I've been trying to find time to post all morning but between swim lessons and work - I haven't had time. And now that the kids are napping - I have got to get some work done!!
Damn Work!!! It's really over-rated!!
Hopefully I'll get a chance after I work for the day because I have so many possible topics....
Monday, June 30, 2008
Friday, June 27, 2008
Friday Fill-In #78
It's another edition of Friday Fill-In's.
1. Birthdays are just the passing of another year (and time for my hubby to start calling me old again - I'm only 5 months older than him though!!)
2. Spring is my favorite season because it is the start of warmer weather and time outside.
3. I feel my best when I've had a good night of UNINTERRUPTED sleep.
4. Maryland style crabs are my favorite food! (No other style will ever beat MD)
5. First impressions are lasting.
6. The best piece of advice I ever received was from my grandma when I got married - never go to bed mad.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to absolutely nothing, tomorrow my plans include taking the kids on another "adventure" and Sunday, I want to relax by the pool!
Happy Friday!
1. Birthdays are just the passing of another year (and time for my hubby to start calling me old again - I'm only 5 months older than him though!!)
2. Spring is my favorite season because it is the start of warmer weather and time outside.
3. I feel my best when I've had a good night of UNINTERRUPTED sleep.
4. Maryland style crabs are my favorite food! (No other style will ever beat MD)
5. First impressions are lasting.
6. The best piece of advice I ever received was from my grandma when I got married - never go to bed mad.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to absolutely nothing, tomorrow my plans include taking the kids on another "adventure" and Sunday, I want to relax by the pool!
Happy Friday!
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Only Diapers Go in the Trash!!
We have recently taught Boy 2 to throw away his own diapers. It's really cute and he even trys to say trash. He gets a kick out of it and we make a big deal over it and clap and praise him when he does it. Of course this just excites him to no end.
However - I never thought of the repercussions from this.....
He now tries to throw everything in the trash! When you don't praise him and make a big deal over it he than tries to fish it out himself. When he can't - he screams for you to come get it out and than does it all over again - just waiting for that praise!
Today I fished out of the trash - a bottle of Motrin, a bottle of Tylenol, a toothbrush holder and my cell phone case.
(And I'm not a bad mom - you're probably thinking he shouldn't of had these things to begin with - but no matter where you put things he seems to get them. As an example the other day I was in the kitchen and walked into the living room and Boy 2 was standing on the couch. I asked Girl and Boy 1 how he got there and they said he climbed. I said what?? He can't climb on something that high. Come to find out he used the dog as a stepping stool!)
Maybe the whole diaper - trash idea wasn't such a good idea after all.....
However - I never thought of the repercussions from this.....
He now tries to throw everything in the trash! When you don't praise him and make a big deal over it he than tries to fish it out himself. When he can't - he screams for you to come get it out and than does it all over again - just waiting for that praise!
Today I fished out of the trash - a bottle of Motrin, a bottle of Tylenol, a toothbrush holder and my cell phone case.
(And I'm not a bad mom - you're probably thinking he shouldn't of had these things to begin with - but no matter where you put things he seems to get them. As an example the other day I was in the kitchen and walked into the living room and Boy 2 was standing on the couch. I asked Girl and Boy 1 how he got there and they said he climbed. I said what?? He can't climb on something that high. Come to find out he used the dog as a stepping stool!)
Maybe the whole diaper - trash idea wasn't such a good idea after all.....
Wait - Wait - Oh and Wait Some More Too
So I spent two hours last night at the urgent care center over at Langley Air Force Base. (And I know 2 hours isn't horrible compaired to the 6 hours I spent in the ER when Girl broke her arm - but that's besides the point.) Just how I wanted to spend my evening. Here's the background:
Boy 2 slept for almost three hours for his afternoon nap and a little less than 1 1/2 hours later he was cranky again - but we didn't think too much of it and just figured he was beat from being in the pool and being outside. Right before dinner I went to pick him up to put him in his high chair and felt that he was pretty warm. I walked over to Shitface and asked him if he felt warm to him. (I've never been very good at feeling a child and figuring if they have a fever - but Shitface it usually (and I say USUALLY) pretty good at this). He said he felt fine. Of course being the over paranoid mom that I am - I went and took his temperature - 102.8!!! I couldn't believe it - I figured he had a low grade fever but not that high.
Anyway, I give him some medicine and we eat dinner. After dinner I call the doctor's office. Of course since we're only here for a month and we're out of our Tricare region they won't see us. So basically I had no choice but to take him to the UCC (it's like the emergency room - only on post.) I decided to take him to Langley versus Ft. Eustis because Shitface always says the airforce has better accomodations and treats their people better (oh the stories I can tell you about the Army medical facilities - but that's a whole other post!)
Initially it went fine - than they took a culture to test for strep and scarlet fever and said they should have the results in 15-20 minutes. (Now mind you - we're in this 6 X 6 room and it's already past Boy 2's bedtime.) After about an hour - I had had enough. I had done everything I possibly could to keep an 11 month old happy in that small of a space - so I walked out to find the doctor (who by the way - was sick himself!!) He was all - what the tests results haven't come back yet?? I wonder why?? Come to find out they lost the results and he had to go back to the lab to get them again! Are you kidding me?!?!?!?! They just forgot about us and if I didn't go out there who knows how long we would have waited.
But the results come back and they're negative and they said his ears look fine - no infection there either- and they say otherwise he looks healthy and seems to be happy. Ok - so now what?
We go home of course!! Still don't know what's wrong with him - he's still running a temperature - but we're told to just wait it out and if by Friday his fever hasn't broke to bring him back in. Are you kidding me?!?!?!
Needless to say I don't have much faith in the Air Force medical facilities at this time either!
Boy 2 slept for almost three hours for his afternoon nap and a little less than 1 1/2 hours later he was cranky again - but we didn't think too much of it and just figured he was beat from being in the pool and being outside. Right before dinner I went to pick him up to put him in his high chair and felt that he was pretty warm. I walked over to Shitface and asked him if he felt warm to him. (I've never been very good at feeling a child and figuring if they have a fever - but Shitface it usually (and I say USUALLY) pretty good at this). He said he felt fine. Of course being the over paranoid mom that I am - I went and took his temperature - 102.8!!! I couldn't believe it - I figured he had a low grade fever but not that high.
Anyway, I give him some medicine and we eat dinner. After dinner I call the doctor's office. Of course since we're only here for a month and we're out of our Tricare region they won't see us. So basically I had no choice but to take him to the UCC (it's like the emergency room - only on post.) I decided to take him to Langley versus Ft. Eustis because Shitface always says the airforce has better accomodations and treats their people better (oh the stories I can tell you about the Army medical facilities - but that's a whole other post!)
Initially it went fine - than they took a culture to test for strep and scarlet fever and said they should have the results in 15-20 minutes. (Now mind you - we're in this 6 X 6 room and it's already past Boy 2's bedtime.) After about an hour - I had had enough. I had done everything I possibly could to keep an 11 month old happy in that small of a space - so I walked out to find the doctor (who by the way - was sick himself!!) He was all - what the tests results haven't come back yet?? I wonder why?? Come to find out they lost the results and he had to go back to the lab to get them again! Are you kidding me?!?!?!?! They just forgot about us and if I didn't go out there who knows how long we would have waited.
But the results come back and they're negative and they said his ears look fine - no infection there either- and they say otherwise he looks healthy and seems to be happy. Ok - so now what?
We go home of course!! Still don't know what's wrong with him - he's still running a temperature - but we're told to just wait it out and if by Friday his fever hasn't broke to bring him back in. Are you kidding me?!?!?!
Needless to say I don't have much faith in the Air Force medical facilities at this time either!
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Follow Up Wednesday
Things are slowly starting to get back to normal here at the new house. (Well as normal as this family can be anyway.) Boy 2 screams seldomly (spell check says that's not a word - is it??) anymore at 5:30 in the morning. Actually this morning I peeked in his room and he was awake and just playing in his crib like he normally does at home. Let me tell you - that last 1 1/2 hours of sleep - UNINTERRUPTED - it's wonderful!!
And me - it's just yesterday that I've really started to get back into the swing of things. While I've got our daily routine down - I just wasn't making my lists and things just weren't getting done. It's amazing how I really can't function without a list! (See my previous post if you don't already know about my obsession.) Anyway I started making lists again and I'm feeling a lot better. (Maybe I should form a list-makers anonymous group!?!?)
Girl and Boy 1 started swim lessons this week and it's amazing how fast they learn at this age. Boy 1 came home after the first lesson and was all - mom, watch me swim - and I was all - yea, OK sure. And than I saw him and was like, Holy Shit!!! The boy can swim!! Girl on the other hand - while she is really trying hard - she still sunk after her first lesson. After her second lesson though she was doing a lot better. Unfortunately, we got a call this morning that Girl's instructor got hurt yesterday and her lessons for today and tomorrow have been cancelled. Hopefully she doesn't forget what she's learned in the past two days.
And the best part of my week so far - knowing that by this time next week - I'll be driving back to Maryland - by MYSELF!! (and the dog but he doesn't count) Shitface and I decided that I would leave Wednesday night to go home and start cleaning the house and getting stuff ready for Boy 2's First Birthday Party that we're having there on July 5th. And than Thursday after swim lessons he would than come down with the kids.
Do you know what this means?!?!? It means that I get almost 24 hours to myself!! I never thought I would be so excited about this until I became a SAHM (while still trying to run my business). I know, I know - I've only been doing this for 1 1/2 weeks and I only have to do it til the end of summer but I miss my alone time! Don't get me wrong - I love all my kids and love spending time with them - but when you're not use to doing it all day everyday - it sure can take its toll.
And me - it's just yesterday that I've really started to get back into the swing of things. While I've got our daily routine down - I just wasn't making my lists and things just weren't getting done. It's amazing how I really can't function without a list! (See my previous post if you don't already know about my obsession.) Anyway I started making lists again and I'm feeling a lot better. (Maybe I should form a list-makers anonymous group!?!?)
Girl and Boy 1 started swim lessons this week and it's amazing how fast they learn at this age. Boy 1 came home after the first lesson and was all - mom, watch me swim - and I was all - yea, OK sure. And than I saw him and was like, Holy Shit!!! The boy can swim!! Girl on the other hand - while she is really trying hard - she still sunk after her first lesson. After her second lesson though she was doing a lot better. Unfortunately, we got a call this morning that Girl's instructor got hurt yesterday and her lessons for today and tomorrow have been cancelled. Hopefully she doesn't forget what she's learned in the past two days.
And the best part of my week so far - knowing that by this time next week - I'll be driving back to Maryland - by MYSELF!! (and the dog but he doesn't count) Shitface and I decided that I would leave Wednesday night to go home and start cleaning the house and getting stuff ready for Boy 2's First Birthday Party that we're having there on July 5th. And than Thursday after swim lessons he would than come down with the kids.
Do you know what this means?!?!? It means that I get almost 24 hours to myself!! I never thought I would be so excited about this until I became a SAHM (while still trying to run my business). I know, I know - I've only been doing this for 1 1/2 weeks and I only have to do it til the end of summer but I miss my alone time! Don't get me wrong - I love all my kids and love spending time with them - but when you're not use to doing it all day everyday - it sure can take its toll.
Ok, well it's off to get ready for Boy 1's swim lessons. Happy Wednesday!
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Joining the Band Wagon
So it seems as if many bloggers have been discussing their undergarments here in the past few weeks. Maybe you've seen some of them - maybe you haven't. If not you should really check some of them out as they are hilarious!! I think MadMad started it all off with this post and was than followed by SuburbanCorrespondent with this and than Tootsie Farklepants had this to add. (Come on you have to click on the links and read these - they really are funny - and I'm not.) Since I am no where near as funny as these women, I'm not even going to attempt to add one of my lame-o stories to theirs.
However, after reading all of these I thought it was funny that I got an ad from Macy's about lingerie! And now I'm so going to go out and buy some new bras!!
Anyway, here is the deal.
Right now at Macy's if you follow this link for bras or this link for panties (ewww...did I really just type that word!! - that word is on my list of words to never say - I guess it won't kill me to type it though....) you can get either buy 2, get 1 free for bras or buy 3, get 1 free for the other (I refuse to type it more than once though!!)
Also if you use promo code lingerie at check out with a purchase of $60 or more you get FREE shipping. So you really only need to buy 2 bras anyway to get the free shipping and the free bra!
There are a few stipulations to the deal though -
1.) You must buy 2 (or 3) of the same brand but not necessarily the same item to get the third (fourth) of the same brand free!
2.) You can only use one promo code at a time - I had another I was going to give but there's no point if you can't use it!
3.) The free shipping offer ends July 1st.
And another great thing about Macy's - you can make returns from online purchases to the closest store! I'm not really one for buying bras without getting a chance to try them on but if you buy three different bras and decide you only like 1 of them you can return/exchange the other two at an actual location and not have to worry about mailing them back and waiting to get new items back. (And this means you get to try them on in the privacy of your own home!)
Happy Bra Shopping to you all!!
However, after reading all of these I thought it was funny that I got an ad from Macy's about lingerie! And now I'm so going to go out and buy some new bras!!
Anyway, here is the deal.
Right now at Macy's if you follow this link for bras or this link for panties (ewww...did I really just type that word!! - that word is on my list of words to never say - I guess it won't kill me to type it though....) you can get either buy 2, get 1 free for bras or buy 3, get 1 free for the other (I refuse to type it more than once though!!)
Also if you use promo code lingerie at check out with a purchase of $60 or more you get FREE shipping. So you really only need to buy 2 bras anyway to get the free shipping and the free bra!
There are a few stipulations to the deal though -
1.) You must buy 2 (or 3) of the same brand but not necessarily the same item to get the third (fourth) of the same brand free!
2.) You can only use one promo code at a time - I had another I was going to give but there's no point if you can't use it!
3.) The free shipping offer ends July 1st.
And another great thing about Macy's - you can make returns from online purchases to the closest store! I'm not really one for buying bras without getting a chance to try them on but if you buy three different bras and decide you only like 1 of them you can return/exchange the other two at an actual location and not have to worry about mailing them back and waiting to get new items back. (And this means you get to try them on in the privacy of your own home!)
Happy Bra Shopping to you all!!
Monday, June 23, 2008
Get Your Deals Here Today!!
I realized that I didn't post any deals last week. I had several of them sitting in my inbox but just never got around to putting them up here. So here they are:
E.L.F
I have recently discovered E.L.F (Eyes, Lips, Face) brand of make-up. While I have several friends who use this - I never had. Anyway, I checked it out and they have some really great stuff. Most of their stuff is only $1.00 and if your into the mineral make-ups they have those for $3 to $5 each or you can get their starter kit for $20. This in itself is an awesome deal! Over at BareMinerals they want $60 for their starter kit and at Sheer Cover they want $30 for a 30 day intro kit.
If you place a $20 order before July 1 you can use coupon code EGHYDAR to get a free SPF 15 Shielding Hydro Tint.
Also, E.L.F has their own blog and if you are one of the first 100 to leave a comment you get a $5 off coupon!
And the codes over at WantNot from earlier this month (free shipping on $20 and 50% off up to $7.50) are still good too.
AMAZON
Over at Amazon their having a BIG DVD sale. If you've been looking for a movie check this out and maybe you can get it for up to 60% off!
DEEP DISCOUNT
If you can't find what you want at Amazon or you missed this when it was posted over at WantNot check out Deep Discount as they have extended thier 20% off sale through June 29th. And they are offering FREE shipping too! Use promo code SUMERSALE.
QUICKBOOKS
Also as a little plug for myself....you can visit my business site and use the link at the bottom of the page to get anywhere from a 10-20% discount on any Quickbooks software or products.
EBAY
And last but not least - if you are looking to make a big purchase over at Ebay you can use coupon code CJUNE0810P through June 30th to receive 10% off your order of $100 or more.
I hope that's enough for you - now that's it's taken me 1 1/2 hours to get this posted! I've been interupted to make breakfast, get the kids dressed, put Girls hair in a ponytail, clean up shredded napkins from one end of the house to the other, break-up a fight over the TV, break-up a fight over the bedroom and oh yea break-up a fight over who's using the bathroom first!!! Ahh...the joys of being a SAHM!
E.L.F
I have recently discovered E.L.F (Eyes, Lips, Face) brand of make-up. While I have several friends who use this - I never had. Anyway, I checked it out and they have some really great stuff. Most of their stuff is only $1.00 and if your into the mineral make-ups they have those for $3 to $5 each or you can get their starter kit for $20. This in itself is an awesome deal! Over at BareMinerals they want $60 for their starter kit and at Sheer Cover they want $30 for a 30 day intro kit.
If you place a $20 order before July 1 you can use coupon code EGHYDAR to get a free SPF 15 Shielding Hydro Tint.
Also, E.L.F has their own blog and if you are one of the first 100 to leave a comment you get a $5 off coupon!
And the codes over at WantNot from earlier this month (free shipping on $20 and 50% off up to $7.50) are still good too.
AMAZON
Over at Amazon their having a BIG DVD sale. If you've been looking for a movie check this out and maybe you can get it for up to 60% off!
DEEP DISCOUNT
If you can't find what you want at Amazon or you missed this when it was posted over at WantNot check out Deep Discount as they have extended thier 20% off sale through June 29th. And they are offering FREE shipping too! Use promo code SUMERSALE.
QUICKBOOKS
Also as a little plug for myself....you can visit my business site and use the link at the bottom of the page to get anywhere from a 10-20% discount on any Quickbooks software or products.
EBAY
And last but not least - if you are looking to make a big purchase over at Ebay you can use coupon code CJUNE0810P through June 30th to receive 10% off your order of $100 or more.
I hope that's enough for you - now that's it's taken me 1 1/2 hours to get this posted! I've been interupted to make breakfast, get the kids dressed, put Girls hair in a ponytail, clean up shredded napkins from one end of the house to the other, break-up a fight over the TV, break-up a fight over the bedroom and oh yea break-up a fight over who's using the bathroom first!!! Ahh...the joys of being a SAHM!
Saturday, June 21, 2008
At The Expense of Boy 1.....
I know I don't normally post on the weekends but I figured since I missed Monday that I would make-up for it today and I have a new funny Boy 1 story to tell. (This seems to happen all the time recently - well not this specific event but he's full of funny stories lately!)
This past Wednesday night we went to see Shitface play some ball...softball that is. Before we left the house, as we always do, I told the kids to use the bathroom. Which they did. Of course without fail - they have this sick fascination with port-a-potties, so as soon as we get there they both miraculously need to use the bathroom AGAIN!! So off they go to one of the places I find most disgusting!
Boy 1 comes back and his shirt is wet. I instantly look at his pants; as we sometimes have a problem with him wetting himself; but his pants are dry.
Me: How did you get your shirt wet?
Boy 1: I peed on it on accident.
Me: How did you pee on your shirt?
Boy 1: Well the toilet was too high and I couldn't reach it.
Me: OK, well we need to take your shirt off because it stinks.
Boy 1: But Mom....Mom.....
Me: We need to take it off!
Boy 1: But Mom, I peed on my face and my hair too!!
I think I laughed for a good 5 minutes at all of this as I tried to clean him up with baby wipes. And than when Shitface came over and I told him, I think I laughed for another 5 minutes!
I know it may sound cruel but I sure do get a lot of laughs at Boy 1's expense. I mean seriously - what good is it to have kids if they can't be your source of entertainment! :-)
This past Wednesday night we went to see Shitface play some ball...softball that is. Before we left the house, as we always do, I told the kids to use the bathroom. Which they did. Of course without fail - they have this sick fascination with port-a-potties, so as soon as we get there they both miraculously need to use the bathroom AGAIN!! So off they go to one of the places I find most disgusting!
Boy 1 comes back and his shirt is wet. I instantly look at his pants; as we sometimes have a problem with him wetting himself; but his pants are dry.
Me: How did you get your shirt wet?
Boy 1: I peed on it on accident.
Me: How did you pee on your shirt?
Boy 1: Well the toilet was too high and I couldn't reach it.
Me: OK, well we need to take your shirt off because it stinks.
Boy 1: But Mom....Mom.....
Me: We need to take it off!
Boy 1: But Mom, I peed on my face and my hair too!!
I think I laughed for a good 5 minutes at all of this as I tried to clean him up with baby wipes. And than when Shitface came over and I told him, I think I laughed for another 5 minutes!
I know it may sound cruel but I sure do get a lot of laughs at Boy 1's expense. I mean seriously - what good is it to have kids if they can't be your source of entertainment! :-)
Friday, June 20, 2008
Friday Fill-Ins #77
It's time for Friday Fill-Ins!
1. A smile is one of the best gifts to give and receive.
2. Skipbo is my favorite board or card game.
3. I would love to have more time in my life and less stress.
4. When I think of the Summer Solstice, I think of the beginning of pool time and playing in the sun.
5. I just remembered I need to make Girl a doctor's appointment for this morning.
6. One of my favorite song lyrics goes like this: Now that your rose is in bloom; A light hits the gloom on the gray (it's Kiss from a Rose by Seal - our first dance at our wedding.)
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to Doing nothing for once, tomorrow my plans include Driving to Fredricksburg, VA for a birthday party and Sunday, I want to RELAX by the pool!
Happy Friday Everyone!!
1. A smile is one of the best gifts to give and receive.
2. Skipbo is my favorite board or card game.
3. I would love to have more time in my life and less stress.
4. When I think of the Summer Solstice, I think of the beginning of pool time and playing in the sun.
5. I just remembered I need to make Girl a doctor's appointment for this morning.
6. One of my favorite song lyrics goes like this: Now that your rose is in bloom; A light hits the gloom on the gray (it's Kiss from a Rose by Seal - our first dance at our wedding.)
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to Doing nothing for once, tomorrow my plans include Driving to Fredricksburg, VA for a birthday party and Sunday, I want to RELAX by the pool!
Happy Friday Everyone!!
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Bluebird Gap Farm
Yesterday we decided to venture out again. The area really has a ton of parks and activities for the kids - the hardest part isn't trying to find a place to go but deciding which one to go to and they are all so close to our house.
I ended up picking Bluebird Gap Farm. The kids absolutely loved it! There were animals (ducks, goats, deer, llamas, cows, pigs, rabbits, turtles, etc) for them to feed, a covered area to eat lunch and a playground for them to play on. And the best part of it for me - it was FREE! We've been to several parks like this back in Maryland but to go to some of them it's as expensive as going to the Baltimore Zoo!! I think we'll definately be visiting this park again during our summer "vacation".
Here are some pictures from our trip:
This was Boy 1 right after I told him not to stick his hand in the fence, and right before he got bit by the duck!
Here's a duck butt!
And here is Girl right as she got slobbered on by the goat and right before she yelled, "Gross!!"
Here are the ducks running across the bridge to bite Boy 1. (Just kidding - they were coming to get food we threw.)
And here is Boy 2 doing what he likes best - playing with sticks and dirt!
Since my plan is to take little day trips as least once a week (in hopes that I can get them out of the house so I don't go insane) you'll probably be seeing/hearing about these frequently. Hopefully our trip next week, where ever that may be, will be just as much fun!
And in case anyone is wondering - yes, I do already have a LIST of places to go.....
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Follow - Up Wednesday
This isn't really a follow-up - really just a continuation from yesterday as the kids had woken up from naps and I couldn't really finish up.
I just realized that everyone may not know why we moved to Virginia for the summer. As I think I have mentioned before, Shitface is in the Army and was recently promoted to Warrent Officer. Of course along with this promotion comes many, many months of school. He spent about 8 weeks down at Ft. Rucker in Alabama for the initial school; which was VERY strict. He could only call home once a day (if that) and had about 30 minutes of talk time (if we were lucky). So after this school he was home for about 3 months and than had to head off to Ft. Eustis in Virginia for 8 months! (He left in March and will be back sometime in November.) I figured it would be nice to spend the summer down here with him and to give me a break from being a single mom to three kids! So here we are!
Back to the rest of my story.....
So Monday I couldn't take it any longer and I broke down and bought a high chair - for FULL price! I think I was on the verge of loosing my mind if I didn't do it. Trying to feed Boy 2 on the floor on one of those bed table things just wasn't working out for me! The dog was loving it though!
So it was off to Target Monday morning after breakfast and Boy 2's morning nap (which only lasted about 45 minutes). Now of course why would Shitface think to leave me MY GPS in an area where I have no idea where anything is?!?!? So after driving around forever and finally being able to pull up half-way decent directions on my phone - we made it to Target. Which is only about 3 miles from the house!! I figured I would buy the cheapest highchair there was and use the $20 gift card that was sent to us from Verizon and only have to pay about $20.
This idea would have worked great had they had the cheapest highchair in stock - it was only $34 and I only would have had to pay $14 out of pocket - not a bad deal! But of couse - no such luck! They only had two in stock - one at $109 and the other at $54. I really thought of trying to find a Wal-Mart (which I loathe) and go there but figured I had put the kids through enough trying to find Target! So I unhappily bought it. Of course I was happy I had done it when we got home and I had to feed the kids lunch!! So much easier!!
Girl and Boy 1 are adjusting nicely to the change. And Boy 2 isn't doing horribly but he's not a fan of his "new" room....or at least that's the conclusion I've come to after all the screaming.
And me...I'm not doing too bad either. Things would be easier if I could get MY computer up and running on the Internet so I could actually work. As it is now I have my laptop and Shitface's laptop side by side - mine so I have the softwares I need and his so I have access to the Internet. Not an ideal set-up but I guess it will have to do for at least a couple more days! Shitface spent almost 2 hours on the phone with a Verizon tech support person on Monday and yes, he did get his computer working again but mine just wasn't having it....(I think it's missing home!).
Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers and we continue to make this adjustment and than make sure you think of us again in 2 months when we do it all over again going home!!! (I must be crazy!!)
I just realized that everyone may not know why we moved to Virginia for the summer. As I think I have mentioned before, Shitface is in the Army and was recently promoted to Warrent Officer. Of course along with this promotion comes many, many months of school. He spent about 8 weeks down at Ft. Rucker in Alabama for the initial school; which was VERY strict. He could only call home once a day (if that) and had about 30 minutes of talk time (if we were lucky). So after this school he was home for about 3 months and than had to head off to Ft. Eustis in Virginia for 8 months! (He left in March and will be back sometime in November.) I figured it would be nice to spend the summer down here with him and to give me a break from being a single mom to three kids! So here we are!
Back to the rest of my story.....
So Monday I couldn't take it any longer and I broke down and bought a high chair - for FULL price! I think I was on the verge of loosing my mind if I didn't do it. Trying to feed Boy 2 on the floor on one of those bed table things just wasn't working out for me! The dog was loving it though!
So it was off to Target Monday morning after breakfast and Boy 2's morning nap (which only lasted about 45 minutes). Now of course why would Shitface think to leave me MY GPS in an area where I have no idea where anything is?!?!? So after driving around forever and finally being able to pull up half-way decent directions on my phone - we made it to Target. Which is only about 3 miles from the house!! I figured I would buy the cheapest highchair there was and use the $20 gift card that was sent to us from Verizon and only have to pay about $20.
This idea would have worked great had they had the cheapest highchair in stock - it was only $34 and I only would have had to pay $14 out of pocket - not a bad deal! But of couse - no such luck! They only had two in stock - one at $109 and the other at $54. I really thought of trying to find a Wal-Mart (which I loathe) and go there but figured I had put the kids through enough trying to find Target! So I unhappily bought it. Of course I was happy I had done it when we got home and I had to feed the kids lunch!! So much easier!!
Girl and Boy 1 are adjusting nicely to the change. And Boy 2 isn't doing horribly but he's not a fan of his "new" room....or at least that's the conclusion I've come to after all the screaming.
And me...I'm not doing too bad either. Things would be easier if I could get MY computer up and running on the Internet so I could actually work. As it is now I have my laptop and Shitface's laptop side by side - mine so I have the softwares I need and his so I have access to the Internet. Not an ideal set-up but I guess it will have to do for at least a couple more days! Shitface spent almost 2 hours on the phone with a Verizon tech support person on Monday and yes, he did get his computer working again but mine just wasn't having it....(I think it's missing home!).
Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers and we continue to make this adjustment and than make sure you think of us again in 2 months when we do it all over again going home!!! (I must be crazy!!)
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
It will work out - I promise - Or at least I hope!!
So as one can imagine things have been quite hectic since my last post on Friday. We had a ton of running around to do on Saturday before we actually got on the road to come to Virginia. I guess we finally got on the road around 3pm. The kids really wern't horrible on the ride down but there was of course a fair share of "don't touch me!", "leave me alone!", "I'm telling!", "are we there yet?", "mom - he/she won't.....", "get off me!", "will you shut up already!!". Oh wait - that last one was me!! Of course Shitface had a nice enjoyable ride down as all he had was the dog! I've told him next time I get the dog and he's getting the kids!
By the time we got here it was nearing 7pm and the kids hadn't eaten yet and they were tired and cranky! Shitface ran out to get a pizza (which somehow took FOREVER!!) again leaving me home with the kiddies. Boy 2 was beyond tired so I made him some Mac N Cheese and figured I would put him to bed. Oh but wait - I forgot to tell you that we didn't have a highchair yet. Being as frugal as I am - I was trying to find one on Craig's List or a thrift store and hadn't yet found one. So of course Boy 2 really didn't eat much because I couldn't get him to sit still.
So off to bed he goes! Well to his crib anyway. He proceeded to cry for about 45 minutes and by this time I couldn't take it anymore. (There was no getting away from the crying as this place is considerably smaller than our place at home - about 900 sq feet to be exact - with 5 people and a dog!!) I went in there and laid on the floor with him with my arm up in the air in between the slots on the crib! Uncomfortable yes!! But did it keep him quiet? Yes!! Well as long as I didn't try to pull my arm down. After about an hour of this - I finally decided I couldn't do this all night and hoped that he was pretty much out of it and would just fall asleep - so I crawl to the door for my escape. Of course I only made it about 2 inches from his crib before he started screaming. But I left anyway and he probably only cried for another 10 minutes before he was out.
Well out until about 5:30 am anyway, when he woke up and proceeded to scream bloody murder again!! Now this is the boy who will normally sleep until 6:45am or until you wake him and when he does wake up he'll play in his crib for sometimes up to an hour before making any real noise! So let me tell you how much a shock it was to my system to wake up at 5:30am to screaming!!
And the other two didn't sleep much past 6:20am either so it was an early morning for all - as we all slowly tried to settle in to this new place. Lunch and dinner pretty much went the same way with no high chair and little sleep and lots of screaming!
On the up side of all this though - Girl and Boy 1 love this place and think it's the next best thing to sliced bread! Of course, Shitface and I seem to think that is only because we have a pool in the backyard. Now its nothing extravagant but it's one of those above ground blow-up pools. It's about 3 feet of water with a filter and all. It's pretty nice especially since we scored it for FREE!! Yup that's right - FREE!! Well we're actually only borrowing it from one of Shitface's classmates as he isn't able to use it at his place on post.
And the even better thing is it works great on bribing the kids! "If you're not good.....you can't get in the pool", etc. It works at least for now anyway! I'll have to give you an update as to how well that continues to work this summer.
Ok back to trying to get this place up and running like an actual household is suppose to!
By the time we got here it was nearing 7pm and the kids hadn't eaten yet and they were tired and cranky! Shitface ran out to get a pizza (which somehow took FOREVER!!) again leaving me home with the kiddies. Boy 2 was beyond tired so I made him some Mac N Cheese and figured I would put him to bed. Oh but wait - I forgot to tell you that we didn't have a highchair yet. Being as frugal as I am - I was trying to find one on Craig's List or a thrift store and hadn't yet found one. So of course Boy 2 really didn't eat much because I couldn't get him to sit still.
So off to bed he goes! Well to his crib anyway. He proceeded to cry for about 45 minutes and by this time I couldn't take it anymore. (There was no getting away from the crying as this place is considerably smaller than our place at home - about 900 sq feet to be exact - with 5 people and a dog!!) I went in there and laid on the floor with him with my arm up in the air in between the slots on the crib! Uncomfortable yes!! But did it keep him quiet? Yes!! Well as long as I didn't try to pull my arm down. After about an hour of this - I finally decided I couldn't do this all night and hoped that he was pretty much out of it and would just fall asleep - so I crawl to the door for my escape. Of course I only made it about 2 inches from his crib before he started screaming. But I left anyway and he probably only cried for another 10 minutes before he was out.
Well out until about 5:30 am anyway, when he woke up and proceeded to scream bloody murder again!! Now this is the boy who will normally sleep until 6:45am or until you wake him and when he does wake up he'll play in his crib for sometimes up to an hour before making any real noise! So let me tell you how much a shock it was to my system to wake up at 5:30am to screaming!!
And the other two didn't sleep much past 6:20am either so it was an early morning for all - as we all slowly tried to settle in to this new place. Lunch and dinner pretty much went the same way with no high chair and little sleep and lots of screaming!
On the up side of all this though - Girl and Boy 1 love this place and think it's the next best thing to sliced bread! Of course, Shitface and I seem to think that is only because we have a pool in the backyard. Now its nothing extravagant but it's one of those above ground blow-up pools. It's about 3 feet of water with a filter and all. It's pretty nice especially since we scored it for FREE!! Yup that's right - FREE!! Well we're actually only borrowing it from one of Shitface's classmates as he isn't able to use it at his place on post.
And the even better thing is it works great on bribing the kids! "If you're not good.....you can't get in the pool", etc. It works at least for now anyway! I'll have to give you an update as to how well that continues to work this summer.
Ok back to trying to get this place up and running like an actual household is suppose to!
Friday, June 13, 2008
Friday Fill-In Time
It's time for another wonderful Friday Fill-In!
1. Going to Australia is high up on my bucket list.
2. My favorite quote (well I don't really have a favorite but I like this one) is Welcome to the real world! It sucks! You're going to love it!; it's from Monica on Friends.
3. Needing an "outlet" inspired me to start blogging.
4. Strawberries are best dipped in chocolate.
5. My husband being arrested for being drunk in public (but he only had 2 beers) is the last dream I remember having.
6. The most enjoyable time to go for a walk is at night when it's snowing.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to Shitface coming home, tomorrow my plans include attending a memorial service and moving to VA for the summer and Sunday, I want to try to get settled into our new place in VA!
Happy Friday everyone!
Friday Fill-In #76
1. Going to Australia is high up on my bucket list.
2. My favorite quote (well I don't really have a favorite but I like this one) is Welcome to the real world! It sucks! You're going to love it!; it's from Monica on Friends.
3. Needing an "outlet" inspired me to start blogging.
4. Strawberries are best dipped in chocolate.
5. My husband being arrested for being drunk in public (but he only had 2 beers) is the last dream I remember having.
6. The most enjoyable time to go for a walk is at night when it's snowing.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to Shitface coming home, tomorrow my plans include attending a memorial service and moving to VA for the summer and Sunday, I want to try to get settled into our new place in VA!
Happy Friday everyone!
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Not so Follow-Up Wednesday
I have nothing to follow up with for my normal follow up Wednesday. I do instead have several unrelated things to share that otherwise wouldn't make up a full post. So here goes it:
Best of Buds
Apparently while I wasn't watching Boy 2 and Klondike (that's our dog) have made a pact. A pact that allows Boy 2 to climb on, lay on, cuddle with and otherwise use as a jungle gym, Klondike in return for Boy 2 throwing his "left-overs" on the floor as payment. For the past two weeks this has been going on and I finally caught it on photo.
I'm not hiding Boy 2 because he isn't cute - he really is adorable! I just prefer not to have his face plastered on the internet!
Why on earth she would waited till the middle of a heat wave to tell me - I will never know. But I do know I have one more thing to add to my list!
DEALS (Ok really it's just one)
Aeropostale is having a 9.99 stock up sale! And if you use coupon code: 3DAYCLEAR you'll get an additional 20% off of their clearance items. This is only good until 6/13/08 though so if you want to use it - hurry up!!
Best of Buds
Apparently while I wasn't watching Boy 2 and Klondike (that's our dog) have made a pact. A pact that allows Boy 2 to climb on, lay on, cuddle with and otherwise use as a jungle gym, Klondike in return for Boy 2 throwing his "left-overs" on the floor as payment. For the past two weeks this has been going on and I finally caught it on photo.
I'm not hiding Boy 2 because he isn't cute - he really is adorable! I just prefer not to have his face plastered on the internet!Sweltering Heat
So as many people are - we too are in the middle of a heat wave. With temperatures nearing 100 if not actually reaching it! As I walk into Girl's room tonight to kiss her goodnight she has pants picked out to wear to school the next day. The conversation goes like this:
Me: Why do you have pants out?
Girl: Because that's what I'm wearing to school tomorrow.
Me: Why would you do that? Do you know how hot it's going to be?
Me: Just like today!!! You can't wear pants.
Girl: But I want to.
Me: Why?
Girl: Because I don't have anything else to wear.
Me: You have a drawer full of shorts - what do you mean you have nothing to wear?
Girl: They don't fit.
Me: What do you meant hey don't fit?
Girl: They don't fit - they're too tight.
Me: Why are you just now telling me this? You've seen me buying new summer clothes for your brothers. Why didn't you tell me you needed new stuff too?
Girl: I don't know.
Me: Well you're not wearing pants to school.
Girl: What am I suppose to wear than?
Me: I don't know -find something else - a dress, a skirt, even capri's are better.
Girl: Fine! I'll wear my capri's.
So as many people are - we too are in the middle of a heat wave. With temperatures nearing 100 if not actually reaching it! As I walk into Girl's room tonight to kiss her goodnight she has pants picked out to wear to school the next day. The conversation goes like this:
Me: Why do you have pants out?
Girl: Because that's what I'm wearing to school tomorrow.
Me: Why would you do that? Do you know how hot it's going to be?
Me: Just like today!!! You can't wear pants.
Girl: But I want to.
Me: Why?
Girl: Because I don't have anything else to wear.
Me: You have a drawer full of shorts - what do you mean you have nothing to wear?
Girl: They don't fit.
Me: What do you meant hey don't fit?
Girl: They don't fit - they're too tight.
Me: Why are you just now telling me this? You've seen me buying new summer clothes for your brothers. Why didn't you tell me you needed new stuff too?
Girl: I don't know.
Me: Well you're not wearing pants to school.
Girl: What am I suppose to wear than?
Me: I don't know -find something else - a dress, a skirt, even capri's are better.
Girl: Fine! I'll wear my capri's.
DEALS (Ok really it's just one)
Aeropostale is having a 9.99 stock up sale! And if you use coupon code: 3DAYCLEAR you'll get an additional 20% off of their clearance items. This is only good until 6/13/08 though so if you want to use it - hurry up!!
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
List-aholic
As I sat and looked at my desk today this is what I saw:
A list of things to do for one of my clients
A list of things we need to furnish our other house in VA
A list of things to do today
...and this is a continuation of list to do today
(call Child Find seems to pop out and no I didn't loose any of my kids - yet!)
A list of things to pack for our upcoming move
So after all this I have come to the conclusion that I'm a list-aholic! A what you ask? A person who is obsessive about making lists. If I don't have a list to look at than nothing gets done! And if I don't make a list before I get into bed - you got it - I get up to make one. (And no, I'm not joking!) Even my post yesterday consists of a list I made in my mind while driving.
I think it's my way of determining how productive my day is. If I can look at a list and see that I have a lot of things crossed off than I've had a good day. If my list still has more things on it than crossed off - it's been a bad day!!
I've been working on a new list too - a list of 100 things about me. Look for it to come soon!
A list of things to do for one of my clients
A list of things we need to furnish our other house in VA
A list of things to do today
...and this is a continuation of list to do today(call Child Find seems to pop out and no I didn't loose any of my kids - yet!)
A list of things to pack for our upcoming moveSo after all this I have come to the conclusion that I'm a list-aholic! A what you ask? A person who is obsessive about making lists. If I don't have a list to look at than nothing gets done! And if I don't make a list before I get into bed - you got it - I get up to make one. (And no, I'm not joking!) Even my post yesterday consists of a list I made in my mind while driving.
I think it's my way of determining how productive my day is. If I can look at a list and see that I have a lot of things crossed off than I've had a good day. If my list still has more things on it than crossed off - it's been a bad day!!
I've been working on a new list too - a list of 100 things about me. Look for it to come soon!
Monday, June 9, 2008
Rules of the Road
So I had to visit with one of my clients in Baltimore today. I had gotten all the kids into daycare at a decent time today so figured I would have an easy commute in. Boy was I wrong!!
There was a major accident on 95 S and all but one lane was closed. I don't go that way - I take Rt 40 into the city. (Which in it self isn't a terrible road - there are stop lights almost every mile if not more but if you catch the lights on a good day - it's not a bad ride.) So I figured not a big deal. Wrong! Apparently - everyone and their sister and mother and brother and father and cousin and aunt and uncle (do you get the point) thought it would be a good idea to take Rt 40. So as I sat in traffic and got cut off again and again and almost rammed into on several occasions I was coming up with my blog post for the day:
Maryland Rules of the Road
1.) We don't use turn signals to change lanes in this state! We just veer into the next lane and hope that others get out of the way in time.
2.) We don't really use turn signals at all. You just assume everyone knows which direction you are turning!
3.) When on a ramp onto a major highway - we stop - even though the traffic sign clearly says YIELD and not STOP!
4.) If your not talking on your cell phone or trying to send a text message (while driving)- than you shouldn't be driving in this state.
5.) If by chance we don't stop (see #3); we speed up excessively in order to speed down the merge lane and cut off every single person in the right lane. (only to continue at a below the speed limit speed)
6.) If we are in the fast lane and someone comes up behind you going faster - we don't move over a lane for them to pass. We just keep on going at our S-L-O-W speed and wait for them to go around us.
7.) If the car in front of you is there for even one nanosecond after the light turns green - its OK to lay on your horn and scream profanities at them.
8.) It is completely acceptable to tailgate.
9.) Traffic circles - they just don't work in this part of the country! We drive in which ever lane we want to get to where ever we want - it doesn't matter!
10.) When the light turns red - it's OK for at LEAST two more cars to go through it - as long as your in a hurry!
So after about 45 minutes of sitting in traffic, I had only traveled about 8 miles from my house. So I did what every one would do - I turned around and went home! Ok, maybe everyone wouldn't do that but I sure do!
It would have been nice if someone had alerted me of the horrible traffic this morning (don't ask who should of - but someone should of dam't!!).
There was a major accident on 95 S and all but one lane was closed. I don't go that way - I take Rt 40 into the city. (Which in it self isn't a terrible road - there are stop lights almost every mile if not more but if you catch the lights on a good day - it's not a bad ride.) So I figured not a big deal. Wrong! Apparently - everyone and their sister and mother and brother and father and cousin and aunt and uncle (do you get the point) thought it would be a good idea to take Rt 40. So as I sat in traffic and got cut off again and again and almost rammed into on several occasions I was coming up with my blog post for the day:
Maryland Rules of the Road
1.) We don't use turn signals to change lanes in this state! We just veer into the next lane and hope that others get out of the way in time.
2.) We don't really use turn signals at all. You just assume everyone knows which direction you are turning!
3.) When on a ramp onto a major highway - we stop - even though the traffic sign clearly says YIELD and not STOP!
4.) If your not talking on your cell phone or trying to send a text message (while driving)- than you shouldn't be driving in this state.
5.) If by chance we don't stop (see #3); we speed up excessively in order to speed down the merge lane and cut off every single person in the right lane. (only to continue at a below the speed limit speed)
6.) If we are in the fast lane and someone comes up behind you going faster - we don't move over a lane for them to pass. We just keep on going at our S-L-O-W speed and wait for them to go around us.
7.) If the car in front of you is there for even one nanosecond after the light turns green - its OK to lay on your horn and scream profanities at them.
8.) It is completely acceptable to tailgate.
9.) Traffic circles - they just don't work in this part of the country! We drive in which ever lane we want to get to where ever we want - it doesn't matter!
10.) When the light turns red - it's OK for at LEAST two more cars to go through it - as long as your in a hurry!
So after about 45 minutes of sitting in traffic, I had only traveled about 8 miles from my house. So I did what every one would do - I turned around and went home! Ok, maybe everyone wouldn't do that but I sure do!
It would have been nice if someone had alerted me of the horrible traffic this morning (don't ask who should of - but someone should of dam't!!).
Friday, June 6, 2008
Friday Fill-Ins #75
Because I've been really busy and sometimes find it hard to think of a new topic, I decided to try Friday Fill-Ins. We'll see how it goes. (At least now I know I always have topic for Friday!)
ENJOY!
1. Idle hands are a good thing in my house - it means Girl and Boy 1 are not hitting each other!
2. I love really hot water in the shower.
3. My favorite time of the day is when the kids are in bed and I finally have peace and quite.
4. The last tea I drank was green tea, which made me sick to my stomach.
5. I like to be at the pool or beach in the Summer.
6. My mother always said stop cracking your knuckles!! (It still to this day drives her crazy to hear me do it)
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to Shitface coming home for the weekend, tomorrow my plans include Boy 1's t-ball game and soccer registrations for Girl and Boy 1 and Sunday, I want to try to get a nap in with Shitface before he leaves for the week again!
ENJOY!
1. Idle hands are a good thing in my house - it means Girl and Boy 1 are not hitting each other!
2. I love really hot water in the shower.
3. My favorite time of the day is when the kids are in bed and I finally have peace and quite.
4. The last tea I drank was green tea, which made me sick to my stomach.
5. I like to be at the pool or beach in the Summer.
6. My mother always said stop cracking your knuckles!! (It still to this day drives her crazy to hear me do it)
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to Shitface coming home for the weekend, tomorrow my plans include Boy 1's t-ball game and soccer registrations for Girl and Boy 1 and Sunday, I want to try to get a nap in with Shitface before he leaves for the week again!
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Tree Killer
Ok, yes - I admit that is me....I'm a tree killer. But seriously they need to stay out of my damn yard!!
So here's the background:
We bought our house 2 years ago and this will be our 3rd summer year. The first year I did very little gardening - and I mean a very little! The flowerbeds were still pretty much overgrown and had roots growing everywhere and this horrible lopsided tree/bush thing. (And yes, I killed that one too!)
So on to our 2nd summer here - I was pregnant - and of course got that wild hair up my ass to do something about the garden beds. So cleaned out all the weeds, had hubby digging out roots and I dug up, split and re-planted hastas, I bought garden accessories (a few stepping stones, a wind chime, etc) and bought a couple flowers and I was fairly happy with it. At least with the one side of my house. The other side would have to wait - because come one I was already 8 months pregnant!!!
So the summer passes and we're into fall. Boy 2 had been born and most of my time was occupied with the new baby. So along came my wonderful husband who noticed that I had some weeds in my garden. He proceeded to spray them with weedkiller - along with everything else in my garden too!!! So my nice hastas that I spent hours (and I mean hours) spliting and re-planting - all of them had huge holes and were wilting more and more everyday!
However, I still made another attempt to make it look nice and planted a few fall flowers. However, I'm not a real good flower picker because I picked the single most evasive plant there was! I don't know what its called but it has small yellow/greenish leaves on it and I thought it flowered but mine never did - it just kept growing, and growing and growing til it took over my entire flowerbed. So by this time I had dead hastas and this horrible creepy crawling plant everywhere!!
Towards the end of the season I decided that I was going to get rid of the hastas - I again spent hours ripping them out of the ground and figured I would plant something better the next year. And that awfull creepy crawly thing was brown and dried up so I just left it there figuring I would clean it out before I planted new flowers in the spring. I also during this time tilled the ground on the other side of the house and got rid of all the weeds over there and laid down those weed stopper things and than covered it with mulch so it would be ready for Spring.
So spring time finally rolls around and I'm all excited about planting new flowers and making the front of the house look nice. Over the winter we had gotten new siding put up and a new roof - so I wanted to make the house look good this year.
However, much to my surprise those damn hastas came back again!! I couldn't believe it - I tried to kill a plant and I couldn't do it. (If you know anything about me - you'll know that I have a black thumb and kill just about everything I touch!!) Before I knew it they were everywhere - however, this time they looked great. They were all properly spaced out and I decided I liked them and they could stay. That stupid creepy crawly thing came back too and with a vengeance!! It took me hours to pull up all the roots from every single branch of that thing! But when that was finally done, I planted several other perennials this year (I didn't do that before - because I'd rather do it over and over and over again every year!!!) and I was happy.
It's nothing spectacular - but I wanted to start small since I have that horrible black thumb!
It looked great for a while until my husband came around and decided that the grass had too many bald spots and he needed to plant grass seed. God forbid he actually take caution in what he was doing!! Next thing I know there is grass growing on both sides of my garden. I took all that work to get all the grass and weeds out and lay down that damn weed stopper and now I have grass on top of it!! I was ready to kill him!! And still to this day, think about it while I'm out there picking strands of grass out by hand!! And I've ordered, ok maybe that's a strong word, I strongly suggested to him that he not try to help me out by spraying weed/grass killer again this year because than he may really be dead!
Well it didn't just come - it's been there for quite a few years!
So here's the background:
We bought our house 2 years ago and this will be our 3rd summer year. The first year I did very little gardening - and I mean a very little! The flowerbeds were still pretty much overgrown and had roots growing everywhere and this horrible lopsided tree/bush thing. (And yes, I killed that one too!)
So on to our 2nd summer here - I was pregnant - and of course got that wild hair up my ass to do something about the garden beds. So cleaned out all the weeds, had hubby digging out roots and I dug up, split and re-planted hastas, I bought garden accessories (a few stepping stones, a wind chime, etc) and bought a couple flowers and I was fairly happy with it. At least with the one side of my house. The other side would have to wait - because come one I was already 8 months pregnant!!!
So the summer passes and we're into fall. Boy 2 had been born and most of my time was occupied with the new baby. So along came my wonderful husband who noticed that I had some weeds in my garden. He proceeded to spray them with weedkiller - along with everything else in my garden too!!! So my nice hastas that I spent hours (and I mean hours) spliting and re-planting - all of them had huge holes and were wilting more and more everyday!
However, I still made another attempt to make it look nice and planted a few fall flowers. However, I'm not a real good flower picker because I picked the single most evasive plant there was! I don't know what its called but it has small yellow/greenish leaves on it and I thought it flowered but mine never did - it just kept growing, and growing and growing til it took over my entire flowerbed. So by this time I had dead hastas and this horrible creepy crawling plant everywhere!!
Towards the end of the season I decided that I was going to get rid of the hastas - I again spent hours ripping them out of the ground and figured I would plant something better the next year. And that awfull creepy crawly thing was brown and dried up so I just left it there figuring I would clean it out before I planted new flowers in the spring. I also during this time tilled the ground on the other side of the house and got rid of all the weeds over there and laid down those weed stopper things and than covered it with mulch so it would be ready for Spring.
So spring time finally rolls around and I'm all excited about planting new flowers and making the front of the house look nice. Over the winter we had gotten new siding put up and a new roof - so I wanted to make the house look good this year.
However, much to my surprise those damn hastas came back again!! I couldn't believe it - I tried to kill a plant and I couldn't do it. (If you know anything about me - you'll know that I have a black thumb and kill just about everything I touch!!) Before I knew it they were everywhere - however, this time they looked great. They were all properly spaced out and I decided I liked them and they could stay. That stupid creepy crawly thing came back too and with a vengeance!! It took me hours to pull up all the roots from every single branch of that thing! But when that was finally done, I planted several other perennials this year (I didn't do that before - because I'd rather do it over and over and over again every year!!!) and I was happy.
It's nothing spectacular - but I wanted to start small since I have that horrible black thumb!It looked great for a while until my husband came around and decided that the grass had too many bald spots and he needed to plant grass seed. God forbid he actually take caution in what he was doing!! Next thing I know there is grass growing on both sides of my garden. I took all that work to get all the grass and weeds out and lay down that damn weed stopper and now I have grass on top of it!! I was ready to kill him!! And still to this day, think about it while I'm out there picking strands of grass out by hand!! And I've ordered, ok maybe that's a strong word, I strongly suggested to him that he not try to help me out by spraying weed/grass killer again this year because than he may really be dead!
And than came this tree - I like to call Lucifer.
Well it didn't just come - it's been there for quite a few years!Anyway, this is one of those trees from hell that have the fucking helicopter thingy's on them - and while this tree is in my neighbor's yard - all those stupid fucking things come into my yard and my garden!! Literally thousands of them!! And while one weekend I went out and picked every single one of them out of my garden - the very next day there seemed to be twice as many! So what could I do but leave them there. It's not like I have hours upon hours every day to go out there and pick them out.
Eventually all of those damn things turned into teeny tiny maple trees. And for the past couple weeks, I've been out there pulling them out - practically every freakin' day! And when you think you've gotten them all - you look 2 days later and there are huge ones that look like they've been growing for weeks.
It's never ending and of course part of me just wants to let it go and let them have their way with my garden....but I don't want it to be a failure AGAIN!! Just once I want to be able to say that I planted a garden that made it through an entire season and maybe even into the next one!!
By this time I think I've killed over 500 of those damn trees - so I admit - I'm a tree killer. But they deserved it!!!
So I guess for now, I'll be out there pulling them out every day - that is unless anyone else has any ideas on how to get rid of them!
Eventually all of those damn things turned into teeny tiny maple trees. And for the past couple weeks, I've been out there pulling them out - practically every freakin' day! And when you think you've gotten them all - you look 2 days later and there are huge ones that look like they've been growing for weeks.
It's never ending and of course part of me just wants to let it go and let them have their way with my garden....but I don't want it to be a failure AGAIN!! Just once I want to be able to say that I planted a garden that made it through an entire season and maybe even into the next one!!
By this time I think I've killed over 500 of those damn trees - so I admit - I'm a tree killer. But they deserved it!!!
So I guess for now, I'll be out there pulling them out every day - that is unless anyone else has any ideas on how to get rid of them!
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Follow - Up Wednesday
So here's another edition of follow-up Wednesday. ...
Yet again back to the whole eye issue with my daughter:
Saturday her eye was a little pink - Sunday it was RED! Again I assumed that since she had been in the pool on Saturday that maybe it was from all the chlorine. Than after nap time I looked at it and realized there was a bit of ooze coming out of it. Crap!!! She really does have pink eye!
So off to Rite-Aid I go to get that prescription filled that the school nurse had sent home. (Not real sure why I kept it since I swore the nurse was crazy for giving it to me anyway!) We start using it right away and than go on to completely sanitize my entire house in hopes that no one else contracts it. I decide to keep her home Monday to make sure she had been on antibiotics for 24 hours. I called her pediatrician's office to confirm that this was correct and she could return to school on Tuesday - which was correct. We actually had a really good mother/daughter day and she was happy to accompany me on my gazillion errands that I had to run.
So Tuesday morning I send her to school. She never even made it to her classroom and at 8:45am (school doesn't even start until 9am) the school nurse was calling me to tell me I had to come pick her up. Of course being the hot head that I am - I was furious. So I get up there and explain that she's been on antibiotics for over 24 hours now and she is fine. I'm told that as long as the eye is red she can't be in school. Now mind you - the child's eye has been red/pink on and off for the past 2 weeks and she was never sent home before!! None the less - I took her home.
(And I still think she only sent her because after I complained a week or so ago - they initiated a new policy where she has to write up a form for every child that comes into the nurses office - even if it is for ice!)
So I decided to call her pediatrician and take her in for a visit just to be on the safe side because even though she had been on the antibiotic for almost 48 hours - there really was no improvement. I get her in for an 11:20 appointment which wasn't horrible but was cutting into Boy 2's nap time. We get there and her doctor says that she isn't convinced that it's pink eye because it hasn't followed any of the patterns of pink eye. (She's had in on and off for 2 weeks already and even without treatment it should have gone away by this time, etc). So she suggests we go to see an ophthalmologist just to be on the safe side. I agree. Next thing I know the nurse is coming back to the room to tell me that they made a 1pm appointment for her. Now this wouldn't be a bad thing - but by this time it's already 11:45, neither Girl or Boy 2 have had lunch yet and the doctor's office is about 30 minutes from where we were.
Of course because we have that wonderful military insurance you have to jump through hoops to see an "outside" doctor. So it's off to the referral management center where we wait for them enter the referral into the system. Than it's off to the Tricare office where we wait again for them to get me a copy of the referral. She tried to tell me it would be several hours and I should come back - and than I told her our appointment was in less than an hour!! So much to my surprise she pleasantly said she would fax it over to the doctor. Wow!!! I was surprised that Kirk Army actually had a process go fairly smooth - I thought for sure we would miss our appointment across town!
So we race out of there and head to the other side of town, when I realize that the kids are starving. So I stop at McDonalds and get them lunch. (Remember: Boy 2 is only 11 months old - but he manged to feed himself Chicken Nuggets as we sped down the road!) We finally make it there are 1:02!
We finally get seen by the doctor and they do all of their tests and she says, "Well, I believe that it may be viral conjunctivitis - even though it doesn't show any of the symptoms of it" and suggests that I stop the antibiotic since it wouldn't help anyway. What the hell does that mean??? Either it is or it isn't?? You can't tell?? You're supposed to be a specialist and I raced to the other side of town for you to say the same thing to me that her pediatrician said!! WTF??
So needless to say - she is still home with me today and I'm probably going to keep her home tomorrow as well. While her eye has drastically cleared up since I stopped the antibiotic (maybe she was having a reaction to that) it is still ever so slightly pink in the outside corner. And I figure the last thing I need is for school to call me again and send her home again - because than I may not be so nice!! There is only 1 1/2 weeks of school left so no need to ruin a good school year now!
Yet again back to the whole eye issue with my daughter:
Saturday her eye was a little pink - Sunday it was RED! Again I assumed that since she had been in the pool on Saturday that maybe it was from all the chlorine. Than after nap time I looked at it and realized there was a bit of ooze coming out of it. Crap!!! She really does have pink eye!
So off to Rite-Aid I go to get that prescription filled that the school nurse had sent home. (Not real sure why I kept it since I swore the nurse was crazy for giving it to me anyway!) We start using it right away and than go on to completely sanitize my entire house in hopes that no one else contracts it. I decide to keep her home Monday to make sure she had been on antibiotics for 24 hours. I called her pediatrician's office to confirm that this was correct and she could return to school on Tuesday - which was correct. We actually had a really good mother/daughter day and she was happy to accompany me on my gazillion errands that I had to run.
So Tuesday morning I send her to school. She never even made it to her classroom and at 8:45am (school doesn't even start until 9am) the school nurse was calling me to tell me I had to come pick her up. Of course being the hot head that I am - I was furious. So I get up there and explain that she's been on antibiotics for over 24 hours now and she is fine. I'm told that as long as the eye is red she can't be in school. Now mind you - the child's eye has been red/pink on and off for the past 2 weeks and she was never sent home before!! None the less - I took her home.
(And I still think she only sent her because after I complained a week or so ago - they initiated a new policy where she has to write up a form for every child that comes into the nurses office - even if it is for ice!)
So I decided to call her pediatrician and take her in for a visit just to be on the safe side because even though she had been on the antibiotic for almost 48 hours - there really was no improvement. I get her in for an 11:20 appointment which wasn't horrible but was cutting into Boy 2's nap time. We get there and her doctor says that she isn't convinced that it's pink eye because it hasn't followed any of the patterns of pink eye. (She's had in on and off for 2 weeks already and even without treatment it should have gone away by this time, etc). So she suggests we go to see an ophthalmologist just to be on the safe side. I agree. Next thing I know the nurse is coming back to the room to tell me that they made a 1pm appointment for her. Now this wouldn't be a bad thing - but by this time it's already 11:45, neither Girl or Boy 2 have had lunch yet and the doctor's office is about 30 minutes from where we were.
Of course because we have that wonderful military insurance you have to jump through hoops to see an "outside" doctor. So it's off to the referral management center where we wait for them enter the referral into the system. Than it's off to the Tricare office where we wait again for them to get me a copy of the referral. She tried to tell me it would be several hours and I should come back - and than I told her our appointment was in less than an hour!! So much to my surprise she pleasantly said she would fax it over to the doctor. Wow!!! I was surprised that Kirk Army actually had a process go fairly smooth - I thought for sure we would miss our appointment across town!
So we race out of there and head to the other side of town, when I realize that the kids are starving. So I stop at McDonalds and get them lunch. (Remember: Boy 2 is only 11 months old - but he manged to feed himself Chicken Nuggets as we sped down the road!) We finally make it there are 1:02!
We finally get seen by the doctor and they do all of their tests and she says, "Well, I believe that it may be viral conjunctivitis - even though it doesn't show any of the symptoms of it" and suggests that I stop the antibiotic since it wouldn't help anyway. What the hell does that mean??? Either it is or it isn't?? You can't tell?? You're supposed to be a specialist and I raced to the other side of town for you to say the same thing to me that her pediatrician said!! WTF??
So needless to say - she is still home with me today and I'm probably going to keep her home tomorrow as well. While her eye has drastically cleared up since I stopped the antibiotic (maybe she was having a reaction to that) it is still ever so slightly pink in the outside corner. And I figure the last thing I need is for school to call me again and send her home again - because than I may not be so nice!! There is only 1 1/2 weeks of school left so no need to ruin a good school year now!
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Deals (I know real creative title!)
I've come across a couple of deals over the weekend. They are:
At Petite Sophisticate you can use these promo codes until 6/30/08:
776576407 gets you 20% off your order of $75 or more
776576308 gets you free shipping on your order of $50 or more.
And make sure that you check out their clearance section as well as that's the only place I shop there!
Another New York & Company code is good through 6/21/08:
2665 gets you free shipping on your $75 or more order.
Also NewEgg has some promo codes here and here. Some of them aren't great but if you're looking for one of these items it may be worth it. And they offer free 3 day shipping - and I have always gotten my order the very next day!!
That's all I got for today. Sorry about the short post but I'm exhausted and need to get some sleep! I'll tell you all about my wonderful day tomorrow.
At Petite Sophisticate you can use these promo codes until 6/30/08:
776576407 gets you 20% off your order of $75 or more
776576308 gets you free shipping on your order of $50 or more.
And make sure that you check out their clearance section as well as that's the only place I shop there!
Another New York & Company code is good through 6/21/08:
2665 gets you free shipping on your $75 or more order.
Also NewEgg has some promo codes here and here. Some of them aren't great but if you're looking for one of these items it may be worth it. And they offer free 3 day shipping - and I have always gotten my order the very next day!!
That's all I got for today. Sorry about the short post but I'm exhausted and need to get some sleep! I'll tell you all about my wonderful day tomorrow.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
I'm The Perfect Mom
Well, I'm not but that's basically what this woman told me at the grocery store. (Not that I was but that she was!!)
A little bit of background:
When the kids went to the grandparents over Memorial Day weekend, Boy 2 came back pretty bruised and battered. (By no fault of them -(I love you guys) but he has those new walking feet on).
The first incident - He fell off their front porch. Now, it's only a couple inches off the ground really but it is made of concrete and there are bushes in front of it. So he fell backwards into the bushes and scrapped his face up but he was ok.
The second incident - Girl was pushing Boy 1 on the bike down the driveway (which is a slight hill). Apparently, Boy 1 fell off and scrapped his elbow a little, but was otherwise fine. So what does Boy 1 decide to do next. He decides it would be a great idea to get Boy 2 on the bike and push him down the driveway. Obviously, being 10 months old - he didn't make it very far!! So this resulted in him being slightly more scrapped and bruised.
The third incident - Repeat #1 all over again- all of these within several hours of each other!!
So needless to say, when I got to him that Monday his right cheek was all bruised and he had quite a few scratches and scabs on forehead and the right side of his head. And no, I wasn't upset over any of this as I know it happens when kids start walking (and siblings torment each other).
Ok, so that is the background. Now on to my story....
So I'm standing in line at the grocery store and I'm having a pleasant (ok, really it wasn't plesant - I'm just trying to be nice) conversation with the bagger. We were making small talk and talking about the kids. Boy 2 happened to turn his head and she said:
Bagger: Oh my God, What happened to his head?
Me: He fell off the porch as his grandparents house - no big deal really.
Bagger: Oh - he was with his grandparents??
Me: Yea, no big deal -things like that have happened with me too.
She looked at me flabbergasted like I was a horrible person.
Bagger: Oh, now see - my two sons - they NEVER got hurt when they were in my care. They NEVER were let out of my sight to even get hurt!!
I couldn't believe it! This complete stranger was basically judging me because my son had some scraps and bruises. For crying out loud - It's not like he was in a full body cast or anything!!
The whole time, I was doing my best to stay cool, calm and collected and leave as quickly as possible before I told this woman how I really felt. Which would have gone something like this. And this is still the toned down version of it:
Me: Who the hell do you think you are judging me?? I can't help it that I feel my son (and all my children for that matter) needs to be on his own two feet to explore and learn the world around him. I'm not one of those overprotective mothers who carries their child everywhere and won't put them down for fear of what will happen to them. I'm sure that your two sons are a bunch of sissy's because they never got to do those things. And besides that - I have a life - I have other things to do than hold him all day long! I guess you just have no life!!
Children are going to get bumps and bruises - they would be children if they didn't! At least that's my philosophy anyway.
A little bit of background:
When the kids went to the grandparents over Memorial Day weekend, Boy 2 came back pretty bruised and battered. (By no fault of them -(I love you guys) but he has those new walking feet on).
The first incident - He fell off their front porch. Now, it's only a couple inches off the ground really but it is made of concrete and there are bushes in front of it. So he fell backwards into the bushes and scrapped his face up but he was ok.
The second incident - Girl was pushing Boy 1 on the bike down the driveway (which is a slight hill). Apparently, Boy 1 fell off and scrapped his elbow a little, but was otherwise fine. So what does Boy 1 decide to do next. He decides it would be a great idea to get Boy 2 on the bike and push him down the driveway. Obviously, being 10 months old - he didn't make it very far!! So this resulted in him being slightly more scrapped and bruised.
The third incident - Repeat #1 all over again- all of these within several hours of each other!!
So needless to say, when I got to him that Monday his right cheek was all bruised and he had quite a few scratches and scabs on forehead and the right side of his head. And no, I wasn't upset over any of this as I know it happens when kids start walking (and siblings torment each other).
Ok, so that is the background. Now on to my story....
So I'm standing in line at the grocery store and I'm having a pleasant (ok, really it wasn't plesant - I'm just trying to be nice) conversation with the bagger. We were making small talk and talking about the kids. Boy 2 happened to turn his head and she said:
Bagger: Oh my God, What happened to his head?
Me: He fell off the porch as his grandparents house - no big deal really.
Bagger: Oh - he was with his grandparents??
Me: Yea, no big deal -things like that have happened with me too.
She looked at me flabbergasted like I was a horrible person.
Bagger: Oh, now see - my two sons - they NEVER got hurt when they were in my care. They NEVER were let out of my sight to even get hurt!!
I couldn't believe it! This complete stranger was basically judging me because my son had some scraps and bruises. For crying out loud - It's not like he was in a full body cast or anything!!
The whole time, I was doing my best to stay cool, calm and collected and leave as quickly as possible before I told this woman how I really felt. Which would have gone something like this. And this is still the toned down version of it:
Me: Who the hell do you think you are judging me?? I can't help it that I feel my son (and all my children for that matter) needs to be on his own two feet to explore and learn the world around him. I'm not one of those overprotective mothers who carries their child everywhere and won't put them down for fear of what will happen to them. I'm sure that your two sons are a bunch of sissy's because they never got to do those things. And besides that - I have a life - I have other things to do than hold him all day long! I guess you just have no life!!
Children are going to get bumps and bruises - they would be children if they didn't! At least that's my philosophy anyway.
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