The World of testosterone

Now I know why it is important to learn to count to ten....

2007-06-19T16:53:00.000-05:00

it is so when you become a parent you can do it over and over again so you don't go insane. I knew parenting would be hard, heck I remember what my brothers and I put my parents through. Yet I never realized it would require such patience and understanding that would have to come from the inner depths of my heart and soul.

Raising three children in today's society is an inevitable juggling act. Raising three boys with such differing personalities, needs, ages, and stages is more like performing in a three ring cicus on a daily basis.

Bubba has been on the move since he started walking and doesn't stay still for any length of time, even when he is sleeping he is rolling around! We have had to rearrange the house too many times to count so he doesn't get into things or climb. He is an amazing child that just exhausts me! I am typing this as fast as I can because he is actually sleeping right now and I really needed to get some things off my mind.

Buddy is really growing up and maturing fast. He turned eleven a few months ago and it has been a roller coaster of good days and bad days with the pre-teen attitude. Recently though there have been more good days then bad. Could there really be light at the end of the tunnel?

And yet, Piccasso has been doing things recently that I never ever thought he would do. He has lied to us several times and today he got in trouble for writing on the seat of the bus!( Which incidently he lied to me about yesterday!) I know this too shall pass and I know what he is doing is in some ways a stage. I just hate feeling that I can't trust him. I am so disappointed in his behaviour. He is a good kid and he knows right from wrong. He knows lying is not okay and this is the 3rd or 4th time in the last 3 months! I just keep counting to 10 and trying to keep my cool with him. He got detention at school and he has to clean the seat tommorrow morning. We had him also write a note appologizing to the bus driver, he can't play with his little friend across the street ( since the two of them were partners in this crime) for a week, and we had him write "Writing is for paper not for buses" 20 times. We tried to make the punishment fit the crime. I just hope it prevents him from ever doing it again and makes him think about the consequences of his actions from now on.

For those of you with boys looking to see if you will survive, the answer is.................................yes...just remember to take deep breaths and count to ten........OFTEN!

Crazy Choatic Life!!!

2007-02-10T12:26:00.000-05:00

I know one of my resolutions was to start blogging again, and truthfully the only resolution I have been actively working on is my AVON business. My business is doing real well and I am extremely happy! I am praying that all will continue to go well and we will be able to either put the addition on our house or find a bigger affordable house to move into.

As for Buddy, Picasso, and Bubba they all have been sick on and off with Strep throat since right before Christmas. They all are going to the ear nose and throat doctor this week. we will see what they say. I really think they will be taking out their tonsils since they have had strep 3 times in 10 weeks!

I am not looking forward to dealing with all three of them having surgery.

Baseball season will be starting soon and so will racing season! This year Picasso will be racing too! He is very excited about it! I really miss writing in my blog! I have been just sooo busy!! I haven't even had time to keep up on my favorite bloggers out there in blog land!

Soon I will be back to blogging again, real soon!

Please keep checking back to see if I have started up again! And feel free to read the archives if you haven't already!

New Year!

2007-01-08T21:06:00.000-05:00

Wow, I can't beleive I haven't blogged since October. The time has flown by! Bubba is 15 months old now and boy does he keep me hopping! He loves to climb. I no longer think he is part dog, but I do beleive he is part monkey!

We had an awesome Christmas and Buddy and Picasso both said it was their best ever!

My New Year's Resolutions are:

1. Grow my AVON business into a huge success!

2. Lose about 50 pounds.

3. Start blogging again!

Wow! Another month has flown by!

2006-10-13T16:34:00.000-05:00

Geez I thought with the boys back in school I would have more time to write in my Blog! Boy was I wrong! Bubba turned a year old in September and he is in high gear toddler mode! I try to get housework, and Business stuff done while he is napping because if I don't he is just into everything!
Buddy is enjoying fifth grade and is showing tremendous maturity when it comes to homework! No issues with having him get it done!
Picasso is also enjoying school but he doesn't like all the homework! LOL
DH has taken on another part time job, to help us figure out wether we are going to buy a bigger house or put an addition on.
Me I am trying real hard to have my AVON business succeed and truthfully am doing better at it than I have done with any other home based business.
So in a nutshell we have been busy! I miss the Blogosphere though! I will be back regularly eventually!

I'm baaaack! LOL

2006-09-22T08:47:00.000-05:00

Wow! It has been a long time no blog! I can't beleive I haven'y written on here that much lately!~ I have been so busy with the older two going back to school and Bubba is walking and getting into everything. Right now he is opening and slamming a cabinet door! He thinks it is the neatest thing. I was very priveleged to participate in the September 11 tribute to the victims, so I decided to leave my post up for awhile. Another reason why I haven't posted since.
Life just can get so crazy, I started a little creative writing project. Woo Hoo, my creative juices are flowing! It is going to be a childrens book! I don't want to get into any of the details yet. When it is done I might have it printed through Cafepress and sell it through there first and see how it goes. I have been busy with my home based business and am adding a link in my sidebar to my new website for that business! I am hoping to catch up on reading at some of my favorite blogs, I have truly had withdrawals!!!!! I have to remember how to link stuff again. You know the saying "use it or lose it!" well I haven't used it lately so I guess I have lost it! LOL

Mary Jane Booth-September 11 Victim-Remembered

2006-09-10T12:43:00.000-05:00

Although I haven't been able to find out much about "M. J." as her friends so endearingly called her, I can't help but wish I had known her. From the posts written about her by friends and colleagues on other tribute websites she sounds like she was a wonderful friend and person who had a zest for life and enjoyed sharing that zest with everyone she came into contact with.
After reading that she dressed up at the American Airlines annual Holiday Party and went by the name Mrs. Claus, I can picture her wearing a red dress, with a white apron, and a white bonnet upon her blondish pepper grey hair. She worked for American Airlines for 45 years. She wasn't a pilot or a flight attendent, she was one of those behind the scenes people that you often don't hear about. She was the secretary to American's General Manager at Dulles International Airport for more than 30 years and was a passenger on American flight 77 on her way to Las Vegas for a work related meeting.
Some personal aspects I learned about Mary Jane is that she enjoyed listening to country music and Celine Deion. She had a sense of humor and enjoyed jokes. Every comment I have read has mentioned her smile. The one picture I came across of her(above), she has a beautiful smile on her face. Her smile can be seen in her eyes and when I saw this picture I couldn't help but smile a little, her smile is infectious. I truly wish I was blessed to have known her when she was with us on earth, but now that I have found out the little I have about her, I can't help but feel I have a special new angel friend smiling down from heaven on me.
God bless Mary Jane Booth, her friends, her family, and all of those people whose lives she touched from day to day. She is missed by all who knew her and loved her, and even by those of us who didn't know her but wished we had. I will never forget her.

Getting to know me post.

2006-08-17T18:58:00.000-05:00

Every Friday Heather hosts Getting to Know You over at One Womans World . This Friday she wants us all to tell Why we like to write, what else we have written or are writing besides being a blogger. She wrote a wonderfully elequent post on the subject that you can read by clicking here . But please come back and read my post, or stay and check hers out after you read mine.

I have always loved to write. I used to write poetry. I used to write short stories. I used to write in a diary every day. When I was in college I was on the school newspaper staff. I really don't know what happened, I don't know why I stopped. I know that I have missed it. Alot. I have felt like a part of me has been missing for a long time.

But since I have started to Blog, I feel like that part me is coming back. I am being awakened from a long slumber. I am a little groggy, and my writing hasn't come back to par as it once was. In time I think it will be as good as it used to be. In time maybe I will be able to write that novel I have always dreamed of writing. In time maybe I will share my poetry with the world. But for now I am content with getting back into the flow of writing. I am also enjoying reading other inspiring writers in the blogosphere and watching their writing blossom.

Deskunking your pet!

2006-08-16T08:46:00.000-05:00

This weeks works-for-me-wednesday tip. How to de-skunk your pet. I found this recipe after I typed "my dog got sprayed by a skunk" into the google search engine. If you want to read about that fiasco, here is that story. If you want more information on this subject go to Ehow . But here is the recipe to get rid of the skunk odor on your pet.
1. Mix 4 cups hydrogen peroxide with 4 tbsp. baking soda and 1 tsp. dish-washing soap.
2. Put cotton balls in your pet's ears to protect the inner-ear tissue from the cleaning mixture, which can easily drip in.
3. Don rubber gloves to protect your hands during this process.
4. Start with your pet's head, taking care not to get solution into his eyes, ears, or mouth. Aplly a drop of olive oil or baby oil to his eyes to prevent irritation.
5. Rub mixture evenly into your pet's coat. It will probably be more pleasant to do this outdoors.
6. Rinse the coat with clean water.
7. Repeat if the smell persists.

Good luck! It really does work! Go check out
shannon at Rocks In My Dryer for more great Works- For- Me- Wednesday tips!

I can not forget....

2006-08-15T16:29:00.000-05:00

Maybe it is because Buddy keeps asking to go see the movie WORLD TRADE CENTER, maybe it is because of the terror plot foiled in London, maybe because so many of us bloggers are signing up to pay tribute to the victims of that fateful day, or maybe it is because it will be five years soon. Whatever the reason, I just can't forget. I can not forget the shock I felt. Was this really happening? I was over an hour away from home setting up a Mary Kay display table at one of the college campuses in the state.

I will never foget the students coming out of the student lounge saying a plane had crashed into the world trade center. And then minutes later coming back and saying a second plane had hit the other tower. That is when panic set in. This can't be an accident, I thought to myself. I immediately went into the lounge to catch the news. That is when it really hit. Seeing the thick black smoke pouring out of the buildings.

I will never forget my husband calling me on my cell phone asking me to come home and informing me of the pentagon and that they thought there were more hijacked planes in the air. I quickly packed my stuff and left for home.

I will never forget the eerie ride home, it seemed like there was no one on the road. When I passed a military base, I realized things were definately not normal. They had big trucks blocking the entrances.

I will never forget getting home and waiting for Buddy to get off the school bus and giving him the biggest hug I could without squishing him.

I will never forget the eerie silence that befell our neighborhood for days. The eerie plane free sky.

I will never forget dropping to my knees and sobbing uncontrollably in my kitchen. Sobbing for those helpless people who could not get out of the buildings, sobbing for the ones who felt their only escape was to jump, sobbing because I did not know wether any of my cousins who live in Long Island and work in Manhatten, had died, sobbing for the firefighters and rescuers who went into those buildings and never came out, and sobbing because I knew my world would never be the same.

I am sharing these thoughts, because I will never forget. If you would like to post what you were doing September 11, 2001 and what you will never forget please enter your information to your post below.

September 11 Tribute

2006-08-14T08:27:00.000-05:00

This post is a plea for those of you reading this blog, if any ,to click on the tribute button on the left side bar and sign up for the tribute. I am the 1760th blogger to sign up for the Tribute project. Please go and sign up! Even if you didn't know someone who died that tragic day, all of our lives were touched forever and were forever changed by the events of that day. The people who died should never be forgotten!

Teeter, Totter, weeble, wobble.

2006-08-14T07:50:00.000-05:00

Bubba is 10 1/2 months old. He is eating regular table food despite being toothless. He is on whole milk. He is loving drinking water. He continues to amaze me with his strength and intelligence on a daily basis. He took a total of five steps last night, in a row, before staggering like a drunken sailor and falling on his bum. I do predict he will be walking by the end of the week. He kept practicing over, and over last night. Providing us with endless entertainment.

Picasso, was running a low fever last night and went to bed quite early. I think he just got a little run down, we have been on the go for weeks now. He is feeling a little better this morning.

Buddy, is finding it hard to relate to some of his friends lately. He seems to be maturing quicker than them. He likes different things than they do now. He is definately entering those difficult Tween years filled with emotional changes along with hormonal changes.

Procrastination

2006-08-13T10:45:00.000-05:00

Every Friday Heather hosts "Getting To Know You". This Friday she asked everyone to tell about something they have been procrastinating about. Obviously by the date on my post you can tell I have been procrastinating about posting, but not on purpose. I have been busy getting ready for our annual family picnic. And now that the picnic is over I am procrastinating about finishing picking up, because it means that the fun is over.

AWWWW Skunks!

2006-08-10T22:24:00.000-05:00

This week has been filled with skunks! Yes, those stinky little obnoxious creatures, who are truly cute looking. We have been having the little critters over for dinner frequently over the summer, when we so graciously forget to bring in the cat food. Well, we were lucky to remember NOT to invite them last saturday night when we had company over and my cousins little boy was trying to catch my cats. I was so afraid our furry little "guests" would show up uninvited. But they were quite gracious not to crash the party.

We went on our camping trip with good friends of ours to a campground we had never been to before. They neglected to tell us that our furry little "guests" had family at the campground. Their "family" were quite friendly and cruised through the campsites in search of their midnight snacks on a nightly basis, violateing the campground rule of "cutting through sites". But since they were very quiet and didn't cause a "stink" we didn't complain about them passing through. However the campers next to us forgot to take their trash in which gave one of the little critters quite a feast for 45 minutes, while onlookers tried to scare him away by throwing rocks near it. The next day at the pool there was people talking about how they were held captive by some of these critters while they ate their garbage.

Well, while we were camping the neighbors were watching our dog for us and last night we received a phone call at 10pm. Our dog broke up a little moonlit stroll of one of our little guests and she got sprayed. She wasn't too happy and she decided to play with the little fellow and she accidently killed it. The neighbor bathed her for us and stuck her in the garage for the night. When we got home they were airing out our garage and the dog was airing out outside, she still had stink to her. So we bathed her again in a special solution, and now she is no longer a stinkly dog.

It was very skunk free tonight, I am sure they are in mourning for their fellow comrade, I just hope they aren't planning a major retaliation!

What Is a Plumbline?

2006-08-03T20:41:00.000-05:00

I was just over at Everyday Mommy reading an interesting post . Which got me thinking about Faith and Religions.
It is very difficult to figure out the plumbline that everyday mommy is trying to find. Yes the Bible can be considered a very good plumbline for Christians. Just as the Torah can be considered a very good plumbline for Jewish believers. And the Koran can be a very good plumbline for Islam believers. Even Hinduism and Buddhism have plumblines for their believers.
How does one know they are using the "right plumbline"? For me I would have to say you rely on Faith. Faith by definition from the Scholastic childrens dictionary is 1. Trust and confidence in someone or something. 2. Belief in God. 3. A Religion.
As A Christian I base my Faith in having trust and confidence in the belief that God exists and in his word as written in the Bible. How do we know what is written is the truth? We have to have Faith. Faith is an ever evolving process also and no two people are ever at the same stage in their journey with their Faith. It is impossible to be, given how each person is different and has experienced different events in their lives. Even if they experienced the same event, how they dealt with or reacted to it is rarely identical.
How do we know which Religion is the "right" one? If you believe what is written in the Bible, you believe Christianity is "right". If you believe what is written in the Torah, you believe Judaism is "right". I am sure you get the picture of what I am trying to say here.
If you look at the history of these religions you will realize they are all interconnected and in some ways are evolutions of one another. Islam evolved from Christianity which evolved from Judaism. Buddhism evolved from Hinduism which has been around as long or longer than Judaism. All of these religions have commonalities in their belief systems.
So I guess what I am trying to say is "the plumbline" may not be a definitive concept when dealing with religious beliefs.
My "plumbline" is to believe in Gods word as written in the Bible and try to live my life as a Christian as best I can and come judgment day I will find out whether I did the "right" thing.

Come on in and see the new look to the place!

2006-08-03T20:07:00.000-05:00

I did it! I did it! I changed the look of my blog and didn't lose any info. I just copied all my customized info and pasted into the new blog template. I am really getting the hang of this!
I really am not that computer illiterate after all. Anyways hope you like the new look. I think it is more inviting and easier on the eyes!

Hot!Hot!Hotter!Hottest!

2006-08-03T09:39:00.000-05:00

I am taking a break from housework. Hey I did get a lot done already this morning. I am rewarding myself by letting myself post. Anyways, it has been unbeleivabley, unbearably, HOT here in New England. If you know anything about New England and its weather you know that if you wait five minutes the weather will change. WELL....not lately! It has been VERY HOT for over a week now. It is 96 degrees in the SHADE right now at 10:39 am! It was 90 degrees this morning at 8 am! I have lived in New England for most of my life and have NEVER expereinced this kind of Heat wave!!! You step outside and you feel like the life in you is being sucked out of you. It is awful. The kids have been inside playing in the air conditioning only going outside to go swimming in the pool. But even the pool water is getting too warm!

When I think of Hot Places I think Florida, Arizona, California, Hawaii, and the Bahamas! Not New England! It is 79 degrees in Honolulu HI right now! It is hotter here! 56 degrees in San Francisco CA! Hotter Here!San Diego CA 67 degrees! Hotter Here! Nassau, Bahamas 86 Degrees! Hotter Here! 85 Degrees in Miami FL! Still Hotter Here! Can you beleive it is Hotter here than most of the hot weather vacation spots???

I must get back to cleaning. But I can not beleive how hot it is here! Hell has not froze over instead it is thawing out New England!

Redecorating?

2006-08-03T07:43:00.000-05:00

Now that I am feeling a little more comfortable with my writing, and with how to post things like links and stuff, I would love some tips on how to freshen and brighten up my Blog. I really don't like the black background . I don't even know why I chose this template. I am afraid of losing all my stuff on my blog if I change my template. If anyone has any suggestions and could help walk me through the changes I would greatly appreciate it!

The Naked Truth

2006-08-02T20:38:00.000-05:00

Yes, I have come to realize that there is a gene that all boys seem to have. No I don't mean jeans. At least my boys seem to have it. It is the naked gene. WHY do they think it is okay to hang around the house in their underwear! Yes, my boys hang around in their underwear. Bubba even dislikes clothing and he is only 10 months old!
They will change their clothes in the middle of the living room, anywhere they feel like it. They do go in the bathroom or their bedroom if we have company, but if its just us, they drop their clothes where they stand! So how many of you moms of boys have realized the naked truth also?
Speaking of naked truth. Did any of you watch America's Got Talent with the burlesque Dancer? I was appalled and outraged that she was allowed to perform on TV. She took her Bra off! Even my kids agreed with me that it wasn't appropriate! And they are boys!
I am no fan of stripping or strippers! I think they promote disrespect of the human body among other things.
And That is the naked truth!

Cooler Tips

2006-08-02T07:19:00.000-05:00

This weeks addition to works for me wednsday is quite simple. When we are going somewhere the next day that requires to pack food and beverages in coolers, I put water in the freezer the night before.

This serves two purposes. One it saves on cooler space by using them as ice packs and two if we run out of water we can drink ice cold water as they melt!

It works for me, Hope it works for you too! Go check out Shannon to see other Works for me Wednsday Ideas!

Discipline difficulties

2006-08-01T21:13:00.000-05:00

I was just over at Daring Young Mom and she was asking for discipline tips sooooo here goes. First I would like to write a disclaimer. I am in no way shape or form and expert in this area, but I have learned from experience some shoulds while disciplining your kids and some should nots.
First and foremost if your child does something to make you extremely angry and you feel like your going to get violent, give yourself a time out. Tell your child you are very angry and you need some time to cool off before you discuss the situation. Go in another room and count to 100 if you have to and breath in through your nose and out through your mouth slowly. When you are calm go back and sit your child down and explain to them what they did to upset you and why it is not okay to do that. If necessary give a consequence for their actions to match what they did wrong. For example, if my children don't look both ways before riding their bikes in the road they are told to get off their bikes for five minutes, if they repeat the offense in the same day, they lose their bike privileges for the day. ( This works best with older kids, but the earlier you introduce it the better it works.) For instance, Bubba is only 10 months old, but he is starting to stand in his high chair a lot. This is very unsafe, so his consequence is he is removed from the high chair and told "Your telling me your done by standing up so you are being removed." The key with any discipline is consitancy.
I have found with dealing with other peoples children the best way to discipline is by laying down rules before they start to play. When the neighborhood kids come over we lay down the "law" and what the consequences are if the "law" is broken(usually the child is told he/she must go home). I have found that most of the time if the children know the rules of the house they are playing at before hand it really helps alleviate any problems. It also helps that the parents know your expectations too, so they can discipline their children accordingly at your house.
When it comes to bullying, I have taught my children to use their words first and tell the child they do not like what is being said or done. If the child doesn't listen, I have taught my children to ask for some assistance from a trusted adult. IF there is no trusted adult and they are being physically hurt and the child will not listen, they have our permission to defend themselves. For example, Picasso was being choked by a fifth grader on the bus last year so he defended himself and punched the kid in the face. Picasso was 5 and this kid was 11!
When it comes to young children, infants and toddlers, you need to be consitant also and talk to them! Most Infant/ Toddler aggression is out of frustration with not knowing how to express their feelings, it is our responsibility as parents to teach them proper and safe outlets for dealing with their emotions and frustrations. Biting is the biggest fear of all parents. But it is a natural way for an Infant/Toddler to communicate their feelings. If your child is a biter, shadow him/her for a couple days especially when interacting with other kids. Really pay attention to the situations in which he/she bites. Did another child take a toy your child was playing with? Is your child tired? Is your child hungry? Paying close attention to when, where, how, and why your child is biting is the best way to alleviate the problem. If your child tends to bite because he/she is tired, don't schedule a playdate before naptime, make sure your child is well rested. Same goes for lunchtime, dinnertime, snacktime, if your child tends to bite because of hunger. If it is a socialization thing, help your child learn to communicate with their playmates. for example,
your child bites his/her friend because the friend took a toy.
You can say" I know (friend) took your toy and that made you sad. It isn't okay to bite your friend. You need to use your words and say" I was playing with that"."
I know this sounds crazy to be talking to an Infant/Toddler like that, but it does work. I worked in a daycare for 4 1/2 years with Infants and Toddlers mostly, and we dealt with a lot of biting! As soon as the child learned to use their words, the biting usually stopped.

I hope this information is helpful to someone. Again, I am no expert just stating what I have learned through experience dealing with my own children and the children I used to take care of. The most important thing is to be consistant, the next important thing is to understand what works for one child might not work for every child. You need to find what works for you and your children and stick with it.

Summer memories

2006-07-31T07:51:00.000-05:00

I was over at Live Each Moment this morning and was reminded of two things. One I am grateful what God has provided for me and my family and two to write a Monday Memory.

As I was sitting watching my children play this past week camping, I reminisced about my summers growing up. We didn't have a pool growing up so my parents bought a season swimming pass at one of the local campgrounds on the lake. Everyday my mom would pack us all up with lunches and sand toys and we would go to the lake. The really remarkable thing about this(I didn't appreciate it until I had my own children) was that my mom didn't know how to swim! Yet she still brought us to the lake which must have given her so much anxiety! That lake is where my dad taught me to swim. It is where I had my first boat ride. It is where my parents first gave us kids a taste of independance by allowing us to walk by ourselves up to the campground rec hall/store. We made so many friends over the years from all over the place because it was a campground. We would feed the squirrels cheese doodles, yes squirrels like cheese doodles! We would build sand castles that stretched the length of the beach. We would hide from each other under the docks, which had airpockets underneath. Our eyes would burn from opening them underwater all day. We were tan and didn't worry about skin cancer. WHen it got dark and we went home we would play flashlight tag in the neighborhood. We used to catch tons of fireflys. Which brings me to a sad conclusion, Where did the fireflys all go? I know we didn't catch them all. My kids don't know that joy of chasing the blinking little critters and catching them in a jar because we never see any. If by chance we see one it is just that one. When I was a kid there were millions or so it seemed. So now the fireflys are just another monday memory.

I'm Back!!!!!! Did you miss me???

2006-07-30T21:36:00.000-05:00

I am back to posting! Sorry for the blogging interuption. I needed to get away for a little bit. We packed up the camper and spent the week at some family friends private getaway. The boys enjoyed fishing everyday and swimming in a pond. They went out in a boat with Grandpa and my DH. They caught snapping turtles and rode their bikes. I actually got to relax. Yup thats right that five letter word that all moms want to be able to say! No worries! It was absolutely marv-o-lous!!!!
I have spent most of tonight reading my favorite blogs and catching up. Boy I have missed alot in a week. I have found a new blog by visiting Blest With Sons, that I plan on visiting daily. It is One Weigh Or Another. Join me in watching these wonderful women in their journey toward weight loss. I plan on taking the journey along with them.

Reading over at Don't Try This At Home I enjoyed reading Chilihead and What she can't Do. she inspired me to come up with a list of things I can't do.

1. I can't stick to a schedule. Really I can't, I have tried.
2. I can't be supermom. Again, Really I can't, I have tried. But I am the best mom I can be.
3. I can't be funny. At least not on purpose.Not like Kathyrn
4. I can't keep my house clean. Not even for five minutes.
5. I can't fly on an airplane. Really I can't, the thought scares the beejebus out of me.
6. I can't think of anything else I can't do at this moment, but If I think of anything else I can't do, I will revise this list.

Hope everyone had a great weekend and remember to thank God for what you have and don't complain about what you don't have.

Bad Boys, Bad Boys

2006-07-22T09:53:00.000-05:00

Okay I don't live in a big city, I don't even live in a small city, I live in a Large town. I NEVER expected to have a night like last night, I NEVER thought I would think, "this is for an episode of cops".
I went to bed around 9:30 pm last night. My DH and the two older boys were watching some TV before bed. Well, the boys were arguing and I went to give reinforcement to DH. When I got out of bed I noticed the motion light was on in our back yard. I looked out my window and saw about six people with flashlights in my back yard!
I quickly told DH and he looked out too. He decided to go outside and find out who and what was going on. He left the dog in the house because I told him it sounded like there was a dog barking out there. I figured someone's dog got loose in the trailer park behind my house, again.
I was wrong, DH came back into the house. It was the police SWAT team and ALL!
I told him I saw our neighbor go in his back yard so he went back out called to him to meet him in the front yard. WHen they got out there, DH found our gate to the backyard was broke!
He called the police, they came, checked out the back yard and found the back gate to the wooded section of our yard busted too!
Whoever they were looking for had jumped the back gate busting it, ran through our backyard, and jumped our front gate busting it!
ALL I kept singing in my head was "Bad Boys, Bad Boys, What Ya Gonna Do when They Come For You!"
I told DH to go across the street and inform our neighbor whose husband was working nights. He was heading over when detectives came up the street he stopped them and explained our neighbor has a fort in their back yard, maybe the perps were back there? So they got out and checked her yard with GUNS drawn!
We heard a crash from the back yard and a little while later the detectives came back out front. They said to the nieghbor she needs to have the top step to the fort fixed. Seems it broke as they were climbing up to check it out. They chuckled alittle when she said well it was made to hold the kids who are consiterably lighter than you.
They left and we all went in and went to bed, feeling a little less safe than we used to.

Surviving insanity!

2006-07-20T19:58:00.000-05:00

I think my husband thought I was totally out of my mind last week when I announced to him that I was taking our boys to the beach and letting them each bring a friend. As today approached he kept asking are you going to be okay with them all? If I didn't feel I was going to be okay I wouldn't have offered to take them now, would I?
I was completely prepared this morning. I had written my trusty lists of what I needed to bring, and do before leaving for the beach. I was only running 15 minutes late to pick up Picasso's friend. Then I had trouble finding his house, which I did eventually find. We got to the beach and set up our little camp. Buddy waited for his friend to arrive, he was getting dropped off. When they were all present and accounted for, they went off crabbing and having a grand old time. Later in the afternoon it started to rain, we packed up and headed for the van! We waited a little bit for the rain to stop, which it eventrually did, and we set up camp again.
Only for us to get poured on this time! That was it we were done! We packed up and headed home. Where I made dinner for all five of them and watched them nicely play with race cars and play playstation. Soon they will be asleep, and I will go to bed myself. Completely sane!

Clutter, Clutter everywhere!

2006-07-19T17:00:00.000-05:00

Okay, I am not Martha Stewart or Mrs. Cleaver but I have learned a few things from watching shows like Clean Sweep. I have been using a couple of these techniques for years and others I am just starting to implement myself.

1. If you haven't used it in the last two years get rid of it.
a. You can yard sale it.
b. Give it to charity.
c. Go to Freecycle.org and list it.
d. Put it on Ebay.

2. Kids Paperwork and artwork.
a. If they are old enough to sort through it themselves and decide what they want to keep, let them but designate a bin or box to store them. If the box gets full, they have to sort through it again.
b. One storgae box or bin per child.

3. Any items to be stored put in rubbermaid or plastic containers.
a. Label what is in them.
b. Go through yearly and decide whether you need them or not.

I hope these little tips help anyone out there. It works for me hope it works for you too! Good Luck!

Glad to be home!!!!!

2006-07-17T09:32:00.000-05:00

Oh where to start? This weekend was emotionally draining and with the scorching heat physically draining.
I am so proud of Buddy, but I wish he didn't have to endure this weekend. He had a life lesson no ten year old should have to endure.
Him and his racing buddies were playing football Saturday morning at the racetrack, like they do almost every race weekend. Well, I guess he had suggested playing two hand touch( because he knows I don't like them playing tackle), but some of the other boys said that was for wimps and they decided to play tackle. Well, his best buddy D was going out for a pass and another kid went to tackle him, the other kid hit him just so and D fell to the ground face first. At first Buddy thought everything was okay, but when D didn't move he knew something was wrong. He ran over to him and kept saying his name, but there was no response. He knelt by him and slowly and carefully rolled him over( His face was on the ground), while saying his name. When he was rolled over and still not responding Buddy saw D's eyes roll to the back of his head and his body was twitching. Buddy knew this wasn't good, so he ran to his other buddies ( J) racing trailer to get his dad and another adult and then he came running and yelling for my DH, who is an EMT, and D's parents. When DH got there he was not expecting such a serious injury, he thought he fell and broke a bone or something, but when he got there D was still not responsive and he thought he was going to have to perform CPR. He yelled for someone to call 911, which they did. And shortly after D came around but was very combative. He had lost his sight, but by the time the ambulance got there, he had regained it. He spent the night in the hospital with a severe concussion. He returned to the track late yesterday afternoon and we were all relieved to see he was going to be okay. He won't be able to race for a few weeks, but that is a minor inconvenience compared with how the situation could have turned out. Picasso also witnessed everything and said he was going to get help too, but he saw Buddy going already.
After Buddy saw D okay yesterday afternoon, he went to our camper and slept for a couple of hours, out of pure exhaustion and relief. This experience was one that will stay with him for the rest of his life. D's sisters kept calling Buddy a Hero, which made him feel real good, but he just did what he knew was the right thing to do. The rest of the kids playing all scattered because they thought they were going to get into trouble.
Just glad D will be okay and that everything worked out, and now I am glad to be home!

Going Camping Be back Soon!

2006-07-12T18:07:00.000-05:00

Okay I know this is my third post today, but as I stated in my previous post I am a blogging addict.
Actually, we are going camping for a couple days, so I will not be able to post until I come back.
I am looking forward to camping, we haven't done much camping this summer, and I really do miss it. Yes, we are going camping, not "roughing" it in the woods in tents kind of camping. But relaxing in our camper "semi-roughing" it without water and electric hookups. Of course we will have our generator so we have power when the batery in the camper runs low, but we will have no phone ringing off the hook. We will be camping at the race track Buddy races at so he can get some practice in that he really hasn't gotten to do this year. Baseball season lasted so long this year.
Picasso will probably spend most of the time there catching bugs. He has really been into collecting bugs lately. Or playing in the dirt.
Bubba will just hang out in the pack in play or the stroller since he isn't walking yet.

The Blue car in front is Buddy. He didn't finish first, but I think he came in third in this race. Honestly, I can't remember which weekend this was. He loves to race!
Buddy( the one in the red shirt and blue shorts) and one of his best racing buddies were chilling out before a race! They have been racing together for 3 yrs now. Even though they live in different states I have to say they are the best of friends. On the off season they call each other to keep in touch. They have another buddy that when the three of them are together we call them the three muskateers. They are all competetive and they race against each other but they never make each other feel bad if they do better than each other. We try to teach them sportsmanship and they really do a good job of supporting each other.

I will be back to blogging in a couple of days and I will let you know how the camping trip went.

My name is MomOf3BusyBoys and I am a blogging addict!

2006-07-12T12:49:00.000-05:00

I am a thinker, I am always thinking. I have found lately as I do my housework, as I play with my children, as I have conversations with my friends, that I am always thinking about what to write next on my blog. I am even dreaming about blogging. So I guess you can say I am a blogging addict.
You may ask how this addiction started? Well I got started by reading Daring Young Mom she is a very creative writer and I love reading her blog everyday, you must check out her blog. But wait! Stay here and check mine out first, okay?
In my quest to become a Blogger I have come across several cool blogs that I enjoy reading Shannon has become one of my all time favorites. She has actually single handedly brought the most traffic to my site by her WFMW Game that I participate in.
I can totally relate to Blest With Sons since I too have 3 sons and enjoy reading her Blog about raising boys.
But as I said I am a thinker and I wonder to myself why I haven't shared my little addiction with any of my friends( Except one dear one who I would trust my life with :) ). She has read it and told me she enjoyed reading my Blog. I am trying to convince her to start her own Blog. I know she would have an awsome one, because she is such an awesome person and she is a dedicated mom to triplets! ;) So those of you reading this if you can leave a comment saying you would like to read about her experiences raising triplets I am sure she will read the comments and consider it. But anyways, I have realized I am afraid to trust my inner thoughts and feelings with those that know me, maybe because then I might be vulnerable. But I have no problem with complete strangers reading my inner thoughts and feelings because they don't know me and so there is that level of protection. I know I won't fall victim to vicious gossip, or at least I would hope I wouldn't. But trusting people I know to read this would be opening up myself to their judgement, which isn't what I want. So for now at least I will limit who I trust my blog to.
I need to intereupt my thought process right now because we have severe thunderstorms coming our way and I need to shut down my computer. But I will be back, yes I will, because I can't stay away from the blogosphere!

Frugal Grocery Shopping

2006-07-12T07:18:00.000-05:00

I missed works for me wednesday last week, the holiday threw me off a bit. But here is this weeks addition:

As I am sure many of you out there are also, we live on a very tight budget. So when I go grocery shopping I usually have a dollar amount that I can't exceed. What helps me stick to this amount are two things.

1. When making my list I write down the basic nescessities first, then I write down items that are on sale that we use, and last I put down items that we can live without but if there is enough money after the necessities I can buy.

2. So how do I know wether or not I am getting close to exceeding my alloted amount? I keep tally marks on the side of my grocery list. If something costs $1.49 I put two tally marks. As I shop and put down tally marks I count the tally frequently to make sure I am not exceeding my amount.

I hope this tip helps others stick to a budget! It works for me and I am always surprised at how much I can really buy for the alloted amount!

Late night ramblings

2006-07-11T22:52:00.000-05:00

I am really enjoying blogging! And even though I am not sure how many people actually read my Blog, according to my site meter, not many do, I am okay with that. Why? Because I started blogging as an outlet, a way for me to vent, a way for me to brag about my kids, and a way for me to get back into writing. I am slowly getting there. I enjoy reading other Blogs and realizing I am not alone! There are so many women out there that are experiencing the same things as me. There are so many women out there that I can relate to and it makes me feel connected in a way I haven't felt in a long time.
When I was a teenager, I used to write faithfully in a diary. I still have that diary(I think) in a box in my basement. But that helped me sort through some very difficult times in my life, and I really feel that Blogging has been brought into my life so that I can share my experiences with other moms and so that I can learn new things from other moms like me.
I have learned so much in my thirty something years. I have learned that life comes at you fast and sometimes you will go off the road and take detours, and there will be bumps, and major mountains to climb, but with Faith you can accomplish anything.
I have worked through some pretty powerful moments right here at my blog and it has helped me be a stronger person. I know I have a purpose in life, what that purpose is, I still haven't figured out. But I do have Faith that I am heading in the right direction in my life.
In reading other stories of moms I have learned that my kids are normal and they really are the good kids I have always said they were.
I am very thankful to be blogging. And if anyone is reading my blog. Thank you for sharing in my thoughts. Hopefully I can provide you with humor when you are down and hopefully some answers if you have a question.
But for now it is getting late and I must sleep. Goodnight new found friends may God Bring you Peace and many blessings!

Getting to know You!

2006-07-11T09:18:00.000-05:00

This is a really Great meme! I found it over at http://www.daringyoungmom.blogspot.com It's great one to get to know new people. I will give you my info so you can get to know me better and feel free to leave your info here in the comments or email me or you could just put your answeres on your Blog and link them here.

What is your full name? MomOf3BusyBoys WhoDoesNot WantToTry ForAGirl
What is your date of birth?Many moons ago
What four cities have you lived in?Farmville, Hicksville, Suberbanville, Boringville
What four TV shows do you love? 24 , American Idol, CSI, anything with ADULT content!LOL
What Four Credit Cards do you currently Use?
Discoverthe joys of bankruptcy
American Expressway into the pits of debt
Mastercard the priceless way into foreclosure
Visa its excepted everywhere you go, except bankruptcy court
Can you tell I think Credit Cards are EVIL?
What are four credit account numbers assigned you, and when (month/year) do they expire?
00000000123 09/10
00000000456 01/11
00000000789 02/22
00000101112 03/33

Do you have four credit card pin numbers, and if so, what are they?
1234
5678
9101
1121
What does your mother's maiden name look like if you type it four times in a row?
DarwDarwDarwDarw
What are the first four digits of your social security number?1234
What are the last four digits of your social security number?6789
What number did you leave out of your nine-digit social security number? (That's your lucky number!)5
What are the first four lines of your mailing address?
3 Boys Lane
Boringville CT
09876
What are your four favorite banks?
Any that give away FREE money
What are your four favorite bean dishes?
baked beans
green bean casserole
3 bean salad
What four people do you wish to tag with this meme?
Anyone who is wiling to provide me info!

This information will be used for humor only! I promise! Really, Honestly, I swear!

Moms Night Out

2006-07-11T07:57:00.000-05:00

We had an awesome time last night at the Chris Cagle & Jo-Dee Messina concert. They are two great performers! I have always loved their music, but I didn't realize what a show they both put on. Chris showed emotion several times during his show, I guess he has been going through some personal issues over the last year. It just showed how human these entertainers are. Jo-Dee had her Dad come on stage to get a hug from him.

My neighbor/friend who got the tickets FREE, Angie and I kept watching these three guys during the Jo-Dee Messina portion of the concert. One of them looked like and acted like Chris Cagle and the other two we were assumming were body guards, But alas at the end of the concert we got a better look and all they were were posers!

It was great to get out without the kids and DH, but I did call DH and tried to let him hear Chris Cagle sing Miss Me Baby but he couldn't hear it through my cell phone.

What was really interesting was the diversity of the fans! There were young kids to elderly people and all ages in between. I am a people watcher and I always find it interesting at concerts because there is usually some pretty interesting people at them. Or at least they look interesting. I always wonder what their story is, you know everyone has a story! There was this tween or teenager up front to the stage that I swear had springs on his feet the whole concert! He looked like Tigger on crack! Jo-Dee commented to him several times by name because she had met him earlier at a store where she was signing her new album. She even gave him a kiss on the cheek!

Our next planned night out we are all ( all of us moms in the neighborhood that is) are going out to a new Japanese Steak house in town. That should be fun too!

I am officially a Blogging Chick!

2006-07-10T14:47:00.000-05:00

After several attempts at updating my blog, I finally did it. And I am officially a Blogging Chick!
I can't post too much right now, but I will check back later and post! I am going to see Chris Cagle and Jo-dee Messina in concert tonight with my friend/neighbor. WOOO-HOOO moms night out! I will post all about it later.

Off to The Races!!!!

2006-07-08T20:35:00.000-05:00

I won't be able to post tommorrow since we will be at the race track for Buddy. We haven't been in two weeks, so we will see how he does. Now that baseball is over we can get him to the track to practice more. Tommorrow is a big day, IF he gets into the A- Main Feature and gets 1st,2nd, or 3rd place he gets a cool trophy cup! He hasn't made an A main race yet, but tommorrow could be the first time! I will try to take some pics of the boys at the track so everyone can see how much fun they have.

Houdininess

2006-07-08T07:51:00.000-05:00

Bubba is no longer Bubba he has transformed himself into Harry Houdini. Yes, I am convinced my 9 month old is a reincarnation of the ever famous escape artist! If he is confined in any way shape or form he will be bound and determined to get out!

Exersaucer- Can use No more. WHY? Because he can get out of it!

Swing- That was gone about 3 months ago when he was showing signs of his houdininess.

High Chair- He has learned to escape from that, and yes it has straps that I do use, but alas, my talented son can and WILL get out!

Strollers- we are on our third one, trying to find an escape proof one that of course doesn't cost alot!

He tries hard to get out of his crib and pack and play, and when we put him in his car seat he watches ever so carefully how we are buckling him up. I can see those little wheels in his head turning." okay you push the red button and pull the do-hickies out and walla!"

So now I must be even more vigilant about where HE is when I have to run downstairs to do the laundry, or be in another room cleaning, or god forbid if I need to use the ladies room. Which by the way, for moms everywhere is probably single handedly the most not private thing in the world to do because you know the minute you have to go they are barging in with some problem or another!

How do we get to escape??? I know I get very little me time during the course of the day. I am lucky if I get my 15 minute shower in without any interuptions.

Well, Bubba is asleep now and Buddy and Picasso are too, so I am going to RUN and get my shower and have a little me time before they all wake up!

Tantrums and temporary tattoos

2006-07-06T20:31:00.000-05:00

WAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!! I didn't get my new/used van today!!! Can I please throw a temper tantrum? Can I stomp my feet? Can I throw myself on the ground and say " IT's not fair?"

Okay I feel better now that I got that out. And yes I am still getting the van, but I just didn't get it today. And I really really really wanted it today!

And I appologize for my behavour, but I was around Princess Perfect this afternoon and her tantrums rubbed off on me. Speaking of Princess Perfect, if any moms of girls are reading this I have a serious question for all of you and please respond. Something has been bothering me since last week. Princess Perfect ( who is my five year old niece) was showing me her temporary tatoos. No problem right? Well I thought the two butterflies on her ankles were cute, but when she pulled the back of her shorts down to show me the one on her back very very low on her back, I had a sick feeling in my stomach. And then the next day she showed me one that was under her belly button very low. I just don't think those are appropriate ares on a young childs body to have temporary tattoos. I wanted to say something to her mother, since she is my niece I do worry about her and what she is being taught, but I held my tongue. My question to all of you other moms out there, am I being too sensitive about this or do you also feel it is inappropriate for a child to have temporary tatoos in those places? Oh yeah, two weeks ago she had a rose on her chest. I have all boys, but if I had a girl I would not allow her to have temporary tatoos in those areas of her body.

Okay, enough about Princess Perfect, but please give me some advise on this. Should I voice my concerns to her parents about this?

Bye Bye Sardine Can!!!!!

2006-07-06T08:32:00.000-05:00

It is ANOTHER rainy morning! It has rained so much here in the last couple of months, I am so SICK of rain! Bubba is finishing his waffle as the dog sits patiently for any crumbs to land in his lap where she eagerly devours them while tickling his legs with her tongue! Picasso is watching cartoons because he can't go outside right now. Buddy is still sleeping, he loves to sleep in!

We are getting MY new vehicle today! Well it isn't actually NEW it is a used conversion van! I am soooo excited!! No more driving around in the sardine can! Which is what we so affectionately call my Ford Escort Sedan. The boys can hardly fit in my back seat! Buddy is not old enough or weigh enough to sit up front, and of course Bubba has a car seat, and in our state Picasso is not old enough or weigh enough to not have to sit in a booster seat. So that is why we called it a sardine can! They are so squished back there! But once I get my van they will all have plenty of room! I will have room for kids and groceries and anything else I need to have in my car. The boys are excited because it has a TV and VCR in it! I know my little sardine can probably gets better gas mileage but I feel safer in a bigger vehicle! I won't have nightmares of driving my kids around and getting in a car accident and getting hit broad sided! That was my fear driving the sardine can! I have seen my share of car accidents to know what can happen! I know that in ANY car there is risk of injury in a car accident, but hopefully we will all be a little safer now.

The Holiday weekend.

2006-07-05T09:06:00.000-05:00

The Holiday weekend is over and it was Fun but hectic. Buddy's team is out of the ALL- Star Tournament. It is bittersweet, baseball is finally over, but it was heartbreaking to see them get eliminated from the tournament. We went to several picnics over the holiday and got to visit with friends and family. We watched the annual parade with all of our neighbors. I was disheartened by the amount of disrespect for our country's flag though. Proper flag etiqutte is to remove your hat and stand when a flag goes by, but very few people even do that anymore. It is out of respect for all our country stands for. Anyways, we did have a beautiful weekend and we all enjoyed ourselves. I took lots of pictures and I will try to add them to this post as soon as I down load them. I hope everyone out in cyber space had a nice holiday weekend.

First booboo

2006-07-01T08:33:00.000-05:00

Bubba just got his first bloody lip. I am sure of many! He is sitting in my lap enjoying a nice icee watching me record this milestone. He is fine and only cried a little, but he learned the perils of crawling with a toy in his mouth!

Speaking of bloody booboos, I am doing the mommy dance! Picasso made it through June without a trip to the ER! He has broken the curse! The last two summers have started off with serious booboos with trips to the ER. The first time was seven stitches to the forehead because his cousin accidentally hit him with a crochet mallet( not Sure of the correct spelling). And last summer we spent Fathers day in two different ER's because he got too close to a 2x10 that was being used as a catapult by some older children. We were VERY lucky and I thank GOD everyday that he wasn't killed by that board! An inch higher and his nose bone could have been pushed into his brain! As it was the first ER diagnosed him with a broken nose and his upper lip had seperated from the gumline, which they tried to stitch, but couldn't. Sooo he was rushed by ambulance to a childrens hospital because they said he was going to require surgery to reattach it! I prayed all the way to the next hospital, and yes miracles do occur and prayers do get answered! we got there and the doctors there said his nose wasn't broken and he didn't need surgery that kids mouths heal easily and quickly. After a couple of days of homemade shakes, he was able to eat regular food. He is still sensitive when he gets hit in that area while playing but he is a very resiliant kid!

So I am celebrating no major booboos!!! And praying none occur in the future!

The english language and tones!

2006-06-29T09:19:00.000-05:00

I don't know wether the conversation between myself and Picasso last night will convey on this post how actually funny it was, but I will try. Please don't be offended! It was really an innocent conversation!

As I walked through the door from Buddy's All-Star Baseball practice this is the conversation that ensued.

Picasso-"Mom, you know that penis?"
Me-" WHAT?"
Picasso- "You know, that Penis, the other day?"
Me- " Picasso, What are you talking about?"
Picasso-" Mom, you know the penis, that the dog made the other day, it was still a little wet."
Me-( Laughing Hysterically)" Oh, you mean PEE-NESS as in where the dog had an accident?"
Picasso-( Looking at me like I have three heads)" Yeah mom."

My mom was down visiting and myself and mom couldn't stop laughing for about 5 minutes after that conversation. Definately one that I will not soon forget!

Bugs Be Gone!!!!

2006-06-28T09:53:00.000-05:00

What works for me? Well where I live we have tons of mosquitos and deer ticks. The best bug spray products I have found to actually work are the AVON Skin-so-soft Bug Guard Plus products. They have sunscreens with the bug repellant, they have sprays, aerosals, and varying protection, but they all work! We camp alot and I have used ALL types of brands, the AVON products are the best!!!

When did I get so old???

2006-06-28T08:13:00.000-05:00

This sucks! I know I don't usually use language like that and if Picasso heard me or saw this he would tell DH I need vinegar on my tongue( Which is our punishment for bad words and not appropriate language).

I am getting old! How did I come to this realization? Is it the multiplying grey hairs sprouting from my head? Is it the tiny lines appearing around the corners of my eyes and mouth? Is it because I prefer sleep over passionatte sex most of the time? Is it because I don't have the energy to keep up with my three boys?

Yes, to all of the above and most importantly, I can't do super mom mode like I used to. You know what I am talking about, the mornings you get up and feel full of energy, you shrug off the grey hair and the fine lines, You look forward to a night of passionatte sex, you zoom through the housework like a mechanical robot on a mission, and you feel like you could run a marathon with your kids strapped to your back with your eyes closed!

Yeah right! That is the type of mood I was in yesterday morning! I was zooming through my day getting alot done until I went to put Bubba down for a nap! Then it went down hill from there! I had him in my arms and had shifted him onto my hip as I straddled a gate, while bending down to find his pacifier, and yup you guessed it!

I felt a sharp pain in my back! I think I muttered some vinegar words, I yelled for Buddy to quickly come get Bubba and put him in the crib for me, which he did! ( There are days he is such an angel!) I manuvered my way over the gate, hobbled to my bed, and cautiously laid down to ease the pain.

I put a frantic call in to DH who was working overtime, I told him not to come home but I wanted to let him know about the situation. I called my mom, for reinforcements to help with Bubba, and got no answer! So Bubba and I took a nap, I was hoping my back would feel much better when I got up and I wouldn't need any help. No such luck!

Thank God for moms! My mom called while I was in the shower trying to help the muscles in my back and Buddy told her what happened. She came to my house to help. She bought the boys MCDonalds for dinner because they helped when I got hurt. I called a neighbor to take Buddy to All Star practice. So all in all it worked out okay.

But it still made me realize I am not getting any younger and yes that sucks!

Nothing...just rambling.....

2006-06-26T17:33:00.000-05:00

The rain is over, for now and the boys finished cleaning their room this morning so they could go out to play. How come cleaning a bedroom takes so long for kids? My husband and I actually went in to help after they had toiled away at it for 4 hours without much of an improvement. We rearranged the furniture, took out the broken computer, maybe someday we will be able to afford to get it fixed. I removed any item that was of babyish looks. It really looks real good. I just hope it stays halfway decent for awile.

This morning Picasso woke up in a cute mood. I asked him what he wanted for breakfast and he said " Dun, Dun, Dun,...Cereal!" I asked him if he was sure he didn't want waffles and he answered " Dun, Dun, Dun, I said Cereal!"

It was just too cute! But I guess you had to be there.

Buddy continues to prove on a daily basis he is getting ever closer to teenage hood. Oh I don't know if I can handle it! LOL He acts as if he knows everything!

Bubba is just trying so hard to learn to walk and climb! He doesn't like to be put anywhere where he needs to be strapped in.

We watched the movie "HOODWINKED" the other night. If you haven't seen it yet you need to see it. It is really neat the way they took an old story and put a new spin on it to teach a new lesson.

Nothing to funny or exciting happening here.

Tough Ten Year Old

2006-06-18T09:20:00.000-05:00

Yesterday Buddy had a baseball game, last one of his regular schedule, except for makeup rain games. DH brought him early, because he wanted to practice before the game. Me, Picasso, and Bubba, were going to meet them at the field when Bubba got up from his nap. Well, Bubba got up and we headed to the game, after the normal wrestling match between Bubba and myself( Known to most moms as diaper change time.).
We got to the game, and my mom asked if anyone had called me? Instantly, panic washes over me. What happened now? How bad is it? Does he need stitches?Is anything broken? All these thoughts ran simeoultanously through my head. My mom must have seen me go pale, because she quickly replied when I said "No..." "He's ok but Buddy got hit in the face with a ball." "Is he okay?" I asked. "yes he is fine he got back out there to practice, but he isn't starting"
So after loading Bubba into the dreaded stroller, which almost folded back up with him in it! I went to check on Buddy. His cheek was puffy and inside his mouth was pretty cut up, but other than that he was fine.
The game started and he sat the bench the first 2 innings, but then he got put in. He played the rest of the game. I won't bore anyone with the details, his team lost.
After the game was ALL-STAR practice. He caught almost every ball hit to him to his coaches amazement! They were joking where this kid came from! Needless to say he did reallyt great! So now starts ALL-STAR season!
Buddy made it through 5 hours of baseball even with being injured! He is one tough cookie and I am so proud of him.

Is baseball season Ever going to End?

2006-06-18T08:49:00.000-05:00

Just when I thought I was returning to a normal schedule, of housework, watching the kids play outside, and taking them to the Beach, BAM , Buddy makes the ALL-STAR team! This is really awesome news and I am truly happy for him, really I am. But we have been living at baseball fields since April and Bubba is just not a happy camper sitting in the stroller anymore. He wants OUT! I put him on the grass and he is in his glory, but that means, chasing him, making sure he isn't getting to much fiber in his diet(grass, leaves, flowers, sticks,etc., etc.) or too much minerals(rocks). While making sure the sky doesn't fall on him ( Foul Balls). All while trying to cheer on Buddy or Picasso while they are playing. Oh and I can't forget to mention Buddy gets BORED at Picasso's T-ball games, and whines "do I have to go!". Luckily for me and another Baseball weary mom whose oldest son plays on the same team as Buddy and whose Daughter plays on Picasso's team, the two older boys go play catch or practice in the adjacent softball field.
I really don't mind my kids being busy, it just makes it hectic and Bubba is too young to understand why he is being dragged all over the place!
We finally made it to the beach the other day! I have been promising the boys I would take them, but we kept getting rain! Now the rain is gone and it is HOT, HOT, HOT! Bubba loved the beach so much he decided not to take a nap! He took a 45 min power nap and then didn't go to bed till 10 pm that night! The most amazing part of that was he wasn't cranky or anything! He was happy as a clam! I will try to write daily, but it isn't easy to get the time to sit and blg every day! Maybe someday I can get a laptop and I will be ablt to Blog to my hearts content!

Monday Memories

2006-05-29T21:24:00.000-05:00

Some of my favorite memories are of playing in the woods across the street from my house. It had stone walls running through it, which helped us name different parts of the woods. We used to play capture the flag in there, we made bike paths, most of our days were spent playing in there until they decided to build houses in there.

There was Giant Rock, which was a huge boulder that we used to climb on and just hang out. Some of us girls in the neighborhood formed a club and we would hold our meetings there.

There was Safety Tree, which was a tree that looked like a "Y" and was perfect for climbing in especially when you were being chased by your older brothers on their bikes.

There were The Five Pits, which were just that, 4 feet by 4 feet and about 2 feet deep, and scattered all throughout the woods.

There was Pigmy Forest, which was a clump of trees that were so entwined that you had to crouch down real low to walk through them.

If I close my eyes and concentrate I can imagine myself walking along the paths in those woods with my friends, laughing, and being so carefree never imaging that the Happy Memories of those days would make me start to cry right now. Not because I miss my friends( I still talk to most of the people I grew up with), but because it brings me back to a time that can never be replaced. Back before I was forced to grow up and realize life isn't as easy as Hide and Seek and Capture Flag and catching fireflies. Back before I realized life can throw a curve ball at you so fast it can and will hit you and it will hurt, for a lifetime. Maybe today was not the day to try to remember any memories for me, because as I sit here typing and crying and wondering why remembering these memories is hurting so much today I realize it is because 12 years ago on Memorial Day was the last time I saw my oldest brother alive. The last time he would tease me and joke with me as I was venturing into a new chapter of my life with my Fiancee and moving into our new apartment. My brother who I looked up to, he was one of my first heroes, he was talented and smart, funny and handsome, he picked on me like most brothers did, but nobody else was allowed to. And although he had been struggling with alcholism and drug addiction, that last time I saw him he was so happy, so full of life! He was excited because his best friend had called and asked him to be his best man. He made the comment that day that he was going to be in two weddings that summer mine and his friends. He was looking forward to these events.
Then a few days later my world changed forever, the police showed up at my work, and told me my brother was dead, they didn't even let me sit down! He apparantly commited suicide, that is what they ruled it. Although shortly after the shock wore off questions came up, none of which we can ever get answers to. But enough to make us suspect that it wasn't a suicide. So that is why my world changed June 2, 1994 and why even childhood memories that can bring joy can also bring heartache. And I never intented for this post to be about this, but sometimes I just can't help remembering............................

Oil and Water.

2006-05-29T19:41:00.000-05:00

It has been awhile since I have posted. Been busy, just don't have time to post everyday like I would like to. But today I need to vent( even if it is to nobody in particular..... And even if nobody reads this at least it will be off my chest.)
I try to teach my children to respect people even if they don't like the person because I know that it is impossible to like everyone you meet. Some people just don't mix. Kind of like Oil and Water. I know I don't Like everyone I meet, but I am friendly and respectful because that is how I was brought up. Does that make me two-faced?I don't look at it that way.....Because I am not telling the person I am their friend and then really not being their friend. But anyways...I am trying to help my children understand that it is okay not to like someone, but they must be respectful and friendly. The difficulty is with one of my nieces, I will call her princess perfect. Picasso and Princess Perfect are always having Issues. Picasso is not perfect and I know this, no child is, or adult for that matter. But, Picasso is honest to a fault, I can count on one hand how many times he has lied, and he will tell you exactly how he feels when he feels it whether you like it or not. He tries so hard to have patience and he tries to be respectful and nice to everyone. But he does have buttons that can be pushed and it seems like Princess Perfect knows exactly how to push those buttons. She torments him until he breaks and he does something back and then her mom blames everything on Picasso. It is Never Princess Perfects fault in her moms eyes. Neighbors have witnessed this besides us. We live in the same neighborhood, unfortunately , so she is always around. I love my niece, but she is spoiled. She is an only child and she gets no consistent form of discipline. I am dreading the summer!
Today Picasso and Buddy were playing with two of the other neighborhood boys their age and she wanted to play with them....She is 18 months younger than Picasso. They didn't want to at first...They wanted boy time...But then they decided to let her play a little while later. Well, they were playing a game sort of cops and robbers on their bikes...She was the robber...And the boys were the cops.....She had no problem with that......Then Picasso got off his bike and was trying to "catch" her.....She rode by him on her bike and he grabbed her handle bar to stop her( Not a safe or smart thing to do, but he did it)...She swerved to avoid him catching her and she dumped her bike. Well her mom screamed at him at the top of her lungs don't you ever do that again! I didn't see what happened but I did get the story from Picasso and the other kids. Her mom said she saw the whole thing and he threw her to the ground. I don't believe her at all because like I said she always blames Picasso for everything! A few days ago she sat on her front steps and watched as her perfect daughter threw a ball repeatedly at Picasso while a 12 year old held him! And as I was calling Picasso home because I didn't like what I was seeing her perfect princess was pulling on Picasso's shirt and pushing him because he had grabbed the ball as soon as the 12 year old let go! So when he pushed her back and she fell and her mom yelled at Picasso, DH yelled back that she did it to him first and she said she didn't "see" that, but it happened right before he pushed her. But Princess Perfect admitted to pushing him first. Her mom only sees what she wants to see. So that is why I don't believe her and also ALL the kids told me the same story. I just don't know what to do, I am sick and tired of Picasso being screamed at, especially when 90% of the time it isn't ALL him. If I tell him not to play with her, then her mom will get mad that I told him that because Princess Perfect will cry that he won't and can't play with her. I am going to call her mom tomorrow and discuss the situation....I think....It is such a touchy situation with it being relatives and all. Any advice would be appreciated!!!!!

Most Embarrassing moment.

2006-05-12T16:32:00.000-05:00

I was just over at One Woman's World and read her most embarrassing moment, she asked for others moments so here goes.
I had borrowed my husbands truck( We were engaged at the time.). Did I mention it was a NEW pickup truck. I had to go to work and it was my first time driving his truck. My parents driveway is kind of tricky backing out of. At the entrance it is narrow and there are two cement walls. Well, I knew it would be difficult backing the truck out of the driveway so I asked my mom to direct me. Well, even with mom directing me, I got two close to the cement wall and I scratched the bumper of his truck! I was so sick to my stomach, mom told me it wasn't bad it was just the bumper, so I went on my merry way to work where I parked in the parking garage where I normally do. I called DH at his work and told him about the bumper and he wasn't worried about it, It was after all just the bumper. My stomach settled and I went about my day! Well, at quitting time I had to go pick up DH at his work. I walked out to the truck to check the damage from earlier and was Horrified! There was a 12 inch scratch on the side of the Truck! That sick sinking feeling came to my stomach again. This time I was so upset, I couldn't have done that! I thought someone had done something to the truck. So I drove all the way to his work and before he looked at the bumper I told him someone had to have hit his truck in the parking garage, it wasn't there before! He looked at it closely and realized that the scratch was from the stone wall! I didn't see it at first because there was dirt on the truck from four wheeling that weekend. I was so MORTIFIED! I thought he was going to break up with me for sure. He wasn't mad at all! I offered to pay for the scratched paint job, but he wouldn't let me. When I told my brother what had happened all he could say is, " He must REALLY love you!" and 12 years later we are still married! But he doesn't like me driving the Truck.

The Big Yellow House

2006-05-12T16:14:00.000-05:00

As I was reading at The Big Yellow House and laughing about the baseball blog. I was reminded of Buddy's game the other night. It is his first year in 'The Majors" and so far his team is doing real well. The coaches are impressed with his skills and he his having a blast with the older boys! But on Wednsday he had a game, only the second one I got to sit and watch from beginning to end so far!
Buddy's team rallied with a couple real good hits the first two innings!
Buddy got put in and I was looking forward to watching him play.
His first up to bat for the game the score was 5 to 2 his team was winning, 2 outs, 2 on base. Buddy steps up to the plate, and I mutter under my breath," No pressure here, Buddy."
Then a couple of the veteran moms turn to me and say " No pressure here for Buddy Huh?"
I laugh, because I doubt they heard me mutter. The poor kid struck out! I felt so bad for him, he doesn't handle pressure well at all.
He struck out every at bat. And his last at bat was the worst pressure of all! The score was close, 2 outs, and the bases were loaded and he struck out again! But his team won and he was not upset at all!
I guess us moms worry a little too much at times!

This is Perfect for Moms of boys.

2006-05-12T15:38:00.000-05:00

I don't know who the original author of this email was but this is so true with boys and it reminds me of what happened this morning.

RAISING BOYSa) For those who have grown children, this is hysterical.
b) For those who have children this age, this is not funny.
c) For those who have children nearing this age, this is a warning.
d) For those who have not yet had children, this is birth control.---------------------------------------------------------------------The following came from an anonymous mother in Austin, Texas:Things I've learned from my boys (honest and not kidding):
1.) A king size waterbed holds enough water to fill a 2000 sq. ft. house 4 inches deep.
2.) If you spray hair spray on dust bunnies and run over them with roller blades, they can ignite.
3.) A 3-year old boy's voice is louder than 200 dbs in a crowded restaurant.
4.) If you hook a dog leash over a ceiling fan, the motor is not strong enough to rota te a 42 pound boy wearing Batman underwear and a Superman cape. It is strong enough, however, if tied to a paint can, to spread paint on all four walls of a 20x20 ft. room.
5.) You should not throw baseballs up when the ceiling fan is on.( Or ANY kind of balls!) When using a ceiling fan as a bat, you have to throw the ball up a few times before you get a hit. A ceiling fan can hit a baseball a long way.
6.) The glass in windows (even double-pane) doesn't stop a baseball hit by a ceiling fan.
7.) When you hear the toilet flush and the words "uh oh", it's already too late.
8.) Brake fluid mixed with Clorox makes smoke, and lots of it.
9) A six-year old boy can start a fire with a flint rock even though a 36-year-old man says they can only do it in the movies.
10.) Certain Legos will pass through the digestive tract of a 4-year old boy.
11.) Play dough and microwave should not be used in the same sentence.
12.) Super glue is forever.
13.) No matter how much Jell-O you put in a swimming pool you still can't walk on water.
14.) Pool filters do not like Jell-O.
15.) VCR's do not eject "PB & J" sandwiches even though TV commercials show they do.
16.) Garbage bags do not make good parachutes.
17.) Marbles in gas tanks make lots of noise when driving.
18.) You probably DO NOT want to know what that odor is.
19.) Always look in the oven before you turn it on; plastic toys do not like ovens.
20.) The fire department in Austin, TX has a 5-minute response time.
21.) The spin cycle on the washing machine does not make earthworms dizzy.
22.) It will, however, make cats dizzy.
23.) Cats throw up twice their body weight when dizzy.
24.) 80% of women will pass this on to almost all of their friends, with or without kids.
25.) 80% of men who read this will try mixing the Clorox and brake fluid.

Patience

2006-05-12T07:33:00.000-05:00

We patiently checked for spots the last two weeks, none appeared. Thank God!
Picasso tested my patience this morning. I was reading a beautiful email for mothers day about moms and Dh was getting ready to head out the door to bring Picasso and Buddy to school. When something hit the fan!
It was a bouncy ball of Bubbas. Picasso had kicked it, It hit the ceiling fan, Got sent shooting towards the dining room wall, where it came to an abrupt stop when it collided with my decorative dish holder, two plates came flying off the wall onto the dining room table where one completely shattered and the other has not even a chip!
Picasso looked at me with such a horrified look! I knew he didn't mean it and he was truly sorry, which he told me when he gave me a hug. I was very calm and told him it was okay it was an accident, but that is why mommy has said NOT to play with balls in the house.

1 week down No Spots!

2006-05-02T21:17:00.000-05:00

Well, it is officially one week since the boys were exposed to the chicken pox and so far so good no spots! They are getting annoyed with the twice a day checks for the spots, once in the morning before they get dressed for school and once at night after their baths or showers before they go to bed. But, me being the ever vigilant, slightly paranoid mom that I am will continue with the spot checks for another two weeks until the incubation period ends. Buddy and Picasso have less of a chance of getting the dreaded spots than Bubba does because they got the chicken pox shot and Bubba isn't old enough for it yet. Buddy is becoming a hypochondriac, every time he itches he thinks he is getting the chicken pox! Picasso keeps asking if he will die if he gets the chicken pox, of course I tell him no. I explain to him he will be very uncomfortable. And Bubba doesn't care if he has spots or not he is too busy crawling all over the house and exploring his ever expanding world. He pulled himself up to standing in his crib for the first time tonight and buddy said, " Uh Oh We're In Trouble!"

Picasso is having a hard time holding his tongue and can't stop swearing! Urgh, it is so frustrating! He had a run in with two boys on the bus this morning. Both are supposed to be his friend, but they didn't act like it. One got mad at him because another little friend sat with Picasso instead of him and told Picasso he wasn't going to be invited to his birthday party and then another little boy threw something at Picasso and hit him in the eye. So Picasso got mad and called them both a*******! Not that what he said was right or okay but I can understand why he called them that.

Buddy is sleep walking, I think. Last night Iwent into their bedroom to turn off lights and found a puddle on the floor! Yup, one of them peed on the floor! I asked each of them about it this morning and they both denied knowing anything about it. But Buddy said he dreamed he had to go to the bathroom and then the feeling went away, so I concluded he must have slept walked and peed! I know it wasn't the dog because she was out in the living room with me and their door was closed.

It is late and I am getting tired.....Hopefully tommorrow will be spot free too!

Afternoon Ramblings...

2006-05-01T12:23:00.000-05:00

It has been another chaotic week, baseball games, baseball practices, worrying about neighbors children, one who had an accident on an ATV, one who is disabled and is not doing very well, another who has the chicken pox( and might have exposed the whole neighborhood to it, including my three sons). And helping our neighbor out whose mother has been diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer. Buddy started racing his quarter midget again this weekend, he came in third in his race! We were so proud of him. He passed!!! This is a MAJOR thing for him considering he has had difficulty with it. And yesterday before Buddy's race my DH got terrible news. A man he really truly admired and respected died unexpectedly of a heart attack. In the fourteen years that I have known my husband I have never seen him be so openly and visibly upset. Most people would be intimidated by my husband if you were to meet him at first and many are until they get to know him. He is the most kind hearted, generous man I know. And truly caring and to see him cry in public broke my heart. I knew he was truly in pain over the death of his friend, ex-coworker, and in some aspects mentor.

Death is such a difficult thing to deal with. It is a nessessary process but sometimes it leaves the survivors wondering why? My husband and I are such seasoned veterans of dealing with death with each other we should be numb to the emotions it brings forth by now. But we are not and each time someone we care about dies we deal with our emotions and it teaches us to live life to the fullest each and every day. And even in our chaotic lives we take the time to appreciate that we are still able to go to our sons baseball games and practices and we still can watch Buddy race and enjoy Bubba's silly antics and crawling. Some people think we are crazy allowing our son to race. The way we look at it is, we are able to let him do it through sponsorships and family support. It was his dream since he was four years old and we have seen so many friends and family die suddenly without fullfilling their dreams we feel if we can fulfill our childrens dreams or help them come true we will do it. Spring is supposed to be a time of rebirth and joy, and for us it usually means saying goodbye to someone we care about. I just pray that the saddness DH is feeling right now will not squash his spirit.

Chaotic week

2006-04-14T10:12:00.000-05:00

It has been several days since I last posted. Let's see...Monday was the first day that both Buddy and Picasso were to have baseball practice at the same time. Dear hubby and I had it all planned out. He would take Picasso and I would take Buddy and Bubba would go with me. I had planned on making quick grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner before we left. They both had practice at 5 at two different fields. DH went to help a friend with something at 3:30 and planned on being back in time to take Picasso to practice. Picasso and Buddy were outside playing and riding bikes and I was keeping an eye on the time. Around 4:15 I was about to call the boys in to get ready and eat, well....that's where chaos insued! Buddy came running in( he had just spoke with one of his teammates that live in our neighborhood)" Mom I have to get ready for practice! We have a scrimmage at 4:30!" I calmly replied, " your coach had said it was at 5:00" " no it is at 4:30!" he anxiously replied! I asked Picasso to clean up come in and get ready for his practice. Buddy got himself ready. My mom happened to be over and she got Bubba ready while I packed a bottle for him. I called DH in a panic because he wasn't home yet. My mom couldn't drive Buddy to practice because she had stuff in her back seat. I managed to leave the driveway at 4:30 with all three kids. I got to the first ball field at 4:40 dropped off Buddy watched as he ran to the dugout as soon as he was in the dugout I left to bring Picasso to his practice. I felt so uncomfortable leaving Buddy there, some would call me a paroniod mom, but I don't leave my children anywhere without a trusted adult being with them. I know the coaches were there, but I still don't know them that well. Anyways, we got to the other ball field and no one from Picasso's team was there yet. Then finally they showed up and started to practice. DH showed up and then I took Bubba and went back to watch Buddy. Needless to say we got home at 7:30 and ate a late dinner. I can't stand eating that late because then the boys don't get to bed until late. Tuesday we had a day off from baseball, but DH had to work which meant single parent mode. DH works 24 hr shifts. Wednsday I had planned on making dinner as soon as the boys got home from school while they were doing their homework because Buddy had practice again at 4:30. I thought I had it all set, I had everything ready to be cooked before going down to the busstop. Well we didn't get home from the busstop until 3:40, I started dinner, and Buddy and Picasso did their homework. Picasso wound up needing my assistance which was difficult because I was trying to cook. Bubba was getting hungry for his dinner. And Buddy was getting ready for his practice and yelling at his brother to hurry and finish his homework. Dinner was ready at 4:15, we all ate, or inhaled our dinner and then it was off to baseball again! Then we didn't get home until 7:30 AGAIN! But at least we had eaten before we left!Oh DH was working another 24 hr shift which meant I was in single parent mode for 48 hors straight! Boy does that give me greater respect for military wives and single parents that go longer periods without that extra set of hands! Thursday was all planned out again, DH would take Picasso to his practice and I would take Buddy and Bubba to Buddy's practice. DH went to the busstop to get the boys and I started dinner. It ran smoothly, DH and Picasso showed up to Buddy's practice after Picasso's practice. Then the thunder and lightning started! We came home and listened to the storm outside! Boy it was fierce! Today is Friday the boys don't have school so they had to clean their room before going outside to play. They just finished and are excited about riding their bikes. Bubba is hungry for lunch so I must go....but THAT has been my chaotic week!

Need to start thinking about playdates.

2006-04-08T10:14:00.000-05:00

Okay I know I have posted previously about Bubba and the dog. But I really think it is time I start taking him to playgroup. Bubba that is not the dog! But then again she might benefit from a doggie playgroup too! Interesting thought. Anyways, the other night Bubba was on the floor playing, and practicing his backwards crawling. Well at one point I noticed he had taken off one of his socks. No surprise there since he seems to have a fascination with his feet as posted in a previous post also. Next thing I know though I see him, in crawling position, with his sock hanging out of his mouth! Too cute, but I am a bit worried he is spending too much with our dog. Who coincidently has a fascination with socks!

Thinking out loud.

2006-04-06T18:38:00.000-05:00

I wonder if I am the only mom who is constantly thinking out loud? Or if I am the only mom who winds up singing or humming in the grocery store to favorite tunes?

I went grocery shopping with Bubba this afternoon, he is such a flirt!

But a really good old song that I loved was playing and I caught myself singing along. I am sure I got some looks and stares, but it wasn't as if I was dancing too!

Trying to decide wether I want to try At-Home work, like doing online surveys. Wish I knew someone who has done this before so I could ask if it is worth it.

I wonder if anyone actually reads my Blog? If they do they are lurking, because they never comment!

I wonder if the name of my Blog sends people running!

Looking Forward to Summer?

2006-04-05T16:07:00.000-05:00

Part of me is really looking forward to spending the summer in the pool with the boys, camping, watching Buddy race, and possibly going to some special places this summer.

I just hope the boys stay busy, but out of trouble, and they stay safe!

But part of me is dreading this summer because it is going to be longer than normal for my kids and I hope they won't get bored, but most importantly I hope they will not regress in their learning skills. I really need to think hard to figure out some fun ways to continue their learning skills through the summer in a fun way! It is really most important for Buddy because he has a learning disability and he has memory issues. Picasso, I don't think will have any problems, he loves to read and write and draw. If anyone has any suggestions of what they do with their children during summer break so that their learning skills don't regress I would certainly be glad to hear some suggestions.

( ALthough I am not sure anyone but me reads my blog because there are never any comments.)

Back to Posting!

2006-04-04T16:26:00.000-05:00

Bubba was sick for a couple days, didn't have time to post. Plus I got a nasty migraine which took me a day to get rid of.

Sunday dear hubby took care of Bubba and Picasso while I took Buddy to a friends birthday party at the roller rink. It was fun! I haven't skated in years but decided to try anyway, much to Buddy's pleading not too! He didn't want me to embarass him! I informed him I was pretty good in my day, I used to go every weekend when I was his age! So I rented skates and got on the floor. It took me a few minutes to get used to skating again but after a couple spins around the floor I was an old pro! LOL But after 15 minutes my ankles started screaming, " What do you think you are doing????" Then after about an hour my thighs joined in, " are you crazy? You're too old for this???" When I got home every muscle in my body ached!!!! I think I got the migraine as a punishment from my body!

Monday Buddy and Bubba were sick and my migraine started. Today is Tuesday and the migraine is gone , the kids are better, the sun is shining, and all is well with the world again!

Things Kids Love About Summer and Parents Don't Love About Summer

2006-04-01T16:52:00.000-05:00

Kids Love - The ice cream man coming down the road every day!
Parents DON'T Love - The flippin ice cream man coming down the road every darn day!

Kids Love - 2 or 3 months off from school!
Parents DON'T Love - No school for 2 or 3 months, What is the school district thinking?

Kids Love - Getting up as early as possible to go out to play!
Parents DON'T Love - They can get up early no problem in the summer, but come schooltime it is like pulling teeth to get them out of BED!!!!!

Kids Love - Skipping lunch because their too busy playing!
Parents DON'T Love - Them skipping lunch because their too busy playing when you've taken the time to make a nice nutritious lunch and during the wintertime if you don't make them lunch on time your a mean mom!

Anyone got any to add? Please feel free to comment!

Bubba the amazing yoga baby!

2006-04-01T09:22:00.000-05:00

Okay....I am so jealous of Bubba! The flexability he has astounds me! I don't think I could ever be as flexable especially not now with over 50 pounds of post pregnancy weight to lose! He was in his swing yesterday and he was bending all the way over to suck on his toes! EWWWW, I know, but he was so darn cute I didn't discourage him from doing it. I tried to get a few pics, but everytime I went to take a good shot, he sat up. I will try to get some good ones of this amazing FEET and post them. I think if I tried to bend that far I would either break something or get stuck! He is also making a cute move while trying to crawl, it almost looks like he is a track star getting ready to race! Again, too cute!

I figured out how to add pictures! Cool!!!!

Living Paycheck to paycheck

2006-03-31T19:05:00.000-05:00

Okay, I am really getting tired of living from paycheck to paycheck. We Finally get a decent tax return and BAM its gone cause we have to pay car taxes and house taxes and re-register the truck! URGH!!!!!! Thats right we used our TAX RETURN to PAY MORE TAXES!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hey, didn't our forefathers come to this country to avoid taxation???? I know, I know it was taxation without representation, but isn't the whole point of having representation so that our representatives vote for what is best for their constituants???? I know I don't like taxes, especially when I see my tax dollars being wasted! I don't mind paying taxes if it goes to EDUCATION, POLICE PROTECTION, and FIRE PROTECTION, not so these well to-doer politicians can get richer......Hey can I throw tax return booklets into the ocean in protest??????Who's with me on this one????

Sorry no posting about the kids today...they played outside and enjoyed another beautiful spring day!!!

Survived Grocery Shopping!

2006-03-30T19:43:00.000-05:00

Wound up taking all three boys with me to the grocery store and survived! Stuck to my list.....(no cookies!)....and managed not to lose any of the kids....and also didn't pull out any of my hair! LOL Although it was an experience that I don't know wether I want to continuously repeat on a regular basis. Bubba kept trying to grab and eat the grocery list...Picasso kept jumping from square to square through the isles.....and Buddy just wanted to hurry up and get done. But I didn't blame him because about an hour before we were going to go to the store he crashed on his bike and the handle bar scraped his chest pretty good. I told him, " Geez Buddy, you flip in your race car and you don't get a scratch, but you ride your bike and you get hurt." It definately reafirms my belief that he IS safer in his racecar with all of his safety equipment than he is on his bike! I called dear hubby before going to the store and he met us there to check him out and make sure Buddy was okay. ( Dear hubby is an EMT/Firefighter and met us in the Firetruck) He said he would be sore naturally, but otherwise he was okay.

Fresh air and Dinosaur Eggs!

2006-03-30T09:12:00.000-05:00

Didn't get to post yesterday, just didn't have time to sit down and write. Bubba had is six month check up yesterday so by the time I got Buddy and Picasso on the bus for school and walked back to the house, I had to get Bubba ready to go. He is 18 and 1/2 pounds, 26 1/2 inches long, and according to the Dr. doing great developmentally! He got two shots( Oh how it breaks my heart to see him cry in pain!). He is such a good natured baby, he hardly crys, at least not the wailing kind of cry that can drive parents crazy! His cry is more of a low pitch whine.....and most of the time you can get him to stop instantly and get him giggling just by playing with him. He has slept better the last two nights( Thank GOD!, I was starting to get REAL CRANKY from lack of sleep and I hate being cranky!) Tuesday night we decided to have Bubba sleep in the living room in the pack n play. This worked out real well, no slats to get his little legs caught in the middle of the night. He in fact stayed basically in the same position most of the night...which rarely happens in his crib. He fussed a couple times because his pacifier had fallen out and he couldn't find it, but other than that he slept well. Then last night we put him in his crib.....He fussed for his pacifier...BUT he didn't wake up to play, so he slept fairly well again! ( Could be because his little legs still are sore from the shots.) Hopefully he will continue down the road to sweet slumbering.

Buddy and Picasso had a half day from school yesterday. They got home and did their homework outside since it was beautiful outside! I can't see making them sit inside and do their homework when they can do it in the fresh air. Afterwards, they went across the street with their friends and worked on their KIDS PARK. It is a little patch of woods in the neighbors yard that they have cleared for bike trails and just hanging out! Even one of the girls got her digital camera out took some pictures and made a cute brochure about it! She is so creative!

We had to eat dinner early because I had to take Buddy to his baseball practice at 4:30. So Bubba, Picasso, and I sat and watched Buddy practice. Picasso found a dinosaur egg! ( Really a rock, but he has such an imagination!) And of course where there is dirt Picasso will find it to play in....in this case roll in...down a hill.....with his good jacket on! I was cringing watching him, but I also remember what fun I used to have rolling down hills! Bubba learned to throw by watching the baseball players....he kept throwing his rattle for Picasso to pick up....until Picasso refused to play anymore! He was too busy finding Dinosaur eggs!

Busy day...but lots of fun!

Bubba Has decided Not to sleep!

2006-03-28T10:40:00.000-05:00

Okay...I understand most parents are sleep deprived.This is nothing new to me, but the last few weeks have been worse than anything I have experienced in the past. Not just because Bubba has decided he doesn't need to sleep and will practice his pre crawling skills during the wee hours of the night, But because I am having a hard time sleeping myself. I can't fall asleep right away despite feeling exhausted and when I do fall asleep....I wake up every hour or so. I have been having weird dreams when I do dream and when I wake up in the morning I don't feel like I have gotten nearly enough sleep. Like I said sleep deprivation is nothing new, but now I just feel tired all the time and when I do get some sleep it doesn't seem like enough. Bubba is just not helping my situation with his nightly escapades. I try to ignore him as much as possible and see if he will fall back to sleep on his own, without me having to get out of bed and give him his pacifier ( which he has started to throw out of his crib in the middle of the night), but since I took the bumper out of his crib and he is trying to crawl and such , he keeps getting his legs caught between the crib bars! So I help him out of his predicament, give him his pacifier, roll him onto his back and put his blanket on him and he eventually falls back to sleep only to wake a little while longer and repeat the whole process! Buddy and Picasso never did this ( they had their own sleep problems) so I am having a hard time trying to figure out a solution to help him learn that his crib is for sleeping in not playing in. He has no toys in there, so I don't know why he thinks it is okay to play in there. If anyone out there in cyberspace knows a solution that I could try, I would be eternally grateful!

Everything in the Mouth!!

2006-03-27T16:15:00.000-05:00

Bubba (youngest dear son) is six months old today!!!! He is almost crawling...he can get on his hands and knees and rock back and forth....so any day now I expect him to be chasing the dog.
He is teething so much also , EVERYTHING that goes near his mouth gets put in his mouth! Even the DOG! I am always yelling at the dog not to lick Bubba, but now I have to keep telling him not to bite the DOG( or in his case right now GUM her because he has no teeth!) He grabs her and pulls her near him and tries to put his mouth on her. This morning he got her ear. She is an awesome dog though, she doesn't growl at him or anything....she just tries to lick him back! Buddy(oldest dear son) and Picasso(Middle dear son) both thought it hilarious this morning that Bubba tried to eat the dog!

Funny things kids do and say!

2006-03-26T09:05:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was full of funny happenings at my house. I had gone grocery shopping on Friday, so the refrigerator and cabinets were full. I had carefully made my grocery list before I went( To stick to my budgeted amount for food.) And dear hubby had added Cookies to the list, which I got. When eldest dear son got home from school and saw the cookies he asked why I got cookies. Because your dad wanted them. He took a cookie and went out to play.

Well...dear hubby had been working in the garage on eldest dear sons race car(yes my 10yr old races!) and came in looking for a snack.

Dear hubby " Is there any ice cream?"
Me " No, I didn't get any, but I did get cookies for you because you added them to the grocery list."
Dear hubby " I didn't add anything to the grocery list?"
Me " Yes you did it was your handwriting!"
Dear hubby "I didn't add anything to the list, let me see the list."
Me " It is in my purse."
Dear hubby finds the list and starts laughing immediately.
Dear hubby " look carefully at the word cookies"
Me " that little stinker!'

It wasn't dear hubby who added it to the list it was eldest dear son, the giveaway was the spelling "cookeis", which I hadn't looked at carefully before because I was busy shopping! When eldest dear son was asked he started laughing! He said it was funny that dad got blamed for wanting the cookies! It was pretty comical! Note To Self, Need to start hiding the grocery list.

Later in the evening we had our two nephews over, the four boys had fun playing together. When dinnertime rolled around we gave them each their portions and they started to eat. We gave them all a cup of milk also. Middle dear son chugged his glass of milk and asked for more, before touching any food on his plate. Dear hubby, who was trying to help with the older four boys while I fed youngest dear son his dinner, gave him more milk without requiring him to eat a little first. Can't blame him though it was very chaotic, this one wanted more chicken, that one wanted more corn, another wanted more chicken and broccoli. Well, everyone else had finished and youngest dear son said he was full. I looked at his plate and he might have taken two bites of his cheese macaroni.

Me " you need to eat more of your dinner."
Middle dear son " I am full."
Me " That is because you drank all your milk first and didn't eat anything off your plate."
Middle dear son " I AM FULL."
Me " That is fine, but in ten minutes when you decide your hungry your not getting dessert or a snack."
Middle dear son " your not the boss of me GOD is, I don't have to listen to you, only GOD."
Me " Honor thy mother and thy father, it is one of the ten commandments! Which is gods law, so yes you do have to listen to me! You can look it up in the bible if you'd like."
Middle dear son " Do I have to eat ALL of it?"
Me " Just a couple bites of your chicken and a couple bites of your veggies."
Middle dear son " Okay"

This exchange reminded me of when I was pregnant with middle dear son and had just come home from grocery shopping with eldest dear son( Who was 3 at the time). I was due any day, dear hubby was at a firefighter memorial service. While I was putting away groceries from the car into the house, eldest dear son was playing out front in the flower bed. Well, I got into the kitchen and my sciatic nerve acted up, my leg went out from under me. There I was in pain sitting on the kitchen floor, not being able to get up.

Me " Buddy, please come in the house."
Eldest dear son " I playing mommy."
Me " I know but I need you to come inside now, mommy is hurt and mommy can't watch you play outside, please come in so mommy knows your safe."
Eldest dear son " Don't worry mommy GOD will watch me play."

What was I supposed to say to that? We teach our children to trust in GOD and when they show you that they do have that faith what do you do?

That day was definately a lesson in faith for me. I sat on the kitchen floor crying, called my mom to come help me. And finally Buddy came in from outside when he was done playing and helped me get into the recliner and take my shoes off.

Sunny Saturday morning!

2006-03-25T09:45:00.000-05:00

Well...dear sons came home last night....they weren't home five minutes and the bickering and fighting started!! Told them to go to bed...fighting continued....both wound up upset....blaming the other for them getting in trouble. Eldest son wound up crying to me and dear hubby " You don't know what it is like sharing a room with him!" Dear hubby replied " actually I do, bud, I shared a room with both my brothers, the room you sleep in at Grandmas. That room is much smaller than yours and there was three of us in there." Eldest son went to bed without another word. Wish we could afford a bigger house, but alas, right now we can't. It is hard for the two older ones sharing a room they are four years apart in age. Wasn't a problem until Eldest dear son started with the pre-teen stuff. Now having a 10 yr old and 6 year old in the same room seems like is going to cause world war three! While youngest dear son goes about drooling and giggling all the time. He shares our room. Not so great for the romance department, but right now, no other alternative. Can't see throwing him into the lions den with the other two. Right now there is peace in my world agian. Dear hubby and eldest dear son are at baseball practice while, middle dear son is home with me drawing, one of his favorite pastimes! Youngest dear son is cooing and drooling in his exersaucer. And I get a few moments to put my thoughts down.

Frustration is leading to a little bit of depression in the job searching department. Putting out resumes everyweek with no positive results. I don't want to get just a job, I want to start my career so when youngest dear son is in school, I will already be established. Still toying with the idea of writing a book.....that is what my ambition was when I was a senior in high school.....don't know how that got lost along the way. Maybe this blogging will help get those creative juices flowing again. I used to write faithfully in a diary when I was younger...I guess I missed that. This is so much different though...my private thoughts are public....at least my identity is private. And with a diary it can't talk back... with this people can comment on what I say....Strange, but interesting!

LOL, Middle dear son is playing a kind of peek a boo game with youngest dear son. It is soooo cute......!

Can't wait for the warmer weather so I can do some gardening. I want to plant some new flowers out front, but have to wait until we scrape and paint the windows and outside trim first. So much to do, so little money to do it with! well I guess that is enough rambling for now.....

Peace and Quiet......For now.

2006-03-24T19:24:00.000-05:00

I am enjoying some peace and quiet while eldest dear son and middle dear son are visiting at their cousins. Youngest dear son is sleeping and dear hubby is bowling. So tonight the testosterone is not pulsing through my house. I love my boys, but sometimes I long for some girl time.

Eldest dear son is heading into the tweens and OH BOY, he is noticing girls and the skantily clad women on TV and in other media sources everywhere. I know how I felt going through these years as a young girl, but how can I relate my experiences to fit into a young boys perspective? I am dreading the fateful "Talk". I know we need to have it sooner than later. I do not want to become a Grandma before I am forty!!!! Which technically could happen and is really scary! I thought only women and girls got PMS? Oh, sometimes his mood swings lately!!! He can be really sweet one moment and then the next give such an attitude!! And he has started that all too familiar I love you mom and dad but don't make me say it in public or around my friends!!He even called from school the other day, he forgot his homework. When dear hubby said "love ya bud" he didn't want to say love ya back! At least I still get cuddles from Middle dear son and "I love you mommy". Oh, but his time will come too..........all too soon.

Well...there goes peace and quiet Youngest dear son has awoken!The sweetness of babies!He is reaching for the keyboard to add his two cents. must go for now before he touches the wrong key and I lose everything.......