Evil..thy name is FLU!

I don't have it, Youngest does. At least that's what I think. He's been having explosive diareah and some vomitting for about three days now, and he's not eating well. This also means he's not sleeping well, which means I am a big, grumpy, bear. Once you child starts sleeping through the night, you really don't want to go back to getting up at 3:00 AM to see what the problem is. He's actually not been himself for over a week now, and I am OVER IT already. Right before he got sick, I felt like I had myself put together. I was showering regularly, eating right, organized around the house...now I'm a mess. It's 11:15, I haven't showered, my kitchen is a mess, I'm eating Cheez-Itz from the box, and in general I feel like a slob. What I should do is get up at 5:45. I shouldn't give him a bottle and see if he'll go back to sleep. He never does. I should just give him a bottle and then take a shower, get some tea and organize my day. The problem with this is I am not a morning person. I hate the morning, I dispise the sun when it starts to come through the window and CURSE the birds when they start chirping (at least I will eventually when they come back).

Oh well, for now I will just let it all go. I'll continue to snack on my Cheez-Itz and have some water, put on a sports bra and go for my walk this afternoon. After that I will feel a lot better...and then I'll see the mess I still haven't cleaned!!!!

The Last Night!

Phew, I made it. Well, I've almost made it. I still have to get through one lonely night then tomorrow Rob will be home. The kids have been great, and we've had so much fun. I ran them ragged these past few days, and it shows. Tonight I sent Eldest upstairs to play while I cleaned the dishes. about 30 minutes went by and I went to check on him and found him asleep on the floor in our TV room. To cute. He's in his bed now (I need that room for watching TV!), and Youngest is talking to himself as I type this (a trait that runs in my family).

What do I plan to do on my last night? I'm going to put my laundry away, knit, and watch the newest episode of LOST. Sounds pretty exciting, right?

On a side note, I didn't make it to the gym once this week. I did workout on Monday (walked the parkway), but that's it...unless cleaning my house each night counts as "working out". I am hoping to go tomorrow, but I feel that I will be finishing this unending cleaning job so that the house if ready for Rob's return. I'll call it my "by week" from the gym, and this is the only one between now and my trip to Vegas!

Oh yeah!! My company logo is done. I love it and think my cousin did a great job! What do you think?

One night down, two more to go!

I made it through the first night of Rob's business trip! The kids did great, and surprisingly enough I had them up later than usual. You would think with it being only me they would have been in bed by 6:00, but last night Youngest went down at 7:00 and Eldest went down at 8:00. Eldest was playing very nicely and I didn't get dinner started until later than usual. Then I let him stay up until the dishes were done. He was so freakin' tired! He almost fell asleep while I read him a story. Youngest was no problem at all!

I stayed up and watched Biggest Loser. That show is getting feisty! I was glad the kicked Paul off though (sorry if you haven't watched yet!!). He did such a sucky job at home!! I couldn't believe how easily he went back to his old habits, knowing he nearly killed himself doing it before. I also couldn't believe the weightloss on the blue team. What did they do, have colonics while they were home? It seems unatural to me. I'm looking forward to next week when the brothers do something to make themselves cry. I'm figuring the older brother back stabs his younger brother to get ahead in the game. That guy is all about winning. He wouldn't even let his poor kid have a doughnut!

OK, back to cleaning...and finding the paint I need for the family room! Nothing like preping walls for paint (pulling screws, spackle, texturizing) and then realizing you're not sure you have the right paint to cover it all up!!!

This New "Mike" Character is No Hasselhoff

Yeah, I watched the premier "movie" for Knight Rider. I love the theme song...to the OLD SHOW. This new show screwed that up. The back story is lame, and really, did the original Knight Rider need a movie to give us some insight into the story behind the talking car? No way dude, because we didn't give a rip. All we saw was a sexy "Hoff" with an awesome Trans Am. The fact that the car talked was just gravy. I mean, "Michael" managed to take care of business WITHOUT a cell phone and in leather pants. Let's see new "Mike" try to do that!

I truly believe that most people watched this show because there wasn't anything else on TV and they were getting pretty tired of having to watch DIY and Degrassi (or is that just me?).

Rob's at GDC!

GDC (Game Developer's Conference) is one of the larger events held for video game developers during the year. This year Rob is going with some co-workers and he's pretty excited about being there. It reminds me of when I went to E3 in LA almost 2 years ago. It was just before the Wii launch and the Nintendo booth had a 3 hour wait to get in. It was so awesome, and I was quite the expert at Dragon Ball Z by the end of the three days! But I digress...

So, for the next four days it's just me and the boys. I'll be knitting and playing Rock Band each night without a care in the world. Yeah, it all sounds fun, but around 9:00 PM tonight I'll get lonley and I will end up staying up all night because every sound in this house will scare the pieces out of me.

Have fun Rob! Enjoy your time away, your own bed and quiet hotel room, and the open bar parties, but get home safely and soon! We'll miss you!

We're getting spoiled!

These past four days have been sunny and in the mid to upper 50s. I am SO ready for spring it's not EVEN funny. There's always that one weekend (this year it was this past weekend) in February where you see the light at the end of the tunnel we call Winter...then the rain, wind, and sometimes snow return for a few more weeks (well, actually months). Sometimes I wish we didn't have these little teasers because it makes going back to the gray skies so much harder, but they do lift the spirits and its so nice to have the back door open! Ahhh, fresh air!

Let the Sunshine In!

It has been sunny the past three days and it has been such a treat. Eldest has played outside for hours, and it has given me a glimpse of what our summer days will be like. I think I should just tarp off the floor in the kitchen! I also need to make some hard and fast rules about what can go outside. I don't mind him taking any of his toys outside, but I do mind him taking ALL his toys outside!! Yesterday I had to bring in all the trains he owns (and that is quite a few) and give about half a bath. New Rule...only bring out what you can carry in your bucket!

Today promises to be another great day. We're headed to my friend Melissa's for dinner and I'm looking forward to having burgers from the grill and playing outside with the kids. It isn't going to be hot, but the 50s is like summer compared to what we've been having!

Happy sunshiney day!

Big Steamy Pile of...

So the days here are getting longer and the sun is peaking out a little more often, which means Eldest is playing outside a few times a day and he is so happy about it. Each day he comes back inside covered in mud with a big grin on his face.


This morning Eldest was sent out to play and Rob and I watched through the windows while we got ready for the day. We saw him make big piles of dirt, set some trains up, and then pee in the yard. He's a boy, and at least he didn't go in his pants. A little later Rob looked out and saw a toy he didn't recognize. He went out to make sure the garage door was still closed and walked over to Eldest. He asked him if he needed to go potty and Eldest said "LOOK!" There on the ground wasn't a new toy, but a big pile of poop...a steaming pile. Eldest was so proud, and Rob decided to praise him for not going in his pants.


Don't worry, I'll be sure to tell the school that he's happily pees and poops outside now, so they can keep a close eye on him!

How to Look Good Naked

So, today I caught Oprah, which isn't something I normally watch, and yes, by watching I felt like I had finally been initiated into Sigma Alpha Eta Mu (Stay At Home Mom) sorority (ain't nothin' wrong with that). Anyway, My girl Oprah had Carson from "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" on there. He's the host of a new reality show on Lifetime called "How to Look Good Naked" and it's all about women finding their inner beauty and enjoying who they are, and not longing to be who they were.

Man, this show killed me! I LOVED IT! I felt like I needed to write into this new show. I decided to take a look in the mirror (with my clothes on...you'll understand that if you saw Oprah today), and thought, I really don't look half bad in these jeans, my hair is a nice color, I have good kids...and before I knew it, I didn't really see all those fat rolls and stretch marks (well to be fair my clothes were on), and it felt great!

If you need a pick me up, check out the show "How to Look Good Naked" on Lifetime. It comes on Friday nights at 9:00 PM.

Yet another inappropriate song for a 31 year old mom to love..

Yeah, you know you like it! I have the boots with the fur, I just need the jeans!!!

POOP!

Oh man, it's one of those days, no almost a week now, where I feel like I am covered in my son's feces! I'm SOOOO over this already. The boy has MAN size poops, and I think that scares him a bit, so he's taken to holding them in, which you can imagine creates a much bigger problem...a 'mother load' of a problem if you will.

I've been dealing with skid marks in his underwear for almost a week now. I've resorted to giving him a shower each time he does this, because it's hard to clean up and I won't wash him in the tub, because if I do that, he's just sitting in filthy water. He HATES showers and cries straight through the whole process. You would think it would have sunk in by now to NOT poop in his pants, but it hasn't. Each time I give him a shower he tells me through his tears how he doesn't want to poop in his pants anymore, and that he'll go on the potty next time...then next time comes and we go through it all over again.

Today it happened at a friend’s house...twice!! The first time it was a skid mark in his underwear. I had extra clothes, and changed him and talked to him about going on the potty. I figured he did this because he didn't know where the potty was and was to busy playing. he had lunch with his friend and continued to play. I went up to tell him it was time to leave and, as in past experiences, my nostrils were assaulted by his stink! This time he had finished the job...that mother load of a poop I mentioned earlier…in his pants. All I had to change him in were the clothes in his school bag: red jogging pants and a cream shirt. You couple that with his orange boots, blue jacket and Halo 2 hat and he looked pretty ridiculous, not that he cared.

The one good thing about how it all happened? At least he did this BEFORE school!

It's 8:45 AM, I am without my kids...why am I awake?

The title says it all.  I may be "wasting" precious little time I have to sleep without being interrupted, but let me tell you what, sitting here with the laptop on, well, my lap, coffee at my side, without a peep from anyone in this house is just as nice.  Ronnie and Mark just left for an art class and I'm here alone, and the silence is gold...especially after yesterday

You know all those days I've blogged about in the past where I say "today wasn't that great", or "This is one of those days where everything goes wrong"?  Yeah, yesterday takes the cake when it comes to days like that, and let me just tell you what this cake is made of:

2 cups of bull shit

3 tablespoons of rock salt (I'm starting to hate the snow)

4 teaspoons of whiney baby

a dash of tantrum infused toddler

all mixed together and baked at 45 degrees in the pouring down rain.  

And, to make this cake irresistable, it comes with an extra pound of body fat. 

Yep, yesterday was horrible.  In the end, the kids and I made it through and Rob sent me on my merry way to Portland.  Its actually sunny here this morning, and its amazing what seeing the sun (even for just a short time) can do to the spirit.  Yesterday is over, today is going to be great, life is good!  

Portland Rocks

After being behind every DB in the states of Washington and Oregon, made it to Portland and I am totally buzzing off the "chard" and am ready for bed. I can't deny that I miss Rock Band, but tomorrow's mini family reunion will make up for it. Will post soon...after I'm sober :)

Rock Band...it's official

I am now addicted to this game. Tonight my friend Sarah came over to hang out, and we busted the game out and ended up playing until...well just a few minutes ago and its about 10:30 (she got here at 7:30!). If I had been playing with Rob, we would still be rockin'. I swear, if I play this game much longer, I will actually start believing I can play the guitar. To bad the real thing isn't as easy as pushing a button.

But let's not be hastey,this game does require a bit of musical knowledge. The more musical ability you have, the better you are at the game, but that's not to say those with absolutly no rythym can't play it. They just need a little more help from those of us (like myself) who are musically inclined to get those five star ratings on songs like "Don't Fear the Reaper" and "Working Man". I'm not braggin' or nothin', I just speak the truth!

Alright, I'm going to practice some Weezer on "Hard" and then hit the sack! I have Reality waking me up around 6:30 tomorrow morning, and he's a cranky bitch in the AM!

Where does the time go?

I swear these past few weeks have flown by. Can you believe we're already in February...of 2008? What a big year this will be! Today is Super Tuesday and Fat Tuesday and we're sure to see a lot of news about both, but who has time to watch between cleaning, cooking, carting kids to school and back and going to the gym? Hopefully I won't have a screamer during dinner so I can get the days news (yeah, right!!).


In just a few short months my baby will be a year old! How did that happen? It stresses me out because I keep wondering if he's doing all the things he should be doing. I was working full time with Eldest, so Rob and I had a team helping us...this time its all on Rob and me!


Eldest will be 4 years old this year. I worry the same thing with him. Am I teaching him enough at home? Is life structured enough for him? should I make him do more art? Everytime the teachers at his school give me feedback, I worry that something must be wrong with him, and in turn with my parenting skills. yesterday the teacher was talking to me about how he doesn't play games the same way as other kids and seems to be easily distracted. At first I wasn't worried, then I thought to much about it and now I am wondering if he has ADHD, Autism, or something else that will require constant care and/or medication. I wonder what I did to cause it to happen.


Why does parenting need to be so stressful? Why can't it be as easy as setting up a train track, or putting their coat on to go outside to play? Eldest & Youngest are good kids, they're fun to play with, so why must I worry so much about everything? It is SO frustrating!

Carts & Jeans

Today I wore my newly tailored "7 for all mankind" jeans out in public. I decided they were to nice to wear with a sweatshirt and sneakers, so I took the time to pick a real outfit today (brown sweater with brown boots) and was feelin' pretty fly when I left the gym.

The kids and I were off to Target and Safeway to do our weekly shopping. I don't normally shop with both of them, but I wanted to get it done before the weekend, and they were in a cooperative mood. So, I get out of the car, pull my jeans up a bit, and walk with the boys to the store thinking "yeah, these are 7's, check it!"...then I realize everyone is wearing 7 jeans. Everywhere I look there's the signature back pocket design. I even see a few True Religions on the neighborhood mom and dad. Dang! Was I really this un-hip for so long? I used a gift certificate to buy my jeans because they're pretty dang expensive...where do these people get so much disposable income that they can afford these? huh, and here I thought I was special! Ha Ha! Well, I'm in the club now folks!

Now, onto the cart issue. We went to Safeway while the pharmacy at Target filled Youngest's script (he's on antibiotics for the first time!). I thought it would be great to get one of those "car carts" so that Eldest could ride in the car and Youngest could ride in the cart seat and the main bucket would be empty. Great idea right? Well, I walk into the store and there are two moms leaving each having this cart. One has a packed cart of groceries, the other has ONE measly bag...neither had two kids. I was thinking about which I would follow out so I could get this cart. I had a few things to buy and Eldest would be very uncomfy with all the stuff surrounding him. Well, wouldn't you know it, BOTH ladies decided to stop dead on the way out to study their receipts and BOTH ladies went back to the register to ask about it. I was thinking "FOR F___ SAKE!" I was tempted to ask the woman with one bag if she would just use a regular cart, but she didn't look to friendly, so I sucked it up and used the usual Safeway cart. Eldest did fine. I was smart enough to put the meat and eggs on the bottom of the cart, but I'm pretty sure the chips are crumbs.

On the Verge of Greatness...

Have you ever felt like you're on the verge of doing something great? Something that will get you recognition, make you some good money, or get you invited to cool parties?

I swear, for as long as I've lived, I've felt like I'm on the verge of doing something to get me to the next level. To become famous and respected and get an invite to the Oprah or Ellen Show. For instance, I've always wanted to write a book. I've started a few times, but haven't really had any good material for one. Then I started reading the books like The Devil Wears Prada, The Nanny Diaries, and Odd Mom Out, and I began to think, "If these women can make a crap load of money, and get thier books turned into movies, then I certainly can do the same. The books are full of fluff, but they're entertaining enough to keep you hooked to the end.

I've also gained a lot of material to write about since becoming a mom. Between the switch from working full time to staying home full time, the nasty things mom say about each other simply because they chose to formula feed instead of breast feed, and the difference between the "rich mom" and the "poor mom", I could write for days.

I'm getting pen and paper out right now! Don't worry, I won't let the fame go to my head...Oprah is just another middle aged woman trying to make a living anyway right? HA!