WARNING: This first part of my post is going to be kinda gross.
OK, you've been fairly warned. Does anyone else get pimples on the INSIDE of their nose that makes the outside of their nose hurt? I get a recurring pimple on the inside of my left nostril that hurts like a mo' fo'. I can tell when I'm about to get it because the outer tip of my left nostril begins to hurt. Then I go through about a week or so of trying to turn my nostril inside out so I can see said pimple and get a q-tip with hydrogen peroxide or alcohol or something on it so that it will dry up and go away. But until it does, the slightest brush of my nose sends really hurty signals to my brain.
PART TWO: Okay, if you skipped the above story, this one isn't gross.
I had to go to the post office today because I needed to ship some bags of baby clothes that I've had in the back of my SUV for probably a month now. I enlisted the help of a co-worker to help me carry them in (only to find they didn't have any boxes big enough for me to put the bags in...but that's another story). Anyway, after we got the bags out of the back, I went to close the door to my "trunk" (is it called a 'trunk' on an SUV??). And I don't know how the hell I did it, but I was somehow still standing UNDER the door...so when I tried to slam it down with incredible force...I slammed it right down on top of my head...so hard that it made me smash my bottom and top front teeth together. If my tongue would have been in the way, I'm pretty sure there would have been a chunk laying on the asphalt. Anywho...that also hurt like a mo' fo'...and I think I have a concussion now. OK, maybe I don't have a concussion...but it did make me a little more loopy than usual. I've now taken some ibuprofen and it feels a bit better...but geez louise.
PART THREE: Has nothing to do with parts 1 & 2
Our office got "piped in" music today...so when I got in to the office, I heard some Beyonce song. Since then I've heard, Shania Twain, Celine Dion, 'Brown Eyed Girl' (don't know who sings it), Rascal Flatts, Cyndi Lauper, Elton John (Circle of Life AND Benny & the Jets), One Republic, and a bunch of other stuff...and now Bette Midler is on singing Wind Beneath my Wings. I'm usually too lazy to turn the radio on in my office, so I work in silence...but having the constant music has been somewhat nice. If it gets to be too annoying, I can always close my door...but so far so good. :)
Friday, February 27, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Old People From Planet Weird
Okay...so my 11 year old came down with pink eye over the weekend. I stayed home with her on Monday and got her the antibiotic eye drops from the doctor. Then, she woke up on Tuesday with a sore throat...so I took her back to the doctor, they swabbed for strep and told us it was negative and that what she had was most likely viral. They gave us the whole "lotsa fluids, rest, yada yada" speech, and sent us on our merry way for $20 thank you very much.
Since I worked from home on Monday and Tuesday, and decided my bosses would probably not like it very much if I worked from home yet AGAIN today, I asked my grandparents if they would let Beana come to their house today. She shouldn't be contagious anymore, but it would give her another day to rest.
My grandparents live in Fountain Hills which is about a 30 mile drive from my house, so what we usually do when the kids are going to come over, is meet in the middle at a restaurant called the Village Inn (read: Old People Mecca). So, that is what we agreed to do this morning.
I get to the Village Inn, and I usually meet my grandpa in their side parking lot because it's less crowded than their main parking lot. But not this morning. This morning, there were about 3 dozen old people STANDING AROUND IN THE PARKING LOT. They were standing in parking spaces in clusters of 4 or 5 little old people...and they refused to move for my large, intimidating Ford SUV. So, I found a little pocket of spaces that was only being occupied by 2 little old people, and began to park. I mean, I had to park SOMEWHERE.
Those two little old people stared me down at first, and then moved to their right about 3 feet. I could not complete my parking job, because I would have ended up about 3 inches from their rear ends if I would have straightened out in the space. They knew this, but then continued to stare at me like "How dare you try and park in this clearly marked parking space that we were standing next to, and then proceed to park crooked!" Then the rest of the little clusters began to stare.
Beana and I sat in the car and waited for my grandpa to arrive. I told Beana, "If these people don't move for your Papa, he's going to get out and give them what for." But of course when he gets there, he parks on the opposite end of the lot. So, Beana and I get out of the car, and walk over to my grandpa's car...through all the little clusters that are still staring at us.
I get to his car, and he says, "Oh...I didn't even see you over there."
I say "Yeah, we had to park over there because all these people are just standing in the parking lot!" (I must admit, I said this quite loud enough for them to hear)
So, Beana gets in my grandpa's car and off they go. As I turn around to head back to my car, I'll be damned if 3 or 4 clusters didn't walk directly over to where my car was parked and STAND THERE!! I say as sweetly as I can "Okay, I'm going to back out now, and I don't want to bump anybody." The little old folks just sort of stare at me, and make some shuffling motions with their feet. I back out, as all eyes are still scrutinizing me for having the audacity to park in a parking lot...so, as I drive away (with my windows rolled down) say "This is a PARKING lot, not a STANDING lot" (under my breath, but no, not really).
I could not believe that had just occurred! It was the STRANGEST thing! Whenever I happen to be in someone's way, such as when I'm getting all my kids out of the car, and they are standing in the adjacent parking space...I do my best to let the driver know that I see them and that I'm trying to get my children out of the way as quickly as possible. And what was even stranger is that they were ALL oblivious...like stubborn cows that would not move. Normally, if someone is oblivious to the fact that someone is trying to get by, one of their friends will say "Oh, Mabel, someone is trying to get by." To which that person will usually perk up, as they realize they are in the way, and say something like "Oh I'm sorry" or "Excuse me" and will move!! But not these people...it was like they were from another planet or something. Or they were uber-territorial and thinking to themselves, "Doesn't this lady know that we congregate in the Village Inn parking lot on Wednesday mornings, and that we don't allow outsiders?"
Weird I tell you...very weird.
Since I worked from home on Monday and Tuesday, and decided my bosses would probably not like it very much if I worked from home yet AGAIN today, I asked my grandparents if they would let Beana come to their house today. She shouldn't be contagious anymore, but it would give her another day to rest.
My grandparents live in Fountain Hills which is about a 30 mile drive from my house, so what we usually do when the kids are going to come over, is meet in the middle at a restaurant called the Village Inn (read: Old People Mecca). So, that is what we agreed to do this morning.
I get to the Village Inn, and I usually meet my grandpa in their side parking lot because it's less crowded than their main parking lot. But not this morning. This morning, there were about 3 dozen old people STANDING AROUND IN THE PARKING LOT. They were standing in parking spaces in clusters of 4 or 5 little old people...and they refused to move for my large, intimidating Ford SUV. So, I found a little pocket of spaces that was only being occupied by 2 little old people, and began to park. I mean, I had to park SOMEWHERE.
Those two little old people stared me down at first, and then moved to their right about 3 feet. I could not complete my parking job, because I would have ended up about 3 inches from their rear ends if I would have straightened out in the space. They knew this, but then continued to stare at me like "How dare you try and park in this clearly marked parking space that we were standing next to, and then proceed to park crooked!" Then the rest of the little clusters began to stare.
Beana and I sat in the car and waited for my grandpa to arrive. I told Beana, "If these people don't move for your Papa, he's going to get out and give them what for." But of course when he gets there, he parks on the opposite end of the lot. So, Beana and I get out of the car, and walk over to my grandpa's car...through all the little clusters that are still staring at us.
I get to his car, and he says, "Oh...I didn't even see you over there."
I say "Yeah, we had to park over there because all these people are just standing in the parking lot!" (I must admit, I said this quite loud enough for them to hear)
So, Beana gets in my grandpa's car and off they go. As I turn around to head back to my car, I'll be damned if 3 or 4 clusters didn't walk directly over to where my car was parked and STAND THERE!! I say as sweetly as I can "Okay, I'm going to back out now, and I don't want to bump anybody." The little old folks just sort of stare at me, and make some shuffling motions with their feet. I back out, as all eyes are still scrutinizing me for having the audacity to park in a parking lot...so, as I drive away (with my windows rolled down) say "This is a PARKING lot, not a STANDING lot" (under my breath, but no, not really).
I could not believe that had just occurred! It was the STRANGEST thing! Whenever I happen to be in someone's way, such as when I'm getting all my kids out of the car, and they are standing in the adjacent parking space...I do my best to let the driver know that I see them and that I'm trying to get my children out of the way as quickly as possible. And what was even stranger is that they were ALL oblivious...like stubborn cows that would not move. Normally, if someone is oblivious to the fact that someone is trying to get by, one of their friends will say "Oh, Mabel, someone is trying to get by." To which that person will usually perk up, as they realize they are in the way, and say something like "Oh I'm sorry" or "Excuse me" and will move!! But not these people...it was like they were from another planet or something. Or they were uber-territorial and thinking to themselves, "Doesn't this lady know that we congregate in the Village Inn parking lot on Wednesday mornings, and that we don't allow outsiders?"
Weird I tell you...very weird.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
PROMPTuesday #44: Pastiche
Write a character sketch of someone you love (child, partner, pet, mentor, etc.). Detail this person, let us see him or her through your description. Maybe you want to “show” your loved one through action and movement, or perhaps you are viewing him or her in repose. Either way, get down to brass tacks and give us the one you love through your writing.
First...let me just say I had to Google the word "pastiche" to see what the heck it meant. According to wikipedia, here's the brief definition: "The word pastiche describes a literary or other artistic genre. The word has two competing meanings, meaning either a "hodge-podge" or an imitation" OK, I feel smarter now.
Off we go...someone I love huh...I have lots of someones that I love...how do I choose just one? So that I don't offend any "humans", I'm going to write about our Cat family.
I bought a kitten for my oldest daughter about 8 years ago, we named her Nala. My daughter wanted to name her Simba (but that was the boy lion from the 'Lion King' movie, so she had to be the girl lion). She was, and still is, a very particular cat about who she snuggles up to. She pretty much just likes me and my oldest...but she will approach other people for petting sometimes, but turns on them pretty quickly when she's had enough. She has mellowed a LOT since we got her spayed.
Then, my mom, who worked as a Vet Tech in a local veterinarian's office said that a stray cat was brought in, and had been there for several weeks and hadn't been claimed. So, we went to look at her...and she was SO cute, and tiny, and needy. So, we took her home. And she proceeded to follow us everywhere we went...when I slept, she had to sleep right next to me with a paw or some part of her body touching me at all times. We named her 'Shadow' because that's what she was...our little shadow following us all the time. She and Nala did NOT get along for about a month, they could barely be in the same room together...but they're buds now.
Then, we moved to our new house, and it was just Nala and Shadow for the first year and a half. But when I was pregnant with our youngest, a cat appeared on our back doorstep. We thought the cat was a boy, and since he looked like a bobcat, we dubbed him 'Bob'. We told ourselves we would never let 'Bob' in the house...but then it started getting cold outside, so we started letting him in (we are such suckers) But he still wanted to be an outside cat, so he would run around during the day and then come back at night for food and shelter. He was declawed in the front, so he had been someone's pet before...apparently a "drop off" in the neighborhood...which I had never heard of before until we lived in this area. People have told us that sometimes if people move, and they can't take their cats with them, they just go to an established neighborhood and drop the cat off, hoping that someone will take care of them. We think this was the case with Bob. But, upon further inspection, we determined that Bob was actually a girl...so, Bob is now short for Bobbie Jo (we pretty much just call her 'Bobber' though).
Okay...so, a few months after Bob showed up, another little cat showed up on the back porch. She was a small, black and white kitty...who looked very malnourished. We think she showed up because we were feeding Bob in the backyard and she probably smelled the food. We named her 'Teeny Kitty'. One day, Teeny Kitty was laying on our table on the back porch, and I noticed her belly area looked a little swollen...and I said, "She must have had kittens at some point because her little boobs are kinda swollen", but we never saw any kittens. Teeny Kitty hung out at our house at night to get her food, and then she would disappear during the day, somewhat like Bob. We had our youngest baby by that time, and when she was a couple months old, Aaron went out to the living room to feed the cats while I was in the bedroom with the baby. And all of a sudden I hear, "Oh my God!"...at first I got a freaked out feeling, and I yelled "What?!"...but a few minutes later, Aaron brings in the cutest, tiniest, little kitten in the whole wide world, that looks JUST like Teeny Kitty! Ah ha! She DID have a kitten! She was SO cute...she already had her eyes open and was walking around, but she was still nursing. We named her 'Teeny TINY Kitty' because she looked just like her mama.
Teeny Kitty and Teeny Tiny Kitty hung out on our back porch for that day, and then the next morning the kitten was gone. But Teeny Kitty still showed up for her food. Then, a couple hours later, Teeny Kitty came back with ANOTHER kitten. This one was mostly white, with black spots...kind of like a cow, so we named her 'Moo Moo'. Again, Teeny Kitty let Moo Moo hang out for the day, and then the next morning the kitten was gone. That day, Teeny Kitty brought ANOTHER kitten to our back porch...this one looked like she had a black hat on, and a completely white face. When we picked her up though, she hissed and jumped out of my arms and ran away...we named her 'Feisty'.
On this third day, Teeny Kitty left Feisty with us while we were all sitting in the back yard. She returned a few minutes later with yet ANOTHER kitten (we're at 4 now)...this one was mostly black, with a white chest and white feet...so we named her 'Socks'. Teeny Kitty left Socks with us, jumped over the wall, and a few minutes later returned with Moo Moo...left her, and a few minutes later returned with Teeny Tiny. We have NO idea where she was keeping her 4 kittens, somewhere in our back alley I'm sure...but it appeared that she was showing them off to us to see how we would treat them, and then when she decided our back yard was going to be a safe place to keep them, she brought them all over.
Teeny Kitty and her four kittens slept on our back patio, and then hid under a bush in the corner of our yard during the day. As they grew, they started eating the hard cat food and eventually stopped nursing (much to Teeny Kitty's relief). We got in touch with a local AZ organization called AZ Cats, and they have what's called a TNR (Trap Neuter Release) program, where you pay a donation to borrow some kitty traps and catch the kitties, take them to a participating veterinarian and have them neutered/spayed, and then return them to their outside habitat. So, we did this so that Teeny Kitty and her kittens would not overpopulate the neighborhood with more feral cats. (They were 4 girl kittens...and we have 4 girl daughters...interesting huh?)
Anywho...we thought we would try and get them adopted so that they could have an inside home, but no one would take them. So, we just kept feeding them, and thinking that as they grew older they would probably take off and go do their own thing. But nope! Mama kitty and her 4 little kittens still hang out at our house, and we're going on almost a year that they've been here. They run around and go on their adventures during the day, but they come back at about 6pm for their dinner and hang out until morning when they get their breakfast. They are like 'teenage' kittens now, they are getting so big and it's been so fun to watch them grow up. They've become friends with Bob, who plays with the kittens sometimes. Our inside cats, Nala and Shadow, still hiss at them, but not as much.
This is Socks.
First...let me just say I had to Google the word "pastiche" to see what the heck it meant. According to wikipedia, here's the brief definition: "The word pastiche describes a literary or other artistic genre. The word has two competing meanings, meaning either a "hodge-podge" or an imitation" OK, I feel smarter now.
Off we go...someone I love huh...I have lots of someones that I love...how do I choose just one? So that I don't offend any "humans", I'm going to write about our Cat family.
I bought a kitten for my oldest daughter about 8 years ago, we named her Nala. My daughter wanted to name her Simba (but that was the boy lion from the 'Lion King' movie, so she had to be the girl lion). She was, and still is, a very particular cat about who she snuggles up to. She pretty much just likes me and my oldest...but she will approach other people for petting sometimes, but turns on them pretty quickly when she's had enough. She has mellowed a LOT since we got her spayed.
Then, my mom, who worked as a Vet Tech in a local veterinarian's office said that a stray cat was brought in, and had been there for several weeks and hadn't been claimed. So, we went to look at her...and she was SO cute, and tiny, and needy. So, we took her home. And she proceeded to follow us everywhere we went...when I slept, she had to sleep right next to me with a paw or some part of her body touching me at all times. We named her 'Shadow' because that's what she was...our little shadow following us all the time. She and Nala did NOT get along for about a month, they could barely be in the same room together...but they're buds now.
Then, we moved to our new house, and it was just Nala and Shadow for the first year and a half. But when I was pregnant with our youngest, a cat appeared on our back doorstep. We thought the cat was a boy, and since he looked like a bobcat, we dubbed him 'Bob'. We told ourselves we would never let 'Bob' in the house...but then it started getting cold outside, so we started letting him in (we are such suckers) But he still wanted to be an outside cat, so he would run around during the day and then come back at night for food and shelter. He was declawed in the front, so he had been someone's pet before...apparently a "drop off" in the neighborhood...which I had never heard of before until we lived in this area. People have told us that sometimes if people move, and they can't take their cats with them, they just go to an established neighborhood and drop the cat off, hoping that someone will take care of them. We think this was the case with Bob. But, upon further inspection, we determined that Bob was actually a girl...so, Bob is now short for Bobbie Jo (we pretty much just call her 'Bobber' though).
Okay...so, a few months after Bob showed up, another little cat showed up on the back porch. She was a small, black and white kitty...who looked very malnourished. We think she showed up because we were feeding Bob in the backyard and she probably smelled the food. We named her 'Teeny Kitty'. One day, Teeny Kitty was laying on our table on the back porch, and I noticed her belly area looked a little swollen...and I said, "She must have had kittens at some point because her little boobs are kinda swollen", but we never saw any kittens. Teeny Kitty hung out at our house at night to get her food, and then she would disappear during the day, somewhat like Bob. We had our youngest baby by that time, and when she was a couple months old, Aaron went out to the living room to feed the cats while I was in the bedroom with the baby. And all of a sudden I hear, "Oh my God!"...at first I got a freaked out feeling, and I yelled "What?!"...but a few minutes later, Aaron brings in the cutest, tiniest, little kitten in the whole wide world, that looks JUST like Teeny Kitty! Ah ha! She DID have a kitten! She was SO cute...she already had her eyes open and was walking around, but she was still nursing. We named her 'Teeny TINY Kitty' because she looked just like her mama.
Teeny Kitty and Teeny Tiny Kitty hung out on our back porch for that day, and then the next morning the kitten was gone. But Teeny Kitty still showed up for her food. Then, a couple hours later, Teeny Kitty came back with ANOTHER kitten. This one was mostly white, with black spots...kind of like a cow, so we named her 'Moo Moo'. Again, Teeny Kitty let Moo Moo hang out for the day, and then the next morning the kitten was gone. That day, Teeny Kitty brought ANOTHER kitten to our back porch...this one looked like she had a black hat on, and a completely white face. When we picked her up though, she hissed and jumped out of my arms and ran away...we named her 'Feisty'.
On this third day, Teeny Kitty left Feisty with us while we were all sitting in the back yard. She returned a few minutes later with yet ANOTHER kitten (we're at 4 now)...this one was mostly black, with a white chest and white feet...so we named her 'Socks'. Teeny Kitty left Socks with us, jumped over the wall, and a few minutes later returned with Moo Moo...left her, and a few minutes later returned with Teeny Tiny. We have NO idea where she was keeping her 4 kittens, somewhere in our back alley I'm sure...but it appeared that she was showing them off to us to see how we would treat them, and then when she decided our back yard was going to be a safe place to keep them, she brought them all over.
Teeny Kitty and her four kittens slept on our back patio, and then hid under a bush in the corner of our yard during the day. As they grew, they started eating the hard cat food and eventually stopped nursing (much to Teeny Kitty's relief). We got in touch with a local AZ organization called AZ Cats, and they have what's called a TNR (Trap Neuter Release) program, where you pay a donation to borrow some kitty traps and catch the kitties, take them to a participating veterinarian and have them neutered/spayed, and then return them to their outside habitat. So, we did this so that Teeny Kitty and her kittens would not overpopulate the neighborhood with more feral cats. (They were 4 girl kittens...and we have 4 girl daughters...interesting huh?)
Anywho...we thought we would try and get them adopted so that they could have an inside home, but no one would take them. So, we just kept feeding them, and thinking that as they grew older they would probably take off and go do their own thing. But nope! Mama kitty and her 4 little kittens still hang out at our house, and we're going on almost a year that they've been here. They run around and go on their adventures during the day, but they come back at about 6pm for their dinner and hang out until morning when they get their breakfast. They are like 'teenage' kittens now, they are getting so big and it's been so fun to watch them grow up. They've become friends with Bob, who plays with the kittens sometimes. Our inside cats, Nala and Shadow, still hiss at them, but not as much.
This is Socks.
This is Mama (Teeny Kitty) and Teeny Tiny Kitty
This is Socks & Feisty
The one in the litter box is Moo Moo
So...we have a blended human family, and a blended cat family...lots of love at this house. :)
(Sorry, way more than 250 words!)
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Over a Week
Since I've blogged!! I can't believe that!! Where the heck did the time go?? Why am I using two exclamation points or two question marks at the end of my sentences??!!
OK...I'm a little loopy right now because I have a sinus headache and it hurts. And it's somewhat clouding my brain, so today's blog may not make too much sense. But I'm going to try and just do a recap of the time that's lapsed from last blog to current.
Last blog was Tuesday...the dreadful "song" Tuesday with all it's bittersweet memories. That blog actually caused me to think of LOTS of songs that take me back to another time, and usually a mostly happier time. Like when I hear a Beatles song, it makes me think of my dad. Foreigner makes me think of my mom. The song Danke Schoen (aka Danka Shane in my book) makes me think of my grandpa for some reason, and then also of a guy named Shane that I knew in 7th grade, and me and my best friend would sing "Danka Shane...ohhh, Shane Donkey" for some reason. HA! Oh yeah, and Hank Williams Jr songs first turned me on to country music...my mom used to listen to him too. I had some really good country music growing up...that's when Garth Brooks, Martina McBride, Shania Twain, Faith Hill, Trisha Yearwood and all of them were shooting to stardom. Ahhh...the good ole' days. Singing "Independence Day" at the top of my lungs because my mom was in an abusive relationship...she never burned the house down with him and her in it...glad about that. What else...oh yeah, Metallica's "One" was a song that my BFF and I used to 'mosh' to...we'd hold pillows in front of us and run into each other...we were hardcore. haha! The soundtrack to "Bad Boys" with Will Smith was our get-ready-to-go-to-Mill-Avenue CD...Mill Ave is a place in Tempe, AZ kinda down by ASU that's like a strip of restaurants, bars, neat little shops etc...but back when we were 16-ish they had a club called 411 that allowed kids 18 and younger to come and dance and play pool on Sunday nights during the summer. It was awesome! OK, enough song reminiscing...that could turn into a blog and a half.
So, then Friday was my dad's bday, and Friday night dinner with the fam night at Sal's Omelette House that my kids absolutely LOVE. My oldest daughter spent the night at a friend's house, and I went out for a MNO (Mommies Night Out) with a few ladies from Phoenixmommies.com. We went to a chinese place called Chop N Wok and then to Coffee Plantation for some coffee (duh) afterwards.
Saturday was Valentine's day, and my grandpa's and BFF's bday. I've told hubby I don't really want to celebrate Valentine's day cuz it's kind of dumb, and it's really just a set up for us to get mad at our husbands for not doing it right. So, instead, we went out to the desert with another family and rode quads and dirtbikes around. I learned how to ride a dirtbike!! Yay Me! I only biffed it once, and not really that hard...but BOY was I sore for the next few days.
Sunday we went to church, and then headed out to my grandparents' house in Fountain Hills for my Papa's bday celebration.
Monday was supposed to be a day off, but instead I had to work. That sucked.
Tuesday I also had to work my butt off to prep for a meeting that we had on...
Wednesday in San Diego. It was a turn around trip. Got there about 9am, meeting was at 11am. Ate lunch there, met till about 4-ish. The meeting went great! Then we headed back to the airport, our original flight was not until 740pm which would get us back to Phoenix at 955pm. But, we got through the checkpoint at 5pm, walked up to the gate of a flight that was departing for Phoenix at 515pm at WALKED RIGHT ON!! Yay! So, I got home by 8pm instead and was able to do the bedtime routine with my family, which made me feel great! Then I took some sinus headache meds, and it made me kinda loopy so I went to bed by 10. The baby didn't wake up until 5am this morning, which is pretty unusual for her...but nice for me.
And here we are at today, Thursday. Working from home today, getting ready to go to Costco and do some price shopping to see if it will be worthwile to make my 4 year olds lunch every day so that she can go to a new daycare that's $25 cheaper a week than her current one. She talks about it every day! "When can I go to the new school?". So, anyway, it's cheaper...but it doesn't include lunch. So, will it really be cost effective? And as a mom, am I supposed to care more about that, or the fact that my 4 yr old will probably NEVER stop bugging me about this school...because it has a freakin' goat, sheep and chickens in the backyard wonderland that they have behind the school. And I really do think she will get more one-on-one attention there. But, that's a blog for another day.
I'm going to head out now...sorry to all the peep's whose blogs I read and usually comment on but haven't in the last week. I'll catch up, I promise!
OK...I'm a little loopy right now because I have a sinus headache and it hurts. And it's somewhat clouding my brain, so today's blog may not make too much sense. But I'm going to try and just do a recap of the time that's lapsed from last blog to current.
Last blog was Tuesday...the dreadful "song" Tuesday with all it's bittersweet memories. That blog actually caused me to think of LOTS of songs that take me back to another time, and usually a mostly happier time. Like when I hear a Beatles song, it makes me think of my dad. Foreigner makes me think of my mom. The song Danke Schoen (aka Danka Shane in my book) makes me think of my grandpa for some reason, and then also of a guy named Shane that I knew in 7th grade, and me and my best friend would sing "Danka Shane...ohhh, Shane Donkey" for some reason. HA! Oh yeah, and Hank Williams Jr songs first turned me on to country music...my mom used to listen to him too. I had some really good country music growing up...that's when Garth Brooks, Martina McBride, Shania Twain, Faith Hill, Trisha Yearwood and all of them were shooting to stardom. Ahhh...the good ole' days. Singing "Independence Day" at the top of my lungs because my mom was in an abusive relationship...she never burned the house down with him and her in it...glad about that. What else...oh yeah, Metallica's "One" was a song that my BFF and I used to 'mosh' to...we'd hold pillows in front of us and run into each other...we were hardcore. haha! The soundtrack to "Bad Boys" with Will Smith was our get-ready-to-go-to-Mill-Avenue CD...Mill Ave is a place in Tempe, AZ kinda down by ASU that's like a strip of restaurants, bars, neat little shops etc...but back when we were 16-ish they had a club called 411 that allowed kids 18 and younger to come and dance and play pool on Sunday nights during the summer. It was awesome! OK, enough song reminiscing...that could turn into a blog and a half.
So, then Friday was my dad's bday, and Friday night dinner with the fam night at Sal's Omelette House that my kids absolutely LOVE. My oldest daughter spent the night at a friend's house, and I went out for a MNO (Mommies Night Out) with a few ladies from Phoenixmommies.com. We went to a chinese place called Chop N Wok and then to Coffee Plantation for some coffee (duh) afterwards.
Saturday was Valentine's day, and my grandpa's and BFF's bday. I've told hubby I don't really want to celebrate Valentine's day cuz it's kind of dumb, and it's really just a set up for us to get mad at our husbands for not doing it right. So, instead, we went out to the desert with another family and rode quads and dirtbikes around. I learned how to ride a dirtbike!! Yay Me! I only biffed it once, and not really that hard...but BOY was I sore for the next few days.
Sunday we went to church, and then headed out to my grandparents' house in Fountain Hills for my Papa's bday celebration.
Monday was supposed to be a day off, but instead I had to work. That sucked.
Tuesday I also had to work my butt off to prep for a meeting that we had on...
Wednesday in San Diego. It was a turn around trip. Got there about 9am, meeting was at 11am. Ate lunch there, met till about 4-ish. The meeting went great! Then we headed back to the airport, our original flight was not until 740pm which would get us back to Phoenix at 955pm. But, we got through the checkpoint at 5pm, walked up to the gate of a flight that was departing for Phoenix at 515pm at WALKED RIGHT ON!! Yay! So, I got home by 8pm instead and was able to do the bedtime routine with my family, which made me feel great! Then I took some sinus headache meds, and it made me kinda loopy so I went to bed by 10. The baby didn't wake up until 5am this morning, which is pretty unusual for her...but nice for me.
And here we are at today, Thursday. Working from home today, getting ready to go to Costco and do some price shopping to see if it will be worthwile to make my 4 year olds lunch every day so that she can go to a new daycare that's $25 cheaper a week than her current one. She talks about it every day! "When can I go to the new school?". So, anyway, it's cheaper...but it doesn't include lunch. So, will it really be cost effective? And as a mom, am I supposed to care more about that, or the fact that my 4 yr old will probably NEVER stop bugging me about this school...because it has a freakin' goat, sheep and chickens in the backyard wonderland that they have behind the school. And I really do think she will get more one-on-one attention there. But, that's a blog for another day.
I'm going to head out now...sorry to all the peep's whose blogs I read and usually comment on but haven't in the last week. I'll catch up, I promise!
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
PROMPTuesday #42, Remember When?
So, San Diego Momma had to go THERE with today's PROMPTuesday...and kinda weird in a way since "the song" made a debut back into my life just a month or so ago at my office of all places.
"The Song" is actually "Long December" by the Counting Crows. This was our song...and by our, I mean mine and my high school sweetheart and oldest daughter's father. He is not my high school sweetheart anymore, nor my oldest daughter's father. In fact, he is a balding, self-absorbed, completely selfish bastard, who will most likely rot in hell for all the bad karma he has put out into this world.
BUT...before I knew all of that, we were high school seniors who had known each other since 6th or 7th grade. But as seniors, we were an item. We were an item whose song was "Long December". I can't even recall how it became our song...but our song it was. Our relationship was over before it began, but we got completely lost in it for a blink of eye. No matter where we were, or what we were doing, we would dance if that song came on. Yes, we pulled over to the side of the road and danced. Yes, on my way to work at Old Navy, he hauled ass up a backroad to catch me at an intersection to blow me a kiss because our song was on. And yes, as our relationship was ending because I was pregnant with his daughter, we both cried during one of our last times together because the damn song came on. And yes, my eyes are welling up right now just thinking about the horrible, heart-breaky song.
I had no idea how powerful songs were, especially ones that remind you of someone you abhor. Of someone who came into my daughter's life when she was 8 years old, after never being involved in her life, and made the promise that if he was going to get involved that he would stay involved, and that bastard disappeared off the face of the earth after just one year. ONE YEAR. And left my daughter more wounded than had she never known him at all. And how ironic that it was after that Christmas that he disappeared? Guess it truly was a Long December. God he's a jerk.
Anyway, to tie it back to the mention I made about my office...and how mad it makes me that this song can still affect me in an embarrassing way...my co-worker listens to random music in his office, and our offices are situated as such that when we all leave our doors open, we can hear this music. So, one day, as I'm busy doing my Business Analyst-ish stuff...I hear "It's been a Long December, and there's reason to believe, maybe this year will be better than the last." I pause, and listen, to make sure I'm really hearing what I'm hearing...then I get that knot in my sternum that rolled it's way up to my throat. You know that knot...the one you get when you're trying really hard not to cry because you're a grown ass woman, and that guy is a bastard and you don't owe him anymore tears? Yeah, I got that one. I struggled through the rest of the song, thinking that it will probably be a super long time before that song ever makes it back through my co-worker's play list on his iPod. So, I shake it off.
But...the next day, when it's on again...I march straight to my co-worker's office and say "Please don't ever play that song again, unless you want to kill me or make me cry".
I have not heard that song since.
"The Song" is actually "Long December" by the Counting Crows. This was our song...and by our, I mean mine and my high school sweetheart and oldest daughter's father. He is not my high school sweetheart anymore, nor my oldest daughter's father. In fact, he is a balding, self-absorbed, completely selfish bastard, who will most likely rot in hell for all the bad karma he has put out into this world.
BUT...before I knew all of that, we were high school seniors who had known each other since 6th or 7th grade. But as seniors, we were an item. We were an item whose song was "Long December". I can't even recall how it became our song...but our song it was. Our relationship was over before it began, but we got completely lost in it for a blink of eye. No matter where we were, or what we were doing, we would dance if that song came on. Yes, we pulled over to the side of the road and danced. Yes, on my way to work at Old Navy, he hauled ass up a backroad to catch me at an intersection to blow me a kiss because our song was on. And yes, as our relationship was ending because I was pregnant with his daughter, we both cried during one of our last times together because the damn song came on. And yes, my eyes are welling up right now just thinking about the horrible, heart-breaky song.
I had no idea how powerful songs were, especially ones that remind you of someone you abhor. Of someone who came into my daughter's life when she was 8 years old, after never being involved in her life, and made the promise that if he was going to get involved that he would stay involved, and that bastard disappeared off the face of the earth after just one year. ONE YEAR. And left my daughter more wounded than had she never known him at all. And how ironic that it was after that Christmas that he disappeared? Guess it truly was a Long December. God he's a jerk.
Anyway, to tie it back to the mention I made about my office...and how mad it makes me that this song can still affect me in an embarrassing way...my co-worker listens to random music in his office, and our offices are situated as such that when we all leave our doors open, we can hear this music. So, one day, as I'm busy doing my Business Analyst-ish stuff...I hear "It's been a Long December, and there's reason to believe, maybe this year will be better than the last." I pause, and listen, to make sure I'm really hearing what I'm hearing...then I get that knot in my sternum that rolled it's way up to my throat. You know that knot...the one you get when you're trying really hard not to cry because you're a grown ass woman, and that guy is a bastard and you don't owe him anymore tears? Yeah, I got that one. I struggled through the rest of the song, thinking that it will probably be a super long time before that song ever makes it back through my co-worker's play list on his iPod. So, I shake it off.
But...the next day, when it's on again...I march straight to my co-worker's office and say "Please don't ever play that song again, unless you want to kill me or make me cry".
I have not heard that song since.
Monday, February 9, 2009
My baby is ONE!!
So, today is Baby Pants' FIRST birthday. I can't believe that 365 days have gone by since she was born. And of course, this makes me think about her Birth Story. So...here we go:
Baby Pants was due on February 5th, 2008...and then February 5th came and went. And so did the 6th, and the 7th. We actually took the kids out on the four-wheeler on the 7th, to do the whole "bumpy road" thing. I have pictures with my little Monkey and me on the four-wheeler with my belly pushing into Monkey's back...and waving at the camera looking like the fat cow that I was. Then, the 8th came...and went...but then the 9th started for me at 3am with contractions. I laid in bed for awhile making certain that they were actual contractions and not Braxton Hicks, and that they were also consistent and not sporadic. After about an hour, they were coming about every 20 minutes. So, I got up at about 4am and watched some TV and ate some breakfast, because I definitely wanted to eat prior to my impending physical exertion. I also wanted my contractions to get closer before I started notifying everyone. So, by about 5:30am, the contractions were about 10-15 minutes apart.
I woke Aaron up at 5:30am, and told him he should get up and get showered and call his mom. We left the house at about 6am or so, and got all checked in to the hospital by about 7am. When the triage nurse checked me for dilation, she asked me if I wanted to guess how far dilated I was. I said "No, just tell me"...and she said I was already 6cm dilated! I was really excited! Because I thought it would be just a couple more hours until the baby was born. But...no...I had about another 6 1/2 hours to go before our little girl would make her debut.
Also, I was doing this birth "au naturale" as I had done with Monkey just 3 yrs and 3 months before. So, my first two girls I had with epidurals and my second two girls I had zero medication. The first 3 hours of the 6 1/2, I was doing pretty good...my mom was there by this time and she is a much better coach than my hubby (sorry honey). So, she was keeping me calm and focused through my contractions. Going in to the 4th hour, things kind of stalled. This happened to me with Monkey too...my contractions kept going, but I stopped dilating. This was due to my water still being in tact (on all 4 of my births, my water never broke on its own)...so it was making a nice soft cushion between baby's head and my cervix...but this unfortunately was not allowing me to dilate all the way.
So, my last 3 hours got quite a bit more intense. During the last hour, they kept telling me I was 9 1/2 centimeters (and in case you don't know, you have to be 10cm before they let you push). BUT, Baby Pants was coming, and I wanted to push dammit! It felt better when I pushed, and I told them they better get the doctor because I was going to push. They told me that the doctor might be able to push the teeny bit of cervix that was left out of the way so that my little girl could come out. I said "Sounds good to me. Let's go"...so that's what we did. I started pushing...Aaron was freaking out kind of (oh yes, in case some of my readers don't know...this was my husband's FIRST baby...I had 3 children before we met)...and then Baby Pants started making her way out.
All the nurses started commenting about her hair...by this time, I really wanted her out, so I said "Can you just grab her by her hair and pull?" (I was joking of course...sort of). After a couple more pushes, her head was out...this is the greatest feeling in the world (if you have read my last couple posts about not being able to poop, that's kind of what it feels like until the baby's head comes out...after that, it's all gravy). A couple more pushes later and she was in my arms. She was beautiful. Then, they had to take her over to a little table in the room because she had already pooped before she was born, aka meconium, and they didn't want any of it to get in her lungs so that had to make sure to get it all out.
Aaron was watching her the whole time, and tears were streaming down his face. I had never seen that man cry until that day...I had seen his eyes sort of well up before, but never saw tears. That was beautiful too. She looks JUST like him, and he was really proud of that. She weighed 8 pounds 4 ounces, and was 20.5 inches long, with a head full of hair. And her hair has just continued to grow and grow since that day...she wore her hair in a pony tail at her birthday party yesterday, that's how long it is now! :)
Anywho...it's such a great feeling to be a mom, and my little girl is so precious, it's been amazing watching her change and grow this year. Can't wait to see what the next year brings. In the blink of an eye she'll be all grown up, like my oldest girl who starts junior high next year! But...that's another blog entirely. hehe
Baby Pants was due on February 5th, 2008...and then February 5th came and went. And so did the 6th, and the 7th. We actually took the kids out on the four-wheeler on the 7th, to do the whole "bumpy road" thing. I have pictures with my little Monkey and me on the four-wheeler with my belly pushing into Monkey's back...and waving at the camera looking like the fat cow that I was. Then, the 8th came...and went...but then the 9th started for me at 3am with contractions. I laid in bed for awhile making certain that they were actual contractions and not Braxton Hicks, and that they were also consistent and not sporadic. After about an hour, they were coming about every 20 minutes. So, I got up at about 4am and watched some TV and ate some breakfast, because I definitely wanted to eat prior to my impending physical exertion. I also wanted my contractions to get closer before I started notifying everyone. So, by about 5:30am, the contractions were about 10-15 minutes apart.
I woke Aaron up at 5:30am, and told him he should get up and get showered and call his mom. We left the house at about 6am or so, and got all checked in to the hospital by about 7am. When the triage nurse checked me for dilation, she asked me if I wanted to guess how far dilated I was. I said "No, just tell me"...and she said I was already 6cm dilated! I was really excited! Because I thought it would be just a couple more hours until the baby was born. But...no...I had about another 6 1/2 hours to go before our little girl would make her debut.
Also, I was doing this birth "au naturale" as I had done with Monkey just 3 yrs and 3 months before. So, my first two girls I had with epidurals and my second two girls I had zero medication. The first 3 hours of the 6 1/2, I was doing pretty good...my mom was there by this time and she is a much better coach than my hubby (sorry honey). So, she was keeping me calm and focused through my contractions. Going in to the 4th hour, things kind of stalled. This happened to me with Monkey too...my contractions kept going, but I stopped dilating. This was due to my water still being in tact (on all 4 of my births, my water never broke on its own)...so it was making a nice soft cushion between baby's head and my cervix...but this unfortunately was not allowing me to dilate all the way.
So, my last 3 hours got quite a bit more intense. During the last hour, they kept telling me I was 9 1/2 centimeters (and in case you don't know, you have to be 10cm before they let you push). BUT, Baby Pants was coming, and I wanted to push dammit! It felt better when I pushed, and I told them they better get the doctor because I was going to push. They told me that the doctor might be able to push the teeny bit of cervix that was left out of the way so that my little girl could come out. I said "Sounds good to me. Let's go"...so that's what we did. I started pushing...Aaron was freaking out kind of (oh yes, in case some of my readers don't know...this was my husband's FIRST baby...I had 3 children before we met)...and then Baby Pants started making her way out.
All the nurses started commenting about her hair...by this time, I really wanted her out, so I said "Can you just grab her by her hair and pull?" (I was joking of course...sort of). After a couple more pushes, her head was out...this is the greatest feeling in the world (if you have read my last couple posts about not being able to poop, that's kind of what it feels like until the baby's head comes out...after that, it's all gravy). A couple more pushes later and she was in my arms. She was beautiful. Then, they had to take her over to a little table in the room because she had already pooped before she was born, aka meconium, and they didn't want any of it to get in her lungs so that had to make sure to get it all out.
Aaron was watching her the whole time, and tears were streaming down his face. I had never seen that man cry until that day...I had seen his eyes sort of well up before, but never saw tears. That was beautiful too. She looks JUST like him, and he was really proud of that. She weighed 8 pounds 4 ounces, and was 20.5 inches long, with a head full of hair. And her hair has just continued to grow and grow since that day...she wore her hair in a pony tail at her birthday party yesterday, that's how long it is now! :)
Anywho...it's such a great feeling to be a mom, and my little girl is so precious, it's been amazing watching her change and grow this year. Can't wait to see what the next year brings. In the blink of an eye she'll be all grown up, like my oldest girl who starts junior high next year! But...that's another blog entirely. hehe
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Poop at Last...Poop at Last...Thank God Almighty I have Pooped At Last!
Whew!! It was like birthing a child, but relief has finally come! At 2pm I decided that I was taking a magazine into the bathroom, and I was not leaving until I pooped. And 35 minutes later, the task was finally finished! I contemplated taking a picture of my success, but decided that would be REALLY gross, so I didn't...but I have to admit, I did stare for several minutes. But let me tell you, I feel SO much better knowing that my intestines are no longer backed up with nasty stuff that will make me sick. After Aaron was in the hospital for his liver thingie, he heard horror stories about people that didn't poop for days, and it backed up and came out of their MOUTH!! Can you believe that?? That gives a whole new meaning to "talking shit" (excuse my language). But I definitely did not want to have that issue, so I'm really glad I was able to go today.
But, I am also feeling a lot better as far as my soreness goes as well. I got up and cleaned the house today, showered and actually shaved my armpits which were starting to look like a rain forest. I also had company...one of my best friends from school came over with her 4 month old baby. She is SO precious! But, she did not like her Auntie Crystal. She was smiling at me in her car seat, so I went to go take her out, and that started our love-hate relationship. She started crying instantly. But as soon as my friend took her back, she was fine, and smiled at me some more. Even as they were leaving, and my husband was coming home, I said "Look at the baby, isn't she sweet? But she doesn't like me." And as soon as I said that, she started crying again! HeHe. Sorta made me feel bad, but I guess I can't expect ALL babies to love me just because I happen to be the best mom in the whole wide world (OK, maybe just on Larkspur Drive...OK, maybe just on the South side of Larkspur Drive, in between 32nd street and 30th Street...because I think the rest of the people on our side of the street are either single dudes, or really old people).
Anywho...that's it for today. I think I'm going to try and sneak in a little nap before the rest of the young'uns get home.
But, I am also feeling a lot better as far as my soreness goes as well. I got up and cleaned the house today, showered and actually shaved my armpits which were starting to look like a rain forest. I also had company...one of my best friends from school came over with her 4 month old baby. She is SO precious! But, she did not like her Auntie Crystal. She was smiling at me in her car seat, so I went to go take her out, and that started our love-hate relationship. She started crying instantly. But as soon as my friend took her back, she was fine, and smiled at me some more. Even as they were leaving, and my husband was coming home, I said "Look at the baby, isn't she sweet? But she doesn't like me." And as soon as I said that, she started crying again! HeHe. Sorta made me feel bad, but I guess I can't expect ALL babies to love me just because I happen to be the best mom in the whole wide world (OK, maybe just on Larkspur Drive...OK, maybe just on the South side of Larkspur Drive, in between 32nd street and 30th Street...because I think the rest of the people on our side of the street are either single dudes, or really old people).
Anywho...that's it for today. I think I'm going to try and sneak in a little nap before the rest of the young'uns get home.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
wish I could poop
so after you have surgery, you really don't care what you write about. Right now my biggest problem is that I can't poop. Apparently when you go under anesthesia, your intestines go to sleep and they forget to poop. So I am hoping they will wake up soon, because I am eating and not pooping, and that can't be good. I ate Raisin Bran and everything and still NO POOP!! WTH?? I ate Bran, that is supposed to make you poop, but to no avail. OK...enough poop talk. Back to watching endless amounts of TV and hoping the rumbling in my tummy means I will poop soon. I'll keep you updated.
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