10 THINGS I LEARNED IN 2008

Joining in on Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop Wednesday for the 1st time here we go:

TEN THINGS I LEARNED IN 2008

CAUTION: This post might cause you to believe I am a little nuts! Don't worry I am! I even won two free tickets to the Looney Bin to prove it!! Oh yeah I need to go pick those up! Have fun guys and have a great New Years! I will since all my boys will be watching football and I will be SHOPPING. KID. FREE!!

1. I learned through flying kites for the first time that our 3yr and a 6yr old have short attention spans for objects flying high in the sky. Fun at first then they are like are we done now and you have to wind it ALL back up!! However we had a GREAT laugh each and every time Isaiah's kite would "fly away"! He would scream HELP repeatedly while running with his arm stretched out as far as it could go and the string unraveling at lightning speed! That's a sight! It never got old! Really I laughed each time! You don't think I handed over control of the kite simply because he asked, do you?!?! I think he thought once all the string was done unraveling that he might just fly away too!
2. I learned that when you go to sporting events games with friends and you think the husbands are checking out the cheerleaders......THEY ARE! Wow they give them big 'ol smiles! Hey I'm bendy too!
3. Elijah learned how to ride his bike without the training wheels and who knew it would be such a pivotal moment of humor. He ran into 4month old pile of ice storm debris ~ twice, rode into a parked car ~ twice, fell and scrapped his elbow then after the meltdown he eventually got back out and rode again! That was the best part even though the parked car incident was funny after we knew he was ok!
4. Who knew a trip from Tulsa to Atlanta could be so eventful? And who knew Memphis and North Little Rock were so scary? In North Little Rock I was mistaken for a prostitute. I am still wondering if besides being a bad thing that maybe in someway it could be good! Don't think so but still wondering! Trying to find the Lorraine Motel, home of the National Civil Rights museum and the Martin Luther King Memorial, we witnessed a young boy get hit by a car then stopped to help until I saw his leg bone sticking OUT of his leg and almost puked on him. When I turned around I noticed a bunch of crackheads just circling our truck in a daze, Martez quickly ran over once he saw them. He was worried about the truck and I was worried about the kids inside the truck! Yes this all really happened ~ just in the first half of the drive there!
5. Who knew that losing a pet could be so heartbreaking? She wasn't just any pet and I never had a pet that special ~ probably never will! I certainly didn't and I could still cry just thinking about my precious GIANT baby girl Daisy. I certainly never thought I would miss a Great Dane trying to get a handshake while I am on the toilet ~ sick I know ~ but I do!
6. I learned that no matter how many times I see Adriano Moraes butt I NEVER get sick of it! Even if you hate bull riding you have to like a bull rider in tight wranglers. If you don't like that, you need your eyes checked!
7. I also learned when it's your son's last day to prove he can jump in the deep end during swimming lessons his foot will really itch. Every time you think he is about to jump in, have the camera ready for the 100th shot of him just bending over to scratch said itchy foot!! AND thinking your son is drowning while his teacher isn't paying attention and he can't stay above water long enough to hear you screaming "JUST STAND UP! YOU CAN TOUCH BABY STAND UP!" ~ that's scary!
8. I learned the word "kitties" is a truly embarrassing word when you have a 3yr old screaming it repeatedly in your car, parked in a department store parking lot with the windows down AND ~ here's the kicker folks ~ your precious 3yr old ~ you know the one screaming ~ he can't say the letter "k" or words that start with the letter "k" INSTEAD he uses a "t" for every K sound in his vocabulary!!
9. I learned that my son thinks he is a "delicious" item off of the Taco Bueno menu! Mmmm.....good! Ooooo and I learned being IN parades truly sucks! I am a much better spectator!!
10. Above all I learned how a very sick, very young little boy, I only had the privilege to see in person once, could show me strength and the power of a smile even when things are bad! I can't say much more or I will cry! Rest in peace Maddox and play in heaven with your 'WHOLE' heart!! Please continue to keep Maddox's family in your prayers! Tammi is a wreck and due to have the baby any day!
11. Wait I learned that blogging is addiction, obsessive, time-consuming, work-ignoring, child-neglecting, insomnia enabling FUN which is why this top 10 list even has a number 11 b/c I just can't stop!!! Oh and I hate those word verification thingeys!!

SevEn cLoWn CirCuS: Wordful Wednesday-Happy New Year!

SevEn cLoWn CirCuS: Wordful Wednesday-Happy New Year!

WORDFUL WEDNESDAY

Many people do Wordless Wednesday and just post a photo. Yes I believe that some pictures speak for themselves; however, you don't know the story behind some of them and what they truly mean to the photographer could be the complete opposite. For this very reason I am pleased to say I have found Wordful Wednesday and it is just my cup of tea. So here we go with my inaugural Wordful Wednesday post and we all know I have an earful!!

To most this is yet another picture of a beautiful little boy staring off into the world but to me it means SO much more. For the initial version of my son's hearing difficulties go here and I will try to keep this short and to the point. I had told everyone for a long time I didn't think Isaiah could hear me. I knew he wasn't completely deaf but I had to clap my hands of yell to get his attention far too often if he wasn't looking at me. Everyone had an excuse like he is stubborn (yep!), he is the second child and they don't talk as early (true!) or he is a master of selective listening (he's a pro now!). Like every Mother who doesn't want anything to be wrong with her baby, I chose to accept these excuses but my intuition told me otherwise. After a long struggle, I got him into an ENT who confirmed my fears. Isaiah needed tubes in his ears, he could not hear and they feared he would have permanent hearing loss because of the extent of his damage. The surgery went off without a hitch and I cried the first time I saw him wandering around the house trying to figure out each and every noise he heard. You don't realize all the things you "hear" and block out until your baby boy is perched with his ear against the running dishwasher wondering what in the world is going on in there and you never even "heard" it running. Everything was new to him. Isaiah's personality and hearing was night and day just days after surgery. Six months post-op, many visits, two failed hearing tests later, he FINALLY passed his first hearing test and tears just rolled down my cheeks as he turned for every sound.

Isaiah always loved parades and was never scared of the loud noises but that was because everything was muffled in his world. The photo above is of him watching a parade just two weeks after surgery. He was in awe as if he had never seen a parade but it was because he had never truly heard a parade until this photo was taken. Every time I see this picture I think of all my little boy went through and how thankful I am that he can hear everything unless he is using his professional selective listening skills, of course! At the time I was taking the picture, I was wondering if he could hear and my heart skipped a beat when the firetrucks came and I saw this:

This photo is music to Mommy's ears!

Now do you see what I mean? If you didn't hear the story, these pictures are just cute but now you know why they are so meaningful ~ at least to me!

Hope on over to

and join in the fun!

STAY TUNED FOR MY FIRST GIVEAWAY

I am hosting my very 1st giveaway! My nieces who read my blog are saying, "Ooo....what is she talking about! She's finally lost her mind!" For those of you new to the blog world ~ read on! For the obsessed bloggers ~ remember this is my first giveaway! Yes in a since this is a ploy to get more traffic to my blog and I love comments so this could go one of three ways ~ I get a ton of feedback and have a successful first giveaway, my family will be the only ones to join in and my nieces will win or absolutely no one will join in on the fun and I will end up keeping my very 1st giveaway!

First of all I want you all to know I am in no way a extreme-green-tree-hugging-environmentalist, HELLO I might get a splinter or worse a tick; however, my six year old son might end up this way in fact he will be the boy-who-lives-in-a-tree-with-his-pet-monkey-headline-news-at-10! He loves everything about nature and constantly watches Animal Planet and the Discovery Channel! He is always telling me about saving water, using paper not plastic and recycling. I know there are many people out there that do not believe all the global warning hype, but can you truly discard ALL of it when children still have so long to live in this world. I know I've noticed major changes in weather for many parts of our world. Have you? I decided a while back I was going to attempt the whole "green" thing. Not to the extreme but at least to do what I can! Well that attempt only saw the new-expensive-energy-saving-but-haven't-noticed-a-lower-electric-bill-like-promised-lightbulbs and water saving tips! Sad I know! Quit mocking me!!

Here's a little chuckle for you ~ I bought some environmentally friendly stocking stuffers for the boys from The Stubby Pencil Studio and totally forgot about them because they were "stuffed" away and I felt like an idiot when I found them a couple of days after Christmas. I also bought myself the eco friendly highlighter pencil since I go through a million highlighters at work. I like it, it is eco-friendly, it doesn't bleed through and I think it will last MUCH MUCH longer than a normal highlighter. Good thing Elijah has a birthday coming really soon so they can still be a gift!

Recently at the urging of my child I looked into recycling and little did I know our city offers a recycling program complete with a bin and twice a month pickup for only $2 a month added to our water bill. I signed up and had my bin with all the info within TWO DAYS! My Mom says I could drop it off for free; HOWEVER, I would have to buy my own bins and drive them there which I am sure would be more than $2 a month just in gas and the exhaust fumes would then harm our environment.....ok ok I am just lazy extremely busy and the pick up is more convenient! Long story short I signed up for the recycling thinking it would probably take me the whole two weeks to fill the bin with plastics, metals and glass b/c I didn't realize how much we use. WOW the bin was overflowing BEFORE the end of the first week and that didn't even include ANY paper. I got to thinking about what all the statistics say and thinking about how I could possibly help. Recycling is so easy anyone can do it and the kids even help. If we use this much, then think about how much we could recycle at work, school and the homes of family and friends. I am still trying to think of a way to get the boys' schools involved in some recycling contest but I have some details to iron out.....hint hint....I am requesting ideas!

I am also looking into switching all of our household cleaners to homemade "green cleaners"! I know, I know I've said that before but this time I mean it ok! I don't know if I am doing that more for the enviroment or because the bill to stock up on cleaning supplies just ticks me off! So this year instead of the usual "I want to lose weight/work out!" resolution, I have decided to be a mean-green-recycling-house cleaner making-queen! I will be looking for "green" household cleaning recipes to experiment with, recycling ideas and getting everyone I can involved since merely switching out the bulbs probably hasn't done a bit of good!

Stay tuned for the rules, particulars, requirements, prize info for the

"New Year's Mean Green Giveaway"!

Cool name huh! Hey if this doesn't build any traffic then at least the 10 people who read will have a better chance of winning!

IT'S OFFICIAL: I HAVE A BIG BUTT!

Every Christmas we go to my MIL's house to take her present and sit for awhile in the evening. Needless to say going there is not something I look forward to however she is my husband's mother and I do it for him. Don't get me started on my issues surrounding her and holidays that involve presents! My hubby has one Aunt that actually speaks to me and she is the sweetest lady but Christmas night she broke my heart. As we were getting out of the car she was walking out the door to leave. It saddened me a little at first knowing she was my only hope for conversation. After hugging and loving on Martez and our boys (she is the only one that does that too), she said, "Come here Angel give me a hug! I haven't seen you guys in so long."

I obliged and as I was walking away she said, "Oh my goodness I didn't know! What a blessing! Praise God! I can't believe you guys didn't tell me."

I had absolutely no clue what she was talking about and said, "Huh?"

She said, "You ARE, aren't you?" making the pregnant belly impression with her hand.

I quickly said, "NO I'm just fat but thanks!" holding my stomach and laughing.

She then replied with, "Well your stomach doesn't look pregnant but your butt is so big so I thought maybe you were just carrying your baby weight in your butt!"

"Nope I have always had a big butt!"

She counters with, "Well I've never seen it this big I mean your butt is really big!" This is when my stomach tied into knots, my heart broke into a million pieces and the tears welled up in my eyes. Seriously, I can joke about being a "big girl" with my other "big girl" friends, my "big" parents or my fat uncle but give me a break ~ one comment is enough then let it go. Hey if it is funny I will be the first to laugh but quit while you are ahead!

I just kept walking and said, "Yep thanks for letting me know!" fighting with all my might not to let the tears roll.

She really stopped me to continue, "Look at all that junk in the trunk! Your butt is bigger than mine!" OK ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! This is the point where I wanted to break her little twig body in half. Those of you that have seen my sister and how tiny she is ~ his Aunt is smaller than her. TINY I TELL YOU! My thumb is bigger than her butt! Don't act like you have a big butt ~ you only weigh 75lbs soaking wet! My three year old little boy has a butt bigger than her!

I said with tears in my eyes, "Thank you I get the point I have a big, enormous, massive butt, OK!" I just stood there praying at any point she would realize she was hurting my feelings and she would stop in hopes I wouldn't really cry but alas it continued.

"Well don't take it THAT way! I'm just saying your butt is big! Don't be like that! Look at my butt!..........................." She just went on and on about the gargantuan size of my hinny!

It was taking everything in me not to cry. EVERYTHING! I am not comfortable around his mother's side of the family. PERIOD! This definitely was not helping out! They have never treated me like anything other than an outsider ~ the white girl! I think the thing that annoys me the most is everything they "know" about me is based on their own assumptions because THEY HAVE NEVER ASKED ME ANYTHING about myself since day ONE. They just assume because I am white, my parent's own a business and I grew up in "Broken Arrow" that I "must" have led a charmed and pampered life with silver spoons and all! If only! No one except his Grandma Willie Mae (whom I love most because she sees how her children are and she gets SO annoyed), his Great Aunt Pinkie, his Sister and his Aunt Barb will even acknowledge me let alone speak to me or my children. After eight years, I am still not used to that and I thank God everyday that my family is NOTHING like them when it comes to my husband and children. This happened to me a year ago when my Grandfather-in-law angrily asked, "Who the hell are you and why are you here?" (that is a quote of his words not mine!) He then proceeded to tell me I was a real "fat ass" (that is a quote again of his words not mine) and when I thought at first I had heard him wrong he just repeated it about 5 times! This is the same man that said he was "sick" so he couldn't come to our wedding when in fact he was quoted as saying, "I will never attend a wedding where someone in my family marries a white girl! You don't marry the white girls you just keep them on the side!" Nice I know! Good thing my husband is more like his father's side of the family which I must say are the complete opposite ~ funny, loving, kind, outgoing, talkative.....! Looks like I got a little off topic which is very easy for me if my in-laws are brought up.......where was I.....oh yeah I didn't know there was a certain way to act in this situation and I probably wouldn't have been so upset if she would have just DROPPED IT! I didn't know there was a way to act when a paper thin woman won't quit telling you how big you are! If she were a stranger, then I probably would have had NO problem squashing her like a little bug but she is "family" and normally she is the nicest out of the whole bunch. I honestly don't think she intended to hurt my feelings but then she didn't know what to do so she tried to make it sound like she had a big butt too! Let me give you a visual ~ crackhead! Now she is not actually a drug addict but if you saw her body I guarantee that is the first thing that would come to your mind. She is so incredibly tiny that she looks like she is on drugs, anorexic or both! She is one of those bottomless pits that never gains a pound and struggles to keep weight on! Oh the "struggle"! I'm sorry Barb but our butts are in no way, shape or form comparable so it was a feeble attempt at turning the insults around! I walked away as she was still saying, "You just have big butt it isn't anything to be ashamed of!" The only nice thing I could say was, "Yes I get the picture I have a really big butt that I wasn't ashamed of until you acted like it was the 8th wonder of the world! Now please just DROP IT ALREADY AND GO HOME!"

While thinking about this last night I had several instances pop into my head, enough of them throughout my lifetime to cry myself to sleep. Why do people have to be so cruel? Like the time I was supposed to be in my VERY close high school friend's wedding until her Mom called my Mom to say they didn't make a dress in my size so I couldn't be in the wedding ~ very matter of fact like and not willing to let me go get measured by the store. I had never measured myself before and probably screwed it all up but she did not care! This was ridiculous because at the time I was a size 12/14 but she said I needed a size 24 dress according to my measurements which still TO THIS DAY I am not a 24 so I wonder if it was an excuse to not have me in the wedding b/c I didn't meet her Mother's weight limit. Little did she know I was in college and instead of gaining the "freshman fifteen" I ended up losing 30 pounds my freshman year! Maybe I should go back to college! It really hurt me along with the fact that I then never even got invited to the shower or wedding! I often wondered if my "friend" knew what her Mom had done or if her Mom had a different story to tell her but I haven't talked to her since so I guess I will never know! Needless to say I have grown to appreciate the people who love for WHO I am! I will soon be joining the workout world again in an effort to be healthier and shrink my butt! Not solely because of people's comments but because I went clothes shopping today and the mirror was definitely not my friend! Now I am in a deep, dark, have to lose weight, I am so fat, depression mood! If I don't in fact lose weight, I think I will make a huge career move to become a "big girl" clothes designer! Not every "big girl" is a grandma, not every big girl WANTS her jeans to stretch out and look saggy/baggy after fifteen minutes (I want my clothes to hold me in not allow me to stretch out! I am not after all this ~ pregnant!) and not every "big girl" has Double GG's so quit making those dart things for the boobs so huge!!

THE DAY AFTER...DODODODO!

The Day After Christmas

The new toys are all put away in their new home!
The shreds of paper and empty boxes are all in the trash!
It was a warmer day!
NOW.....

it was time to do the "exchanges"!
Dodododo!

Anticipation of long lines loomed but the idea of clearance reigned!

First we went to the mall to exchange one thing and get a refund on another!

Had to flip out on the woman who insisted she could NOT do ANY refunds and wanted to pummel her to the ground but alas the mature adult won over again and I didn't no matter how bad my urge was.

Went to exchange shoes......five minutes.

Although we didn't have to wait in any long lines the mere nervous wreck I became while directing two small children through the crowds for an hour was enough to say, "I just want to go home!" when asked which store I wanted to go to next.

Did we go home?

NO!

Off to the bank and then the worst and longest part of the day was consumed by visiting a million AND one car dealerships looking for a car for hubby.

FUN?

NO!

It was windy and the kids quickly got tired of sitting in the car for over 4 hours!

Lesson learned: READ MY LIPS OR I GUESS I SHOULD SAY YOUR SCREEN!

Do NOT take small children to the mall on the day after Christmas NO matter how much you love to shop and NO matter how much you love clearance!

Do NOT take small children shopping for a new vehicle!!

The really sad part is I have a sickening feeling for missing out on

some good deals!

Pathetic I know!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Good news.....Santa did not get stuck in our chimney!

Here are pictures from our Christmas with my family

CHRISTMAS WITH THE CRAZIES!

Part of our Christmas tradition at my parents' house is to take family pictures of each family in front of the tree.....simple task, right?

WRONG!

First up my brother Curt and his family for this post they will be referred to as the Crazies....I think the grandkid picture would almost be easier! I have three siblings to take family pictures of but the Crazies were by far the most challenging!

Finally I think I got one but it looks out of focus a little!

Oh well! I love you guys!

COOKIES FOR SANTA

I started a new tradition this year...making and decorating cookies for Santa. I thought this would be a new tradition but after our first try I am not so sure. We had fun but it was rather chaotic and I don't do good with chaos.

Elijah's snowman cookie which he added a Santa hat to because "Santa will think that is funny"!

Isaiah's ornament cookie. The first picture shows his true ornery self!

I survived and the kids had fun so I guess it was a good time!

THE CHRISTMAS TRAIN

Last Sunday December 21st my hubby, my boys, Shandolynne, Quinlynne, Mommacita Cleta and myself were

OFF TO.....

FOR A RIDE ON THE .....

THE CHRISTMAS TRAIN

Our tickets were bought before we realized how cold it was going to be so any other trip taken to ride the train will be planned according to the weather. It was freezing....well actually it was below freezing. When we left our house it said 33 degrees and the temp gauge in the truck kept dropping on the way there. Once we arrived it was 17 degrees and I VERY quickly realized I had forgotten gloves for all of us. Luckily, Mommacita Cleta had a spare pair to fit me but my hands were frozen simply walking from the truck to the gate and they hurt something awful. So first thing we did was figure out what we could do INDOORS! Straight to take the pictures with Santa since we knew he was inside with his jolly self. There was a wait but we certainly did not mind being inside so none of us complained instead we took the opportunity to take pics...imagine that I know!

Shandolynne and I surprisingly found out besides extra warmth, scarves are good to hide double chins!! Go ahead, we laughed too!

I love Lester for buying this Minnesota Eskimo coat for his lovely Cleta! It too made us laugh so go ahead! She didn't want to take her hat off inside for fear the hair could be scary!

How many tries do you think it took to get a picture of these two?

The answer is we do not truly know! That would involve them BOTH looking at the camera while smiling AND sitting still ~ that is way too much to ask when they get together!

Same answer goes for these two! I think it is a conspiracy!

Much easier to just take a smiling picture of Elijah!

Finally they called our number! Woohoo!

Elijah, Isaiah and Quinlynne climbed into his lap and started chatting and the picture is taken. We looked at the first take ~ Isaiah and Quinlynne looked less than enthused and Elijah looked like he was on drugs with his eyes only half open. The photographer says, "How many would you like one for ten or three for fifteen?" Hmmm...let's think NONE! "Can you retake the picture since his eyes are shut?" we asked and he really said, "Well his eyes are half way open but okay!" I guess we bothered him. We bought the second take not because it was that much better but for memory sake. Off to eat which is also indoors! I had to laugh though. The pamphlets and website said the restaurants were "fast food pricing". Fine whatever ~ it didn't really matter since we were here for the experience not the food. Ok well I have never paid $46 at a fast food restaurant for 3 chicken sandwiches with fries, a corn dog with fries, broccoli with cheese and four drinks! Again it was funny to me! Off to ride the Christmas train!
Isaiah was so excited to get to ride a train since trains are his newest obsession but once we got on he panicked a little and said, "I want to go home now!"

Martez ended up carrying all of the blankets and looking like a homeless man! On the way home the temperature went from 12 to 9 degrees! That is way too cold for me esp. since that didn't include the wind chill! We were all excited to go but I think the temperature definitely put a damper on our fun! We really didn't do probably a quarter of the things offered because it was so cold but we still had a good time. Maybe next time we'll go in November!

FAMILY OF SICKOS

Elijah was unable to keep ANYTHING down yesterday and I mean ANYTHING! His pediatrician had called in some Phenergan Gel aka creamy gold and said if he was still puking in the evening to take him to an after hours facility because she was already overbooked. At about 5 o'clock, Elijah comes in crying that his stomach just hurt so bad. Not knowing if it was cramping or just sore from puking all day I said, "Does it hurt bad enough to go to the doctor?" He said, "No!" and quickly returned to his room. I didn't really want to take him to the doctor because I figured it was a stomach virus and it would just have to run its course. An hour later he comes in bawling and pleading to go to the doctor. In his almost 7 yrs of life, this boy has NEVER ASKED to go to the doctor so I figured it must be really bad so off we went. I kept thinking about my appendicitis and prayed my little boy wouldn't have something as bad as that. Of course, once we get to the doctor he is acting fine! Why do kids do that? They can be acting like they are dying and you are so scared for them but once you make it to the doctor/hospital they make you look like a fool. Turns out he has strep throat! I guess you learn something new everyday ~ did you know strep throat can upset your stomach and in children make them vomit? I didn't know that! Did you also know if left untreated Strep can go to your heart? I DID know this little fact and used it to scare hubby into going to the doctor to get checked. Hey I know it isn't an everyday occurrence but I had to use something scary so he would actually go get tested. So turns out Elijah isn't the only one with strep......ALL of us have it ~ hubby, me, Elijah and Isaiah and we are all on meds. Tez is at his mother's for Christmas so I am not sure if he has it and we all know she won't take him to the doctor and pay a copay. Long story short.....stay away from us! Oh forgot to tell you while we were at urgent care someone had to be transferred to the hospital b/c of meningitis. One of the BA Fire Dept came in to be treated as a precaution since they had also seen the patient so this makes me wonder if it is so contagious and BAD then should we be treated as a precaution too because with my luck that will be what I get. Freaked out a little when they were talking about if anyone had been spit on, bled on or puked on and how they were going to need to disinfect everything in the office then they come in our room fondling our throats, glands, taking temps and all the other fun stuff. Nice!

OUR LEMON IS ALL OUT OF JUICE!

Our lemon is all out of juice and with this little tidbit of information comes good news and bad news! Yesterday Martez's truck aka the "Lemon" was supposed to be finished and ready to go with a new water pump and new thermostat; HOWEVER, I received a call which caused mixed feelings. David, the Lemon's mechanic, called to inform me the lemon needs a new motor. David knows my hatred toward our ugly little money pit and explained the situation in great detail when the only detail I needed was the lemon needs a new motor. Because it is a Range Rover and the difficulty involved, the job would be at least $4000 and this truck isn't worth me even saying $4000 outloud. This is the point when I prayed really hard that my husband would realize it would be incredibly stupid to fix this and would give up the truck once and for all!!! Although this is "good" news in a sense, this leaves us with the dilemna of finding hubby a car so wifey does not have to wake up at 4am and go straight to the looney bin. Believe it or not, we still have idiots people wanting to buy the car simply because it carries the name Lemon, piece of crap, the Range Range Rover! How vane are they? Who cares!! I feel like even getting absolutely nothing and just being rid of the heap is a blessing in disguise. In order for us to get the car out, we would have to pay about $700 plus have it towed then sell it for next to nothing and I don't trust these idiots individuals enough to take the chance that they change their mind and we are out $700 for a dead car! I wish we had a few thousand to go buy a car from an individual since I have found many alas we do not have a few thousand lying around and we will have to start the whole car payment deal all over again. Hopefully we find some cheap, dependable and able to be fixed anywhere we please!! Until then donations and 4am rides will be accepted.....ha!

WHO LOVES PHENERGAN GEL?

WE DO!!

So Friday Isaiah had some kind of virus that caused vomiting and diarrhea but it only lasted one day! I rubbed him down with Phenergan Gel leftover from his surgery and I must say I love that stuff. Stops the nausea/vomiting and knocks them out! What is better than that? Nothing! I scrubbed the bathroom and disinfected everything in sight but somehow now today Elijah has the diarrhea and vomiting. This occurred after I had already dropped them off at my Mom's house and she insisted I stay at work. I begrudgingly offered to pick him up and go home but my Mom being the wonderful person she is said, "Well we've been exposed now so you might as well leave him here!" Let me think for a second....OK!! Not have to deal with a vomiting 6 yr old...you don't have to pry me away from work today!! Another day off with vomit is not my idea of fun. I called the pediatrician and I must say personally knowing the doctor's triage nurse definitely has its perks. She called back in about 3 minutes and called in some creamy gold - Phenergan Gel - without hesitation. Lord knows they don't want me to bring my vomiting child to their office. I pray this is a short lived virus for Elijah like it was for Zay and I also pray that no one else in the family gets the virus since Christmas is in two days. I also hope the friends they've been around this weekend don't get sick since we didn't know Elijah would get it and Isaiah was fine. Oops! Sorry guys! I would feel REALLY bad if my Mom got it for Christmas ~ NOT quite the gift she is requesting!

MY DEC 20TH PHOTO

My Dec 20th photo for the December *08 Photo Project

UH-OH SANTA WON'T FIT IN OUR CHIMNEY

Here we go again with Elijah and his ton of Santa questions! He is so logical so the mystique, magic and wonder of Santa is getting harder for him to believe and for ME to explain! For instance, when we were starting our first fire several weeks ago we were trying to see if the flue was open. I had a flashlight, stretched my head into the fireplace so I could see and of course he had to look too. His reply, "OH NOOOOO, MOM WE'VE GOT A SERIOUS PROBLEM!!! THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO WAY BIG 'OL FAT SANTA CAN FIT IN OUR CHIMNEY!" What's a girl to say to that!

MY DEC 19TH PHOTO

My December 19th photo for the December *08 Photo Project

Elijah went to the barber shop with Daddy and came home with this design in his head! What is it? Beats me! He asked for a basketball and I am not sure but I don't think it is a basketball!

MY DEC 18TH PHOTO

Here is my Dec 18th photo for the December *08 Photo ProjectI know it is another picture of my boys asleep but I couldn't resist when I went in to wake them up and Isaiah was asleep with his arm around his big brother!

NOT ME! MONDAY

It's time once again for Not me! Monday! To admit or I guess NOT admit to anything you have done so join me, MckMama and all her MckFriends for Not me Monday!! Come on confession is good for the soul.....

• When the mechanic called about the Lemon saying he would fix two things then see if the truck was still overheating, I in NO way, shape or form said "Well if it catches on fire, don't put it out! Let that baby burn!" That would be stupid since I then figured out at 5:30pm on Friday that I forgot to pay our insurance!! Guess who is NOT on the phone with the insurance company and is NOTmeing (can that be a verb) instead of calling her insurance company......NOT ME!
• While having to wake up for many days last week at the butt crack of dawn to take the hubby to work because his piece of crap truck was in the shop again, (NOT bitter at all I tell you!) I did NOT think he should just quit his job because I should NEVER have to be up this early! Why would I think that? Seriously that is juvenile, stupid and selfish so it is a good thing I didn't think that!
• I did NOT skip NOT me! Monday last week because I was so far down the list that it just made me sad. I did NOT think I should seek professional help for being sad about missing Not me Monday instead I just bottled it all up inside like a good little girl should do! Not dependent on Not me confessionals at all!
• I did NOT say to my son "Why did you do that?" when he vomited all over himself and the floor at the doughnut shop on Friday. That would be inconsiderate. Hey I did NOT know if he was sick or if he had choked so that would've been my reasoning for asking that IF I in fact asked that before saying "Are you Ok?" I then did NOT want to flip out in the middle of the doughnut store when I asked the keeper of the "circular, fried, sugar coated fat makers" if she had something I could use to clean it up with assuming she would hand me a mop or towel of some sort and she said, "Sure, here have some napkins!". NAPKINS SERIOUSLY! And definitely NOT the thick absorbent kind but the tiny, thin ones the doughnut shop always has! I sure did NOT want to throw the stupid napkins at her head or leave and say clean it yourself because that would be irresponsible!! Ugh.....I will just leave it at that!
• I then did NOT get home and proceed to blog since Isaiah was acting normal. Since I would NOT be getting my to-dos of upwards a couple mill, I might as well blog clean, right!! Then while blogging attending to the sick boy he vomited again which finally told me he was sick! I then did NOT rub him down with Phenergen gel leftover from his surgery and pray he would crash so I could nap or blog clean the house!! And I definitely did NOT let him open a gift because I felt so bad for him and I did NOT say "don't tell anyone"!!
• I did NOT say to my friends when they asked if we were still going to the Christmas Train because of weather "Oh WE ARE GOING!" and then I thought it's NOT that cold! Holy cow! Watching the temp gauge on the car on just the ride there, it went from 34 to 15 within the hour ride. Ok so who wants to feel their appendages anyway! Fingers are entirely overrated! And I most certainly did NOT forget gloves for our family ~ that would be idiotic to say the least! Upon leaving the train at 10pm the temp gauge read 9! Yes 9 degrees and this didn't include the skin splitting wind chill factor! I am brilliant I tell you! I would never do any of that because I hate cold weather with a passion!

HERE HAVE SOME NAPKINS!

In the children's minds Friday is Doughnut Day!! No, contrary to popular belief this is not a national holiday. I know, I know stay calm I am working on that through our state representative but it might take some time! I am off on Friday and instead of going to my Mom's to sit for 40 minutes I take the kids to eat INSIDE the doughnut shop. I know HOW great am I, right! Yes I not only feed my children and Avani fried sugar coated fat the breakfast of champions once a week but I also allow them to eat inside the doughnut shop! I know, right, hold the applause please! This morning after happily taking the hubby to work because his lovely truck is broke down *hold on I am gagging on my lie* I got the boys ready and out the door to get Avani in record time. I like Fridays not only because I am off of work but because the mere mention of Doughnut Day and all its excitement really speeds up the morning routine! Much easier for me.....I think for this reason alone Doughnut Day could easily turn into a daily routine if I would let it! I know guys stop with the Mother of the Year shouting......come on I have a story to tell! So everything was going as planned we made it to the donut shop, bought the donuts when Isaiah said, "I don't want mine" without even a bite. Hmm....he doesn't want the breakfast of champions...this is truly odd. I bagged the delicious, round, glaze coated, fat maker thinking he would probably want it later since he still had an hour and a half until school. He then had to go potty so I took him. Nothing out of the ordinary! Back to the table where he then proceeds to eat the doughnut all the way down to the last bite when.............

wait........

wait for it.......

hold on gagging here........

......he pukes all over himself and the floor. I quickly said, "Why did you do that?" "Are you ok?" and waited a moment to see if he was done. I didn't know if he was sick or if he had choked on the fat roll. I said, "Are you sick or did you choke?" He replies with, "No I not sick Mommy my stomach made me do it!" So the reason for this post is this:

I easily could have just walked out and left the vomit on the floor without them even knowing but being the stupid responsible, kind-hearted, adult, mother that I am, I didn't think...well at least more than five times...before deciding to clean it up myself. I told the woman at the counter, who obviously knows me well since we are there every Friday, that I thought my son choked on his doughnut and he had puked on the floor. I was thinking she would give me a dish rag or mop but she just looked at me. I said, "Do you have anything I can use to clean it?" Her answer was "Sure, here have some napkins!" as if she was doing ME a favor. My mind says, "ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME!!!" Now you all know that donut shops have those cheap, small, thin napkins and she handed me about twenty! My mind repeats, "ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME!!" However my mature, responsible, filtered, adult mouth says "thanks!" and begins to clean it up! You don't even want to know the rest!!! *gag*gag* You have NO idea how bad I wanted to just walk out and say, "Clean it up yourself!" or throw the vomit soaked napkins at her head or rub them on her counter. REALLY! Now I can understand if I had NO other option and let's say I was driving then yes I would have voluntarily used anything I could get my hands on like the donut shop napkins to clean the vomit BBBBUUUUUUTTTTT I know she had either a mop or something resembling a towel. It isn't like I was telling her to clean it, I just needed something to clean up the vomit and you give me thin, tiny napkins! WOW! I know she was probably grossed out or worried about spreading a virus or something but give me a break....twenty tiny, thin napkins are definitely not the answer in this case! Ugh.....napkins....seriously.......I hope it happens again and I won't alert her to the fact that she has vomit on the floor I will just walk out after screaming "There is mouse poop inside my doughnut and a roach on our table!!!!!" Needless to say I will not being finishing my million and one things to do today like.....Christmas shopping and a ton of errands!! Home with sick child!!

FRIDAY HIGH FIVE

TOP 5 REASONS NOT TO OWN A RANGE ROVER

No we in fact can not afford a Range Rover but we own one because of a "deal" through my car dealer brother-in-law. It was a SWEET deal we got on our LEMON!! At the time we bought it, we definitely were not looking for a Range Rover but my brother-in-law had a "good" one come in as a trade-in and we could get a "really good deal on it". Blue book at the time was something like $12,000 or 14,000 and we were getting it for $8,000. We went to the bank and got an auto loan at 4% interest, got a really low payment, doubled up on some payments and the piece of crap truck has been paid off for a year! Good deal, right? WRONG COMPLETELY WRONG! We seriously got the raw end of this deal!! As of March 2008, we have officially put way more money into fixing this truck than we originally paid for it and could've bought a brand new car and it would be almost paid off with all the money we have spent. Needless to say I HATE MY HUSBAND'S RANGE ROVER and here ladies and gentlemen are my top five reasons NOT to buy/own/look at/think about/talk about/dream of/even take a second glance at a

LAND ROVER RANGE ROVER:

1. In Tulsa, there are only two, yes count those little two fingers folks, TWO places that will even work on LAND ROVERS ~ the Land Rover dealership and another shop.
2. You can not go to Auto Zone, O' Reilley's or ANY parts store to get Land Rover parts even some simple part~ only an authorized mechanic shop or dealer is allowed to buy the parts from Land Rover ~ NO DISCOUNTS HERE FOLKS! You can not just buy the parts and fix it yourself EVER! Trust me, we have tried more than once!
3. In my opinion, other than the outrageously priced newer versions, they are all just UGLY boxes on wheels!!
4. It literally cost an arm, a leg and your first born to be able to fix ANYTHING! Even the smallest things cost a small fortune! I just so happen to have an example: The battery went out on my husband's remote which one would think would be simply fixed by buying a new battery and replacing it ~ right? WRONG AGAIN I told you guys the smallest details cost a fortune, now listen up!! The truck got superlocked aka they make it so NO ONE can get in the truck. You think I am kidding I mean NO ONE! And I know you are thinking "ok lazy bums just use the key!" LISTEN PEOPLE I SAID IT WON'T LET ANY ONE INTO THE VEHICLE! We had to have it towed for the thousandth time up to the dealership and they had to break the window to get in to get it un-superlocked. Price of this little adventure with window, new battery, un-superlockation (I know that is not a word!) which also meant new door handle/lock and reprogramming ~ I believe it was around $600 in the end! CRAZY I TELL YOU! That my friends should be against the law or we should be sent to the "looney bin" for falling for the "sweet" deal we were offered. I thought it was odd that the "old" lady who had owned the truck traded it in for a Chevrolet Aveo. That is a huge difference! The truck was in mint condition ~ in fact before we bought it NO one had ever sat in the back seat. She must have known EVERYTHING was falling apart and just wanted to get out before her entire retirement fund went into fixing the junk heap. She was so distraught she bought a tiny little car with parts for like a buck! This lady is a genius and WE are the crazy ones!
5. Just the name "Range Rover" (he calls it "the range) makes my husband's family and so-called friends think we are loaded and the constant snide comments make me want to slap them as do the constant requests for hand outs never to be repaid loans that will eventually lead me to flip out and start my "get off your lazy butt and get a job" rant!!! WE are the ones who NEED the loans hand outs never to be repaid to pay for the overpriced, steal of a deal, lemon piece of crap wonderful "luxury" vehicle we are cursed with so lucky and proud to own!!!
6. Wait a minute I have one more.......when the truck breaks down like for instance.....NOW I have to wake up at 4am to drive my husband to work! Not cool! 4am!!! 5am!!!! Hey unless it is Black Friday, Isaiah's surgery day, I am up with a sick kid or I haven't gone to bed yet I DON'T WANT TO BE AWAKE TO SEE 4 OR 5AM!!!!! I wake up at 6am everyday and that is bad enough for me!!! Well I am going to pray and pray and then pray some more that his truck is finished TODAY! Then go pick him up from work with ALL my "spare" time and all.................not the least bit bitter here....nope not me......it is a good thing I love him so much because I could almost flip out right now!

Can you guys tell I have been on the phone with the auto repair shop 3 times this morning before 9am and I received our mind blowing total for our latest repair and I don't want to put more money into the truck 6 days before Christmas for something that should of been fixed right when repaired 15months ago!?!?!?!? Hard to tell I know but believe it ~ it's all true!

FREE TICKETS TO THE LOONEY BIN

So the phone rings the other day with a local number displayed but I was unsure who it was.....dodododo.....yep I answered it to learn this:

Enthusiastic Radio Man: "Hello (very drawn out and radio show enthusiastic) may I please speak with Angela"

Me: "This is Angela" timid and unsure if I wanted to say it was me!!

Little Too Happy For My Taste Man: "This is *man talking too fast to catch his name* from KHITS and you have won four free tickets to the looney bin!"

At this point he seemed a little TOO excited for ME so I thought maybe it was a joke!

Me: "I won what?"

Excitement Fading Man: "Four tickets to the Looney Bin"

Me: "Is this a joke? What did you say?"

Short and Sweet Man: "THE LOONEY BIN"

Me: "OK! What is the Looney Bin?" the idea keeps running through my head that maybe this was a joke broadcast over the radio or the world has finally figured out me and my three friends are ACTUALLY CERTIFIABLE and we get in FREE!

Annoyed Man: "It is a comedy club, ma'am! Do you know where we are located?"

Me: "Uh no! Why?"

Thinking Maybe the Joke is on Him Man: "So you can come pick up the tickets!! We are at blah blah blah" The rest was rattled off entirely too fast and the notes I have written down for directions may not even get me there! Oops I guess I really did win something but I thought I was going to be the butt of the joke ON radio so I thought I was actually being the smart one. Sad if they play that talk at the Looney Bin ~ maybe I should not go!

Yes I am happy I won tickets to some place I've never even heard of BUT that isn't the contest I signed up for so I was skeptical! I signed up for a Simon Mall Giftcard drawing and if I could choose I would've much rather have won the gift card then some trip to the Looney Bin! Oh well free is free right! Until next time America.......unless I am tucked away in some padded cell that is......................

SNOW DAY SNOW DAY SNOW DAY!

Isaiah has been saying for weeks that Jesus is in the "twouds" making snow especially for him. Well almost baby ~ we didn't get snow but we got our fair share of ice. NO where close to our two bad storms of 2007 but still they cancelled school for THREE DAYS! SERIOUSLY! I remember driving on ice to school and passing many wrecks along my way but did they cancel school ~ you guessed it ~ NO! There were years where we would get out of school a few days early because we hadn't used our snow days! Pansies! Ok I just cracked myself up ~ I used to hate "walking to school in the Iowa snow" stories like that from my Dad and now I have my own version ~ I hate that! Only in Oklahoma can it be 75 degrees on Sunday afternoon although it never felt like 75 to me then it "rained rice" as my nephew Logan called it on Sunday night! Only in Oklahoma can it be 75 degrees part of the day and drop to the twenties later on! I seriously want the job security of an Oklahoma weatherman because even if you are wrong you can always blame it on the crazy Oklahoma weather. I was told in college that Oklahoma is the most difficult state for weather prediction ~ don't know why I added that little tidbit! Anyway school was canceled and early Monday morning the boys ran outside to play with what looked like snow. They refused to believe me and insisted the piles of ice in the yard were snow ~ in their defense the ice did look snow on the grassy areas. They went to play in the "snow" and Isaiah quickly came back saying, "Oooooo Mommy it is so told outside and the snow is really HARD! I don't want to make a snowman out of THAT snow!" and Elijah came back in to get bundled up so he could go "ice skating" on the sidewalk. Well three days out of school for them and I am definitely ready for them to go back IN FACT I think Christmas vacation should be cut short by three days to make up for the Mothers putting up with the "cabin fever" children missed education!!

DO YOU SEE WHAT I SEE?

LET'S PLAY A GAME!

DO YOU SEE WHAT I SEE?

JUST LOOK AT THE TREE AND IF YOU KNOW ME......YOU WILL SEE WHAT I SEE THE SECOND MY EYES GLANCE UPON THE TREE..

DO YOU SEE IT YET?

If you know me, you know I don't do RANDOM! If you know me, you know I like symmetry! You would also know that my children do NOT decorate the Christmas tree. Oh pick your jaw up off of the floor because the reason for the post is to explain my irrational thinking and my reasoning for not allowing my children to decorate the Christmas tree but if you know me you can see why! If you know me at all, you knew what I was talking about after looking at the first picture before reading a word!

This picture may help just a little since the glowy look is gone!

Just leave me your guess in the comment section and I will soon reveal my neurosis! Hey you "Bryan" girls did you do THE "squint" while looking at my tree! ha!

MY DEC 17TH PHOTO

My Dec 17th photo for the December *08 Photo Project

MY DEC 16TH PHOTO

My Dec 16th photo for the December *08 Photo Project

This is my specially made Santa with his tray of cookies and I just love his little pudgy self carrying a big 'ol tray of cookies!! My kitchen is decorated in "chefs". I had a centerpiece made for me ~ a chef carrying a tray of various food items like veggies, fruit and bread. I absolutely loved my centerpiece but I needed one for Christmas so I had this one made and I love it! Ignore the countertops and backsplash because those I am definitely NOT in love with!!

MY DEC 15TH PHOTO

OOPS! For some weird reason I clicked save on several of my posts instead of "post"! Sorry!

My Dec 15th photo for the December *08 Photo Project

Our Christmas tree is finally up and sittin' pretty!

JESUS, THE POLICE AND SANTA ARE GREAT PARENTING TOOLS

In an attempt to get Isaiah to do as he is told the first time when asked to do anything, I have been quoting the Bible since he is always quick to tell Elijah when he is mad that "Jesus won't wike that!". When asked to put his pjs on he refused, I said, "Jesus doesn't like it when you tell me No! God said in the Bible for children to obey their parents!" Isaiah witty reply was, "Jesus didn't say that to you because Meme said Jesus is busy in the twouds (clouds) making snow so I tan make a snowman!" My response was "okay then go get your pjs and do as you are told or I will spank your butt". His next response was, "Tan I use your phone Mommy so I tan tall the police!" Ummm let me think, NO!! I then told him he better "watch his mouth" before I call the police because he is disobeying his parents! He then disappeared and I believed he was getting his pjs when in fact I learned a little while later he was in my bathroom. When asked what he was doing he said, "I am watching my mouth like you told me to tuz I don't want you to tall the police!" Well at least he was actually doing what I told him to do for a change so I guess I can't complain!

********************************************

One of the older neighbor kids that I am not too fond of was outside with me and Elijah while we were talking about Santa. The boy chimes in with, "Santa isn't even real". WHAT? Yes I KNOW the TRUE meaning of Christmas is not Santa BUT it is part of the fun of Christmas and I am not ready for Elijah to stop believing in Santa YET especially with a three-year old believer in the house. The boy KEPT on and on and on. I tried winking at him so he would stop. I had a comeback for each of his little reasons why Santa is not real. The kid would NOT stop! He never stops ~ he is always so mouthy I don't even like for him to come to our house. I was getting annoyed and worried as Elijah just stared and listened intently to the boy's reasoning. He then said, "Well Santa can't possibly make it to every house in the world in one night and I've heard my Mom and Grandma whispering that we were finally asleep so they could put out the Santa gifts. Santa is not real!" I couldn't help myself and I know it was not exactly the "adult" thing to do but I said, "Santa is real to those who truly believe and we are sorry that Santa doesn't come to YOUR house because he knows you are not a believer but he definitely still comes to OUR house! Maybe you should start acting better so you make the "good" list!" He didn't say another word!

MY DEC 14TH PHOTO

Awww, they are just irrestible!

December *08 Photo Project

MY DEC 13TH PHOTO

Minding my own business and relaxing in my comfy leather chair, I look over to see the boys quietly and contently playing a board game. So you know I raced "quietly" to get the camera for my Dec 13th photo in the December *08 Photo Project. They just looked so sweet!!

Of course, my picture taking ruined the peaceful moment and they had to begin posing!

I just wish they weren't so camera shy! lol

MY DEC 12TH PHOTO

My Dec 12th picture for the December *08 Photo Project is of our English Bulldog Moose. I actually don't really like Moose b/c of his snoring, drooling, odor, clanking of his nails on our wood floors, totally flipping out and biting if we attempt to cut his nails, drinking out of toilets when the boys forget to close them, chewing ANYTHING in his path, constant licking, snorting, sneaking out the front door every time it opens, bullheaded.......You name it - it gets on my ever loving nerves BUT he is so cute and sweet when he is sleeping!

MY DEC 11TH PHOTO

My Dec 11th photo for December *08 Photo Project

This is a house in our neighborhood that does a beautiful light display every year. If you are from here, then you know about the Rhema Christmas lights. I call this house the mini Rhema or the Lampoon's house! It is a corner house and there are lights ALL around, on the roof, in the trees, along the fence, in the yard and they even have Disney window displays. It is absolutely beautiful and these pictures don't do it justice! The kids love it and we end up driving over there several times a week during the holidays! I am a sucker for Christmas lights ~ if only my hubby would actually put lights on our house!

MY DEC 10TH PHOTO

My Dec 10th photo for the December *08 Photo Project is a beautiful sight for me!! Never seen this sight before.....my husband holding a new baby GIRL...have you ever seen anything more beautiful!! Probably be a little more of a sight to behold if only she were actually ours!! Yes I have seen the hubby with girls but none this tiny. He picked her up from my Mom's house because Chai had her wisdom teeth out this morning, my Mom watched her all day then I was going to watch her this evening. I told Martez to go ahead and pick her up when he picked up Isaiah ~ he did and I came home to this sight! I said, "Don't move I have to get the camera!" I then said I needed to call Mom to see what time she last ate and he replied with, "I've fed her, changed her and put her back to sleep!" I think I felt a tear in my eye. How amazing is he?! And she isn't even ours! He's even a good Daddy for those who don't have someone to call Daddy!! I replied with, "Does she make you want just one more?" His answer, "YES!" IF only I could be guaranteed a little baby girl! Alas this guarantee is not possible so I am stuck to spoiling my friends' little girls and more than happy to do so! I just love this sight! I love this man and I love this new baby girl! We can't wait for Shan to go to school so we can also have our other "Q"T back around too! Zay really misses his "gwurlfend"!

REBEL WITHOUT FOR A CAUSE RAFFLE-WAY

This is a huge raffle-way well worth winning!! HUGE I TELL YOU! Go purchase your ticket now at My Charming Kids!! MckMama and her friend have started this raffle-way that is almost too good to be true. All proceeds will be divided among 3 charities - String of Pearls, No Hands But Ours and The Elison Project! Go ahead you know you want to see the prize package.........GO...CRAZY BIG....GO.....I TOLD YOU NOW GET OUT OF HERE.....You better hurry it ends December 14th so the prize can be in the winner's hands by Christmas!!

MANIC MONDAY

Yesterday in my mad dash to get ready for the day, get the kids ready for school and constant checking of MckMama's page for her Not me! Monday list I somehow changed the language on my blogger account. That is the oddest feeling! I was looking at a foreign language that resembled NOTHING I knew hence the word foreign - duh! Well the first thought is to just switch it back to English, easy enough, right? WRONG! Kind of hard to switch it back to English when you can't even read a word to find where to do that. I couldn't understand a thing and I was scared I was going to end up deleting my whole blog on accident ~ what a travesty!! This probably sounds really odd but my heart was racing and I was panicking. I could not read one word of whatever language my account was in. My actual page was in English but my dashboard and everything else was completely foreign to me. I then felt sorry for foreigners coming to our country like I never had before. To think it took something as simple as this to make me realize their problems. I took French in school and can figure out some Spanish and Italian but Filipino which was my mistaken language pick, I am clueless. I finally signed out of my account and upon signing in again, in hopes it would magically switch back to English, I found where the language options were and sighed deeply in relief as I once again began to recognize words. Oh what a relief! That was scary!

THOUGHTS UNDER THE INFLUENCE AT THE DENTIST

So I go to the dentist on Friday to get two very old and cracked fillings removed then refilled. I don't get nervous going to the dentist and I don't have a problem with needles BUT I can NOT stand the numbing shots in the mouth. I think they are so incredibly painful!! The nurse could tell I was nervous and I told her I was only nervous about the shots in my mouth so she asked if I wanted "gas". Umm let me think..YES!! The gas was turned on, attached to my nose and I was off to lala land! It is crazy the thoughts that were in my head but even crazier is wondering if you are actually funny or if it is the laughing gas. I laid there for what seemed like forever and my mind was going a million mph while my eyes occassionally closed and the eyeballs rolled around probably very little but they felt like something off a cartoon. Oh the thoughts and how I cracked myself up! First of all the thoughts were "is this actually working or am I just naturally this funny". Then I began to wonder if they forgot about me. I proceeded to make the gas mask a little more comfortable when I discovered it was an unusually tight fit. After I noticed this, I thought to myself "oh there is NO way this would fit on my husband's nose"......I love him dearly but hey he does have a large nose.......wait I am seriously laughing while typing.....then I remembered my friend Zane from college. I remembered how he had a larger nose and was trying to use those Biore nose strips.....well you can figure the rest out but it was so freaking funny.....hold on laughing again. They came in to check on me and laughed at everything I said which again brought the thoughts wow am I that funny or are they humoring me because they know I am on "gas". Hmm...the floating sensation began shortly after this and I was so relaxed. I began to wonder if I could ask for "gas" to go for those oh so stressful moments. Not a druggie in fact I am terrible at even remembering to take medicine but I felt SO relaxed and the entire world was at peace in my little reclining chair with no noise except my racing thoughts! I then began to wonder if I in fact looked fatter than my normal fat self. You know with the drugs and relaxation I could no longer suck anything in and all muscles that would hold in any fat at all were mush. I wondered exactly how many chins I had in my leaned back no muscle control state. I wanted a mirror but thought a complete breakdown about being fat probably would not be the best idea in this moment. Still wondering if they forgot about me but enjoying total relaxation and keeping my eyes open started to become impossible...nap would be great! I wondered if I would remember all my funny "under the influence" thoughts so I could blog about them ~ how sick is that! I then began to laugh at how crazy that idea was as I ran each funny thought over and over again in my head as if to memorize it for a blog post! No such luck but I was hilarious I tell you! I totally cracked myself up! They came in and the Dentist says, "Wow I think she had a little too much gas she is pretty out of it and about to fall asleep!" I was slurring to say the least. His directions like "turn this way a little, open wider, if you feel pain let me know (yeah right I couldn't feel a thing)" took a few minutes to register after floating through my head trying to make sense of anything he said and wondering if he was talking to me or the nurse ~ lol. He again said, "Let's turn the gas down. She is barely functioning and about to be knocked out!" I just laughed. This is where the thoughts of the movie Taxi came into play. I cracked up thinking about when he is stuck between two cars and trying to get out OR when they were trapped in a garage filled with laughing gas. I would occassionally let out a laugh then be told to hold my tongue still while they laughed AT me. Dude I was seriously out of it!! Then I heard his stomach growl and said "Are you hungry?". Now take into account that I said this with my mouth so wide open that the corners of my mouth are slit open now and various metal dental tools in my mouth and he still understood me!! How cool is he! I know that is he talks to people in this state all day but how good is he! They kept laughing at me so I must be funny OR maybe I just need small doses of nitrous to go!! They should put that stuff into an inhaler ~ how cool would that be! Then dull, boring, flat people could be funny for a day too! Can we vote on this idea? Very long story short I was done in 90 minutes but had to be given extra oxygen because I was definitely NOT myself afterward. Off to my Mom's house I went to pick up Isaiah where I fell asleep for a LONG time!

MY DEC 9TH PHOTO

Remembering back to one year ago today when the ice storm hit Oklahoma and left the state stranded without power and the devastation the ice left behind was truly unbelievable! It was so hard to see what ICE can do to huge OLD trees ~ broke them and snapped electrical poles as if they were tiny twigs!

December *08 Photo Project: