Lost Little D for 10 minutes today

I was so scared that I thought I would throw up.

Hubby was in the prayer room praying about this decision of leaving us for school. I got the kids from the nursery and went to wait outside of the room for him. A lady that runs the grief counseling group that I know was talking to me about what was going on and wanting my phone number to get some information to me. I let go of the kids (we were by a wall and it was pretty open ~ not too many people right next to us) and wrote it down. Princess Grabby Hands started toddling away and Little D ran after her to grab her with me following close behind. I grabbed PGH and next thing I knew, LD was nowhere to be found.

LD, being not even 3 years old yet and with autism, is completely fearless. I was petrified that he ran outside or any other worse situation that goes through a mom's mind when their kid is missing. I started dodging between people. There were so many there b/c it was right after the 9:30 service ended and people were coming in for the 11:00 service. I am shouting for LD at this point with everyone looking around to see who I was yelling for.

A woman from my retreat yesterday saw me and knowing my LD is autistic started searching frantically with me. She saw one of the security people (my hubby is on security too so we know them) and they went outside and alerted the greeters to look for him.

10 minutes seemed like 10 hours at this point. I must have made the rounds around the church at least 15 times. I had PGH in my arms and left the diaper bag by the prayer room door. I pass by the prayer room door on another pass and guess who is there trying to lift the diaper bag.....YES MY SON!!!! PRAISE THE LORD!

I just grabbed him and hugged him so tightly. I shoved both of the kids in the prayer room with daddy at this point (don't know why I didn't get him when this first happened but my brain was mush) and went to find those who were looking to tell them he had been found. By this time, my friend from the retreat was in tears herself and security was getting someone in a golf cart to drive around the parking lot. THANK YOU LORD FOR THOSE THAT CARE SO MUCH.

Needless to say, my eyes are red from crying now. We got to the van and buckled the kids in....I just lost it. I bawled for 5 minutes.

Yes, LD got "the lecture" about staying near mommy and never running off. And people wonder why I usually have him on a harness backpack thingy.

CALGON TAKE ME AWAY!

We go Grandma's house

I know if Little D could dig a tunnel the whole 16 miles to Grandma's house, he would in a heartbeat. Every single time we get in the van, the first thing he says is "WE GO GRANDMA'S HOUSE!" 90% of the time he is wrong and lets us know how upset he is that we aren't going the direction he thinks we should.

LD is always trying to "tell" us which way to go by saying "THAT WAY" and pointing in a direction. Incredibly, he always points in the direction that Grandma lives no matter which way we are going. How does a two year old do that? It's almost freaky!

One day we are going to follow his pointing and see if he leads us there. I will probably fall over laughing if he did. The child cannot remember that we just told him to pick up his toys but he can remember which direction Grandma's house is no matter how long it's been since we've gone there last.

Grandma just promised him the pumpkin farm next week. I know he is going to love it. We will go to Grandma's house and LD will not care that we are going to see pumpkins (although he talks about them constantly all the time). He will only care that Grandma is getting in the van with us to go there, too.

My hubby has a daddy's girl with Princess Grabby Hands. I have a momma's boy with LD but the second Grandma is in the picture....mommy becomes chopped liver! Oh the humanity! LOL

It takes so little to make me happy

I have some things for sale on eBay. One of the items went up by a quarter in the last minute. I squealed with delight. How incredibly silly is that?

I tell ya! My hubby says it is way too easy to make me happy and I'm a super cheap date. That's me! If I am what I eat then I'm cheap, fast and easy!

I don't ever want gifts. I never want to go anywhere. I don't drink. I don't buy expensive perfumes or anything for myself. I don't wear make up often. I don't wear much jewelry. I must be the lowest maintenance wife just above the Amish!

For Christmas, my birthday and Mother's Day, my hubby says it's like pulling teeth to find out what to get me for a gift. I never want anything really. On rare occasion I have gotten a gift certificate for a manicure and pedicure and it takes me a while to use it. I still haven't gone for that hubby told me to go get back in January.

Why do I do this? Why do I not care? I mean, I am glad I am not materialistic but how come I am not that upset about putting myself last? I am a woman! I should care about this stuff.

I think I am part alien. I really do. What other woman does not want anything? What other woman gets excited over a stinking quarter increase in an auction she is selling?

I am pathetic! I need a life I guess! LOL

Aparently I stink

Well, I can tell you all because it will just stay between you and me right? I know you won't tell anyone!

I was going to the bathroom the other day. You know....not number one but number two. I had the door open, as usual when you have two toddlers and you have no other adult in the house to watch that they don't destroy the entire place in the few minutes you are in there.

So anyways, I was going to the bathroom and my sweet and charming Little D (almost 3 for those of you new to my blog) left the hallway to go to the living room. I thought he was just going to go play or something. A minute later he comes back with the wipes. Now, you have to know that he brings me the wipes whenever Princess Grabby Hands (our 14 month old baby girl) is stinky. It's just his way of telling me she needs a diaper change.

Back to my story, he brings me the wipes. I ask him if PGH is stinky. He replies no. I ask him if HE is stinky. He replies no. I said who are the wipes for. He says, "MOMMY IS TINKY!!" GEE THANKS KIDDO! I laughed so hard I almost fell off the toilet.

After composing myself, I told him, "Well yours doesn't smell like roses either son and at least you don't have to clean MINE up!" The things this kid comes up with!

So, now you all know my embarrassing story about LD, the bathroom and mommy. I know you will totally keep this to yourself and not tell a soul, right? I have your word don't I? I thought so! THANKS!

I don't know what got into me

Maybe I am sick of looking at the stuff. Maybe it's because we need the money. Maybe I am just enjoying selling stuff. I just finally got a bunch of stuff listed on eBay.

Wow that is hard work. I give a lot of credit to those women that do this for a living to make extra cash. All that picture taking and pricing and description making. WHEW

Now I can see why some people just go to these eBay brokers to get their stuff listed. How do I start a racket like that? I can do that for a living...especially if it's kids stuff!

Now if only I can get motivated to clean out the rest of my house. I guess this is a step in the right direction...right? I swear, there are days that I feel like just cleaning out the whole house and putting it up on eBay. It's just stuff that I probably don't really need and most likely wouldn't miss.

Why do we get so attached to our junk? I mean really! You can hold onto something so small and insignificant for years and then finally pull it out and wonder what the heck you kept it for. How silly.

I need to go through the rest of the 4 million boxes in the garage. Maybe, just maybe there could be something worth something in one of them. Probably not though! While I'm dreaming....

So who wants to get me organized?

I think I have bought at least 3 books on organization. I would read them except I have no clue where they are! That statement would be funnier if it weren't true....sigh.

I'm looking around my house and am just shaking my head in disgust. I am tired of saying "sorry about the mess but we are in the middle of spring cleaning" when it's already September! I have a box for a box, a bag for a bag and piles all over. BLEH!

So, who wants to come clean out my house? I totally need one of those clutter shows here. They would probably look at my house and say NEVER MIND! I know, I'm pathetic! I told you I am a supermom dropout! You don't believe me?

My living room is decorated in early toddler. Toys, hand prints and crumbs everywhere. My kitchen is clutter haven. It has junk that is on it's way to the garage on a few counters but has not made it that far. We won't talk about the dog food all over the floor that the dog seemed to think she needed to spread around.

Speaking of the garage....wait, I don't want to speak about it. I have a 2 1/2 car garage that I cannot get one car into. With my sister's stuff in there (tanning bed, washer, dryer, TV's, bikes, etc.) and all my junk (those many boxes of clothes I mentioned in a previous post), you have to CLIMB all over everything to get to what you are looking for.

The attic. Well....yeah....the attic. It isn't full but the whole area around the pull down steps is so crowded that I can't put anything else up there unless I organized first. I will be lucky to find the Christmas decorations in a couple of months.

My bedroom. The catch all for everything we don't want getting into the kid's hands. Toys that are taken from them when they won't pick them up so they become ours for a day or two. Laundry that is always over due for getting done. My dresser that I don't remember what the top of it looks like because of all the junk that gets piled on it. What a wonderful, peaceful haven to sleep in. NOT!

Princess Grabby Hand's room. The kids don't play in there so it has boxes of clothes to grow into flowing out of the closet. There is a box of extra stuff from the kitchen that we don't know what to do with it. She, also, has my old desk (from when I was a kid) in there and her room is DINKY! Poor girl. One of these years I'll get to redecorating and organizing her room. Maybe in time for her to get married even!

The bathroom. Between the two litter boxes that tends to have more litter out of the then in them because of the sloppy cats and a hubby that has a habit of leaving EVERYTHING in there (including a complete library of books) I always feel like the place is a mess. We won't go into the bath toys hanging on the wall in a mesh laundry bag.

Now the last thing, Little D's room. Believe it or not, our 2 1/2 year old room is the most organized in the house. Well, it was the most recent redecorating project that we have done (this past spring). We made him a Bat Cave....Batman. I recently changed the furniture around in there to make it easier for the kid's to play in there so everything is pretty well organized. Wow, who would have thunk it? A boy's room cleaner then the rest of the house.

Oh wait! I cannot forget our yard. I have a brown and withered thumb so the thought of me growing anything but hostas (the plant that never dies) is a joke. In fact, I am so over run with hostas that I think the yard will soon no longer need mowing because it will be one giant hosta. I guess that is what I get for wanting something that I can plant that I can't kill. The yard is decorated in preschool playground. Swing set, club house, ride on cars, bikes, trikes, basketball hoop, etc. all clutter the yard. I can't complain, it was all given to us for free.

HELP! ANYONE???? I THINK I NEED A BULLDOZER AND JUST START OVER!

So I guess someone wants to work in my place

I went to the unemployment office to get some paperwork showing that I do not qualify for unemployment payments. I have not worked in years due to being a stay at home mom. The woman behind the desk brings up my social security number and asks "I see you worked at XXX recently." First of all, I never heard of the place. Second, I haven't worked in about 4 years. Thirdly, it had the name Phoebe Barrett next to it.

As you probably noticed by my profile, Phoebe Barrett is not now nor has it ever been my name. Apparently this person has decided to pay into my social security income. I don't know. I have to call tomorrow to see what I have to do. This lady better not make me have to go through the trouble of changing my social security number or else I'll be a very cranky lady!

I am not worried about her stealing my identity in the terms of getting credit or whatever. I will share with you that the only credit she could achieve with my social security number is the credit that someone is alive that has it. Due to many medical issues (and subsequent bills), let's just say me getting a credit card would be harder then Donald Trump being turned down for one. It's just not going to happen.

So here I sit with a double identity and no money to show for the cash she is making at her job. Hey, if you're gonna use my number, at least give me some money that your making on it! Just kidding there but now I have to deal with yet another governmental office (OH JOY) to get this straightened out. We won't talk about today with having to go to 5 governmental offices all today. That is another story that I just don't want to talk about. The lines and waiting that I had to do was worse then the line for the newest roller coaster at Walt Disney World. UGH!

We now have 4 upright people in our house!

Watch out world! Princess Grabby Hands now has a higher reach! She is a full fledged walker now! She walks 90% of the time and is getting faster each day. OH MY!

I look at PGH and Little D and wonder where those two delicate babies went that I had not so very long ago. I asked this of hubby the other day and he said the two toddlers we now have ate them! I don't doubt it. They look a little like those babies but are so "KID" looking now.

I told PGH today that she better either pray for an extremely fast metabolism or learn to slow down on the eating. The rate she is going, she will be 500 lbs by her second birthday! That child will eat her food and try to nibble on what her brother won't eat. I get one super picky kid and one that would eat dirt if you gave it to her.

Speaking of eating, I think her favorite food right now is paper. Any kind of paper. Notebook, magazine, toilet paper, paper towel...you name it, she'll eat it. I have no clue. I swear I give her enough fiber and her diapers are proving that!

Little D won't eat squat. All meat except for chicken nuggets are made of poop in his book. Won't touch eggs, veggies or even hot dogs! What 2 year old won't eat a hot dog? Not that I thing they are all that great nutrition wise but COME ON! Don't they all pretty much like them? If the kid doesn't have his Ovaltine and Pop Tart every morning, you would think that the sun refused to shine that day or something. What a picky pants!

I guess PGH takes after mommy. She hasn't met a goody she doesn't like. Oh boy! That is not the trait I want her to get from me. I have the figure to prove that statement. She is pretty slim now so I'm just hoping it continues or the poor girl is gonna have a lot of junk in that plush trunk of hers!

So now I NEED to make socks

My friend Ann got me on a kick to wanting to knit my first pair of socks. Or as hubby says, tie knots in yarn to make something. She has been feeding into my addiction as well by giving me links to patterns. Leave it to a friend to help you push further into an addiction when she has it herself! LOL You know I love ya Ann!

So anyways, I get this yarn off of EBay and it was delivered today. It is an Alpaca and Merino wool yarn blend. Can I just say that this is the softest, silkiest yarn I have ever felt? I cannot wait to make a nice pair of dressy socks for church for under my nice slacks and feel my feet GLIDE into them. You know it is luxurious yarn when your hubby feels it and requests socks made for himself out of this yarn!

AND...again feeding my addiction...Ann made me some stitch markers that are AWESOME that I'll get to use on pretty much any sock pattern I decide to use. At least I know someone who doesn't think I'm completely nuts for my yarn addiction.

I have told hubby that we need to buy an Alpaca farm now. Well, he is unemployed right now and hoping to get into a slightly different type of job then straight drafting. What is more different then owning a bunch of goofy looking animals that you can make yarn from? I told him that we see the commercials all the time and joke about it. I could make my own yarn and even sell it! Ok....now I'm just dreaming but it would be cool! We wouldn't have the start up money for a farm. It's tempting though!

It's the little things like a really nice yarn to make me happy. I'm so pitiful! I get giddy over yarn! How goofy. Oh well, like I told hubby when he met me, at least I'm a cheap date. I enjoy the minor things in life and am very low maintenance! Put me in a yarn store and just let me feel yarns! LOL Sad....isn't it?

Does it count as exercise?

I just spent the evening dancing with my kids. I sure hope I burned at least a few calories! I am ready to toss out this CD now. The songs have well annoyed me after the third round of playing them.

First we did the Chicken Dance. You know the one. The dance that everyone looks like a fool doing at every wedding in full dressed up attire. "I don't wanna be a chicken, I don't wanna be a duck, so I'll shake my butt! QUACK QUACK QUACK QUACK!" Yes, I did the hand motions, the butt shaking and everything. I think Little D was more baffled (one of his new words) then anything at seeing mommy flap like a chicken! LOL

So then we move onto the Hokey Pokey. Did I spell that right? I have no clue. Get this...my hubby had no clue what the motions to the part that says "Do the Hokey Pokey and you turn yourself around" and I had to show him. Yes, he was trying to do it with us. The funniest part? We were in the living room with the blinds wide open to the big picture window! I can just imagine someone passing by and seeing our two big butts doing the Hokey Pokey! LOL The kids are too short to see them unless you are right next to the house so that had to look hilarious!

Well, we also did Ring Around the Rosie. LD loves ALL FALL DOWN! He thinks it's hilarious. Mommy thinks it's time to get a new body so I can get up before the next turn of ALL FALL DOWN! This body FALLS DOWN just fine but it's the getting back up part that it doesn't like.

I've also discovered that just because I'm Happy and I Know It that I don't always want to clap my hands after I've heard the song at least three times. There was a weird part in that song that had someone crying. How peculiar. I found it a little disturbing but hey, if they want to cry in a song, then that is their option I guess. LD heard this and got hysterical (in a sad way) that someone was crying. I've never seen him have such empathy for someone else before. WOW!

Princess Grabby Hands was dancing with daddy through most of this. She is just in love with her daddy. I guess most baby girls are! They looked so cute together. PGH was cracking up with everyone dancing.

I am hoping LD goes to sleep faster. He out danced everyone here. He was running around and around in circles for about 30 minutes after we were pooped! I was waiting for him to fall down from being completely dizzy. Never happened.

That reminds me...don't roll down a hill as an adult. You don't recover very quickly to go running back up it. Last time I did that, the kids that were with us ran back up and rolled back down three more times before I could even stand up because I was so dizzy. There are three things you should never do after 30. First, don't roll down hills. Second, don't do anything that puts your butt over your head (cartwheels, flips, etc.) unless you are well trained and thirdly, don't try to keep up your energy level with a 2 year old boy. It just won't happen unless you are an aerobics instructor. I think mommy needs a nap now.

So why can't I get automatic clothes rotation?

I just spent about 2 hours sorting through clothes. First, the hand me down clothes given to me by friends (THANKS GALS) that are for both Little D and Princess Grabby Hands. I had looked through them when I first got them but never actually did anything with them aside from leaving them in their boxes on my couch until now because the items were a little too big.

Today I decided that PGH's belly button hanging out of everything and ankles showing when she wears pants is over. If LD wore some of his jammies much longer, the ability of him creating grandchildren would be in question because they were getting a bit snug in *AHEM* certain places. I washed, folded and sorted everything by drawer (or hanging up) to get used which took about an hour to do (besides the actual washing/drying). Can I just say these kids are set?

I spent the next 30 minutes going through their drawers (the ones in their dressers, not the ones on their butts....they still have diapers, not undies). Found almost two boxes of outgrown clothes between the two of them. I think that both LD and PGH would have been wearing Daisy Duke shorts soon if I kept some of them in their clothes line up. Anybody need some clothes? I think there are about 20 boxes in the garage now. Ok, let me rephrase that....anybody want to help me get ready for a garage sale? I didn't think so....

Well, then I spent about another 30 minutes putting all the new clothes in their homes. I know there are probably things I missed but I'll find them when I go to put them on their little fannies and they are showing baby booty cracks when they bend over! LOL It already happened to PGH with a pair of pants daddy put on her yesterday. They were a tad small and we had to change her before going grocery shopping so people wouldn't take pitty on the poor ragamuffin child!

I don't know how people switch their whole wardrobe between the seasons. I just can't be that organized. I'm lucky if all my clothes in MY closet fit me at the same time much less if it's the right season. Considering I wear shorts around the house in the winter because I keep the place nice and toasty, no point in storing them away.

So my idea...I want an automatic clothes rotation system. One that scans the kids, gets their measurements and determines which clothes in their rooms will not fit anymore and weeds them out into a box. Would be nice, eh? While I'm dreaming.......

I JUST WANT TO SLEEP IN JUST ONCE!!!!

Why is that so hard for two toddlers to understand? WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!

Well, I guess I shouldn't complain too bad since they are now sleeping until 8:00 am instead of the 6:00 am that used to be their wake up call. I had to convince them that the sun would still rise even if they weren't awake to greet it. I am the type of gal who loved to sleep in until the crack of noon. I NEED 10 hours of sleep to feel normal. Why is that so hard for a child to understand? Don't they know that mommy would be much more pleasant to deal with if they slept until at least 10:00 am? Geesh!

Another thing, those children do not know the most wonderfulness of sleeping in on an overcast cool day! These are not my children! I have no idea where they came from but it couldn't have been from this body. This body would only produce children that can sleep with the best of them. So now my fate is sealed. I am doomed to get up early until they are teenagers and want to sleep in. You know what will happen then, don't you? That is when mommy will wake them up nice and early (on a Saturday no less) and tell them, "If I'm up then you have to be up!" I'm so mean! LOL

Can I just have a weekend in a hotel room just to sleep until I can't sleep anymore? I would love to just wake up naturally because I am well rested instead of waking up because someone is talking loudly in their room to make sure I can hear them so they can get up. I am blessed to have them but is one weekend a year too much to ask for a complete sleep in weekend? YAWN!!!!

Little D is going down under!

With all of the children's shows that Little D watches being based out of Australia, I am positive he will be sounding like an Aussie before long. He already sounds like he's from Jersey half the time b/c he leaves the R's off of things!

LD's favorite show is The Upside Down Show. They only made 13 episodes but the child cannot get enough of these to "brilliant" Aussies! >>>>In case you didn't know, they use the word brilliant as an adjective in place of things like wonderful or great.<<<<>

Then, you have The Wiggles. Anyone who doesn't know who these guys are has to be living under a rock. Greg, Murray, Jeff and Anthony sing, dance and amuse their way into millions of living rooms daily. This is not LD's favorite but he loves the music. Even if I am just playing the CD, he wants to try to sing.

Now, we have the Koala Brothers. These little guys help solve problems in the outback with their plane and band of buddies. I think hubby and I get more of a kick from betting which two friends they will help each episode then the kids do watching them. We usually bet a dollar for each one and it doesn't really matter who wins because the money goes into the kid's piggy banks anyways. It's all in fun.

I listen to LD speak. He gets this slight accent going. I'm beginning to think that he is going to live in Australia when he grows up! He says things with the same flare as these characters. Well, if he wants to live there, he better take all of us with him. I'd love to visit Australia!

This medicine may cause mass hysteria!

Little D was just put on allergy medicine today. He was having problems during some of his therapies and being exceptionally louder so we had his ears checked out and there was some signs of allergies and sinus issues causing him to be a bit off and his hearing to be clogged up.

So he gets prescribed this medicine, Hydroxyzine. What does a good mommy do? I read all of the warnings first. I just love how they word these things. It's all doom and gloom if you take it but it is supposed to make you better, right?

For starters, LD cannot drive while on this medicine nor can he operate heavy machinery. So I guess my toddler won't be jetting around town in his sports car or operating a back hoe. Darn it! I wanted him to run some errands for me or dig a ditch! What is a non-heavy machinery? Does that mean he can operate a radio? What about a microwave? Can he operate Match Box cars? What about battery operated trains? Hmmm....guess I'll have to look this one up.

Unfortunately, LD will not be able to nurse a child or be pregnant either. Now, I was looking forward to having grandchildren some day but I knew it wouldn't be for at least a couple more decades (or at least it better not be if he knows what's good for him) and I had a pretty good feeling that he would not be carrying nor nursing his children. But then again, in 20 years who knows what medical science will come up with. Maybe they will find a way for the men to do all the pregnancy and labor stuff. Oh boy! The human race will be wiped out when they find out how much physical pain is with that!

My 2 1/2 year old will not be able to drink alcohol or take any other depressant drug. Aww man! I was so hoping to go bar hopping with the kid. They ruin all my fun.

I guess the one part he doesn't have to be concerned about is that the elderly can be more sensitive to this drug. Since he is still in diapers, wait, that may not work since some of the elderly are in diapers, too. Let me re-word that. Since he doesn't have any of his adult teeth, wait, that may not work either since some of the elderly don't have any teeth. Ok, since he has only been on this earth for under 3 years (ok, I think that may work unless there is an elderly alien that just came here within the last couple of years that this would apply to) I doubt he has anything to fear with this warning.

The one nice thing about the medicine is that it can calm anxiety as a side effect. Anyone who knows anything about autism knows that these kids can get a lot of anxiety over even the thought of changing their schedule, going shopping and many other things. This may be a wonderful side effect! Here's hoping that this one works in our favor!

Unfortunately, it says not to share this medicine so I guess mommy can't reap the benefits of the anxiety relief issues! Oh well. Can't win them all!

Shhhhh.....I'm selling hubby's comics!

So I am doing auctions on hubby's comics. Here they all are is:http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZaimers1212

I am so tired of having something we don't need taking up space that we don't have. He hasn't touched the darn things since I met him almost 8 years ago. I am constantly cleaning out things of mine to make more room. Per my previous blog, we just cleaned out the kids stuff. It's time the big kid in the family cleaned out his stuff.

So do you think he will be mad? At this point, I don't know and I know he'll read this blog so he'll find out before long. He usually reads my blogs at least every few days. It's not that I don't care but come on! It's time to move on!

Well, he thinks I'm bluffing, I guess he'll find out differently. I know ultimately he won't be mad but he will be more bummed like a little kid told to wait until after dinner to have some cookies. I think he kind of wants to get rid of them but doesn't have the gumption to do it himself because he can't deal with going through them.

He always leaves it to me to get rid of something he can't bring himself to get rid of himself but doesn't want it anymore. He did this with some old clothes his grandmother gave him that he wore in the 70's. He said "if they disappear I don't want to know what happened to them" and they soon after disappeared into the great beyond. He asked where they were and I said somewhere besides here and he just smiled and walked away.

It's time for the comics to move on to the great beyond. It's time for someone else to enjoy them. He doesn't touch them and probably will never touch them again. They will just turn nasty and yellow and old. Time for them to go away.

I guess we'll find out before long! Sweetie...if you read this...YOU KNOW I LOVE YOU! LOL Think of all that space we can put other junk! Suck it up sweetie and wave goodbye to all those comics. I know you won't miss them!

>>>>Do you think that was enough kissing up to hubby? LOL<<<<

8 Random Things (MEME)

Crystal (her blog is Song of My Soul) tagged me for this meme.
RULES - Post rules before giving the facts - Players start with eight random facts/habits about themselves - People who are tagged need to write on their own blog about their eight things and post these rules - At the end of the your blog you need to tag (hopefully) six people and list their names - Leave them a comment on their blog, telling them they have been tagged and not to forget to read your blog.

1. I just became a member at my church today. My hubby and I both became members and are very happy about finally being official members!

2. My hubby and I met at work. We both worked at a job we couldn't stand as drafters. We started dating and within a few months I quit. We got engaged 6 months after dating and he quit shortly after that. We were married 18 months later and have been together since October of 2001.

3. I am a yarn hoarder! I probably have enough yarn in this house to open a yarn shop. I have a huge outside lock up full of it and four drawers full of it in our bedroom closet. I think hubby is going to tie me up with my yarn and shove me outside with it soon! LOL

4. My couch is filled with children's clothes. A pile of dirty and a box of clean. I got some hand me down clothes in the mail from a friend (THANKS JODEE) and they are still sitting in the box because I've been to busy to do anything with them. I take that back, I am finding things to make me too busy to do anything with them because I'm too lazy to put them away! The dirty clothes are getting ready to be washed.

5. I'm currently eating pizza. It's not delivery, it's Di Giorno! Have you ever had their pizza? It's super yummy. Especially the garlic bread pizza! I'm glad hubby is eating it too or else he'd stay clear of me for the next day with garlic breath!

6. I am planning on home schooling my children. I feel for our family it would be the best plan. I am not against public school or private school. We have decided that our kids (especially Little D with his autism) would benefit from being home schooled.

7. I've had the same best friend for almost 24 years. My friend, Michelle, and I met in 7th grade and hated each other for no apparent reason when we first met. By the middle of the school year, we were best friends. Go figure! Tweens are so fickle! That was back in January of 1984. Wow, that just gave away my age! Oh well! LOL

8. My favorite thing to wear is sweat pants and a t-shirt. With two toddlers running around and a million therapies to go to, I don't have time to look spiffy. (does anyone even use that word anymore?) I guess that is partly what makes me the supermom dropout. I don't even try to look put together. I put on my sweats and t-shirt, put my hair in a braid and don't even bother with make up. If someone doesn't think I look good enough then they don't have to look at me!

I am sending this to my friends:
My hubby at Scripture, Steel Wings & Sippie Cups
Ann whose blog is bananerknits

I couldn't do 6 because I don't know anybody well enough to add them. If anyone else wants to be added, let me know! I'll Meme you as well!

Take a toy...any toy!

TWO FULL BOXES AND A BAG OF GARBAGE!

That is what has come out of this house so far from cleaning Little D's room out of any broken or unused toys. I cannot believe that many toys were not being used! Oh my gosh does it look so much better in there! We even had room to rearrange things so he could get to his train table again. Yes...He is FINALLY playing with that cash hog! WOOHOO!!!!

So we still have Princess Grabby Hands' room to clean out. I know for a fact there are rattles and stuff in there and the child is over a year old. I don't think rattles are what is on her mind to play with at this point. Who knows, I may find the Holy Grail in there!

I just want the stuff out of here! With LD's birthday and Christmas being back to back, I know that they will get restocked on the toys in a few short months. We didn't get rid of the "favorites" or the ones they play with at least once every couple of weeks. It was all the stuff that I haven't seen either child touch in ages even though they had full access to them!

So now what to do. On top of about 20 boxes of clothes in the garage, I now have the two boxes of toys I just cleaned out plus another two that I cleaned out about 4 months ago. I gave a few toys to the speech therapist to update some of her stuff (she gets bored using the same toys over and over).

Garage sale. I know that is what is on so many of your minds. I really want to but UGH the work! It takes forever to set up and price everything. The clean up is easier because everything gets shoved into boxes and off to the charity thrift store with it. I refuse to try to resell things from the year before and have them take up space in my garage for a whole year. I'm sure I'll have a lot of other things that I am sick of seeing not being used by the next year.

Then to make sure the kids don't come along and take back out what you put in there! That is the hard part. They see toys they haven't played with in ages and all of a sudden it's their favorite toy all over again. GROAN!

So do I or don't I...that is the question. Decisions, decisions. If I am going to do this, I have to do it soon. It's already September for Pete's sake! (Who's Pete anyways and why do we care about his sake?) Someone want to come over and do my garage sale for me? I thought not. Well, I tried!

The ER needs an overhaul!

I am so frustrated right now. Princess Grabby Hands had a good fall and hit her head. After a short while she wasn't seeming right but I couldn't tell if it was because of the fall or if there could have been other reasons.

After debating back and forth between hubby and myself for about 20 minutes, we decided that I should take her in to the ER just to get checked out. A "better safe then sorry" moment.

I get to the ER and it's got some people in the waiting room but not super crowded or anything. I sign her name on the clip board and just ask the security guard if someone can just talk to me for a minute to make sure she doesn't need to be seen right away due to it being a one year old with a potential head injury which can go from bad to worse relatively quickly. He said he'd tell the nurse.

I wait and wait and wait and wait. 30 minutes go by and I don't even see a nurse anywhere. Yes, I'm still in the waiting room and nobody has looked at PGH (not even a quick flashlight in the eyes check). I finally see a nurse calling up the next person on the list who happens to be about four people ahead of us and it is the first person to be called since I walked in. He says he needs to use the restroom and I take that moment to go up and talk to the triage nurse.

The triage nurse looks at my daughter for two seconds, says she's alert, seems fine and we'll see her when we get to her. Ok....since when do you know all that from looking at a child for two seconds? She was over a foot away from her. I wasn't expecting for us to by pass everyone there but would it have hurt them to look at her for at least a minute or two just to determine if there was a more immediate need because of it being a head issue?

I sat back down and waited about another 20 minutes and nobody else was called so I just left. I figured at this point if my PGH was going to have anything big happen, it would have happened and she was getting mad at me for holding her because she wanted to go explore the waiting room. I figured she was fine at that point.

This is the second time in that ER that I felt completely neglected. I understand ER's are busy but when someone comes in with a child with possible head trauma they should at least pretend to care because that is nothing to fool around with.

I've been there before waiting to see if I broke my ankle and had nobody even offer me an ice pack after an hour and a half. Finally hobble down to the nurses station and there is like 20 people sitting around talking and laughing. AND NOBODY CAN EVEN COME TO MY ROOM WHERE THEY LEFT ME FOR OVER AN HOUR AND SAY THE DOCTOR IS BUSY BUT WOULD YOU LIKE AN ICE PACK????? That is uncalled for!

I told them I wanted to leave right then and wanted my discharge papers. I left a complaint then and so did my hubby when I got home. He called because he was so angry with them. This ER used to be pretty good. I don't know what happened in the last year but it went down hill fast!

Sorry not a funny post today but right now it's hard to do funny when I want to (as hubby puts it) get out my pitch forks and torches and go storm the place.

By the way, PGH seems fine and we did a whole head injury assessment after we got home and she didn't have anything that would indicate a serious injury at that point. She is resting comfortably and we are checking on her every 30 minutes to be sure she is fine.

I think SOMEONE is trying to tell me something

For the forth time in a matter of 3 weeks, I have heard this passage from the bible:

Train a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not turn from it. Proverbs 22:6

I have heard this by 2 different books, a website and a sermon in the last few weeks. The way it's always been explained is not that you should JUST train a child within the eyes of God on which way you should go but train them by their "bent"...their own personality so that it will be easier to find their way throughout life without having to try to be someone that they are not.

I think this is God's way of telling me that I really need to pay attention to both of my kid's "bent" and train them to the best way they will be able to comprehend and deal with things. Ok God! I got the message now! Ya don't need to smack me upside the back of the head with it! LOL I know I'm a little dense but sheesh!

Little D is very rambunctious. He is the type of child that goes 120% into EVERYTHING! This is my child that rolled over at 3 months old, crawled by 5 months old, cruised around the furniture by 7 1/2 months old and was walking by his first birthday. He will be the one at 6 years old flying off the roof in a wagon with an umbrella as a parachute and think nothing of it...while mommy stands there in complete shock trying to yell NOOOOOOOOO as the blood drains from her face! LD is the child that will fall, say "I'm ok" and get up and play leaving me to find later that his knuckles are bloody but he didn't care. He is the bull in the china shop, no stopping, spinning top, head strong hurricane that I love for all of those reasons.

Princess Grabby Hands has always been a little more cautious and laid back. This is my child that didn't roll over until 7 1/2 months old, waited to crawl until almost 9 months old, cruised around the furniture at 10 1/2 months old and now at almost 14 months old is just getting the gumption up to walk and is still very shaky at it. I don't think it was because she couldn't do these things earlier, she just didn't find any reason to do them. One thing she has done early though is to get that finger pointing and shaking it at people. She started that at 10 months old. I think we are going to be in trouble with little miss sassy pants when she really gets to talking. She is my mellow, content, take your time and enjoy each thing as I go little summer breeze that I love for all of those reasons.

This scripture keeps coming into my life for a very distinct reason. I have two very much ying and yang children. They balance each other out perfectly just like hubby and I do. He is very subdued, somewhat pessimistic, serious and straight forward that keeps me grounded. I am the outgoing, optimistic, silly person that keeps him ready to try new things and just go for it.

My kids need to be raised with the same beliefs, discipline, knowledge and morals but will have to be taught them in different ways. LD may not think twice about the dangers in his life and while I'll have to rein him back, I have to let him make his own mistakes as well. PGH may be the one who is extra cautious that I have to make sure she spreads her wings a little more often without pushing her too far beyond her comfort zone. What may be common sense for one, may not even occur to the other. While LD is socially introverted and prefers to play on his own, PGH is always waving at people and has no problem "flirting" her way into people's hearts with those long eyelashes and sweet smile. They need to know that their is nothing wrong with either personality and they can learn the same things but in different ways. LD will probably keep PGH on her toes while she keeps him grounded. Wouldn't it be funny if they changed up on me and switched gears? They would do that too just to prove me wrong!

I honestly believe in all that we've been through that PGH isn't our blessing as much as she is LD's blessing. God put her in LD's life to be a loving force to be reckoned with. LD cannot ignore PGH no matter how hard he tries. She is the type that will demand to be loved whether he wants to or not. Sounds kind of familiar...I won't mention any names here. They say that parents often have personality conflicts with their children that are the most like them. Let's just say I see a lot of head butting between PGH and mommy in the future!

>>>>Walking away before too many fingers are pointing at me from similarities between PGH and myself!<<<< ****WHISTLING****

So I get this idea in my head

Why do I do this to myself? I get these crazy schemes and go for them and then wonder what the heck I was thinking. I swear I could make Laverne and Shirley look like a couple of rocket scientists sometimes!

What haven't I tried? I have made Dove Ice Cream bars at the huge Dove plant. I have sorted "spam" snail mail (you know...the Ed McMahon sweepstakes type things) at a mailing factory. I have worked in most retail jobs known to man. I have professionally done manicures, pedicures, facials and hair as well as some make up for weddings on the side. Yes, licensed hairdresser here.

The list moves on to a computer aided drafter (CAD) , which is how I met my hubby. I think I just got that certificate and worked in that field for 4 years just because I was to meet him. I HATED that career path. I am so not about the office politics. I just wanted to do my job and go home....but NOOOOOOO....I was drawn into every bit of anything that was going on in that office. Why do women have to be that catty?

So then I went on to working in the public school system in the Kindergarten while getting my teaching degree. No...I didn't finish it. Kind of had to put that on hold while having Little D and subsequently Princess Grabby Hands. Now I don't think that is the route I even want to go. At least I got a Child Care Certificate and an Associates in Arts out of it and am legally able to work as a preschool teacher! Yet another piece of paper to add to the pile of what I am legally allowed to do. LOL

While trying to conceive I chose to sell Avon. It was great until I became my own best customer. You kind of have to quit when that happens. I owed more then I made at that point and I don't even wear make up! It was all the other stuff they sell! I bought so many toys (for the kids I WOULD have) and gifts and body washes, etc. to stock up for 10 years!

I have also sold PartyLite Candles, Pampered Chef and am currently able to sell Usborne Books as well as Tupperware but I am not a very good product pusher so I haven't sold anything in months! I don't care and I'm just waiting for either them to tell me to go away! They just don't!

Oh...and I won't tell you how many years I have done craft shows and used to have my own craft store online. Wow...was that all me? I guess I'll do just about anything for money to stay home with the kids. Well, almost anything! Nothing illegal or immoral of course. Still do the craft thing and enjoying that but I think it will be a while until I can move back into the high demand I used to do it. At least it will be until the kids are old enough to help more then destroy as I am doing it! Gotta love that child labor! LOL

Ok...I just realized why I wrote this blog. I totally got off on a tangent here. If you know me in real life, you realize that is the norm for me. I am always in a million directions because I am a massive multi tasker. I can check emails while on the phone, watching TV and crocheting in between reading the emails. OK...just got side tracked again. I can see I better get going on the topic at hand before I totally go in yet another direction.

I told you all of the above information to show you that I am a jump in with both feet type of gal when I get my mind onto something. This time it's writing a book. I love to write (like you couldn't tell from all these blogs) and my dream was always to be a writer. I used to hide that dream and take it out only when I was alone for fear that if I left it out exposed to anyone else that it would get broken.

I am now taking the chance and going for it. I have an outline all ready to go. Now, if I get the ambition to write, I can pick one of the many topics for a chapter that I have listed and just run with it. The question is, how often will that happen with my 2.5 children, 4 cats and 1 dog always demanding my attention? Ok, so the cats don't demand my attention (unless they are out of food) so I don't have to worry about them. The dog on the other hand...she is an attention hound. And the kids? They are kids so you know how that goes. The hubby? We won't go there! LOVE YOU HONEY! :* >>Doing my best to kiss up to him after that remark<<

Well, I should start to write but it's late. Maybe during nap time tomorrow. My mind is just swimming with ideas of what to put on the screen! We'll see where this leads me! When I am a famous writer I will be sure to remember all those that helped me get there! OK....I tried typing that with a straight face! I just am never THAT full of myself! :D I'll be lucky to get the thing completed. Published? That will be another story!

They keep looking at me

Ok...so this one isn't for the faint of heart. Turn back now before your retinas burn out from what you are about to read.

I was having a rather intellectual conversation with my hubby last night....at least I seemed to think it was. I got up to use the bathroom but turned to finish the topic first. After a few moments I realized he had absolutely no idea what I was saying. Noticing that I stopped talking, he just looked up and said "Put those things away, they keep looking at me." It took me a minute to realize what he was talking about.

Well, yes, it was my chest. I happened to be in a pair of baggy pajama bottoms and a white t-shirt with no bra (it was almost bedtime) and let's just say that I definitely didn't have to stuff with cotton what God had forgotten. Being that I was pretty much pregnant or nursing for the better part of three years, the size DD chest that I had grown accustomed to has now turned into an F. You flat chested gals need not throw tomatoes at me now, they are no fun at all! I will gladly be a donor to many of you!

So, here is the conversation as it happened:

Him: Put those things away, they keep looking at me.

Me: What?

Him: Those, they are distracting me.

Me: Well, nobody told you to look. And, besides, they aren't looking at you, they are looking at the floor.

Him: What? The floor?

Me: Yes, the floor. These girls haven't looked straight ahead in years. Right now, in fact, they are looking at the cat on the floor if you want to get technical about it.

Him: (rolling eyes) But I still like them.

At that, I walked into the bathroom and thought about it. It's quiet in there and I can do a lot of my best thinking in there even if it's just standing around doing nothing. Guys read in there, I think in there. If anyone has a problem with that, then so be it!

Anywho, I got to thinking about "them". I thought about how much "they" changed in the last few years. How much my whole body changed since having so many changes over the last three and a half years. I looked down at my body and thought that maybe my chest wasn't drooping just to droop. Looking down at my belly which was never firm but was never this "floppy" before made me really think about it. Maybe my chest is just commiserating with my belly and showing solidarity by not letting it be the only thing to head south. Maybe my chest felt sorry for my belly. I can live with that, a chest with sympathy.

This body, the one that lost and gained and lost and gained 30 to 50 pounds over the last few years is now a mom. The hips that used to fit easier into pants but now look like I'm wearing "riding" pants most of the time b/c of the saddle bags that now reside there. The middle never was flat but now it has more rolls then a bakery. How so much can change in such a small amount of time.

Now I'm sure the pregnancies alone did this to me. It could not have been any of those little miniature powdered doughnuts that I craved all the time or the 2 pound bags of M&M's that I downed in a week. Yes, my diet was wonderful during those cravings, wasn't it?

Before bed, I checked in on my kids as they slept. Little D was looking like a hit and run victim as usual. That child always has limbs in the most unnatural positions when he sleeps. Princess Grabby Hands, with those hands still for the first time that day, was sleeping in her usual "butt in the air" position with everything else curled under her.

I went in my room and looked down at my body once more. It seemed to look more like a soft place to sleep then a bunch of chubby rolls. It looked more like a big firm hip to hold a child that was tired after playing at the park then a saddle bag that made my pants fit funny. My chest looked like it was still deflated but at least I know they got that way for good reasons. Nothing too pretty about a deflated chest! Sorry, couldn't get any revelations on that one.

It's funny how your views of things in everyday life can change with just a glance of your kids. They change your life in all sorts of ways. Your days are busier. Your schedule becomes more hectic. Your time, body and life is no longer your own. But, you know what? I wouldn't have it any other way. I just have to hear one "I wuv you mom" and it all makes it worth while (even more so for me because of my son's disability). One nuzzle from your one year old little girl and the stress of the day melts away.

This body is now their safety net. It's their soft place to land. It's love. It's now me and what I'm all about and I'm loving every minute of it even on my most stress filled day!

Mommy's on Strike!

Here is the blog that I wanted to publish last night but couldn't because I couldn't upload my pictures because of the snafu that happened last night that I wrote about so I am now writing it today!

Did that make any kind of sense? Don't worry, I wrote it and have absolutely no idea what it means! To see what I am talking about...please read the Blog from 9/1/07.

Considering we've had at least one person sick for the last 7 days (meaning mommy in one form or the other plus the remaining 3 in the house with colds).....MOMMY IS ON STRIKE! I just don't have it in me to even care if my house is clean.

Those that are clean freaks and germ-o-phobes may want to look away from the following pictures. I will not take responsibility for you if you pass out or get sick at the following sights of my house! The rest of you....read on!

This is my living room after 3 days. Not bad you say? Well....I have spared you the kitchen sink filled to capacity with dishes, the couch filled with dirty kids clothes, my hamper so overflowing that it's now spilling to the floor and the garbage can that has a bag sitting next to it because the can is so full that we cannot fit even a raisin on top without it falling off. We have LD in a tent that now blocks the hallway and PGH pounding away on a toy.....and subsequently my head. Oh my aching head....


As you can see...the kids have decided that 50% of the toys in this house now need to be in the living room. Little D has taken up mechanics and is now trying to figure out how the walker works from the bottom up...er down (since it's upside down). I just thank God that Princess Grabby Hands wasn't in it when he decided it needed to be flipped over. She is engrossed in The Upside Down show on TV. Yes, my toddler watches TV and her eyes haven't burned out of her head yet. Sue me!


Apparently, the walker is now fixed and LD is turning back upright. The dog has taken it upon herself to make sure that the plate on the floor that LD flipped over has nothing left on it. I guess she figured she would help with the dishes. Thanks old girl but I don't need your special doggy spit detergent. PGH is still clueless that her brother is doing anything behind her. She is so used to the extra loud noises he makes that she is oblivious to him until she wants to play with him.

If you noticed, the first picture has PGH standing. Yes, she CAN walk but no she WON'T walk. PGH can get places faster on her hands and knees, thank you very much. LD is all over the living room while PGH is pretty calm and in one place. She is my mellow child (aside from the grabby hands) while LD is the fart in a bottle that needs to bounce through the house like a super ball!

Well, mommy is feeling a little better. The kids are rambunctious again so I guess they are on the mend and daddy dealt with the garbage as well as getting my camera card reader thingy (yes, yet another technical term) this morning so we must be feeling better. I guess we have no choice but to make this house look acceptable now.

I know if someone came by unexpectedly I would have to tell them we were robbed or a tornado hit JUST our house or something to explain the disaster. I am so glad we have no company expected this Labor Day weekend!

I hope this goes to show you just how UN SUPERMOM I AM! Those of you in my shoes...I hope I made you feel better about not getting your housework done and you know that not everyone is as efficient as they try to make themselves out to be. Not all of us can be neatnicks, ya know! We have to be different to put a little spice into life! My motto? Clean enough to be healthy but dirty enough to be happy!

Now back to your regularly scheduled cleaning!

>>>>WHERE IS MY MAID??? Oh yeah....I'm it. I thought M is for MOM and not MAID...but that is another blog maybe in the future!<<<<

This stinking computer!

So now that I've succeeded in making my hubby feel 3" tall....I can finally breath for a moment. I HATE COMPUTERS SOMETIMES!

Yes, I've apologized to my hubby. I was so frustrated that I couldn't see straight. Between being sick, the house being a wreck and having a really silly blog to write that revolved around a picture that I couldn't upload because my camera could not be detected by my computer....I am done with this day!

My camera uploaded pictures to my computer about 16 days ago (last time I uploaded...yes I know, I don't take enough pictures...join the club of those that are desperately trying to get me to scrapbook but will never succeed). Since 16 days ago, my hubby installed a wireless keyboard and mouse because our old ones went kaput and these were on sale as a set.

Earlier today the computer was running slow. I asked him to check it out and he decided to uninstall some things that we didn't use. For some unknown reason, every time this happens, something of mine gets uninstalled. I don't know how it happens, it just does. Go with me on this. Well, I don't know if it was the installation of the keyboard/mouse combo or the uninstallation of certain programs but my camera will no longer "talk" to my computer through it's USB cord. >>>>BEATING HEAD ON KEYBOARD NOW<<<<>

So...after about an hour of searching high and low for the installation disc that came with the camera (which I think might have accidentally gotten thrown out) and me huffing and puffing with frustration through the whole thing we decide to call the camera company, which will remain nameless, (COUGHCANONCOUGH) to see if they have an online installation because we couldn't find it for my model on their website. They informed us that we can get a new disc....FOR $20 FROM THEM! WHAT??????? I already paid way too much for the stinking camera as it is and had the disc. NOW THEY WANT ME TO PAY FOR ANOTHER DISC? a disc that probably costs them pennies to produce!! What a scam.

Anyways....I apologized to hubby for getting mad at him. He found that we could get a USB thingy (technical term there) that I can put the disc thingy (another technical term) from the camera in and plug it directly into the computer for much cheaper then the stupid disc from the company. He asked if I wanted him to get one now (it's 10 pm) and I said it's up to him but at this point I no longer was in the mood to blog about the picture I was trying to upload (maybe tomorrow night). He went anyways....he's such a good hubby! Hubby points awarded there without trying!

So, now I sit with a camera full of pictures, no way to retrieve them until we see if this USB thingy (yes, yet another technical term) works. FUN!

Well, now that I've vented to you, I feel much better! I can totally try to save face with hubby when he comes back and get back in his good graces (not that he was all that mad at me) and get some more liquid green death in a bottle (see last night's blog) into me and go to bed.

Isn't fun reading about how other people screw up their computers so you can realize that you aren't the only fool on the planet that does these things? We won't even go into why I am now confined to the desktop and no longer have a laptop! That is another story and it probably involved gremlins or something (maybe other little creatures in the house with little sticky hands and cute faces). I may blog about that some day but the feelings are still so raw about that topic that I just can't bare to talk about it! We have yet to have the memorial for that poor, abused laptop. SIGH..................



Adding....hubby just came back and the selection was scarce at Walgreen's (priced too high for what I want to spend...yes I'm cheap) so he said he will run out tomorrow to get one from somewhere else. Even more hubby points for that one.