Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Y'all Come Back Now...Ya Hear?

Yes, the title of my post is indicative of the fact that I have decided to become a Dolly Parton Impersonator....NOT! ;)

It's really because my Mom and Step-Dad moved to Texas yesterday...and that's what they say when people leave in Texas, right? Anywho, my step-dad grew up in a little town called Happy, TX...population 600-ish. Yes, as in 6 HUNDRED, not hundred thousand, just hundred. It is a good ol' boy hicktown where everybody knows your name, and it sounds pretty cute. I've never been there myself, but a few years ago, my mom and step-dad bought a house there for $5000, yes that's five THOUSAND, not fifty thousand, just five (hehe, sorry I'm on a roll with these dramatic explanations). And they thought they would retire there someday, once the veterinarian that my mom worked for in Fountain Hills retired and my step-dad got fed up with his job on the Ft. McDowell Indian Reservation...well, both of those things occurred in the last month. And we found out on Christmas Eve night that they were packing up all their stuff and moving to Texas on Monday morning because my mom got a job with the City of Amarillo (the closest "big city" to Happy) and she starts January 5th. I'm sort of sad, but we didn't really get to hang out with my mom that much anyway because she lived on the opposite side of town from us...isn't that sad? 35 miles is the OPPOSITE side of town and we couldn't go visit her more often...now that I look at it like that, I'm feeling pretty lame. But, I know they are going to be happy there...they can get out of the hustle & bustle of the Phoenix Metro area...they aren't really H&B people. My grandma is REALLY sad though because they live in Fountain Hills and my mom used to stop by and visit with them all the time, and now she won't be able to, and we only get out there about once every week or two. My grandparents have had their house on the market for about 2 years now, and no takers. I used to have a selfish feeling about it and didn't want them to move (they wanted to go back to Vegas), but now that my mom is gone and they are considering moving to Texas, I've been praying that their house sells quickly so that they can be happy, even if I won't get to see them as often.

So...that's my post for the day. I can't believe tomorrow is the last day of 2008. I have BIG plans for 2009, I'm hoping they all pan out. :)

Friday Fill-In....On Tuesday

1. I must completely change the world before I die.

2. You can't stop an 18-wheeler on a dime (thanks for the newsflash Randy Travis...just kidding, I love that song).

3. I wish I never had to buy tampons again.

4. Jesus has helped me change my life.

5. I know the song Cleaning Out My Closet by Eminem by heart.

6. If I weren't so afraid, I would ski with reckless abandon, but instead I'm pretty much the only person that can ski so slow I'm actually going uphill.

7. And as for the weekend, Friday we watched Step Brothers, I have no idea what we did on Saturday (I seriously can't remember), we went to church, took the kids to the park, and said good-bye to my mom and step-dad (who moved to Texas) on Sunday.

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Reflection Time

I have to say...even with it's little hiccups, 2008 has been pretty freakin' awesome.

Aaron and I got married on January 16th...no real "wedding" as I was about 2 weeks away from giving birth. We had been engaged since the August before, but for 'tax purposes' (my idea...lame, but whatever)...we held off until after the 1st of the year, so that we could both get our substantial tax refunds. hehe

Little Baby Pants was born on February 9th...she was due on the 5th, but made her debut on the 9th...fashionably late. We went riding on the quad a couple days before to get things moving...it worked. hehe. That whole experience could be a blog unto itself, but it was beautiful bringing another little creature into the world. February begins our slew of bdays...9th was Baby Pants, 13th was my Dad, 14th was my Grandpa and my BFF Gina.

During March, I was still on maternity leave enjoying the baby. I do have to admit I became somewhat of a hermit, and she and I were in my bedroom for most hours of the day. I think this was the first time I experienced some "Baby Blues". My little 'Cita turned 6 on March 30th! And we were only a couple months away from school being out for the summer.

In April, I went back to work part-time from home, as I tried to ease back into a work life away from the baby. That was pretty tough, much harder than having to do it with the older 3 girls...weaning from breastfeeding was harder too...don't know why, I was ready to jump off that train with the older 3 faster than you could say "bloody nipple" (sorry, gross I know). I turned 28 on the 22nd of April...oh 30, how you call out to me with promises of "got-it-together-ness" (here's hoping on that one). Oh and how can I forget, my SAM had surgery on my birthday at Phoenix Children's Hospital for her twisted ovary, very weird thing to happen to a 10 year old. My Mother-in-Law also had a bday in April on the 29th.

By May, I think I was back to working full-time, and on my way out of the Baby Blues...I had started exercising again, and was done breastfeeding...so I felt somewhat like "myself" again. The older girls finished up their school year, and they started hanging out with the two little girls at the babysitter's house. My step-dad and step-mom both have their bdays in May.

June, July and August are somewhat of a blur...there was swimming, boating, and off-roading involved. :) And my mom had her bday on 08/08/08 - cool huh? Oh yeah, in August we took our yearly trip to see my husband's grandma in Alamosa, CO. It's gorgeous there in the summer time...we see deer, go to the quaint downtown area, and spend time with Grandma Dean (this name boggled me, since her first name is Bertha and her last name isn't Dean...but after hearing the story, her middle name is Jean, and that was the name she went by, but she had a sibling that could not say "Jean"...so "Dean" stuck...for 80 years and counting...hehe). On the way back to Phoenix from Alamosa, we stopped in Pagosa Springs, CO to visit with one of my husband's high school friends whose parents have a GORGEOUS house on a lake there...my note to self is to have a summer home there one day. The next stop was Farmington, NM...where my husband's dad and most of his side of the family live. It was their first time meeting Baby Pants...it was really cute.

September my girls were back in school, 'Cita started 1st grade and SAM started 6th grade (her last year of elementary school...waaaah). We also took a day trip to Cottonwood and Jerome in September...the girls rode their quad and Aaron rode his dirtbike at an OHV park they have in Cottonwood, it was pretty fun! Then we drove up to Jerome and walked around and ate lunch, and played at a little park they had there.

October starts the next slew of birthdays...SAM turned 11 on the 28th, and my Nana had her 75th bday on Halloween! Of course we did the whole trick-or-treating thing, and ate buttloads of candy for a week.

The first week of November we went to Rocky Point, Mexico...it was my first time there, and BOY was it gorgeous. Can't wait to go back. It was also the week of my hubby' 28th birthday...and he got his first ever brand-new dirtbike which was AWESOME! Then on Nov 9th, SAM had to have the twisted ovary surgery AGAIN, this time they "tacked it down" with stitches...and I swear if it happens again, the girl is going to be in a medical journal or something. On Nov 14th, Monkey turned 4! We took her to the Phoenix Zoo with a friend for her bday present...and that trip occurred during the same time that Aaron's dad actually came to Phoenix for a visit (there's a blog about it down there somewhere, hehe). Thanksgiving was nice and calm...no major drama there.

And here we are in December...and the 23rd day! Crazy stuff...how did we get here so fast?? So, this month we had the dirtbike incident with my hubby...which made me miss my kids' Christmas play at church and a couple PhoenixMommies events (dang him for lacerating his liver!). But he's alive and I'm grateful for that...we both have jobs during a time of "economic turmoil"...all of our family members are well...I feel like I'm continuing to grow and evolve into a better person...and all is good in My So Called Life...at least for now. :)

And since this is probably going to be my last post until after Christmas, Merry Christmas everybody!! :)

Friday, December 19, 2008

Friday Fill-In

Thought it might be fun to do one of these too...but excuse me if they aren't very clever...my brain is kind of fried today

1. Said the night wind to the little lamb, be vewwy vewwy qwiet, I'm a'huntin wabbit.
2. The first Noel, the angel did say, How's it going Shepherd's, I got some stuff to tell ya.
3. Snowbirds, Over the hills and everywhere.
4. It came upon the midnight clear, That if I'm still up, there better be a good reason.
5. Let your Stocking Be Heavy, Let your heart be light.
6. And the thing that will make them ring is the carol that you sing, fa la la la la, la la la la?.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to Friday Night Dinner, tomorrow my plans include Playdate at Erica's, Dropping off 'Cita with her dad for Christmas break and Sunday, I want to have a day all to myself, but that's never gonna happen...but maybe I could get "part" of a day!

Week in Review

Has it really been 8 days since my last post? WTF? Where have the days been going? So, I decided since I've been really lame and lagging on my posts, this one is going to be my Week in Review. But FIRST, I am taking a cue from my friend over at Don't Touch The Cactus (can't think of how to do the linky thing right now, and really don't want to search to find out how like I had to last time)...and I need to give my children pseudo-names (get it, play on words...hehe pseudonym...ok, it was funny to me)...because it gets tiresome saying "My 4 year old", "My 11 year old", etc...

So here goes:

My 11 year old is SAM (these are her initials, I was going to use "Beana" because this was her nickname when she was a baby, but I don't think she'd appreciate being called that now)

My 6 year old is 'Cita (we added 'cita to the end of her name when she was a baby because she was being babysat by a hispanic lady, and it basically means "little")

My 4 year old is Monkey, just because that's what I call her most of the time

And the baby (10 months) will be Baby Pants...it was hard not to give her the name Sweet Girl, because that is truly what we call her most of the time, but Danielle already nicknamed her daughter that on her blog, and I don't want to confuse readers that read mine and hers. :)

Okay...and Now...for the WEEK IN REVIEW:

Monday - This was Monkey's first day at Pre-K at Tutor Time. She had been going to our wonderful day care provider who ran a licensed daycare out of her home, for just about 3 years now. But, she's getting to that age where she just needs a little more, and I was really going back and forth on making the decision, until my babysitter actually told me that she thought Monkey was getting bored, and that maybe a preschool program would be better for her. And I was already planning on putting her in Tutor Time for their Private Kindergarten next fall anyway, so I thought having her in the Pre-K program would get her ready. SAM went to Kindergarten at Tutor Time when we lived in California, and it was great...so we'll see how it goes.

Tuesday - I worked from home, don't think I got very much done. When SAM and 'Cita got home from school, we went and got their hair cut, and made our first trip ever to Savers! That place is AWESOME! I thought it was going to be all ghetto, but it really wasn't. I got SAM a nice pair of jeans for $2.99! The whole reason for going there was to pick up some Christmas ornaments for their Girl Scout party because they were having an ornament exchange, and I really didn't feel like braving Target that afternoon. Oh, and I did put together our Family Christmas Cards and addressed and stamped most of them. My husband is still procrastinating and hasn't gotten me the addresses to the family members that he wants to mail cards to. So, who knows if they will get them on time or not...most likely not.

Wednesday - Worked in the office, rushed home to get all the girls and get home for dinner so I could get SAM, 'Cita and Monkey to their mid-week program at church called AWANA. Came home, played with Baby Pants for a little while, then had to go back to the church to pick up the girls.

Thursday - Drove down to Tucson for a meeting with a client. It took 3 1/2 hours to get there due to an accident on the I10. YUCK! Was down there til about 3pm, and got home by 5pm which was great. Had to run to Target last night because of course SAM needed graham crackers, frosting and candies to decorate her gingerbread house at school today...'Cita was having a melt down because she didn't get to finish her gingerbread house at school (they made theirs out of brown paper bags and paper cut out decorations), but we didn't have glue so she couldn't finish it at home either...so I had to get glue at Target too. We also had to buy all of their Teachers Christmas Cards and Hot Cocoa packets, because I wanted to look like I "somewhat" have it together this year. Which brings us to...

Today (Friday) - Last night I was too tired to get miffed about this, but this morning boy did it get my panties in a bunch. So, last night I was looking through 'Cita's folder from school where they send home all their completed worksheets, etc. So, as I'm going through, it's your basic stuff, math, spelling, etc... Then I get to the packet that it looks like they were probably working on this week because it was the last week of school before Christmas...and I'm going to call it the "Holiday" packet. I'm thinking "Cool, they worked on holiday fun worksheets" (can you see where this is going?). Yeah, so as I'm turning the pages over, I see two worksheets related to Hannukah, two worksheets related to Kwanzaa, and then the rest of it is Santa, Rudolph, Snowmen, etc... Right, where the heck is the mention of Christmas??? NOWHERE TO BE FOUND! Now, let me tell ya, I do not get my panties in a bunch when people say "Happy Holidays" because it's sort of a blanket statement, and you can choose to appreciate it for whichever holiday you celebrate. However, I am NOT okay when a school decides it is OK to teach children about Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, and leave out Christmas. I am perfectly OK with my children learning about different religious traditions, I think it's great to learn about many things...but if you are going to teach about some...you better teach about all, or leave it all completely generalized and only do Snowmen, Candy Canes, Gingerbread Houses etc. OK...could you tell I got worked up about that one?? hehe. Now I'm stuck with debating on whether or not I make a stink and send letters to the school board, principal, etc. I'm not trying to be a bible bashing Christian, but I think it's only fair if you are going to include some holidays, you include all. Phew! Okay, end rant on that one.

And end post for the day. :) Have a great weekend!

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Unnamed

So, I sat here for like 2 minutes to think of a clever title for today's blog, and I thought to myself "That's way too long to be thinking of a title, so this one gets to be unnamed". But let me give you a few examples of what ran through my head:

1. That Damn Cat (as I was thinking of names, my fat kitty was outside my bedroom door meowing and scratching (with her non-claws) at my door) And I kid you not, she is doing it again right this second. ugh

2. Huh (that's the noise I make when I'm thinking really hard)

3. I Want Candy (that song popped into my head while I was thinking)

4. Dude (I say that a lot, so that's why I thought of it)

5. I Should Be Working (self-explanatory)

I wish I had 5 more, so I could be like Letterman's Top 10 list, but I only have 5...so sorry about that.

I need to get my carpets cleaned, send some baby clothes to my step-mom so she can give them to her friend's daughter, organize my sh*t for a yard sale, finish laundry, clean the house, get rid of all my left over Mary Kay inventory, make an appointment to get my roots done, take my kids to get their hair cut, work on some Functional Spec documents for work (ick), fill out my 4-year-old's enrollment packet for Tutor Time (she starts their Pre-K program on Monday)...and that's all I can think of right now. Didn't really mean to make a laundry list of all my to-do's, but that's what came to my head, so that's what you get at 10:25pm on a Wednesday...which I thought was a Thursday because this whole week has been jacked with my husband being in the hospital. I thought tonight was the PTA meeting because I was pretty sure it was Thursday, so I had even arranged for my MIL to come over and watch the girls...but when I picked them up from their after school program today, the little bulletin board said 12/11...and alas, today is only 12/10...so I had to call my MIL and explain to her what a dork I was and ask if she would please watch the girls tomorrow since that's when the actual PTA meeting is. duh

I need a massage in the worst way, my back and neck are a freakin' mess...maybe I can pencil that amongst all the other crap I have to do. Oh yeah, and add to the list that I need an oil change. OH!! And Christmas shopping! Gee that's a pretty big one. I actually have all the females in my family shopped for...it's just the guys now, and they should actually be pretty easy since dudes like just about whatever you get them. I always get some aftershave or cologne for my step-dad, and he always asks if I'm trying to give him hints that he stinks. hehe He doesn't stink. Aaron is getting underwear and some other practical stuff, since he got his big toy for his bday in November. My dad needs a straight jacket because he has been writing a computer program for real estate agents for about a month now, and when I talked to him yesterday he said he has been working at least 15 hours a day, and most recently pulled a 24 hour shift and only took a 3 hour nap after that. My dad is somewhat of a weirdo. And I'm getting my grandpa a book and maybe some cologne...I'm getting him the book "There are no atheists in foxholes"...I figure it's a book he can read while he's pooping and he might actually like the stories since he's an inactive Marine (he says you can't say 'ex-Marine' because once a Marine, always a Marine). My Father-in-Law will get some practical stuff too, cuz he won't buy new socks or underwear (or any type of clothing for that matter) for himself. I got him some warm flannel jammies and some socks last year...so it's probably time to change the oil in the undies this year. And then my MIL's husband will probably get something golf-related since that's his pasttime. And now you also know my laundry list of Christmas presents. Man...sorry about my lame post topics.

Alright, I really do need to work on that Functional Spec thingie I mentioned before. Have a great night!

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

10 Months Old Today

So, my littlest one in the crew is 10 months old today! YAY! It was a happy shining moment at a time when things are kinda sucky. I am truely grateful though, things could have been SO much worse with my husband's accident.

But anywho...back to my baby girl. As of today, she can pull up to standing and cruise around coffee tables, couches, etc...and push her little Dora ride-along toy around while she's walking behind it; she has 2 teeth (late teether); she says "Da Da", "Ma Ma", "Buh Buh Buh", and shrieks like a banshee sometimes; she waves Bye-Bye; she eats just about whatever you put in front of her; she likes to bite (mostly my jaw bone, ears and lips); she claps! (new development as of the past few days); she loves her older sisters; she still wakes up at 2:30am for a nighttime feeding (bleh...hey, her qualities can't ALL be cute and good...hehe); and she is starting to get big girl poop (had to throw a gross one in there too)

Keeping this one short, since my last one was really long and I actually SHOULD be catching up on some work right now since I haven't been in for the past two days. Nite!

Monday, December 8, 2008

Bleh

I'm tired...my husband is in the hospital due to a dirtbike accident he had yesterday, and I'm exhausted. But the poor guy is the one in the hospital bed, and can't sit up or get out of bed (not because he "can't", but because the doctor won't let him). He has damage to his liver...there was a bruise on it and then blood behind it, but he isn't "actively" bleeding according to the doctor. He was moved out of the ICU and onto a regular floor tonight, so that's a good thing. But he's going to be in the hospital for at least 4 more days for monitoring...I guess if he moves around too soon or does too much, he could rupture the spot that was bleeding and hemorrhage or whatever. That's a great thing to think about...especially since my husband will most likely NOT listen to doctor's orders as soon as he is released. This a guy who has skied (is that the past tense of ski?) with a broken tailbone, walked around with a broken ankle for several weeks before going to the doctor, and going to work the day after getting a concussion. SO...if they tell him he's supposed to "take it easy", we'll see how well that goes over. But I mean, this is totally serious...he could bleed to death internally if he messes up, ya know? And that's frustrating to know that your husband is going to try and get right back to his regular routine as soon as he is released from the hospital. Yesterday he was all "I'm sorry for being such an idiot" and today he's asking the doctor when he can lift weights again. Grrr.

I was supposed to go out of town for a business trip today, but I couldn't do that because of the hospital deal. My mother-in-law or my grandparents would have watched the kids, but I didn't want to be on the other side of the country if something happened to Aaron. We weren't sure what his treatment was going to be, and they said surgery was possible...so I didn't want to leave until I knew what was going to happen. This morning is when they told him they were probably not going to do surgery, but were going to have him under observation for 5 days. So, I just stayed with him at the hospital for most of the day...he slept a lot, which is good because your body heals when you are sleeping.

OH! And I forgot to mention one of the most awesome parts, that totally boosts my faith in people. The way everything happened was on Sunday, Aaron was going to go for a ride with his friends, and then be home by 3:30pm because our girls had a Christmas Play that started at 4pm. My grandparents got to my house at about 3:30 and we were waiting for Aaron to arrive...and it was about 3:45 and he still hadn't gotten to the house...so I said, "Well, let's just go, and we'll save him a seat". As we headed off to the church, I called his cell phone and left him a message letting him know where we would be sitting. As we get into the church parking lot, my cell phone rings, and it says it's Aaron's phone, but when I answer it, it's his friend who starts off his conversation with "Aaron's okay...but". That's never good. But he said he thought Aaron bumped his head pretty good and hurt his shoulder, and that his wife was going to take Aaron to the hospital. I didn't really know what to do, because all of my kids were already inside the church on the stage getting ready to perform. So, I told him I would go over there after the performance because my grandparents would have to watch the kids. He didn't make it sound very serious at first, and as I mentioned above, Aaron has injured himself pretty good before and he was OK. But, it kept bugging me as I was sitting watching the play, so I went outside and called Aaron's friend again and he said I should probably get there sooner rather than later. So now I'm freaking out a bit. I go the back of the church and ask one of the gals who watches my baby in the infant room on Sundays when the play is going to be over. She says she thinks it was going to be another 20 minutes, and she saw the look on my face and asked "Why?" And I said, "My husband is in the hospital, he was just in a dirtbike accident." And she reaches for my baby and says "Go"...and I said, "I can't" and she says "Why?" And I say "I've got all 4 of my kids here, and my grandparents are here." And she says "I'll have my husband take you to the hospital, and you leave the two little girls here with me and I'll work everything out with your grandparents to make sure the girls get home." So, I left her with the diaper bag and the keys to my car, and I took off with her husband who I had never met before in my life, and he drove me all the way to the hospital and was even going to stay there with me if I needed him to. And the lady from church got together with my grandparents after the play and let them know what was going on and everything worked out OK. I was just so humbled that someone I barely even knew would extend that sort of kindness to our family, and I felt really blessed to be a part of our church community. We've only been going to this church for about 7 months, and this isn't the first time that people have shown extreme kindness to our family, and for that I'm really grateful and I thank God for leading us to this church.

At the same time, like I said before, I'm exhausted and probably pretty stressed. And my kids are fighting non-stop...my 11 year old is the instigator most of the time and I don't know how to teach her to be the bigger person when her sisters piss her off. She has to resort to being their age, and it's really frustrating. And then of course she tries to blame them for her behavior...and I'm like "They are 6 and 4, you are 11"...but she doesn't seem to get the concept that she should behave in a way that is more mature than her younger sisters. Don't know what I'm going to do about that either...but it's not just her, it's all of them. And most people who grew up with siblings tell me that it's normal for them to fight like that, but it drives me freakin' insane! I just don't understand how they can have common courtesy for their friends and strangers, but treat each other like crap.

Anywho...I have to get everyone ready for bed now...that was a pretty long one, sorry about that. Hopefully you aren't sleeping by now.

Monday, December 1, 2008

December Already!!

It's 5:10pm and I should be leaving work to make sure I pick up the kids on time, but I haven't blogged...so this will be brief.

Thanksgiving was good...no major drama. Day after Thanksgiving I took the kiddos out to my grandparents and let the 3 older girls spend the night, so they could do Christmas decorating. Hubby and I watched "Flightplan" that night after the baby went to sleep. Saturday afternoon I picked up the girls, and we just came home and hung out for awhile. Saturday night I went out to Fountain Hills to hang out with my best girlfriends from school...my BFF lives in Germany now, so we only see each other about once a year. Sunday I sang at church, then came home, ate lunch and drove back out to Fountain Hills with all the kids to see my BFFs kids and her brothers' kids. In total, there were 11 kids at their house including my 4. Crazy stuff! But it was really fun. Sunday evening just had dinner at home, and got everyone ready for the week.

My daughter procrastinated on her science project, so I spent the last 20 minutes downloading Hurricane Summaries for the last 5 years...yay me.

Okay, gotta go now so I'm not late picking up the kiddos...