Life Turned Upside Down

Hi Everybody! I'm still alive!

2008-03-13T13:03:00.002-06:00

Over the past couple of weeks I've had a few e-mails and comments regarding my well-being so I wanted to let you all know that everything is okay and give you a little enlightenment on my blogging hiatus.

On our way to school one morning, the following conversation took place:
The Boy: Mom, Lent starts today.
Me: Yeah, I know.
The Boy: What does Lent REALLY mean?
Me: Well, umm, you know, it represents the 40 days that Jesus spent in the wilderness.

It was at that point that I realized that I am failing myself, my kids and especially my God. I decided right then and there that I was going to take full advantage of the Season of Lent and better myself through Christ. That night, I went home and dusted off my Bible (which desperately needed it since it probably hadn't been opened in a few months) and prepared to start an on-line Bible Study. When Sunday rolled around, I practically jumped out of bed to get ready for church (which meant also dusting off my church clothes since we hadn't been there in a while either). For the first time in my life, I was excited about getting up early on Sunday and herding three kids out the door. During the service, I felt like Pastor J. was talking directly to me and only to me. I genuinely wanted to be there and my heart had opened up and I could, for probably the first time in my life, truly feel the love of God.

I really have missed all of my bloggy friends but I have been using the time that I would normally blog in to do my daily Bible Study. I have been going back and forth between two on-line studies and today I bought "The Purpose-Driven Life" by Rick Warren. I am excited about starting that and it says that it is really helpful to read it with a friend or group so if anyone is interested in reading it with me, let me know.

So anyway, that is where I have been and what I have been doing; I'm sure you can all understand. Ha! I guess you could say I gave up blogging for Lent. Well, except that I just blogged.

A Disappointment of Great Proportions

2008-01-25T08:19:00.000-06:00

For days we watched the website looking for change. Every time we checked, we got what we were looking for. 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%. and finally, 70%. It was practically a sure thing! We gathered around the television last night and watched as the weatherman assured us that ice was imminent. We were all giddy with excitement at the thought of an unscheduled day off from work and school. I headed off to bed knowing that I would have to get up at the normal time but would be able to go right back to my warm, comfy bed after I did the responsible thing and checked for school closings.

I slept the night through and when the alarm went off, I jumped straight out of bed instead of hitting the snooze button 3 or 4 times. I practically skipped to the back door just knowing that the porch would be covered in ice. I flipped on the light and what did I see? Nothing that I wouldn't see any other day of the year. Yeah, I'm at work.

The Four Year Plan

2008-01-18T08:42:00.000-06:00

When I enrolled Al in 8th grade last summer, I never thought that during the course of the year we would be planning out the rest of her life. On Wednesday, Al brought home the results from her Explore test which, if I understand correctly, is somewhat of a pre-pre-ACT test (the actual pre-ACT is done in 10th grade and is called PLAN) and a Career Aptitude test. Now, for the past year or so, she has said that she wants to go into Law Enforcement after college. She doesn't really want to be a police officer but would rather be in the forensics side of it, which I find fasinating but of course this isn't about me. She was more than a little disappointed when her results showed that she is best suited for Engineering or Architecture.

Here is the question that I have for all of you out there. Are you following the career path that you wanted to follow when you were 13 years old? When I was 13, I was positive I was going to be a large animal veterinarian and live on a huge horse ranch where I raised only the best of the best show horses. My place was going to be the Top Gun of horse ranches. I wasn't going to EVER get married and the thought of having kids never crossed my mind. I am the polar opposite of what I thought I wanted to be back then. Veterinarian? Nope; I sit in an office all day long infront of a computer screen. Horse ranch? Nope; had to put my horse down 10 years ago and haven't bought another one. Single? Nope; married for 13 years. Kids? I have 3 of them.

Yesterday, Al came home with all the information to register for High School (Yikes!) We are supposed to sit down this weekend and plan out the next four years of her education career and make tentative plans for the following two. The steps are:
1. Choose the college that you would like to attend after high school
2. Make sure that they offer the degree program within your Career Area
3. Determine the requirements for admission to that program
4. Choose your high school courses in accordance with the program requirements
What I don't know is are we supposed to map out her next 4 - 6 years according to what she says wants to do (Forensics) or according to what the Career Aptitude Test says (Engineering & Architecture)? I realize that nothing is set in stone and we can change what courses she takes during the year but what is wrong with letting her take whatever courses she wants to take so she can learn a little bit of everything if she wants to? Her interests are going to change almost daily as she gets older and I think that is great. I want her to experience as much as she can while she is young so that when she is my age and has a family she doesn't have regrets about not doing something.

I know that setting goals and working toward them is important and I will always encourage her to do so. I just think that at 13 years old, it is a little too much to ask them to plan out their high school career to move towards a particular college program and profession. Shoot, a lot of the 13 year olds I know have a hard enough time planning what they are going to wear to school on any given day, much less planning the rest of their lives!

There's No Crying in Football!

2008-01-14T09:06:00.000-06:00

I don't profess to be a football fanatic. I don't pretend to know all the rules of the game; but I DO know this....there is NO crying in football!

"The" Test(s)

2008-01-11T08:29:00.000-06:00

Jennifer did a post a couple of days ago on orders from Swistle about how she found out she was pregnant. After reading it, I started thinking about when I found out that I was pregnant with each of my three kids and became quite sad. See, when I read Jennifers post and then read Swistles post there was so much joy and excitement. I don't remember having any of those emotions with any of my pregnancies.

With my oldest, Chuck and I had only been dating for a couple of months. I don't really even know if you could call it dating because it was more like cocktails after work and one thing leading to another. It was in October of 1993 and I was 21 years old. We had gone out, as usual, on a Saturday night after work but I just wasn't into the whole bar scene. I stayed for maybe an hour or so and then decided to head home. I don't know why I did what I did next because physically, I had NO signs of pregnancy. Something in my head told me to stop at drug store and pick up a pregnancy test and so I did. When I got to the house, I made myself a Crown and Coke and stared at that box until I had the courage to take the test. I peed on the little stick and went out to the kitchen to make myself another drink. I think it only took about 1 minute for that test to come back positive. I downed my drink in about the same amount of time. And I cried.

The next morning, I took the other test that came in the package knowing that the first test I took HAD to be wrong. It wasn't. I told Chuck the news and what happened over the next couple of months is another post in itself. It was probably February or March before I could actually feel the true joy of being pregnant. The result? One of the most beautiful and smart girls a mother could ask for.

By August of 1995, Chuck and I were married and were renting a great house just a few blocks from my mother. I remember one day, Chuck came up behind me and wrapped his arms around me and whispered these words in my ear "you're pregnant". I vehemently denied his accusations and began laughing at him. I was on the pill (although I often forgot to take them) so HOW could I be pregnant? His words stuck in the back of my mind for days and I began to doubt myself. I decided to put my mind at ease and went to the drug store to pick up yet another test. I took the test and once again, I cried; this time without the cocktail though. How were we going to be able to take care of another child? We were barely making it financially, we were both working late hours, and Al was just barely over a year old. Not only did we make it, we had a great son.

By the summer of 1997, we were getting back on our feet financially. We moved into a townhouse that was quite a bit less expensive; Chuck was working in Tulsa, Ok while we were still living in Austin, Tx (he would leave Sunday night and come home Friday); I started back to school part-time and stayed home with the kids the rest of the time. Things were good. I woke up one morning and ate an apple as I was getting ready for school. The apple didn't set to well with my stomach.....I started having THAT thought. I argued with myself in my head that I could NOT be pregnant again because I was on the pill and while I still missed a couple of days of taking it, I was much better about it than I had been before. I made it through my classes that morning but I was still having that argument in my head so I stopped at the drugstore and picked up yet another test. I immediately went home and took it and low and behold, it was positive. I called Chuck and as soon as he picked up the phone, I started bawling. I don't really even know how he understood what I was saying but as soon as I got done talking he said "Dana, I knew you were pregnant days ago. Everything will be fine." We moved to our current location the following month to make Chuck's commute shorter and have a safer community to raise our children and on January 10, 1998, The Nut was born.

I realize now that the reason that I couldn't be happy when I found out I was pregnant with each of my kids is that I was scared about what other people would think. I used to think that if I had just done things differently (you know, fell in love, gotten married, then had kids instead of reversing that order) I could have been happy when I found out I was pregnant. I realize, now, that had I done that, I wouldn't have the precious kids that I have today. It makes me sad that 14, 12, and 10 years ago I was so under the influence of other people's thinking that I couldn't take the wonderful gifts that God had given me and just run with them and say screw any of you that feel that you need to judge me!

Another Birthday!

2008-01-10T10:24:00.000-06:00

Today my baby girl reaches the double digits. I want so badly to be happy, but I just can't.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Quote of 2007

2008-01-02T11:58:00.001-06:00

For those of you that have been reading my blog for a while, you know the problems that I had gone through with my son. If you haven't been reading, you can read about it here and here. Well, apparently, just because he couldn't sit still and couldn't concentrate didn't mean that he didn't retain all of the information that was being fed to him.

This past Saturday, my sister, BIL and I took the kids shopping to use their Christmas gift cards. We stopped at a Mexican restaurant for lunch and The Boy started talking about the first time he had met a friend of my sisters two years ago. He said that they had stopped at Dollar General and my sister said that she remembered that they had stopped there but couldn't figure out for the life of her why because she never went to DG. The boy proceeded to tell her that they had stopped there to pick up some things for the office and then told her every single thing she had bought. Nothing notable; they were just things like paper clips and pencils, but he remembered them. I think that if we had let him go on, he probably could have told us the brand names of everything. My BIL jokingly called him "Rainman" and we all laughed.

The boy made a couple of other obscure comments throughout the day and we continued to laugh at them and call him Rainman but the best one came as we were walking through the Target parking lot. Here is how the conversation went:

The Boy: (singing) When your feeling low , lower than the floor. And you feel like you ain't got a chance. Don't make a move till your in the groove. And do the Peter Panda dance. Hop 3 times Like a kangaroo. (If your not familiar, these are part of the lyrics to the Peter Panda Dance that Vin Diesel sings in The Pacifier.)

The Youngest: Boy, how do you remember the words to that song? We haven't watched that in forever.

The Niece: (with a sigh and a shake of her head) Because he's the Weatherman! Gosh.

Christmas 2007; Part II

2007-12-28T10:56:00.000-06:00

Now, to pick up where I left off yesterday, the kids had been so patient in watching me unwrap my gift and it was time to hand out their gifts from Santa. We handed them each a gift from Santa and they started tearing into them. I was watching my niece open her gift when all of a sudden my son exclaims "Cool! Santa brought me a new phone!" I know that my jaw must have dropped to my chest because the new cell phone was supposed to be for my niece. Apparently, one of Santas elves (me) made a mistake when she put the name tags on the gifts. Fortunately, my niece was just a Wii bit too excited to really notice! I explained to the boy that the elf made a serious mistake and that the phone wouldn't even work with his service and he was okay with it and moved on.

By 7:00 all of the gifts had been opened and I was in serious need of a nap but instead of doing that Wii went bowling. Anyone who says you can't get a workout from a video game has never heard of the Wii. I woke up the next morning and I was actually sore! From playing a video game!

Anyway, I won't bore you with all of the details from the rest of the day but I do want to say that I wish that we could all have more days like Christmas. Just being with family with nothing that HAS to be done makes for the best day of the year!

Christmas '07

2007-12-26T15:24:00.000-06:00

Wow. Christmas has come and gone already. I guess, in a way, Christmas is a lot like a wedding; you plan and prepare for what seems like forever and then in the blink of an eye, it's over. We had a great Christmas here and I hope that you all did as well.

We started out on Sunday with our Chinese Christmas with my dads' side of the family and then had a bonfire that night. We had a great time but stayed up way too late. On Christmas Eve, my sister and I had a few more things to pick up for the stockings (someone please remind me next year to stay as far away from Wal-Mart on Christmas Eve as possible) and a couple of things for our annual Christmas Eve dinner. My mom got to the house just in time for Santa to come by on the fire truck.
(this is actually from last Christmas Eve, but you get the idea)

After Santa came by, Mom, my sister and I started making our annual Christmas Eve dinner; Borak. Actually, I am not even sure if that is what it is really called, but we have been calling it that for so many years so it's stuck.
For those of you brave enough, you can click here for the recipe.

After dinner, the kids decorated cookies for Santa and then headed off to bed. We stayed up just long enough to fulfill our duties and then retreated to our sleeping places (mine being my recliner). About 2:15, I heard little footsteps and whispers. I was in awe thinking it must be Santas' elves running through my house but then I opened my eyes just a little bit and saw it was the youngest and my niece rummaging through the packages that Santa had left earlier. I didn't want to encourage them, so I didn't say a word; I just closed my eyes and went right back to sleep. That is, until 5:30 when the next round of children came in. By 6:00, the entire house was up. The kids checked their cookies to make sure that Santa had eaten them and the youngest ran up to me with the one cookie that didn't have a bite out of it. I thought that she was going to be disappointed at first because I knew that it was one that she had decorated but instead she was excited. She started jumping up and down holding the snowman that had been painted with yellow icing and said "I knew Santa was smart! Even he knew not to eat the yellow snow!" Get it? A yellow snowman?

At 6:15, the first present was handed out. Now, I need to take just a moment and give a little background on this package. Most years, Chuck and I do our shopping together and this year was no different. We went and picked out what I wanted for Christmas together and came home with new pots and pans and knives. About a week after that, Chuck called me from the house and said that he had my Christmas present wrapped. I was quite thrilled because I had not been looking forward to wrapping that enormous box that the pots and pans came in so I was surprised when he said he hadn't wrapped them yet. "Oh, so you wrapped the knives." I said. "Nope, not the knives either. It's something that you'll never guess" he replied. Just in case you didn't know, I don't do surprises very well so this started driving me crazy right away. When I got home that night, I must have been visibly shaken because he and my sister kept taunting me with this gift. Every time I turned around, they would get this shit eating grin on their faces and say "I know what your Christmas present is" and start snickering. I looked at it sitting under the tree and tried to guess what it was by its size. Let's see, approximately 18"x24" and about 55lbs. It was driving me crazy! I couldn't think of anything that I had said that I wanted that we hadn't already bought together. Then, just as I had the perfect idea on how to at least find out where he bought it, he said "Oh, and by the way, I changed the password on the credit card account I used to buy it." Dag Nab It! Outsmarted again! For the next week and a half, they kept up with the "I know what your Christmas present is!" routine. There was one day that I wanted to go home early because no one was at the house (now keep in mind, it had been almost 2 months since I had been in my own house without anyone else there) and Chuck almost wouldn't let me go because he was afraid I would try to open and re-wrap the package. I even had a dream one night that my youngest told me what Chuck had gotten me for Christmas. I didn't say anything to anyone about because I knew that she didn't know what it was because if she did, she would have told me.

Okay, so back to 6:15 Christmas morning....Chuck hands me the infamous package. I told him that I really didn't care what was in it and that I wanted to save it for last but he (and everyone else) insisted that I open it before anything else got opened. To keep the peace in the family, I begrudgingly opened it. I got the paper off and saw AN HD DVD PLAYER! Nope, that's not it because 1) we just gotten one 2 months ago and 2) they just aren't that heavy. I opened the box and all along the edges of it are pieces of wood from the flooring that we just finished putting down but in the center was a box about 6"x8" that said Cannon Rebel Digital Camera! I couldn't believe it. I had only mentioned one time many months ago that I would like to have a camera like my oldest sisters; so I was shocked that he had picked up on it! Now, the really eerie part of all of this is that in the dream I had a few days earlier, the youngest had told me that my present was a new camera!

Because of a minor faux paux, I was not able to use my new camera on Christmas day, but I would have given anything to have a picture of the looks on my sisters and my faces because of what happened next........

To be continued.

Merry Christmas From the Family

2007-12-20T10:33:00.000-06:00

This weekend, we will be having Christmas with my dads' side of the family. Now, if you will think back to my family reunion this past summer, you will understand why I am posting this video. Enjoy and, just in case I don't get a chance to post before Christmas, have a very Merry Christmas and be safe in your travels.

(No, really, my family isn't that bad. As a matter of fact, here is one of my favorite pictures from last years gathering.)

I'm Waiting....

2007-12-17T11:31:00.001-06:00

Yes, I am sitting in my office waiting for that last little gift, well, stocking stuffer really, to be delivered by UPS. It is perhaps the gift that I am most excited about ~~playing with~~ giving. I had one of them when I was a kid and, if I remember correctly, they were all the rave in my upper elementary/early jr high days. It is a Chinese Jump Rope that I am giving to the youngest and my niece. Does anyone else remember playing with these?

What is something that you had as a kid that you have been excited about giving to your kids?

Update

2007-12-05T10:37:00.000-06:00

Remember the reading project I was working on a couple of weeks ago? Well guess what.....I We She got a 100 on it! Now I can't wait to see the grade The Boy ~~and I~~ gets on the rock cycle project that was worked on last night!

Happy Thanksgiving

2007-11-21T07:00:00.000-06:00

I'm off to Austin for Thanksgiving! Have a safe and happy one!

How Smart Is Your Right Foot?

2007-11-19T08:29:00.000-06:00

I received this in an e-mail and can't stop trying it. Apparently, my right foot is not smart at all. Go ahead, give it a try and let me know how smart your right foot is.

Just try this. It is from an orthopedic surgeon............

This will boggle your mind and you will keep trying over and over
again to see if you can outsmart your foot, but, you can't. It's
preprogrammed In your brain!

1. While sitting where you are at your desk in front of your
computer, lift your right foot off the floor and make clockwise
circles.

2. Now, while doing this, draw the number "6" in the air with your
right hand.
your foot will change direction.

I told you so!!! And there's nothing you can do about it! Before
the day is done you are going to try it again, if you've not
already done so.

Lesson Learned Learning

2007-11-15T08:06:00.000-06:00

When I was growing up, if I had a school project to do I did it. I don't remember a time that my parents did or helped with any part of it. So, armed with this knowledge, why do I continuously bail my kids out of their homework/project binds? Now, I am not saying that if one of them has a math paper that I sit down and do it for them but if they have a major project I will jump in and ~~supervise~~ ~~help~~ do a large part of the project ~~for~~ with them. I had never realized that I do this until yesterday and it was like one of those "slap on the forehead with your palm, V8 moments".

Al has a major project due today about the Holocaust. She is an admitted procrastinator and, sadly, she comes by it naturally. When did she start this project you ask? The day before yesterday. She got her report started and finished on Tuesday but had yet to start her visual aide. I told her that evening to find all of the pictures that she wanted to use on her visual and e-mail them to me so that I could print them out on the laser printer at the office. Wednesday morning, I checked my e-mail and low and behold THERE ARE NO PICTURES! I asked her if she had sent them and she said she forgot. I was livid. I yelled, I stomped, I threatened but what did I do in the very end? I researched Ravensbruek Concentration Camp ALL DAY yesterday to find material for her visual aide. (Now, while I found the topic of research extremely interesting and very sad, it was not what I should have been doing yesterday. I passed 8th grade reading with flying colors.) With all the pictures and information I found, her project was completed at 10:00 last night.

So why do I do this? Am I so afraid to let one of my kids fail at something even if they deserve to because they didn't try? I think the answer is yes. Do I think that I am of the minority in this area? No, I do not. Are the kids learning from me doing this? The answer to that is YES.

Think about that for just a moment. What they are learning is that if they, as is the case here, procrastinate, do sloppy work, etc that I will be "Superparent" and swoop in and bail them out.

This is something that I have to work on and I know it won't be easy. My kids are getting to a point in their lives that I have to knowingly let them make mistakes so that they can learn from them. If I continue to bail them out in situations like this, what will happen when they head off to college or have a job? I can't be there all the time and I just need to start remembering that.

(BTW, Tx Poppet knew EXACTLY where I was going with my post yesterday! Here is what she had to say: "I'd reply but I'm currently organizing maps, colored pencils and information sheets for my seventh grade geography reprt."

Keepin It Pink

2007-10-08T11:13:00.000-06:00

Please tell ten friends to tell ten today! The Breast Cancer site is having trouble getting enough people to click on their site daily to meet their quota of donating at least one free mammogram a day to an underprivileged woman. It takes less than a minute to go to their site and click on "donating a mammogram" for free (pink window in the middle).

This doesn't cost you a thing. Their corporate sponsors/advertisers use the number of daily visits to donate mammogram in exchange for advertising.

Here's the web site! Pass it along to people you know.

The Little Texas Momma

2007-10-03T19:27:00.000-06:00

When I was a little girl, my favorite story was The Little Red Hen. If you haven't read it, please, go read it now. Done? Now I want to give you my version of this story with pictures to boot!

One day, the Little Texas Momma was driving home with her children and was trying to decide what to have for dinner. She asked her children, "What shall we have for dinner?"
"I don't know" said Al
"I don't know" said The Boy
"I don't know" said The Youngest
So the Little Texas Momma decided to make stir fry.

"Who shall go to the store with me?" asked the Little Texas Momma.
"Not I" said Al
"Not I" said The Boy
"Not I" said The Youngest
So, the Little Texas Momma went to the store to buy the ingredients to make stir fry on her own.

The Little Texas Momma got home from the store to find the Little Texas Children engaged in various activities.
"Who shall help me cut the vegetables?" asked the Little Texas Momma.
"Not I" said Al
"Not I" said The Boy
"Not I" said The Youngest
Just after the Little Texas Momma got done chopping all of the vegetables, the Little Texas Daddy got home from a long day at work.
Then, the Little Texas Momma asked "Who shall help me cook the dinner?"

"Not I" said the Little Texas Daddy
"Not I" said Al
"Not I" said The Boy
"Not I" said The Youngest
And so the Little Texas Momma cooked the dinner all by herself.
When the Little Texas Momma was done making the dinner, she asked "Who shall help me eat this delicious meal?"
"I shall, I shall, I shall" said the Little Texas Children!
Being the nice Little Texas Momma that she is, she fed the sweet children but the Little Texas Daddy decided to wait a little while before eating.

The moral of the story?
Eat when everyone else does or you may end up reheating your own meal while your wife takes pictures of you!

Go Pink!

2007-10-03T09:41:00.000-06:00

It's not hard to notice that I am "going Pink" in support of breast cancer. Well, I'm not supporting breast cancer, it can bite my ass but I am in support of breast cancer awareness, research, and those who are battling it. October is Breast Cancer Awareness month but it also marks a great anniversary in my family. This month marks 11 years that my aunt has been free of breast cancer. She fought the beast and she won. Last year for her 10th anniversary, we surprised her with a party.

www.flickr.com

The point? Don't forget to check the boobies. National check the boobies week is October 12 - 19. When I had my surgery, they sent tissue off to be biopsied so I am good this year but next year I will be going in for the big squish!

Numb

2007-09-11T09:13:00.000-06:00

I almost wasn't going to do this. I got up this morning. I knew exactly what day it was. As the morning went on and I looked at the clock, I remember back to exactly what I was doing at that exact time 6 years before, but I was numb. I didn't have the emotions that I did that day. I didn't have the sadness in my heart that I did that day and then I saw this over at Burgs place. That brought back my emotions. It reminded me of what a horrific tragedy happened on this day. Not that I had really forgotten, but I am more like numbed by all the media coverage. For me, all of the sensationalism of the press makes it feel unreal. Like it didn't really happen. Like it was a movie.

An Open Letter To My Family

2007-08-21T19:48:00.000-06:00

I QUIT!

(Reasons to come in exit letter.)

New (School) Year Resolutions

2007-08-21T12:34:00.001-06:00

In just under a week, my three darling children will start back to school. With two of them in Jr. High and one attending public school for the first time in her student career, I feel the need to make some resolutions. I am hoping that all of my internet friends can help me stay on track like you did when I quit smoking.

1. No cocktails on school nights. (Unless a child drops a major project on me at the last minute and I will be forced to stay up extra late finishing said project while they get their much needed ~~beauty~~ sleep.)

2. Cook a decent meal on school nights. I actually saw a great article here about time saving tips. I absolutely hate meal planning but one of the ideas was to set out a weekly calendar and give each member of the family a night that they are to plan and prepare a meal. I am not sure if the younger two are quite old enough to actually prepare a meal but they can certainly plan a meal and help me.

3. Get up early or at least on time. Okay, so this one should probably be stated as Get the kids up early then go back to bed while they get ready then get myself up just in time to half-assed get ready and run out the door. That would be much more realistic and attainable.

4. ~~Check~~ ~~Search~~ Scour each child's backpack daily even if they tell me that they have nothing in it. Last year I made the mistake of trusting my kids when they told me that a) they didn't have any homework or b) there were no notes/project information sent home from their teachers. Won't make that mistake again.

5. Make the kids get ALL of their things together and set by the door the night before so that we don't have another episode that makes me wish I had 3 highly hormonal teenage girls.

If I can just keep up with #2 - 5, that should make #1 so much easier! Anyone have any other ideas for me that made your school year easier?

Skippy the Punk

2007-07-11T09:44:00.000-06:00

Lately the cat has been driving us crazy. He is insistent that everyone wake up at 6 am; when we do get up, we can't take a step without him right there. We check his food bowl for him and fill it up if it is less than 3/4 of the way full (he's quite the pessimist, you know). If we are in the kitchen, he stands in front of the refrigerator and cries until we give him a piece of shaved ham. He stands by the back door and looks outside then to us then back outside then back to us (he learned this from the dog; it's his sign that he wants to go outside).

I was searching the web today and I came across these diary excerpts and I am almost positive they came from my cat and dog.

Excerpts from a Dog's diary:

8:00 am - OH BOY! DOG FOOD! MY FAVORITE!
9:30 am - OH BOY! A CAR RIDE! MY FAVORITE!
9:40 am - OH BOY! A WALK! MY FAVORITE!
10:30 am - OH BOY! A CAR RIDE! MY FAVORITE!
11:30 am - OH BOY! DOG FOOD! MY FAVORITE!
12:00 noon - OH BOY! THE KIDS! MY FAVORITE!
1:00 PM - OH BOY! THE YARD! MY FAVORITE!
1:30 PM - ooooooo. bath. bummer.
4:00 PM - OH BOY! THE KIDS! MY FAVORITE!
5:00 PM - OH BOY! DOG FOOD! MY FAVORITE!
5:30 PM - OH BOY! MOM! MY FAVORITE!

Excerpts from a Cat's diary

DAY 752 - My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre
little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh
meat, while I am forced to eat dry cereal. The only
thing that keeps me going is the hope of escape, and
the mild satisfaction I get from ruining the
occasional piece of furniture. Tomorrow I may eat
another house plant.

DAY 761 - Today my attempt to kill my captors by
weaving around their feet while they were walking
almost succeeded, must try this at the top of the
stairs. In an attempt to disgust and repulse these
vile oppressors, I once again induced myself to vomit
on their favorite chair...must try this on their bed.

DAY 765 - Decapitated a mouse and brought them the
headless body, in attempt to make them aware of what I
am capable of, and to try to strike fear into their
hearts. They only cooed and condescended about what a
good little cat I was...Hmmm. Not working according to
plan.

DAY 768 - I am finally aware of how sadistic they are.
For no good reason I was chosen for the water torture.
This time however it included a burning foamy chemical
called "shampoo." What sick minds could invent such a
liquid? My only consolation is the piece of thumb
still stuck between my teeth.

DAY 771 - There was some sort of gathering of their
accomplices. I was placed in solitary throughout the
event. However, I could hear the noise. More
importantly I overheard that my confinement was due to
MY power of "allergies." Must learn what this is and
how to use it to my advantage.

DAY 774 - I am convinced the other captives are
flunkies and maybe snitches. The dog is routinely
released and seems more than happy to return. He is
obviously a half-wit. The chinchilla on the other hand has
got to be an informant. I am certain he reports my every move. Due
to his current placement in the metal room his safety
is assured. But I can wait; it is only a matter of
time......

A Letter To My Kids

2007-07-02T10:46:00.000-06:00

Dear Kids,

We miss you dearly ~~but aren't quite ready for you to come home~~. The house is so quiet without ~~the tv constantly blaring on The Disney Channel~~ your sweet voices and giggles. I am even having a hard time deciding what to wear to work because ~~I have no clean clothes to wear since you are not here to do the laundry~~ I am in such a funk with you gone. Daddy and I are even starting to put on a few pounds since ~~I haven't cooked a nutritous meal because we are going out to eat every night~~ we are so depressed all we do is eat. Even the animals are starting to wonder when you are coming home. They are tired of ~~Mommy and Daddy making fun of them since you aren't here for us to make fun of~~ only having Mommy and Daddy to play with because, face it, we aren't as ~~nice~~ fun as you. I walked into your bedrooms the other day and I was so saddened by ~~the mess you left~~ seeing all of your things knowing you weren't there for me to ~~scold~~ hug.

Anyway, I hope that you are having a fantastic time and I will see you in two ~~short~~ long weeks!

Love,
Mom & Dad

Update

2007-06-30T14:50:00.000-06:00

Today, hubs and I had to go to the office to run billing so I made sure that I took my camera with me. I really thought that Dairy Queen would have fixed their mistake by today but, as we drove past it, the sign still said "bowel" instead of "bowl". So, hubs pulled over on the side of the road (and let me tell you, we risked our lives for this) and I snapped a couple of pictures. Here for your entertainment:

Now, being the nice person that I am, I went inside (after snapping the pictures of course) and found the manager. Here is how the conversation went:

Me: I just wanted to let you know something about your billboard.
Her: Oh, what is that?
Me: It says "Turtle Waffle Bowel" instead of "Turtle Waffle Bowl".
Her: {Really confused look}
Me: In other words, it has an "e" between the "w" and "l" making it sound like you are selling a sundae made out of the lower intestinal tract of a turtle.
Her: Oh my, the wind must have blown some letters around.
Me: Um, yeah, must have. Good Day.

Tell me, folks, does it look like the wind blew those letters? Oh, and by the way, when I left town 3 hours later, the sign still had not been changed.

Sounds Appetizing!

2007-06-29T09:22:00.000-06:00

This morning as I was driving into work, I noticed Dairy Queens newest dessert advertised on thier billboard.

New! Turtle Waffle Bowel Sundae

I called hubs and told him to grab my camera, but he walked out the door and forgot it. If they haven't figured out that turtle bowel just doesn't sound very appetizing to most people by tomorrow, I'll bring my camera over here and get a picture for you.

June 15, 1994 - Revisited

2007-06-14T17:36:00.000-06:00

As promised, I am not going to dwell ~~or cry~~ on my birthday, but I do want to re-live what was my 22nd birthday. It was June 15, 1994. The day started out pretty much the same as any other day. My sister was in town from Kansas but staying with my mother. Hubs (who was still significant other at the time) was working at the Nissan dealership from bell to bell (for those of you not familiar with car dealership lingo that means from open to close) because ~~I was 9 months pregnant and very hormonal~~ we needed the money.

I picked up my sister sometime around lunch and we went and did some shopping. Nothing special. I had my weekly Dr. appointment at 3:00 and the Dr. told me to enjoy being pregnant for at least another week. I had not progressed ANY from the week before so I left there with my head hung low. Miserable. Way pregnant. In the middle of June. In hot, humid Austin, Tx. Need I say more? I know the answer is probably no, but get over it. This is where it gets interesting.

My sister and I had appointments to get our hair cut immediately after the doctor visit. To say that I was depressed would be an understatement. We were both done with our appointments about the same time and headed out the door. As we were leaving, there was a woman that looked EXACTLY like my great-grandmother who had passed away several years before. She was sitting in the waiting area and as we were walking out the door, she looked directly in my eyes, smiled and nodded. I had goosebumps like you would not believe. When we got outside, my sister and I both looked at each other and (at the exact same time) said "That was Nanny Copeland!"

Now, here is where it gets interesting. At this time it was 5:15 pm. That would mean 5:00 traffic in Austin. Our hair appointment was in central Austin and we were headed to my mom's house in North Austin. For anyone familiar with Austin, that means stop and go traffic down Mopac for about 30 - 45 minutes, depending on the day. June 15, 1994, though? Smooth sailing all the way to Duvall Rd. We made it in a matter of minutes. We were sitting at the stoplight at Duvall and Mopac when I apparently made a funny face because my sister asked what was wrong. All I could think of was that this being inside of me was doing some funny shit. We got to Mom's house and the nausea set in. Now, keep in mind, this is my birthday. My dad had planned a dinner for me and I was expected to be at his (then girlfriend's house) in an hour. I was in no mood for dinner, so I called him and told him that I was not feeling very well and I was going to lay down and if I felt better later, I would come on over. Wow. He. Was. Pissed.

At this point, I got up from my resting place on the sofa to see if I could walk off the nausea. Ouch. No such luck. My mom asked me if I was sure that I wasn't having contractions. "Hell, I don't know! I've never done this before. You tell me!" So, here I am. Doc tells me she feels certain that I will see her next week and Mom is asking if I'm in labor. So, we decided to start timing the my moments of "I'm about to puke!" Seven minutes and getting closer.

Much to my disapproval, Mom decided it was time for me to call and tell hubs to get home. Now. Hubs gets there and we headed to the hospital. Time: 7:30 pm. I was "checked" and I had made significant progress from my Dr. appt. so I would definately be staying. My dad was called and told that I would DEFINATELY not be coming over for dinner. About an hour later, I had all kinds of guests at the hospital. Apparently, my dad had been planning a suprise party for me and that is why he was so upset that I wouldn't be coming! My oldest sister and her friend Vicky came to see me as well. (One of our favorite stories comes from their visit. They had both just gotten their nails done. My sister was holding my hand which was up near my face and I told her to get her hands away from me or I was going to throw up all over her.)

So, here I was. Officially 22 years old. In labor. It was now 11:45 and the doc comes in and says it will be time to push in just a few minutes. Push? You mean I actually have to do something to get this beast out of me? WTF? No one told me about this part of it. 12:00 am on July 16 doc says "Push". 12:16 am, doc says "You have a beautiful baby girl." And that I did. All 8lbs, 14 oz of her.

In honor of her turning into an official teenager (and to make up for my not finishing my "13 Years in 9 Weeks sequel, I would love for you to watch a photo montage of the BEST birthday present God has EVER given me. The song is by Mark Harris and is called "Find Your Wings" and the pictures are, well, priceless.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

To the Nice Old Man At Wal-Mart

2007-06-13T15:06:00.000-06:00

Thank you! You made my day. I will admit that I was a little shocked when you walked up to my window and waited for me to roll it down. I was even more shocked when you proceeded to tell me how attractive you thought I was. What I was happiest about, though, was when you handed me my purse after I had that massive brain fart and left it in the cart that I had put in the cart return! Had you not been there, I probably would have lost all of its contents with the exception of my cell phone which I was talking on. Come to think of it, my talking on the phone is probably what made me leave the damn thing in the cart in the first place!

13 Years in 13 9 Weeks

2007-04-17T13:14:00.000-06:00

Today, Jennifer did a post today that really brought tears to my eyes. While reading it I began to realize that I am almost the mother of a real live teenage girl! Oh my gosh, where did all the time go?

I thought I would do a little tribute to my (almost) teen with one year for each week until her birthday, but, low and behold, there are only 9 weeks until she turns 13. Yikes! Nine, Nueve, Neuf, Neun, Nove, 9 short weeks! I am still going to do this, but the first couple of weeks you just might have to get a couple per week. She is worth it, really, though.

Here she is during her 1st year. She was 2 1/2 months old here:

I went back to work right at four weeks after having her and had the scare of my life when she had only been in daycare for two days. I got a call at about 4:00 and they said that she had slept most of the day and wanted to know if I wanted them to wake her up. I just joked it off (remember, I was young and dumb) and told the lady that if she was up all night, I would be calling her in the middle of the night to come over and take care of her. My mom picked Alex up shortly after that and took her to her house. I got off work at 7:00 and went straight to moms. When I got there, mom said that Alex had only wanted to sleep the entire time. I took her home and thought that she felt a little bit warm so I took her temp. 101. Ok, I'm freaking out. I called the Dr. and of course had to wait for the nurse to call me back. She told me to give her Tylenol and a cool bath and call back in an hour if the fever had not gone down. It didn't. I called back and was told to call the office in the morning but to give her the Tylenol every four hours and call her back if the temp went up.

I didn't sleep at all that night. First thing the next morning, I was on the phone with the Dr. office and by 8:30 we were in an exam room. The Dr. did all kinds of blood work and pushing and prodding and who knows what else. I once heard him on the phone with his nurse (the one that I had talked to the night before). He wasn't really happy with her and I don't know that she worked for him after that day since I never heard her name again. At about 1:00 the Dr. comes back into the room (for the 100th time )and says that they need to do a spinal tap. It was the hardest thing in the world for me to leave that room, but thinking back, I'm glad I did because if I would have seen her crying like she was (I could hear her from outside of the Dr. office) I would have probably punched the Dr. and his nurse for hurting her like that.

The spinal tap came back positive for meningitis. I was told to go directly to Breckenridge Children's Hospital. Do not stop by the house, do not stop for gas, do not pass go. We were met at the hospital entrance by nurses that immediately wanted to take my baby for another spinal tap. She was admitted to the hospital and that is where we spent the next few horrifying days in quarantine. On day 3, they determined that the meningitis was viral and we could go home.

As you can tell from the picture, being on IV fluids and nothing else for 3 days did not affect her growth at all! We had all the normal 1st's including a 1st haircut at age 3 months but I am such a horrible mother, that I never recorded any of it in her baby book.

Check back in a few days for the second year when little brother comes into the picture! (I promise it won't all be about her health and when I sat down to write this I had no intention of even mentioning her meningitis but when I started typing, that is all that I could think of. I guess because it was the most scared I have ever been in my entire life.)

Remember When.....

2007-03-27T16:33:00.000-06:00

Oh, I remember the good old days. The days when my little drama queen would throw a raging fit and I could either sit her in time out or bribe her if the timeout thing was not a convenient option. I remember thinking, "I can't wait until she is older and instead of throwing a fit, we can sit down and have a rational conversation about the crisis at hand."

Apparently, that is not what happens in real life. The tantrums are still over minuscule things. There is still crying, screaming, the throwing of ones self to the floor and all of those other fun things. I think the only things that change are the stomps of the feet are much louder, (especially in the upper floor of a building), the doors slam harder, and timeout means absolutely nothing!

Motherhood and Business Ownership Collide

2007-03-22T12:00:00.000-06:00

I used to work for an oil and gas company when my children were younger and much more sickly. I hated having to call in because one of the younguns were sick. I would have rather set myself on fire and run through the streets naked than have to call my boss. He would always make me feel so guilty. Guilty for having sick kids. Guilty for having a husband that worked for himself and solely by himself. Guilty for having kids period. I asked him one day who stayed home with his kids when they were younger and sick. He sheepishly answered "Their Mother". Shortly after that I quit my job and went to work with Do it Yourself Guy.

Working with your spouse + lieniency = Perfect Job, right? It all started out ok. I didn't have to call in when the kids were sick, I just rolled over and told him I wasn't going to work. He didn't ever think that I was faking a kids illness to get out of going to the office. Then a couple of years later came the massive lawsuit with a major phone company and I guess the one employee that we had hired got nervous and found another job. I had learned enough about the technical side of the business that we didn't feel like we needed to replace him.

So, here is where the two lives collide. Do it Yourself Guy gets his name because he trusts no one to do things for him. Therefore, he does his own tower climbing, installs, etc. which has him out of the office a good majority of the time so I have no choice but to be at the office. Rain or shine, in sickness and in health, you get the picture.

This morning, I got a call from the Debate Teams teacher informing me that she thought the Debate Team had pink eye. I tried to explain that it was just allergies but she was having none of that so I went and picked her up. Within about 30 minutes, her eyes were completely clear and she had all kinds of energy. I don't mind having the kids up here when they are sick because they sleep the entire time but with the Debate Team wondering around the office and calling my name every 30 seconds to show me something she has drawn on the computer I have gotten very little accomplished (meaning all the blogs that I read faithfully on a daily basis have been avoided today). If I had the lieniency that I thought I was going to have, I could have taken her home and gone about my normal routine, just at a more comfortable location (read: in my recliner wearing my comfies).

She's going to school tomorrow.

The Nurturing Soul That I Am

2007-03-19T21:50:00.000-06:00

So the Momma Cat has moved her kittens into a closet into the garage. Ok. I can deal with that. I called our vet today to ask for advice on what to do about the situation and she (on the side because she is a friend too) said to load up Momma Cat and the Kittens and take them to the Humane Society. That seems to be the general consensus so I guess that is what is going to happen. I don't like to see any animal going to the shelter but I already take care of 2 dogs, 1 cat, 1 chinchilla, 2 turtles and 2 hermit crabs (not to mention 3 kids and one husband), I certainly don't need the burdon of 4 kittens.

The sad part is that I don't really feel that way. If Momma Cat decided that she didn't want to take care of them anymore, I would put my foot down and insist that I care for the kittens until they were old enough to take care of themselves. I guess that is my motherly nature. The way that I convinced Do It Yourself Guy to let me have the Whittle Shit was to tell him that we were either getting the dog or we were having more kids. Granny was really happy to hear that we got a puppy.

Inherintly, I am as self destructive as is Do It Yourself Guy. I need something to depend on me that I can nurture. The kids are getting older and have a life of their own and don't depend on me to fill their sippy cup or wipe their butt (which I don't truly miss)but I do enjoy being the one that everyone counts on. I am not saying that I don't still nurture the kids. I tuck all of them into bed every night, but I miss the cuddling everynight that I used to have.

Saturday night, we watched Flicka and I don't remember a movie that I cried more to than that one. I got a horse when I was 7 and she and I grew up together. When my parents got divorced when I was 10, she was the one that I turned to. I would hop on her and ride around in daze. I did my most important thinking when I was on her back. Nine years ago (almost to the day), she broke her leg in a way that was worse than Barbaro's and had to be put down. I didn't realize that I had not grieved for her until watching Flicka. When the girl said, "It's ok, Dad, you can kill us" I absolutely lost it because that is the way I felt about this horse but never realized it.

Last year, I leased a horse from a ranch in town so that I could teach the kids how to ride, but it was not the same. I just couldn't get lost in the feeling. There is definately something with a connection between an animal and a human but you don't realize it until it is gone. Fortunately or Unfortunately, at the time we had to put her down, I was out of town and had a child that was only 3 months old or I would not have been able to handle the situation.

Bob Barker Is My Hero

2007-03-16T21:46:00.000-06:00

For the last couple of weeks there has been a cat hanging around my house. I know the owner and she is somewhat of a friend. I noticed yesterday that the cat had given birth so, I asked her son today how the kittens were doing. He told me that she had the kittens, but they didn't know where they were. A few minutes later my son said he found the cat and her kittens in my shrubs.

This is the second litter of kittens she has had.

I called my friend and told her that he found the kittens and she wanted to come and get them right away. I know enough about animals to know that if anyone touched them too soon the mother would abandon them so I told her to just let them be for a few days. I then asked her if she was going to get the cat fixed when the time came and she responded that she didn't think it was right to have animals fixed. WHAT??? During this same conversation, her 11 year old son grabbed a kitchen knife saying that he knew who the male cat was and he was going to chop him up. Sorry...it's not the cats fault....

I am not sure what to do. I want to pick up the cat and kittens and take them away from the owners and take care of the kittens and then have the momma fixed but Do It Yourself Guy wants to wait a couple of days and call the Humane Society.

Irresponsible pet owners are one of my biggest pet peaves. All of my pets are fixed (with the exception of the chinchilla but there is NO chance of reproduction there, oh, and Do It Yourself Guy...another story(brock, brock, brock!)). There are too many pets that are euthanized everyday to put up with someone that just doesn't care.

***Update***On Sunday, all the kids in the neighborhood were having an airsoft war (wearing protective gear of course)and they stopped for a break in my front yard. Momma cat was walking back to her kittens when the son of the owner lifted his gun and was about to shoot her. I yelled at him to drop the gun. He dropped the gun but started to laugh and said that his mom told him to shoot the cat when she tries to come in the house. I think the Humane Society is becoming a very good idea. Do it Yourself Guy called me this morning and said that she has moved the kittens into the garage. Great.

Reality Bites

2007-01-31T21:52:00.000-06:00

Today, my youngest daughter came home with a new pen pal. She is from Uganda, Africa and lives in a school without her parents. This got us all to thinking about how much we really have....way too much. I look back at my previous posts about how we are working on the floor and then look at the picture that came with the letter and see the dirt floor that this girl lives on. I think about how materialistic we are as a country in general. I want to take this time to do a before and after on my thinking:

Before: My Z71 Suburban has 43,000 miles on it, I think it is time for an '07.
After: There are many people in the world that have to walk to work/school, if they even have a place to work or a place to go to school.

Before: I vacuum my new wood floors and gripe about all the pet hair along the baseboards.
After: They sweep their dirt floor and don't have the luxury of having a pet that can also be a best friend.

Before: I look at the stack of laundry in my laundry hamper and think, I have 2 weeks worth of clothes that need to be washed.
After: There are people in the world that beat their clothes on a rock in a river to wash them after wearing them for 2 weeks.

Before: I smell the odor from the oven cleaning in the kitchen and think about how bad it smells.
After: There are people in the world that don't have an oven to cook in, much less have one that cleans itself.

Before: I look at my kids and think about how much better they could be doing in school or how much less tv they could watch or how much cleaner they could keep their rooms.
After: There are people in the world that send their kids to another country to give them the things that my kids have, such as a good school or tv to watch.

When I look back at all the things that I have, I have so much more than many others. I have a good solid roof over my head, plenty of food in my fridge, a place to cook that food, a wonderful family, and the ability to do the things that I want to do. Will things change because of my realizations? Probably not, but I at least hope that my kids understand that not everyone in the world lives as we do and we should do what we can to help those with less.

Remembering When

2007-01-24T20:24:00.000-06:00

There are a few things that have happened in my kids life that I have not documented anywhere and I am afraid that I will eventually forget them. What better place to have them here, right?

Push Da Buddon
When Mr. Fixit was about a year or two old, he used to sneak up behind us and crawl under the desk. We would be typing away and all of a sudden see wierd characters coming up on the screen. It took a little time, but we finally figured out that he was sitting under the keyboard tray and would reach up and push the keys. If there was a button to be pushed, he would push it and then exclaim "I push da buddon!".

I'm Never Having Babies
One year for Christmas the Debate Team received a Wuv Luv from Santa. The Wuv Luv would "give birth" to an egg with a little Wuv Luv inside. When it came time for the Debate Team's Wuv Luv to "give birth" she absolutely could not watch it. She was horrified and declared at the age of two that she would not ever have children. She is still adamant to this day that she is never going to have babies. She insists that she will adopt.

Here's Your Sign
Just this past Christmas, One of the Favorite Cousins and I took all the girls to see the Rockettes. We stopped to eat lunch close to the venue and as we were leaving One of the Favorite Cousins stated that we were a minority in that part of town. The Avid Reader quickly excaimed, "Yeah, your car is silver and everyone elses is white". She didn't even realize that we were the only white people within a one block radius!

These are the Rockettes? aka, Here's Your Sign II
Another Rockettes story. We sat down in our seats and were looking through the program. The Debate Team came across the Board of Directors for the theatre and asked me "Are THESE the Rockettes?".

The Big Dog
One day, Mr. Fixit was riding his bike up and down the street. I heard blood curdling screams coming from him and ran around to the front of the house the see what was going on. When I got around there, I almost fell down laughing. What I saw was a miniature daschund nipping at the tires of his bike. No matter where he went, the dog was there.

It's the End of the World as We Know It...and I Feel Fine!

2007-01-17T12:53:00.000-06:00

The world has gone under some massive changes the last couple of days. We have been snowed in twice in one week and Mr. Fixit and the Debate Team are playing. Together. That's right, they are playing civally. Together. This is a moment in a mother's life that just makes her want to cry.

Everything started on Friday. I left for work and it was 61 degrees outside. I left for lunch at 1:00 and it was 40 and raining. When I picked the kids up from school, it was 30...and raining. When we woke up on Saturday, everything was covered in ice. We were stuck in the house Saturday and Sunday. Do it Yourself Guy went to work on Monday and we all went back to normal schedules Tuesday. We got up this morning and got ready for work/school and Mr. Fixit went out to start the Burb. He came back in and said that it was snowing and I honestly didn't believe him. I checked the school closings and found that school in Work/School town was going to be opened so we headed out the door. We got a couple miles out of Home Town and decided to turn around and head back home.

By about 11 the roads were clear, but I just didn't feel like going to Work/School Town, so we are playing hookie. I am feeling a little guilty about it, but as The Avid Reader says "Guilt is just an emotion and emotions can be overcome". Besides, if we had gone to work/school, Mr. Fixit and The Debate Team would not be bonding.

A Time to Remember

2007-01-10T20:29:00.000-06:00

Looking back 9 years ago, I remember this day well. It was at this exact moment that I had nurses frantically trying to track down my doctor. Do it Yourself Guy was miserably sitting in a chair next to me and I was oblivious to it all. You see, 9 years ago, I gave birth to The Entire Debate Team in One.

I remember how everything started. Do It Yourself Guy had just gotten back from taking his two daughters back to Iowa after Christmas and was sick as sick could be with the flu. (One) of the Favorite Cousins and her friend Jessica came over to check up on the pregnant one and watch the kids so that I could go to the grocery store. The Helpful Aunt and The (Other) Favorite Cousin were in Dallas at a convention. I was feeling great! I went to Dollar General first and got about half way through my shopping when I felt a really sharp pain. I remember the lady that was working that day asking if I was ok. The answer was sure, but I think I am going to have a baby today. It made her a little nervous, I could tell. When I left there, I decided not to go grocery shopping and chose to just go home. You see, labor with my other two kids did not last long and being in the sticks, I had a 35 minute drive to the hospital. I knew that Do It Yourself Guy was not feeling well and would need time to make himself right.

The plan had been for The Helpful Aunt and The (Other) Favorite Cousin to take care of Mr. Fixit and The Avid Reader, but if you remember, they were in Dallas! I stayed home for a couple of hours with (One) of the Favorite Cousins and Jessica while Do It Yourself Guy slept and then it was time to go. The drive to the hospital was a tense one. I was nervous (and in pain), he was sick. This was the first birth that Mom and Big Sis were not going to be there for. We got to the hospital and I was immediately put into a birthing room. No biggie, I had been in one twice before, only this time I was kind of by myself. The nurses were not even sure if Do It Yourself Guy was going to be able to stay in there with me. Thankfully, they let him stay. (One) Of the Favorite Cousins and Jessica took the other two kids out the Helpful Aunt and Favorite Uncles house, so I didn't have to worry about them. About 8:00 Helpful Aunt and The (Other) Favorite Cousin came into the room. Of course, I had gotten an epidural by then and I was feeling no pain. About an hour later (One) of the Favorite Cousins and Jessica came to the hospital. It was about this time that the nurses started to panic because they could not find my doctor. They paged and paged him to no avail. They were just about to go out and look for him when he finally called. He didn't even have time to shower after his run before she decided to show her pretty face to the world. Do It Yourself Guy was sent home by the hospital staff right after the birth and was not allowed back in the Maternity Ward.

I didn't get much of a chance to hold her, much less get to know her before the nurse took her away because her oxygen level was low. I was disappointed, but also ok with it because I knew she was in good hands. I was starving and tired. (One) of the Favorite Cousins and Jessica had gone out for pizza during the final moments of delivery and brought me back a couple of slices. Not exactly the kind that I would have ordered myself, but at that point, it didn't matter. I was starving. I was moved to a regular room and got a good nights sleep. I was finally able to spend a little time with her about noon the next day. Mom drove up the next day and spent a couple of hours with us and Dad and my grandfather came over that afternoon, too. We went home on Monday and Do It Yourself Guy had to go to Tulsa to work. It gave me a chance to settle in with her and I loved every minute of it. Now that I think of it, she has had the last say in things since day one. I love you Nut!

THE Letter

2007-01-09T20:00:00.000-06:00

It came in the mail today. When I first saw it, I wasn't sure what to think. I was saddened in a way, but then again, if it was true, it means that my freedom level has been raised considerably. I don't feel any different. I don't think I look any different (and if I am what they say, I think I look damn good).

The letter came from the AARP. It said that I could have been taking advantage of their benefits for years now and should act now. I am 34 years old. Has the national standard for retirement gotten that low? If so, I want to know where everyone is getting their money. With 3 kids still at home (for a long time) I am no where close to the "Retired Persons" position.

Anyway, I remember doing a google for myself a few months ago and finding someone with the exact same name as me (I have a VERY uncommon name), hopefully that is who they meant to send the letter to. Sorry Mrs. Other Me, you are way to old for the Girl Scouts!

The Norm

2007-01-08T21:27:00.000-06:00

As usual, there is nothing new and exciting going on in the sticks. Big Sis is looking at moving down here but she is looking at (what I would consider) the unattainable. She is looking for 15 acres with a nice house and really nice horse barn for the affordable price of $100,000. If I could find that, I would not be remodeling the house that we have. We really want them to move down here. Hell, it would make my life much easier for the following reasons:

1. Dad would not be asking what happened to her. (She calls no one and no one calls her except me. I think it is all a pride issue. Hell, I'm not proud, I want to talk to you, I'm going to call you. Get over it.)

2. My kids go to see her every summer. If they lived here, they could go see her and we would not have to meet in Ok City in a seedy motel room to exchange kids. When I say seedy, I mean seedy. The first year, we found moldy fettucine in the fridge and someones thong in the microwave. No Kidding. The second year, we didn't look. The third year, we saw gang tags under the fresh paint. I tried to get her to stay somewhere else, but noooo. This last year, I took video of the room that we stayed in and made sure that Do It Yourself Guy and Big Brother In Law saw it and they both said that there is no way we are staying there again.

3. We all love them. Big Sis and I did not get along at all when we were growing up. We had our tiffs when we were kids and competed in a lot of things. I remember starting school (elementary) and following in her footsteps. I remember all the teachers and the principal saying "Oh, you're Big Sis's sister". Maybe that is why it made it easier for me to send Mr. Fixit to a new school. I know exactly how he feels. Actually, when I was 16, she tried to kill me. Literally. She had me pinned down and was choking me. Mom jumped in and broke things up and we have been the best of friends since then.

Anyway, all we want is for them to be here. I am curious to see how it goes though. When we first moved here, we had all the family support that one could ever ask for. After a couple of years, it all just disappeared. The aunt and uncle that live here in the sticks, we see only when there is a big family gathering versus everyday when we first moved here. The cousin that lives in the sticks, I see here even less often. We'll see.

Welcome to the New, New Year

2007-01-02T22:35:00.000-06:00

We made it past the holidays and now it is time for everything to get back to a normal (if there is such thing as normal) routine. The presents have all been opened, the gift cards have all been spent, and the family is all safe at home. Tomorrow the kids go back to school and Mr. Fixit starts into public school for the first time since kindergarten. He is excited and a little nervous but I think he will be just fine. As a matter of fact, I think he will do better than he did in following in his sisters footsteps. Everything comes as second nature for his sisters, but he struggles for everything, which, given his nature is a good thing. He is his father's son.

2007 means changes for us all. Do It Yourself Guy and I are in a new bedroom, Mr. Fixit starts a new school, The Entire Debate Team in One has a new hairstyle, The Avid Reader is getting used to sleeping on the top bunk and the dogs are trying to deal with us having a bed that is too high for them to jump up on. Whittle shit is having an exceptionally hard time with this! I think I am kind of liking this since he is the biggest bed hog I have ever seen. Keep in mind that I slept with 2 children on a hide-a -bed last weekend. I don't forget that easily!

We are trying really hard to get Big Sis and Big Brother-in-Law to move down here and I think they are getting close. Today, when they were getting ready to leave, they came up to Only Neice and said it was time for them to go. Her response was to give them each a hug and kiss and tell them that she would miss them and to be careful. Out of the mouths of babes, I tell ya. If that doesn't want to make them move closer to family, I don't know what will. I can't wait to have them here....

As far as resolutions go, I haven't really made any new ones. There are the usual, get the house finished, be a better mother, etc. Maybe at least one of them will happen this year......we'll see. Happy New Year!

T'Was the Night After Christmas

2006-12-26T20:35:00.000-06:00

Christmas has come and gone and I will have to say that all of the preperations that were made were well worth it. The house did not get finished as we had hoped, but not a soul cared. Mom was truly impressed by the renovations and the kids had a fabulous time.

Friday, Mom showed up about 2 hours earlier than she was supposed to. That meant that the beer drinking began. Big Sis and Big Brother-in-law showed up a couple of hours later. They broke out the PS2 Dance Mat and Mom decided to have a go at it. That was surely a sight to be seen. On Saturday we went to Dad and The Ultimate Teachers house to have Christmas with that side of the family. All of the aunts and uncles and cousins were there and MANY mimosas were drank. We came home and the kids opened gifts from Mom. She, as usual, went way overboard. Mom had to leave early Sunday morning and the Christmas rituals were left to the younger generation. This was the first year ever that Borak was made without Mom and stockings were stuffed without her approval. To say that it was different is an understatement, but I would rather have to do it this way one time than have to do it for the next 10 years. The kids, as usual, woke up at the ridiculous hour of 3:30 AM to check out stockings and we got the payback by waking them up again before 7:00. All of the gifts were opened by 8:30 and to my delight, no one was disappointed. The Avid Reader was extremely excited about her laptop and The Entire Debate in One was glad to know that we did not forget our deal on the XM Radio. Mr. Fixit was also excited about his video camera. We suprised Big Sis and Big Brother-in-Law with wood flooring. I'm still not sure how they really feel about it. I think they were so overwhelmed by the fact that we are giving it to them, but really, we aren't going to use it and being the procrastinator that I am, I won't ever get around to selling it either. By about 10 am, everyone was ready for a nap. Big Sis and Big Brother-in-Law left about 4 to go to Dad and The Ultimate Teachers house and all peace was restored. It was definately nice to get some sort of resemblance of normal back to my house. Do It Yourself Guy even took a break and enjoyed the night.

As much as I complain about everything happening all at once, I wouldn't do it any other way. To have everyone at our house and laughing it all up makes every day of every year worth while.

Getting to Know You (Christmas Style)

2006-12-21T13:34:00.000-06:00

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?
Hot Chocolate w/Marshmallows if I have to, but would rather Bailey’s & coffee

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
Wraps

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
Red and white on the tree

4. Do you hang mistletoe?
No

5. When do you put your decorations up?
Weekend after Thanksgiving...

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?
Borak

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child:
Standing at the top of the stair watching my dad dressed as Santa sit on my sleeping grandmother.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
What do you mean “the truth”? The truth is Santa comes every year and slips in the house and leaves presents for all the good little boys and girls.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
No

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree?
Lights, All kinds of ornaments, Star on Top.

12. Can you ice skate?
Only down my driveway when I don’t mean to.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
My barrel racing saddle

14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you?
Being with family and friends.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?
Apple pie. Love to smell it baking.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
Borak on Christmas Eve

17. What tops your tree?
Star

18. Which do you prefer giving or Receiving?
Giving

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song?
O Holy Night

20. Candy Canes?
Absolutely!

2006-12-21T10:53:00.000-06:00

Slowly but surely everything is coming together on the house. Do it Yourself Guy has worked night and day for the last week to get things ready before Mom and Big Sis get here on Friday. The kids have been real troopers themselves. As a matter of fact, I think that I am the one taking it hardest. Don't get me wrong, I am not a neat freak and am by no means even close to organized but this mess is driving me batshit crazy. I have furniture, clothes, toys among many other things stacked damn near floor to ceiling in my bedroom, which for the record, has been taken over by the kids.

I did manage (even with all the insanity) to finish my Christmas shopping before Christmas Eve which, given the circumstances, was no small feat. This year was probably the most difficult because I had absolutely no idea on what to get the kids. They have everything. Yes, I admit it, my kids are spoiled rotten which saddens me. A good friend of ours is a member of a motorcycle association and every year they do an Angel Tree for the kids in our county. We were talking the other day and he was telling me that they had over 300 kids that they would be shopping for that night. I was telling him about some of the different things that I had seen while shopping to give him ideas and didn't even think about how these kids probably don't have a lot of the things that my kids take for granted (Game Cube, PS2, DS, DVD Player, etc). Which, brings me to the part of this conversation that pissed me off. He was telling me about a woman that came to sign her girls up for the Angel Tree. She pulled up in a brand new Suburban and had a diamond on every finger and proceeded to give them her daughters list. Their list contained mostly jewelry and at the top in big letters (written by mom) was "My girls ONLY wear Sterling silver". I put this up there with buying soda and candy with your Lone Star Card (food stamps)....it chaps my ass.

The next few days should be a marathon of sorts. Today the countertops are being installed, my (new) bedroom is being textured (and hopefully painted), and furniture is being delivered. Friday Mom, Big Sis, Big Brother-in-law and Only Niece arrive and we make Borak. (Hope Mom doesn't forget to bring the Sam's quantity toilet paper.) Saturday is Christmas with Dad's side of the family. Mom has to leave on Christmas Eve, which sucks, but I know it can't be avoided. Knowing Big Sis and Big Brother-in-Law, Christmas Eve will be spent frantically searching for last minute gifts which, is not so easy in the sticks, but we manage to pull it off every year. (Notice how I said "We"? That's because every year I am drug around by one of them looking for that perfect gift.)

I'll probably sleep the entire week from Christmas to New Year's and won't even need to Benedryl to accomplish it!

In the Beginning

2006-12-12T10:40:00.000-06:00

With Christmas just around the corner and a house that is completely torn apart for remodeling (thanks hubby!) it seems a perfect time to start another project, right? Let me first introduce myself...My name is Dana and I grew up in Austin, Tx. I moved to a small town in north Texas with my husband and 2 1/2 kids 9 years ago. We started a business 7 years ago, so I guess we are here for the long haul. Anyway, we started a remodeling project a few years (that's right, years) ago and it looks like it is finally going to come together before Christmas, barely. We're talking hours before Christmas. So to say that things are a little crazy in the sticks might be a slight understatement.

Not only do we have the whole remodel thing, but my 2 Rockette wannabes have 3 dance obligations this week, as well. Ah, you haven't met the wannabes? Well, the oldest is 12, we'll call her "The Avid Reader". This girl, at 12, is as tall as I am and wears a size 11 shoe and I honestly think that she could totally kick my ass if she wanted to. Then there is the youngest. We'll call her "The Entire Debate Team in One". She is 8, and can talk a person into anything. She will not give up and is insistant that she be No. 1 at everything. I also have "Mr. Fixit" who is just like his father. He thinks EVERYTHING is a Do it Yourself project. The roof of the house could need to be completely replaced in 1/2 a day and hubby (who we will call Do it Yourself Guy) and Mr. Fixit would be out there trying to do it.

We also have a mini zoo at our house. With 2 dogs, a cat, a chinchilla and 2 turtles they out number the mammals with opossable thumbs by one. Good thing they all seem to be pretty happy. I could almost see a coup happening here with "Whittle Shit" as the leader. Who could blame the little guy, though? Especially when The Entire Debate Team in One has taken a liking to dressing him up in baby clothes!

So, you ask "With everything in such turmoil, why start a blog now?" It's purely for selfish reasons, really. See for the past few months I have become addicted to reading blogs while I am at the office and would read more at home if the computer wasn't stuck in the deepest, darkest corner of the house. So, for Christmas I asked Do it Yourself Guy for a laptop and he only agreed to do so if in addition to reading others blogs I would start my own. So there you have it the birth of Stuck in the Sticks!

2006-12-01T10:39:00.000-06:00

I Really Have a Few People Fooled!

2006-12-01T09:56:00.000-06:00

and tell them Dana sent you

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Being an Air Force Wife
Canned Laughter
Daddyshack
Deeper Shades of Red
Honea Express
In The Midst of This Season
Jersey Mum
Kelley Rees
Life Unscripted
Mamas Moon
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Moderately Modern Mommy
Momma's Gone Mad!
Mountain Mama
Ms Congeniality
My Life....Just Pretend Your Interested
My Minivan is Faster Than Yours
Notes From the Minivan
Pass the Chocolate
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