An Amazing Blog From Space

How AWESOME is this????

It's so wonderful to read about someone finally acheiving their dream, and such a big one at that!!

Check out the Anousheh Ansari Space Blog . She is the first female tourist in space, and she blogged while she was up there!!!

The way that she sees the world, and describes her experience is so inspiring.

I wish I had dreams so big.....

Rest in Peace Sweet Girl

I received a call from the vet today that Holly's "cremains" were here, so we rushed over to get them.

I think it's really beautiful.

I don't quite know what to tell Colin about it.

I stopped myself short of saying, "We're going to pick up Holly" because then I would have explain how the Holly that he remembers actually fits into this box. He knows that she died, and that's she's gone to heaven, but I just don't think that I'm quite ready to explain cremation to my three year old.

Any suggestions?

If he asks, I don't want to tip-toe around it. I believe in being honest. I just don't want to freak him out by telling him that her body was all burned up. I can imagine the nightmares that would result.

Hmmmm.

Off to research, "explaining cremation to your pre-schooler"......

Velcro: Good For Clothes, Not for Mommas

The last few days have been, ahem, "challenging" to say the least.

My littlest man, Landon, seems to have hit a patch of, "I must be velcroed to Mommy or I will scream to all bloody living hell so that everyone knows how horrible of a Mother she is", stage.

Not so much fun for Momma, I have to say.

I was looking forward to a morning of "me" time after these last few days of velcro-hell, and lucky me, Colin wakes up with a cough and nose that rivals niagra falls. Poor little guy. Sooooo, pre-school is out of the question for the day. Unlike some mother's at our preschool, we try to keep our germs here (arrgh!...another post!) .

Thanks to a reminder from Andria in her Thursday Thirteen post yesterday (You ROCK girl!), off we went to Target at 9:00 am to pick up the Curious George movie that has just been released. (LOVE that movie by the way, in case some of you other Mommas haven't seen it!)

AH!!! It seems that maybe, just maybe, my luck is changing! It was on sale for $16.99. Soooooo, velcro man got his own little Curious George board book as well.

I am now off to get a much needed shower since Colin is relaxing(hacking his head off) on the couch watching said movie, and Velcro man has released his powerful grip to take his morning nap.

I'll let you all know if my luck really has changed when he wakes up!

Future Career Option??

Naked Motorcycle Cop??
(He's going to SO kill me for this in 20 years!)

My other "favorite" question

WHAT'S FOR DINNER????

Ugh!

You know, growing up, I never said that I wanted to be anyone's personal chef or meal planner (or maid, but we can save that for another post).

Believe it or not, I really do love to cook. When I was student teaching in college, I used to de-stress by coming home and cooking a full meal for me, my roommate, and her boyfriend. It usually resulted in about a week's worth of leftovers, but it really helped me to unwind and take my mind off of a busy, crazy, day.

It would be one thing if what I cooked was liked and appreciated by all of the men in my family, but that is certainly FAR from the case. Colin refuses to eat anything other than chicken nuggets, peanut butter sandwiches (mind you...NO jelly...the kid would freak if you put it on there!) popcorn, and cinammon crunch bagels from Panera. Hubby is usually working late, so he's not here to eat with us most nights, and my little Landon. God bless him! You would think that HE would be the picky one, but he eats pretty much anything you shovel in to his mouth. LOADS of it too!

So, I'm sitting here at 4:00 in the afternoon, asking myself my second favorite question.....What's for dinner? I would LOVE to make some sort of chicken with curry sauce (mmmmm, we had a curry dip at the Melting Pot that was to DIE for, that's my inspiration!), but do I even bother?? I would end up having to make something else for Colin, and the ulitmate "yumminess" of it would be lost on my Dear Hubby when he comes home at 8pm and it had been sitting for 3 or more hours. Ohhhhh......

Maybe we should just settle for hot dogs on the grill? Quick, easy, no fuss. Landon will eat them, and how much different does a hot dog taste 3 minutes or 3 hours after you've cooked it? Am I right??

Now I wonder why I can't get rid of these pesky 25 extra pounds?? Yep, I agree. I think it would be the kid friendly, easy, no fuss dinners that pay no mind to taste, fat, or calories.

Now...what was for dinner??? Damn!

Pick up lines at Books A Million

(Colin)....."What's your name"

(Random girl)....."Parker Laney Smith"

(Colin)....."Hi, My name's Colin"

(Colin)....."How old are you?"

(Random girl)....."I'm three"

(Colin)....."Me too"

(Colin)....."Wanna play with this train?"

Random girl then proceeds to flirt with his little brother....do I see the future playing out in this episode????

Mommy comment Number 1: Since when did my boy get to be so grown up??

Mommy comment Number 2: Girls are the DEVIL!!!!!!

Do we have to go back to real life?

Despite the obvious upset that we had at the start of our vacation, all in all, it was a good one. I don't know if I told you that this is the very first one that we have taken as a family...JUST the four of us. It's been long over-due.

Usually, we would "piggy back" on beach houses or lake houses that family would rent for a week or so. Our last vacation like that was a trip to the Outer Banks with my Dad, Stepmom, and the rest of my respective family. It was a beautiful, HUGE, house, on the beach. The only problem was the weather sucked (end of April beginning of May and COLD!), and having to deal with so many personalities was AWFUL. Don't get me wrong. I love my family, but distance is something that definitely is a good thing for us.

When we got home from that "vacation", we decided to have one of our own, and I'm so glad that we did. We stayed in Myrtle Beach, at a 3 bedroom condo. It wasn't what I would call a really nice place, but it was functional. It was on the beach, had a pool, close to restaurants and attractions, and *relatively* clean.

Here is a picture of me and Landon. It's one of those RARE photos that actually prove that I was there! Pretty much 90% of the pictures were taken by me, so I'm surprised to even come home with one that I'm in!


Colin LOVE, love, LOOOOOOVED, the beach. He and Kelly were out there pretty much every day digging in the sand and playing in the waves. Landon wasn't a fan at first, but changed his mind the second day out there. He loved destroying the sand castles that Kelly and Colin would build, and sitting in the huge holes that would result from their digging. Once he discovered the surf and the waves, he would crawl RIGHT out in to the water! We had to watch him closely to make sure that he wasn't knocked over...but he loved it when he was.

One of our last nights there, we went to The Melting Pot. It was Kelly's idea. I had my reservations as to how the kids would do, but it was probably the most fun evening of them all! Colin loved dipping our food for us. Of course, he opted for one of the "delicacies" from the McDonald's Menu that we bought on our WAY to the Melting Pot, but he loved helping us eat our fondue. Landon munched on the fruit and veggies served with our dinner. Here's my bunch of crazy guys that night playing around at the table. Napkin for a hat anyone??

I have a feeling that the restaurant was probably happy to see us go once our dinner was over. I don't care though, to be truly honest. I just loved being with my family.

Our purpose for this vacation was to create some wonderful memories, and THAT, my friends, is exactly what we did!

Home Safe, Sound, and Sad

Well, we made it home from the beach today. It feels good, but I can tell that some"one" is missing. I just wanted to share a picture of her, so you all could see just how beautiful she was.

I keep waiting to hear the click of her claws on the hardwoods, or hear her whimper to go out. Our bedroom just seems so empty without her lying in the corner under the window.

I know to some people she was just a dog....but to us, she was a member of the family.

I also wanted to just say how impressed I am at the vet that handled her care. We racked up probably around $1000 in total costs for just the few days that she was there, but we have yet to receive a bill...even after being out of town for a full week.

Upon our return home though, in the huge stack of mail that our neighbor gathered for us, we found two cards of condolences from both of the Docs that treated her.

How wonderful is that??

Still here, just taking in the rays and the sunshine

Hi everyone!

Yep, I'm still here. We're at the beach, and I have VERY limited internet access. It's been a wonderful week with just me and my 3 boys (yes, that includes Hubby!). Colin has caught a cold, but we're dealing with it. He's worst at night, so I've just been dosing him with meds up as best I can so he (and WE) can sleep.

Landon and Colin absolutely LOVE the beach, and it's so wonderful to be able to relax and enjoy my family. No pressures of cleaning, cooking, or figuring out what to do here. We've eaten out every night (which actually I'm a little tired of believe it or not!), and just taken it E.....A.....S.....Y. We've needed this for a long time, let me tell ya!

I don't look forward to returning to real life. Especially going back to the house and really, REALLY, realizing that Holly girl won't be there. Colin hasn't said that much about it, although we were honest with him about what happened. I think he will say a little more once we get home and he really notices the change as well.

It's been a nice diversion in the mean time though.

I have loads of pictures and video to share once I'm able! I can't wait to share them with you!

Goodbye to a beloved friend

Well, I was hoping to come on with an uplifting, happy, update, but the news is not as you or I would have hoped.

On Saturday, we said goodbye to our dear little girl, Holly. She will be terribly missed, but I also know that she is no longer in pain, and is finally with her true owner...my Grandfather. He was waiting for her the minute she left us...I know that for sure.

We received a call from the "on call" vet for the weekend on Friday night. They knew that we were leaving Saturday for the beach, and that we wanted to give her treatment over the weekend to see if she would improve. This also meant that if something were to go "wrong", that we wouldn't be able to say our goodbyes and be with her if she had to be put down.

He said that he was 99% sure that he felt a mass near where her liver is, and that he was certain, based on her rising bilirubin levels, that meant liver failure and probably cancer. He gave us the option of referring her to a specialist for more testing and 24/7 monitoring, but he felt sure that even if we could find the cause of her illness, that we were looking at something terminal. Her gums and eyes were beginning to yellow, and she was becoming more and more depressed as the days wore on.

We went in on Saturday morning and spent a good 45 minutes with her before we made the decision.

It's one of the hardest things that I've ever had to do.

I was with her, holding her head, and whispering how much we loved her as she passed on. I sang her the lullaby that I have sung to my boys since the day they were born. I hope it comforted her.

I love her, and I miss her so much.

We decided to have her cremated, and we are going to take her ashes to where my Grandfather and Grandmother are buried...so she can be right where she should be, with them.

They did an autopsy, and the vet called us right away to let us know that yes, in fact, it was liver cancer, and that he truly feels that we did what was best for her . He was shocked that she had even made it this far with how "ravaged" her liver was.

I take comfort in this:

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.
When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here,

that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge.

There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together.

There is plenty of food, water and sunshine,

and our friends are warm and comfortable.
All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor.

Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again,

just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by.

The animals are happy and content,

except for one small thing;

they each miss someone very special to them,

who had to be left behind.
They all run and play together,

but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance.

His bright eyes are intent.

His eager body quivers.

Suddenly he begins to run from the group,

flying over the green grass,

his legs carrying him faster and faster.
You have been spotted,

and when you and your special friend finally meet,

you cling together in joyous reunion,

to be parted again.

The happy kisses rain upon your face;

your hands again caress the beloved head,

and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet,

so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.
Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....

Author unknown...

Holly's story is a little different though. I know that my Grandfather was there waiting for her...to walk her over the bridge, and through those green pastures, and I will see them both again....one day soon.

Holly Dog Update

Well, we just got the test results back from the vet, and it doesn't look good.

Her white blood cell count is off the charts, which indicates a really serious infection. Her kidney and liver functions are all wacko, so they think that she may be dealing with Leptospirosis. Pretty much, they're calling for more tests to determine if that's what it is, but if it quacks like a duck...normally it is one.

We're leaving for the beach tomorrow (something that's been in the works for 5 or 6 months now and already paid for), but we're going to go ahead and keep her hospitalized and treat her aggressively with antibiotics to fight the infection and give her IV fluids. We'll have the test results back on Saturday for the Leptospirosis. On Monday, we're going to see how she is responding the the meds....and make a decision from there. It's about $150 a night for all of this...not to mention the tests at $100 a pop. Worst case scenario if she's still bad off on Monday....it's the big E word. It's killing me that we might have to do that, and not be here with her. I'm just so glad that Hubby is supporting us giving her at least some sort of chance.

We went to see her today and hug and love on her. She just lay there and shook. Poor, sweet, thing. I'm going to go back tomorrow and see her before we leave for the beach. I'm just praying that she'll take a turn for the BETTER tonight, so we can at least have some hope for her. We'll see.

I just wish I had all the money in the world to try anything and everything. I hope she knows how much we love her.

When is Enough, Enough??

To all of you animal lovers out there, the answer may be, there's never enough. To me, it's just not that simple.

My poor, sweet, little dog Holly, is very sick. For the last few days she's been having horrible bouts of diarrhea (lovely..I hope you're not eating while reading),been very lethargic, and just not her normal self. Mind you, it's hard enough for a PERSON to make it to the bathroom while having horrible diarrhea, but a dog, well, use your imagination. Our bedroom turned IN to her bathroom. (It doesn't give me high hopes about the future sale of our home by the way, but that's another post.)

A little background on Holly. She's 12 years old. We "inherited" her from my Grandfather after he died. She was his pride and joy, and Holly took wonderful care of him in his final days. She's very sweet and gentle and stays out of the kids' way. She's happy to be inside and goes out only to do her business and comes right back in. She's just not interested in walks or running or playing anymore. We used to try, but she would give us this look of, "yeah...you're freakin' crazy" anytime we'd invite her to go outside with us.

So, anyway, back to today. I broke down this morning and called the vet to set up a time to take her in. I wanted to go and stay with her while they checked her out, but with two little guys in tow, that made it pretty much impossible. Especially considering one guy is still crawling and the other was bound to climb the walls while we waited, not to mention my poor sick dog...half covered in POOP....they agreed to let me drop her off and check her out.

I got the call about an hour later that they needed to run some tests and do some x-rays. That was expected. I asked how MUCH said tests and x-rays would cost, and was informed that it would be around $200 (gulp). Well, we want her better, we don't want her to suffer, so, I okay the tests and x-rays.

This afternoon, I got another call from the vet. They have found several things going on with her. What I managed to get down on paper was this: she has kidney stones, her liver is very small, her bilirubin levels are up, and she's dehydrated. They ruled out that she was in any kind of "system failure", but her white/red blood cell count wouldn't even register on their machines, so they're sending off a sample to see what they can find. The vet wanted to keep her overnight (another $150) to do IV fluids and start her on a round of antibiotics.

Thinking of my Grandfather, of my little boys (who LOVE her dearly), and my "Doggie Mommy guilt", I okay this treatment. We should know tomorrow if she's on the mend, or if she is still sick.

So THIS is my dilema. When is enough, enough? Unfortunatley, we do not have medical insurance for our dog. I can just hear the cash register, "cha-ching, cha-ching" in my head every time I talk to the vet. I hate to sound heartless....but I just don't know if we have the $$$$$ to treat her. I love this dog. My kids love this dog. The thought of giving up on her kills me because I feel like my Grandfather is looking down on me shaking his head in disbelief at the mere notion of it.

I just don't know what to do. I'm afraid that we could pay all of this money (which we know is already at $350 if not more), and we'll turn around and it will be something else in a month or two.

Do I give up on her? Do we rack up innumerous bills trying to make her better for the next month or two, simply to have something else happen and add on to the bills?

She's 12 years old. She's had a good life.

I just don't know where to go from here. Poor little girl.

Where's the Ark???

So it's been raining. Raining HARD. ALL day long.

I really hate to knock it, but let me tell you just how MUCH it sucks to try and get two children in and out of the car in the pouring down rain. It. sucks. I also need to run to the grocery store, and I'm REALLY looking for a reason not to go. C'mon...you guys know how much I just love, love, LOVE, the grocery store.

Colin had school this morning and Landon and I had breakfast out. It was nice. It's kind of cool to be able to have some one on one time with my littlest fella every now and then. I can't get over how much of a flirt he is. I pretty much turn his high chair out to the restaurant and have to reach around to feed him because he is so engrossed in waving and grinning to each and every person that walks by. When Colin is with us, it's kind of sad, because everyone talks about how CUUUUUTE Landon is, and poor Colin is sitting there watching it all being ignored. I know people don't do it intentionally, but I can tell it hurts his feelings a little. I always try to make a comment to draw to him in the "admiration", sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

The rain is pretty much mirroring my mood today. BLAH.

Hubby and I are dealing with some "bumps" in the road right now. Nothing we can't make it through, but it sure sucks to be in the middle of it. He's just so damn busy. It's lonely enough being a SAHM, but when he gets so engrossed in work....I feel forgotten. We're also trying to get our house ready to sell, and the communication to make that happen is just...NOT. We've found our "dream home", but there's not a damn thing we can do to buy it unless our house is at least under contract. I guess that's bringing me down a bit too.

Wah, wah, wah. Just include me as one of the kids today, because I'm pretty much tired of being the Mommy.

Anyone wanna take over??

Gone Without Goodbye

I have been reading through the tributes to those lost on this day, five years ago, and my heart is breaking all over again. I feel this heaviness that is so difficult to put in to words. The enormity of what happened, and the countless lives that were lost are almost too much to bear, but we have no choice but to do so.

I want to thank those who have taken the time and energy to remember and write about everyone who was lost. I have been touched, and I know so many others have as well.

I, like many others, did not know anyone that was lost on 9/11. But I feel the pain of their loss regardless.

There is a song by Brian Litrell that I feel portrays what I, and so many others who may not have directly lost someone, feel. It says "it", so much better than I ever could.

Gone without goodbye
by Brian Littrell

Have you seen my son? Not too tall, five-eight

She held up a color copy photograph from his wedding day

This is his pregnant wife Carrying his last dream

He walked down 46 floors before he felt the rush

The rush of gasoline

I can feel the pain

Looking in their eyes

But I don't know gone without goodbye

If I could reach the sky I'd bring him right back to your arms

Though I haven't seen your son

He's forever in my life

Have you seen my little girl?

She's got curly black hair

She took this raggedy anne doll everywhere

Last I saw her over there

Then I heard a choir of screams

And a speeding van

I watched his tears pour down

A father's last attempt at being a rational man

I can feel the pain

Look into his eyes

But I don't know gone without goodbye

If I could reach the sky

I'd bring her right back to your arms

Though I haven't seen your girl

She's forever in my life

Have you seen my faith?

It can run and it can hide J

esus, mend this breaking heart of mine

It keeps our love alive

I can feel the pain

Look into my eyes

But I don't know gone without goodbye

If I could reach the sky

I'd try to turn the world around

So that we could see the face

And forever stay alive

Assembly Required

We finally received Landon's FIRST birthday present in the mail today. Poor little fella. His birthday was, what? A week and a half ago???

I was so excited to find the Radio Flyer box on the front porch when we returned home from lunch. Just look at it? Is that not the C -U-T-E-S-T little trike you have ever seen in your life? (Of course that baby isn't quite as cute as MY little fella!) I couldn't wait to see Landon ripping around the house on it.

In my excitement, I tore open the box (with Colin's help of course), grabbed hubby's tools and set to putting it together.

Oh. My. Gosh.

One hour and an aching back later, I have it together. Barely.

Is it really possible to insert screws into solid wood with just a turn of the wrist?? By the looks of their instructions, it is. There is a picture of a simple phillips head screwdriver in the list of tools that comes with the trike. They did NOT however, have a picture of a burly man HOLDING the screwdriver to let you know you needed MAN power to assemble it.

I'm waiting on Hubby to come home and tighten everything up.

I feel like such a girl.

I've been "linked" in an article/blog for the Orlando Sentinel!!

How funny!! My little blog.

Thanks...it feels like a compliment!

Of course it's terribly sad that as I linked to my post from the article, I discovered that I misspelled the word "Captain" in the title...hmmm....I think that I'll go fix that so that I don't look as stupid as I feel right now.

Check this out.

My "Missing Wiggle Theory" has been discovered!!! Of COURSE, that one is old news now. I've discovered the REAL reason that Greg has been unable to perform.


########Missing Wiggle Theory # 2:

Zardo Zap was invited to perform during the 2005/2006 tour.

A few weeks IN to the tour, Greg and Zardo realize that they are MADLY in love, but are terrified to reveal it to the world. They ran away in her spaceship late one night and returned to her planet to continue their secret love affair.

Murray, Jeff, and Anthony were determined NOT to let their fans down SOoooo, they recruited their friend Sam to fill in for the rest of the tour...secretly hoping that Greg will come to his senses and return home soon.

(***I just wanted to add that I DO know that Greg is not feeling well, and everyone in this household wishes him well and hopes that he is feeling better soon!!!***)

Reality Check

About 2 weeks ago (I think..I can hardly keep up with my days much less my weeks!), we went to the park to let Colin run out as much energy as possible. Both he and Landon LOVE, love, LOVE, to swing, so we started out there.

As I'm pushing them both, I notice a group of four boys running around the wooded area of the park. Two of them were older...probably 8 or 9, and the other two were younger. One about 7 and the other probably 4. As I watched, to my horror, I see them chasing a poor squirrel and randomly throwing rocks and sticks at it. Mind you...these were not small pebbles, but they were HUGE rocks! Almost too big for them to pick up in the first place! The sticks were as long as they were tall. Thank God the squirrel was really too fast for them and could climb higher than they could throw! They were VERY determined though, and chased and chased the entire time we were on the swings...at least 30 minutes. They were screaming as they ran, "GET IT!!! GET IT!!!" I guess I was pretty shocked at how violent they were. It kind of gave me a strange feeling in my "gut".

Their "mothers" were sitting at a picnic table and seemed to be sorting through football jerseys. As we walked over to the play equipment I heard them spouting about how the "other mothers" just didn't realize how much work went in to "this" (assuming they meant the "sorting of the jerseys") and they were just SO wonderful to offer their time and assistance to do it (vomit, gag). All the while, their boys are chasing this poor defenseless squirrel.

A little later, Colin was running around playing, and I had most of my focus on Landon as he toddled around some of the equipment. I heard the younger boy run over and tell his mother something and, as he started to run away, I heard my sweet, SWEET, little guy try to start a conversation with this kid ( Ahem....I'm being NICE when I say that). The child looked at Colin and yelled at the TOP of his voice, "WHO CARES ABOUT THE FREAKIN' THING ANYWAY!!!!????"

WHAT THE F*** DID YOU JUST SAY TO MY CHILD??? (See...it's okay for me to cuss...not others right?) Of course, I didn't say this out loud, but it's exactly what crossed my mind. That...."kid" was only about 10 feet away from his mother when he yelled at Colin, and she didn't say a word to him.

Now...this may not seem like a big deal to others, but it really bothered me. I do my best to teach my children respect and empathy for others, the correct way to treat people, and all in all, just how to be DECENT human beings. I do my best to correct rude and abnoxious behavior and make sure that they treat people exactly how THEY would like to be treated. In the course of trying to instill these values into my kids....I guess the thought never crossed my mind that there were parents out there, who really don't care about the same values that *I* do.

Hmmmmmm, there is my reality check.

When our children are young, we have this "circle of control" (at least we feel like we do right?) that really encompasses their entire being. They're too little to do for themselves, so we feed them, diaper them, dress them, and even decide WHO will care for them. As they get older, that circle gets smaller and smaller. This is just the course and even purpose of "growing up". They make more decisions about how far they will venture out, what they will do, and who they will talk and play with.

I WANT my kids to be self sufficent and happy adults. I WANT my kids to venture out in to the world, to dream and take chances based on those dreams...hoping that they will pay off in the end.

I also want my kids to be happy....to be loved....to be treated with the respect and dignity that I expect them to treat others with.

I guess that situation just made me realize that even though I can try my best to instill those values in them...I have NO control over how OTHER people are going to treat them. This world can be such a hard place to live. How do I teach them to deal with the hurt that they will encounter? I'M not good at dealing with dissapointment and hurt. It sucks! For now...the hardest thing they have to deal with is one of us saying, "no" to a toy or movie, or just something they might want to do....at least I thought it was anyway.

My "control" is diminishing.

My boys are growing up.

I'm sad.

I don't want them to ever be hurt.

I know that I can't control that.

Colin wasn't even bothered by what that stupid kid said. Maybe he's better at dealing with all of the crap that life can throw at us better than most adults, because I wanted to go kick his ASS!

Good for him.

Maybe he can teach me a few things.

Ouch...it hurts!

Whoa....Tom Cruise may have some pretty WHACKED out opinions on PPD and mental illness, but boy did he make one BEAUTIFUL child!!!

It makes my uterus and ovaries just ACHE to look at her!!

(I don't want a third child, I DON'T want a third child!) If I keep repeating it, will it make it go away??

Congratulations Becci and David!!!!

Their beautiful daughter Dorothy Grace arrived happy and healthy yesterday! YEEEEEAAAAHHHH!!!

Doing the happy dance for the happy family!!!

The Little Things

I. am. so. EXCITED!!!!!

I just got finished ordering my MARY JANE CROCS!!!! I really wanted to get the army green AND the black, but decided to go with just the black because we *are* going on vacation next week. I figured maybe we should put some funds aside for that purpose. Black goes with everything right?

I saw them on the Today show weeks ago, but couldn't find them anywhere. I just checked on line and they are now available...woo HOO!!!

Once again. I am amazed that the things that excite me. My life is so sad.

It's BAAAACON!!!

He's up, he's breathing (THANK GOD!), and he's eating!!!! Bacon, no less.

(*fingers crossed!*) He seems to be "fever free" too....let's hope it sticks!!

Long weekend let down

I LOVE long weekends, but I hate the way that I feel the day/week after. This one is especially brutal because of the sick kids. It's such a let down to have the whole family here and then Daddy has to go back to work. YUCK!!!!

Colin is still asleep (*hopefully* he'll be 1000 times better than he was yesterday) and Landon is up and around and as squealy as usual. I might ought to go make sure that Colin is breathing. I know that sounds crazy, but I'm halfway serious. Any other Mommies out there do that? I don't care if my kids are one or three...many times I put my hand on their chests *just* to make sure that I feel it rise and fall. I would call myself a little paranoid...in more than one area of my life.

I've got to get some food in Colin because I think he managed to go all day yesterday on 2 sips from a gogurt and "ice cold water", as he puts it. We have preschool open house tonight (which Colin will NOT be going to) and he's supposed to start school tomorrow. If he has a fever when he gets up, then that idea is shot too. I hate it for him, because he's been asking about school for more than two weeks now.

MMmmmmmm....this week HAS to get better than last week right?? This streak of bad luck can't last forever! Well, I guess if not, it's only four days of it right? At least I get to spend it with my boys. It could be a heck of a lot worse!

Sick household and other things

It was a "no party" weekend for us. Landon kept his fever up until early, early, Sunday morning. Thank GOODNESS I cancelled the party, because poor big brother spiked a fever about 4am this morning. I can only imagine spreading this to 8 other children. I don't think I would have been anyone's favorite mommy if I'd done that. Colin feels pretty yucky, but is handling it okay. Landon is back to his happy little self. I guess the good news is that whatever they caught, it's pretty short-lived.

The surprising news of the day is that the "Crocodile Hunter" has died! It almost feels like we've lost a member of the family. He has a daughter 8, and a son 3. It's just so sad for them.... It seems as if it was inevitable though. He took lots of crazy chances. That's one reason my Husband is a CPA....hopefully we'll keep him around for a LONG, long, time! Minus the stress and long hours at times, there aren't really any work hazards for him to deal with.

We have begun trying to purge all of our belongings in an effort to get our house ready to sell. It's amazing just how much CRAP you can acquire...especially when you have kids. It feels good though, so...OFF with the junk, HELLO new house!!! (hopefully soon!)

My question for you all is this...how the HECK do you keep a 3 year old and a one year old entertained AND the house clean and ready for a showing at any time?? I'm thinking it's pretty much impossible unless we just get rid of every toy we've ever owned and offer them a vaccum and a broom to play with.

I hate it when my "gut" is right, at least on these occasions

Well, I was right. We started off on the wrong foot, and the day has gone downhill from there.

Landon has come down with a fever (103.1) and the poor fella is looking and feeling HORRIBLE! What a crappy birthday present huh? We have a 4:30 Doctor's appointment to check his ears and see if it's the double ear infection he's been fighting for two weeks now. He's been on TWO antibiotics, and if it's still not cleared up, this will mean a shot of antibiotics for him ( I actually requested the shot last time we were in, but the Ped didn't go for it.)

On top of it all, Kelly just started another job and so we are "in between" insurance carriers. Lucky us this visit will be out of pocket just like the first one. Of course, we would pay anything to get our little man better, it just sucks having to deal with it.

I just can't stand seeing that sad little face. I hope he's better soon.

I don't even know if we'll be able to have his birthday party tomorrow.....UGH!!

On a happy note...thanks for saying hello Melissa!! It's nice to know you're stopping by! I check your blog regularly too. I hope you're feeling better and you get to enjoy a NICE relaxing weekend!!

Tap, tap, tap?? Anyone out there?

I may be flattering myself to think that anyone is reading....BUT, if you are.....PLEASE feel free to say hello!

Gracias, merci, THANKS!!

Starting off on the wrong foot?

Please, please, please, please, PLEASE....let this be a good day!!! It's Friday, it's a long weekend. I have 20 plus people coming to the house for a one year old's birthday party. Let's have a GOOD ONE!!!

We started off the morning with my Dear Husband leaving for work (late) and having the keys to my car WITH him. This was after having to pick it up from the mechanic last night. MY keys were conveniently locked INSIDE the car from said trip to the mechanic.

Needless to say, I have my keys now. I basicly told him that there would be nothing left of me if I were stuck in the house with two small children for 8 plus hours.

I guess he likes me. Thanks Babe.