way out.
Lulu stops and says "hey, I'm going to get my lottery ticket I bought Thursday and cash it in."
Me: Okay. Grab mine out of the car too!
Lu: You have the keys.
Me: Um. No. I gave them to you. (I can see the purple ribbon thing dangling out of her purse)
Lu: No U didn't! Oh wait! Here they are.
Me: Duh. (she proceeds to the car, comes in, hands me my ticket which I hand to cashier. It's a two dollar winner so I ask for two more tickets. Cashier eyes me like I'm an idiot)
Cashier: This isn't a winner.
I take the ticket back, peer at it for a minute, and look at Lulu.
Me: You grabbed the wrong one! (I'd had two sitting on her console, one a winner, one not)
Lu: (cashes in her own ticket for 5 more). Um. Well. I'll give you one of mine. I threw the other ticket away when I cleaned the car. I thought I grabbed the right one. (She peers at the ticket) Oh! I must have just seen the 2's and thought it was a winner. Sorry. I'm so dyslexic with numbers!!
~At Hildi's house on Saturday, Hildi left to take her girls to grandma's since we were all going out that night. Lu started up the stairs to take a shower.
Me: You need to take your phone with you to shower?
Lu: yes, because if I leave it you'll read through it.
Me: What?! I would never! That's a total violation of your privacy!
Lu: Oh really, snoopy snooperson?
Me: Well, what do you have to hide? Oh...I know...all those naughty texts from Mr. Tim. I know all about your "sexting". (Please note that I was totally kidding. She was not sexting).
Lu: Sexting? Is that a real word?
Me: Oh Lu. You're so sad. Get in touch with your generation! Of course it's a word!
Lu: It's so weird that my mom uses more slang than me. I'm not sure if it makes you completely cool or really weird.
Me: It makes me awesome. Duh. I don't know why I have to keep reminding you of that.
~And as we were leaving Hildi's...
Lu is driving and we go through Mickey D's to get insanely large Cokes. In the drive thru I tell her I'm going to text J to let her know we're on our way.
Lu: I hope her back is better. I would hate for her to be in pain the whole time we were there.
Me: No doubt! That would totally suck fer shizzle.
Lu: (blinking at me) Did you just say "fer shizzle"?
Me: Yeah? And?
Lu: You just totally used it in a sentence and you weren't even joking. Sometimes you just boggle my mind.
Me: Yeah. That's how I roll, yo.
glad to be back,
♥Spot
PS- Sean totally has pneumonia. Stupid freaking camp out. Why Boy Scouts? Why??!
Well having consumed two cups of coffee at J's, and having a monster size Coke in the car my bladder felt like it might explode. And for some totally insane reason, over half the rest stops along the way are closed. So we pulled off in some dinky little town to use the restroom in a gas station. Thankfully, said restroom was clean. Here's what happened on the way out.
Lulu stops and says "hey, I'm going to get my lottery ticket I bought Thursday and cash it in."
Me: Okay. Grab mine out of the car too!
Lu: You have the keys.
Me: Um. No. I gave them to you. (I can see the purple ribbon thing dangling out of her purse)
Lu: No U didn't! Oh wait! Here they are.
Me: Duh. (she proceeds to the car, comes in, hands me my ticket which I hand to cashier. It's a two dollar winner so I ask for two more tickets. Cashier eyes me like I'm an idiot)
Cashier: This isn't a winner.
I take the ticket back, peer at it for a minute, and look at Lulu.
Me: You grabbed the wrong one! (I'd had two sitting on her console, one a winner, one not)
Lu: (cashes in her own ticket for 5 more). Um. Well. I'll give you one of mine. I threw the other ticket away when I cleaned the car. I thought I grabbed the right one. (She peers at the ticket) Oh! I must have just seen the 2's and thought it was a winner. Sorry. I'm so dyslexic with numbers!!
~At Hildi's house on Saturday, Hildi left to take her girls to grandma's since we were all going out that night. Lu started up the stairs to take a shower.
Me: You need to take your phone with you to shower?
Lu: yes, because if I leave it you'll read through it.
Me: What?! I would never! That's a total violation of your privacy!
Lu: Oh really, snoopy snooperson?
Me: Well, what do you have to hide? Oh...I know...all those naughty texts from Mr. Tim. I know all about your "sexting". (Please note that I was totally kidding. She was not sexting).
Lu: Sexting? Is that a real word?
Me: Oh Lu. You're so sad. Get in touch with your generation! Of course it's a word!
Lu: It's so weird that my mom uses more slang than me. I'm not sure if it makes you completely cool or really weird.
Me: It makes me awesome. Duh. I don't know why I have to keep reminding you of that.
~And as we were leaving Hildi's...
Lu is driving and we go through Mickey D's to get insanely large Cokes. In the drive thru I tell her I'm going to text J to let her know we're on our way.
Lu: I hope her back is better. I would hate for her to be in pain the whole time we were there.
Me: No doubt! That would totally suck fer shizzle.
Lu: (blinking at me) Did you just say "fer shizzle"?
Me: Yeah? And?
Lu: You just totally used it in a sentence and you weren't even joking. Sometimes you just boggle my mind.
Me: Yeah. That's how I roll, yo.
glad to be back,
♥Spot
PS- Sean totally has pneumonia. Stupid freaking camp out. Why Boy Scouts? Why??!
Friday, January 15, 2010
Notes from the road...
Hey-ho everyone! We made it to Ohio safely (because I drove...Lu is scary). I will try to blog every day but yeah, you know how it goes, may not happen. I'm also trying to work through all the blogs I subscribe to and comment but it's slow going. So if I miss yours, do not get your feelings hurt, I'll get there eventually. And by eventually, I totally mean sometime this decade. Mmmmk?
Also, I'm using Lu's laptop and it has buttons in weird places so I'm really slow, constantly hitting something wrong and losing my cursor. And I'm in a hurry, because we are going to the best book store ever today (half price books...the name says it all!) and we have to leave and be back at specific times in order to get my niece off the bus. Which sounds suspiciously routine to me. Poor Hildi...bound by convention! She also lives in a subdivision and I don't sleep well. All the weird noises wake me up (you know like cars...don't hear that much at my house.)
Well, Hildi just hollered that there are cinnamon rolls and coffee...so as much as I love you guys...breakfast calls! I do have some funny convos from the road and I promise to get them blogged later...
Road trip= blog fodder.
♥Spot
Also, I'm using Lu's laptop and it has buttons in weird places so I'm really slow, constantly hitting something wrong and losing my cursor. And I'm in a hurry, because we are going to the best book store ever today (half price books...the name says it all!) and we have to leave and be back at specific times in order to get my niece off the bus. Which sounds suspiciously routine to me. Poor Hildi...bound by convention! She also lives in a subdivision and I don't sleep well. All the weird noises wake me up (you know like cars...don't hear that much at my house.)
Well, Hildi just hollered that there are cinnamon rolls and coffee...so as much as I love you guys...breakfast calls! I do have some funny convos from the road and I promise to get them blogged later...
Road trip= blog fodder.
♥Spot
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Somedays...
So once again in keeping with my bloggy theme, (I know, me with a theme three days in a row, it's like hell froze over or something) I wanted to share a couple of conversations I've had lately. The first is with my husband the other day after he came back from town and a meeting at the Scout office.
Hubs: So, when people ask me what you're doing now can I tell them about your blog?
Me: Um. Yeah. Why wouldn't you?
Hubs: Well, I don't know.
Me: Unless you're ashamed of it or something? It's not like you're telling people I sell crack cocaine to elementary school children or something. I mean, I can understand keeping something like that a secret.
Hubs: It's just that if I tell them, they might want to read it.
Me: So? That's kind of the point. I blog. Read me.
Hubs: Well, it's just that people will know who you are. You won't be anonymous.
Me: Well since any fifth grader with basic computer skills can figure out my real name I'm really not that concerned. Wait a minute! (the light finally dawns) This isn't about me! This is about you! You don't want your friends to know the shit you pull. Hahaha.
Hubs: Um. No. It's actually about not getting fired because you've trashed my boss.
Me: (slightly subdued) Well, I didn't say his name so he can't sue me for slander. And I didn't sign any contracts with morality clauses or 'don't talk about me on your blog' clauses. So? Ha! But do what you want honey. You can just tell them I'm a writer. Or you can just tell them I'm doing that 50's housewife thing. It's whatev.
Then I had this conversation with Lu~
Me: (very pleased) so one of my followers gave me an award today (It was KT) and she called me a "brave and admirable woman".
Lu: (wrinkling her nose in confusion) why would she say that?
Me: For real? Did you just ask why someone would compliment me??
Lu: No! I mean, I guess I did. But that's not how I meant it. I mean, I think you're brave and admirable, I just don't see how anyone would get that from reading you're blog.
Me: I don't know. I guess mostly people think homeschooling is brave. Although I never thought of it that way. And they think I'm admirable because I haven't killed any of you yet.
And Sean~
Me: I had so many page views yesterday! And I have two new followers.
Sean: Yeah, it's like why people read true crime or watch 48 hours or Snapped! People kind of get addicted to crazy.
Me: Gee Sean, thanks.
I sometimes wonder how I manage to keep my self confidence level so high in such a doubting atmosphere. And then I remember it's because of all the therapy. And vodka lemonade.
♥Spot
Hubs: So, when people ask me what you're doing now can I tell them about your blog?
Me: Um. Yeah. Why wouldn't you?
Hubs: Well, I don't know.
Me: Unless you're ashamed of it or something? It's not like you're telling people I sell crack cocaine to elementary school children or something. I mean, I can understand keeping something like that a secret.
Hubs: It's just that if I tell them, they might want to read it.
Me: So? That's kind of the point. I blog. Read me.
Hubs: Well, it's just that people will know who you are. You won't be anonymous.
Me: Well since any fifth grader with basic computer skills can figure out my real name I'm really not that concerned. Wait a minute! (the light finally dawns) This isn't about me! This is about you! You don't want your friends to know the shit you pull. Hahaha.
Hubs: Um. No. It's actually about not getting fired because you've trashed my boss.
Me: (slightly subdued) Well, I didn't say his name so he can't sue me for slander. And I didn't sign any contracts with morality clauses or 'don't talk about me on your blog' clauses. So? Ha! But do what you want honey. You can just tell them I'm a writer. Or you can just tell them I'm doing that 50's housewife thing. It's whatev.
Then I had this conversation with Lu~
Me: (very pleased) so one of my followers gave me an award today (It was KT) and she called me a "brave and admirable woman".
Lu: (wrinkling her nose in confusion) why would she say that?
Me: For real? Did you just ask why someone would compliment me??
Lu: No! I mean, I guess I did. But that's not how I meant it. I mean, I think you're brave and admirable, I just don't see how anyone would get that from reading you're blog.
Me: I don't know. I guess mostly people think homeschooling is brave. Although I never thought of it that way. And they think I'm admirable because I haven't killed any of you yet.
And Sean~
Me: I had so many page views yesterday! And I have two new followers.
Sean: Yeah, it's like why people read true crime or watch 48 hours or Snapped! People kind of get addicted to crazy.
Me: Gee Sean, thanks.
I sometimes wonder how I manage to keep my self confidence level so high in such a doubting atmosphere. And then I remember it's because of all the therapy. And vodka lemonade.
♥Spot
Sunday, January 10, 2010
I'm just a blogger...
So let's just be up front honest and truthful here...it took me a long time and alot of therapy to learn not to base my self worth on the opinion of others. That they're approval didn't really matter in the grand scheme of things. That I was the only one I was responsible too and that likeing myself was far more productive than wanting everyone else to like me. I was a serious "people pleaser". I stopped blaming my parents for my woefully inadequate sense of self esteem because well, they're just human and parents do the best they can at the time. So in conclusion, I do not blame my parents for the low self esteem I once had, my intense need to be liked, or anything else. But they also don't get the credit for the amazing self confidence, my comfort in my own skin, or my "I could care less what you think" attitude. I worked hard for those and they are all mine. And with any luck, I fostered those same qualities in my children. However, in Sean's case I may have "overdid".
So bearing all of that in mind...we begin our story...
The other day I received an email from Kathryn asking if I'd checked on my Kindle subscriptions lately. She said that I was ranked higher than she was (how this happened, neither of us can figure out because she has a gazillion followers) so I must have some subscriptions. Well, I really hadn't expected much to come out of the Kindle subscriptions so I hadn't checked in well, like, ever. In fact it had been so long I totally forgot my password. So once I went through the total hullabaloo of changing my password, ect., I logged on and wow! I did have Kindle subscriptions! People were ordering my blog!!! I did the happiest of happy dances (which is also probably the most goofy of happy dances) and happily replied back to Kathryn, that yes, I did indeed have subscriptions. And then I sat in happy, yet stunned silence. As there was no one else home at the time, I cradled my pride quietly in my arms and grinned like an absolute idiot. Someone thought enough of my writing to pay (okay, so it's not much, but any amount is more than free) to view my ramblings. To me, that says "paid writer" all over it. And you cannot (well, maybe you other aspiring writers can) imagine how encouraging this turn of events is, nor how inspiring. Thank you to all of my readers, but thank you thank you thank you to the nameless faceless masses who subscribe via Kindle. Okay, there's not really enough subscribers to be called "masses" but it's called poetic license. Work with me here people. And the best part...I don't even know anyone (besides Mark) who has a Kindle so it can't be like, you know, just my friends and family!
So here's happy little me, dancing around my kitchen as I prepare supper. The guys come in from hunting and I announce "Y'all ought to avoid the rush and start worshipping me now. You know, before I get famous". (This was also my FaceBook status of the day.) They of course just kind of chuckle because they are used to me being a drama queen. But then I explain, and they are appropriately awed and encouraging. I tell Lu later that night and she too is ecstatic for me. My friend J? Also Encouraging. So the next day I call my folks to check in with them. And I casually drop my big news into the conversation with my Dad. And I say "so now, I'm officially a paid writer". And he says "No you're not. You're just a paid Blogger." Um. The hell?! There's a difference?? He proceeds with "you don't think you're like Stephen King or anything, right?". Um. NO. DUH. He's Stephen freakin King. But how is writing my blog for readers and subscribers different from an essayist in a magazine? I write, I edit, I spend a frankly astonishing amount of time and thought on my blog. And he says "well, when you're published in a magazine, let me know." AAAAAGGGGGHHHH! I wanted to bang my head on my desk. It just brought rushing back all of the "it's never quite good enough" feelings of inadequacy. Like when I'd bring home a report card filled with A's and one lone B and I'd hear "what happened here?" instead of "Oh my god...you're a genius". But then I breathed in deeply through my nose ten times and changed the subject. Then I called my sister. When I told her, she was almost as excited as I had been. I told her Dad's reaction. She said he was kidding. I said, no he was in fact quite serious. She said well maybe he didn't have a firm grasp on blogging. That he & mom had only ever read our joint blog and it wasn't the same. That was just like letters to each other while this blog was more "professional". (Frankly, I have no idea what she means but I'll roll with it.) When I hung up I went to fix supper (man, do I ever do anything else??) and hubby came in and asked why I seemed angry. So I told him. And he laughed. And then I laughed. Because you know what? It makes no difference. I know what I do and it's good enough for me. And nobody is stealing my sense of validation. Nobody. And someday, when I am published by my father's standards, I'll think "in your face buddy", but of course I won't say it, because I'm completely sure that it won't quite be good enough.
♥Spot
So bearing all of that in mind...we begin our story...
The other day I received an email from Kathryn asking if I'd checked on my Kindle subscriptions lately. She said that I was ranked higher than she was (how this happened, neither of us can figure out because she has a gazillion followers) so I must have some subscriptions. Well, I really hadn't expected much to come out of the Kindle subscriptions so I hadn't checked in well, like, ever. In fact it had been so long I totally forgot my password. So once I went through the total hullabaloo of changing my password, ect., I logged on and wow! I did have Kindle subscriptions! People were ordering my blog!!! I did the happiest of happy dances (which is also probably the most goofy of happy dances) and happily replied back to Kathryn, that yes, I did indeed have subscriptions. And then I sat in happy, yet stunned silence. As there was no one else home at the time, I cradled my pride quietly in my arms and grinned like an absolute idiot. Someone thought enough of my writing to pay (okay, so it's not much, but any amount is more than free) to view my ramblings. To me, that says "paid writer" all over it. And you cannot (well, maybe you other aspiring writers can) imagine how encouraging this turn of events is, nor how inspiring. Thank you to all of my readers, but thank you thank you thank you to the nameless faceless masses who subscribe via Kindle. Okay, there's not really enough subscribers to be called "masses" but it's called poetic license. Work with me here people. And the best part...I don't even know anyone (besides Mark) who has a Kindle so it can't be like, you know, just my friends and family!
So here's happy little me, dancing around my kitchen as I prepare supper. The guys come in from hunting and I announce "Y'all ought to avoid the rush and start worshipping me now. You know, before I get famous". (This was also my FaceBook status of the day.) They of course just kind of chuckle because they are used to me being a drama queen. But then I explain, and they are appropriately awed and encouraging. I tell Lu later that night and she too is ecstatic for me. My friend J? Also Encouraging. So the next day I call my folks to check in with them. And I casually drop my big news into the conversation with my Dad. And I say "so now, I'm officially a paid writer". And he says "No you're not. You're just a paid Blogger." Um. The hell?! There's a difference?? He proceeds with "you don't think you're like Stephen King or anything, right?". Um. NO. DUH. He's Stephen freakin King. But how is writing my blog for readers and subscribers different from an essayist in a magazine? I write, I edit, I spend a frankly astonishing amount of time and thought on my blog. And he says "well, when you're published in a magazine, let me know." AAAAAGGGGGHHHH! I wanted to bang my head on my desk. It just brought rushing back all of the "it's never quite good enough" feelings of inadequacy. Like when I'd bring home a report card filled with A's and one lone B and I'd hear "what happened here?" instead of "Oh my god...you're a genius". But then I breathed in deeply through my nose ten times and changed the subject. Then I called my sister. When I told her, she was almost as excited as I had been. I told her Dad's reaction. She said he was kidding. I said, no he was in fact quite serious. She said well maybe he didn't have a firm grasp on blogging. That he & mom had only ever read our joint blog and it wasn't the same. That was just like letters to each other while this blog was more "professional". (Frankly, I have no idea what she means but I'll roll with it.) When I hung up I went to fix supper (man, do I ever do anything else??) and hubby came in and asked why I seemed angry. So I told him. And he laughed. And then I laughed. Because you know what? It makes no difference. I know what I do and it's good enough for me. And nobody is stealing my sense of validation. Nobody. And someday, when I am published by my father's standards, I'll think "in your face buddy", but of course I won't say it, because I'm completely sure that it won't quite be good enough.
♥Spot
Friday, January 8, 2010
Oh the weather outside is frightful...
but the fire is so delightful. Since we've no place to go...let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! Mmmkkk. I really do like that song and usually I'm totally up for it. But we seem to be having a bit of snow overload currently. And still, I'd be totally cool with that if I didn't have anywhere to go. But for some reason this week I've had more places to go then I do in a month most of the time. Still, I'm not complaining. I just put on my long johns, my jeans, and my hoodie. Add snow boots and gloves and that's my winter go to town uniform. I don't wear a coat because I think they're cumbersome and I get hot. You can do the same thing with lots of layers. (which can then be removed when warm). My mother informed me last time I saw her that I looked like a farm girl. I replied that I didn't much care because I was trying for warmth and comfort not style. Also, my snow boots not only keep my toes warm, they keep me from busting my tooshie on the ice. So there.
As I said yesterday, a trip to town was on the agenda. Hubby had an appointment which ended with a mole removal from his chest and Lu had a hematology appointment. Her platelets are at the very lowest "normal" number 150,000. Which means they've been steadily dropping 10-20 thousand per week. Since you can still have surgery when they are as low as 70,000 we have a couple more weeks before she'll need treatment again. Hopefully. As usual we have to watch for signs of a more significant crash. Extra bruising, nosebleeds, petechiae. Then we ran some errands. Let me just say...getting out of our drive and off the gravel required a truck. No way either of our cars would have made it. The highway had barely one lane cleared and the roads in town were still horrible. Add people who can't drive properly and you get awful road conditions. We were in Hubby's work truck which is a good size truck but not 4wheel drive. Lu had come to town in DEBF's 4wheel drive to buy the parts for him to fix her car and then he dropped her off at the clinic where we met her.
Well he called to let us know that the snow had drifted pretty bad on the road to the house and he had some trouble even with having 4wheel drive. Hubby had plowed that road earlier but well, drifting snow has a mind of it's own. So we get to the road and get three feet down it. Then we're stuck. Really stuck. So Lu calls DEBF and no answer. So she calls the house and gets Sean. He bundles up and walks to Hubby's shop where DEBF is fixing Lu's car and they come to the rescue in the 4wheel drive. Hubby, DEBF & Sean hook chains between the two trucks then hop back in. At first we go nowhere. There's a lot of smoke and burnt rubber smell and tire spinning but we don't budge. So DEBF backs his truck up close to ours (I close my eyes in case he hits us). Then shoots forward, jerking us forward too. I give a little scream and Lu turns to me laughing.
Lu: Haven't you ever been pulled out before?
Me: No. I try to make a habit of not getting stuck. (DUH?!)
Lu: Well after two years of dating DEBF I've had lots of experience. Sometimes we're the pullers and sometimes we're the pullees. I've been pulled out of mud, snow, floodwaters, and ditches.
Me: My. What an exciting life you lead.
Lu: Being pulled out not so fun. But we always had fun getting stuck.
By this time we're being pulled down the road. Then the chain snaps! Luckily we're unstuck and able to go on our own. Although I'm still worried we're going to hit the back end of DEBF's truck. Then Hubby pulls into our drive and slides sideways, nearly taking out my car before righting himself. I flinch, tense and shut my eyes. Lu turns to me again.
Lu: Geez mom, have a little faith in your man. Their trucks are like their penises. They know how to use them.
That just may be the best analogy ever. If only it hadn't been my daughter who said it...
♥Spot
As I said yesterday, a trip to town was on the agenda. Hubby had an appointment which ended with a mole removal from his chest and Lu had a hematology appointment. Her platelets are at the very lowest "normal" number 150,000. Which means they've been steadily dropping 10-20 thousand per week. Since you can still have surgery when they are as low as 70,000 we have a couple more weeks before she'll need treatment again. Hopefully. As usual we have to watch for signs of a more significant crash. Extra bruising, nosebleeds, petechiae. Then we ran some errands. Let me just say...getting out of our drive and off the gravel required a truck. No way either of our cars would have made it. The highway had barely one lane cleared and the roads in town were still horrible. Add people who can't drive properly and you get awful road conditions. We were in Hubby's work truck which is a good size truck but not 4wheel drive. Lu had come to town in DEBF's 4wheel drive to buy the parts for him to fix her car and then he dropped her off at the clinic where we met her.
Well he called to let us know that the snow had drifted pretty bad on the road to the house and he had some trouble even with having 4wheel drive. Hubby had plowed that road earlier but well, drifting snow has a mind of it's own. So we get to the road and get three feet down it. Then we're stuck. Really stuck. So Lu calls DEBF and no answer. So she calls the house and gets Sean. He bundles up and walks to Hubby's shop where DEBF is fixing Lu's car and they come to the rescue in the 4wheel drive. Hubby, DEBF & Sean hook chains between the two trucks then hop back in. At first we go nowhere. There's a lot of smoke and burnt rubber smell and tire spinning but we don't budge. So DEBF backs his truck up close to ours (I close my eyes in case he hits us). Then shoots forward, jerking us forward too. I give a little scream and Lu turns to me laughing.
Lu: Haven't you ever been pulled out before?
Me: No. I try to make a habit of not getting stuck. (DUH?!)
Lu: Well after two years of dating DEBF I've had lots of experience. Sometimes we're the pullers and sometimes we're the pullees. I've been pulled out of mud, snow, floodwaters, and ditches.
Me: My. What an exciting life you lead.
Lu: Being pulled out not so fun. But we always had fun getting stuck.
By this time we're being pulled down the road. Then the chain snaps! Luckily we're unstuck and able to go on our own. Although I'm still worried we're going to hit the back end of DEBF's truck. Then Hubby pulls into our drive and slides sideways, nearly taking out my car before righting himself. I flinch, tense and shut my eyes. Lu turns to me again.
Lu: Geez mom, have a little faith in your man. Their trucks are like their penises. They know how to use them.
That just may be the best analogy ever. If only it hadn't been my daughter who said it...
♥Spot
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Mmmm....Gerard Butler...
So I don't have alot of time today, but I promise a longer post tomorrow. I have to go into town in the midst of this blizzard because both Lu and Hubby have dr. appts. And since I can only get Hubby to the doctor like once a year, no way am I canceling! So instead of my planned post which has been unceremoniously bumped to tomorrow's schedule, I give you the following conversation~
Picture this...I'm sitting here on the computer diligently reading and commenting on blogs. Sean is drinking coffee and watching the Today show on the TV in here. Lu is in my bathroom, curling her hair. Now, my bedroom is directly across the hall from this room and the bathroom is located just off the bedroom. Therefore, it is possible to have all three of us in the conversation (if we shout. which we often do).
Sean: Wow. Gerard Butler got fat.
Me: What??! No way.
Sean: Look! Quick...look at the TV.
Me: (twisting around in my chair like a pretzel to view the screen. A picture of Gerard from 300 and a picture of "fat" Gerard. Gone were the rock-like washboard abs and add some love handles) Oh he doesn't look that bad! Besides I still love him.
Lu: (shouting from the bathroom) what about Gerard?!
Me: they think he got fat.
Sean: He did get fat.
Lu: So? He probably just took a break from working out. He'll lose it.
Me: Yeah, it was the holidays, everyone gains some weight. They should cut him some slack.
Lu: Exactly. Poor Gerard.
Me: Besides, he's still got that awesome accent and those killer eyes.
Lu: Mhm.
Me: I could work that extra weight off him no problem!
*silence*
Me: I just totally killed this conversation, didn't I? My bad.
Lu: Um yeah. Because I was totally picturing me & him and then you...and um...yeah. Eew.
Sean: I was picturing me & him and um...oh shit...did I say that out loud?
*convulsive giggling on all parts*
Sean: (shouting) what's that Dad? You need me to hammer something? Monster trucks and football!!*
Sean: Oh...look Jessica Simpson got fat too.
Me: (once again with the pretzel antics) Yep. She's fat.
Lu: Oh yeah. She is.
Ever wonder why we willingly cut men slack and not women?? Guess we're mean girls.
*Now, for the record, Sean is not into guys like that. Well, not as far as I know, and I wouldn't have a problem with it. He just says things like that for the laugh. And the laugh is NOT at the expense of gay people. The laugh is at the expense of men, who after saying something that might be deemed homosexual, suddenly launch into macho displays of how manly they actually are. I just wanted to set the record straight. No pun intended. My gosh...I just keep making it worse...I'm going to quit now...and just hope everyone gets a laugh out of it...
♥Spot
Picture this...I'm sitting here on the computer diligently reading and commenting on blogs. Sean is drinking coffee and watching the Today show on the TV in here. Lu is in my bathroom, curling her hair. Now, my bedroom is directly across the hall from this room and the bathroom is located just off the bedroom. Therefore, it is possible to have all three of us in the conversation (if we shout. which we often do).
Sean: Wow. Gerard Butler got fat.
Me: What??! No way.
Sean: Look! Quick...look at the TV.
Me: (twisting around in my chair like a pretzel to view the screen. A picture of Gerard from 300 and a picture of "fat" Gerard. Gone were the rock-like washboard abs and add some love handles) Oh he doesn't look that bad! Besides I still love him.
Lu: (shouting from the bathroom) what about Gerard?!
Me: they think he got fat.
Sean: He did get fat.
Lu: So? He probably just took a break from working out. He'll lose it.
Me: Yeah, it was the holidays, everyone gains some weight. They should cut him some slack.
Lu: Exactly. Poor Gerard.
Me: Besides, he's still got that awesome accent and those killer eyes.
Lu: Mhm.
Me: I could work that extra weight off him no problem!
*silence*
Me: I just totally killed this conversation, didn't I? My bad.
Lu: Um yeah. Because I was totally picturing me & him and then you...and um...yeah. Eew.
Sean: I was picturing me & him and um...oh shit...did I say that out loud?
*convulsive giggling on all parts*
Sean: (shouting) what's that Dad? You need me to hammer something? Monster trucks and football!!*
Sean: Oh...look Jessica Simpson got fat too.
Me: (once again with the pretzel antics) Yep. She's fat.
Lu: Oh yeah. She is.
Ever wonder why we willingly cut men slack and not women?? Guess we're mean girls.
*Now, for the record, Sean is not into guys like that. Well, not as far as I know, and I wouldn't have a problem with it. He just says things like that for the laugh. And the laugh is NOT at the expense of gay people. The laugh is at the expense of men, who after saying something that might be deemed homosexual, suddenly launch into macho displays of how manly they actually are. I just wanted to set the record straight. No pun intended. My gosh...I just keep making it worse...I'm going to quit now...and just hope everyone gets a laugh out of it...
♥Spot
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Disco Chronicles, Part I
*Quick update on the xmas party first- I went. I survived. It wasn't bad because K, my partner in wine, um crime drug me off immediately to a corner by ourselves so we could talk about everyone else. We were like our own snobby little clique. Except later, I felt bad and had to make sure I said at least something to everyone. Except boss guy and his wife, who I never even got introduced to. The party didn't last much after everyone finished eating. Oh. They did have one of those white elephant gift exchanges, only I'm pretty sure the boss and his wife didn't understand because they brought really nice things like a cordless screwdriver and a professional knife set. Yeah, hubby wouldn't let me near the knives. Hubby was all proud because I was the only woman who showed up wearing a skirt and heels. How that has anything to do with him, I don't know, but he was all proud about it. Of course, if he had his way, I'd always be wearing a skirt and heels, like some kind of 50's housewife. As if. But after the church party, we went to H & K's house and guess who also came? Yeah, boss guy and his wife. And boss guys suck up office lady & her hubby. Um. What? Oh yeah, H invited them because he's being a brown noser. In his defense, he really does need to keep his job. Luckily, they didn't stay long and then the real wine drinking, crap talking started. Lol.*
Okay...back to Sean...so when we left off, Sean was getting close to his toddler years. And we'd already established that he was a pretty good baby. Ate well, slept well, wasn't a big time crier. He was an absolutely adorable toddler. All blonde curls, chubby cheeks and tubby little legs. He was the chubbiest of my babies, but not like super chubby blob baby. You know the ones I'm talking about? No, this kid was always on the go. It was then that his quirky personality started to come out. My friend J was living in St. Louis at the time and she brought her three kids down to stay for a weekend and she's the one who pointed out that Sean had quite the vocabulary for a 2 1/2 year old. I guess I never thought about it because I have never talked down to the kids. We didn't do baby talk and I just talked like normal, big words and all. (It's worse if I'm in an argument, the $5 words just fly, then hubbys all like, I can't argue with you unless you speak English, damn it). I think it was during dinner that she pointed out instead of Sean saying "this is good" he would say "mom, this is wishious (delicious)" or "tasty". And once while she was there he got stuck in the toy box and he said he was "trapped" instead of stuck. There were lots of little things like that. Then there was his propensity for wearing cowboy boots and talking about his farm in Australia. He could go on and on. About how he was a "stranger around here". Yeah, he was something.
He was also stubborn. If he didn't want to do something, you were in for a fight. I remember telling my dad that I was going to have him potty trained by his 3rd birthday. My dad didn't think I could do it so he bet me dinner. Well the month before Sean's third bday, I was getting him dressed one day and we had this convo~
Me: today you're going to wear big boy undies.
Sean: No! I want a diaper.
Me: Nope. It's time for big boy undies. You need to start going on the potty like mommy and momo and daddy. So we're going to wear undies.
Sean: No! Diaper. I take those undies off.
Me: well, then you'll be naked and you'll walk around that way. It might even make this easier.
I finished dressing his grumpiness and he immediately went upstairs to the playroom. He came back down a half hour later, naked from the waist down. "Okay" I said. "You made the choice." and I refused to put a diaper or any clothes on him. He tried to diaper himself so in a bold move, I threw the diapers away right in front of him. Well, naturally he threw a fit. Finally, I looked at him and said~
Me: Do you want to go to school in the fall? Do you want to go to preschool like Mo and CJ?
Sean: Yes. I wanna ride the lellow school bus.
Me: well, they won't let you on the bus in a diaper.
Sean: really?
Me: really. Momo wears big girl undies. You have to too.
And that was all it took. I pinky swear. We put the undies on and he never once had an accident. Mo had taken two weeks to potty train and had accidents sometimes. Not Sean. Once the kid had motivation, it was a done deal. He just took special handling. None of the disciplines we used with the others worked on him. I learned early on that swatting his butt only pissed him off and made him that much more defiant. But if I let him storm off and calm down, then talked reasonably to him, he got it. He's still that way. you have to wait for the initial anger to pass, and then he's more than reasonable. And man, was he a little hothead. Once, in an arguement with the sitter. He told her she'd better do what he said or he'd go to his room! Haha. The sitter just laughed and said "go ahead". What three year old times out themselves??
So at three, he went to a Pre-k program. He'd qualified for Pre-k because he couldn't catch a ball. I was completely unconcerned about that, I just wanted him to have some stimulation. His charmed his teachers and classmates. He made friends right away with a little girl who had muscular dystrophy and was in a wheel chair. They always sat by each other and he talked about her all the time. He also had a serious addiction to dancing. This earned him the nickname "Disco" from his teachers. He sang too. His choices were a tad unfortunate, but remember he spent alot of time with me & mo. Some of his favorite songs were "I'm just a girl" by No Doubt and "Man, I feel like a woman" by Shania Twain. Let me tell you there's nothing funnier than a chubby blonde three year old boy belting those songs out. Too bad it was before youtube.com!!
By this time, I'd realized that he had some attention problems. And a tendency to fidget all the time. I was working in the field of children with disabilities and I knew from all I'd learned that he had ADD. Of course, it has to be documented in more than one setting so I had to wait for school to pick up on it before we could get an evaluation. Part of the giveaway for me was how easily he angered at home and how it emotionally overwhelmed him. He'd just meltdown. But at school he was Mr. Easygoing and Charming. He went through two year of pre-k and then we hit kindergarten. His kindergarten teacher requested a conference and asked if we would consider all day kindergarten. She was a fabulous teacher who'd had Mo just the year before so she was familiar with the family. She said his fine motor skills were off and needed work. Well, the other kids were already in school all day, so we let sean stay too. And she gave him exercises to do like pinching clothespins. We changed schools the next year and he had another wonderful teacher. He didn't like school but he did pretty well and he got along well with the other kids. In first grade he made a friend we'll call Javir. Javir was the only child of two amazingly smart parents. They'd moved to America from Pakistan and his mother taught computers at the community college and his dad was some kind of engineer for a large company. Javir had aspergers and talked (alot) in a monotone. Sean was the only kid who seemed to be able to spend much time with him. He went to Javirs house alot and Javir came to ours. Once, I overheard Sean say to Javir "okay, you just have to stop talking for like five minutes now. okay?" which was exactly what I would say to Sean when he was following me around the house chattering nonstop.
Second grade, the teacher finally noticed a problem. She had also had Mo the year before and oddly enough, she'd been hubby's 6th grade teacher along time ago. She noticed that he had trouble focusing on his work and that he fidgeted alot. Also, he was having some trouble reading. The fact is, the squeaky wheel gets the oil, and since Sean was never a behavior problem at school, he'd slid by the other teachers. But finally, we got our evaluation. The diagnosis was ADHD. Which I'd already known. By this time his fidgeting had gotten to the point that it was driving me crazy. He was so distracting if you were trying to watch a movie with him, or read to him. We tried Ritalin, but Sean said it made him feel "not like himself". So we stopped it. We tried a couple of others before we settled on Adderall xr. It worked well to calm the fidgets and help him focus. I wasn't happy about the way it seemed to suppress his appetite though. He lost that chubby baby roundness.
Third grade was pivotal. Luckily, we were blessed with another wonderful teacher. She was a strict teacher, but a good one. She also noticed his issues with reading and writing. She asked to have another evaluation done. This time they would test his IQ and look at how it compared to the grades he was getting. When we went for the results meeting, the principal looked at us and said "we've never had a child's IQ come back so high". Were we surprised? Maybe a little, but even at that time you could tell he was intelligent. But then why was he having so much trouble? Learning disabilities. He has dyslexia which was hindering the reading. He also has no ear for phonics. You know how you sound out a word to spell it or read it? To this day he still has trouble with that and mostly guesses. He also has trouble getting his thoughts out on paper. If you ask him an essay question he can answer it at length verbally. If he has to write it down? Not so much. Somewhere in there it gets garbled. He's also a very auditory learner. He also has a benign tremor, that's what was screwing up those fine motor skills. His handwriting is still mostly illegible. We made an IEP (individualized education plan). These are exceptions to schooling that help him succeed. Like not taking off for spelling in an essay. Only if it's a specific spelling test. Or giving him a chance to rewrite or type an illegible assignment. Some small things that make a difference.
So now we know we have a genius on our hands. Now what???
♥Spot
Okay...back to Sean...so when we left off, Sean was getting close to his toddler years. And we'd already established that he was a pretty good baby. Ate well, slept well, wasn't a big time crier. He was an absolutely adorable toddler. All blonde curls, chubby cheeks and tubby little legs. He was the chubbiest of my babies, but not like super chubby blob baby. You know the ones I'm talking about? No, this kid was always on the go. It was then that his quirky personality started to come out. My friend J was living in St. Louis at the time and she brought her three kids down to stay for a weekend and she's the one who pointed out that Sean had quite the vocabulary for a 2 1/2 year old. I guess I never thought about it because I have never talked down to the kids. We didn't do baby talk and I just talked like normal, big words and all. (It's worse if I'm in an argument, the $5 words just fly, then hubbys all like, I can't argue with you unless you speak English, damn it). I think it was during dinner that she pointed out instead of Sean saying "this is good" he would say "mom, this is wishious (delicious)" or "tasty". And once while she was there he got stuck in the toy box and he said he was "trapped" instead of stuck. There were lots of little things like that. Then there was his propensity for wearing cowboy boots and talking about his farm in Australia. He could go on and on. About how he was a "stranger around here". Yeah, he was something.
He was also stubborn. If he didn't want to do something, you were in for a fight. I remember telling my dad that I was going to have him potty trained by his 3rd birthday. My dad didn't think I could do it so he bet me dinner. Well the month before Sean's third bday, I was getting him dressed one day and we had this convo~
Me: today you're going to wear big boy undies.
Sean: No! I want a diaper.
Me: Nope. It's time for big boy undies. You need to start going on the potty like mommy and momo and daddy. So we're going to wear undies.
Sean: No! Diaper. I take those undies off.
Me: well, then you'll be naked and you'll walk around that way. It might even make this easier.
I finished dressing his grumpiness and he immediately went upstairs to the playroom. He came back down a half hour later, naked from the waist down. "Okay" I said. "You made the choice." and I refused to put a diaper or any clothes on him. He tried to diaper himself so in a bold move, I threw the diapers away right in front of him. Well, naturally he threw a fit. Finally, I looked at him and said~
Me: Do you want to go to school in the fall? Do you want to go to preschool like Mo and CJ?
Sean: Yes. I wanna ride the lellow school bus.
Me: well, they won't let you on the bus in a diaper.
Sean: really?
Me: really. Momo wears big girl undies. You have to too.
And that was all it took. I pinky swear. We put the undies on and he never once had an accident. Mo had taken two weeks to potty train and had accidents sometimes. Not Sean. Once the kid had motivation, it was a done deal. He just took special handling. None of the disciplines we used with the others worked on him. I learned early on that swatting his butt only pissed him off and made him that much more defiant. But if I let him storm off and calm down, then talked reasonably to him, he got it. He's still that way. you have to wait for the initial anger to pass, and then he's more than reasonable. And man, was he a little hothead. Once, in an arguement with the sitter. He told her she'd better do what he said or he'd go to his room! Haha. The sitter just laughed and said "go ahead". What three year old times out themselves??
So at three, he went to a Pre-k program. He'd qualified for Pre-k because he couldn't catch a ball. I was completely unconcerned about that, I just wanted him to have some stimulation. His charmed his teachers and classmates. He made friends right away with a little girl who had muscular dystrophy and was in a wheel chair. They always sat by each other and he talked about her all the time. He also had a serious addiction to dancing. This earned him the nickname "Disco" from his teachers. He sang too. His choices were a tad unfortunate, but remember he spent alot of time with me & mo. Some of his favorite songs were "I'm just a girl" by No Doubt and "Man, I feel like a woman" by Shania Twain. Let me tell you there's nothing funnier than a chubby blonde three year old boy belting those songs out. Too bad it was before youtube.com!!
By this time, I'd realized that he had some attention problems. And a tendency to fidget all the time. I was working in the field of children with disabilities and I knew from all I'd learned that he had ADD. Of course, it has to be documented in more than one setting so I had to wait for school to pick up on it before we could get an evaluation. Part of the giveaway for me was how easily he angered at home and how it emotionally overwhelmed him. He'd just meltdown. But at school he was Mr. Easygoing and Charming. He went through two year of pre-k and then we hit kindergarten. His kindergarten teacher requested a conference and asked if we would consider all day kindergarten. She was a fabulous teacher who'd had Mo just the year before so she was familiar with the family. She said his fine motor skills were off and needed work. Well, the other kids were already in school all day, so we let sean stay too. And she gave him exercises to do like pinching clothespins. We changed schools the next year and he had another wonderful teacher. He didn't like school but he did pretty well and he got along well with the other kids. In first grade he made a friend we'll call Javir. Javir was the only child of two amazingly smart parents. They'd moved to America from Pakistan and his mother taught computers at the community college and his dad was some kind of engineer for a large company. Javir had aspergers and talked (alot) in a monotone. Sean was the only kid who seemed to be able to spend much time with him. He went to Javirs house alot and Javir came to ours. Once, I overheard Sean say to Javir "okay, you just have to stop talking for like five minutes now. okay?" which was exactly what I would say to Sean when he was following me around the house chattering nonstop.
Second grade, the teacher finally noticed a problem. She had also had Mo the year before and oddly enough, she'd been hubby's 6th grade teacher along time ago. She noticed that he had trouble focusing on his work and that he fidgeted alot. Also, he was having some trouble reading. The fact is, the squeaky wheel gets the oil, and since Sean was never a behavior problem at school, he'd slid by the other teachers. But finally, we got our evaluation. The diagnosis was ADHD. Which I'd already known. By this time his fidgeting had gotten to the point that it was driving me crazy. He was so distracting if you were trying to watch a movie with him, or read to him. We tried Ritalin, but Sean said it made him feel "not like himself". So we stopped it. We tried a couple of others before we settled on Adderall xr. It worked well to calm the fidgets and help him focus. I wasn't happy about the way it seemed to suppress his appetite though. He lost that chubby baby roundness.
Third grade was pivotal. Luckily, we were blessed with another wonderful teacher. She was a strict teacher, but a good one. She also noticed his issues with reading and writing. She asked to have another evaluation done. This time they would test his IQ and look at how it compared to the grades he was getting. When we went for the results meeting, the principal looked at us and said "we've never had a child's IQ come back so high". Were we surprised? Maybe a little, but even at that time you could tell he was intelligent. But then why was he having so much trouble? Learning disabilities. He has dyslexia which was hindering the reading. He also has no ear for phonics. You know how you sound out a word to spell it or read it? To this day he still has trouble with that and mostly guesses. He also has trouble getting his thoughts out on paper. If you ask him an essay question he can answer it at length verbally. If he has to write it down? Not so much. Somewhere in there it gets garbled. He's also a very auditory learner. He also has a benign tremor, that's what was screwing up those fine motor skills. His handwriting is still mostly illegible. We made an IEP (individualized education plan). These are exceptions to schooling that help him succeed. Like not taking off for spelling in an essay. Only if it's a specific spelling test. Or giving him a chance to rewrite or type an illegible assignment. Some small things that make a difference.
So now we know we have a genius on our hands. Now what???
♥Spot
Friday, December 4, 2009
Disco Chronicles, Prologue
As promised...today starts the Disco Chronicles. An absolutely true but completely unauthorized biography of my youngest son. Completely against his will. Which only makes it better, no? And I will apologize as this first part doesn't contain alot of funny Sean, but you have to set the scene, don't you? So here's a tidbit of convo from this morning to make you giggle and start you off in a good mood~
Me~ Your cat is bugging me. He won't stop walking on my keyboard and purring in my face.
Sean~ so toss him out of the room and shut the door.
Me~ No. I couldn't resist him, he hardly ever comes to me wanting cuddles anymore. You seem to have enticed him to the dark side. He's yours now.
Sean~ It's true. You should come to the dark side. We have cheese. And wine.
Me~ Cats don't drink wine.
Sean~ No, but they love cheese.
Me~ (suddenly remebering my role as parent) Wait! How do you have wine??
Sean~ I don't.
Me~ but you just said...
Sean~ I was trying to lure you to the dark side. I don't have to be honest. In fact, honestly evil might be an oxymoron.
Me~ Your dad's an oxymoron. *we both start laughing*
Sean~ and yet another great display of your superior maturity. I'm writing that down for my therapist.
Me~ um. You don't have a therapist.
Sean~ no. But by the time I do, I'm going to be able to hand him a notebook and say 'here's my life. read it and weep. I know I did.'"
So I got to thinking about how much I talk about Sean on this blog. Poor kid, it’s the curse of being the one who still lives at home and spends the most time with me. Honestly, I don’t have a favorite. I love each and every one of my brood unconditionally and I love them for their uniqueness. And if I’d started this blog last year, Lu (Mo) probably would have been the one who figured the most prominently, simply because I probably spent the most time with her. It seems to me that every single relationship we have with anyone is a constant changing, evolving, growing or dying thing. And to celebrate my complete and utter adoration of my children…I’m going to write about them. Hopefully, it won’t turn into one of those boastful “mommy blogs”, but I am sorta biased you know. So I’m starting with Sean since he’s the one you probably know the most about anyway. And I’m calling it “The Disco Chronicles” and he’s going to kill me…
Sean was the last biological addition to our brood and like both his siblings, he was a happy accident. Well, depending on who you asked. Hubby did not want to have anymore children and was not pleased to find we were expecting another one. I, however had always wanted a large family and was quite happy to add to it. It caused some horrible friction right up until my six month. That was when we got CJ’s autism diagnosis and then we both just spent the rest of the pregnancy trying not to worry about the developing baby. Sean was a huge baby. By the time I was sixth months along, people were asking if I was having twins. This made me cranky. It also happened to be the summer of 1993, and if you’re from around here you’ll remember that this was a horrible flood year. Now, we were living in Quincy at the time, which sits right on the Mississippi, but most of the town is on the bluff and safe from flooding. We lived 17 blocks from the river and the first two blocks were flooded. You also had major trouble getting out of town, because there was water covering a lot of the roads and outlying areas. Luckily, my mom managed to make it to our house about 3 weeks before the birth. The airport she flew into didn’t want to let me go to the gate to get her (this was before 9/11 of course) because they were afraid I’d go into labor on their watch. Seriously, I was ginormously pregnant. The flood is important because it made it ungodly humid that summer, even worse than usual, which is pretty bad! I spent the last three weeks of my pregnancy sitting with my feet up in front of our window air conditioner and praying for labor. I actually went into labor about 3 ½ weeks before I was due, but my doctor was out of town so the covering doctor gave me drugs to stop the labor (I wanted to punch him). So about 4 days before my actual due date, I had my last doctor appt. I got into his office and told him that I was miserable. That some woman in the waiting room had stopped me and asked if I was having triplets. He asked if he needed to go out there. I asked why? And he replied that he was almost certain I’d hit the woman. He knows me so well. Actually, I threatened to shoot him if he didn’t induce me soon because I was done. He smiled and said to meet him at the hospital the next morning at six.
I’ve always wondered why he said six, because his ass didn’t get there until nine. But he broke my water and then we were off. Actually, the whole labor took another 7 hours but that’s not too bad. I had told him the day before that it felt different. That I wasn’t sure exactly what it was but something was different. And that I had a lot of pain and pressure in my right ribs. He said the baby was probably facing the wrong way like the other two and no worries he would turn during labor. Well, the pain only intensified with the contractions. At shift change, an older nurse came in to take over and when she checked my cervix she got a funny look on her face. I thought “shit! I’m not dilated. I’m gonna be her forever!” Then she asked “has anyone checked to be sure the baby’s head is down here?” and I said “um. Is that an issue?” and she left quickly. She came back with a portable x-ray machine and sure enough the little bugger was breech. Luckily, his butt was at the other end, and his feet were up near his head. The doctor assured me I could still deliver naturally. And so we did. And it hurt. A lot. But in the end it was only 8 pushes and 10 pounds of backwards baby popped out. No drugs of course. Why? Looking back now, I'd have to say I'm a glutton for freakin punsishment. Of course it nearly killed me. I hemorrhaged all night and had some emergency drugs and massive scar tissue that had to be removed at a later date. I guess in the old days I would have died. So, lucky for me, I live in the here and now! I was a total legend at the hospital. I can’t tell you how many nurses came by and asked to see my stitches and bruising. Yeah, that area got seen by more people than a porn stars that week. Funny how you lose all modesty after something like that.
Anyway, Sean was an awesome baby. Except for being hungry all the time. Because he was so huge. But he started sleeping through the night at like a month old. And he didn’t really cry a whole lot. He was the easiest baby of the three. The pediatrician said I deserved a good one. Too true! He learned to walk at 10 months. I don’t know whether it was all the time he spent in the “johnny jump-up” or all the time he spent chasing his siblings when he was in his walker, but he learned fast. And he quickly became Mo’s partner in crime.
Well, I’ll stop there. Tomorrow I’ll get into his terrible toddler years and the discovery of his genius. I hope no one’s bored. Just wait til tomorrow when we get into the development of his seriously quirky personality. And I’m sorry to any guys who hate birth stories. I tried to be clean and not gory. Promise…I’m done with the girl stuff part. Lol.
Missing those baby years,
♥Spot
Me~ Your cat is bugging me. He won't stop walking on my keyboard and purring in my face.
Sean~ so toss him out of the room and shut the door.
Me~ No. I couldn't resist him, he hardly ever comes to me wanting cuddles anymore. You seem to have enticed him to the dark side. He's yours now.
Sean~ It's true. You should come to the dark side. We have cheese. And wine.
Me~ Cats don't drink wine.
Sean~ No, but they love cheese.
Me~ (suddenly remebering my role as parent) Wait! How do you have wine??
Sean~ I don't.
Me~ but you just said...
Sean~ I was trying to lure you to the dark side. I don't have to be honest. In fact, honestly evil might be an oxymoron.
Me~ Your dad's an oxymoron. *we both start laughing*
Sean~ and yet another great display of your superior maturity. I'm writing that down for my therapist.
Me~ um. You don't have a therapist.
Sean~ no. But by the time I do, I'm going to be able to hand him a notebook and say 'here's my life. read it and weep. I know I did.'"
So I got to thinking about how much I talk about Sean on this blog. Poor kid, it’s the curse of being the one who still lives at home and spends the most time with me. Honestly, I don’t have a favorite. I love each and every one of my brood unconditionally and I love them for their uniqueness. And if I’d started this blog last year, Lu (Mo) probably would have been the one who figured the most prominently, simply because I probably spent the most time with her. It seems to me that every single relationship we have with anyone is a constant changing, evolving, growing or dying thing. And to celebrate my complete and utter adoration of my children…I’m going to write about them. Hopefully, it won’t turn into one of those boastful “mommy blogs”, but I am sorta biased you know. So I’m starting with Sean since he’s the one you probably know the most about anyway. And I’m calling it “The Disco Chronicles” and he’s going to kill me…
Sean was the last biological addition to our brood and like both his siblings, he was a happy accident. Well, depending on who you asked. Hubby did not want to have anymore children and was not pleased to find we were expecting another one. I, however had always wanted a large family and was quite happy to add to it. It caused some horrible friction right up until my six month. That was when we got CJ’s autism diagnosis and then we both just spent the rest of the pregnancy trying not to worry about the developing baby. Sean was a huge baby. By the time I was sixth months along, people were asking if I was having twins. This made me cranky. It also happened to be the summer of 1993, and if you’re from around here you’ll remember that this was a horrible flood year. Now, we were living in Quincy at the time, which sits right on the Mississippi, but most of the town is on the bluff and safe from flooding. We lived 17 blocks from the river and the first two blocks were flooded. You also had major trouble getting out of town, because there was water covering a lot of the roads and outlying areas. Luckily, my mom managed to make it to our house about 3 weeks before the birth. The airport she flew into didn’t want to let me go to the gate to get her (this was before 9/11 of course) because they were afraid I’d go into labor on their watch. Seriously, I was ginormously pregnant. The flood is important because it made it ungodly humid that summer, even worse than usual, which is pretty bad! I spent the last three weeks of my pregnancy sitting with my feet up in front of our window air conditioner and praying for labor. I actually went into labor about 3 ½ weeks before I was due, but my doctor was out of town so the covering doctor gave me drugs to stop the labor (I wanted to punch him). So about 4 days before my actual due date, I had my last doctor appt. I got into his office and told him that I was miserable. That some woman in the waiting room had stopped me and asked if I was having triplets. He asked if he needed to go out there. I asked why? And he replied that he was almost certain I’d hit the woman. He knows me so well. Actually, I threatened to shoot him if he didn’t induce me soon because I was done. He smiled and said to meet him at the hospital the next morning at six.
I’ve always wondered why he said six, because his ass didn’t get there until nine. But he broke my water and then we were off. Actually, the whole labor took another 7 hours but that’s not too bad. I had told him the day before that it felt different. That I wasn’t sure exactly what it was but something was different. And that I had a lot of pain and pressure in my right ribs. He said the baby was probably facing the wrong way like the other two and no worries he would turn during labor. Well, the pain only intensified with the contractions. At shift change, an older nurse came in to take over and when she checked my cervix she got a funny look on her face. I thought “shit! I’m not dilated. I’m gonna be her forever!” Then she asked “has anyone checked to be sure the baby’s head is down here?” and I said “um. Is that an issue?” and she left quickly. She came back with a portable x-ray machine and sure enough the little bugger was breech. Luckily, his butt was at the other end, and his feet were up near his head. The doctor assured me I could still deliver naturally. And so we did. And it hurt. A lot. But in the end it was only 8 pushes and 10 pounds of backwards baby popped out. No drugs of course. Why? Looking back now, I'd have to say I'm a glutton for freakin punsishment. Of course it nearly killed me. I hemorrhaged all night and had some emergency drugs and massive scar tissue that had to be removed at a later date. I guess in the old days I would have died. So, lucky for me, I live in the here and now! I was a total legend at the hospital. I can’t tell you how many nurses came by and asked to see my stitches and bruising. Yeah, that area got seen by more people than a porn stars that week. Funny how you lose all modesty after something like that.
Anyway, Sean was an awesome baby. Except for being hungry all the time. Because he was so huge. But he started sleeping through the night at like a month old. And he didn’t really cry a whole lot. He was the easiest baby of the three. The pediatrician said I deserved a good one. Too true! He learned to walk at 10 months. I don’t know whether it was all the time he spent in the “johnny jump-up” or all the time he spent chasing his siblings when he was in his walker, but he learned fast. And he quickly became Mo’s partner in crime.
Well, I’ll stop there. Tomorrow I’ll get into his terrible toddler years and the discovery of his genius. I hope no one’s bored. Just wait til tomorrow when we get into the development of his seriously quirky personality. And I’m sorry to any guys who hate birth stories. I tried to be clean and not gory. Promise…I’m done with the girl stuff part. Lol.
Missing those baby years,
♥Spot
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