A Womb at the Inn (sane): I can see the mountain top!

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moving

I am moving over to wordpress so that I have the option to keep some posts private.
Of course tempting-fate was taken so I am now random laughter. I am still getting hte hang of things over there. I HATE reading any FAQ's or help sections so I am just changing and fixing as I figure it out :)

sooo

We never got the directv. We didn't realize that the only way to get it upstairs was to A. Run wires from the dish through the house or B. Cut a hole in the screen and run them along the exterior wall and then in the master's window (another hole) and still running a wire all the way across the room. Since we didn't want wires all over the place and the HOA will not allow wires on the exterior not to mention we don't want holes in the screens, we decided not to get Directv. Which is sad for us. We have had it before and I love all the channels. We also got rid of the AT&T since they weren't supposed to connect it in the first place but did anyway. They tried to charge me the connection fee even though I didn't request service and they would not waive it. I filed a complaint with the BBB and AT&T has agreed I should not be charged since it was their error that they connected service.

School is going well for James. He still has trouble keeping quiet but he has not thrown one tantrum, knock on wood. He still gets a little huffy at home but not nearly as often as before. We had open house last night and J says he doesn't like James' teachers. His judge of character is usually spot on but I disagree with him on this one. They seem enthusiastic and like they really enjoy teaching. I think he didn't like their tones of voice. They were a little cheesy but who isn't in that type of situation. I can tell you right now that when I said "hello, how are you????" it was not in my "normal" voice. Most everyone does it. J included. He doesn't speak slang in front of his boss so why would teachers do anything other than be super cheerful? They want us to be as excited as they are. Think of it as a pep rally.......... In the end I am still happy with his class and the way they do things. And again it is a smaller student/teacher ratio than the single teacher classrooms that are now up to 25 kids.

The "gifted" testing was done this week and while I know James excels in most areas I don't think he will test well, he usually forgets everything he knows when test day rolls around. I would, as everyone else would theirs, love my son to be "exceptional" but I think he's more of an ordinary smart. And that's just fine with me. His daddy of course expects him to be a genius and even tried to talk to him about it. I changed the subject fast and J just gave me "what is with you?" look. I would love for James to move ahead but if he doesn't I don't want him to feel bad. I did not mention what the test was for just that they (all 2nd graders) would be taking it. I don't know if everyone will get results or just those that are "exceptional."

I have been out of sorts. It's hard for me to be in the house and deal with the boys 24 hours a day. As with all mothers, this is a full time job with no day off. But unlike most mothers my emotional/mental stability has always been in question. I have a hard time with noise, among other things. So when Christopher is screaming and James is chattering away and J has the TV on full blast I tend to lose it. I know I look like a basket case but I can't help it. You can usually find me hiding in the closet. J knows and tries to understand. It's especially hard for me to climb out of the hole. Once I get to a certain point I shut down. Like now. And J is not sensitive to it at all, which makes it worse. I feel like every time I open my mouth he is belittling or chastising me. J would say I was over reacting but I am not so sure.

I have started walking. Not only to I need to lose 70 pounds ;) but I think it might help me feel better. As of now I fear that if I don't do something soon it will be full blown depression and I don't want to go through that again. I try to get out 3 days a week for an hour but lately it's been raining. I went out on wednesday and am trying to go in a little while if the weather holds. It's cloudy and gray but hopefully the rain will hold off.

I hate at&t

I'll be at home waiting for Directv to come install our new dish today. Once complete we will have NFL Sunday Ticket and I will be hiding upstairs until football season is over! I HATE FOOTBALL. But on the upside we got a really good deal on it and ALL the channels. I am not sure how I will feel about it when it goes back to the normal price but for now I am excited. I also tried to change my Internet service to AT&T but it is becoming such a pain in the ass that I may scrap it and keep the cable Internet. I can't get a DSL connection and I have been holding for 30 minutes waiting for tech support. That tells me that they A. don't have enough employees or B. They have too much trouble with their connection. I am sure they are going to say it's my phone line and since I didn't get the insurance they will charge me to come look at. I am going to call back in about ten minutes (since I am still holding) and ask how to return this crap.

School is school. James still can't keep his mouth shut, I still HATE the "card" system, and J still hates having to deal with us both about it ;) James' teachers are nice enough and actually write in his planner when he has to flip. His other teacher didn't do this even when I asked her what happened. She would just go into an explanation of how the system worked. I understand that completely but I wanted to hear from her what was going on. We'll see how it goes. DAMN AT&T I am still on hold.

Christopher is up on all fours crawling but when he wants to get somewhere fast he still reverts to the army crawl. He is pulling himself up, sitting up and is all over the place. He's pretty cute to watch but not at four in the morning, which is when he wakes up screaming and inconsolable. I don't know what's going on with him but I am starting to lose it. It's hard to go from sleeping through the night to crying for an hour or two. J has come to my rescue a few times but only when he realizes I am at the end of my rope and will soon hang myself. I don't know why but my nerves can not do that type of crying, which makes me feel like a bad mother in the end. OH MY GOD AT&T. They just came on the line to say that the systems were down and to call back in 30 minutes. I had been holding for 45. That's it, I'm done.

Tropical Storms and NO school

J has been out of school since wednesday for TS Fay. Wednesday was mild and nothing really happened but they needed to get all the schools ready to turn into shelters. Thursday was rainy and windy and today was terrible. There was a lot of rain and 40+ mph winds. St Augustine and the Riverside area flooded out and more than a few roads were underwater. There were tons of accidents because most businesses did not close and people were required to work. Wind is no joke in our beautiful city of bridges and expressways and the result was people losing control of their vehicles when they shouldn't have been on the road in the first place. Of course J had to work and today I was very concerned. The only way to avoid using the bridges was to go into the parts of town that were very flooded. I did not think he'd make it but he hasn't called to say he's stuck. There was some tornadic (I love that word) activity in our area but nothing touched down in the projected area that is 5 minutes from us. I was not nervous until they said they expected a tornado to touch down so close to us and am so glad it didn't.

James only had two days of school and had to flip a card for talking too much. He has been restricted from the tv but decided he needed to be a smart mouth to me so he has no toys either. Luckily I still have some Summer Bridge workbooks so that's what we've been doing the last three days.

Christopher is 7 months old and sitting up on his own. It's very cute. He also says da-da all the time. He holds his own bottle and sleeps throught the night. He caught his very first cold and has been cranky and off his schedule. Hopefully it will clear up soon because I am going crazy between the two of them.

I guess that's all the news.....

You've been warned

I was mad and now I need to vent.

First of all if I don't sit within two feet of the thingy (anyone know what it's called) for my wireless keyboard/mouse they don't work. Anyone have any idea as to why. Forget new batteries, that's been done. It really pisses me off because I am staring at a 32 inch screen. That's hard on the eyes.

So I know I never went into detail about Circuit City and as I am no longer in the heat of the moment there will be less curse words. We ordered a TV online to be picked up at the store. The computer "knows" what's in stock and where. So 45 minutes after we place the order we get a phone call. It's a really good thing we didn't go to pick it up in the 24 minutes they say it will be ready. They don't have the TV so James inquired about the $24 gift card they offer if the item is not ready. The "manager" said it didn't pertain to this situation. J inquired further because he had the fine print right in front of him. She got snippy and I called online customer service trying to resolve the situation. We REALLY wanted the TV. There was already a hold on my debit card for the amount. I did not want them to run it a second time, even though we had the money for it to hold twice the card had been authorized already so why do it again. Customer service assured me it wouldn't happen, that they would make an exception and hold the TV at another store, etc, etc. So J drove 45 minute to pick it up and guess what? they have to swipe my card again. Not such a big deal. Because I work(ed) at a bank I know how these things work and how to get around it. I had the temporary hold deleted. Now for all of you who are thinking of how to get a hold deleted I will warn you that it will NOT be done for you and if by some miracle you too "know" someone at the bank it will only delete the hold. If the merchant presents it for payment the bank will honor it. So if you spend the money you're screwed, now back to Circuit City. Guess what now? Those idiots presented it for payment. Bastards. I called and disputed the charge and they refunded it but damn! I will NEVER shop there again. PS. The customer service supervisor was a total bitch about the whole thing. I guess no one has ever taken $4000 out of her account for a $2000 TV......

OK so today I was finishing up my shopping for the big party tomorrow. At 4:45 I get a call from BJ's saying the don't have the right color icing for my cake. WTF? I ordered it more than a week ago. So I call to find out what's going on and the woman says all she has is baby blue. The cake is a Dallas cowboys cake. Baby shower blue ain't cutting it. So I asked her what they could do, if they had grey, anything. She offered to do the trim in white, again WTF? and then she was stumped on the writing. I asked if I brought royal blue coloring could she add it to her icing and of course give me a discount. "Sure," she said. So when I get there shit hits the fan. The cake is already trimmed in white and they refuse to give me a discount. I asked for a manager and I got some 12 yr old named Tad, who just happened to be another bakery clerk. He called the manager, whispered behind the bakery door, and came out to say "unfortunately we can't discount the cake because we have that color in stock blah blah blah." I bit my lip and restrained from using the f word and grabbing him by the throat. I ranted about wasting 45 minutes, gas and money buying the stupid coloring. He said "well you can return the coloring" Is that the point I was trying to make you dumb little shit? I asked for the manager again and he said that the manager was who he spoke to. And that's when I told him to keep his fucking cake and I would go elsewhere. I was so mad I was shaking and decided to go to the front and ask for the manager. I got a very nice lady who offered to take care of the situation. When I went back to the bakery and told them little Tad looked at me with contempt and then walked over to the manager that wouldn't do anything before. That bastard came over and said "we normally don't discount cakes if you want a special color" Woahhhh buddy back up. I snapped "well if you had come over here and spoken with me when this started you would have known that the problem wasn't a special order color." I yelled the whole story, including "I still have the fucking voicemail" and he apologized and said he had been misinformed on the situation. That's what happens when the manager tries to hide out. Hell I have done it plenty of times at the bank. But anyway. In the end I got the cake for free, free pizza for dinner, and an apology. But I won't renew my membership. Oh and the cake is ugly as hell and if it hadn't been free I would not have paid for that they gave me. The writing is worse than a 2ND graders. The girl whispered, I am so sorry but I am new. Hmmm explains the shitty cake decorating skills.....

IN GOOD NEWS: My sweet baby James is now seven (08/15) YIKES! I really can't believe it and it makes me kinda sad. We had school orientation today and I left feeling excited about the upcoming school year. His class is what they call a "mixed" class. Meaning they have 36 students and 2 teachers. The single teacher classes have 26 kids, so we get a much better student/teacher ratio. I have heard mixed reviews on these classes but I don't think it will be an issue for us. James is in class with his bf John and I LOVE it. At the beginning of 1st grade I thought John was a trouble maker, but I was so wrong. He's a sweet little boy, a lot like James. The teachers seemed so confidant and I think we'll be OK. The first order of business will be explaining who James is and how he reacts to things. I am pretty sure that this will help any future situations. So far this summer there haven't been that many tantrums. Hell almost none, and it's not just because it's summer. he pulled that tantrum crap at home too. School starts on Monday. Expectations are high. Keep your fingers crossed.

We are having a joint party for Jx2 tomorrow. Family and a few close friends. I am going to take cupcakes to school instead of having a kidd-do party for James. It's a good thing we decided not to do a school party. I had no idea that he would be in such a large class. Can you imaging a party with 36 kids, YIKES!

Christopher said Da-Da today. and then giggled hystericaly. Now he will say it once and then grin, giggle, and say it again. I am not sure if it will last but it's damn cute!

I guess that's about all. Thanks for reading.....

if only he were here

J always tells me I need to let my sneezes out. I am not sure why I hold them in. Maybe it's because I am not a big fan of spit spraying everywhere. Well anyway.... I just sneezed and of course I held it in. Didn't work this time. Not only was there spit but there was snot too. Oh GOD, how gross.

boy oh boy

I never realized how much weight you gain during your period. I have never stepped on a scale during mine but I made the mistake the other day. The scale took my awful 20 pounds and turned it into 30. I spent the night curled up in a pitiful fat ball. Today the scale is back to 20, which is still terrible but not nearly as bad as 30. Hopefully cutting back on junk and going back onto the eating plan I had during pregnancy will help. How come I had so much self control while that little boy was in my belly then now? Before I didn't dare eat more than a recommended portion for fear of hurting him but now that it's just me I don't give a crap. I need to work on that!

My burn is much better and the scarring isn't too bad. I don't think it'll be noticeable and besides it's on the inside of my wrist. But now I am having a lip issue. I misplaced my 20 tubes of chapstick and lip gloss and my lips are screaming for moisture. I was tempted to put butter on them awhile ago. They are cracked and dry and ugly. Bahhhh.

J and James are celebrating birthdays. My husband is getting old and I don't like it. And James is 7????? What's that about? We are having a party for them this weekend. I try not to speak ill of his family but no one RSVP'd. I mean how hard is it to acknowledge the email invites I sent out. Is it too much to click "reply" and type "we'll be there" And to top it off not a single one of them called to wish J a happy birthday. Well except his out of town Aunt. And they wonder why we're not all lovey dovey and inviting everyone to everything. Ignoring birthdays hurts my heart. Birthdays, and all major holidays, are important and a big to-do in my family. It's hard to adjust.

We got James' school info today and the teacher sent a list that is completely different then the one they sent at the end of the year. I ended up spending $30 more just to get what was on her list. I was a bit mad but what can ya do? But now we're DONE. No more supplies, no more clothes. School starts in a week and we can't wait. James wants to get back to riding the bus and seeing his friends, who care about learning!

And that's all folks.

Things are a little crazy around here.

So first. J FINALLY got his bonus check. 18 months late. He drove as fast as he could to the local electronics stores to price humongous TVs. Then we priced them on line and found one that was a really good deal at circuit city, who screwed up terribly and I will NEVER shop there again. (the rant is a post in itself so I will save that for later). We purchased the t.v. and moved the other one into the middle room (it's between the two bedrooms, a landing I guess, but not a den)

I had the genius idea to hook my PC up to it and get rid of my ancient monitor.




Well, it's huge and I have to sit FAR away!



We've searched hi and low to find the perfect sofa/love seat/chairs but can't find a thing I am in LOVE with. So this is what I am sitting/typing on.


Yes it's an old writing desk. My sister found it in someones trash. I don't know how I ended up with it, since they are in Ohio, but my dad refinished it and brought it down. For some reason my wireless keyboard/mouse aren't working too well and it's driving me crazy. Not to mention that my butt is numb and the keyboard is all over the place without a proper tabletop. But I guess it's better than the squeaky folding chair I was sitting on.

The room was wonderfully clean and then all of a sudden a laundry hurricane and a cat hit it.









These two are thick as thieves.




This one crawls now and has to be watched like a hawk.



He also enjoys getting my hair.




And this one sneaks my camera to take self portraits.



He also likes taking pictures of the cat.





This is the burn I got while searing a pot roast. Me cooking? Crazy I know, and this is what I get for trying.




J was on vacation and we did nothing, which is fun and boring at the same time. It wasn't planned. The company said if you don't take it we're not paying it out to you once the sale is complete and the new company isn't going to roll it over.




I've gained 20 pounds and hate myself. These are my new best friend and they are quite delicious!





I am sure the extra weight is from eating ice cream every day. Thanks J. I really appreciate that you were so thoughtful and bought me my own half gallon on several occasions. I am entertaining the idea of working out. I don't want to be Ms. Fatty McButterpants (king of queens) So I bought some new shoes and have grand ideas about hitting the treadmill or maybe the pavement once school starts again. It's nearly impossible to do with the boys, I have tried.

And now I must get back to the thieves. One is crying and the other one is ignoring him.

A busy day.

We were out all day yesterday. First we had Christopher and James' pictures taken. I went to Penny's since I didn't feel like shelling out $100 for photos. I had a couple of coupons and in the end only spent $10. I don't mind that it takes two weeks or the pictures aren't nearly as fantastic as the expensive place. We had lunch and then decided to go to the mall to kill time before his Dr's appointment. I picked up a few things for Christmas (it's only 5 months away you know!) and J bought some clothes. Off to the Dr. I was not planning on getting his immunizations since I could get them free at the H.D. But they gave me a discount on the office visit and the shots were $10 with no admin fee so really I only spent $25 more than I had originally planned. I could have saved $50 by going to the health department but the shots are technically $10 there too. Depending on how nice they're feeling they might not charge you but I didn't want to spend my whole afternoon down there. I am still miffed that the Dr's office wouldn't do anything about the last visit. I still owe them the $369. I am making payments but they can only get as much as I can afford each month and it'll take me a few to pay it off. And if they were decent enough to adjust it I could pay it in full. Assholes.

I had planned on going to Babies R Us and Walmart today but it's raining and I have yet to buy the golf umbrella that has been on my mind the last three months. It is not easy to keep anyone dry with the little one I have now. So Christopher is napping, I am doing laundry and James is watching cartoons.

Lane Bryant. It's a love/hate relationship

It's the only place I can shop the majority of the time. But lately I hate going in there. What pisses me off the most is they know damned well those mannequins they dress are not a size 14. They use the same ones every other store uses so I am going to assume it's around a size 6 or so. The smallest shirts they have are pinned beyond belief, you don't ever wanna buy something off their mannequins even if it a must have last one in your size! Everything looks so cute until you hit the dressing rooms. Bastards. Besides the fact that I cringe at a $40 shirt, everything is so flashy. I don't want sequins, beads, pearls and loud prints. Just because I am plus sized doesn't mean I need to wear a sandwich board screaming it. And if the shirts aren't all jazzed up then they look like maternity shirts. Anyway I walked outta there with three flashy shirts and some new Bermuda shorts. I wouldn't have bought the shirts but they were black and the flash was also black which makes it a little less in your face. Maybe it's there way of saying, "get your lazy ass up and exercise, then you wouldn't even be in here!"

Sorry, we've been at the pool.

No I didn't fall off the face of the earth but I am thinking about. Things have been a little stressful. J entertained the idea of a new job and even went so far as to accept it verbally and then went dumbass and decided to stay with the company that screwed him. His point is that the company that just bought them out seems strong and well ran. I say fuck em. The new company may be all wonderful and shit but the vacation they earned for this year will not roll over and all employees will be considered new hires. That means no vacation. No 401-k for 90 days. and no benefits for 30 days. (not that the benefits meant much to us)

I am currently on the phone with my employee HR. It especially pissed me off when the rep said she locked me out of my "account" because my security question answers were wrong. Ummmm hello I don't even work there. I have no way to reset that shit. When she went into the policy and procedure and nothing she could do speech (which we are not supposed to say) I asked for her supervisor. They don't really need the security questions. It's just a formality and a huge pain in the ass. So the problem is Metlife has denied a claim for James since december. Since december I have been calling both companies to fix it. no matter how many times my HR updates it metlife says they didn't. So I sat on the phone for 45 minutes while the supervisor emailed it off again (damn I should have had her copy me on that email) and then actually called metlife, which is what they said they were doing two weeks ago. Metlife says HR has never contacted them. I don't believe it. So by end of business it should be correct and the dentist can stop hounding me for the $500 I DON'T owe them. Cross your fingers!

Christopher cut his first two teeth and is sleeping better every night. He has a doctor's appt tomorrow and 6 month pictures.

James is mostly ready for 2nd grade. We got his backpack, lunchbag, and most of his clothing and supplies. I say in all we only spent about $100 (I am the clearance queen)

We are having a dinner party for the joint birthdays in August and I have a closet full of presents.

pardon the bad typing Chris is attacking my hands and keyboard.


i think that's about it.

Back to the dailies

I unpacked one of two bags last night. The last one is easy, all Christopher's clothes and such.

Christopher didn't wake up until 5am. He actually slept through the night. He also put himself to sleep at nap time yesterday and today. I think his two week vacation did him some good ;)

James is watching TV. It will be turned off starting next week. I am not crazy enough to say no TV at all! He just doesn't need to watch 12 hours of it. We have his summer "bridge" workbooks to do among other things. The pool has been quiet lately but we don't usually go on the weekends until after 5. I try to go when the sun is setting and everyone else is getting ready for dinner. The water is so warm that even I don't mind getting in.

I got my hair done in Ohio. I will try to find a before shot because the after is FANTASTIC. I went to my Mom's hairdresser and she cost a small fortune. It was well worth it because I couldn't give her an exact shade of blond and when she was done it was exactly what I wanted. I haven't been that happy about myself in a long time. Of course I will have to go to supercuts or somewhere else cheap for the upkeep.

Laundry is calling my name.

Home sweet home

It's good to be back in my own bed and not wearing pajama's!

Ohio was lovely but everything is changing and I didn't like it.

-The new school behind and next to my parent's house is almost finished. It sits on their property line and lights up our 1 acre back yard. HATE it!

-Our 100 year old Buckeye tree's limbs came crashing down in a storm and smashed my mom's car. We had two and they were the most beautiful trees. Mom had both of them cut down before they smashed the house. They were probably the only two in the city of the state nicknamed buckeye. Of course buckeye trees can be a pain. The buckeye's in their spiky husk, the nuts themselves, the husks when they get dry, brittle, and stuck in your heel, the heavy leaves that fall all autumn long. But they WERE beautiful and it was like cutting away my childhood.

-Dunkin Donuts was a stupid effing check cashing place, wtf?

But we had fun too!

-We spent the first two days playing in/at the river. It was cold so I didn't go in but everyone else is used to cold water and enjoyed themselves.
-We spent father's day at my sister's community pool. Again the water was COLD but there were water slides and it was great. The day itself was hot and we grilled in the pavilion. My sister and I sunned ourselves, read and ate a whole bag of cookies. No problem for her skinny self but I swear I gained ten pounds!
-We went to the children's museum which was heaven for the kids and hell for the parents.
-My sis and her BF took James to the history museum while Mom and I went to a baby shower. The shower was slow moving and we snuck out long before the cake.
-We grilled out at home while my sister gave dad, her kids and husband haircuts. I said "it's summer, who cares if you screw up? give James one too!!" I was tired of picking out his hair each morning. My sister was concerned as she was not used to cutting his type of hair and gives the most basic of haircuts. It turned out just fine.
-We went to Niagara Falls, NY and it was great. I have never been and it was a nice change from the touristy Canadian side. The view of the falls wasn't as good but we walked the gorge under/into/around the American Falls. We got soaked and took a lot of pictures with my sister's new waterproof camera. We also rode the Maid of the Mist. This is my favorite thing to do but we always missed the season by a day or two.
-James and I went to the Farmpark and he loved every minute of it. We went to all the demonstrations we could and he LOVED grooming the horse. They brought out a mini and we were the only ones there so James got to groom for 30 minutes. He would have done it longer but I felt bad for the little guy having to stand there. We didn't get to see everything because I forgot to bring a bottle for Christopher.
-We took a gazillion photos of our old elementary school. The new one is the eyesore behind my mom's house. It was the three of us and my dad as cameraman. We laughed a lot and it is captured in each frame. Even though I look like a cow I will cherish those photo's forever.

Of course there was much more and TONS of pictures. The disks we had were defective so I couldn't bring any home with me. I am waiting for my dad to burn them and drop them in the mail.

In Christopher news: He rolls over, does push ups and is trying to crawl, seems to be getting teeth bumps, sleeps only on his belly and no matter how many times I roll him onto his back he turns right back over, and is almost sitting on his own.

Talk about being screwed.

Yeah I am on vacation but it's turned not so great. I lost my driver's license. The only place I had it out was at the damn grocery store. I ordered a new one but it takes 7-10 days just to get it to my house and then another day or so to get here. FUCK. So I thought maybe I could just get an ID here. WRONG. If I get any id here it will forfeit my FL DL. FUCK again. I guess I will get to the airport super early and let them subject me to the "extra" screening they do if you don't have valid ID. GREAT!

PS. Is there anything more annoying then someone stands over your shoulder every time your on the Internet and says "whatcha doing?" LEAVE ME ALONE.

Hi, I'm a moron.

I saw My Blog Log on Kadi's blog. I liked it and joined but I can't for the life of me figure out how to put the code in my layout. Can someone take a look at the actual website and tell me what I need and where to put it? If it is more than just telling me how then only one of you that I would trust with my password are probably wizzy enough to do it. So that leaves you Amy! Thanks bunches, lol!

I'll be up at 3am how about you?

Tomorrow is the big day. I am VERY nervous. The plane is full so that means no extra seats. Either there are less planes in the sky or more people flying. I am sure I will get some dirty looks, I wish you butt holes without (or with) children would keep your looks, eye rolling, and heavy sighs to yourself. Do you think it's any more fun for me to have a baby screaming in MY ear? No it's not, so fuck off and leave me alone. Ahhhh I haven't flown with a baby in 6 years and I can guarantee that my patience is a lot thinner these days. James was a very good baby and never cried! I still got the looks. One lady even said "he's not going to cry is he?" She moved her seat and I got the row to myself. James didn't make a peep! Cross your fingers that all goes well. See ya in Ohio. YAY!

This is how I foward emails.....

Do you want an OBAMA 08 bumper sticker? Read on!

"Dear MoveOn member,

Amazing news: We smashed our goal and have given away over half a million Obama bumper stickers!

Since folks are so enthusiastic about showing their support for Obama, we're going to open this up to everybody. That's right: We'll give a free bumper sticker to every American who wants one.

Can you take a moment to forward this email to your friends, family, and colleagues and let them know that they can order a FREE Obama bumper sticker? (If you haven't ordered yours yet, you can do so at the link below, too.)

Free Barack Obama bumper sticker, courtesy of moveon.org

If hundreds of thousands of us order these stickers and place them somewhere visible, we'll show voters in every town how excited we all are about Barack Obama.

These stickers are great even if you don't have a car. You can put them on your bike, laptop, ice chest—really, anywhere.

Forward this email to your friends, family, and colleagues so they can order theirs—or click below to order one for yourself if you haven't already.

Thanks again for all you do.

–Nita, Peter, Daniel, Karin and the MoveOn.org Political Action Team
Monday, June 9th, 2008

P.S. If you'd like to share this with your Facebook friends, add the group "Join this group to get a free Obama bumper sticker from MoveOn" and then invite all your friends. It's one of the fastest-growing groups on all of Facebook right now:

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Playlist

If you happen to have your volume on you will hear my VERY country playlist. I don't only listen to country music but that's the direction this one went in. The one I have on Myspace is much more a hodge podge of all genre's. Anyway just thought I would explain. Why?

I can't go on like this

So I never got out of my pj's. I tried but unsuccessfully. I figured we would head to the pool around three. Ummm Christopher and I fell asleep until five o'clock. I shook the cobwebs from my head and made dinner. What a waste of a day. I promise (to myself) that I will not spend the summer in my pj's and let James rot in front of the t.v.

(B)James works all weekend but if off Sunday and Monday. It's nice that we'll have two days together before we head off to Ohio. I really can't wait now and our bags are all packed. The only things left are the everyday items that will get thrown in last minute. The diaper bag is packed and I am going to buy a new carry-on tomorrow. Not that I need one but I found a fantastic purse that is huge and wonderful for a plane ride! James' carry-on is almost ready to go. I have a few more things to add and then we're ready to board! Our flight leaves at 6am so we will have a very early day. Not that it matters. Christopher usually has me up at 3:30 anyway!

It's over

Today was J's last day of 1st grade. They got out at noon and I was still in my pj's when he got home. He was quite surprised and then said "ohhhhh it's still morning." What a cutie. In reality I was just too tired and lazy. I finally showered around one o'clock. We went to Karate and Target so James could get a treat. His dad told him if he had a good week he would give him a surprise. James took that to mean a new toy. I am wondering why his Dad chose to do this on the last and easiest week of school. James chose a power ranger which will soon end up with the other power ranger toys he has. His report card was good. He got an E in Math, an S+ in Communications, and an S- in Conduct. They don't get separate grades for everything and I am always confused as to what all is under Communications. It's not like when I was little and there was a grade for everything we did except lunch.

I look forward to a fresh start in second grade. Hopefully the temper tantrums will finally cease. If not we will roll with it just like the last two school years.

Going to bed.

I bribed James tonight. I told him he could stay up until 9pm if he didn't act like an idiot while we shopped. Now you might be concerned that I just called him an idiot. I didn't. He just acts like one from time to time, mostly when we are at the mall. And no I didn't say that to him. I just asked him to behave.

The mall was a bust. Except for the 5 pack of Carter's Onesies that I got for free. They were on clearance for $10 and I had a $10 off a $10 purchase coupon. SCORE! These are the same onesies that I was going to buy at Ross the other day but something told me not to. After the mall we headed to a different Target which was also a bust. Except for the $1 off a $1 food counter coupon I found in my cart. FANTASTIC, because James wanted a drink. SCORE again! And then we headed home with nothing more exciting then our two freebies.

I made James tacos while he played outside with the neighbors. I begged him not to go because their Daddy just got home from doing his soldierly duty for the past year. Seriously, he's been gone a freakin year. I figured they would want to be alone (I would) but they were totally cool about it.

Christopher fell asleep screaming. I tried to read him a bedtime story but he was having none of it. I just kept reading until he eventually fell asleep.

James came up to bed at 9pm but then we ended up reading a few stories. He wanted me to read the Beatrix Potter collection we have but I vetoed that one fast. The stories are so long. I told him to go to sleep. He didn't. I told him again and this is how he responded. "I just fall asleep, it's not like I can force myself to." It was so funny, I wish I had it on video. He has since fallen asleep and is out like a light.

Killing time

I am going shopping but wanted to wait for the mail first. Yeah I LOVE getting the mail. Weird, I know! And the mall doesn't open until 10 anyway.

While we were waiting I was balancing my checkbook and this is what Chris was/is doing.













James' mattress is still out and it comes in quite handy ;)

What's more annoying

than a screaming baby at 4am? You're asshole of a husband telling you the baby's crying as he slips back into bed rather than going to check on the baby himself. I haven't been that mad at him in awhile but at that moment I could have punched him in the mouth. Instead I snarled at him, whipped back my covers back and slammed our door. And now even though I should go take a nap I have other things to do, mainly take a shower. I have my chores to finish up and then I need to find a few modest shirts to wear. I got some cute t-shirts but Christopher pulls on them until everything is showing so I am aiming for something less baby friendly. We went to Target last night and they didn't really have anything I liked so I am going to try Ross and then Dillard's as a last ditch effort. I am hoping they will have some good clearance racks.

A little switch-a-roo

So James made the executive decision to move the crib into Little J's bedroom. This meant breaking down both beds. FUN! By the time we were finished with all the cleaning and moving of Chris' crib no one was in the mood to do it again for L.J. We figured we would try it out and if need be one of us could trade bedspace with L.J.






It went ok until midnight when C woke up. He was whining at first which soon turned into wails. I couldn't console him and he was waking everyone. James decided L.J. couldn't sleep in there, but didn't want to share the bed with him (even w.out me)so he pulled his mattress off and put him in the middle room. Eventually C quieted down and didn't wake again until he was ready to eat.

Banking

I have been with my bank for 8 years. I also worked for them. I never thought to have an account anywhere else as I was a person who had very few issues and didn't need bells and whistles.

Last month I decided to open an account with a different bank just as a way to stash money. I chose Compass because they were giving away a free Ipod Shuffle. I got my personalized debit card today and I am in love. I used a pic of James and Chrisopher. It's SO cute!! The account is their "build to order free checking." Not only do you get one free personalized debit card but you also get a free order of checks. I haven't had a bank give away free checks in years. I haven't had the pleasure of dealing with Compass at a branch level but the internet division is awesome. They sent me a few auto emails and then an actual person sent me an email to let me know if I had any problems or questions to contact her. My debit card is so cute that I might make this account our main one so I can use my debit card.


This is the pic

All is well is the house of Silence.

I finished my book and James fell asleep on the couch. He was speaking to me when he woke up 20 minutes later. He is already off to work. He's been gone for 2 hours and won't be home for 12.

(L)James got up with plenty of time to spare but somehow was running late by the time I made him breakfast. Maybe it was because I smashed a wine glass on the floor. I am sure that one of us will cut our feet since shards hide and then jump out to bite you no matter how well you sweep.

Christopher has accomplished his rolling from back to stomach. It's all over for us now. No more sitting on the couch or bed unattended. What? Like you've never done it? Now that he is mobile he will be confined to his floor mat.

I guess I should go do something productive while Christopher is napping, like get dressed.....

SHUT UP!

I got a book from the library. When I start a book I don't put it down until I am done and I don't like to be interrupted. Especially by idle chit chat. The only time I have to read is when the boys are fast asleep, as any mom knows. (B)James was especially talkative this evening. I didn't really care about the t.v. show he was watching or the story about his personal experience with it. Sometimes he tells the same story and I get tired of pretending to be interested. I went upstairs for awhile hoping he would then be quiet. I was wrong. I finally asked him to leave me alone and I hurt his feelings. Now he is downstairs mad and not talking to me. Why does he have to be mad, why can't he just be quiet? He said "I haven't been here all day, why didn't you read then?" Hmmm because instead of going back to bed after a restless night w. the baby, I had to get all dolled up and go to James' portfolio celebration and after that I went to the grocery store and to find an end of year gift for Ms. Teacher. When I got home Chris was still restless and only took a half hour nap. So while he did that I ate lunch, God forbid. And then when I finally got him to take a real nap I fell asleep with him, but only for an hour, because before I knew it (L)James was ringing the doorbell, 3:30 already????? And then there was time to do homework and head off to Karate. And then another quick run to Publix so (L)James could choose flowers for Ms. Teacher. And then home to cook dinner, who knew you needed milk for meatloaf? I substituted water and it came out fine! and while dinner was in the oven and nearly burning it was time to bathe Chris and get him ready for bed. Meanwhile (L)James needed to read a few last books to me. So as I was doing this and that and everything there was no time to read my book. And so it was said "husband please forgive me but give me 30 minutes to finish my book. Then I am all yours." (B)James said "that's OK, I don't want to talk to you anyway!" Awwww fantastic! That leaves me time to sit here and vent and then laugh and then go finish reading.

A few of things

* Today was James' portfolio celebration. Where has the school year gone? He has 4.5 days left. I don't know why they have to go Thursday since it's only a 3 hour day.

* I had a tank of gas last for 3 weeks!!!! How awesome is that? I tell ya, not taking James to school and not having extra cash really saves on the gas. But it doesn't help that much now that James' is now paying $60 3x a week. We thought there might be an opportunity to get a store closer but James isn't sure now because he has a couple of new managers to train.

* I am recovering from my sunburn quite nicely. I wasn't in much pain after the first day. My nose still looks like a cherry tomato though!

* Christopher can almost roll from his back to his stomach. He is doing a little better at night but every time I talk about it he relapses, so I am gonna keep my mouth shut from now on.

Paula Deen

We waited 2 hours to get our book signed. We got there an hour before it started and we didn't make it to the table until there were only 5 minutes left. The Publix employees were literally pulling my stroller to get me out of line. Little James was behind me trying to get our stuff, which they didn't realize, and I was waiting for him. He easily would have gotten lost in the crowd. Because it was so rushed I didn't have time to check my camera and it was on the wrong setting so all my pictures look like shit. I hate that fucking camera. The setting thing is on top and spins off way too easy. At least I made it this time. The last time she was here Williams Sonoma sold out of her book and that's the only thing she would sign, so the W.S. employees said. I boycotted W.S. and Paula for awhile after that. Paula is back in my good graces now since I was doing this for James' father's day present.





Waiting in line, in the blazing sun!



Almost there!


Paula telling James he was beautiful. At least there was some interaction!


Christopher's wipe case. She also signed our book.

Another ouch!

To start. I ALWAYS giggle uncontrollably when someone gets hurts, even myself. I feel bad for doing so but as I said it's out of my control. That being said if you giggle it's OK.


Last night (B) James went downstairs to get a glass of water. I heard a thud but no cursing so figured he was all right. He came into the room with a paper towel wrapped around his foot and there was blood ALL over it. And that's when the giggling started.

Our steps are killer. We have all fallen down a million times. There is something about the bottom that gets you. Someone had to save me from falling at our baby shower, I think it may have been Darlene. The last time I fell I came down so hard that my foot bent the wrong way.

James somehow got tripped up on the steps and hit his big toe. He said it didn't hurt and he didn't realize it was bleeding. He SPLIT the damn thing wide open. He needed stitches or a butterfly Band-aid. I was unable to provide either. He taped it up with bandages and tried to go to bed. I offered him some of my leftover pills from the c-section but he declined. All the while I was giggling.

I am sure it hurts like hell right now. I don't know how he got his shoe on this morning.

Red. Hot. Ouch.

James was off yesterday and we decided to go to Huguenot Memorial Park. You can park on the beach and that solves the problem of having Christopher in the sun and lugging two kids, 3 bags and chair around. It was very crowded but we got a good spot. The water was cold and it was windy but we had a good time. We packed a lunch and I brought horseshoes for the boys to play. I laid out but had no idea that I was burning because I was too busy shivering. This is what I look like now.

Maybe I should become na active member of the PTA

I want to do this as a fundraiser next year. Chico Bags has a program to sell reusable shopping bags. And they give you 50%. Personally I would be much more keen on buying one of their bags for $5 then a stupid $1 candy bar. At least I would get good use out of it. And the school gets $2.50 per bag. Hmmmm I think I will start going to the meetings in the fall.

I would expect your facts to be straight.

So I would've put this in the last entry but it's not gross.

Another Public Service Announcement!

Bullets first.

1. who knew Jacksonville doesn't have hard water, just VERY high concentrations of lime.

2. Ever wonder why your dishwasher says Electrosol is best?

3. Ever get white stuff on your dishes that doesn't come off?

4. Ever think about becoming a little more Eco-friendly?

5. Read on to get the answers.


Our dishwasher crapped out on us last week. Everything has this nasty white film on it, even after multiple rinse cycles. We used the Electrasol cleaner. That didn't work so we called out the maintenance man. Turns out that the white spots we see everyday is from the Lime. But the white film is from Phosphates that build up over time. The MM asked me what type of soap I used. Up until recently I have always used Cascade. MM says "Oh that's the worst, it has the highest level of phosphates in it." I say "well I have tried 3 different types and nothing is making it better." MM says "well Electrasol has the lowest levels" I say " Hmmmm what about the phosphate free?" MM is dumbfounded. I guess the old guy isn't current on his Eco friendly products. Phosphates are killing our lakes and steams and our beautiful St John's River. I have been using Palm Olive Phosphate free for a few months now. But I was curious at the levels of phosphates in the other products and decided to do some research. It turns out that MM was WRONG. Electrasol is no better. I looked at Electrasol, Target Brand, and Cascade tabs and all had at least 8% phosphates. So even though your dishwasher says to use Electrasol, it's not good for it. I bet they get some sorta kickback from the appliance companies. So try the Palmolive phosphate free. It's in a white and yellow bottle (please recycle it) and only costs about 60 cents more then the others!

After a rinse cycle in CLR our dishwasher is back to normal. Thank goodness we don't pay the MM.

So this post was really about my Maintenance Man not having his facts straight. I bet he has never even read the labels!

The grossest thing EVERRRRRRR!

I was happily brushing my teeth, noticing that I needed a new head for my spin pro or whatever the hell. Never looking in the mirror, I continue brushing. It wasn't until I spat, and not on the floor this time, that I saw I was using James' spin pro. OH MY GOD. I really really thought I was going to die. I guzzled a few cup fulls of mouthwash but that didn't help. I even wiped my mouth with a washcloth. Now doesn't this seem weird? It's my husband. We share bodily fluids from time to time, but to use his toothbrush? I'm still dry-heaving.

Oh and one more gross thing.

Little J and I found the downstairs to be infested with millipedes last night. Even though we have two floors we are still on the 2nd level of the building. You wouldn't think bugs like this would be an issue. We stopped counting at 16. I was so horrified that I pulled up the carpet, there goes our security deposit, trying to find a source. I called James at work, like that would help. Then I called my sister. She is a wealth of knowledge but even she wasn't helpful. After killing every one is sight, no I am not going to catch and release, I googled them. It seems that large infestations can occur after heavy rainstorms. Well what do you know? It has just rained. What I want to know is why there has never been an infestation before. GROSS!

Insurance crap

I could hurt myself at this point. Or others.

I got the insurance info yesterday. One day after the dr's appt. I read through it and all the coverage the agent said I was getting has stipulations and exclusions. My dr's appts are only covered at $150. My bill from last year was $400. My b/c is not covered at all. So not only did they increase my policy price 100% but I can't even get the services I need. I made the hard decision to cancel the insurance. We would have been paying $364 a month, plus $30 for my prescription and I would have to pay the $250 oop for my dr visit. The plan had a $1500 deductible so even if we get seriously sick/injured we would have to pay that before insurance would pay their 70%. It just didn't make sense and now I see why so many people don't have insurance.

But because I took Chris to the dr on tuesday I am responsible for the whole $369 bill. I could have gotten the shots for $10 each at their office if I had waited or gotten them free at the health dept. It's sickening but they are letting me make payments and did reduce the price to what insurance would have paid. That was nice of them. The woman I spoke to said she would check if they could change the imminization fee from full price to $10. She made it clear that she probably couldn't but would try. She said she would call me today to let me know. I haven't heard from her yet and probably won't but it's nice thinking they may not charge me the $200 difference.

4 month check-up

I called the Dr's office to re-schedule this morning's appt because I still haven't received the insurance paperwork and I didn't want to pay out of pocket and be reimbursed. When I told them that's why I was re-sheduling they said not to worry about it and to keep the current appt. Wasn't that nice of them?

Christopher is 15 pounds and 25 inches. 50% percentile for both. He is definitely not like his brother who was always off the charts.

The Dr. is really irritating me with this sleeping crap. He says Christopher is not sleeping well enough. I know he went to college and all but EVERY book I have read considers a full night to be 5 hours, midnight to 5am. Christopher sleeps five hours wakes up for a bottle and then sleeps another 6.5 hours. Dr. says he should not be waking at all and again told me we need to take him out of our room. I wanted to ask him where he would like me to put him? I WILL not put him in with Little James. If anyone is going to get woken up it'll be me. Other than that all is fine. He gave me a solids feeding schedule, gave Christopher his immunizations and we were on our way.

I hate comcast, it's "craptastic"

OH I HATE COMCAST. Every time I turn the tv on I want to break it. It is not my lovely tv's fault instead my shitty ass cable provider. We pay for HD and DVR. so tell me why NOTHING in HD ever comes in. We either get "this channel will be available shortly," and then it never comes in, or the screen is all garbled, like when your satellite goes out. When I use the DVR all I get is a blank screen. The On Demand ALWAYS times out. It's really quite infuriating. When we first moved to this condo we had them out 3 times. Finally they told us the outside lines were bad. Thanks Comcast, for having shitty lines that you don't plan on fixing, yet still charging me for service I don't get. Comcast is not "Comcastic." It's awful. When we had satellite service it went out 4 times in the 12 months we had it, our cable doesn't work on a daily basis. I think I will be switching back to Satellite. Only downfall is my cable Internet. CRAP! I guess I could keep that service with Craptastic Comcast.

What started my rant? When I went to watch Desperate Housewives tonight (30 minutes into the show) I got the stupid channel available shortly. It never came available and I missed the first 30 minutes.

Go Green

I hope all of you have clicked on the links under "go green." I have added a new link to Terra Cycle, Inc. I saw a segment about the company on the weather channel and found it very interesting. They take everyday items and use them for their procucts, whether it be old soda bottles, juice wrappers, or old shopping bags. Go take a look!! Terra Cycle Inc

Who forgot to tell me

That today is Christopher's four month birthday! FOUR MONTHS! I didn't realize it was the 16th and just where has the month of May gone?


Here's a kidd-o update.

James: He will be seven 3 months from yesterday. It's killing me. He has 15 days left of 1st grade. I'm dying! He goes to the bus stop by himself. He has his own house key (that he has trouble using). He is still doing fantastic academically. He may be one of the youngest but he's also one of the brightest in the class. He is doing better in Karate. He memorized part of his form fairly quick now we just have to work on the rest, and doing it without following the instructor.


Christopher: He is sitting with support and enjoys the Bumbo chair we got him. (from craigslist, NO WAY was I paying $40 for that chair) He has a doorway jumpy thing that he loves. We attempted to start feeding him cereal but I think that's what gave him the chuckles so I put it away for now. He still rolls stomach to back and is almost able to get from his back to his stomach. He still hates tummy time but not so much if it's about 8am. He still won't soothe himself to sleep but he's getting there. He still wakes up once for a bottle and then for good at 4am. Unless I put him in our bed there is no going back to sleep for him. So we snuggle for a few hours before we get up and get James out the door. And right now he is fighting his nap even though he takes a nap everyday at this time.

So this is how it happened

1st. James was not listening. His teacher asked him to put his book away. He chose to disobey, he had to flip a card.

2nd. One of his classmates tattled and said he was teasing her. His teacher told him to flip his card again. His teacher wouldn't listen to him when he said he wasn't teasing and he got so frustrated by this that he screamed, kicked his desk and punched the desktop.

3rd. He was told to take timeout in the K classroom. On his way back from lunch (with the kindergartners) he was swinging his lunch bag and twirling around and he hit some of the kids with his bag. His teacher misheard and thought he had kicked the students.

4th. Because of the kicking he was referred to the Vice Principal and the referral will go in his file.


I am concerned that things were blown out of proportion where the kicking is concerned. James is ADAMANT that he didn't kick anyone but will admit he wasn't following directions and swiped some of the kids with his lunch bag. I have had him tell me what happened three times and the story has not changed. I have no doubt that he wasn't on task and that he did throw a tantrum out of frustration but I wonder about the kicking. And now I am frustrated because that got him in a lot of trouble. I will have to call his teacher tomorrow.

Here at home there will be no TV or toys until he can get his attitude in check. I am surprised at how calm James Sr remained. I know it took all of his self control to not whip off his belt. That is where he and I are different. He was raised being downright abused and I was barely spanked. I don't believe in beating James or spanking him with a belt before we have had time to calm down. I will not hit him in the heat of the moment. I am very thankful that although James disagrees he accepts my feelings about it. Don't get me wrong there are plenty of times when I feel like smacking him, but if I tell him he can't flip out or kick things when he is frustrated then I shouldn't smack him when he pisses me off. Sometimes I wonder if I am right though. He is such a little smart mouth with the huffiest of attitudes.

Hopefully we can all help him with it, since it takes a village.......

The bad gets worse.

Earlier this afternoon I got a phone call from a # I did not immediately recognize. It took a few minutes before I said, OH CRAP, that was school. Normally they call with a recorded message for school closings or early dismissals but it's too early for them to be calling about Memorial Day. So I play the message and hear the Vice Principal saying James is in her office on a discipline referral. HOLY SHIT. They only get those when they have done something extreme. Christopher was screaming and I couldn't calm him down. I tried calling James so that he could speak with the VP but he was in a meeting, so I got Christopher calmed to sniffles and called. It turns out that he threw one hell of a tantrum in class. Screams, kicks and hitting of the desk ensued. He had to flip his card. When it happened again his teacher sent him to another classroom for a time out. This is standard procedure. When she went to pick him up he had kicked 3 students from that class. OH MY GOD. That's when his teacher decided to send him to the office. She called me a little while ago to talk about it and the first thing out of her mouth was a sort of apology for sending him to the office. I am pretty sure she wasn't sorry about it since it was what she is required to do. But I think it was more of she thought I would be mad at her for doing so. This is all speculation so I could be wrong. But I told her not to feel bad at all. What I really wanted to tell her was she should have slapped him. We talked for about 30 minutes and both of us are still at a loss as to why it happened. We came up with a few theories. Now I am not denying that he acts like a 2 yr old from time to time but he has never actually hurt anyone out of frustration so that was a huge concern and an even bigger red flag that somethings going on with him.


And there's the bus. I'll let you know how this goes and if he comes out unscathed.

It's been a rough day

I got a call from the insurance company to say they approved me but....... Since my recent c-section they would be increasing the premium. Since when do c-sections increase premiums? I would have taken it better if they had said "do to your shitty credit score we must take more of your money." Will I be having another c-section? Not anytime soon, if ever, and if I so choose I will be working and have much better insurance then the crap I'm being charged an arm and a leg for. Do c-sections pose some imminent health risk, like oh say smoking, drinking or sun bathing? What the fuck? Pardon that please. All in all I gave up my 100% coverage w/ no deductible for the same price as the high deductible coverage I have now. Before any of us can be seen by a specialist (there goes my gyn) we have to pay $1500. Before any hospitalization $1500. We do get well care visits, immunizations and well woman physicals for $25 copay. WHAT THE HELL DID I DO? I gave up awesome insurance to save $150 and then they come back and slap me in the face. I knew that the quote could change. But did I think it really would? No. Seeing as we have only been hospitalized, knock on wood, for delivery and we don't get sick enough to visit the Dr for anything other then well visits once a year. I spent the afternoon sobbing and trying to keep myself from banging my head against the wall. Sure we have the money to pay for the insurance but it will now take up 100% of our savings when we expected it to take 50%. What a nice thing to happen right before summer vacation. I am going to feel like such an ass being the penny pincher who can't afford to do anything when we get to Ohio. And J's trip to Miami? Nixed. The only reason I am not canceling Ohio is because the tickets are non refundable.

In other news. I vacuumed, mopped and did some laundry. It did not make me feel better. I ate 10 rainbow chips ahoy. It did not make me feel better. I took a nap with Christopher. It did not make me feel better because he chuckled all over my fresh shirt. I know this comes with the territory but he's not the chuckling kind. *chuckling is spitting up in Bonnie Talk.*

My sister bought a new camera. The one I want. She called to tell me what a deal she got. She did not do this to be a butt. She was calling to tell me the website so I could buy one too. She did not know the stupid day I had and all I could do is quietly say "I can't afford it." I felt like a loser. My family doesn't talk about money like some folks do so my sister doesn't know that we are poor. Nor did she know the state of our bank account when we were doing well. But it still makes me feel bad that I can't afford a new camera because I have to spend the $500 in birthday money on health insurance. And now I must go because typing that made me cry.

Finally!

The bus arrived at a better time this morning. Still not on time but at least not 20 minutes late. Since Friday's Fiasco the bus has been arriving at 10 after. Today it came on the hour. She's getting closer!!! And seriously there is no traffic at that hour right here. At least not the way she's coming. Maybe she's waking up late. Or maybe her kid's bus is late so that cause her to get a late start. Whatever it is it better be fixed next year. The only reason I haven't complained to the bus department is because school is almost over and J hasn't been marked tardy. All I want is for the bus to come at the designated time. If it can't make it here by then they ought to change the time so the kids aren't standing out there for 30 minutes when it should only be 10.

Christopher is whining, gotta run.

Do you?

Think the laundry got done? Nahhh. I saved it for another day. I did do about 5 loads but am not close to finished. I did a load of dishes. Another is overflowing the sink. I picked up the living room, it still has chip crumbs all over the floor. I swept the back porch, the tornado force winds filled it with dirt. It was a day of little accomplishments.

I did make (start to finish for a change) a summer pool/beach bag. I was going to buy one but figured I should NOT spend the money when I have $100's of dollars worth of fabric lying around just begging to be put to good use. I chose a light olive colored piece with large hibiscus flowers in dark olive green and neon green. I made a HUGE bag. I didn't use a stabilizer or a liner since it's just going to be thrown around. I love it!

I was going to take the boys to the pool but it was SO hot and windy that I didn't dare take Chris. The wind was hot, which is unusual for us since we normally have a cool breeze, and it was kicking up dirt from the construction across the street. It was so uncomfortable that I turned the a/c on. I try to keep it on 78 during the day but that wasn't happening this afternoon.

What the?

I was brushing my teeth and thinking that today was trash day. I guess it was still on my brain when I went to spit because I leaned over and spat my rinse water at the trash can. I say "at" because there was no aiming involved. It didn't make it into the can but all over the floor instead. I couldn't believe it. Now I have to add mopping to my chore list, lol.

Can someone, ANYONE, help me????

A few days ago I tried to print some coupons at www.coolsavings.com but my printer went haywire and wouldn't print. By the time I got it fixed the website said I had already printed the offer. I NEED the $1 off JERGENS lotion. Is anyone willing to print it? I will send you a SASE......... Thanks bunches kind ladies. My face will love you for it.

I am in for it.

The headache from hell is gone. An order of fries and a diet lemonade mixed with ibuprofen did the trick.


So! You should see the piles of laundry sitting around me. You would think we, I mean I, haven't done laundry in years. Really it's only been a week. NO one has clean undies. Even me the undie queen. Chris is almost out of washcloths. We all know that you somehow end up with a thousand little baby rags so to be almost out is quite the feat. Little James had to wear shorts while his undies dried and he was none too happy. There are no more clean bath towels or bedsheets. What the hell have I been doing?? Oh and we only have one bed sheet each. I refuse to buy more when we wash them once a week anyway. I wash and put it right back on. I have a load of darks and undies (we REALLY needed them) in the dryer and a load of Chris's stuff in the wash. It looks like I will be doing the rest well into the night. I don't know how it happened. It's not like I am that busy. What's worse then a million piles of dirty clothes? Folding them when they are clean? I HATE IT!

We went to the pool today and luckily for me there were no kids. I always cringe when I see other kids. I don't do well with other people's. I always assume the worst. I wonder if people do that to me too.... But there were a nice pair of couples and a little girl sitting next to us. AND yeah I cringed at them too, but that was because the woman shouted, OH LOOK AT THE BABY!!!!!! I don't enjoy when people do this. Leave my baby alone. They ended up being pleasant and let James play their beanbag toss game with them. The only negative was all four were smokers and didn't feel bad at all puffing around Chris. I had to move but I did so inconspicuously. They didn't even notice. Lucky for me they had their radio so loud that I could still hear it ;)

We will probably end up at the pool tomorrow too. James works all day. Last year everyone decided to go up there for mother's day (I am sure it was for the free food more than anything) If his sister calls me tomorrow I am not going ANYWHERE. I am not wasting my gas driving all the way out there just to see them. They can come visit whenever they want but choose not to.

Ahhh I guess that's it. I am starving.

headache check-in

Time 11:57 am. Headache still present, after two tylenol and a bottle of water. Next will come the 800mg ibuprofen and then after that? I may die. Or I will go to target and get excedrin tension headache.


Oh btw, I went to target last night and saved $13 on my makeup. I heart coupons. I got two tubes of maybelline lipgloss, maybelline eye makeup remover and a sally hansen manicure set for $7.67! But thinking about the great deals didn't help my head. :(

My head hurts, I thought maybe my pony tail was too tight, it's not!

I have had a headache since 4 am. I am not sure why but even though it's 10am there is more shit adding to it by the minute. Let's make a list.

1. James school bus has been late everyday this week. It's supposed to get here at 10 til. It's been getting here at 10 after. So by making him be there 10 minutes early he is now out there for thirty minutes. I have caught on to her crap and send him out at 5 til. The stop is right at the corner of our house so it's a short trip. ANYWAY. Today the clock was ticking. It ticked the hour, 10 past, 20 past, Mom calls the bus dept "it's on it's way.", Mom calls the school because the boy will be late "it won't count against him.", 30 past- school has started. Dad calls the bus dept - mom goes to wash her face to take boy to school - neighbor knocks on door but dad is in his underwear so now mom has to take the boy when neighbor was going to offer - she has a mini van, 40 past we're on our way. 50 past we arrive at school- 55 past the bus arrives at the bus stop. AN HOUR LATE!!! Now the kids who had no other way to school will be an hour late, after waiting for an hour.



2. Applying for private insurance. The plan with J's job was insane and we can't afford it. The company I chose calls from this number 000-000-0000. Since it is a bunch of zeroes I didn't answer and they didn't leave a message. Finally after 3 days they send me an email. They have a few questions, questions I don't have the answer to. I call the Dr. and wait for the return call. I get the test results and call the insurance company, hold forever and finally get the app finished, I should get a decision soon. It's been two weeks now. They call yesterday to tell me they need another test result. The Dr doesn't have this one. I am at the mercy of the hospital record department. I called and left a message. They didn't call back. I called again and again and finally got to speak with someone. They won't tell me the result over the phone, that's all the ins. co needs, nor will they fax me the results. Now I am at the mercy of the USPS. Why couldn't the insurance company just pull our records? All the answers are in there and I would have been approved two weeks ago. Chris has an appt. on the 20th and I am trying to avoid paying out of pocket. I started this process 3 weeks ago. The agent said it would take 7-10 business days. MY ASS!!! So now I am going to do one of two.
1. reschedule the appt.
2. take him to the health dept for his shots.

And finally,
3. The house is a mess and there is about 9 loads of laundry to do. I hate doing laundry.


So that added a lot to my headache. The way I wrote it will add to yours, sorry!

Here it is in a nutshell, the 2nd time around

DAMN DAMN DOUBLE DAMN. I deleted my whole entry. I had another tab open and thought I was in it when I went to search something but wasn't.

1. James is now a red belt at Karate. He could be a black belt by the end of the year. I doubt he will move that fast since he has been a brown belt since December 2006 and graduation is every 4 months. But it is a possibility.

2. My B-I-L graduated Cum Laude from UNF with a double major (business economics and business finance) A DOUBLE FREAKIN MAJOR, while working full time. I heart him so!!!! He has decided to continue his education and will take the LSAT's shortly. If he scores well enough, and I don't doubt he will, then he hopes to attend The University of Florida. Even though we're not big Gators fans. James Sr. is a Miami Hurricanes fan and I love the Buckeye's just because I am from Ohio.

3. My birthday was yesterday. We had a lovely party. I actually had friends to invite. I am 27 and I feel fine. James did all the cooking and the food was awesome. I had a yummy cake and enough people to eat it so there were no leftover's.

4. I bought a new bathing suit today, even though I think I am fat and I hate wearing one. This one looks ok. SWEET.

That's about it.

Chris is doing well. He chuckles now and loves to play patty cake. Little James is also doing well and loves that it is hot enough to spend the weekends at the pool.

*edit* I just realized the deleted entry was saved as a draft. PAIN IN MY ASS.

In preperation for summer

I have been doing a lot of planning. I have a lot on the schedule so far. I figure I better have a plan early or we'll spend all summer sitting in front of the stupid t.v. I found a lot of things to do around town that run free/discount admission on certain weekdays. I also found a few festivals to go to. We will go to Ohio for two weeks in June, which will also include the annual trip to Niagara Falls, Canada. I wanted to go to D.C. also but we just don't have enough time. It's about an 8 hour drive from my parent's and with the boys we would really need a couple of days. Canada is a day trip for us. I signed him up for swim lessons for two weeks in July. They are through the city and much cheaper then the class he was enrolled in at the university.

This weekend is the Earth Day celebration downtown. I decided we will venture down. I haven't been downtown by myself with the boys so it will be an adventure, especially since it will be very crowded. The week after he has a 2k run (walk, run, same thing lol) and we're going to attend the annual butterfly festival. It seems like a lot for us since we usually do NOTHING. I realized that sucks and I have to be a better parent in that regard.

James got his report card and he's doing well. His behavior grade stayed at an S so he is just fine! I decided to let him ride the bus. You shoulda seen us yahoo's waiting for the bus. We left the house 25 minutes before the bus was scheduled to arrive and the bus stop is right in front of our condo. It was cold so by the time the bus got there, five minutes behind schedule, my flip flopped feet were numb and James' nose was bright red. We did better this morning and only waited 15 minutes. The bus was still five minutes behind so tomorrow we will only leave 10 minutes early. I paid close attention to what time the other kids started trickling out and 10 seems to be the magic number. I got James a watch and every minute (literally) he yells out the time. At 7:49 it was "MOMMMMM it's 7:49 and the bus isn't here!!!!!" I thought he was going to have a panic attack. I told him to give it a few more minutes. It was a really hard decision to let him ride the bus. It's just one more step on his journey to Independence. It's hard letting go of my baby even though I have another one in my arms. James will be 7 years old this year and I wish I could stop time in it's tracks.

Christopher is 3 months old now. Sleeping at night better. But the books were wrong. Christopher is not like every other child. He doesn't like going to bed at 6 or 7 pm. If we put him down he wakes up as if he were just taking a nap. He goes to bed around 8pm and will sleep until 12 or 1, which is considered "sleeping through the night" yeah I know what you're thinking! He still gets up twice for feedings but he was getting up four times so we're making progress. He rolls over once in awhile and "talks" up a storm. He is also very smiley, very drooley and loves to eat his fist. He won't take a Binky anymore.

James and I are well. He's throwing me a birthday bash on the 3rd. It just so happens that my birthday falls on a saturday this year. I sent out actual invitations and he is doing all the planning. He's so cute!


Christopher's Easter Photo






Christopher at 3 months (we had this taken yesterday)

My deals of the week :)

The Garnier Products had $2 off coupons @ Target. I got my conditioner for 99 cents. And I grabbed a few of the coupons for next time :)

This week cereal was bogo @ publix. By also using my coupons I got 6 boxes of cereal for $4.50. This was a good week for Bogo's. Almost all of my pantry items were on sale.

We got a new stroller on sale too. When I registered my brain fritzed and I registered for the graco snugride stroller. It's awesome. You just set the car seat in on the super lightweight frame and away you go. The only problem is what do you do when the baby grows out of the infant carseat? I didn't think of that!!! I just loved it because it was small and compact, perfect for my trunk. The stroller we had with James was so bulky and I didn't want to go that route again. So we got the Graco Vie4 Stroller in the Little Lamb pattern.
It was on sale for $80 @ Target and you can attach the car seat to this one as well. It's a medium size with an adjustable handle. James likes it because it can raise up to suit his height. The seat fully reclines and the sunshade and basket are nice and big. We've only had it for a day but so far so good.

I wouldn't have bought it this early since Christopher is nowhere near too big for the carseat but we are going to Ohio this summer and if didn't think it would be easy to maneuver two kids and the seat and frame.

A milestone met

The baby rolled over. We were lying in my bed, the two boys and I, and in a blink he was on his back. He didn't have that startled look some babies get. I assume it's because he was on my bed and not the floor. It makes for a softer landing. He did it once more and then was done with tummy time. I have had my camera with me for days just in case and today it was downstairs. We'll have to try again later. He is also scooting himself around his crib. He kicks and pushes and can turn himself in all directions. I don't remember little J doing that. He never scooted or crawled just went straight to walking.

Today we are going to the library, the pool, and then picking up the pottery we made while the family was here. J is super excited to get his turtle back. He was not happy about having to leave it at the shop for a week. I am sure he will be thrilled with the end result.