Happy Halloween!

Remember that cold RD and the kids had? As expected, I got it...and why do I always get it worse? Oh well. Aside from the endless tickle in my throat when I lie down to go to sleep and the chunky coughs, I'm feeling back to my sort-of-normal self.

The kids still all have snot running out of their noses for the better part of the day, but I expect they'll have an endless supply of snot for the rest of the season. We're such a perty family!

I had a lot of fun tonight. Once again, I got that feel-good feeling about our new neighborhood. I was worried we wouldn't get many trick or treaters due to the crappy weather, but that didn't seem to stop anybody. It was so neat to look out the window and see all the kids walking up and down the street with their parents. And to top it off, the kids were so polite. RD had to work, so my mom came over, we ordered pizza, and dressed the kids up - just for our benefit really; I didn't take them out. They're still too young to get it, but I'm hoping next year they'll be old enough. AR was a princess, SA was Elmo (he's obsessed!), and SJ was a frog. They looked adorable...of course! They were in awe of all the different characters that came to the door. I wasn't sure how they'd react, but they loved it. They just stood there and stared in amazement at each kid that came to the door. We had A LOT of kids, but we still have A LOT of candy left over. I anticipated a large crowd, so we stocked up. I told RD that whatever is left he is taking to work tomorrow. I've been eating Snicker's and Twix bars for two weeks now, and my belly izza growin'!

The kids have been a little out of sorts since the time change. I wasn't sure how we would handle it - what we would change, if anything. Before they would go to bed sometime between 7:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. and get up at 8:30 a.m., but since the time change, it's been a struggle keeping them up past 7 p.m. So I think we're just going to shift everything up an hour - put them to bed at 7 p.m. and get them up by 8:00 a.m. I think with it getting dark so early it does something to them. Even before the time change, as it got darker earlier, they just seemed ready - like they knew it was time. We'll see how things go. For now, I don't mind having more of the evening to ourselves.

I got the last trick or treater a little after 8:00 p.m. By 8:15 p.m., I turned our lights out, got in my jammies, grabbed a handful of chocolate (might as well go out with a bang!), and sat down to watch a movie. I watched the Amityville Horror remake with Ryan Reynolds. It was pretty good. Damn his body is out of control! He's got a sort of weird yet attractive face, but his body...wow. I think the original was better, but I'd say it's worth watching.

I hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween! Time to take my tired, chocolate-stuffed body to bed!

Exhale....aaahhhhhhhh!

Now back to reality!

I had a wonderful weekend! It was the annual girls' trip down to the lake...and more importantly...to the outlet malls. My Aunt and Uncle have a condo down at the Lake of the Ozarks, and all the girls in our family (my dad's side) head down for some serious eating and some hardcore shopping.

We had such a great time! You should see what all I bought! Wow! We always have a contest (that no one really wants to win) on who buys the most each year. I have to say I won hands down this year. I got about half of our Christmas shopping done, some clothes for next year for the kids (Children's Place had a great dollar rack!), and some fun stuff for around the house. I got a fountain for our garden in the backyard for a steal - $100! The fountains we were looking at around home were $300 or more. I also got some lamps for our bedroom for 12 DOLLARS EACH!!!! Happy Dance! Happy Dance!

As much fun as we had, I couldn't wait to get home to see RD and the kids. Unfortunately, RD, AR, and SA all have awful colds. I'm sure it's just a matter of time before SJ and I catch it ourselves. RD had the house spotless when I got back. Damn, he's the greatest.

It was a wonderful time and very refreshing. Just one more year until we get to do this all again!!

Time to go tend to my sick children. I hope you all had a great weekend!

A Less Than Perfect Day

I had a busy day ahead of me, so I hopped right out of bed. I got the kids up at 8:30a, got them dressed, fed, then cleaned up again, and headed out the door.

First task of the day - the mall. I had to get a present for our good friend, P, who just graduated from the F.B.I. Academy. I went to Things Remembered to get him a leather travel bag. The girl said it would take about an hour to get the nameplate engraved. "Great," I said, "The mall's gonna love us." I told her thanks and headed out to the van. I was making chicken and dumplings for dinner, and thought I'd go ahead and go across the street to the grocery store to get the items I still needed. As soon as I got to the van, I realized there were perishable items on my list, and I couldn't chance our trip at the mall taking longer than expected, so I headed back into the mall, saving the groceries for later.

We strolled in and out of stores, stopped for a pretzel and lemonade, and enjoyed all the people-watching. We smiled at all the old ladies ooh-ing and ah-ing over the triplets, and went back to Things Remembered to check on our gift. "I'm running behind. It's going to be another 20 minutes or so." So off to continue our people-watching.

My stomach started to turn. Great. The pretzel decided not to agree with my stomach. My bus...I mean stroller, doesn't handle those small stalls so well. Lucky for me, there was a family lounge with an oversized stall just the right fit for us.

It was a bit hairy maneuvering the long stroller into the stall, but we made it. The door kept bumping back into the stroller, and as big as the stall was, it was still a little tight for the kids' liking...so the screaming began. I could hear a sound like a phone ringing and some voices coming out of the alarm box on the wall. I figured one of the kids must've accidentally touched the button, and though I couldn't hear what the person(s) were saying from the intercom, I yelled, "I'm fine! Just trying to go to the bathroom! We're okay!"+

My stomach even worse now after the screaming, the kids finally settled down, and I tried to get down to business.

Banging on the door.

That did it. Now the kids were screaming again.

"Security!"

"I'm fine! Just trying to go to the bathroom! Everyone's fine!"

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"Please. I'll be out in a minute!"

Talking over intercom.

It quickly became obvious they weren't going anywhere until I came out. I guess I'm just going to have to be miserable, the business isn't getting done anytime soon.

Long story short...too late...turns out there's a voice activation system in the restroom, in case someone calls for help. Great idea, but I would think in a family lounge, screaming kids wouldn't be so out of the ordinary.

The tall, bleached-out security officer (woman) continued to follow us throughout the mall. No offense to all you mall security personnel out there, but c'mon. Did she think I was abusing my kids? And...she's MALL SECURITY! To top it off, as SA was crying, she said, "She needs a nap." I guess HE needs a haircut. Bitch.

It's lunchtime, and I still have to go to the grocery store. Lovely.

Fast-forward to later in the day...

The kids were playing together quietly. Perfect! Time to start dinner. I put in an Elmo video, hoping it would buy me enough time to wrap everything up (got as much done during naptime as I could). Perfect planning...just didn't work.

The kids were crazy. Not a little crazy...CRAZY. They were getting into the pantry, pulling everything out they could get their hands on. They were spinning the lazy susan, pulling out all the spices - running from me as fast as they could, waving their Nutmeg and Celery Salt in the air - giggling all the way.

I looked over at SJ, he was covered in orange. He had gotten some cheddar-filled crackers out of the pantry and had a gooey, cheddar mess all done the front of his shirt (the F.B.I. shirt that was a gift from P...I should've known not to put it on them until the last minute). Pulled his shirt off, he's going to have to go shirtless. No time.

As the madness continued, I called our friends on their cell phone.

Me: How close are you?

Friend: Just got on XXX.

Me: Shit!

Friend: Time to put P's (new) badge to the test. I'm flooring it! Be there soon!

They got there just in time to save our dinner from being burned to the bottom of the pan. RD got home (finally) and we all sat down to eat. The results...eh...not great. I bought the wrong biscuits for the dumplings, but overall, it wasn't so bad.

We got the kids to bed and sat back for some good, ADULT conversation. It was bittersweet really. We knew this was the last time we'd see P for awhile. His first assignment is in Cleveland - three years. These are friends we are very close to - friends we would see every weekend - friends the kids are very close to. It pains me to think that next time we see him, the kids might not recognize him and run to him as they do now.

As the evening came to a close, we all hugged goodbye, and I fought back tears as I said, "See you soon." It won't be too long really. They're talking of coming back as early as Thanksgiving, so that's not too far away. And though I worry, I know the kids won't forget.

So that was my less than perfect day. Not much different than any other day. I go to bed and let it all go, then wake up the next morning refreshed - naive maybe, as I wake up ready to start it all over again.

Bit of This, Bit of That

I went to my good friend, A's, Friday night for an At Home Party. We had such a good time. RD stayed home with the kids, what a treat! We had a great time sharing stories of the past, reminiscing about old times. You know...those stories you share when the hubbies aren't around. RD still says he can't imagine me being a "party girl." Oh, honey, if you only knew. I wasn't always so innocent. ;) Those were the days! So glad they're behind me!

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The kids have been so wonderful the past few days. God's good like that. Just when the kids are about to send me over the edge, he gives me a taste of the good life - reminding me how precious these three babies are. They're so sweet, so loving, so perfect...well...almost perfect. ;) They're dishing out kisses and thank you's without being asked, keeping tantrums to a minimum, and being so kind to their siblings. Just heavenly.

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Why do so few people know their directions? Is North/South/East/West so hard? I swear...being new to the area, I have had to ask directions my fair share of times - when I ask, "So is XXX Street North or South of Highway XX," I get (almost every time), "Uh...I don't know." What do you mean you don't know? Is it THAT difficult to figure out? Geesh.

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Grey's Anatomy - LOVE THIS SHOW! It seems to be getting better and better each week. I'd been getting a bit burned out on ER, so I didn't think I'd be interested in another medical drama, but I gotta say it's pretty good.

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Our security system is being installed next Wednesday. Now we can all sleep better.

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Okay...my heavenly little children are screaming at each other, so I gotta go. Be back when the angels are sleeping.

Why must one child always be having a bad day?

Why? Is this some cruel game that gets played on mothers of more than one child? For two weeks SA was a bear. He had two molars coming in - and to put it mildly, he was pissed. During this time SJ and AR were my sweet little darlings. Now SA is back to his lovable self, and SJ and AR have been raising hell. Now...I know I should count my blessings and thank my lucky stars that they haven't all been out to break me down at once. Don't think for even a second that we don't have those moments. But damn! Can't they all be having rock star days simultaneously? Is this not possible? Is that asking too much?

Apparently so.

Just How Safe is Suburbia?

As I mentioned before, I live in your stereotypical subdivision. Well-manicured lawns, neighbors waving to each other from their front porch, sharing some beer and conversation as they push their strollers up and around the block after dinner. I've joked many times that it feels like what I would call a "Stepford Community." BMW's and Lexus' are a frequent sight driving up and down the street and everyone feels safe leaving their garage doors open. Heck...I even leave my purse in my car AND key in the ignition. Bad...bad...I know.

A new neighbor just moved in next door. Final house is now complete! No more construction!! Woo hoo! I went over to welcome her to the neighborhood. One of her first questions was whether or not we had a security system. We hadn't really talked about it much yet, and rarely used the one in our last house, so didn't really think of it as a priority. She mentioned that a security company's salesman had stopped by and informed her of a string of burglaries that had occurred recently in our neighborhood. I hadn't heard anything and assured myself that it was just the salesman's way of trying to scare her into buying his system. I was playing outside with the kids and saw the neighbor behind me outside talking to another woman who lives down the street. Their kids were outside playing, so I took AR over to play for a bit (the boys were still napping). After the usual smalltalk, I asked her if she had heard anything about the break-in's. Turns out to be true. As a matter of fact, the local news was here a few days ago to do a story on the burglaries. Most of the burglaries were thought to be teenagers - taking purses and money left out on counters, but the last break-in was in the middle of the day. A man was standing in his kitchen when a teenager just walked in his house through the door in his garage. The man chased the teenager out, and when the teenager reached his car he pulled out a sawed-off shot gun. The man then immediately ran back to his home. Smart move! Unfortunately, he didn't get his license plate number, so the punk never got caught.

Then tonight...the doorbell rings. It's a woman I don't recognize. She says she lives across the street and goes on to say (in broken English) how she saw someone walking through our house in the middle of the night. My mind immediately goes to the burglaries and my stomach turns as I'm waiting for her to tell me how she fears she may have spotted an intruder in our home. As she's going on about seeing someone, I'm wanting to wave my hand at her, wanting her to get to the point...anxious and worried about what she's driving at here. She then proceeds to tell me that her husband was beating her. He was beating her inside the house, then dragged her to the front yard and beat her some more, then to the garage where he continued to beat her. During this time, she said she looked around desperately for help and saw that someone was up and walking around in our house - she was wanting to know if either me or my husband had witnessed the beating. I was confused as to why she wanted to know if we had witnessed anything - her accent was so heavy, it wasn't all clear, but I'm guessing maybe as a witness for the police? I'm not sure. I told her that it was probably me she saw, that I walk around at night when I can't sleep (which is often), but that I hadn't seen anything. Which is quite odd considering how nosy I am...I'm often looking out the windows. She asked that we call the police if we see him around, as he has made threats to come back and "get her." I gave her our phone number and told her that if she can't get to a phone and he is there, to flash the front porch light on and off if she can as a signal and I will call the police. It makes me so sad...so sad to think that she was looking around for help, and saw me (or RD) walking around and we didn't see. I then knew why I didn't recognize her, in all the times I had seen her, she never looked up. She would always follow behind her husband (the very few times I saw her) out in the yard, but always had her head hanging down, like she was afraid to look up.

I later felt bad...like maybe I should have invited her to stay at our house if she was scared, but I feel like I just can't put our family at risk like that. It would be different if we didn't have kids, but I have to protect them first. I don't know how crazy this guy is. I do want to help her in any way I can though. RD said he will take care of her yard for her, and I hope to see her again soon - maybe we could invite her over for dinner or help her get out of the house a bit.

Though everything looks perfect around here, nothing's ever as perfect as it seems. You never know what goes on behind closed doors.

This is what we talk about

In reference to the news that Katie Holmes is pregnant with Tom Cruise's baby...

My Mom: She must've been artificially inseminated or something.

Me: Sigh...what this time? Why?

Mom: Because I don't think there's anyone in this world that would want to sleep with HIM.

Me: Don't be stupid.

Mom: Really! I don't think anyone would. They had to of had it done for them or something.

Me: I would. Sure he's an ass...but I'd sleep with him.

Mom: Going back to a discussion we had two years ago or more... I still think he's gay.

Me: Well, then, Mom, you must be right. I give up. Why do I care, people? Why?

Boring Post

I haven't been able to get on-line, as our Internet has been down, but it's FINALLY up and running again! After bad-mouthing our Internet provider, we've finally come to the conclusion that it's our computer not the service. Not as easy a problem to fix...

We went to Sears to get the kids pictures taken this morning. What an ordeal. Awful. Just awful. The photographer was totally obnoxious and the more the kids fussed, the louder she got. We went ahead and ordered a few photos, just for our trouble, but I don't know that any of these will make it to our walls.

I cleaned out a few of our closets today. We've only been here a few months, but the closets quickly became the place to stash all the junk we had no idea what to do with.

Oh brother. RD's on the floor next to me...he just said, "Let's go have sex now." Are you kidding me? Gotta love the boy for trying. It's hot...I'm tired...you know the drill. Well...maybe it would make for a nice break in the afternoon. Hmmmm....

Told you this was a boring post! Until next time...

Little Things that Make Me Smile

• Having the windows open. There's something about having all the windows open in the house that make things seem...I don't know...better. It's so refreshing.
  
• Starting the walk to the cart return when a stranger comes up and says, "I'll take that for you."
  
• RD putting his things away...without me having to say a thing. Maybe it's the new house, but he's been so great about picking up after himself. Oh...Lord...please tell me this is going to last!
  
• Sleeping in until 8:30 a.m. and sometimes 9 a.m. I don't know what it is with these kids, but they've been sleeping so late some days - and I'm loving it.
  
• The kids hugging me back...and doing it so tight. I love it!
  
• AR puckering her lips up before I do for a great big kiss.
  
• "Just because" calls from RD in the middle of the day.
  
• Getting catalogs in the mail. May sound silly, but I LOVE getting catalogs in the mail. Got a mailing list? Sign me up!
  
• Clean sheets.
  
• The sound of my kids giggling. It's priceless.
  
• Trips to the store without the kids. Again...priceless.
  
• RD leaning over for a kiss or whispering, "I love you," in the middle of the night.
  
• The look of lust in RD's eyes when he sees me naked. Even after three kids and having 20 pounds to go, he makes me feel like I've still got it.
  
• Hearing my favorite songs on the radio from way back when and still being able to sing along to every word.
  
• Hearing the love behind the word "mama." They may not know how to say that they love me, but I can feel it.