Stop the Helicoptering!

Whats the matter with people these days?

Has our society become such Helicopter Parents that our kids should be wrapped in bubble wrap?

This article appeared in my local paper on Sept 1.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Elementary school playgrounds in one West Virginia county are losing their swing sets.Swings are being removed from Cabell County schools in southern West Virginia in part because of lawsuits over injuries.Cabell County schools safety manager Tim Stewart said Wednesday that a lot of parents are accusing him of being un-American, but he says the cost of maintaining a safe surface is too expensive.Stewart says a lawsuit in the past year involved a youngster who broke his arm jumping off a swing like Superman. It was settled for $20,000.Other equipment such as monkey bars will remain. Stewart says the schools are able to maintain the proper protection underneath them.

Are you kidding me? Someone actually sued because their child fell and broke their arm?

Isn't falling off a swing a part of childhood ritual? If my parents sued every time I or my brothers fell and hurt ourselves, we would of been RICH.

Whats the matter with these people?

While I think that some of the things we did as kids we shouldn't of, such as riding a bike without wearing a helmet, there have got to be some LIMITS to how much we coddle our kids!

If we continue to baby our kids, they will never learn their own limits.

Like swinging on a swing. "Ok, the last time I was swinging, I didn't hold on tight enough and I fell and broke my arm. This time I know to hold on tight."

Instead this kid is thinking, "its the schools fault I hurt myself, it wasn't my fault. I can continue to do it like I did before, because it gave my parents lots of money, and it wasn't my fault"

If you never let your kid fall and get hurt, how will they know how far is to far?

Be there to kiss the booboo, but then send them on their way!

What kind of adults are these coddled kids going to turn in to?

When I was a child I had a cousin that lived with her grandparents. This cousin was not allowed to have friends over (they might be mean to her), she wasn't allowed to go to friends houses (who knows what the child's parents might do to her), she wasn't allowed to come to the park with us (she might fall and get hurt), she wasn't allowed to talk on the phone (she might hear something that the g-parents couldn't). She wasn't allowed to date (she could of gotten pregnant), if she was wronged in anyway it was always someone elses fault. Basically this girl grew up smothered under her grandparents care.

What happened then when she turned 18, and actually left the house for the first time?

She married the VERY first guy she looked at within weeks of meeting him, started drinking, using drugs, got divorced, married the very next guy she looked at within weeks of meeting him, had a child, got divorced, married yet another guy within DAYs of meeting him, now they are divorcing, and we have lost all touch with her.

She is not even 30.

If her grandparents had allowed her to go places, experience life, have friends, learn how to talk and communicate with peers, learn from her mistakes, and have a safe place to come home to, I bet more than anything she would not have turned out like the adult she has become.

She is the way she is now because she never learned any limits. When she was free of her grandparents she didn't know how to control herself. The sky was the limit for her. Now she is bouncing all over the place with no control or understanding of how to stop.

I hope she does learn to control herself.

Before she ends up dead.

Parents!! You HAVE to give your kids breathing room. Let them figure things out on their own. Offer advice, don't do it for them. And STOP STOP STOP blaming every other thing around them when they fail. They can not learn success if they don't fail!

And DO NOT take away my children's right to swing on a swing just because your kid broke their arm. Take them to a DR, get it set, and let them swing again.

Have I made my point?

Summers Over

Dang, it has just been too long since I posted.

I've been busy! What can I say!?

I am a mom who had 3 kids home for summer vacation after all!

Actually we had a great summer and I am already missing it. It just goes by too fast.

I am not one of those moms that want her kids to be in school. I like them home.

I enjoy watching them, playing with them and going places with them.

Boy did we ever go places this summer!

I mean WOW!!

Hubby works all around the state, so summer time is a great time to do the traveling with him.

He has a Hotel reward system and because he is now a Platinum member, we get FREE upgraded rooms. Totally free! And totally upgraded!

Every time we check in, its an automatic upgrade to a suite. Or the biggest room they have.

And some of the rooms have been HUGE!

One place must of been close to 1000 ft.

We always stay right on the ocean too. There is nothing like waking up and looking out your window onto the beach and opening your balcony and listening to the waves.

AAAHHH Bliss!

But, back now to reality. School is back in session. No more traveling with the hubby.

Back to having to clean our rooms myself. Boooooooo

Ok, so I am going to try and keep this blog updated more often.

Really!

Happy birthday!

Holy cow its been awhile since I have written. I am usually better about that.
Its been so busy this last month or two.
After the graduation we went several places with Hubby. Like Gainesville where we tubed down a beautiful river.
Then a long time friend of ours came out for 3 weeks. He is the same age as my daughter. I used to cut his hair, his dads, and his brothers. I met them when he was 2! Now he is 18. The father and us are close friends.
We showed him as much as we could of Florida. Springs, the Atlantic ocean, the Keys, Miami, Delray Beach, Cocoa Beach.
He had a blast. We had a blast.
Even tho he is 18, he got along with my boys so well. They played like brothers. Of course he has known them all their lives, and before we moved here he and his brother were over alot. So they've grown up together.
And no, there is no romance between the teens. They have known each other since 2, and feel like brother sister, not boyfriend girlfriend.
But that didn't stop the BF from getting jealous. It was pretty fun to all of us except my daughter and the BF. she didn't want to upset him. And he played right into that.
Oh well. Too bad for him. LOL
Today is my sons 9th bday.
Crazy that he is 9 already!
We are getting him a Super Mario Brothers Game. And a hamster. Ugh. Yes, a real hamster.
He has been asking for his own pet. We got our daughter 2 hamsters about this age, and then she brought home another girl from school. Oops. guess what? It wasn't a girl. The next thing we knew we had 2 litters. We couldn't find enough people to take them before more litters were born. At one point we had 17! it was awful!
Then our cats came to the rescue. I do not know how they did it, but they somehow got into a cage and the next morning we had little hamster pieces every where. A head here, a tail there, a butt here. It was gross. But we only had several hamsters left after that. We finally were able to get rid of the rest. We were DONE with them!
This time I told hubby that we are getting only ONE.
The cats will enjoy having a 'toy' to look at. We will just make sure we have a very secure door.

To Go or Not To Go?

To go or not to go?
That is todays question.
Go where?
Why Harry Potter of course!
We have annual passes to Universal.
As we have for the last 3 years.
We rarely go in the summer time when its full of tourists. I mean why stand in a line in the heat and humidity to ride a ride that any other time of the year we can just walk right on to?
But this is HARRY POTTER we are talking about!!
If we hadn't of been out of town and busy the last 2 weeks we would of gone. They had soft openings so we had a good chance of being able to go in.
Tomorrow they are opening the parking lot at 5:30am. I suppose we could get near there about 4am. We have a good chance of being one of the first several thousand.
But do we want to??
Or should we wait until Oct when all the tourists are gone and we wont have to fight the throngs of people.
But its HARRY POTTER!!!!
Ugh! What to do?

Summer Vacation! Yay!

I survived! We all did!
Actually it went really well. Everyone got along, we laughed, giggled, reminisced, and talked about the future.

My daughter was so beautiful in her cap and gown. I felt like I was glowing right along with her.
To see your child accomplish her high school years with relatively little scratches, is such a great feeling. She never got involved in drugs, or lost friends. Had one breakup that was painful for her, but not so much that she couldn't deal with it. She got good grades, made lots of friends, grew into a bright, responsible, and beautiful woman.
I am proud to call her my daughter!

My gramma took my 3 year old niece with her to AZ. My niece will get to see her parents, my parents, her gramma, great grandparents, godparents, cousins, and family friends.
I am sure she is going to have the time of her life.
I am a little afraid of how spoiled she will be when she comes back home. I can't imagine that with all those grandparents that she won't be spoiled. In fact, since I know every single grandparent, I am positively confidant that she will be spoiled rotten.
It may be a culture shock for her when she comes back here.
For now, for us, its a culture shock not having her here! Its soooo quiet... No Dora on, or Diego. No Sesame Street muppets singing ABC's.
Weird.
By the time its no longer wierd, she will be home.

Today is the last day of school for my boys! Yay!!!
Now we get to travel with hubby to all kinds of fun places.
This weekend we are going tubing. I saw the pictures in our local newspaper and it looks beautiful. I am very excited.
We couldn't do it before since my niece can't swim yet. But my boys can, and I will be buying them lifejackets today, because even good swimmers can have issues in unfamiliar places, like a fast moving creek.
My daughter and her BF may even drive up and go with us.

I can remember my mom dreading summer vacation. "you kids home all day, underfoot, arguing who gets what toy, I can't stand it. Give me year round school!"
Maybe I shouldn't 'quote' that, but its phrases I heard all my school years mixed into one sentence.
Then on the first day of school she would be doing Happy Dances.
I'm sure of it.
Not me.
I love it when my kids are home. They really don't argue about things. I love hanging with them, and playing with them. Or just simply listening to them and being fascinated by their imaginations at work.
They get to stay up late, and sleep in.
Yes, they do sleep in. I am lucky in that way.
No more struggling with homework times.
Although I do have a huge book of school work for each of them that they have to complete by the end of summer.
I do not want them to fall behind because their heads will be filled with all the fun we will have.

Summer Vacation.... Here we come!!!!! Yay!!!

I'm nervous.
My X inlaws are coming.
Oh, and my X.
And my gramma.
They are coming for my daughters graduation from high school.
I can't believe she is graduating. The time just doesn't seem like its possible that she is already that age.
Anyway,
her dad and his mom, brother, brothers girlfriend, and my gramma are coming.
Nobody is staying with us. Which is good, because we really don't have the room.
I mean we do... But it would require shuffling around. I'm sure they all much prefer to have a hotel room anyway. In fact, my gramma, xMIL, xspouse are sharing a suite.
Thank God we they all get along!

We they really do!
Do you get along with your X?
Now if we did not have kids, I would have no care either way about remaining friendly. It would be on a individual base.
But when you have kids, you want your kids to grow up in the best enviroment possible. And if that marriage does not have that kind of enviroment, a div0rce is often the healthiest choice.
Thats how it was with my X.
We married young and quickly. I was barely 18, he 21. We got pregnant almost immediately. We pretty much knew at that time that we could be great friends, but we were just not compatible as husband and wife. Something we would of discovered had we of taken our time.
I don't regret that at all. I never would of gotten pregnant with our daughter if we would not of married.
When we decided that we were better off apart, we approached it with a realistic idea of how to best raise a child despite not living together.
Rule 1. NEVER EVER EVER talk bad about your X. At least where the child can hear, or to someone that can/will repeat it to your child. Your child is Half You, and Half the X. Everything you say about the X, the child will see it as a reflection on themself.
Rule 2. Realize how you conduct yourself around the X. Be friendly, if even business like. Treat the x respectifully. You don't have to act like best buddies. But by making the drop offs with as little to no stress as possible, the child doesn't feel in the middle of a battle.
If both parents followed these two very basic rules, a divorce would be a new beginning for all involved rather than an emotional baggage to be carried for years.

Alrighty then,
off my soap box!
So, yes I'm a bit nervous. So is hubby. We've had them over in the past, years ago when we lived near them. But there was usually lots of other family around.
I'm sure it will be fine. My xmil is one of the sweetest people you'd ever know. I truly adore her.
My bil is a nice guy, although I do have to admit that I never got to know him. He is my age, but we never had much in common, and never hung out other than family functions.
My x is an all american nice guy. He has had some health issues to overcome the last few years, but he seems to be well.

It will be a fun weekend. I'm sure of it.
Right?!

I'm a PROUD mommy!!

I am one PROUD mommy right now!
All my kids are doing great in school!
The 2 Seniors start their colleges in Aug.
One going to UCF for a bachelors in Hospitality
the other signed up for beauty school.
The 8 yr old scored over and above what we feared
and can now go to 4th grade.
The 6 yr old loves to read and is very good at it.
He is a perfectionist with his work.
The 3 yr old is learning how to write her name.

School is out next week! Can't wait!
Hubby is traveling alot and we are going with him.
The 3 year old is going to visit my parents and her parents as well as a ton of other relatives for 3 months. It will be so weird not to have her here.
The boys and I love traveling with Daddy. They are all great car riders.
Of course, we bring DVDs, DS's and etc so its not like a big deal to them.
I read to hubby. I enjoy that. It makes my time go by faster,
it makes him enjoy driving more. And it gives us something to discuss
once we finish.
We read the entire Harry Potter series this way.
Also the Twilight series. That was just this past year on our car trip from CA to WA.
and lots of trips around FL this year.

Yay! Kids are heading forward in school, and its SUMMER TIME!!!! yay!!!!

3AM Must Go Make That Damn Chili!

Oh geez.
Its 3am. What did I tell you??????
Theres a song by Matchbox 20 where he sings its 3am. Can't think of the words just at the moment, I'm still rubbing the sleep out of my eyes... oh well.
So TONIGHT I am up because I awoke with a start...
'OMG! I forgot to start the crockpot chili that I need for tomorrow tonight! I gotta get cooking!
We are having chili dogs. And cole slaw and grilled pineapple and corn.
Oh, and Chi Chis! Thats Pina Colada made with vodka instead of rum. I am not a rum person at all. Blech. But hubby went out yesterday and bought Seagrams Xtra Smooth Vodka for the Pina Colada mix. (sshhhh... don't say anything, but my x hubby made some awesome pina coladas with fresh pineapple, coconut milk and pineapple icecream... sooooo yummmy. And since it is so hot out, and we have an entire pineapple to cut up, I thought pina coladas for our party would be fun)
We are having our friends over for a GO MAGIC game. I hope hope hope they win! They are down 0-2. Yuck. Then again so are the Suns. I would love I think for a Magic/Suns final. But I seriously would have no idea who to root for. I'm an AZ native that has always wanted the Suns to have a championship, but now I'm in FL and gotta support the home team, who by the way, have also not won a championship.
However, it looks like I wont have that problem of choosing since BOTH teams are down 0-2. NOOOO NOT the damn ass Lakers. Anybody but them. and Preferably one of my teams.
Anywho, back to the chili, you HAVE to start ahead of time. The flavors just taste so much better the longer they sit.
I should of made this yesterday, put it in the fridge, then reheated it in the crockpot today.
But I was a tad BUSY yesterday.
It was Prom night for my 18 year olds. Which meant, since I am a Cosmetologist after all, that I do the hair and makeup.
No problem right?
Right! LOVE doing the makeup. Daughter K turned out awesome. She never wears face makeup, but I applied it and it looked great. Then I did her eyes like she has never done and it looked great. I also painted her toe nails and applied rhinestones to them. Beautiful!
Daughter C's makeup also turned out great although it required her washing her face half way thru.
We had gone to Ulta a few days ago and bought her new face makeup. It was a good color match, and covered her few red spots well. But yesterday the makeup seemed to cake and flake off. She has been trying to clear up some acne spots that of course just seemed to flare up recently. Takes after her dad. And of course when using acne products their purpose is to dry the skin. Hence, dry flaky makeup spots.
So she washed it off her face and we started over. I used my $75 face makeup on her. The color matched good. But since I don't have acne, just wrinkles, it isnt a great pimple coverer. is that a word? I applied some of the other makeup over the acne spots and it helped. Not completely but good enough.
Then we started on the eyelashes. OMG. I watched a Rachael Ray episode and the guy applied them like he was eating candy. Easy Peasy. Right?
Wrong.
Maybe if you have the correct product its easy. But I bought crappy stuff from a Vietnamese nail supply. My fault. I should of paid attention to the stuff I picked up. The glue was Black! Hello! Then it immediately got thick, so I had to keep pouring out new stuff out of the .01 oz bottle. The lashes were individual ones. As you can imagine, it took me an HOUR to apply the eyelashes to both eyes.
but let me say this... OMG! False eyelashes make your eyes POP! If you need a WOW look, apply them! Just don't buy crappy product and don't get it in DARK when you are as white as a ghost. Lots of eyeliner helped that problem.
I also styled her hair in that Miley Cirus style. You know the one, long flowing curls that aren't really curls. Beautiful!
The girls looked simply marvelous! Daughter C's dress was beyond gorgeous! Long, pink, flowing, ruffly, form fitting, strapless. So so sososososooso pretty!
Daughter K's dress was a short dark blue strapless. Gorgeous!
Earlier in the week I had bleached C's hair and added red to K's hair.
My friend did their nails, but I added the finishing product like glitter and rhinestones to them.
The prom is at Epcot. So nice living in Orlando. All the kids functions are at a theme park!
They had a great time! Minus a friend getting in a car accident BEFORE prom. No drinking, just simply an accident. Bummer.
Ok, gotta go start on the chili. I think I will watch the last Celebrity Apprentice before the finale while I cook. Go Bret Michaels.
Was not much a fan before, although I was in love with Poison as a teen. But after watching him, I really actually like the dude. And it has nothing to do with his health issues.
Although I am very saddened for him and hope he recovers and has a long long life ahead of him. My younger brother was/is such a fan of his, that he changed his name to Bret at 18.

Wierd Quirks

I don't know why it is, but I awake almost every night at 3am. Like on the nose.
It's when I watch my shows. You know, the ones that hubby and kids don't like.
Like Tori & Dean. or 90210.
I watch for about 2 hours. Then go back to sleep. I still wake up at 6:45 with no problem.
What a wierd quirk.

Do you have any wierd issues? Wierd little quirks that do not make any sense.
Not to you, and not to anyone else should they find out about them.

Another little quirk or issue of mine...
I hate wearing bras. Absolutely hate them. And I really need to wear them. I have big tatas.
DD's to be exact. yes they are real. I wear a bra if I have to go out, or if my kids have friends over. But the rest of the time, nope, nada. And I hate my breasts. Hubby loves them. I hate them. I would cut them off and start over again if I could. They are too big. And I am not a big girl. Maybe slightly overwieght, but only by 10 lbs or so. I would probably actually weigh close to where I should if I didn't have these damn big things.
Ok, enough boob talk. I am sitting here cringing as I write.

And your quirks are?

Messy Chicken Nuggets

Bummer....
Didn't get that Pedi yesterday. My friend had to do some shopping instead and said we could go tomorrow. I guess that will work.
But I shaved my legs for nothing!

Speaking of shaving...
I find that the older I am getting, the less I care about my legs. Now I still shave other areas. Like my arm pits, because seriously, no matter how old I am, I do not want my pitts to look like my hubbys. No thank you.
And I do shave another area. An unmentionable area. That is for my own personal reasons, and I just think it makes lovemaking so much smoother. And should I be the lucky recipient of oral then it makes it better for him. No hair in the mouth. Because thats just disgusting.

Alrighty then, enough of THAT subject.
Lets move on shall we?

Tonight I made chicken nuggets. I really really REALLY dislike the mess they make.
My fingers get 20 times their size when covered in all that flour and butter and milk.
I cant stand that, so I wash them like every 2 times I put the chicken in the eggs.
That makes my making the nuggets S.L.O.W. I think it took me 20 minutes to batter the 5 thighs that I cut into strips.
And the Mess! I have flour all over my counters, and floor. Maybe its just me, but I seem to be the worlds messiest cook. I watch all the cooking shows, and they never have flour all over the place. Or on their clothes. I made the mistake of wearing a dark blue top. Now its a dark blue top with white sprinkles all over it.
I hope they taste good. Yes, they are still in the oven. They have about 2 mins left.
My poor kids. Dinner was suppose to be an hour ago, but I completely underestimate the time it takes me to do the preparation. They kept coming in, "mom is it ready yet?" "Can I just have a Gogurt now?" "Mom, Im starving, can I have a cookie first? I wont eat dessert."
Oop, timer off, gotta feed the kiddos.

Pedicure Time As Long As I Am Not Cold

Today I am getting a Pedicure. I love getting those. My feet love getting them.
What is better than someone massaging your feet?
Oh ya, a Full body Massage. mmmm. I love love LOVE those!
I especially love my back rubbed. And Im not talking about one of those massages that feels like a tickle. I'm talking a DEEP deep muscle massage.
Aaaaaah. Thats the best.

Oh now my body is aching for one. Just an hour. Ok, maybe an hour and a half? I wish I had money, I would pay someone to massage me for 2 or 3 hours.

I must stop thinking about that. Or else just go get one.
Any one in Orlando that does long deep muscle massages?

On another note, we got a swimming pool this weekend. Its a big above ground one.
18ft by 48 inches. Its huge! Wowsers!
The kids are loving it.
I have yet to get in because I'm waiting for it to warm up just a bit more. Not the air, the water.
I do not like cold. Not at all.
My body needs warmth. At all times.
Cold is a 4 letter word. Yes, I know its a 4 letter word literally, but I mean as figuratively.
Me being cold is a 4 letter word. When I am miserable, no body around me is happy. I will make everybodies life miserable.. I just bitch and complain non stop until I am warm.
Im a brat, I know. What are ya goin to do about it?

Ok, well Im off for my Pedi!
Ahhh, happy feet here I come!

Sunburned! How Pathetic is THAT!?

Did you have a good Mother's Day? I did. All 7 of us went to the beach and stayed at a Hotel.
No, your not supposed to have 7 in a hotel room, but when several of them are so little, and take up this much [ ] space we might as well take advantage of it while we can.

I got sunburned. I haven't had a sunburn in I don't know, 10 years? Maybe more? Oh wait, I take that back. I did sunburn my tummy when pregnant with my 8 yr old. I was laying in the little kid pool and since I was 8 months prego my belly was just skimming the surface of the water. Next thing me and my super white skin knew, my belly was looking like I was carrying lobsters and not a baby. Oh, and I don't know if there is much worse than being 8 months pregnant with skin that is stretched to the point its creating stretch marks, and then Sunburning it. ouch ouch ouch!!!!
Anyway, shame on me. I sooo know better. I know to wear sunscreen. But thought I'd try and tan my did I already say, SUPER white skin? I'm talking your computer paper probably has more color than I do. Well I have color now! Bright RED color. I will suffer for a few days, and then it will peel away, leaving me with my ever white skin again.
How Dumb was I?
Hello skin cancer, welcome to my pathetic body.

My kids made me the most beautiful things for Mother's Day. My little guy made me a book of "My Mom" Its so cute! You really learn alot about your kids when they do little projects like this. Apparently his favorite thing I have ever done for him is Coc (cook) Hot Dogs. I also have blond hair and a blue ! eye. I am also Gorjitz gorgeous and butifl beautiful. I love it!
My older son made me a pen flower. You know, you take a silk flower, lay it next to a pen, then wrap the stem and the pen in green ribbon. Put that in a handpainted Terra Cotta pot filled with Coffee Beans, and you've got a flower in a pot! He painted it my favorite color. Purple.
My daughter bought a blank canvas and then while Hubby and I were on Date night, her and the kids painted sunflowers on it. They did a great job! Even the 3 year old painted a flower. It was brown and green, but hey, it was handmade so it was beautiful. I will hang it in my living room, where I have lots of Sunflower stuff.
Yes, my fav flower of all time is Sunflowers. They just look so happy. Like sunshine. With smiles.
Hubby and I don't exchange presents, instead we go out on Date nights, like sushi nights. We'd rather the time instead of trinkets or such. Although last year, he got me a Purse from Dillards. Of course it was 'from the kids' but I had pointed it out while shopping and he surprised me with it. Its still the purse I use every day!
So Hubby got me a sentimental card. Now we just need to go out for sushi in the next few days, and I will be totally and completely happy!

MMMMM sushi!

Happy Monday!

Mothers Day and Botox

Its Mothers Day weekend!

I really don't make a big deal out of tho. Im not much into 'holidays' like this. Since I am a stay at home mom, I am with my kids all the time that they are not at school or at a friends, so everyday to me is Mothers Day.

I know tho, its more for them. They enjoy making me homemade gifts or buying something they pick out, so I won't deny them it.

Besides, its a good excuse to say "I bought myself a present already!" Hee hee!
I got Botox yesterday.
Yeppers! Its my second time. The last time was 6 months ago, and I loved it! I do not have very good skin. I take after my grandpa, and his wrinkles had wrinkles. So I am vain enough to do my best not to get wrinkles! I never go tanning, always wear sunscreen. And use good face products to counteract the aging process.
My hubby and kids don't think I need it. But I can see those damn forehead creases starting. I want to stop them before they get out of control!

I suppose I should be vain about the rest of my body. I need to exercise more! Damn! I am so unmotivated! It sucks!
But we have discussed this before. Yep I am lazy. Still.

Ok, enough of that talk. I can't do any strenuous exercise today anyway. Thats what the DR said! Really! "for 24 hours after Botox, no strenuous exercising.' Ok. I mean, who am I to argue with the Dr?

I am worried about my cat. She has a large sore on her back. I cant figure out where she got it. She is not an outdoor cat. My other cats leave her alone. Poor thing.
Hubby is right now at PetSmart getting some cat antibiotic spray for her. I hope it helps. I really can't afford a $500 vet bill right now. But if it gets worse, I will be sure to take her in.

Speaking of hubby, he just got home. I better get the spray and go take care of my cat.

Happy Mother's Day!

A Day In The Life Of.....

I know, I haven't written in awhile.
Why you might ask?
Because sometimes in the life of a Housewife, there is just not much happening.
Day to day sometimes repeats itself so much that one day blends into the next day, and if it weren't for the kids in school, I wouldn't know what day of the week it is.
Most of the time, I don't even know what the date is. Its May? Already? When was it April?

Just for a glimpse so you know I'm not making it up, lets look into a typical day of my life:

I wake at 6:45. I don't need an alarm clock. I always wake up about that time. It doesn't even matter when I go to sleep. It could be as late as 4am and I will still wake at 6:45.
Hubby works out of the house, so he sleeps in until 10. Always. Then he spends his time helping me, or working on stuff for his company.
At 7 I wake the boys up and make them breakfast.
I get online while they eat and get ready.
At 7:45 I take them to the school bus. Sometimes if I am not feeling lazy, I will walk them.
Its only 1/3 of a mile, but yes, I admit to being lazy at 7:30am. Forgive me. I do.
I am back by 8.
I read the newspaper from front to back. Except the Sports page. Unless there is something about NASCAR that catches my eye.
Usually I eat breakfast sometime during this time.
Then I get online. Again.
Somewhere between this time and 10, my niece wakes up and I make her breakfast.
Then we watch Dora or Spongebob. Or if she is just playing with her dolls, I will watch Lets Make a Deal, or The Price Is Right. I love gameshows.
The next few hours tend to change daily, but consist of cleaning what wasn't cleaned the day before, doing laundry, taking a shower, going grocery shopping, running errands, watering my garden and flowers, playing with my niece, yardwork, making lunch...
Yada Yada Yada. You get the picture.
I pick the boys up at 3:15 from the busstop.
Then the day becomes a little more hectic.
Sometimes they have friends over so there is lots more noise. It includes playing Wii, or running around our house in circles, or hide and seek, or whatever other game their imaginative minds make up. And always snack time. Since its so hot right now, snack is popsicles, or watermelon.
They do this until about 5.
Then its homework time. Thank goodness Hubby is usually home and can help with that.
During this time I make dinner.
After dinner we either watch a DVR'd show or the kids take their showers.
8 is quiet time when the kids have to read a book for 30 mins.
Ice Cream pretty much every night is next. Always vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce and sprinkles because thats the kids most favorite dessert.
Put the kids to bed at 9.
Now its hubbys and my time. We usually watch a DVR'd show or a Netflix movie. We don't have many tv shows we watch, but there are just enough several favorites that we watch the following nights after they originally aired.
If were not sleepy after our shows we watch the Food Network or HGTV.
Most of the time we watch these shows snuggled together in bed.
For the sake of our privacy, and your eyes, I will leave out any other activities that might be going on during this time.

Thats about it.

And thats ok, because sometimes you just don't need Drama and Excitement in your life.
Daily routines are good and necessary for Happiness in our day to day lives.

Raffle Tickets, Fees & No Sucking

One of those mornings again.
I washed the whites, pulled them out to put them in the dryer, only to discover I no longer have white clothes. I have Pink clothes. With bright pink spots all over them. ERRRGGGG!
Apparently, when we went to the kids school the other night for Pizza Night and a raffle drawing, the 50 omg yes I said 50 raffle tickets were still in the pocket of my white shorts. You know the kind, you fill out one ticket, then separate them, so you have a copy of your number? I had put all the losing they all were losing tickets in my pocket. I even told myself to remember to take them out.
I didn't.
Now my shorts are pink with pink splotches. Hubbys socks are pink. Hubbys underwear is pink. And they are not only just pinkish, but where the tickets stuck on the clothes, there are bright pink spots. So pink with bright pink polka dots.
I am currently rewashing them in lots of bleach. I also divided the loads into 3 smaller loads, so that they get more bleach and baking soda on them.
What a Great thing to do on Earth Day! 3 extra loads of laundry!

In other news, my 18 year old just texted me.
"Mom, yearbooks are on sale till tomorrow for only $75. Next week they go up to $90."
So I am expected to pull $75 out of my wallet by tomorrow. Only problem is my wallet doesn't have $75 in it. It doesn't even have $1 in it. But if I don't find a way to magically make it appear, then after tomorrow I will have to find not only $75 but $15 eXtra dollars.
Senior year is seriously breaking the bank.
Prom dress was $324. Prom tickets are $90.
Senior Fees for all the little things like Senior Picnic, and Senior Ditch Day, and Senior Dinner, and Senior Whatever the Hell Else, have added up to over several hundred dollars.
Not to mention Cap and Gown and Class Ring and Graduation Announcements, and a Graduation Party since her dads entire family is flying out for it.
Plus fees because she is in a Culinary Class and when she makes a recipe for a grade, you have to make it for 25 kids.
ACT costs $40. And she took it twice because she wasn't happy with her first grade. She didn't fail, but she didn't do well enough to qualify for the scholarship she wanted.
Are you getting the picture here?
She drives now, so there is the new added cost of gas.
I think someone will be getting a Summer Job as soon as school is out.

Oh, and my vacuum is NOT sucking. I vacuum alot and for years I bought cheap vacuums, and then I get disappointed when they don't pick up all the dirt and sand that we drag in. Plus they spew out more dust than what I think they are picking up. I toss them after a year or two, and go buy another cheap one.
Last year, I was using yet another cheap one, and it was spewing so much dust that my oldest son was coughing. He has asthma as it is, and that can NOT be good for him.
I got online and spent hours and hours researching types of GOOD expensive vacuums.
I finally decided on Dyson. A Dyson Animal since we have cats.
When it arrived we vacuumed the living room with our old one really well. Then we vacuumed over it with the new Dyson. OMG! The canister filled up more than a quarter full! EWWW! I had been letting my kids crawl around in all that sand and dirt and put their toys down on it and pick them up and put them in their mouths?
I immediately fell in love with the Dyson.
I babied it. I never let the canister get too full. I even vacuum my vacuum. What? I take Hubbys Shop Vac and blow out all the extra dust and dirt that accumulate on the inside of the vacuum. I do this 2 or 3 times a month. My Dyson is probably the cleanest vacuum that anyone has.
Yet its broke now. Why? Well, because of its wonderful strong suction, sometimes I accidentally vacuum up things I don't mean to. Like kids' toys when I am using the hose and running it along the underside of the couch, toys that I didn't even know were under the couch will coming flying
right into before I can stop it. Thats what happened last time I vacuumed. Something flew in there, I don't even know what kind of scary huh? I knew immediately because the vacuum stopped sucking.
I had Hubby take it apart and look for the clog. Couldn't find it. So he took more of it apart. Couldn't find it. I mean theres only so many places for this thing to go right? Apparently not.
He put it back together and said ok, it works.
Nope.
I can't even get it to pick up a hairball.
So, Hubby is going to have to take it all apart even further, did I mention he is out of town for 2 days? or I am going to have to send it to Dyson for them to figure out where the clog is.
Which means, I have NO vacuum right now!
I hate dirty floors.
With 7 of us, the floors get dirty in just one day. It has been 4 days.
Alot of the house is tile, but I have a large area rug in the family room. I may just roll it up and
take it outside. I'd rather them play on clean tile than dirty rugs.

Boy is this a post of complaints or what?

Sorry about that. I will have to try and find something happy today to counter the negative.

Poached Egg Salad!!! I Mean Exercise

I am trying to get healthier. I actually bought a treadmill last week. On Craigslist of course, because there is no way that I am paying full price for something I should use, but know myself and may not.
Geez thats so bad. I know I need to start walking more. Living here, it gets way too hot in the summer to walk or jog. A treadmill makes perfect sense. I can watch Rachael Ray that I DVR'd earlier, and walk the entire show. 45 mins!
I should be doing that right now instead of sitting here blogging about how I should be exercising. But I just ate a big salad for breakfast. Yes, breakfast. It had poached eggs on it, so it can be considered breakfast. I put tons of stuff on my salad. Romaine lettuce, freshly shredded carrots, radish, onion, green scallions, tomato, cucumber, chopped mushrooms, fresh basil, rosemary, parsley, my homemade mustard vinegrette dressing, and 2 poached eggs. Which by the way, I have totally perfected! Now that I know the secret of adding a splash of vinegar and swirling it before putting the egg in it, I have beautiful poached eggs.
Oh wait, this post was supposed to be about me exercising wasnt it?
Well, after all that big salad, I am too full to go for a 2 or 3 mile walk right now.
Give me, oh, half an hour? An hour?
I will do it.
I did it yesterday! I walked/jogged 1 mile. Woohoo!
I know, oh boy, 1 whole mile. You go girl. But since it was the first time in 4 long months that I have done that, it felt good. I only burned 127 calories tho. Thats probably the amount of calories in my little bit of vinegrette, and the eggs are what? 80 calories each? So I wont even burn off what I just ate, if I go only 1 mile. I will try today for the entire time that RR is on. Except for the commercials of course since I FF thru them.
But the whole point is I am starting up again! Yay me! I deserve to feel good AND look good.
I just have to get up off my bum so I CAN look and feel good.
I will...
Soon...
Half an Hour.
One hour at most.
After my nap that I am going to take now.
Really! I will exercise today.

No Tooth, Just Cat Pee and Deep Breaths

Today has already been one of those days where you just think, 'already? Its only 10am!'

My youngest son swallowed his very first loose tooth this morning during breakfast. He doesn't even get the joy of hiding it under his pillow for Miss ToothFairy to visit. Of course she still will because we told him that once a tooth comes out she automatically knows. We will write her a note so she knows why she wont be able to take his tooth home. He liked that idea, and yes, he has a whole mouthful of future teeth to hide. I'm bummed about it because it was his first tooth! Silly, I know. But I secretly keep my kids baby teeth in a little plastic tooth. I guess I am feeling it as my loss. Must be a 'mommy' thing. I will just have to suck it up and be as OK with it as he is.

The other thing that happened, school called at 9am and my oldest son was having breathing issues. So we had to rush up to the school and pick him up. Brought him home to give him a treatment only to realize that the breathing machine was in our car, that our oldest has at her school. We should know better than to leave that in there. But, we have a bad excuse I know, we stayed at a hotel over spring break, brought the machine with us, and then proceeded to leave it in the trunk. So son is struggling to breathe and we are driving over to the school to get the machine. Then rushing back to give him his treatment.

After his treatment, he feels so much better Thank you! I walked into my living room and immediately knew it smelled bad. One of our 4 cats I am sure I know which one but can't prove it since you cant beat all 4 PEED on our couch. Cat PEE! That has got to be one of the worst smelling things and also the most hardest to clean up. Plus, no matter how much enzyme spray I use, I will forever get a whiff of it.
I love those cats, but really really dislike when they do this. And why?? Hubby cleaned all 3 boxes last night. He cleans them every day to every other day. There is NO reason at all for them to do this. Except that I think one is mad because I do not let him outside. He got out several times and now he thinks he should be an outdoor mouse, lizard killer cat. He is neutered and all, but still thinks the big outdoor world is better than our house. He is declawed so he can't protect himself if he needed to. But if he keeps this up, see I am really thinking it is him I might just kick him out. I refuse to live in a house full of cat pee smell! YUCK!

See, its only 10am and I have already had enough stress to last me the rest of the day.
But I know better than to say "what else could happen" because I know there are plenty that of bad things that could still happen.

So I am going to finally make some tea and eat some breakfast read the paper and keep an eye on my son.

Today WILL get better. I'm an optimist!

A post of stupid people and delicious food

So my week was so full! Full of what? Full of Not Much topped with Nothing Much.

It was a difficult week. A stupid family crisis that never even needed to happen, let alone turn into a crisis. But for the most part it is over and things can begin to settle down for a few months. I say a few months, because then the crisis will start over, only this time, I hope, that my family lets me be able to say what hubby and I have to say our way, and that my #$%!& parents stay the #%^&* out of it. Like they should of done in the first place.
But whatever, they made their beds and now they can sleep in them.

Ok, enough about stupid people and stupid stuff.

I have been trying to do more exciting culinary things. I wish my kitchen was bigger like it was in AZ. My kitchen, in the home we still own tho we live 2300 miles from it, was so big and nice. Not gourmet, but lots of counter space, a center island, and a pot rack that my so ingenious hubby created and built by himself, leaving me with even more room in my cabinets. This kitchen in this house is small. Its funny because this house is 600+ sq ft bigger, but smaller pathetic kitchen. I barely have room to chop several items at once.
So anyway, I have been on a cooking adventure the last few years. 12 years ago, you would of called me the TAKE OUT QUEEN. Or the boil a hotdog and Mac N Cheese. Then I started dating my hubby and I dont know, somehow the whole 'the way to his stomach is thru food' thing came into play. First I started with boxed ewww god that turns my stomach today
foods like Hamburger Helper. After awhile I got more comfortable, and moved on to a more Sandra Lee style of cooking. Lots of processed foods, but with a touch of homemade.
After moving out here, and no longer working, I found a blog in which the writer makes things from scratch. She also talks about how much junk processed food has. The more I read, and then researched, the more I realized how much garbage is actually out there, and I HAD BEEN FEEDING MY KIDS IT!
I embarked on a new method. No more boxes, no more canned soups, no more canned veggies, no more canola oil, no more red dye#40, no more msg. You are getting the picture right?
Its been a work in progress. You cant just throw it all away in your head and start anew. But the last few years, I have been cleaning out my head attic and slowly but surely its becoming a place where I can put new ideas.
As I grow more comfortable in my abilities and techniques, I am ready for bigger challenges.
So my goal each week is to create, and by create, I really mean copy and change to suit families tastes new and more complex healthier meals for my family.
Last night was roasted garlic roasted eggplant pasta. It was soo scrumptious. And not technically difficult, just different for us. My kids loved it. Hubby unfortunately saw the ingredients, and with him its a I see Veggies Ewww kind of thing, and anytime he thinks theres something in it he wont like, no matter how good it is, he puts up a wall.
Oh well, WE all knew it was good!
So, on to more fun, healthy and hopefully tasty meals for my family.

And all others be damned! I mean that in the most sincerest way too.

Oh So Stuffed

Stuffed to the max today!
Our power went out. The "powers that be" around here are not very good at keeping the power going for some reason.
Since hubby and I had to go out anyway, we went out to lunch.
A new Chinese place opened near our grocery store, so we decided to check it out.
We walk in, and there are 3 others there. The waitress takes us to our seat then asks for our drink orders.
Hot tea for me, water with lemon for hubby, and sprite for the littlest one.
Then she leaves, comes back with our drinks and leaves again.
Wheres the menu? so after sitting there for a min just staring at each other we finally see the waitress again.
'umm, can we have a menu please?'
she says ok, goes and gets us one,
then leaves, but as she walks away she goes, 'this is also a buffet'.
Oh.
We didnt know that because the buffet is not out in the middle or really noticable.
duh.
we look stupid.
oh well.
We decide on the buffet.
Oh man, WHY????
I LOVE buffets. toooooooo much.
I get a taste of everything. And I mean e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g.
Hubby gets all his fav and tries a few new items.
Everything was delicious.
I ate most of my plate, then went back for seconds on my favs.
Oh man. Stuffed am I!
THEN I went grocery shopping.
Ugh. Walking around a grocery store when your belly is hanging over your pants and you feel so bloated like a bowling ball with legs, is never a good idea.
I never buy much of anything when I am full and shopping.
I bought all that was on my list, because thank god I had made a dinner list this morning.
but I bought nothing else. Nothing FUN for us to snack on, or for desserts.
Yet somehow I still spent 250. how the heck does that happen?
One shopping cart and 35 in coupons, plus the on sale items I saved 108. Yet spent 250.
Our grocery store is way to expensive. Milk for crying out loud is 3.09!
In my old state of AZ it is 1.69. Usually on sale for 2 for 3. Everything here is just so much more.
Refried beans are 2. At home they are .99. those are just 2 items that I always buy as staples, so I defintely know the cost.
So now I am broke and stuffed. but I need to fix the kids dinner.
Tonight is smoked sausage, fried aspargus, and carmalized onion and mushroom orzo.
I bet it will taste wonderful when I am unstuffed at 10pm.

Lazy Sunday

There are things that need to be done. I need to do laundry. I need to go grocery shopping. I need to pick up the house and probably vacuum it.
Will I do those needs?
Yes, but maybe not today.
In fact, probably not today.
In truth, Nope. Wont get done.
Today is Sunday. Today is a lazy day. Im entitled right?
I am so lazy today that I had my wonderful saint hubby take our 6 year old son to a birthday party for his girlfriend. Yes, I said GIRL friend. My 6 year old son and this girl are the best of buddies. When I pick my kids up from the busstop in the afternoon, he and Girlfriend stare and wave at each other until they physically can no longer see one another. The father of this Girl looks at my son like "If you were older than six, I would so kick your ass for looking at my daughter in that way." To which I think, "If your daughter was older I would so smack her across her face for giving my son that 'come hither' look." Of course neither of us would ever do such a thing, but it does cross our minds.
Its crazy, once your children were these little beings who only had eyes for you. Now they are starting to realize that Mommy and Daddy are not the only people in the world. Although they are still way too young to realize that someday they will be looking for mates to grow old with that will not be Mommy or Daddy, you as a parent can see that glimmer, having lived thru it yourself.
As much as Hubby and I want to take our son, and cover his eyes and pretend that the entire world is still all about Mommy and Daddy, Hubby took him shopping for an HOUR yesterday for a girl toy for a 6 year old, when neither of them had any real idea of what to buy. My advice, anything DOLL like and you'd be just fine. Then son and Mommy woke up early, I got him dressed in nice clothes, teeth brushed, hair combed, while Daddy woke up early, put on his clothes and a hat so lucky, and got in the car to drive him to the party.
Then in 2 hours one of us Daddy will get back in the car and pick him up.
We will see the sparkle in his eyes, having spent his morning with his favorite girl next to Mommy of course.
The rest of the day will be spent lounging on the couches, checking facebook, and watching the Masters on Golf. We will be rooting for the guys in our golf pool, and of course Phil Mickelson, a home town fav, while also watching Tiger, and marveling at how despite the fact you can completely screw up something so good, you can make a come back, and grow into a stronger, wiser if you are Wiser because you learned a lesson person.
I will ponder on what to cook for dinner all day. Having made homemade spaghetti two nights ago, and Hamburger Mac n Cheese homemade of course because I hate processed food last night, I do not want a heavy pasta dish tonight. But, since I am too lazy today to go to the store, I will use ingredients I have on hand. Will it be a baked crispy garlic chicken dinner? Or a chinese beef, ginger noodle dinner? Or pork chops with baked apples? Oh the choices. And I will not decide until its late, because thats how I am sometimes. Especially on lazy Sundays.
I love that this is my life, and my choices, and not a single person in my house will care that the laundry is still sitting in the laundry basket, or that the floors are not vacuumed.
I will let my other son play the Wii. And my niece play with her dollies. We will hang out and just enjoy the simple fact that we can just simply hangout.
And that will be my day.
Yours?

Me Me Me

This is ME:
House Wife Yes, But so much more....
Wife, Lover, Fantasizer, Best Friend, Mom, Maid, Teacher, Friend, Stylist, Listener, Talker, Smiler, Frowner, Cooker, Smart, Gullible, Energizer, Lazy, Planner, Disorganizer, Organizer, Grower, Rider, Driver, Noncomplainer, Complainer, Writer, Thinker, Over Thinker, Whiner, Sulker, Giggler, Silly, Tattooed, Pierced, Funky, Boring, Giver, Taker, Decorater, Painter, Artist, Conformist, Liberalist, Independent, Dependent, Happy, Resilent, Survivor, NASCAR Follower, Non Sport Player, Exerciser, NonExeciser, Agreer, Disagreer, Daydreamer, Realist, Alive.
And probably lots of other things I simply can not think of this moment. But I can always add to the list as I realize them.

I love my hubby. I love being a mom.

I'm not Perfect. He's not Perfect. Our kids aren't Perfect. Our home isn't Perfect. Our lives aren't Perfect.

And thats Perfectly fine.

Life is what you make it. Life is about living it. To its fullest.