Friday, December 29, 2006

DumbAss

Yup – that word has been added to my 5yo’s vocabulary. Unfortunately the first time he used the term he used it correctly and Keith and I broke out laughing. Bad parents I know – but seriously it was pretty funny.

Another downside is that I’ve come to realize that I too use that word – much more often than I should. Even substituting Dumas for Dumbass doesn’t work anymore.

Luckily though S has only called Keith a dumbass – three times. First time he was just told not to do it, 2nd time he got time out, and the 3rd time he got timeout but was well warned that if he called anyone that again he would be getting timeout and a nice little reminder. At least the boy is picking up when to stop and lay low….it’s been a week and the only person calling Keith a DumbAss is myself (when the boys are out of ear-shot of course!).

Thursday, December 21, 2006

HAPPY HOLIDAYS! ! ! !

Wanted to wish everyone out there in cyber-ville a very merry Christmas and happy holidays to those who celebrate some other holiday.

Overall this has been a very stressful year. However, now that we're all getting into a comfortable routine and some things have been straightened out life has been easier. Unfortunately I'm a little behind in getting a few things done, but they will get done.....especially if I want to itemize my taxes!!

Everyone have a safe Holidays and I'll be back in full force at the first of the year.

Monday, November 27, 2006

Let's play catch! (Catch-up that is!)

Anyhoo - let's see:

1. I'm 12 wks pregnant - and yes the rents know. This will be number 4 in our household (#3 that I'll have given birth to). Yes, even after 3 boys I'd love to have another.....the thought of a girl scares the living sh-it outta me! The best part is that I have yet to gain a pound per my scale at home......I vow not to gain the 30lbs like I did with Tyler and Stephen.

2. Stephen's still doing great in school - we have about 1-3 bad days a month (usually when he's over-tired or not feeling well). He's becoming a pretty good big brother - even with the "Tyler/Raymond is bothering me" episodes.

3. Raymond has turned into the Terrible 3's monster. We get told "No" to absolutely everything. Better yet we hear "my arm/leg/etc is broken, you do it". Teach me to ask him the ol' "Is your arm/leg/etc broken? No? Then you can do it."

4. Tyler - he's an independent little cuss and a spitfire. He's now decided he needs to stand on the step stool when brushing teeth and refuses to let me help. Oh, and the tantrums are hysterical. Tell him "no" and we lay down on the floor and start crying and trying to be dramatic. (My mother of course thinks this is just down right funny as her curse has come true.)

5. Keith is really liking the stay-at-home-dad gig. However, I think he's a little worried about next Fall when I go back to work after maternity leave. He'll have an almost 6yo, a 2yo, and a 3mo old to watch after. Luckily Gma Sue is close if he needs a little sanity break.

6. Work - still swamped, but now I know I'll get some help as I gotta train someone to do my job while I'm out 11wks on maternity leave. However, I'm a little nervous as I'm afraid I'm going to have a lot of problems to clean-up.

Hmmm.....think that's about it. Questions?? Comments?? Anyone??

Thursday, November 02, 2006

Parent - Teacher Conference

Let me preface this post by stating that even though Stephen is on medication for ADHD, and we as the parental group have changed our behaviors I still believe we all have a lot of work to do. Especially since I'd love to get the boy on a lower dosage and if possible wean him completely off of the meds.

Anyhoo - week or so ago we had our Fall Parents-Teacher conference. All were in attendance (me, Keith, ex-H and his new wifey). Stephen's teacher and speech therapist had nothing but glowing and positive things to say about Stephen. In his IEP (Individual Education Plan) he has 5 goals - and he met one!!! This was the one I was most concerned about: sitting still for 10 minutes and following directions.

Needless to say I'm estatic that he's making such great progress. Now if he can just keep it up - keep your fingers crossed!

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

$90 worth of prescription butt cream

Yes, you read that right. Due to T's bacterial infection he developed some majorily bad diaper rash, and Desitin, et al weren't doing the trick. So, off on Sunday we goto the doctor. Doc prescribes the super duper diaper rash cream. Went to the pharmacy to get it filled and they only gave us a tablespoon of butt cream for $18. Of course as much as the boy was poopin' we had it refilled on Monday - same amount of cream for another $18. By this time we're going through the stuff pretty quickly so I finally call the docs office and ask for a larger quantity. Get that called into the pharmacy and my mom just happens to be in town so she volunteered to pick it up.........only to call me later. It was $50 f-ing dollars. I told her pay for it.....the boy's butt is all red and we're going to need it. Plus this shit is the bomb!!! His butt when from "OMG that's nasty" to "Hey that's looking sooo much better" in 36 hours.

Hmmm.......so mentally in my head $18 rounds up to $20, so $20 + $20 + $50 makes $90 we spent in 3 days for super duper diaper rash cream. Now the $50 co-pay on my insurance is for "controlled substances". In my mind I'm trying to figure out why a butt cream that had to be compounded and contains a steriod, antibacterial, and antifungal would be considered a controlled substance. Seriously - did my health insurance really think my almost 17mo old son could become addicted to his butt cream????? Can't you just see him grabing the cream and a diaper and begging to be changed even though he's not wet or poopie!!!

Anyhoo - called my insurance company and come to find out rather than listing each drug seperately the pharmacy gave this super duper diaper rash cream a name......a name that was not covered which meant it got a $50 co-pay. So now I'm off to fight and get almost all of my $$$$ back......per the gal on the phone "you shouldn't have paid more than $20 total for all 3 prescriptions". Joy.

Now I'm just waiting for the claim form.........luckily I'm anal and of course I have everything showing the 3 meds they used and my 3 receipts with the amount paid. Sometimes it comes in handy to be an anal retentive accounting geek. :)

Monday, October 23, 2006

Of sickness, cars, kids, and life

Hmmmm......what's been going on the last 3 or 4 weeks at our little abode

1. Stephen - some bronchial thing. Was sick for a few days, but got over it pretty quick.
2. Tyler - caught some nasty stomach bacteria that cause bloody diarhhea and the worst case of diaper rash I had ever seen. (Ended up having to use a prescription cream that was an antibacterial, antifungal, and steriod to clear it up.)
3. Stephen's birthday and party - of course a child came to the party sick and exposed all of us to Whooping Cough. (JOY!! Luckily the antibotic Tyler was on killed the crap he had and this so no one came down sick.)
4. Found out I'm pregnant - not sure when I'm due but we're guessing early June. Major OOOPS, but life goes on.
5. Traded ex-H his BMW for our minivan.....of course did this before I figured out I was pregnant. Now we're looking for a large SUV to replace not only the BMW, but Keith's truck. Need something large enough to not only haul 4 kids and 2 adulst comfortably but that call haul the trailer with the 4-wheelers in them, but isn't tooo old and doesn't cost much more than $7,000 (which is what we think we can sell the other two cars for).

Whew - think that's it. Oh, and if any family is reading this I'll kill you if you tell your parents about #4. We're waiting until my Oct 30 appointment before we say anything.

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Ahhhh.....reasons I'm thankful I only have sons

1. Not having to get creative with names for genatils - it's Penis and Balls (or nuts)
2. They fall down they get back up - only cry if seriously hurt
3. Can entertain themselves by wrestling in the living room for a good 45 minutes before someone gets hurt
4. Cars, bugs, superhero's and dinosaurs are much cheaper than Barbies, make-up, dress-up clothes, and that Disney Princess crap
5. No bathroom in sight - just drop trou and pee on a tree
6. Playing outside does not mean just swinging on the swing - it means getting dirty and having fun
7. I get to shape 3 young boys into great husbands (or wives) for someone someday

15mo old son with shoe fetish

How do I know this there are many reasons:
1. Lovingly walking around the house chewing on a Croc or two
2. Making sure he has a matching pair and putting them on his hands
3. Throwing them all outside when Daddy's not looking
4. Carrying them to unknown parts of the house to watch the adults go looking for them
5. Bringing the correct person their shoes - a suttle hint he wants you to go outside with him
AND
6. Mom getting to work this morning and noticing teeth marks on her sandles

At least it's not the usual twigs, dirt, leaves, or crumbs from his meal off the floor - see it could be worse.

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Being too good at what you do can be a curse

And for those of you with dirty minds - get your mind outta the gutter!! (However, I do appreciate finding a kindred spirit!)

Anyhoo - back in January 2006 I took on a new role/job here at dUMB Bank. Got a new boss, got a bigger desk, still kept my flexible hours as long as I put in 40 hrs a week, did lose my work from home one day a week and didn't get a raise, but I actually had a job to do and I knew I would like it.

After two months in my new job I found countless errors of overpayments and even some underpayments of incentives for one division (7 different plans). So, not only was I doing the monthly and quarterly incentive payments I was doing research and analysis. Then after 1st quarter my boss adds another division to my calculation list. Things are going okay - I have just enough to keep me busy as most of the problems from division #1 have been resolved.

Then for the 2nd quarter I get another division added - so now I'm up to 3. Division #2 has major problems that are taking all of my time. Division #1 has new problems popping up all over the place and Division #3 is just a problem in itself.

As you can see I'm slowly running out of time and my request for help the last couple of times I've meet with my boss have seemed to fallen on deaf ears. Now we do get a management rotation program peon - but that person will only be here 3 or 4 months at a time. So by the time I get someone caught up to speed I get to start over.

Here's where the title of my post comes into play. My boss thought we were going to need to hire someone full-time back in May, but since I was doing such a great job and got more accomplished than he expected he cancelled the request. Which now makes it difficult to get us anyone else. The word DUMBASS comes to mind.

Then the icing on the cake is that I need to work with our computer/programming geeks to get all of this automated. When the hell am I to find the time?!?!?! You see this was to be a temporary assignment until things were automated but that too has taken longer than expected.

So - doing my job well and getting recognition has come back to bite me in the ass big time. However, I know in the end I'll be looked down upon when things don't get done even though I did ask for help. I'm a smart woman and I know my limitations - and pretty soon (oh in about a week here) I'm going to drown.

Can someone send me a cute male life guard to do CPR please?!?!?!

Sunday, September 10, 2006

I'm waaaaay to comfortable with this!!!

Labor day weekend we went camping one night. Of course we went to a place that was geared towards riding 4-wheelers/ATV's. We used this as a practice run, and it didn't go to bad. Especially after we got Stephen on the little 70cc ATV. He absolutely loved it. He loved it so much we were able to use that as a bribe for him to not hit/kick/push or basically hurt anyone for this last week and it WORKED!!!

What's weird is that S's father is concerned and so are my parents that he'll get hurt. Which is true he can get hurt......but can't he get hurt just riding his bike or playing in the yard?? Plus I will admit I was a little nervous about letting him ride, but after watching him ride I just knew this was the right time and thing for him. Seriously, he watched to make sure he had enouch room when the other kids passed him. He knew to slow down at the corners. When other kids approached from behind he would look back while he kept the ATV on the little track. And after 30 minutes we has asking to go faster. I should mention that even though this thing has 4 gears and can go 30mph we can restrict the gas so it only goes so fast, plus we haven't taught him how to shift.

I'm assuming that all of the practice he had driving his power wheels dune buggy around The Farm, and all the rules of driving I and/or Keith drill into him when we go for walks have paid off. Plus he's not the fearless kind of kid........that is until he has mastered something and his comfort level is at high.

However, even knowing all of this I wonder if I'm being tooooo blase about all of this. Then again I was 7yo and riding a motorcycle (80cc) around the pastures at The Farm.......so isn't a 5yo on a ATV safer?? Everyone just agree with me or just agree I'm nuts!! :)

Saturday, September 09, 2006

Addictions suck!

Tyler, the cutest toddler currently on the face of this Earth, has a serious addiction: his Bottle. He never took to a pacifier.....but the Bottle is it's substitute and is just as addicting.

Lately we've really been working on getting him to put himself alseep, but he needs the comfort of Ba-Ba. Being the good parents that we are we do cave and give him Ba-Ba, but with water. Crying it out just don't work.......plus this was one of the downfalls of breastfeeding him.....he was a snacker and would only fall asleep at the boob.

We've tried getting him hooked on sippy cups - but that doesn't really work either. He doesn't want a sippy of his own....he wants his big brother's cup. Oh, and we've tried water, milk, and juice....it really doesn't matter he wants his brother's cup!!!

We really should just tough it out and give him sippy cups more.....but seriously is it really worth the aggrivation and added stress to our lives?? Will Tyler be scared for life if he keeps his Ba-Ba 3mos longer?? We've got a plan in place to slowly substitue Ba-Ba for a sippy so that maybe by the time he's 18mos old he'll be weaned from his Bottle addiction! I don't think so!

However, I do admit I dread the day we have to tell the boy that he can't take blankie to preschool. S and R already wonder why we (his parents and grandparents) call him Linus.

Friday, September 08, 2006

Benefits of small town livin'

I'm serious here - I'm not being sarcastic. When we lived in Lawrence I always felt clueless on how to get involved and how to get my children the services they needed. However, now that we're in Baldwin I just feel more connected to the city and the people there.

Here are examples of what I mean
1. When we were in Lawrence we knew who our neighbors where, but we did not KNOW them. Here in Baldwin I can tell you the names of everyone living around us, and if we or they need help we or they know that all you gotta do is ask.

2. Stephen's speech therapy: Lawrence Sch Dist was ready to dismiss him however I and others felt that was a little premature to be doing this. Had him evaluated through the Baldwin Sch Dist and not only did he qualify for speech therapy they got him enrolled in the school district sponsored preschool program. (It's grant funded!)

3. Stephen's tree nut allergy: OMG the Baldwin Sch Dist has been awesome. They had us fill out a ton of paper work, but in the end it was worth it. They make sure that all teachers, regardless of whether they actually come in contact with Stephen, know about his allergy and what to do. Not only that, but they sent a letter home to all the parents explaining in detail about the allergy and what not to bring to class for snacks. Then his teacher was very accomadating when I told her I had a box of tree nut free snacks for Stephen as a "just in case".

4. Stephen's behavior issues: Not only is his teachers willing to work with us, but so is the school. Heck his teacher is even having Stephen help her fill out daily reports. (Just basic reports on whether or not he had a good day or bad day.)

5. Developmental evaluations: Voiced my concern to our PAT (Parents-As-Teachers) gal that Tyler might be delayed in speech. She got us an evaluation with in a week.

6. The community: We don't have to really worry about anyone stealing anything from our yard (kids toys), and there's hardly and crime.


I know Keith would love to move closer to Raymond, but he's beginning to see why I don't want to leave. I know that if any of the kids would need any type of special services that these people will do what they can. Our kids are people - not just another number or file. I know he's presented the idea to his Ex-W that with him staying home with the boys that maybe their rolls should reverse: he have Ray during the week and she could have him every other weekend. Heck he even offered to continue to pay child support.

Oh well - guess only time will tell.

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

Stay-at-home-Dad Land

Well, Keith finally decided that since he can't find a job close to home that makes decent $$ he's going back to school. However, without him working we were in a finacial bind. Through my creative genious and some help from our family bank we were able to refinance our debt so that we're making a 40% less payment each month. So, he gets to stay home with the boys (S & T).

This is not a job to be taken lightly by any person - let alone a man. Personally I couldn't do it - hence the reason I'm working. By nature men are not quiet as nurturing as women - let me rephrase that men are not quiet as nuturing as mothers!

He's been at his new job for a few weeks now and him and the boys have settled into a nice routine. Helps that they don't get up until 7:30am, S goes to school at 11:50 and doesn't return until 3:30pm, and since S doesn't get a nap he's in bed between 7:30pm-8pm. He really does have it easy. However, since Keith can't start school until this spring he's trying to get a job working the evening shift so we can save some money.

There's an added benefit to all of this - with Stephen's current diagnoises of ADHD and ODD the boy could use some one-on-one and Keith is able to provide that as well as a schedule each day. I love coming home to happy kids, a clean house, and laundry that just needs to be put away. ;)

Thursday, August 31, 2006

Return of Snot Monster and Mr Pissy

For the last month or so we've had 100 degree weather everyday (give or take a few degrees). However, last weekend it started to cool down into the 80's which was heaven......until, Tyler started to have green snot running out his nose on Tuesday night. Of course that night he slept like shit and was up 5 or 6 times.....I lost count after a while. Last night was okay, up only twice but the second time was at 5am and he decided he was up for the day. Great - not only did I not get to work on time my ass is draggin even more.

However, it was nice this morning to introduce Tyler to the classic cartoons of Tom & Jerry while we grabed handfulls of Yogurt Cheerio's out of the box to munch on. He loved both, and after a while refused to let me get his Cheerio's out - he had to do that himself.

Oh well - Left Snot Monster doped up on PediaCare and Ibuprofen with Daddy this morning. Hope he gets a nap in before Mr Pissy makes an appearance - otherwise Daddy will be Mr Pissy tonight when I get home.

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Hey Y'all we got o'selves Hitched

Well, we finally took the plunge. Keith and I did the courthouse weddin' yesterday afternoon (August 29, 2006) followed by a cheap honeymoon at Buffalo Bob's BBQ and then to our house. Took S and T with us, unfortunately we couldn't find a day during the week that we'd have R. Believe it or not the ceremony just didn't feel complete without him there.

Haven't told my parental units yet. Not that I'm ashamed, just curious how long it'll take for someone at the courthouse who knows my dad to get the word out to them. I know I'm horrible and will probably spill the beans here shortly, but in all honesty the offical marriage was just a formality.

On a side note I'd like to do something a little more fancy in about 5 yrs or so - that way all 3 boys will be old enough to understand and take part.

Oh, and if anyone cares I'll be keeping my last name. It's just toooooo much of a hassel to change it all and all of Stephen's teachers, doctor's etc already think Keith and I are married and know we have different last names.

Per my teenager....er 5 yo I'm a DumbAss

Yup - walking out of Price Chopper (grocery store) I asked Stephen some innocent looking question, and his response was "Mom, don't be such a dumbass". I went through shock, then anger, then denial, then amusment, and finaly guilt. Guilt - yes, I'm famous for calling people a dumbass while in the car and of course I forget that the little sponges are in the back. The ironic thing is that the boy knows his mother pretty well 'cause she is a dumbass for saying that word in front of him.

At least he hasn't dropped the F-Bomb.....however, he'll probably do that around his father. :)

Saturday, August 26, 2006

Accidental Exposure - Incident #1

Well - now that Stephen is on a Tree Nut free diet I've made sure that everyone knows about his allergy, has tried the practice EpiPen at least once, has read the instructions on what to do, knows how to read a label, and know where his meds are.

Apparently that wasn't enough. Stephen was over at Gma Sue's today playing with his cousin Hailey. Poppie (my dad) was doing the good Gpa thing and took the kids with him when he went to go get coffee. Of course S and H just had to have a snack. And of course they picked out a brownie. And of course mom reads the package after he had ingested it once back at the farm. And of course the damn brownie not only had Tree Nuts - but WALNUTS in them.

Mom calls me in a slight panic. Told her 4 tsp of Zyrtec immediately and to watch for vomitting or breathing issues. She called an hour later and told me no reaction so far, but I did warn her that he may end up with diarreha. Good thing I sent an extra set of clothes.

Well - we all seemed to survive accidental exposure incident #1, but I really don't want to go through that again. However, it is nice to know that I can remain calm under pressure.

Oh, and Poppie got another quick lesson on learning to read labels, and Stephen was reminded that he needs to always ask if something has nuts in them.

Friday, August 25, 2006

Moo Moo & Woof Woof

Tyler - the cutest toddler currently on the face of Earth has entered into what I like to call the Parot stage of development. Within the last two weeks Tyler has picked-up on the following:
1. Woof Woof
2. Moo Moo
3. How to bang his head up and down - to music even
4. How to furrow his brow
5. How to take his shirt off (if at least one arm is already out)
6. Car noises - while driving them around

Never mind the fact that we've been working with him for over 4 mos to say the ellusive "Mama" and/or "Dada". Guess we should be grateful that he hasn't decided to just blurt out "Oh SHIT!"

Doctors, Medicines, and Test - Oh My!!

Well after countless sessions with the therapist, and everyone completing the "Connors Assesment" Stephen has been diagnoised with ODD (oppositional defiant disorder) and ADHD. He's now on Metadate. We started Wed, Aug 23rd at 10mg and began to see slight but noticeable changes in his ability to focus. Today, Tues Aug 29th we increased the dosage to 20mg. He's more somber and just looked sad overall before getting on the bus for school. I really think that 10mg wasn't strong enough, but that 20mg is too strong.

Then there's the behavior modification therapy. Basically we're to use timeout more.......okay, I don't get this. I know I (and I do mean I) need help in dealing with him as he's got it in his little mind that Mommy's a push over. I know it's us as the parental units that need the behavior modification rather than Stephen. Once our behavior is more appropriate in dealing with him then he should fall in line. Really the boy is only reacting to his environment and all the crap that he's gone through since birth.

Let's see:
  1. 15mo old - new daycare
  2. 18mo old - overnight stay in hospital
  3. 18mo - 3yo - sick and home with mom 2 dys every 2-3 weeks
  4. 20mo old - beginning of daily zyrtec
  5. 25mo old - speech therapy and we move
  6. 28mo old - start on flovent daily
  7. 2.5yo - mom and dad seperate, mom moves in with her parents
  8. 2.75yo - mom moves into apartment with another man, dad starts dating woman with own child
  9. 3yo - mom moves again & starts dating
  10. 3.25yo - dealing with step-sibling at mom's house
  11. 3.5yo - arrival of new baby brother
  12. 3.75yo - leave daycare and move again (mom), start new "school"
  13. 4yo - dad moves into another house with previously mentioned girlfriend
  14. 4.25yo - stop all asthma related meds.
  15. 4yo-4.5yo - at 3 different daycares due to his behavior issues
  16. 4.5yo - dad remarries, dad moves again

With all of that no wonder the boys has issues and problems. I honestly believe that once we get his ODD under control that there will really be no need for the ADHD medication. I think it's a by product of him being unhappy and ODD.

Oh well - overall I'm in a weird place in my life. Glad that Stephen's getting help, but I don't think it's enough help.

Saturday, August 05, 2006

Living with Snot Monster & Mr Pissy

The Snot Monster has arrived at our little abode. At first we thought he was just teething, but nope it's a full blown summer cold with an extra pinch of yellow/green snot thrown in. When he's not the Snot Monster he transforms into Mr Pissy. Mr Pissy is much worse than the Snot Monster - at least with the Snot Monster you can take care of him with a kleenex or two or three or a bulb syrenge or drugs (Tylenol Cold & Cough is our drug of choice at the moment). Unless you're too slow and then your shirt becomes the next best thing......should I mention that my shirt has dried snot all over it??? Anyhoo - Mr Pissy doesn't know what he wants. At first he wants to be held, then 3 seconds later that isn't good enough so he wants down, but on second thought I want to be held.......ad nausem, etc, yada yada......it goes on like this with everything.

I forgot to mention with Mr Pissy we get the added bonus of objects being flung across the room - either for his enjoyment or because well - he's pissed off about something. This usually isn't too bad, except when the missile being flung is a full 8oz bottle and it's headed for you and no matter what you do your foot is going to hurt. Guess I should mention that Mr Pissy can't decide on what toy to play with so of course he gets out everything. So rather than having your foot pelted with an 8oz bottle you'll usually end up steping on something - either way you as the Caring Loving Parent lose.

However, I think between the drugs, humidifier, warm baths before bed, a ton of cuddle time and of course love - Snot Monster is on his way out.......however, I think Mr Pissy might be around a little longer as he seems to be working on tooth #8. I'm hoping that's drool - either that or snot has found a new way out of his little body. Might explain my shirt though.....hmmm.......

Ahhhh.....the joys of parenthood.

Friday, August 04, 2006

EpiPen and life with a food allergy

A few weeks ago Stephen was at Grandma Sue's (my mother) playing for the day. As any good grandmother would - she had fresh chocolate cookies for the boy. However, this time she put in the fateful ingredient: English Walnuts.

Apparently Stephen had a few cookies and within a few minutes he vomitted. My mother just thought it was because he was jumping up and down as he was excited they were going to go get my niece. She told me about the incident and I agreed.

However, later that night at his dad's apparently he had more of the said cookies and vomitted again. (The good grandmother that she is made him a goody bag to take to Daddy's.) Leigh Ann called to tell me what had happened so I in turn called my mom.

After a few minutes of talking and confirming that everyone else ate the cookies with no ill affects my mom remembered that this time she put nuts in them. After talking some more I realized that Stephen has never had anything with tree nuts in them. Not that we avoided them on purpose - we just didn't think he'd eat anything with nuts in them.

So, on Wednesday (last day of my vacation) I took Stephen to the asthma/allergy doc. Yup - the boy tested positive for English & Black Walnuts as well as Pecans. All other tree nuts were negative and so was peanut butter. Basically he has a severe allergy to Black Walnuts and a mild allergy to English Walnuts and Pecans. I add this because if my mom had used Black Walnuts in those cookies Stephen's reaction could've been sooo much worse.

Now were the proud owners of 2 EpiPens as tree nut allergies are known to cause an anaphylatic reaction. Plus since he's has asthmatic issues in the past this will be the most likely reaction. Great - the boy is finally out growing his asthma and now I get to deal with this. The sad thing is that due to his age and severe lack of ingesting this food he will most likely never outgrow this allergy.

Off to inform everyone in Stephen's world about his allergy and what to do should he accidentally ingest them.

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

Well - we survived (part 3)

Sunday S and T were up early so I took them to eat b-fast in the lobby while Keith and R slept. By the time we got back it was 7:30am. Keith got up, but we let R sleep until 10am. Once again we headed back out to the reunion, and once again we made a b-line for the pool. At this point I feel it's necessary to mention that the boys are fine, but Keith's head and shoulders are sunburnt and well, so was my shoulders and back. Yup - we're a couple of dumbasses.

This time everyone got lathered up in sunscreen - see Keith and I aren't complete dumbasses. This time the boys were in life vests (our hosts had found some in their attic and they were the perfect size for S and R). R of course headed straight for the diving board, but it took S a little longer - but hey he did go and kept going.

Basically we stayed for lunch (leftovers - even crabs), and by late afternoon we were back at the hotel for naps. That evening some of Keith's relatives had a brilliant idea - they invited us to their house to stay Monday night. This of course was perfect for the following reasons:
1. Their house was about 45 minutes away from the airport compared to 1.5hrs.
2. They had a pool.
3. It was free and would save us $70

So, after we all went out to dinner with the afore mentioned relatives I got us packed so we could be ready to leave at 9am. By Monday morning I was a pro at the b-fast thing, and we were indeed ready and in the car by 9am.

By 10:30am we made it took the relatives house in Seabrook. Helped unload cars only to discover that the a/c wasn't kicking on. Tried flipping the breakers - didn't work. Keith and his dad (who don't know the area at all) decided to go off by themselves to find a hardware store to get a breaker tester. Never mind that we hadn't unloaded our crap from the minivan, but I'm left in hot ass house with 3 boys with no diapers and no swimsuits. They finally fumble around and make their way back by 11:30am.

After going to get lunch we hit the pool to await the much anticipated arrival of the repair man. I need to mention that we were back to the arm floaties for S & R and this time it didn't matter - both were fearless. Mainly due to the slide. We didn't have anything for T, but he still got to get some relief from the heat.

Here's the fun part of my tale: the compressor on the a/c was dead. The repair guy said they don't carry them and they would need to order one. Luckily for said relative the a/c was still under warrenty - but that did little to ease my misery. Keith, DumbAss, decided we could tough it out in the basement with a few fans and no a/c. What DumbAss failed to realize is that in Maryland it doesn't cool off at night like it does here in the midwest - it stays f-ing hot.

SO - not only was it hot and humid the boys were cranky, R's asthma was acting up, and S kept waking up. Eventually DumbAss at 1am decided we could goto a hotel - yup we got to pay $$ for a hotel that we only used for 3.5 hours. You see - we had to be up and on the road by 4:30am to catch our 7:30am flight home.

Getting to the airport was a breeze - the boys slept on the way there. It was security that sucked ass. This time we decided to not check the stroller immediately. Then apparently everything - and I mean everything had to go through the x-ray machine: from the kids stuffed animals and sippy cups to the f-ing stroller. It was ridiculous.

Anyhoo - we got to the gate and S/R were having fun watching the airplanes take off and T of course was wondering around. The boys did have a little issue with their ears last time and with R's asthma we gave S/R 1/2 tablet of Dramimene and then a little bit of benedryl. The meds plus the lack of sleep overall turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Before we even took off Raymond was out, Tyler fell asleep during take off, and Stephen was alseep shortly after take off. All 3 slept the whole way home - 3 hours.

We got smart about getting our selves packed and home. Ken and I and the kids waited for our luggage while Keith caught the shuttle to pick-up our car. (See I'd prepaid via the internet.) By the time we got our luggage and were getting it outside Keith pulled up. We were home by 10:45am cst.

The rest of the day was pretty good - especially when the boys, all 3 of them, fell asleep at 1pm and didn't wake until around 5:30pm. I was a little worried they wouldn't go to bed on time - but never fear they were all alseep by 9:30. Not bad - only an hour past bedtime.

Overall it was a good trip - and an experience none of us will forget.

Well - we survived (part 2)

Well - Friday I woke and went and got everyone breakfast. (The hotel offered free Continetal breakfast.) Little did I know that once we were all fed, dressed and loaded in the car that that is where we'd be for the next 2.5hrs. Yes - we drove all over Maryland for two reasons:
1. To visit an old friend of the family - we only stayed 10-15 minutes
2. To visit Keith's great-grandparents grave

Yes - these were places of interest to Keith, his dad, and his grandparents - but seriously, what 4, 2, and 1 yo care?? It also doesn't help that by the end of this little excursion S and R were restless and being down right horrible. They all did get a decent nap, albeit short, and we were ready for the "Meet and Greet" at 7pm.

That went okay, except Keith was sooooo busy socializing that he left me to deal with the 3 boys and by 9pm I'd had it. Not only was it hot, it was humid and I was the main buffet for the 'skeeters. Of course the boys were awful on the way home - they were hot, tired, and hungry (as S & R refused to eat any of the snacks provided.)

Saturday was MUCH better. I did the b-fast thing again and we were on our way to the "official" reunion by 10am. After lathering all 3 boys in sunscreen (notice I say nothing about myself or Keith) we all headed for the pool. The boys had a blast - even T. R & S only had floaties on (those stupid things on your arms). S wasn't as confident as R, but he still had fun. I feel I should mention that R is fearless when it comes to trying new activities - within 30 minutes of being at the pool R was going off the diving board. S, however was more cautious and was holding on to 3 noodles for dear life. T actually wasn't too sure about the water at first, but they had one of those divices that he could sit in. The best part was that he feel asleep in the pool. It took 4 of us to get him out without waking him. Try as I might he just wouldn't let anyone else hold him or sleep in the stroller. So Keith was on S/R duty and I was T's mattress.

I think around 1:30pm we ate lunch and the boys were eager to get back in the pool. I think we finally left around 3:30 to go back to the hotel to get a little nap. Everyone, but T and myself, got a nap. I didn't mind - I got to goto the Perryville outlet mall. Got myself 2 shirts and a skirt for $30, and got 5 pieces of clothing for the boys for $30 (3 shirts, 1 pair shorts, and 1 pair of overalls.) Oh, and I even did a load of laundry. We headed back out to the reunion location around 6pm.

Once again S/R/T were in the pool. Keith and I took turns watching the boys. However, I did get screwed - the DumbAss left me with all 3 boys while he went and ate crabs for about an hour. I'm still waiting for him to make it up to me. As you can imagine the boys were exhausted when we got back to the hotel around 9pm. Only problem was that R's asthma was acting up and it took 'til about midnight before we could get him doped up enough to get comfortable to sleep.

Continued once again..........

Well - we survived (part 1)

Well, last Wednesday night we had everything packed and loaded in the car, had our clothes laid out for the next morning and the alarm clock set for 5am. Yup - we were all up at 5am, dressed and loaded in the car by 5:20am.......all 6 of us. (Keith's dad stayed the night so he could catch a ride up to the airport since he was on our flight.)

Parked the van at the Parking Spot (www.theparkingspot.com) and caught the shuttle to the airport terminal. Our driver was kind enough to drop us off right at curb side check-in. It was great. All 3 bags, 3 carseats, and stroller were checked and ready to go. That left us with about 40 minutes before our 8:00am flight to Baltimore. Should mention that the parking spot was curtiousy of my work having at 20% discount - so we paid $45 for 5 days of covered parking - cheaper than long-term.

We made it through security without any issues, and got seated to wait for the announcement that we could board. The boys did pretty good - being brilliant that I am I had 2 sticker books already for Stephen & Raymond. They were engrossed in those until we were ready to board. Tyler we just let him walk every where - knowing that he'd have to be contained for the 2.5 hr flight.

Boarding wasn't too bad - except we had to goto the back to get 5 seats together. Keith, Raymond, and Ken (Keith's dad) sat in the row in front of myself, Tyler and Stephen. Some teenage girl was brave enough to sit next to us. About every 20-30 minutes we had to pass Tyler back and forth, and with about 45 minutes left of the flight the older two started getting antsy. Other than that they were actually pretty good. Should mention that Keith thought I was nuts to bring all the stuff I did for S and R to play with - but it worked to keep them occupied. T had a few toys as well - but he was more interested in checking out everyone. Also - the bag of treats I packed for them worked as well. Thanks to all my PIMs for the great suggestions.

By the time we got all of our luggage, got the rental car and made it to the hotel in Perryville MD it was around 1:30pm (aka 12:30 cst). We all got naps and then headed to find some relatives that were already here. We had a crabcake feast and the boys goto play and burn off some energy.

Overall it wasn't a bad day and all the boys were in bed asleep by 9:30pm. Will admit though that they were all hyped-up and excited so they were a little unrulely - but other than that they were pretty good.

To be continued..........

Friday, July 21, 2006

I'm finally in PANIC mode . . . . .

. . . .in regards to our trip next week. I'm surprised I've held it together as long as I have. However, now that I'm behind at work (damn shit that nobody thinks about and I get to clean-up) and we're leaving in less than a week the panic is slowly creeping to the front.

I will admit with Keith not working this last week has probably hendered the onset of my panic. You see he's been able to keep the dishes done, make dinner, and sorta keep up with the laundry. All I've been doing is get the boys ready in the morning, leave for work, work, come home, eat dinner, bed....and do it all over again the next day.

I know I owe him so that is why I haven't complained one bit about him going 45 minutes away tonight to race his ATV (4-wheeler). He won't be home until late - but I don't care. He deserves this. Hell, I even drove 45 minutes from work in the opposite direction of home to pick up his ATV so he'd have it for tonight. Some of you are thinking "SO?" - well after picking up said ATV that made my drive home at 2hrs so I did not arrive at our little abode until 8pm. Doesn't give me much time to spend with the kid(s) when they goto bed at 8:30pm.

Anyhoo - I just keep running through my mental list of shit that has, and I mean HAS, to be done before we can fly out of KCI Tuesday morning. Hopefully with Keith gone I can get the last of the laundry folded and then packed (why put it away when it's going to end up in a suitcase in two days anyway???). Then we have all weekend - both boys are at their other parents house and Stephen's with his dad until Tuesday. As long as Mr Needy (aka Tyler) cooperates I should be able to get a lot done.

Breathe deeply...........hell, just breathe. Before I know it I'll be chasing 3 kids around the airport at an ungodly hour of the morning and starting the first leg of our adventure.

Thursday, July 20, 2006

The fine art of LYING

At some point in our lives we learn to lie. Usually this is learned from other people and most likely occured by ripe old age of 4 - sometimes sooner.

Stephen, almost 5, didn't start lying to us until he was 3.5 almost 4yo. Okay, let me clarify we didn't notice he was lying until he was that age.....he could've started earlier but we just didn't catch him at it. With him it was blantent lying. We'd see him do something wrong, ask him about it and he'd of course deny doing whatever it was. Eventually he'd own up to the wrong doing, and now that he's older doesn't do it as often. As with all kids he still tries here and there - without success of course 'cause now we're on to him. Ultimately Stephen's goal with lying was to get out of trouble. (He's only once tried to blame something on someone else - that I'm aware of.)

Raymond, almost 3, just this last weekend was caught on several occasions lying. Not only was he trying to get himself out of trouble but he was telling lies to get Stephen or Tyler in trouble. Stephen was easy to deal with and after asking him what happend he'd tell us the truth. Raymond on the other hand would repeat the same story over and over again......however, with a little work at rephrasing the questions we were asking we'd get to the truth.

I admit - gotta give the boy credit for creativity, that and realizing Daddy's a sucker. Yup, Daddy I don't think wants to believe Raymond can do any wrong - none of us want to admit that about our children. However, Daddy's eyes were opened this last weekend and Raymond was not happy about the consequences of lying. But what goes for one child will apply to the others.

My only fear now is what will Tyler try and pull in the lying department on his "unsuspecting" parents??

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Damn personal life is interferring with my work!!

I don't think I've ever mentioned this before, but my paternal grandmother (only grandparent I have left) has been in and out of the hospital since around Easter. She's currently battling the following:
1. Kidney failure - only working at 20% and she refuses dialysis
2. Congestive heart failure - on pills for this
3. Diabetic - was on the pill, but now on shots
4. Bleeding ulcer - this is the latest

The old woman is 87 years old, and all of this is finally taking it's toll on her. She's been in the hospital since last Friday, however we (all 5 of us) didn't go and see her until last night. (Dad said she wasn't very "with it" on Friday and Saturday and by Sunday night looking/sounding better.) The boys did pretty good. The older two weren't really sure what to think, but they did give her a hug. We didn't stay long as the boys needed dinner.

Then there's our daycare provider. She's unexpectedly pregnant and has been having a hard time of it. She's took days off last week and she's off again today and probably tomorrow as she's concerned about they bleeding she's been having off and on. I really feel for her as I know this was totally unplanned pregnancy and it's hard enough coming to terms with having a 3rd child but to then to lose that child.........

Oh, then there's packing and making arraingments for our trip to Baltimore. Pretty sure we've got a plan of action - but we still need to figure out the stroller and carseats.

And above it all there's the guilt I have about not spending enough time with my boys. I haven't been getting home until 7pm or later and I'm going to have to work this coming weekend. I'm starting to feel the stress and if you ask Keith it's showing.

Just wish my personal life would stop interferring with work so that I can get my work done so I'm not drowing when I get back from vacation. Anyone want to trade lives for a few days??

Monday, July 17, 2006

110 heat index and how to entertain 3 kids

I really shouldn't complain. We've had decent weather most of the summer.....that is until this last weekend. By noon it was 94 each day.....and after that I stopped trying to care. However, when it's that hot it's hard to just go outside and let the boys burn off energy.

Saturday started out okay - we did the pool, sprinkler, and slip 'n slide thing in the morning. After lunch and naps we couldn't decide (make that DumbAss wouldn't make a decision) what to go and do. So we stuck it out inside ALL friggin' afternoon and evening. By the time it was bedtime I was in serious need of booze and drugs....for the kids, not me. Let's just say the rule about running through the house got thrown out the window about an hour after they were up from their naps. In all seriousness they all did play well together - even with me cleaning out their toys and organizing their rooms.

That night I told DumbAss, errr....Keith, we better have a plan for Sunday as I don't think I'd survive another Saturday. Sunday we slept in, made breakfast, had a light snack for lunch and then miraclously all 3 slept at the same time. By the time they were all awake is was almost 3pm. By 3:15 we were out the door and headed to Googols (www.googolsoffun.com). For 2 hours of energy burning fun the $15 was worth it. Oh and the $10 on tokens for the games. After that we headed to Cici's pizza for dinner. Got home around 7pm. By the time we got all the kids bathed and ready for bed it was 8pm. Watched a little TV and by 8:30 all were sound alseep in bed.

Those of you who don't know Keith don't understand what a cheap ass he is. I'm pretty sure this is why we didn't go anywhere on Saturday. Never mind I had a free family pass to the children's museum 30 minutes away - he just didn't want to spend the gas getting there. However, after Sunday I think he's realized that $15 is much cheaper than losing our sanity. Plus it's not like we do this every weekend.

Thursday, July 13, 2006

No more fear of public toilets

Yup - as a teenager and even in my 20's I did not really like to use public restrooms. Especially if I had to do more than just pee. As a mother I rarely use the bathroom alone at home - but at work I go when I want and by MYSELF!! I hate to admit this but I almost prefer to use the bathroom at work anymore. Yes, even to take a crap.

Now most fathers can still enjoy the bathroom by themselves. However, Keith has started to realize why I never get anything done quickly anymore. He's been home with Tyler the last two days and as almost all 13mos olds do - they follow the adult that's in charge, and yes even into the bathroom. Of course I'm just laughing when he calls to tell me this. Welcome to the world of motherhood.

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

He WALKS!!

Only someone with kids will understand the feelings I'm having at this moment. Tyler (at 13mos old) has finally decided he wants to walk. And walk he's been doing. All over the house in fact. He's been on the verge for the last month now.....but sometime between Saturday morning and yesterday evening he decided it was time that he choose walking as the preferred method of transporation over crawling.

I'm relieved as we won't have physical therapy, but also a little nervous.....he's now more likely to fall and get hurt. Yes I have two that are older and I've been through this before - but until he's 2yo or even 2.5yo they're still a toddler and in my mind's eye my baby.

Of course he's still unsteady - and you almost forget how cute they are when they first learn. So cautious, afraid, yet proud of their accomplishment.

Monday, July 10, 2006

The sweetest thing....

.....happened Sunday afternoon. Tyler was playing in Stephen's room and was dragging out anything and everything into the hallway. This included Stephen's baby doll. Yes, you read that correctly baby doll. Tyler of course goes hardly anywhere without his bottle.....while playing with Stephen's baby doll he proceeded to share his bottle with the doll. I kid you not. I couldn't believe how sweet it was that he was sharing - especially for only being 13mos old. Heck, the 5yo and 3yo hate to share sometimes. Even the adults in our house hate to share - especially our liquor.

Of course not only were the batteries dead in the digital camera, but my nice 35mm camera as well. So, during my drive home I'm stopping at Wally World or Target and buying some damn batteries!!!

Sunday, July 09, 2006

Sign me up for therapy now!!!

July 27th at 6am we'll be headed out the door to catch our 8:20am flight out of KCI to Baltimore. Yes we are flying with all 3 boys. God help me - okay, {insert name of good prescription drug} help me. Being the planner that I am I've already had to create a list of what we need to take just for the boys, what will be used as carry-ons, and what we're going to do for suitcases for all of us. Actually I've had to control the urge to start packing NOW!!! Yes, I'm nuts and by the end of this trip I WILL need serious mental help.

Then to top it off this trip is so we can attent Keith's family reunion. They've invited everyone they can who's related to his great-great-granparents (his grandmother's grandparents). I'm worried about how many little kids will be in attendence (under 6yo) - but Keith says I shouldn't worry about it. Easier said than done - if our 3 are the youngest it means that the "kids" activities will be geared towards older kids and they won't have anyone their age to play with but each other. And for anyone who's been on a family vacation with just your sibling to pal around with you all know the first few hours or day your fine, but after 5 days you're at each other's throats.

Not sure where this post is going - I guess right now I'd be happy to get the confirmation of the rental car with carseats and the hotel room. Off to start drinking!!!

Saturday, July 08, 2006

YEAH!!! Keith got a new job!!!

Induldge me here. Keith's prior job was a pretty good job, except:
1. Didn't know until the day before if he was working or not
2. Never knew what time he'd get off work
3. Had to work Mon-Fri and Saturdays.

If he was single or we had no kids this would be a great job as he got overtime out the ass. However, since we do have kids this left pick-up and drop-off at daycare all to me. Which menat I wasn't getting in a full 8 hours at work and bosshole actually kept track.

The new job starts Monday and hours are 6am-3pm, Monday through Friday. Which means I do drop-off and he can do pick-up. Plus it gives him about 2 hrs before daycare closes for the day to get stuff done so I can still have the perks of a house husband!!!

Only downside is that this is a temp to perm job which means no insurance benefits for at least 4mos. This is a problem as Keith is the one required to carry the health insurance on Raymond. Before anyone says anything - no we're not married so I can't add R to my health insurance.

Not sure what we're (okay he) going to do - his ex-bitch will complain even though she has health ins through her work. Guess we'll have to figure something out that won't cost us and arm, leg, & a kidney!

At Work on a SATURDAY

Yup - you read that correctly...........I'm here at work and it's a Saturday. Between the holiday on Tuesday and our e-mail and most of the network out of commission on Friday I'm behind.....especially if I want to go on vacation July 27th without worrying about my work.

I know it's work....don't worry about it. However, when you're the one responsible for calculating and paying over 300 people in 3 divisions their bonuses you hate to have it late or screw it up. Actually things are going much better and faster than they did last quarter-end - but now that I've said that some stupid problem is going to come up and just ruin my timeline.

I swear - if I'm here next Saturday I'm bringing a six pack with me!!!!

Oh well - to those who have the day off - ENJOY!!!

Monday, July 03, 2006

Reflections

Okay - I was thinking the other day of all of the things I have learned now that I'm a parent. I will admit that some of these things I may have figured out later in life.......but I doubt it, I'm not that smart. :)

Anyhoo here are just a few things I've discovered about myself and life:
1. What works for one child may or may not work for other children. Same could be said about co-workers.
2. If you're always in a hurry to get to the next step you'll miss out on the world going on around you. I was so anxious for Stephen to reach the next mile stone as an infant that I completely forgot to enjoy just the day to day activities.
3. The dirtier the child the more worn out and happier she/he'll be. Seriously - they're just clothes and soap/water will clean them up and the kid. Isn't the point of being a kid to have fun and enjoy life? What better way then to go outside and play and not worry about if mom/dad are going to be upset that your clothes are dirty?
4. Doing things because others like them - you might find out you actually enjoyed your self. This is true in adult to adult relationships and parent to child relationships. I've done many things I wasn't overly thrilled about for my ex-H and Keith - but in the end we had a pretty good time. Same for my kids - let the laundry or dishes wait, and go dig up some worms or go on a bug hunt. Not my favorite - but the smiles, looks of awe and giggles are all worth it.
5. Having kids does NOT mean you have to completely grow up. Seriously here - when playing with your kids (or nieces/nephews) let the little kid in you out. We all need a chance to unwind and/or relax - and letting your inner child out is a great way to to this. As an added bonus the kids you're playing with will think you're a GOD!!

Oh, I know I still have a lot to learn and luckily, as Keith tells me all the time, I have the patience to wait until I do.

Saturday, July 01, 2006

I'm sooo the guy in this relationship

Okay - when I was in HS I was told that women reach their sexual peak around 27-29. So, when I didn't get mine I was seriously pissed. Little did I know they LIED!!! Now that I'm 34 I've been horny for the last two years. I thought getting a younger man would be in my best interest. NOT!!!!

He wonders why I'm bitchy and always in a pissy mood.....hey DumbAss you walk around horny all day for days at a time and see how good of a mood you're in!!!!! And self pleasure just isn't as satisfying!!!

Seriously - he's turned into the girl (I'm tired, I'm just not in the mood, can't you take care of that yourself) and I have turned into a horny teenage guy (you wanna, come on, what about a quicky, that's it I'm getting a dildo bigger than you). Okay, not many horny teenage guys would go out an buy a dildo (unless they were bisexual or gay) but you get my point.

Guess there's not much I can really do about the situation - however, I figure on my way home I'll stop and get a little sex toy or two and buy the man a porn. Maybe THAT will get him in the mood.

Update to my week.....

......which did get better.

Thursday night was nice and relaxing. Got T again to bed at decent hour and he SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT!!!

Friday was okay - but knowing I would be at work Saturday I just couldn't muster any energy to get shit done. However, I did at least put together a couple of analysis pieces for a dept I'm soon to be working with. Only downside is one of the depts I work with decided at 4:30pm that I need to do a commission payment analysis on 6 people since 2003 - and it's due July 11th. WTF?!?!? I'm working on quarter-end and month-end commission payments for 9 departments (aka over 200 people). Luckily the other gal that supports this dept has volunteered to help out - basically I've got the data and she's got the time.

Dang!! I was hoping this would be a valid excuse to start drinking at work - oh, well

Anyhoo - hopefully today should be fun. I've been up since 5:15am and at work since 6:15am. I'm hoping my happy tired caffinated ass can leave no later than noon.

Oh, on a side note: the greatest man in the world graciously took care of Tyler this morning and went to pick-up Raymond for the weekend. Don't worry he's been paid with great sex and Red Lobster last night......if he's lucky (okay, if I'm lucky) he'll get more today - sex that is.

Thursday, June 29, 2006

My week of fun so far (NOT!)

This is my week so far......somedays being a parent sucks, but having cute kids does make it worth it.

Monday: Took Stephen to his 10:30 appointment to be evaulated for psych meds. Apparently none are needed, but now we're off to KU Med to get him appointments to be evaluated for Autism and ADD/ADHD. That night noticed Tyler was warm - gave him ibuprofen, and check his temp in 30 minutes. Hoovering around 100-101 - GREAT!

Tuesday: Tyler woke at 4:30am - still had a nice fever going even with Tylenol and ibuprofen in his system. During the debate on whether to take him to the ER he fell asleep - for only 20 minutes. So, at 7:20am we headed to the doctor's office. Got there - they couldn't see us until after 11am.....off to Prompt Care we go. Got in within 15 minutes. The boy had a double ear infection with a possible sinus infection. Then to the pharmacy. Got his prescription as well as more tylenol and ibuprofen. Headed home. Spent the rest of the day trying to get the little stinker to sleep or to eat or to drink - of course he wouldn't do any of those. He took a total of 1 hour in naps.....but it was broken up through the day in 3 little naps. The boy finally just crashed on the living room floor at 9:30pm. Kept waking about every 45 minutes until around 1:30am when he was out until 6am Wednesday.

Wednesday: Keith (the most wonderful man in the world) got Stephen ready for daycare and took care of Tyler while I passed out on the couch for another 2 hrs. I finally awoke around 8:30am and made it to work by 10am. However, Tyler decided he wanted to add puking to his list of aliments. He did at least get a good 2 hr nap while at daycare - but he was still running a fever and was getting some weird rash all over. So I get to leave work early to take him to the doc. They didn't do a damn thing - so we headed back home again. (Only major bonus was that Chipotle was near by so I got to feed my addiction!!) Thankfully Sperm Donor wanted Stephen early this week so it was just us 3. Which unfortunately was a great relief as I was beginning to feel guilty about ignoring Stephen as Tyler demanded sooo much attention. Actually got Tyler to bed at a decent hour - he only woke once and seemed perfectly fine this morning.

Thursday: Miss Stephen - know I shouldn't, but I still worry about him at his dad's. Anyhoo - actually left the house at 7:20 this morning but realized on the way to work had to get gas. Then there was some stupid slow down on I-35 and then near work 5 lines were down to 2.....so rather than getting to work around 8:15am I made it in a little after 9am. Guess it's a good thing I planned on working until 6pm tonight.

I'll admit - if my week doesn't start getting better I may begin drinking heavily.

Sunday, June 25, 2006

My House Husband

Keith quit his job over a week ago. I don't blame him....he never knew until the day before if he had to work and getting days off was almost impossible, and the health insurance cost was outrageous. So I fully supported him quiting and finding another job. This last week he was off was great. My house husband cleaned, did dishes, did laundry (which I had to fold and put away), and even took and picked up the boys from daycare. All the while he was submitting resumes and applications, and going on interviews. He's got a couple of job offers but the pay isn't quiet what he'd like but the hours are set and the job is what he wants.

However, I must confess with quarter-end and month-end coming up at work having a house husband around would've been a great stress relief. Too bad I can't get that $20,000/yr raise so that he could be a SAHD (Stay At Home Dad - for you non-accronym types).

Narcissus is alive and well at our house

Tyler, aka Narcissus, is in love with looking at himself in the mirrors around our little abode. The worst is at dinner time. We have a huge mirror on the wall in the kitchen next to where our kitchen table is located. I've discovered I must situate Tyler parallel to the mirror so that not only can he watch himself but so that he can see me and anyone else (Stephen and/or Raymond) not only in the mirror but in person. I've gotten pretty good a aiming the spoon at a moving target, and luckily Tyler's beginning to feed himself.

I guess I shouldn't complain too much.....the long mirror we had on the boy's bathroom door fell down the other day (luckily while no one was home) and Tyler has spent countless minutes playing in front of it now that we've propped it up against a wall. Yes this isn't really all that safe, but the smiles and giggles from the boy make it extremly hard to put the mirror back.

Figure we don't really need to do anything about this......that is until he starts to practice different looks in the mirror to use on his poor parental units.

Monday, June 19, 2006

LET ME EAT CAKE!!!!

We have before and during pics. He needed no encouragement and at one point was even licking the tray as the cake had been scooted too far away. (Hence the reason mommy is holding the cake in place.)

Keith's new bodyguard

Yesterday was Father's day as you all know. While Stephen was with his dad at the movies I got Raymond and Tyler to take a nap while Keith went out riding his new ATV/4-wheeler. DumbAss didn't drink any water while there, and had 2 or 3 beers when he got home. As you can guess his arms started to cramp. While he's laying on the floor over the a/c vent I start to pick on him. Raymond gets into it when Keith tells him to tell Stephanie to stop. You know what that little stinker did?? He hit me. My 6 foot plus 275lb man needs a little 4ft 35lb 3 year old to protect him!!!!

Oh, and to all of you parents out there - yes we did correct Raymond that he doesn't hit.

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

No, Stephen girls do not have a penis!!!

Okay - apparently I'm going to have to stop running around naked in front of Stephen. Last night Stephen asked to see my penis. Here's the exchange after his bath last night while we were drying him off and getting him in PJ's.

S: "Mommy when will I get my new boobies"
Me: "New boobies?"
S: "Big boobies"
Me: "Stephen only girls get big boobies because boy's have a penis."
S: "No - everyone has a penis"
Me: "Stephen only boys have a penis"
S: "Mommy can I see your penis"
Me: "Stephen mommy doesn't have a penis because I'm a girl. You are a boy so you have a penis"
S: "Where do you go pee?"
Me: "Girls have a vagina and sit to pee"
S: "Can I see your penis"
Me: "Stephen - GIRLS don't have a penis. Do we need to ask Keith?"
S: "Yes"
(at this point he's now dressed in PJ's and we walk out to the living room to ask Keith if girls have a penis)
Me: "Keith - Stephen has something to ask you. Go ahead Stephen"
S: "Keith - do girls have a penis?"
K: "No Stephen, girls don't have a penis"
Me to S: "Okay"
S: "Okay"

As you can imagine at this point Keith is just looking at me weird so I explain the whole situation. Yup - definitely time to not just run around naked in front of him any more.

At least I've escaped explaining my period to him for another month!!

Monday, June 12, 2006

Mother's of boys

I post semi-regularly on a bullentine board for working moms. One of the gals there is excitedly awaiting her 3rd child.....a boy after two girls. Now she has a step-son, but she wasn't around when he was an infant. This got me to thinking of all the things I've had to say or have heard only because I have a son. Trust me you might hear or say some of these things if you have a daughter....but I doubt it.

  1. S "Mommy I tuck a ticker on my penis"
  2. Me to S & T "Please stop playing with yourself I need to fasten your diaper"
  3. Me to S "Stephen we do not hang things from our penis"
  4. Me to S "No you may not touch Tyler's penis....you have your own to play with"
  5. S "Mommy I like my penis"
  6. Me to S "You only play with your penis at home....not in public"
  7. One night while working on giving all 3 a bath: R "My penis, Tywer penis, and Tephen penis"
  8. S to my niece Hailey "It's not a bunny Haiwey, it's a penis" (Yes my brother loved my son teaching his daughter the correct word.....seriously it's better than bunny!!)

There are many more.....but these were my favorites.

Friday, June 09, 2006

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY TYLER


Well, one year ago today I was anxiously trying to remain calm knowing that the next day we'd be headed to the hospital at 5:30am so I could get prepped and ready for your arrival. You weren't completely planned but definitely wanted, and I knew our lives would never be the same once you arrived.

Getting prepped for the c-section was easy - but the longest 2 hour wait of my life. Once I was ready in the operating room they brought in Daddy. Daddy held my hand until you were retrieved from your comfy little womb that had been your home for the last 9mos. You were beautiful.......even if you were completely covered in amnotic fluid and vernex....and you were mine. Once I knew you were okay I made Daddy go with you when they took you for your first bath. At this point they were putting everything back and it was the longest damn 45 minutes ever......I just wanted to get back to my room and snuggle with my new little peanut.

I was sooo nervous in the hospital about how I would get around not only with a nice incision that had to heal, but with dealing with my broken tailbone (arse). Somehow we managed, and by the time we were kicked out the hospital we were well acquainted. Now to introduce you to your new home. Once home it took us a little longer to get settled and into a routine.

Now that you will be a year old tomorrow I truly can't imagine my life without you in it. You've made me realize that I can love you and Stephen with all my heart, and yet love you each so differently. I love watching your personality emerge, your awe and wonder a new or interesting things, your unexpected fear of cats, your belief that Stephen's main purpose in life is to entertain you, your bordem when Stephen's at his dad's, the joy on your face when someone you know and love walks into a room, you're pouty little lip when you're told no, the look on your face when you've finally mastered something new, and especially the way you snuggle with me in the middle of the night.

Happy FIRST Birthday my little Peanut........and yes you'll always be my peanut.

Thursday, June 08, 2006

BITE ME!!!

Those not familiar with a "BITE ME" post will soon come to realize that it's a mini-vent about all the stupid stuff that just pisses one off.
  1. My ex-husband who can afford to go on a honeymoon, but yet bitches because he has to cough up an extra $100 a month for child support can BITE ME!!
  2. Co-workers who go behind my back and give documentation that is now mine to supervisors and screw me because I now don't know where said documentation is located can BITE ME!!!!
  3. Not getting a fucking raise for the last 3 years can fucking BITE ME!!!!
  4. Having to wait until Jan 2007 to get my bonus for cleaning all this incentive payment shit up at work can BITE ME!!!
  5. A boyfriend who thinks he needs his nuts rubbed every night can BITE ME!!!
  6. Not getting sex at least 4 times a week can BITE ME!!! (Hey, I'm 34 and in my prime - what do you expect?)
  7. The pile of laundry and dishes that need my attention can BITE ME!!!
  8. Keith's work hours can BITE ME, and BITE ME some more!!! (I shouldn't bitch too much - I mean he's no longer on nights, but still he doesn't get home until 7:30pm or later most nights.)

I thing that's enough bitchin' for now.......now off to see if I can convince Keith for some good lovin'!!!

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Hump Day Humor

I'm a huge Cary Grant fan, and love all of his movies......yes, even the cheesy horrible ones. While surfing at work I found the following website with a bunch of trivia about Cary Grant: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000026/bio Somewhere down the page was this little tid-bit:

One of his favorite poems was a bit of doggerel: "They bought me a box of tin soldiers,/I threw all the Generals away,/I smashed up the Sergents and Majors,/Now I play with my Privates all day."

With my warped sense of humor I find this extremly funny and knew there had to be more than his acting ability I liked about the man.

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

Things kids say.....

Most of the funny stuff I have from my kids is from Stephen....he's the oldest, around more, and unlike Tyler can talk. Here is what I've heard from Stephen sometime during the last 4 days.

"Mom I look cool don't I!!!" (Yeah, he's 4 going on 16.....great)

"Mommy stop talking so I can goto sleep, I'm tired" (Yes, he really did say this to me just tonight as I was tucking him into bed.)

"Mommy Tyler's trying to bite my bootie!!!!"

"Mom - I'm gettin' to big for my bed." (Yeah right - you sleep in a twin and you're only 4!!)

"Mommy you don't need to get bigger. I need to get bigger." (Thanks alot - however he wants to be "big" soo bad and I've convinced him that vitamins will make him big and strong. This was his way of telling me that I don't need vitamins to grow-up. Yes - this is what I tell myself to make me feel better.)

Monday, June 05, 2006

Aaahh, the woes of child support

Ex-H, better known as AssHole, finally has a steady job after being unemployed for over 2 years. Once he got hired on full-time at his "new" job I called the courts to have his child support modified because he's getting away with robbery only paying $325 a month. (Keith who makes $10,000 less than AssHole pays $410 a month.)

After the courts did what they needed it went up to approx. $450 a month.....still robbery, but it's better than $325. We were to goto court tomorrow to finalize this. However, AssHole wants to contest the amount as they didn't take into consideration his living expenses.

First off AssHole - ain't my fault you were unemployed for over two years and have bills out your ass. Second, live some place cheaper.....you don't need a 3br, 2 bath, 2 car garage house with a basement at $1000/mo. Third, have your whore get a damn job. Fourth and finally, you ain't gettin' more time with your son just so you can lower the amount you pay.

I have no sympathy left for the man - especially when I can't get him to pay the pennies he does for child support on time. He got himself into this money sinkhole now he can get his own damn self out!!!

Seriously - if it was legal to kill stupid people he would've been dead long before we ever got married.

Friday, June 02, 2006

You know it's going to be a good day when . . . .

. . . . it's Friday of a 4 day work week, you come in late, realize your boss is out not only today, but for the next two weeks and said boss has his e-mail set-up so that everyone gets an out of office message and NO WHERE am I mentioned as a person to contact!!!

Kinda puts me in an or-ner-y mood. . . . . so you might want to stay tuned.

The young are not as wise as they think

My ex-husband, Stephen's sperm donor, will be getting married on June 10th. Ex-H is 36 yo, while Leigh Ann is only 23, maybe 24. She has one son who is 3.5yo, never lived on her own even as a single mom, and her son spends 1/2 his time over at her parents house. Oh yeah, almost forgot - she's bi-polar, a hypochondriac, has to be the center of attention, and is pissing me off by forgetting that she's Stephen's STEP-mother, and not his actual mother. My favorite is that just because she WAS pre-med in college and HAS worked a in the medical field for 4 years she thinks she know EVERYTHING about EVERY medical condition known to man.

Now that you have a small understanding of the gal you'll understand when I say the young are not as wise as they think. The latest inccident involved our neighbors, who also happen to watch Stephen and Tyler during the day. Our neighbors had two kids of their own, girl 7 and boy 6. As you can guess the girl loves playing and helping with Tyler, and the boy and Stephen love to spend ALL day outside.

Yeserday afternoon Leigh Ann doesn't drop Stephen off over there until after 9am, and then picks him up around 4:30pm. Around this time I get call telling me that she wasn't sure what to do, but when she went to get Stephen she saw the older boy chasing him with a butter knife and acting like he wanted to stab him. I told her thanks for calling and I'll call Keith to let him know as he's picking up Tyler for me and I'll get back to her later that night. Well that apparently wasn't good enough as she drove back over 30 minutes over and started in on our neighbor.

Later on I discover that NO the boys were not given a knife, they found a knife and were digging for worms with it. When our neighbor saw LeighAnn coming down our alley way she went in side to get Stephen's stuff......and this is when the "knife" inccident occured. Apparently this got ALL blown out of porportions with Leigh Ann saying some pretty hateful things to our neighbor. Some of which included "I can't believe you'd give them a knife" "I had to tell Keith/Stephanie as I was worried what would happen to the baby" "Don't tell me what I did or did not see"......and on and on it went.

Those of us with more than one or even those of us with one who's in daycare know that you can not watch all of them every single second of the day, and eventually something stupid happens. The wise (seasoned mother's) know that kids will be kids, and boys will be boys. You do the best you can and you don't worry about them coming home covered in mud (as you know they've probably had the best time playing - and the kid and the clothes are both washable) but you do worry about the important things: are they sick, how did they get that big bruise on their shin, did they eat lunch, is your child getting along with the other kids at daycare/school, how are they doing in school, etc.

I'm not saying the boys having a knife was nothing to worry about - but when they find stuff under a porch where snakes and other creatures could be I count my blessings that they didn't find a snake. Now the young worry about everything, yet the wise have learned to worry about only what they have control of.......and most of realize that we don't have one iota of control it's just all an illusion to make us feel better.

Thursday, June 01, 2006

Nasatol is a serious disease!!!

Nasatol (no ass at all) by definition is a disease where a person has little to no ass.....in other words with out a belt or suspenders their pants would be around their ankles.

Keith suffers from this debilitating disease, and unfortunately so do Raymond and Tyler. (Apparently it's a dominant gene as most of my family has enough ass and hips to go around.)

Anyhoo - trying to find shorts/pants to fit Ray and Tyler is near impossible. Thank heaven someone developed rompers........as that is what Tyler will be living in this summer. I did buy 2 pair of size 9mo shorts for him (he'll be a year old June 10th)......but you guessed it they just slowly fall of his cute little baby butt. Oh, and finding diapers is annoying as well. You know I always wondered why Raymond's mom insisted on buying the name brand diapers....now I know, the generics just don't stay on a kid with Nasatol!! So far Pampers Premium seem to be doing the job......until I run out of coupons and then we may have to try Huggies Supreme. Anything with elastic will work.

Raymond at least is old enough for belts, and occasionally we'll put him in overalls. However, belts are very hard for an almost 3 yo to put on and take off.......especially when trying to goto the potty by oneself. Potty training in itself is hard enough, but when the child is afflected with Nasatol it makes it down right frustrating and near impossible. (As long as he's potty trained by kindergarden right?)

Oh - and then there's carseats and highchairs.....both boys just slide on down. We just switched Tyler to his big boy carseat and after one trip to the grocery store I noticed I had to do something. So, now I have a little rolled up towel to put under his butt....to help inhance his minuscule butt cheeks, and so he doesn't slide out of his seat. And luckily we have a highchair that not only has a lap belt, but shoulder straps as well.

I always thought it was bad trying to find clothes for Stephen and his chunky butt, but I'd take that over this any day. At least with Stephen I knew to buy shorts/pants and tops seperately and not as outfits. With Tyler and Raymond we still do the same thing......but there's the added concern on wether or not our children will be mooning people.

So, if you have an ass - even if it's a large ass - just be glad you have one and can sit without the fear of falling on your ass.

Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Interesting things Tyler finds to play with

While getting myself and the boys (Tyler and Stephen) ready this morning I noticed that Tyler loves to play with a lot of non-toy items around our little abode.

1. Cardboard tubes from toilet paper or paper towels.
2. Toilet paper
3. Paper towel
4. Used dryer sheets
5. Plastic eggs - still out from Easter
6. Anything his big brother has (yes it's started already)
7. Hangers
8. DVD boxes.....loves to slide these around the floor
9. The toilet (lid is down of course)
10. Dropping things into the bathtub
11. Daddy's socks.....clean or dirty.....actually he prefers dirty (yes, he only likes Daddy's socks.....mine nor anyone elses will do)
12. Shoe laces
13. Laundry basket turned upside down......he likes to pull himself up, and then push it around.....great way for him to practice walking
14. The dishwasher.......everytime we open it up he stops what he's doing and heads over to "help"
15. The mask to Raymond's and Stephen's nebulizer.

Yes he's weird.....but I find great comfort that at 11 1/2 mos old that he can entertain himself. I know some adults who can't even do that.

Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Ramblings from work on Monda....er Tuesday morning

Just some random thoughts I've had so far at work:
1. Sales people are not only ruthless in closing deals, they're ruthless in regards to each other as well.
2. My drive to work really does suck.......so why is when I get here I hate to get out the car? (Damn books on tape!!)
3. Speaking of work......ever have those moments that you love your job yet hate it at the sametime? I've been at that point for a few weeks now....but just realized it this morning.
4. Why has my 4yo.....almost 5yo.....started poopin' his pants again??? Seriously....it just started last week?
5. It's nice to see a large balance in one's checking account....yet disturbingly depressing at the same time knowing most the $$ is already gone to bills yet unpaid.

More to come!!

Sunday, May 28, 2006

NASCAR is worse than Football

I don't really mind watching either......but unlike Keith I'm not a zombie sitting in front of the TV. At least with football you know it will be over in 2-3 hours. With NASCAR it's a crap shoot. Depends on where they're racing and how long the race is.......and then there's the rain delays. That means a race can last as long as 6hrs or as short as 4hrs. (I shit you not....go look at TV Guide.com and just see the time frame they've blocked off.) I guess what really gets to me is that Keith considers this "spending quality time with the family". WTF!?!? Yes he's home, but he doesn't really interact with the kids (whichever ones are here at the time), and all I hear is "honey, can you make me x".

I'm hoping eventually I can get through to him that while NASCAR is important to him (actually watching Jeff Gordan win, and Tony Stewart lose) that spending time actually interacting with the kids and me is more important. Hell - we have two VCR's - tape the damn thing!!!

This must be love.....

.......for only love would cause me to go 30 miles to get Keith Chipotle. Yup, that's what I did for my man last night around 7pm. Well, that and I got him a six-pack of beer. Even after his f-up with the boxes of my "crap".

BTW - some of you might be thinking that I was way too nice. Not so. The man got up at 5am, we had some great sex, and then he got ready for work and was out the door by 6am. Then he worked all day in 90 degree weather and didn't get home until 9pm.

Okay - the actual truth is that I really wanted Chipotle. The man introduced me to this great place (http://www.chipotle.com/) and now I'm addicted.......especially to their corn salsa. So, by pretending to do something great and wonderful for my man I secrectly full-filled my desire and craving.

Saturday, May 27, 2006

Cast of Characters

Figured before I got too many posts on here I better lay out the cast of charcters and their nicknames:

Keith - love of my life, father to Tyler (ours) and Raymond (his)
Stephen - poopie bear, my son (4.5yo)
Raymond - Raymasaurous, Keith's son (2.5yo)
Tyler - Peanut, chunky monkey, the baby (1yo)
Tina - Keith's ex-bitch, Ray's mom
Casey - Stephen's sperm donor, my ex-husband
Leigh Ann - Stephen's step-mom, bi-polar control freak

I think that's it.........now on with the show

Proof that MEN don't listen

Almost a year ago we moved into a mobile home. It's very nice has 3br and 2 baths - but not a lot of storage. Keith, now known as DumbAss for the remainder of this post, decided that there wasn't enough room in our shed to store a lot of my "crap". He wanted to put it under the home. I said sure, but not the stuff in cardboard boxes. DumbAss - just heard "sure". You guessed it......everything in boxes, cardboard or plastice, went under the trailer. Now, part of this is my fault as I never go into the shed.....except for today. Innocently looking for the base to a carseat so that Tyler (aka baby, chunky monkey) can get out of the infant seat he's currently in. I notice that none of my boxes are in there......hmmm, maybe they're in the other shed. Nope, nada, nothing. Call DumbAss (he's working today) and he informs me that all my boxes of "crap" are under the home with the base to the carseat.

It took me about five minutes to get the skirting off the home to look under the home. Yes, everything is there, but ALL of the cardboard boxes are about to fall apart. DumbAss was wrong - they would not be safe from the water. I have two boxes of pictures that I hope are not completely ruined, and 3 boxes of clothes. I have yet to venture further under the home to see what else I've lost. Yes it's just "crap", but it was my crap and that crap has memories tied to it.....especially the pictures. Most of which are my oldest's baby pictures.

At least DumbAss in his infinite wisdom didn't get defensive after I called him crying, but instead told me to go buy plastic boxes and he'd help me go through all of my "crap" tonight and tomorrow if needed. Maybe he does deserve Chipolte for dinner after all.

Introduction

The title says it all. Anyhoo - been thinking about doing this for awhile now, and figured since the baby is sleeping I'd get this started. Let's see.....I have 3 kids - one of each: mine, his and ours. Mine is 4.5yo going on 5, His is 2.5yo going on 3, and OURS will be one in a few days. Oh, guess I should mention they're all BOYS. (Yes, I'm the minority around here - even our damn pets are male.) I live in some little po-dunk town in the midwest. I like it, but it's 45 miles from work - which sucks, but after 12 years of the drive I'm pretty imune to it.

Oh - I'll tell you all right now - my spelling and grammer suck. If you can't handle that then go read some other blog. :)

That's it for now.