New Family Member

Sunday afternoon after coming home from church and having lunch, I laid down on my bed to rest and browse some social media. I got on my Facebook and a friend of mine posted for a friend of hers who was trying to find homes for some kittens. Of course, the animal lover in me had to look. This was the first photo I saw.


 A D O R A B L E!!! Now if you know anything about cats, I was amazed to see five, yes FIVE calico/ tortoise shell kittens in one litter!

I showed them to my husband. He shocked me by saying that we should get one. Since my daughter has been still missing her beloved cat Teeko. He said this would make her very happy.

We called the girl who had them, and I was shocked to find out that she still had all five. She didn't live close by, an hours drive away. In the rain from that Tropical Storm Debby.

So much for my nap.

We piled the kids in the van and headed out on an adventure. We did not tell the kids where we were going. It was pretty funny because Little E kept thinking we were going "somewhere". For him that meant to do something.

After getting to her house and meeting the kittens, it was a tough choice. We originally had chosen one that had half orange, half black face. But we wanted Miss K to choose the kitten. Or shall I say, let the kitten choose her.

Which is how it was for she and Teeko.

After at least 30 minutes or longer of playing with five kitties, we took home Mollie, formerly known as Viper. The kitten with the orange stripe down her nose. (far left in photo above)

It has taken some adjusting for her, she has cried every night in her "room".

Little E wanted a kitty of his own, and I have been feeling pretty badly. I'm a softie to animals and my son. There was one kitten that was attached to ours and has been lonely since we left.

We'll see..

Not like I need another mouth to feed. I have a human one coming in November. What is a girl to do??!

PYHO: Opinions are like.....

We didn't tell anyone we were trying. Well, except for one couple. They knew. But no one else knew.
It's not something you share with everyone.

After we found out that we were indeed pregnant with baby #3, we were really excited. Knowing the risks of telling people and something happening, we decided to keep the news to ourselves and a few close friends.

Telling family was not an option yet,just in case. Family takes things harder and friends hold you up when things fall. We waited until the first appointment when the baby should have been 8 weeks along. The ultrasound confirmed that we were having "a baby" ( I say that because hubs has been fearing twins) but we were 6 weeks and five days along.

This was a bummer. We were hoping to tell more people but since we were not as far along, we had to wait longer. The waiting is very hard.

The longer I waited, the more nervous I got about telling certain people. I know it shouldn't matter, because the choice of how many children I want is MY CHOICE. And my husband's of course. I didn't know how the news would be received.

A year ago, when in conversation with a friend of mine who has more children than I do and was expressing her interest in having more, my mother in law stated (looking at me) " you don't need anymore kids." Did I hear her right? Was she telling me what was right for me?

So I wasn't looking forward to telling her and I think my husband knew it. So she was the last parent we told about the new baby coming. She really shocked me. My husband had to hold the phone back a foot or so from his ear. She was so excited and squealing about another grand child. Wow.

I am the first person that will tell you, I don't care what other people think. I really try not to let other people's opinions get to me. Most of all, strangers opinions. But deep inside, it stirs me up when people express their opinions to me.

Right now, I'm not showing so no one would know that I'm pregnant anyways. So I'm safe from other peoples problems. Unless of course, my son who is a proud BIG Brother to be might tell you that there is a baby in there.

I really don't want to hear the obtuse or intrusive opinions from other people. I'm dealing with questions now. Since you already have one of each, which sex do you prefer?

I don't care! Really! I want a healthy child. I'm the mother to a daughter and a son, I know what both worlds could bring. There are pros and cons to raising each gender. And I could honestly end up with a sassy, prissy little princess girl. Unlike Miss K completely. Or I could get an ultra sensitive boy, who wears his emotions on his sleeve. Unlike my rough and tough Little E.

I'm not worried about trivial things like that. The worst part that since I have one of each, people assume that you are done having children. As if that is a guideline. Really?

Hot off the Press!

We're Expecting

 

Yes, you read that right. I was hoping to hold out and wait another few more weeks and have better ultrasound photos to share. But I can't contain myself any longer. There have been several times where I would have liked to mention that in addition to what else was going on, that my hormones were "out of whack". I figured some one would catch on and the questions might have come. So I'm putting it out there!

We're looking forward to this new chapter in our lives and cannot wait to welcome another little boy or girl into the family. 

PYHO: Can I give up Now?

It's not easy keeping my emotions in check. I am not the type of person who likes to hold my feelings inside and suppress them. I have had to, but the outcome after long periods of with holding my feelings isn't something you would want to witness. They come spewing out like hot lava. Really. It's not like when you shake the soda bottle and open the cap. That is merely too tame for how I can get.

That is the person I have tried to stop being, but this week is making it really hard. 

So this week, I'm feeling like a volcano ready to explode. It's building and building.

I've had many people ask me "how are you feeling?" Okay. It's been my usual answer. The "easy" answer.

"how are you holding up?" "Do you need anything?" " I'm checking on you". And I get the warm fuzzy feeling inside when these wonderful friends of mine ask me these questions. They are truly concerned for my well being. But I can't tell them how I really feel.

Because right now I'm feeling selfish. I WANT MY HUSBAND HOME!

I know they mean well, but they really don't want me to open the floodgates. because if I really told them exactly how I felt, I would be a sobbing mess. I'm tired. I'm lonely. I'm feeling sorry for myself and I want to be human and wallow in my sorrows for just a moment. I know I don't need my husband here to be able to that. But some one has to be here to take care of the kids.

Some one else besides me. And since their dad isn't here to do it, then I have to put on my Big Girl Panties and stand strong. Be in control. Take care of my children, the house and everything in between. 

I just don't want people thinking I'm heartless about not shedding a tear for my grandmother. I can't do it right now. 

This morning I did have a moment. The well sprung a leak. I missed two calls from my husband. And the third I was so anxious to grab it, I accidentally pressed "decline" on the phone. I lost it. The tears ran down my face. I was sobbing like a baby. Over a missed phone call. The little things are starting to break me down. I'm ready for this to be over. 

I have two more days. I'm hanging on by a thread and if you asked me, you'd never know. I'm strong. I will not admit defeat. But really, I just have. 

Day 3: It just gets better

Day 3 while my husband is in Haiti

I'm really not used to regular routine when my husband is away. Without a reason to roll over and smack some one lying next to you to "get up, you're alarm is going off", I have no desire to get up when my own alarm is blaring. Thankfully it was Monday and I was not required to be showered, dressed and ready to go when the kids were. No work for me.

I spent most of my morning glued to my cell phone while my sister in law talked for 2.5 hours. I was so tired from not getting enough sleep, I actually fell asleep on her. Seriously. That was pretty embarrassing. I kept thinking about a nap, how much a nap would be so nice. Just 30 minutes before leaving the house again to pick up Little E from preschool. It never happened.

Just the five minutes I zoned out.

While I was busy keeping myself awake, my husband was busy teaching the children in the small town in Haiti about stories in the Bible.

The rest of the day went as usual. Pickup Little E from school, come home eat lunch. Nothing spectacular about that. Then go back and get Miss K from school and come home for an hour before heading out the door again for dance classes. Ah, Mondays. You are quite busy even when I'm home doing chores.

I can't believe that I'm saying this, but on a weekday, I can't function most of the day when my husband is out of town. But the evenings are harder. Tag teaming takes on a new meaning when there is only one parent in the house. The kids tag team me! 

Not to mention that Little E decided to throw a wrench in the evening by taking a 2 hour nap between the hours of 6-8 and I could not wake him up. I tried everything, except dumping cold water on him. So of course after his siesta he wakes up at 8:15pm and wants to stay awake. Which was not in my plan at all. Needless to say, I went to bed at 11pm and left him awake in Miss K's bed. And that was all she wrote.

Day 2: You Comfort Me

Day 2 While my husband is in Haiti

My children and I missed Sunday church services. Something I'm not proud of, but given the circumstances we all needed some rest. We slept in until 8am which didn't leave us much time to get ready for 9am church. I really needed to mentally prepare myself for what we had on the agenda for the day. I was meeting my parents at the Funeral Home to make arrangements for my Grandmother. Followed by going to the nursing home to retrieve her belongings. I really was hoping to avoid that place. I am very bitter towards them. An emotion that I should be able to push aside but haven't found the strength to do so. Or maybe I don't want to right now.

Setting up the funeral arrangements went smoothly. I think it helped that the staff knew us already, not that they were hoping to meet us just yet. We were supposed to be coming in a few weeks to make pre arrangements. The nursing home trip was exactly as I had feared. The staff had already boxed up my grandma's belongings and stored them away. The bed was neatly made and all ready for another person. It made me more mad at them. My mother was furious to say the least.

I couldn't wait to get out of there. I have bad memories as a child in nursing homes visiting great grandparents. I tried to push past those feelings when we placed my grandma in one. I wanted her to be happy. Sadly, I have new sad memories now. I hope that I never have to do this again.

My parents had invited the kids and I to join them for dinner at their house. So after the drama of the morning, I was looking forward to some relaxing conversation. The kids were looking forward to riding their bikes on "regular" road, not the dirt roads like at home. The weather had cleared up and was beautiful. It was brightening my mood.

The best part. My husband called me!! Thank you Skype!! I never knew they had an option that allowed you to load the program and make a phone call. It was so good to hear his voice. The first time he tried to Facetime call me but I was not near WIFI and it wouldn't connect. So he figured out another way.

You have no idea how much hearing some one's voice can calm your heart. Even if he is miles and miles away, he finds a way to comfort me. Even with his voice. I thought that I wouldn't be able to survive these days without him. I was wrong.

I'm hoping the rest of the week flies by and Friday comes quick. At least regular routine resumes on Monday.

Day 1: I'm Lost Without You

Day 1 while my husband is away in Haiti. 

Sadly on Friday evening, the last night we had together before he needed to meet the mission team at the church, I got a phone that I never expected. My grandmother had died. I was in complete and utter shock after my Aunt had just passed the day after Easter. It has only been a week since we buried her. A turn of events happened and my mother called me back and said that grandma was alive. The staff at the nursing home called 911 and performed CPR and they had a pulse. She was en route to the ER. This all felt too surreal. Had we not just done this?? Why now when my husband is leaving for a week? 

So Friday evening when we would have been spending our last hours together, we spent it in the hospital watching my grandmother slip from us. She wasn't really there anymore. As much as I know about the body and spirit, I believe she wasn't there. Her body was still working for the moment, but her mind was gone. She was ready to join our Father in heaven. She was ready to join her daughter and husband among her other family members who had long since passed.

By the time my husband and I got home there was only and hour left to rest before he would need to shower and prepare to leave. Talk about a cat nap that was hard to come by while my thoughts were on my grandmother.

My husband and I exchanged kisses and I love you's at 3am and we parted ways. I really felt all alone at that moment I pulled from the church parking lot. I went home and struggled to go to sleep. My mind was elsewhere for many reasons. Losing my grandmother so quickly now after my aunt, missing my husband, worrying over the looming week ahead-alone.

At 3:45 am the phone rang. The house phone. My father called me with the news I was expecting but hoping would not come. Grandma was in heaven now. She was gone. She was the only grandma I knew, since my mother's mom passed away when I was very little. I knew this day would come, but I wasn't ready. Are we ever ready?

I tossed and turned and finally was able to get a little rest. At 6:51am my husband texted me and let me know that he was boarding his first of two flights to Haiti. I never went back to sleep. The kids would be up soon and I was the only one home to take care of them.

Today has been a long day to say the least. Many emotions have gone through me. I will not let myself become depressed. I was close today. I sat in my pj's until 3pm. I forced myself to eat lunch. I am keeping the routines at home for my children's sake. Normalcy. It keeps me going for now. I'm tired and hoping I will get some rest tonight. 

Thankfully my husband texted me tonight and let me know all was well. He is at the hotel in Haiti and he had a long trip there. He hopes to Facetime or Skype me tomorrow. I really hope he does.

Friday Fragments #194

I've been MIA for too long. I have half attempted all week to write a post but just haven't done it. I hate being a slacker.

Today, in less than twenty four hours, I will be sending off my husband with our church team to Haiti. I'm nervous and struggling with many emotions with this. I am asking God for strength, perseverance,  patience and faith to make it through the next six days. I will really begin to appreciate the same things my husband does around here.

It's hard to believe that next month, I will be signing Little E up for Kindergarten for this fall. The thought came to me this morning when I remembered I needed to go to Miss K's school to pick up a variance form that is pre authorized by her school and bring it to the school we are zoned for.

Miss K survived FCAT's this week. The poor little girl was so stressed out by it that she was having a hard time staying focused in class last week and the beginning of this week, once the test was over. She has been extremely emotional and I have been trying my best to handle her with "kid gloves". I will admit, it has been VERY hard to stay composed after the many weeping episodes this week. So glad it's Friday and they are having a fun day today at school.

A woman I go to church with, who is also in my small group after church mailed my family a card following the death of my Aunt. It brought joy and tears to me. I want to share part of the poem on it,

And think of her as living

in the hearts of those she touched

for nothing loved is ever lost-

and she was loved so much.

It's little loving gestures like a simple card that can speak volumes. 

I can't wait to feel "normal" again. Thanks to Little E I have been battling a head cold since Sunday. I am sooo tired of blowing my nose. I have also realized that there is a DEFINITE difference in tissue brand and style. Let me say, not any tissue is good. Maybe for the occasional blowing of the nose, but not repeated blowing of the nose. Neosporin is my nose's new BF. 

 

PYHO: Home in Heaven

Where do I begin? These past eleven days have been a blur. Sunday April 1st was any regular day for my family. We attended church that Sunday followed by our afternoon group gathering for church. It was even a little more fun since we went out to dinner after wards at our local BBQ restuarant. Then it all changed when I got the phone call from my mom.

My aunt, who was recently moved to a rehab facility here where I live from Tampa, was going into the hospital. Several months back she had gone into the hospital for swelling in her legs. It was discovered that she had sorosis of the liver and she was not an alcohol drinker. We believe that some years back another doctor told her that she had this, but due to her limited mental capabilities, she did not realize the severity of her condition.

 The rehab facility called my mother and told her that my aunt was having trouble breathing. And it must have gotten bad enough for them to call an ambulance. En route to the hospital from the facility, which is merely two minutes away, something happened. The hospital staff said, "crashed". She "crashed". Whatever that means for them, it meant she lost consciousness, stopped breathing and was intibated.

The next morning my husband and I went to see her in the ICU. She was not conscious, she was heavily sedated and on a ventilator machine. It was a surreal moment. The tears welled up in my eyes and I went to her bedside. I rubbed her arm and spoke to her, calling her name. I was shocked that she turned her head towards me and fluttered her eyes. My husband said her heart rate jumped up ten numbers and it worried him. He said "I don't think we should be trying to wake her".

He went to the nurses station and asked the nurse that was caring for my aunt, about trying to communicate with her. Apparently they didn't want us to do that. They wanted her heart to stay calm while she was fighting so many infections in her body. She currently had pneumonia, one lung was completely full of fluid and her liver failing had caused the ammonia in her body to rise to dangerous levels. Adding these complications to her already failing body put her in danger.

Sadly, this Monday, April 9th my aunt passed away and joined the Lord. Her heart withstood as much as it could for nine days but couldn't hold on any longer. She is now free from pain. I am happy for her. She is now a smart person in heaven. God has released her from her limited mental capabilities. He has made her well again.

Humanly, I am still sad for her. And tomorrow we will attend the first of two funerals for her. One here,  and one back in Tampa. I have not cried this week for her. Not that my heart doesn't ache to have her fleshly body here on Earth with us, but I know that she is in a better place now. That she doesn't have to depend on breathing machines, western medicines, wheel chairs and many other medical devices to lengthen her life here.

It has been a rough time for me and my family. I'm glad that she we recently celebrated her mother's birthday all together. The whole family. My brothers, their spouses and children and my parents. She was surrounded by us all before the sickness took her home.

You never know when the last day will be with your loved ones. 

Please forgive me if I do not respond to your comments right away this weekend.

Meals Planned Out

What method do you use to create your dinner meals for the week? Do you randomly go through what foods you have in the house, go shopping to fill in the blanks and wing it for the week? Or do you plan meals, then fall short and go out a few times or pick up fast food as a last resort? Or do you plan the meals and then actually follow through?

I have been there on all of those. And I'm sure there are even different ways of planning your meals for the week and grocery shopping. 

I had been struggling in this department. I love to cook a meal for my family. I do admit that I have those days that I'm not feeling my best, tired from a long day of battles and I will order pizza. But having a plan for the week, a plan that some one else has created is making my life easier. At least in the food category.

Thanks to my sister in law, who also uses them, I found Emeals.


At first I viewed the samples and used a few of the recipes from there to check it out. I needed to see what the reaction was from my family. The reaction was very positive. So I went ahead and signed up for a membership. 


I picked my favorite grocery store, the types of meals that I wanted recipes for and then the weekly menu, ingredients, directions for preparing and shopping list are all done for me. I love it! No thinking about what should I make this week.


Now for my family, we do have a crazy schedule for the week with Miss K's dance classes and mid week church so we have to pick which meals will be best on the nights we leave home early or get home late. Other than that, it's take the guess work out of the equation for me. 


My time spent in the grocery store is cut in half now. I found that I'm not buying things that I don't need for the week and sticking to the grocery list. You do have to remember, it's only dinner meals that are on the list, so you have to make sure you get your breakfast and lunch items on your own. I have my own sub shopping list that I downloaded into my Excel files for the staples that we run out of, toiletries and foods that will not be in the emeals list.

But this has been a blessing so far.


My biggest hurdle that I'm going to have to overcome.....shopping the sales and couponing. I love to buy bulk when my most used items are on sale with a coupon. I've been failing in the coupon department (it is SO time consuming for me) but have kept up with my bulk items. It feels different shopping for my picked out meals and no extras. I'm still weighing my options on whether I will completely cut out bulk buying. 

For now I'm staying with what works for my family and myself. 





I was not contacted or compensated by the creator or founder of Emeals.com to write a review.  My article is solely my opinion about their product/service that I currently use.






 

Whose Sideline are you on

Today is the BIG DAY!! I'm sure I don't have to remind you that it's the day for the Super Bowl XLVI, but if you're a hermit or you don't want much tv or maybe you avoid sports at all costs then maybe you don't have a clue what day it is.

I think even if you fall into one of those categories, you would not be able to avoid it. When I went to the grocery store and Walmart yesterday to get my regular groceries for the week and the rest of the food for my party, it was pretty obvious that many parties would be going on.

The chip isle at Walmart was running low on nacho chips for one. There were two vendors loading the racks on a Saturday...something I have never seen.

The condiment isle was picked over in the wing sauce section and there was an over abundance of ranch dressings shoved into many places. Wings anyone??

I am not joining the crowd with home made wings. Been there..tried that. I would normally buy the wings from my favorite local restaurant/lounge (who by the way makes the BEST teriyaki wings) but I cheated and bought some Schwans wings. It's close enough to home made.

I'm hoping they turn out good.

Kick off is at 6:30pm tonight and I sure hope that I've got all my snacks ready to go by then. I skipped on making the pizza puffs this time. My friend is bringing several items and I don't think we need them. Thank you Pinterest for the recipe and idea. I'll be making those for dinner in a week or so.

Shamely, I am rooting for the Patriots! Thankfully it's hubby's team. Since my 'boys couldn't get there. It was pretty funny when we explained the Super Bowl to Little E. My hubby said that we were rooting for the Patriots who were playing against the Giants. (blech) Little E says "Well I'm rooting for the Cowboys daddy! GO COWBOYS".

Hahaha! That's my boy!

Maybe next year. 

Enjoy your game day and may the best team win!

Friday Fragments: Episode #182

I really wanted to write a full, real post this week. One that didn't require a prompt or meme link up. I failed. I just had no energy left this week. Playing catch up after being gone last weekend is exhausting.

My husband celebrated his 35th Birthday on Thursday. The kids and I bought him a cake and the kids insisted I buy candles for it. We got those "magic" ones. I thought I only bought one package with 8 and when it came time to put them on, I realized both packages had them. We had 20 relight candles on the cake. Do you have any idea how hard it is to light 35 candles??

I am hoping to plan a Super Bowl party this year! My husband's team is playing. Go Patriots!! The last time they were there, Little E was just an infant and it wasn't possible. I'm on the hunt for recipes and ideas.

I discovered while on the social security website today, that when applying for a US Passport, if your birth certificate was applied for a year after your birth, you need extra required documentation.* my husband is going on a Mission Trip to Haiti this year and needs a passport*

I realized recently that Little E is OCD like me. I'm not sure if it's because I have spent more time with him being a part time SAHM with him and not Miss K. Or it's genetic.It's a little annoying, because things have to be a certain way with him, but he's not always capable of making those things that way. Leaving me to take care of what he wants.

Have you ever tried Greenwise (non hormone, free range) meat? Like beef? I bought a steak that was like that for dinner for my husband and wow! There is a significant difference in texture and taste. I recently started buying cage free, hormone free brown eggs and they are by far much better. The prepared egg has much more flavor, better color when scrambled and the shell peels much easier than the traditional store brand large white eggs. They even beat out Eggland's best brand.

What is it with tv shows this week? After no new episodes during the holidays and the we finally got like three weeks of new ones to get re runs this week! I want to file a complaint! lol.

WW: It's My Life!

 1. I used to dress up my cat Patches when I was a kid. There were many times when some one would open the door to my room and my cat would come hauling butt out with this wild look on her face. If she could have talked she would have said please some one help me!!! I'm being tortured. It's what happens when all you have is a little brother and you've been forbidden to dress him up in girly clothes, so you choose the next best thing.

2. There were times that my little brother did not escape my attempts at getting some one to join in my dress up time. He actually was a willing participant and let me paint his fingernails and toenails a few times. It was Barbie pink peel off nail polish. That was the last time it happened, because my father threatened my little brother that if he let me do it again he would make him wear a dress.

3. I will never forget the time my older brother ran the riding lawn mower up the side of the satellite dish( you remember those things- they were before the compact ones that you see on the roof) in our yard and blamed my little brother and I. He said we changed satellite direction and it moved causing him to get caught in the arm and run it down with the mower. My little brother and I were punished, spanked and sent to our rooms in tears knowing full well that we did not do that. The next day my brother confessed that he was riding the mower at full speed and lost control and blamed us. It still didn't take away that horrible memory.

4. It was the year that my parents finally got a "real" compact video camera, replacing the one that required you to carry a portable VCR in a bag, for Christmas. We had finished opening all our gifts and my brothers had both received RC cars that year. Mind you, I was 13 or 14 and was in full attitude for those years. My parents told me to take the camera and go video tape my brothers driving their cars. I was none too thrilled about this and proceeded to complain the entire walk through the house, down our driveway and down to our cul de sac, all while it was being recorded unbeknown to me. My parents still have that on tape. I'll never live it down.

5. My dachshund Schnitzl was the kind of dog who let you know if he didn't like some one. He usually barked at the person, growled at the person or in a few cases, peed on the person to let you know. My younger brother was dating this girl at the time and I never knew my dog had decided she was no good. Until one evening at my parents house. This girl was sitting on the couch in the family room and my dog jumped in her lap.She was loving on him when he decided he would let us all know that she wasn't acceptable. It was pretty funny. Until he did the same thing to my husband several years later. (yea, and we're still married)

6. My boyfriend (who is my husband now) thought he would be really cute and show me how fast his motorcycle could go up my parents driveway (they live on a large hill with a long driveway). It was cold that night and he had his riding gloves on. I was standing in the lawn watching him race it up the hill, smiling at him and then my face went to horror as he never stopped until he hit my car!! He smashed his bike right into the rear of my car with his bike. Apparently, his heavy gloves caught in the throttle and he couldn't stop it in time.It was pretty horrifying to watch.  I'll never let him live that down.

 7. My sister in law (my older brother's wife) used to hang out all the time when my brother was enlisted in the Navy. He was gone for boot camp and we went to the movies one night together. We bought the largest popcorn and ate the whole thing before the movie started.  When we left after the movie I joked to her and said next time we just need to buy a vat of popcorn.!! We actually just joked about it when we saw each other this last weekend.

8. Egg nog with nog. I'm not sure what your families call it, but when you add Wild Turkey or Bacardi Rum to your egg nog, it's nog with nog in my family. We used to drive around at Christmas to look at the lights and bring our "egg nog". It was so cold this one year and since we were piled into the bed of my dad's pickup truck we decided to wrap up in a large blanket, while he was driving down the road. We lost track of the egg nog jug until we heard this loud pop!!! We uncovered our heads just in time to see the egg nog all over the road. Needless to say, that was the last year of egg nog and pick up trucks.

 9.What is it about holidays?!? Family gatherings seem to bring more stories. There was the Christmas, back in the 80's that we spent sitting on our lawn while the turkey sat in the fridge because we were without power- ALL DAY. Apparently a little squirrel decided he wanted some warmth and somehow managed to get himself zapped, thus popping the transformer connected to our house. We found the only place, two towns over, that was open on Christmas Day for our Christmas dinner.

10. August 13th 1999. My birthday was on a Friday that year and my mother bought me a Ouija Board. I was born on Friday the 13th and was always fascinated with the spiritual side of being a Friday the 13th baby. We used the board that night. My boyfriend, my older brother, his wife, my younger brother and his then girlfriend. It creeped out most of the group, but we did use it. I won't go into detail, but I honestly believe it works.

I'm linking up with Mama Kat today and chose prompt #3.

 You know the stories that are retold a million times at family gatherings? I call them Life Stories that you just never live down. List your Top 10 Life Stories.

My title made me think of this song. Enjoy!!

WW: It's What's For Dinner

 4.) Your significant others family is coming over in two hours..think about what’s in your kitchen. Now QUICK…what’s for dinner!?!

My husband loves to spring things on me when I'm not prepared. So this might happen to me and I'll be caught with mismatched foods in the house. We might have enough to feed our family of four, but not enough to feed six people. Lucky enough, this week I have extra chicken. Thank goodness for going to BJ's last weekend and getting a good deal on chicken breasts.

I always have plenty of bread crumbs on hand and my kids love provolone sandwiches so we have plenty of provolone cheese in the fridge. Publix, our local supermarket for those of you who don't live in the south, just had spaghetti sauce on sale so we have sauce.

I'll thaw the chicken and pound it for chicken parmesan. I have wheat spaghetti noodles on hand, so those will have to do. I'll serve romaine lettuce with some parmesan cheese and caesar dressing. I prefer to have fresh schredded cheese on top, but with no time to run to the grocery store I'm out of luck. 

And if I wasn't feeling so fat, I would make dessert. But since this is a last minute visit for dinner, they can deal without dessert. 

They're lucky I wasn't serving turkey hot dogs,  wheat mac and cheese and green beans. If this was a week ago, that would be the only thing I had an overage of. 

Surprise Surprise

There's nothing like enjoying the afternoon at Sea World with your husband and kids. Even when you forget to pack extra clothes for your four year old. The four year old who has a tendency to forget to tell you that he needs to go potty when he's having fun.

Or when he's having constipation issues again.

Five minutes after walking into the park I needed to head to the restroom. Both kids accompanied me and I let Little E go into a stall by himself. That was my second mistake, after forgetting to pack the spare underpants.

I'm standing outside the door and he tells me his pants are wet. Just great! In a hurry to sit down to try to go poop he forgets to pee first while standing up and just sits down. Now if you are a mom to boys, you know what this means. Inexperienced boys forget to hold down their "noodle" and close their legs and the pee goes straight out to the pants.

I'm frustrated at this point and take off his pants and throw out the underwear that are soaked. It's not like I was going to be able to convince the hubs to put them in his backpack and carry around urine soaked underwear for seven hours.

This was like a flashback to the time at Disney CityWalk back in December '10. When I actually remembered to bring spare clothes, but Little E kept wetting his pants and I ran out of clothes. We spent an hour searching the shops to find him underwear. I was lucky that time but spent a small fortune to buy Disney underwear.

We didn't get as lucky this time. No underwear are marketed by Sea World so they don't sell them. But they do have vending machines that sell diapers and anything else that you might need when traveling with small children. The catch? One pullup will cost ya $4.00.

It was pretty painful to drag the kids from the front of SW all the way back to other side of the park to locate one of the four vending machines in the park. All the while they keep asking to stop and look at this or that.

After getting the pullup on Little E, I told him not to go to the bathroom in it, to think like it was his underwear. Yeah, best laid plans.

While waiting for the Pets Ahoy show to start, Little E loudly calls out "mommy, I need to go poop!" What?!
"Are you sure?" I'm hoping he says no, because I was alone with both kids watching the show while the hubs was riding the Kracken roller coaster. So we would have abandoned our seats for another potty break.
"No. I'm good." he says.
I should have known better.

A couple of hours later I took the kids to the restroom again. It was so hot out and trying to keep the kids hydrated so what goes in, must come out. I was surprised again with a mess in Little E's pullup. Poor guy was having such a time with constipation that everytime he passed gas, it was not a pretty sight.

So we headed out again to locate another vending machine. So $8.00 later, I could've bought a whole package of pullups for what I spent on two!! The price of convenience. It's still a hard to pill to swallow.

Thankfully the second one we bought was the last one. The rest of the evening went well. No more accidents and Little E skipped dinner for a much needed nap.

I'm going to make a mental note for our next trip out and it doesn't matter where we go. I'm packing underwear, shorts, socks, wipes and a ziploc bag. I'm tired of being empty handed. I thought my diaper bag carrying days were over when the little guy was potty trained. I guess not.

Oil and Water

I survived the weekend. I knew I wasn't looking forward to having extra kids around before they showed up but I was trying to be optimistic. I know, I know, I'm a bad aunt. But speaking from previous experience when my niece came to stay once before, I knew it was going to be rough.

Rough is an understatement. From lying, breaking toys and down right refusal to listen to me was only part of the chaos.

My kids are contented to hang out in the house and play with toys or do arts and crafts. Or play in the yard without issues. Or just watch television quietly while eating mass amounts of popcorn. I don't have to constantly entertain them on rainy days. Which 2 of the 3.5 days that my niece and nephew were there, were rainy.

Oil and water. This was like mixing oil and water. As much as you shake it, it still separates. Every single time. That was us.

I'm walking away from this and taking it as a learning experience. I can honestly say that I will not have both kids come stay together again. It was just too much.


As if I hadn't had enough stress all weekend, as soon as I waved goodbye to my "extra kids" my husband and I tore the house down. Ok, not really. We decided to paint the house a few weeks ago. And this was the week. Crazy I tell you.
It went from painting the living room, to now painting the kitchen and hallways as well. I hope we can finish it by Friday. Little E's birthday party is THIS weekend. Thankfully we are having the party somewhere else.

Here are a few photos to show you. They don't do the color any justice. The lighting was horrible.




More photos to come soon this week. Of course once I find my way to the computers.

PYHO: Stuck in the Middle

Sometimes I find myself standing in my kitchen thinking about how nice things are going on in life. That there is no stress and how well the week is going. No craziness.

Life is smooth. It's like a piece of bliss. Perfect harmony.

I'm feeling self assured that my life is going in the right direction. Spiritually. Financially.

Then the rug gets pulled out from under me again.

I'm not sure who is trying to correct me. Is it Satan rearing his ugly head at me? Laughing that I actually thought life could always go so easy. Or was it God? Is he testing my devotion to him? Making me prove my worth yet again?

I've talked about how my in laws and I have strained relationships. Some days things are good between us. Usually when they keep their distance. Sadly that is the best way to keep a sane relationship with them. For me. I can't let them in too far. Of course when the holidays roll around, or a birthday celebration, it gets messy.

Father's Day was a small train wreck. I had a weak moment and decided to go to dinner with my husband's dad, his stepmom and the kids on Saturday, the night before. There was a long, let me say VERY LONG wait at the restaurant. His step mom starting getting weirded out. She couldn't sit still and we tried to make the best of the moment. Thankfully after an hour we were seated but the weirdness stepped up a bit. She ordered a glass of wine. Big mistake.
The alcohol accelerated her mood and she was loopy. She was giving the waiter a hard time about the menu. Complaining about the service. Loudly complaining about the wait for the salad bar.
She was putting me on the edge. I wanted the evening to end and everyone to finish dinner quickly. It's one thing to be uncomfortable with her at home but when it's in a public place, not so much.
We survived the evening. The only good thing about being in public with her is that when it's over, we go home. No whining that we're leaving her house. No dancing around with the kids because she's had four too many glasses of wine to drink. We just get to walk away and drive home.

Fourth of July weekend came and I thought it was going to be peaceful. We only made plans with my parents and a few friends. Tried to keep it low key. We went to church on Sunday morning before heading to the beach for the rest of the day.

It was nearing the end of the day at the beach and we were planning on going home and enjoying a nice evening with my parents coming over to our house. Then my husband gets a phone call while we're trying to load up the van. I gave him a look like are you really going to answer that now? Call who ever it is back. He quickly brushed off the caller, promising to call them back.

Then his phone chimes that he has a text. You'd think that he would wait until we're leaving to read it. But he just couldn't. It was from his dad. He was telling him that the cops were on their way to his house and that his wife was trying to have him arrested for abuse and holding her against her will. What the hell??!!

My husband turns to me and angrily says " I should have taken that phone call! I can't believe that I listened to you."

"Are you kidding me??! You're blaming me??!" I defended my actions. "As if taking that phone call was going to change anything!"

I was glad that my parents were standing there with us. They sympathized that my husband was upset but defended me as well.

I've had about enough of his family's crisis' and shenanigans. At that moment the thoughts that ran through my mind were, what now? What are we going to be expected to do? What has that crazy woman done THIS time?


Without going into more detail and making this post much longer, I'll briefly summarize the rest of it.

My husband went to his dad's house that evening, ending the rest of our fun for that day. His dad was not arrested. His step mom was arrested after attempting to attack his father in front of the officers and announcing she was going to kill him. She was taken to a mental health treatment center for observation. She was supposed to be held for 72 hours but was released after 12 hours after accepting their recommendations to seek treatment.

Currently, I am fed up with the situation. The relationship between his father and step mom are like when some one is being abused. The abusee thinks it their fault and they love the abuser, despite the crap that they put them through. That is where is dad is, he loves her and he is blaming himself for her problems. I personally believe that nothing will change. She will continue to drink, take her pills and cause problems, even if she goes to a treatment center. I used to have sympathy for his dad when dealing with her. Not anymore. So here we are, seven days away from Little E's birthday and ten from his party. I am going to take a firm stance that she not attend.

I know that my expectations are going to come with repercussions. My husband is not going to agree with me and if his step mom is not welcomed, then his father won't come. She doesn't know that we know what happened. Another issue that bothers me. His father doesn't want her to know that he told his son. Where do I with this? What do I do? I'm stuck in the middle.

Rocking the Bump

A mother's love is like no other

Unconditionally loving the new life inside of you
Rubbing my belly and your response to me with a soft kick
Feeling you move for the first time brings tears of joy to my eyes
Hearing your heartbeat and it is forever captured into my heart
When we meet face to face for the first time
it is as I have known you the whole time
We have a connection
a bond
We are mother and child
And nothing can ever take that away.

Week Recap before Dad's Day

This week has been quite a whirlwind for me. Of course it happens after I decided that I was going to be better about writing more frequently again and regular posting. I guess it happens to the best of us.

My old church was holding their annual Vacation Bible School and since Miss K enjoys and needs camps to do this summer, I agreed that she could go. It was held from 6:20pm -8:45 every night and I didn't plan on Little E being able to go. Much to my surprise, they were offering a preschool class for siblings of the school age kids that were attending. I didn't find this out until Wednesday since my mother picked up Miss K for Monday ( I was out of commission with a stomach flu) and Tuesday we had other plans.
The kids wanted to spend the night at Grandma's house on Thursday night after VBS so after dropping them off at the church, the hubs and I had the evening to ourselves. An unplanned night....alone....kidless!

After what seemed like forever for me to decide where to dine without the kids.We went to dinner at our local and favorite steak house. I wanted to go somewhere that the kids don't like to eat at, like the Chinese Buffet. I know, I'm crazy. But I love this buffet. They offer a Hibachi grill and some decent sushi. I'm picky about chinese food which makes it hard for me to order takeout. But the choice for steak worked out nicely. I was able to eat my steak while it was still warm and not deal with bathroom breaks and picky eating kids.

After dinner the hubs and I went to WalMart. Yeah, I know...another great place for a kidless night. I needed to pick up a birthday gift for a party we're going to on Saturday afternoon and it's so much easier to shop in the toy department without my two. It felt like old times, meandering through the store...the quiet.. the alone time. Of course, I took my big kid, the third child in the family..yes, hubs, to the electronics department. He convinced me to buy a movie.

So the evening ended with us watching Battle:Los Angeles on the home theater, shaking the house down. It was really nice.

Today, started my weekend for Father's Day. My dad wanted to have his truck washed for his gift. I agreed to take care of it for him and take his truck where I get my van washed. I've been taking my van there for quite some time and never had a problem. Of course something had to happen to my dad's truck. Going through the machine, his mirrors stick out farther and the passenger one was pushed in by the machine. I didn't notice it until I pulled out to leave, the glass in the mirror was shattered. Just great. Thankfully, after speaking with the manager, he assured me that he would replace the mirror at the company's expense. Whew!

This weekend is going to be really fun. We're going to a birthday party for a friend's son, a Father's Day dinner with in laws on Saturday early evening and Sunday we're going to Sea World with hub's brother and family. The kids can hardly wait!

How are you celebrating the Father's in your life? Hope you have a great weekend!

PYHO: Unhappy Holidays

Holidays, birthdays, celebrations and get togethers should be fun and enjoyable. I think once upon a time those events were something to enjoy. Now I dread when another holiday is rounding the corner. I actually stress out about it before it ever happens. It shouldn't be this way. But after getting married, you add another person's family to the mix.

Family. Family is complicated enough without having complicated people to make it worse. Before kids, life was good. There were no calls to see where we were going. But it changed after Miss K was born, it all went downhill after that.

Whose house are we going for Christmas Eve? Christmas morning? Dinner? How long does each grandparent get at their house? Can we come back after being at so and so's house for dessert? You're not coming here for Easter? Will you be making it for your dad's birthday? Fourth of July?
All those questions that drive me crazy. But it has gotten worse over the years. It has gotten to the point that if we make plans a few weeks in advance with one family another one is bound to ask us to do something. And when we decline the second offer, that person gets snippy. It's beyond ridiculous!
Mother's Day is no exception to the rule. My husband's step mother is the one who has made me dread the one day, besides my birthday, that I should be enjoying. We've even had rude phone calls between each other because she expects us to spend the holiday with her. She is not his mother! She has never been regarded that way. Although in her twisted mind, she some how thinks that she is more of a mother to my husband and his brother, than their own.
This year was like no other. She was asking yet again if we would be coming to their condo to visit. Nope. I flat out told her in person that we would be spending the day with our mothers.
Even after I told her our plans, she continued to whine about how we never go to see them. She has lost her mind. Of course even with her out of the way, Mother's Day was not centered around this mama. We spent our day taking care of hubs' mom and mine. I really wish that sometimes we lived a bit farther away.
Now that Father's Day is approaching she has already started her crap. My husband mentioned a few days ago about going to this nice italian restaurant on Father's Day with his dad, step mom,my parents and us with the kids. It was his dad and step mom's idea. I figured I should test the water on this one with my father since he usually likes to go on a guy's fishing trip with my brother and husband.
After suggesting the idea to my dad about going to dinner on FD, he scowled. He said he doesn't want to spend his day eating out with mobs of people. Ugh. I figured it was a no go even before asking since 1. he does not like italian food and 2. he does not like to drive more than ten minutes away to go to dinner. 3. If he's going to eat at an expensive restaurant he is going to choose the place.
So I told the hubs last night that we will have to make different plans with my dad. No problem.
Yeah right!! I get a text last night from "step monster". She tells me that the restaurant does not reservations for less than 10 people. Obviously she is assuming that my parents are going so I reply that we have nine, not including my parents, but including my husband's brother and his family. She flat out writes back "We are not paying for Steve's family". What?!

She obviously was not inviting her husband's other son! She has some nerve. I told her that my parents would not be going. She didn't like that answer. The conversation continued on back and forth and then she tells me the menu prices $18-29 a plate. Oh my. I realize that this place might not be "kid friendly" and check out some websites with reviews on the restaurant. It's got mixed reviews. Good food, but so so service.

I decided that I wasn't keen on taking the kids to a fancy shmancy restaurant where we might get treated differently because we have children under the age of 10. We did that once in Daytona and we were seated on the other side of the restaurant where there was NO ONE. I suggested to my husband that maybe we should go to a more family friendly restaurant for Father's Day and go to this place another time. He agreed.

Then the "step monster" starts texting again about going on Saturday night on FD weekend and I tell her I'll let her know after we figure out what we're doing for my dad. The tone changes. She abruptly tells me that she is taking his dad. She tells me to make sure I tell my husband what HER plans are. Uh huh. Will do, biatch. She has struck a nerve with me and I begin ranting and fuming about her attitude.
I'm done. I told my husband that I want to move far enough away that we are not expected to go to things like this and can send a card for these days. I'm over the drama. As far as I'm concerned we're spending Father's Day alone. Our kids and us. It's his day too.
I'm not looking forward to Memorial Day weekend. The psycho drama is beyond my threshold.