Angela's Adventures and Minor Mishaps

JUST SAYIN': FACEBOOK BATHROOM SELF PORTRAITS

2011-04-25T08:00:00.003-05:00

I love Facebook!

Don't you?

I love seeing what is going on in the lives of my friends or family that I either don't see or talk to frequently!

I love seeing photos of them ~~getting fat therefore making me feel a little better!~~

Well there are two things I just don't understand.....

daily self portrait sessions and pics of their kids every breathing moment!

Seriously do not have anything better to do than take 500 pics of your kids with your iPhone (since when have iPhones replaced actual cameras? I am not ok with that idea!). I love pics! I love pics of my kids! I post pics of my kids! I love seeing pics of your kids too! I love pics of any kids but posting a new pic of your kid every two seconds gets truly annoying. I don't need to see them eat, play, sleep, watch tv, sit, stand, pick their nose, eat again, play some more, play in the pool, play in the tub, poop, spit up, get into trouble, cry, whine, laugh, sleep again after eating again and pooping again, sneeze, cough, twirl their hair, climb onto things, hug you, kiss you, hug their brother, kiss their brother, eat their shoe, tear a magazine, read a book or pee EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. BEFORE. NOON!

BUT THE WORST.....

are the ones who take 5 million self portraits again with their iPhone most of the time in the bathroom mirror. Get a life! Get the kid off the kitchen table and wipe their nose or go take a picture of it! Why are they taking pictures in the bathroom anyway? Why are they taking, editing and posting yet another picture of themselves? We know you think you are the hottest person alive in your bathroom so give it up because I don't want yet another picture of you in the bathroom mirror holding your phone when I can tell you should spend a little more time cleaning the bathroom! Oops Johnnie is playing in the toilet.....quick take a picture!

JUST SAYIN'!

REESE'S PEANUT BUTTER EGG ADDICTION

2011-04-23T08:00:00.002-05:00

I LOVE REESE'S PEANUT BUTTER CUPS!

I love love love them to the point of addiction!

They are probably single handedly the reason I am fat! Just go with that and move on!

When they came out with the Reese's Big Cups, I nearly passed plum out! It is like a piece of heaven in a bright orange wrapper! Oh the peanut butter goodness! Salty and sweet....does it get any better? Seriously, what girl doesn't want Big Cups and what guy for that matter!

BUT

BY FAR

THE BEST YET.....

THE REESE'S PEANUT BUTTER EGG

LOVE THEM!

I have no will power when it comes to the Reese's Peanut Butter Egg! They have so much peanut butter. I swear sometimes I hear them cry out for me to eat them and while at the store the bags of minis or regulars (not particular on size) will actually jump into my cart! No lie!

I am going to need Easter to hurry up!

Yes, I am scared I may actually turn into a Reese's Peanut Butter Egg but even better yet

THEY WILL BE ON CLEARANCE EVERYWHERE!!!!

CLEARANCE REESE'S PEANUT BUTTER EGGS.....

IT JUST DOESN'T GET ANY BETTER THAN THAT!

*****This is not an advertisement. I was not paid for this post. I was not given samples for this post. I will; however, accept any samples given or negotiate a Reese's Peanut Butter Egg spokes model contract at any time! Plain and simple.....I am an addict!

ZAY LOST HIS FIRST TOOTH!

2011-04-22T08:00:00.002-05:00

I seriously can't believe how fast Isaiah is growing. Started kindergarten.....sniff sniff.........started sports.......whimper........lost his first tooth......wipes tear rolling down cheek! I swear he is aging at lightning speed while I have managed to stay 29 for going on 6 years. What gives!

Isaiah first loose tooth seemed loose for forever. Loose teeth make me gag and pulling them can make me gag to the point of vomiting. That is just so gross! This tooth was really really loose and bending forward...gag....gag.....I mean literally hanging by a thread of whatever teeth hang by....gag! He came to show me one evening and well truthfully I gagged then told him to show Daddy. He went to show Daddy and well panicked. Daddy's hand came up as though he might pull the tooth. Hubs reassured him he just wanted to feel it and he did. Isaiah went screaming down the hall, "DON'T TOUCH IT! I DON'T WANT YOU TO PULL IT!" He went running into the bathroom and while he was gone Hubs just smiled at me from the couch holding the tooth between his two fingers.

Isaiah comes storming back into the living room saying, "Hey Daddy, did you pull my tooth because I think I really lost it and I can't find it?!?" He was shocked as was I that it did not hurt when Hubs pulled it and he did not cry! Serious milestone since the kid cries over EVERY. SINGLE. LITTLE. TINY. MINUTE. THING! UGH! Love the boy but seriously he is a ~~cry baby~~ such a joy! Hubs was just shocked he got it on the first try and without any tears, blood or serious Toys R Us bribing like he did when Elijah lost his first tooth. Then we get to the part where he calls everyone in the family to alert them of his lost tooth and the whole story mainly to stall the whole bedtime routine. ~~Bedtime routines will probably be the death of me if the morning routine doesn't kill me first! Oh the joys of motherhood!~~ Papa alerted Zay to the fact that Elijah got $10 from the toothfairy when he lost his first tooth so of course I had to roundup $10.....thankyouverymuchDad!

So after putting him to bed about five times I finally told him, "You better get to bed or the toothfairy can't come."

He replied with, "Leave the light on! Daddy will you lay with me?"

I questioned his reason for wanting the light on and wanting Daddy to lay with him and he answered with,
"I don't want some strange person coming into my room, reaching under my pillow and stealing my tooth! That is scary!"

NOT LOVING WALLY WORLD LAYOUT IDIOT AND MORE

2011-04-21T12:30:00.001-05:00

Before I start complaining, I am going to start off with some positives. I am off tomorrow for Good Friday and can't wait for the weekend. It feels nice outside right now but it is supposed to rain for the next five days. Although I am not excited about the rain potentially ruining all of our weekend plans, I am very excited for family fun.

Now onto my Wally World rant...warning this is long.....

Last night I had to get groceries. I hate getting groceries but alas I guess I must actually feed the children something besides chicken nuggets and fries once and awhile. First I went to Aldi. Oh how I love Aldi. Simple! Easy! Cheap! Nothing bad to say there but then I went to Wally World and that is a different story.

First of all, I have been letting my eyebrows grow in a little to get them threaded. I hate plucking stray hairs daily because I am obsessed and haven't had them waxed for sometime. The impatience and ugliness was weighing heavily on me and I lost my mind. I walked in WW (Wally World), saw a salon and thought I am just going to get them waxed again totally forgoing my plan of threading out of fear and impatience.

Why I thought this was a good idea I am not sure but it will be a post in itself soon to come.......just know it wasn't my most brilliant idea!

Secondly, just know right now I hate the new WW layouts. HATE. ABHOR. HATE. I can't find anything. I understand the remodel idea but they royally screwed up. It makes absolutely no sense at all and I am used to knowing exactly what aisle everything I need is on. Seriously, who picked this layout anyway. They should be fired. Why would you stick the chips, cookies aka snack foods over by the dog food away from the other food? Why not put the paper goods, laundry or cleaners over there instead of the middle of the food section? NO SENSE I TELL YOU! Did I mention I HATE it?

So I spent a rather long time searching for a drink shaker. Up and down the housewares section many times. We are not really drinkers but common sense would place shakers here, correct? No! I need another shaker for this shake I have been drinking. Eventually I found one that was stainless steel and $15 dollars. Seriously, no cheap plastic shakers?! I did find these drink holders I have been needing for the boys' lunch pails for only 88 cents. Woohoo! I was excited but then I turned my cart and saw......ooooo I was not happy.

About a month ago I decided I was going to squash my Red Diamond tea addiction and start making my own iced tea. I could only find one ice tea maker. I wasn't overly thrilled because it was white with royal blue. I don't have blue anywhere in my house except the boys' room. I overcame the decorating faux paux of the white and blue in my wine and black kitchen and bought the iced tea maker for $19. This would save me a ton of money on my tea. So when I turned the corner and saw WW had "rolled back" the ice tea maker price $2 PLUS got 3 new colors.....this did not make me happy. Now I am stuck with the blue one knowing it is available in a color that matches my kitchen. Not knowing it was available in other colors made the decorating faux paux much easier to accept. Oh well!

Moving on.....

My Mom calls wanting me to get her some apple juice packet things. I oblige. I looked everywhere and couldn't find them. Did I mention they moved the juice and now have it in two separate areas? Juice in one area and dry juice mixes in another area. Must make sense to the new layout idiot but us more intelligent people think this is ignorant at best! Not only did they not have the juice but they don't carry it anymore. I will call Mom later on that one since she will not be happy and she totally agrees with my anger towards the new WW layout idiot! We can have a great gripe about WW session!

Then I decide to go to the restroom. I don't see why they didn't just put an extra bathroom right smack dab in the middle of the juice aisle. I mean that should make sense to new WW layout designers....you drink juice then pee?! I get in the bathroom and no one was there. I sit down when the bathroom door slams open and I hear the running of little feet. She starts pulling on my stall door. I said, "This one is taken". I can see her little sandals dancing around and this girl needed to pee. She again tried to open my door. I nicely said, "This one is taken. Go to the next one sweetie." She still pranced and pulled at my door! In my head I was screaming, "THIS IS TAKEN! THERE ARE FIVE OTHER EMPTY STALLS WITH OPEN DOORS....PICK ONE ALREADY AND GO PEE! WHERE IN THE WORLD IS YOUR MOTHER ANYWAY?" I really felt simply by the size of her feet and the fact that she obviously needed help that she should NOT be in a public restroom by herself anyway but again I calmly said, "Honey you really need to choose another stall before you pee your pants." She did and all was well!

Onto getting our pancake syrup. We are very picky and brand specific on two condiments: pancake syrup and soy sauce. They still carry the syrup we like; however, they no longer carry the big bottle just the small one. I am sure they make more on the smaller bottles but I don't like the smaller bottles so I guess I will buy that somewhere else.

Onto getting our soy sauce. They do NOT carry our brand of soy sauce anymore. Guess I will buy that somewhere else too.

Onto getting our pizza crusts that we love. Oh wait, did I mention they no longer carry those either! I am seeing a pattern and betting I find a new grocery store.

By now you can only imagine how frustrated I am when I get done then walk to the checkout before realizing I forgot the Splenda so I could make tea in my blue ice tea maker that I paid $2 more dollars for the color I did not want. I wasn't really sure where it would be located probably between the tampons and fish food so off to search I went.

Phew!

Finally ready to checkout!

Cashier with hot pink and green eyeshadow scans item after item when the register "rejects" the sale of my 88 cent drink holders that I have been searching for....ugh. Cashier calls her manager who informs me apparently they were recalled and she can not sell me these items. I said very annoyed, "Then maybe you should remove them from the shelves." I wanted to plead for her to sell them to me but figured they were probably recalled for a reason. She asks me, "Where did you find them?" While laughing, I said "probably electronics with this new layout!" It was housewares but I was too annoyed to be obliging. Go find it yourself by the ice tea maker that I am bitter about and the $15 shaker! Ugh....I normally am not like this but I was seriously ticked off by this time especially since now I have to go to yet another store in all my free time to get half the list of items I needed that WW no longer carries!

I pay then the cashier says. "mmmm mmmmm mmmmmm night"

Me, "excuse me?"

She again says, "mmmmm mmmmm mmmm night"

I said, "Ok I am sorry I just don't speak mumble! Thank you! Have a good night!"

Come on WW:

carry what I want

leave the layout alone (It was fine to begin with!)

hire people over the age of 12 that don't apply makeup like a 5 yr old or street walker and can speak CLEARLY!

I call Hubs to tell him I am on my way home when he unknowingly says, "What took so long?"

Really?

I don't think you want to ask me that question!

ISAIAH LOVES ENERGY

2011-04-20T17:00:00.003-05:00

When Elijah was in first grade, his friend was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes actually his friend who I will call "P" was diagnosed just a month or two before Hubs. Anywho......our two families have grown to love each other but when your boys' are on the same teams for two sports plus are in the same class at school you spend soooooo much time together and we just can't help it. We are pretty lovable! Why do I go off on things that have nothing to do with the current topic?

So......Mindy has to carry P's glucometer, snacks, juices and energy. Yep you read that correctly she carries his energy in a bottle. Actually they are glucose tablets but she affectionately named them "energy". She hands energy out to the other kids when asked since basically they taste just like sugar. Isaiah loves energy. And as though he doesn't have enough of it, Mindy gives it to him at practices.

The other day Isaiah comes in my room. He plops up on my bed and starts kissing me.

He says, "oh thank you Mommy for buying energy like Mindy!"

I was a little lost until I saw the bottle of TUMS sitting on my dresser. Tums......glucose tabs......well they look a little alike except the size, overall purpose and well taste but who cares he totally appreciated the gesture even if it wasn't really true! I guess I will hide the TUMS now although I am sure after eating one he will realize it is not energy!

PORKS, OF COURSE!

2011-04-19T17:00:00.003-05:00

Elijah is still obsessed with all things nature and history. He still watches National Geographic, Discovery Channel, the History channel and Animal Planet like they are all that is on but I am just fine with that. His new thing is to find random facts then tell us all as if he has THE most important thing to say.

A few weeks ago he comes running down the hallway screaming my name. Of course, I run to him since he was screaming as though he lost a limb and this is the mini fact convo we had:

Elijah, "Mom, did you know that makeup is made of 50% pork oil?"

Moi, "No! Did you know mascara is made of bat poop?"

I won! He was grossed out and speechless! Not really sure if mine was fact or myth but frankly I don't care since I am a mascara addict and will continue the use even if it means I am obsessed with rubbing bat poop all over my eyelashes!

Then......

Elijah went to his friend's house the other day. Elijah decides he is going to "freak out" Mindy, his friend's mom, and shares his little fact.

Elijah, "Did you know the makeup you wear is 50% pork oil?

Mindy, "No, I didn't know that but do you know where pork oil comes from?"

Elijah, "Of course..... PORKS!"

NOW in my sons defense....he doesn't eat "pork" remember so he doesn't realize pork is from pigs! I am surprised he didn't answer with chicken! EVERY meat is chicken in my boys' worlds! If I make beef, pork chops, roast or ribs and called them by their actual names, then my kiddos would turn their little noses and say they don't like it. Soooooo when Elijah was little I just renamed ALL meat to chicken. My kids could be eating country style boneless pork ribs and say, "Oooo momma these chicken ribs are good!" If I said I was making "country style boneless pork ribs" it would be a war to get them to try them so I only make chicken pork chops etc....wink*wink*

Oh how I love my funny fact finder boy!

WRITER'S WORKSHOP WEDNESDAY

2011-04-14T14:31:00.000-05:00

In my blogging absence I have truly missed Mama Kat and Writer's Workshop Wednesday but no more....here I go!

This week I choose.......#1) The moment I realized I was a grown up.

When I knew I was going to be a mother, I had all the little panicky but you really don't need to panic moments that every other mother-to-be would have. I knew in my heart I would be fine. I always wanted to be a mother but I was told when I was 21 that I wouldn't be able to have children. Obviously, that doctor was wrong since I now have 2 ornery little boys. Imagine my shock, surprise and excitement! I was going to be a mommy. Hmmm.....I convinced myself I would be a natural except for one terrifying aspect of motherhood.

VOMIT

Now I am not talking about spit up but vomit. I have a very very sensitive gag reflex. I remember having a very serious conversation with my mother.

Moi: "Mom, what am I going to do if he pukes?"

Mom: "Clean it up!"

Moi: "Moooomm, you know I will gag and puke! Seriously what am I going to do?"

Mom while laughing: "Wellllll, I wouldn't do that because then you will certainly have a huge mess!"

Moi, "Don't be surprised when I call you! Hubs will just have to clean it!"

Mom.....still laughing!

She was not very sensitive to my worry. It was serious life altering stuff here!

Elijah was born. He was happy, healthy and a very easy baby until.......dodo dodo.....he got......

ROTOVIRUS

That is one nasty, evil, nasty, stinky, nasty, hospitalizing virus! Ugh, just thinking about it makes me gag!

I will never forget the day. It is burned into my brain. I was scampering around picking up odds and ends while Elijah's cute little self was sitting in the highchair eating peaches with macaroni and cheese which to this day he has NEVER eaten again. He coughed a couple of times which I thought was rather odd and maybe he was choking so I walked over to him and then.......

he puked

Without even a thought or a gag, I cupped my hands to catch it. I caught my son's vomit then proceeded to yell for Hubs while I dumped it into the sink. Then while Hubs went to get Elijah some clean clothes and a wash rag I decided to call my Mom because surely that is what everyone who is excited to catch vomit does, right?! I was so proud! Now not so calm and supermomish over the next day since apparently lightning speed projectile vomit is uncatchable and does make me gag; however, I knew I was a grown up with my supermom vomit-catching superpower until......

Elijah ended up getting very very ill. We took him to the hospital where it was finally determined he had rotovirus. Now if you don't know, you don't want to know and if you do know about rotovirus, you can totally sympathize. When we finally got to take him home, we had to give him suppositories. Umm....now that is a totally different not so supermomish phone call, "Mom, how do you get Elijah's suppository thing to stay in?" followed by several gags and my Mother's unsympathetic laughter. Needless to say after my poor baby had rotovirus, I knew I could handle it all!

I GOT IMPLANTS!

2011-04-14T07:00:00.002-05:00

My entire life I have wanted perfect vision. At the age of 8, I got my first pair of glasses. At the age of 9, I had my first pair of glasses with bifocals. At age 13, I got my first pair of gas permeable contacts. Boy were they expensive...$375 back then! At age 18, I went to toric soft contact lenses and switched to regular soft lenses around age 21. Needless to say I have spent practically my entire life in either glasses or contacts and I was ready to stop. I always wanted to have my vision corrected but always thought it would be out of my reach financially and I probably wouldn't be a candidate anyway due to my high prescription. It is funny to me that I spend my whole day now dispelling this financial myth and giving patients the opportunity to see a whole new world!

One of the many perks of my job is majorly discounted vision correction with payroll deduction. Around August, I decided I was ready. I have a very strong prescription and am severely nearsighted. I couldn't see anything unless it was about a foot in front of my face. In fact, there had been many times I had taken my contacts out at night only to put them back in because I couldn't find my glasses. Sad but true!

Due to my high prescription, I had the option of two different surgeries....LASIK or ICL. Working closely with both surgeries and knowing my own vision I easily picked ICL (intercollamer lens often referred to as implantable contact lens) for better optics, quick recovery and longer lasting correction. I will have these babies until I get cataract surgery when I am older. The patient discounted price for the surgery is $5900. The full price is around $13,000. My price was about 10% of this. Nothing short of a miracle! I jumped on this opportunity quickly!

On September 29, 2010, the world as seen through my eyes changed. I had ICL done in both eyes. The following day I woke up looked at the time on the alarm clock and didn't even realize I actually saw it. I went to the bathroom where I reached for my glasses when I looked in the mirror I gasped. I ran back out and looked at the alarm clock in total disbelieve. Is this happening to me? I could see the time on the alarm clock clear as day. I have never seen the time on the alarm clock unless I feel asleep in my contacts. In fact, without glasses or contacts I couldn't even see the alarm clock existed let alone the time. All I would see is a red light blob across the room. Amazing! I continued to get ready for work.

On my way to work I just looked in awe at everything. Now sure I had seen everything with my contacts but now it was even clearer than with my contacts and I wasn't wearing any glasses or contacts for the very first time since I was 8 yrs old. Life changing I tell you! My sister called during that drive and said, "How is your vision?" I started crying like a big baby saying, "I just can't believe it is clear so fast. I can see everything Lisa. I can see everything!" I cried the rest of the way to work just out of pure joy and thankfulness. Everyone at work thought something was wrong when I got to work with my red weepy eyes then just hugged me and laughed. They checked me for my one day post-op appointment and I was seeing 20/20 in one eye and 20/25 in the other. Now six months later I am seeing 20/15 in both eyes and still just as amazed.

It is funny to me that I see patients all day that come in telling me how "blind" they are. When I look at their prescription it will be like a -1 and I think wow I was 6 times worse than that....they have no clue and they are still legal to drive without correction!! I enjoy helping them see better but I also know it is not that big of a change for them. BUT I also see patients with eyes twice as bad as mine and I think wow they are blind. If I couldn't see anything more than a foot away from my face and trust me that is no exaggeration, then how do they see anything at all. Those are the patients I enjoy helping the most. I know how my life changed so I can't imagine how their life changes until they send me a thank you card or call me crying because they are just so thankful! Those are the ones that get me and tug at my heart strings! Those are the patients that I know understand why I cried after surgery. Those are the ones that make me think I love my job! Those are the ones who understand me when I say....

"I love my new eyes!!"

A WHOLE NEW EXCITING WORLD

2011-04-13T17:30:00.003-05:00

You all know my parents closed their business in April 2009 and I was unemployed for a little over 7 months. Finding a job was way harder than I had ever even imagined. I could do HR, AP, AR, taxes, place order, post orders, enter new items, sales reporting, marketing and much more but no one cared. I couldn't find a job anywhere. I was told basically I had too much experience in too many areas aka they "thought" they couldn't afford me or I would quit too soon for a better opportunity. I just needed a paycheck. No one was willing to give me a chance. I finally got hired on at the Ophthalmology clinic/surgery center where my sister worked on November 17, 2009. This would be a whole new world for me considering I had never worked in the medical field but I was willing to do anything by this time as long as it gave me a paycheck again!

I won't even lie when I started I absolutely hated it. I always hated filing and would even pay my nieces and nephews to file for me. Instead of laziness or just mere hatred of filing, I chose to call it "outsourcing". Filing...ugh! The first day at my new job I filed for 10 hours in heels. I wanted to chop my feet off. Hubs asked me what I did and I said, "I filed all day!" He said, "Well you had to do something other than file." I replied, "No, I filed all day long IN HIGH HEELS!" Then I began to cry! I hated it but that didn't matter I had to have a paycheck to feed the boys. I was there everyday at 6:45am. I no longer got to get the kids up and ready for their day and take them wherever they needed to be. We all had a bit of adjusting to do for awhile and saying it didn't go over well is quite the understatement. I didn't even see them in the mornings and then all day until about 6pm. Let me tell you working 7-5:30 was a big change from 10-4! I do not like mornings especially starting my morning at 5am. I had to dress up daily including dress shoes aka high heels during my probation period then they would order scrubs. I was excited at first but that was extremely short lived consider I wanted to cut my feet off after day 3! I managed.

First I worked in medical records. Prepping almost 100 charts for each day constantly trying to stay one week ahead, sending medical records to other doctors/patients/agencies/insurance companies, searching various offices within two floors for missing charts and filing. Oh the filing! I thought it would be the death of me. I moved to two desks within two weeks. Then was I started filling in at the front desk. Then I moved to check-in at the front desk and then check-out at the front desk. They quickly figured out what I had said all along in each of my billion interviews over my 7.5 month long unemployment, "I learn quickly and can do anything I am taught". I worked my butt off and it quickly paid off.

In April after only being with the clinic a little over 4 months, our LASIK surgery counselor resigned. I wanted the position but feared I wouldn't get it for two reasons: (1) I had only been there for 4 months and (2) I was too good at my current position that they wouldn't want to move me. By this time, two of the front desk girls had been fired (one including my sister...ouch....that is a long story) and there were only two of us up front. I just knew I wouldn't get it. I decided to try anyway in hopes that at least they would see I wanted to move up and was willing to learn more. Plus, I needed more money....in a bad way!

I GOT IT!

Saying I was floored is putting it lightly. I had my very own office.....A BIG OFFICE WITH A WHOLE WALL OF WINDOWS.

I did strictly LASIK counseling for about two months. Then the Cataract counselor took a week off so I was quickly thrown into that as well. Now I do LASIK counseling, cataract, YAG, SLT, ICL, DSAEK, PTG and corneal transplant counseling plus they have added a little marketing to all of this. (I know you don't know what half of that is but it is a LOT!)

I LOVE IT!

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!

I AM MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN PEOPLE'S LIVES AND LOVING EVERY MINUTE!

Now it is by far not the perfect job and I have my moments (especially when insurance companies are involved) but I have learned a whole new world of information involving eyes and vision and it is truly interesting and amazing the things we can do! I work a lot and often worry about the impact this has had on our lives but I also have not missed a thing involving the boys sports or school activities. I have become friends with some great people and had my own life changing opportunity that I will tell you all about later. In short, this job has been a whirlwind and a God send to my life. It seems like just yesterday I was searching high and low desperate for job but really I have been here almost a year and a half. I think it is good to keep that time fresh in my mind so that I will always make sure I am an asset and keep my job as well as keep me humble! Wow how time flies!

WOW! IT HAS BEEN AWHILE!

2011-04-13T17:00:00.001-05:00

It is funny to me that even though it has been nearly a year since I have last blog I can still think of plenty of them in my head while trying to fall asleep and instantly when something funny happens I think "I need to blog about that". Alas, I just can't seem to find the time. I work work work, then I am a mom, referee, coach, maid, laundry service, wife, friend, daughter, sister, chef, my children's biggest sports fan and well just plain exhausted. But I am just like all the other bloggers who somehow manage to do it all so I am going to attempt one more time to add in one of my loves.....blogging. I would love to add scrapbooking to that list since I have an actual scrapbook room now but that is going to have to wait since it takes so much time and I can actually type faster than I can scrapbook.

So much has happened since I last blogged and I will update in several posts instead of one giant update blog post. Your welcome! Hopefully this time I will be able to keep up with blogging which should be a little easier now that I have a laptop. Sooooo stay tuned!

"MAY"HEM

2010-06-23T17:45:00.001-05:00

Here is May and the beginning of June in a nutshell......hold onto your seats folks......

Friday before Mother's Day, Dad went into the hospital where he remained for a week with diverticulitis and a perforated colon. I battled bronchitis and didn't get to even visit my Dad. My sister also went to the hospital when she passed out while getting her haircut. I missed two days of work due to illness then an EF2 tornado hit our neighborhood....scary yet somewhat humorous post with pics will be up soon. No power for about a day! Dad and Sister got out of the hospital then I went to the ER because........I could NOT breath like thought I was going to die can't breath. Now if that doesn't freak you out what will. So Dad went to the cardiologist the following week to hear "Everything looks good. There is one area of the heart that is not getting enough blood but I can give you a medication for that." Ok things looking up right!

WRONG!

Dad started the new medication which apparently was supposed to start gradually even though this was not the directions from the cardiologist! This made his blood pressure plummet and sent him to the hospital once again on Isaiah's birthday. The same day Avani got second degree burns on her thigh and also went to the hospital. My sister also went back to the hospital. All three are out of the hospital for a few days. My sister goes back into the hospital and has her gallbladder removed. This was supposed to be the end of all the drama since May was finally over.

So we thought......then June rolled in!

Isaiah had to have oral surgery on June 1st. A few days later Dad went to his primary care doctor for a routine visit BUT got sent straight to the hospital yet again to have a heart cath. A day later the heart cath revealed a 90% blockage and they placed a 2nd stint. I guess it is time for a new cardiologist since he totally missed the 90% blockage at Dad's appointment the month before and said, "Everything looks good!"

Last but definitely NOT least...

I go to Urgent Care because I got bit by a brown recluse....more on that later too...but to ease your fears my leg did not rot off! Then nephew Logan goes to the ER twice in two days. Then Avani damages a previous break in her wrist at my boys' birthday party (more on that one too!) and goes to the ER. I am shooting for a peaceful July and starting it out with a mini vacation! That should do the trick!

We don't plan on seeing the inside of the 4 hospitals and 2 urgent cares the family frequented anytime soon....although I guess we didn't plan any of those visits to begin with!!

THE OLDIES?

2010-06-22T17:45:00.001-05:00

So we got a new radio station in town called GenX radio. GenX plays mostly 90s music and I love it! I know every word to almost every song and boy can I sing along. Makes me feel young again. I can hear a song and tell you what I was doing in either high school or college. Takes me back!

One day I was singing along and Elijah says, "Hey Mom, is this the oldies?"

Wow!

Really?

Hmm....doing the calculations in my head I had nothing to say other than, "Well yes I guess so!" Can it be that songs from my youth are now considered oldies by kids? How sad is that!

Sooooo....the next day I am telling the young bucks at work about Elijah's comment. One chimes in with, "Wow I was 10 when that music played!" The other chimes in with, "I was 6!"

Seriously?

I no longer speak to them about my youth!

Dear Annoying Spider......

2010-06-21T18:30:00.004-05:00

Dear Annoying Spider,

First off I feel you should know I hate spiders. Not prejudiced by your undying attempt to annoy me....I hate you all big and small. Secondly, you should know I am not a morning person. I am not necessarily grouchy or mean just extremely sleepy and want to be left alone. I get up around 5am daily and want my peace. My only peace is I don't have to get the kids up and ready at the butt crack of dawn too!

For weeks you have managed to make a web between my husband's truck and mine. For weeks, I have walked through this web each and every morning when leaving for work. The first couple of times I was grossed out and flailed my arms about while gagging. I hate spiders! I hate the feeling of walking through a web then freak out at the fact that the spider might be on me. My only peace has been obviously you were not on me since you manage to rebuild the web nightly.

After weeks of this morning ritual, one would think the spider would give up ~~or the human aka moi would realize the routine and look for the web instead of walking through the web!~~ I began to think you were stupid. Seriously, how many times will you rebuild the web before you give up? Then I thought.......wow I am an idiot!! How many times am I going to walk through it? In my defense......soooooo not the morning person and the brain doesn't fully kick in until at least 7am when I begin my workday. I grew to admire your tenacity and smarts realizing I was the stupid one. I began to resent you for your smarts! I would think about you everyday while driving to work and secretly still freaking out that you might be on me. Then I began to anticipate the webs in hopes that the web would verify you never actually touched me when I walked through the web the day before! Insanity I know! You took over my morning thoughts for way too long each morning especially since I am giant compared to you. Then I would feel stupid giving you too much thought! ~~You can only imagine how stupid I feel writing you a letter!~~ I began to wonder if somehow this was a hilarious game for you. You probably built the web, invited over some of your little spidey friends to see the stupid human lady walk through the web then freak out! I bet you laughed plenty at my expense.

Well I am here to tell you I have won the battle and am here to say I have been victorious. Typing that sentence cracks me up since it was a battle against a spider that in my thoughts is no larger than the head of a pin. Any larger and I could still freak out!! I have beat you at your game! I am the bigger of the two ~~- like that wasn't obvious!~~ Since I don't know where you actually live and watch me from afar I thought I would let you know....if I find you, I will kill you. For now I have decided I will be backing my truck in nightly so I will no longer have to walk through your nasty webs to get into my car! Yes, it may have taken me a while to figure out a solution but I did it! Leave me alone!

Sincerely,

The giant compared to you lady who took weeks to beat you at your game. I will remain anonymous to you to avoid scrutiny over the fact that it took me weeks to outsmart you......I am blaming fear!

MY BOY.....THE UNITED NATIONS!

2010-03-15T07:00:00.001-05:00

So Elijah's teacher has been reading the Indian in the Cupboard series in class and he is OBSESSED. She says he sits intently waiting with baited breath for each word. He is now OBSESSED with Indians. I swear to you we have a conversation over Indians daily now.....in the car, in the house, before bed when we too are reading a book from the series together, at Meme's, on the ride home from basketball....you get the pic....OBSESSED. The boy has even made two of his very own bow and arrow sets from sticks and dental floss which surprisingly work quite well. He chops down branches from our trees using a hand shovel so he can then make traps and shelters to trap his meal and rest. He also makes Indian tacos with dirt and leaves from the magnolia tree and has requested an authentic Indian head dress.....you know.....to just wear around the house......specifically a Chief head dress! He remembers the days when he was younger and we went to Pow Wows with our Native American friends and wants one of those "outfits you know mom that they dance around in"!! He is on the verge of an identity crisis and wants to start sleeping outside!!

One day on the way home from school during the whole Indian conversation and the revelation he had when I told him Indians no longer live in teepees, he asked if he was Indian. I told him that he does have Indian in him from Papa's side of the family as well as French on Papa's side and German on Meme's side but couldn't get through to him that it wasn't very much Indian. To him it didn't matter "how much" just the idea of being Indian was exciting!! Sure wish it was enough to get on the roll!! Anyway the excitement was too much for him and the obsession has only grown since.

The next week on our way home from basketball practice he asks, "Mom, how much Indian am I?" I try to explain the process of how through the generations the percentage of Indian blood decreased but couldn't seem to explain it in a way that he could understand. He then gets very excited and says, "Wow! So if I am part Indian, am I part Cowboy too?" I thought that was the cutest thing ever and chuckled at the thought that he had not quite learned the relationship of the original Cowboy and Indian days. Instead of crushing his excitement I said, "Yes you are part cowboy too!" He then says, "Sooooo.....how much cowboy am I?" My answer, "Ask Papa!" Very excited with his new found heritage he says, "Mom I am like the United Nations. I am half black, half carcasian (yes I know that is spelled wrong but that is how he said it!), half German, half French, half Indian and half Cowboy!" Chuckling I said, "Your fractions mean you are three men rolled into one!" His response, "Yep!"

I love this kid!

DEAR DR. OZ

2010-02-11T08:00:00.002-06:00

Dear Dr. Oz,

I always liked watching you on Oprah. The mere information bonanza was enough to handle the disgusting truths you told. I was very excited to hear you would be getting your very own television show. I DVR your show daily and must admit I have a few little tidbits I would like to share with you although odds are you will never read this!!

The Truth Tube - I just don't get it! There isn't an actually tube that you ask permission for them to "stand in". It is really more of a platform not a tube and haven't they given permission before they agreed to be on the show. Just so you know, you would never have my permission to televise my weight or waist size for all the world to see! You must have some pretty brave guests! I also want to know if you actually weigh the guests or if they tell you their weight and dress size. Some of those ladies look like they weigh way more and I KNOW sometimes those dress sizes are WAY off!

The weight loss stories - Along with millions of Americans, I too am overweight and would love to lose weight. I have lost 33 lbs recently but fear an underlying deadly disease is to blame so I merely choose to say I am eating healthier and move on. Stress I believe anyway........When you ask the guests their weight loss secrets and they reveal them I just shrug. Steel cut oats....ugh! I would appreciate a story that included pop tarts, Nutri Grain bars or cereal for breakfast since I can't seem to like the steel cut oats that EVERYONE seems to love and lose weight eating. Just a request!! I know these choices aren't wise or anything you would recommend but I am a busy mom on the go. My choices are a healthy banana, Nutri Grain bar or a pop tart on my way out the door. It is either that or nothing at all! I know you say "choose fresh" when you can but my current income and busy mom status needs to use those "pre-packaged" goods in order for a meal to ever be cooked. SO why don't you let us know which "pre-packaged" goods are acceptable?!?!?

The skin crawl factor - Half of your shows have just made my skin crawl! I watch every evening and my family LOVES to learn all about their body by watching you. I swear the amount of medical information in your head should make it explode!! The problem is I can't sleep because I am so grossed out! The parasites like the tape worm.....ugh....gag....ugh! I swear I checked out my own poop for days looking for those little larvae sacks. Disgusting I tell you! I sort of hoped to catch some worms to lose weight until I saw this episode. Then the whole parasite episode which again talked about worms put me over the edge! Seriously I am thinking of scotch taping the butts of my entire family since now my butt itches at the mere thought of that episode. Oh my.....the bed bugs show...ugh! I swear I didn't sleep well for weeks. I am an insomniac anyway so this did not help matters! (Yes I also watched the insomnia show!) I woke up a million times a night feeling like something was crawling on me. I removed draws looking for feces. I removed the sheets and washed them while inspecting then vacuuming my mattress. No sign of a single bug but still no sleep! Thanks! Between the creepy crawly feeling and the scotch tape that will be on my butt for fear of a parasite, I will never sleep the same again! No more parasite shows so I don't go buy a microscope and start combing through our family's bowel movements! Please I beg of you stop!!

Cheesy - I love you! I really do but you are a tad cheesy on your new show! Man it up a little! Most of all I love your honesty but the acting is a little to be desired. When you try to do all the new exercises, I must admit if I am not laughing then I am fast forwarding. Probably should pay attention but it is hard when you look so awkward!

Style - I KNOW you have a stylist! Does this stylist not know YOU DON'T WEAR WHITE SOCKS WITH BLACK SHOES? PLEASE!! Stop with the white socks and black shoes.....this is one of my biggest style pet peeves.

Kudos - Kudos to you for your honesty and ability to talk about the embarrassing issues that no one else will even think about discussing on television. Thank you for the show you did about Americans with no insurance! It was eye opening at its best. Unemployed for 7 LONG months and one of the millions of Americans now without insurance, this show made me appreciate that nothing is seriously wrong with us and appreciate all that you did for your guests. Thank you! Now if you could just find a cure for diabetes then you would be our hero!

Thank you for all that you do and if by chance you read this please don't invite me to the show to embarrass me!! I will NOT enter the truth "tube"! ha! Remember my family and I still ♥ you!

Sincerely,

Angela

I'M BAAAAAACK!!

2010-02-10T22:13:00.001-06:00

NO I HAVE NOT FALLEN OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH!!

Gone three months and aching to post and read blogs and I only lost a few followers!!

I miss you all more than you can imagine and if you know me then you know I have a lot to tell you!! Wow three whole months! I don't know if I've ever been this quiet for this long! I hope you all will come back and join in the fun which is my life! I have soooo much to say and soooo many blog posts in my head just itching to get out! Just a few more days and I will officially have internet at home again and will be able to post on a regular basis. Until then hang on and get ready to ride..........

I have a couple of posts scheduled for you until I am up and running for good!!

FRIDAY HIGH FIVE

2009-11-12T19:00:00.008-06:00

Time for Friday High Five!

Come join in the fun....please!Make a list of 5 things ~ ANY five things you want! 5 favorite things, Top 5 Vacation spots, 5 most embarrassing moments, 5 favorite pics, 5 reasons to not pick your nose......A LIST OF ANYTHING YOU WANT IT TO BE....funny, serious, sentimental, to dos, pictures, no pictures ~ anything!

To see my Friday High Five posts for examples, click here!

Post about it, linking back to me (now you can copy and paste the HTML at the bottom of this post for a button!) then sign Mr. Linky! Please use the Friday High Five URL post in Mr. Linky's URL section instead of your blog URL and here is how: write the post, publish the post, go to edit posts, VIEW the High Five post, copy the URL in the address portion at the top of the screen then paste it in the URL section of Mr.Linky!!

Sounds complicated but it isn't too bad!

If you need help, let me know in the comment section!

Go view all the other High Five posts and comment away!

Have fun!
After the past two weeks, I need to remember to be thankful and positive. Chaitra's Grandfather passed away and she had to go to Michigan. My Mom and Dad were in Branson. My Mom normally watches Addison during the day but since both her and Chaitra were gone I had Addison for 11 hours a day for 4 days. Normally, this would not be an issue but Elijah had croup, Isaiah had bronchitis and Addison was teething and NOT happy for 3 out of the 4 days! Wow that was a trial and a half! Easy to forget about the little things when you no longer have a baby. You know like changing her in the front seat of the car because she has diarrhea and you have to go to the store. The fact that this was the third dirty diaper in 45 minutes and she is NOT happy! This was topped by Chaitra rolling and totaling her SUV on her way home with her brothers and finding out a very close family member is getting divorced. Then there was the trip to the ER, the trip to Urgent Care, thinking my parents' dog was going to have her puppies while they were gone *gag*yuck*, the basketball draft, football practice, playoffs, running over a football helmet (I will post this funny story later I promise!), my child getting his head run over by a bike (another funny one) and the ever looming job hunt. So right now, today, while everything is calm I am being thankful very very thankful, in fact, for my life and the people in it! I will save the rest of the news for later but for now here is
my Friday High Five...

5 things I am looking forward to

5. Basketball - I am looking forward to an indoor sport!! Now that football is over....*sniff*sniff*....Elijah needs something to look forward to instead of his current "football is over?!" sadness.

4. Football tournament - Elijah is on an All-Star team and will be in a tournament. Hoping this too will help the football season ending sadness. It is good to know that he loves what he does and I believe that is why he is so good. Can't wait to see him hit again. He is truly a joy to watch!

3. Thanksgiving - Love the holidays, love the food, love time with family and am a passionate Black Friday shopper. Can't wait! I wish I had more money to spend on Black Friday but I will enjoy myself anyway. I also love that this is my birthday weekend. Now that I am older birthday's pretty much suck because they seem just like another day but I am still looking forward to it regardless.

2. Christmas - Hard to get in the Christmas spirit when it is in the 70s outside but I love love love Christmas time! Love the reason and the season! Need to start some shopping!!

#1

This is something I have been waiting and waiting for since April 2nd of this year.......

can you guess???

A PAYCHECK!!

WOOHOO!!

THAT IS RIGHT FOLKS......
I GOT A JOB, I GOT A JOB, I GOT A JOB HEY, HEY, HEY, HEY!!
Are you singing along like in the Little Rascals?

I can't wait! I start on Tuesday and won't actually get paid until December but at least it pays!! I will be working at a Lasar Eye Clinic and everything will be new to me so pray for me!

Hey did I mention?

I GOT A JOB
I GOT A JOB
I GOT A JOB
HEY, HEY, HEY, HEY!!!

FRIDAY HIGH FIVE

2009-11-06T10:43:00.002-06:00

Time for Friday High Five!

To see my Friday High Five posts for examples, click here!

Sounds complicated but it isn't too bad!

If you need help, let me know in the comment section!

Go view all the other High Five posts and comment away!

Have fun!

5 THINGS SEEN OR LEARNED WHILE AT THE EMERGENCY ROOM

5. My first thought when admiring the room of sickies waiting for medical advice at the ER was wow we have a bunch of redneck/white trash/ghetto sickies in this town. Then I realized I was being way too judgmental since I was one of these people without being redneck/white trash/ghetto. It took a second but I understood that at midnight there is no need to wear your Sunday best. In fact, my own son was looking fine in his "I am going to the ER at 11 o'clock" look. He was wearing red, black and cream plaid pajama pants with a fluorescent orange Incredible Hulk shirt topped only by the camo flip flops. Yep we were all ONE in our fashion senses ~ who cares! Amazing the ensemble you can come up with when you kid can't breathe, his lips are blue and his heart is racing! More to life than fashion!!

4. You get in much quicker if (1) your son cannot breathe and (2) the pediatric ER is still open. Never been to the new pediatric ER but I will definitely return there if needed! It was so fast! I totally anticipated being there until the next morning but I wasn't! Gotta love it! Well not that you have to go there but that the option exists! It is also funny to me how quickly kids appear to return to normal once you enter the ER and they know there is a shot looming in their near future!

3. A little sense of fear comes when the nurse says Dr. C will be right in. Dr. C is the pediatrician you fired because his nurse almost killed your second son at the age of 9 mos ( for real people, they had to start chest compressions but that is another post.....hmm....have I posted about that before?) I will not lie I felt awkward especially after he recognized us! Oh well he fixed my boy up so I can't complain!

2. If you are in the Tulsa area and have been to the St. Francis ER, then you will know who I am about to talk about. The lady who does the admitting portion of our ER visit was the sweetest lady named Dena. Really she was so so sweet but she has claws for finger nails. I am talking something almost Guiness worthy folks. You know the ones that curl all the way around and curl in weird directions. She couldn't even grab things with her finger tips but instead had to use her knuckles. It is so weird to see and they are longer and longer everytime I see her. They are thick and ugh just gross. If you could have seen Elijah's face when he saw the claws!! It was priceless! I always say, "I don't know how you type with those!" She can type with the curled up claws and pretty quickly considering she hunts and pecks with 6 inch curly q's on her fingers. It is just so odd! Quite a sight to see!

Due to recent flu epidemics and the ever looming fear of the H1N1 virus, there were signs everywhere to please wear a surgical mask if you had any cold or flu symptoms. I understand this but their operation seemed pretty senseless. It should be well known by now that one is supposed to cover their coughing and sneezing with the inner elbow instead of one's hand. Although well known, many do not do so in the moment. This leads me to my point. In order to get the surgical mask, the patient would have to reach into the box of surgical masks to get one.

HELLO!

So now you have a room full of sick people reaching their grubby little hands into the box of ALL the surgical masks thereby contaminating them all! Doesn't that just spread the symptoms, feed the virus and DEFEAT THE PURPOSE!!!! Why isn't the hospital staff handing them out? People are probably getting sicker by wearing the contaminated masks directly over their mouth and nose while breathing in the funk for hours while waiting to be seen! If you didn't have it before, then you sure have it now! Idiots, I tell you!

FRIDAY HIGH FIVE

2009-10-29T19:00:00.058-05:00

Time for Friday High Five!

To see my Friday High Five posts for examples, click here!

Sounds complicated but it isn't too bad!

If you need help, let me know in the comment section!

Go view all the other High Five posts and comment away!

Have fun!

5 things I love to hate about Facebook

5. The addiction! I love to know what is going on unless you are one of those that let's me know each time you wipe your butt. If you are this person, then please seek professional help for your addiction and diarrhea of the mouth.

4. I get to communicate with out of town family on a regular basis and am somewhat clued in to their life. I also like catching up with true friends from high school that I haven't seen in ages. I can't believe I graduated 15 yrs ago....just saying that makes me feel old!

3. I hate the people that just want more friends! I went to a large high school, in fact, I believe it is the largest in our state. I could be wrong so don't quote me. College was not a big adjustment for me when it came to size....alcohol and freedom maybe but not size. My college actually seemed smaller than my high school. That said I don't know everyone I graduated with by any means. I get friend requests from people that I graduated with but never even knew. Seriously, half the time I don't even recognize their name. I "ignore" their friend request only to get repeated requests. I say to the monitor, "I don't know you!" then respectly "ignore" them again. A few people have sent me countless requests and I am beginning to believe they are just trying to "up" their friends numbers. Ugh! Stop already....you don't know me and I don't know you besides chances are we will never speak because we don't know each other except for the fact that I know when you wipe! Funny to me though really since I love talking to my bloggy friends and we have never met. I feel though that they know me well enough through my long winded posts to chat with me!!

2. I love getting feedback from my stupid interest lacking status reports. Ex: my current status is......"Angela is just statusless!" Intriguing I know but you gotta love the feedback!!

2. We are going to add a second number two because I actually have another "hate" but we'll pretend I didn't realize it so my high five isn't a six! Don't want to break my rules! Wait High Five doesn't have rules. Babble babble! Did that make sense to anyone besides me? Ok where was I.........I hate the people that do every single facebook game, quiz and app! I don't want my "feed" filled with your invites to two million different apps. Get off the computer or at least get off of facebook and join.....hmm......blogger. Since it is a far more acceptable addiction at least in my mind. I went through a phase where I did a bunch of quizzes BUT that was a war between a couple of friends and a cousin of mine. You know like somehow some made up quiz actually makes us smarter than one another when we get a higher score!! That ended quickly when I ~~discovered I might be an idiot~~ proved my genius!

#1
My all time favorite thing about facebook is....
seeing the changes in peoples' lives ~ the good, the bad and the ugly. There is the jock who you eyed all through school. You know the one who would only give the cheerleaders the time of day. I love to see the jock is now fat and married to some "not so hot" girl! I won't lie it brings me joy! Sick I know but true! It also makes me a little happy to know they finally realized true beauty is on the inside. I also like seeing the jock that still has it goin' on! You know you do too....well maybe not you Dan! I also like to see the diva from high school is fatter than me and now they understand the "big girls". This might be just a "big girl" action! Vain I know but true! You all know you do the same thing! I love seeing school friends with lives similar to mine or different from mine. I love seeing their children and wonder if they too will be friends in school. I hate the "frenemies" that all of the sudden want to be your "friend". I believe they are just trying to snoop into my life soooooo......I snoop myself FIRST. Boo yeah, gotcha! I confirm their friend request snoop around then delete them before they realize I even confirmed in the first place. You all know you do it too! Welllll......I hope so or I sound truly psychotic. If you don't, then let's pretend I didn't say that and move on!

ATWT ~ LOOK AT ME, MOMMY!

2009-10-29T13:39:00.000-05:00

Isaiah has been able to dress himself for quite awhile but sometime ago he decided to pick out his own outfit!

He came out and said, "Look at me, Mommy! I picked out my own clothes!"

He must have seen by the look on my face that I was about to say the outfit did not match because then he promptly added, "See it matches...." while pointing out the blue and orange in both articles. Of course, I had to tell him how proud I was and tried my hardest not to laugh.

He had a blue, orange and white striped buttoned down shirt with his floral print swim trunks in colors of blue, orange, white, yellow, red and green. The shirt was buttoned wrong. The sleeves were too short and the pockets of the swim trunks were hanging out

BUT

do you think it stopped him from rocking this outfit and doing some model poses for the cam.....

NOPE!

His serious cover pose!

About to own the catwalk!

Do you also think it stopped him from playing outside in the blessed ensemble?

If you think so, then you do not know this boy!!

PHOTOSTORY FRIDAY: FALL FUN AND PAIN AT THE ZOO

2009-10-23T07:00:00.014-05:00

Hosted by Cecily and Kelli Last week the kids were out of school for three days. Besides pumpkin painting....that's a whole other story.....we went to the zoo with my friend Tammy and her son John plus I also took Avani and Addison along.
Am I crazy?

I believe so after this!

Of course, I took plenty pictures of animals but I got some really good kid shots then I played on Picnik so that is what you are going to get!!

Except for this cute little guy....I didn't play with this picture but I like this picture because he kept checking me out through the corner of his eye as if to say, "Are you lookin' at me?"

Our usual "Monkey see, monkey do!" picture at the zoo. I don't know why I always take so many of these or why I love them so but I just do!
Sweet little Addison! I love this picture! It appears that she is looking at something but I think she was getting bored since we stayed by the otters for awhile! Then after I shot this she did......

What a beautiful two teeth smile!!I swear her eyes just light up!
Then came the funniest part of the day. The kids were looking through the children's petting zoo when Tammy and I said, "Oh kids look over here! You will have to look really hard for this one!" They looked, searched and pointed out non-existent animals when they asked what exactly they were looking for to which John reads the sign beside them, "It is a temporarily vacant!" They didn't have a clue what that meant so they kept looking while Tammy & I snapped pictures and laughed!!

Then came the traumatic portion of the trip! The zoo was full of bees. By full I mean they were overtaking the place! Everywhere you walked there were bees especially if you walked near a patch of flowers or a trash can. They would just land on us like they were welcome. This made me extrememly nervous since Avani is allergic and we forgot her epipen and by we I mean her mother! I could see it now either her struggling to breath or a scene out of Pure Luck with Martin Short but only Avani's face swelling like a balloon. I took lunches and sat down at a table without bees swarming around......or so I thought. I get the kids all arranged then sit down to feed Addy when I hear screams. Then Isaiah screamed like I don't think I've ever heard him scream.
Picture this: Isaiah screaming while Avani, John and Elijah scream and run in all different directions. I am trying to figure out what just happened and Addison with the rest of the zoo guests look at us like we have totally lost our minds! All of this while Tammy is inside buying food for her and John.
I figure out a bee stung Isaiah on his ear! Poor kid and those ears! I try my best to calm and organize with absolutely NO luck! Bees still swarming, kids still screaming, Isaiah wailing, Addy and the zoo guests are still looking at me like we've lost our minds. At this point, I think I did! I scream at the kids to get their food and go inside while grabbing a screaming Zay and trying to push Addy in the stroller.
Did anyone ask me if I needed help?
NO!Nope not one single heartless person! Jerks!Let's see you be calm with 3 scared kids, 1 wailing in pain and 1 in a stroller still looking at us like we are nuts.....five count them FIVE KIDS and one me! I was totally outnumbered and should really think of this BEFORE an outing! I WILL REMEMBER THIS....SURE HOPE YOU HEARTLESS JERKS DON'T GET STUNG TOO BECAUSE I AM TAKING THE LAST TWO TABLES INDOORS!
Finally once inside a worker asks me about the commotion and calls security and medical over to check on the bee sting boy! He cried and cried and just when I thought he would be ok he would let out a scream then cry some more! I seriously wondered if he would even let me put him down long enough to get to the car if needed. Finally after 30-45 minutes, we coaxed him back outside with...."When a bee stings you, it dies. All the other bees see this and will never sting you while you are here because they don't want to die too!" Total crap but it worked! "Please Lord, don't let him get stung again or I will never hear the end of it!" Yep I prayed right after lying to my son!
He wore a light jacket with a hood and let me tell you this.....that kid wore the hood the entire rest of our trip at the zoo and held it with his hands so NO bees could get in! I didn't tell him they don't always sting ears and could very well just stink him in the face because remember "all the other bees aren't going to sting him"! Just when I thought he was over it and would let go of the hood.....he would grab it again 2 seconds later....poor guy! Still cute though....

Don't you think so?If you don't, then don't answer!!
Finally time for pics with the turtle....
The boys were a little uncooperative but Avani my little model posed and posed..and of course I played around on Picnik again....
They even have a "Go pink!" effect for Breast Cancer Awareness month!
Cute!
We had a good time and the weather was absolutely PERFECT!
Hosted by Cecily and Kelli

FRIDAY HIGH FIVE

2009-10-22T19:00:00.006-05:00

Time for Friday High Five!

To see my Friday High Five posts for examples, click here!

Sounds complicated but it isn't too bad!

If you need help, let me know in the comment section!

Go view all the other High Five posts and comment away!

Have fun!

5 MORE "DON'T YOU HATE IT WHEN"..........
5. Don't you hate it when your kid has to poop each and every time you arrive for speech therapy only to realize after sitting there for five minutes that he just needed to fart! EVERY SINGLE TIME!

4. Don't you hate it when you need to go pee but you are too busy and far from the bathroom until you turn the washer on, quickly slam it off because that sound of rushing water has turned that urge into an necessity!! You high tail it to the bathroom since those two pregnancies and c-sections for those kids of yours did nothing positive for bladder control! NOTHING!

3. Don't you hate it when you just sit down to pee and your son busts into the restroom with the sentence, "Now I am not sure what happened Mommy but just remember it was an accident!" with his brother wailing in pain in the not so far distance! Like an alien took over his body and he couldn't control his legs from jumping on the couch with his brother who fell and hit his head on the corner of the coffee table!! Two seconds......can I just have TWO seconds to pee!!

2. Don't you hate it when you take a drink with you in the car and never take a sip THEN you throw out the drink, put a snotty baby wipe in the cup then ask your child to carry it in and put it on the kitchen counter when you get home. THEN you fill the cup and drink from that cup all evening until you realize five hours later while drinking that you forgot to throw out the snotty baby wipe before using that cup.....gag...gag!! Yep there it is just sitting in there marinating in your fruit punch!! Mmmm.......don't say you don't hate that or you haven't done it because I will feel stupid! Just say you "would" hate it!!

Don' you hate it when you pull in the driveway and while gathering your belongings to take into the house you can NOT find your phone! You look and look and tear the car apart! You say, "What did I do with it?" Just then your sister says through the phone being held ON YOUR EAR by your shoulder, "Do with what? What are you looking for?" Oh nothing! It is almost like I am incapable of learning IT IS ON MY EAR since I do this quite often! I totally should NOT have admitted to this!

WRITER'S WORKSHOP WED ~ THE DOs AND DON'Ts OF PLAYGROUNDS!

2009-10-22T12:31:00.000-05:00

Time for MamaKat's Writer's Workshop Wednesday!

I pick........

1.) Create a list of playground dos and dont's.

DON'T wear flip flops or any form of sandal! Those large chunks of mulch will undoubtedly stab you in the foot......why must they use such painful material? If you don't get stabbed, then it will surely get stuck inside your shoe. The rule is if you can't walk in it barefoot then don't wear flip flops!

DON'T wear high heels to the park! THAT is just plain ignorant!

DON'T climb UP the slide! This is difficult for children to understand for some reason until they are kicked in the face by the next person sliding down. My children are highly guilty of this one!

DON'T talk on your phone the entire time you are at the park. Kids grow up way too fast and you have plenty of time outside of this bonding moment to chat on the phone!

DON'T tell your little nose picker to wipe their boogers on the nearest piece of equipment that my child might touch! That's just gross!

DON'T bring your sick kid to the park. This includes children who have had fevers within 24 hrs, vomited in.....oh like 48 hrs......or if their nose is running off their face.....KEEP THE KID HOME! Please! I know you don't want to be cooped up with a sick kid but we don't want what they have!

DON'T wear hooker clothes to the park! We don't want to see it because we are fat! Well by "we" I mean "I" but in denial! Remember it will be harder for you to breath with me sitting on you! Remember when I jump off the swing and purposely land on....I could crush you! Not bitter! Not bitter at all!

DON'T climb into things with your child unless you KNOW you can fit through to reach the other side! That would suck! I avoid this little mishap by crawling in NOTHING!

DON'T mention the park to me outloud in front of my child unless you know I want to go! This makes it harder for me to say NO! Beware, I will tell your kid you are taking him/her to McDonald's!

DO make your children wash their hands after leaving or giving them any snack! Hello! At least get antibacterial crap for them to smear the virus around before eating!

DO wait at the bottom of the slide especially if they are coming down face first!

DO push your kid on the swing! When you get tired just push them beyond their comfort zone and they will want off!!

DO swing in the swing next to your child! It will make you feel younger and free....I promise!

DO take pictures! They will be some of the best with all the colors of nature and the true smiles of a child having fun.

DO HAVE FUN!

ATWT: MY DATE WITH A MUCH YOUNGER, HOTTER MAN!

2009-10-22T07:00:00.002-05:00

Yes, I am married!

Yes, Hubs knew about the date and was ok with it!

No, we are not in an open relationship!

The younger man is taken too!

We invited his girlfriend BUT she was out of town so it was just the two of us at the park on a WONDERFUL fall evening!

Hubs took Elijah to the TU football game along with his football team and their families. I was footballed out! Yes 'footballed' is a word! The team got to go out onto the field and even made it on the 10 o'clock news! Woohoo!

I decided I needed a night out and I found the perfect young man to join me!

He is a little hottie!

Irresistible in fact!

Yes, he is a little stubborn or headstrong like myself but again the irresistible part took over.

He didn't have money since he is jobless but I offered to pay.

He has a few minor obsessions and I catered to them all!

Here he is the much younger man I dated for one evening

I know, right! I am one lucky lady!

Parks are his fun obsession. We went to "his" park.... just the two of us. All of his birthday parties have been at this park so he has claimed it as his own. Not many little boys have their very own park!

He's a real swinger! lol

The next stop is his favorite obsession of all.....ICE CREAM! We went to Braum's and out of all of those flavors he still picked his trusty favorite - "baniwa" or vanilla as we know it! This kid loves ice cream. I hardly ever buy it since welllllll I love it too and I will eat it. Meme always have "baniwa" ice cream for him but we went to the ice cream store....just the two of us!

After one scoop of ice cream and one for the road.....I know "sucker" right.....we went to Target to check out the Halloween costume aisles which totally sucked by the way. They normally have like four aisles of just costumes but this new Target just had one aisle. ONE for kids and adults, seriously Target you are letting me down here! We walked through ALL the toy aisles where he claimed to want "all the boy toys and no girl toys" for his birthday. I said, "ok!" The boys know I don't just buy them toys everytime we go to the store so both of them ask for everything for their birthdays and I say yes! They won't remember by then and don't realize how far away their birthdays are.....if they only knew how close Christmas is!! Hey it works with no begging and no tears! Then we went home and I must admit I still got it.......I totally wear out my dates!

He didn't even make it to his bed and crashed about 5 minutes after we arrived back home! A perfect ending to a perfect date with my little man!

FRIDAY HIGH FIVE

2009-10-15T19:00:00.001-05:00

Time for Friday High Five!

To see my Friday High Five posts for examples, click here!

Sounds complicated but it isn't too bad!

If you need help, let me know in the comment section!

Go view all the other High Five posts and comment away!

Have fun!

5 THINGS I NEED TO CATCH UP ON.....

5. Housecleaning........I clean and clean and can never totally catch up. My cousin's husband hired someone to clean her house while she went to Mudd Lake to visit with MckMama. Although I think I too would panic a little at the thought of my things not being where I want them but then I think again and say BRING IT ON!! So the plan instead of actually cleaning the house is to somehow become independently wealthy real fast then go on a trip to ohhhhhh......ANYWHERE......then after mentioning James' sweet gift to Janelle Hubs will hire a housecleaner to do the work for me.

Chances of this happening.......ZERO!

4. Bills........along with the last option this will only occur if we become independently wealthy really quickly like so fast that money just flies from the sky! That would rock!

Chances of this happening......ZERO right now but possible once I find a job!

3. Scrapbooking......oh how I miss scrapbooking. I love it and am far behind again! You would think I could have caught up at least halfway with all my "free" time but somehow all my "free" time gets bogged down with kid errands, cleaning, cooking, Hubs errands, friends and family errands! I used to scrap at night when everyone else was sleeping alas that has fallen to the wayside. I wish I could get my girls together to scrapbook again since we always have so much fun.

Chances of this happening......if I could just find the time this minor feat is highly reachable and fun! I think I'll begin this weekend in fact!

2. Painting.......I have been wanting to paint the boys bathroom cabinets and the kitchen cabinets all summer. I have also wanted to repaint their bathroom walls - same color just fresh coat. I want to put a fresh coat on the hallway and repaint a new color in the entry way. I LOVE to paint! Love love love to paint! Again I just haven't found the time!

Chances of this happening.......If I could just have one weekend, then I could get most of it done. Two weekends and BAM!! If I had a couple of Hubs/kid free days, then well okay maybe I wouldn't get much painting, scrapbooking or cleaning done BUT I would catch up on the DVR, rest and girl time! Chances of that happening......ZILCH! Where was I? The painting could be done I just need some time well and maybe more paint which would require money for paint and a job for money so highly attainable just not right this moment!! ha! Worked my way out of that one just right!!

BLOGGING

I LOVE BLOGGING!

LOVE. IT!

I MISS BLOGGING!

I MISS HOME INTERNET!

I would blog about just about everything if I could just suck it up and go back to my old internet provider. I am still holding out as if somehow this is hurting them! ha! Yeah right! The only person this is hurting is me! Ugh! I have so much to blog about and so little internet time here at the library. I spend most of my limited library internet time applying for jobs, looking through emails in response to applications, reading others' blogs and trying to keep up in responding to comments.

Chances of this happening......HIGHLY LIKELY IF I COULD JUST SUCK UP MY PRIDE AND THE FACT THAT I SAID I WOULD NEVER RETURN TO THEM NO MATTER HOW MUCH I MISSED THEM! Originally, my thing was "they don't rule the world" I can find someone just as fast only way cheaper! What I didn't realize is they do in fact rule the internet service in my area and I haven't found anything else that is comparable in speed or anyone that even services my neighborhood for that matter!! I found several who are way way cheaper but alas they don't reach to my house. Ugh!

Suck it up Angela and make the call!

Chances are this will eventually happen because I think I could just DIE!! I just miss you all so much!

FRIDAY HIGH FIVE

2009-10-08T19:00:00.005-05:00

SORRY FOLKS!

I SCHEDULED THIS TO POST LAST NIGHT BUT ENTERED THE WRONG DATE!! OOPS!

Time for Friday High Five!

To see my Friday High Five posts for examples, click here!

Sounds complicated but it isn't too bad!

If you need help, let me know in the comment section!

Go view all the other High Five posts and comment away!

Have fun!

5 THINGS I LEARNED ABOUT OCTOBER

We all know....or at least you should by now......that October is Breast Cancer Awareness month but you all know I like looking up things at Holiday Insights esp the Bizarre and Unique Holidays. Here is what I found out about October as a month.

5. Adopt a Shelter Dog Month........I have a rather strong opinion about this idea. If a dog was let's say lost, then I have no problem with adopting it BUT most of the time the dogs are there for a reason. I know, I know you all are going to hate me BUT people take dogs there for many reasons. Sure there are reasons like they can no longer afford to care for the dog properly or they are unable to spend time with the dog but they could be there for chewing everything in sight, not being potty trained, hyper or maybe they bite. I am not saying never adopt a dog because they all need a home but I am saying you never know what you are getting into....be careful! Yes, I know abused animals are there too and they need serious love but be careful around your children since these animals will be frightened at a mere jump or playful scream! Enough of that moving on..........

4. Cookie Month.........WOOHOO! I love cookies! I love chocolate chip oatmeal cookies! I love snickerdoodles! I love oreos! I love butter cookies! Ooooooooo.....the other day Chai brought over a batch of cookies and NO she did not make them her friend did but they were the BEST!! Soft!! Mmmm.....I can taste them now! They were chocolate chip peanut butter.......wow they were good! I will have to see if I can get some more of those or maybe the recipe!

3. National Pizza Month........I love pizza too! Don't know why I am fat between the pizza and the cookies! Ha! Anyway I love pizza with jalapenos on it! I love pizza with those little red pepper things on it! I love pizza without sauce! Yes, you read that correctly! Esp Dominos Extravaganza pizza with NO sauce!! Often times when ordering pizza without sauce you have to repeat it several times because they think you are nuts!! Most of the time we make our own pizza. The kids get to help and it is oh so good and super duper cheap!

2. National Diabetes Month........this is important to us since Hubs, my Father, my Grandmother, a few friends and two of Elijah's little friends have diabetes. Check yourself! Just because you pass one glucose test per year does NOT mean you do not have diabetes! I could go on and on about this topic. I believe the doctors should test patients twice within one week every 6 months if a patient has a family history of diabetes or many of the warning signs. If you have recently been diagnosed with diabetes or have lived with it for years, I urge you to take a diabetes education course. Most hospitals can tell you where to find one close to you! You will learn so much and most will offer an update course every year so you can learn new info since the medical field learns something new everyday! It is a manageable disease with so much to learn. Information is key to the disease in my eyes! Diabetes should be considered an awakening not a death sentence!

Last but certainly not least......

October is Sarcastic Month!

Woohoo!

Finally, a month for my family, friends and I to honor in our God given talent!

FRIDAY HIGH FIVE

2009-10-01T19:00:00.000-05:00

Time for Friday High Five!

To see my Friday High Five posts for examples, click here!

Sounds complicated but it isn't too bad!

If you need help, let me know in the comment section!

Go view all the other High Five posts and comment away!

Have fun!

5 THINGS I CAN'T STAND HEARING

5. Wal-martS! Seriously! Have you ever seen an S at the end of a Wal-Mart sign? NO! It is Wal-mart NOT Wal-MartS! The lady across from me apparently works for Wal-MartS and is having an issue accessing some paperless check thing on the computer. She is talking to her supervisor very LOUDLY I must add and has said, "Do I just type in my walmartS dot com?" NO BECAUSE IT IS WAL-MART! She is seriously typing Wal-martSSSS! Good grief!

4. "I am!" I hate it when I ask Elijah to do something and he says.....I AM! Instead of Yes Ma'am or a simple ok would be great for me! I especially hate it when he says I am and is NOT doing anything! Hubs does this also....ugh!

3. I can't stand hearing about someone hating their job right now! I totally understand that feeling but seriously in my situation do you really think I am the one you should be complaining to?!?! Suck it up and be glad you have one!!

2. "I'll call you back!" This is fine only if you intend on actually calling back. If you have no intention of calling me back, then don't tell me you will instead just say talk to you later. This is ok from time to time since I completely understand getting side tracked and busy but ALL THE TIME....UGH!!

When I lose something, NEVER ever ask me where I put it!

Hubs does this all the time!

Don't you understand that if I knew where I put it then it wouldn't be lost!
I know I have mentioned this before but it happened again!
I lost my keys....again....actually wait....no I didn't.
It went a little something like this......I asked Hubs to get my keys out of my pocket on my pants that were on the ironing board. Hubs tells me they aren't in my pants pocket. We begin to look and look and look when he keeps asking me where I put the keys. I keep telling him I put them in the pocket of my pants and now they are gone. He then does his classic, "Well I guess they just walked off or suspiciously disappeared" crap. I said, "NO I put them in my pants pocket!" He says, "I've checked your pants three times and they are NOT there!" We seriously looked forever and even woke Isaiah up to see if he had played with them. No luck! He gives up and goes into the bathroom to brush his teeth. I then grab my pants only to hear, "I told you I checked them three times!" I said, "Well this will be MY first!" Sure enough the keys WERE IN THE FREAKING POCKET OF MY PANTS like I said they were! ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I just should have looked the first time instead of asking him. Then he swears they weren't in there when he looked. I guess they just spontaneously reappeared!! Darn magic keys! There he goes using those MAN EYES again......if it isn't in his line of sight, then it is gone or non-existent. Never ever lift or move anything for fear you might actually find it!

WOW FINALLY AN UPDATE!

2009-09-28T13:05:00.000-05:00

Things have been crazy around here and I am going to jumble it all into one giant update.....

Elijah's orthotics are in and he is wearing them daily. Although they are NOT half as bad as anything I imagined when the orthopaedist prescribed them, they still look a little odd. Don't worry I have not mentioned this minor detail to my boy! The weird thing is they are straight last shoe and completely interchangeable. There is no left or right shoe until the longitudes and arch supports are placed inside. It is rather odd to look at a shoe and not tell if it is right or left.....totally straight no curve on the arches!! Crazy huh! The problem with this is they are really wide and must be tied tight which he is unable to do. You know how you pull at the strings that are laced to get the shoe tighter....well he just can't get them tight enough so if they come untied during the day then they are a mess when he gets home. I need to find something to make them stay tied! This little feature means they have the general appearance of being tied tight and narrow at the top then they look extra wide at the toe of the shoe......did that make since? Let me think.......sort of resemble a clown shoe! Oh that sounds awful! Luckily, they look much better with jeans and fall is HERE!! The nice lady also fitted the arch supports for his football cleats so we switch them out ALL THE TIME!
I love FALL!! Although we had hot days this summer, Oklahoma BY FAR had a great summer. Normally, we are in the 100s for what seems like forever but not THIS year! Nope!! It was so so nice! Made football practice much easier on the boys! HOWEVER, this makes me fearful for an extremely cold winter and I don't do cold!
Tez was having issues and ran away a few times. Due to his intellectual disabilities, the police and counselors advised that we go ahead and let him live with his Mother. He does NOT NEED to be with her and we feel as if this is just throwing in the towel, giving up and will destroy his future; HOWEVER, like they said, "short of tying him to the bed, we have no other options because of his mental state". He should have never spent the summer with her because he was fine before he left. The past can't be changed and I feel both remorseful and angry at the entire situation. Everyone says he will realize everything we did later but with the environment he will be in.....I just don't see it happening. I wish you all could understand just how strongly we feel about this being a bad decision BUT do you send a 15 yr old with the mind of a 3rd or 4th grader to juvi? No! He is a follower and not in "trouble" like the juvenile offenders in juvi so we don't want him influenced in that way. They said it might "open his eyes" but they didn't recommend it for him. I could go on and on about this topic but I won't because at the moment I am still bitter about it. I feel this is an awful choice for his life. For example, she took him out of all of his IEP classes because "he wanted to be in normal classes"! Are you freaking kidding me? He is intellectually disabled no matter how much she denies it! That basically guarantees failure! My 7yr old writes better than him and his handwriting isn't good! His Math, English and Reading Comp skills are on a 3rd and 4th grade level and she wants to stick him in with on-level 10th graders! His new school is full of thugs! He now has a cell phone (big mistake for him) and an 18 yr old girlfriend. He is in a house with no rules! Ok I really need to stop b/c I am getting pissed that everything I did for him over the last 2 yrs is down the freaking drain and she will destroy him! Lord, help me since now I am thinking juvi would have been a better option!
Isaiah is doing great in speech. The therapist is awesome and anticipates he may not need the originally planned length of therapy. They spent two sessions on K, two sessions on G and are about to begin L. I love taking him and it is truly interesting to watch. We were told he has mastered the tongue placement for those sounds and now we need to catch his errors during spontaneous speech so he recognizes his error and fixes it. I am soooooooo glad I am getting this taken care of now and he is doing well!
Hubs and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary yesterday. Although I said I was glad he married me with my two...yep read it folks....two flaws, he has neither confirmed nor denied the existence of these two flaws!! Smart move Baby....very smart! We have been together now for almost 9 yrs and all I can say is....time flies when you're havin' fun!
Still no internet at the house which leaves me with "I am switching to a cheaper service" regret! We were told by three separate services that they don't service our area and one "measured" with no luck! Ugh! I may have to suck it up and go back to the original service before I experience death by internet deficiencies!! That is a real medical condition.....I think!
Our football Champion boys are at it again. So far they are undefeated and make us prouder every week. I think my favorite part is listening to Elijah talk about the games. He LOVES it!
I've come to the conclusion that I would be better off as a complete idiot! I've been on a couple of more interviews through personal connections. These people then call me saying the job really likes me! Great! I have heard this in every single interview. We like you! We love you! bbbbuuuuutttttt you are overqualified! Are you kidding me? I don't need you to love me or necessarily even like me! I just need you to hire me and pay me!! This overqualified crap is just that.....crap! That is liar for we just don't want to pay you what you are worth. I DON'T CARE JUST PAY ME SOMETHING! I understand the idea of working my way up but I need the opportunity! McD's here I come! My boys would LOVE that!! I guess maybe if I act like a complete idiot, then maybe I will get a good job! From past experiences, I know there are employed idiots everywhere even Doctors!! ha!.....remember Dr. Huang!

I think that is all FOR NOW but I have plenty other posts coming up with more juiciness!! Wait till you hear about my experience with the racist wally world employees or a Halloween giveaway!

THE COMPUTER GAVE IN.....

2009-09-25T11:07:00.001-05:00

I switched from the tempermental library computer to a new one today. This new one did not eat my Friday High Five post! Woohoo! It is up! I just edited the previous post so it is the next post down. Enjoy and join in!

FRIDAY HIGH FIVE

2009-09-24T20:00:00.001-05:00

Time for Friday High Five!

To see my Friday High Five posts for examples, click here!

Sounds complicated but it isn't too bad!

If you need help, let me know in the comment section!

Go view all the other High Five posts and comment away!

Have fun!

Let's try this one more time!

5 reasons I should NOT have cooked dinner Wednesday night

5. I started making banana pudding at 2pm so it would be nice and cold. I must admit I definitely had motive in this dessert choice. The plan was to make banana pudding for Hubs since it is his favorite SO he would change the air filters. I was not going to let him actually eat the pudding until after the filters were changed! This plan failed miserably. Why? I forgot the plan! While he was making a bowl for himself, he also made one for me and well we ate it!

4. I put boneless pork ribs in the oven next. I am queen of ribs. They are so darn good. While opening the package dated that day, I noticed a hint of a bad smell. The smell was not strong so I rinsed them then put them in the oven for their hours of cooking. The longer they cooked the more I could smell death; HOWEVER, when the kids got home from school they walked in and said, "What are you cooking? It smells so good!" I thought the smell must be something else. One of Elijah's friends comes over every Wednesday until his Mom gets off of work. When she came to pick him up, I asked her to come in and smell. She responded with, "Why me? You know I don't cook!" I said, "Just walk in and tell me if it smells good or bad." She walked into the house and said, "Mmmmm....that smells SOOOO good! Are you making salmon?" Ummmmm.....NO! Not quite the smell you are looking for when you are making barbeque pork ribs which she confirmed when I told her what I was making. Time to start a different meat!

3. I wanted pasta salad and since both my parents and my brother are gardening this year I had plenty of veggies. I began this early too so it would be chilled before dinner. I LOVE MY PASTA SALAD! While chopping up the veggies, I sliced my hand with the tip of the knife right on one of those lines on my palm. Ouch!

2. I didn't learn from the first cut not to hold the onion that way and well being the genius that I am I sliced my palm open again right by the first cut! Double ouch! The juice from the onion felt great in the cuts too let me tell you!! Genius, I know! They are small but killing me still because they are right in a crease where my hand naturally bends. Ugh! Can I please get some sympathy here? I put blood, sweat and tears into this meal folks!

#1

Last but certainly not least......I put potato peels, cucumber peels, broccoli stems, green and red pepper stems and the half-cooked-rotten-fishy-death-smelling ribs down the garbage disposal. Normally, this is not a problem. We've owned the house for five years and I put EVERYTHING in the disposal. Never a problem! UNTIL NOW! The sink backed up and when Hubs went to fix it a screw broke. Wally World did NOT have a screw like it and no hardware/home improvement stores were open. The next day he worked then we had football practice so saying my kitchen is dirty is quite an understatement at best! It is nasty but I couldn't use the sink or the dishwasher until today when I have chosen to be on the computer and avoid the entire house!! The stuff that came up smelled like sewage and stunk up the entire house. I don't know what caused the problem but now I am scared to use the contraption at all even though it is fixed! Oh and in the process of helping him fix the disposal one of my rings fell in which I did NOT notice until I turned it on.....OOPS! One of my favorite rings turned into a mangled mess luckily it wasn't a high priced gem!

FRIDAY HIGH FIVE

2009-09-17T21:00:00.004-05:00

Time for Friday High Five!

To see my Friday High Five posts for examples, click here!

Sounds complicated but it isn't too bad!

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Go view all the other High Five posts and comment away!

Have fun!

5 why don't they tell you this before you have kids.......

5. They will be active until the absolute last minute to go to bed. They will never WANT to go to bed. Once in bed they will continue to chat, tickle, jump, pinch and argue until you yourself want to cry for YOUR Momma! They will want just one more drink, just one more kiss and they WILL have something vitally important to tell you EVERY. FIVE. MINUTES!! Can you tell we are having issues at bedtime?!?!

4. They will have to go to the bathroom as soon as you arrive at your destination even if you MADE them go before leaving the house so this situation would NOT occur!! Always!! You will quickly learn the locations of every bathroom in your favorite stores or outings!!

3. You will go to countless outings JUST for them....well and the pictures!! Sometimes they will hate the outing and making them stick it out everytime because you spent hard earned money isn't always the best answer!

2. You will wear clothes with milk stains and spit up marks for quite some time and not even care. You can go days without showering when they are little and not even realize it OR realize it and cry! You will change countless dirty diapers and once potty trained still have to wipe their butt to make sure it gets clean! You will do more loads of laundry than you ever imagined! At some point, when you know they are about to vomit without a toilet or bowl in arms reach, you will cup your hands to catch it and never even blink! You will call your Mom once that one happens trust me because you will be SHOCKED, grossed out yet still proud! You can't wait for them to start school THEN you miss them! You will have to help them with their homework even when neither one of you feel like doing homework! You have to spell, read and do math with them in order for them to be successful and confident! You will have to take them to school daily even when you don't want to get out of bed! You will have to sit in the rain during sports practices and games AND still cheer! They can eat like bottomless pits during sports seasons but will never gain weight.....oh the jealousy. They will argue, compete and down right physically fight with siblings then love, play and protect them in a matter of moments.

You will do all of this willingly without a second thought because they are YOUR children and you will love them more than you ever thought possible! These little things begin to get the nickname "the joys of motherhood" and you wouldn't trade them for the world!

WRITER'S WORKSHOP WEDNESDAY

2009-09-17T12:03:00.001-05:00

Time to join in the Writer's Workshop Wed fun with MamaKat!!

I choose #4.....

If your pet could talk, what would you want to know?

I would definitely have a little chat with our English Bulldog Moose!

WHY DO YOU CHASE YOUR TAIL 24 HRS A DAY?

Don't you realize by now YOU WILL NEVER EVER CATCH IT???

Do you not understand you wouldn't have to pant and slobber so much if you would just sit still for a minute and STOP CHASING YOUR TAIL??

Do you honestly think running in a circle and then BARKING AT YOUR TAIL EVERY SINGLE MORNING will make the tail give up and hop into your mouth? The tail is NOT scared of your bark and this only frustrates me more!!

Do you do all of this because you don't like me and you KNOW IT ANNOYS ME? THE FEELING IS MUTUAL!

You better be glad Hubs likes you!

Why do you sniff Samson's butt and lick his privates?
That is so disgusting!

OH and why all of the sudden are you pooping on the back porch instead of the grass?
You have pooped in the grass for years! What is the deal?

FRIDAY HIGH FIVE

2009-09-10T14:20:00.004-05:00

Time for Friday High Five!

To see my Friday High Five posts for examples, click here!

Sounds complicated but it isn't too bad!

If you need help, let me know in the comment section!

Go view all the other High Five posts and comment away!

Have fun!

5 decisions from this past week

5. If Moose won't runaway on his own, then he may need help! He is an idiot after all!

4. Breathing through the nose would be a great idea!! I would love love love to be able to breathe through my nose! My nose has failed me yet again folks or maybe it is this allergen ridden state!

3. No insurance...sucks! No job....sucks! Doctors cost too much money! I need a job like NOW to save my sanity!

2. That noise in my car is not going away but in fact getting louder! Hmm.....

I think my second grade son has too much homework! That or we have too little time! The entire second grade is on the same plan but for some reason my son doesn't understand why he has to go to school all day then do homework every night! Hmm......I wonder what the other mothers think?

SMALL TALK SIX

2009-09-05T08:00:00.000-05:00

For some reason I can not get the small talk six buttongs to appear on here. I have tried all three sizes and nothing!! Oh well here it goes......back with my Small Talk Six!

6 jobs I think would be a blast to have

since I have been unemployed for 5 months hmm.........

1. ANY JOB

2. A job where I can have an adult conversation

3. A job that will pay me money......any money

4. A dancer......no not a stripper or a pole dancer but a dancer......I love watching dancing and often wish I could dance for money but alas I am not that good and well I don't have the body that people want to pay to see!!! lolol I could be a roll dancer!! Oh my goodness...now that one cracked me up....seriously...you know you laughed!!

5. Hmm.......I would love to be a whale trainer.....ya'll know you go see Shamu, get the goosebumps then wish you could be in the water too! Me in a wet suit......NOT going to happen!! Plus I have a slight fear I could be seen as a good meal by the whale! THAT would suck!!

6. I heard google was a great job.....great benefits, nap times, game time and hey you know they make money!!

HOT BROKE DIET REVEAL

2009-09-04T11:40:00.001-05:00

Awhile back I mentioned I had started the Hot Broke Diet and had lost 6 lbs......

not too long after this I received a few emails asking about the Hot Broke Diet. One reader stated she had looked on the Internet to no avail and could not find anything about the Hot Broke Diet and wished I would share the easy diet.

HERE IT IS FOLKS:

The Hot Broke Diet isn't actually a diet you would see on an infomercial nor will it ever appear on Oprah unless she thinks I am funny and loves my blog in which case she should email me at which time I could pencil her into my ever-changing, busy social calendar. Oprah, IF you are reading this, then you should know that the former statement is a big fat lie and I don't even have a social calendar. I could be there within hours to reveal my riveting weightloss secret!

The Hot Broke Diet is simply this......

IT'S

HOT

AND

I'M

BROKE!

See not too hard if you don't count the hunger pains, no money, high heat and humidity and don't forget the emotional roller coaster ride of finding a new job!!

If you can't buy crap, then you can't eat crap!!!

I ate tuna for one meal per day for a little over two weeks. Many times I just wouldn't eat all day until dinner merely because we didn't have anything I wanted to eat, nothing to eat or I was just too busy and would forget! I would not necessarily recommend this type of diet but it has worked for me and well I really didn't have a choice. The kids gotta eat although I do feel they should tell you just how much they will eat before you have a gaggle of them!! ha! How the Duggar's do it I'll never know? Hey did you guys know she is pregnant again? At least, that is what I was told at football last night in our highly educational football mom discussions. That is one baby lovin' family! Anyway where was I.....................ok so I basically wasn't eating or eating very little. Not recommended! By the third week, I couldn't even look at a can of tuna let alone eat it. I swear one day I opened a can fully intending to eat it when I began gagging relentlessly and had to put it down the disposal. I learned to become more creative with the things I had in my cupboard.......you know the things you bought forever ago and never used. I have felt more stomach growling and burning in the past few months than in my entire life. They say that is when you are burning fat so maybe I burned fat but I had no energy. Now I am just eating less! It also helps that since I am not working with my Dad that I am not eating out every lunch with my Dad and sales reps talking us into buying their products. Helps the pocketbook and the waistline! I have lost 17 lbs........it was 19lbs until Quinlynne's bday party and the first weekend of football!! Looking in the mirror, I do not notice much of a change; however, I do notice my clothes fit differently and I have put on stuff I haven't worn in about a year. I'm sorry if you thought you had found a successful easy program but trust me being broke isn't easy. Depressing, in fact!! I NEED A JOB!! Anyway.........I am not writing this to depress you or make you feel sorry for me in fact I thought it was hilarious that 3 of you were trying to find info on the Hot Broke Diet. It is no longer hot here! Woo hoo! In fact, Oklahoma had an extremely mild summer which I pray doesn't mean a horribly cold winter because I hate cold! I actually wore a sweatshirt a couple of times to football practice in the last week. Sweatshirt in August in Oklahoma ~ I've NEVER seen this happen!! I will not complain about this summer at all because 60s, 70s, 80s and even 90s are WAY WAY WAY better than 100 to 115!! Lovin' it!! So I am a little smaller and the temps are smaller so my world is not too bad at the moment....add on a high paying job and I think I could be down right ecstatic!! Wait I should say add on any job and........

On that note, it is cold and rainy today and I think it is perfect nap weather esp now that I have hungry pains and cravings for comfort food..............oooohhhh I want beef stew.........crockpot here I come.....wait......grocery store here I come!!

FRIDAY HIGH FIVE

2009-09-03T19:00:00.000-05:00

Time for Friday High Five!

To see my Friday High Five posts for examples, click here!

Sounds complicated but it isn't too bad!

If you need help, let me know in the comment section!

Go view all the other High Five posts and comment away!

Have fun!

5 "DON'T YOU HATE IT WHEN"......

I am thinking of starting another meme. Not that this one is too popular in fact I used to have more participates and I haven't a clue what happened but I like it so just thinking about another one. The new one would be "Don't you hate it when" Wednesday. Whatcha think? (I know "whatcha" is not actually a word!) Let me know!

5. Don't you hate it when you are running late which in my case is......DAILY.....and every stoplight in your path turns RED right as you pull up! Ugh! Now if I wasn't in a hurry every light would be green between home and my destination!

4. Don't you hate it when you make an appt at a doctor and they request you to be fifteen minutes early only to sit and wait for half an hour after your appt. time. I think next time I'll say...."No thank you I'll be right on time or maybe a little late since I never get seen on time anyway and MY time is just as valuable as the Doctor's time!"

3. Don't you hate it when you go to take the children to the pediatrician's office and have to walk through the "sick" waiting area to get to the "well child" waiting area! Seriously what is the point unless they are quarantined and use a separate door!! ha! We all end up in the same rooms in the end anyway!

2. Don't you hate it when you think people are talking to you and you keep saying, "What? Excuse me? Are you talking to me?" only to realize they have a bluetooth ear thingy and are actually on their cellphone! DRIVES. ME. NUTS. My sister used to have one and it drove me nuts esp. in the middle of a conversation when all of the sudden she is on another topic and I am lost only to realize she is on the phone!

Don't you hate it when....

you make a house rule of "NO" food in the bedrooms then find an uneaten, half peeled, rotten banana with a wonderful spot of moosh on the carpet under your 15 yr old stepson's bed while trying figure out why his room smells so freaking nasty! Hey and where do gnats come from anyway! It is like they appear out of nowhere!!

AN ONLY CHILD FOR A DAY OR TWO

2009-09-03T11:15:00.002-05:00

Tez is at his Mom's now. Long story and when I think I can tell the story without bawling I will.

Zay has been at my Mom's for the past two days. My Dad is out of town and my Mom didn't want to stay alone. Did she ask me to come stay? NO! Did she ask one of my brothers? NO!
She asked for Isaiah to spend the night. Why? I don't know! I know he loves his Meme....no wait scratch that....he is obsessed with his Meme BUT what exactly could he do to protect her....step on the intruders toes or lay out a line of hot wheels for the intruder to step on......wait that isn't a bad idea. With boys, I have stepped on MORE than my fair share of hot wheels and those little boogers hurt! ANYWAY.....he's been gone and will return after school today much to his dismay. She made me look bad with a trip to the park, shopping AND McDonald's all within 48 hrs...ugh.....she needs to come down a peg or twelve in my children's' eyes but hey I love her too so what am I to do!

This has left us with ONE........YEP ONE child since Monday night!

Odd!

So quiet!

No fighting, less food to make, no crying, no whining.....oh just peace and quiet!

Makes you wonder.....when did we decide on more than one?

Just kidding!

I love all my boys!

It was really nice to have some one on one time with Elijah and much easier to do his homework without a certain 4 yr old crying that he wants homework too BUT I can't wait to have that certain 4 yr old home so he can tell me over and over how great I am and how much he loves me! I love my kids and I love being a Mom but this was a well deserved break and good for all of us esp after the week we had last week. Can't wait to pick up Zay....he just makes me laugh!

THE QUEEN IS DOING HER 1ST GIVEAWAY

2009-09-02T11:19:00.003-05:00

Remember this post.....

go check it out while I wait!

WAITING....

waiting.....

In that post, I mentioned my cousin Janelle and recognized her Queen status although she already claimed it in her blog title!!

She is having her very first giveaway and I urge you to stop by because it is good! Ultimately my goal is for you to love her like I do because she cracks me up so I know you will love her if you just stop by!

What are you waiting for??

GO HERE NOW!!!

PLEASE!!

WW ~ I'M A BIG BOY NOW.......NOT SO FAST WEE ONE!!

2009-09-02T10:27:00.006-05:00

Isaiah cried for a week because one the older boys started school a week before him and that just isn't fair and two he did NOT want new teachers. Finally, on Aug 18th it was his time to start Pre-K and boy was he excited. I failed to mention to him that only one of his friends from the three year old class would be in the 4 yr old program with him purposely trying to ease the transition knowing that he would make new friends. Why announce this little tidbit and face the meltdown? Motherhood ~ gotta love it!! So here he is my big boy ready for his first day of Pre-K a few weeks ago...

I can NOT believe my BABY will be in Kindergarten next year. I know that is a full year away but it just makes me sad. I don't think you realize the "they grow up so fast" quote until it feels like they went from 3 months to 4 years in NO time at all!! Hubs had a minor meltdown once he realized Zay was in Pre-K after he came home from school to tell us about his day. I thought Hubs might cry but alas he just sat in deep thought then hugged HIS boy!!

Isaiah has wanted to be FIVE since the day he turned three. He seriously is obsessed with turning five. I guess five is a huge milestone to him in that you finally become a BIG KID! While cooking dinner a few nights ago, Zay came in and said, "Mommy, do you know why I like being four?" I said, "No why?" He responded with "because that means I am finally almost five!" My response, "Don't rush things baby boy! You just turned 4!"

LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE!!

2009-09-02T10:19:00.003-05:00

Football officially started with two weekends of scrimmages and you all know I took pictures!! Have to share b/c that's how I roll!!

We are so proud of our boys! Not only do they love the game but they are GOOD!! Wait let me change "good" to awesome! They are the defending conference champions looking for yet another winning season! Go Gold!!

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

2009-09-01T10:52:00.006-05:00

Quinlynne turned the big 4 so you know it was time to PAR-TAY!!

AND I just happened to take a picture or two!

FRIDAY HIGH FIVE

2009-08-28T10:12:00.004-05:00

Time for Friday High Five!

Come join in the fun....please!Make a list of 5 things ~ ANY five things you want! 5 favorite things, Top 5 Vacation spots, 5 most embarrassing moments, 5 favorite pics, 5 reasons to not pick your nose......A LIST OF ANYTHING YOU WANT IT TO BE....funny, serious, sentimental, to dos, pictures, no pictures ~ anything!

To see my Friday High Five posts for examples, click here!

Post about it, linking back to me (now you can copy and paste the HTML at the bottom of this post for a button!) then sign Mr. Linky!Please use the Friday High Five URL post in Mr. Linky's URL section instead of your blog URL and here is how: write the post, publish the post, go to edit posts, VIEW the High Five post, copy the URL in the address portion at the top of the screen then paste it in the URL section of Mr.Linky!!

Sounds complicated but it isn't too bad!If you need help, let me know in the comment section!

Go view all the other High Five posts and comment away!

Have fun!

5 THINGS I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS WEEKEND

5. My nephew Nehemiah's first football game.

4. A swim birthday party on Sunday

3. My nephew Logan's first football game

2. Spending time with my sister between two of the games

#1

Elijah's first football game!!!

Our Championship boys are back and hopefully they will have another successful football season but we all like to see them play the game they love no matter what.

FYI ~ FRIDAY HIGH FIVE

2009-08-27T11:24:00.001-05:00

FRIDAY HIGH FIVE WILL BE UP TOMORROW SO HAVE YOUR POSTS READY AROUND NOON!! AFTER THIS WEEK, I WILL BE POSTING ON THURSDAY NIGHTS WITH MR. LINKY! I ACT LIKE THIS IS SOMETHING BIG....LOL!

IT'S BEEN CONFIRMED.....I AM ROYALTY....NOW WHERE ARE MY PERKS!!

2009-08-27T10:14:00.002-05:00

Although I've always thought I was a Queen, I never got the recognition until NOW actually back in the beginning of the month but the Queen can take her time right or just blame her staff for not posting a thank you promptly!

BAM!!

Gotta love it!

Stacey over at Bloggin' It Like It Is gave me an amazing reward. With this reward comes freedom from dishes, bathroom duty, floor mopping, never waking up before noon and a personal maid, driver, nanny and all around general assistant......RIGHT?!!?!

I SURE HOPE SO BECAUSE I'VE SEEN HOW A QUEEN LIVES

AND I AM NOT LIVIN' IT YET!!

THANK YOU STACEY!

Stacey is a fellow Queen and blog addict like myself that you should definitely go visit!! Thank you and sorry it has taken me so long to properly accept my award!!

Now onto the 6 people who also earn this award.......

1. Janelle......Queen of the House of Boys.....LOVE. HER. She is my cousin in Iowa and CRACKS ME UP! She is new to blogland but has recently begun posting more and I am so excited!! Spiritual, down to earth, funny, BEAUTIFUL and well related to me so she can't be too bad. She has already proclaimed herself a Queen in her blog title so just letting her know I think the same!! Just letting you know about her so you can hop on over for blog support and comment love!!! You should ask her to start posting recipes since it sure seems she can cook. I've been asking when she says on facebook what she is having for dinner but she hasn't done it yet so maybe if we all ask then she will post them!!

2. Shandolynne.....she's my girl or wait she has a little girl with a curl who is going to marry my boy with a curl wait no she blogs on There once was a little girl....with a little curl.....ANYWAY.....she is my RL friend and I just think she is a queen because ONE she is an awesome friend and can make me laugh on the phone like NO other. TWO because she is a single mom of a beautiful little girl that I adore and all the while she is in nursing school while working to care for her girl. Yep you have it folks.....I am friends with Wonder Woman!! Shhh.....don't tell! She also needs comment love and blog support THEN she will bring out her funny with her comments and emails back to you!!

3. Saundra over at An Italian Mama Gone Crazy.......she is hilarious to say the least! I think I've given her other awards BUT she deserves it! HI-LAR-I-OUS AND HONEST! I ♥ her!

4. Kelly at My Voice, My View.....she is loyal and a great commenter....a TRUE follower welllll.....I guess she could be a leader but a great blog follower!! True sweetheart!

5. Raine at True Confessions of a Single Mother....that blog title says why she is a Queen....I admire hardworking single mothers and always have.....keep up the good work!! She is also a great follower and wonderful commenter.....go check her out too!

6. Tena at Punky Monkeys who is pregnant with her 4th child.....God love her....merely from the love of children, insanity or maybe those dreams of Jeff from Big Brother....either way she deserves to be called a Queen because she has three wee ones and is pregnant. Anyone who is pregnant wants to be called a Queen so here you go!

WELCOME TO YOUR CRAZY FAMILY, PAISLEY ROSE!

2009-08-25T11:39:00.001-05:00

I mentioned awhile back that my cousin Kris is now a father. The baby was nameless for a bit and just remained nicknamed baby Nug until they decided to name her Paisley Rose. She is so cute. She looks just like her daddy....poor thing!! just kidding! Anyway I promised pictures and here they are.......

I think he may like her!!!

A hat to cover the hat head from many hours in labor or should I say waiting!

So alert!

This is when she said my name! How sweet!

Isaiah loves babies and was very excited plus he doesn't like me taking pics of everyone but him!

Proud Pops!

This is my Uncle Russell and his newest granddaughter.

my Uncle Russell with his son Kris and Paisley

My cousin Cassie (Kris' sister) and Starr with the baby

Time to get cleaned up and she was not happy but her cry was so so so tiny and cute! I told her she would definitely need to work on a louder cry so she'll wake Mommy and Daddy. Aren't I helpful!!

It came time to wash her hair and like any girl getting her hair washed she instantly calmed right down!

Awwww isn't she cute!!

Then Brandon brought up his and Cassie's daughter Reagan soooo I had to take pics of her too!!

Reagan and her Uncle Kris

TONGUE IN CHEEK MOVES

2009-08-22T14:25:00.001-05:00

Earlier this year Isaiah had a speech screening at his school. They were debating on whether to offer speech therapy at his preschool. The worker decided Isaiah needed to be further evaluated. I took him in for this evaluation about three weeks ago. She said although he had few errors and had passed the evaluation which is lenient at his age, the errors he had were errors normally self corrected through development by now and he would require speech therapy. This was basically a given with his hearing and speech history. My goal was to try to get as many of the speech impediments corrected as possible before he starts kindergarten. He is starting to realize he says things wrong and often won't repeat things saying, "Mommy, I tan't say it right!" This just makes me sad and I will help him anyway that I can!

This past week we went for his first therapy session and to go over the final evaluation report.

His therapist is amazing and we both just love her. She said just after his progress in the first session that she thinks he will do really well and it probably won't take as long as noted. I found the session intriguing. I was so amazed at what she was doing and it was immediately working. Sure he will have to work with us and it will take time but it was just amazing. I've always known hearing affects speech and that speech involves proper tongue and mouth movements BUT this was too cool. For instance to say a K word or just the "ka" sound the front of the tongue goes down and behind the bottom front teeth while the back part goes up. She informed me that many children with his same prior medical issues will have the same speech impediments because they lack muscle control towards the back of the mouth. Interesting, huh!?!?

Well she was TRYING to teach him some tongue exercises to strengthen his back tongue muscles. One such exercise was closing his mouth then using his tongue to push against the inside of his cheek therefore forming a ball look on the outside of the cheek. Are you trying it? Not hard just the tongue in cheek move! She would then push on the ball on the outside and tell him not to let her push it in. Isaiah could not do it. To teach him, she decided to show him and let him "push" on her cheek.

Are you ready?

Here it goes:

Poor, innocent, sweet, cheerful and funny speech therapist makes the "ball" and tells Isaiah to PUSH the ball back into her mouth so it will go to the other side.

Ornery, concerned, sweet, handful yet still learning Isaiah punches the ball which is her tongue in cheek and we both had to laugh because it was so unexpected.

Then poor, innocent, sweet, cheerful and funny speech therapist says, "Ok lets do the other side but this time not so hard!"

What speech therapist should have said was "Do NOT punch just push with one finger!"? Mistake noted by MOI!

She puts tongue in cheek then tells him to push. He lifts his hand, makes a fist and draws it back to hit his new fun punching back when I swear within a split second her eyes were the size of quarters, she ducked and her chair flew back!

Embarrassing?

Yes!

Funny?

NO HI-LAR-I-OUS!
I wish you could have seen the expression on her face!

PRICELESS!

Instead of trying it again, she showed him with MOMMY pushing!

Pushing/punching?

They sound alike to me!

He went home with "homework" which totally excited him since he gets jealous that he doesn't have any homework. He is doing well and we will return for more therapy next Tuesday. Can't wait to see what he learns next time. Kid you not I was amazed just watching. THEN in the drive home I was saying different words and paying complete attention to my tongue placement.

Try it with me!

You know you want to!

Say the word "THINK" outloud making note of your tongue placement.

for the "th" sound the tip of you tongue rubs against the bottom of your top front teeth

for the "i" sound your tongue goes back and stays mainly in the middle

for the "k" sound the tip of your tongue goes down against the back of your bottom front teeth with a click coming from the back

Amazing I know!

I spend the good part of an hour saying random words over and over while driving or talking on the phone and paying very close attention to tongue placement. Wow! Then I got rather freaked out that our brains know where the tongue should go as long as we have the muscle control! Freaky, huh!

FRIDAY HIGH FIVE

2009-08-20T19:00:00.001-05:00

Time for Friday High Five!

To see my Friday High Five posts for examples, click here!

Post about it, linking back to me (now you can copy and paste the HTML at the bottom of this post for a button!) then sign Mr. Linky!Please use the Friday High Five URL post in Mr. Linky's URL section instead of your blog URL and here is how: write the post, publish the post, go to edit posts, VIEW the High Five post, copy the URL in the address portion at the top of the screen then paste it in the URL section of Mr.Linky!!

Sounds complicated but it isn't too bad!If you need help, let me know in the comment section!

Go view all the other High Five posts and comment away!
Have fun!

5 FUNNY CONVERSATIONS WITH MY BOYS

5. Hubs is always good for a laugh! Yes I laugh at him but once I explain why then he normally laughs too! He was doing something and although I don't remember quite what it was I do remember him saying, "Is this to your saterfication dear?"

What response comes after that but, "MY WHAT?"

Looking at me like I'm an idiot he sounds it out, "SAT-ER-FI-CA-TION!"

Looking totally bewildered I respond with, "I'm sorry baby but I don't think that is a word."

He says, "Are you SATERFIED?"

Of course, now I realized what he was trying to say and respond with non other than LAUGHTER BUT he laughed too once he realized what he had said and how he thought I was an idiot in the moment!! NOW I use it often and by often I mean daily in conversations with him!!

4. Last week while getting ready for Elijah's meet the teacher he storms into the bathroom while I was showering yelling, "MOM I BROKE MY PANTS!"

I said, "Ok I will look at them in a minute. I can't fix them while I am in the shower."

He responds with, "I'll just stick them in a Wal-mart bag so we can drop them off at Meme's. SHE can fix them."

A little offended and determined to be the hero I said, "No just set them on the counter for right now." I hoped it was something minor that I could actually fix!
Luckily, the "broke" part of the pants was just a button. I got out my handy dandy sewing box which only sees the light of day......oh.......NEVER! I had to be the hero remember!! Elijah says, "Mom, how are you going to fix them? You don't have a sew driver!" Sew driver.....isn't that too cute!!

They were amazed with all the finds in the sewing box and in awe of my mad button fixing skills! Phew.....good thing it was just a button!!

3. Sunday morning Zay crawled into bed with us and said, "Momma, my leg armpit hurts."

I said, "Your what hurts?"

He said sounding as if I was stupid, "MY LEG ARMPITS. You know the part behind your knee." Hubs tried to correct him to which I promptly said, "Just let him be four!"

2. Last night while getting Zay out of the tub he says, "Momma are you going to work tomorrow when I go to school."

I answered with "No Baby. Momma lost her job."

Looking sad he said, "Where did you put it? I'll help you find it."

I started to tear up then chuckled and gave him a well deserved hug. He continued with, "Why would you lose your job Mommy? Don't we need work to make money? Why do we need money?"

I said, "Welllll we need money to pay for our house, our cars, food, pet food, water......." when he interrupted with, "and McDonald's Mommy! Don't forget McDonald's!"

#1

Then he became concerned about leaving me alone the next day, "Momma what are you going to do tomorrow while I go back to stool? You will be all alone. Maybe Chaitra tan tome over and watch you. Let's tall her!" (Remember he uses the letter T for the "ka" sound.)

WRITERS' WORKSHOP WEDNESDAY

2009-08-20T11:50:00.001-05:00

Time for MamaKat's Writer's Workshop Wednesday.

Hop on over and join in the fun!!+

I can't get her nifty picture up because I am at the library and this computer has issues! Have fun!

1.) What will you be doing now that the kids are back in school?

(inspired by Michelle from Honest And Truly)

Hmmm.......let me think!

Running around the house completely naked!

Sounds like fun!

In fact, I think I may dance around a little too!

Ok ok so I probably won't do that......using probably VERY loosely here...but it is great to know that I CAN IF I WANT TO!!

Hmmmm......I will probably still be doing laundry and cleaning BUT I won't have to clean the kitchen 10 times per day since they ARE GONE!!

WOOHOO!!

LOVE the kids buttttttt WOOHOO!!!

I will revel in the silence.

I will watch WHAT-EV-ER I WANT IN PEACE!

I will not be the referee and hear 500 million questions for at least 7 hours per day!

WOOHOO!!

LOVE my boys butttttttt WOOHOOHOO!!

I will eat in peace.

I will go to the library in peace until my Internet at home is finally up and running THEN I will blog in peace.

I will run countless errands without complaining children and telling them to please hurry ten times before they decide maybe I am serious!

I will go on lunch dates with my girlfriends without children.

I will not hear "I'm bored" 50 times a day!

I will be able to read a few less books on dinosaurs, reptiles, amphibians, animals, cars, planes, trains........and read WHAT-EV-ER I WANT!

I will spend an hour each morning dropping off children.

I will spend two hours picking up children. Man that sucks! I hate the pick up routine!

I've admitted I am not cut out to be a SAHM because of the whole "stay at home" portion of the job. After 4.5 months at home with them DAY IN AND DAY OUT

24 HOURS A DAY/7 DAYS A WEEK,

I will probably just be

lonely and bored

.............while dancing around naked!

2.) Things I have learned from my toddler.

(Inspired by Big Mama Cass from The World Through My Eyes).

Marbles and beans will in fact get stuck in your nose causing panic and the necessity of an extraction team complete with extraction tools

Crying over EVERY LITTLE THING is seriously annoying and can cause severe bouts of insanity.

Being the youngest sucks (although I knew this from my childhood) and you always want to be big but can never seem to catch up because you will always be the baby!

New shoes make you jump higher because "the jump in the shoe is not worn out"

Selective listening is essential to life in order to not "hear" Mommy telling you to stop so you can get the extra jump on the bed or the extra punch on your brother

Jumping on furniture must be fun and ALL sense of "knowing better" flies out the window along with any and ALL listening skills

Trouble is thy middle name

Bandaids cure all

I love being told "I wuv you berry much Momma. You are my best Mom ever!" over and over again and it never gets old.

Hugs and kisses are essential to life

SUPER SPECIAL SHOES AND ROBOT LEGS

2009-08-18T11:40:00.000-05:00

Good news all!!

We went to the orthotics appt for Elijah and hold your breath.............

his "special" shoes appear "normal"!

I know, I know!

How vain!

Remember though it is only because I didn't want the special shoes to cause him problems at school with teasing. It was rather interesting and the lady was the sweetest when I approached the "normal" shoe issue. She said, "Well he is so handsome and I know he doesn't probably want to sport the chunky all black Velcro shoe so I am going to get him a normal looking shoe."

Yeah!!

She then proceeded to hand the catalog to Elijah so he could pick out his shoes.

Really?

Not a move I would've made but luckily he picked out the pair I liked too without me saying a thing!! That's my boy! I taught him well! The shoes appear to look like a VANS skater kid type shoe which is way better than I imagined in my head. They are mainly white with a little bit of blue. Hopefully, they will truly resemble the picture once they are made. The shoes will be ready in two or three weeks complete with removable longitudes and arch supports that we can insert into his football cleats.

All was good until she then informed me that although insurance would completely cover the cost of the shoes, the shoes are over a $100 and the inserts are a little over $200!

Are you freaking kidding me?

Wow!

My seven year old boy picked out a $350 pair of WHITE shoes.

Ouch!

After that little bit of info, I promptly said, "How long will these last and how often will they buy him a new pair?" She said to take him back to the orthopaedist in December since the insurance will buy him a new pair of orthotics in January. Phew! Wow!

Needless to say, if the dog eats this pair of shoes it will more than likely die!

Hopefully he will have the shoes late next week and begin his healing process!

Oh and I can't leave out this little tidbit.....

The place we went to get the shoes is a prosthetics and orthotics facility. While leaving our room, a nurse was putting another patient into the next room. The man had a mainly metal prosthetic leg. Isaiah looked straight up at him and said, "Are you a robot?" The man said, "No but are you a robot?" Isaiah never being one to hold his tongue continues with, "Well no I am not a robot but if you aren't a robot then why do you have a robot leg?" He must have sensed my complete embarrassment because he kindly explained his situation to the boys and told me I shouldn't be embarrassed. He would rather kids ask instead of stare in case they encounter a child with a prosthetic leg. He let them touch his leg and told them they shouldn't be scared of people with metal legs. They thanked him and we left. The entire way through the rest of the office and in the parking lot Isaiah was muttering to himself, "He IS a robot! I want a robot leg too! I bet he has robot leg super powers!" Out of the mouths of babes!!

COME OUT COME OUT WHEREVER YOU ARE!!

2009-08-16T15:16:00.003-05:00

Goodness folks!

A girl is without consistent internet and posts become a little sparse and she loses two followers!!

Dang!

Give a girl a break!!

Come out come out wherever you are!

Good news is two started school last week and the other starts school Tuesday so I will be at the library posting away come Tuesday!!

Stay tuned and don't leave me!!

I'll be baaaacckk!! (said with an Arnold impersonation!)

FRIDAY HIGH FIVE

2009-08-14T13:24:00.003-05:00

Time for Friday High Five!

To see my Friday High Five posts for examples, click here!

Post about it, linking back to me (now you can copy and paste the HTML at the bottom of this post for a button!) then sign Mr. Linky!Please use the Friday High Five URL post in Mr. Linky's URL section instead of your blog URL and here is how: write the post, publish the post, go to edit posts, VIEW the High Five post, copy the URL in the address portion at the top of the screen then paste it in the URL section of Mr.Linky!!

Sounds complicated but it isn't too bad!If you need help, let me know in the comment section!Go view all the other High Five posts and comment away!

Have fun!

5 REASONS I AM SOOOO EXCITED FOOTBALL SEASON HAS STARTED

5. Pictures, pictures and more pictures!!

4. I get to get OUT of the house for about 2 hrs on 3 nights a week for practices!! Generally, last year I didn't enjoy practice but after 4.5months of unemployment and 3 months of summer home with the children MY OUTLOOK HAS SERIOUSLY CHANGED!! SERIOUSLY folks if I am willing to sit in 100 degree heat to watch kids practice football!

3. I missed all my football friends. We got really lucky last year and had a drama free football family. We all get along so well and LIKE to spend time together!!

2. I love watching Elijah do something that he both enjoys and excels at......I love that kid!! It amazes me how dedicated he is at such a young age but he really LOVES playing. He has been talking about football season all summer. I can't even begin to count how many times this boy has watched his DVDs of last season in anticipation!!

ADULT CONVERSATION!

Most of my day consists of me saying, "don't hit, stop running in the house, quit teasing the dog, stop fighting, Isaiah quit whining, I'll get you a drink in a minute, Isaiah quit crying, take a shower, stop running in the house, Isaiah quit whining, stop fighting, I am fixing dinner, stop fighting, you are not going to starve, Elijah for the final time GET IN the shower, quit running, quit fighting, quit yelling, don't touch each other, look at each other in fact let's just all go in different rooms for a little while" in between being a referee, doing the dishes, cooking the next meal or starting the next load of laundry. ALL DAY, EVERYDAY I HEAR: boys fighting, boys jumping on beds, boys running through the house along with "MOM, Isaiah did ......(insert one of the many things he does in a fit of rage)......OR Mommy, E-why-jah did.......(insert one of the many things Elijah does to torture Isaiah)......Mom I am hungry, Mom I am thirsty, I am bored, can I go outside, can I ride my bike, why don't you work anymore........" Oh the misery!!

SOOOOOOO......was I excited to start football to spend 2 hrs. with my girls?

YES!!

Beyond yes!!

I ♥ my group of football moms. We all get along. We laugh and talk and

I. LOVE. IT!!

SISTERS DAY

2009-08-04T15:50:00.003-05:00

Without the Internet, I didn't even know I missed Sisters Day.

The first Sunday in August in this case August 2nd was Sisters Day.

Well according to Hallmark it is August 7th BUT it is not! It is the the first Sunday of August but we are celebrating NOW I am now here to tell you about my sister's and would love to hear about yours!

I only have one biological sister and then two brothers; however, both brothers are married and their wives are also my sisters.

Lisa is my biological sister and one of my best friends. I can tell her anything and she won't judge. She is a beauty and I spent most of my childhood resenting her for that beauty that got her so much attention. She was always the favorite growing up and it irked me to say the least. We are six years apart and fought CONSTANTLY. It wasn't until we grew up that we ever got along. Funny how that works! I love to spend time with her and we can talk for forever. We can tell each other anything and cry on each other's shoulders. We joke that we don't have many friends but then say we are just picky!! It is not the quantity of friends you have but the quality. I know if I ever needed anything she would be there to help me any way she could and I for her!

Karen is my sister-in-law. Is it odd that I feel weird saying that since she is more like a sister to me? I am the youngest of four children and she is married to my second oldest brother. My brother and Karen started dating when I was six, I think, and have been together ever since. I joke that she has known me too long for us not to be close since she knows too much about me. I love her to death and again I can tell her anything. I also joke sometimes that she regrets calling me since I start talking to her then NEVER SHUT UP!! She's just too easy for me to talk to!! She is funny, dedicated, smart, witty and loving. She has home schooled all three of their girls which amazes me since I honestly believe that is something I just COULD. NOT. DO! In a few weeks, Curt and Karen will celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary and it is just odd to me that I can remember their wedding day like it was yesterday. I can remember the birth of all three of their girls and cherish all my memories of growing up spending tons of time with Karen and the girls. She is my sister in every sense of the word and I love her but I must add she STILL scares me a little when she drives!!

Carolee is married to my oldest brother Rob and they have two boys. It wasn't until the last year that we really had much of a relationship. In the past year, we've become close. I regret all the time I wasted not understanding all of her because of misunderstandings. I regret that it took this long for us to be sisters but I am glad the day finally came. I love her! I am there for her and ache for her as she goes through a tough time in her life. I have felt her pain well not her pain but that type of betrayal and it is not easy. In fact, it is one of the toughest to overcome as a person. Keep her and their family in your prayers!!

Melanie is my other sister. I have known Melanie for...........wow I don't even know!! She worked at the family business starting in.......1991.....I think? She is HI-LAR-I-OUS! She knows me better than most and likes me anyway. She is so much fun! We can be having a serious conversation and be crying then burst into laughter. We share everything....the good, the bad and the ugly. She is sarcastic (an important family trait), honest, dependable, funny, caring, devoted, funny, loving, sincere.....did I mention she is funny!! She is so much like my family that we just had to make her honorary family. How much of an honor that is......I am unsure!! ha! I love love love her to death! Her and her alter ego Megan!!

Most of my other friends are my sisters too! You know, the friends you have for life no matter how far apart you are, the amount of time between visits and the ones who are there NO matter what. I have many of those too but we are about to leave and I have to end this post so I will have to add them later!!

NOW it is your turn tell me about your sisters and link up so we all can share.....

FINALLY......

2009-08-04T15:35:00.003-05:00

Internet is still down.

At times I think I may just fall over and die without internet and cable.

I feel so cut off from the world.

Sad but TRUE!!!

I have made many trips to the library but for some odd reason my boys can't seem to sit still for my allotted computer time of 90 minutes per visit so I end up there just about closing time and get about 10 or 15 minutes per day...ugh!!.

Why.....OH WHY!!!

Today I was asked to come watch my nephews for a few hours.

Let me think.......the boys LOVE to play with their cousins in the amazing yard plus Isaiah loves to play with the train table all the while I can be ON the internet OR watch cable and still have a view of the yard......hmmmm......

UMM.....YEAH YOU KNOW MY ANSWER HOW SOON DO I NEED TO BE THERE!!!!

So here I am peace, quiet, family fun and the internet.....ahhhh.....doesn't get much better than this!! What shall I do now....................

FRIDAY HIGH FIVE

2009-07-31T12:57:00.002-05:00

Time for Friday High Five!

Come join in the fun....please!Make a list of 5 things ~ ANY five things you want! 5 favorite things, Top 5 Vacation spots, 5 most embarrassing moments, 5 favorite pics, 5 reasons to not pick your nose......A LIST OF ANYTHING YOU WANT IT TO BE....funny, serious, sentimental, to dos, pictures, no pictures ~ anything!

To see my Friday High Five posts for examples, click here!

Post about it, linking back to me (now you can copy and paste the HTML at the bottom of this post for a button!) then sign Mr. Linky!Please use the Friday High Five URL post in Mr. Linky's URL section instead of your blog URL and here is how: write the post, publish the post, go to edit posts, VIEW the High Five post, copy the URL in the address portion at the top of the screen then paste it in the URL section of Mr.Linky!!

Sounds complicated but it isn't too bad!

If you need help, let me know in the comment section!

Go view all the other High Five posts and comment away!

Have fun!

Sorry this is so late guys but our internet is down and has been for days!

I finally decided I could not take the withdrawal from the internet and am at the library using the computer!

5 happenings of this week

5. We went to a great orthopedist and found out about the "abnormal STUFF" in both of his feet.

4. Isaiah finally had his speech evaluation and will be having speech therapy once a week for 30 minutes. More on that in another post soon.

3. In an effort to save money, we switched cell phone companies. Savings of......$157 PER month!! Woohoo! Go me!! I had the turn off scheduled for the 1st; HOWEVER, I guess it was entered wrong or since I am switching they are mad because they turned it off TODAY!!!!! So I was home with NO technology whatsoever. No phone, no cable and no internet! The shock alone could be life threatening!! I had to go to the new phone company and start the turning on process earlier so I had ANY contact with the outside world.

2. I jumped at EVERY SINGLE PHONE CALL just waiting on the lady to call from my interview. Please call please.....insanity is setting in!

In an effort to save money, we are switching cable and internet companies. SERIOUSLY this is irritating at best!!! The savings will be great IF IT EVER GETS FINISHED!!! Again I had the turn on and turn off dates overlapping to avoid outages BUT the turn on has now been put off for three freaking days!!! I shouldn't complain too much since the cable in two of the bedrooms is still working. Why? I haven't a clue but I am not going to complain about that!! I am just realizing just HOW addicted I am to DVR. I think DVR was created for PARENTS. Watching TV without the ability to stop, pause, rewind is seriously different!! Watching commercials is quite an adjustment too!! I NEVER watch commercials! EVER!! I have the last three days though. I won't lie I have change the channel accidentally a number of times due to thinking I was fast forwarding and actually hitting channel up!! Poor me! Poor poor pitiful me!! NO INTERNET is debilitating at best and alone can cause insanity. I often wonder if I am in electronic withdrawal or experiencing slow painful death by lack of internet, cable and DVR. Is that possible?

AND ANOTHER ONE JUST FOR FUN....

My cousin Kris had......wait well HE didn't have the baby but Starr had baby Nug yesterday!!

Baby girl born at 12:26pm weighing 6lbs 1 oz and measuring 19in long; however, she remains nameless and is currently called Baby Nug. I will post about her if I EVER get internet again or when I return to the library since my time on this computer is almost UP!!!

GOOD NEWS: HIS FEET WILL NOT FALL OFF!!

2009-07-28T16:02:00.004-05:00

Today we went to The Orthopaedic Center at Hillcrest and saw Dr. Holderness. He was amazing, sweet and informative. The office was super nice and the staff was highly knowledgable. Our appt was fast which was great since I had to meet Hubs at his three month diabetes appt an hour later. I was in and out in less than one hour.

Yes, Elijah has STUFF in both feet!

The STUFF is a bone that stopped forming!!

The doctor had a really good laugh at that one and wondered how an orthopedist could not know about Kohler's disease. Elijah has Bilateral Kohler's Disease basically Kohler's Disease in both feet. Not half as bad as it sounds with the word disease at the end!! I think it should be called Kohler's Syndrome!! Not as bad, right!! I am not going to lie when I first heard it ~ I WAS SCARED! Until he said, "It is no where near as bad as it sounds and they should just change the name! It is a self-limiting and self-healing disease." Basically, the navicular bones in both of his feet stopped forming and just looked like "stuff". The left foot is already healing on its own explaining why he has no pain in this foot but instead some mild tenderness. The right foot has not started the healing process yet. At this point, he said it is ok for him to resume all activities including football. Elijah was very relieved to hear this little tidbit. He said, "Basically if it hurts him then he needs to rest and take ibuprofen for any swelling."

First, he said he would send him to get longitudes and arch supports (?) for his shoes. He would have put him in a cast for a few weeks but since his pain is not constant he thinks the inserts would be the best option. THEN he changed his mind since Elijah's bones are growing inward he decided to send us to get prescription shoes! I think right now this is more of a setback for me rather than him. I don't want him to get made fun of and hope that these orthotics are fashionable. If not, maybe we'll opt for the inserts! I know, I know!! I'll do whatever he needs but I don't want him emotional scarred for life because he got made fun of for his "special" shoes and then he turns into freakin' Forrest Gump with Avani as his "Jenna"!! I deal with all of that Thursady of next week at the orthotics/prosthetics appt. He also said later on this could also affect his heels but we would deal with that when and if it occurred! For those of you who are more detailed oriented here is what I learned on the internet............

Kohler's Disease

Kohler's disease is a rare bone disorder of the foot in children that may be the result of stress-related compression at a critical time during the period of growth. Kohler's disease is a condition, where the navicular bone in the foot undergoes avascular necrosis. Avascular necrosis is a disease resulting from the temporary or permanent loss of the blood supply to the bones. Without blood, the bone tissue dies and causes the bone to collapse. For some unknown reason, typically in a child, the navicular bone in the foot loses its blood supply for a while. It is characterized by limping caused by pain and swelling in the foot. It most often occurs in children between the ages of three and seven, and it affects males five times more often than it does females. Typically, just one foot is affected. Children appear to grow out of the disorder, and the affected bones regain their size, density and structure within a year. For some, however, symptoms may last as long as two years.

Symptoms
Kohler disease is a rare bone disorder characterized by a painful swollen foot. The foot is especially tender along the length of the arch. Putting weight on the foot or walking is difficult, causing further discomfort and a limp. For reasons that are not understood, the flow of blood to one of the bones in the foot (navicular bone) is interrupted, resulting in progressive degeneration of that bone. In a relative short time, however, the bone heals itself.Usually, symptoms will be mild, and patients may not seek treatment until the pain and swelling have persisted for a while (you know like almost a year in this Mother of the Year's case!).

Causes
The exact cause of Kohler disease is unknown. It does not appear to be hereditary and, until recently, was not thought to be linked to an injury. Some orthopedic specialists now believe that Kohler disease may be linked to an injury in the area around a bone (navicular bone) in the foot and may be the result of delayed bone formation (ossification). Structural weakness might result from an increase in the ratio of cartilage to bone. Since the navicular bone is part of the mechanism by which the foot moves (articulation), it is subject to weight-bearing pressures and stresses from twisting and turning. Under normal circumstances, the navicular bone is served by a blood vessel from which smaller arteries supply blood to the regions of bone growth. At around the ages of four to six, the blood supply to these regions of bone growth increases as other blood vessels reach them. If ossification is delayed, and the child gains weight, the effect is to compress the blood vessels, thus causing tissue destruction (ischemia). The navicula is the last tarsal bone to ossify in children. This bone might be compressed between the already ossified talus and the cuneiforms when the child becomes heavier. Compression involves the vessels in central spongy bone leading to ischemia. Ischemia causes clinical symptoms. Thereafter, the perichondral ring of vessels sends the blood supply, allowing rapid revascularization and formation of new bone.

Affected Populations
Kohler disease is a rare bone disorder of the foot that affects males more often than females. The disorder strikes children between the ages of 1 and 10 years with a peak occurring at ages 3 to 7 years. The center of bone growth that is affected in Kohler disease develops in young girls about one year before it appears in young boys. Nevertheless, the disorder is five times more prevalent in boys than girls. It is thought that the incidence of the disorder in the population is about 2%.

Standard Therapies
DiagnosisKohler disease is diagnosed with an X-ray of the foot and the presence of weight-bearing pain in the middle of the foot. Treatment ranges from weight-bearing short-leg plaster casts at one extreme to "watchful waiting" at the other. Special supportive shoes may also be considered. Staying off the foot as much as possible helps in recovery. Symptoms can last for a few days or persist for up to two years. However, symptoms usually resolve within a year.

HAVE I MENTIONED I HATE MOPPING?

2009-07-27T12:12:00.002-05:00

I DO!!

My house with the exception of the three bedrooms is wood floors well and tile one bathroom and the entryway.

I love wood floors!

With kids and animals, I am sure the pain of stains would be much worse if we had more carpet. There is one problem!! I hate to mop and wood floors require frequent mopping esp b/c of said kids and animals!

Saturday I went on a cleaning spree and decided to do the mopping two days early due to Moose (HE gets his very own post SOON!) our Bulldog and......you don't want to know! I finally finish mopping all the floors when I put the kids at the table for lunch and say don't get up until I tell you b/c the floors are not yet dry.

Soooooo........Zay proceeds to spill his juice ALL OVER THE TABLE. Elijah instead of telling me decides to "help" and his attempt at cleaning up the mess pushes it onto the scrapbook stuff on the opposite side of the table. THEN he calls for me!! What a mess! I finally get the table clean when I realize the juice went through the cracks of the table where the leaf is inserted and the floor........ugh!! SOOOOO.........I move all the chairs clean up the mess then mop the dining room again!! Done, right?

WRONG!!

Avani had come over and in her attempt to pour herself a cup of lemonade she spilled lemonade ALL OVER THE KITCHEN FLOOR AND HERSELF!! SOOOOOOOOOOOOO...............I get out the mop AGAIN and proceed to mop the kitchen floor again!! Done, right?

WRONG!!!!!!!

After telling the kids to go outside because my nerves are about to explode, Isaiah decides to water the flowers! Nice, right?

WRONG!!!

He waters the flowers, the house, the sidewalk, his motorcycle, Elijah's scooter and his entire body within about two minutes!! Normally, this would not be a big deal and I would just change him at the front door BUT instead he tries to hide this little adventure and change in the bathroom. He proceeds to run through the house leaving muddy footprints from the front door, down the hall and into the bathroom. Needless to say I was NOT a happy camper!!!

I told the kids it was time to rest and put them in bed with instructions NOT TO GET UP UNTIL I TELL THEM TO!!!!! I then proceeded to mop the entire house all over AGAIN which now just looks like it needs to mopped again! Ugh!

The moral to this story is ~

I should have never changed my mopping routine and this is why I mop ONLY when everyone is asleep at night!!

RESPONDING TO YOUR COMMENTS.....

2009-07-26T16:00:00.001-05:00

I have a special request for all my readers.

Not a must but a request!

You will probably like this little tidbit for yourself too once you've done it!

Unlike many of the "big" bloggers which I am not one of, I like to respond to all of my comments. Unfortunately, some of you show up as a "no reply comment @ blogger . com" on your comments when they are emailed to me.

This is a simple thing to fix.

I personally set up an email account at gmail in the beginning so all comments would be sent to an email address and I use it ONLY for my blog. All comments are sent to this email and I respond to each and everyone if they have the email on the comment. Very simple thing to do and I am going to tell you how as simply as I know how.....step by step!

First, go to your dashboard.
Click on the edit user profile link on the left hand side of the screen by your picture.
About 3/4 of the way down their is a blank box for your email. Enter the desired email address in this box. This does not change your sign in and will make it easier for others to contact you on your profile screen.
Save this change then return to your dashboard!

NEXT

go to the "settings" link (second blue word after the "new post" blue square)
Click on settings
You will see tabs saying "posting", "settings", "layout" and "monetize". Click on the settings tab.
After clicking on settings, many blue words will appear under the settings tab. Click on the "comments" link
Go to the very bottom of the screen where it says "comment notification email". Enter your email address in the box and all comments will be sent to this email address so that you can respond to YOUR commenters too!
(This ONE step is optional but many will love you for it!) Actually while you are here go to the "show word verification on comments" line and click on NO......many people will appreciate you for this!! I for one had word verification boxes and don't worry I have never received spam without the box. If you do, then just turn it back on!
Finally, click on the orange "save settings" box!

Doing both of these things will allow bloggers to respond to your comments and it will email you when people comment on your blog so you can respond to them! Just letting you know since I do respond to every comment but can't if your email is not linked to your account!! If you haven't received a response from me, then you need to do these two things or at least one! The "NO" on the word verification is just a plus for the rest of us!!!

SILLY SATURDAY

2009-07-25T17:26:00.000-05:00

Do you guys watch The Great American Road Trip?

If not, you should!

These people freaking crack me up!

You know what is sad.......

ok......

I'll tell you........

I. TOOK. NOTES!

I couldn't help myself. Within the first five minutes I was cracking up OUT LOUD at how idiotic people can be on NATIONAL television!! It is like when a natural disaster occurs such as a tornado here in Oklahoma. The news stations pick the most white trash person with no teeth and no bra that can't speak anything but "hick" to put on the national news. Thanks! Then all the world thinks "look at those Oklahoma people"! Ugh! Drives me nuts! At least pick someone who speaks like a halfway normal human being!! Where was I........oh yeah the Great American Road Trip! It is a traveling game show of sorts with teams made up of families on a road trip across the US on Route 66 in RVs. Lovin' it! What kind of blogger would I be not to take notes on the irresistible blogging material!

First this week we had the ever so intelligent too cool to cut the mullet Silvio Di Salvatore, his wife Amy and their children from Yonkers, New York. He provides the best material from the cast of families. This week the first stop was Kansas. Silvio hears this news and says to his family, "Italiens don't goooo to Kansas because they have flyin' howses that land on people. Click your heels kids, giddy up!" (By the way there will be spelling errors in this post but they are purposeful to attempt to show how they pronounce words!) Then while reading their travel guide Amy, the mother, sings the Kansas song "Home on the Range" in the RV. Now some people don't care that they sing bad but seriously lady you should not sing on NATIONAL TELEVISION. Wow it was bad!!

The group of RVs is headed to Independence, Kansas. Independence was the home of Laura Ingalls from Little House on the Prairie. Upon each family reading this in the travel guide, each group of children asks "What is Little House on the Prairie and who is Laura Ingalls?" {insert my jaw dropping down to my second chin and a great big gasp} I couldn't believe it! I guess that made me feel old with my 80s childhood. Amie Pollard a mother of two from Alabama cracks me up too. In the first show she was saying "ya'll" and Silvio DiSalvatore was says "yous" and neither one of them understood each other!! Amie is a pretty southern gal with a DEFINITE but becoming southern accent. While trying to explain to her daughter about Little House on the Prairie she says, "Have you ever hurd people when they get ready to go to bed ~ they turn out the lights and say 'good night Jawhnn Boy'? That is from the TV show Little House on the Prairie." {insert me laughing and gasping} When her daughter looks a little confused and laughs, Amie then says to her husband Ron, "Ron was there a guy on the Little House on the Prairie named Jawhnn Boy?" Ron much to my praise says, "NO John boy was on the Waltons!" Thank you, Ron!! Amie then trying to redeem herself says, "Well the Waltons is a little liiike Little House on the Prairie what'd it?" Awwww a little confused but I heart her just the same!!

Silvio and Amy are still my favorites b/c well he is hilarious without even meaning to be or maybe it is just I ♥ Italiens and New York accents! While driving through Kansas, he points out the scenery to the family. "This howse he-a definitely could be hit by a twista or whateva comes out o the sky he-a!" Oh my I love it! He resumes his aimless driving, "Awwll my life I wonted to see Kaaansas n now I'm finally he-a. I get a chance to see a prayrie. Always wondered abowt a prayrie since the song God Bless Americah." I think perhaps prairies aren't that exciting but hey to each his own!! Although funny at times, Sil is disrespectful to his wife UNTIL they lost a challenge where he had to grill a hamburger for the first time in his life. His son was worried going into the challenge saying, "Can I just kick the burger b/c my Dad has never cooked before? We will definitely lose!" Sil follows this by telling the host, "Don't you know I don't do nothing?!?" Amy quickly confirms this statement with, "Yeeeah I do everything!" Anyway they lose the challenge with Sil's plain, dry burger and in his sadness he cleaned the entire RV until he let out another blurb......."My burger lost but my family loved it. Together we stand, united we foll!" Not quite sure if that is the saying there Sil but okay I appreciate the cleaning and you still crack me up!

This show doesn't seem as funny when I blog it but it sure seemed funny at the time! Sorry if you aren't laughing but maybe you should just watch!! They headed into our land here in OK!! They went to the Tall Grass Prairie Preserve then onto Arcadia Lake. I saw "our" land but I've never been to either of those places. :) My favorite part was this.............they sad nothing bad about Oklahoma....yet! They loved the bison and stepped in a lot of poop then ended the show at Arcadia Lake. Never actually seen a bison either except at the Zoo so maybe we should go there too! Nothing bad said yet!! I'll just wait until they talk to some toothless wandering hick before they make it through our state. THAT would be who they would choose to put on NATIONAL TELEVISION!!

HAVE I TOLD YOU LATELY THAT I ♥ U?

2009-07-25T14:10:00.000-05:00

Have I told you lately that I ♥ our pediatrician and HER staff?

I do!

They are so down to earth, friendly and just.....sweet!

There was the whole mix up with the referral but understandable since it was done on a Saturday and welllllll.....I love them so I can't stay made at THEM too long!

It is really hard {at least it was for me to find one that either I don't know doesn't kill your kid and have to start chest compressions or even listen to me!?!?!} to find the perfect pediatrician!

Anywhooooooooooochie......

I was calling the referral coordinator to tell her about Dr. Huang so she could be informed that he is not a pediatric orthopedist and wellll........basically is an idiot! She laughed at my story over and over and thanked me for warning her. I asked if there was any way the Doc could look at the CD of X-rays given to me by Sir Idiot. I thought maybe since she looks at pediatric X-rays all the time that maybe she could explain the "abnormal STUFF". At least see if it is a normal pediatric thing that she didn't point out since it is normal or if he truly needs to see a peds ortho. The plan was to drop the CD off Monday morning and have another Doctor look at the X-rays since our pediatrician was on vacation for 10 days.

A little under an hour later Sandra, the referral coordinator, called me back. She said, "I feel really bad and rather concerned about your situation so I have been on the phone ever since you called. I hope you are available Tuesday at 10am because I called the insurance company to ask about a pediatric orthopedist and they had one that was NOT listed. I called the peds ortho, explained the situation then went ahead and made you an appointment for Tuesday at 10am. I am faxing the referral right now. I am so sorry about all of this and I assure you we did not know he doesn't do pediatrics otherwise we NEVER would have sent you there! Thank you for letting us know! Call me if you need ANYTHING else!!"

I ♥ her!

So there you have it folks ~ service at its finest!

Hopefully this will go much better than Dr. Wong Stuff's appointment and maybe just maybe they can explain all the "abnormal stuff"!! I personally am not worried about the stuff since the pediatrician did NOT point it out in the first visit and it is in both feet. What are the odds of both of them having "abnormal stuff"?

FRIDAY HIGH FIVE

2009-07-23T21:00:00.000-05:00

Time for Friday High Five!

To see my Friday High Five posts for examples, click here!

Post about it, linking back to me (now you can copy and paste the HTML at the bottom of this post for a button!) then sign Mr. Linky!Please use the Friday High Five URL post in Mr. Linky's URL section instead of your blog URL and here is how: write the post, publish the post, go to edit posts, VIEW the High Five post, copy the URL in the address portion at the top of the screen then paste it in the URL section of Mr.Linky!!

Sounds complicated but it isn't too bad!

If you need help, let me know in the comment section!

Go view all the other High Five posts and comment away!

Have fun!

5 things that made me feel old this week

5. Little man said something hilarious and by hilarious I mean truly laugh out loud belly laugh funny. My instant thought was "oh I HAVE to blog this". I washed the boys then walked ten steps to the computer and completely forgot what he had said. How did this happen? Kids suck the brain cells right from you while in the womb ~ this is the only answer I could come up with! I tried asking the boys and neither one remembered. How did this happen? They sucked up my bad memory brain cells...poor little guys! It is weird though because I have the memory of an elephant!

4. I am trying to decide whether or not to return to school and take up radiology. Long term/future wise ~ a better financial decision BUT while walking up to the school and seeing all the youngsters my mind kept saying, "Go in....you can do this......you are only getting information!" My stomach and bowels had a completely different outlook on the situation. My thoughts went a little like this........What will I wear the first day of school? Why am I so out of breath just walking the campus? Will I pass out before I reach the front door? I can't wait to get a cool backpack. Ooooo I want a laptop! Will I make friends? Will everyone call me Grandma? Do I really care what they think? Do I have time for this crap?

3. After my third visit to the college, I finally talked to an advisor who appeared to be half my age!

2. While talking to said advisor I had to ask: I went to college back in 94-96. Will those courses transfer or are they too old? He said, "Let me see that was....{computing years in his head}......FIFTEEN years ago but yes they will transfer!" So I think he just computed the years to make me feel bad. Jerk!

I have to get both high school and college transcripts for enrollment purposes IF I decide to go back to school. The college transcript was easy and took all of five minutes. Good thing I got that since it has all my basics done except one class....maybe two. So then I went to the Board of Education building to find out how to get my high school transcript for college. I think I have a copy but where is a whole other story! When asked what year I graduated, I said 1994. Her response, "Ooooohhhh how fast do you need it? Just call this number and ask for the registrar's office. She will have to go to the storage facility and look through all the archives!"

ARCHIVES!

OUCH!

My sister laughed at this story until I said, "Hey you are 6 years older! Your transcript is filed under ancient history in a museum basement of historical documents!"

OFFICIAL DIAGNOSIS IS ABNORMAL STUFF!!

2009-07-23T18:56:00.000-05:00

Ya'll (southern term) are not going to believe this little adventure!!

I took Elijah to the orthopedist. I spent an hour and a half at a high priced orthopedist only to leave with another referral and a highly technical medical diagnosis of

.........DRUM ROLL PLEASE...................

"abnormal STUFF in both feet"!

Yep you read that correct "stuff"! I guess I need to look up stuff in the medical journal to understand! He has a medical degree and gives me "stuff"! Seriously?!?!?

Here the scoop:

Doctor comes in, asks a bunch of questions, pokes around on Elijah's feet, twists his feet in every direction, has him walk and jump then orders X-rays of both feet for a comparison.

Doctor comes back in and says this, "I don't see a fracture but the X-rays are abnormal!" THEN gets up to leave and while walking to the door says, "Do you have any questions?"

ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?

My response was "UMMM YEAH I HAVE QUESTIONS! WHAT IS ABNORMAL?"

He then feeds me a bunch of bull with, "Well if I took X-rays of your feet, his feet and your other son's feet they would all be different somewhat. The bones would be there but children's feet are still forming. Cartilage calcifies then turns to bone and he has extra stuff but that stuff could be normal in pediatric orthopedics. I don't do pediatric orthopedics. I do adults and sports medicine."

My thought......

WHY WASN'T I REFERRED TO A PEDIATRIC ORTHOPEDIST TO BEGIN WITH OR AT LEAST SOMEONE WHO KNOWS THEIR HEAD FROM THEIR BUTT??? SERIOUSLY,YOU WENT TO MEDICAL SCHOOL AND YOU GIVE ME A DIAGNOSIS OF "STUFF".

I politely say, "Why was I sent here if you don't do pediatrics?"

His reply, "Well this is where the insurance sent you!"

I ask, "So can he play football and resume normal activity?"

Unsure he says, "Well yeah. I say let him gauge his own pain. If he plays and is in a lot of pain, then take him out of the game. If he doesn't have pain, then just let him play. Let him be the judge of that. When does football start?"

I answer, "I believe Aug 3rd."

He says, "Wait I am going to say no until you can get in to the other doctor. Hopefully you'll get in within the next 2 weeks. Let's face it he isn't {insert name of some famous NFL player that I don't know and don't remember}! He is seven yrs old. You don't have to push him to play football!"

OH NO HE DID NOT JUST SAY THAT!!!

I responded with, "Let me tell you this Dr. Huang (pronounced Wong but I sure wanted to say Who-Ang ) ~ I don't PUSH my kids to play sports. He loves sports. He loves football and HE WANTS TO PLAY! He has watched his entire last season of football twice in the past 24hours simply because he is so excited to start again. I just need to know so I can give his coach a definite answer NOT so I can push him but I guess I have to go to someone else who can define "stuff" (and yes I did air quotes!) I would not let him play if he is definitely injured but "stuff" (and yes I did air quotes a second time!) doesn't tell me a whole lot! What is the 'stuff'? Is it bone, cartilage, tendons, cysts, tissue, tumors......?"

He ignorantly says, "It's just stuff. I am not sure. Like I said, I don't do pediatrics so it could be completely normal in peds so I am going to refer him to a peds ortho. Come in the office and I'll show you the stuff on the X-ray."

We proceed to his office where he pulls the x-rays up on the computer and points to various things. He says, "this is bone, this is the toes and this (circling the "stuff") is just stuff." The look on his face was totally bewilderment as he continued to say, "I don't know what it is but it is in both feet. It's just stuff...hmmm....I just don't know what this stuff is and it is abnormal but again it might be normal in peds."

I said, "That isn't even close to where he is having pain though!"

His response, "Welllllll.......where is the pain again?" I showed him and he then said, "Well I am unsure!" My thought was OBVIOUSLY!

I said, "So your official medical diagnosis is "abnormal stuff in both feet"?"

He chuckled and said, "Well I guess it is! I'll give you a copy of these X-rays on a CD to take with you."

My response, "You've got to be kidding me! This is so ridiculous it's not even funny. I need to get this "stuff" figured out before my kid's foot falls off!" and promptly walked out to the waiting area for the CD.

The doctor pokes his head out a few minutes later and says, "Oh you are still here, good!"

My prompt response was , "yeah just here waiting on the CD of his "stuff!" and YES I did air quotes a third and final time!

I FULLY UNDERSTAND DOCTORS DO NOT KNOW EVERYTHING BUT "STUFF", SERIOUSLY!?!? That's an hour and a half of our lives wasted right there folks! Well I am on my way to look up "stuff" on the Internet and see if "stuff" is listed in any medical journal. To think that this man has MD at the end of his name totally boggles my mind but clearly explains how Megan McSnotty got her job being equally as clueless!! Basically, I know NOTHING more than I did going in except I will never let anyone I know go to Dr. Huang since he is the "wong" guy for the job! I wonder if there was a hidden camera in there and I will be on TV soon.....it was that unbelievable!!

AT WHAT AGE DO KIDS REMEMBER TO BRUSH THEIR TEETH?

2009-07-23T13:00:00.000-05:00

I constantly have to remind Elijah to brush his teeth.

This drives me nuts. You know what makes me even more nuts......having to remind Tez who is 15!! Where was I?

I know, I know Elijah is only seven but to me brushing his teeth should already be an everyday routine!

The other night after getting out of the tub and me slatheringly with his pet peeve dodododo.......lotion........I got a big smile from my handsome little love to which I said, "You really need to brush your teeth! They look nasty!"

He quickly says, "Let me see!" and smiles into the mirror. "They don't look nasty to me!"

I respond with, "Your teeth are supposed to be white NOT yellow!"

His great comeback, "OOOH!"

I guess this is yet another reminder of the "joys of motherhood"!!

MY CHAT WITH MEGAN MCSNOTTY

2009-07-23T11:44:00.000-05:00

I received a few emails asking about Elijah's referral to the orthopedist and here you go....

No call on Monday even though I was told,

"They should be calling first thing Monday morning!"

No call first thing Tuesday morning either.

I waited until 9:30am Tuesday morning to call the pediatrician's office for the name of the orthopedist so I could call for an appt. I was connected with the referral coordinator who was completely unaware of the need of the referral. She said apparently the note got lost in the shuffle b/c our appt was on a Sat when she does not work. She was very very very sweet and accommodating. I told her I wanted to get him in asap due to school starting and football season which he is desperate to start. She said she was going to call the orthopedist herself and call me right back. I thought yeah right but three minutes later we were back on the phone. She said, "I am faxing this over to Megan, the referral coordinator at the orthopedist, and she said she has appts for Thursday and she will process the paper work immediately! I am so sorry for the mix up but I told her it was urgent. Here is her name and the number for her direct line! If she hasn't called you by lunch then call her after lunch when the office reopens at 1pm!"

Welllll.........as you can imagine "immediately" did NOT happen! I am seriously thinking about sending Webster's dictionary to both the pediatrician's office and the orthopedist's office so they can better understand the meaning of "first thing" and "immediately"!! I understand people are busy so just say that! For pete's sake don't use "first thing" Monday morning or "immediately" if you don't mean it!! Anyway...I was running errands and knowing that "Megan" was probably busy I waited until almost 3pm to call her. I was giving my patience a try and well when I finally talked to her I was less than pleased with the attitude! Here was my conversation with little miss Megan McSnotty

Me ~ "Hello my name is Angela and I am calling about a referral for my son Elijah. I wanted to see if you received the fax with all the information you needed."

Megan ~ "I am alone today and I have an inch thick pile of faxes here. We normally call you!" (insert snotty attitude)

My thoughts were "if you are alone then you probably shouldn't have used the word "immediately" with the pediatrician's referral coordinator" BUT instead of being rude and understanding that people do get very busy I simply said, "Well they gave me your number and said to call you after 1pm if you hadn't called to set up the appt. I understand you are busy and you can call me back if needed. I was just verifying that you received the fax and making sure you had everything you need to process the referral."

Megan McSnotty ~ "Well that is just odd! They know we call you! They gave you my number!"

Again my thoughts were "No I just went in and strong armed them until they released the top secret number to me you idiot! Yes they gave it to me!" BUT instead I said, "Yes they gave me the number since they forgot to send the referral to set up the appt first thing Monday morning and they wanted to get him in asap!"

Megan McSnotty while shuffling through her inch thick pile of faxes replies with, "Well we can't even speak to you until three days after you have been to the hospital and worn a soft cast for three days."

Me getting peeved with her flip attitude ~ "Ok I understand you can't see people until three days maybe but you can't even speak to them to schedule the appt ~ I don't believe that for a second!"

Megan McSnotty ~ "We can't see people until three days after they leave the hospital. They have to wear the soft cast for three days prior to seeing the orthopedist."

Me ~ "First of all we did not go to the hospital! We went to the pediatrician's office. Secondly, if he needs to be in a soft cast three days prior to seeing the orthopedist then someone needs to give him a soft cast now!"

Megan McSnotty ~ "If you didn't go to the hospital, then how do you know his foot is even broken! Ok wait.......I see here he has a fracture of the tarsal bone. How did he break it?"

Me ~ "We aren't sure how he broke it. His foot was bothering him and I asked the pediatrician about it when I took him in for a physical. She Xrayed the foot just to be safe then said he had a broke bone in his foot. She then said it has either healed wrong or he has a cyst on his bone and needed to see an orthopedist but never put him in a soft cast. She just said he could ride his bike but no running or jumping!"

Megan McSnotty ~ "So if he got the soft cast on Saturday......."

Me clearly cutting off her train of thought ~ "He does not have a soft cast ma'am!"

Megan McSnotty with smoke exiting her ears as she tries to think must not of heard me as she thinks out loud some more ~ "ok so soft cast Saturday then the earliest appt would be today but I don't have a doctor here today sooooo...."

Me ~ "Ma'am can you hear me?"

Megan McSnotty ~ "Yes! I am just trying to figure out when to get him in. If this is his third day in the soft cast, then he should've been seen today or tomorrow butttttt......"

Me ~ "Ok Megan. I need you to LISTEN to me! I have now told you three times ~ HE-IS-NOT-WEARING-A-SOFT-CAST!! If he needs to wear a soft cast for three days prior to being seen in your office, then I need to know where to go to get the soft cast put on his foot! You are acting like that is an imperative step in the process so if he needs it, I need to get it!"

Megan McSnotty ~ "He's not in a soft cast?"

Me ~ oh how my thoughts were running a million mph in my head and it took EVERYTHING IN ME NOT TO FLIP OUT ON THIS IDIOT WHO ACTUALLY HAS A JOB WHEN AN INTELLIGENT PERSON LIKE ME IS CURRENTLY UNEMPLOYED!! ugh!

My reponse was simply ~ "Not unless a sock counts!"

Megan McSnotty replies with "HUH?"

Me ~ "Huh is really not professional but NO for the fourth time he is NOT in a soft cast! Does he need one on three days prior to scheduling the appt?"

Megan McSnotty ~ "No we are just going to have to skip that step. I have an appt open on Thursday at 2pm. Will that work for you?"

Me ~ "Yes!"

Megan McSnotty ~ "Ok see you Thursday at 2pm." as she gets ready to hang up!

Me ~ "Excuse me! There is a little matter of the name of the clinic, Doctor's name or I don't know perhaps the location to the office IF you plan on us arriving for our appt!"

Megan McSnotty proceeds to give us all the info says to keep him completely inactive and the call ends!

What did I think after this call?

How in the world does an idiot like her have a job while I am on unemployment? She obviously has NO children if she expects me to keep my seven yr old boy "completely inactive" for two days. Yeah right!

I am thinking of talking with the orthopedist named Dr. Huang (pronounced Wong) about taking over for the little girl! I understand all too well that she very well could have been busy especially since she was alone BUT she should not have had such an attitude or she should have politely taken my offer for a call back. Don't tell the peds office you will handle it immediately if you are unable to do so! I also understand overdemanding patients can annoy workers at a doctor's office but the over use of "immediately" and "first thing" causes stress for patients when not followed through. If it is going to take a few days, then say it will take a few days. My other question is ~ if by three o'clock she hadn't even looked through the "inch thick pile of faxes", then what does she consider immediately! If I wouldn't have called, then the good Lord above only knows when she would've called me!!

SO ANNOYED

2009-07-20T21:21:00.003-05:00

Do you know what today is?

Monday

Do you know what time it is?

9:23pm HERE

Do you know what time the orthopedist was supposed to call me for Elijah's foot?

first thing Monday morning

Did the ortho call yet?

BIG FAT NO!

Do I know the name of the ortho so I can call and make the appt?

Did the pediatrician's office call me with a name in response to my voicemail?

Am I a little peeved right now?

YES!!

Well I guessed I should not have waited 9 mos so my kid freaks out about maybe not being able to play football!!

JUST WONDERING.....AN ADVENTURE IN PARENTING

2009-07-20T20:55:00.001-05:00

Do you know how many times a day I say,

"QUIT RUNNING IN THE HOUSE?"

TOO MANY!

Do they stop?

ONLY for the immediate 2 seconds they are in my line of sight!!

Soooooo........

Do you think they would stop running if I chop their legs off or do you think those new spring like prosthetics would only make it worse?

MOTHER OF THE YEAR IS DEFINITELY OUT!!

2009-07-19T11:38:00.000-05:00

Man do I feel like total crap!

I feel horrible but I can't help but laugh at myself!

I am THAT Mom!!

Here's the story:

Since Sept or Oct back in football season Elijah kept complaining about his foot hurting. Nothing too bad since it didn't seem to stop him from playing hard enough on the championship team! I wanted to take him to the doctor but every time I would get ready to take him it would no longer be bothering him.

Fast forward a couple of months to basketball season. Mostly his foot would bother him while playing a game but never during practice or any other time. It would hurt then not hurt so again I passed on the doctor. After one game he was in tears at the mere thought of taking his shoe off. I said that is IT you are going to the doctor. I took him home gave him ibuprofen and an ice pack which helped and planned on taking him in Monday morning. He was fine by then so again we passed.

After sports were all over, he didn't complain much about his foot at all. Occasionally he will complain but just wants ibuprofen then he is fine. The plan was once summer started to take him in to get it checked out. Plan averted when Hubs switched jobs and the insurance was gone for awhile plus me losing my job made us pinch our pennies BUT he hadn't complained in awhile.

This week he complained a few times. I made a Sat appt for both of the boys. Isaiah had to get 4 shots and Elijah needed his football physical. SO yesterday I took both the boys to the doctor where I spent 2 hours and 20 minutes. She applied pressure to the area he always says hurts and well it hurt him but movement of the foot did not. She made him walk around then turned his foot in all different directions and NOTHING! She says, "Well I am not too worried about it but I'll go ahead and take Xrays to be on the safe side."

While Elijah went to get xrays, Isaiah got his four shots. He sat up on the table being his strong self saying, "Shots don't hurt. My Daddy takes a shot everyday and he doesn't even cry (Insulin needles are a LOT smaller!) so I am not going to cry either. I wike shots!" At this point the nurse placed FOUR needles on the bed and I thought, "Lord, help me now!" Needless to say he was SCREAMING and saying, "Otay it hurts! It hurts!! IT HURTS! STOPPPPPP!" He continued to cry or scream for 20 minutes!"

At this point the doctor and her scrub dressed skeleton friend come in the room to tell me he BROKE A BONE IN HIS FOOT!! I felt like a heel....pun entirely intended!! I just kept say, "You are kidding, right? Surely he hasn't had a broke bone in his foot for NINE MONTHS! He rides his bike for HOURS EVERYday, climbs trees and never stops being active until it is time to go to bed!!" She did say that the bone that was broke is on the the top and mainly an impact bone meaning he would only feel pain upon impact such as running or jumping on a trampoline. Funny how he never had pain jumping on my brother's trampoline! She said it has healed but there is still a crack and then a bump. She also said the ibuprofen and ice packs probably took the pain away enough for him to continue to be SO ACTIVE and the constant running involved with sports made it more painful versus the movement required for bike riding would not hurt it at all! She referred him to an orthopedist who should call Monday morning. She wants to see if it just healed wrong or if he has a cyst on his bone. SERIOUSLY! She said they might have him wear a cast for a few weeks but she was unsure. This being said she then cleared him for football and just wants him to see the orthopedist! What? Okay!?!?

SO ALL Mother of the year nods should now be forwarded to someone who puts off a doctor appt for their child's hurt foot FOR NINE MONTHS!!!!! Who knew ibuprofen and ice could cure BROKEN BONE PAIN!! NOT ME OBVIOUSLY!

FRIDAY HIGH FIVE

2009-07-16T20:00:00.000-05:00

Time for Friday High Five!

To see my Friday High Five posts for examples, click here!

Post about it, linking back to me (now you can copy and paste the HTML at the bottom of this post for a button!) then sign Mr. Linky!Please use the Friday High Five URL post in Mr. Linky's URL section instead of your blog URL and here is how: write the post, publish the post, go to edit posts, VIEW the High Five post, copy the URL in the address portion at the top of the screen then paste it in the URL section of Mr.Linky!!

Sounds complicated but it isn't too bad!

If you need help, let me know in the comment section!

Go view all the other High Five posts and comment away!

Have fun!

5 reasons I went to Springfield for the day yesterday

5. My Uncle's dog had puppies and my sister bought one so we went to pick it up!

4. TO GET OUT OF THE HOUSE

3. Adult conversation ~ the four boys played, watched movies and ATE (that is a whole other post!!) while my sister and I talked and talked the whole way there and the whole way back!!

2. To take Grandma to put her jewelry in her safe deposit box. Since the whole tornado ordeal when she broke her pelvis she is paranoid that a tornado is going to carry her and the house away with her jewels in it! Since her bank is right by my Uncle's house I took her there. I listened to her stories about EVERY piece of jewelry. I now know who bought each piece, who gets it when she dies, when she got it and why and what each piece is made of.....wow....and the vault was so hot!! The funny thing is ~ she put the jewelry in the safe deposit box but the list saying who gets what and the meaning of the jewelry she is keeping at the house. Pretty much negates the purpose if you ask me but oh well maybe I'll remember just a portion of what she told me!!

TO SEE GRANDMA!!

I love my Grandma and wish she was right here! Even though I saw her about a month ago and I talk to her weekly, I just wanted to see her and the boys did too! They love their Grandma "Souri" ~ that is what they call her ~ not Grandma, not Great Grandma, not Grandma Bryan, not Grandma Donna but Grandma "Souri" pronounced Zuri since well.....she lives in Missouri. She doesn't mind and I think she kind of likes that they made a name just for her and have stuck with it for so long ~ it makes her even more special.

WRITER'S WORKSHOP WEDNESDAY

2009-07-16T12:27:00.004-05:00

Time once again for MamaKat's Writer's Workshop Wednesday and like always I am a little late but you know they say better late than never!! Good thing someone created that quote I just wish it was regarded with all my high school tardies!!

Let's see.....what to do....

2.) Describe a situation that forced you to confront a neighbor.

Really? Has someone been watching me? I found it funny that this was a prompt since I had to confront my neighbor 2 nights ago. If you are new, then go here first then here for the back story! If you are a follower, then you know about my neighbor situation and many of you have emailed asking for an update ~ here it is! After an air conditioner mishap involving water leaking, parts of the ceiling falling and ceiling stains, I was cleaning up the dinner mess. THAT air conditioner post will come soon! Isaiah comes screaming and crying into the kitchen saying, "Daddy is mean!" I said, "Well what happened?" since he says this almost everytime he is in trouble which is quite often. Hubs comes storming in telling him to tell me what he had done to which Zay replies, "She told me to take my pants down so she could see my weiner!" while crying REALLY hard! Hubs had walked outside to take the trash out and caught Zay with his pants down, literally. I knew Zay was telling the truth since he has NOT ever called it his "weiner" ~ EVER! Now some may shrug this off as curiosity but with the back story to the situation I was peeved to say the least! I immediately stormed out of the house and walked over to their house. The little was standing in the open garage. I said, "Can I speak with your Dad?" She quickly responded with, "NO!" I said, "Well I really need to speak with your father." She said, "Well you can't b/c we are about to eat dinner." Not willing to accept this answer I knocked on the front door. The older brother answered and let me in. The father was sitting in a recliner watching television and the mother was beside him in another chair smoking IN the house. They respond with "What did she do?" and the little girl runs up the steps screaming. I proceeded to tell them the situation and although they appeared shocked I didn't feel it was honest. I won't go into everything I said but basically told them she was saying and doing things that are inappropriate and they needed to speak with her. He turned the television off and called for the girl who by then was screaming her lungs off. Not crying just screaming! He said something and she screamed, "I am going to kill myself!" SERIOUSLY! He said, "Why would you say something like that?" My only thought was "hmmm.....it is time for one of us to move!" I then went home to have "the talk" with my 4 yr old son that I hated having the first time.

3.)Tell us about Grandpa.

I easily have many things to say on this topic but since I miss him terribly, his birthday was a few weeks ago and I just saw my Grandma yesterday, I don't think I can type it without crying! You can go here to read a post a did awhile back if you like.

INSTEAD I will talk about my Dad and his "Papa" skills! My boys LOVE their Meme and Papa! Papa is the type to teach them checkers, play Memory or teach the grandkids how to play cards. He is stern but always handing out hugs for his little buddies. I have countless pictures of the boys as babies sleeping with Papa in his throne, the recliner, and they are some of my favorites! He lets them "help" with repair projects and other activities like washing the cars, watering the lawn or building a small fence. He is the maker of tall tales and seems to be able to create a funny but kid logical answer to otherwise avoided questions. I don't get how he comes up with them so quick but they are normally funny. He is smart yet able to relate to his inner child! He is funny and loving so what more could you ask for in a Grandpa! We love him!

4.) Which appliance in your home would you most miss living without if you had to live without.

NONE!!

Hmmm......I was going to say the diswasher since I HATE handwashing dishes but I think the washer would be harder to live without since we have so much laundry!! WAIT....I guess I could take the clothes to the laundromat and get many loads done in a shorter time frame which I could not do with the dishes so I will have to stick with the dishwasher!!

MR MOODY AND MR COOL

2009-07-16T08:25:00.007-05:00

Isaiah is quite the mood shifter therefore rightfully earning his name

Mr. Moody!

He can go to a birthday swim party and go from this

then hit his brother requiring him to exit the pool and turn to this

After a lot of pouting and fake tears

he finds

and all the world is right again

Oh and a slip and slide
All the while Mr. Calm Cool and Collected does this for a very long time

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

"SAY HELLO TO MY LIT-TLE FRIEND!"

2009-07-15T01:00:00.000-05:00

Some people have a guard dog.

Some people use the blog frog.

Me.....

I am blogging about my guard frog!!

Meet Bugsley

I think he might be the same frog that Elijah caught and trained. It might not be but we prefer to think that he was so well trained and loved our flower beds, which sadly for the first time in 5 years don't contain many flowers, so much that he decided to stay. Every single night he can be seen sitting on our ~~ugly large step of a~~front porch! I don't mind since he is eating bugs. He is a welcomed guest and I like to think that although he couldn't really harm an intruder he could at least hop out and scare one!! He stays there all evening through the night (trust me I've stepped outside to check before I've gone to bed between 2 and 3am) and doesn't leave until late morning.

Wow such a ~~hungry and lazy~~ dedicated watch frog!

DOES SHE REALLY EXPECT US TO BELIEVE THAT CRAP?

2009-07-14T16:30:00.000-05:00

You know there are a ton of reality TV shows!

You know there are a variety of weigh loss reality shows.

You also know dancing shows such as Dancing with the Stars or MY LOVE So You Think You Can Dance are popular. Nope I KNOW I can but that is another post.

Recently, Oxygen started the show Dance Your Ass Off which combines dancing and weight loss reality TV.

Personally, I watch it to feel better about myself and pity them b/c the producers put them in skimpy outfits to dance around so we the viewers can gag and laugh at the fat jiggling!! I swear the outfits are for ratings!

It works!!

Seriously, does Ass have to be in the title though.

It is hard enough to find a normal family television show that doesn't slip in the "b" word or any other undesirable word for small listening ears, but now they are just slipping them into the title so you can't even say what you are watching. Ugh.....anywho.......just another show for me to watch during the night........

Do you ever watch The Biggest Loser and think to yourself..."They have to weigh more than that or the TV adds like 50lbs."

Nope.

Well I DO!!

NOTE: ALL skinny girls should just stop reading this post now since you probably won't be able to appreciate this post as much as my big girl readers!!

NOTE: All big girls proceed with head nodding, mmm hmmms, finger snaps and laughter!

I think being a big girl affords me a better ability to gauge a person's weight based on appearance. Not to say that I am always correct but I have a better eye for weight. Skinny people don't know what 200, 250 or 300 because to them they are all just really fat. I think you have to have been big at some point in your life to really guesstimate weight. I often watch those shows thinking they have to weigh more than that or they are extremely vertically challenged. Then again they don't give height measurements on The Biggest Loser so it is harder to tell. THEN I also look at them thinking, "Wow do I look that big?" I know I am a big girl but dang. First of all you would never see me in a sports bra/spandex combo EVER but I think I might buy one just to see what I would look like!! JUST KIDDING ~ NO ONE SHOULD DO THAT!!! It is like my friend Shan says, "Just because they make it in your size that doesn't mean you should wear it!" I am beginning to wonder if I need new mirrors since picture taking of me is prohibited!! ANYway..........

......the purpose of this post is........

I've been watching Oxygen's latest dance/weight loss combo reality show and a little annoyed with the lies.

There is a big girl on there.

She started off weighing like 275 or 278.

She is 5' 2" tall.

She claims to wear a size 18!

HELLO!!!

Does she really think we are that stupid?

I am right here to tell you that a woman can NOT weigh 275 and be only 5' 2" and wear a size 18!!

NOT POSSIBLE!!

If she was 6 foot, maybe!!

Can we show the tag of her pants please?!?!

If you are willing to dance around in skimpy, fat roll revealing costumes and step on a scale for all the world to see, then why lie about your clothing size!

Crap like that annoys me!

Plus why are the people on this show only losing like 1-3 lbs per week!

In normal everyday life, 1-3lbs per week is good! On a show where you are working out every single day with trainers, working with dietitians for your meals PLUS learning, practicing and dancing a new routine weekly, you need to be losing a lot more weight than that especially considering people with more weight generally lose weight quicker in the beginning. Quit eating out of the cheaters cabinet...you've had your two seconds of fame!!

By the way, I have started the Hot Broke diet.

Pretty easy!

I was excited when I stepped on the electronic scale and it kept flashing "lo, lo, lo". I was all, "WOO HOO I AM TOO SMALL FOR THE SCALE TO EVEN REGISTER MY WEIGHT!!! I'VE DIED AND GONE TO HEAVEN!"

I thought it was odd since my clothes were not falling off.

Turns out that is what happens when electronic scales need new batteries.

Who knew?

That is a really mean trick to play on a big girl!

BUT....

I replaced the batteries and I've lost 6 pounds in a little over a week!!

Woo hoo!

I may put some old batteries in the scale again though because the flashing "lo, lo, lo" was exhilarating!!