Poop flies, baby!

I feel there's been a common theme around here.

POOP.

It's everywhere. We had some friends over one night and I saw one whispering to the other and pointing at something. "What is it," I asked. "I think it's poop. On the floor!" I should've at least tried to act surprised (or disgusted for that matter), but I just went over and picked it up with a tissue, then went on like this was totally normal.

Just this morning I was changing SA on the changing table, when rolling up his diaper, a pellet of poop went flying behind the table.

Me: RD, before you leave, I need you to pull the changing table out. Some poop fell back there.

RD: Okay.

No "What...how...why...," just "OK!"

We're clean people. Really we are! It's just...there's just so much of it. And it doesn't help that it often comes in little balls.

All I can say is think twice before picking up that mystery item on the floor.

Now...how bad do you want to come to MY house right now? ;)

New Pics

Thanks for sending all your positive vibes my way. It's wonderful knowing I have such wonderful friends out there. :)

I took my mom by the house this morning. Here are some pics...






They're a little blurry. I don't know if my camera lens is smudged or what, but all my pictures have had this foggy look to them. I'll have to check it out.

Unusual Night

I was watching ER lastnight, and started to feel what I can only describe as funny. My chest was a bit tight. I had a sort of nervous feeling all over. I did my best to ignore it and headed off to bed. I was lying on my stomach when suddenly my left arm started to tingle. I wasn't lying on it, I had it above my head, under my pillow. I rolled over onto my back and noticed I felt that tingly feeling all over. My head had that medicine-head feeling. I got up to go to the bathroom, turned the light on, and sat on the toilet, staring ahead of me. When I would explain this to RD later, he looked at me a bit strange when I told him, but what I felt like was that I had to concentrate really hard not to pass out.

I had an episode like this a couple years ago. I might have posted about this before; I can't remember. I got up to go to the bathroom and passed out, hitting my head on the toilet on my way down. I went through many tests (e.g., EKG, heart monitor for a week...which was called a Holter monitor...or something like that, CAT Scan, bloodwork, etc.). My thyroid test showed to be a bit hyperactive, but other than that, everything turned out normal. They thought maybe I was straining so hard on the toilet that I passed out. Now...I've had some bad poo's, but c'mon. I'm a pusher, but I don't know that I could push that hard. They also thought it might be that I was pregnant. This was during the period of my many miscarriages and I had stopped testing for pregnancy at this point. I very well may have been pregnant, but with all my pregnancies, I never experienced fainting spells. So we just chucked it up as a freak thing, and went on like nothing happened. The one thing I did remember from that episode, was my left arm having that coming-back-from-being-asleep feeling - the same feeling I had lastnight.

I paged RD at work and he said he would be leaving within 10 minutes. I kept feeling that I was about to pass out, and trying not to panic, I called my mom who lives 5 minutes away and asked that she come over until RD got home. The idea of passing out with the kids sleeping in the other room worried me immensely. By the time my mom got there I was shaking on the bed. My teeth were chattering and my body was trembling, but I did not feel cold. Minutes into my mom's visit, I was feeling better.

RD arrived about 20 minutes later. Amazingly, other than the feeling in my arm, I felt fine. Isn't that how it always works? I told my mom she could go home, we didn't think it was necessary for me to go to the ER. We went to bed and I was hounding RD with questions, asking him what he thought was wrong with me. "Stress," he said. "I don't know that stress could have this reaction on me." He then brought up the matter which I've been stressing over, asking me how much I've been thinking about it today. Immediately, my symptoms started to come back. Dang it, he's always right. Well...usually.

So I've been doing my best to not think about things. The stressful matter is something with one of the kids. It shouldn't be a big deal...it's a cyst...long story...probably normal...don't want to talk about it...they have an appointment in two weeks....that's all I'm saying about it for now. Again, I've been told it's most likely nothing at all. I'm feeling better today. My arm still feels sort of sore. Probably unrelated. Maybe I hurt it packing or something.

Drama. I swear it's always something. Gas leaks...neighbor troubles...always something. ha! Anyway, I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I probably won't be posting again until Sunday. RD's off today and tomorrow, so I should be too busy to get on-line again. We'll see...I have my ways of making time. ;)

Can't Get Enough

...to eat.

The past few days I have been hungry ALL DAY, ALL NIGHT. I just can't get enough to eat. This happens every now and then. I guess I'll keep stuffing myself silly and hope it stops soon. It seems to usually pass after 3-4 days.

We went by the house this morning. There were so many trucks parked out front that it made it hard to get a picture. We'll be going by again this weekend, we'll get some pics then.

Brick House

I'm so excited! I drove by the house this morning and they were laying the brick and putting up the siding (siding on sides and back of house). Things are really moving along. RD hasn't been by in a few days (I've been by everyday this week...it's addicting!), so I called him and told him he needs to get his butt out there to see how much has changed.

I haven't taken any pictures lately, because I've been by during their working hours. I feel funny walking around taking pictures when there are all these men working away; plus, I have the kids in the car with me. We're going to Sears to order our washer, dryer, and fridge, then we're going by to see the house. I'll make sure to take the camera and I'll post some pictures tomorrow.

I'm so excited!

Huh?

I was still trying to get used to the idea of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes (which by the way, I think is kind of creepy and somewhat gross) being an item, now this...

Kenny and Renee say, "I do!"

I like both, but it does seem like an odd pairing. Though surprised, I wish them my best!

My Second Wind

I don't know if it's the nice weather that has thankfully returned or if my happy pills are kicking in, but I have had this rush of energy lately, which is wonderful because I've gotten a lot done in the past few days.

I've gotten a lot packed; now I just need to get some more bubble wrap before I can continue. Lastnight RD and I went to Sears to check out some appliances. We picked out our washer and dryer and our refrigerator. We're going back Thursday morning to purchase them.

This morning I got up before the kids to shower and get ready, got them up at 8:00 a.m., fed and dressed them, let them play a bit, then packed them up in the van and headed to Kincaid to buy our dining room furniture (if you go to their webpage and wait through the changing photos, they show our dining room set). We picked this set out a couple weeks ago. The saleswoman called us to let us know they were changing the upholstery on the chairs, so they were offering the display furniture to us at 20% off. I went in to check out the condition of the furniture - there were a few scratches on the surface that she said they would fix - and put some money down. We had to order the sideboard separately, but they said once that came in they would hold the entire set in their warehouse for us until we're ready to move.

After the furniture store, I headed out to the builder to turn in some samples they gave us for the kitchen counters, got some measurements to make sure the new fridge will fit, talked closing costs, then headed home.

This all may not seem like a big deal to most, but getting out alone with the kids is pretty new to me. We were stuck in the house all winter due to RSV, then just not being used to it, I didn't feel comfortable getting everyone out by myself. Now I am loving it. It is so nice and makes me feel so...NORMAL. This is how it's supposed to be. And it's such a nice break in the day.

In other news, NO MORE BOTTLES!! Yeaaahhhh!!!! I'm a little late in sharing this news, but I'm pretty darn excited about it. As I mentioned before, they had a hard time taking to the sippy cups, so it was no small task. They gave up their morning bottle around 12 months, their afternoon bottle at 13 months, then several days ago we got rid of the nighttime bottle. I'm so happy because I did not want to lug all those dang bottles to my MIL's. Good riddance!

He's Definitely a Keeper

I had a WONDERFUL Mother's Day. RD is so incredible. Our day couldn't have been more perfect. He did EVERYTHING. EVERYTHING! He fed the kids, clothed and changed the kids, cleaned up after the kids...everything. He does help out regularly anyway, but he took charge all day. AND, when we put the kids to bed, he cleaned the bathroom, did some laundry, and scrubbed the floors by hand. He's awesome.

We started the day at the builder. We went ahead with a color called, Burnt Amber. It's more neutral than the color we chose for the Formica counter. Since we're spending a lot more money on the counters now, I want something we can work with if we decide to change the color scheme in the kitchen/breakfast room.

Then we picked up RD's mom (my mom was with us as well) and headed out to his sister's. We had a nice lunch, visited for awhile, then headed home to get the kids to bed for their afternoon nap. This was another blessing. Getting RD to leave any type of function is usually quite nerve wracking. We always "agree" on an approximate leaving time, but once that time hits - even if it's a time he had wanted - he resists all requests to leave and I end up looking like the bad guy. So imagine my most-pleasant surprise when I said, "Are you ready," and he started packing up the car and we were out in 10 minutes! Nice!

Once we put the kids down for their nap, RD and I cuddled up on the couch for a nap ourselves. I had just started into a good snooze when someone knocked on the door. It was our good friend, P. He had brought me flowers for Mother's Day. Now...how can I get mad when they come with flowers? That was very sweet of him. Unfortunately, his knock woke AR up (their room is right next to the front door...another reason I'll be happy to move), causing a lot of screaming in their room, so RD and I enjoyed some quick (what he called...) Mother's Day sex, then got the kids up. He made Italian beef sandwiches for dinner, and we enjoyed some cheesecake, topped with fresh strawberries, for dessert. Yum!

All in all, a wonderful day! Later tonight I get to go out to buy my present. He came home with a huge bouquet of flowers, along with a card from the kids, and said he had no luck finding what I had requested - Seasons 4, 5, & 6 of Sex and the City. He looked at Target, so maybe I'll go to Best Buy and have more luck.

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend! Happy Mother's Day to all! :D

Weekend Wandoms

Okay...that's a cheesy title, but sometimes you need to embrace your inner cheese. Embrace your inner cheese? My God...I have lost my mind! I think this new medication has made me a tad whacky.

I've been a packing fool these past few days. I've been doing 2-3 boxes at a time, so it hasn't been too overwhelming. I thought the basement would be the hard part, but it's actually going pretty fast. Most everything is boxed up or sorted somewhat anyway (e.g., Christmas stuff, etc.), so it's just been a matter of grouping things together and putting them in bigger boxes. I'm close to hitting a stopping point soon. I've gotten to where I've packed everything I can for now - everything else will have to wait until we get closer to moving.

We're going to the builder's tomorrow. We had chosen a Formica countertop for the kitchen, and we were having them round the edges instead of the hard, square edges. Turns out they don't have a machine long enough to round the edges of our counter, so either we go with a square edge or wood-capped edge. We went to look at our options a few days ago and liked neither, so we're back to square one. We're thinking of going with Craftstone instead. It's a man-made stone - unfortunately, we can't afford to go with granite, but it'll definitely be nicer than the counter we originally chose. It really sucks because had we known in the beginning that they couldn't round off the edges of the Formica counter, we probably would have scaled back on all the other upgrades we did and went for the granite. Woulda-coulda-shoulda. It was the builder's goof, so we're going to talk to them tomorrow and see if they'll give us a credit of any kind.

After we go to the builder, we're going to my sister-in-law's for Mother's Day. My mom, who normally tags along with us for all the family parties on RD's side, said she wanted to do something separate this year. She wanted RD to barbecue dinner, so she could have time with the kids without having to share them with anyone else. I had to play the mommy-card myself. I'm sorry, but I am a mother, and when do I get time for me? I know she's upset, but I told her if she wants something "separate," we'll have to celebrate another night this week. After my SIL's, I would like to kick back, put my heels up and do absolutely nothing. That's my wish.

For all you moms out there...have a WONDERFUL MOTHER'S DAY!!!!

Bedding Wanted

I'm looking for places to find new bedding. I've looked everywhere I can think of...

Pottery Barn
Crate and Barrel
Bed Bath & Beyond
Dillards
Famous Barr
Marshall-Field's
Spiegel
Sears
Eddie Bauer Home
Bloomingdale's
Macy's
Foley's
Kohl's
Overstock.com
JCPenney

If you have ANY ideas, please send them my way. I'm running out of places!

Thanks! :)

More House Pics

We've been out to the new house several times since these pictures were taken, but here are the latest...






Standing in kitchen, looking towards breakfast room and family room.

Really the only change since these photos is that the roof is finished. They're just waiting for them to put on the shingles. There's a different crew for everything, so when one crew's done, the next moves in. The framers have been done for a few days, but whichever crew does the shingles must be running a bit behind. Thanks to some yucky weather that hit us a couple weeks ago, they already told us that late-June isn't going to happen (which we figured), so hopefully we won't hit anymore hiccups. Now that it's under-roof, weather shouldn't be an issue.

Baby Talk

The kids have a fun time trying to imitate certain words. SJ has caught on to "Thank you." Now...I'm not going to try and start convincing everyone that I have this genius son that is already saying thank you for his peas, but he will often repeat after me after I say it. Except it sounds more like, "dake ew." He cries, "maaaaaaaaaa maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa" when he's sad or angry and shouts with glee, "dada" when he's happy.

SA's favorite word is still "dooooo," otherwise known as "dude." He calls RD "deedee" (daddy) and he calls me that as well. I'll point to myself and say, "mommy," but he'll smile real big and say, "deedee!" That's fine. I'll take it. :) He has recently starting saying, "kitty" when he sees the cats. Then everything and everybody is "kitty" for a good hour after that.

AR, our girl, has from the beginning been more advanced in this arena. She started saying, "da-deeeeeee" pretty early. She also called me "mama" pretty early, but that quickly turned to "babu." RD would say, "Where's mommy," and she would point to me and yell out with great seriousness, "babuuuuuuu!" She'll throw in a "mama" from time to time now, but I'm more often answering to "bah" or her favorite, "babu." She moo's when she sees a picture of a cow and has a few times said, "me-yew" when she sees a cat. She was the first to say "kitty" - and it is hilarious how she says it. She's very purposeful in everything she says. She'll babble out a bunch of jibberish with the most serious look on her face. It's pretty funny.

It still amazes me how much they understand. If I mention one's name, the others will look towards him/her. I say "come here," and they usually do. Even if they don't, I know they know I want them to, they're just choosing not to. I know it sounds so simple, but I'm still jumping for joy inside when I give them a command and I see in their eyes that they "get" it. I've seen the frustration in them when they're trying to tell me or show me something and they can't find the words or expressions to make me understand. My little babies are turning into little kids.

I've gotten past missing the baby phase. They are so much fun right now, but with each month, no, each week that passes, it gets even better. It is amazing to watch them learn.

Boxes and boxes

Lots of empty boxes. I really need to pack. Really should pack. Kind of want to pack. Can't find the energy to pack.

I remember packing for the house we're in now. RD and I were cramped up in an itty bitty apartment, been married about a month, and I could not wait to move into our new home. As soon as we had the contract accepted on this house, I was packing boxes. Everyone kept telling me that I had plenty of time to pack ("What's the rush," they'd say), but I wouldn't listen. I was so excited to get ready for the new house.

I'm excited about the new house. Excited enough to find it extremely hard to sleep at night with all the visions of our new home going through my head, but during the day I'm just going through the normal routines I do everyday, no time to sit and daydream. The last thing I want to do when I have a minute to kick back and take a breather is pack. That's just one more thing I have to squeeze into my day.

SEEKING MOTIVATION. Must find motivation to pack. Maybe when I go to sleep tonight, I need to picture myself a month from now, scrambling in a fury to pack because I procrastinated today. We'll see if that works. ;)

Back from the Dead

I kind of expected some "Where-have-you-been comments," but got nary a one. Oh well. Hey, even if it's all in my head, I think my Serafem is starting to work, so I don't even care. heehee!

I'm finally starting to feel somewhat normal. I started feeling a bit queasy Saturday afternoon, then by dinnertime I told RD I was going to bed and I wasn't to be bothered. I truly felt like death was upon me. Around 9 p.m. or so is when the vomiting started. Vomiting and diarrhea - oh joy! The vomiting, along with chills and cold sweats continued through the night, then by morning all I was left with was the lovely diarrhea and hit-by-a-truck feeling. RD was wonderful and took care of everything while I tried my best to sleep. As tired as I was you'd think sleep would come easy, but between SJ's screaming (he's been having a run of the whinies lately), the cats smothering me, and my stomach flipping, I couldn't get more than 10-15 minutes at a time.

Today I am feeling much better. I'm still queasy and haven't had much of an appetite (wouldn't it be wonderful if I lose some weight out of this?), but at least I'm mobile. So far - knock on wood - neither the kids nor RD have showed any signs of getting sick. I'm hoping we're in the clear.

Now on to the fun stuff. We bought bedroom furniture! We also bought a couch for the front living room, but that's not as exciting. Some friends went with us Friday night to help us carry the kids as we went from store to store. The bedroom set we bought was actually at the first place we looked, but we wanted to be sure it was what we wanted before we put any money down. We also found the dining room furniture we're going to get (probably in a few weeks) - I'm still looking for a picture of it to post. Here's the bedroom set:


*Picture credit to Rhodes Furniture.

The house is coming along great. They've got the roof on. I have some more pictures, but I still need to download them to the computer.

RD's bugging me to help him pack, so I better run. I hope everyone had a great (and healthy) weekend!

Until next time...

New House Stuff

We went out to the new house yesterday. Here are some pics...


Front of House


Back of House


Standing in Family Room, facing Living Room


Standing in Upstairs Bonus Room facing stairs (from left - guest bedroom, boys bedroom, girl bedroom, hall bath)


Standing in Bonus room facing entry to Master Bedroom

We decided to change what kind of brick we want on the front of the house. We had originally picked the brick when driving around looking at the other houses in the neighborhood (it's next to impossible to make a decision just by looking at the samples on the boards). When driving by the other day, the house with the brick we originally picked, looked sort of orange. We wanted a more red-based brick. We went with another one that is more red with some black and white accents here and there. I think it will look a lot better. This brick will go well with the white siding and black shudders.

I was talking to RD again about wanting to get someone to clean the new house when we move. To my surprise he said, "I don't have a problem with that. It's probably a good idea. You're constantly cleaning here and look how small this place is. We should probably look into that." I was stunned speechless. I don't know what I was more excited about - him saying we could get a cleaning person or hearing him say (that he's noticed) I'm constantly cleaning. It's a small victory, folks, but it makes mama happy. I don't know whether or not we'll get someone to clean. I never really expected it, I just had fun teasing about it. There are plenty of other things I'd rather spend our money on, we'll just have to see how things go.

Now I'm off to enjoy the wonderful rainy weather we're having here today. Bleh. I guess I could do some packing...or cleaning...or even better, catch up on the many blogs I've missed out on the past couple days.

Until next time...

Post-Pregnancy Mel (Other than the obvious addition of three little people)

• I love raspberries. I absolutely hated everything raspberry before I was pregnant. Now I can't get enough of 'em!
• I like most mushrooms. Again, hated, hated, hated these before I was pregnant.
• I now LOVE blue cheese!!! Mmmmmmmm!
• A bra is most definitely needed. Before I was pregnant, I could go bra-free whenever I wanted. I had these nice, perky breasts. Now...eh...not so much.
• Soft, clear skin. Strange...but my skin has made a noticeable improvement since I had kids.
• More proportioned. I had an obvious pear-shape before. Now things are more...evened out.
• I go to the bathroom less. I spent a ridiculous amount of time in the bathroom peeing before; I think having experienced the weight of three babies on my bladder, I got more accustomed to holding it.
• I'm extremely emotional. EXTREMELY. I wasn't a mushy-gushy person before. I thought it would pass, but I'm still extremely soft. It doesn't take much to make me tear up.
• My shoe size went from an 8 and sometimes 8 1/2 to an 8 1/2 and sometimes 9.
• Even after losing all the baby weight, I still had to have my rings resized. Just how exactly do you lose finger fat?
• My nice, flat, smooth belly is now...do I really need to say it?

The Kids' Bathroom

I've got this theory that it makes more sense to buy things as you come across them (for the new house), instead of going out and buying things all at once when we move in. RD doesn't agree with this theory. His argument is that he'll be making the big bucks then, so it makes sense to wait. I get his point, but it's not like we're broke now...and...it's just so much fun!

Lucky for me, RD has a rule of his own, we don't argue over money. I promise I try not to take advantage of that rule. Really! ;)

So in comes the kids' bathroom. I just bought this shower curtain...



...and these bath towels...



...from Pottery Barn. I plan on painting their bathroom a deep yellow. I think these will look really good in there. I didn't buy the entire towel set, because the price was pretty steep, but I bought the hand towels. I thought they'd look good hanging over large white bath towels.

We went to look at furniture yesterday. That was a lot of fun. We weren't looking to buy anything, but it was nice getting an idea of what we're both wanting. This way we won't be overwhelmed when we shop for real.

It's a dark, gloomy, rainy day here. I hope you have better weather wherever you are. Have a great weekend!

Big Dude SA

Tell me this kid doesn't have some serious bed head?

House Pics

This is the back of the house. Order from left to right: garage, laundry room, kitchen, breakfast room, then family room. Bottom right is walk-out basement.

Okay...well I guess I just have the one picture to post. Flickr is acting weird for some reason. I'll try to post more later.

Have a great day, everyone!

I am CRACKING UP!

I am talking head thrown back, red-faced, belly-laughing cracking UP!! I went to take a look at the latest queries that directed people to my site.

Big Brown Nipples

Someone was looking for Big Brown Nipples, and I popped up as #41! HAHAHAHAHA!

I had to see where it led them. It was my Big Lots entry, which also talked about Dr. Brown's Nipples - hence Big Brown Nipples. Hilarious!

Man I'm ticked!

This is a total overreaction, but damn it, I can't find the USB cord to download pictures from my camera. I'm ticked because I'm one of those anal people that has a place for everything - EVERYTHING. You want to know where something is? I can tell you where to find it.

Well, RD moved it somewhere and he can't remember where. I was looking forward to FINALLY downloading the photos that have been piling up in our camera.

I've searched high and low and can't find it anywhere. I guess we might be buying a new one. Ugh.

Oh well. Once we find it or buy a new one, I have some pictures to post of the new house. It's coming along great! They have the frame finished for the first floor. It's amazing how fast they move once they get started.

I'm off to read some blogs. Have a great evening!

Hold up! Wait a minute!

Happy dance! Happy dance! My sweet daughter walked halfway across the living room this morning! She has since resorted to crawling again, but hey, that's okay!

I'm proud of you, Princess! You continue to make me proud (okay...almost) every minute of the day!

I love you!

If I Was Your Girlfriend

Yesterday was our home buyer's house inspection. There wasn't anything I knew of to cause concern, but seeing how easy everything has been thus far, I was a bit nervous. Stress is not always my strong suit. I was a bit edgy to say the least.

SJ has been more than edgy lately. I'm two tantrums away from calling the doctor. Seriously, the kid has been crying and throwing fits non-stop. Do I actually think I'll make that call to the Ped? No. But it makes me feel better thinking I have a solution lined up.

So after a tantrum-filled day, I was anxiously awaiting RD's arrival home from work. After a long day, and you mommies can relate, on "those" days there's a running countdown in my head on "minutes/hours until daddy gets home." RD finally gets home - there's the buyer's realtor, house inspector, and termite inspector walking around the house writing notes. Of course they don't tell us anything. We're not their clients, so we just wait to hear what the buyer wants us to fix. No, I'm not antsy at all. And I'm not a very good liar. ;)

I get the kids lined up in their booster seats and start dinner. All the while RD is resting on the couch. He says he had a long day. Humph...relax, put your feet up, I don't care. Again, bad liar, I know. Instead of doing the adult thing and asking him to help me out, I make exaggerated movements as I'm preparing their meal, getting ticked that he doesn't "just know" that I'm wanting him to help me out. Childish, I know, and knew at the time, but it didn't change the fact that I was pissed. I feed them, get them cleaned up, then plop my butt on the floor in the living room.

After letting things build up, I blurt out:

Me: You know...there's a lot of dads out there that take over when they get home.

RD: Are you going to take over the Emergency Room when I leave?

Me: Thinking...okay, now that's just stupid, but I'll bite. What I do is just as important. I've had a long day, too, and I would like some assistance when you get home.

RD: Where'd my girlfriend go? Where's Mel? Where's that sweet girlfriend I once knew? Giving me a smile...his way of trying to turn this potential argument into some witty banter. Damn it he knows just how to get me.

I just smiled back. We were both crabby, and this was not the time to have this discussion. But I will say...I haven't been able to get Prince's song out my head ever since. Silly and probably totally unrelated, but I think I'll have to pull out my Prince CD today.

Dilemma of the Day

There's one thing I dread very much when I'm home alone with the kids. It sounds gross. You don't want to hear this, but I'm going to say it. It's the Bad Poo. Not the kids', mine.

If you are alone when this moment happens. Not out in public. No kids at home with you. You are a very lucky person. Because, let me tell you, it really sucks when this hits you and you have three kids who really want you to hurry up because they want their breakfast.

Because there are some things ... you.just.can't.hurry.

Bad Moment

I can't remember where or when I heard this, but in response to hearing, "I'm having a bad day," someone said not to look at is as a bad day, but a bad moment. To put out there that you're having a 'bad day,' sets your whole day up for failure.

Though I can't remember the source, this is a great piece of advice. Whatever hat you're wearing at that pivotal moment - whether you're at work, helping out a friend, or at the park with your children, it's so easy to let one bad moment set the tone for your day. Funny how a bad run at breakfast with the kids can put you in a funk all morning. Whenever I'm having one of those moments, I think back to that piece of advice (I'm thinking it was Oprah), and remember that it's okay to get upset over this bad moment I'm having, but then I need to move on. No sense in letting that cat puke I stepped in this morning mess up my whole day.

As a mother, I find I'm constantly being tested. Let's take about 30 minutes ago for example. I was changing AR's diaper and she was not wanting her diaper changed. She was not wanting to be confined to one spot for one second. So she's writhing about on the floor, screaming at the top of her lungs. Then SA, bless his heart, decides at this very moment he really needs a hug. Listening to AR scream, I think I'd want a hug, too. As I'm trying to fasten AR's diaper, SA is making lunges at me squealing with delight, ready to shower me with affection. I must say this kid is adorable. He was giving me his best c'mon-mom-you-know-you-want-a-hug smile. SJ is wanting me to read a book, so he keeps throwing "The Nose Book" at me, throwing a little fit that his need for hearing this book read to him at this very moment is not being met. Then someone's knocking at the door, "I'm here for the open house," he yells through the screen. "It's been cancelled. We have a contract," I yelled back. He just stands there looking like someone just told him his dog died. "I'm sorry," I yell out in his direction, now trying to get AR's skirt back on. I don't know how long he stood there, but I had a task to do and I wasn't about to let AR free until I was finished.

I put them down for their nap, I walked out of their room and just stood there trying to catch my breath. The phone rang.

Me: Hello

A: Hi, Mel! How's it going?

Me: Great! How about you?

And just like that I was fine. Some days I feel like life kicks my *ss. The kids, the housework, everything, but you know what? When I add up all the good, it far outweighs the bad. So whomever it was that dished out that advice, thank you. It has helped me tremendously.

Now...I hope these crazy kids take a loooooooong nap. Mommy needs a little more time to concentrate on all the great stuff to help her appreciate how wonderful everything is. ;)

Hi! How are you doing? No, they're not walking yet.

I have to say it. I'm getting quite sick of hearing this question. Every phone call we get starts with, "Anyone walking yet?" Trying to see humor in the situation, I've even thought of putting an update on our answering machine. I don't feel challenged by the question. It's just getting annoying.

Which brings me to The Mommy Wars. Maybe I've been in one and haven't even noticed, because almost all moms complain about this, but I haven't run into it yet...that I know of. Maybe I'm a little too naive, but I have to wonder if it's as bad as some say.

I have one friend who immediately gets on the defensive if another mom says their baby has done something her's hasn't. Do you think moms really are trying to one-up your baby with stories of their own? Again, maybe I'm naive, I just don't get that. The way I see it, most moms are just excited to have other moms they can exchange stories with. Let's face it, who other than another mom is going to see the excitement in your child's first solid meal, first word, or that maybe they finally pooped after three days. They tell you their child's glories in exchange for listening to your's.

Maybe it would be different if I had only one child. I can compare all day if I want all by myself in my own home. I know firsthand without ever walking out the door that all babies are different. They all have different personalities, different likes and dislikes, and different timeframes in which they want to do everything. So it's never bothered me when people ask me if any of our babes have done this or that. I've never felt the need to defend any of them for being late at achieving any of the many firsts babies have.

But now...now I'm starting to get a few of the comments like, "Is the doctor okay with that? Are you worried?" Or when I tell them, no, none of them are walking yet, they give me the surprised look - like this is so out of the ordinary. All I can do is keep doing what I've always done, just answer their question politely with a smile - because I'm not worried. Early on I would worry because SA took much longer than the others to lift his (extremely large) head or it took SJ longer to crawl or because they didn't sit up on their own around the time they were supposed to. What I've found is it always happens. Before you know it, you're asking them to slow down. Until the doctor tells me to worry, I'm just going to sit back and enjoy my crawling babies. Besides...when they're up and walking, they just don't seem like babies anymore. :(

Or maybe I could just add to my t-shirt - the one I keep saying I'm going to make - the one that reads:

Yes, I have my hands full.
Yes, we used fertility medicine.
Yes, I'm tired.
No, they're not identical (please note the one in pink).
No, they're not twins, they're triplets.

And, NO, they're not walking yet. :)

Move it on over

It's been decided. We're moving in with my MIL. I was skeptical at first. I didn't know how we would manage with our three kids and two cats, plus her two cats. We'd be staying upstairs. How and where would the kids play with ALL THEIR STUFF? Her house is anything but babyproof, so I was at a loss on how this was going to work.

RD went to pick her up to drive her to work the other day, and she came rushing out of the house before he even got to the door. She couldn't wait to tell him "the plan." We'll put everything in storage, with the exception of everything baby. The cribs will go in the sitting room adjacent to the bedroom upstairs. The cats - they'll have their own litter box and will stay upstairs, while MIL's cats stay on the main floor (there is a door separating the two). As for a play area, MIL is going to clear out the second bedroom on the main floor to set up as a play area. We can fill it to our heart's content with toys and babyproof galore. This sounded like it might work.

I was thinking for awhile that an apartment was the answer, but temporary housing is extremely expensive. The cheapest I could find was $2,000 a month. The only way to catch a deal is if we got a lease for three months or more, but we're looking at four weeks, six weeks tops. So it looks like MIL's house it is.

I think it will be a great set-up. As she said, "We can do ANYTHING for a month...right?" I love my MIL. She is wonderful and we get along great. I don't anticipate any real problems. Before RD and I got married, I practically lived there the year before our wedding. I had my own apartment, but as soon as I got off work I headed over there, then went home right before bed. She's hardly home, so I plan on doing all the cleaning and the bulk of the cooking (RD doing the rest). We'll also be buying all the groceries. Our gift for letting us stay there is to fix up the room that will be serving as the kids' play room after we leave. She's not wanting anything major done, but a good painting and hanging of some window treatments. I'll also keep my ears open for anything she might be wanting for the house. I'd like to buy her something in appreciation for letting us barge in like this.

So that's the plan. We close on this house June 8. The builder said they're scheduled to finish the new house the last week of June, but to be safe, to plan on the first week of July. His mom lives really close, so we can start taking stuff over as soon as we want.

As for all our furniture and endless junk, we're going to rent a large Pod to store everything until it's time for the big move.

The buyer's for this house are having an inspection done this Monday. I don't want to pack or do anything until that's done. I don't know of anything they'd find, but I guess I look at it as the last "out" people have if they want out of a contract (aside from financing, which is covered). So once that is completed, I'll start packing things up. I imagine it'll take awhile...

We've got a lot of stuff packed into this tiny ole' house.

Zoo Allergies

We packed the kids up and headed to the zoo. We got there mid-day, so we lathered the kids up with some baby-friendly sunscreen. About 45 minutes into it, RD looked down at SA and said, "What's wrong with his face?" He had red splotches all over the left side of his face and his eye was watering.

My first thought was that it was a reaction to the sunscreen. We grabbed some lunch and picked a nice table in the shade. I asked them for some water and I did my best to clean off SA's face. It didn't seem to be bothering him - he still kept smiling and seemed to be enjoying all the people walking by. By the time we finished our lunch, his face looked much better. We switched him into the double stroller (which had an umbrella), to give him a break from the sun. As soon as we got moving again, the red splotches returned. He then started to fuss and we decided it wasn't worth it to stay. Afterall, the kids could care less if we were walking around the block at home or at the zoo. The zoo was more for us; they're not at an age yet to appreciate the animals. So we loaded everyone back into the car and headed home. Mere minutes into our trip back home and his face was clearing up. So I don't think it was the sunscreen.

I was thinking it could be a reaction to the sun. I had a similar reaction at the start of each season when I was little. I would break out into what my mom would call "sun poisoning," until I got used to the sun at the start of each Summer. RD's mom (who went to the zoo with us) thought it might be a reaction to something in the air. She said RD's sister's face would break out in a rash when she spent great lengths of time outside - more often in the Spring, when all the allergens are at their peak. RD seemed to think he brushed up against something, but I was pushing his stroller the whole time, so I think I would've noticed. Whatever the reason, that was our first trip as a family to the zoo.

The other two little monkeys (AR and SJ that is) had a great time. AR is the great performer in the family, so she spent the bulk of the time smiling at everyone, doing her best to get noticed by as many people as possible. SJ rocked back and forth, proving to everyone around us that, yes, we are a very strange family - right down to our children.

I guess we won't know what the cause of our boy's rash was until it happens again. But the highlight, was when we were eating our lunch, a little girl came up to touch SA. Her dad came over to get her...you should have seen the look on his face that screamed, "DON'T TOUCH THAT BOY! I DON'T WANT YOU TO GET WHAT HE'S GOT!!" I was sympathetic to the man's (facial) reaction, but knowing it wasn't anything contagious, I found humor in the situation. Now this poor family was probably worried all afternoon, watching for their daughter to break out into some freakish rash.

RD's working tonight, so I'll try to post later about our moving situation (I'm sure you're on pins and needles! ;)).

Have a great weekend!

Playing Catch-Up

I went clothes shopping the other day. Take a moment to do a happy dance. I haven't had that much fun shopping in a long time. Everything I tried on fit. AND, I went down a size. I haven't lost any weight; in fact, I've gained four pounds, but everything is fitting me different. It seems 13+ months after having the babies, my weight is still shifting. I've also been getting a fair amount of exercise lately, so maybe I'm gaining some of the muscle back that I lost while pregnant and on bedrest. I don't know how or why, but I'm lovin' it! I got three outfits, a pair of khaki's, a pair of brown sandals, and a pair of black sandals (my feet jumped up a half size after being pregnant). Now I just need to find some place to go so I can wear my new duds!
__________________________________________

RD and I took the kids to the mall yesterday. I bought a double-umbrella stroller (we already had a single) to use, so that we don't have to lug our big triplet stroller around when we're out together. It was amazing! We felt like a normal family. One, we got in and out of the van right away because we didn't have this big stroller to assemble or break down, and two, we were able to shop without drawing a lot of unwanted attention. What a change that was! We got a few looks and a few people said, "Twins?" (SA, who was in the single stroller, is bigger than AR and SJ, so I think people thought he was an older sibling.), but no gawking and no ignorant comments regarding triplets and fertility drugs or how we have our hands full. It was quite refreshing. Now we can't wait to get out again. If the weather cooperates, we're planning on going to the zoo tomorrow. We have a great (free!) zoo here, so I'm really looking forward to it.
____________________________________

Still looking into some temporary housing. It is really expensive, but I'm thinking it will be a lot easier for everybody (opposed to living with his mom). Two of us, three kids, and two cats...plus his mom and her two cats - not sounding too appealing right now.
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Breaking news...Britney Spears is pregnant. As if I haven't heard that enough times yet today. It's been at the top of every news show today. Enough already. Okay...yes, I'm a big entertainment gossip nut...I just don't like Britney Spears. She really bugs me for some reason. Between her and J-Lo, I think they've both been a bit over-exposed over the past few years.
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I think I'm going to cancel or Blockbuster On-Line membership. They've been really slow in delivering movies, and their selection lately has been awful. I'm considering Netflix, but have heard some not-so-favorable reviews of them lately as well. What's your experience? I've been spoiled by having movies delivered right to my door, so the thought of actually having to walk up and down the aisles...the horr-ah!

Under Contract

Hi all! I only have minute, but wanted to write an update on the house. A day before the house was on the market, we received a contract. I'll have to share the story when I have more time, but a brief summary - a couple knocked on the door, we weren't going to let them in (realtor's orders), but it turns out RD knows the guy. They weren't even here but maybe ten minutes, the guy didn't even look at the whole house (his girlfriend/fiancee(?) did). We didn't even think they were interested, but the next day we received a FULL PRICE offer! Only glitch is that they want to move in June 8. EEK. So now I'm off to look for temporary housing. Yes, the plan was to move in with RD's mom - sounded fine when it was a hypothetical, now I'm not so sure. I'll try to post more later and reply to your comments (thank you!). I upgraded my Haloscan account, so now they've made that easy. Yea!

Be back later!

And you say this like it's a good thing?

RD: Are you going to Target?

Me: Looking down at the clothes I was wearing. I can't go like this.

RD: Oh, you've gone out much worse than that.

I'm Singing in the Rain

I called our realtor yesterday. RD keeps teasing me about how I always have to call to confirm things, follow-up, double-check. I can't help it, I'm really anal that way (I'm going to regret using that word. Search engines, watch out!). I wanted to let her know we passed the city inspection, and since we hadn't talked in awhile and we're going on the market this Friday, I just wanted to touch base.

She said she was getting ready to call us anyway; she has a young couple looking for a house in our price range. She asked if we'd mind if she showed them our house over the weekend (Even though the sign will be up Friday and it will be on-line, it's not officially on the market until Tuesday.). I told her of course we didn't mind. How wonderful would it be if we sold the house right off the bat and didn't have to deal with any open houses or appointments?! Mighty optimistic of me, huh? I was so excited to tell RD, hoping he'd share in my excitement. He wasn't so optimistic.

RD: Are they willing to wait until late-June to move in? I'm not going down on the price so soon. We're not going to have the house ready for them to look at yet.

Me: Okay, first, the closing date may be an issue with a buyer this weekend or Tuesday. A few days aren't going to make a difference. Second, I agree it's too early to come down on price. If they're wanting to make an offer lower than our price, I agree we should wait to see if we get any other offers next week. But, if they're willing to pay within $2,000-$3,000 of our asking price, I say go for it. We already agreed we weren't going to haggle over prices anyway. A couple thousand dollars might be worth the aggravation. And what do you mean it won't be ready? A few days early? What's moving a few last-minute projects up a few days? No big deal.

RD: Well, I'm not going to be home this weekend anyway. He'll be gone Friday afternoon through Saturday afternoon. Not ALL weekend.

Me: There'll be many days on the market that you're gone. I can handle it. I can't make any big decisions without you anyway. Besides, you're only a phone call away. Geesh.

For some reason, this couple coming to see our house a few days earlier than we'd planned is putting RD in a tizzy. He's been all laid back about getting things done, then lastnight he was suddenly put into overdrive, running around wrapping up unfinished projects in the house. Again, nothing major, nothing that can't be done in a day or two.

Me: Why are you freaking out? This is supposed to be a good thing. They might offer listing price and we're done. OR, they might not even like it at all. But that would mean they're crazy or blind! ;) Just relax.

RD: *sigh* Okay.

I should probably mention, my husband does not like change. He's not big on schedules really, but any change from the norm or from the expected and he wigs out.

So, he's a bit antsy. I'm excited. I love looking at real estate, and I'm excited to see our house on-line. Fun!

In other news, I walked up by that school this morning that I mentioned yesterday. A different woman came out to see the babies. At least this one wasn't running and she wasn't yelling at me. She told me she has twins and she couldn't imagine having three. I smiled then thought, "Uh-oh. Is this what's in my future?" I guess I should've mentioned...this is a school for troubled children. It's my strange humor that sent my mind there, but we shared some small talk then I had to sprint home. Our beautiful morning turned on us - it started to rain. So I pulled up the umbrella shades over the babies and ran back to the house as graceful as I could in my clunky stroller.

Now the sun is shining once again. Time to go get some cleaning done. It never ends I tell ya. It never ends.

Funny what a little good weather will do

What a difference good weather makes! I've felt trapped in this house all winter; unable to go out due to the risk of RSV, and not wanting to go out in the nasty weather.

Now we've had temperatures in the upper-60's and 70's. Sunny, nice breeze. Just perfect! I've been taking the kids out for twice-daily walks - one in the morning and one after dinner. I'm sure it's just in my head, but I swear my thighs and hips are trimmer. And my arms...well, no need to work out my arms when I've got a 40-pound stroller holding 70+ pounds of baby to push up a hill. The kids seem happier, I'm happier. I think we all were getting a little stir crazy!

One thing that I'm going to have to get used to again...being the walking freak show on the block. Some people just slow down in their cars to stare, some yell out the window, some even stop. I think the neighbors close to us are finally used to seeing us around, but it's the lookie-lou's driving by that we have to deal with. Today, we walked up to the school behind our house. I was just turning the corner when I hear a woman yelling behind me, "STOP!!! STOP!!!!! I need to see these babies!!!" Okay, wouldn't you be startled if someone started yelling out at you, running towards you full speed? I keep waiting to get used to this, but have yet to adjust to the sudden celebrity-status. She had nothing but wonderful things to say, so it turned out to be a pleasant conversation. Two days ago a woman stopped us to tell us how sorry she was for us. That's real nice, lady. Thank you. Thank you so much. Now I feel better. I told her not to be sorry, because we're not. She's lucky I was in a good mood, because what gets me is these people saying these things in front of my kids. They may not get it now, but they will. All I can do is do my best to keep a positive attitude about things, not lash out at them (as I truly want to do), and maybe, just maybe I can teach my children a lesson at the same time.

...or...I can wait to flip the person off when the kids aren't looking. hahahahaha! Yea, that's more like it!

Hello, my name is Chicken Shit

Not exactly what I had in mind...

Our good ole' neighbors across the street - you know, the ones with the rake on the roof and all the crap in their driveway - got a new car a week or two ago. Great, you say, so how does it affect me? Her new car is for sale. Again, no problem, right? Well, she has decided to park the one for sale right in front of our house. I understand when you have umpteen cars at your house due to your many guests, parking can be a problem - sometimes it is unavoidable to park in front of neighbor's homes. BUT, our yard is NOT a car lot, and I do not want your dormant car parked in front of MY house with a big 'For Sale' sign on it.

I know I'm starting to sound like the annoying neighbor here, but I'm so sick of their crap. I have to say, they have made some improvements around their house lately. The rake, I am happy to say, has been removed. Thrown in their front yard, but at least it's off the roof. And yesterday, they moved all the boulders to their back yard. Their lawn is now covered with straw, so it looks like they actually planted grass seed. YOWZA!

Having witnessed their antics over the years, it's safe to say they're not the most mature peeps on the block. I thought of going over there and asking them to move the car, but again, was worried it would backfire if I pissed them off. If it was the neighbor on either side of us, I wouldn't worry, but these people...well, they're a different breed ya might say. So I thought, isn't it illegal to park a car with a 'For Sale' sign on a public street anyway? Maybe I could say WE got a call or something asking us to remove it. It is in front of our house afterall. But, no, their number is on the car, so that wouldn't make sense. I could say I got a letter from the city, but then they might ask to see it.

I know I sound like a bitch, but our house is up for sale this weekend, and they're eyesore enough, I don't need them parking their crap in front of our house for display.

So I called the City to ask if it was legal or not, to see if I have anything to back it up if I do confront the neighbor. The woman on the phone said she doesn't handle it, since it's on the street I would have to call the non-emergency Police Department number. Okay...so I did. I wish I would've thought before doing so, or at least given our neighbor a few more days to move the car on their own (it's been in front of our house for three), but being as impulsive as I am, I called immediately.

Me: Is it legal to have a car parked outside our house, on the street, with a 'For Sale' sign on it.

Police: No, mam. What's your address?

Me: Uh... XXXXXXX. It's not my car, it's my neighbor's.

PO: How long has it been there?

Me: Three days. I don't want her to know I called. I don't want to start anything with my neighbor. I just wanted to find out....

PO: We'll send someone right over. What kind of car is it?

Me: XXXXXXXXX. I...uh...just wanted to check. Damn.

I was really hoping they'd just send a warning letter or something. This sucks. Damn. I hate to be "THAT GUY." The one that calls to report their neighbors, when they should have the balls to just go talk to their neighbors themselves. Ugh. Crap.

Oh well. We'll see how this plays out. Let's hope we don't wake up with a rake or two on our roof in the morning.

Blech.

Updated to Add: She moved the car. I didn't see a police car drive by, but I saw her on the phone outside with a slip of paper in her hand. Of course, I then felt bad. I should've handled it differently. It started off with me just wanting to make a call to get all the facts before I went over there...it just didn't work out that way. I took the easy way out. Hind sight's a bitch!

Sunny Day Randoms

I was sitting back daydreaming about our new kitchen, then something hit me. Holy crap - we're going to have A LOT of baby proofing to do! I'm ecstatic over all the cabinet space, but that's a lot of tot locks! Do I gate off the entire kitchen - both from the family room and butler's pantry? Or do my best to babyproof the room? I really don't want to block it off, but...I guess that's one more thing to think about.

It is GORGEOUS out today! I think I'll take the kids out for a walk after their lunch. It's supposed to be around 70, but there's no breeze, so it should feel nice and warm.

I'm kind of winging it today with the time change. I'm usually a stickler for schedules, but the time change has kind of thrown me off today. I usually get the kids up sometime between 7:30-7:45 a.m. Today I went in and got them around 8:15 a.m. We've decided to move their bedtime from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. I can't see putting them to bed when it's still bright and sunny out, and this will give us more time in the day to do things this Summer. We seem to usually eat later in the Summer anyway. It's sure going to make for a looong day though!

RD works until 3 p.m. today. The 'For Sale' sign goes in our yard on Friday, so I'm wanting to get all the yardwork finished in the next few days. I think it's supposed to rain Wednesday and Thursday. I guess he can finish the mulch this afternoon, then tomorrow I can run out and get some flowers.

Our neighbors...ugh...our neighbors. I still haven't been brave enough to take a picture of their house. Now that the weather has been nice, they've been having parties left and right - cars parked up and down the street - zooming around on their motorcycles. How on earth are we going to get these freaks to behave while we're having people look at our house? They're crazy I tell ya!

Well...I better get the kids up. If I let them sleep too much longer they won't nap well for their second nap. And I still need to dry my hair. I hope you have wonderful weather wherever you are, and are out enjoying it!

Until next time...

Sentimental Sap That I Am

Now that our market date is approaching, I'm getting all nostalgic about our house.



For good reason really. This was the first house for both of us - the house we started our marriage in, the house we had our children in (well, not literally, but you know).

I keep looking around at everything, thinking that these beautiful walls will belong to someone else. Someone else will be loading this dishwasher. Someone else will be mowing this lawn. Someone else will be sleeping in my room. Someone else's clothes will be hanging in my closet. Someone else's cat will be puking on my carpet. Someone else...

*SIGH*

Don't get me wrong, I'm more than excited to move into our new house, but it makes me sad to leave something so wonderful behind. I've been whining about wanting to move for the past year - and now the time is near and I just can't help but get weepy over it.

I keep thinking...

I wish I knew this past Christmas would be our last Christmas here.
I wish we would've put up a Christmas tree (didn't want to bother with having the babies here to tear it down).
I wish I'd been able to help RD plant in the yard last Spring (new babies made it impossible).
I wish I'd talked to the old lady nextdoor more.
I hope I like the person(s) who moves in.
I should've spent more time outside. Our yard is beautiful.


I hope they take care of our home.
I hope the new people take advantage of being within walking distance of all the jazz fests in town.
I hope they love this house as much as I do.

Of course I knew it was our last Christmas here, but it's not something I gave a lot of thought to at the time. It was more like, "Yeaahhh!! Next Christmas we'll be in our new house!" Whereas now I'm all weepish over knowing it won't be here. Is it crazy to feel this attached to a house? I know the memories will always be with me...blahblahblah...but the thought of someone painting our walls...changing anything...I just don't even want to think about it. I know that sounds ridiculous, but I just can't stop obsessing about it right now.

I'm sure once we move in our new house I'll be so excited (and busy) that I won't even give this house much thought (well, maybe a little). But right now...the love I'm feeling for this house is overwhelming.

Someday I'll drive our kids past this house and say, "That's where we lived when you were little babies!" Okay, now I'm tearing up. I sure hope I'm getting ready to start, because this is ridiculous!

Enough of this mushy nonsense. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

I'm Still Here!

We're working away on house projects. We've been taking advantage of the beautiful weather we're having here to put the mulch out and get our lawn beautimous!

Aimee, Just for YOU, girl, I'm going to try and sneak a picture of the neighbor's house. Someone is ALWAYS home, so I don't know if I'll have the gnads to do it...but I'll try!

I'm hoping to be able to visit all your sites at some point in the next couple days. I'm so behind!

Mommy's Grumpy

I'm sure I've posted before that negativity drives me crazy...well...I'm about to throw out a whole lotta negativity. There's only so much screaming and crying mom can take before she loses all control, and I think that time has come.

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Dear SA, When you see mommy on her hands and knees, cleaning up the green beans off the floor, it doesn't help the situation to then throw your sippy cup across the room, in turn causing the lid to go flying, as well as all the liquid in it. This might be that one thing that makes mommy snap.

Dear SJ, As sick as this sounds, thank you for laughing when mommy burst into tears after getting soaked with the contents of SA's forementioned sippy cup. Mommy had momentarily lost her mind and needed to see that sweet smile of your's. Again, thank you.

Dear AR, How long does it take to recover from a day of two missed naps? Seriously, I need to know.

Dear Hubby, When I call crying...NO...SOBBING because I want you to come home from your Grandma's, I mean NOW. You haven't heard me cry like this in a long time, so this should be a sign that the stress level is pretty high back at home and your presence is needed IMMEDIATELY.

Dear Neighbor Across the Street, We're putting our house on the market in two weeks, would it be too much to ask for you to get that rake and potted plant off your roof? I don't know why or how they got there, but I think the rusty tricycle (that you got from OUR DUMPSTER), blue tarp, jack-o-lantern, small boulders, folded up mattress, and broken down trailer in your driveway is enough, I think throwing your yard tools up on your roof is a bit much. I'm just sayin'.

Dear Family Member, I know how to feed my kids. I know what to feed my kids. If I'm not ready to feed them candy and soda, that is my decision, not your's. Just because you think it's perfectly okay to let your kids drink Coke from a sippy cup, doesn't mean it's okay to give it to mine. I promise not to tell you how to raise your kids, if you promise not to tell me how to raise mine.

Dear Loan Borrower, Considering we have loaned you a large amount of money, not once, but twice - money you still owe us - it might be a good idea to stop trying to give me all these things you bought off E-Bay that you decided you don't want. And no you didn't win it, you BOUGHT it.

Dear Kitty, Must you puke? Everyday? On the carpet? We have plenty of hardwood floor for you to yack on, but no, you choose to puke on the carpet. And this morning...on my one pair of clean jeans. Why? Oh why?

That's all my b*tching for today. I think...

Thank you. I feel much better now. Whew!

Happy Easter!!

After a very long, nap-deprived day, there's nothing like a little Baby Einstein to tame the babes...

Let there be light!

Thank you, Miki, for directing me over to Flickr! I can now post pictures! No, I don't have any pictures of the kids. I'm still sticking to my no-pictures-of-the-kids-on-the-Internet rule, but I might sneak in some non-identifying ones every now and then. Maybe some exciting back-of-the-head shots? ;)

I've posted some of the light fixtures we've picked out for the new house. I couldn't find pictures of all our fixtures, but here's what I've got...


Exterior Light - Next to front door and one next to each garage door


Foyer


Dining Room Candelabra


Kitchen Island Pot Rack/Light Fixture


Kitchen Sink Fixture/Butler Pantry Fixture


Breakfast Room Candelabra


Powder Room Fixture


2nd-Floor Hallway Fixture

I'll see if I can find pictures of some of the others - this is wildly-exciting, I know! ;)

*All Pictures Courtesy of Metro Lighting Center

Hair Four Days Ago, Gone the Day After That

I'm a little late posting this newsbreaking entry, but I got my hair cut. About five inches to be exact.

I have very fine, thin hair, so I have no business having long hair, but my husband loves long hair, and throws a big enough fit when it's time for me to get my hair cut, that you'll usually catch me with long tresses every couple years. After much frustration, I told him a serious haircut was long overdue.

I guess you would call it a short bob. It can be worn strait, curled under, or flipped at the ends - there's lots of layers. I like it. It's pretty easy to fix (I just dry it with a round brush) and the kids love to play with it (it was always back in a ponytail before I got it cut). I also had her color it a chestnut brown, with highlights on top (I'm naturally a blonde). The darker color made my blue eyes pop, unfortunately the color has almost washed out completely. My hair won't hold color for anything.

I think it looks great, but I've gotten some less than favorable reactions. What can ya do? I love it, RD says it's "okay," it's just going to have to be for now.

Can't please everybody. :)

In Sickness and in Love

Okay...so that's not how it goes, but the title seemed fitting for this post.

Thank you everyone who sent well-wishes for our anniversary! RD and I had a WONDERFUL dinner at The Melting Pot. We had the Big Night Out's Classic Feast and it was to die for!! When it came time for dessert, I lost all control.

Me: mmmm....MMMMMM...This is just delicious! mmmmmm.

RD: Do you have to make those noises?

Me: It's just so good! Ohhhhh!! Did you try the brownie? mm-mm-mmmm.

RD: You're making sex noises. It's getting weird. laughing Stop it!

Me: It's just so good! I can't help it!

By my slightly-orgasmic reaction to the Flaming Turtle Chocolate Fondue, it's safe to say the meal was a success. It was a wonderful ending to a not-so-wonderful day...

AR and SJ were sick. And still are a bit, but do seem better today. RD started the day off by taking his mom to her Neuro-appointment. They then picked up lunch and we enjoyed some French onion soup and roast beef sandwiches. As time was passing, AR was getting worse. SJ was obviously not feeling well either, but AR just seemed to be feeling awful. She just wanted to be held, and lied limp in our arms. Her fever got as high as 103.5. Luckily, she still had an appetite and thirst, so I didn't fret over her dehydrating.

RD and I had an appointment at Metro Lighting to pick out the lights for the new house - his mom was going to watch the kids. She was going to be watching them over naptime, and I have complete confidence that she could have handled them just fine, but it didn't feel right leaving sick kids behind - so RD stayed behind while I went to the lighting place on my own. I had already spent countless hours scouring their Internet site to get a feel for what we were wanting; I had a general idea of what he liked and disliked, so I went on. Let me just say...it wasn't as fun as I thought it would be. First of all, the place was so darn hot. Not a surprise, considering all the lights they had on display. Duh! And second, it's quite nerve-racking picking out light fixtures worth hundreds of dollars on my own - 80% of which were marked 'Special Order Item - NOT RETURNABLE.' No pressure. Despite the gamble I took on a few items, I think he'll be happy with everything.

I need to figure out how to post pictures on here. I've been told repeatedly how easy it is to set up...I'm just so clueless to this stuff. I could put together a killer PowerPoint Presentation, but don't ask me to install software or...whatever else there is to do outside of the Microsoft programs. I'm going to see if I can find the pictures on Metro's site so I can post pictures of some of the light fixtures we're getting. Our dining room chandelier and foyer fixture are quite funky - either you'll love them or hate them. I'm anxious to hear people's reactions. I decided I'm tired of playing it safe; I have a "different" taste when it comes to decorating, and it's time to unleash it!

On the real estate front...I just found out the house nextdoor got a contract its second day on the market. WOO-HOO! Definitely a good sign. Our realtor is coming over Monday so we can sign all the paperwork, complete disclosure forms, etc. We were shooting for mid-April, but with the expected increase in the interest rate, I'm wondering if we should put it on the market a bit sooner. We'll see what her thoughts are.

Which leads me to the not-so-big news that I obviously made way too big a deal of last week. Again, big for us, but such a bore for you. Sorry to be such a tease! Since we're building, we won't have a set closing date for several weeks, if not longer, which leaves the possibility of a double-move being in our future. I had looked into several temporary leases available in the apartments in our area - some pretty nice, but let's face it, there's nothing nice about a double-move. Now comes RD's mom. She has been ordered not to drive for the next six months, due to the seizure she had a couple weeks ago. I had just gotten off the phone with RD, trying to figure out what days we would be driving MIL and what days his sisters would be, etc. That's when a lightbulb went off...

What if we go ahead and put our house on the market, not worrying about the timing, go ahead and put that it is ready for immediate closing -AND- then move in with his mom until our house is ready. We're already having to coordinate grocery trips, drives to her work...and every other thing, so wouldn't it be easier if we were right there? If we didn't have three kids it wouldn't be such an issue, but right now...I'm just going to say it...I can see it becoming a pain packing the kids up all the time to drive her around. I love my MIL VERY MUCH, so it's not that it would be a nuisance, but let's be real here, it sorta would be. She has plenty of room (well enough) for us upstairs and we would be right there. THEN, RD also suggested that once we do move in our house, she live with us until she can drive. Our new house is five minutes from her work. Fine by me. Before you all roll your eyes and tell me how not fine it's going to be...it would only be until September. And, it wouldn't really be her moving in with us, but staying with us several days during the week. We'd take her back to her house on the weekends, and whenever else she wanted, but it would be so convenient to be right there. And we'll have the space, so we might as well take advantage of it.

We had this whole plan worked up, but RD hadn't talked to his mom about it, so I didn't want to dish about our "plan" on here until he spoke to her about it. Other than still being obviously bummed over losing her independence during these six months (can you blame her?!), she said it did make sense. Nothing is set in stone at this time, but everyone is keeping their options open. When RD asked her what she thought of having the three kids there, she gave him an ecstatic, "Great!"

She then got a serious look and said, "It will be a full house." He replied, "Yea...three kids and us." "No," she said, "FOUR CATS!!!"

When we dance, Angels will run and hide their wings

Happy Anniversary, Darlin'.

I love you so much. You keep my laughing, keep me smiling, and make each day more wonderful just by being in it. Thank you for making me so happy.

And don't forget...

I love you MORE!