And so it ends.

The month of daily blogging, that is. It is finally over. I would have to say that it didn't go too bad. I managed to keep on track and I never missed a post. Interesting thing to do. But hey, now we can get back to our regularly scheduled blog posting. Which might be a few times a week.

We'll see. Last night my Uncle came in from California. I haven't seen him in nearly 12 years, or so! He looks just like my father. And I guess this is a good thing that he came out. I mean, it's probably going to be the last time that I ever see him. His health isn't the best. My father even took him to the hospital today for kidney dialysis. That's pretty tough when you go on a trip to have to spend 4 hours in the hospital to filter your blood. It makes you really want to take better care of yourself. Or at least it makes me feel that way.

Well, we all had dinner at my mom's house. My sister came over too. And it has been ages since she's seen him. We had a lovely dinner and the kids weren't too crazy. Not like on our drive home today. Eddie somehow got his arm all twisted in the seatbelt and started to scream. I had to pull the car over. I got out in the rain, because of course it had to be raining today. When I got out, I stepped into a puddle of muddy water. But I had to do it. My kid was screaming that he was hurting. Of course there were no good places to pull over. Traffic was terrible and I just had to do the best I could. I freed his arm of the entangled seatbelt and we pressed on home.

Eddie was too funny too, he didn't want to get out of the car. He insisted that he would just stay there in the car until we were ready to go. I'm thinking, no. I have to put away our groceries that we just bought at the store, let's get out. Of course he started kicking and screaming b'c he didn't want me to take him out. Well, he got over it. As he often does.

Now it's bed time. And we are winding down. My favorite time of day. When everyone gets to sleep. Including me. Especially me. I just hope that what I'm feeling right now isn't me coming down with whatever funky germ has been making my dh sick. He's been hacking all over everything. Ugh. I just need my pillow. Ah.... but at least it's the weekend. That's nice.

Don't try to write and be mommy at the same time.

It's either one or the other. Period. I've been trying for 30 minutes to make a coherent sentence. But the only thing that comes to mind is, "Lord please make these kids stop fighting over who gets to repeatedly open and shut the door." No lie. They are screaming. And crying. Because Lacka wants to open and close the door. And Eddie wants her to stop, and then he wants to do it. ARGHH!!!! And then she is just crying. And then Eddie is just screaming and jumping around like a little lunatic. Oh and get this... He just jumped, yes basically jumped into my lap and said that (and I quote) " I want jump on your boo-tay!!" I'm like, "???" What did he just say??? And I asked him what he meant, and he said something to the fact that he has a boo-tay. I asked him where it was at. He said, "It's in my butt."

Oh geesh. These kids have me rolling and steaming at the same time. They can't get along to save my life, yet they are the best of buds in the next minute. Tonight my dh informed me that he is going to go on nights soon. As soon as next week. And let the good times roll! Because honestly, I can't think of anything better. I can't wait for my husband to go in to work at 10 or 11 in the morning, only to come home 10,11, or 12 hours later. Because at that time, all of the chaos of my life will have passed. He will come home to a peace and quiet house. And easily climb into bed, where I will no doubt be hiding an ice pick.

And I get to do all the work. Kind of like now, but he has an excuse. Work. It's legitimate right? Well, so is purchasing a Nikon D40. And anything else I please. Because it gets me through the day or night, or both. Now the little boogers are running around with diaper wipes in their mouth. Good, I hope it tires them out. And I'm not afraid of putting it on credit. Why? Because although racking up a tremendous bill is probably the wrong thing to do, it can, at times keep the peace. And peace needs to be kept.

So, I will be going through some fun times in the very near future. And there is the distinct possibility that our house may not sell. But I'm not really wanting to think about that at this time. So, I will just share a few pics I took this evening. After the kids had their pre-dinner meltdown, they were kind of cute. But not at all before hand. They act like starving rats right before they eat. They try like mad to get into anything that resembles cookies or cakes and anything in the pantry that has a yummy looking picture on the front of the can or box. They just act like they've never been fed, and dinner couldn't possibly be in 20 more minutes. That's like a lifetime away. And lord help me now, they are screaming again. Both of them. For what? I couldn't honestly say. Maybe they don't like the lack of overhead lighting in this room. Maybe they are tired and are otherwise unable to articulate this. Maybe they want to make my head spin around in circles, like on rare occasions it does. I don't know.

Calgon, take me away!

ok so here they are: Alexa eating yogurt, yes it is all over her face!

And Eddie riding a firetruck (so he says). His hair is crazy messy b'c he put yogurt in it! And the shirt has dinner on it. I don't normally let him run around that dirty, but hey... we are at home!

blog post

How about that for original? Well, I've been spending my blog time, not thinking about blogging. So therefore it leaves my blog without content.

I've had an unusually rough night with Eddie. But then again, I'm sure those of you who know me, have heard this before. I mean, just when I think I'm getting into my groove, the kid goes and has a hissy fit about oranges. Actually he rummaged through the fridge and helped himself to a big fat naval orange. And he left the door wide open too. I saw him acting a little peculiar and quiet. Too quiet. I saw him with something. I asked what he was doing. He said, "I just getting some oranges." And then I saw him with it. I went to retrieve it, but this is where he fell apart.

I mean, it's really not enough that I am cooking dinner. And soon, we can all sit down as a family (minus dh, since he is at work) and eat. Eat food that will be good. No, he needed an orange. So of course I gave it to him. And to me, and some to Alexa. Because it was so good. Seriously. It was worth the stinging in my fingers from the citric acid getting into my paper cut. Surely.

I forgot to mention that dh left the carton of empty orange juice on the counter. Once again, dh is coming down with something, so he is drinking this stuff up in hopes that he can clobber the mystery germ with vitamin C. So anyway, why does this matter, you wonder? Well of course after having a tasty juicy naval orange, Eddie sees the carton and begins wailing about orange juice. I told him that he was going to have water. But Noooooooooooooo!!!!!! That was not acceptable to his ears. He threw himself to the floor and began to scream. This is the point where we as mothers can take a stand. We can put our foot down and show the little brats who's boss. Or we can just realize that if we just get the orange juice, then we can go about our merry way and finish fixing dinner. After all, I'm starved, Alexa is getting hungry and I really just wanted him to be quiet.

Thankfully, one fat naval orange, one cup of orange juice and twenty minutes later our dinner was done. We ate, without complications, and we all had baths. Well, I kind of just got splashed at. Alot. So, I'm really tired. I don't know what I'm supposed to blog about, but you got a little tid-bit from my evening. My head hurts too.

I'm going to bed. Good night tree friends! So yeah. I gave in. I got the boy some orange juice to wash down his orange.

coming down to the wire

So we only officially have a few days left in November. And since I was spending some time on some yahoo site this evening, I am way too tired to form actual real thoughts into sentences and make intelligent paragraphs. I cannot for the life of me fold now. I've come too far. I must blog, I must complete this task.

Oh yes, and I was thinking about my fudge today. I need to get the stuff to make it. Hence, more shopping. So, I'll just put that on the to do list. Along with the cooking and cleaning.

I'll get right on all of that. And taking pics with the kids. My mom is on me about that, she wants to see some new pics. And really, so do I. I'm getting their Christmas pictures taken soon. Their outfits are absolutely stinking cute. I can't wait. They better smile.

Ok, I have to run now. I'm tired. As usual. And dh is sick. Oh the joy of a sick man baby. Don't tell him I said that.

late night.

Let's see...late night for dh to come home. Which means, late night for the kids to get to bed. No matter how hard I try, it's just difficult to maintain the schedule when he's not here. Eddie does not like to be alone in the other room. Even when I do put on Charlotte's Web. And then in order to put Alexa to sleep, I come in here and sit with her while she drinks her milk and gets a little sleepy. She usually falls asleep on her own. But the real problem arises when Eddie keeps running in here and laughing and trying to play with her while she is getting settled. So I walk him back out there, try to reassure him that I will be out in just a few minutes and then come back here. It seems like an endless cycle. Eventually she gets tired and falls asleep. Despite the noise level. But it's hard, and it takes some time. Needless to say, we are already starting off at least 30 minutes behind schedule. Maybe Eddie will listen this time and stay put for at least 15 minutes. I'm hoping. Oh yeah. And a glass of Zinfandel also makes this process go a little more smoothly. (This is not recommended if you are nursing, pregnant, or think you may become pregnant or are taking MAOI's.)

Oh and of course I forgot to mention my little crib jumper. She can climb out. Which is why I try to leave her in a semi-drowsy state. She can actually throw her little leg over the side rail and lower herself to the floor. Or maybe drop onto the floor. I haven't actually seen it done, I just see the end product. Which is her walking down the hallway. Most nights, she is perfectly fine to sleep all night long in there. I also don't want to have her fall down and get hurt. So I stay here until she looks a little sleepy, and then I leave. She does well with that method. And she doesn't wake up at night. Unless of course she is teething.

So anyway, we are off schedule. We are getting a late start to bed time. She is not sleeping. And Eddie won't stay put in the other room. That's just not making me feel any better. It's nearly 8 p.m. Ok, like I said...Zinfandel.
Eddie is standing there and talking and playing with toys. Argh! I need to finish my post! Did I mention that Nablopomo is almost over? lol~

Oh yes, and we are creeping into December. Oh the joys. The baking, the eating, the eating. I also have some family coming into town on Thursday. Did I mention the eating? Yeah? Okay. Well, I like that part. And I have to dig out my fudge recipes. It's fudge time of year. So friends, get ready. You too Lynne! {{wink, wink}}I have to run, she's looking a little sleepy, and Eddie needs some mommy time!

Can't give up now....

As we are nearing the end of the month, so ends the month of Nablopomo (once again, that's national blog posting month). For those of you not paying attention, I'm participating in the whole blog post a day for a month. That month being November, Bingo! So, on a short note. I'm tired. My back hurts, and Alexa was cranky tonight. So I'm thinking.... more teeth? I don't even feel like contemplating that one. She could just be acting like a baby, which is what she is. And then she's perfectly entitled. So there.

I am super psyched about today. Had a great day. Don't feel like writing it all out. I want to go and do something else. Which by the way is also my prerogative. So sue me. I'm falling short in my blogging today. But as the holidays are fast underway, there are many many things to do. One of which is still to sell this house. Which reminds me, (NO. It's not the laundry again.) I have to shoot an email off to my realtor. I keep forgetting.

Ummm..... I'll try to think of something spectacular to say next time. Or maybe I will just post some pics of the kids. And then that will make up for it. Have to run~ Duty calls!

Long weekend.

Seriously, I feel like it has lasted about 7 days. The kids are tearing everything out of the closets. They are breaking things. And are still refusing to poop on the potty. Though we attempt it every day. And even about an hour ago, Miss Alexa was sitting on the potty. I am just willing to bet that she could get potty trained first. The idea of stock piling large quantities of Pampers and taking them to Iquique with us sounds totally unappealing. In my sometimes distorted sense of reality, I was thinking that I might have them both trained by the time we left. That would be my ideal situation. I just really don't want to buy diapers anymore. I'm ready to start spending that money on myself again. If that ever happens. I mean, I don't buy too much for me these days, except for that vanilla shampoo. I'm still contemplating whether or not I should wrap that as a Christmas present. I think I may. Or maybe I won't. I'm a little flaky.

But let's see, tomorrow we are heading out to shop again. Mostly this is for mom. They are having another sale at the BX. You get to take an additional 20% off of the Dooney & Bourke purses. That's a pretty good deal, since the prices are cheaper on base than in another store. Not to mention, she has a $20 dollar coupon that was attached to the catalog that they mailed to her house. I have one too. But I'm not going to be buying a purse, when I really have my eye on that Nikon.

I almost bought it the other day. On Thanksgiving when I logged onto their website it was an additional 20% off one day only. Which brought the price down substantially. Only the phone operator told me that the price was going to go down even further in December. So I decided to wait and see when it would, and then use my $20 off coupon then. Dh doesn't know he's getting me that for Christmas. Unless of course he found my blog and is reading it. I can't say that he knows, one way or the other. But I'm getting it. I'm worth it. And that's that.

So, we are not getting up quite as early as the other day. But still early just the same. I am taking my mother and my niece as well as my sister. Oh yeah, that reminds me. Laundry, and when aren't I doing laundry? And the fact that we took the car seats out so that I could de-grunge the covers and wash them. Lord help me, I think I need a PhD to re-assemble all of the parts on both the car seats. Oh yeah, and I have to go into the garage and clean the car's back seat where Eddie's seat was. Apparently the car seat itself, with my child strapped to it was not enough to contain the spill of my Strawberry smoothie yogurt that Eddie decided to confiscate and then half drink. And the other half, I'm guessing is the reason that my dh came into the house with a disgusted look on his face and asked me what I have been giving Eddie to drink in the car. Gee, sorry. Why yes dear, yes I am trying to tear the car apart, bitt by bit. That's my plan. I'm terribly sorry I'm not a good parker. I didn't know I was going to drive into the curb and scratch the rim. I'm sorry I didn't see the stone table you put there in the garage and drove into it. I'm sorry. And I really made a deal with Eddie and told him to pour the drink on his lap. I told him that if he did, I would buy him a pony. So yeah. It's my life's mission to destroy my new car. I think not. I actually like it. And no, it isn't the newfound attention that I am getting from drive through adolescent boys. That part is kind of funny. But it feels sporty. And I like that. All the things that have happened were quite the accident. Especially the yogurt part. I really wanted to drink that one on my own. Note to self: Drink yogurt smoothie before you put Eddie in the car.

Ok, so like I said, shopping in the am, snack in a moment (I didn't say that did I?) clean the back seat, put away the laundry, and reassemble the car seats. Oh that sounds like way too much. Thank goodness I'm so freaking awesome and the dishes are already done. This calls for a Coke. I need some caffeine, stat!

Black Friday

I had a little bit of trouble sleeping last night. I'm not sure if it was because child #2 kept waking up whimpering during the night, or it was because I was getting ready to brave the crowds during an early morning fight for parking, a spot in line or some free coffee that was to be given away during our 35 minute wait in line.

We went to the BX to see if we could by chance be one of the lucky ones to get a free gift card for $20 bucks. Not so lucky. The people at the front of the line were there since the previous day. I mean, come on! Do these people not have a life to tend to? Do they not have anything on earth better to be doing than standing in line waiting for $20?? So according to my calculations, (or that of my HP computer calculator) those people were in line since 5pm yesterday. And the store did not open until 5 am this morning. Well for standing in that line, they earned about $1 dollar and .66 cents per every hour that they stood there. Was that really worth it?? No. Not to me. And even though my sister and I were like #200 in line, or so I would guess, we casually made our way through the maze that they had created for us. We were corralled in like cows, it was kind of fun. We made our way, walked right in, walked over to the "section" of the store that held the oh so coveted item, and we purchased it. Simple. But then again, we weren't there for the mega deal on the LCD TV. They sold out before they ever got to our place in line.

No biggie. They even gave us free coffee. I know my dh would have loved that. My preferences were not to have taken that little swig in the first place. It was WAY too strong. I wanted to take off my shoe and suck on my socks to get the taste out. But I got over it. And we proceeded to the next store, and then the next. Every where we went there were a lot of people. They had bags and bags of stuff. I wondered to myself how much they spent, were they done? How early did they get up this morning?

Mostly all of the sales people we encountered were friendly. We ate breakfast out and continued on our merry shopping way. We found a few good deals and were pretty satisfied overall with this Black Friday experience. I even got to take a nap when I got home. For two whole hours! It was desperately needed, as I may have been close to biting someone. Dh probably.

After spending the rest of the day at home, cooking dinner, cleaning up kids messes and changing too many diapers to count, we ventured back out. I even bought 3 more Christmas presents! Got to love that!

So now here I am. I've watched the news and did see the other crazies in the city heading out to get their deals on. I heard about the so called parents who took their kids to Best Buy with them and then got cited for contributing to the delinquency of minors. Well I'm glad they got on to them. That's just wrong to take little kids out there for one. Let them sleep! And if you can't figure out a way to make that happen, then you shouldn't be out there in the first place. The news said that they had 1000 people in line at that store this morning. Wow. The first guy in line was interviewed on the news. He ate his Thanksgiving meal on the sidewalk in front of that store. Again. It's not worth it. In my very humble opinion.

And he bought 4 computers. One for himself, and the others to go directly on Ebay. I also think this is unfair. For the people who would love to get a deal, they can't. Because this Joe Schmoe is buying up the stock so he can make a quick buck. I wish they would limit the sales on these items. But that's just me.

Ok, off my high horse now. I'm tired. Or hungry. Maybe even both. But I'm psyched, I have had a great day. Even if Lacka turned her kitchen on it's side and broke it. Yes. She did. Which, now, as an experienced mother who has purchased a wood kitchen for a 1 and 2 year old, I would highly recommend you go with p-l-a-s-t-i-c!!!! There is a reason they make them out of plastic. In one word. Durability. Well, to be honest, it's not unusable. But I think I need to just sell it before they really destroy it, and get a plastic one. I can take the part off that broke and it would just be missing the top piece. Otherwise it's really cute and totally functional. I think wood kitchens are better suited for a little bit older kids. Like say maybe 4 year olds. I think they would do better with that.

Ok. I have to run off and do something motherly. Like check on Eddie, or make sure he hasn't gotten hurt again. Today he was scratched by his sister, he scraped both knees as he fell when running down the driveway. He also fell backwards off of his blue riding puppy and hit his head on the tile, which he let out pretty blood curdling screams for. Poor thing, he's had a rough day. I also can't wait for him to go to sleep. He's been a little motor mouth today and he won't quit talking. I need a little more peace and quiet!

Too cute not to share.

Here are the kids this morning in Lacka's crib. Yes they like to get in there and play together. Or jump. But they still like to be in there. I don't know why the video cut off before I was ready. Maybe there wasn't enough room on the memory disk. Oh well. Here are my kiddos today. Happy Thanksgiving!

src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Aazn5LmyQqs&rel=" width="425" height="355" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent">

A video to set the mood.

I found this video on You Tube and I like it. I feel I can relate to it well. After baking 8 pumpkin pies, I think I'm just about ready to burst a little. I'm also ready for my main course. And then of course, the PIE!!

(OK, sorry the link no longer works.)

Oh yes, and since today is Thanksgiving, I must take this time to say that I'm thankful. Mostly I'm just happy to have my family around me right now. And I'm also thankful that there is pie. I hope they turned out ok. Otherwise, they are going to stop letting me bake the pies.

Leslie Stewart?

I think not. No matter how hard I try. I just cannot do it. I am not going to go outside and gather a bunch of rocks and twigs for a centerpiece. They probably have spiders underneath of them or spores attached to them. Somehow. Spores being those nasty things that you don't want to inhale because you might get Valley Fever. I can't make a centerpiece out of the things that lay just outside of my front door. For one, I have a dying cactus. And thankfully we've removed the long since dead tree plant that was given to me as a "happy birthing" gift by my BIL. (for yall who don't get my code, that's brother-in-law, Kay?)

And since I feel the need to bake, I attempt it. Every year. Many times a year actually. I have no idea why the best things I can make involve alcohol. Hmmm.....??? I made a Kahlua bundt cake, that I had to promptly remove from the house by taking it to my sister's house. Simply for fear that I would eat the whole thing. Now drinking the whole bottle of Kahlua myself, another story. I certainly wouldn't share that. Did I tell you that this very bundt cake won an award for me? Best dessert maker in the whole city of Plantation, Florida! Ok, Ok, I'm totally lying, but it did win me some money in a contest!

I continue to feel the urge to bake stuff and decorate stuff. I am not at all talented in that respect. I get frustrated at times and send half decorated doll cakes off to work with my dh. That was pretty hilarious. I don't know how 'real' cake decorators do it. I mean, I love the work. I just wish I were better at it. Sometimes my inner self is confused and she thinks that she is a cake decorator. And she clearly is not. Just baking cakes and pies are more my thing. Without the decorating. Oh and fudge too. And cookies. I like all that stuff. A little too much sometimes.

I think also that I am crafty. I like to paint stuff. Not like Picasso type of painting, just crafty easy 1-2-3 painting. It's fun. I bought letters for Eddie's room before he was born and I painted those. It was soothing and I enjoyed it. Now on the lazy hand, I waited until Alexa was 14 months old before I painted her letters. But they still came out cute, and they were worth the wait.

So, now back to my baking. Today I made 6 little mini pumpkin pies. I followed the directions to a capital T. Now, why on earth do I have so much pie filling left? I read the box. My shells are too short I think. I'm such a dork. If it isn't one thing I mess up, it's another. But they smell good. And short or not, I bet they taste pretty good. And if you nearly kill it with Cool Whip, you surely have a winner. What's sad is, I'm not going to eat a single one of these. I made them for the daycare teachers. Awwwww!!!! But you see, they help give me my sanity. I go to work, they take care of my kids. Or at least that's the idea anyway.

So I made little pies. I hope they like pies. It's all very Martha Stewart of me huh? That woman gives us all a bad name. Who on earth does she think she is? Us regular folks can't measure up. And we spend time in our kitchens creating disasters. Or is that just me?

How is there time to create fantabulous center pieces and cook tarts and bake "Nothing water" on your stove just so that your house smells good for the guests. Who does that? I mean, if you are busy doing all of that, who is going to vacuum up the Ritz crackers that Eddie and Alexa have ground into the carpet after you've just finished vacuuming. Who is going to pick up all the books that your sweet little girl has dragged out for the fiftieth time???? What about the diaper that Eddie keeps taking off because he wants to wear "big boy" undies? And heaven forbid that he actually make a poopy while wearing big boy undies and not tell you, because a poopy might fall out and you don't see it. Who's going to pick up that kitty kibble on the couch before guests arrive? And if you at all realize it's even there, will it be you or your guests that figure out it isn't really a kitty kibble, but the missing poopy from Eddie's big boy undies. Who is going to make sure that the bathroom is presentable and doesn't have an entire roll of toilet paper sitting inside the bowl. These are the things that regular moms take care of. Which doesn't leave much time for baking, prepping and decorating. It's a neat idea. If you don't have anything else in your life to do, but it's not practical. And that's why I don't bake or frost cakes more often. Frosting cakes takes time. The time I don't have. I need to be hands on with these little people who are stone by stone, taking down the house.

So, like I said. I baked this morning. Something easy. Or so it might seem. Because I have left over pumpkin stuff, and I'm quite sure I shouldn't have that much left. I have to laugh now, because that's just typical of my baking. Every time it goes this way. But I'm sure they are good. And I removed the hair that was trying to get in the mix of dough. (Nah, I'm kidding.........) Or was I? But like I said, good. Have to go and run errands. As always. Here's a picture or two for your perusal.

My mini pies cooking, the box of what they should look like, and my cat Corona. Since I don't talk about him nearly enough. He used to be my baby. And then he got booted into second place. And then quickly into third. And now he just gets the scraps of what's left of me. Which isn't all that much. Enjoy the pics!

I got nothin'

Except for the fact that I am extremely disturbed. Disturbed that my dh had to come in here and ask me if the milk that I just placed into the cup on the counter for Eddie, was actually for Eddie. Because after all I just told him 15 minutes ago. And since I just finished saying it, I knew he might forget. So I shouldn't be disturbed at all should I? Hmmm.

Oh yeah. And this shopping bit is driving me a little crazy. I'm in full swing now and I'm eyeballing all of the sales and planning my next few days. Well in doing some shopping already, I have found a few things on sale at one store and on an even better sale at another store. Well, to save $20 bucks I am going to have to take a few things back to store #1. Not really fun, but it's all about saving money here. And then I come across things that I really want to get, but hesitate. Should I? Do they have too much? Should I not? Dh would vote for a no. But that's just him. He's not going to be home all day long with them.

Anyway. I'm planning to head out for Black Friday. And I'm not sure where I'm going. There are a few electronics gadgets that we could use. Like a 22 inch flat screen monitor. Super nice! Well..... I hate to blog and run, but I know dh wants to talk with me about our move. It's seeming more and more real. After our initial letdown, it looks like things are progressing in the "exit" mode for us. We'll see. Post more tomorrow. I think.

Just ouch.

Tonight Eddie jumped on me. And I guess I was in a weird position and it really hurt. So I'm in a funky my back really hurts kind of mood. And it's my lower back too, which is never good. I mean, you need your back to do everything, like breathe and sit and stare and sleep and walk. Ohhhh it's such a pain when it hurts! No pun there. I'm too worn out for puns. I'm also way too tired to be sitting here, tapping away at these keys. But like some deep dark secret I'm keeping, I must come in here and blog. It's my new addiction. I think I'm even too tired to try and make sense. Both Eddie and Alexa were uncooperative last night. Eddie got out of his bed about 20 times. I think he finally fell asleep at 11. Maybe, I don't remember. And then Alexa woke up at 12:48 a.m. That was very nice of her. And she finally fell asleep nearly two hours later. So I'm tired. Beat. Worn down to the nubs.

And we had guests this evening which was very nice. Everyone played nicely together. The only problem was that they left me most of my Kahlua bundt cake. Well, maybe that's not that big of a problem. As a matter of fact, I'm going to go and address the issue when I get off the computer. I'm going to address it with a fork. Dh finally managed to get home. That's nice too, b'c at least he takes Mr. Rambunctious off of my hands so I can blog put Alexa to bed.

Interesting thing he did manage to share with me was that he spoke to the guy who has the assignment we are getting. You know.... the guy who is currently living in Iquique. He said (and I'm quoting dh now) " Yeah we felt the quake. It was much stronger than all the others we've felt since we've been here." Oh joy. In 2 years that they have lived there, there have been multiple quakes.

Well, seriously I don't like the sound of that. But I think it might just be better than a rattlesnake on my breakfast table. And just as long as the seismic activities aren't enough to disturb those volcanoes. I'm going to have to look into their locations once again. But like I said, right now...just way too tired. Isn't going to happen. I think I'm just about ready for night-night. But of course I had to get in my daily blog!

earthquakes

Map of CL

The above link is a map of Chile. And more importantly a map of the town most recently hit by an earthquake. It happened on Wednesday at about 12:40 pm local time. The town most closely affected was Tocopilla. As you can see by the map, it is in pretty close range to Iquique. The magnitude of the quake was about a 7.7. There have been at least 3 aftershocks reported since then.

Now I don't know about you, but this is pretty scary. I don't like it when the earth moves out of control beneath your very feet. I don't like the idea of not being able to predict such an event. I've been in California when an earthquake hit. But thankfully it was only a low magnitude one, and we were far from the center. But still, it was a pretty spooky feeling to see the ceiling fan swinging back and forth. My family outside didn't even realize what had happened.

Now apparently Chile has a lot of tectonic activities. Movement of the tectonic plates, ie:earthquakes. Lovely. I didn't know this. Let's call someone and tell them we can't go. I'm not all in. I'm a little freaked out. Oh yeah, and there are some volcanos over there too. Maybe we should just move someplace nice like San Antonio? They don't have much excitement over there do they? And shoot, I could still learn to speak Spanish. Just not with Chileans.

Eeeeehhm. Hmm. Ok. I didn't get an official comment from dh. I'll have to get back with you on that. But I'm less than thrilled. I wonder if while we were stationed there and an earthquake occurred on our tour, would they cut it short? I mean, that would be grounds to send us back to the states. No?

hmmmm. Let me think about this some more. Oh yes, and the greatest earthquake of the 20th century goes to Chile. A whopping 9.5 on the Richter scale. Or so I read. It happened in May of 1960. And of course they say it should happen again.

I'm not liking the thought of this very much. I need to go and eat something chocolate.

addendum to post....

Dh's official comment: "I'm glad I wasn't there when it happened." How's that for practical? He's got one of the most level heads around. He just kind of goes around even keel. For almost everything. He even lays down on the ground near the spiders to kill them. So that he can get a better look. Silly man. Who does that? My dh!

Ok, so we bought the blinds. They aren't installed as they were too long. We got Lowe's to trim them down, but it wasn't enough. Dh and Eddie are taking them back right now to get them trimmed a bit more. I am here with sleeping beauty cranky baby. She's just in rare form today. Nothing is pleasing to her. I think her gums are starting to sprout some new teeth. Or in the process. As this is the way she gets when teething occurs. Nasty. Whiny. Cranky. It's really nice during nap time. 2 hours of solid quiet. It's great.

So what am I doing on the computer? I don't know. Let me get out of here. I have a cake to bake!

It's the weekend!

I'm happy about that, and then I'm not. Sometimes it just means I have to work harder. The kids are here, the husband is here, everybody wants something. And they dirty up the dishes and the kitchen always seems to be such a mess

Today I think we are going to get out and go to Lowe's. Our Realtor told us that we needed to replace the very abused and ugly looking blinds in the front bedroom. She says that it takes away from the "curb appeal" of the house. So, we are going to measure the window and head out. The folks on over at Lowe's were nice enough to mail us a coupon to save $10 off our purchase. That's my kind of deal. Give me a coupon and I'm right there.

Ok, so I'm on my 3rd load of laundry and kid #2 is napping. The world will be a much nicer place if kid #1 will go down as well. If I hide out here in Lacka's room, I think at least I can steal some peace and quiet for a while.

Ed is on litter duty today. And forver as far as I'm concerned. I think he's cleaned it out only a handful of times during 7 years and 7 months. So guess what? It's his turn. And I don't know when it will be my turn again. I'll let you know.

Oh and you know what? I'm mad at Toys r' Us right now. They had an advertised door buster SALE yesterday and my dh went in to buy it. The sale started at 5pm (yes, weird time... I know) But it did, and he showed up at around 6:30 pm to get it. They were sold out. And they wouldn't let me buy it at 4pm when I was there buying some other things. Of course not. But like I said, sold out. It was a self propelled quad ride on toy. Regularly priced at $29.99 marked 50% off at 14.99. I was planning on getting two. But no, toys r' us didn't think to have more on hand. They certainly would have made more money if they did. I'm very disappointed as buying two of any ride on toys are usually expensive. So I was pretty psyched about this sale. I hope that I am able to find something equally as fun for the kids during the next couple of weeks.

I did manage to get some toy shopping out of the way already. And I also bought myself a gift. I'm not done yet. Not by far. I also have my eye on the Nikon D40. I've heard some excellent reviews about this SLR camera and the price is absolutely great on a website I found yesterday. ($439) no tax, no shipping. Doesn't get any better than that does it??

Ok, I better get out of here before my pounding on this keyboard wakes up little miss thang.

This face says it all.

Give me pumpkin pie and noone gets hurt.

Yes, she ate a nice healthy slice of pumpkin pie. And then she went back to eat her peas, carrots and corn. Yes, that's my girl. What can I say? She's got her priorities straight. And she loves pie.

Yesterday the CDC (child development center) held a luncheon and invited ALL the parents to attend. Thankfully I showed up early b'c the parking was pretty scarce. They made turkey with all the fixins. It was actually quite yummy and I have to applaud them over there for all of their hard work. There were many parents milling about and there was a buffet style food line set up in the "romp n' stomp" room. It was all set up very nice. I went to Alexa's room and ate lunch with her at 10:45. She ate most of what was on her plate and then went outside to play. Eddie's lunch was at 11:30 and dh made it on time for that. We sat with him as he ate. He ate all of his turkey, potatoes and cranberries. He ate some bread and drank his milk and ate all of his pie! So both of my kids ate pretty well.

I can't even think about what I'm going to do without the CDC. I think of them as lifesavers. My lifesaver. I suppose I'll figure it all out. Maybe I can hire a nice nanny who can help us with our Spanish? An ugly nanny. lol~

Christmas ideas...

So.... it's getting to be that time of year again. The time where we all nearly yank out our hairs trying to get the best deal, the last electronic gadget, the coolest gift, we try to be thoughtful, we are giving to others (well that's the idea anyway) we bake, we eat, or we don't bake, but we still eat. We spend time with our families, we work, we eat, and then we shop. Or we don't shop. Which is what my husband does. And I imagine it's a pretty nice thing too. Not having to shop and face the crowds. And then somehow magically it all happens. Wrapped presents appear for you, for your spouse, for the in-laws and you didn't have to do a thing but show up. Must be nice. Must be nice to live with a real life Santa. Hmmmm. Maybe I will pass out my phone number and you can call my dh and ask him what it's like. As I am freaking awesome!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, anyway, as I was saying. It's nearing Christmas time. And it's that one weird time of year where people get dressed up in funny coats and hats and hit the streets at 4 a.m. looking for DVDs for $2 dollars. Believe me, all the coats and hats are funny at 4 and 5 a.m. Indeed. Rumor has it that Best Buy has some DVDs on sale for $2 dollars or something like that. And you probably have some of them already, but by golly $2 dollars is going to make you shred your "jam-jams" and get shaking at the crack of early. I myself have been known to get up and head out with the crazies. In fact, I am one of the crazies! Because I like it! I think I am doing some good here, or there. But in a way I think it puts me into the mood for Christmas. Nothing like getting smacked around at Wal-mart for a couple of Tonka trucks, or dolls, or a digital camera, to get you going.

Oh fun. What things do I need, or not need this year to further clutter a house that I do not have yet. (since I'm moving to a new country and the house is going to be bigger simply because the value of the dollar goes a bit further in Chile, and I've been looking already at what we can get there. Like I said. Bigger.) So. House. Toys. Clutter. Yeah, well it's not like I can have Christmas and not buy toys. It's the law. You give birth, they make you sign a paper in the hospital before you leave that states every year at Christmas time you must buy them toys. Lots of stupid little ones too that have lots of parts and things that don't match or go with anything so that they can either be lost or worse, get sucked up into your vacuum cleaner. (While it still works) And then when it doesn't work and doesn't suck, please don't let your husband tell you it's because your hair is too long. And you are shedding worse than the cat. That's just mean. Please don't be afraid to go into the cylindrical mass of dust and glop to find said missing plastic piece of_________? What was that again? But you see, when you find it, you will know and now have proof that your hair, though not as long as it used to be, is not the culprit. It was some freakish piece of plastic that is unidentifiable. So you throw it away.

Toys. That's on my mind. I am thinking that Eddie and Miss Alexa really enjoy pushing toys. And since Eddie broke his older sister's stroller, I thought I'd get another one. I was thinking something along the lines of this:

As opposed to this:

Now neither one of these comes with dolls. Eddie prefers to run behind them, or sit in it himself. That's how he broke the last one. I do think I like the first one better for two reasons. First of all, it is not pink. And though most doll strollers are thought to be made and played with by little girls, it is not necessarily so. I am raising my son to play with dolls too. I read that somewhere it's a good idea. It fosters a sense of nurturing in children. I'm still waiting for this to happen, as he has been a little less than nurturing, it was more like borderline abusive. Or straight up abusive. He threw the dolls, and then ran them over with the stroller. But I'm sure somehow that can turn into a sweetness one day. He has a healthy sense of what should be done with a pretend baby. No? But I distinctly remember my brother being this same way. And to this day he is very good with kids. Just not good with dolls. My brother abused all my dolls. Maybe he needed a stroller as a child. Hmmmm. Anyway. I think the green one is better for Eddie. That brings us to reason #2. Alexa is getting the 5 piece rainforest doll set. It comes with a stroller, baby swing, and a couple other things. She does like dolls and we couldn't possible buy one stroller for one child when the other is absolutely going to want to push the stroller at the same time. There is no taking turns for the stroller. What monkey sees, monkey wants to do. And that's the way those two operate.

Which leads us to gift #2:

I've actually had my eye on this for a while. My kids are loving to push things, like I said. So I think this fits perfectly into that category. And yes, I would need two. Monkey #1 sees Monkey #2 pushing this cart, and wouldn't you know it, the other one wants to do the exact same thing, at the exact same time. Why? Because they are children. A 14 month old (on the 18th) and a 2.5 yr old. Come on man! Get with the program. They don't listen, Eddie won't eat, Alexa wants everything Eddie has and vice versa. It's their law to be this way. Not listening, defiant little beings who know exactly when they poop, just refuse to do so on the toilet. Um. Sorry. That one was just Eddie. So I like this cart. Cute. Plastic, durable.

On to the next item on my list:

The Big wheel thing. My brother and I had these when we were little. And we tore up the block wheeling up and down it with our bad little rides. Well, I found one for smaller kids, like say Alexa size small. I have no idea if she can figure out the pedals. But I say she can. She's a girl, and she's smart. She can copy her brother. And besides, my mom says I learned pretty quick. Again, you can't buy just one. Alexa is getting a mini one of these. (I can't find a picture, but just think smaller and pink and purple) Cute as well. But this one is my favorite as far as Eddie goes. It looks pretty cool. Alot cooler than the other one I found. And I think this one is a Radio Flyer one, but I'm liking the colors. So there. These are the gifts I am getting this year. I think I might get some clothes, or some other small things like coloring books. Because that's what we used to get when we were little and we loved it.

Oh yeah, and the little Monkeys are getting Shrek 3. Because that was the first movie Eddie saw in the theater, and he threw up. We are not getting it because he threw up, but because we get to tell him that story forever. And he loves the first and the second one. While other kids started watching Mickey Mouse playhouse, Dora and the Little Einsteins.... Eddie was watching Shrek. And he loved it. So it's a good thing it came out now.

If I can think of some cool toys that only cost me $5 bucks I might get those too. Simply because they are only $5 bucks, and I am going to be spending quite a bit on multiple toy items for two kids close in age. It's like having twins. Almost. But I will need to check into those black Friday ads. I've only browsed them on the internet. And I don't have much time to do that. Because my time is now devoted to blogging. It's addicting and I think I need to see someone about it. I need to be home by a certain time so I can blog. I probably type real fast now because I blog. lol~ I'm such a nerd! But seriously, a mad shopping woman who can get it all done and save a little money doing it! Gotta love me!

Every day is an adventure.

With children, you never know what to expect. And surely you can't be dumb enough to think you'll get the same thing as yesterday. Nope. No way. Ain't gonna happen. Because as human beings go, children are the most unique and defiant creatures on the planet. So as a new day dawns, you are certain to find new things that they are testing you with. Like for instance, how long can I cry in the car before mommy starts screaming too. Or how many times can I spit before mommy yells at me.

Just this afternoon my son was throwing quite the act. He cried and cried and kicked his feet. Why you ask? Well, he wanted to go to a "rest'ah-ont"...... "rest'ah-ont".........."rest'ah'ont". And then he'd scream and kick and tears flowed down the sides of his cheeks. It almost looked sad. Except that it didn't. Simply because I never told him we were going to a restaurant. I don't know where he got that idea at all. Maybe he thought that today was a good day to just get out and go. Have a little someone else make us dinner and serve us, and forget the dishes. And sometimes I'm all game for that too. Shoot, if he were paying I'd be all for it. But since I'm still the mommy and make all the rules and yes, I'm still wiping his butt. No restaurant. Not today. So he cried. And cried. And cried. Oh I don't even know for how long. But he got over it. As they often do. And then he went on to talk about his shoes and socks and the trucks passing us by and what did they have in there, and where were they going?

Ah..... children. This evening Eddie found his way into my father's insulin case. He sat there, unzipped the case, took out the pen and took off the cap. He was playing with it when my brother rounded the corner to see what he was doing. Of course this isn't an appropriate toy for any child. A trip to the ER is not something I had on my agenda for the evening. And thankfully it didn't come to that. But certainly a self administered injection would have taken him there, and quickly. I curtly handed over the case to my father. I asked him to keep this out of his reach. Children just don't know what can hurt them. A seemingly harmless pen could certainly change all of our lives. I don't even want to think about it.

So, moving right along. My dh got some news today. In a blog I posted about a week ago, I mentioned that our South American rendezvous was not going to happen. In an email my dh received today, and as my inner psychic already predicted, our trip is back on. Although initially rejected for this special assignment, he was informed today that they reconsidered him based on information that they did not have. Or maybe they had, but failed to look at. Any way they were wrong to decline his request for this job. In fact, he is perfect for it. "Perfecto!" Oooh...la....la!! I think I get to start learning my Spanish after all. I know his mom will be proud!

So, anyone want to buy my house? We'll throw in a carpet allowance! And we will replace the blinds. Honest, it looks great otherwise!

Now, my countdown in the good ole U.S. of A. is looking pretty short. Very short. I have so much to do. We have so much to do! I need to talk it over with dh. Eddie needs to go to bed so I can talk it over with dh. And he needs to stay there. He woke up once last night. And amazingly, dh was the one to get up with him. And he stayed put. Crossing my fingers that he stays in there tonight. Yeah, and I need to go watch Private Practice. And then Life. Those two are my regulars now. Gotta run~ I have some laundry to tend to. (((And seriously, when don't I?)))

Give me a woot, woot!!!

So I'd like to take this time to inform the masses that Little Man Eddie did in fact sleep all night long. In his bed. His very own bed. In his very own room. Rainbows, butterflies and the sound of music fill the air today! What a wonderful thing! I mean, I can't even begin to tell you. I pray that this second night of doing this in a row is not a fluke, but more like a pattern beginning to emerge. One can only pray.

He began to sleep through the night at 3 months, and continued on this way up until he was 13 months old. He then refused to sleep in his bed. After a month of sleepless nights and many of those which he fell asleep with us, we decided to try a toddler bed. At 14 months he went into it. And loved it. So he began to sleep once again. 10, 11 hours every night, without fail. And then one day.... say 4-5 months ago? I can't even remember, it's been so long. He started to wake up and ask for milk. Dh gave it to him despite my urging him not to do so. And what happened? He started to wake up every night and ask for milk. I made him stop giving it to him. But that didn't stop the little guy from waking up. We tried many things. We tried reading stories before bed time. We tried playing relaxing music. We tried the "super-nanny" routine where we walk him to his room 50 times before he was just plain too worn out to get out of his bed again. Still, it didn't work to keep him there. That driven, tenacious, little boy wanted nothing to do with going to bed when we told him to. He just kept coming out of that room. Bed times are the worst. (except for Princess Alexa, she's a piece of cake). So then after waking up several times a night, he would start to come into our room and sleep on the floor. When we would wake up, we'd find Eddie curled up with a pillow on the floor. Nice. But don't you know it? The smart little thing figured out that every time he woke mommy up, he would get taken back to his room. So he stopped coming to my side of the bed. He started sticking with daddy's side. And then he realized that the floor wasn't too comfortable after all. That little stinker started climbing into bed with us. Now I'm talking 3 or 4 times every night. Sometimes I was just so exhausted from getting up, that I'd just let him stay there.

Well, we had this bad habit of him going to sleep and then waking up around 1 am and coming into our room. If I woke up, which it was a 50/50 shot of me doing so, I'd take him back. If I didn't, then I'd get kicked at night and then wake up to my 2 year old son in my face. Not good. So I decided to try something. I thought maybe if we bring his bed into our room, at least he will get into the habit of sleeping all night long without waking up. (I know, I know, not a terribly romantic thing to do. But you have to make sacrifices, it wasn't terribly exciting having a 30lb kid kicking you in the ribs every night either. It all just needed to stop. And I was desperate!)BINGO. It worked. Well of course it worked. He was right next to us. I knew it would work. But honestly, that was the point. I wanted him to get back into the habit of sleeping all night long. Uninterrupted. And he did. Even if it meant having his bed in our room. It was in there for about 2 weeks? I think, I'm not sure. But every night without a single wake up, he did it. Effortlessly. It was nice getting a full nights sleep again. I had forgotten what that was like. I mean, I felt like I was up with a newborn, as they wake up that many times. So it was great.

The two week period was done and it was time to move him back to his room. Friday of this past week I did it. I moved his bed back to his room and told him about it. That afternoon I had him help me take the pillow and Mr. Bear off the bed, and then I took the bed down and carried it to his room. I told him it was time that he start sleeping in his own bedroom. He quickly screamed, "Nooooooo! I sleep in your room!" Awww. That was almost cute. But not. "Nope, it's time to be a big boy. Like Uncle Pat, he sleeps in his own bed in his own room." Since Eddie loves Uncle Pat, I use him often in stories to help him understand. So Eddie thought about it and hesitantly agreed. That night he went to bed ok. He did wake up at 1 a.m. and tried to get into bed on daddy's side. I saw him and immediately jumped up to take him back to his bed. He went and stayed. Oh until maybe 4:45 or so. And that time, I was really groggy and fell asleep after seeing the clock. Eddie stayed on dh's side of the bed until wake up time which is around 6.

Next night, Saturday. Really, really bad. He woke up at 1 am. Again. Ugh!!! This sucks so bad!! I put him back in bed, he came out, put him back, he came out. UGH!!!! He wouldn't stay. Then I realized he was hot. So I temped him. 100. Ugh! So I got him some water and we sat on the couch for a while. I turned on the tv as I felt bad. Maybe that was why he couldn't sleep. He had a low grade temp. Poor little thing. We sat there. Mostly in hopes that he would tire. But like I said before, he is stubborn. And didn't bat an eyelash. I got tired before he did. So I tried to get him into bed again. He kept coming out. I got aggravated. I mean, what am I supposed to do??? Beat him into staying in bed???? AAAGHHHH!!! He just wouldn't stay. Finally. Finally after a million tries. Or so it would seem. He just pooped out on me. Thank Goodness! It was nearing 3 am. I slept. At 6:30 am when Miss Alexa woke, I smacked dh, and said something or other inaudibly. "Hmmgggg. Shimmmghhh. Btllllllllll. Lacka. hmmmm."Dh says, "She's awake?" Me, "Yhmmmmmmmmm." I guess he got the message, as he hopped out of bed and left me alone to sleep.

Yeah. Sort of. The kids don't like to be without me. So when they see daddy, it's cool. But then they start to wonder, "Where is my mommy?" And then they come and pound on the door. And run and jump on me in the bed. Dh had to peel them off of me screaming and crying. Yes, I said both. After not getting enough sleep in the night Eddie also woke up very shortly after his sister. And like I said, crying and screaming b'c they wanted to be with me. Ugh! I had to bury my good ear in my pillow. (another long story...one works better than the other). So the kids left. And I slept.

Next night. Sunday. The first night that he actually slept all the way through. I didn't though. I kept waking up and peering over the side of the bed to see if he was there on the floor. But each time he wasn't, so I went back to sleep. Perfect! But maybe a fluke. I hoped not.

Next night. Monday. Yay!!! He did it again! This is truly a good thing. As I am quite cranky when I don't get my sleep! Quite! Well, I can honestly say that last night was very nice. I slept. Eddie slept. And no one on earth needs to worry about my dh. He slept. As too numerous a night to count, he sleeps even when I don't. Hence, me=mommy=RULER=da bomb. Daddy=sleeping=not helping=not da bomb. And that's being nice. Because this a nice blog. Thanks for stopping by! That's my story for the day!

Thank you for your service!

Thank you Dad for twenty years of hard work. Thank you Dh for your continued and unwavering commitment to your job, your devotion and passion to the Air Force and your country. Thank you to all Veterans who served this country in the past, and to those who have passed on. We will not forget you, or what you have died for. Thank you to your loved ones who made the ultimate sacrifice. Thank you to each and every man and woman who wear a uniform. As you represent this country, you protect and defend us, your fellow Americans. I salute you!

Can you guess this movie line???

Speaking of my last blog title, I kept hearing these words:

"Just a walk in the park Kazansky."

Anyone??? can someone name that movie?? It's from 1986. Ok, let me give you just one more line to see if you can guess. "That's a negative Ghost rider, the pattern is full.'You see, on an occasion or two my dear brother and I have been know to spout out movie lines. To each other, to neighbors, to strangers and mostly our families. Many times people just look at us like we just spit out a three day old Krispy Kreme donut. People get that strange and confused look on their faces. We may as well be speaking gibberish. Whatever gibberish truly is. We absolutely don't make sense to others when we do this. As often times the line we just threw out there was from a movie in the '80's. Why do we do this? I'm not absolutely certain.

Maybe it's to see if the other one knows what we are talking about. So, sometimes yes. Sometimes no. One of our personal favorites involves a Cowboy and a convict. My dh saw that movie on a shelf at Best Buy and said that they should just be giving that movie away for free. I'm thinking he wasn't too fond of it. And seriously, we watched that movie so many times when we were kids that it just sticks. We say stuff from that one all the time. For example:her~"You a real cowboy? him~Well that depends on what you think a real cowboy is?" her~"Know how to do two step? him~You bet. her~ Wanna prove it?"1980.

Ok, so I came to blog, and I did it. I've accomplished my daily blogging quota. My bloggers brain works kind of slowly on the weekend it would seem. All of the kiddie and daddy issues kind of leave computer time to the back burner. You see those 3 can dirty up every dish in the house if I'm not watching too closely. I have to monitor the cup usage as well. Eddie tends to use like 5 or more in one day. Simply because he can. He's pretty tall and can reach the dish drainer and every clean one I put up there is fair game for him to use. Mine, Alexa's, daddy's, it doesn't matter. And he loves to self fill with the easily accessible water and ice dispenser on the fridge. I wish I had one that I could shut off. After he uses his cup for water, he then throws it out into the living room. Full of water and ice. Yes. Constantly. Every day, I pick up 3 or 4 cups from the living room. And I clean up several puddles amongst the carpet. Thank goodness we aren't in Florida. We'd have a serious mold issue by now. And after I clean up those cups, I have to deal with the ones he leaves on the counter. He's pretty proud of himself when he puts those up there. I just can't get him to stop throwing the other ones into the living room. Is he 3 yet? I'm hoping he will grow out of this terrible two stage. It's pretty terrible. If you don't believe me, come on over to our house and hang out for 10 minutes. I hope he behaves when we have guests over. lol~ I guess we shall see.

If you can guess those movie titles, leave me a comment! Surely someone out there has to know!

Just a walk in the park.

So, we took the kiddos for a walk to our neighborhood park. It started out being really cold this morning. And then it quickly got hot. I don't get this temperature shift. It kind of bites. I really would like to put on a sweater and leave it on. Not take it off because I am sweating. I've got kids and I'm not sure quite how to dress them. It starts off one way, and by the end of the day, everyone is wearing shorts.

The babes surely had a good time. Miss Alexa enjoyed swinging, and Eddie just liked to run around. He took his tool belt and pretended to fix the play equipment. It was quite cute!

Ok, someone get me outta here!!!!!

Now one reason that I wanted to move out of this state is easily understandable. The wolf spider.

Now dare try to say that that thing does not look creepy. Those nasty things are everywhere. And I specifically recall telling my dh that since he was home now, and not in some other city, in some other state, that it was his duty to take over killing these things. {{{{ ugh---errrr......~~ick>>>>> nasty bug dance::;;;; shrug n' shake}}}}

So as I'm washing the kids clothes this morning, what do I find?? A lovely wolf spider. (And they jump) Who doesn't hate a spider more than one that can jump?? {{still shuddering}} Umm...... I hate those things. And it was in my baby's room!! Just chillin'. Looking for prey. Food. Hmm..... well I guess then he didn't do to bad to hang out in there. Lord knows that the kids dribble everywhere that they go. I think they dribble crumbs from their very pores. Crackers just ooze out of them. ****yucky,yucky, ick.ick.****

Thank the dear heavens above that I am not arachnophobic, or we'd be in some serious trouble. I do tend to shake it off and get brave. I did take on a baby wolf, a teen wolf (No, not Michael J. Fox) and two regular wolf spiders during my time as a lone parent. I also managed to capture safely a cricket. Yes, I tupperwared it and scooped it up and threw it outside. Handy momma 'eh? Well, what were my options??? Let Eddie grab onto it like he was trying to do? He was going to pick it up. With his bare fingers!!! {{{{{{{ooooooooh, how I hate bugs}}}}}}} And I caught him just in time. But you all know that crickets can jump pretty high, so it must have been a funny sight to see me jumping with every jump of the cricket. How I managed to get it into the cylindrical yet oval plastic is beyond me. But I did it in the name of saving my babies. And me, from the heeby-jeevies. Those are what I call the fruit-loopy shivers and shaking and grossing me out of bugs when I think of them getting on me, or anywhere near me. Or my kids. {{{{{still more shuddering}}}}} So like I said, I rescued a cricket. And killed several wolf spiders. Thankfully they are not harmful. Just gross. And nasty. With their bug-essence.

So then one day last week while my children were playing nicely outside, I spotted something. Something that made me shudder and shake. It closely resembled this:

And of course I fall into the nasty spider dance. Holy cannolli! That thing is, well, it looks just like a black widow, I'm thinking to myself. And looky there, it's sitting in a web directly under one of my lawn chairs, how cozy! It's going to wait for someone to sit down and come up and bite them in the butt. Or worse, it's going to be me! I can't let it do that. I must kill it! And it's right by the door. Way too easy for it to get into the house. So I made a split second decision that I had to be brave. So I planned it's demise. It would not mate another day. It would not live to see it's children. Nor it's next meal. I was going to do away with it, and now!!!!!! {{{{{evil music playing....}}}} So, even though it was outside minding it's own business, I could not let it be. He or she picked the wrong house, and the wrong chair. He could not stay. I am a momma protecting my own human children. So I had to do it. I asked Eddie for his lead paint shovel. Bring it here son!

I told the kids to stay back. (I was performing a stunt that should not be attempted ever, by any less brave soul). I kept looking back to make sure that the kids were playing away from me while I went on my nervous spider killing tirade. I didn't want to accidentally hit one of them while flailing about with my leaded shovel. My leaded mini-shovel. So I took one last look and raised the shovel and brought it down in one swift "WHACK" to the concrete. Bingo. Got it! Dead, guts, nasty! It made a huge mess on the ground. It must have been a juicy one. There were lots of guts! And Eddie came over to inspect. He said, "You get it mommy?" Proud me, I stood with my shoulders back and said, "Yeah, I did." I had to then clean off the spider guts and goo from the shovel. I don't know which is worse, the guts and possibly the toxins or the lead. Hmmm.... I'll think on that one.

But anyway, like I said... this state is pretty bad as far as spiders go. I'm a little creeped out today. And I don't think I'm going to function at 100%. I'm a little too preoccupied that something may crawl out of somewhere and jump on me. Or bite me. And then I may be forced to do what I did once as a little girl. And maybe that's why I get so weirded out about bugs. Once when I was small I was getting into my parents 1979 (I'm guessing the year) Cadillac sedan de ville, yes the long pointy cars from way back when. It was gray. Just thought I'd throw that in there. Anyway, I was getting in and something fell on me. YIKES, a bug. I don't recall what kind of bug, but a bug nonetheless. It wasn't supposed to be there, not on my leg. I freaked, and slapped it. mmmm-hmmmm. Whap! Right on my thigh. Not a shooing kind of slap. Like shoo, you go over there, you don't belong on me, thank you. It was more a FLAP, SMACK, WHAP. Right. On. My. Skin. Oh yeah. It died alright. And it was nasty. Gross!! I had just killed a bug on me. yucky yucky ick ick. I think that's when it all started. I knew after that, that if you kill a bug on yourself, it's a very nasty thing. What do you clean it off with? Especially when you are in a car, and a little girl? I must have wiped it on the seat. Or their carpet. I don't recall. But it was gross. And I still hate bugs. Of all sorts. Although I can tolerate lady bugs. And lightning bugs. (in Texas) Those are pretty neat. But that's it.

Keep the spiders away. I'm going to have to call http://www.mygo2guy.com/ He's got something that can kill stuff. Maybe he can help me out. I need bug repellent. And a Valium. I have to go pick up that dead spider in the corner now. ******shuddering starts once again******

Today's good find!

My family refers to me as the bargain queen. And on many occasions it is absolutely true. Today I scored these two dresses. They cost me exactly $10 plus tax. Total. For both. So, for hours of entertainment for my little princess, I'm thinking that it's so worth it. They are a bit on the big size 3/4, but she'll grow into them. Sooner rather than later. It's funny, because I was in that same store right around Halloween and these two dresses which I looked at then were priced at $14.99 each. Which is also the reason that I left them hanging there. $15 dollars, No. $5 dollars, yes. A definite yes. And I need to add that they were not halloween costumes either. I asked them very nicely if they were going to mark those down after halloween, and the lovely sales associate pointed out that they were not costumes, yet dress up dresses for little girls. But lookie lookie! They put them on sale anyway! We also bought Eddie a half of a costume for a vampire. Which includes the black and red satin cape and the shirt. It didn't come with pants, so we got it for $5. Still a good deal in my opinion.

Let's see, speaking of fabulous finds... I got these for free:

Yes, I saw a lady throwing these into the trash. So I took them. I know two little monkeys that would love to play with them! And so far, Eddie asks me every day if he can go outside and play with the cars. It seems that he is even a little on the big side for these cars, but he still enjoys them.

Also on my list of great deals is a wood train table for the kids. It was marked 75% off, being $19.88 or something like that, just under $20 bucks! I had been wanting one for the kids when they got a bit bigger, since my step-kids adored playing with trains for years! I couldn't believe it when I found it, so I struggled like mad to get that huge oversized hefty oblong box into the shopping cart. I used muscles I didn't know I had! I suppose I could have asked for assistance, but I woman, hear me roar!

I also bought a pair of Stride Rite shoes for Miss Alexa brand spanking new from Ebay for only $14 plus $4 for shipping. Still at $18 dollars for a pair of shoes that retail for $36, I did quite well!

I'm always finding great deals on clothes too. I have way too many examples to list. I just like to look around. Every time I show my dh something that I just bought, I ask him to guess how much I paid for it. His usual response: "Two dollars!" I guess he knows me! Ok, off to catch Grey's.

To Iquique, or not to Iquique?

That is the question. It's crazy how your life hangs in the balance. And who are these people that get to decide anyway? Dh says that we've been told we aren't going. We did not get the assignment. However the big picture is that they need someone with experience. And he doesn't believe that the powers that be got to see all the experience that he has. He's making a push back to see if they could reconsider. But as things stand right now...our move is not going to happen. That's not to say that next week or the following, somone out there would see the many years my dh has and experience he has under his belt and then decide that he is perfect for the job. Who really knows.

That is the question. It's crazy how your life hangs in the balance. And who are these people that get to decide anyway? Dh says that we've been told we aren't going. We did not get the assignment. However the big picture is that they need someone with experience. And he doesn't believe that the powers that be got to see all the experience that he has. He's making a push back to see if they could reconsider. But as things stand right now...our move is not going to happen. That's not to say that next week or the following, somone out there would see the many years my dh has and experience he has under his belt and then decide that he is perfect for the job. Who really knows.

That would mean that we would stay put oh until probably around March 2009. And then in one year, little man Eddie would be starting kindergarten! Awwwww! My sweet little boy! I can't believe how time flies. Even my friends have new babies, and are getting married and getting separated. Life just changes.

I'm thankful for the family that I have around me right now. They are my rocks. My wobbly, dirty, crooked, little box of rocks. But I love them all!

A recluse no more!

So I did it. I ventured out of the house. lol~ it's not like I really sit inside the house all day long. Honestly. But maybe a teeny weeny tiny little small part of me was thinking that the other mommies wouldn't like me. Yeah, that's the ticket. Because I'm the one who sticks my kids into daycare. And 'snobby' mommy that I am, how dare I do such a thing. But you know what? They were ALL super nice. It made me want to have them over to my house and cook food for them. They were all super sweet and normal. As normal as mommies can be with kids running around and pressing their buttons. I actually felt a little like I wished Eddie and Alexa could have been there. And then I sipped on my java-licious calorific, sugar-fied, frosty cold liquid beverage. And I noticed that I was the only one that didn't have to go to the bathroom with the Pampers and the wipes. It was peaceful. And that thought left me just as easily as it came. I'm quite certain that Eddie would have been trying to knock down some display that had been ever so diligently set up by some cafe worker the night before. Or he too might have been running in circles, or playing hide and go seek. I love to see other people's kids. It makes me feel more normal. More like I belong. The other mommies were down to earth. And they did not bring stones to throw at me. Which was nice. Because I like to think that I am a nice person. Most of the time. When I'm not breathing steam and fire because dh forgot to take out the recyclables on a Thursday. Or because he left Eddie's cup with milk sitting in the bedroom for two days, and I'm the one who has to clean it. (and those ones usually smell the worst).

I especially loved the new mommies. And their new babies. They are so sweet!!!! I remember vividly being in those shoes. It's amazing how quickly you go from being a new mommy to being an old broken in mother of two. Two who have puked and peed and pooped on you. They throw paint on your carpet and they rip down your blinds. I can talk about the terrible twos with the best of them! We are in potty training hell and it doesn't help that the stinker of a son that I have absolutely knows what's going on. Without a doubt, he's just flat out taking the reigns and really trying to show me who is boss. But since I don't work well like that, we are at somewhat of a standoff.

He's not pooping for me, he's defiant about sleeping in his own bed in his own room. And he pretty much won't eat anything except dairy, fruit, cereal and waffles. And maybe a few select other items as well. He loves to push mommy's buttons. OK, so like I was saying....I'm proud of myself for getting out. I think I will try and make it a habit. The ladies are great and hopefully next time I will be brave enough to bring my kids along. Hopefully. They don't sit still. Or stay put. Any time I take them somewhere they run away. So, I think I need to make sure it is in an enclosed, safe home type environment. I even have to be careful taking Miss Alexa in the wagon. She kept trying to throw herself out of it yesterday when we went to the park. (and that's not a good thing) Especially when I looked up and saw a car waiting on me to get some kind of control over my child so that they could drive past. I didn't realize I was completely in a "driveway" for cars to enter into the parking lot of the park. 'doh', sorry!

Ok, I have to run off again. Time to pick up my munchkins!!!

Nablopomo stinks.

Well, it's official. Nablopomo is stupid. What was I thinking? And in case I didn't mention it, as I'm quite certain that I have not! I am participating in Nablopomo. National Blog Posting Month. Bloggers unite and get this superb yet brilliant idea of posting one blog entry every day for an entire month. And that month is November. Sure, it sounds like a great idea. Easy, a cinch really. But what brilliant things can I talk about today? I can barely even sit upright at my computer! I am getting over a cold that I so conveniently had the entire duration of my husband's short tdy away from us. (for those of you not familiar with tdy's, that's a temporary assignment out of town for the military) Anyway. I feel better than I have in a week, yet still not 100% me.

Like I mentioned a few days ago, someone left me with the candy. And I have a terrible sense of self control and can't pry my deceiving hands away from that bowl. Dh did manage to eat that gummy foot. He said it wasn't bad. And since he is still among the living, I'll go ahead and say it was wrong of us to put it in the "reject" category of candy. We did so among the looks alone. Poor piece of candy.

Oh yes, so like I was saying....nablopomo. Dumb. I am not sure if I can keep up. I don't have amazing things to say everyday. Unless of course you are my daughter. She thinks I am pretty amazing. I still am not sure if I can think about my blog everyday and not sure if I can post every single day. But I will give it an honest effort! How about that. And then a random collective group of distant strangers can know a chunk full of happenings in my life. Dh would throw up. He rather prefers anonymity. Which is also why you will probably never see a picture of him here. He likes his privacy! And I'm not even certain he really knows that I do have a blog, that I do post and post often. But ok, enough about him. He would prefer me not talk too much about him.

Oh yes, so like I was saying....nablopomo. Dumb. I am not sure if I can keep up. I don't have amazing things to say everyday. Unless of course you are my daughter. She thinks I am pretty amazing. I still am not sure if I can think about my blog everyday and not sure if I can post every single day. But I will give it an honest effort! How about that. And then a random collective group of distant strangers can know a chunk full of happenings in my life. Dh would throw up. He rather prefers anonymity. Which is also why you will probably never see a picture of him here. He likes his privacy! And I'm not even certain he really knows that I do have a blog, that I do post and post often. But ok, enough about him. He would prefer me not talk too much about him.