hey all! i have been a holy terror lately. i blame it on my addiction to reading. no, i do have a problem. i am addressing it. i figure that i only have 3 more books to read in the series and i should be good for a while...well not really, but i'm thinking it anyway.

i have been trying to de-stress. watching the chickens in my yard is a lot like watching fish in a fish-tank. it can be quite relaxing. and entertaining. actually the chickens are much more entertaining than the fish...unless you have piranhas or something. maybe the chickens are more like the turtles in the tank than the fish. they look so cute and sweet...then BAM!! crazy psycho killers!

yes, i do find that entertaining.

i can't wait to see these guys in action in the spring and summer. i wonder if i will actually see them eat stuff like mice and lizards. if i can teach them to get moles...that would be so cool. and profitable. i could start my own "mole removal" business. and it would be totally green! how cool would that be!

i am sitting here watching "space buddies" with the kids. they like it. me, not so much. well, it's a kid movie for sure. talking dogs are not normally my thing.

josh is turning 5 tomorrow. he's so excited. i am too...i guess. this year, out of my 5 kids, i will have one that is 13, one that's 10, and one that's 5. those are some pretty big years to me. alex is going to be a teenager, haley's in double digits, and josh is going to start school. then there's grace and zack.

i am anxiously awaiting the arrival of the next book. sad, i know. it should be here today, or tomorrow, or the next day. i sure hope it's today. that way i can read it and be all happy and ready to celebrate josh's 5th. otherwise i may end up being crazy mom, jonesing for my next fix.

i know, i know. i need help.

my V-day

well, we finished up with the kids games and then we took them to my step-mom. we dropped them off, and i went home to get ready...








then we headed down town to the Millennium Hotel.












for my niece's gymnastics meet.











that's what the hubby and i did. watched her do her "thing". then we went upstairs (wink wink)













for dinner. they have a revolving restaurant at the top. the food was spectacular! then it was off to home. he had to get up early (6am) for work.





not exactly the most romantic evening...but it was worth getting rid of the kids for the night!

well, i haven't touched the computer in a couple of days.

no my hands aren't broken.


i got the next 5 (that's right) charlaine harris books...and i read them all. all 5, on sunday and monday.


yes, my house is pretty dirty. thanks for asking.


and i think i dropped a couple of pounds. well, when i do a reading marathon like that...well, i forget to eat...and drink...and pay attention to any one or thing.


bad mommy! bad!

i have the next book due to arrive in the next week. (thank you walmart.com) and i can't wait.


i think i may have to read all 5 over again. very slowly this time.

they are like, um, romance type sci-fi type supernatural books.


and yes, the hubby has been reaping the rewards. dirty house and all.




on another subject.

terry's memorial is tonight. my mom picked up a picture of him and i from hubby and my wedding. i was sitting in his lap, and he has this huge smile on his face. he was pretty cute. of course he has his mouth wide open so you can see his tongue piercing. it's going to be a sad night. when i get it back from my mom, i'll post it.


maybe

here i sit at 10 o'clock on thursday night baking brownies and totally mis-spelling every other word. no joke! i am soooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooo exhausted! i'm not exactly sure why i am so tired. sure it could have something to do with the fact that i am getting myself (and kids) used to the "back to school" schedule. or it could have something to do with the fact my youngest ran a fever for 4 days (one night it got to 104.6 folks!) and i was up a lot making sure he was ok and comfortable or i was waking up sweating because my little oven boy had crawled into bed with me. that could be why, but i think it has to do with the fact that i had to read this book. no i am not kidding. i seriously think i have a real problem. perhaps i should join a "compulsive book-readers anonymous" group. if a book is, say, 350 pages or less, i must read it to the end. how is that a problem? well, when i say "read to the end" i mean i don't do anything else. kids are hungry? fix yourself something to read, can't you see mommy's got a book? i don't eat, drink, talk, go to the bathroom, whatever, until the book is done. and if i get interrupted? whoa, watch out! i am a raging bitch. after my oldest was born, i stopped reading for several years. it was tough. but i couldn't get into a book and forget about everything but the book when i have a little bitty one around.

ok, that was last night. i am not changing it. that's me, totally exhausted and jonesing for the next book in the series i just started. i just read Dead until Dark by charlaine harris. um, totally awesome! i have been thinking about this book and have even re-read it. it's the story that the HBO show Trueblood is based on. i so wish i had hbo again. well, that and the new season of Big Love is starting soon. i hope it comes out on dvd, then i can rent it at blockbuster. i have heard a lot of good things about it.

i know you probably are thinking i'm a total vampire freak. no, i'm not. i love a good scary book/movie/show. of course i happen to like monster/supernatural stuff more because i can tell myself it's not real. i get too freaked out by psychological thrillers. if it's about some freak serial killer, um i don't care for it as much. well, i won't say i don't like them...because i do. i just get more scared now that i have kids and things like that could really happen. i love a good stephen king book...or dean koontz....or anne rice....and now charlaine harris.

i am waiting for the library to get the next book in. can you believe some one has the audacity to check out the book that i want to read? i may have to wait until sometime towards the end of january before i can read the next one! ahhh.

guess what i found today?





three gray hairs!!!!!!!!!!!

i had no idea i had one let alone 3! i was so depressed this morning (after i removed those offending hairs of course) and i just can't believe it.

i have (had) gray hair.

i know i am thirty now, and i will be getting more of them...but i really thought it wouldn't happen to me. i don't know why i thought this, i just did. (of course i thought the same thing about getting pregnant in high school...and look where that got me! ha) i teased my hubby quite a bit when he started getting them in his chest hair and and he took it in stride. i don't think i will be that easy with it. this is really bugging me!


another thing that's bugging me is that i got those three hairs...but i can't see the back of my head well enough to see if i have any back there.





well, i guess a few gray hairs aren't that bad.

at least they were where they are supposed to be...unlike the stray eyebrows i've had to pluck from my chin!

the last visit of the year...

today is my last friday lunch with my grandma of the school year. my grandma lives pretty close, and so on fridays, we go and visit her after i get one of the kids off the bus. it's pretty nice. we meet up with my mom, my sister and my niece, and eat lunch and visit while the kids play. all the kids look forward to it. they love going there because grandma always has cookies for them. she is the ultimate hostess. my grandpa likes seeing us too, he loves my boys. he calls josh his little linebacker. i only get to go there during the school year. otherwise i have too many big kids and there isn't much for them to do there. so, until next school year, i will be missing out on grandma's hot ham and cheeses. darn it!

my nephew graduated from high school yesterday. his party is this saturday. it is amazing how far he has come since his accident this past december. he is walking just fine now. he is still brilliant, and his personality is the same or better than before. i hope he remembers how lucky he is to be alive...and holds on to that. i'm trying to decide what to bring for his party. do i bring brownies, or pot-luck potatoes? i don't want to make my twice baked potatoe casserole. it takes too much time, and my mother in law is already making potato salad (blech!)

i am getting my hair cut this wednesday. i am getting it all cut off. i like being able to put it in a ponytail, but i also hate having to put it in one every day. i'm not getting it colored though. i used to always get it highlighted, but i want to try it natural. i don't think i've had my natural color in 10+ years.
ok enough boring hair talk.

my garden is looking ok. one of my lettuce plants, and one of my tomato plants died. somehow they were broken off. the kids swear they didn't do it. i hope it does well. the plants i've been growing in the garage are doing pretty good. i need to get them out in the garden too. it's just been so darn cool. i am a little afraid to put them out there yet. i need to get some straw. i mulch with straw to help hold the moisture in the soil. it works pretty well. it also helps with weed control.

this sunday, we are having my mom, grandma and grandpa over for dinner. i didn't get to see them on mother's day, so we are having our own little dinner for them. i need to figure out what i want to do for them. i was wanting to do some pictures for them, but i haven't had the time (or camera) to do it. i want to get a collage frame and fill it with pics of my kiddos. they are so freakin' cute. i really want to get a picture of alex with his pig, too. how cute would that be!?

my mother's day

this was the front of my mother's day card. the one my kids picked out for me. (this is a zero gravity card from andrews mcmeel pub. llc) inside it says "see, there are things more frightening than having me as your kid". what my boys don't understand is...this picture could be them in a couple of years...WHO'S LAUGHIN' NOW!

anyway, i had the best mother's day ever. i mean it, this was, by far, the best one. i don't think they will ever be able to outdo themselves. first off, with this wonderful card, there was also candy...several pounds of candy, and by several, i mean 5 pounds of hershey kisses and reese's peanut butter cups. yes, i know i am lucky to have kids that love me so...but that wasn't all, there were 2 books by one of my favorite authors. i love my kids.

but that wasn't the best part. no, no, not by a long shot. on sunday morning, the kids let me sleep until 9:30. i woke up to breakfast in bed. not just any breakfast, but banana pancakes with strawberries on top, fried eggs, and a cold glass of milk. oh yeah, my kids love me. alex did most of the work, but all of the kids helped. they watched me eat every bite and loved every compliment (it really was good!). they gave me the presents they had made at school, and let me tell you, i have the most talented kids ever! then alex made his brothers and sisters pancakes and eggs, and i didn't even have to ask him. i am so very lucky!

they did leave me the mess, but that's ok. i can deal with that. everyone got along pretty well, i even got to take a nap (couple of hours long) and i woke up to kids. i was covered in children. they had decided to sneak in and take a nap with me. so the youngest 3 and i took a nice long nap and woke up in time to go do family stuff.

the very best mother's day ever.

so sorry i have neglected you all!

yes, all 5 visits i get (and that's me 3 or 4 of those visits!) i have been a bit worn out and i haven't found time to blog much. i have been pretty exhausted this week. i'm not exactly sure why it's hitting me more now, but it has. i was trying to describe how tired i felt to my husband this morning...
me: you know when you were a teenager, and you'd go to school on friday, then work like 6 hours after school, then go out and stay out 'til the wee hours of the morning, then get up at 6am and work another 8 to 10 hours, then go out again 'til the wee hours again, and wake up at 6am again, go to work another 8 to 10 hours, then finish your homework and that's how tired i feel right now.

hubby: i think you are being a little dramatic babe.

ok, maybe i'm reaching, but only a tad. i don't know why this week has kicked my butt, i wish i did.

this little piggy is now one of the little guys' favorite things to do! they love to stick their dirty, muddy, stinky piggies in my face and ask me "how's this one go?". it is so very cute. i don't remember any of the other kids liking that so much. they even do it to themselves.

my hubby came home last night and went straight to the computer (a little strange). i was holding one of my little guys and trying to get him to sleep. he tells me he has something to show me, i had to come over right away. (a little stranger) i put down my lil' guy and come to the computer. he is looking at this website (don't worry, it's not porn...i wouldn't have been as surprised if it had been) http://www.forshamcottagearks.com/index.htm

hang on a sec, my oldest just made me a mint chocolate chip milkshake. mmmmmmmm!!!!

ok, thanks for waiting!

go ahead and click on that link. i promise, it's not porn. it's chicken coops. has anyone seen my hubby? i don't know who this man is (i think i may keep him though), or what he's done with the man i married, but he can't fool me!
anyway, he wanted me to see this site because they are looking for dealers or "trading partners" as they put it, in the good ole U. S. of A. he said that he's been told that if you find something you enjoy, that's the best thing to try to make a living at. so he thought of me. how sweet. but i still want to be a massage therapist.

ok, i was saving the best for last. rachel, you will definitely be proud of me for this! a friend of mine (jen, but not the nurse or the vet) called me yesterday about a great deal on general mills cereal at schnucks (a local supermarket). basically, the cereal was on sale 5 for $10. in the isle there were $.75 off of every 2 boxes. at the check out, it prints out a $2 off general mills cereal coupon, and also 3/ $3 off your next purchase coupons. so i bought 6 boxes every time, the first time was right at $10 (i'm not sure, because i bought ice cream too). the next time i went through, i had just the 6 boxes, and all the coupons, and i spent a whopping $1.04. FOR 6 BOXES OF CEREAL, that is insane!!! so i went through a few times, and came home with tons of cereal.
oh yeah, i forgot about the fact that you get 2 free movie passes printed off at the register too. each time! i mean, how cool is that!?! so for less than $25 i brought home 4 (56 oz)packages of ice cream, and 20 boxes of cereal. not bad...not bad at all!

lots of updating...

well, updating may not be the "right" word for it but...

bacon-bits (aka trudy or bebe) went to the neighbor's farm for grace's field trip today. she was there for about an hour. it was pretty hot, and she was a pooping fiend. the field trip went pretty well. they had cows and calves (really cute ones), chickens and chicks, ducks, a lamb, a couple of rabbits, and a horse. the kids had a blast.

i feel like crap today. my head is killing me! we ran out of tea 2 days ago and i haven't bought any yet, and i have the worst caffeine headache! add to that the cough i have, and yes i have been a little bit crabby. i guess i should get in to the doctor, but when would i find the time? i'm hoping it's just allergies, but i doubt it.

american idol...well, andrew loyd weber night was great for some, and not so great for others.

syesha: i think the judges were right, she found her strength here. she's made for broadway. i also found out my hubby has a bit of a crush on her. a woman can tell. it's ok though, it's only fair after all the comments i've made about that adorable jason castro.

jason castro: uh, memories? seriously? couldn't find a better song that suited you? not that it was a bad performance, i just didn't get it.

carly: i don't usually care for her, but i liked her performance. she did a great job with "Jesus Christ Superstar" and i really did enjoy it.

brooke: i don't get it, does she want to go home? is that why she's been blowing it lately? she can't seem to pull off songs that are anything but happy-go-lucky types of songs. couldn't she have found one of those kinds of songs?

davy a: great job on the song. i liked it. not head over heels for it, but i liked it. pretty solid performance.

david cook: i liked it ok. it wasn't my favorite performance of his, but he did ok. i have to agree with simon there, i like the grit to his voice. he didn't have it there. i don't know that he'll be doing broadway anytime soon, but he doesn't need it.

i don't do the "who's going home" picks, but i will say that syesha stole the show. finally!

please continue to pray for jessica and her family.

i'm not sure if i'm really excited about this one!

You Are a Colon

You are very orderly and fact driven. You aren't concerned much with theories or dreams... only what's true or untrue. You are brilliant and incredibly learned. Anything you know is well researched. You like to make lists and sort through things step by step. You aren't subject to whim or emotions. Your friends see you as a constant source of knowledge and advice. (But they are a little sick of you being right all of the time!) You excel in: Leadership positions You get along best with: The Semi-Colon

http://www.blogthings.com/whatpunctuationmarkareyouquiz/">What Punctuation Mark Are You?

what a fabulous day!

yeah, april fool's...on me. i spent today cold and shivering at recess duty today...oh and i brought 4 kids with me. one of these kids (my own of course) peed in his pants. oh the joys of volunteering! granted, zack is only 2, and has only been going on the potty for a few weeks, but COME ON! i mean, i'm stuck out on the playground (i was the only adult amidst the 60 or so kidlets), i can't just leave the 2nd thru 4th grades out there by themselves. then, since today is my hubby's day off, i have haley call him from the office to come and get the boy (or all the kids i brought up, i wasn't going to be picky)...twenty minutes later, i just left. i told the office i was leaving, my husband hadn't shown up yet, and i had been holding very wet pants for the last 20 minutes. they were very understanding, they usually are.

yesterday we had so much rain, the pond overflowed! we had record setting rainfall for the month of march. more than 8 inches! the creek overflowed it's banks (it usually does) and got close to covering the road, but was about 2 inches shy. it was almost 70 yesterday, today it is so very very cold. if we get much more rain anytime soon, it may end up covering the road.

my hubby is going to the cardinal's game tonight. my stepmom had a "procedure" done on her foot today, so she won't be able to go. she was there yesterday. he is usually pretty excited about going to the games, but he wasn't today. i guess it's just too cold and wet to enjoy. that and the fact he is going in to work today for a few hours before the game. they are going to teach him how to do financing. he'll be able to sell you the car and a warranty, and finance it too. he's excited about it. sort of.

i had a great sunday. we went out for dinner. hubby had gotten $250 in gift cards from a friend he helped to get a really good deal on a new car (from a dealership he didn't work for anymore) and the guy gave him all these gift cards, and wouldn't take no for an answer. (funny thing is, hubby ended up making more than the salesman did! it was a $75 mini deal for the sales guy)
i had chapel hour at 6pm, so they dropped me off. i got to spent a whole hour quietly with God. our chapel is a perpetual adoration chapel. there is someone there every hour of every day. you can drop off prayer requests, and people pray for who ever needs it. it is really awesome. you feel the power as soon as you walk in the room. i like to go and crochet. i know that may seem like something you shouldn't do, but i like to. i am usually making a baby blanket, and i like to pray for the baby that my blankets are going to. crocheting is like meditating to me. my hands do one thing, my mind is somewhere else. it was so good!

i went to a party, and who knew....

i'd find a drink that i like! i have discovered amaretto sours. debbie is a lady i babysit for, and she was also the bartender where we went last night (baby shower). she wanted to get me a drink, but, being the wuss that i am, i can't stand the taste of alcohol. so she thought about what i might like, and gave me an amaretto sour. it tasted like lemonade. very sweet lemonade. i LOVED it. so she ended up buying me 3. she has been trying to get me out on the town for a while now, and wanted to make sure i had a good time. i had a great time.
the shower was for another girl i babysit for. my friend lana, a girl she works with, and i got it together for her. cindy is great. she just had her 4th baby, and i get to watch her! yippee! i can't wait. she has a son that is alex's age, a daughter that's a year older than haley, and another daughter that's right between grace and josh. they weren't planning on having anymore kids after their third, and got rid of all their baby stuff. the baby is absolutely beautiful! a thick (and i mean no scalp showing thick) head of black hair, and a clear darker complexion. gorgeous!

so, other than the raging headache i have right now (not through alcohol, i had it before then), i am having a pretty great weekend. alex has a soccer game tonight, haley has a girl scout thing, and then we are playing cards tonight too.

the pig is doing pretty good. she's been eating well, and alex has been taking her outside alot and walking her around. i was worried that she'd try to run off, but we have more trouble getting her away from the basement door than trying to get her back in. she likes the basement. i think this may become a problem when she's 200+ pounds, but right now, it's ok.

how i named my blog

i saw someone else's post about how they named their blog, then a friend of mine renamed her blog (with the help of some bloggy friends) and it came to me...a post about how i came up with the name. the story may be long, and cover many years of my life, but i think it will be somewhat interesting. you may learn things you didn't know about me, and things you may have wished i kept a secret, but my history is part of me. it doesn't define me, but it shaped who i am and what i hold dear.

when i decided to start this blog, i tried to think of something witty to call it. being that i am not humorously inclined, i failed. we had just had a 10 year high school reunion, and i thought "hmmm, what did most people think when they saw me?". to understand where i am coming from, you must know how i was.
when i was 13, my parents went through a nasty divorce. my mom actually left my dad 3 weeks before my birthday. it was a pretty tough time for me. it left me a little unsure of myself. ok, who am i kidding, i was way unsure of myself. i was shy to begin with, but changing schools made it worse. i had a mom that thought school should teach her children to put condoms on bananas and that high school was for "experimenting". it didn't matter if that was drugs, or alcohol, or sex. i was always a good student. that never changed. even after i started smoking pot my sophmore year, or when i started doing some stronger drugs my junior year. i never tried meth, or coke or heroin. i did try pot, lsd, hash, well, and some pot laced with stronger stuff. i used them pretty regularly on weekends, and my junior year, when a friend had a car accident and died, i started using them more often. in fact, i smoked pot everyday from march through may. i couldn't handle not being stoned. it is pretty sad to think about how i felt so out of control. the summer between junior and senior year i met my hubby. we both had moderate drug issues. i decided, a month into senior year, i was going to get clean. no more drugs for me. well, i wasn't perfect, but i was doing better. it amazed me how blue the sky was and how green the grass was. i felt like a hazy mist had lifted from my eyes. i was totally clean by december.
now let me back up a little. when i met the hubby, we became "physical" within the first couple of weeks. i don't know how serious we were about our relationship. well, i know i wasn't all that serious. i was planning on going away to college. i didn't want some majorly serious relationship messing that up. he was a really nice guy, but he wasn't going anywhere. he was 19, he didn't go to college, and was working at a convenience store. so i was pretty guarded with my emotions. flash forward to december. in december, i missed my period. no big deal, i had friends who missed theirs pretty often. just because i was like clockwork all the time, didn't mean anything to me. then january came, and still no period. i decided to take a pregnancy test, just to show myself i wasn't pregnant. well, no such luck. i was. i was 17 years old, a senior in high school, and pregnant by a guy i had known for roughly 6 months. yeah, every parents' dream for their child. i had to tell my parents, my teachers, the school nurse, school administration, my friends, my boyfriend, his family, his friends...yeah, it still hurts to think about.
now, i still had several months left of school. i had decisions to make about the fate of my baby and myself. abortion was never a factor. i never believed in it, and getting pregnant at 17 didn't change that. adoption was a possibility, but i wasn't ready to look at that. i felt lost. not to mention the kids at school who said things like "you should give it up or have an abortion because you'd make a crappy mom". really positive and uplifting things like that. not all the kids, just a select few. a select few that i had been close to up until that moment...and then distanced myself from pretty quickly. i also had some shining angels that made it ok. my friends joe, molly, jeremy, and nike made me feel like i was the same person. they didn't treat me any differently.
now, here i am, 11+ years later, with 5 kids, a great husband, and a life i never would have thought possible. i went to college before and after alex was born, but it only lasted a semester. i wanted to focus on being a mom. my hubby asked me to marry him on my 18th birthday (30 days before the baby was born) and we were married the following may. life fell into place. i can honestly say, i haven't wanted to do any drugs since i gave them up. when i became a mom, all that was in my past. those wonderful friends fell away, but i still love each and every one of them for what they did for me. i don't think they even realized how much it meant to me.
and that is why i gave my blog this name...because "who'd of thought" my life would turn out like this!

my personal goal is 20 items per room.
i have 9 (gulp) rooms.
my extra focus room is the little boys' room (yikes!)
i think the lbs' room will need extra attention all week. yes it is that bad.

what am i talking about? the cleaning challenge at martie's house at
www.martieshouse.blogspot.com. she had 9 kids and keeps a clean house. i only have 5 and my house looks like a tornado went thru it most of the time!

how 'bout that superbowl?! i was so excited to see the underdogs win. i don't know what it is, but tom brady really rubs me the wrong way. i don't know why. but peyton manning used to do the same thing to me. now i love the guy. i think it is all the commercials he does. he is so freakin' hilarious. congrats to the manning family! 2 superbowl champs!

both my girls have colds (please let it just be colds). they have the cough and runny noses, no fever and no stomache aches. we have been exposed to the flu. twice now actually. 2 different families that i watch have had it in the past month. (is it past or passed? i can never remember) i don't know why it would be only my girls that would get it though, it was the boys' friends that had it. we shall see.

2 weeks until we leave for our cruise! i'm getting excited, but nervous. my dad will be in florida. my step mom wants to take care of the kids for me. or at least the ones not in school. the only problem is that she is having foot surgery a week from this coming friday. she was stung by a sting ray the last time they were in florida. the venom didn't dissapate in her bloodstream, it formed a ball of infection in her foot. so now she has to have surgery to remove the infection. she said she can still watch the kids, and the only day she would need help is on wed when she goes back to work (hairstylist). i just hate doing that to her. my mother in law and sister in law also said they would help.

friday, my alex is doing the "stations of the cross" in church. he volunteered to do it. (huge)
he is playing barabas (i probably butchered the spelling). he is doing this in front of every one at church...and this is usually pretty packed. i am so proud of that kid. i don't think i would have been able to do it. i was a little more shy. that's one of the great things about our school. from kindergarten up, the kids are involved in speaking in front of church. it could be readings, or just saying a few petitions (prayer petitions), but they get up in front of everyone...and we have daily mass, so the kids get many opportunities.

weekend recap

ok, quick nephew update. he is doing great. he is going to be moved to a rehab hospital this week i believe. he is mentally all there...a little whiny, but what man wouldn't be? physically he is doing great. thanks for all the prayers! they definitely worked!
friday
jeff and i got away from the kids for the night. we went and saw "i am legend" and went out to eat. the movie was ok. not a "wow" type of movie. not an original idea for a plot, that's for sure. i won't ruin it for anyone, so i won't tell you what movies it was like. it was good, but not great. had will smith not been in it, we wouldn't have gone to see it. i don't think anyone would have. my brother in law was having friends over, so we stopped by. his friend, alexa, was there. her parents took one of the puppies. she said he is like 35 pounds already, and her parents love him like a kid. they are going to take him to obedience classes starting this week. glad to hear they love him.
saturday
grace had her first indoor soccer game this past weekend. she scored a goal and her team won 6-3. their game started at 7:30 AM and the place is a good 30 minute drive from my dad's house. the kids stayed the night there and so my dad drove her to her game. on the way back, she threw up all over herself. my dad is a little hard of hearing, and she didn't speak up, so she was pretty gross when they got home. she slept most of the rest of the day. they brought all the kids home after they dropped alex off for his game at 12. alex's team played the other team from his school. alex's team won. he scored 5 points and fouled out in the 4th quarter.
i got to go out with a bunch of moms. i went to my friend jen's house (the nurse) and she had a "spa" party. a nice lady selling beauticontrol products gave us mini facials, foot stuff, all kinds of good stuff. me being the youngest there, i didn't get as much stuff done to my face. i have fairly clear skin, and not too many lines and/or wrinkles yet, but most of the other moms were atleast 7 to 10 years older than me. it was so much fun to sit around and talk, and just be a woman.
sunday
second sunday in a row that we actually all made it to church. jeff is not an early riser, so we made it to the 11 o'clock mass. the boys were so good in church i was amazed. we had several people make comments about how good the boys were. always nice to hear good things about your kids. we came home to grab jeff some food (he hadn't eaten breakfast yet) and the neighbor's friend (who took a puppy) was out with the puppy. they named him marley. he is a good 5 pounds bigger than sally. he seems happy and healthy. she loves him. i'm glad he has a home where he is loved like he is. from there, we went to the hospital. jacob is doing well. he is in a normal room, his roommate is a teenage boy too. i don't know what happened to him, i didn't ask, but i heard he's a wrestler. we stayed there for a couple of hours. we left there in time to get to alex's next basketball game. he's in a tournament. he played the same team again, the really tough team that totally creamed our boys the first game of the first tournament they were in. (did that make sense?) we didn't lose by as much. only like 13 points. we actually outscored them in the second half. had our team played the first half the way they did the second, we could have taken them. that's nice to see. our boys were so sure they were going to lose going in, i don't think they realized how close they came to winning it in the end.

did i ever say i don't really like watching basketball? i still don't like it much, but when it's my kid out there, i can get interested.

bring it on 2008!

well, it is almost 2008 everybody! are you ready? resolutions? i don't usually do resolutions...but i figured this year should be different. after all i am going to be 30 this year.

1. i want to be more patient with my kids. i am tired of yelling all the time. i am tired of this being the only way to get their attention.

2. i am going to get healthy. i am going to exercise. i am going to be a more fit, and healthy role model for my children.

3. i am going to try to keep the house clean more. i am going to try to do better about getting rid of stuff we don't need, and keeping the house picked up.

that's it. that's my list. i know it's only 3 things, but they are major items in my life. basically i am going to become a total and completely new person.

well, maybe i won't go that far...just better the person i am.

as 2007 comes to a close, it makes me think of how my kids are all getting older. this coming year, my 2 girls are going to be 6 and 9...and that's just this coming month! my boys are going to be 12, 4, and 3. CRAZY!!!

jeff and i were talking about puberty today. you see, my almost 9 year old girl is getting oily hair. jeff didn't realize this is a sign of puberty in girls. he freaked when i told him. he thought that was something we didn't have to worry about for a few more years (like atleast 3 or 4). i told him about a friend of mine who started her period in 5th grade. we were 10. he almost passed out. to think his baby girl could be on the road to womanhood...ahhhh! so now i have to think of ways to have "the talk" with her. jeff had it with our oldest. i get the girls. how do i say "you are becoming a woman, but not really a woman yet"? i mean, puberty is the start womanhood, but you really aren't an adult. you aren't even mature physically as a woman until late teens, right? i just want to make sure she knows more than i did when i was a kid. i had no idea what a menstrual cycle was until we learned about it in school. NO IDEA! my mom never told me anything about any of the changes happening in my body. i was totally freaked out by it. i want to make sure my girls feel like they can come to me about this stuff. my mom tried, i guess, but anything i asked about...the way she responded was more accusation than answer.
example: me "mom, i think i have a urinary tract infection".
mom "oh yeah? whatever" and she stomped out of the room.

why? well, later she told me she thought i wanted to tell the doctor to put me on the pill.
(by the way, she never did take me to the doctor for that. i got it treated a year later...when i was pregnant.)

but you know what? i have to thank her for that. this was a major example of the relationship i don't want to have with my kids.
thanks

a nephew, a trainer, and a black hole

well, my nephew will have surgery on his neck on wednesday. the family is giving blood, he has already needed 2 units, and they are wanting to be prepared in case he needs more.

i joined the gym my husband belongs to. with my membership came a visit with a personal trainer. trina was so very nice. we had a lot in common. she recently lost about 60 pounds, and was a stay at home mom, and she watched kids too. she totally kicked my butt too! i am not too sore yet, but i know it's coming! i need to get some cardio going today. she showed me how to work several machines, and some really good exercises for my whole body. she recommended several classes for me, and let me tell you, she totally rocks! if i had $100 extra a week, i would totally do the personal trainer route. (that gets you 3 sessions)

i think there is a black hole in my house. i have no idea how so much stuff comes up missing! it is seriously getting scary. it started out with shoes. ok, i can see how that could happen, we do have dogs after all. now, it's my broom. i am dead serious here! how do you lose a broom? i saw it in the living room...laying on the floor. the next morning it was gone. i have checked the house from top to bottom. i checked every bedroom (i do have a 2 year old and 3 year old), the laundry room, the basement, the garage, the bathrooms, i have checked EVERYWHERE! no sign of it anywhere. i guess i have to run out today and get a new one. i need to get out and get a new vacuum belt too. for some reason, the only bissell revolution belts jeff could find were way too big. so now i have to look all over and try to find one that works.

thank you for your continued prayers for my nephew and our family. it is very much appreciated.

disney curse

i have decided that i will not be letting my kids become disney stars. it seems that those kids end up going a little bonkers. of course i am thinking of brittany, and christina, and now brittany's little sister. alex asked me if they were going to have zoey be pregnant on zoey 101. i told him they were most likely going to cancel the show.

teen pregnancy does happen to be a topic near and dear to my heart. i was a senior in high school when i found out i was pregnant with my oldest. i turned 18 thirty days before my son was born. it wasn't exactly the easiest time of my life. i started college on my due date. i went a week and a half past it. i was one of the lucky girls. my husband was right there with me the whole time. i went to the local middle schools for a couple of years to talk about teen pregnancy and abstinence. so many of the girls i met were single moms. most of them, the fathers left when they found out she was pregnant. my hubby and i had only known each other for 6 months when i got pregnant. it was pretty difficult, dealing with pressure to get married right away, or have an abortion, and we were still getting to know each other. we got married when our son was 9 mos old. i finished the first semester of college, but didn't go back. i didn't want to be anything but a wife and mother. i don't regret that. i am planning on returning to school soon, but it has to be on my terms. i am a mother, and a wife. those come first.

ode to the beatles

yesterday, how i long for yesterday (think beatles). well, my day at the spa was fantastic! my stepmom ended up getting me a manicure, pedicure, facial, and haircut and highlight. i got there at 10 and left at 2. it was awesome...except for the fact that i ended up leaving jeff with the kids. not just the 3 he was expecting, but 7 more. you see, school was canceled due to a downed power line. so he let me know how thrilled he was. and he took the kids out to the new playtime party center for lunch. it was a very expensive trip. i think he said it was about $100 after all said and done. i was not happy. he can be so freakin' irresponsible with money. it's not like there wasn't plenty of food to feed the kids here. he just didn't want to deal with them. but anyway, the kids had a good time, and they all liked my haircut. the kids that is. jeff always says the same thing, "why do you even ask, you are going to do what you want anyway". i guess he likes the white trash look i get when i have anything but a short cut. fine hair and long hair don't play well together.

now today, i still love my hair! i also love taking antibiotics for a sinus infection and uti. i also love getting called to pick up my daughter because she looks like she may have pink eye. i love it even more when i get confirmation that she does in fact have pink eye. i love taking children to the doctor with me for my appointment and for grace's and letting my husband sleep until 1pm because he just doesn't feel like getting up. thank god for my hair cut, and my nails. atleast i can look at them and remember yesterday (all my troubles seemed so far away).

what is normal blood pressure? i was always like 120/65 or 70. today i was 140/over 80. i guess it was close enough to normal for them not to say anything. or maybe they thought anyone bringing 4 kids 4 and under to the doctor with them should have blood pressure about there. i don't know. maybe it is weight induced. who knows.

thank god for my stepmom getting me this hair cut. who would of thought something so simple could help so much.

wink wink

my house is so quiet right now. i just have one extra kid at the moment, and i am relishing the peace. for some reason, my eye has been twitchy the last 2 days. i feel like those cartoon characters right before they lose it. this weekend it going to be mega-busy. there is the "breakfast for dinner with santa" friday night (who comes up with these names?), saturday is the craft fair for the playground (i have to work this one), sunday my in-laws have their christmas party for their car club at their house (we go up to help get things ready).

i am actually looking forward to saturday. i am not selling anything, but i have some friends that are, and i am looking forward to seeing what all will be there. not to mention the fact my kids will not be there. i hope anyway. saturday is not exactly a good day for finding a sitter. my sister in law that i can usually count on is going to have a booth at the fair, my mom in law is getting ready for her party...i wish alex was just a tad bit more mature, then i could just have him watch the other kids. maybe my mom or step mom will be able to take them. otherwise, i will just have to bring them with me. ugh!

well, the peace hasn't lasted as long as i had hoped. i must be off in search of a couple of 2 year olds, and a 3 year old. they decided to play outside for a while.