Should Be Cleaning

Blog Help

2012-01-30T19:57:00.001-08:00

Does anyone know if it's possible to BLOCK someone from looking at your blog, if you know their IP address??

Please comment or email me.

More Cheer

2012-01-30T17:22:00.000-08:00

So last weekend #1 had another cheer competition. They did AWESOME!! I was a little worried while watching the other teams perform because they've never competed with teams that were that good before. I mean don't get me wrong, it hasn't all been a piece of cake, it just seems like everyone bumped it up a notch over night. I was so proud them, out of eight teams they got 3rd place!!! Now they have a month to add more things before they compete in Viva Las Vegas! Oh and I forgot to mention, they did so well that they qualified for U.S. Finals!! Yay!

So here's the video... If you listen closely in the beginning they mess up the music and my funny husband says, "O...M...G" and it's pretty funny.

Other than cheer, everything has been going well. The hubs has been feeling good and they are slowly lowering his meds. He has an appointment on Feb. 7 so we will know more then.

Catching Up

2012-01-12T06:18:00.000-08:00

So first off, today is my birthday. The big 3-2. Yay me. Getting older is...just great. Actually if I was born at 8:24 am does that mean that I am still 31 for a couple hours?? Thought I'd try. Not really doing anything big this year. I'm going to celebrate with my little family and go to lunch with a dear friend on Monday. Hopefully the Hubs doesn't have to work so we can hang out and he can take over all parental responsibilities today...Ha!

I love getting up early before the kids to blog. I can just zoom through without having to get up and get #3 juice or break up a fight. I haven't been around because the kids have been on Christmas break. They are finally back in school which leaves us with only one child. I totally forgot how easy it is to only have one child to deal with. Piece of cake!

So these last three weeks we've been busy. We did cookie decorating and ice skating, which I already told you about. Then I took the kids to paint some pottery that they made at school-Oops just remembered that I have to go pick it up!

#2 With just a couple of his buddies.

#1 and 3 painting.

Then we went with more friends to a fun little park.

#2 driving a train just like daddy does!

Awesome kids!

THEN the Hubs had a little fun. Our community is awesome! They have tons of events for families all year long. This last one was called Polar Bear Day. We live on a lake so during this event you can either jump in or ski or wakeboard with no wet suit on. Kinda funny since it's January but feels like June lately. The Hubs enjoyed this. He used to be really good, and still is, when he was younger. He had clothing and wakeboard sponsors and was about to go pro but then met that lovely lady in a previous post and wasn't able to keep up with it. Oh well. At least he's a good wakeboard coach for the kids...and some other kids around here that he's helped out.

He was smarter than the others and started off the dock so he didn't have to get wet at first. Free-zing!

I think thats about it. The only other things we've been busy with is cheer of course. Oh and signing #2 up for baseball. Bring on the crazy weekends!

Just Another Video

2011-12-29T07:21:00.000-08:00

So I finally remembered how to upload videos. I want to post videos here and there since this blog will eventually be read by the kiddos. It's like their online baby book :)

This is one of #1's cheer comps. The one where we were expecting 1st place but got 3rd because one of the judges was on the rival team. Come to find out, there were a couple of errors in the judging anyhow. Okay so it wasn't just that. After watching I saw just a few errors. I guess one girl tumbled off the mat and one girl lost her spot for a second. If you can find the girl that got lost, look at the kiddo to the left of her. That's #1 :) She starts out front left which looks like the second kid from the left.

Next comp is coming up and hopefully they will have better luck.

What To Do...

2011-12-28T06:41:00.001-08:00

So the kids have three weeks off of school. Three weeks is a loooong time. I lost count of how many times there has been a fight or how many times I've heard them say, "Don't look at me!" Yesterday I was talking to my husbands mom in my room when I heard a loud boom followed by a cry. Wonderful. #1 said that she was walking down the hallway and turned her head and his the corner of the wall...really? I'm not stupid. The sound of that boom meant that she was hauling a** to get away from her brother and hit her face on the wall. I ran out and asked what happened. #2 threw his hands up and yelled, "I didn't do ANYTHING!" After a long conversation on how play fighting gets you nowhere but hurt, they decided to do it again. This time #1 came running to me with a fat and bloody lip. They were wrestling and her tooth hit her lip. I explained how she can't do that because unlike her brother, her two front teeth are her adult teeth and if she breaks them, she's screwed. Not sure if you remember the post where her brother fell teeth first on the steps in our house and now his two front teeth are dead?? Good thing they are baby teeth! Read post here My Poor Little Baby So anyhow, I think I got my point across.

So I've been trying to keep them busy so stuff like that doesn't happen. Last week a couple of friends and I got some of the boys together to decorate cookies and make crafts. That didn't last long with my son. Soon enough he was off playing football with his buddies. Then on Monday we met up with a friend and her kiddos and went ice skating. Even #3 went!

#2 forgot how hard it was.

So I had to hold on to him almost the whole day and keep telling him how much fun ice skating is so he wouldn't give up!

Then we got #3 out there. She wasn't happy...

So of course daddy had to hold his little princess.

#1 did awesome! It was only her third time!

DRB and DRB tearin' it up! Ha! The hubs looks scared in this one :)

It can be a challenge keeping them all happy and busy. Yesterday we played basketball out front and last night all five of us played Jenga. We were surprised at how well #3 did at Jenga and she is only 3! Next week we are taking them to paint some pottery stuff. I could have them clean their rooms out and get rid of all their old clothes that doesn't fit anymore but I have a feeling that won't fly...I'll save that for when they go back to school and I'm bored.

Good Bye, Elfy.

2011-12-26T06:22:00.000-08:00

So the kids ( I ) had a lot of fun with our Elf this year. They were sad to see him go. They said their good byes on Christmas Eve and got a little sad but made sure they left him enough peppermint bark to last him until next year. Oh and they left him some milk too, just in case he got thirsty.

I found a facebook page that had a bunch of cool ideas on what to do with our elf. It helps to have another cheer mom friend that has great ideas as well. She is as nuts as I am when it comes to this stuff lol.

So here is a couple of little odd places where they found Elfy.

#3's doll house...

Being naughty in the entryway...

He even did a little art work on an old pic of the kids...

We bought our nieces an Elf this year. They spent the night and I told my husbands sis to make sure she packs the elf! I had more great ideas!

So until next year, Mucka Mucka Elfy Ryan Baine. We'll miss you!

The Missing Piece To Our Family

2011-12-21T21:07:00.000-08:00

So there's always one thing missing during the holidays. Not just the holidays, all year long. I've only mentioned it once before on my blog because it's a really hard thing to get into. Hard because I don't have enough blog space to really explain the whole situation and because it makes us so angry and hurt.

Over the last year we've filled our kids in on something that they never knew about. They have an older brother. My husband was married before I met him but only briefly. He got his girlfriend pregnant and her parents pressured them to get married and do "the right thing" but after so long, guess what happened? They both made stupid decisions/mistakes and eventually her parents decided he was not good enough financially for their daughter that deserved more. This is why I did not want to get into this, of course I am going to defend my husband but we also have a huge binder full of court documents and phone records that explain a lot more than I care to share. Besides all that, it comes down to money. They had more of it (in their own words, "firepower") to fight my husband in court . She would purposely sabotage visitation which I know first hand, hearing conversations about setting up a play date only to get canceled last minute. So what does my husband do? He decided to do what her and her family wanted, and leave his son alone. He would still call here and there and on birthdays but never got to talk to him. I always felt terrible for him. It was almost like watching someone deal with the death of a child. He was told for so long that he wasn't good enough for his own son that he eventually believed it. Now seeing him with our 3 kids really hurts because it's not money that kids love, it's LOVE. And my husband has so much to offer. So all we can do is pray that one day he realizes that his dad does love him and that he has family over here that CAN'T WAIT to meet him...

So one day #1 was going through pictures at my mother-in-laws house. They were of the hubs as a baby and you know, the normal family pictures and all that. Then she picks up a paper and starts reading...It was her big brothers birth announcement!! I was like, HOLY CRAP and grabbed it from her. Then came the questions. Who is that? Why does he have the same middle and last name as dad? Why does it say that dad and (insert name here) are the proud parents? I just said, "Oh we will talk about that later" and my mother-in-law and I just looked at each other. Yowza.

So then one day we were looking through a big box of pictures because #1 had to do a student of the week project about herself. Once again we were shuffling through when we came across more pics of him. One year we found out what school he went to. When picture day came along, we called the picture company that took the school pics and ordered his 4th grade pics. The following year my mother-in-law called to order his 5th grade pics and the school called back. They had called the mom and she told them absolutely not!! She told the picture company that his father or grandmother were not allowed to order pictures!! The hubs and my mother-in-law were upset once again.

So #1 pulled out the 4th grade pics. She saw his name on it and said, "Hey I know that name!" Greeeaaat. At this point she is 8 and already had questions about why her dad has a boys name tattooed on his left wrist. Or why she keeps seeing this older boys pictures in drawers, albums and boxes. Or why her grandma talks about this kid all the time. By this point we had #1 and #2 asking questions so the right the time had come. I don't remember exactly what words were said, but boy were they happy! It was also a huge relief to get it out. The last thing I want is them doing well in school when they find out they have an older brother and it throws them off. Which is why my husband has never, in his words, "Fall from the sky and say, I'm your dad and confuse him" We know he is in good hands, besides all the terrible stuff she has told him about his dad when he was little, she obviously loves her son and would never let anyone hurt him, even his own dad. I would rather my kids grow up knowing that they have an older brother. And they also know that they can't see him until he decides to see them.

So our son and him are 7 years apart. He talks about his big brother all the time and they tell their friends at school about him. Which is weird when your daughter comes home from cheer with her friend and the mom which is my friend is like, "So #1 says she has an older brother??" Anyhow our son does journal work at school in their free time. On Dec. 7 he wrote,

"When I grow up I will be a quarterback. It will be fun. I will tackle my brother _______. I will be on the Lancers."
The Lancers is the football team that his big brother plays on. It's sad when you have to do some sneaking around to figure out what your own child is doing.

Like I've said, we've explained a little why they can't see their big brother. #1 told us one day that she's not happy with her brothers mom and it upsets her that she won't let her see her brother. Damage control...

So why can't he see his son? One birthday my husband called his son knowing there would be no answer. A day later he got a call back from his sons new and wonderful stepdad. Long story short, the new husband said that he was going to adopt him and if my husband said no to it, it was going to be a fight and he would eventually lose. Once again we did NOT have the money to fight in court. Some people say they would fight like hell but then there's us. We didn't have thousands of dollars to fight for his son. He hadn't seen him in years and in his son's own words when he was four, "I don't have a dad" he told this to my mother-in-law when she was given permission to see her own grandchild. So we had to make a decision. Spend thousands to fight to keep it like it's been for the last several years, or just let him adopt him?? I say, like it's been, because like I've said my husband did not want to confuse his son. He knew his son was doing well in school and was happy. That's all he wants is for his son to be happy. There was a lot of stress involved obviously, and a lot of discussions. It was hard for my husband to have some guy call him and threaten him like that. Before my husband signed papers he asked his ex wife's lawyer for pictures of his son. The lawyer asked her and her husband and the lawyer got a firm, NO. My mother-in-law talked to that same lawyer for hours. The ex wife's own lawyer didn't understand a lot of things that were being done or said by her own client.

This whole thing hurts our family. It hurts my husband to miss out on a lot of things in his son's life. It hurts on the holidays and the birthdays, the sports activities and it just hurts when we are all lounging on the couch. It hurts my mother-in-law to not have all 6 grandchildren spend the night or go shop for. It hurts my kids. It hurts to hear my son talk about how he wants to play catch with his brother or to hear him say that him and his brother have the same middle name, how his brother and little sister have the same initials (BRB) or to watch our daughter make a Wii character for her brother. And this whole thing hurts HIM. He has no idea that he has two sisters and a brother. A dad that loves him and wants to be there for him. A grandma that cries almost every time she talks about him. A stepmom that would take him in as one of her own. He has a brother and sister (#3 is not old enough to get it yet) that talk about him seriously, every single day. They are always asking us questions about him.

So I've been wanting to post about this for a long time. I've struggled with too much information. Airing dirty laundry. I've said little things in this post but it doesn't compare to the binder of court papers and phone records that's waiting for him when he wants answers about what really happened. My husband does NOT want him to hate his own mother, he just wants him to know that he did fight like hell the first 4 years of his sons life. He spent a ridiculous amount of money and got nowhere. He loves his son to death and he may never understand the reasons for his ex wife's actions.

We all hope and pray that one day he will look for his dad and siblings. He has a whole family over here that would love to have him as a part of their lives. Until then, we will continue to pray that God will keep him safe and that God will put it on his heart that no matter what he has been told about his dad, God will give him the strength to follow his heart.

Cheer Comp Updates

2011-12-18T07:50:00.000-08:00

So #1 had another cheer competition last weekend. They were up against three other teams. One beat them the weekend before, one is their rivals and they have never competed against the other before...at least I don't think so. Anyway, they did AWESOME! They hit every stunt and had no drops. All of us were expecting 1st place...they got 3rd. THIRD?!?! WTH?! The team that beat them the weekend before got 1st again and their rivals got 2nd. After awards, us cheer moms were complaining to each other when one mom said that one of the judges was from their rival team. That explains it!! So not fair. Especially when that judge rates the dance part of the routine super low and the other two said they did awesome. They got the scores and saw that 1st through 3rd were all a point off from each other. So it was super close.

Front row, far left. If you can't see the rows, it looks like she's the second kid.

A little blurry, but I got some back handspring action.

#3 And Her "Grandmas"

2011-12-18T07:13:00.000-08:00

So I have been lagging in the blog department lately. The kids finally have their three week vacation, yes three...Ack! Should be interesting. Three kids making me crazy all day while my husband tries to sleep during the day...Maybe it's time for him to work a day job instead of nights, at least while they are at home.

#3 Has been real funny lately. She has three Grandmas that she never really sees, even though they are only 30 minutes away. Whatever. So she has made an imaginary Grandma. She tells us that her Grandma lives in the same community as us and has a twin. Her "Grandma" is actually on the flu shot commercial for Walgreens. Every time she sees the commercial with the little old ladies and their dog she gets all excited. We have to rewind it so she can show us. And she makes sure we look too. She has also told us that her Grandma cut her finger off while she was eating dinner and that she loves to curl her Grandmas hair. She'll go on and on about her.

Okay now the really weird part is, the only other Grandmas she talks about is Grandma Colleen (my Grandma that has passed) and Baba (my husbands Grandma that has also passed) and that's it. She never talks about her Grandmas that are alive! That's a little odd for a three year old. She either has a good imagination or she's hangin' with dead people and I don't know it. I guess I should start to worry if I find her in her room talking to them...let's hope that never happens!

Hubs update.
The Dr. has been adjusting his meds. The other day he had blood drawn and the Dr. called to say that his levels have been going down. That's GREAT! But last night he started feeling yucky again and ended up having night sweats. Weird since the last couple times he has had that, he was having what they call an episode. One of the medications that he is taking weakens his immune system so hopefully his body is just trying to fight a cold or something. Time will tell. Other than that he has been doing great. He's had the last week off so he's been getting lots of normal sleep. Normal as in sleeping at night instead of the day.

Worst Mom Ever!

2011-12-06T14:14:00.000-08:00

So on Saturday my daughter had her first cheer competition of the season in Palm Springs CA. We were all excited. Packed up the camera and video camera like always. Got there and my camera battery was dead. WTH?! No biggie, I can take pics on my cell phone. I started up the video camera and about 30 seconds later, I get a stupid flashing message that read, Disc Full Disc Full Disc Full Yeah great, thanks. Who forgets to make sure they have a new disc and everythings charged and ready to go? I DO!!

So this is all I got...

Getting the comp info from their coach.

Of course I had to do this to the car...

Their coach, making sure they don't screw up!

Jumps.

Then that's about it. They got 2nd place because of a penalty. During the stunt a girls head went lower than her feet so it was a safety issue. Same judge that gave them a penalty that cause them to get second place last year. Here are the coaches trying to talk some sense into the judge...Didn't work.

This Saturday she has another competition. They go up against the same team they should have beat last week and two other teams, one of which are their rivals!

Wordful Wednesday

2011-11-29T19:38:00.000-08:00

Isn't he sweet?!

Old Post

2011-11-28T08:12:00.000-08:00

So I've posted this before but can't find it. Not sure why. This is about 3 or 4 years ago. The Hubs went to work one day and there was a film crew making a show for The History Channel called, Extreme Trains and so he got to be on it for a couple minutes. I think the guy's at his work still tease him about it and a few have put the video on their Facebook pages cause they were happy for him. You have to fast forward part 3 to about 5 min 20 seconds. The kids love watching this, and so do I LOL. I even bought a copy off the History Channels website :)
Before you view you will have to scroll down to the bottom of my blog and shut my music off. Sorry :)

And while I'm at it, I've been meaning to post this for memories. It's a mix I made of all #1's cheer competitions from last season.

Our First Thanksgiving At Home

2011-11-27T19:00:00.000-08:00

So like I said in the last post, this was our first time hosting Thanksgiving. We've had it before at our house but that was when we moved to Memphis for his job. We had been married for 9 months and had no kids, yet. It was just us in our little one bedroom apartment halfway across the country from our friends and family. I was 6 months pregnant and had no clue what to make. To be honest I can't even remember what I made. All I know is, it wasn't a turkey!

We, okay he, made a turkey in the roaster. He took the guts out while I cut up the veggies to stuff it with. My Sister-in-law made the stuffing so we had to fill the turkey with our own mix so it stayed juicy. At least that's what we were told :) #2 even helped stuff it. Not me!! Yes I know, I'm a sissy.

Eeewwww!

Yes, I made him hold it up so I could take a pic for my blog...Milestones, people!

Helping Dad.

We had to take a peak halfway through to make sure we weren't screwing it up and we were pretty impressed!

Yay Us!

Thanksgiving Surprise!

2011-11-27T18:28:00.000-08:00

So this Thanksgiving was the first time we've ever had it at our house. Usually it's at my Mother-in-laws, and I'm still not sure how it ended up at our house but I'm not complaining. It's sooo nice not having to leave. Everyone lives in the same city except for us so we are always having to drive about 30 minutes for every holiday.

Anyhow, I got this GREAT idea from my friend at Just Simply Live (She has awesome ideas on her blog) but I tweeked it a bit...

They are apple pies in mason jars. I tried to take pics along the way like she did, so hopefully you can follow without being like, "WTH?!"

First we started off making pie crust. I used a basic one. We used the lids to make the tops of the pies and set them aside...

Then we pulled pieces off the mound of crust and lined the jars...

Then get your apples. You don't need this many, we made 36 jars so we needed a lot.

Peel and chop so they look like this...

Now for the filling, I just used a basic apple pie filling and scooped the ingredients into the jars...

Then put your cut outs on top and make slits...

You can get creative and use your fork around the edges or even use a leaf cut out and place it on top...
I don't have a leaf cut out so mine are plain.

Then we put the lids and labels on and put them in the freezer. I bought little Thanksgiving boxes and put a label reading,
Thaw, remove lids and cover with foil. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes, longer if needed.

This was the end result...When scooping be careful not to get too much juice, as you can see the front two bubbled over and the other two are perfect.

Everyone enjoyed the pie jars. The hubs topped his with a scoop of ice cream and won't let me give any more out. Good thing I already delivered some to the neighbors!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-11-23T05:00:00.000-08:00

Grandparents Day at school! The kids with my husbands Mom and Stepdad.

Sports Galore

2011-11-22T09:11:00.001-08:00

So now that Fall Ball is over I can relax a little, until Dec. 2 when #1's competitions start. They've been practicing for 7 months now on stunting, jumps and tumbling. A couple months ago they learned half the routine and barely learned the dance part of their routine about 3 weeks ago. Us cheer moms are a little worried but after a couple competitions they will be lookin' sharp. They have 10 competitions in 5 months that will be from San Diego to Anaheim to Viva Las Vegas. They are ALL OVER the place! These girls work sooo hard and are super strong. All summer long they worked out 4 hours a week. My daughter even told me she is stronger than the boys in her class...I don't doubt it!

Here's some pics to wrap up Fall Ball and start Cheer Season.

Catching the ball at 1st base!

Loves getting dirty!

Stunting. Middle group, left base.

Now who says cheerleading is not a sport??

Great News!

2011-11-17T19:29:00.000-08:00

So the Hubs had a Dr. appointment yesterday and it went very well. Over the last year we've heard either bad news or no answers at all. The Dr. said that his levels have gone down and he's looking good. She also said that he will probably have to be on Ursodiol for the rest of his life, but that's better than hearing that he will need a liver transplant in 1-10 years! Boy have we been stressed out!! All I've been hoping for was for our lives to go back to normal. This is good enough for me! Like I said before, she said he definitely has a mix of PSC and AH but it can be controlled. Of course he will have Dr. appointments to make sure everything is fine and he'll have to keep getting blood drawn to check his enzyme levels and all that so I will continue to keep blogging about this.

Thank you so much everyone for checking in on us and for all of your prayers!

Recipe Party

2011-11-13T14:30:00.001-08:00

So, I'm always up for a good party. Pampered Chef, Passion, Recipe Party, you name it and I'll have it. A couple weeks ago I decided to have a Recipe Party where a few of my friends brought up to 5 of their favorite busy night dinners or desserts. I thought it would be a great idea since all of our kids do things after school and we are always rushing home to eat. We had a blast! We ended up chit chatting about our kids, husbands and just plain old life. It's nice to have a little break and talk to people my own age :)

Time to start planning my next party...Botox, tanning or waxing??

Chocolate-Butterscotch Bars

Yield: 3 dozen
1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 (6oz) pkg. semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1 (6oz) pkg. butterscotch morsels
1 1/4 cup flaked coconut
1 cup pecans
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk

Combine graham cracker crumbs and butter; stir well and press into a 9 in. baking dish. Layer chocolate morsels, butterscotch morsels, coconut, and pecans over crumb mixture. Pou milk evenly over top. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Cool and cut into 1 1/2 inch squares.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 1/2 lbs. chicken- cooked and shredded
1 can (15 oz) tomatoes
1 can (10 oz) enchilada sauce
1 med onion, chopped
1 can (4oz) chopped green chilies
1 garlic clove
2 cups of water
2 cups chicken broth
1t cumin
1t chili powder
1t salt
1/4 t black pepper
1 bay leaf

Crock pot low 6-8 hours.

Chicken Pot Pie

Yield 6 servings
1 T butter
1 T olive oil
3 carrots, thinly sliced
2 celery stalks, thinly sliced
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1 1/2 lbs boneless chicken breast, cubed
1t dried thyme
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 (12 oz) jar chicken gravy
1 (9 inch) refrigerated pie crust

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9 inch pie dish with cooking spray.
In a large skillet, melt half the butter with half the oil. Add carrots and celery, and cook over medium heat for 8-10 min. Sprinkle with half the salt and pepper. Remove from pan and set aside.
Heat remaining butter and oil in pan; add chicken. Add salt, pepper and thyme. Brown on all sides. Continue to cook on medium heat for about 5 min. or until done.
In prepared pie dish, combine chicken, peas, carrots, clelry and gravy. Top mixture with crust, crimping the edges. Cut slashes in the middle and bake for 35 minutes or until filling is bubbling.

A couple pics of our Recipe Party. I totally forgot to take a picture of all the food!!

Outside My Box

2011-11-12T14:49:00.000-08:00

So next weekend I'm doing something I never thought I'd do. We are going to a college football game with my sister-in-law and her husband. I don't really do football. I don't get it. I barely do baseball. The first pro baseball game I went to was to watch my husbands best friend play. There were like 20 innings and I almost died of boredom. I can handle #2's baseball games (cause they are an hour long) and #1's cheer competitions but college football?? My husband on the other hand is super excited. He loves football and even watches his old high school football team on TV. Must be a guy thing?? He went to a catholic school here in Southern Cali and was the star quarterback. Big bad #14. I hear about it all the time. Anyhow my plan is to wear the other teams colors just to be a pain cause that's how we do it. He likes one team, I like the other. Even if I'm not watching the sport with him. Friendly competition is what I call it.

Wish me luck, and I will post pics :)

Halloween Fun 2011

2011-11-12T11:12:00.000-08:00

So my favorite holiday flew right on by. I always put my decorations up early. Cobwebs in and outside of the house, spiders, zombies and all that fun stuff. This year we took it to another level. We decorated our golf cart! The hubs put lights on it and attached a couple strobe lights to the bottom. This is what we came up with...

I told him next year we are going to put a fog machine on it! The kids enjoy it too! Every year my sister-in-law comes out with her husband and their two kids. We pile on our golf cart and go to haunted houses and let the kids trick-or-treat. Our community really goes all out for holidays and you would have never known it was a Monday night here!! The streets were packed with golf carts and people walking around with smiles on their faces.

This year one of my friends and her two kiddos came with us as well. We had our normal Halloween dinner, chili and rice, had our photo shoot in the front lawn and we were out!

#1 was a Zombie Prom Queen, #2 was the guy from scream and #3 was Jessie from Toy Story.

Single A

2011-10-16T07:44:00.000-07:00

So my little baseball player has moved up. No more T-Ball! He's a big single A player. I have no idea what that means, but it sure makes him happy. Oh and I was told I need to buy him a cup to protect my chances at any future grandchildren. I'm cool with that, but cup shopping should be interesting. I've said before that my husband has to have top notch stuff for our little Single A player, even if it means getting his baseball pants tailored...Thank you Deon Sanders and your, if you look good you feel good and play good whatever it is you say, speech. Have I told you how cute it is when you can see your son's superhero unders through his baseball pants? A-dorable!!

Best part about baseball...

Letters of Intent

2011-10-14T06:33:00.000-07:00

Ok my link to Letters of Intent isn't working so click here...

Dear people that shall remain unknown,

@#%$^&*! That's all I can say right about now. Much better. Don't hold stuff in, folks!

From,
Jen :)

Dear Husbands Disease,

Go away! You are making him tired and SUPER grumpy!

From,
The one that just has to sit and smile.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-12T05:45:00.000-07:00

Updates

2011-10-11T12:22:00.000-07:00

So yesterday the Hubs had a Dr. appointment with the new doctor. After a year of no answers and hearing how "rare" he is, we got SOME answers. New Doc said he has 75% scaring in his liver and he definitely has a combination of PSC and Autoimmune Hepatitis. BUT thankfully it can be controlled with meds. My lovely husband decided he was sick of taking his meds and was convinced the old doc didn't know what he was talking about, because of the lack of answers, so he decided to take himself off of his meds. No bueno. He woke up a week and a half later, jaundice. I asked him what the hell he was thinking and he said, "I thought I'd try to see if I was normal again..." REALLY?? So let's just say he learned his lesson. After losing weight, turning yellow, feeling sick, dry heaving, loss of appetite, night sweats and feeling tired, he's decided to never do that again. So this whole month the new doc will be adjusting his meds and taking him off certain ones THAT SHE WASN'T SURE WHY HE WAS TAKING IN THE FIRST PLACE!! Can you believe that?? He also has to have blood drawn every week to see how he responds which will be interesting because last time this happened his body didn't respond to the meds. So now he is starting from scratch and he likes this doctor better. She told us that she has a liver conference today and she is going to have other doc's review the results from his liver biopsy to help get more answers because once again, he is so rare.

On another note, #2 starts Fall Ball today and the Hubs is helping coach. Time for the hectic schedules again! Baseball, Cheer, Baseball, Cheer AAAAHHHHH!!

Yes, It's THAT Easy...

2011-09-25T10:30:00.000-07:00

Ways to manipulate your kids, Lesson #4,398

Me-#3, do you want a braid in your hair today?

#3-No!

Me- Ooookay, how about a PRINCESS BRAID!!

#3- Yessss!!

Nice ;)

Oh, Duh!

2011-08-01T20:39:00.000-07:00

So I've been meaning to jot down some updates on the Hubs. He was supposed to have his liver biopsy on July 14 but the doctor called a few days before and said he was going out of town. Since then we've been waiting for them to squeeze him in for the liver biopsy and an abdominal ultrasound before his next appointment. He has to get an ultrasound every six months. So hopefully after more tests and poking at him they will figure out if he has PSC or AH. He's not happy being what the doctor calls a "medical mystery" AT ALL!

Walking Down Memory Lane

2011-07-21T20:49:00.001-07:00

So I was reading through some old posts and all I have to say is, WOW! I am sooo happy that I started blogging three years ago. You keep a baby book for your kids and you think you won't forget the funny things they say or do, but you do forget. Reading old posts has made me laugh and wish my kids would stop growing! It has also made me want to blog even more, even if it is completely boring to you guy's and funny to us. I can't wait till the kids are older and stumble across Mom's blog. They'll read all about certain milestones and even how they make me crazy. Too bad I didn't start this when #1 was born..

This one was a Wordless Wednesday

And these are from only TWO summers ago!

And this is #2, six years ago!

So now it's time to go look up some of your own posts from when you first started blogging! Enjoy!!

Beach Day!

2011-07-20T20:42:00.001-07:00

Today was a treat! We live on a lake that has a few beaches. I took the kids to one of them on Monday and a different one on Tuesday. So today I told them we were going to the beach again and they weren't that excited UNTIL I explained that we are going to a REAL beach!! Every year we pack up and head to Newport Beach with my MIL and SIL. It's fun to watch the kids run around and get all sandy. Okay so I'm lying about the sandy part, but aside from the sand we had a blast! After the kids/mommies had enough, we rushed back home to shower and it was off to cheer and gymnastics for #1 and 3. Poor things are pooped and fast asleep!

All #3 did was run around. She was wet and freezing but that didn't stop her.

Standing on his boogie board. He thinks it's a surf board...

Not sure what she's doing here. It just looked funny so I added it in here.

Putting his sister to work.

Cheese!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-07-20T20:42:00.000-07:00

MacBook fun on a Wordless Wednesday. Enjoy...they sure did!

Tuesday Poll Day!

2011-07-19T08:33:00.000-07:00

So I know I haven't done a Tuesday Poll Day in MONTHS! I should probably get a few of my readers back before doing another one but oh well. Since I did a post named Tattoo Tuesday this morning, I thought I'd do a poll on tattoos.

Do you have a Tattoo?

Tattoo Tuesday

2011-07-19T05:00:00.000-07:00

So I never thought I'd be the type to get a tattoo. Until a couple weeks ago. After 10 years of having "THE ONE" tucked away in my wallet, my husband made us appointments. As you've probably already seen in pictures, he has a bunch of them. There's one in particular that my kids have noticed since the day they could read. It's his oldest son's name from his first marriage. Ever since they found out that their brothers name was tattooed on their dad, they've been excited to get their name on him too. And so he did. I'll post pictures of that when his is finished.

I was super nervous. Especially since it was my first tattoo AND the ribs are the most painful place to get a tattoo. At first it wasn't that bad but the higher he went, the more it hurt. Now that it's done and the pain is gone, I'm super happy with it.

So here we go...
Drawing it on with marker.

What? This doesn't look so good...

No turning back now!!

My view for FIVE hours!

All done!!

Batter Up!

2011-07-17T20:20:00.000-07:00

I almost forgot to share these with you! #2 Finished T-ball and they had a closing ceremony party. I made these chocolate and white cupcakes for the team. They were super easy and I was so proud of them. I got into the Easter boxes in the garage and pulled out some Easter grass and used it to keep the cupcakes in place.

Blah Blah Updates.

2011-06-23T21:04:00.000-07:00

So today the Hubs got a call from the Dr. After a week on Cellcept his liver enzymes have gone up. UP? I thought this medicine was supposed to help? Just our luck. So now he has to do another round of lab work on July 7. Then on July 14 he has an appointment for ANOTHER liver biopsy. I feel so bad for him. He is soooo over all of this. His body hurts and he is tired. He (and I) want our normal lives back. Now. But I guess God has another plan for us. Since there is nothing we can do about this, but worry, I find ourselves not stressing like we did at first. Which is a good thing. In the beginning all we did was cry and stress out about what the future holds. Now we just kinda laugh and say, "One thing after another." One things for sure, the kids don't need to worry about Daddy. So we just carry on like any other day.

We have a fun weekend planned. A friend that he hubs grew up with is coming over for the weekend with his wife and kids. He and his friend have been close since birth and consider each other cousins. They act more like brothers. We love their family and can't wait to hang out all weekend.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-06-15T09:59:00.001-07:00

#2 and his buddy hangin' on him. Last T-ball game. So over it. Can you tell? Love it!

Our Big 6 Year Old!

2011-06-12T18:25:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we had our son's 6th birthday party. We live on a lake so we had it at one of the beaches near our house. He got to invite his favorite buddies and they all had a blast! I love watching the kids play and have a great time, but theres nothing better than being DONE with a birthday party. Now I have one more month till #3 turns 3.

He begged me to do this...

So I let him...

My New Adventure

2011-06-12T17:55:00.000-07:00

So, all last week and for the next three weeks I have been teaching swim lessons with my MIL. I started doing it for the extra money and I thought I would hate it, but I love it!! I have seven kids from 2-3:45. It's one on one for 15 minutes and I can't believe the progress these kids have made just in the first five days! The youngest one I have is 22 months and on day three she was kicking and pulling her arms to me all by herself. I also have a 3 1/2 year old that got in, tried to swim to me but went straight to the bottom. One more day with her and (hopefully) I will have her coming up for air while she swims. I just can't get over how rewarding it is to teach a kid to swim. When I am all done for the day I find myself wishing I had more kids to teach! Okay so I could do without the screaming in my ear, spitting in my face and the kid that thinks it's funny to "toot" on my leg, but it comes with the job. I especially love hearing all the parents tell me how their kid couldn't wait to go to swim lessons! I really enjoy this group of kids, I just hope the next group is as awesome as the first...Or my next swim post will be on how much I hate swim lessons!

Hubs Update

My husband's body isn't responding to the medication the Dr. gave him so tomorrow he starts Cellcept. Cellcept is an anti-rejection medication given to heart, kidney and liver transplant patients (which he has not had and hopefully won't have to have) and it also helps his immune system stop fighting his own liver. Two of his enzyme levels went up and one went down. His Bilirubin went up also. Hopefully it stops or goes back down. It's at a 1.2 right now. Last time it got up to 11 or 12 and they had to place a stent in his bile duct. We are hoping that it won't happen again.

Cat Update

Other than unrolling toilet paper, scratching and biting the kids and meowing like crazy at 5am every morning, he hasn't pee'd on the couch...and I probably just jinxed myself.

Heeello There!

2011-05-31T14:01:00.000-07:00

So, before I go on and on about why I haven't been around, let me get up to date on my husbands health. He had his biopsy to see what damage, if any, has been done. I guess cirrhosis is a level 4 and he is at a 2-3. So definite scarring going on. The Dr. told us that he still isn't sure if he has PSC (Primary Sclerosing Cholongitis) or Autoimmune Hepatitis. The difference between the two? Well when you have PSC, chances are you will eventually need a liver transplant. With Autoimmune Hepatitis, it can be controlled with medication, if your body takes to it. My husbands body is not responding to the medication so they doubled it. At first his liver enzyme levels started to go down but then went right back up and are staying there. He has to give blood every two weeks and if they still don't go down then they will change his medication. Once they go down they will gradually take him off his meds and see where his body goes, PSC or AH. Apparently those two diseases mirror each other. So the Dr. told my husband that he is a medical mystery. Greaaat.

On a happier note...SCHOOL'S OUT!! So far we have a busy June. I am teaching swim lessons with my MIL all of June. Wish me luck! We have birthday parties to plan, cheer practice and vacations to enjoy. We got #3 potty trained and #2 graduated Kindergarten...

#1 Mastered her round off double back handspring...

Cheer season ended and the following week it started up again. Yay for me. Oh, and we got a cat. He's a cute little jerk that has pee'd on my couch three times. After having to tear apart my NEW couch and use the carpet cleaning machine three times to suck all the pee out, a light bulb went off. I took all the cushion covers off, wrapped the cushions in trash bags and put the covers back on. That little bastard's pee will not be able to soak through anymore!! If it happens again all I have to do is take the cover off and wash it. Oh and put on a new trash bag LOL. Wish me luck with the cat too!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-03-02T17:17:00.001-08:00

He loves me! LOL Like I've said before, my Wordless Wednesdays are never wordless. This is the hubs about to have his liver biopsy. Post on that later. I told him to say, "Cheese!" and I got this.

No Need To Judge Me...

2011-03-01T19:14:00.000-08:00

So, we already know I'm a wife, mom, driver, chef, nurse, maid and every other job title that goes with being a mom. I've added a new one. I'm a total peeper. Or pervert if you ask my husband. Now I know peeping/stalking is totally illegal and you can go to jail so just don't call the cops on me or I won't fill you in anymore.

I've done a post on my neighbors before and how I name them, keep track of their smoking and just plain watch them. I would link the post but I can't find it. Even if I could find it, I wouldn't be able to do all that right clicking because we got a new laptop and I don't know how to right click. Once I figure it out I will do it. Anyhow, most people have a fence that divides their backyard. We have a lake. In out little cove we have Smokey directly behind us. She likes to chain smoke. Then to the right of her we have cocky. He thinks he's hot stuff in the summertime. AND TO THE LEFT of Smokey, we have our very own, Ugly Naked Guy. I don't actually know if he is ugly but I thought the name sounded good. My cousin and I now call him UNG, because I can't really say Ugly Naked Guy in front of the kids. So seriously every window in the back of the house looks out at the cove and the people we share it with so there's no getting around it, you're gonna see what other people are doing at night...and I LOVE that! One night I was shutting all the lights off before bed. I shut the kitchen light off and out of habit, looked out the window and what did I see??? MY NAKED NEIGHBOR!! He had just gotten out of the shower and was WALKING AROUND!! How do I know he had just gotten out of the shower? Cause he was holding his towel and would spread em' as he walked to air out! Of course I couldn't see much, or even any of his private parts but I still couldn't take my eyes off! WTF is wrong with me! There's no way he could have seen me but that didn't stop me from hiding behind my wall with only my head sticking out! My husband even called in the middle of my peeping! He asked what I was doing, I told him and he flat out laughed at me and called me a perv!! I was in shock that someone would actually walk around naked like that with all the doors and windows open! See, so it's his fault. He wanted me to look. I'm not a pervert after all! So, if you looked out your window and saw your neighbor naked you would look, wouldn't you?? Or am I the only weird one??

Hellloooo?! ...Followed by echo.

2010-12-20T13:58:00.000-08:00

So three months later and here I am! I have had so much to talk about and I didn't really know where to start so I just decided to take a little break. Okay a long break. But before I start with updates I just wanted to say thank you for the prayers and checking in on me. I really have some great bloggy friends.

My husband is doing well. He has another appointment with the transplant Dr. in January. He has done some tests since then and we never got calls back so I take it that's good news. He has blood work that has to be done a week before his Jan. appointment and hopefully things will be okay. We have been paying more attention to our finances lately, looking at where we can cut back and save money just in case he has another episode and has to take off work. Since this disease is different for everyone, we will never know when his body decides to fight his liver again. He will just wake up jaundice again out of the blue. Last time he took three weeks off of work cause he felt like shit and had the whole blood transfusion thing going on and it hurt us financially. We've picked up the pieces since then but are looking at our options, like moving into something cheaper and all that great stuff.

All this talk about saving and I am about to mention how #1 is in competitive cheer. LOL Competitive cheer is expensive and time consuming. Doesn't make sense at first but we signed her up right at the beginning of all my husbands health issues and decided that we can't keep them from doing extra crap after school. They have to have a nice and normal life too. She enjoys it and so do I. Okay, okay, I don't as much as she does. She has practice two days a week for two hours at a time. She just had a competition last Saturday and will have one to two every. stinkin. month till April.

#2 Has been doing great in Kindergarten. Mainly cause I was his preschool teacher. Just kidding...kinda. He is one of five kids in his class that know 60 sight words already! His teacher tells me all the time how well he's doing and how good he is in class! ~~And I'm like, "Are we talking about the same kid?"~~ He is so excited for T-ball to start up again. That kid's whole world revolves around a ball!

#3 on the other hand, is a wild child, but we wouldn't have it any other way. When I was pregnant my in laws always told us that we were so blessed to have two kids that were so good and the third was going to be different. Boy were they right. She makes the rules and we obey them. Since this is our last child we kinda let her get away with a lot of stuff. That's all going to have to change...soon.

And then there's me. It seems like I have no time for myself anymore. But I guess that's what happens when you're a mom. When I finally have time to blog, the kids are sleeping and it's too quiet to sit on the computer when I could be catching up on my DVR with popcorn and a beer or wine! But I am going to start making some time for blogging because it really makes me happy. Well #3 is yelling for me so I have to go!

Updates

2010-09-21T14:18:00.000-07:00

So, I know I've been in and out of blogland and I am always saying, "I'm back!" and I'm not. There has been so much going on that I haven't had time to blog! I've been doing homework with the kids, going to cheer practice, mini trix classes, trying to go to the gym, potty training, trying to figure out how to deal with my husbands disease and on top of all that, now we have T-ball games and practices. Being a parent is never ending...and draining.

Potty training was a pain in my ass. But for the last couple of weeks she's been doing great. We are even able to leave the house with no diaper on.

Yesterday we went to Loma Linda's Transplantation Institute and talked with a doctor about my husband. Like I've said before, he has Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC). He told us some new/scary information along with a lot that we've already read about online. Everyone with PSC reacts differently so they can't really give too much information on when a transplant will be needed. The doctor told us that he has a 50% chance of being alive in 12 years, and that a transplant is eventually going to be needed. Since my husbands blood type is a very hard one to get a transplant (O neg), he would have to wait on a looooong list so the doctor recommends relocating to a place like Jacksonville Florida where the waiting list is as long as a few months away. Of course this all won't be happening in the near future (hopefully) but we still have to consider it. So after we left, he had to give blood so they can run more tests. He has to do a CAT scan, metabolic panel, liver profile and CBC, all before his next appointment in three months.

I was very lucky to have stumbled upon a page on facebook that is all about PSC, where I met a man named Bill that has been through this already, transplant and everything! He has so much information to offer that I'd rather listen to him than the doctor! He has been very nice and caring and I hope one day my husband will get in contact with him. So far my husband is in denial mode, which is to be expected. I feel like I already know a lot about this disease, but there is still so much more to learn. From MELD scores to medications, to liver tests. It's all a little overwhelming and I'm not even the one that needs the transplant!

I promise once we are getting used to back to school, potty training and after school shit, I mean sports, I will get back on the ball. I have some GREAT Tuesday Poll Day's and I am so excited to use them!! I also need to dedicate a few hours to blog-stalking all of my blog friends to see what you all have been doing!!

Tuesday Poll Day!!

2010-08-17T05:26:00.000-07:00

So, our Tuesday Poll Day question for today is...drumroll...

How do you and your other half argue with each other??

Silent treatment/Give each other space.

He's the yeller, I just sit and take it all in.

I'm the yeller, he just sits and takes it all in.

We both scream and yell. Maybe even cuss a little.

Not Me! Monday

2010-08-16T05:16:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday! Make sure you stop by tomorrow to vote on my Tuesday Poll Day question!!

I am NOT dreading potty training our big two year old. While taking her for a test run on Sunday while the hubby was home, she did NOT pee through 4 pairs of unders and poop in one. We did NOT look at each other like, "How the hell are we going to do this?!" even though we've done it twice before. I don't care how many kids you have, this shit's hard!

I am NOT totally clueless on how to get #1 (done talking about potty training, now I'm talking' about the kids) to stop hanging out with her mean friend at school. My husband does NOT threaten to change classes/schools if she continues to act like her friend while at home. Her friend does NOT yell at my child when she tries to play with her other friends...

While kids #1 and 3 are giving me a run for my money, #2 is being an angel. That does NOT make me feel like I am at least doing somewhat of a good job in the parenting department.

I am NOT extremely happy that school started because now we will be able to keep food in the house for more than a couple days. What is it about kids eating ALL THE TIME when they are on summer break?!?!

Hubby Update on PSC

2010-08-15T12:47:00.000-07:00

So, on Friday my husband had another (his second) ERCP. For those of you that don't know, an ERCP is...

For the procedure, you will lie on your left side on an examining table in an x-ray room. You will be given medication to help numb the back of your throat and a sedative to help you relax during the exam. You will swallow the endoscope, and the physician will then guide the scope through your esophagus, stomach, and duodenum until it reaches the spot where the ducts of the biliary tree and pancreas open into the duodenum. At this time, you will be turned to lie flat on your stomach, and the physician will pass a small plastic tube through the scope. Through the tube, the physician will inject a dye into the ducts to make them show up clearly on x rays. X rays are taken as soon as the dye is injected.

If the exam shows a gallstone or narrowing of the ducts, the physician can insert instruments into the scope to remove or relieve the obstruction. Also, tissue samples (biopsy) can be taken for further testing.

Anyhow, three months ago they put a stent in. On Friday they went in to take it out and put in a new one. The Dr. was pleased to see that the stent fell out on it's own which means that his left bile duct was not as narrow as it was three months ago. This is great news. He said that they are not sure why, but it could be that he is not having an "episode" right now. They didn't put in a new stent because there is no narrowing so it wouldn't hold. They decided to wait and see what happens. He will continue to have blood drawn all the time to keep an eye on his enzyme levels.

He still has to meet with the Liver Transplant doctor in September. It sounds to me like this disease is progressing slowly. Thank God. Hopefully he will not need a transplant at all! Time will tell.

Tuesday Poll Day!!

2010-07-13T05:00:00.000-07:00

So, I've had this one for a couple months now...

You and your other half are going out to dinner. While trying to decide where, you tell your other half that you want to invite your best friend "Amanda" and her boyfriend "Tyler" along with you guys. You call up Amanda, who says she'll get back to you after she talks to Tyler about it. You say that's fine because you still don't even know where to eat yet. Maybe you'll have a location when she calls back.

A little while later, Amanda calls back and says that Tyler has a meeting and maybe you guy's could get together another time for drinks. Perfect. Alone time, just the two of you.

After going back and forth all day about what you both feel like having, you decide on the fancy little Italian restaurant that you guys went to on your anniversary. Nice and romantic.

Dinner is going great. While waiting for the main dish, you decide to go to the restroom. Freshen up a bit because the wine is starting to get to you. On your way back, you notice that your other half has a bizarre look on his face. WTF? Is there toilet paper attached to the bottom of my favorite pair heels?? Shit. No, thank God! So what's his problem??

He starts to make stupid awkward talk. Awkward like, keep looking at me awkward. So you start to look around which only makes him talk louder. And THEN you see what he is trying to keep you from seeing.

Freakin' Tyler.

And that's not Amanda that he's with!

And he is soooo not in a meeting!

WTF?!?!

I know, I know. I got a little carried away with TPD, so here's the question.

Do you tell Amanda? Yes, No, or confront him and make him tell. If yes, does your answer change if she is just a friend and not your best friend??

I would tell my best friend, and probably let it be known that I saw him if Amanda was just a friend. And no, this hasn't happened in real life.

So what's your take??

Letters of Intent

2010-07-09T08:05:00.000-07:00

I haven't done one of these in weeks! Here we go :)

Dear #1 and 2,

Every.Stinkin'.Day. I have to remind you to put your clothes in your laundry basket. I have even put a laundry basket right smack under your bedroom windows so you can see it well. But your clothes still end up next to it. Or even on the bathroom floor. I tell you every morning to put your clothes in your basket. I tell you, #2, every single time you have a wardrobe change during the day, to put your clothes away. I tell the both of you every night your showers to put your clothes in your baskets. And do you??

BUT THEN! When I do laundry during the week and I don't put your baskets back pronto, YOU BOTH HAVE THE NERVE to yell, "Moooooom!!!! Where's my laundry baskeeettt?!?!"

Love,
Your Mother that's about to go freakin' nuts!

Pheww! Much better :)

Hello There!

2010-07-07T14:13:00.001-07:00

So, I've caught the blogging bug FINALLY! I haven't been around much because of everything that we are dealing with. I noticed that I stopped blogging around April-ish and since then, so much has happened that I just didn't know where to start! Here is a quick summary before I talk about what's been happening with the Hubs lately.

First off let me appologize if I jump around throuought this post. The kids are running crazy, #3 keeps taking her diaper off and #2 has his mini trix class soon so I am kinda rushing.

April- Father/Daughter dance. Day after dance, Hubs got really jaundice.

May- Mother's Day.

June- #2 turned FIVE!! Father's Day. Husbands surgeries. Vacation!!

July- Hubs turned 34, #3 turned 2.

And here we are. That was fast. I'm sure we have done more but those are just the major things.

Before I get started on my husband and PSC I thought I'd explain a little about it. I copied this from an article.

The exact cause of PSC is unknown. However, the most likely cause appears to be changes in the way the immune system works. When the immune system is working properly, it protects the body from infections caused by foreign invaders like bacteria and viruses. Sometimes, however, it recognizes certain body parts or organs as foreign. The body then goes to war against itself, damaging the body part it thinks is foreign.

PSC often starts between the ages of 30 and 50, and it occurs most often in men. It was once considered a rare disease, but recent studies show it is more common than previously thought. About 70% of the patients with PSC also have an inflammatory bowel disease, especially ulcerative colitis in which the colon becomes inflamed and ulcerated. Medical experts believe genetic factors may link PSC and ulcerative colitis.

When we met up with the Dr. he asked if I have been reading up on PSC. I told him yes and that I haven't found anything good about it. He then said, "No, it's not good" and I wanted to tell him to shut up and that he was wrong. But he's not.

So after his surgery in the last post, we went on vacation to try to get away from it all. While we were relaxing on a beach (we went to the river) he started getting sick. He kept getting the chills so we decided to head back. He felt like he was getting a fever so he stayed in bed pretty much the rest of the day and we went home the next day. The Dr. put him on Cipro and he was fine.

We went back to the Dr. for a check up. The Dr. scheduled Hubs for a colonoscopy (ouch) that he has heard about and feared. So off to the pharmacy I went. Usually the only thing I get from the pharmacy is my birth control in a little bag, so when the pharmacist handed me a ginormous bag containing the colonoscopy prep stuff, I was a little scared for him! You are supposed to take a couple pills one night, and in the morning drink a bottle of magnesium citrate. Then in the afternoon, drink the big jug that came in the ginormous bag and off to the bathroom you go! He heard that the jug is the worst part and he confirmed that after a sip. You are supposed to drink 8oz every ten minutes but it was so nasty that he chugged it so that he would be done with it. Of course I had to lighten his mood and crack a few jokes that he didn't think were funny at the time. Once I was in the middle of a conversation with him and turned around and he was gone! Poor guy!

After the colonoscopy he was fine. Two days later he started to get a fever again. Back on Cipro. We met up with the Dr. again to get the results of the colonoscopy. Everything was fine. No colon cancer and no IBD. THANK GOD!! Now we are sitting around waiting for the liver specialist to call with an appointment for a liver biopsy. This will tell us if there is any damage yet to his liver.

I hate getting mixed reviews from doctors. First he tells us that he will eventually need a liver transplant, probably in about 10 years. Actually I said something about reading that you need a transplant after around twelve years and he said, "He will probably need one in about 10 years, or it could be one or two." WTF!! You are only cured from this disease by getting a liver transplant that will be needed about 12 years after being diagnosed. Now the doctor is telling us that he might not need one at all. He will just have to keep getting the stents changed every three months for the rest of his life. The shitty thing about this disease is that no two cases are alike. One could progress really fast and need a transplant in a year and the other could be fine and die of other causes later in life.

So in a nutshell, we still don't know what to expect. I guess we just put it in God's hands and see where he takes us.

I will be around more often now. I have some good Tuesday Poll Day ideas along with other mishaps that occur in our daily lives. I appreciate all of your prayers and am so happy that I have great blog friends that check in on me and ask how everything is going.

Yowza!

2010-06-03T13:02:00.000-07:00

I'm still here blog friends. Thanks for checking on me and for the prayers! I feel like I have so much to say.

Husband is doing better. They THINK he has Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) Just our luck. There is pretty much no cure. It could keep coming back or it could go away for twenty years and then come back. So stupid. He had a stent put in last Thursday and on Sunday he noticed that he kept having black stools. We thought it could have been a little blood from the procedure but it didn't stop. We went to the hospital and sure as shit, he was bleeding internally. The opening to his duct was so narrow that the doctor had to cut the opening so that he could put the stent in. Once again, just our luck. They gave him medicine that helped make his blood clot and then they went back in to either cauterize or staple the area but saw that it had finally stopped. Two rectal exams, two blood transfusions and three days later, he is feeling fine and back at home. Now he has to get a colonoscopy to rule out inflammatory bowl disease and colon cancer, which is associated with PSC. His tests for bile duct cancer came back negative THANK GOD! I will be blogging here and there as I get more info, and to check and see what all of you have been doing :) Once this is somewhat settled I will hop back on the blog train! Miss you guys! AND of course, I took pics along the way!

Here, he was so mad at me for making him stay. This was right before they told him that if he went home, he could bleed to death.

Still a little upset with me, he got over it. I think here he realized that I would be blogging about this!

Blood transfusion number one.

Here we are! Yes, I know, my hair is reeeeally dark :)

Off to have procedure number 2

Huuuh? Don't you just love anaesthesia!

Happy to have food! ...I mean, liquids!!

Watching a movie, sorry about the feet. Oh and he is wearing red socks because he is a fall hazard. I thought that was a little funny.

Ouch!

Making sure the numbers match up for blood transfusion number two. Is it me or does the nurse on the right remind you of NeNe from Real Housewives of Hot-lanta??

Thank you blood donor #?? Go donate! You can really help someone!

We still don't know what's wrong with you, sir...J/K One last test before he can leave.

He passed!

Waiting (impatiently)for the wheelchair.

Getting the IVs out. Sissy La-La. :) Actually, I think it's the tape that hurts the most!

Good bye hospital!

Letters Of Intent

2010-04-30T07:34:00.000-07:00

Dear Blog Friends,

I haven't blogged in a week or so and I'm sorry. Talk about a busy week. It's been full of drama with the In-Laws, sports, trying to take care of my jaundice husband and trying to work out when I should be blogging. :) I will fill you all in come Monday.

My husband has had "painless jaundice" and his Dr. that should know what she is doing, doesn't know what she's doing so he has to go to a liver specialist. We are trying to get him in today but may have to wait until Monday. He has been working nights which leads to having a hard time sleeping during the day so he has started taking Advil PM. We found out through the Internet that one of Advil PM's severe side effects is jaundice AND a friends Dr. said the same thing. For some reason my husbands Dr. doesn't believe that is the reason. She thinks it could be worse so now she has me all stressed out. Looking up painless jaundice on the internet has left me stressed out and nervous for him. Sooo, do me a favor and keep him in your prayers.

I hope everyone has a great weekend.

From

The blog slacker.

Letters Of Intent

2010-04-16T05:52:00.000-07:00

Dear Self,

I just need to inform you, since your "friends" never do, that you are not 18 or even 21 anymore. You are 30. When you decide to go drinking with the girls on a Saturday night, you are asking for it. I understand that you don't get out much so when you do you go a little crazy, but every.single.time. you feel like shit the next day. Why don't you get it? Your hangovers last you from the time you wake up till the time you go to bed the next night. Isn't that a big enough lesson to learn? So please, this is your body begging you! No more!

Sincerely,
Your body.

Dear Vacation in July,

Hurry! Please hurry. I NEED you!!

From,
A worn out mommy that's starting to go crazy!

Dear Self...again,

Did you just read that last letter? I said vacation in July. That means get off your ass and WORK OUT!!

From,
Me

Blog Award Alert!!

2010-04-15T20:22:00.000-07:00

Watch out blog friends! My head is SUPER big right now because I have been awarded not one, but TWO blog awards today!!

Since I have two to give out I have decided to combine the post. I have been babysitting my niece the last couple days and I will be again tomorrow so I won't have time to get these out seperatly. I mean, I could but my SIL reads my blog and she will notice if I am blogging while watching her daughter. Just to let you know, I hate picking 10 people for each award. I ended up giving 10 on one and 11 on the other because I felt like it. I like to break some rules every now and then. Makes me feel like a rebel. Here we go...

The first one is from drum rolllll, Amy over at Chapters Of Me Thanks so much for my awesome award! Now go check out her blog!

Here are the rules. Tell us 10 things about yourself and then pass the award along to 10 friends.

1. I am deathly afraid of dying. Hmm. Sounds weird.

2. I am a control freak.

3. My grammar sucks sometimes. Thankfully, that doesn't stop you guys from visiting me :)

4. I LOVE to sing. My kids are the only ones I let hear me. And for some reason when I sing in the car, they stop being rambunctious in the back seat and sit calmly. Probably because they are too busy covering their ears!

5. I love taking bubble baths. Especially with a great book and a glass of wine.

6. I am really horrible at calling people back and keeping in touch with friends.

7. I can cut people, even family members out of my life and not look back. Harsh, I know. Something I should probably work on.

8. I love to get together with friends and dance. While intoxicated of course! That's when I do my best dancing...or so I think.

9. I have a secret obsession with popcorn.

10. I love that my husband, kids and I do everything together.

And the Award goes toooo,

Murdock's Mama

Aunt Crazys Here

Bloggin 2 Noggin

Becoming Briggs

Humble Beginnings

Campbell Family Party Of 3

Enjoy The Ride

Take Me As I AM

Bloggin' It Like It Is

His Hers And Ours

Now for Award number 2!

This one was given to me by one of my blog B-Fri's, Abby at Murdock's Mama.

Here we go...

10 things that make me happy :)

1. My husband. He is my best friend and has been since day one, 10 years ago.

2. My kids. They make me smile and feel loved every.single.day.

3. Popcorn...

4. When my husband has days off. His days off get pretty random sometimes which makes me appreciate them more.

5. My best friend Danielle. We live like 45 minutes from each other, see each other probably twice a year but talk almost every day. She will probably joke that she is on this list after popcorn but she understands. We love our popcorn.

6. Blogging and my followers. I can sit here for hours reading blogs. I love how I feel closer to some bloggers than I do real people that don't live in my computer.

7. Reality TV. Enough said.

8. That all my kids are healthy.

9. Date night. I wish it happened more often.

10. The smell of fresh cut grass.

The Award goes toooo,

Chapters Of Me

Creative Attempts

Carma Sez

Kimber

Foursons

My So-Called Chaos

Sew Not My Day

Southern and Classic

The Edwards Edition

3 Girls & Our Guy

Only Half Nuts

Phew that was hard. Congratulations to you all! Thanks for the laughs!!

Tuesday Poll Day!

2010-04-13T07:36:00.000-07:00

Heeeey everyone! I hope you are all having a great day so far. Mine is starting off surprisingly easy...so far. The kids haven't started fighting yet and I am not all groggy like I have been every morning for the last couple days. Anyhow, enough rambling:)

Today's Poll Day question iiiiisss...

Which one do you think is worse, poor restaurant service or bad drivers?

I would say bad drivers. I can't stand when people act stupid behind the wheel. Yesterday this Asian lady (I can say this because my husband has Japanese in him so I'm not being racist lol) totally cut off this guy. Like cut him off because she was going to miss her turn, but there was no street coming up for miles. I know this because she ended up behind me for 5 more miles and turned on the same street I did. Idiot. She caused everyone to slam on their brakes and even made one car change lanes to avoid crashing into the car in front of him.

My husband would say poor restaurant service. It totally irks him when they take FOREVER to bring things. He says that if he is going to pay to eat somewhere, they should do their job right. I agree on this too, but I don't like to make a big deal because you never know what they are going to do to your food if you complain.

So go ahead and vote on which one you think is worse. If you have a great idea for Tuesday Poll Day, email me and I will put up a link to your blog!

Don't forget to head over to Murdock's Mama and enter her giveaway!! Tell her I sent you!

Letters Of Intent

2010-04-09T07:55:00.000-07:00

Dear God,

How is it that my husbands grandmother can go 85 years with no health problems at all, to one day having stage 4 cancer? How could you do that to someone that took care of herself, ate right and walked every day? Does that mean that even if we take care of ourselves we are still screwed? Why not just let the woman finish off her life cancer and pain free? I don't get it, nor do I like it one bit.

Sincerely,
An unhappy camper.

Dear Former Followers,

To the two of you that unfollowed me, not cool. I wish I knew who you were so I could unfollow your ass and let you know how it feels because honestly...I probably only followed you because you followed me first. So THERE! HA!

From,
Your future Unfollower.

Dear #3,

I just wanted to let you know that at 21 months old I understand that you have to do things a certain way...your way, but there is no need to wear your jacket from the time you wake up till the time you go to bed. It's hot outside. You only wear a jacket when it's cold. And please, lets not have a meltdown when I try to pry it off of you. Especially when people are around, it's a little embarrassing!

P.S.
Can we not get all gaga when Daddy enters the room? What about me?

Love,
Mommy

Dear lady that lives across the cove from me,

There is a reason why my husband and I call you Smokey. I really think that if we saw you smoke another cigarette yesterday, I would have gotten lung cancer. Today, because I have no life, I am going to keep track of how many times you smoke. As I type you just finished what I marked as the first smoke of the day. I've been up for two hours and you probably are on like number two or three but I forgot to pay attention. So we'll start now.

P.S.
You smoke so much that even when our guests come over they ask how many times you've been out so far.

From,
Your neighbor across the cove that keeps track of your smoking habit because she has no life.

Not Me! Monday

2010-04-05T09:43:00.000-07:00

Wow Monday already?

Spring break went by in a flash and it has left me feeling the same way I did in high school, screwed, not literally people. Why only a week? It took four days for my kids to sleep in (only an hour later than usual, but who cares!) and then it's already over?!

On the other hand, I am NOT happy to be dealing with two kids that fight over anything instead of three.

Our Easter was NOT filled with family drama, F-bomb included, and an earthquake. NOT a dull moment over here...I told you in a previous post that shit was goin' down, didn't I?!

The kids did NOT get full of junk food instead of Easter dinner and #3 did NOT shove 22 jelly beans in her mouth so she would NOT have to share them with #1 and 2.

After all the Easter fun over here, we were NOT anxious to get the kids in bed and relax. AND we did NOT forget to brush the kids teeth...oopsy!

I was NOT a little irked when I saw that people happily wore their shoes on the carpet that we just had cleaned by my new favorite organic carpet cleaning company. I guess that's what happens when you host a holiday.

I am NOT sitting here blogging when I should be scrubbing down the entire kitchen!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-03-31T05:00:00.000-07:00

Loves her daddy!

Tuesday Poll Day!

2010-03-30T05:00:00.000-07:00

So, today we won't be getting all personal so don't worry :) I am curious to know how many of you know or have met a celebrity. When I was in Jr. High they had a celebrity basketball game but I can't remember who was there. So I haven't really met anyone "famous" before. I usually don't care for famous people because they are like any other normal person...just with bigger bank accounts, but I still think it would be cool to meet one. The closest I have been is knowing someone that knows a celebrity. My friends dad is buddy-buddy with hottie Kiefer Sutherland. I used to have a HUGE crush on him when I was 9...and kinda still do. I have told her to try to set up a date (like four years ago) but nothing has happened yet. I know a husband and three kids is a lot of baggage for Kiefer to take in but it's not like I'd bring them along for our date. Oh well, I guess I'll keep waiting.

So here we go. Have you ever met a celebrity? Feel free to chime in on who you've met or who you know.

Not Me! Monday

2010-03-29T05:42:00.000-07:00

Ok I haven't done a Not Me! Monday post in a couple weeks. I hate when all week long you store up your Not Me!'s and when it comes down to it, you have nothing. I guess I need to start writing them down! I've had a crappy week so don't mind me...

I did NOT totally want to beat up blogger the other day because it wouldn't let me add Kimbers new URL to my blog roll. On top of that I was trying to change the family pic in my header, but blogger thought it'd be funny to screw that up too. What the hell blogger? ALL I wanted to do was change my picture!

I did NOT think it would be hysterical to scare the kids. I did NOT mention a little something about a monkey man. No way, I am NOT that mean to my kids.

I did NOT immediately...well after about five minutes of laughing my ass off, think it was a horrible idea. Nobody should scare the kids a half our before bedtime. Unless you want EXTRA clingy kids.

I am NOT soooo excited that it is SPRING BREAK right now! Yeah the kids may need it, but so do us parents!! Too bad the weather is going to be crappy this week.

I have NOT had a horrible case of PMS this week/end. I did NOT want to even be around myself. I have NOT been on my period for what will be a week and a half by the time it's over. WTH? Thanks cramps and stress, you're killin' me!

I do NOT want to leave all responsibilities to my husband today, grab a stack of tabloid magazines and the Twilight books, pull the TV into the bathroom and sit in the bathtub all day long!! Ahhh. That would be great.

Poll outcome:

Bikini- 17
G String-5
Commando-2
Boy Shorts-5

Total Votes-21

Just One Question...

2010-03-25T13:30:00.000-07:00

How well do you really know the people in your family, or even in your spouses family? A person can be pretty darn tricky with their appearance on the outside. So tricky that the person on the inside is a total stranger. Even if you have known them for a decade. When things start adding up and start making more sense, and you start to get a little freaked out...then you know it's time to start subtracting. I know, I've totally lost you. Just thinkin' out loud.

Tuesday Poll Day!

2010-03-23T08:03:00.000-07:00

So I skipped out on TPD last week because the poll that I wanted to do just wasn't coming out right. I hate when that happens with posts. No matter how long you sit there, you just can't type. Sooooo, I took a week off...

Now remember a few weeks back I said that sometimes TPD will get a little personal? The time has come. Every now and then it will get a little personal and if you are not comfortable with those polls, then you can just skip it. Just think twice because like I said, a lot of the polls are to prove a point to my husband who thinks he knows everything...and sometimes does OUCH I said it and yes it hurt! So when you lean towards my opinion, I get to say "I told you so" to my lovely hubby and I love saying I told you so! Who doesn't?! Enough rambling...can you tell I've been gone for a week sheesh?!

My husband has been bugging me about this for ten years now and a little over a week ago I was reading my friend Abby's blog MurdocksMama and thought oh crap that's a good TPD! So here we go...

There are several different types of underwear out there. I happen to wear what I think is the most comfortable out there. My husband has his own thoughts on them. They are the bikini style underwear. He calls them granny panties but I guess every guy out there thinks that less is better. So he prefers G-String. WTH? I am just not comfortable walking around with a string up my crack rubbing on my "exit" all day long. That's just gross to me. I mean seriously, have you ever thought about that? You will now! Every now and then I'll throw on some boy shorts/hot pants I guess is what you call them, but that's only when I'm low on laundry or if the mood is right...So hopefully I am not the only one out there that is under the age of 50 that wears granny panties. Then I can say "SEE! I'm not the only one out there!"

Here are the different types that will appear in the poll...

Bikini
G-String
Commando
Boy Shorts/Hot Pants

Those are the only four that I could think of. Apparently I have been wearing the same style of underwear since I was potty trained because those were the only four I could think of!

Come Check Out This Cute Giveaway!!

2010-03-12T20:05:00.000-08:00

So my friend Lacie over at Creative Attempts made this super cute Cougar Town inspired necklace. You can jump over to her blog to see how she made it and the cute ways to wear it.

This giveaway ends on Thursday (the 18th) so hurry and make sure you enter!! Okay okay, so if you win and I don't I promise to be nice and not harass you...even if it's because of ME that you won!

Letters Of Intent

2010-03-12T06:47:00.000-08:00

So, I haven't done one of these in a few weeks and for one reason. I forced myself to keep my ~~mouth shut~~ fingers frozen or I would have said some really mean things to certain people in our families. Sometimes I have a hard time thinking before I speak and I have to remember that sometimes the truth does hurt other people. Even when they are asking for it. So this week I'll be nice...So I'm hooking up with Julie over at Foursons.

Dear Weekend,

I miss you so much. I don't remember you much from before the kids were born, but when I hear other people talk about you and your cozy couch I know that you used to be relaxing. This weekend and next weekend are packed with sports and a baby shower but one day I will see you. Even if I have to get a babysitter just so I can sit on your couch and watch your TV...All.Day.Long.

From,
The woman who needs a little break.

Dear Snack bar,

Something stupid in me made me volunteer for tonight's "snack shack" duty. Ugh. Every team must provide four parents, three times a season to work snack bar. So please people, I have not worked a real job in 8 years (one that deals with adults and not children at home) and I ask that you take it easy on me. I know it's a Friday night between 4 and 6:30 and you'll be thinking that hot dogs and a baseball game are perfect combo for tonight's dinner, but I hope you think otherwise. Let's eat out somewhere else AND THEN go to your child's game. Ugh what was I thinking!!

Sincerely,
The girl that will be working her ass off tonight.

Five Question Friday

2010-03-12T06:44:00.000-08:00

I am going to link up with Mama M again this week. Her little button thingy isn't working right now.

1. How much time do you spend on the computer a day?

Oh jeez. More than I should. Enough said!

2. Will you pay for your children's college or raise them to pay for their own way?

I would love to help my kids out with college. We just talked about this. As long as they are IN college and passing classes we will do everything we can to help.

3. Have you ever been in a car accident?

A very minor one. I'm not sure if I'd even call it a car accident. I hope this question doesn't jinx me!

4. What is your favorite book?

That's easy. I have four. I hear you all laughing at me right now because you know my answer...Abby!...Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn.

5. Do you make your bed everyday?

Yes, depending on if my husband worked that night. I can't actually make it with him in it. I la-la-la-love getting into a made bed. Nothing better than ending the day with nice tight sheets surrounding you!

It's Here Ladies, The Eclipse Trailer Is Here!!

2010-03-11T06:36:00.000-08:00

Enjoy!!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-03-10T06:51:00.001-08:00

So just to let you know, I did not do this on purpose. My son chose his baseball number all by himself...I just decided to run with it. Click if you need to enlarge it.

Okay some are confused, it's my blog address! lol

Tuesday Poll Day!

2010-03-09T06:36:00.000-08:00

So today is going to be like a two-parter...

The poll question will be about child birth. Did/will you use an epidural, go natural or have a C-section? I know some of my blog friends are pregnant or aren't yet, so they can vote on what they WILL do, or should I say WANT to do since sometimes a birth plan doesn't go...as planned. I made it so you are able to vote for each child.

For #1 and 3 I was induced so I felt no pain. With #2 I felt the contractions. I waited as patiently as I could for the epidural and I wanted to kiss the anesthesiologist when he was done...and he wasn't even cute. So because of those horrible pains (not trying to scare those of you that are pregnant) I am always in awe of people who choose to give birth naturally. Even though I think they are just a little crazy, I also think they are brave for sticking to their birth plan...even when they want to rip their partners arm off while pushing. I'd be like HELL no, hook me up now!! Last night at #2"s T-Ball game, a mom was telling me how she gave birth to her second naturally and the first words that came flying out were, "On purpose?" I couldn't believe that she wanted to do that AND do it again for her third! Sheesh! That's what I call brave!

The second part is where you can share your story with us. I would love to hear about your birthing "plan" and if it actually happened. Or if you're pregnant, what you "plan" to do. For those of you who have had a C-Section, you can share your story too!

5 Question Friday

2010-03-05T13:18:00.000-08:00

1. What's your guilty pleasure?

Okay this is kinda embarrassing...only because I am 30 and every time I mention this people laugh at me. EXCEPT for my blog friends who feel the same way I do...I LOVE Twilight. It's not just Twilight. It's Edward. Yup, Edward Cullen. My husband has been working nights so I like to watch my favorite parts of the movie when the kids are asleep. I sit there and fast forward to the good stuff. Okay so not EVERY night. But almost. *sigh* My husband can never read this. He will totally make fun of me.

Oh and I like to have a little glass of wine when the kids go to bed. I have no life so it makes me feel like a rebel.

2. What is your favorite TV series?

Well, I have a few. LOL When I'm not watching Twilight at night LOL, I watch Real Housewives, and 16 and Pregnant/Teen Mom. I just want to reach in the TV and take those little helpless babies that have shitty moms that just want to party. Oh and hello, I almost forgot the best show of all- All My Children.

3. Can you speak any foreign languages?

No.

4. How many pairs of shoes do you own?

I'm not a shoe person. I probably have about...15 pairs but I only wear 2. Flip flops and Costco brand "Uggs" that's it.

5. What's your favorite kind of M&M's...peanut, almond, straight up regular, etc.?

Peanut butter all the way.

10 Years

2010-03-05T12:51:00.000-08:00

My friend B-Dub tagged me. This is an interesting one. If only we could really control where we'd be in ten years. The world would be such a better place.

Here are the rules:

1. Post where you want to be in 10 years

2. Pass it on to 10 of your bloggy friends!

So here we go...

It ten years it will be 2020. Holy shit that's weird.

I will still be married to my best friend.

My kids will be 17, 14, and 11. Which means that in one more year #1 will be out of the house...I know, that's not how it works. They really stay forever, which would be fine with me.

I will freakin' be 40.

We will still be living in this same community.

I should have a job by then. Hopefully one that doesn't require much work, because I will still need to blog of course!

I will be due for some more "upkeep" which means I will be one perky 40 year old. If you know what I mean.

Hopefully everyone will be as healthy as we are now.

We will not have a #4 in the picture. No accidents please...

With that in mind...my husband will finally have gotten the vasectomy that I am begging for. Future post on that one.

I am going to tag all of you that visit my blog all the time. You know who you are and so do I. I always feel bad when I leave someone out so I don't want to only be able to choose ten. So make sure you comment back here so I can read about where you will be in ten years!!

Tuesday Poll Day!

2010-03-02T06:10:00.000-08:00

Good morning blog friends! I hope everyone is having a great week so far.

Todays poll question will be....

Are your parents married or divorced?

Thankfully, mine are divorced and have been since I was 14. I say thankfully because towards the end it was horrible. There is nothing worse than a child being scared to death of their parents getting divorced. Looking back on it, I wish they would have done it sooner.

I think it is so great/bizarre when I hear that someones parents are still married. Bizarre because that just doesn't really happen anymore. My best friends parents met on a blind date and have been together ever since! So cool! Anywho, if one or both of your parents have passed then vote based off of if they were married or divorced at that time.

Warning...future Tuesday Poll Day questions might get a little personal. This will only be because there are topics that my husband and I disagree on and to prove I am right, I will be doing a poll on them! So beware!

So Funny!

2010-02-25T08:01:00.000-08:00

My cousin sent me this video yesterday and I thought it was so cute! Check it out, you'll get a good laugh! Have a great day!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-02-24T06:42:00.001-08:00

Yes, she'll have some pancakes with her ketchup! Hey ketchup's a veggie, right?

Tuesday Poll Day!

2010-02-23T07:18:00.000-08:00

So eight years ago today my husband and I got married. We didn't have ANY money so we decided to do it in Viva Las Vegas. We went online and picked out a cheesy chapel to get married in. It was bright blue and ghetto as hell but we didn't care. When we got there we were told that the chapel had burned down months ago, but nobody told us this when we were booking it. So we ended up getting married in a building, a couple doors down from a few bail bonds locations. So yes, there are bail bonds signs in the background of our "wedding pictures" that were taken from a disposable camera. We joke now about how we should have done a drive through wedding with an Elvis impersonator but we didn't know then that almost a year to the day later that we would be having our first born in Memphis Tn. Would have been a funny twist in the end. No I am not putting up our ghetto wedding pictures because I absolutely hate them. I told my husband that for our anniversary I want to get pictures taken with just the two of us and then with our three kids.

ANYHOW, today's poll is....How many years have you been with your "better half" and I don't mean married. From the start until now. This is so that those who are not married yet can still vote by putting in their longest relationship. I would also like to hear about how many years you have been married in the comment section.

So for us it's been 10 years together. Here's to another 10!

It's Finally Over!

2010-02-22T19:05:00.000-08:00

So it seems like all last week was birthday madness for our daughter. Birthdays are so stressful. It starts with invites, people not knowing how to RSVP, goody bags, cake, food, UGH I'm glad it's over!

As you know in a recent post I asked you all what I should do about the parents that were bringing all of their kids to my daughters party. Well turns out some kids didn't show, so the siblings were all covered in our final headcount. We didn't go over our limit so it was all good. Phew!

Our daughter's birthday celebration started Saturday morning (the day of her actual birthday) with breakfast at her favorite restaurant.

A pic with my big SEVEN year old. Ugh I just made myself feel that much older. It's so sad that just seven years ago I was cradling her in my arms, now I'm bending down to her level to take a picture.

Then it was off to the nail place for her first manicure and pedicure with mommy and Ammy(MIL)!

Being seven is so HARD!

Time for cake!

Eating cake with her auntie and uncle.

And then presents!

And to top it all off, her uncle let her put make up on him! The make up was a gift form auntie and uncle. ~~I know you're reading this and I WILL get you back one day.~~ ...please don't mind the little boy on the right adjusting himself. That's what they do, some moms just don't get it on camera...

Now on to the birthday party...

Everyone had a great time. Some school friends showed up. They ice skated, pulled each other down because they HAD to hold hands, ate pizza and cake, just overall had a great time. It was all worth it in the end...kinda. Next year we are going to do something simple. Like all in one day simple.

Us, freezing our freakin' butts off!

Watching the hockey game, before the guests arrived. Totally out of order here.

#2's first time skating. Yes I put a helmet on him. He didn't need a mouth guard because his two front teeth are already dead from when he tripped and fell mouth first...I've already done a post on that one.

Birthday girls second time skating. She was doing really well in the end. I'm guessing she was about to fall in this one...

I never fell. Not because I know what I'm doing, but because I play it safe. No mom of three should ever be out of commision. Ever. Okay okay, I am that good. I owe it all to the hard hours of roller skating that I put in 20 years ago. I was once known as the Nancy Kerrigan on concrete, you know... ;) LOL

Tiger Woods' Public Statement

2010-02-19T11:20:00.000-08:00

So, I'm not really sure why there is so much chaos about this. He messed up and he is working hard to fix things with himself and his family. Big deal. People cheat on their spouses every day, not that it's right, but it happens. Just because Tiger Woods did it means that he has to make an apology to the world? What for? I don't know why people think he should apologize or even explain his actions. I don't care and I am not looking forward to the 5 o'clock news tonight. If I have to hear about this, I'd rather get the National Enquire's take instead of his. At least it would be more interesting.

Don't even get me started on the chick with the bad wig that was seated next to Gloria Allred after his apology. Gloria was fuming because Tiger didn't even acknowledge or apologize to the chick. She said that they were together for three years and spent a lot of time every month together. He also said that she has pleased him like no other has or will. PLEASE! Is she that stupid? Can we say, booty call? She was even crying about this! Disgusting.

So now that he did what the press wanted him to do and apologize, there was a need to bring out a body language expert?! And people are even bitching about how he read his statement and didn't memorize it. My husband thinks that he had someone write it for him. Even if he did, who cares. The world got what they wanted. Now can we move on to something more important already?

Of course I had a little fun with his statement...this isn't word for word because my son changed the channel and I can't rewind it now.

Tiger: I just wanted to say...stare into camera, 2,3,4,5 that I am deeply sorry.

I'm sorry. I know it was heartfelt but I couldn't take that whole sha-bang seriously.

Tuesday Poll Day...On A Wednesday

2010-02-17T05:50:00.000-08:00

I know, I know. I'm a day late on this one. I have a good excuse. I am jam packed with things all week and into the weekend. We are full of T-Ball meetings, practices and planning our daughters 7th birthday party! Talk about stressed.

So let me explain a little before I ask you the Tuesday Poll question. A couple weeks ago my daughter sent out birthday invitations to 11 of her friends at school. We are having her party at an ice skating rink. So far only three kids are able to go. ~~Hopefully more can't come~~ Two of them are bringing brothers and sisters...

It's already going to cost a pretty penny to do this in the first place. You pay for 12 kids and every kid over that will cost 14.00 extra...each kid. This is our first year inviting school friends to a birthday party, so we are new at this. Is it normal for kids to bring their siblings?? And am I supposed to pay for them too? I am already paying for each kids parent because what 7 year old can ice skate by with no help? So on top of each parent(at 14.00 each) am I supposed to pay for the rest of their family too? Can these people not find babysitters? What a horrible idea this is turning out to be. So here is my question, but before you answer let me remind you that the invitation said *child's name* NOT *child's name* AND family. Can you tell that if you side with them I might get a little upset?? LOL just kidding. Let me have it either way...

As hostess at my daughter's birthday bash, am I supposed to pay for ~~extra baggage~~ extra siblings that come along with the invitee?

Wordless Wednesday

2010-02-10T05:31:00.000-08:00

My husband and I took the kids to Legoland a couple weeks ago. I kinda made #2 go on this roller coaster with my husband and #1. I knew he kinda wanted to, that and I enjoy seeing my kids getting the crap scared out of them. Mean, I know.

Lets take a closer look at that one!

Tuesday Poll Day!

2010-02-09T06:20:00.000-08:00

So this one is going to be about plastic surgery. Have you ever had any type of plastic surgery? This includes a shot of botox, because I know some people don't count that. You can answer yes or no and comment if you want to.

I have had it done. I wasn't blessed with a "decent cup size" like the rest of the women in my family. It wasn't fair at all. So there.

If a doctor came up to you and said you could get any surgery for free what would you do?

I would do a Mommy Make-over. For sure. Especially if it's free. My three kids used and abused my mid section like they owned it for 9 months...okay maybe they did, but they didn't need to ruin me! Of course I wouldn't go all Heidi (or is it Speidi?) on myself, I'd just fix the necessary areas!

Lookin' forward to hearing your replies!

My New Sunshine Award!

2010-02-08T06:45:00.001-08:00

She's a beauty, isn't she! Thanks to Miss Angie over at agofish.blogspot.com for my cute Sunshine Award! Talk about making someones day!

The rules-

-Put the award on your bog or in your post
-Pass the award to 12 bloggers
-Link the nominees within your post
-Let the nominees know by commenting on their bog
-Share the love and link to the person who gave it to you!

Here we go!

*JMBerrygirl

*Carma

*Mandy

*bridget

*Julie

*Stacey

*Kimber

*Melissa

*MamaKat

*Murdocks Mama

*Jody

*Laura

Gosh this was hard!! So go check out these terrific blogs!

Not Me! Monday

2010-02-08T06:26:00.000-08:00

So, I haven't done a Not Me! Monday in I don't know how long. Feels like a few weeks. This week I have decided to do a Not Me! Monday...Twilight Edition. As you may have read a few posts back...that I just barely got into Twilight...and I'm hooked.

I have NOT been a horrible blogger this last week because I have been nose deep in the Twilight books.

I have NOT put two of the books on my IPod so that I can still do housework AND "read" my books. Also because the kids don't like when mommy does anything for herself, like sit down and read a book. This way, they think I am still at their beck and call. Sneaky, I know...

We did NOT have my SIL and BIL over on Saturday so that they could watch Twilight. They did NOT get hooked like us.

I am NOT a little embarrassed to admit to people that I am a Twilight fan, and yes I am embarrassed by this post. LOL

My husband and I have not seen New Moon yet (and we are NOT a little excited for it) and either has my cousin, SIL and BIL. So we did NOT plan a night to get a sitter and get together to watch it when it comes out on DVD.

While getting invitations for my daughters Birthday party at the party store I did NOT see Twilight paper plates and napkins that were 25% off on the end cap. I did NOT think it would be hilarious to buy some for our little get together. Curious to know if the 25% was already taken off the price tag I did NOT decide that it would be EXTREMELY embarrassing to ask the checker because I am 30 not 17 and by the smile on my face she would know they are for me, not my child.

Since I am already making a fool of myself, I will NOT admit a little more...

Edward is hot. So I guess I am a part of the "Team Edward" people.

I did NOT cry like a little baby while reading New Moon when he breaks up and leaves her. I did NOT cry like he was breaking up with ME and not her...What the hell is wrong with me?? That time of the month?? Lets hope so...

Tuesday Poll Day!

2010-02-02T06:51:00.000-08:00

So here we go with another poll. Again, sorry about last week. I had other crap going on. I have two good poll's stored up but lately I have been engrossed in a great book. Which leads me to today's poll.

Are you into the whole Twilight saga thing going on?

I know I am like a year or so late but my husband was doing his usual scan through the movie channels to record anything we haven't seen and he came across Twilight. He asked if we should DVR it and watch it later and I was hesitant. I wasn't too interested in the whole Twilight phenomenon going on. As always, I am about a year late when it comes to jumping on the bandwagon.

We watched the movie and as soon as it was close to being over we were like, Oh my gosh is the other movie out yet?? It was so good that I had to go buy the first two books yesterday. I am halfway through the first one and frustrated with these three kids at home that won't let me just sit and read all day. What do they want from me? Haha just kidding ;)

So anyway, I know from reading blogs that a lot of people are totally into it and the other half were like me. They just didn't get it. So go ahead and vote and feel free to comment on if you even liked the movie or the book better. I could do a whole blog post on that too!

pipl.com

2010-01-27T09:29:00.000-08:00

So here's how to remove yourself from this website.

Type in your name, once it opens click on your address. Once that opens then click remove from list. You'll have to type in a verification code and that should be it. It told me to wait one business day. So far they haven't removed me. I'll be waiting...

Ho-ly Crap

2010-01-26T20:54:00.000-08:00

So, I just noticed that someone found my blog off of a website called pipl.com. They typed in my name and every piece of info came up. WTF? I urge everyone to go to this website and type in your own name, there you will be able to take your information off of that website.

Sorry about not doing my Tuesday Poll Day post. I have had a lot going on with stupid people in my family that like to blame me for their stupidity. Yes it has to do with my Letters Of Intent post but I am now over and done with it. Sometimes you just have to cut people out of your life for a while until they get their crap together.

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

2010-01-21T16:04:00.000-08:00

I haven't seen it rain in California like this in a long time. I though I'd share some pics of what used to be our back patio. We live on a lake, but now the lake is REALLY in our backyard. So if you don't hear from me in a couple days it's probably because I floated away...

55!

2010-01-20T10:12:00.001-08:00

So, this morning when I signed on to my blog I saw that I have 55 followers!! F I F T Y F I V E ! How cool is that?! ***Insert happy dance here**

Tuesday Poll Day!

2010-01-19T11:54:00.000-08:00

So, I have decided to do a poll every Tuesday. I will have a new question every Tuesday and you can either vote, comment or both. You might feel the need to do both so that you can explain yourself!

When was the last time that you were able to shave your legs?

I need to explain myself on this one. It has been one week and four days. Sad, I know. When you are a mom you tend to have little time in the shower. Actually, little or NONE at all. I usually have one person in our family that likes to walk in on me and tell me things that can't wait until I am out. That or I have to put #3 in her high chair in the doorway and I feel bad shaving while she watches or screams her head off. Sometimes I can let her run free while I shower but that all depends on how well the kids are getting along. So who really feels like shaving their legs when you have someone walking in and getting the air all cold? Not me! Well, at least that's my excuse!

Not Me! Monday

2010-01-18T07:54:00.000-08:00

So this Monday I only have two NOT Me!'s. I think that's a good thing though...

#1 and I were talking about Martin Luther King Jr. the other day and so I put on a youtube video of him so she could hear his famous speech. #2 was watching as well and once he saw Martin Luther King he said, "That's Lion King Jr.?" I burst out laughing so hard and I did NOT correct him because I thought it was to cute!

I do NOT think Dr. Drew is effing hot. Okay forget the NOT. He is effing hot. There is something about his white hair and business suit that makes it hard for me to stop gawking at him on TV. Wow that sounds pathetic.

Letters Of Intent

2010-01-15T19:33:00.000-08:00

Dear youngest daughter and niece,

There is no nice way to say this, you both suck at sharing. I understand that you are only one year old and 6 weeks apart but come on! For the past three days I have been telling you both nicely to wait your turn and it has been making me crazy but I will not give up. I will not let either of you be bratty to the other and get away with it. I know by the third day you were both tired but that's no excuse. I refuse to let you be "that kid" that the other moms talk about. It irks me how you both make your body become instantly floppy so that I can't pick you up and then you continue to flop around while making a weird screech sound. You don't see me doing that when you shit your diaper and I am the only adult around to change you. LOL I totally pictured what that would look like if I really did that. And do we really need to swap sippy cups? That's just gross. I can't even count how many colds you have passed to each other on one hand. You both act like the other one has something better. I also don't like how you are both able to tell me, no. That word should be banned. No one year old should be taught that word.

I love you both, but I can't wait till you guys grow out of this stage!

P.S. Next time lets try not to shit three times each, okay?

Love, Mommy/Auntie

Wordless Wednesday

2010-01-13T05:31:00.000-08:00

Looks like she ~~got in a fight with~~ found the markers while I was busy blogging...

Yes, she is wearing a pink shirt with red pants. I tend to get a little behind on the laundry on the weekends! LOL

The Big 3-0

2010-01-12T06:28:00.000-08:00

So it's official. I'm now 30 years old. It's so weird being 30. It's sad and exciting at the same time. Sad because my twenties are over. I did everything in my twenties. I met my husband at 20, got married at 22, had my kids at 23, 25 and 28. Now that that chapter in my life is over, what do I do next? What will I do in my thirties? I hope they are as great as my twenties were. I think that hitting the big 3-0 and 5-0 are the biggest. Of course, so was 16, 18 and don't forget 21! I remember thinking 30 was old. Boy was I wrong. I truly believe that thirty is a persons prime, but then I will be saying that when I hit 40 too!

We celebrated my birthday a little early due to lack of babysitters. We went out to sushi and then came home and drank, danced and played corn hole. Here are a couple pics.

Me with my best friend/husband.

My best friends, Danielle, Kara/SIL, and Gina/cousin.

I would post more of the dancing and playing games, but I have to ask them permission first! LOL

Letters Of Intent

2010-01-08T14:23:00.000-08:00

Dear certain family members,

I am soooo tired of all of your drama. If you are going to talk about me in your stupid facebook status, then please have some balls to tell me instead. Only telling your side of the story is not right. How about not telling anyone who will listen in the first place. Trying to make me out to be the bad guy is a very bad decision. And having your big bad friend write me a nasty email about how shitty of a sister I am for not being there for you when your boyfriend beats the shit out of you over and over again and you continue to take it, is so wrong. There I said it. I have been dying to talk about this on here to my blog friends for a very long time now but was wary of how much personal info to share on here. But since my loving sister decides to spread our family drama on facebook, I might as well vent to my blog friends. When all of her drama started with this boyfriend she barely knew, I got a hold of his "baby mama" to see what he is really capable of. I did it to try to protect my sister. I did it so that she would see that it is a vicious cycle for this guy. I did it because I did not want her going back to him to get beat up again. Well that made me the bad guy. The "baby mama" and I have talked several times and are friends on facebook. I was there to listen to her and she was there to listen to me. Well that didn't go well when my "sister" found out. Which actually, I told her that I talked to her after this all went down but I guess the drama is running low at her house so she needed to start something new. When all of this happened she decided to blame everyone knowing on me. Right smack in front of this a-hole. She knows I was the last one to find out but she still blamed me. Maybe so he didn't find out that it was her and beat her up again? I have not talked to her in 8 months, until yesterday. After reading the letter that her friend sent me, I felt the need to defend myself even though I didn't need to. My sister thinks I am mad at her for being with this guy. I told her that staying with him is her problem. I'm done. I was there to drive 700 freakin miles round trip to pick her up only so that she could accuse me of stealing a pair of sunglasses. And once I got there, she changed her mind! What I am mad at her for is the fact that she has not talked to my kids that love her so much in 8 months. My 18 month old doesn't even know who she is. When she saw my sister at my Grandmas funeral she wanted nothing to do with her.

So maybe I'm wrong for telling you all this. Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut, but for some reason I feel like I can tell my blog buddies how I feel and you won't judge me. You'll just listen and give great advice like you have in the past.

Oh yeah, and to the family members that want to get mad at me for being a shitty sister, go kiss her ass some more. And while you're at it, ask her to start telling the truth from now on.

There I'm done. I got it out. Now I think I need a glass of wine.

Sincerely,
The shitty sister.

Put Your Foot Back In Your Mouth And Leave It There!

2010-01-06T08:31:00.000-08:00

So, what makes people think they can say stupid shit to you and get away with it? Someone said something to me two days ago and it is STILL bugging me. I wish I would have called this person out when I had the chance. Seriously though, is it because this person thinks they are that close to me that they can take a jab at one of my family members? Or is it that this person constantly needs to LOOK like the big dog. Because I have news for him.

So how do I get over this? This is always my problem. People do things that hurt my feelings and I never say anything, I just let it eat me up inside. No wonder why I am very good at acting like I like someone when really, I can't stand them. If you have suggestions on how to get over things and not let things but me so much, then PLEASE feel free to let me know!

Not Me! Monday

2010-01-04T07:22:00.000-08:00

I am not freaking out because I am turning 30 on the next Tuesday!! It's coming up fast!

While all five of us were sick with the flu, I did NOT secretly enjoy being in bed all day long. I also did NOT secretly enjoy the fact that everyone was to sick to talk and be rambunctious.

I am NOT still doing laundry from when we were sick last week. I do not have about 4 more loads.

I do NOT think its weird that my husband has a fascination with twitter. He did NOT get a twitter account yesterday. He does NOT follow me. I do NOT follow him. He has NOT been complaining that he has no followers. And I most certainly did NOT brag to him that I have 19 followers. I do NOT think that it's just weird.

Have a great Monday!!

Hell Has Unleashed It's Fury

2009-12-31T12:59:00.000-08:00

So it hasn't been pretty here lately. This is how our week has been. It will explain why I have been MIA.

Monday and Tuesday (Last week)
*Spent both days, at MIL's house. From morning till night.

Tuesday night
*Niece (that lives with MIL and who has been playing with my kids all day) then comes down with the flu...I think, oh crap she fed #3 with her fork...

Thursday (Christmas Eve)
*We find out MIL has flu. Christmas Eve dinner was then changed to my house. Anyone know where to find a decent sized Prime Rib last minute?? Hubby scored!

Saturday night
*MIL is fine. Christmas Eve dinner will be served at 4 at her house.
*Flu conversation comes up and MIL's sister asks if we have all been healthy and I say "Yes thank God, knock on wood." I will never say "knock on wood" again.
*Around 5ish, #3 decides to vomit all over the kitchen floor...and the front of the oven.

Monday
*In the afternoon we find out that FIL'S cousin AND BIL's mom both have the flu. I tell MIL man that sucks. Good thing we are all fine over here!
*6:30ish #2 starts complaining that his tummy hurts.
*7ish, #2 vomits all over bed. Spaghetti is ALL OVER the place, even his little face.
*8ish, vomit and child are cleaned up. Hubby and I are in bed talking about how it's going to be a long night with #2 puking every half hour.
*8:30ish Hubby and I both say, Oh shit I don't feel good...
*9:00 I am in my bathroom puking, husband is in the kids bathroom puking and #2 is in his bedroom puking in a bucket while yelling "MOMMY!" Sorry kid you have to sit there for a little bit because I now feel like **TMI alert** my ass is going to go next!**TMI alert over** Thankfully my MIL came early the next morning (Tuesday) to pick up #1 and 3 because they are both fine...and by (...) I mean for now.

Wednesday morning
*The three of us are now fine. Husband went to pick up #1 and 3 from SIL's house and brought them home.

Wednesday night
*#1 starts to complain of an upset tummy. %^$&!!!
*9ish #1 comes out of her room with vomit all over her face and hair. %$&%!!!

Over the last 6 days I have washed 3 comforters 2 times each, 2 different days now. Four sets of sheets also two times each. One mattress pad (I got smart and covered #1's bed with when she started complaining that her tummy hurt) 12 towels, I've thrown out a pillowcase, pillow, several pairs of underwear and pj bottoms, and two loofahs.

I hope you enjoyed the clean version of my week. Monday night was probably the worst night of my life. I felt so helpless because I couldn't even take care of my own kids. Seriously, what are the odds of three out of five getting sick the same night? And two of them are the parents. My freakin' luck!! Lets just hope we can't get the flu twice!

Here is a little clip that reminds me of monday night. Just fast forward to 33 seconds.

I hope everyone has a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Letters of Intent

2009-12-18T09:55:00.001-08:00

For more hilarious Letters of Intent, click HERE :)

Dear Idiots that don't know how to walk...particularly the people at Old Navy,

Are you really stupid? Do you really think that cutting off or stopping in front of a girl with two kids in a SUV Stroller (that's what I call my double stroller)is a good idea? I don't think you understand that when I woman pushes a SUV stroller it takes a great deal of force to get that thing going at a decent speed. That means that when you decide to stop all of a sudden, and I'm behind you...I'm gonna ram into your heels. And ALL you're gonna get out of me is, "Oopsy Daisy!" because I refuse to apologize for your stupidity. For those of you that think you have time to cut me off or dart across the aisle, think again. I am faster than you think. And when I run over your toes you better not shoot me dirty looks.

Sincerely,
The lady that ran right smack into you, and doesn't give a damn.

Dear Children,
I have four words for you. This may be hard for you to do, but try to listen carefully...

SANTA IS WATCHING YOU!!

Love,
Mommy

Wordless Wednesday...Kinda

2009-12-16T06:10:00.000-08:00

So after punishing the wrong kid, I realized I was wrong. He was telling the truth. This here was his big sister that wrote his name on the windowsill. She even wrote it like him- all caps except for the lowercase e on the end...can we say, testing mommy's patience??

Presents Schmezents

2009-12-15T13:32:00.000-08:00

So, I am feeling really bad. Last Christmas I was so excited to get the kids every last thing on their lists. This year, thanks to the economy, they are getting half the amount they got last year. I know they are not going to remember how much they got last year and they probably won't remember next year how much they got this year...still with me? But I still feel horrible. But really, how much is enough under the tree? Thankfully our 17 month old won't notice anything. I think that if you have a child under two or even three, it's like having a get out of jail free card! Sad to say, but it's true! Now I am curious to know how many is enough at your house. I am going to put up a poll on how many gifts each child in your home will get under the tree. You can either comment here or vote on the top left hand side of my little blog :)

So every time I get down about the amount of gifts I just tell myself that it's fine. They may not get a lot but they are healthy and that's all that matters. My heart breaks for all the families that will be waking up Christmas morning in a hospital with their sick child, or the ones that are stuck fighting this war when they could be waking up with their family.

What The?

2009-12-10T12:23:00.000-08:00

So today I found a picture that #1 made. I think she did it a few days ago. I took one look at it and wanted to put it down but couldn't stop looking at it! I love my daughter to death but the picture. is. so. FREAKY! I didn't want to tell her that and hurt her feelings so I lied. I flat out lied to my six year old. I said it was beautiful and I loved it...I just hope it's not a picture of me!

So here it is. I think she might have an eye for Art.
(Click to enlarge...if you dare)

Merry SITSmas!

2009-12-08T06:47:00.000-08:00

I am joining in on the fun over at SITS

Today we are sharing our Christmas cards! How FUN!

We took our Christmas picture last weekend at Snow Day. Our community brought in snow for all the kids to play in. They had a great time!

The kids at Snow Day

Ouch!

NO! Don't eat the snow! Wait...let me get a picture first!!

Not Me! Monday

2009-12-07T10:06:00.001-08:00

Monday already?!

While at our community's tree lighting ceremony I took a couple pictures of #2 in a fire truck.

I did NOT think it was a great idea for my SIL and I to hop on in for a picture too!
Her left, me right.

And I absolutely did NOT tell the "fighter fighters" that they could be in the picture. This did NOT all happen BEFORE I got buzzed off of a half a glass of wine...

We did NOT do a little wine tasting (one glass) with our children present...
Me left, her right.

There was not some weird random with his kid that was trying to get in this picture with my son and a horse. I know my kid is cute but jeez!...
Haha just kidding. Those two are with us!

I did NOT get these great shots of the Senior citizens in our community and their great fashion trends. I don't know what's worse. This woman's jacket and hat, or the lady behind her in the red cowgirl getup.

After my husband caught me taking those pictures my husband did NOT tell me,

Him- You're so mean

Me- What? It's for my blog...

After all that fun it was back to the norm, which is...

I did NOT have to wash one load of laundry THREE times because I kept forgetting that it was in the washing machine. Come on now, three times? Who does that?

Letters Of Intent

2009-12-04T05:22:00.000-08:00

Happy Friday bloggers:) It's time for Letters of Intent. Hop on over to myfourboys to link up and share your letter:)

Dear Screaming Child,

This crap that you pull every night has to stop. In three days you will be 17 months old and there is no reason why you can't sleep in your own bed. You start off in your own bed so why not stay there? Last night I let you cry/scream until you fell back asleep for a reason. I just can't share my bed with you anymore. ~~It's bad enough that I have to share it with your dad who snores all night long~~ So this crying crap has to stop. I am sure the neighbors don't want to hear you scream for an hour in the middle of the night. Actually they are not the only ones. Your brother and sister don't want to either. And your timing sucks too. I am tired of you waking up two hours after we put you down. You are putting a damper on mommy and daddy time. When you get in bed with us you kick us all night long. You fart in our faces. You toss and turn. I've had it and so has dad. Guess what? Tonight you will be crying yourself to sleep again.

I understand this is all my fault. You are our third and final child, so we spoiled you more than the other two by letting you be our "roomie" for so long. But when daddy moved your crib out, you were supposed to go with it. So now it's time to just cover our ears at night and get past this mess. I love you with all my heart.

Love,
Mommy...the one who can't wait till the day you call me with the same problem:)

Writers Workshop

2009-12-03T05:32:00.000-08:00

It's time for another Writers Workshop!

Choose a prompt, post it on your blog, and come back and sign Mr. Linky. Be sure to sign up with the actual post URL and not just your basic blog URL (click on the title of your post for that URL). For good comment karma try to comment on the three blogs above your name!!

The Prompts:

1.) Verse by verse, dissect a favorite song you had in 7th grade.

2.) List 5 must have gifts you are purchasing for a loved one this Christmas.

3.) Open letter to Santa Claus.

4.) Describe how you would celebrate the holidays if it was totally up to you and money was not a factor.

5.) Book review time! What winter read has you snuggled in and turning pages?

This week I was going to do number three but then decided that I could go on and on so I changed my mind. I am going to do number four.

Describe how you would celebrate the holidays if it was totally up to you and money was not a factor.

Okay so I just did a big long post on how I would decorate the house with a million lights, have a big dinner and all of that. I even changed it up and had a different idea. But then I realized I don't want to change anything. I like the way we do Christmas every year. I would just add more gifts for the kids and grandparents. That's all. As long as everyone is healthy then I don't care about adding more.