DENIS THE MENACE & THE TRIP TO THE ZOO

Last Thursday I took the day off to chaperone Elijah's kindergarten field trip to the Tulsa Zoo; however, the field trip was cancelled right before we were supposed to leave because of the weather forecast. The kids were not happy and boy did I pity the teachers who had to listen to the whining ALL day! So they rescheduled the trip for today. With such short notice and so many parents were unable to take another day off of work after taking off Thursday, the chaperone list plummeted which meant those of us going would be responsible for more kids. Chaitra was unable to go on Monday and even though Avani isn't in the same class as Elijah she had to walk with me because she is allergic to everything on Earth and I already know about her epipen and breathing problems so Chaitra requestedAvani to walk with me. Sure I said and when I went to the nurses office to get the epipen before we left I did ask her about any unusual signs that I would need to use the pen because I am so used to her telling us when something is wrong but I thought I better find out what to look for in case she couldn't communicate. She said first call 911 because the epipen relief is only temporary so she will still need help. Dumb idea - it made me an absolute nervous wreck the entire day! When we pull up to the Zoo with our three BA buses I see about twenty other buses and realize there is going to be a ton of kids here. Ok so I was assigned to Elijah, Denis and Avani then I asked if I could have another girl so Avani wouldn't feel so out of place with the boys. Then they gave me Sarah and Paige because they are friends with Vani - Ok!


Well everything started out good then Denis began....."I'm hungry buy me food, I'm thirsty buy me a drink, I want to ride the train why can't we ride the train..." I didn't think he would ever stop. We were asked not to spend any money on the kids and that was a pain in the butt to explain every two seconds. The kid kept running off and driving me nuts because then I would have to drag four other kids around to find him. I stayed nice and calm until we lost him after the rainforest then I drug them all back in to find him and didn't find him but found two other stragglers who couldn't find their chaperone so I told them to stay with me. As soon as I get outside I see his little yellow-shorted-self far away with another group so I just yelled for him. The chaperones turned around and said hey you have to of our kids and I said yep and you have one of mine. They said "are you afraid of losing your kid?" I replied, "I am not worried about losing my child because he doesn't wander off every two seconds. I am more worried about losing another mother's child and having to explain it to her. But obviously that doesn't seem to bother you guys!" It just frustrated me that they didn't even notice they had a kid who wasn't theirs and were missing two of their own. Number 1 reason why I just prefer to chaperone my own kid. Especially on a day as full as this one....I have never seen this many kids at the zoo ever you would think it was THE ONLY day for zoo field trips!! I also realized I was the only one with 5 kids everyone else has no more than 2 even the teachers and I have 5 with one who has medical issues how smart is that!!! By now we are half way through the zoo and the entire time I am trying to make poor Avani stay within epipen stabbing distance and checking for labored breathing, swollen face or neck, swollen tongue, disorientation, slurred speech, redness, wheezing and the list goes on and on!!!! This is when I started to panic.........what if I have to use the pen and call 911 first, do I just tell them I need help at the brown bear cage at the Tulsa Zoo....why didn't I get the number to the zoo office in case there was an emergency they could pick us up.....how will I carry her running all the way to the front screaming and expect all the others to keep up (because I am SO fast you know especially carrying a very tall heavy 6 yr old)....I would just have to tell Elijah to stay with mommy and tell the others to either keep up or wait there for another chaperone to come along.....why me, why am I the one with five kids. In my moment of panic I hear kids screaming, I rejoined the real world to see 4 scared kids running towards me (the look on Vani's face was priceless) and Denis throwing rocks at the ostrich who now is running, flapping and pecking through the wire. Nice! Again why me!! At this point I am thinking I always thought I loved kids but now besides a select few I have decided I mainly just love my kids! Just kidding! It is at times like this that I realize and appreciate how good my children can be at times! Well I lost Denis a few more times...WAIT...I didn't lose him I just needed a leash for him since he kept running off like a rabid dog! All in all the day was good. It was more fun outside of the zoo watching all the boys play hide and seek while the girls sat quietly glistening with sweat waiting for the buses. I must say the bus ride home was STINKY but peaceful since it was full of mostly napping kindergarteners! I also must say I am glad I get to do things like this with my kids because my parents weren't active in our school and athletic lives and I have vowed: I WILL BE INVOLVED!

He just loves animals!

SAMSON

I guess I made my decision and I must say for now I am happy with it! We brought home the Boston Terrier on Thur. the 17th! I sure hope I don't regret this. We decided to wait about two years then get another Great Dane when the boys are a little bigger and we will surely have a larger house by then. We decided "Martez and I" could wait for "our" dog and let the boys get something they can play with outside that won't run them over by accident. I feel bad though like I am acting like Daisy wasn't all that important and I am merely replacing her but then I think well you can't replace DAISY WITH A BOSTON TERRIER so that is a crazy thought!! I also thought it will be easier to add a Dane to the mix later. The first night was truly scary. Moose, our English Bulldog, was determined to EAT the new puppy. Seriously he attempted many times to eat his head. We could not put the puppy down and even holding him in our laps was a feat because Moose was still trying to attack him and drooling all over us. That is truly disgusting! Yes, Mel I was gagging!! Samson must know how unsure I was about this decision to bring him home because he hasn't had an accident yet in the house OR in his crate, he has slept all night in his crate WITHOUT crying and he hasn't been hyper!! Yea for him - I'll let him stay! Moose is fine as long as the puppy doesn't move - ha! Seriously though the puppy can only walk. If he tries to run or make any sudden movements Moose pounces him like a little rat!!

Until today that is when we finally heard Samson bark, I think he got tired of Moose always up his butt so he turned around yapped a little and Moose looked at him in total disbelief then turned around and walked off as if he had been hurt. Losing Daisy has been hard on Moose which is another reason we needed to get him a friend. He didn't eat for days after her death and honestly I don't think he had turned down a meal since birth. He has never met a food, toy, slipper, flip flop etc he wouldn't eat! He has lost weight which needed to happen anyway. Now he gets on the couch and to this day he licks where she always slept as if he can still smell her and misses her but that just grosses me out. So hopefully this will be a pick-me-up for him if he
doesn't eat our new family member!

VROOM ....VROOOOOMMMMM!

Today was Isaiah's spring Music/Spanish Program at school. Now normally my children do not do well in musical programs. For instance in all of Elijah's programs at WEE he would just mouth words and yawn about a hundred times. I think everyone thought he never slept! Isaiah on the other hand would just sit angry, cry for me or yell when I would watch him. This surprises me because he has always loved noises and music but I guess he doesn't like people to watch him. Well today he was playing all of the musical "instruments" and singing only the parts in which you were supposed to yell! He is such a wonderful yeller! Must be from earlier hearing problems and everyone always having to yell at him to be heard!! His way of payback! He was so cute not really singing words but giving cute little sheepish grins instead unless it was time to yell. Then came some preschool song that went like this......"driving in my truck, driving in my truck.....green says go and red says stop".....now this is sung while walking around pretending to be driving then everyone stops at "stop". Amen! This song is going to be right up his alley. For those of you who do not personally know my boys.......they LOVE vehicles. Elijah could name makes and models of cars by the age of two and that is NO joke he followed Daddy's obsession and took it ten steps further!! It used to be funny because it would freak people out when they didn't believe us so they would drill him on cars driving by and always get about 90% correct!! That's my boy! ANYHOW onto Isaiah! Everyone at WEE absolutely loves Isaiah - he has them all FOOLED. Get this: they think he is cute, sweet and funny which yes he is but he is also a BAD ATTITUDE, YELLING, HITTING, CRYING DADDY'S LITTLE BOY!!! They were singing this song and walking around pretending they were driving and all of the sudden one of the moms says, "what is that noise?" Another one said, "Is that grunting or growling?" I reply with, "That noise is my son! That is his car imitation that he does about 95% of his waking mobile moments!" It was so funny because he would be making his car noises then they would all have to stop and when they would get to GO again he would make a "peeling" out noise. Cute and funny for others!! You see he makes car noises all the time: out riding bikes, playing with cars on the floor/couch, walking, running, walking down aisles in the grocery store.....you name it he is VRRROOMMMM it!! It is really cute to others but not so much to me anymore now I am just annoyed! It is like a low key growl, grunt except for moments of intense breaking or fast take offs! Lord help me! Send me a child that will play quietly with a doll!

MY HEARTBREAKING DILEMNA

CAUTION:

THIS BLOG IS EXTREMELY LONG

Well as many of you already know our Great Dane Miss Daisy Mae better known as Daisy passed away on Mar. 31. I used to be one of those people who didn't understand why people got SO upset over losing a pet. I have lost many pets and cried over some but I was a wreck when Daisy died and still can't really talk about it in detail without breaking down which I will probably do now. I think this blog is more for me than any of you. I am having a really hard time "getting over it" and thought maybe writing/blogging about it would help. Working in the pet business since I was 10 I have seen many people buy new pets when one dies and that is my dilemna now. Do I or don't I? But first a little background................we got Daisy when she was 6 weeks old and Elijah was just a LITTLE 17 month old. She only came up to his butt and they were so cute together. Minor attitude adjustments were made by our two cats but we were all in love with our new puppy and she was a perfect fit. Elijah and Daisy were hilarious together both sweet, innocent, wobbly and clumsy! A few months later we thought we might lose her when she started limping and completely stopped eating. After many trips to the vet fearing the worst she was diagnosed with metabolic bone disease which in short form is basically growing pains and an imbalance of minerals. She made it and grew to be the biggest baby ever. Fast forward to 4 1/2 years later............Daisy was MY dog and she knew it. She was amazing! She was always by my side no matter what, seriously. If I went outside, she went or sat by the door waiting for my return. If I was going to the bathroom and didn't shut the door completely, there she was sitting in front of me repetitively raising her paw up to my chest for me to shake not realizing it was not the best time. I would tell her to get out so she would raise the other paw just in case I changed my mind. If I was home cleaning, she would follow me from room to room. If I was in the garage doing laundry, she was right there waiting for me. She could be totally passed out on the couch that she never learned was not actually her bed and if I left the room she would pop up and follow. She laid on the floor next to the bed that is if she wasn't trying to get on the bed. She slept with us for many months as a puppy NOT BY OUR CHOICE. I would wake up feeling trapped under the covers and there she would be laying between my legs totally paralyzing me between the sheets. Not funny I used to panic! I tried for months to stop it but she would always sneak up in the middle of the night. Soon she got WAY to big to fit on our bed with us but as soon as Martez would leave for work in the morning or if we got out of bed she'd pop up there like it was hers. I never seemed to make her believe it wasn't! She learned to let herself out to pee and then learned to open the door to let herself back in. Boy that really freaked out company! She later trained our English Bulldog to do the same although there are many times I wish she had kept that trick to herself!! I always felt so safe with her! She was sweet but people were VERY intimidated by her size and I liked that to a certain degree. I always thought if someone were to come in they would probably see her and turn around and if they didn't I honestly believe she would NEVER let anyone hurt me or my family. Martez could walk by and smack me on the butt and you could hear her nails on the wood floors running to my "rescue". She did that for any of us though.......sometimes I would smack Martez and call for help just to see her run and try to stop HIM when he was just standing there the whole time! Ha! If Martez and I were playing with the kids on our bed and we got too rowdy, there she was climbing up to stop the chaos and lay on us all! I won't lie Daisy occassionally was not the perfect angel. She would often grab stuff off the kitchen counters but at least she didn't climb on them because it was right at her level for the snatching! And the number one rule in our house was NEVER EVER leave your food unattended because she will snatch it and run out the door within seconds and you can't blame her if you leave it! One time she ran out the door carry a brand new box of cheese bread left on the counter and I think she got it out and ate it whole. Boy that was a hard one for Isaiah to learn!

She liked to play in the snow then track it all in no matter how many times I would shut the door she would just open it and go play. She often got stuck in bathrooms by merely walking in then accidently shutting the door with her hiney while turning around. She would then scratch at the door periodically until someone heard her. I always wondered why she didn't just bark. The scratches were nothing some Old English wouldn't fix! No matter what she did or how annoying it was to keep everything 6ft high, how many meals she stole or just annoying me at times for always being right there........I would give anything to have her back right next to me!!

Mar. 31
4:45am Martez leaves for work and Daisy is asleep.
5:55am I get up and I normally get her to go outside then she will crawl into our bed and watch me get ready BUT I heard her go outside on her own so I just went about the normal morning routine.
6:50am Now I am making the boys lunches and notice Daisy wasn't RIGHT there in case I drop something she is the instant quicker picker upper!! I thought that was odd so I call her name with no response which is HIGHLY unusual. I figured she was playing outside but she would come when she heard her food hit the dish.
7am I put food in Daisy's bowl with no running response. I look out the back glass door and see her laying on the ground which is odd since she only does that when it is sunny. I call her name several times and I stand there thinking to myself wow she is so big. I noticed what at the time seemed to be hiccups and walked out there only to watch my big baby take her final breaths with me pleading for her to just get up. Her stomach was HUGE and hard. I felt SO bad! I was wailing and so freaked out! It isn't like I could just pick her up and take her to the vet. She was easily 150 lbs. or more! I kept calling my mom and dad with no answer. I just stood there bawling loudly wanting anyone to answer the phone. I was in complete shock and had no clue what to do, I felt helpless. I kept saying "No Daisy we have to get in the car!" I kept walking around to the side of the house so the boys wouldn't hear me and see her dead on the ground. I was so hysterical! I finally got ahold of Martez who in disbelief and total fear from me screaming on the phone left work to rush home. I then finally talked to my mom and dad and then the vet. I was so lost! I had no clue what to do. When I was younger we lived in the country and when an animal would die we would just bury it. It is now against the law to bury pets within city limits and even if we wanted to we would have to have them come out to mark the lines. Can you imagine the size of hole we would have to dig about 5ft by 5ft then however deep......we would have to have a backhoe. So I call the vet and ask what I am supposed to do and who to call.....here were my options as explained to me by the vet....1) Bring her into the office and they will arrange to have her cremated 2) I can keep the ashes in a "beautiful, handcrafted" urn or they will scatter them "at a beautiful peaceful" place for us OR option 3) you can call the city and they will pick her up and dispose of her AKA take her to the dump for ONLY $10.......I lost control spouted some unpleasantries at the poor woman and then quickly apologized. I just wanted her buried I didn't know how or where but I wanted her buried not cremated. I have problems just thinking about cremation. It is a personal decision everyone must make and people can fry themselves if they want but it is not for me well or Daisy.
We finally made arrangements for Daisy to be buried at a pet cemetary......and yes nutjobs I have some issues with that simply from seeing the movie as a teenager but hey what was I supposed to do. We load Daisy and take her to the cemetary where we are informed he can not bury Daisy because he does not have a casket large enough for her. He said in 30 years of being a veterinarian and running a pet cemetary he had never seen a dog that large. I said so people don't bury big dogs and he said he hadn't even seen a Dane get that big especially a female. (I am quite sure by the way there are many Danes larger than her that have died and been buried!) Great now what! I explained that although she was a very large girl she was not always that fat in the stomach area and he said she obviously died of "twisted gut or bloat" and was extremely bloated but he had no way to bury her. They called another cemetary for us and they said they would take care of us. So we drove to Pet Memorial Gardens......a much nicer place than the first cemetary anyway. It proceeded to pour down rain get very windy and the electricity went off as soon as we got there. At a pet cemetary in a storm with no electricity......that situation seriously made me think of the movie!! SO we had to sit there until it all subsided and then the electricity came back on...Thank God b/c I don't know how much longer I could cope with my dog dying and having to sit at a pet cemetary with no electricity and really no way out b/c of the storm!!!! The lady was odd but nice she saw Daisy then said WOW she is big! I started crying and said please say you can bury her for me! She said well let me measure her......44in long but only from ears to base of tail (basically this didn't count her head) then 38.5in tall at the shoulder which doesn't include neck and head.....it was awkward because it was still raining and we were measuring her in the back of the truck. She then she measured the caskets....too small....too small.....too small....she thought she would be able to use the next to largest casket however she wouldn't fit so they used the largest casket they had which they had NEVER used before but thankfully only charged me for the one right below it and we had to pay for two lots. I know it sounds completely crazy but she deserved it. I never buried a dog in a cemetary before and don't know if I would again unless they were special like her. I cried everyday straight for at least a week then cried sporatically after that. I looked up her cause of death and bawled as it was described as "excrutiatingly painful" and most will die of shock. You only have 1 to 2 hours to get the dog to the vet and have the costly surgery done before they will die. The guilt just kills me. I constantly think why didn't I check on her when I realized she wasn't in our room since she was in there EVERY morning, why didn't I go outside before I did, was she laying out there just wondering where I was, did she cry for help and I didn't hear her, and did she wait until I finally came outside to take her final couple of breaths? No one can answer all my questions. Now I had the painful task of telling Elijah. He actually did pretty well as far as not crying but he brought it up constantly. Isaiah wouldn't be able to really understand and that entire evening he kept saying "Daidy outside!?!?" Then the next day as I was cooking dinner I could hear Isaiah outside yelling "Daidy comere honey! Where are you? Daidy where are you?" He then came inside asking for her and I attempted to explain she had died and he just yelled at me "Daidy not dead!" and walked through the house yelling for her and then outside again. It was sad but I had to let him look so maybe it would help him understand. It broke my heart listening to him. For weeks out of habit I would call her name, yell at her to get off my bed when I walked out of the bathroom, tell the boys to watch their plates....you name it I did it. I felt so incredibly stupid too! I don't feel as safe anymore. It isn't that I think something will happen to me I think I just relied on her to protect me if God forbid someone were to break in or try to harm my children in anyway. I always felt safe with her. I am sorry this is long but the point of me writing all of this is:
Do I get another Great Dane? If so now or later? Will I constantly compare the new one to her and resent it when it isn't as good? Maybe a different color will help? Would I just be replacing her? I don't know. Then my boys saw a Boston Terrier up at the store and asked if they could hold it. Sure I said and that was it, they fell in love. I would never in my wildest dreams think of ever getting a Boston Terrier. Hello.....Angela and Terriers do not mesh well. I don't like hyper dogs. I think Bostons are bug eyed and ugly. Well we left the puppy there and hours later Elijah comes to me all sad and says, "Mommy I really like that puppy! Can I have him?"
I said, "No baby I am sorry but I think it would be too hyper for mommy. Maybe we'll go look at some Great Dane puppies this weekend."
He replies with, "but I want that little puppy!"
I explained to him that the Boston won't stay that size forever and he would probably just want every puppy he saw that wanted to play with him. He then pleaded, "I want a puppy that will stay small so I can sleep with it and play with it and it won't knock me down." I said, "Well Daisy used to try to sleep with you and you didn't want her to!" He cameback with, "MOM she took my whole bed!" I just started crying! I guess I just assumed we needed another Great Dane but that little fart made me think. We are wanting to sell our house within the next year and find a bigger house so showing a house with a clumsy Great Dane puppy could be a pain. It would be easier to get a small dog now then add a Dane later rather than adding a small dog to a Dane. I guess I never really thought about life without Daisy. She was the most gentle dog and she loved HER boys however she couldn't really play with them. You see Daisy weighed around 150 but in her eyes she was a 10lb lapdog! She would never purposely hurt the boys but sometimes through excitement she would whip them in the head with her tail (which hurts) or knock them down unintentionally of course. They could sleep ON her, play ON her but they couldn't really play WITH her. Well the next day we saw the Boston Terrier again and the smaller of the two is actually really calm, cute and not really buggy eyed. He will play for a while then go off by himself to play then just crawl up in Elijah's lap and fall asleep.

Now the bigger one of the two Boston Terriers I believe is on crack and would never survive in my household but the smaller one is unusually calm. SO FINALLY HERE IS THE HEARTBREAKING DILEMNA: Do I get another Great Dane? Wait a couple of years until the boys are a little bigger and we have a bigger house? Do I get the Boston Terrier? Or simple a smaller breed dog? Can I live with a Boston Terrier? Do I get the dog my boys can play with then get a Great Dane later? Or will the novelty of the small dog wear off and the boys will quit playing with it? WHAT DO I DO?

SESAME STREET LIVE

Tonight Shandolynne, Cleta and I along with her mother took our kids to see Sesame Street Live. We joke about our kids being betrothed and I think if we push hard enough it could happen! Ha! Honestly though they think the world of each other and it was actually their first "date" that is with just us mommies and Cleta to chaperon. We went to Zio's to eat then watched them ham it up with Elmo and the rest of the Sesame Street gang. Well I guess "I" watched them ham it up b/c after the intermission the sleepy kids crawled up onto sleepy Shandolynne's lap and I think I may have been the only awake at the end but we all had a great time..both young and old!

LEARNING TO RIDE

Elijah has been begging us to take his training wheels off of his bike and today we finally did. Martez was getting frustrated at first and wanted to give up after about 3 mins b/c they were both stressing out but I pulled him aside said be patient and calm and he will learn it much faster, don't act like you were born riding a bike. Martez regrouped and I am so glad HE was able to teach him how to ride his bike so I could take pics, of course!

He was riding the bike all by himself within 27 minutes! He was having a little trouble starting but we taught him how to use the curb. Everything was going good........

...Moose and Elijah were on a roll down the street when...

...Elijah ran smack dab into the Mustang on the right side of the pic while trying to look back at us! Martez went running to his aid but he was fine then Elijah ran up a driveway into a pile of leftover ice storm debris then down into an SUV! OUCH!

It was so "serious"! He was "never going to ride the bike again"! So I had him call Meme and Papa to tell them how good he did and of course he needed to tell them he would "never" ride again b/c he was seriously injured! I thought the Batman band aid would help but not so much he still just moped around for about 30 minutes. He sat in the house until I asked Martez to put Elijah's bike into my car so I could take it to Goodwill since he was going to just give up and never ride again! Well I'll try in a little bit! My response, "Oh OK but only if YOU want to!" trying to make him think I didn't care but I just didn't want him to give up! Next thing I know he is out on the bike and didn't stop for about an hour! Go baby go! Just watch out for parked vehicles and dead tree debris! lol Of course Isaiah who is extremely jealous and constantly demands attention had to have a picture of him riding his "bike" with "no hands momma!"

HAPPY ST PATRICK'S DAY!

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all!

Today Isaiah said he was ready to go and I said no we have to change clothes, get your hat and your backpack. Isaiah came running into our room a couple of minutes later with pjs off, hat on and backpack on "ready" to go! How funny is he!



I was in Target awhile back and in the dollar section towards the front of the store they had some St. Patrick's Day hats. I thought it would be cute to put them on the boys and take their pics.......constantly thinking like a scrapbooker now! And wellll...........

............I was right! Look how cute they are! Elijah's picture cracks me up with his teeth gone!

Where'd my sneaky little leprechauns go?!?!?

LINCOLN AT THE MOVIES

Elijah has been learning about different Presidents in school. He comes home telling us all about George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and George Bush. Last week I had to pick Tez up from track after I had picked up Elijah. Here is how the story goes:

Elijah doing the normal ride home from school trivia, "Mommy did you know Abraham Lincoln was the sixteenth president and he died."

Mommy driving says, "Mmm hmmm!"

Elijah continues with, "He was shot in the head at a theater."

Mommy driving says, "Mmm hmmm!"

Elijah says, "It’s so sad! Poor President just got shot in the head and died."

Tez jumps in with, "Poor guy just got shot in the head at the movies!"

Mommy laughing so hard she can’t drive so I stop and reply with still laughing "They didn’t have movies back then!"

In unison they say, "Well why was he at a theater!"

It still makes me laugh even now! Well gotta go buy tickets to a musical or play of some sort so my children know about the theater!

BUBBLE BOY

I bought a bubble machine the other day and it is a hit! I took pictures like always and some of them were too cute not to share. Now I have to do a really cute page with them!

HAPPY 6TH BIRTHDAY AVERY!

Today was Avery's 6th Birthday party at Elijah's favorite place Incredible Pizza. Avery went to WEE Ministries together for 3 or 4 years and they are "bestest" friends. Elijah was the only friend Avery wanted at his party so it was just going to be our two families and his grandparents; however, Avery's mom had to stay home with his sister Alexis and Martez had to stay home with Isaiah b/c both Alexis and Isaiah were sick. They were going to cancel but Avery was upset so we went along for some fun. They always play really good together and have a blast.

Avery loves Star Wars and here he is with a new Star Wars toy and humming the theme song with Elijah doing sound effects! Boys?!?!?

Fun driving bumper cars

They finished off the party with bowling. It was Elijah's first time to bowl. He did really good. At the end he was behind by one then he got a strike and won! He was so excited!

Isaiah was happy to see Elijah come home! Isaiah was sick and he just crawled onto Elijah's lat and eventually fell asleep.

ELIJAH GOES TO THE DENTIST

This blog will be short and sweet!! Elijah went to the dentist for the first time today. He did great and I must say I love this place b/c I thought he was going to totally flip out hence the reason I waited so long but they were amazing. They explained everything on his level and demonstrated everything before they just shoved it into his mouth. Very different from when I was young in fact I eventually had to be taken to a very expensive children's dentist that would totally knock me out for everything. I laugh now when I think about it! Anyway he did great and he had no cavities. They said his teeth are in very good shape and complimented me for taking the time to brush his teeth for him. I let him brush his teeth first and then I REALLY brush them and I will continue to do so until I KNOW he can do a good job!

He is watching cartoons!

NO CAVITIES!

ACTING WHITE......WHAT????

Recently some of my in-laws have accused my husband of "acting white". Unsure of what they meant, we asked. Their response was when a black man marries a white woman he then begins to act white. Again we asked how is he "acting white"! Their next response was something about us having a house with nice things. Hmmmm.....I think I smell a BIG GREEN EYED MONSTER HERE!!! They go into this long story about how I was raised different. Somehow they think I was born with the silver spoon and handed everything I wanted....that is so wrong! I started working at the age of 10 before and after school and have worked ever since! I paid for my clothes, my car, all of my gas, my insurance and any functions I wanted to do all by myself! They also believe that every white person that grows up in Broken Arrow must be rich! Ha! This is all coming from a bunch of so called "Christians" who are not supposed to be judging or envying but that is ALL they seem to do when it comes to us! This is so freaking annoying but hilarious at the same time. But I am really sick of hearing about it all the freaking time! I am sorry but I do not feel sorry for them at all AND I don't feel I should have to feel guilty for anything I have worked for. They (the ones making the comments) are on welfare and will continue to be on welfare until they get their lazy asses up and get JOBS! I can say all of this because that is exactly what they do! I understand welfare and its necessity but I also know that a ton of people abuse it and use it as a way of life so they don't have to work. They can get jobs but then they will quit the job after a month or so because if you make too much then the welfare stops! Crap isn't that the point. Welfare should be a hand up not a hand-out!! Why would you want to be dependent on the government that you complain about so much? Anyhow apparently owning a home, a couple of cars and nice furniture means you must be white. And in their words he wouldn't be financially stable if he married a black woman which seriously cracked me up. Hello dumbass, you are a black woman so basically you just degraded yourself! So are they saying if he married a black woman that he wouldn't have been able to have everything he has now. It makes me mad that they think that little of him yet claim not to. So are they then saying that African-Americans can not work hard to achieve financial stability? It shouldn't matter what race your spouse is, you become financially stable by making good financial decisions and working hard. We work hard for everything we have. Our furniture we have bought throughout the years with our tax refunds as well as paid off all debt and made improvements to the house. Do they not realize that anyone can buy a house and nice things if you are willing to work for it? Nice furniture? I am sorry if I don't go out and spend my hard earned money on crap like you!! They act like we just go buy what we want when we want it - no! We do not own a money tree and my parents DO NOT SUPPORT US! We do a thing called SAVING our money to buy the big ticket items and we PLAN for our future as much as possible and we also use our tax return for those big items and home improvements. Plus I am bargain shopper extraordinaire!! We did not start our lives together with everything we have now. We worked hard and planned and now 7 years later we are doing good. We do not rub our life into anyones face so why do they feel like they have any right to comment on our lives!! Man I am seriously pissed and tired of the crap. They are merely jealous and judgmental. They know ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ABOUT ME OR HOW I GREW UP NOR HAS ANYONE IN HIS FAMILY EVER ASKED ME ANYTHING ABOUT MY LIFE!! So lay off my life and worry about your own! I am happy with my life - it is you that feels like you have to tear everyone apart to build yourself up! I also don't understand how any of the things they complain about are "white". I guess trying to be successful and making sound hopefully stabilizing decisions in their eyes is only for "white" people. That just degrades yourself stupid! I know plenty of white people unable to make sound financial decisions and are swimming in debt and or on welfare so this assumption is clearly untrue. It is a personal decision not a decision based on their race. I was on WIC when we first had Elijah and I was embarrassed and swore I would never be on any assistance again. If you CHOOSE to remain on assistance rather than do whatever is necessary sustain a better lifestyle for your children, than I have no pity for you and don't want to hear about how much worse off you and your children are than mine. I will not feel guilty for trying my hardest to do everything I can for my family. Maybe you should stop all the racial based accusations and take a look in the mirror......I guess loving your granchildren, nieces and nephews, etc no matter what their race is must be a "white" thing to because my family has absolutely no problem with my husband and children while their "black" family has absolutely nothing to do with them and in social occasions doesn't even acknowledge them. You want to go somewhere lets go there! This whole deal has nothing to do with the life we have created it is: 1) mere jealousy of our happiness, 2) jealousy over material things which in the end won't matter anyway, 3) outright racism because they don't want him married to a white woman, and 4) upset because he doesn't answer their every beck and call and request for money (get a job!). Martez led a questionable lifestyle before we were together but he decided it wasn't getting him anywhere. EVERY male in his family on both his mother's side and father's side has been to the pen and he didn't want to go there so he changed. They keep mentioning all the changes like they are bad. Heaven forbid he changes his course, gets married and moves on to a better way of life! I honestly sometimes think they would rather he continued that life and ended up in jail than to marry me. What they don't understand is if they were only willing to try to get to know me and accept me, my marriage and my children they would realize how great I am!!! Ha! I mean I will do anything for those that I love but they've never even given me a chance! Martez realizes the truth behind everything they say and sees the jealousy but it still hurts him too! Sorry I have gone off for so long I just started typing and couldn't stop because I was only getting madder and madder!!! I could go on soooooooo much more but alas I will stop here other than to say the next time this is brought up to Martez we came up with his comeback: If being on welfare, watching my kids go hungry, being dirty and downright miserable enough to bring down everyone around me is acting "black" than I guess I don't want to do that. I am proud of my heritage but not your screwed up concept of it because I want to succeed in life and if that makes me "white" in YOUR eyes than so be it because I no longer care what you think. I do not feel I act "white" whatever that is supposed to mean I AM TRYING TO CARE FOR MY WIFE AND CHILDREN IN THE BEST WAY POSSIBLE WHICH I WOULD CALL ACTING LIKE A RESPONSIBLE ADULT MAYBE YOU SHOULD TRY IT FOR A CHANGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!