Unveiling: ONYD

This past Tuesday Kristi at Live and Love Outloud retired her "OH NO HE DIDN'T" meme. She posted that if anyone would like to run with it that they could. So I am going to give it my best shot! I've renamed it and hope that it will give me a good run! I hope to get some of her loyal participants to join along and make this a success!
I am unveiling this early to give y'all a heads up! Hope you'll spread the word! And see you next Tuesday!





Welcome to the “OH NO HE DIDN’T!” TUESDAY Headquarters. I’m so excited that you’ve decided to play along!

Here are the rules:

1. Write a post about something that the cashier at the checkout, the
guy on the freeway did, your husband, your wife or best friend
may have said or done recently that made you stop and say
“OH NO YOU DIDN’T!” Your posts can be as sweet, sarcastic, or tongue in cheek style YOU choose. You can vlog it, type it or even add photos and cartoons.

2. Include a little blurb or add an “OH NO YOU DIDN’T!” button to your blog post or sidebar and link back to my blog. Need some help?Copy and paste the following HTML code to display an “OH NO YOU DIDN’T!” buttonin your post or sidebar.

3. Add your link to the Mister Linky form at the bottom of my “OH NO YOU DIDN’T!” TUESDAY posts each week. Be sure to use the direct link to your “OH NO YOU DIDN’T!” post. To get this, click on your post then copy the URL in your browser and paste it into Mister Linky.

4. Last, but not least…stop by and visit some of the other awesome “OH NO YOU DIDN’T!” participants. It’s a nice thing to do. Besides, I’ll be visiting all of your posts too!

Please no Follow Me along posts unless you are including your ONYD post along with it. Thanks and happy Tuesday!

I’m really excited about this and hope you all play along. Spread the word, tell a friend and let’s have some fun! Now go and get your posts ready for Tuesday’s meme. I’m dying to read them all!

Withdrawals

I'm having computer withdrawals...thankfully my husband has let me borrow his Mac. Little E has had this obsession with my computer charger cord and I have gotten onto him more than once about unplugging it. Just yesterday he was swinging it around like a weapon and I took it from him twice. This morning while I was trying to edit photos from our Pumpkin Patch outing my computer turned off. I wasn't quite sure why since I didn't use it last night. I took my laptop to the charger and plugged it in. But to my surprise, nothing happened.

I checked the plug and found that the end that goes into the computer has this tiny little pin. Apparently that little, teeny, tiny pin is what sends the power to the computer. Well, that little pin was bent. Carefully I tried to bend it back to straight with a small screwdriver and it snapped. Just great! No cord= no power= no computer!

I knew that Little E must have damaged my plug cord and I was pretty upset about it. I called the hubs and cried " why can't I ever have anything nice!? Why are the kids always destroying my stuff!!?" I recently had to retire the Dell laptop because one too many launches off the recliner arm resulted in a cracked LCD screen. So the hubs gave me his HP laptop that he recently acquired and bought a Macbook. Now I'm without mine until we purchase a new cord.

Little E was quite sweet about the predicament and knew that I was upset about it. This evening on my way home from taking Miss K to dance class he tells me "sorry Mommy about breaking your cord. I sorry." How could I not accept that cute apology? Hopefully after getting a new one he will keep his mitts off of it.

You'd think being able to keep the hubs' Mac hostage for a few days would be heaven but this computer and I don't get along very well. I don't understand it and it doesn't have a jump drive to stick in my SD card so I have to plug in the camera. Yeah, I know.. whine whine. So until I get mine back I won't be uploading my cute pics of the kids.

End of Summer Dessert

Please excuse this horrible picture. I thought
about taking a photo of this dessert in the car and I was without
my camera. So my husband took this picture
with his iPhone.

I don't have a name for this dessert dish because
I kinda just made it up. It was fabulous but I want to make some
changes on it for the next one.
So for now it's called Carrot Surprise

Ingredients:
1 Box Carrot Cake mix
3 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup water
1/2 cup applesauce
1/4 cup walnuts
1 container fluffy white cake frosting
1 box instant french vanilla pudding
1 3/4 cup milk
1 20oz canned chunk pineapple-drained
1 1/2 large bananas
shredded coconut
canned whipped cream
2 9"round cake pans

Preheat oven to box directions. Prepare cake mix with eggs, applesauce, oil, nuts and water. Follow box directions on mixing/beating. Bake according to directions on box. Remove cakes when toothpick inserted comes clean. Let cool and remove 1 cake into large serving dish with high sides to allow for pudding. Reserve the other cake to eat.
Frost cake with half of white frosting. You can omit frosting if you like, I did it so the cake wouldn't get mushy since we were not going to be eating it immediately. Prepare pudding with milk ( 1 3/4 cup milk makes the pudding custard thickness). Allow pudding to thicken while stirring with a wire whisk. Pour over cake.
Cut bananas into small slices and place around pudding and on top. Place pineapple that was previously drained around pudding on the edging of the bowl. Sprinkle with coconut to your liking.
Chill at least 30 minutes to let set.
Cut and serve and top with whipped cream.

5QF: Loving Life

Wow, this is like the first week that Friday
creeped in slowly and I've enjoyed the relaxation.
Life is grand!
I changed Miss K's dance schedule so I only have to drive to the studio
on Tuesday and Friday.
The stress of driving 30 minutes there and back
3 times a week, 3 days in a row was
getting to me.

1. Did you have a pen pal when you were little (or now)? Where were/are they from? Yes, I had a pen pal when I was in elementary school. I don't remember much else.

2. If you could do a different job for one day, what would it be? Well I am a full time stay at home and a part-part time motorcycle parts person/phone answerer for my parent's motorcycle shop. I would like to be a forensic crime scene investigator. That used to be my dream job before I had kids. But that is a demanding job that requires you to be on call so I didn't continue to pursue it.

3. Do you remember your biggest fear from when you were little? I was afraid of the dark ( I'm still afraid of it, here's a post, but I have gotten better in the past few months) and I would freak out if I had to take out the trash. My parents lived, and still live on this big hill with a long, high driveway. So you had to walk way down the hill and take the trash to the cans which were placed near the woods. Creeeepy. I was terrified of doing that job and I would bribe my brother to do it for me.

4. What do you think is a waste of time? Why? This one is a hard one for me because there are a lot of things that I think are a waste of time, like washing my van because hours after I do it the sand from the road covers it but it's necessary to do it or cleaning my sliding glass doors because once they're clean the kids have to wipe their hands on them or walk up to it while I'm cleaning them and squish their noses on the clean glass. But it's necessary to clean them because it drives my OCD nuts!

5. What is the oldest item you have in your closet? I have a satin jewelry box that I had when I was a little girl. It still has old necklaces, broaches, pins and bracelets that I collected when I was little. The broach I have is probably older than the box because my grandmother gave it to me.

This week I'm also linking up with The Girl Creative
and Trendy Treehouse for some
New Friend Friday
I've been in such a good mood lately
and finally managed my schedule, the kids schedule
and work to make more time for my regular blogging again.
I don't like to participate unless I'm serious and going to have
the time follow others back.
So for you newcomers, thanks for stopping in
and checking out my blog.

PYHO: 2nd Grade Blues

Up until this school year I have always thought my seven year old, Miss K was a intelligent child. At six months she starting talking, at nine months she crawled, at ten months she walked and at two years old she sang the Pledge of Allegiance.
Learning the basics for entering school came to her so easily and upon entering Kindergarten I was not nervous about her ability to learn. We had our struggles with her social behavior because she likes to talk. Other than that he classwork was average for a five year old.
First grade was another struggle with her inability to stop talking to friends but her classwork was a breeze. Her handwriting skills were above the rest of the kids in her class and she was in the highest reading level.
But this year has been a struggle. It's not just the homework that she is having difficulty with she is also having a hard time taking tests. Miss K can read a 40 page book quite well but if you ask her the point of the story. Blank stare. We have tried breaking down the story into sections and she still has a hard time with that. Reviewing the story several times still doesn't help much and when she has to answer a question about the book she looks to my husband or myself to give her the answer. She won't try.
I try not to get frustrated with her but when reading books turns her to tears it breaks my heart. I don't know how to help her. We have requested easier books to see if we can step back a little and find what works for her. We skipped doing the reading homework this evening since we spent four, yes four hours working on it last night.
We tackled math which is another subject she is currently struggling in. I'm not sure what these teachers are teaching her or if she is even listening. I have questioned the possibility of ADD to her pediatrician and he turns a blind eye. He feels it's her age that is causing her to be unable to pay attention and focus in class.
We are having a parent/teacher conference this Friday. I'm hoping together we can find the problem with Miss K and find what works for her. Maybe her way of learning is different and we have to find it. I'm hoping to find answers.

Friday Fragments #113

It's been awhile since I played along with Friday Fragments
and I've missed it.
Fragments are how my mind usually thinks. Snippets
here and there and all over everywhere.

If you live in Florida or have ever visited this lovely state
during love bug season you know exactly how I feel.
It's "that" time of year and they are breeding hence the name
LOVE BUG.
I washed my van yesterday and removed all their dead bodies
from it and if you looked at it today you
would never know it. And if you don't remove them from the paint
the acid eats the paint. It's just lovely.

Photo courtesy of photobucket


I am going out of town with my husband for two days. We are
heading to St. Petersburg to watch the Tampa Bay Rays play and then we
will be watching a concert on the field following the game.
We'll be staying at a hotel near the stadium and on Sunday morning
following breakfast we'll head to Tarpon Springs.
At the fishing docks there they have the greatest Greek town
and amazing greek restaurants.
I can't wait!!


I bought a new pair of sunglasses today. I actually spent $19.99
on this pair. I usually try to not spend so much because
I break them or lose them. But they looked so good on
I couldn't resist.

Don't pay attention to the fact that I modeled these for this
photo just now and have no make up on.
Sad.
And this was funny when I went to edit this
picture, I realized that my smile is just like my younger
brother's. hehe. We have the same smile.
I miss him. It so sad that he lives 7.5 hours away.



This is another hilarious thing. Last night after Miss K took
her dance outfit off, tights and leotard Little E grabbed her tights.
He's been a real nut lately and he shoved them on his head and
said he was a monster.
Not really scary, but pretty darn funny!!
Wait until he's 18 and is going to college
he's going to love it when I pull out
his scrapbook and show his friends!!


It's already the end of September and I feel like
I'm slacking on the Halloween costume department. I am
usually on my A game and have the ideas picked out.
This year I'm debating on making homemade ones
or buying store ones. I detest buying the ones at Wal-Mart or Target.
I prefer getting them at the costume store if I HAVE TO.
But I really like making them.
But I may be out of time.
Miss K 3 Yrs old- Halloween 2006

Pour Your Heart Out: Nightmare of Reality

I woke up hoping it was all a nightmare. Sleep was overrated and I didn't even rest deep enough to get to the point for dreams. I rolled over in my bed and felt the cold spot next to me. The unused pillow lay next to me and the room was quiet except for the sound of the radio. It wasn't a bad dream it was the reality that my husband wasn't there. It was one of the worst nights of my life and it wasn't the first one, unknowable to me.

Like a machine I moved through my morning routine trying not to let the pain show. If I didn't think about the obvious absence of him it wouldn't be so bad. Waking the kids wasn't cheerful for me even though I smiled at their sleepy faces. They didn't ask where he was and it made the start of the day a bit easier.

My niece had spent the night and I needed to keep three children busy while making them breakfast. It was a quiet breakfast with the sound of cartoons in the background. I had previously planned to take them out for the day and tried to stay focused on getting out of the house. If I kept myself busy with them and left the emptiness, I might have been able to hold it together.

I didn't plan on my husband walking away from our marriage. Who does?

Sadly, my sister in law showed up early that morning to pick up her daughter. I was sad for my daughter who was looking forward to spending the afternoon with her. To not upset her anymore, I still kept the plans to take the kids out. I needed to get out of the house. Staying there would only keep reminding me that my husband was gone.

He wasn't talking to me, he wasn't answering his phone and I wasn't quite sure where we stood.

After a few phone calls from concerned family and friends, I loaded the kids in the van to go out. We met up with my best friend and her daughters and spent the morning playing at a Family Fun Fair. Afterwords we went out to lunch. My friend was being very supportive and let me choose where to go. I picked a restaurant I had never been at before in hopes to keep my mind off the situation at hand.

It wasn't easy with a 3 year old and a 6 year old. They were fighting over toys and who was going to sit next to mommy. The daily thing that wouldn't normally bother me too much. My patience was thin and I tried blocking it out. This wasn't fair. I was left to take care of our children and had no escape. I managed lunch the best that I could and didn't care if either of them finished their meal or not. I couldn't stop dwelling on the fact that the day was half over and still no phone call from my husband.

My friend wanted to go to Target and I agreed to go to avoid going back home alone. The grocery shopping was not much fun. I had to get some items we were out of but I had no idea if I should buy certain things or not. Why should I buy items that only he uses if he's not coming back? Why did everything have to make me think about the problem at hand? Why couldn't I just block it out?? I was so weak mentally at this point, I even let the kids convince me to buy them chocolate morsels and open them while leaving the store.

It was going on five o'clock at this point and I knew that letting them eat chocolate was a big mistake. On the way home Little E fell asleep which was not a good idea but considering how drained I was feeling it didn't matter. After getting home and putting him to bed for a late nap, I sat down and felt all alone. The fear of the unknown was creeping in on me.

By 6:30 I couldn't even think of what I was going to cook. Thank God for great friends because my best friend bought and delivered a pizza for us for dinner. I was failing as a strong mother and woman at this point and letting depression take over. Something that my medication couldn't even keep from happening.

I couldn't take it much more and texted my husband's stepmother to see if she had heard if he was coming home. Waiting for the cell phone to ding it's familiar chime for a text I jumped when it did. I was washing the dishes and couldn't get my gloves off fast enough to see what it said.

It was him.

He was telling me that he would not be coming home again this evening and that I needed to stop calling and bothering everyone else about his whereabouts. Really? He left me and now he was calling the shots? I guess at that point what choice did I have. I wanted him to come home to discuss what the hell was going on so I had to comply. If I turned irate and went all kinds of crazy then he was definitely not coming home.

After several minutes of text he was gone again. I was crushed. I called my best friend in sobbing tears and tried to speak to her. She couldn't understand my uncontrollable weeping and said "I'll be right there." I continued to bawl my eyes out, something I didn't want to do in front of the kids. But the pain was too unbearable anymore and I felt like I was hitting rock bottom.

My other best friend showed up unknowing the state I was in. She was stopping by to check in on me and found me weeping. By the time she had me sitting back down my other best friend had showed up. They tried their best to calm me down and helped take care of my kids for me. I am forever grateful to them for being there for me. I hope I never have to be there for them under the same circumstances but I will be in a heartbeat if the situation arises.

After a few glasses of wine, to calm my nerves, and a few hours of talking my friends went home to their families. I was alone again in a quiet house. I went through my normal routine of closing the house up and settling in bed for the evening. It was going to be a long night. Exhausted from the mental anguish, I passed out watching tv. The television, my personal pacifier.

I woke up, wishing it was all a bad dream, another nightmare but I rolled over and saw the empty spot next to me. The pillow was cold and the comforter on that side untouched. I survived another evening and a full day without knowing where my life stood. Could I do it again?


This post was inspired by Mama Kat's writer's workshop writing prompts from last week's choices. I am also submitting this as my Pour Your Heart with Shell at Thing's I Can't Say.