Things that may or may not happen on my Memorial Day

So First off. Happy Memorial Day. I hope everyone has a great three day weekend. I do not get a three day weekend. I actually get to work an extra shift this week. Because I'm nice and offered to trade. Blah blah....

I have to work 5 days in a row this week.  It sounds funny to complain about that. But I work 10 hour shifts. And no overtime because the last day is today. Wah wah waah. 

Anywhining I wanted to share with you things I might do during the day, besides sleep. So here is my list of "Things I May Or May Not do On Memorial Day."

Wear a stylish hot dog necklace to the barbecue?

maybe. Its pretty snazzy.

Get completely traumatized by Ronald McDonald being in the pool?

Uhhh It could happen, he's pretty f-in creepy.

Go to the beach?

Doubtful, not any that close, although I am seriously missing some beach time

Look this cute in a vintage bikini if I do go swimming?

Um. That is a resounding no. This is a four month post pregnancy body. This wears a t-shirt over mom bathing suit. 

But the one thing that I will absolutely do and hope you do the same?

I will remember that memorial day isn't about a three day weekend of sun, barbecue and fun. Its about remembering our military and what they've done for us. Because no matter what your politics, they still deserve our recognition.

Because could you handle this? I can't. I cried just looking at the picture. (was proofreading and got all teary-eyed again. damn it! I am such a baby cry)

Thanks for reading and enjoy your holiday. Just don't forget why we get to have government holidays.

Also I have just discovered google reader. I know!  So bear with me while I get that cleaned up and ready to use. +1000 unread posts, supposedly. And I am to anal to (too? my brain is sieve.)  just mark all as read and start over. I actually want to go through it. 

Common Cents or the most unoriginal blog title ever.

 

I just finished reading Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace.  I have always enjoyed  his television and radio show. If you don't know...He was a real estate agent who ended up in huge amounts of debt. Losing his car and almost his house. He pulled himself out of debt and is now debt free.  (To be fair, it doesn't hurt that he make s a lot of money hosting his TV show, radio show, writing numerous books and selling his Financial Peace University course)  But at one point he was a regular guy. 

On the radio and TV show if you follow the plan and become debt free you get to call in and yell "I'M DEBT FREE!" I get teary eyed every time. I want to do that! So I bought his first book.  I mean really its all commons sense.  If you want to save money, don't spend it. And if you don't want bills, then pay them. Its like if you want to lose weight expend more calories then you intake.  These are things I know, but rarely follow.

So for people like me he has "Baby Steps" and the "Snowball payment Plan."

First baby step is to start saving until you get up to 1,000. We have absolutely no savings. Wouldn't it be nice to have money when the car breaks down instead of panicking?  After that you start paying off your debt. You start with the smallest bill and make the minimum payment until you've paid it off. Then you find the next smallest bill and add the previous minimum payment to its minimum payment, and so on and so forth. Until all that's left is your house. 

 I think is really where my money goes. Not to going out to eat. pht. 

I've read a lot of criticism on the snowball method.  Because technically its not the least expensive way to pay off your debt because of compound interest. But what Ramsey is trying to do is help you change your mindset. How exciting is it to say in 6 months you paid off an entire credit card bill? (my husband and I actually don't have or want credit cards. Evil plastic!) Then to say in three years you're still slowly paying off the car.  We are an instant gratification society and Ramsey tries to make that work for you instead of against you.

Truthfully there's a lot of religious stuff I could do without. But I just read it like it was more advice, not preaching at you. 

this, if you can't tell is a real live baby foot, albeit a blurry one. She won't stop kicking them out!

There are of course more "Baby Steps" but hubby and I are working on the first one. We're going on Tuesday to open a savings account and I can have my direct deposit split between the two. I am so excited! I'll let you guys know when we get to the next step. Wish us luck!

Simply because you can breath doesn't mean your alive.

That song quote always gets to me. Am I really living? Paying attention and cherishing my kids life's, being present and loving in my marriage. Those things to me are living. Those are the important things. I mean I would love to be a famous pastry chef, but my goal now is to make sure my kids grow up happy and healthy with social skills. Nothing worse then an adult without social skills. Mouth breathers I like to call them. 

 

don't you wish we could bottle magic?

On my way to work I ended up listening to "crazy time radio" otherwise known as Coast to Coast. Its a show where they talk about all things metaphysical. Don't get me wrong, I actually believe in a lot of that stuff. But the people they get on to talk sometimes, shatter any credibility that they may have established previously. 

"It picked me up with its laser beam and shook me like a dog"

this makes me want a puppy. 

I've been feeling a little lost with the keeping up with blogs and followers.  I've been trying to comment through email instead of the blog. My thoughts behind this is that now you know for sure I'm responding, instead of having to look back. What do you guys think? I'm also always behind on blog reading. Which is actually funner for me then writing them. But then I remember I am human, I have a job, husband, children, a messy house, and back seasons of The Office to watch, not to mention the Netflicks we haven't watched. And I just say I'll get to it when I get to it. 

Had a crazy morning at work. A girl caused a safety and I had to wake up houseparents an hour before they were supposed to. But I got the girl calm and coping. It felt good to be able to do that. To know what will work for each kid. Days like that, as hectic as they may be, make me want to stay at this job. But then days where the other staff are assholes, make me question it. 

do you think the postman would pay attention?

I think this post might sound whiny, but really things are fantastic. The girls are growing and too smart for our good. We have Peanut for a whole month! Pea is going to be four soon, and Bliss is four months. She keeps trying to sit up, but it just looks like she's doing crunches. And hubby and I are better then ever, in all aspects of marriage. eh..eh..eh. Anytoomuchinfo....

 

this is where I want to be so bad, curled around hubby.

Random inspirational pictures throughout all from weheartit. Cause we so do!

How's you guys life? Do you believe in aliens? Have you ever been abducted? Do you feel like your living? What makes you happy? Let me know!

Put your problems in a little pile, and I will sort them out for you.

As I've mentioned, having three kids makes having date nights the tiniest bit difficult. So my husband and I have had to get creative. Which means we have to do kid friendly date nights and just appreciate the time we get with each other outside of the house. In between "If you don't stop bugging your sister, you're going to bed as soon as we get home" and trading off diaper changes in bathrooms without changing tables, we get to talk and enjoy one another.  Or after putting the kids to bed we stay up and play boardgames. This may sound insanely geeky, but the TV is off and facebook and blogger are off and we get to talk. And luckily my husband is hilarious and always has me laughing uncontrollably over monopoly.

Last week, we had to get really creative. We spent six whole hours without the kids, getting to watch TV, and hold hands together. Oh and filling out forms, getting stuck with an IV and paying co-pays. Oh yeah, hot date night in the emergency room.

I had a pain in my right side for about three days. I hate complaining. I don't want anyone to think I'm a whiner so if I am whining about pain then its pretty bad. And since my husband knows me so well he knew this, so he got off early (see I was just faking it so I could get him to come home) and he insisted we go to the ER. I was hesitant because I didn't want to spend hours there and pay money we didn't have, for them to tell me it was gas.  But he told me to shut up and get in the car. He loves me. Grandma and Grandpa watched the girls.

We spent a couple of hours watching the Disney channel in the waiting room, then a couple more in a little room. They did an ultrasound, which hurt worse then my side pain. I was like uhhh bedside manner anybody? They tried to give me an iv with pain meds, it took them a couple of tries and me trying not to punch the nurse in the head. I am really pale, like glow in the dark. How can you not find my vein! So we did all that for them to tell us that they don't know what it is. But come back if it gets worse. Ooooookay. So I'll come back when the alien bursts out of my side. Thanks.

They sent us to the exit. Which is a locked hallway! Once you're in it you can't go back out the way you came in or go out the exit until you pay or make payment arrangements. It was actually very creepy and made me feel claustrophobic. The  accounts receivable lady was really nice and absurdly grateful that we were nice. She must get a whole lot of assholes in there.  Then we went home and I pretty much passed out on the couch.

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Bonus:I had a real reason for calling into work (not that I would ever lie when I call in) and got to spend uninterrupted time with my hubby. Moral of the story, when your busy parents you take it where you can get it and make it work. (ala Tim Gunn)

Best date night ever!

And a video to go with the White Stripes sleeping picture.

Knowing what day of the week it is=failed

Like my bloggy friend Salt said, its been a a little lot cloudy in blogland.  Another blogger is having a hard time of it. Daffy (at BatCrap Crazy) had more then clouds, her sister passed away this week. So please go visit her and let her  know that she has our support.

And who is it that is helping to get the word out? You guessed it Ian over at Daily Dose of Reality. An awesome selfless guy making sure that we all stay connected. Since really that's the point of blogging. To me it is anyway.

He's made this weeks Monday Minute, dedicated to Daffy,

So here it is...do it yourself, link up here and also go visit her, follow and show the bloggy love.

1 - Do you *snort*?

I do. Not a lot but when its really funny. I love it when something makes me laugh that hard. I also make this high pitched squeaky noise too. I also love it when something makes me laugh so hard that you don't make any noise. Its the best.

2 - Our friend, has a nickname and it's Daffy. What's your nickname?


In high school people called me Ana, I hate that one, My family calls me Stacia (stah-sha), my niece calls me Stacien.  I like my name. Its pretty, please just use it. Thanks

the person I'm named after. If your interested her history is here.

3 - Do you know sign language?

Just the alphabet. and like thank you. Those kind of things. If I was in SignLanguageotopia, I could order food and find the bathroom. Isn't that what you should know at least in a different language?


4 - What's a sample convo from your hood?

Wow, my mind is fried. let me see..."Mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy"
"Yeah baby?"
"Ummmm....uhhhhh...I....ummm...did you know that unicorns have horns?"
Of course this needs to be said by interrupting a conversation Daddy and I are having.






5 - Do you sleep with electronic devices - i.e. laptop, Blackberry, iPhone, etc?

Nope. nothing. Salt apparently spoons with her remote. freaking weirdo. Go follow her so you can make fun of her at least.
So link up even if you read this on Friday. No one is going to call the blog police on you. I promise.
 
In my world. I ate a terrible breakfast (i.e, awesome and covered in queso) So I was all gung ho about walking down the street to the park. Letting us all get our wiggles out. But it is about to thunderstorm. So I am consoling my self by eating hot dogs, with ketchup. Oh the processed goodness.

p.s. it never actually rained and then I got distracted by something shiny, so didn't get to finish this or post it. Sorry!

Learning new things about myself

This is apparently what I do when my mother-in-law tells me that I hurt her feelings. No. Wait. I take it back. I "scrunch up my face and look like" I'm about to stick out my tongue.

And I also do this. I stomp off in a "huff." I really appreciate her bringing this to my attention, because I had no idea I do these things. (well technically she brought it to my husbands attention because every time she tells me something I "respond with anger") I don't even recall having a conversation about her feelings. Wow, I am unobservant. Also when hubby is not here, I act way different. I am really mean to her. Again, thank you for letting me know. Really, no clue!

 And would you like to know what started this? On Friday I got up at around 8am. And went to bed at around 10am on Saturday. Why? Oh because I have a job, that is at night.  And what did they think was a super awesome fantastic idea to do at 11am?

Mow the lawn.

Right outside my window. And I expressed my displeasure with this by going to her room and jokingly saying. "Well I was asleep. But now they're mowing." with a smile on my face. And she snapped at me so I snapped back. But that's not what happened. Silly me. I actually stood in her doorway with my eyes bugged out and stared at her until she asked me what was wrong. And I snapped "Well I was asleep!"  How creepy of me.

They then waited until I had left for work to confront hubby with my obvious rage issues. Good thing cause I might have hulked out or something if they had come to me about it.

Don't want to be rude!

I got an award. And isn't this one super cute.  I love pin up girls. I even want one as a tattoo. I want a "baker" pin up girl. Rosalee at Big Fish Small Pond handed it over. I love her blog. She's really honest and you feel like you know her even though she lives about a bajillion miles away. Bajillion is a valid unit of measurement. Ok!

There doesn't seem to be any fun rules or specifics. But Rosalee gave it to just me. Cause I am that awesome.  So I am passing it on to just one person.

Mostly a photography/inspiration blog.  Always beautiful pictures either way.

Please go check her out and follow. As Well as Rosalee.

I enjoyed my break. I come back and I have over 100 followers! Its a close margin so I don't want to hold my breath or anything cause someone could always unsubscribe.  I enjoyed taking a pause. I still read blogs. It was nice not worrying about having something to write about or if anyone will actually read it. So I think I will stick to that mentality. It feels pretty healthy.

So we went to Chick-Fil-A on Thursday. I love there nuggets, but why is there never enough of them! It disappoints me every time. I met some of my old friends from my old job. It was nice catching up. One of them is moving so it'll be even harder. I have to confess that I am terrible at keeping up with people. Mostly cause I hate talking on the phone. Hate it! Yeah for text and facebook.

But my friend's kid was being obstinate. He's almost 3 and it was technically his nap time so that's just how it goes down. But Pea ventured into the playground by herself. She kept trying to play with people or even just get in the tunnel, but would get ignored or knocked into. It made my heart hurt. When it was time to go I asked her if she had fun and she said yes, but that no one wanted to be her friend. It makes me want to punch other kids in the head. How can you not see how fun and awesome she is? You are all idiots. It makes me sad while typing it. I know that there's nothing I can really do, except love her at home and be supportive. But she's starting preschool soon and I want to protect her from those kind of feelings. How do you handle it? How do you keep from getting a little teary-eyed? Or punching other people's kids in the head?

how could you resist her?

I try not to think about it too hard. Because it will just put me into a funk.

Because he's the only philospher I need

I hope everyone has a great week. I am getting a tad burnt out on the media consumption so I might be taking a break for a hot minute. But who are we kidding..Maybe I'll see you tomorrow.

Fawk You Friday...or Sunday. Righteous anger's good anyday.

 The Ukrainian Parliament. Doesn't it look like they're ganging up on that guy cause he wore the wrong color?

 Okay so I'm late.  Sue me then! This is Fawk You Friday. Or Sunday. Fawk timelines. 

Okay okay let me explain. So you know we're all banding together to help out Michelle and Monkey.

 If you want to help click over here ---->

And what some people are donating are to let someone else host their link up. So you get all the glory. Fantastic huh? Not so much for one

particular blogger, when asked their response was "It would take away the fun."  Is that right? Well fawk you. 

So J at Boobies, Babies and A Blog started this new link up.

I'm hoping it catches on and I hope other people are more timely than I am. And I have a feeling it will be cathartic. 

I could go on and on.

First off. Fawk cancer! 

Fawk that a little baby can get it and fawk that any one can get it!

Fawk money. 

Fawk debt.

Fawk rude debt collectors. Not just rude downright mean and inappropriate

Fawk last year.

Fawk you for making bad decisions where you're child is concerned so you can get laid. 

Fawk you for talking shit about me and then acting like it never happened. Let's just clear the air and move the fawk on.

Fawk you maternal guilt.

Fawk you negative people at work. 

Fawk parents who don't love their kids enough because I'd rather not have a job then have this place full of kids scared and in pain.

 Fawk you BP and Haliburton and the other company. Who cares whose fault it is!? Fawking fix it! 

Fawk you for making me cry and doubt myself.

Okay sorry. Like I said, on and on. 

At work when girls throw screaming fits its hard to deal with.  But its also a good thing, because at least they are showing their emotions.  Not just bottling them up to manifest in more unhealthy ways.  You should do the same. Have a bloggy screaming fit! Today. Or you can wait until Friday. Fine. Whatever.

To end on a more positive note. 

Excerpt From Baby Manual

So I had a hard time with Miss Bliss today. I was going on little sleep and she was having herself an inconsolable crying episode.  So I thought I would pull out her manual and refresh everyone's memory on how to deal with this situation. What? You didn't get  a manual? Well you should march your butt back to the Postnatal ward and demand it. But until then you can borrow mine. 

Situation One: Inconsolable Crying Episode

 First of all remember, you will have no idea why they are crying. You may be able to tell the difference from a hungry or pain cry. But during an inconsolable cry none of that will matter. 

 Try to hold them in different positions. We recommend the most painful position, because that works every time. And hold yourself there until she falls asleep

Also try rocking them in different ways. You can try the Super Aunt Monica rock where you kind of rock them back and forth rapidly. But for most babies as we said earlier, try the repetitive motion that hurts your back and arms the most. And continue to do this until she falls asleep. 

You may think, since just taking a giant poop usually wears them out to the point that they sleep for five hours. that  they will eventually wear themselves out and pass out. This happens sometimes, so we suggest holding your breath while you wait for it. 

And once they are asleep. Do not, we repeat, do not move. At all. Especially do not try to get more comfortable because you will have to start over again. Also, do not say hi to your four year old, no matter how quiet you are this will wake the baby up. 

Then when you just about had enough, your husband will come home and you can trade off. He will of course have her calm and LAUGHING within thirty minutes also while taking care of the four year old and fixing dinner, while you sit like a wet noodle on the couch. Because he is magical. Do not question it. 

Do you guys have any suggestions that the Manual doesn't cover? During this I was writing a blog post in my head about it and wondering if its a) coping skill or b)unhealthy obsession. What do you guys think?

On a serious note, if you are having this problem and nothing works and you feel like you are going to jump out the window at any minute, put the baby in its crib. Make sure they are safe and then just walk away for a little bit. It won't hurt them and it gives you a chance to calm down.  And maybe, if you're lucky, they will wear themselves out and go to sleep.

ps-looking at pictures of contortionists really freaks me out.

More information on how to help Little Miss Monkey

So the help-a-thon has begun for Pixie Dreams little Monkey. As you saw in my previous posts Monkey has neuroblastoma and is 16 months old. This sucks. There's not a nice way to put it.

Ian has started a fund raiser. Because her family is going to need it. As anyone who isn't living under a rock knows that even if your lucky enough to have insurance, it doesn't always cover everything. There are specialist that they may have to drive or fly to see, accommodations while there, missed work. And whose going to take care of their other two fantastic little girls? And maybe they'll want to buy a meal instead of having to cook something for 5 people after hospital visits.

And of course what they also need is moral support. And they are getting it in droves. You can continue to support them by visiting My Pixie Dreams and lending it through comments.

The details for the fundraiser are here. Basically tons of people have donated things to auction off and you can win them. Please go and even if you can give a dollar..you can probably go without your morning cup of coffee today. Hell, if you're buying Starbucks that's more then a dollar! You can also donate things by contacting Ian. And you can add this button to your blog to send others. Please help, even if its just comment support. Thanks guys

Click on monkey to donate...please help!

how ridiculously cute is she!

Like Shell said "it could be one of our kids." And that is hands down fucking scary. 

I wasn't sure if I should post again about Miss Monkey but then I thought, if your annoyed or don't like it, then I don't really want you as a follower. So there!

This blog is so fetch

I just got done reading "Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression In Girls" by Rachel Simmons. Its really interesting and counts as training for work. Score!

Its about bullying among girls. The writer interviewed tons of girls, Young and old about their bullying experiences. She spoke to woman who are adults but were bullied and still have problems with it.  She points out the difference between girls bullying and boys bullying. Boys are obviously more physical. I'm sure you've noticed that after guys have a fight they go have a beer, but when girls even have a small disagreement its a huge deal and they never speak again. Woman tend to bully in more hidden ways. Notes, looks, whispers that kind of thing.

The most interesting chapter (to me) was the what can parents do. You feel so helpless. When Peanut started Kindergarten, there was a little girl bullying her. My first response was to tell her to punch the girl in the head, but I stopped myself. Basically it says just be there, Be the shoulder to cry on, don't try and jump in and fix it or tell them what to do. It said to make sure you don't tell them things like "Well what can you do to make them like you more?" I was like, parents actually say that! It seems like common sense that it would be a crappy thing to say.

We all know that girls can be mean. It makes me wonder how my girls are going to be. We do not tolerate any kind of bullying in the house. It is stopped immediately. But you can't protect them or make them be a certain way. Its really scary.

Hopefully we can just instill in them a strong sense of self, and right and wrong. And they'll get through it.

I definitely had some bullying experiences, being the bully and being bullied. It makes you think about how you were treated and how it has affected you in ways you didn't realize. Like not trusting other females, because they are sneaky! It also makes you want to go watch Mean Girls.

Anyone else have experience with this? Or an experience where your children had to deal with it?

The Tao of Pee

I read a lot about Tao. One of the major philosophies behind it is doing whatever job you're doing right. A lot of the time described as "Being in the zone." When you are doing something and you are doing it flawlessly almost without even thinking about it. I love it when this happens. When it does I feel like a total bad ass.

At work sometimes I feel like this. I have to do morning routine (getting them up for school) by myself for part of it, and on the weekends I am always by myself.  Sometimes I feel like a 1950's housewife, who can clean house, cook dinner, be attentive to children and husband all while wearing heels and pearls.  Some days its just seamless, I hand out the meds, get their breakfast ready, make sure they're dressed appropriately for the weather, give them a hug goodbye and send them off to school

But some days are like last Saturday morning. In the space of thirty minutes I cleaned up pee, cleaned up vomit, started the seventh load of laundry that night, dealt with girls out of room without permission, talked one girl out of running away, dealt with one girl who fixated on the vomit on the floor and how I was going to clean it up exactly, handed out meds, cereal, crayons and most importantly hugs.

We have a girl who is 17 and wets the bed. She does it on purpose for attention, then lays in it. So I had to threaten her with "consequences" if she didn't get out of bed.  She finally got up but tried to walk out. I calmly explained that if she leaves all I do is call the police, I can't chase her down or restrain her because I was by myself. She was irate "You can't call the police if I just want to sit on the porch" I reminded her she didn't have permission, what's more, she couldn't have permission because she was still wearing her pee clothes! She finally changed, but I was pretty proud of myself for not getting overly frustrated and de-escalating the situation.

And the next night I had to go lock the gates while the sprinkler's were on. So I took the long way around as to not get wet thinking I was so clever, and of course ran full force into one and was soggy the rest of the night. But I took it in stride and laughed at myself. Cause really, what else can you do?