Wednesday, April 30, 2008

I'll take an order of craziness


Include a side of exhaustion and a cup of fear with that please. Whoever thought that once the kids hit adulthood and moved out of the house meant life would get easier....THINK AGAIN! You still have the concerns and fears, you just have a lot less control or chance to counsel. What I asked for prayers for last week or so are still being dealt with. That little issue of respect for privacy prevents me from saying anything. Let's just say quite a few people have been stressed, are losing a lot of sleep and are emotionally a mess. And we really could use continued prayers and postive thoughts.

With all the above mentioned, life is still going on and it hasn't been so bad. On Saturday we celebrated Drew's 24th birthday. 24! That can't be, wasn't I 24yo yesterday?! We had a cookout. Ok...so it was at 9pm in the rain and we ended up frying most of the burgers on the stove. But we TRIED and that has to count for something. Besides, they were BACON cheeseburgers not to mention we also had deviled eggs made by Pat. YUM! They also had a cake eating contest, which IMO is a waste of delicious cake, but that's me. I believe Michelle still reigns as champ. Drew brought over his tv, surround sound, xbox 360 and rock band game so there was lots of fun to be had late into the night. I don't think we were too loud, at least no neighbors complained. Now the kids want rock band, and I want a Wii and you can't have either one without a brand new HD tv. lol

Oh the neighbors. Haha I brought Liz down the street yesterday. The lady she babysits for is a hair dresser (now known as HD) and she was going to do some work on Liz's hair for free. I ended up sitting in the driveway talking to HD for over 30mins and heard some interesting things. While someone on our street was filling HD in about the neighbors...It came out that my 20 kids and I are trying to start a commune! LOL Oh isn't that rich. I told her it's a good thing I don't care what people think of me, otherwise I might be offended. Just wait until we get our chickens, then Mr Uppitypants will really flip a lid! BTW... HD has someone in her shop who's moving into the city and needs to find new owners for her laying hens and a couple roosters. So we may be adopting some birds soon! Woohoo!

I am SO done with our morning routine! It seems like I can't get the little girls out the door without a major fight anymore. I HATE starting our day like that. It's led me to seriously consider homeschooling them, but we'll see. If we lived in a state with more relaxed schooling laws, then I'd be more gungho to do it. On the plus side Michelle only has about 10 days of class left and only 3 more EARLY morning 8 AM classes.

Tomorrow is going to be a hard day for Carrie. It's time for her super visit at the TODAY study. (talks about it in the 6th paragraph down) It really beats the snot out of her when she has these visits. This time I'm bringing my meter. Then I can test her on the sly, after her blood draws. It'll allow me to see just how high her sugar goes. (study doesn't allow specific numbers to be given out, especially to drs, as they may try to skew the numbers). At least it won't cost me an arm and a leg to get to the appt since I should be driving the new car. Tom's suppose to go and get it after work today. :oD I just hope I can get to where I need to go without having a heartattack.

OOPS!! The dr just called. I made an appt for Michelle today totally blanked out about it. I didn't even TELL her she had it so she could remember. She was suppose to be there at 10 and now it's 11 (yes, it's taken me 3hrs to get this finished). They were nice about missing the appt and I rescheduled for the 13th. I just hope it's not the day she has a final scheduled. I suck as a secretary/personal assistant! Now I need to put on my taxi driver hat, load up the little ones and get Michelle to school.

Monday, April 28, 2008

Excuse me while I go barf


No, I'm not pg or sick...I'm fighting a panic attack. It's really taking a lot out of me to try to be at peace with my husband right now. And I'm not being too successful with it. My chest is tight, I'm having palpitations, I'm nauseated and I'm on the brink of crying. What did he do? That mean mean man just went out on his lunch hour and bought us a BRAND NEW CAR!!!! Not a brand new to us car. A brand new, pay for 5yrs, zero miles on the odometer car. (he's waiting for a call from the dealer that the loan has been approved under the terms he asked for)

I'm telling you the man is insane! He's getting a loan based on the promotion is 99.95% sure to get VERY soon. Yes, it'll cover the loan and then some. But he hasn't even started in the new position yet, much less seen a paycheck! I know we'll make do no matter what, we always do. It's just hard to accept since a car payment wasn't anywhere in our 5yr plan (which was to get RID of our debt, including the mortgage so he could retire in 6yrs).

That Grrrr I mentioned in my Jeopardy post below... That's what's been happening here the last week or so while we've hashed out what route to go toward aquiring a car. We definitely need a car to ram around in. The van's gas guzzling has far exceeded our gas budget. It only gets 10-12 mpg and I'm driving 80-120 miles most days. The question was....what type of car to get....cheap beater car ($2000), newer used car($8000), or brand new ($15000). I was shooting for the first two categories, Tom was convinced the latter one was the best option. I get why he's saying it. It has a warranty, it should be entirely dependable for quite a while, and he's sick of dealing with broken down cars. I just can't wrap my head around commiting to a car payment for 5yrs when we're trying to get rid of monthly payments. Not to mention our insurance payments are going to go through the roof with the required collision and figuring in my accident/ticket from last August.

I've been spending the last 4 days on craigslist trying to find a suitable vehicle and thought we had some ones to check out. I even asked Tom last night if I was wasting my time looking and he told me no. Guess that wasn't entirely true.

I can't believe this is effecting me like it is. I've NEVER been scared of debt or dealing with bills. I certainly haven't been afraid to drive before. Now though, I'm shaking in my boots at the thought of driving a BRAND NEW CAR. It's not like we never had a new car before, we bought the Saturn when Carrie and I went to Boston. Granted by the time I had a chance to drive it it'd been broken in nicely (15+wks after we bought it). I was joking that the new rule with the car is...no left turns! Tom replied...with the great gas mileage, I can afford to get there by going the loooong way. lol

Tom informed me he used me as a bargaining tool. He explained that I'm not a monster but was an extremely hard sell (I informed Tom I haven't been sold on it yet!) and if the dealer couldn't make the deal with the numbers Tom needed to see, there'd be no deal. So the verdict is in...the dealer did the deal with even a lower interest rate then Tom was planning. So on Wednesday Tom will be driving home our very own Tan 4dr 2008 Hyundai Sonata.

Saturday, April 26, 2008





You Are a Comma



You are open minded and extremely optimistic.

You enjoy almost all facets of life. You can find the good in almost anything.



You keep yourself busy with tons of friends, activities, and interests.

You find it hard to turn down an opportunity, even if you are pressed for time.



Your friends find you fascinating, charming, and easy to talk to.

(But with so many competing interests, you friends do feel like you hardly have time for them.)



You excel in: Inspiring people



You get along best with: The Question Mark

Friday, April 25, 2008

Random Thoughts....Jeopardy style



  1. PHEW!
  2. tick, tock, tick, tock
  3. OUCH! OUCH! OUCH!
  4. KABOOOOOM!
  5. :o(
  6. :o)
  7. Grrrrrrrr
  8. Waaaaaaaaaaaah!
  9. Guilt
  10. SUCKER
  11. Look longingly and drool
  12. *Heavy sigh*
  13. OOPS!
  14. Guilt
  15. <3 <3 <3 (those are hearts...for those that are over 20 and without teenagers)
  16. On the verge of tears
  17. Silently praying
  18. Shaking my head
  19. Scratching my head
  20. Huge smile on my face
  21. Grunt and groan



  1. Sound I made as I walked out of my bedroom and realized Sean stayed napping.
  2. The seconds counting down until Sean wakes up and/or I have to go back out the door, whichever comes first.
  3. First thing I said this morning thanks to a killer headache
  4. The sound I thought my head would make at any second
  5. How I felt while fighting the need to barf, knowing it didn't mean there was a treasure waiting for me in 8, 7, 6 months
  6. How I felt after playing Pollyanna and thanking God I wasn't feeling like barfing due to chemo.
  7. How I feel while talking to dh about buying us a brand new, newish, used, dirt cheap car.
  8. The exact reaction I said I'd have if gas ever went over $3.50/gal at BJ's Wholesale Club (by far the cheapest place in town...it was $3.539 this AM)
  9. The emotion I feel as I sit here and type instead of getting something productive done
  10. Words written across my forehead
  11. What I'm do as I hand over the beautiful Blackberry I ordered on Tues to Drew for his birthday present (he gave me his 3mo phone as a replacement)
  12. Sound I make when I realize that Sean's nap only lasted 5 seconds.
  13. What's said when reality hits and I find out Sean's nap was more like 30-45mins.
  14. The feeling caused by wanting Sean to sleep longer stretches
  15. Me feeling all squishy while I sit here and nurse my handsome cuddly guy
  16. How I felt during a discussion of God with older kids and the discovery that they are basically atheists
  17. What I do and will continually do for all my children
  18. What I'm left doing after reading a genius' inaugural twitter of..."pooping". Who is this kid? And why is he calling me mom?
  19. What I do as I stand in front of the fridge and realize I don't know what to make for dinner (even though I've had a menu planned out since Sun or Mon)
  20. What I look like when I hear the bus pull up, knowing that it's Friday. Even though it also means I need to be out the door in minutes.
  21. Me trying to get my fat behind out of my chair and out the door

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

I need bubble wrap I tell ya!


My whole steet does actually. We live on a twisty country road. Where you think our street must go straight, it takes a right hand turn. Our part of the street is in between two of these turns. There are eight houses on our section of the road. Yesterday the fire and rescue crews were on our section of the street twice! First was right after the school kids got on the bus. The first house on our street had a fire in one of their kids' bedrooms. No one was hurt, there was some damage but looks fixable. The kids are saying that a PSP caused it, YIKES!

The second time Carrie, Eileen and Olivia were taking a walk and saw what happened. 3 doors down a younger boy was riding his 4 wheeler, tried to stop but couldn't and ended up running over his older brother. My girls were upset that the injured child and the grandma were screaming at the brother that was driving. He was obviously very upset about it before they started screaming. That has to be a terrible burden to bear. They called the ambulance and had to close down the street. I haven't heard how he's doing. I'm sure the kids will find out at school today. I've been praying for both families.

After the girls told me what happened I told them...EVERYONE TO THEIR ROOMS AND GO TO BED! They didn't quite get it and I had to explain that I didn't want to risk having to be the 3rd person to call the fire depart that day. And I wonder why my kids think I'm lame. lol Really though I found myself skittish about letting them do things, about me driving, etc. I wonder how well a trampoline works wrapped in bubble wrap. ;o)

This morning I woke up dreading the EARLY drive in to take Michelle to school. I laid there for a few minutes and worked things out in my head then started climbing out of bed. Michelle came to my door and said, you don't have to drive me today, I'm not going. Now I know I should probably be trying to convince her to attend but you know what, I'm not. She's a big girl, she hasn't been feeling well, she knows whether she can afford to miss something or not. Besides...I don't have to drive!

So now with things a little more relaxed I'm getting ambitious thoughts. I'll throw the second trip kids out to the bus, drag their mattresses outside to get aired out, bleach the kitchen and do some laundry. I'd say Sean will put a big damper in that but Michelle is home and so is Jake. Who knows I may even mess with the pool filter.

Hmmm I just realized it's Earth Day. Think I'll go hug a tree. Guess that means I'll have to go work in the garden today too. There I go again, making WAY too many plans. Oh well there's definitely no time to be bored around here.

Sunday, April 20, 2008

A day I really needed


Sometimes you really need a push to get to where you need to be. Yesterday I got that push and it was great! D called bright and early and asked if she could come over with her kids. It wasn't like it was surprise since we'd mentioned it on Fri while talking. And since the van is still in pieces, it's not like I could go anywhere.

I looked around the disaster area I call a house and said SURE! When are you coming? We hemmed and hawwed about the time and she picked after Michelle got home from work at 4. I think she was just trying to give me time to get some semblence of order to my chaos. ;o)

Things were slow going here until 12:30 or 1. Then I started getting the kids moving. While trying to get things done we talked about why they seem to not listen to me unless I'm yelling. It's like they don't think I'm serious until I go into berzerk mood. I asked if they did it to their teacher and of course they replied no. I then asked them why she deserved more respect then I did. There was no answer. Although someone eventually mentioned her ability to send them down to the principal's office. So then I asked if that meant I should be paddling fannies a bit more. They laughed. Lately I've entertained the idea of only whispering to the kids. I know it can be effective. For this house, I think it would only get drowned out by the constant din. (even our breathing is loud!)

Pat picked up Michelle from work since our van is still out of commission. He also picked up a few things at the store. It was nice to have him home for the night...it doesn't happen often.

D got here shortly after 4 and the kids immediately broke up into their groups. Nothing elitist or anything like that but they do tend to group up by age. Luke and Jake were off with the older boys, walking the perimeter of the yard, talking and semi exploring, poking around in the ditch of water. The older girls were having a party on the trampoline, jumping like there's no tomorrow. The younger girls sat at the table, eating snacks, talking about little girl things, waiting for their turn on the trampoline. There were a few times when discontent snuck in but it was only a few times and only for a second. It's so nice to see how well they all get along.

D and I were able to sit in the shade of the house and talk while cuddling the babies. I had a chance to snuggle baby C for a few minutes and for a second I felt a pang of babylust creep in there. It wasn't too strong and didn't last too long though. Afterall Sean is still a pretty big handful...even if he's getting more and more independent everyday. He is coming up on the age when another pregnancy would be happening. I've wondered if feelings would rear up then. Guess we'll just have to wait and see.

D said something about not imposing. She's known me for over 30yrs and she still thinks that I'm imposed on if people come over! I told her if I had the money and the energy I'd love to do this EVERYDAY! I really do enjoy entertaining. It's the one part of my unkept house that bothers me the most...that I can't be social when I want. Granted most people I'd be social with already know the state of affairs here but it's still a bit embarrassing. Not to mention nonfunctional. It was a beautiful day outside. Things wouldn't have happened if it wasn't (meaning we could hang outside) and that part stings a little. But it happened and a good time was had by all and that's all that matters! The first thing out of Eileen's mouth this morning was....Can the Ws come over again today?!?! LOL I'd had the same thought.

Besides a nice visit with my best friend I also had the incentive to get everyone working around here and managed to end up with a semi clean house. It was so nice waking up this morning and finding the main area looking picked up. It's amazing how much the state of your surroundings can effect how you feel. Instead of looking around, feeling heavy, not knowing where to start and opting to ignore everything instead. I can actually see where I want to concentrate and have hope of it getting done.

I know part of my problem is not getting the kids involved into the daily maintenance more. But how do you do that when you yourself can't or don't know how to maintain. I'm an all or nothing type. Let it go for a bit then work hard to get it back in shape. Thing is, there's too many people in this place and life's too crazy for me to be able to keep the place like that anymore. So things have to change. I know the kids like it when the house is clean, they've said so. I'm guessing now would be the best time to start new habits. :o)

Today's the last day of spring break and I'm bummed. Usually I'm excited about the school year being almost over. This year the weather's been so beautiful that it's made me yearn for summer vacation to be here already. I know it'll be here soon enough. But I want it NOW! I just have to remind myself...Michelle only has 3 wks of school left (woohooo!) and the other kids have 6-9 wks (high schoolers get out sooner then the younger kids)

So now I'm off to enjoy the nice weather while I can.

Friday, April 18, 2008

Danielle's Bowling 101


Because Liz took the pictures there were tons of Danielle. We decided to use them and have her give you a lesson on proper bowling lane shenaningans.

1. First you have to find a really really pretty ball...preferably pink.

2. Have someone big load your really cute pink ball onto the ramp. PUSH it down as hard as you can.


3. Patiently watch your ball make it's trip down the lane.(snacking on the ramp at the same time)


4. Run to the ball return. Wait and wait and wait for that pretty pink ball to come back to you.


5. Repeat step 2. Then dance around the lanes until it's your turn again.


And incase you didn't quite know the appropriate dance to do at the bowling alley...she's made an instructional video for you.

Bowling with the TODAY study


We had a fun time bowling on Thursday. Liz took lots of pictures.

We loaded everyone into the van and started down the road


Then we ran into some construction and had to wait.

I couldn't figure out why a construction worker was frantically waving us through the work zone. They usually are yelling at people to SLOOOOW DOWN! Then I looked in my rear view mirror and saw an ambulance about 4 cars back. UHOH! We had to get through the workzone as there was no room to pull over.

We got to the lanes and everyone piled out of the car (I'll have to have someone shoot a video of that sometime, I hear it's quite comical). Everyone got the proper sized shoes and over to the lanes we went.

They're painted like that to show up really cool under the black lights during cosmic bowling.

Our family divided up into 2 teams. Liz, Luke, Carrie, Jake and my niece Amanda on one lane.

Me, Eileen, Olivia, Danielle and my niece Emily on another. After bowling a frame we decided it would be best for our team to use the bumpers...phew!

There were plenty of snacks to be had, all healthy for the diabetic kids.


We passed Sean around since I wasn't ok with him sitting on the alley rug...YUCK! Poor guy has started getting a cold and is teething. So was fussy at times.


During the afternoon we...

Tried to convince our ball to go where we wanted...


Tried new techniques...


And tried out the hand blower...


Dad dropped in for a few minutes after work. He threw on my shoes and threw the ball for a few frames. I was talking to the today study coordinator when she saw him bowling. Luckily I noticed her face change, realized what she was reacting to, and quickly explained that that was my dh. She was so relieved and told me she was just about to go up to that man and kick him out of here. WHO DID HE THINK HE WAS!?!? LOL

After being there for over 2hrs our time was up. We cleaned up, returned our shoes and headed back into the van. We went to my sister's to drop off the girls and then headed to the grocery store for a few things. Then we drove off into the sunset and headed home.


And if you didn't get enough of the afternoon. There's a few more pictures in my photobucket acct.

*sniff sniff*




Disposable Razor.... 20¢
Can of shaving cream...$1

Having a big brother to walk you through your first shave...priceless*

Luke's been balking at shaving for a while now. Part of it might've been he didn't want MOM to help me figure it out. Drew finally convinced him it was a good thing to do and helped him through it.

*Sorry, I know that commercial is highly overdone. Thing is, sometimes it is the best way to describe a situation and has to be used. I promise I'll try to restrain myself from using it again anytime soon. :o)

Hmmm I just realized this is the second post in a row where I've quoted/stolen from commercials. OH NO! I hope it doesn't become a habit!

Thursday, April 17, 2008

A beautiful day!


You couldn't ask for a better day in Central NY...Tons of sun, warm but not too hot. Val was bugging me for some seeds to plant and it got me outside a whole lot quicker then if I'd done it on my own. The yard is still a little soggy so Sean camped out in his exersaucer when he wasn't being carried around. He liked it since he doesn't use it on a regular basis (prefers the freedom of being on the floor).

We raked out my very neglected front garden. It looks a lot better but still needs ton of attention. After all I didn't do ANYTHING in there last year. Tom and I keep talking about digging everything up, turning it over again, laying weed fabric down and replanting it. I'd say redesigning it but there was never a design to begin with. LOL My dad would give me plants and I'd stick it in. I still have the plants still in the pots buried in my circle garden from fall '06! I wish someone would give me a layout of a fantastic looking garden, telling me what to plant where.

Luke and I pulled the garden cart out and started moving the pots of strawberries that were huddled on the front yard. They're ugly plastic pots and it looks dumpy with them there and I'd been wanting to move them into the backyard since last fall. Val, Carl and a few other kids were working on other areas of the yard. It still needs a lot of attention but it's a start.

Drew called to tell me that Allison saw 2 decent looking recliner couches on the side of the road with a free sign on them. He offered to take a few kids and pick them up if I'd clean the van and remove a few seats. Pat ran down the street, picked up Drew and dropped him off before heading to work. As they got to the house where the furniture was another car pulled up. So they went down one street and turned around so they'd be on the same side of the street as the furniture. They saw the people talk to the owner and then drive away. They then pulled up, jumped out and quickly tried to throw the furniture in the van. ;o) The owner told them that the people who just left claimed them but if they called in an hour and it was still there, they could come back and get them. They were so bummed to have missed it by minutes. Oh well, it wasn't meant to be. At least my van got cleaned out! LOL


In the course of the day we had about 4 different forts being built around the property. I had to "yell" out the door for the little girls to get out of the hedgerow or they'd be covered in poison ivy. (they KNOW better!!!) During the evening every itch as poison ivy starting. lol I'm hopeful that no one comes down with it.

Quite a few of kids got a bit of color, but nothing painful. Just a bunch of cute sunkissed faces.

Michelle has been driven to school, all the kids were fed scrambled eggs, about to put in the 3rd load of laundry, and playing air traffic controller of the shower. Today is going to be even beautiful which is kind of not a great thing for us. Although we have a fun day planned. I just wish it didn't include being inside a dark bowling alley for most of the afternoon (and having to get ready to go to the bowling alley). Carrie's TODAY study is throwing the kids and their families a bowling party today. Some of my younger kids have never been bowling and are excited. I know it'll be fun, I just wish it wasn't so nice outside so I didn't feel like I was wasting a beautiful day inside. lol

I have NO idea what was going through my head when I posted a Love Thursday picture on TUESDAY! I finally realized what I'd done while I was driving home from the college this morning. The kids being out of school always messes me up. While tossing and turning at 2AM Wed morning I realized I'd missed Tues night chat AGAIN! I need a Sven!! (video showing what I'm talking about for those who have no clue)

The pool is full and I'm considering whether I want to get dirty messing with it this morning or wait until tomorrow. I need to put the filter together and hook it up still so it'll probably have to wait. I'm excited with the thought that I could have the pool cleaned and running before May 1st! Although if you remember my previous years ordeals dealing with it, I'm not holding my breath over it.

Dryer is done and I need to switch things over. I'm hoping someone brings a working camera today so I can share our fun with everyone.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Love Thursday


I'm really just looking for a reason to show off my beautiful kids. :o) Actually Carrie and Liz have become really good friends. Which is amazing when you figure they fought constantly when they first became roommates.

Thank you


Thank you so much for the kind words, prayers and positive energy everyone has sent our way. Things are coming to a close and hopefully healing can begin, although it'll be a long difficult time. Can I just say...it was easier when they were all little!!!! It's so hard to have to watch your kids make decisions and live with the consequences. Where's that bubble wrap when you need it?

This week is spring break for the kids. Michelle's break was last week so she needs to be driven in. (just got back from driving her actually) It's a lot easier to get her there at 8 this week. :o) On the way back down the hill from the school I saw one of Michelle's friends driving into school. So I'll have to ask her about that. Would be nice if she could ride with him for the remaining 6 or 7 classes. My trip would be cut from 40 miles to 10. If I time it right I wouldn't have to drag all 4 littlest ones with me. Eileen and Olivia could get ready for the bus at their regular time.

I try to not fill my break week with places that I HAVE to go. Unfortunately I totally blanked out when I made Val and Luke's dentist appts. So today we all have to head out the door by 11 today. I hate to make the kids sit around the waiting room for 2+ hours but I won't have anyone old enough home to babysit....so they'll come along. It kills me that I'm going to be blocks away from my parents' house and won't have time to stop by for even one cup of coffee. I couldn't find a ride for Michelle (who's in another city) so I need to head back toward our house to get Michelle.

Before heading to the college I'll pick up 2 of my sister's girls so they can spend the next two nights here. I probably shouldn't be having them here. This place is falling apart and could use some undivided attention from everyone. Who knows maybe I can get some extra working time in while they are here since they like to mother Sean and Danielle.

Mr Man is really getting around and gets faster everyday. He managed to get down the hall and find the bathroom the other day. Luckily he doesn't realize how much fun can be had in there yet. It's time to get everyone used to closing the door behind them when they're done.

I don't know if I've ever had as light a sleeper as Sean. Drew was one of those babies that didn't sleep much (naps were almost nonexistant as a toddler) but Sean seems even moreso. Maybe it's just that he's not my firstborn and I have things I HAVE to do now so I notice it more. I know part of it is that I've started habits that I probably shouldn't have...like cuddling with him while he's sleeping. He doesn't last long in bed after I get up. On Sunday I thought it was a feat to get a shower in and dress before he woke up. I felt so childish saying..HA! I beat you and got a shower! but it slipped out. *blush* I really can't complain though, he's such a content baby!!! AND HE'S SO CUTE!!! lol

Well time is flying (it's only taken me 3 hrs to get this far lol). I need to get everyone out the door in less then an hour and haven't been able to get ahold of Luke yet. So out of my computer chair I must go.

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Asking for prayers


It's been a really difficult and heavy time here lately. I really can't say too much due to the need for privacy. Still, I'd just like for anyone who's inclined to to pray for my family. Please pray for wisdom, peace and healing.
TIA

Monday, April 07, 2008

So far so good!


Danielle has now been dry for 4 days...including 3 nights! Woohooo! She had one accident Saturday night but immediately ran to me and told me she was wet. She's not spending an inordinate amount of time in the bathroom either. So I think we can claim a victory in the potty training front. She's excited that she'll be getting a bunch of new undies next time we go to the store. I haven't decided whether I'm going to buy the Dora Toilet seat or not. Guess it depends on whether she remembers it and how much she whines or says PEASE MOM!. lol

Saturday was a pretty productive day and as usual you can't tell by looking at my house. Sean cooperated by taking the longest nap in his life. Tom ended up waking him up when he walked in the room while on the phone (he forgot Sean was in there). I thought for sure it meant he was getting sick but he's acting fine. In order to do a bunch of the things I wanted to do, I had to ignore the stuff that needs upkeeping daily...like the livingroom floor. Mr Man has decided to show me that I can't do that anymore though...he's getting ALL OVER!!! He does a half crawl where he's on one knee but the other leg he's on his foot. He steps forward with his foot anchored leg and then drags the knee anchored leg up to the foot's new position. He's also started using the furniture to help him stand up. I need to go find some rocks to stick in his pants.

I'm a bit surprised to find that I'm not extremely sad over Sean growing up. I thought since he's my last one I'd be clinging to him, begging him to be a baby longer. Instead I'm really enjoying the strides that he's made and look forward to seeing what his next conquest will be. I'm sure I'll be bitten by the baby bug and have times when being done will hit me hard. But for now I'm ok!

Had to edit above since it took me almost 24hrs to get this finished. lol

Sunday was a BEAUTIFUL day! And while I kept putting off Tom's request for me to go outside for a bit on Saturday. I spent a decent amount of time out there on Sunday. I am SO looking forward to summer, the swimming pool, decreased laundry, and summer vacation! Sean is going to be an outdoors man I know it. He's constantly exploring and wanting to go. Plus Sunday morning he practically broke through the glass storm door to get someone to take him outside. lol Tom was working on the van and BIL had walked up front with his dog. I'd placed Sean infront of the glass door (yes, it was secure, I tested) so he could watch. He immediately started rocking like crazy, grunting and bashing on the glass. I had to move him so he wouldn't cause the door to unlatch and go flying out.

Tom fixed the van yesterday! Woohooo! He had Pat run him into the city on Saturday and they exchanged the radiator, no questions asked. We were a bit worried the parts place wouldn't honor the warranty because it looks like the van's fan scraped the fins of the radiator. We didn't test it but I'm pretty sure where the scrape marks are isn't where it's leaking. We have NO idea how the marks got there, they weren't too bad, so we're thinking it didn't happen for long. The newest theory is that something got lodged between the fan blade and radiator and was dragged around a few times. Either way he worked in the dark to put the new radiator in on Saturday night and finished connecting everything on Sunday morning...just in time to drive Michelle to work.

I called Tom on the way home to see where he was. I wanted to take the kids to church when he got back and it was getting close to leaving time. Instead he told me he would be home soon and planned to change the van's oil. He was already grungy from the radiator and I didn't have the heart to whine that I wanted to use the van when we got home....so we skipped the meeting.

Michelle has this week off from school for spring break. She also doesn't have to work today or tomorrow which means I can stay home during the day. Woohooo! (kids still need to go to soccer tonight) It's been great being stuck at home since Thursday night. It was great to decompress and actually get things accomplished around here. Greedy me though is wishing for about a month of this though lol.

Sean ISN'T cooperating today though! Everytime I go to lay him down he pops back up! Or I'll walk out of the room and get to the kitchen only to hear him crying again. I guess if I had a crib I could let him be for a bit. But that's not how we roll right now, so I'll just deal with it.

Now that the kids are getting home from school I need to get some help from them, so I'm off.

Saturday, April 05, 2008

BY JOVE! I think she's got it!


It looks like Danielle has finally gotten the idea behind using the toilet and the funness of wearing undies. The last few times she's taken a bath she's ended up on the toilet. Everyone's praised her and talked it up. This time she mentioned undies and I mentioned the red Dora toilet seat she saw. When she was finished she asked for undies and I decided to get a pair for her. And she's been dry ever since!! Granted she's also spent almost the whole day sitting on the toilet and used nearly a whole bottle of liquid hand soap washing her hands afterwards. But hey! At least she's washing her hands. :o)

Last night Eileen decided to go lay down with Danielle. I didn't realize they chose MY bed to use until it was time for me to climb into bed. I also failed to realize until 6am that no one put Danielle into a diaper before she went to bed!!! I'm crossing my fingers that she wakes up dry this morning. With my luck she won't, even though she's been waking up dry for a few weeks now. I don't know what I'd do if she wets my memory foam mattress. We're using 2 of the oldest twin mattresses stuffed into our waterbed frame....they don't fit well and are showing their age. We can't live without that mattress topper! Even with that heavily on my mind I can't bring myself to fight her in her sleep to get a diaper on her (and risk waking Sean up too).

Guess that means when the van gets fixed I'll have to mosey on over to Walmart and buy her that Dora toilet seat and more undies. I've been kicking myself. I hadn't saved the receipt of purchase for the radiator so had no idea how long the warranty was good for, much less proof of purchase to enforce the warranty. Last night Tom came home with a bit of good news though. He stopped by the auto supply place where we bought the radiator (through their online site). They had documentation in their computer of our purchase and the warranty was a lifetime one! A different local store even has one in stock we can pick up. So looks like we may have a new radiator in hand with little out of pocket money soon, hopefully today! I'm sure Michelle shouldn't be expecting it to be available to take her to work at 3 today though. Maybe tomorrow.

Yesterday was a bit lazy. I was achey from falling, Sean was clingy and I spent most of the day researching and posting in a discussion about right to die and Terri Schiavo. I admit I sidestepped the political aspect of the discussion though. I have to admit politics just isn't my thing. If that makes me uninvolved or worthless to complain about the state of things (I try not to complain) sobeit.

I'm hoping today is a productive day. I have a list of things that I want to tackle, most of them no one would notice unless you lived here. Even then you might not. Those type of jobs make me wish we came with a placard that shows how hard we work. I know it's just me wanting to look good to others, wanting acknowledgement of the work I do around here. I'm sure there are a lot more days when I'm glad that how hard we work isn't shown to the public....like yesterday. Could you imagine being labeled as....sat at the computer all day...held and nursed infant, changed diapers. Not so great.

Well if I want to be productive I have to finish up online stuff. So time to update my food blog and then to work I go!

Thursday, April 03, 2008

It IS always something


Three posts in one day, go me! lol On the way to the dr's office the van was running really rough and smelled hot. When we pulled out of our parking spot I noticed a puddle approx where my radiator had previously been. I was due to pick up Michelle so drove across town with my fingers crossed. I called Tom to let him know we may have a problem and that I'd stop at the college to examine things.

I picked up Michelle, pulled into a parking spot that I was sure was puddlefree, turned off the van and got out. No doubt about it, the radiator or one of it's hoses was leaking. Oh how I wished it was a hose! I updated Tom and headed to Walmart by now the waterpump is protesting the shortage of coolant with a pretty decent scream.

We decided to take our time in WM so the engine could cool down enough to handle. We were all starving so stopped off at the Subway inside the store and bought a few things to share. D walked in while we were at Subway so we chatted for a few minutes. We kept bumping into each other. We used to go shopping together all the time. Not having the luxury of the same schedule to walk and/or talk was odd. It made me miss our shopping trips. We finished meandering through the store, paid for everything and headed out the door. Michelle put groceries away while I popped the hood and filled the radiator. We called Tom to let him know we were leaving and crossed our fingers that the engine survived the ride home.

I popped the hood again as soon as we got in the driveway. Tom and I started looking for the source of the leak. I was the lucky winner. I spotted a stream of water shooting out of the back of the radiator, right in the middle of it. It wasn't a hose :o(. It was going to take a lot of money and time to fix. I have no idea how Michelle's going to get to work for the next 3 days.

Val's appt was noneventful. They checked her urine. While it had red and white blood cells in it. There were tons like you'd normally see with an infection. So it's being sent off to be cultured. He'll decide whether to treat based on what the cultures show...so we're in wait mode.

I have to get to bed now that Sean' snoozing. My eyes keep getting stuck in the closed position.

1 down, 8 more to go


I managed to get Michelle to school at 8am this morning. It wasn't easy nor pretty. Of course true to form I wasn't organized and ready like I should've been. I also managed to space out midway through preps and forget that getting out the door included Eileen and Olivia who were still sleeping soundly at 7:05 (departure time was 7:25 - 7:30). Olivia does not wake up well and is very sluggish. Needless to say she wasn't happy with how the morning was progressing. Eileen totally forgot that today was Thurs which meant she needed her library books and she didn't have them. The older kids seemed to be not doing well with the extra bodies up and about. Michelle put a kink in the shower taking schedule (4 girls washing in 30min...fun) but everyone managed to get in and do what they needed to do.

We all ended up running out the door at the same time. I'd really like to get out before the 1st trip kids leave so I can get ahead of the bus and Michelle can get to school before 8, not AT 8. I was a dumb clutz and managed to roll my right ankle as I was getting ready to go down the porch stairs. I ended up falling down all 4 stairs. As I was falling I was thinking, don't break anything, don't break anything! Then as I got up I was thinking, I'd have broken my neck for sure if these were D's stairs! (main door is on the 2nd floor so have to climb lotsa stairs to a deck to get to it) Luckily Sean still uses his infant seat and was buckled into it because I dropped it and it landed on the porch. I scared Danielle senseless because the seat almost managed to push her off the front porch.

I felt fine as I got up but the longer I was in the van, the more things started hurting. It's only an ache and nothing that says...get me checked out...mostly strains. I have to laugh though because the only things that don't hurt are my ankle and back (which I'm extremely thankful for!). Mostly it's my left knee and right shoulder and thumb that are bothering me.

Anyways, I now get a week long break as next week is Michelle's spring break. YEAH! Actual days with NO driving required whatsoever! Woohoo! Next trip with the girls I have to remember to bring a snack for them to eat in the car. They usually eat breakfast at school so it's not so important that they get something at home. Driving in the car on an empty stomach seemed to bother both of them. They were both complaining of feeling queasy. Luckily once we got home I had time to grab them a bite to eat before the bus came. I still think they weren't feeling 100% though.

Sean's fever seems to have disappeared and he's in MUCH better spirits today. Last night was pretty rough for him. Val is heading to the dr's this afternoon. She's still not feeling great although she went to school. She texted me and told me she threw up but was trying to finish the day out. I'm pretty sure she's throwing blood in her urine, it didn't look so great this morning.

Well I have to get up and keep moving. I've been up since 4:20 and have managed to put a dent in the laundry pile. I want to keep at it while the moods here (and the little ones are cooperating).

Am I the only one?


Am I the only one that's logging their day in incriments of 140 letters/characters or less? Yep, I recently found Twitter and I'm having fun. For those that don't know it's the blue box over in my right sidebar over there ->. Now I can keep you all spellbound by my exciting day ANYWHERE I am, even if my internet connection is down, thanks to unlimited text messaging. (can post through texts or the web) And all it takes is 140 letters/characters (maximum number that's displayed each time)

I thought it would be fun to try to document my whole day. So I'm keeping twitter open on the computer and will be posting whenever I sit or even pass by the computer.

I'd love to follow my friends. If you have a twitter acct, leave me a comment with a link to your profile so I can start following you.

You can find me here

Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

I jinxed myself!


When Liz and Carrie were being seen at the dr's on Monday the NP asked me...so how's everyone else at home? The respiratory stuff still around? I proudly said NOPE! We're all healthy! *smacks forehead* FOOLISH FOOLISH WOMAN! That's a jinx waiting to happen!

And here it comes...Val stayed home from school yesterday and slept unti 2:30. She said she didn't feel good. I thought it was just the aftermath of going nonstop from the play. She's home again today, she's still sick and now says she thinks there's blood in her pee...sounds like another infection and a trip to the dr is in our future.

ROFL!!! The school nurse JUST called to report that Luke got hit in the FACE with a bowling pin. It put his teeth through his lip and she wasn't sure if it needed a stitch or not. She wanted to know if I wanted to come get him or if he should ride the bus (it leaves in 20mins). I picked the bus for him. (not laughing at him or his injury...but at the fact that I it fits so nicely into this post)

Getting back to the original thought here. I'm further jinxed by Sean being fussy all night long. He wouldn't stay asleep for very long and nursed a lot. This morning he woke up with a fever...from what I have NO idea. He is cutting a tooth but this fever is too high for that. Also he never broke out in one for the other 3 teeth he's gotten. I'm sure my SILs and niece are thrilled with this tibit since we were all together yesterday.

And wouldn't you know Eileen was complaining of a sore throat this morning. I think she's working on a cold starting. I feel bad for hoping it's a cold but I'd rather it be a cold then strep. I'm so done with strep this year thankyouverymuch.

Anyways enough whining...onto fun things! Val's friend had pictures from the play on her facebook. I grabbed one to share here that featured Val. She's the one in the center of the pic with her hands held high.



UPDATE on Luke....he's off the bus and ok. While it looks ouchy, I'm pretty sure they wouldn't do anything with the cut. It's on the inside of his lip (thought it was THROUGH the lip meaning needing a stitch on his face)

My poor Michelle post has turned into

a poor US post! lol

Michelle was set to get her 2yr degree in May. Then a a 5wk course worth ONE credit hour put a monkeywrench into the plan. It's a required course (computer literacy) that she's held off on taking because it's offered at either 9am MWF or 6-9pmTues. There's no physical way I can get her to school at 9. Eileen and Olivia catch the bus between 8:30-8:40 and it takes a minimum of 30mins to get to the college. So this semester she bit the bullet and registered for the Tues night course and resigned herself to having a 9:30am - 9pm day on Tues (2.5hr break before her last class).

A few days before the class started she was told the computer literacy course was dropped due to low enrollment. They told her she could enroll in the same class that's offered in the 2nd half of the semester...and she did. First day of class was April 1st. On March 31st I took a call from the school informing her that it was dropped AGAIN but she could take the MWF course that had started that day. Ummmm no she can't! Well then she can take it in the summer or next semester. There is no next semester...she's suppose to graduate in May. Besides if she doesn't take it now she'll have to pay for it out of pocket. (it's covered under her tuition now) I texted her and she immediately made an appt with her advisor for the next day.

On the way to school on Tues I was giving her a pep talk. You have to raise a stink! It's not your fault that this is happening and you shouldn't be penalized because it's not fiscally beneficial to someone (college and/or professor) to hold the course. Afterall, if it wasn't a required course she could've taken another course at any time in the last 3 semesters. She could've even taken one 3 credit hour course this semester instead of 3 separate 1hr courses (lessening her course load).

At her appt they wracked their brains for almost an hour before they could find something that works. That's where the poor US comes in. The only solution was for her to take a Tues/Thurs course at 8AM!!! That means I have to get Eileen and Olivia ready for school over an hour earlier so they can ride to the college with Sean, Danielle and I. We should be back home before the bus gets to the house. If they miss it, it won't be by much and I should be dropping them off at school right behind the bus's arrival.

As much as I'm going to hate dragging the little ones out of bed at such an early hour. I can't fault Michelle, it wasn't her doing. She's a Dean's list student. To let 1 credit hour mess her up would be insane! It'll mean I'll have to be a bit more organized and get things ready the night before (which I should be doing anyways). dr5w. I'm trying to keep it in perspective. It's only 10 classes. She's already missed the first one (yesterday), then there's tomorrow. After that I'll get a bit of break (or the little ones will) as she has the week off for spring break. Then the following week the younger kids have a week off for their break. That means I can run out the door to do the running without any kids, leaving them all snuggly warm in their beds.

Can I just say...I can't wait for GRADUATION! (Although I think I'm deceiving myself thinking things will get easier once that's done. It's always something.)