Expressions of Love

I am here, but then again, I am not

2007-06-21T13:00:00.000-05:00

This is my old blog, which I keep open so that I can comment on blogs that only allow Blogspot users. For up to date postings and blogginess, visit A Country Mom Can Survive.

Update your blogrolls people!!

2007-06-18T10:52:00.000-05:00

NEW BLOG ALERT!!

I have finally moved to Wordpress after almost a year of threats. I have also changed my blog name. It has been Expressions of Love for almost 4 years through 2 blogging platforms. Not anymore.

I am also changing my user/IM names for the first time since I have become active on-line. I used to be daniels_mommy04 or any variation of that. It paid homage to my first baby that was a still born. It is now A-Country-Mom.

My new blog is A Country Mom Can Survive. Bookmark me!!

For those who have it, my email address is the same. At least until I can get my F**** server to work. :T

Brought to you by PBS

2007-06-15T12:51:00.000-05:00

Mark loves Curious George, and Thomas & Friends, and Elmo, and Bob the Builder, and Clifford. Not that I let him sit and watch TV all day long. I usually let him watch one or two shows, depending upon when Abby is up from her nap. (The TV room is right outside their bedroom.) Mark adores these shows, and for the most part I think they are good for him. They really are pretty educational. Sesame Street has taught Mark several new signs in sign language, how to count to 10, some of the letter of the alphabet and other good things.

But just the other day Mark did something that was horrible.

He... Oh, I can't even say it.

OK. Do it quick, like a band aid.

HE-LIKED-TELETUBBIES. Oh, the horror. Not that I think they are gay, even though they might be a little creepy. I just can't stand the whole bouncy bellied, kool-aid colored, squiggly headed, annoying show. And what is with the rabbits already?

Special for June!

2007-06-08T12:01:00.000-05:00

I have perfected my recipe for bath bombs and they are AWESOME. I am currently running a sale for the month of June on them. Buy any 3 bath bombs and get a 4th FREE. Just buy the first 3 and email me letting me know which scent you would like for your 4th, and I include it in the package at no charge.

Go check it out at www.TwinSpringNaturals.com

Tell your friends. Tell your family. I am VERY pound of these bath bombs. They are packed with Dead Sea Salt, Mango Butter, Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter, Oatmeal, Avocado Oil, and more.

And don't forgot that anyone who mentions that they read about my store on my blog can get FREE SHIPPING on any order of $10 or more.

Life is Life.

2007-06-08T11:32:00.000-05:00

Life is Life. Profound, huh?

Abby has been sleeping ALL THE TIME. Yesterday she went down for her morning nap at 8 AM and I woke her up at 12:30 because I was starting to get nervous. She has been takes 2, 3, even 4 naps a day which is not like her at all. She might be teething or growing but I haven't seen any evidence of either yet. She crawls way too well, walks along furniture, has taken the occasional step without knowing it, and is WAY too good at getting up stairs.

Mark is the same. He keeps getting bigger. Smarter. His art is improving. He likes to draws things now instead of just scribbling circles. He asks to paint or play with play dough.

My husband is at war with the chipmunks. There are several dozen that have nearly dug out under our entire cement patio. Not good. And they are smart little buggers.

Our laptop s out of commission. The power cord just stopped working. One minute it was charging. The next it wasn't. Literally. And the battery isn't worth crap. It lasts approx. 45 seconds for every percent of battery life. We just got the new power cord today from Ebay. But we have to make sure it isn't just a piece of crap rip off.

Having the laptop stop was not good for me. I can live working off the desktop fossil. But all my stock photos, recipes, label, EVERYTHING was on the laptop. At least I didn't loose it for good.

I am working on some recipes for salt and sugar scrubs now. I am very excited about these. They should be tons of fun. I plan to expand to Scrubs, Bath Salts, Warming Gel (for romantic uses :D), Body Butters, and other spa like goodies.

I have perfected my recipe for bath bombs and they are AWESOME. I am currently running a sale for the month of June on them. Buy any 3 bath bombs and get a 4th FREE. Just buy the first 3 and email me letting me know which scent you would like for your 4th, and I include it in the package at no charge. Go check it out at www.TwinSpringNaturals.com Tell your friends. Tell your family. I am VERY pound of these bath bombs. They are packed with Dead Sea Salt, Mango Butter, Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter, Oatmeal, Avocado Oil, and more.

I hate spam

2007-05-31T13:47:00.000-05:00

I hate spam. Really hate spam. It used to be no big deal. Sure, I would get plenty but I would just empty the whole bulk folder at once and be done. Now because sometimes Ebay spits one the bulk for no particular reason, I have to be careful what I trash. I am talking about 200-300 everyday in my bulk folder and another 10-15 that make it into my inbox.

Yahoo has one of the worst reputations for spamming. I want to get an address through my domain hosting, but I haven't figured out how to set up my SMTP correctly.

I am tired of being asked if I want a bigger penis.

Or if I want to meet local busty black singles.

Or if I like Coke or Pepsi better.

Or being teasingly offered a $1000 gift card to Victoria Secret only to find out I need to sell my soul to get it.

Do you seriously think that I am going to respond to an email from my refinancing counselor at a bank I have never heard of?

Or that I believe that I really won the Australian Lottery?

I don't want to get a student loan.

Or tell you if I like Letterman or Leno better.

And stop inviting me to be your MySpace friend, when I don't even have a MySpace page.

Oh, and seriously? Stop with the spams that are titled "Read This".

The one with a new store!

2007-05-29T08:36:00.000-05:00

So I've decided I need to make blogging more of a priority in my life. Lately I have been feeling so lazy about it. Like it is going to take sooooooooooo much energy and time to keep up my blog. But I need it. It is important in keeping up my life. You know, MY life.

Anyway, I have a domain name now. And I am setting up a Wordpress blog.

The domain is for my bath and body business. Which is slowly going.

Check it out at www.TwinSpringNaturals.com. Anyone who mentions that they read about my store on my blog can get FREE SHIPPING on any order of $10 or more.

Currently I only have an Ebay store, so you have to have an ebay account. But in the next year I want to set up my online store. Also next year is my goal to start craft shows. More about what has been going on with this later.

I miss all my peeps. You know who you are!! I just found my bestest favoritest blogger friend again today. She closed her blog last year while I was on hiatus and was SOOOOOOOO upset. That has made my day.

Memorial Day weelend was fun. We planned a big bonfire party that 4 people showed up for! We have issues with people showing up to our parties. But the bonfire was fun. And Gabriel, Mark, and I camped in the back yard Saturday night. It was fun but I am still hurting from sleeping on the ground. We will invest in a queen or king size air bed, insead of the twin we have, and we plan on doing this often this summer. We have a great big yard that is completely secluded in the woods. Perfect for camping.

Got to get something else done now. Love you all!!

The future

2007-04-17T10:59:00.000-05:00

Recent discussion in our house:

ME: So what do you want to be when you grow up? A Firefighter?
Mark: Noooo
ME: A Doctor?
Mark: Noooo
ME: A Cook?
Mark: Nooo
ME: An Airplane Flier?
Mark: Nooo
ME: An Ambulance Driver?
Mark: Nooo
ME: Work at McDonalds?
Mark: YES! (After he realized we were laughing) Noooo
ME: A Construction Worker?
Mark: Nooo
ME: A Dancer?
Mark: Nooo
ME: A Farmer?
Mark: Nooo
ME: Well than what do you want to be?
Mark: A car toothbrush.

There you have it.

Wednesday Weigh In - week 4

2007-04-11T21:25:00.000-05:00

Ugh, I have not been feeling very self-confident lately. I have gained another half pound, so I am up 2. Although, I only worked out Tuesday and Wednesday this week. AND I really haven't been eating the lowest of calorie foods. With Easter dinner, and candy. The other day I grilled bacon wrapped surf and turf. (But it was GOOD.)

I am however getting up every morning at 5:30, so that I can get in my exercise AND a shower every day. The only problem is that I am SO stiff in the mornings. I don't know what arthritis feels like, but I would think this to be close. I have got to shed some weight.

PS. I know that I have only been posting for the Wednesday Weigh In. I am sorry. I just don't know where all the time goes. I have been working very hard on setting up my bath and body products business. I need to settle on a business name and logo, before I can get any products up for sale.

Weigh In Wednesday - week 3

2007-04-05T09:51:00.000-05:00

I have been uber busy, and I feel sooooo guilty for not posting Wednesday Weigh In ON Wednesday for the second week in a row.

I am feeling a little bummed this week. I GAINED 1.5 lbs. I know, or I hope, that it is probably muscle weight from exercising regularly. But it tis discouraging to be trying hard to exercise and seeing a significant weight GAIN.

Here is how my week went:
Thursday: 30 minutes on the treadmill
Friday: 25 minutes on the treadmill (I think, it could have been the DVD, but I DID exercise.)
Saturday: nothing
Sunday: nothing
Monday: 25 minutes on the treadmill
Tuesday: 35 minutes on the treadmill
Wednesday: 25 minutes of the Slim DVD

I have been giving the DVD a small break. While I LOVE it and think that the Slim In 6 DVDs have really helped me, my knees have been bothering me again. I have had problems with my knees ever since I have started to exercise after Abby. Probably due to the fact that I weigh more now than I ever have before (unpregnant). Also due to doing lunges and squats improperly a few months back and really messing my knees up.

So I will only do the DVD (which has squats and lunges. That I have been doing properly now!) a few times a week and go on the treadmill the rest.

Part of my desire to lose weight is because of my knees. I am only 23 and too damn young to have arthritis.

I haven't been talking alot about my diet. That is because I haven't been real strict with it. Suffice to say that I try to watch what I eat and eat in moderation. I DON'T drink enough water though.

Night Prayers

2007-04-03T20:35:00.000-05:00

My son has decided to change his name.

Night prayers go something like this:
"God bless Daddy, and Mommy, and Abby, and Oh-Boy."

Yep.

Sometime he even refers to himself in the first person.
"More juice for Oh-Boy."

At least the night prayers are an upgrade from what he was calling everyone else.
"God bless Daddy-gail, and Mommy-gail, and Abigail, and Oh-Boy."

Because obviously if your name ends in y, the full version ends with gail.

2007-04-02T13:14:00.000-05:00

The latest and greatest in my household??

What the Ba-donk-a-donk?

Yeah, I don't know what that means either.

Weigh In Wednesday - week 2

2007-03-29T09:37:00.000-05:00

Ok I know that it is Thursday. But I felt so guilty for not coming on to post for Wednesday.

I have gained back the pound from last week. But I am not too worried. I am sick instead. Sitting on the couch in a ball with my head a-pounding.

Here is my exercise schedule from last week:
Thursday: Slim DVD
Friday: nothing - took care of sick hubby and kids
Saturday: nothing - felt sick myself and hubby still sick in bed
Sunday: nothing
Monday: Slim DVD
Tuesday: Grocery shopping, 25 minutes on the treadmill
Wednesday: nothing - came down with the cold hubby had over the weekend. Don't have the energy to go up and down the stairs.

I haven't been real steady with the exercise or diet with all that was going on. Plus the pound I got back could just be muscle weight. I am noticing a difference in more muscle control and tone wince I started exercising again.

The one with mud - part 2

2007-03-26T14:47:00.000-05:00

I am coming out of hibernation. And so is everything else. I saw my first snake today. I knew that living in the country would bring animals of all sorts. But I still had palpitations staring at it 50 feet away from behind a glass door. It was just a little green grass snake, but nothing makes me scream like a little girl like snakes do.

Spring is in full swing. For a while the driveway had actually started to dry out and firm up. But after 2 days of spring storms, it is pretty mushy again. I went to town yesterday morning and sunk my car in mud up to the frame.

Today is beautiful however. 70's. Gorgeous. Everyone is in shorts. I had better adjust to my midwest lifestyle or I will DIE when it starts getting in the 90's. This house doesn't have AC yet. It WILL get it this summer.

We were sick over the weekend. I have been kind of lazy with the internet. I had people who needed me. It only seemed to be a 24-48 hour cold. Nothing terrible.

Paypal is frustrating me to no end.
Well, them and my bank. OK, get this. Gabriel and I have each accounts in our names. We are both secondaries on each account. So we both can access all of them, but some our "mine" and some are "his".
When Gabriel called in to change our address, they assured him that ALL addresses for ALL accounts where updated. But I couldn't validate my credit card with my new address through Paypal.
So I called them up again on the 16th. The lady was super nice and said that the accounts in my name hadn't been changed but she updated them for me. I waited and tried every day last week to update via Paypal. Nothing. Friday the 23rd I got a confirmation letter in the mail dated the 19th, stating that my address had officially been updated. Still nothing with Paypal.
Just a few minutes ago (mind you this is 7 business days after I called) I STILL can't get Paypal to recognize my new billing address for my credit card. I don't know what to do, but it is pissing me off.
I am waiting to update my billing address so that I can get a Paypal debit card. They make them out automatically to your credit card's billing address. I want to get my web hosting, domain name, crafting supplies, and some other stuff but I want to use my Paypal balance and these places don't just accept Paypal.

UGH.

I did get some of my crafting supplies on Ebay, though. So maybe starting in the next week or 2 I will get them up for sale.

The webhosting and domain name is really holding me up. I just might go ahead and use my bank or credit card funds, instead of Paypal's balance. I hate to, but I am not going to wait forever!!

Answers to Thursday Thirteen Movie Trivia Edition

2007-03-23T19:56:00.000-05:00

1 Terminator 2
2 The Princess Bride
3 Ocean's Eleven
4 Independence Day
5 Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
6 The Green Mile
7 Austin Powers
8 Honey, I shrunk the kids
9 Indiana Jones and the last crusade
10 Jurassic Park
11 The Karate Kid
12 MIB
13 Pretty Woman

If you're curious....

2007-03-22T13:39:00.000-05:00

I don't know if there is a buzz about Curious George in your house, but he is all the rage here. Mark LOVES Curious George. I think more so than Elmo now. If Curious George does it, Mark does it.
I don't truly believe that CG is a monkey. He has no tail so he is an ape. But that is another story.

Mark has CG color books, but he won't color by himself. He wants others (ME) to color with him. I get so sick of coloring CG brown brown brown brown and the man in the yellow hat yellow yellow yellow yellow. SO I start getting creative.I mean it isn't the color that makes the monkey, right? All I'm saying is that sometimes in life you need an orange monkey holding a blue bunny next to a red snail on purple grass.

Thursday Thurteen #16

2007-03-21T21:55:00.000-05:00

Thirteen Movie Quotes. See if you can guess all 13.

1. "Hasta la vista, baby."

2. "That Vizzini, he can *fuss*."
"Fuss, fuss... I think he like to scream at *us*."
"Probably he means no *harm*."
"He's really very short on *charm*."
"You have a great gift for rhyme."
"Yes, yes, some of the time."
"Enough of that! Fezzik, are there rocks ahead?"
"If there are, we all be dead!"
"No more rhymes now, I mean it!"
"Anybody want a peanut? "

3. "Cause the house always wins. Play long enough, you never change the stakes. The house takes you. Unless, when that perfect hand comes along, you bet big, then you take the house."
"Been practicing this speech, haven't you?"
"Little bit. Did I rush it? Felt I rushed it."
"No, it was good, I liked it."

4. "Y'know, this was supposed to be my weekend off, but noooo. You got me out here draggin' your heavy ass through the burnin' desert with your dreadlocks stickin' out the back of my parachute. You gotta come down here with an attitude, actin' all big and bad... and what the hell is that smell? I could've been at a barbecue!"

5. "If I'm not back in five minutes...just wait longer!"

6. "I tried to take it back, Boss."

7. "My father was a relentlessly self-improving boulangerie owner from Belgium with low-grade narcolepsy and a penchant for buggery. My mother was a 15 year old French prostitute named Chloe with webbed feet. My father would womanize, he would drink, he would make outrageous claims, like he invented the question mark. Sometimes, he would accuse chestnuts of being lazy - the sort of general malaise that only the genius possess and the insane lament. My childhood was typical: summers in Rangoon, luge lessons. In the spring, we'd make meat helmets. When I was insolent, I was placed in a burlap bag and beaten with reeds. Pretty standard, really."

8. "We're now a quarter of an inch tall, and sixty four feet from the house. That's an equivalent of three-point-two miles. That's a long way. Even for a man of science."

9. "Please, what does it always mean, this... this "Junior"?"
"That's his name. [pointing] Henry Jones ...Junior."
"I like "Indiana.""
"We named the *dog* Indiana. "

10. "God creates dinosaurs. God destroys dinosaurs. God creates man. Man destroys God. Man creates dinosaurs..."
"Dinosaurs eat man. Woman inherits the earth..."

11. "Karate come from China, sixteenth century, called te, "hand." Hundred year later, Miyagi ancestor bring to Okinawa, call *kara*-te, "empty hand."
"I thought it came from Buddhist temples and stuff like that."
"You too much TV."

12. "1500 years ago, everybody "knew" that the earth was the center of the universe. 500 years ago, everybody "knew" that the earth was flat. And 15 minutes ago, you "knew" that humans were alone on this planet. Imagine what you'll "know" tomorrow."

13. "How much for the entire night?"
"Stay here? You couldn't afford it."
"Try me."
"300 dollars."
"Done! Thank you. Now we can relax."

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Weigh In Wednesday - week 1

2007-03-21T14:10:00.000-05:00

So Leigh and I decided that we are going to hold ourselves accountable with our weight loss efforts by honestly posting about it every Wednesday. Feel free to join us, by leaving a post on your blog. This is for encouragement and support, not some stupid meme.

This week I lost 1 lb. That isn't much but I have been the same weight for months now. And finally I have put some effort into it and lost some. I am going to be honest and tell you all. I weigh 189 lbs. I know some of you are going to say "you don't look like you weight that much". Well, have ya noticed that there aren't any pictures of my body on the blog, just my head. There ya go.

My plan is to do my Slim in 6 DVD 5 days a week. (It is supposed to be 6 days a week but I know better than to expect that every Saturday will get a full work out.) And try to get on the treadmill for at least 20 minutes on the weekends.

So far this week I have done my Slim in 6 everyday. My thighs are not thanking me. "OMG woman, you made us move for 25 minutes continuously." Today is better than yesterday though as my tone is building a little. I forgot how good exercising feels. How you can get that high after you have had a really good workout.

So don't forget to go give Leigh some encouragement. And feel free to join us by posting honestly about your weight loss efforts.

The one with some quizes.

2007-03-20T19:52:00.000-05:00

Found these over at Almost Somewhat Positive.

Your Brain is Green

Of all the brain types, yours has the most balance.
You are able to see all sides to most problems and are a good problem solver.
You need time to work out your thoughts, but you don't get stuck in bad thinking patterns.

You tend to spend a lot of time thinking about the future, philosophy, and relationships (both personal and intellectual).

What Color Is Your Brain?

You Are 28% Lady

You tend to make up your rules of etiquette, throwing all conventions aside.
And while you try to be a lady (sometimes), your behavior is often quite shocking.

Are You A Lady?

You Are 35% Normal

You sure do march to your own beat...
But you're so weird, people wonder if it's a beat at all
You think on a totally different wavelength
And it's often a chore to get people to understand you

How Normal Are You?

You Are 50% Weird

Normal enough to know that you're weird...
But too damn weird to do anything about it!

How Weird Are You?

Apparently I am not very normal. I guess my husband won that $5.

Thanks everyone for cheering me up. I guess it was PMS or something.

Leigh, I will see you tomorrow. We have a date, girl.

The one with swearing

2007-03-19T15:32:00.000-05:00

Mommy is being a bitch today. Cranky. Crabby. Feeling the need to go take a baseball bat to a tree. Warning: I feel like swearing. Alot.

I tried using her new slim in 6 DVD, but the DVD rom that CAME with the laptop needs a driver play DVDs. Not just some DVDs, all DVDs.

And I can't use the DVD player with the TV, because the TV is right outside the kid's upstairs. And Abby just went down for a nap. Finally.

As a side note, I did get to use the TV upstairs after I put Mark down for a nap. The workout was hard and felt great, but I can safely say that was the high point of my day.

I can't get the Fucking fire started. The fire is usually out when we get up in the morning. Most mornings I scoop ashes, bring in some kindling and newspaper, and light a new fire. It can take from 20 minutes to a few hours to start, depending how wet and cured the wood is. It is a quarter to four in the afternoon and I can't get paper to take.

I woke up stiff and sore. Not hung over sore. Creak-in-the-neck-that-won't-go-away-even-with-Advil-sore.

I haven't emptied the dishwasher yet. The dishes are piled everywhere in the kitchen.

I have piles of clothes all over the floor that Mark won't leave alone. Laundry is my *favorite* chore.

I forgot to start new listings on Sunday night for E-bay, so my whole rhythm is off.

I need a shower.

I snap at the kids for breathing too loud.

Mark won't listen.

I can't get the kids to take a nap at the same time for the life of me.

I just want silence.

I just want 5 minutes for myself.

I keep bouncing back and forth between needing to scream my lungs out and needing to cry.

Or scream, "Shut the Fuck up already will you!" FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, FUCK.

On a side note I did finish my period yesterday. So maybe this is PMS.

Feel the Need to Relax?

2007-03-15T21:21:00.000-05:00

Go get some coffee and some creamer, put the kiddies to bed, and chill. After all who can resist free stuff???

Thursday Thirteen #15

2007-03-15T14:00:00.000-05:00

Thirteen scents I am considering for making soap.
I would like every one to choose their favorite 3 (or more) to help me decide which to use.

1. Cucumber Aloe

2. Hawaiian Rain

3. Juniper Breeze

4. Mulberry

5. Pearberry

6. Blueberry

7. Lavendar

8. Blackberry Vanilla

9. Ginger Lime

10. Clean Cotton

11. Coconut

12. Raspberry Patchouli

13. Lemon Grass

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

The one with mud

2007-03-14T09:43:00.000-05:00

So right now the weather can't decide if it is spring, winter, or anything in between. Our new driveway is somewhere around a 1/4 mile long, through the woods, and is one and a half feet deep with mud. I can't go anywhere, no one can get in. My husband took the trunk into work. If I have to have any kind of medical attention, I have to call an ambulance and THEY will only be able to drive half way up our driveway before they would have to hike the rest of the way.

On a similar note, Abby is feeling tons better! She had a pulled muscle and her hip needed to be adjusted. She didn't have any broken bones or dislocations. But she was pretty miserable for 3 or 4 days. I am just so glad that she is getting better. I was so afraid that she would be 14 and have to tell her friends, "Sorry, I can't go rollerskating I feel off the couch as a baby."

It is a cold and dreary day today. Dark and forbearing.

We finally cleaned out a spot of semi opened boxes to put up my treadmill. Hopefully that will help with some weight loss, because I have been feeling very cow like. Not even retail therapy or window shopping for something other than the yucky stained tees I own helps. I just look at clothes and feel discussed because my huge mommy belly pooch just hangs out. I bought the Beachbody Slim in 6 kit yesterday. You know, the one that you see on paid programming. I know I probably won't lose 45 lbs and go from a size 20 to a size 4 like everyone else they show. But some aerobic exercise to the abs can't hurt, right?

And let the semi-annual kick in the groin commence...

2007-03-12T15:39:00.001-05:00

Oh how I hate you, Daylight Savings Time!
I always think that you are going to work in my favor.
You whisper hope of children sleeping in.
Or ME sleeping in.
Or ME staying up late.
Of convenient nap times.
Of a chance to slowly merge dinner time.
Of being able to catch that sitcom rerun I have been dying to watch.

And what do you bring me?
Children who jump on their bed at 9 PM when their bedtime is 7 PM.
Children who demand to get up to eat breakfast at 5:30 AM when breakfast is at 8 AM.
Grief because I changed every clock but the VCR, so when I stayed up to relax and watch some Will & Grace until 10 PM, I found it to be 11 PM in my bedroom.
Grief because for some unknown reason the guys with suits decided you come early.
Grief because I only remembered that at 11:30 the night before.

And what do you "save"?
I haven't a clue.
Not daylight, because unbelievably their is always the same amount at daylight whether or not we decide to cal right now 3 or 4 or 8 or 11.
Energy?
Great because now instead of getting up for the day just as the sun is rising, I have to get up when it is pitch black and turn on a bunch of lights.

And if you are anything like my bank, you make a deposit in the spring, a withdrawal in the fall, and have made enough in interest to pay the tax on a Big Mac.

The one with a few complants

2007-03-09T13:24:00.000-06:00

Ok, I must admit that the new "BETA" *over exaggerated finger quotes* isn't as bad as I imagined. In fact it has it's good qualities. You still have your access to HTML and the convenience of the widgets.

But I HATE the way the literally FORCE you to switch. The last time that I logged in the old blogger system there was a warning in font this big stating that the next time I log in my blog will be converted to the Beta system. Thanks. No choice. No way out of it.

Whatever.

Abby is acting a little better today, but she still won't stand on her left leg. It is weird. She will sit up, lean way over to get toys, kick, and even get up on her knees. But she wants nothing to do with any pushing or pulling with her leg straight. Anywho, she has an appointment with the chiropractor this afternoon. He specializes in little kids.

I love this new theme. It is like coffee meets chocolate. Only my 2 favorite things in the whole wide world.

I have been trying to find all the pictures we have of the new house, but I think they are on Gabriel's work laptop. I will try to remember to transfer them tonight when he gets home. This will have to do . It is only the view from the back yard .

There isn't enough coffee in the world.

2007-03-08T10:49:00.001-06:00

OMG, we are accident prone this morning I am afraid to move.

First, Mark, Abby, and I were watching Sesame Street this morning when Abby rolled off the couch. Luckily she landed on her butt, but her left leg was curled underneath her. She hurt her hip some how, and doesn't want to put pressure on it or pull her knee up to her belly on any way. Side to side is fine but up and down is no good. I called my husband and we are watching it to see if it is better this afternoon. I feel so bad. I feel like I broke her. If her leg moves the wrong way, she just looks at me and whimpers like, "Mama, it HURTS!". She is taking a nap now, so hopefully resting it will help.

Second, I was stoking the fire (because a wood burning fireplace is our primary heat source, people, how cool is that?) when a rather large log freakishly falls over and clunks Mark on the head. I am sure it got bumped by either me or Mark, but now I have 2 babies on my lap crying in pain.

Third, We are taking a break watching TV upstairs just trying to get everyone to calm down and take it easy. When Mark tumbles down the whole flight of stairs. He is EXCELLENT on stairs. This is only the second stair accident ever for him.

In conclusion, Mark is OK but might have some bumps/bruises that show up later. Abby is sleeping now and we shall see how she is this afternoon. And I think we all need to stay in bed the rest of the day to avoid further injury.

On a different note, my Britta pitcher works great. I heart my new pitcher. I can now drink water again.

Also, as a warning, I am making plans to move this blog to Wordpress as soon as I can decide on a domain name. I am thinking about something like www.the-crafty-mom.com. I want it to be home for my mommy blog, my growing Ebay-selling which has upcoming plans for homemade soap, rice heating bags and other homemade stuff, and home for any web design I might (not necessarily in the near future) have. Any good ideas?? I would love to hear them!

The one with water that goes clunk

2007-03-06T14:13:00.001-06:00

I have been doing alot on Ebay. I have made a lot of money selling garage sale type stuff that was hanging arround the house. It is great because I have a little money of my own to buy what ever I want (from Ebay of course). And not feel guilty.

Plus, I admit it, it is really fun to have things come in the mail.

Today I got my Britta water pitcher. Hopefully that will make the water tolerable. We have hard water here. Like, you turn on the faucet and it goes clunk. We have a new style of water softener that doesn't use salt. Instead it uses magnets to remove the iron and ionizes the calcium to prevent it from caking to pipes and everything else. But the calcium, ect is still there and so the water doesn't taste the best. Think lake water. OK, it isn't THAT bad. But I don't like to drink water in the first place. So any unpleasantness and you can forget about it.

I am soaking the filter and setting up the pitcher now. I will let you know how it goes. Does anyone else have a Britta filter or pitcher??

In my new house we have a DISHWASHER!! GASP! I have dreamed of a dishwasher. The dishes (GASP!) get washed EVERY night. Plus I don't have to stand there for hours to do them. I want to kiss whoever invented dishwashers right now.

And the previous owners left a bread maker. So I (in all my domestic goddessness) make a loaf of fresh bread every morning.

I really do love my new house.

TTFN

Look! Here I am...

2007-03-05T13:50:00.000-06:00

OMG, it has been forever since I have blogged. It has been so hard to squeak out 5 minutes just to shower, let alone write a post or do any designing. Life with the munchkins has been crazy. Abby is now 7 1/2 months, and eats and sits up and has teeth and says "Da-da". Mark is now 2 ( so I can't say anymore that I have 2 under 2!) and all of a sudden so independent.

We love our new house. It is so nice to be closer that Gabriel's office. He actually sees the kids now. AND has time to play with them. That makes him happy. The kids took the move really well. Mark hasn't even mentioned the old house once. I will get pictures up sometime in the next year or so....

I really want to get back into the swing of blogging. I miss my friends. I miss having any time or anything to myself.

I hate my first post in many moons to be a whiny one, but I am going nuts not having a moment where someone isn't ask me for something, crying, or needing their butt wiped.

But the way that also means that bring sexy back has feel by the wayside . And I haven't lost any more weight. Ugh.

Here's hoping that I can (gasp) blog daily again!

TTFN

2007-01-15T09:13:00.000-06:00

Hey there, everyone!
I'm still here.
Packing. Starting to freak out because the moving date is not far off. It is hard to start packing this far in advance. Do I pack up the dishes, the clothes, or the towels? Hmm...

Dealing with one cranky little girl that has been teething for 6 weeks now. Seriously! And still no freaking tooth. I have felt one massive swollen spot for a week now, and still this morning nothing!

Selling a TON of stuff on E-bay so don't forget to check it out. I have LOTS of stuff, from craft items to DVDs to Juniors dresses to baby items and coupons. It do combined shipping discounts. No Reserves, and most of the auctions start at $0.99. Go now! Buy something!

I bought a Senseo on E-bay and I am SOOOOOOOOOOOO Excited.
I can't wait until Wed when it gets here.

Less then 2 weeks to go until the big day..... TTFN

The one to make up for being away

2007-01-03T20:37:00.000-06:00

Oh how I hate that dirty little word.... hiatus.

I would rather just disappear for monthes than say "Hey, world, I'm going to be gone for I while. Please feed the cat while I'm gone." I guess I never want to admit that I really just am too busy to blog. Or maybe I am afraid that if I go on... hiatus... people will expect my blog to be not updated. Or worse yet, they might think that I have just forgotten about it. *shutter*

But never fear!! I will NEVER close my blog, unless I am moving it to another URL.

I suppose you are all wondering what I have been up to the past month?? Oh yeah, besides Christmas.

We only SOLD our house. BOUGHT a new house towards Green Bay, Wisconsin. Cleaning like a mad woman (seriously!) to get the old house pretty for showing. Packing everything I can think of this far in advance. AND taking cares of the two munchkins.

The closing date is Jan. 26. So I might be on... hiatus... until then, or a little after. I will try to post here and there to try and update with what is going on. But I can't promise that I will be able to read any blogs. And that makes me very sad.

However! To pacify the masses, I have updated Flickr and you can also check out my auctions on E-bay.

Lots o Love.

Why does every thing come back to the bathroom?

2006-12-01T14:30:00.000-06:00

You know how you have one of those days. And you become more appreciative of the next day that went better. Well, I am finally having 'the next day' after about 2 weeks of 'one of those days'.

I actually had breakfast, and before 11:30 when Mark has lunch.

I actually had a full workout, but to be fair I have managed to get my run on the treadmill in almost every day. The exciting part is taking my ear buds out and realizing that Abby hadn't rolled over in bed while I was in the basement thus bringing on hissy fits.

I did manage, after 4 days, to finish my Access list of Christmas Card receivers. And I printed out the envelopes. If you would like to receive a Christmas Card from the Expressions of Love household, e-mail me at daniels_mommy04 at yahoo dot com.

I am wondering though why every thing in a mommy's life comes back to poop. After hosing both kids down from poopy explosions this morning, I let Abby cry in her crib just so I could pee. Mark follows me in and I ask him, 'Can't mommy go pee by herself?!?'

Big ol' doe eyes just stare up at me, as serious as could be, shaking his head slowly. 'Nooo.'

The one with the sty

2006-11-25T13:41:00.000-06:00

Deer hunting is half way over. Gabriel and his brother got 5 opening weekend and none since. :P Since we have an abundance of venison this year, I have been toying with making jerky. It is really easy. Slice it. Soak it in some marinade. Go to bed. Arrange it on the dehydrator. Forget about it all day. Take it off before you go to bed. Slice and soak some more meat for tomorrow.

I have been having a sore eyelid since Wednesday evening (merely because the next day would be a holiday and every clinic would be closed). Yesterday I did some research on-line and figured out it was a sty. Lovely, huh? Luckily I had a small one. It is almost gone today and didn't have all the lovely side effects most sty's do.

But now I have to throw out all my eye make up, eye make up remover, contact lenses, contact cases, ect. because I have no idea what, if anything, I cross infected. I am bummed out. It is like me telling you to throw out your favorite pair of jeans because they have dust mites, but it is ok because you can just go out and buy another. Some of those eye liners I have had forever and I am sure they don't make the same shades. I am sure you know, make up (even Cover girl, ect) is expensive. Especially when you need to buy and experiment to find the right shades. Like I said I am bummed out...

Also the contacts that I have to toss are only one day old.

I am thankful that I can still wear contacts ans make up.

Sorry that this blog has been kind of stale recently. Way to much to do. The kids have been keeping me on my toes lately. It seems like each day is shorter than the last. I haven't even found the time to check my e-mail some days. I keep saying that things will slow down one of these days. Please be patient. It has to slow down...

We are talking about moving by next summer. Gabriel's office is 96 miles away. One way. That means that he gets home late and sometimes doesn't see the kids before they go to bed. We knew we would move eventually, but it is looking like more of a necessity. Hi job is temporary through the end of the year, but it is almost certain to become permanent. We are just waiting for the word and salary proposal. The thought of backing up and moving excites me and terrifies me all at the same time...

So what did you buy on Black Friday??? Any good deals???

The one with guilt

2006-11-22T14:43:00.000-06:00

I felt so very, very guilty today. I called the neighbor over to baby sit while I ran to the mall. It was no big deal. She was happy to do it. I was so terribly afraid that if I took Mark he would wonder off. He is getting into his terrible twos, and is always testing me.

It felt like the first time I left Mark with a babysitter. He was 4 months. It was only Grandma. I had a dental appointment for crying out loud.

Why can't I just let it go? Why do I always feel like I have put other people out when I ask them to watch my kids? Why does it make me feel like I am not good enough as a mommy just because I needed to ask for help with something so small?

Do you ever feel that way?

The one with dead deer

2006-11-21T14:15:00.000-06:00

So Thanksgiving (observed) went really well. The food was all great. There was no momentous family drama. Eat, drink, be merry, fall asleep on couch by 6 pm.

On the other hand my belly bulge is not thanking me.

Saturday began the hell known as hunting season. Amongst Gabriel, his brother and his Gramps, four deer were bagged opening weekend. This is astounding since they are used to hunting for the 2 weeks and getting 1 or 2 tiny deer on closing day.

Gabriel really enjoys hunting, and I am glad for him. Hunting with his Gramps has been something he has done since he was big enough to walk throw the brush on drives. And since Gramps has congestive heart failure, it is good time for them to spend together.

But holy hell, hunting season sucks. It means that Gabriel is gone for work hours and all extra daylight hours including weekends. It means that there is meat that needs to be butchered and frozen. There are a lot of gross things I do, but deer butchering has got to be the worst. I got out of it last year because I was pregnant and so stinkin nauseous anyway.

Plus, I really don't like venison that much. I would die for real beef. I admit venison is very, very lean meat. And the chance of eating a diseased animal is far less than even a cow. And when you use venison hamburger in any casserole or hamburger helper, you can't taste the difference. But steaks and roasts always have that gamy taste. And I am always reminded that we shouldn't buy meat when we already a freezer full. Ugh. I think it is a I-am-man-I-drag-home-dead-animal-to-provide-for-my-family thing.

That is about all. We are just trying to recover from the over tiredness of the holidays. Everyone needs naps here. Everyone....

Ok, I totally lied earlier today.

2006-11-16T22:24:00.000-06:00

After some research into my new blog at Wordpress.com, I decided that headache of learning a new system is not worth transferring my blog there. Instead I am going to fallow through (eventually) with a domain and Wordpress.org. I want the freedom to design with out having to pay just to change my CSS! Blah! If I am going to pay for anything I had better get a domain in the deal. LOL.

So in conclusion, I will be staying at this nice enough blog where I sometimes feel like throwing my computer out the window. At least until I can get some money together. My plan? Win some from my radio station....

Stop laughing. WIFC plays keyword that are worth points on their website. Collect points and use them towards auctions for cool stuff like $100 bills. And since I am trying to listen to the radio instead of watching TV, I get alot of keywords. Basically I could get payed to listen to the radio. Either that or be caller #9....

Thanksgiving is coming

2006-11-16T13:41:00.000-06:00

Thanks everyone. I really do feel better today. Gabriel is getting over it too. It was just the first time in our 3 year marriage that either of us had even talked about the thought of a possibility of cheating.

Last night Gabriel was going to be home late anyway. So I put the kids to bed early, made a really nice dinner, lit a million candles, turned off the lights, and put on a sexy top. I have never done anything like that before and it was really nice.

I think you all are right. My libido may be returning. One can only hope, right...

-----oOo-----

Thanksgiving is coming right along. Planning big meals and get-togethers, and trying new recipes and flavors in food gives me a high. I know, I'm weird. I started a blog just for food and recipes, so this one won't get all filled up. Especially for those who hate it when people share recipes. C'mon I know there is at least one of you out there...

Note: I was going to link my recipes below with my new blog, but Blogger is #%@&ing with me. I only got one linked. Blah.

I did my shopping today. After I get off the internet, I must start my cleaning which will continue tomorrow. Saturday I will cook and peel and chop and prep and wash in hopes that I won't have THAT much to do on Sunday. It is really screwing with my mind to have Thanksgiving on a Sunday. I will be messed up for months.

Here is my menu.

Appetizers (served noonish):
Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms
Chex Mix
Chex Muddie Buddies
Chicken Cheese Spread with crackers (MIL bringing)

Main Meal (served 2-3 pm):
Roast Turkey
Gravy
Mashed Potatoes
Sausage Stuffing
Green Beans Almondine
Cranberry sauce (homemade, of course)
Orange Fluff
Oven Rolls
Olive tray (my mom will bring)

Dessert:
Brandy Pecan Pie
Classic Pumpkin Pie
Homemade Whipped Cream

Drinks:
Rhubarb Punch (homemade from my garden this summer, canned in my basement)
Mogan David, Blackberry and Concord
Coffee

Oooo, I am so excited. The main meal is classic of my late Grandma, who I adored and who I got my infectious love of cooking from.

-----oOo-----

On a side note, Blogger is completely f#$@ing with me again today. Enough that I am so PO'd I am just moving to Wordpress.com. I have had enough, people. If I had time, I would do it this afternoon. Expect to update your blogrolls within the nest week or 2. Urghhhhhh.

Also wordpress.com will only be temporary until I can get some seed money to buy a domain name and use wordpress.org. Chelle, together you and I will rule the world. Ahhahahahahahahaha!! *evil genius laugh*

On that scary note, TTFN.

The one with the sex dream

2006-11-15T14:14:00.000-06:00

Have you ever had a dream that you were having sex with someone other than your husband?
How about a dream that you were committing willful adultery?

I did, and it is driving me nuts. I dreamed that I slept with Gabriel's good friend (who will be called Mr. X). This is the best that I can describe it.

I was at Mr. X's house. Gabriel knew I was there. I was there for a valid reason. I think he was supposed to be helping me with a legal issue. I kept feeling strongly sexually attracted to Mr. X, but stifled the feelings because I am married and don't want to cheat on Gabriel. After we solved whatever problem I was there to solve, Mr. X moves in really close to me and tells me how strongly he is attracted to me. At first I still avoid eye contact, trying to deny how I felt. Then Mr. X tells me how he can't hold back anymore and that he wants me. After hearing that I give in. I want what I want. With very little resistance. And that is pretty much all I remember.

I committed very willful, very consensual adultery. I feel so ashamed. So embarrassed. You have no idea how painful it is just to write this.

What makes this even worse is that I have been attracted to Mr. X in real life. Not that I day dream about having sex with him. But in the sense that if I was single I would have dated him.

Gabriel and I had a talk about it last night. I had to tell him. Even if it was a dream I feel so guilty. Everything feels so serious and sullen now.

So now what? Do I try to just shrug it off because it was just a dream? Just be aware of myself around Mr. X? Or do I just avoid Mr. X all together?

Telling Gabriel was the right thing to do because we want a married based on honesty. But now I feel like things will always be different. Like my husband will be wondering what I am thinking, if we have Mr. X over for a party. Or we go over to Mr. X's house. We only see Mr. X once or twice a year anyway.

In addition to all that, Gabriel felt a little hurt that I was dreaming of another man when my real life libido has not returned since having Abby.

I don't think I could EVER do that to Gabriel in real life. I could never hurt him. But I honesty can't say that I will never be attracted to other men. And I told him that. Is that wrong? Is that healthy for a marriage? Is that strong enough of an answer?

Yes, it was just a dream.
But I feel dirty.
I feel ashamed.
I feel embarrassed.
I don't feel safe with my own thoughts.
I keep bouncing back and forth between almost crying and feeling silly for making so much out of this.

Please, tell me I am not the only one to have a dream like this....

The one with stress

2006-11-14T14:55:00.000-06:00

Too much crap to do.

Not enough time.

Would have enough time if infant would stop screaming her head at a deafening volume just to her herself.

Or if toddler would stop trying to get into everything.

Was there a weekend?

I think I am having a stress break down this morning.

I am having 16 people over for Thanksgiving on Sunday. (yeah, I know. Not Thanksgiving. But we have deer hunters here. Thanksgiving is just a day they get off of work for hunting.)

That is actually NOT a cause of stress for me.

Nor is the cleaning of the house.

Or cooking.

Or menu planning or grocery shopping.

It is the kiddies that live with me who aren't allowing me to do ANY of it.

I would love just one hour for me. Just one hour.

It is 3 pm and I just realized all I had for breakfast or lunch was 2 cups of coffee.

Boiling pasta roni now.

Why doesn't life take time outs?? Wouldn't that be handy??????????????

As a side note...
My brother is now back in the state and having his charge hearing this afternoon. My mom wants me to try to find out on-line where his car is because 1) he won't talk to her, and 2) she is the co-signer on his loan. Lovely.

Everyone else did this

2006-11-10T13:58:00.000-06:00

Should I be scared that Tobey Maguire and James Spader are in the top 4????

Food for thought Friday #3

2006-11-10T10:53:00.000-06:00

I didn't get to this last week, and I missed it.

This week's recipe is again, my own concoction. I made it for breakfast on Sunday and it was wooooooonderfullllllllllll.

I call it Breakfast Squares.

1 package breakfast sausages, uncooked and sliced into coins (this is easier to do if they are still frozen)
1 onion, chopped
1 8oz package of shredded cheddar cheese
6 eggs
1 1/2 cups of complete pancake mix (it HAS to be the just add water kind)
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 cup milk

Mix it all together and put it in a sprayed 9x13. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before you cut it so the eggs can set up.

You could also use Bisquik instead of the pancake mix. Just use milk instead of maple syrup.

Also, it would probably be good with chopped, cooked bacon or chopped ham instead of sausage.

This just looks like Thursday Thirteen

2006-11-09T15:13:00.000-06:00

I just didn't get to TT this week. I didn't have time and let all of us addicts face it. You really write it up Wednesday night and circle the TT hub like a E-Bay shark to be one of the first to get a comment in. It is all about luring the readers in. Come here, my pretty. Smell the cookies.....

Any way, Since last week's TT was such a hit and so many people asked to be let known if I got any good answers, here they are.

1) Should my main blog stay at blogger or move to wordpress?
Everyone seemed to favor Wordpress. I have a confession. I have a blog with Wordpress.com already. I don't use it but I wanted to make sure and get the subdomain I wanted. I know that I will move eventually. Inevitably Blogger will piss me off enough.

2) Where are there good tutorials or info on CSS?
I haven't had time to check these yet, but this is what I got.
http://glish.com/css/
http://www.htmlhelp.com/reference/css/quick-tutorial.html http://werbach.com/web/wwwhelp.html http://www.westciv.com/style_master/academy/css_tutorial/
http://www.w3schools.com

Also, I found this one on my own this week.
http://www.cssplay.com

3)Where are there good tutorials for using Paint Shop Pro?
Ditto.

http://www.pinoy7.com

4)If I am making turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and cranberry for Thanksgiving, what should my fourth or even fifth side dish(es) be?
How could I forget the Green Bean Cassaerole!! Here are some other suggestions...
Salad
Vege Casserole
Peas
Ambrosia
Rolls or Biscuits
Corn Pudding
Butternut Squash
Blanched Asparagus
Yams
Anything Crunchy

5)What is a good moisturizing non-greasy lotion?
Again, varied widely.

Nivea
2 voted for Dove
Cetaphil
Jergen's Original
Cocoa Butter
Clinque
Oil of Olay
2 voted for Jergen's for Dry Skin
Loreal Happyderm
Mary Kay for Dry Skin
Ponds

6)Do I keep my highlights or go back to my natural dark brown?
1 said go for natural color
6 said go for highlights
1 said go for both
1 said to go green

7)This is a big one. Do I grow my hair out again or get a different short cut?
(It pretty much looks the same as it did in my profile pic.)
I thought I would grow it out.
My hubby loves how it looks now.
I haven't decided yet.

8)Do you know any In-A-Jar recipes I can use for Christmas, like Cookie-Mix-In-A-Jar or Soup-Mix-In-A-Jar?
http://del.icio.us/fiberbabble/GiftsinaJar
http://www.realfood4realpeople.com/cookies.html
http://allrecipes.com/Recipes/Desserts/Cookies/Cookie-Mix-in-a-Jar/ViewAll.aspx

9)What does one buy "the boss", in this case Gabriel's new bosses, for Christmas?
Most said a bottle of wine or another type of alcohol. That is kind of what I was thinking and what will probably be the safest choice. Other suggestions included picture frames and monogrammed items.

10)What DO I do with all that left over Halloween candy?
Most said to send it to them. Well, too bad 'cause we ate it!! Other good ideas were to give it to the mail carrier, UPS guy, or donate it to a food pantry.

11)Does my sidebar look too crowded now? I tried to thin it out.
Everyone is so nice and loves me.
Or at least that is what they are saying to my face.....

12)Is Bloglines.com ot Blogrolling.com better?
Hands down, no contest, everyone loves Bloglines.
Which is good because that is what I use.

13)Does this blog make me look fat?
Again, I seem to be loved...

IT is reciprocated!! :D

Way to tell you're a mom #127

2006-11-08T15:47:00.000-06:00

You are picking chunks of Play Dough out of your socks.

Also Flickr is updated.

I'm bringin' sexy back

2006-11-07T13:05:00.000-06:00

I am so sick of feeling disgusting and slobish. Yes, I did just make that word up. I have been contemplating this for awhile. I need a better self image, more confidence, and to whip my life into shape. I am tired of scrapping to find time to shower every 3 days. (OK, I know. EWWWW. But you try to find time to shower when you have 2 under 2, you are alone with said kiddies from 5 am to 6:15 pm, and when they are napping the water running in the next room will almost always wake them up.)

I came to the conclusion that I put my kids, my hubby, cooking, cleaning, almost everything above things that are for me. The showers and exercising included.

NO MORE. I am sick of feeling inadequate as a woman.

It is priority now to primp myself every morning. To put my contacts in, instead of just throwing on my glasses because it is easier. To dress in clothes I feel good about and in, not something that I hope the UPS guy doesn't catch me in. To exercise and make an offensive effort to loosing weight and getting my body toned again. To actually put make up on everyday. Not just on Christmas, weddings, and funerals. I have never had a daily make-up routine, so this is a big one in making me feel sexier.

I have also considered doing HNT, but I am not sure if I am completely comfortable with that idea.

I want to be confident and sexy NOW. Not in 20 lbs. Not when my hair grows out. Not when that shirt I have been eyeing up finally fits me in the size I want it to.

Also, I need to get rid of the granny panties I am still wearing from my pregnancy. You know that ones. I need something that makes me feel sexy and is still comfortable enough to wear every day.

I need bras that fit. Thank Oprah for that one!

I can have sexy in my jeans and kool-aid life. Mommies can be sexy too.

So how do you keep your sexy??

Note to self

2006-11-04T21:36:00.000-06:00

Don't comment on blogs after having a nice glass of Mogan David. Don't even try to reread what you wrote. Because if it didn't make sense the first time, chances are it won't the second either. Just stick to something safe like surfing BE for points.

On the other hand...
Exactly what is the difference between a Baby Ruth and a Snickers??

My panties are in a bunch

2006-11-03T13:58:00.000-06:00

I am so ....
I don't know what I am.

My mom called me this morning to let me know that she heard over the radio that my brother and 6 of his loser friends were arrested this morning. In connection with 64 burglaries, 4 arsons, and shooting a horse.

We are a small community. Farmland, really. These incidents have been headline news for many months now. BIG headline news.

And it was my brother. Allegedly.

Admittedly, my brother and his 'friends' are complete losers. They did manage to finish high school, but there biggest accomplishment since is managing to keep the part time job at Subway. I know he was under age drinking, smoking cigarettes, smoking pot and a bunch of other really stupid 'teen' stuff. I have never seen it, but I have been told. Apparently he would also binge on quarts of vodka at a time until he would black out, on a regular basis.

Really, if he is in trouble for anything it is because he deserves it.

I haven't talked to him in a while, so it isn't like we are close. Actually when my mom told me I laughed out loud. HARD. Kind of like, that figures.

So why is this affecting me?

Why can't I stop drinking coffee?

Why am I compulsively scrubbing the house down?

I have also thought that I am lucky he didn't rob me and burn MY house down. Him and some of his 'friends' have stopped by unannounced. And like I said we are a small community. People aren't careful to lock up or anything like that. What if they were casing my house out? I wouldn't put ANYTHING passed him. What if it was my house that burnt??

OMG. I feel like someone has died and you go through a hundred emotions in a couple hours. And none of them make sense.

I have the overwhelming urge to tell someone. To call someone and just tell them. But I am trying so hard not to. To be bigger and not gossip, because really all I know is that he has been arrested in connection with this stuff. I guess this is my best outlet to tell.

I need...
I don't know what I need.

Thursday Thirteen #13

2006-11-01T21:11:00.000-06:00

Thirteen Things that I need help with this week because mama's having brain farts.

1)Should my main blog stay at blogger or move to wordpress?

2)Where are there good tutorials or info on CSS?

3)Where are there good tutorials for using Paint Shop Pro?

4)If I am making turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and cranberry for Thanksgiving, what should my fourth or even fifth side dish(es) be?

5)What is a good moisturizing non-greasy lotion?

6)Do I keep my highlights or go back to my natural dark brown?

7)This is a big one. Do I grow my hair out again or get a different short cut? (It pretty much looks the same as it did in my profile pic.)

8)Do you know any In-A-Jar recipes I can use for Christmas, like Cookie-Mix-In-A-Jar or Soup-Mix-In-A-Jar?

9)What does one buy "the boss", in this case Gabriel's new bosses, for Christmas?

10)What DO I do with all that left over Halloween candy?

11)Does my sidebar look too crowded now? I tried to thin it out.

12)Is Bloglines.com ot Blogrolling.com better?

13)Does this blog make me look fat?

Is anyone else sick of commercials?

2006-11-01T14:33:00.000-06:00

Hi, I have erectile dysfunction.

Hi, I have genital herpes. And I try to limit the number of people I infect.

Hi, I have irritable bowel syndrome. I go all the time.

Hi, I have chronic constipation. I want softer bowel movements.

You know that I am not making this stuff up. It makes up 50% of your commercials. Like I really wanted to know all about it while I am eating, thanks.

Or like this kind of advertisement should be bombarding us on TV. "Ask your doctor if it right for you." "Go to our website for a coupon to bring to your doctor for a free sample." Shouldn't it be, 1) you have an existing issue, 2) you visit your doctor, and 3) he/her offers you a treatment?? Does some one who has to pee every 20 minutes at all hours of the day and night need to be told to ask their doctor if they need a medication? In this day and age, does a man need to be told every 30 minutes to visit his doctor if he wants to have sex and also has ED??

More over do I need to be reminded??

Celebrity endorsements also drive me nuts.

Hi, I am Brooke Shields. And I am famous. But I am also a mom, just like you. The only difference is that I am a GOOD mom. You can be too if you use Colgate Total. If you don't go buy this toothpaste now it is because you don't love your kids as much as I love mine.

If you stand back and read between the lines in commercials aimed at moms and small kids, they are all trying to tell us that if we don't use their product we would be bad mommies. My favorite is a current commercial for Fisher Price. This one is NOT paraphrasing. And I quote:

When my daughter and I play together with (insert really cool sounding FP toy name here), I feel like she is really learning.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhh. I understand. She can't learn by me playing with her WITHOUT the toy. Boy, are my kids going to be behind....

The One With The Exploding Chicken

2006-10-31T13:55:00.000-06:00

Edit: I have also updated my Flickr account. New pics, everyone!

But first a shameless plug...

I COULD NOT stand my hula girl layout anymore. It was really bugging me. I have been banging my head against a wall the past week and a half trying to code a new layout. Needless to say I was having issues and still needed a change. So my latest look is brought to you by V4NY. Why the big display over credit?? Because hotlinking and stealing of credit even on a free template ISN'T NICE, PEOPLE! If you think it is so easy, you try it.

----oOo----

The second half of yesterday didn't get any better than the first half. For dinner I was making spinach, bacon, and blue cheese stuffed chicken breasts. This involves pounding the chicken flat with a skillet. I have done it many times. Well, for some reason instead of flattening the chicken this time, it mashed it. Kind of to the consistency of ground chicken. And to top it off, the bag that the chicken was in, exploded. Well, at least it split and caused mashed chicken bits to fly in every direction. Every wall. Every countertop. The floor, to every corner. The oven. The broom closet. The cupboards. I am not kidding you. Every last surface.

In the same action, the skillet that is now covered in chicken bit slipped out of my hand and flew into the dining room. It bounced off the floor and ran into a few chairs. But not to worry because my brand new winter coat stopped it.

At this point in time, Abby who is in her swing is screaming her head off because *gasp* I did not pick her up in all of my chickenness when she started to fuss. Mark is flipping out because all he saw was a skillet flying out of control after mommy yelled really loud. Gabriel won't be home for at least another 45 minutes.

I changed my shirt, nursed Abby, hugged Mark, and had frozen pizza for dinner.

When I retold the story to Gabriel, the first thing he asked was, "Did the skillet put a dent in the floor?"

And I will leave you with the sound of hands slapping their foreheads...

2006-10-31T10:21:00.000-06:00

Happy Halloween!!!!

And it's only noon...

2006-10-30T12:08:00.000-06:00

I have so many things I have been wanting to post about. Many issues I have been thinking about. Many things that I need advice with. But it will have to wait.

Because mommy is far too tired to even care if she get lunch. Why do I ever think that day light savings time will be a good transition? 5:30 both kids decided that it was time to be up for the day. We moved Mark into his toddler bed over the weekend so I couldn't even let him play while I snoozed. And there is no surprise that can equal finding your toddler filled your much needed cup of coffee with about a hundred Kleenexes. And that was all before Halloween dress-up for story time at the library.

Lunch then a much needed nap while I can get it.

How many snack size candy bars left over from trick or treat are a good serving for lunch....

hellooooo

2006-10-28T15:21:00.000-05:00

Does anyone even read this?

In times of need

2006-10-27T15:55:00.000-05:00

I am in the midst of uncontrollable crying right now. Read this. I admit that I don't read her blog that often and I don't know her that closely, but my heart is torn open for her. I know her grief and pain. And it reopenned mine. To scream in the middle of the night for something that was taken away is something that you don't forget.

There are no words for it. There just aren't. Sunshine Scribe, I would hug you if I could.

Food For Thought Friday #2

2006-10-27T13:23:00.000-05:00

I actually got this recipe from a Nicole at Much More Than a Mom many moons ago. But it is REALLY good. My hubby loves it.

QUICK BAKED CHICKEN CORDON BLEU

INGREDIENTS:

6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - pounded to 1/2 inch thickness
6 string cheese sticks or slices of swiss cheese
6 slices ham
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
toothpicks

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Lay out the pounded chicken breasts on a clean surface. Place a slice of ham on each piece, then one stick or slice of cheese. Roll the chicken up around the cheese and ham, and secure with toothpicks. Dip each roll in melted butter, then roll in bread crumbs. Place in a shallow baking dish.
3. Bake for 40 minutes in the preheated oven, or until chicken is browned and juices run clear.

Maybe have it with a green salad and a creamy noodle side dish, like Pasta Roni. Mmmmmmm.

FFTF creator = Slacker-moms-r-us.

Thursday Thirteen #12

2006-10-26T08:40:00.000-05:00

Thirteen Things I need this morning.

1. Coffee

2. Tylenol

3. Probably Advil as well.

4. My Voice, or at least the one I have been sporting. You swear Tom Brokaw was in the room.

5. 5 minutes alone to think.

6. Breakfast before 11 would be nice.

7. At least 5 hours more sleep.

8. Socks that match.

9. For someone to do the laundry for me.

10. For Abby to be content long enough for to give Mark his bath.

11. And while I clean his bedding.

12. Patience.

13. 10 million dollars, my own private Island, and a personal masousse.

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The one without any water

2006-10-25T09:53:00.000-05:00

Attention all my beautiful and loyal readers: There is a scheduled outage for Blogger between 2-3 PM Pacific Time on Wed. 10-25-06. Please come back and leave me a comment after that if you are having troubles. All unbeautiful and unloyal readers can ignore this warning. We now bring you to your regularly scheduled programming.

Winter air is here. Dry winter air. My skin feels somewhere btween this

and this.

Someone hand me some moisturizer quick!!

Also I now have a voice, but it isn't mine.

Why does it feel so right?

2006-10-24T14:58:00.000-05:00

Is it wrong that my mouth actually waters and my pulse quickens when I browse Cooking.com?

Is it wrong that a set of cookware from All-Clad gets me more excited than a new wordrobe? Or chocolate?

Is it wrong that I get excited because I get to host the holidays for both sides of the family?

---------oOo--------

In other news, I am ticked off because the library lost my address. A few monthes ago my local system merged with a bunch of systems across northern and central WI. In doing so they reverted to an address and phone number that I haven't had for 3+ years.

I like to look-up my books and DVDs on-line, reserve them, and pick them all up at once without dragging 2 little people all over the library. WELL, everything that I have been waiting for has been erased. Things that DO come in get put back on the shelf or sent to someone else because "my" phone number is no good.

And I have to change my address in person. I can access any of my account on-line with just my card #. I can request items and cancel requests. But to get them to call the right phone # I have to go in myself. In my free time, right? But hurry because the book that you have waited 3 monthes for is going back on the shelf tomorrow.

The One With Complete Randomness

2006-10-23T12:59:00.000-05:00

I have no voice today. I cannot answer the phone. My kids are scared of me because in order for them to hear me, it sounds like I am yelling at them. I got little sleep last night because my throat hurt so badly that I could not swallow.
I have been watching All My Children for a few weeks now, and I have decided that the premise of the show is to hump anything that moves.
I want to be Chandra Wilson. You don't look at her and think, "Now there is a big woman". You think, "Whoa there is one sexy, confident, strong woman". I want to feel that comfortable in my own skin.
I did something yesterday that I thought would never, ever happen. I had a pleasant conversation with my mom in which she didn't disrespect everything I said, she didn't make up crap off the top of her head to sound important, and she didn't take advantage of me or my home.
I actually invited her back down for lunch in a few weeks. Who is this woman? Who am I?
We went to a pumpkin carving party on Saturday. Everyone had fun and came home over-tired and over-sugared.
I have taken up drinking green tea. It tastes like tea. Whoop-dee-doo.
I haven't mentioned this before because I didn't want to brag. But Mark is potty trained. He is 20 monthes old and it took him a week. With only 3 accidents. He wears tiny little briefs with Elmo on them except when he sleeps. He will even hold it when we go shopping or are in the car, until we get home because he doesn't want to go in his pull-up. It was all his idea. He decided that he was done with going in his diaper and wanted to use the toilet.
TTFN

Food For Thought Friday #1

2006-10-20T13:41:00.000-05:00

I just rented my thumbnail to a really awesome bloggin' mama, who now resides in my blogroll.

BUT, the best part is that she is part of a Friday meme for RECIPES. Yah! My favoritest thing in the whole world (OK, maybe not #1, but close) is cooking and looking up new recipes to try. It drives me nuts when you eat the same thing day after day and week after week. Rachael Ray is my cooking goddess. If she said to buy a rock because it would make my meals better, I would have to go that day and buy the rock.

Since I am on a restricted calorie diet, I have to approx. my potions anyway. So all my recipes have a Calorie count. For those who don't care, just ingore that part. ;)

Anyway, here's my recipe. It actually happens to be MY own creation, thank you.

Beef Mushroom with Wild Rice

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil OR vege oil
1 lb of beef stew meat
2 Tbsp butter
1 large onion, chopped
2 cans of mushrooms, undrained OR 1 lb fresh mushrooms, chopped
1 qt beef stock
1 box of Rice a Roni's wild rice flavor

Heat the oil in a dutch oven or large soup pot over med-high heat. Brown the beef cubes, tossing frequently, until they are evening browned, about 5 minutes. Remove the beef and set aside. Add the butter. When it is melted, add the onion and cook for a minute or two. Add the rice mix from the box of Rice a Roni. Set the seasoning packet aside. Brown the rice according to the directions on the box. Add the mushrooms (if using fresh mushrooms, brown them for a few minutes before adding the rest of the ingredients). Add the stock, beef cubes, and seasoning packet from the Rice a Roni. Simmer for about 15 minutes or until the rice is cooked.

Feeds 4-6.
One serving (2 ladles full or about 1 - 1 1/2 cups) = 250 Calories

Enter your name and recipe post to join.

I have the Perfect Body....

2006-10-19T14:24:00.000-05:00

Unfortunitely it has been in the trunk for awhile now and is starting to smell.

Thursday Thirteen #9

2006-10-18T20:42:00.000-05:00

Thirteen Things - I Love About Fall

1. Apples. Apple Pie. Apple Crisp. Applesauce. Apple Tart. Apple Cake. You get the idea.

2. Leaves on the ground. It is the kid in me. Little piles of them that the neighbor kids jump into. Brightly colored ones that swirl in the wind.

3. The crisp cool air. It feels clean. And I love the smell. People think I am wierd becaus eI can smell the seasons changing.

4. Sweaters and sweatshirts. I love curling on the couch in a comfy pair of jeans and a oversized sweatshirt. Plus I don't feel as fat in a sweatshirt as I do in, say, a fitted tee.

5. Hot cocoa, hot green tea, hot flavored coffee. Wrapping my fingers arround the delicously warm mug.

6. The occasional flurries. I love snow early in the season. And arround Christmas it is magical. After Christmas, it sucks eggs.

7. Flannel sheets and down comforters. It is like sleeping in a giant sweatshirt.

8. Cold weather means warm food. Beef stews, hearty soups, cassaroles.

9. Harvest is over and no more freezing and canning and preserving. Woohoo!

10. Halloween. Dressing up. Going door-to-door for candy. Jack-o-lanterns lit up after dark.

11. "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!"

12. Pumpkin Pie. Pumpkin Bars. Pumpkin Cake. Pumpkin Torte. Pumpkin Soup. Pumpkin Bread. Pumpkin Muffins.

13. Corn Mazes. Pumpkin Fairs. Hay Wagon Rides. Pick-Your-Own Apple Farms. There is just so much fun arround.

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Nice As New

2006-10-17T14:05:00.000-05:00

In case I have never said it before, I LOVE RESALE SHOPS!!

Who ever says that they won't shop there because it isn't new, is an idiot and has waaaaay too much money on their hands.

Yesterday, I walked into Nice As New (my favorite consignment shop) and found this:
It is almost new, and came with the Serta crib mattress for $24. Yup, that is what I said.

Today I went in to find this:
I paid $16.50.

Oh. My. Gawd.

I bought Mark a winter coat with matching snow pants for $14.50. Brand new with the tags on them.

I bought myself a Columbia 4-season jacket with the removable fleece lining/jacket, gently used for $26.50.

I bought Gabriel new clothes for his new office postion. 5 pairs of Dockers, black leather shoes, 6 polos of various brand names, 3 shorts sleeve button ups, and 4 long sleeve button ups for under $1oo.

Plus, I have stuff on consignment there, so almost every purchace is $5 or so off the top.

All those checks that Simalac and Enfamil send me every month, go to buying formula that goes on consignment for pure profit.

Have I mentioned that I love resale shops??

Gratitude

2006-10-16T13:41:00.000-05:00

Ok. I know that I am just getting back into blogging regularly. And my first couple of posts should be all about catching you up to speed. But I have to get this of my chest.

WHO MAILS A FRIGGIN' THANK YOU CARD FOR BABY SITTING?? TO THEIR OWN PARENTS??

Through Gabriel's new job we got last minute Green Bay Packer (football, and I don't mean soccer) box seat tickets. We asked his parents to baby sit both kids for the day and they said yes. They have babysat Mark a hand ful of times, and this would be the first time for Abby. They didn't have to change any plans to watch them.

Yes, it was a big job. Yes, we were very grateful and let them know before we left and when we picked them up. Many times.

I used to pay them when Mark was tiny, but since we have been a little strapped for cash I stopped and they were OK with it.

I asked Gaberiel's mother what she wanted for watching them, after we had picked them up. She just said, Oh I don't know, and proceeded to tell me about how the day went.

Yesterday, exactly one week after the babysitting, they came over for our weekly get-together/family dinner. And they wanted to know why we haven't mailed them an expression of gratitude that they could set on the kitchen table and look at.

ARE YOU FRIGGIN' KIDDING ME??????????

Dear Grandpa and Grandma,
Thanks again for agreeing to spend time with your own grandkids. Let's do it again in 6-8 monthes.

Ok, fine. I have no problem sending you one if you want one.

I just gotta know, am I behind in the world of ettiquette? Do you all really send thank you notes to your babysitters for each job? To your own parents?

Or is this as wacky to you as me?

2006-10-03T14:15:00.000-05:00

The baby is getting older. She is 2 1/2 monthes now. Life is starting to come back towards normal or what passes for normal arround here. Abby is a wonderful baby. If Mark was an easy baby, Abby is twice as good. We really lucked out.
However, she has a bit of colic. She screams her head off from 6:30 - 8:30 every night. I can hear the wave of sobs now.
Boo-hoo she cries only 2 hours. My baby used to cry from noon to midnight.
But 2 hours every night is enough to make you desparate.

Otherwise, life is OK. I am on a 1200 calorie diet ( DR approved). I have lost about 10 lbs in the last month or so. I have at least 40 more to go. As long as I am steadily lossing, I am happy. Even though I would love for it to just melt off 5 lb a day. Wouldn't we all...

I have finished canning my applesauce, so the harvesting and storing and canning should be done. One of these days I want to play America's fastest growing game Name-That-Canned-Item with you all.

I have been on the internet maybe 3 or 4 times now since before Abby was born. I miss all the stuff I used to do. I am so itchy to get creative with web designing again. It is so hard to find the time to invest in going on-line and taking a big chunk of time for myself.

We are toying with getting high speed internet because we are so tired of dial-up, but the only provider in this area is Charter and that would be $50 a month plus a modemn.

Ooo, I almost forgot to tell you. Gabriel got a new job. He is now a safety director for a large construction company in Green Bay. He loves it. He is no longer a laborer and that makes him so happy. Right now he is working on a trial period until the end of the year. At that time both sides will re-evaluate the job and if they want to keep him on Gabriel will bw salaried.

I know you all want pictures. I will try my best the next time I get on-line.

Miss you all.

More pics

2006-08-25T12:25:00.000-05:00

Life is so busy. Not just with the little ones, but it is harvest season. I canned 3 bushels of peaches when Abby was 2 weeks old. This week we are butchering the 30 chickens my MIL raises for us. Today I also received word of the 3 bushels of pears I ordered. Yesterday, I canned 28 pints of beets. I am sad to say that I am looking forward to winter so I can slow down.

I did set up a Flickr account. You can see some more pics of Abby and the family here. (I hope that is the right link.) I will need some time to figure out how to use Flickr and organize better.

Abby is starting to sleep through the night better. She has only been getting up once and pulling 5-6 hours shift overnight. Wednsday she actually slept straight through. From 9pm-7:30am!!! At 1 month old. And she has a long day nap that overlaps Mark's nap, so I have some time to myself each day. I usually use it to catch up on work. There seems to be no lack of things that need-to-be-done-today.

Presenting Abby

2006-08-21T12:21:00.000-05:00

Breathe the sweet air. I have finally gone back on-line. I have been saying, maybe tomorrow I will for the past 2 weeks. I have spent the past 3 days empting out my e-mail from the past 5 weeks.

Abigail Rose was born July 24, 2006 at 10:21 AM.
She was 8 lbs 12 oz and 20 in long.
She had a full head of dark hair and strong lungs.

I had just given up on going into labor before the 26th, when I woke up with contractions at 4 am. At 8:30 we got to the hospital. The cerclage held perfectly and I was not dialated, but I was completely effaced. At that point my contractions were less then 2 minutes apart and strong. So they had to give me something to stop labor. The C-section went without a hitch. I don't have any complaints about it at all.

It seems like a million years ago now. Mark has adjusted perfectly. He loves being the big brother. He is always trying to hug and kiss the baby, only just a little too hard. Life is not as hard as I thought it would be. I have adjusted as well. Well, for the most part. Daily life is finding it's routine. We even have been going to Story Time every Monday.

Abby is really a good baby, just like Mark was. I was so affraid that she was going to be a terror, but she is very good. I am very pleased. Gabriel and I joke that we should quit while we are ahead...

More pics too come. I had picked out 20 or so to put on my Photobucket account for you all, but something happened durring uploading. I will try again.

PS. I can't tell you all have touched I am that everyone is still visting and commenting. I expected to have lost most of my readers and to have to build up my blog all over again. But you guys rock. I openned my e-mail and I had 15 just thinking of you messages for me. Thank you so much.

I'm Still Here

2006-07-19T19:36:00.000-05:00

I just want to say THANK YOU to you all that have been visting my silent blog and sending me good thoughts. I really do appreciated it. Really!

I am still here.
I am still pregnant.
I am still big, fat, uncomfortable, and waiting...
I am tired all the time. And lazy.
When it comes to going on-line or napping, the nap always wins.
When it comes to doing anything or napping, the nap always wins.
I haven't been on-line in weeks.
I am sooooo ready to have this baby.
I keep watching for my water breaking. Nothin'.
I am actually more comfortable now than I was for the past 4 monthes.
Contrations have actually slowed down. Crap.
I don't do well with moving arround.
I am slow and uncomfortable.
Gabriel's Gramps who has heart failure and a walker moves faster than me.
I had my pre-op appointment on Monday.
For some reason that got my nerves going about the surgery.
I hate needles and try to avoid pain.
As a rule.
Only a week at the most left now.
The C-section is scheduled for 7-26-06.
I never thought I would have made it this far.
Yet here I am. Still.....

Thursday Thirteen #8

2006-07-06T07:05:00.000-05:00

Thirteen Things That I am Sooo Tired of Hearing From Random Strangers.

I am admittedly VERY pregnant. My C-section is July 26, and that is the latest that Abby can be born. But Mark was born 3 days short of 37 weeks, which would be this Sunday...
But I am so sick of being stopped on my way to the public bathroom to hear this...

1. Wow! Your huge!
Thanks, lady.

2. When are you due?
July 26. (As I am trying to hurry past to avoid another question.)

3. Is it twins?
No, I am just that fat.

4. Do you know what it is?
It sure ain't an owl.

5. What are you going to name it?
I have never met you before, what is this 20 questions??

6. Is this your first?
No.

7. Boy, you look tired!!
Thanks for the news flash.

8. Oh, your so cute! My daughter just had a baby 6 years ago.
*silence with maybe a nod*

9. Why do you need a C-section?
Would you like my whole medical history? Give me you home address and I will mail you a report.

10. Are you going to have any more?
I don't know... Seriously WHO ARE YOU???

11. You don't look like you need a C-section.
First, I didn't know you were a DR. Second, I wasn't aware that you could tell a person needed a C-section by just looking at them.

12. Your kids sure are spaced closely.
Again, thanks for the news flash. Who made you an expert???

13. Boy, your son is cute! Do you think that this one will be as cute?
SERIOUSLY!?!?!?!?!?

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Thursday Thirteen #7

2006-06-28T22:02:00.000-05:00

Thirteen Things That I Didn't Get To Tell You This Week Because I Have Been Sick

1. Gabriel got pneumonia out of this crappy sickness.

2. We are both FINALLY starting to feel better. Gabriel stayed home from work according to DR's orders Wednesday.

3. Mark has spent a few days and even over night at Grandma's house, which has let us rest up. And it gave Mark and Grandma practice for when the baby comes.

4. I have all the baby's things washed, folded, put away, and set up. I put a make-shift bedroom in the office. Just a changing station, bassinette, and monitor. So that I can take care of one kid's needs if the other is sleeping. :)

5. I also have my bags packed and Mark's bags packed, so in all actuality I can go into labor at any point and be ready.

6. We went to a wedding Saturday, before we knew we were sick. I hope we didn't make the bride and groom sick. I have been waiting for that party for a long time. I had a new blouse and skirt that I bought at a resale shop a month ago. They fit better at that point then they did Saturday. :P I put on make up and did my hair and everything. I felt so dressed up!!

7. I had another OB on Tuesday. Everything is still fine. I have been feeling pressure, but the DR said Abby has just dropped already and there is no worries. I made a deal with Abby that she can come at any point after Saturday.

8. That is because Saturday is our block party. It will be smaller than previous years but that is alright. I don't have any work to do on Saturday. It should be pretty easy and just basic hosting and visiting. I don't have to cook. My husband will grill hotdogs and hamburgers and the rest is potluck. All the set up will be Gabriel and his brother. The activities for the kids are all planned and pre-set up. I don't plan on doing anything if I don't feel like it.

9. Anyone who wants to come do dishes or laundry for me is welcome. Any takers??

10. I have missed you all so much, but have been feeling so crappy that this is the first time I have even checked my e-mail in 5 days!

11. I have been so pre-occupied the past 2 months for all kinds of reasons that I have forgot that my birthday is coming up!!!!!!!!! Not just forgot to tell you, forgot totally!

12. It is July 4, believe it or not. I was born in the evening during the fireworks. I will be 23 this year. My birthday is always special because it is on such a memorable day.

13. I think that we are going to take Mark to see the fireworks this year. I don't think he will be afraid at all. I am excited because I missed them last year. How could I forget about my birthday?!?!

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Dieing might be easier.

2006-06-26T12:45:00.000-05:00

I am big and fat and sooooooo ready to have this baby. But that is not that half of it. Thursday Mark got a fever. He rocked and cuddled on what was left of my lap for 2 days. Then Saturday night Gabriel and I aren't feeling so good. Sure enough we got it on Sunday. Some kind of REALLY bad cold/flu. Achiness. Sinus pressue and congestion. Terrible sore throat that prevents me from sleeping. I didn't have a fever, but my 2 boys did. It would have been eaier I think if I got a fever. Then at least we would have to go into the hospital and get some drugs that help. (Tylenol Sinus is not cutting it.) Instead I am here on the couch or in bed barely existing, praying I don't go into labor because I am already in hell. Barely moving. Barely breathing. Can't speak half the time because of the sore throat. Bloody hell. I have not gotten this sick in a long time. Really I have been very healthy.

I should have seen this coming. But, no.... Story Time. Library Books. Grocery Carts with the Oh-So-Cute Delivery Truck Fronts for Mark to play in. Using every public bathroom I can find because I pee every 15 minutes. Using Port-a-Potties. Buying toys from garage sales and letting Mark play with them on the way home because he SO fell in love with them.

They all are germ laiden virus playgrounds. How could I not expect to get sick? I can't keep up with Purel after every store or remember to wash away every germ. So what's a mommy to do????

Thursday Thirteen Explained

2006-06-23T22:57:00.000-05:00

I feel a need to explain myself after my TT list. I am going through nesting and am stocking up for winter apparrantly.

1…. 8 boxes of Raison Bran. No, I don't neccessarily feel the need for Raison Bran. I am supposed to eat it after my C-section because it is major surgery. For regulation. There are worse things that my DR could tell me to eat.

2. 3 mega packs of size 3 Luvs. I just want to make sure I won't have to run out quick for diapers for either kid for awhile. I am not neccessarily in love with Luvs (no pun, hehe). I use Huggies and Pampers too, and Pampers actually happen to be my favorites. I am the queen of coupons on top of sales. :D

3. 4 bottles of Ocean Spray. Again for after the surgery to help prevent UTI. I know TMI, but that is the reason.

4. 4 4lb bags of sugar. I can and freeze fruit. Alot of fruit. We are talking 45 lbs of strawberries, 3 bushels of peaches, 3 bushels of pears, 3 bushels of applesauce, 40 lbs of blueberries and 30 lbs of cherries. Plus I have a rhubarb plant that I use to make punch concentrate. All that uses sugar, and I will be buying more of it yet this summer. Plus, you need sugar to make Kool-aid (see below).

5. Brand new baby bath. My last one was a hand me down and it broke.

6. A baby sling. I bought a carrier for Mark but want to try a sling this time. Everyone tells me you can't live without one. Plus, I need something to help free up at least one hand. :)

7. Shampoo, Conditionor, Q-Tips, Toothpaste, and Lip Balm. Duh! Need this stuff on hand if I am not feeling like running arround for them every week with a newborn and a 18 mo old toddler.

8. Pretsel Goldfish, Cheese-its, and Teddy Grahams. Snacks for me and hubby while in the hospital.

9. 30 packets of Kool-aid. Actually this was just to re-fill my favorite flavors in my stock. The first time I bought this year I got 110 packets. I make it with half the sugar and it helps me get all my fluids. I can't stand just water. If it were just plain water that I could drink and nothing else, I would never get my 8+ a day.

10. New shoes for Mark. His current shoes were size 4. The next closest size I could find in anything was a size 5 1/2. He looks so cute in tennis shoes! My baby's feet and everything else are growing so quickly!!

11. 2 packages of Double Stuffed Oreos. Cravings. Enough said. Hey, I eat them with a lot of milk...

12. 2 5qt buckets of ice cream, one mint chocolate chip and one cookies and cream. I want to again make sure that there is some on hand (especially in summer) so I don't have to run out. Besides it was on a great sale.

13. 3 Reese's Fast Break candy bars. Mmm, my favorites.

So this is what happens if you listen to the voices...

2006-06-23T22:52:00.000-05:00

OK, seriously read this. Yet another good reason to let your doctors know about the voices in your head.

Who know one could get it fixed for only a mere $100,000? Plus, I never knew that you get 10 years added to your sentence for mastrabating... Um, yeah.

Thursday Thirteen #6

2006-06-21T21:00:00.000-05:00

Thirteen Things that I bought today.

1…. 8 boxes of Raison Bran.

2. 3 mega packs of size 3 Luvs.

3. 4 bottles of Ocean Spray.

4. 4 4lb bags of sugar.

5. Brand new baby bath.

6. A baby sling. I bought a carrier for Mark but want to try a sling this time.

7. Shampoo, Conditionor, Q-Tips, Toothpaste, and Lip Balm.

8. Pretsel Goldfish, Cheese-its, and Teddy Grahams.

9. 30 packets of Kool-aid.

10. New shoes for Mark. His current shoes were size 4. The next closest size I could find in anything was a size 5 1/2. He looks so cute in tennis shoes!

11. 2 packages of Double Stuffed Oreos.

12. 2 5qt buckets of ice cream, one mint chocolate chip and one cookies and cream.

13. 3 Reese's Fast Break candy bars.

OK. That is enough. I am hungry.

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Where does the time go?

2006-06-20T06:56:00.000-05:00

We had a nice Father's Day and spend the afternoon /evening at Gabriel's Grandpa's. He is dying of Congestive Heart Failure so it was nice for him to have everyone over. He LOVES Mark. Mark just ran arround collecting sticks and trying to eat bugs and other little boy things. He missed his second nap AND stayed up after 9pm, when his bed time is supposed to be 7! So he was very over-tired when we got home.

Monday he was still catching up from that. He slept in until almost 8am! We went to Book Babies, and Mark was so tired he didn't want to dance or clap or sing. He just sat in my lap and cuddled. He still wwanted to go into the playroom afterwards. LOL. But he started getting cranky so we didn't stay long. For those of you wondering, I did go arround and talk to other moms this time. I think I had conversations with 3 or 4 moms. It is just like talking on mommy blogs. All about poop and sleep (theirs and the baby's) and when to have another kid and how to teach sharing.

Plus no one has names. There is Simon's mom and Meredith's mom and Abby's mom and Logan and Julie's mom and the preppy mom that comes in a sundress and heels and Chris's mom and Anna's mom. I only got one name yesterday and that was because I asked for it.

Today we are going out to pick strawberries, I think. The season is finally here. We are supposed to have a good crop this year because of all the rain we've had. It should be interesting to see how Mark will do. He doesn't like to wander away from me, so I don't think that will be a problem. We are just going to make it a small trip and repeat it a couple times this week so he doesn't get worn out.

Sorry this post is so blan, but all of my awake constructive moments are spent trying to clean or get things ready for the baby or run errands.
Hopefully I should be able to catch a break tomorrow and get a decent post in. Plus this is good practice for the withdrawls you all will be getting after Abby is born. If I don't psot for a week or more, don't freak. I probably just had a baby.
TTFN

Let's all move to Namibia

2006-06-16T11:43:00.000-05:00

Oh. My. Gawd. Guess who wants to give birth in Namibia now? I'll give you a hint. She shouldn't be wearing latex, because she don't look like this anymore.

I have another great renter this week. Undercover Angel at My Life in the Kid Zoo. Recent rave worthy posts include How to Deal With Telemarketers, What Happens When You Mix Superglue and a Toilet Seat, and a juicy post on How to Talk About Sex. Plus she has a brand spanking new template to show off. Go visit and let her know what you think!! As usual the thumbnail is right about here ------->

Thursday Thirteen #5

2006-06-15T07:39:00.000-05:00

Thirteen Modern Miracles I couldn't live without.

1. Automatic Coffee Pot.

2. For that matter, flavored creamer in those really convinient plastic containers.

3. TV. With Remote. I am addicted to the news and weather. I couldn't imagine having to depend on the radio for all that!

4. Laptop. Although I could settle for a desktop, but again couldn't live without a computer.

5. Washing machine and Dryer. I actually don't mind hanging clothes out to dry, but could you even think about washing clothes by hand? Scrubbing out stains and spots? No thank you. Now when they invent a machine to automatically fold, I am so there.

6. Swiffer. Since I got one, our floors are really cleaner because I wash the floor more often.

7. Digital Clocks. Forget analog, although, yes, I do know how to tell time on one.

8. Whiteout. hehe...

9. Air Conditioning. Central air to exact, although we haven't had to use it 3 times yet this year.

10. Tampons. I haven't have my period in over 2 1/2 years (I feel like I have been constantly pregnant. :P), but tampons rock.

11. Disposable diapers. I was made to do alot of things as a kid that my mom wouldn't. One was the cloth diaper changing and cleaning. I know what they are about and I SO do not ever want to do that again.

12. Packaged food and plastic wrappers. Can you imagine coming home from the store with a handful of blueberries wrapped in a piece of cloth?

13. C-sections and modern medicine. Because I would be literaly dead without it!

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Good-bye...But don't go far!

2006-06-14T12:34:00.000-05:00

I can never remember when My tenant's rent is up. I am TERRIBLE that way. First thing this morning, I brought my own blog up to see if her thumbnail was still up and it was. Whew, I have time to still give a farewell post. Not. Within a half hour I got the e-mail saying the whole thing was up. It was over. She was gone. NOOOOOOOO. Fidget, I am so sorry.

So can you please make it up by going over and saying HI?!? Pleaseeeeeeeeeee. IF you haven't visited her site already, do so. I guarrantee that she is the stuff Blogrolls are made of.

Tired mama

2006-06-14T12:21:00.000-05:00

I have been so MIA lately. I am so tired. Sleep problems have been a plague this whole pregnancy, but now when sleep issues are expected, they have tripled or worse. I can take a Tylenol PM and sleep wonderfully until 2:30 and then toss and turn and get maybe another 30 to 45 minutes before 6:30. I talked to my DR on my visit Tuesday, and she suggested 1)try a full dose of Tylenol PM instead of one pill 2) if that doesn't work try some Unisome 3)when I can't sleep in bed try the couch or recliner. So last night I took 2 pills and slept great until 3. I tossed in bed for awhile, went to the couch, tossed on the couch for awhile, and fell asleep from 4:30-6:30. That was the best night's sleep I have had in weeks. I feel pretty good today. I was so wiped out yesterday the very thought of logging on and posting was stressful enough to bring tears.

So in light of all that, I am going to keep this short and crash on the couch before Mark wakes up.

I have a date for the C-section. Abby can be born no later than July 26 at 8:00am. I am really getting excited about the new baby.

She is getting big and all of a sudden. I can make out and squeeze some body parts now. I can find a foot or fist or butt. She doesn't like it if I rub her back or butt though. She immediately takes off in a different direction.

We actually sociallized this morning

2006-06-12T14:03:00.000-05:00

We went to Book Babies at the Library this morning. For those of you who remember, we tried going once 2 or 3 monthes ago but Mark was too little to enjoy it. He just wanted to run arround and didn't care about the songs or books. And the first time the other moms didn't seem approachable. They all had their own clicks and I felt like that other mom.

But today, Mark loved it. Part of the time. The other part he was so scared shy he clung to me. It was weird because it would change every 2 or 3 minutes consistantly. We will be going every week now. Mark has been showing such an interest in playing with other kids. And he will get to know the songs and routine of story time really quick. Plus after we go to play in the 'playroom' in the kid's section with the other kids.

I didn't feel like such a chicken shit either, which is unusual. I had made some loose arrangements with my cousin's wife and her daughter, so they were there. I think next week I may even try to actually talk to some other moms too. This week the room was packed, but every one left right away. Unless you have somewhere else to be, why? Story time is only 15 minutes long, if that. Let the kids play.

In other news, we hosted an improptu bonfire this weekend. Gabriel had done some landscaping, so we had a batch of bare dirt to use before he seeded it. We just had 2 couples over, but it was alot of fun.

Everyone out of the way!!!!

2006-06-09T12:52:00.000-05:00

Mama's got to go to the bathroom. That means you, and yes if you don't move it now I will knock you right over and not come to kiss you boo-boo until after I am done. Let's move it people!!!!

Ah, the thrills of worrying that you might really leave a flash flood behind.

Repeat every fifteen minutes. It makes for an interesting day, especially on days like yesterday where I consume a half a watermelon on my own.

Looking for even more fun, you say????
Wake up at 2:30am for the same reason, only add taking a good minute to get out of bed and being so out of it that you hit the wall twice and every door frame on the way there.
It is a good thing that my boys are both heavy sleepers.

-----oOo-----

Now for the pimping. Fidget, my lovely tenant this week has a really beautiful post today about her daughter who has autism. Please go read and leave her a nice comment, will you? Just click on the thumbnail, you know what to do.
edit as of 5:00pm :
Now she has been attacked for her post via an e-mail accusing her of causing her daughter's autism. She really could use your support!!

You can't miss this one

2006-06-08T07:56:00.000-05:00

I am SOOOOOOO excited about this week's renter. Once again I had a great bunch of blogs that bid, but I choose Fidget over at Finding Yourself Despite Yourself hands down. I can't get enough of her!! And once you visit, neither will you.

Need more reasons???
Smurf Poo
Blow Drying Your Husband's Balls
Creative Consipation
Nation Potatoe Day in Peru

Enough said...

Plus she really needs your help to win a Beautiful and Thick contest she is in. So go on. Click on the thumbnail, that way ------>.
You know you want to...

Thursday Thirteen #4

2006-06-08T07:35:00.000-05:00

Thirteen movies that I am dying to see, in no particular order.

We don't get to movies in the theater, so we wait for them on DVD.

1. Memoirs of a Geshia

2. Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith

3. Hoodwinked

4. In Her Shoes

5. Cinderella Man

6. The 5 People You Meet in Heaven

7. Jarhead

8. The Chronicles of Narnia

9. X-Men: The Last Stand (yes I know this one is still in theaters *whimper*)

10. The Village

11. Rumor Has It

12. Walk the Line

13. The Break Up (Again, I know. Not on DVD.)

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The Garden is In

2006-06-06T07:04:00.002-05:00

I hate when I am so busy that I don't have time to go on-line and do all the things I want to. It makes me cranky too when I don't get ME time, or rather when I squeeze just enough time to stop and pass out on the couch while Mark sleeps.

We worked all day yesterday, but we got the garden weeded, tilled, rowed, and planted. I am very happy to have all the plants in the ground and not on my deck. I did down scale this year. I did 3 rows - one of beets, one with 5 hills of summer squash and zuchini, and one with a tomatoe and 10 pepper plants. That is about half of what I planned, but it will be less work.

Today is 06.06.06. Believe it or not I had a very vivid dream last night that played out just like an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. We had these devils that were haunting us trying to kill us or something. We discovered that someone had actually called them to us, and even though we were fighting them and killing them off, they would never stop. BTW, the only ways to kill them was to cut off their heads, stab them in the heart or spray them down with holy water and bless them. Just like a vampire, no? Anyway, we found the inscription to chant, send them back to hell for good, and un-curse us. We were all in a circle and had to take turns reading because the devils were trying to stop us. We won. Don't ask me who the we was. We were all good friends and there were about 5 or 6 of us. I know Gabriel was there.

I have been having vivid wierd dream lately. I had one the other day that Abby was kicking and she was pushing her feet and fists through my belly. My belly wasn't actually open but where ever she pushed became like plastic wrap, clear and thin. I could touch her feet and fingers.

I am in such pain today from working like a crazy women yesterday. My back and hamstrings and sooo sore. I need to do nothing today. Just relax.

I didn't get a chance to give my farewell post to my renter before she left. The thumbnail is gone, but you can say 'HI' or ' Goodbye' to her.

Missed you all. Hopefully I will think of something better to blog about later.
TTFN

Just stuff to talk about between good friends

2006-06-03T12:07:00.000-05:00

Hello All! I miss you and love you and hate when my life gets so busy with everyday stuff.

I don't know what was up with the commenting on my last TT. All I did was re-publish my post and the comment link worked fine. It was rather disappointing becasue TT is when I get the most comments and when new bloggers come across my site.

The 2 long posts below are just blogrolls that I was to get off my sidebar. I want to go back to one sidebar in my next layout and I have too much stuff . The nice thing about posting with Blogger is that each has it's own URL. So I can literally make my blog as many web pages as I want. I am just pleased about that. I don't have to make separate web pages.

Yesterday I barely even got on-line because I was trying hard to be productive and get things done. *Whimper* I missed it. And I was rather cranky without my ME time.

I printed off the invites for our block party and will finish mailing them today. It will be July 1. I have finished most of planning for kid's activities and food. Now I have to got out and buy all the supplies. * Again with the whimpering*

Later today I have to go out and try to weed the garden before Gabriel tills it up. No, we still haven't planted the vege garden yet. I told Gabriel that if it didn't get tilled up and rowed for me to plant by this weekend, I wasn't going to have a garden. We both have been busy and been putting it off. I guess no garden wouldn't be the worst thing. Less work for big, uncomfortable me in the hot sun.

That is about all in updates. I know you all have been begging for a picture of Mark. Soon. I promise. I never think about it until I am blogging and then he is taking a nap.And I am terrible about taking pictures off the camera in a timely fashion.

TTFN

Blogger Chicks Bloggroll

2006-06-03T11:29:00.000-05:00

I am a Blogger Chick.

If you want to be one too click here.

Join BloggerChicks

Thursday Thirteen Blogroll

2006-06-02T12:03:00.000-05:00

This is the Thursday Thirteen Blogroll.

If you want to join click here .

Thursday Thirteen #3

2006-06-01T14:38:00.000-05:00

Thirteen Things That Made Me Smile Recently and one thing that didn't

1. Watching Mark walk arround the yard, picking mature dandilions by the head, and trying to figure out where the fluff goes when he opens his hand.

2. Sitting in the grass while Mark collects leaves from various plants and weeds and brings them to me.

3. Having him run back to me empty-handed just to give me a big hug.

4. Seeing all the things in bloom finally.

5. Weather warm enough to walk out onto the deck barefoot and in shorts.

6. A warm summer breeze.

7. Watermelon. Seedless. Enough said.

8. Chelle's new theme. I love it. It's just beautiful.

9. Letting Mark sit in the toy truck cart at the grocery store. He sat buckled in front steering the wheel the whole time. I could hear him going, Vroom, Vroom, Beep, Beep.

10. Taking naps at noon while Mark takes his. I don't know if I would be conscious by 3:00 if I didn't.

11. Frim, juicy, sweet red grapes. The kind you can eat until you get sick. It is rare to find such good grapes in the store.

12. Having a clean kitchen, even if it is a pain in my butt to get it that way. I love it when the counter are clear.

13. My husband.

And the bad #1. The reason I didn't visit any of you yesterday, didn't post, didn't even get to check my e-mail. We need a new junction box. Our phone line is broken. It is working now but who knows how long that will last. We had no dial-tone yesterday. And when it would try to tone, it would crackle and go out again. Gabriel checked the junction box and determined that it is the wires outside the house and our providers problem. So now we wait for them to fix it. Hopefully we won't loose dial-tone again. We have cell phones, so it isn't emergencies I am worried about. Dial-up doesn't work without a dial-tone.

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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Shoutout

2006-05-30T12:22:00.000-05:00

I almost forgot my shout-outs this week. My new tenant you all might know is the Jennster. Be a friend and click on her thumbnail and say hi.---------------> Weigh in on her newest topic about kids and posting pictures.

Also my tenant from last week just moved to Blogspot. Ha, I have converted another Bravenet blogger. Anyhoo, she can now be found at Glamorous Redneck. Give her 'hi' too and some feedback on her new blog.

What Day Is It Again?

2006-05-30T12:01:00.000-05:00

As I am trying hard not to forget all the blog worthy things coming to me this morning, I suddenly stop and think, "Oh! But today is Thursday Thirteen!" Oh, the joys of having a baby brain and a long weekend.

Coming foremost to mind is kool-aid. It is just sugar water with dye. I think it is just the color of dye that influences the flavor. If I made up some kool-aid and poured you a glass of red liquid, would you know what flavor it was? And what is up with the invisible flavors they have this year? Is it so we can pretend it is water and not sugar? Or is it so we can sneak it in to the gym and not get weird looks?

I have BIG BREASTS. Ha, so there. Let's see how many search engine hits that one gets me. Along with my oh-so-curvy body, my full and firm breasts have re-emerged. I wore tank tops over the week end because it was so unbearably hot. And let me tell you, I have cleavage, baby. Now they will only get bigger and bigger as birth and breastfeeding come. Until weaning when they deflate JUST like a balloon, and I cry over my 22 year-old saggy breasts. But I am living in the here and now that is the porn star boobs with out the porn star body.

I love a beef steak. That is what we had for dinner last night. I made a great meal of marinated rib eyes with corn on the cob and homemade cole slaw. Mmm, beef. It's what's for dinner. We don't have it very often, and I am not sure why. Part because we have Venison in the freezer and I feel guilty I guess using up the beef and not the deer. (I really don't like Venison.) Part because we eat alot of chicken. I wonder if part of it is conditioning from growing up in a family where 'that's expensive so you don't get to eat it because your a kid'. I was pondering all of this over dinner, when Gabriel stopped me. "Why do you cause yourself all this undue stress? You like beef because you like beef. That is not against the law." But that is my one true talent. Taking something simple and obsessing about it for days!

Abby has positioned herself in-line with my bladder the last few days. All she has to do is wiggle her fingers and I came this close to peeing all over myself. I run to the bathroom every 15 minutes. No kidding. I guess the tell tale wet spot in between my legs would kind of take away from the veloupous sex appeal.
TTFN

Just a Note

2006-05-28T23:00:00.000-05:00

I just want to wish everyone a Happy Memorial Weekend and to be sure to get outside and have some fun.

It has been warm here. It was in the 90's and humid today. We dug out the wade pool for the first time this year. Mark loved it. We broke down and turned on the AC this evening. It is hard to keep the house cool when it is so hot and sticky outside. We had the in-laws over for a grill out. I made alot of nummy food.

Also. Be sure to click on the thumbnail that way ---------> and visit Carrie. She is moving out tomorrow. Please go give her a visit and be sure to give her some feed back as to a new name for her blog! Make sure you go visit , please, please, please.

Candy Swap

2006-05-26T21:39:00.000-05:00

Andrea over A Peek Inside The Fish Bowl is hosting a candy swap. It is a really cool way to interact with your blogger buddies and there is candy involved. The info and rules are all here if you want to join. Part of the rules are that you fill out this questionaire to let the person who got you know what kind of candy you like. So here it goes.

* Candy Swap 2006 Questionnaire

1) When I was a kid, Halloween was all about:
e) Halloween was forbidden in my house and I've never gotten over it. Bring it on!

2) What is more important to you: quality, or quantity? Quality. I would rather have one mouthful of something to die for than a bagful of waxy nasty dollar store candy.

3) If you were on a desert island (haha, I wrote "dessert island" but that would be a totally different question now wouldn't it?) and could only have one sweet treat, which would it be? Something fruity and chewy like Skittles or Starburst. OR something peanut buttery and chocolate, like a Reese's Fast Break.

4) You arrive at "Dessert Island" – where you discover a river of pudding flowing freely through a swamp of Cool Whip. No one is watching. What do you do? Strip naked and dive in.

4) Sweet, sour, or savoury? Sweet. I am not much for the sour.

5) Sex or chocolate? Sex, any day. I like chocolate but I am not addicted to it like some are. I usually like fruity, chewy candy rather than just plain chocolate. If I eat chocolate I prefer dark chocolate. But good sex is still better. :P

6) What kind of candy, if any, would you turn down if someone offered? Anything butterscotch or rum flavored. And hard candy. It just cuts my tongue up.

7) You're at the grocery store, you're children/husband/pets have been The.Worst.Ever. They're throwing cans at each other, tripping little old ladies, taking bites out of the produce and putting them back in the bins, and piercing the milk bags with diaper pins. You feel yourself getting woozy. That vein in your forehead is throbbing. You need an immediate sugar kick before you do something crazy. What do you reach for? A Reese's Fast Break. It really hits the spot on a stressful day.

8) What are your feelings regarding Thrills gum, ribbon candy, scotch mints, and other "grandma candies"? I am not against it, but I don't like hard candy. Like I said before, it cuts my mouth up.

9) How adventurous are you? Do spicy dried mealworms or candy-coated crickets give you the willies, or are you willing to try anything once? I am adventureous, but anything involving bugs is not good.

9) Do you have dentures or other dental issues? Do you have a good dental plan? No dental issues. Candy is good.

Any other info you want to share, I suggest you spill it. :)
No, that is about it. A little of really good candy is better than a ton of so-so candy. And I am not hooked on chocolate. I like fruity and chewy. Other than that I am not picky, just excited. :)

Thursday Thirteen #2

2006-05-25T11:19:00.000-05:00

Thirteen Things You Will Never Hear Me Mention on This Blog.

1. Religion. Not everyone is the same religion or believes the same things. I am not going to bore you with going on and on about my convictions. I am not going to try to charge your beliefs or tell you that you are wrong, as long as you don't do that to me. Religion isn't why we are friends anyway.

2. Politics. See above.

3. Racism and Generalisms. It makes me mad. The only thing I could complain about my in-laws is that they think mild racism is funny. I don't want that to leak into my family.
You will never hear me say that black guy or that gay guy. If I am pissed off at you and don't know your name, I am going to call you that idiot that pissed me off.

4. My home address. Duh!

5. Complaints about other mommy bloggers. If I don't agree with certain posts or blogs, I am just not going to read or comment on them. I am not going to bash them.

6. Fights with my husband. If we are truely fighting or disagreeing then that is between me and him. If I am going to rant to someone I might as well rant to the person I am mad at. Gabriel and I have a good marriage so this is not a problem.

7. Sexuality. And I am not talking about my sex life. I mean things like how to spice up your sex, or postions, or mastrabation, or anything like that. I am not comfortable talking about it. Which I totally blame on my parents for teaching me that sex is a bad word and everytime I had questions telling me that I was not ready.

8. Ok, my real sex life. Again, between me and my husband. None of your bees wax.

9. Anything bad about working mommies. I always feel like there is tention between working moms and SAHMs. Which the more I think about it, the more I feel that it is more made up than real. Being a working mommy isn't easy wheither it was your choice or not. Being a SAHM isn't easy either, even though alot of people view it as lazy. We all make choices. Choices that are good for our kids and good for us.

10. Spanking. Yes, I believe in spanking, but I am not going to talk about it because I don't want to be labeled a spanking mommy. Like there is a clear line in disapline and I have somehow jumped across it. Spanking can work IF there are rules to follow.
1) NEVER, EVER spank or slap a hand in anger or heat of the moment. If you can't disapline calmly, you are better off not at all.
2) I always give a reminder or explaination not to touch, most cases two. A repeat offence in succession will get a hand slap. Some things that he KNOWS not to touch, like the TV remote, get a reminder and if ignored a hand slap.
3) Hand slaps are just hard enough to get his attention, not to cause pain into tears or marks or anything like that.
4) The rules of what he gets disaplined for can't change.
5) I also use a spray bottle with water, but he is more likely to ignore this.
6) Never slap a face.
7) Some things are their own punishment, like the kool-aid incendent.
8) With fits and also other things when his is older, I use time outs in the playpen. The kid needs to work it out and calm down. I like the Supernanny rules for this.
9) My goal in spanking is to never do it. I have not spanked Mark once and if I do my job right I will never have to.
10) This seems to be a very effective way so far. I don't slap his hand often. And he has learned respect and obedience at first commands, "Don't touch" or "Come back" or "Pet the doggie nicely", even at his age.
11) I almost forgot the most important. Praise, praise, praise, praise, praise!
Also, I talk openly about this to Mark's Pediatrition and he agrees with me.
I don't care if how you disapline. My way isn't the only way. Again your life, your choice.

11. My last name. I used to not care. Now I try hard to not let it leak.

12. I won the lottery, because we stopped buying tickets.

13. Alot of swearing. I use a word here and a word there. Usually not even once a post. I don't feel the need to say f*ck or b*tch or h*ll every other word. I write like I talk. Scary, huh? I really talk like this. It scares my husband. He is always saying, if you could hear yourself talk. But then again, it sounded good in my head...

There. It actually felt kinda good to get that out. But get your fill now. Because it is not likely that I will bring it up again.

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

I need feed back

2006-05-24T15:00:00.000-05:00

I am trying to decide on a graphics/image/photo program to buy. Since I have never used any of them, I was wondering, what do you use? If you own a graphics program, (Panit Shop Pro, Photo Shop, Corel Draw, etc) I want to know. What do you like about it? What do you wish was different?

Chelle, I would really value your opinion since you make awesome drawings and paintings!

Keep the Strawberries away from the Olives

2006-05-24T11:29:00.000-05:00

Click here ------------------------------------------------------>
You won't be sorry!

Boring Kool-aid mom stuff today. But I wanted to share.

We went grocery shopping this morning. Mark was a doll. He has been getting difficult to shop with because he wants to walk or run around instead of sit in a cart. Daddy spoils him by letting walk next to him when they go shopping together. But today Mark wanted my shopping list (a notebook) and my pen. So I capped it and he was 'writing' the whole time. Acting like he was all involved with everything that went into the cart. It kept him happy through 2 stores over 2 and a half hours!

It has been so nice and warm (FINALLY!) this week. So we have spent alot of afternoons outside. Mark loves running around outdoors. Yesterday we bought our flowers and the rest of the veges for the garden. I planted up the flower pots and hanging baskets. I am not going to go crazy with flower beds and new perennials. I will have enough to keep up with in the garden both before Abby is born and after. I can extra veges out of our garden and a ton of fruit. Most of the fruit (strawberries, blueberries, cherries, and maybe peaches) should be done before Abby is born and hopeful the way the season is going the later fruits (probably peaches, pears, and apples) will be late August/ into September. When I am feeling stronger and the baby is a bit bigger.

Thanks everyone for the comments from the last post. I am spazzing. I always spaz. Ask my husband. I am a control freak, a perfectionist, and a worry wart. I am actually a lot better than I used to be. I used to not be able to let ANYONE do ANYTHING, because I had to do it so it turned out the way I wanted. Stress was not enough to convince me to let other people do things. I work on it all the time. But having a kid and having life get turned upside down kind of taught me to not give a shit about certain unimportant things. Do the best you can with the top 5 on your list of priorities and the rest can give or take. Try again tomorrow.

I have just realized something important in the snacking world. No matter how pregnant you are and how good it sounded in the first place, don't eat strawberries and green olives in the same sitting.
TTFN

So, did any of you do anything interesting this weekend??

2006-05-22T12:03:00.000-05:00

We took a walk to the school play yard again. Mark just loves the park. My allergies acted up, so I was dizzy on Benadryll. I made Fried Rice and Egg Rolls. Ooo, and I have a strange bug bite on my back.

I do have a new tenant as of this morning... Carrie. She is work-her-butt-off, need-a-little-me-time mommy, just like the rest of us. She just celebrated her 6th wedding anniversary. Also, she is looking for a new blog title. Go over and help her out. Tell her Stephanie sent you.

---------oOo---------

I have come to realize something today. I am almost 30 weeks (30 weeks on Wednesday for those of you who are counting) and that means that I have only 10 weeks left. With the very good chance of Abby being born as soon as 6 weeks from now. EEK! Let me say again, EEK! I am starting to feel panic.

I have to finish stocking up on supplies for the weeks that I will be weak and out from the surgery and no sleep. I have to finish planning meals so my hubby can cook for me instead of the other way around. Toilet paper, paper towels, cranberry juice, apple juice, raisin bran, diapers, feminine wipes, pads, hemorrhoid cream, ibuprophine, laundry detergent, sugar, flour, coffee, snacks I can eat with one hand, snacks for Mark, snacks I can eat with no hands. Do I have these things????

And what about Mark? I have thought about it but not really done any deep planning. While I am in the hospital he will stay with Grandma and Grandpa. I trust them very much, but leaving him with other people upsets me. No one will treat him like I will treat him. No one knows him like I know him. I hate the thought of him trying so hard to get his point across and everyone just staring at each other going, "Can you understand him?" Or getting punished for something different or differently than at home and not understanding why. I know that I am a control freak, but I don't want his life to change abruptly. I had mentioned doing some trail runs over the weekends so suddenly staying with Grandma and not seeing mommy all day isn't so strange. We have to get going on those too.

And then there is the problem of what to do after I get home. With the C-section I am not supposed to pick up anything heavier than my baby. And I am assuming that they mean the new baby, not my 22 lb, 15 month old baby. Ok, so who is going to take Mark in and out of his crib. And his highchair. And pick him up when he needs a hug because he hurt himself. And the millions of other times he has needs too. When Mark was born, Gabriel was laid-off so he was around all day and took care of everything except the breastfeeding. I know that I was spoiled, but it was so nice to have someone to do the things I couldn't. I can't do it all by myself. Even if my MIL came down everyday to feed Mark and help out, I doubt that she would show up every morning before Mark woke up and stay until Gabriel got home from work. For at least 2 or 3 weeks. I hate to want Gabriel to get laid off because he is finally working steady again and it looks like work is good for a ways out. Maybe things will change by August, but he needs to keep working. We need the money. Unemployment is a b*tch to live off of.

I need to wash and put away the tiny baby clothes that I packed into the basement not that long ago. I need to bring up the swing and bouncer and sling and floor mat and infant carrier/car seat and bassinet. I need to figure out where I am going to put the bassinet. Am I going to put both kids in the same room eventually? If not where with one or the other? Bottles and formula and warmers and nukes and BM storage containers for the freezer and the breast pump and about a thousand other things I am probably forgetting need to be taken out of their storage and washed up.

Oh. My. Gosh.
I. Can't. Breathe.
Seriously, I think I am having a panic attack. HELP!

Life as we know it

2006-05-19T13:24:00.000-05:00

Don't forget to visit A Tight Knit Mom before she packs up and moves! Go ahead click on the thumbnail somewhere right about here.----------------------------->

--------------(*)-------------

I didn't have wnough time to shower during Mark's nap today. So I took him in the bathroom with me after he woke up. I close the door and leave the curtain up half way, so he stays out of trouble. He'll peak at me and I'll splash him.

After I got dressed, I released him and he took off into the wild of the living room. I was still brushing my hair when I heard him give a cry. Not just any cry. There-is-a-wild-dog-attacting-me cry. SO I run out, without my glasses of course. I can't see a thing, but I'm here to save you! Mark had pulled down a mega-cup of grape kool-aid I had on the counter. He was gasping like he had been dunked head first. Soaked from head to foot! Huh, maybe now you'll remember that mommy tells you not to touch her juice and not to touch things on that counter.

I'm not even sure why I'm retelling this you all. It isn't that funny when I re-read it. But something about catching him trying to drink out of a mega-cup and ending up soaked and shocked was the highlight of my day. Sounds a little mean, sorry. You had to be there.

---------(*)--------

I have to clear a few ??s and comments I got about my haircut.
First, thank you for all the nice kodos! I really like it. I feel all sexy and fresh.
Secon, I didn't cut it myself. My sister did it. She is going to school at the WI State College of Beauty Culture. She does a really good job. She cut Mark's hair and also is now cutting Gabriel's hair and bleached it. He looks awesome.
Yeah, I wanted my hair short, but I didn't want the mommy hair. It seems like it is really hard to find short hair that is sexy with out having to spend 2 hours styling. My idea of styling is to wash, towel dry, brush, air dry, repeat as necessary.

Thursday Thirteen

2006-05-18T19:42:00.000-05:00

Thirteen Things - Reasons Why I Joined Thursday Thirteen

1. Lots of other friends were doing it.

2. Great way to meet new friends.

3. Easy posts for Thursdays. :P

4. I have been dying to for ever!

5. Looks like a ton of fun.

6. Now you can know even more useless info about me.

7. OK, I'll admit it, more comments!

8. Who can resist a truely good meme?

9. No tagging necessary.

10. Did I mention how cool it is?

11. Good for organizing thoughts. Yeah, like my thoughts get organized!

12. Whew, 13 of something is hard to come up with!

13. For ME!

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Ta-Da

2006-05-18T07:27:00.000-05:00

Want to know what I did last night?

Before:

After:

Shout-out

2006-05-16T11:44:00.000-05:00

I want to do a quick shout out because a number of really cool things happened will I haven't posted. First and most important is that I have a new tenant!! Please welcome A Tight Knit Mom. Make her feel at home. Show her arround. See if she would like a soda. She reminded me so much of myself. She is a 23 yr old mommy of a 2 yr old and a 7 mo old. Plus she is big into knitting and crafts. She is so calm and collected, you have to meet this woman.

Also, I am sooooooooooooooo excited about Liea's Mom. She is expecting in January after only one month of clomid! I am so excited that I am jumping up and down until I have to pee.Yay, Marz!!!

And that's not all folks. On Saturday my counter turned 1000. It doesn't count my hits, search engines or repeat hits, so the actual count is about double what it says. But the one million dollar winner is Leigh at The Twisted Sistah. She either was my 1000th hit or referred it. Either way, you can collect you prize (yes, I have something for you, girl).

TTFN

Mother's Day

2006-05-16T11:30:00.000-05:00

When I think of Mother's Day a couple things come to mind. First, the good. Gabriel was so sweet. He got me a garlic press and 2 new cutting boards. I couldn't be happier. I have really been into cooking the past month or 2 and make alot of meals from scratch. So there have been a few items that I wanted to add to the kitchen. Gabriel picked up on that and got some. Also for dinner he took me to Taco Bell, because I love it so much!

Also, I know that Mother's Day lands on a different date every year, but it marks a sad anniversary. 2 years ago on Mother's Day we buried Daniel. It bothers me that we haven't been out to visit him yet this year. I think about him alot.

We had both moms over on Sunday for lunch. My MIL I love and we see that family every Sunday. So that was not out of the ordinary and was very pleasant. My mom I don't get along with. Well, we have one of those strained relationships where we pretend that every thing is fine. I am perfectly fine with little to no communication with my mom. She does nothing but rise frustration, stress, and hurt feelings in me. And my husband. She is a gossip spreading so and so who has to have control over every situation that she breathes in and makes up complete crap so that she is always right. Plus she is manipulating and yet believes that she is the perfect mother.

Like I said, I am happy enough to not expose myself to all that stress. But if I don't make an effort here and there, she seeks me out and plays out all these mind games and guilt trips. So we killed two birds with one stone. Our periodic visit and Mother's Day.

I was not planning on dragging all that up, but it just boils in me.

One random thing she did say on Sunday that is so stupid I just laugh thinking about it. Seriously, she said, "Hey, did you hear how they have finally figured how to drain gasoline from the sand in Canada?"

I have been having a heck of a time trying to catch up with you all. It took all of Mark's nap yesterday to do just that. Well, 4 days worth. And our phoneline is still all *Plbbbtt*. The phone works fine. But we are still dialing up at 14,400 BPS. Sometimes we are lucky and get 16,800. It is better than the 9600 we got Monday. The best we have connected at this house is 28,800. This is out of a 56K modem, people. UGH!! I would kill for broadband or cable. Kill, I tell you. But we can't afford it. We tried once but Charter conviently couldn't use the MOTOROLLA modem we had. We were required to rent all of their equipment which was total BS.

It seems that this post has taken a turn towards ugly. I think I will stop before it get to the city limits.

I love you all!! I miss you all!! Have a wonderful day!
TTFN

Just a note

2006-05-14T17:56:00.001-05:00

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!!!