life...unscripted

How is it..

2010-05-18T12:54:00.000-05:00

..that I can be so unsatisfied with the look of my blog each and every day? Each and every change? What looks fine one day looks like trash the next. I'm such fickle person..or maybe, I'm just too much of a perfectionist. Ya, let's go with that last one.

Natural Born Gardener

2010-05-05T13:44:00.000-05:00

I like to think that I was born to garden. Both of my parents are avid gardeners after all.

Year after year, my mother has some of the most beautiful and successful flower gardens that I've seen. I don't know that she knows a great deal about the plants like my father does, but she knows what she likes and what seems to go well together. She's diligent in maintaining it too which makes all the difference if you ask me. My father on the other hand is a vegetable grower. One of my fondest childhood memories is of sitting in his vegetable garden and eating the peas straight from the plant. In his former life, my father was a science teacher and in his spare time he helped run the high school's greenhouse. Everything I've learned about growing vegetables, I've learned from him.

Last year I experimented with growing some of my own vegetables last year. I was either very successful (with peppers and onions) or not successful at all (zucchini and cucumber - and just 3 small green tomatoes). This year my garden has grown and I'm hoping to have even more success.

This year I planted 2 varieties of tomatoes, 2 cucumbers, cantaloupe, peas, carrots, red and yellow onions, garlic, 3 different pepper plants, red and green cabbage, potatoes, strawberries, and a few different types of lettuce. I even planted some herbs: sweet basil, cilantro, chives, and Italian parsley.

I'm also trying something called square foot gardening. I learned about it at a seminar on raised bed gardening and it seemed perfect for gardening in the limited space that we have.

Even if we don't get a large crop this year, it's been fun planning and planting this garden. Big Daddy and O have been heavily involved in the process and it's been enjoyable to have the whole family involved.

A Glimpse Into The Future

2010-04-29T15:04:00.003-05:00

I think today I got a glimpse into the future of my son's life. It wasn't some big ah ha moment where I saw my son heading off to chase his dreams. It was actually something far simpler and a great deal more silly.
I instantly wished I had had my camera with me or my phone at the very least to capture the moment for prosperity.

This morning, the boy and I headed off to a friend's house to look after her two children and nephew. These are my son's very best friends and when they get together it's always something to behold (good and bad). Today we spent most of the morning outside playing. The kids were having a blast riding on bikes, throwing a ball around, chasing each other, and riding around on the battery powered kid vehicles. There I am lounging in a chair, soaking up the sun, my eyes closed and head back minding my own business really when I hear the laughter of 3 little boys, one say "hop on" and the gunning of an electric motor. More laughter ensued. Of course I opened my eyes to see what was going on and that's when I caught a glimpse of the future. There was my son, bottle (of water) tipped up as he drank while one of his buddies drove and the other straddled the hood of his sister's pink Barbie jeep. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if 10-15 years from now if I see the same scene before me except with a real vehicle.

Now that is a scary thought!

Yet Another Month..

2010-04-27T11:51:00.000-05:00

And so another month has passed and I've yet to get this blogg as I'd like it, but you know what? It is what it is. I'll continue to make changes as I go, but as of today, I'm getting this blog back online and to the masses. I know, you feel terribly lucky.

Now it's time to test out last month's theory. Will I or won't I keep up with this blog now that I've got a new look (and a ton more time to spare)?

Under Construction..again..

2010-03-21T22:21:00.001-05:00

After much debate, and a whole lot of procrastinating, I'm changing the look of my blog. I'm the picky sort, so this is going to take me a while but I hope you'll bare with me.

(I'm hoping this will motivate me to get back into blogging. Getting a new computer just didn't seem to do the trick.)

To Do

2009-12-06T22:06:00.003-06:00

My 'To Do' list is always varied in length, but these days it seems to be growing and growing. It's through no fault but my own, I know. But I'm ever so spectacular at procrastinating. One of these days I'll get on the ball.

1. Get Christmas presents. - I really need to do this. I haven't purchased a single thing..for anybody. I'm way behind here.

2. Do Christmas cards - Again, I'm way behind the eight ball on this one. I need to pick out a picture and get a card made. Not to mention I then have to address all the envelopes and send them out.

3. Laundry - It's starting to pile up.

4. Send out some emails - Some of this I have already done. My list of people to email was getting rather large, but I put a pretty good dent into that list this evening.

5. Vacuum and clean bathrooms - Those things are always on the list for Monday. I suppose I thought I needed a little extra reminder this week.

6. Pay bills - Another thing that always seems to be on the list.

7. Get prepared for city council meeting - The first, but probably not last time I will have to get up in front of the council and make a presentation (I'll explain more later).

8. More research on community gardens - Again, another story for another time.

9. Exercise - See how far down on my list it is?

10. Try to relax and not think about trying to get pregnant. - Did I mention that Big Daddy and I were actively trying? No? Well..guess what?

Okay..so that's my top 10 things I need to do. I'm positive there are more and if there isn't, some will likely find their way on. Don't you just love Mondays?

The House That Jack Built

2009-12-05T21:22:00.003-06:00

We loved our home when we first bought it and I guess for the most part, we still do, sort of. What's not to love? We have almost 3000 square feet of livable space. I have a front porch that, while lacking in real size and charm, we enjoy sitting out on. We have a decent enough sized back yard for O to play. We have a walk in pantry that has a ton of space. The rooms are all fairly large and we have lots of room to put up visitors. But that's where the love stops.

Have you ever seen the show 'Holmes on Homes'? If you haven't, it's worth taking a look at - especially if you own your own home. I wish I had a Mike Holmes.

Our house is a tract house. In case you don't know what that means..a tract house is one in a community of tract houses that were built from a few plans as quickly and cheaply as possible (read - very poorly made). I don't imagine all tract houses were made poorly, but ours certainly was. The first full winter we were in this house we noticed how cold our house felt and in particular, Bug's room. This house ooooozed cold air and our electric bills proved it. We spent close to $1500 during three of the peak winter months that first year! The windows are horrible (but look pretty from the outside). The insulation is questionable and there were gaps and holes around every door and window!
This only scratches the surface of my house woes but most of my woes pertain to the cosmetic aspects of the house and not the structure. Thankfully, we haven't been hit with anything major as of yet, but..I'm waiting. That's how confidently pessimistic I am on this one.

I get that builders are looking to make money. My town, during the big housing boom, was one of the fastest growing towns in Texas. You couldn't build houses fast enough at one point. But does that really negate building a home properly and with quality workmanship? I guess it did. Of course it's at no cost to them once the 1 year warranty expires. Even though our home had only been lived in a month prior to us purchasing it, there was no warranty and therefore the builder didn't have to fix any of the problems we found. Instead, we are the ones left fixing what they didn't or didn't care to do correctly in the first place.

How sad..

Just a Little While Longer..

2009-12-03T19:09:00.002-06:00

..until I can enjoy this (in peace and quiet)..

It's been cold and blowy here in the lonestar state and tomorrow there is even a chance of snow accumulating on the ground. I finally conned Big Daddy into making a fire for me tonight. Now I'm just waiting for my Bug to go to bed so I can enjoy my fire without having some kid show drowning out the crackle of the fire.

Inside the Mind of My (previously) 3 Year Old

2009-11-18T22:03:00.003-06:00

Have any of you ever wondered what was going through the mind of your child at any given moment. I do and often. There are times when I look at my son, when he doesn't think that I'm watching him, and I catch him day dreaming with this secret smile gracing his lips. He's lost in his thoughts and whatever they are, they bring this joyous happy look to his face! It's amazing really.
One day this past March, I decided I would see if I could get some insight as to what goes on in that brain of his. I sat down with him and asked him some questions that I found on a friend's facebook. I thought that it would be interesting to see what his answers were even if I wasn't certain that he would completely understand what I was asking him. Here are our questions and answers:

1. What is something mom always says to you?
Get out of the way

2. What makes mom happy?
Cleaning up

3. What makes mom sad?
Dumping clothes out of the laundry basket

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
The poop game - pretend ocean creatures are pooping out other ocean creatures on his head in the bathtub.

5. What was your mom like as a child?
A girl

6. How old is your mom?
3 like I am

7. How tall is your mom?
You're big, 300 feet

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
Clean up

9. What does your mom do when you are not home?
Work

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
Work

11. What is your mom really good at?
Saying no to the dog

12. What is your mom not good at?
I don't know

13. What does your mom do for a job?
Movie Star

14. What is your mom's favorite food?
quesedillias or tacos

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
I don't know

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Chomper's Mama - from The Land Before Time

17. What do you and your mom do together?
Fish

18. How are you and your mom the same?
We're white

19. How are you and your mom different?
I'm a boy and you're a girl

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
You give me jelly beans

21. What does your mom like most about your dad?
He's stinky

22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
Wal-mart and Ohio State

Six months have come and gone, but I still thought it would be interesting to see what his answers are to these same questions now and so stay tuned for the next installment.

Hello..is it Me You're Looking For..

2009-11-12T22:37:00.003-06:00

So..many moons have passed since I blogged about..well..anything really. But, as you might have read in yesterday's post, I'm back from my hiatus. Things are at a dull roar here, my computer issue is beyond fixed and I've found my desire to write once more.

Much has gone on in the past months that I wanted to share with you kiddies. It's by no means anything to be over the moon about, just some things that I thought were worth sharing. For instance I had the opportunity to take a vacation with my sisters to New York City. No children. No husbands. It was utterly fantastic and just what I needed.

We also had to find a new home for that little bundle of cuteness that I wrote about back in February. While we loved our pup, we just weren't the right mix for each other. Even though O still cries over him every now and again, the pup has a wonderful home with other dogs and ponds to play in.

I started "working" again this year. I say I work, I mean I do get paid, but my kid does most of the work. To help supplement some of the money that Big Daddy loses each month, I decided to watch some children after school for a few hours each day. It doesn't pay much, but it covers the part of B.D.'s salary that was cut.

Our neighbours/ best friends moved 20 minutes away to another town. It doesn't seem like much, but when you are used to seeing each other every day, the distance becomes quite pronounced. While we still see them a few times a month, it's just not the same. I miss them! :(

Religion has always been a part of my life, whether I believed in it or not. But for Big Daddy it is something relatively new to him. A few years back he went to a church when we lived in another state. He was curious about God and religion and so he thought he should see what it was all about. Sadly, the experience left such a bad taste in his mouth that I didn't think I would ever see him step foot in another church again. I'm happy to say that this year has found him going to church every Sunday and was he even baptized at Easter time!

So that's the reader's digest version of what's been going on here. There is some more to tell you about, but those things I mentioned I believe to be the biggies. And frankly, I'm tired tonight and I should be getting myself to bed. I had O sleeping with me last night (B.D. is away working again - at least some things don't change, huh?) and it made for a slightly tiresome day.

So farewell and goodnight kiddies. I look forward to blogging to you more!

I'm Back!!

2009-11-11T22:35:00.002-06:00

After a long absence..I'm back! Computer issues resolved!! I have soooooooooo much to share with you kiddies though of course they are all passe. Oh well, you'll get over it!

Speak to you soon!!

Note to Gail

2009-08-26T14:24:00.002-05:00

I'll be back dear friend. No need to beg hehe. You know how I've mentioned computer problems? Well, they haven't gotten any better. I need a new laptop or desktop for that matter. This one just isn't cutting it at all and Big Daddy is stingy with his (it may have something to do with the fact that it's his company's computer; I don't know).

I haven't forgotten about you. I try to get on to read your blog, but as above, I REALLY need a new computer. This one is just sooooooooooooo slow. I've gotten all the memory I can, but it still stinks. It takes forever for pages to load. To be honest, I'm actually surprised it's working at a half decent pace today. Watch, I've probably jinxed it now and when I go to publish it'll eat my post.

And on that note, I'm going to head on out of here. Just know that you haven't been forgotten and can't wait to start actively reading your blog again and catching up.

Lots of Hugs

Finding Time

2009-03-04T13:29:00.002-06:00

I think I set the bar too high for myself with this blogging once a day challenge. Obviously I'm not living up to the goal I set, but for plenty of reasons. It's not that I'm just too lazy to blog daily (though there are days where I just don't feel like it). Life has been hectic with having had surgery, a new puppy, a computer that just wouldn't cooperate, a young boy who loves having his Mama's undivided attention, a house that oddly enough does not clean itself, and lately..much warmer weather and longer days. Oh and then there is sleep, I can't forget about that. I've been finding that I'm needing to hit the sack around 10pm these days. I guess when you don't sleep well at night, you need to go to bed earlier to get all the required hours of zzz's. With all of those things, I just let the blogging go to the wayside. It's only natural I suppose. Everything else, minus the computer issues, are too important to set aside for the sake of blogging.

Why am I blogging now you may ask? Well, I'm combining being outside in the gorgeous spring weather with blogging. Critter is busy playing in his sandbox or on his swing set while the pup sleeps at my feet. The chores have been done for the most part and I'm able to relax a while. Lucky you!

There is much to tell you about kiddies. There is plenty of things going on in our household, but I think I'll save all the details for a later date. I wouldn't want to overload you with stuff, yanno? So that's it for now. I need to tire out the kidlets even more - more like tire out myself, but hey! Maybe I'll sleep more soundly tonight. There's always hope!

Bed Bug

2009-02-22T21:29:00.004-06:00

So it's been a few days and I can't say that I'm feeling all that much better. I mean, I feel better to some extent, but I'm no where near where I thought I would be in my recovery from Wednesday's surgery.

I never anticipated that I would have this much discomfort from such a short and simple procedure. But here I am at the end of day 4 and I'm still unable to sit in a chair for more then a few minutes and very awkwardly at that. Can you believe that? For dinner I sit with one cheek on the chair, the other off as my opposite leg braces my body weight. Thank the good Lord we have bar stool height table and chairs or I'd be stuck standing to eat.
I'm still bleeding, which I'm not sure is normal or not. Given the location of my surgery I'm inclined to think that this might all a part of the healing process. Of course I'm not bleeding copious amounts, but I think I'm still going to give the doc a ring in the morning just to be safe. I'm a little unsure of this sort of thing.

It's a totally random thought, but I wonder if I'll get my period this next time?

So the only things that I'm excelling at are laying down and having multiple, daily, long, hot baths (laying out in the tub of course). B.D. is complaining because I'm using all the water. I guess he shouldn't have coerced me into having this surgery then.

That's about all for now kiddies. I'm off to take me a pain pill so I can finally get a good night's sleep. Between my body working against me, some discomfort, O waking me up in the middle of the night screaming and crying because of night terrors and B.D. jostling the bed, I'm just not sleeping well. Maybe tonight will be my lucky night.

Healing..Nothing More Than Healing

2009-02-19T08:13:00.003-06:00

I'm holed up here in my bed recovering from my surgery yesterday. All went well. The cyst was removed, though it went a little deeper into the wall of cervix than expected. As a result, I had to have a couple of stitches but everything else went as planned.

Walking and sitting is very difficult so I just lay in bed. You would think that I'd enjoy it given all the craziness we've had around here the last two weeks, but even laying still in bed gets boring and tiresome. I guess that just means I have more time for you kiddies!

Plus One

2009-02-19T07:16:00.005-06:00

If life was hectic before, it's become insane now! I didn't have a whole lot of free time before hand, but now it's just plain gone. All of it. POOF! Right out the window. The reason for said madness in my house is this ball of cuteness:

This is Ozzie, the newest member of our family. After much harassing, begging, and pleading B.D. broke down and let us get a dog. I had wanted a grown up dog; one already trained and housebroken. But B.D. wanted a puppy that would grow up with Critter. I had to admit the idea had merit and so, I relented. How could I say no to this little guy anyway? And so we adopted the little ball of fluff.

Ozzie being what he is, a puppy, has been a ton of work. Because he is still very young, isn't house trained, chases the cats, and loves to chew on everything, I need to watch him at all times. It's been like having another child in the house.

Thank goodness for B.D. and that there is two of us here - most days at least - to make sure the hooligan's needs are well looked after.

Yesterday The Tax Man Cometh..

2009-02-04T12:51:00.003-06:00

..and in the very same day, the banker man taketh away.

In one foul swoop, our income tax has been eaten up by bills. That's our fault though. We didn't have much in savings and what we did have, we used to make 3 trips up north to see our families this summer and early fall. Of course we could have not taken them but the trips were important to us. Not only had we not seen everyone in a year, but we had a family member pass away who's funeral it was imperative to be at. It just cost us money that we didn't have at the time. So now we're paying for them..and a new living room set we purchased at the beginning of last year (another something we didn't need - but thought we did).

So, thankfully we received a decent chunk of money back from the IRS this year and have been able to eliminate most of our credit card debt. That's my optimism showing through - the silver lining. Aren't you proud of me? LOL Lets hope I can remain this positive when we really start to feel the results of B.D.'s 10% decrease in pay. January didn't seem so bad, but that we just one month. Let's see what the rest of the year brings.

In The Wrong Kinda Groove

2009-02-02T21:45:00.002-06:00

It's de-cluttering time kiddies. I feel like I'm in a bit of a rut again and it's time to get rid of the stuff that isn't working and make an effort to incorporate the stuff that does. Now it's just figuring out what isn't working. Doesn't sound too hard right? I'll let you know when I figure it out I guess.

It's The End..

2009-02-01T22:34:00.002-06:00

..of football season. It was a good year I think. Big Daddy might not agree with that statement considering Thee Ohio State Buckeyes lost their BCS bowl game. He was also rooting for the Cardinals to win tonight. Not to mention his two teams (Green Bay and Cincinnati) didn't even make the playoffs this year. I however, was cheering for the Steelers (B.D. was happy to see Santonio Holmes make the game winning touchdown though - him being a former Buckeye and all).

So here we are at the end of not just football but our sport watching for the most part. We'll watch a few more Leaf's games if they come on NHLN and other then that only March Madness is left before football starts up again. Maybe now I'll get to watch some of my shows for change.

The Inmates Escaped!

2009-01-31T23:04:00.008-06:00

Today was a family day for our small crew. We've decided we don't have enough of those - even though it cost us a few dollars. Lately we've been busy with other things that we haven't taken the time to really get away from the house for more then a couple of hours and even then, most trips are errands.

So today we ventured to a place called Frank Buck Zoo in Leonard Park. It's a small zoo, but it's a very doable walk for a 3 year old and that was certainly part of the plan. We packed a picnic lunch and made the 45 minute drive with ample time to see all of the animals and play at the rather large playground just outside the zoo doors. The weather was fantastic! I don't think we could have picked a better day; 70 degrees with just a gentle breeze.

I think the day was a hit with everyone despite the slightly rocky start and briefly horrid end (that's what you get with a 3 yr old takes a nap in the car for less than an hour - at least with my boy. It's ugly!). At the zoo we had some Macaws talk to us and watched the kangaroos lay around in the sun, sleeping and scratching themselves (I think they were all male ones). O received a lesson in mating courtesy the giraffe couple and I seemed to attract an overly friendly African porcupine. At least the coyotes weren't yakking and then eating their vomit this trip - ya, that was a sight.

Tips and Tricks #4

2009-01-30T10:00:00.000-06:00

I LOVE LOVE LOVE garlic and onion in just about everything I cook, but that means a lot of peeling and chopping. It also means some pretty smelly hands afterwards too, right? Here is a way to get rid of smell out of your skin:

Take a tablespoon and lay it curved side down in your open up-turned palm. Position that hand under the faucet with the water on for about a minute. The garlic or onion smell will be gone.

Blah!!

2009-01-29T23:06:00.002-06:00

You can tell I'm getting desperate for inspiration when I start posting photographs like this:

I took this photo on my birthday a few weeks back. We had a small ice storm and this poor little guy was stuck out in the thick of things.

...oh weird. I'm having deja vous at the moment.

Okay, as I was saying, this photograph was one that I took earlier this month. I was going to take the Critter out this morning to capture some more icy weather, but I didn't have any batteries charged or ones that had any juice left in them. It was such a shame, I think I could have had a few nice ones this morning - icy AND foggy. Oh well. Hopefully there will be some more mornings like this one this winter.

Laughter Is The Best Medicine

2009-01-28T22:16:00.003-06:00

Have you ever wondered where your kid comes up with some of the things they say?

Here is part of a conversation that Critter and I had this afternoon. I laughed so hard at what he said I nearly peed myself. My kid certainly has said some wacky things in his day.

ME: You're going to stay with me forever and be my baby, right? You won't leave me and get married, right?
CRITTER: Yep, I'm gonna stay with you and Daddy always. I'm not gonna get married and I'm not going to go to heaven and leave you.
ME: That's my boy! You make me so happy, you know that?
CRITTER: Yep. I love you Mama.
ME: I love you too buddy! You'll always be my baby.
CRITTER: Yep I sure will. I'm never going to leave you, ever never. And when I get bigger and stronger I'm going to have a baby too.

Here I change the conversation a little and try to explain to him about marriage and babies a bit more and I was really thinking he was starting to get the gist what I was saying.

CRITTER: I want to have a baby too. I want a baby now!

I guess he didn't get it, I'm thinking..or maybe I wasn't the one getting it right.

ME: Is it me you're wanting to have a baby?
CRITTER: Yes.
ME: Let me just get this straight, you want me to have another baby?
CRITTER: Yes!
ME: You know you wouldn't be the baby anymore if I had another baby. You'd be my big boy..a big brother.
CRITTER: Uh huh.
ME: So..do you want a baby sister?
CRITTER: No.
ME: A baby brother?
CRITTER: No.
ME: Then what do you want?
CRITTER: A PUPPY!

Whew, I dodged another bullet there!! But it certainly did bring up a whole other conversation which I'm sure he totally didn't comprehended either. Oh well, there's still lots of time.

Fear

2009-01-27T22:21:00.002-06:00

Fear is a pretty common thing for people to have. I think there is (at least) one some thing that we are afraid of. Be it failure, dying, loss, or something more specific such as heights, mice, snakes, or insects. For most, these fears aren't debilitating, but are more of something that we've grown to be afraid of.

I have me a few fears. At times over the course of my life there have been more..and less. Over the years though my fears have changed. I've gone from being scared of insignificant (to me) things to being afraid of things on a much different level. Take for instance I used to be scared of needles. Seems kind of silly when I think back, but I had a pretty traumatic experience with them. Of course, I was just 7 years old and at that age, it got blown out of proportion. I've managed to over come that fear, but then I've had to, being stuck with as many as I have since then.
Mice are another thing I have a fear of but for no apparent reason why. I think it's just because I find them dirty and well..down right nasty. No..no mouse has ever done anything to me. It's just one of those things that I developed a fear of. These days there are other things that frighten me, but they pertain more to events surrounding my son and my capabilities as a mother. I fear the unknown, the future, the uncontrollable. But more or less, I do what I feel is right and put my faith in God that it will all turn out.

Guess what? I do have a secret. I have a fear now so profound that I classify it as a phobia. And it may sound slightly weird given my status, but I am fearful of men. Sounds odd given the fact that I'm married to one, right? It's true though. I'm scared of men - new strange men - and often to the point where it effects my life negatively. Meeting new people isn't always easy, but my fears go beyond just meeting an unfamiliar man. I actually go out of my way NOT to meet them. I avoid eye contact and speaking to them altogether if I can. I will put as much distance as I can between me and a male stranger. There have even been times when I wouldn't leave my home because it meant coming face to face with a unknown man. I get the uneasy feeling, sweaty palms and racing heart beat. I lay awake at night tossing and turning because it's not enough that I simply fear men! No! I am also afraid that I'll be attacked by one or my home will be broken into by one (then attacking me).
Sounds odd, doesn't it? I'm not certain what manifested this phobia within me, though I suspect I have an idea (a story for another time). But there is one thing or rather one person that has helped me cope with this, Big Daddy. He is very much aware of my phobia though I try not to let it effect him or Critter too much. Yet I don't think he knows that he is what helps me keep my cool. I'm Lionel (from the Peanuts cartoon) and he is my security blanket. If we are out together and the fear creeps up - and it does - all I have to do is reach for his hand, holding it tightly in mine and I'm able to talk myself down. Even when I feel frightened in my own home I search for him to quell my fears. I have no explanation as to why he is able to put that specific phobia at bay, but he does and that in itself is very comforting to me.

So tonight I'm going to pretend that the big lug is here, lying beside me instead of in some hotel room in North Carolina because when he's gone, my Louisville Slugger just doesn't have the same reassuring sooooooothing affect.

Goodnight kiddies.

Time In A Bottle

2009-01-26T21:34:00.003-06:00

Today was another milestone in a long list of accomplishments for Critter. It's become pretty clear to me that he has graduated from using the kiddie sized seat for the toilet. I recognize that this is hardly the jump up and down, celebratory, whoop it up kind of accomplishment but it's kind of a big deal for me.

When Critter was a baby, I couldn't wait for him to hurry and grow up. I longed for him to sit up, to eat by himself, to walk unassisted, and talking. I couldn't wait for him to be a toddler that I could share the joys and the wonders of his new world. Now that he's there and learning and exploring even more, I can't wait for him to be cognisant and understand the things that are yet beyond his comprehension.
I think today though, I realized that I miss his baby moments and the wonderment in his eyes when he discovered something new. I miss seeing his adorable toothless smile when he was pleased with himself or the things going on around him. I'm missing the discovering that he and I did together as first-time Mama and son. It's not that we still don't have those times, but now we're getting into much more familiar areas for me. I know what I'm doing now (for the most part).
My baby is growing up so fast and becoming so independent, it's scary. Sometimes he seems more like a smaller version of an adult then the three year old toddler he's supposed to be. He's such a smart inquisitive boy that wants to do everything on his own (except for snuggle - and for that I am eternally grateful). Surely I'm not disposable to him yet, right?

Tonight, I'm reminded to slow down and cherish the present moments that Critter and I have because, sadly, those times will be diminishing once I have to go back to work and him to preschool.

For Owen:

If I could save time in a bottle
The first thing that Id like to do
Is to save every day
Till eternity passes away
Just to spend them with you

If I could make days last forever
If words could make wishes come true
Id save every day like a treasure and then,
Again, I would spend them with you

But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do
Once you find them
Ive looked around enough to know
That you're the one I want to go
Through time with

If I had a box just for wishes
And dreams that had never come true
The box would be empty
Except for the memory
Of how they were answered by you

But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do
Once you find them
Ive looked around enough to know
That you're the one I want to go
Through time with

By Jim Croce

A Lazy Sunday Afternoon

2009-01-25T14:34:00.002-06:00

Okay..so it's been a few days, but not to worry, I haven't abandoned you kiddies. We've just been dealing with colds all around here. Today is only the second day I've really felt like myself and so I return to you good people, more or less, germ free. I tried to blog one day earlier this past week but wasn't able to finish it and while the moment has passed, I'll finish it at a later date.

So for now I'm going to go and enjoy the lovely fire that my boys built. It's quite possibly a little too warm for a fire this afternoon (though it wasn't this morning), but I just had to have one. I'm indulging my inner child, what can I say?

Book Review - The Time Travelers Wife

2009-01-18T14:41:00.003-06:00

I recently read The Time Travelers Wife by Audrey Niffenegger and for me it was one of those books that I just couldn't put down. Sure there were a couple slow parts, but they were very few and far between. It's 560 pages so it's a long one, but it only took me a couple of days to read. I found the story and it's characters that riveting.

From the back cover of the book:

A most untraditional love story, this is the celebrated tale of Henry DeTamble, a dashing, adventuresome librarian who involuntarily travels through time, and Claire Abshire, an artist, who's life takes a natural sequential course. Henry and Claire's passionate affair endures across a sea of time and captures them in an impossibly romantic trap that tests the strength of fate and basks in the bond of love.

It read a little corny to me at first, but that description barely scratches the surface of the level of depth to this story. It's more than a love story. It's a life story and while the basic premise is outlandish (time travel), the characters have very real, very normal life experiences. I don't want to say too much about this book. I'm not the spoiler type. But I will say that this novel is certainly well worth the read. I'm no fan of sequeals, but there should be one for this book.

Hey Ladies!

2009-01-17T22:50:00.004-06:00

I love eavesdropping on the conversation my son has when he doesn't know I'm listening. Today's was an exceptionally cute..though slightly disturbing one(at least for this mother).

The three of us had lunch at a fast food place not far from home today and while there, Critter found himself very much in the thick of things and in the company of a small gaggle of girls. B.D. and I were sitting below having lunch while all around us, kids played in the indoor playground. From time to time Critter would pop his head out above us and say hi. Most of the time though, we simply watched on while he chased after the other children until a conversation caught my attention.

Girl Gaggle: What's your name?
Critter: O
Girl Gaggle: How old are you?
Critter: Three.
Girl Gaggle: You're three?
Critter: Uh huh.
Girl Gaggle: The gaggle giggles here and there is some mutterings about how cute he is.
Girl Gaggle: Where do you live?
Critter: Texas.
Girl Gaggle: Where in Texas? Do you live around here?

I don't hear my son's response, but I know that he has said something because the girls giggle again and say that he is so cute.

At this time, I think O turns around to play and the girls move on to play somewhere else. Seconds later, Critter's voice rings out, "Hey, Ladies!" "Ladies?" " HEY LADIES, where'd you go?" At this point, B.D. and I bust up laughing. Our boy was searching for the gaggle of girls who briefly befriended him. In my head I hear the Beastie Boys singing "Hey Ladies..get funky" and I can't help but picture Critter over the years as he matures and REALLY becomes interested in girls.

I can see it now, my future daughter-in-law is going to be half my age. Older girls are O's thing and I can almost guarantee he's going to have himself a Mrs. Robinson. Right now, it's kind of funny to watch him trail after these girls. He smiles at them and is all cute with them. He wants to play with them even if there are boys around doing the stuff he loves to do. He finds the girls and is practically glued to their sides whether they want him to be or not.

And the expression "hey ladies"? He'd never used that one before. It's been "excuse me girl?" until I would remind him to ask them their name. B.D. asked me about the new expression and the only thing I can come up with is that he's taking a cue from "Syd" the sloth in the movie Ice Age. My son is taking lessons from a sloth..a cartoon sloth. Television..what a useful and educational tool, huh?

Tips and Tricks #3

2009-01-16T19:44:00.002-06:00

Mayo goes on lots of different foods: sandwiches, burgers, french fries (not mine personally, but several of my friends eat mayonnaise with their fries). Ever heard of mayonnaise being used to take water ring stains out of wood?

Well, if you haven't, next time you get a water stain on your wood coffee table try spreading a little mayo on the ring and let it sit a while. Give it some time and then wipe it off. The ring should disappear and your table return back to new. Don't ask me why, but it has worked for me.

See..

2009-01-15T22:18:00.002-06:00

..this is why I wasn't blogging so much. I started out strong, right? I was all dedicated (and it's not that I'm not) and gung ho and now take a look at my posts! It's drivel!

Morning is always a good time for me to write. It's also the better time for me to get stuff done around my house that needs doing. I guess I have yet to master multitasking. I'm not so great at it it seems. You see, I get doing my stuff and then I want breaks and there is a boy to play with, dinner to make, a husband to spend quality time with that when I sit down to type on this here blog it's late at night and I feel all this pressure to turn out something y'all will want to read. And sure, I've got plenty I want to talk to you good people about, but I am just so dang tired!

So what I really want to say tonight is:

- Gail..I can't leave a message for you over at your other blog. Well..I could..it just requires getting a Typepad account I guess. But it's just so darn easy now. I know..lazy.

- Did you see the story on the US Air plane landing in the Hudson River??? Wild! It makes me nervous about B.D.'s flight to and from North Carolina 10 days from now!

- No test results back from either doctors and no surgery scheduled as of yet. My gyno goes on holidays tomorrow. I guess I'll be getting the info from her nurse. No news is good news, right?

- While O and I were leaving the public library, a woman walked past my vehicle wearing work men's protective eye wear. Now they weren't just the one's you slip on. They were goggles, complete with heavy duty rubber band holding them on. Of course it struck me odd. Who wears huge, honkin, protective goggles....unless they were prescription? And while, very bad of me..it struck me as funny and I had to chuckle despite the trying day I was having with my boy.

- It's official. Today, my boy proved once and for all that he IS in fact more stubborn and pigheaded than I am. I'm still trying to figure out if I should be surprised by that or not.

The Waiting Game

2009-01-14T22:05:00.003-06:00

Today I got a thumbs up from the doctor (sort of..I guess). I had the rest of my physical and as far as they can tell, I'm doing just fine. Everything sounded good. Everything looked good. Now I'm just waiting to hear back the results of my blood test and pap smear. Those two will tell it all.

While my EKG results were normal, I'm still scared that my blood tests are going to come back with different results. You see, my Father had a heart attack 3 years ago. His one brother had a stroke in his late 40's and their father died of a heart attack at age 48. Heart disease obviously runs in that side of my family and I'm apprehensive that I could be afflicted with the same thing. I'm young yet, but given my PCOS/weight issues and family history, I'm a pretty prime candidate I figure.

Of course there are steps I can take and that's what getting the exams have been about this year. Once I get my results back, I'll be working with my doctor to get my health back on track. Because while it's important for me to be healthy for me, it's more important that O will have a healthy and happy Mama as long as humanly possible.

Isn't it amazing what having a child can make you realize about your life?

Should I or Shouldn't I?

2009-01-13T19:38:00.004-06:00

I've been thinking that seeing as I was trying something new this year with my blog, I'd start off with a clean slate and give my blog a face lift. But as you can see I haven't changed a thing at the moment. I really like the clean and simpleness of the layout and the feel of the black background. But thanks to my friend Gail and her ever inspiring photographs, I've been giving colour a second thought. Splashes of colour can still be classic, elegant, and simple right?

What are your thoughts?

Not Feeling Well - Another Unpost.

2009-01-12T20:25:00.002-06:00

No blog post from me today kiddies. I just don't feel well enough tonight to sit here and type out the post I had intended to type. I'm going to take me a hot shower and go snuggle with B.D. and watch a little t.v.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll be feeling better. Or maybe I won't cram all my chores into the morning and I'll get my post out then when things are definitely less hectic around here.

Fort Worth Stockyards

2009-01-11T22:04:00.013-06:00

One of our most favourite places here in the Metroplex is the Fort Worth Stockyards. We've yet to explore much of the Dalls/Fort Worth area, but it's one of the local sites that we find ourselves going to time and again. It's always worth the while to go.
This Christmas while my parents were visiting, we made another trip. It had been almost two years since we'd been but decided to take my step-dad there, who had never been. For Critter it was his second trip, but he was so young this time was like his first.

For those of you who have never been (and I suspect most of you haven't), the Fort Worth Stockyards is a treasure trove of history and interesting sights. To this date, there is a twice daily longhorn cattle drive - the only one in the world. There are lots of fantastic shops, museums, a rodeo arena, a couple of hotels (one original to the historic area and one new), restaurants, the only steam train left in the area, cattle stock exchange and Billy Bob's - the worlds largest honkytonk. For more enough on the Fort Worth Stockyards, check out their website here.

Here are some of the pictures I took that day:

On the left is a view of the Fort Worth Stockyard Histork District and on the right, the Stockyard Cattle Exchange building - still in use today.

Here are the cowboys driving the longhorns down the main road through the stockyards. They are driven exactly as they were over a hundred years ago, from one set of pens up by the meat packing plants to other pens in the stockyards. As we, the crazy on-lookers, stand on the sidewalks, the cattle walk past with in touching distance. It's great!

On the left is a quaint little alley between the rodeo arena and one of the orignal buildings turned shop. On the right is a ground view of one of sheep/pig "subway" areas of the original stockyards.

Critter..in his glory! In the first picture, O poses with his balloon hat complete with balloon horse. In the second, we're there in front the restaurant we had lunch in. O get's his rodeo on!

Here..LOL..my Mama gets fresh with one of the locals. And here my boy makes friends with Coco Puff, the pony, as he catches a ride.

When was the last time you saw a longhorn being rode by..well..anyone? LOL Here Pacos Bill (the longhorn, not the man!) makes his way down the street to his station where he hangs out for the day. For $5 you can get on his back and have your picture taken. In the other picture is Critter and I dancing on one of the dance floors in Billy Bob's. Above us (though you can't see it) is saddle completely covered in rhinestones.

The Unpost

2009-01-10T23:08:00.003-06:00

My mind is drawing a blank tonight. Usually I blog in the morning so this way if I don't finish it right away, I have some time to finish it up later. Today though, I've left my writing until late and I've drawn a complete blank. I have no idea what to blog to you good people about. Nothing is coming to me and B.D. has been no help.

So here it is folks, my post for the day. A good one isn't it? Unfortunately, it's the one that you're stuck with. At least I'm keeping up with the little challenge I set forth for myself. Tomorrow's post will be of more substance, I assure you.

So for now, goodnight kiddies!

Moolah Matters

2009-01-09T14:12:00.006-06:00

I'm afraid my new found optimism has taken a bit of a hit today. Oh it's still there, but the foundation is a little shaky.

The source of my anguish you ask? Money, or lack there of. We are by no means in dire straights but our nation's economic crisis is certainly taking it's toll on our personal finances. You see, our household is reliant on the status of home construction and the real estate market and we all know where it's at right now.

The company that B.D. works for has been in business for a hundred and twenty years. They've never laid anyone off - not even during the great depression. No one quits working for the company. If a position becomes available, it's because someone has retired after working there almost the majority of their life. They have never had a year where they weren't turning at least some kind of a profit, that is until 2008. For the first time since the company's inception, it has failed to have a money making year. Gone is the profit sharing. Now, they're sharing the loss.

For B.D. that means 4 hrs less of work a week and a 10% reduction in pay. In May, if the economy hasn't improved, it will mean a 25% percent reduction in pay. I'm not certain of the exact number off of the bottom line, but it's not pretty.

For me, it means going back to work. Not the half-time we had originally planned, but full-time if we are to afford childcare. I don't mind. In fact I'm looking forward to it (a smidge). I'll miss the time with my boy, but if it means this family surviving..

Thanks to Suze Orman we've already begun our new financial plan for the new year. Wish us luck, huh?

too tired to think of a title for this entry

2009-01-08T11:27:00.003-06:00

How is it that one tiny 3 yr old boy can spend maybe 4 hours sleeping and the rest of the night, wretchedly vomiting and yet have a bundle of energy when he wakes up? Explain that to me because I'm sooo freaaaakin' tired I can barely keep my eyes open and I probably got an hour more sleep than he did!

I suppose what really matters is that he feels better and the bug was short-lived. No, wait. I take that back. What REALLY matters is that he still takes naps and when he naps later today, I can too. Hurray!!

An End to Doctor Dodging

2009-01-07T08:07:00.003-06:00

As part of my getting healthy, I stopped dodging the doctor this year and made an appointment for a well woman exam. Needless to say, it's been a few years. WARNING: Fellas - this is where you cover your eyes and skip to the next entry, unless you really want to hear the gory details.

When I gave birth to the Critter (via c-section) my doctor removed a cyst and polyp off of my left ovary. I wasn't all that surprised given I had PCOS (Poly-Cystic Ovarian Syndrome). I guess I just didn't truly believe that there was anything wrong deep down (despite having several of the classic symptoms - I could always explain them away). I didn't feel ill. I didn't appear to have anything wrong with me outwardly. I suppose that's why yesterday I was a little shocked when the gynecologist told me that I had another cyst. This one however being vaginal and too large to leave. Apparently it is even too big for it to be excised in the office and I will need to have it removed under anesthetic.

There I was lying on her table feeling very exposed and uncomfortable. I've had too many pap smears to count and almost every one of them has hurt like the dickens. I was tensing as she sat down at my feet and started doing her thing, preparing for it to hurt when she says to me.."you have a cyst". She goes into all this detail about how big it is and what it looks like and how I will have to have it excised. While I'm recovering the news, my gynecologist asks me if I'd like to see it with a hand mirror because apparently "it's visible if you just spread..". I told her no thanks. All I wanted to do was shrink into the table or just disappear, but she needed to finish her exam. Surprisingly enough, the actual smear didn't hurt near as much as it has in the past and took but just a couple of minutes. I was soooo relieved when it was done.

Now, I'm not scared to have the surgery. This will be my fourth one and is minor. It's the unknown that comes afterwards that scares me. I never anticipated having cysts, having ones this big, or having to have them removed. I have no idea what causes these cysts. And while my doctor said there was nothing to be concerned about, I wondering if there is some underlying pathology to them. How many more of these cysts will I get? How big will they be and will I have to have them removed as well? I've known people who have been afflicted with the same disorder as myself and in the same situation I now find myself in (though more extreme). For them, the end result was a total hysterectomy. Hopefully my fate will be different.

So the first step in the year of being a better and healthier me is now over. The rest of the tests will come next week and from there, who knows (well..there is the surgery, but between then..). My gynecologist put me on birth control (sorry Mama, Kid) to help regulate my hormones, periods, and other PCOS symptoms. Next week, depending on the blood work results, Dr. V will also be putting me on a metabolism stabilizer which will help me regulate my blood sugars and help me to lose the weight I've been struggling to lose.

All in all, I'm pretty darn happy even with this small bump in the road. Once it's taken care of, it'll be on to the next step. Believe it or not, I'm STILL feeling optimistic - maybe even more so. Yeah me!!

The Light of my Life

2009-01-06T08:50:00.005-06:00

It's dark, cloudy, and rainy here again today, but I have my little ray of sunshine to brighten up the day.

Here he is with his first (and probably his last) mohawk. It wasn't a hit with him at all. Having his hair styled just wasn't his thing. Actually, it was more like torture, but I thought it was kind of cute (when it was styled - which was almost never). The hairdo lasted 6 days and then I shaved it. He still looks cute though.

Hello 2009

2009-01-05T19:50:00.006-06:00

Another holiday season has come and gone, bringing with it another new year.

This holiday season was passed with family. My Mama and Step-dad came down to celebrate Christmas with us and it was a wonderful time. Of course the boy was spoiled. He got almost everything he asked for - no puppy and no penguin.
New Year's Eve was passed quietly with our friends next door. Believe it or not, for the first time in a few years, we were actually awake long enough to ring in the New Year.

So here we are in another new year. I've given plenty of thought to my resolutions, but after some consideration..I've decided to make some goals for the 2009 year and not just resolutions. I looked back at the ones I made last year and I don't know that I can say I stuck to many..if any. I'm hoping that if I actually have goals - with clear and concise end results - I'll be more apt to accomplish what I'd like to.

So my goals for this year..

Lose weight - 60lbs to be exact (ugh!)
Get a job to help out the family - 2009 is going a tough year financially (I'm sure you'll hear more about that later)
Get my genealogy material organized
Make enough money to purchase my new loves - a Nikkon D90 and 24" iMac
Get O into a preschool
Keep a daily blog starting today - I write a ton, but 60% never sees this blog

I made some resolutions as well:

Give my husband more credit for the things he does
Give up control more
Be better at managing the budget and record keeping
Be a calmer person - a repeat from last year
Educate myself more and not just being satisfied with knowing the bare minimum
Help my child be a less angry boy

I'm optimistic!

It's Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas..

2008-12-16T08:35:00.002-06:00

..sort of. It's not the winter weather from my other life in Canada, but you can't expect that sort of thing here in Texas. Sunday it was a balmy and lovely 80 degrees and today we are looking at 29 degrees and ice. I haven't been out to explore it just yet, but according to Big Daddy the roads are solid ice. I'm sure the neighbourhood kids are thrilled. It means at least a delayed start if nothing else.

Sunday my parents fly in for the holidays. I hope the weather improves before then though it doesn't sound promising at this point. Keep your fingers crossed.

From The Trash Bin

2008-12-08T08:37:00.003-06:00

I'm terribly frustrated with my subject these days. It seems that the only angle I get is this one:

Not that you're able to tell, but that photo is Critter and Superstar chasing each other out on the front lawn this weekend past. While the hoods don't help, this is the type of picture I've been getting each time I pick up a camera to photograph the boys - O in particular. I don't know what it is, no matter where I stand, this is my constant view. It's terribly frustrating as a photographer.

All About Big Daddy

2008-12-03T08:30:00.002-06:00

I talk about Big Daddy a great deal, he is a major part of my life after all, though you've barely even gotten a glimpse of who Big Daddy really is. I don't know whether that's good or bad. I'll let you decide for yourself. Best you strap on a seat belt.

ME: If you could be president for a day, what would you do?
B.D.: I'd take away all foreign aid and give it back to the citizens of this country that need it and by reducing our national debt. Then I'd nuke Iraq and Afghanistan after I pulled out all of our troops. I'd also make punishments for committing a crime more severe.
ME: How so?
B.D.: You kill someone, you in turn are killed. You rape someone and you die. People who commit hanous crimes are killed. If you steal something then you get your hand cut off. If you do it again you lose your other hand, but I'm certain people would be less likely to do it again. Basically, I'd do whatever I had to cut crime.
ME: You sound like a facious dictator.
B.D.: Pretty much.
ME: What about all those people that would lose their jobs when you closed down the prisons because you've either killed the criminals or carried out their sentencing? What happens to them? How would you be supporting them?
B.D.: I didn't think about that.

ME: If you could go back in time, when and to where would it be?
B.D.: I'd want to go back to the beginning of the earth's existance. I want to know whether it was actually as a result of the big bang theory, or was this world put here by God.

ME: If you were stranded on a deserted island, what one possession would you take with you and why?
B.D.: A can of snuff.
ME: You're kidding me, right?
B.D.: No. You know what I'm like with out it.
ME: What a crock. You just use that as a crutch.
B.D.: Maybe I do, but that's what I'd take.
ME: Just one can. And when you run out, what then?
ME: And what about O or I? You wouldn't take either of us with you, the two most important things to you in the world?
B.D.: If I had an unlimited supply of snuff, sure.
ME: You're impossible.
B.D.: Most times.

If tomorrow was your last day on earth, how would you spend it?
B.D.: Celebrating Christmas with you and O. I'd want to watch him open up his presents. I want to see him all excited.
ME: He was excited last year.
B.D.: But not like he is this year. It's all he's talking about right now, right?
ME: True.
ME: That would be a nice day.
B.D.: Oh, and one more thing.
ME: Ya?
B.D.: Ya. I'd watch Ohio State play Michigan - and win of course.
ME: At the Shoe (O.S.U. football stadium)?
B.D.: No, from home.

ME: If you could be reincarnated as anyone or anything, what or who would it be and why?
B.D.: (said with VERY little hesitation and smile on his face) I'd come back as a woman's sex toy!
ME: (I try not to choke on my drink) Are you kidding me?
B.D.: Nope!
ME: (still kind of choking and laughing) Why??!
B.D.: So I could see more action.
ME: Seariously?
B.D.: Yep
ME: (just laughing and shaking my head at him) I can't write that on my blog.
B.D.: (he laughs and grins)
ME: You're a pig.
B.D.: Oink, oink!

I think that I'll stop here for now. I'd hate to scare you people off with any more. LOL Maybe I should have put a warning at the top or something.

...to be cont'd

Sinner and Saint

2008-12-01T07:37:00.002-06:00

Last night I ate dinner alone. That's nothing unusual given the fact that Big Daddy travels away from home a great deal and I sometimes eat later than Critter. The different between last night's dinner and other nights is that I listened to the repetitive screaming and crying of my son for the ENTIRE meal and then some. Over and over he screamed what would have been some hurtful things if we didn't understand the way O works.
You see, today was another day in a long week of no naps for the critter - seems you just can't force someone to sleep no matter how hard you try. Even though he appears to be getting plenty of sleep during the night, exhaustion overtook him this afternoon and he fell asleep on the couch around 4:30 pm. I debated as to whether or not I should wake him up, but decided to let him sleep. It was pretty obvious by his sudden deep sleep that he needed the rest. Six o'clock rolls around and Big Daddy decided to take the task of waking O up upon himself (what a brave brave man). I can tell you, it certainly wasn't a task that I wanted - I KNOW what that kid is like if you wake him up before he is ready. He's a bear; a great big, mean, surly, grouchy bear! Hence tonight's "episode".

Now Big Daddy is a man of very little patience. He has less patience than I do when it comes to our son and that boy can frustrate me like no tomorrow! So I have no idea what he was thinking when he took on the task of rousing our son from sleep, but that man deserves some sort of award for what he endured. Of course I too had to listen to O's antics but I listened on from the comfort of the kitchen. B.D. had to deal with the hour long screaming session from Critter face to face. Not once during Critter's tirade did Big Daddy lose his temper. He remained calm and in control. He handled everything perfectly, it was textbook. After a week where these melt downs have happened so frequently, each one a little worse than the one prior, even a more patient man then B.D. would have lost his cool.

I was so proud of Big Daddy for the way he handled things. And not that I haven't thought it before, but today I'm giving voice to the fact that I sometimes don't give Big Daddy enough credit. Last night he truly proved that he deserves every bit of it (makes a note to self to include giving B.D. more credit as one of my New Year's resolutions). He may not have the patience of a Saint, but last night Big Daddy became one to me.

Busted Bubbles

2008-11-28T08:06:00.003-06:00

This morning, I woke up to the delicious sound of a gentle rain falling outside my window. I snuggled even further down under the covers and rolled over to snuggle with Big Daddy, but he wasn't there. It's then that I remembered with a chuckle that my courageous husband had risen early to brave the rabid Black Friday shoppers. So I rolled back over and snuggled down deep, all ready to go back to sleep when I heard the shrill cry of the critter, "I want juice"! What manners on the kid, right? What can I say, he's in his horrific three's. So of course my lazy, sleep in, snugly, warm morning is dashed. Gone is the turkey induce euphoria from yesterday's Thanksgiving. It's been replaced by with this sense of urgency I normally feel around the holidays. Oh well. It was nice while it lasted.

This weekend, as our tradition goes, is the time when we put up the Christmas tree and outdoor lights. With all this wet, rainy, cold weather we're getting today I think we'll save the outdoor stuff until tomorrow. Hopefully it will be a much nicer day.
Speaking of trees, our faux tree is starting to look pretty shabby. It'll do again this year. Money doesn't grow on trees in these here parts, but trees sure do cost a fortune these days! We've window shopped and for the size that we want (7-8') it's over $200..for a fake tree!! Big Daddy thought it would be nice if I had a real tree like the ones from my childhood, but even those are pricey. If we didn't have 9' ceilings and there weren't gaping holes in our tree it would be a none issue. Again..oh well. If we didn't have Critter, I'd get us a Charlie Brown tree.

An Almost Tragedy

2008-11-19T23:07:00.004-06:00

My town made the big city news today. As a small little burb JUST outside of the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, we rarely make any sort of news reel. When we have, it's not been for anything positive.

Shortly after 3 pm the power flickered at my house. While rare, it's happened on a couple of occasions and for no apparent reason. I didn't give it much thought until siren after siren wailed past by my subdivision. Followed not too far behind them - the news helicopters. Until then, I had no idea that less than a mile from my home, a serious accident had taken place; An accident that could have been so much worse. Today, a school bus carrying the high school and middle school kids from my subdivision crashed into a guard rail, hit a small culvert and then sheered a hydro pole with the pole coming to rest on top of the bus.

According to the news and the co-workers of Coach and Mrs. Coach, none of the kids had life threatening injuries. The accident is still under investigation and helicopters can still be heard flying around the scene. But as we've heard it, everyone is going to be just fine. Like I said, it could have been much worse.

In a town that is coming close to having 10,000 people living in it, we as a small community are struggling to catch up with the demand that the rapid influx of people has put on our town's infrastructure. Four years ago, this place had just 1,200 people living here. We have one major intersection, one traffic light and busy busy roads that aren't worth a crap. The road that the bus had the accident on is scheduled to be widened to a 4 lane road by the end of 2012. If you ask me, it won't be soon enough. The particular section of road where the bus hit the guard rail is of major concern, even for someone like me who drives a mid-size vehicle. It's narrow, the speed limit is 55 mph and people are always pulling out in front of other cars from the stores a few yards from the bridge. To be perfectly honest with you, I'm surprised there hasn't been more accidents at that spot in the past.

I'm almost certain that we'll find ourselves on the news tomorrow once more, but I have the feeling that we'll slip into the oblivion just as fast as we blipped on the news "radar". And that suits me just fine I suppose. At least it means everything is status quo and I for one like that.

Coming to Fruition

2008-11-17T21:42:00.004-06:00

If you've been following my blog or just happened to have read this post, you'll be aware that I've been interested in getting involved in my community. Back in May I applied to my city's Park Board and while the open spot was initially filled by someone else, another one came open just recently and my application to serve was approved by the city council. Ya me, right?!

I'll keep you posted on how things go with that. Hopefully tonight's first meeting was NOT an indication - it wasn't bad, just slow.

My 100th Post!!

2008-11-13T14:40:00.004-06:00

It's another day in paradise. The sun is out. It's another warm day - warm enough for shorts actually. The critter is in a relatively decent mood and I've had the luxury of spending the majority of the day outside (which is where I'm typing from). Of course I was working - doing some yard work. And to be perfectly honest, not everything was peaches and cream. There were a couple of exceptions to my lovely day: the bugs and the highly annoying yappy dogs next door.

It's the time of year when the weather should be turning cooler and while I've had a couple of cool days, we are still having days/weeks in the high 70's. This is sooooo not me complaining, but the one good thing about the cooler weather is that the bugs disappear. And I'm tired of them. Just a few minutes ago, some attack bug bit the living tar out of my neck and left a lovely welt. I feel violated! The attack bug was the least of my worries. The fire ants are still going strong in my yard and it took the rest of the bag of fire ant killer (the 4th in 2 months) to kill that mound. I'm ready to be done with them needless to say.

We're good neighbours. We take care of our yard. We clean up any of the garbage we see. We aren't having parties every weekend and we aren't a rowdy bunch. So, why is it that we get stuck with the crummy neighbours (save for Coach and the Mrs)? The house to the left of us was vacant for several months and what a glorious time that was. Our current neighbour is a woman in her 20's and her sister. They seem nice enough. They too are quiet and unobtrusive people. Sure their lawn needs better taking care of, but I don't hold that against them. What I loath..is their dogs. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE dogs, but not yappy dogs that bark ALL THE TIME! I suppose I could get over the whole barky dog thing if the dogs weren't out every minute of every day. It makes being outside in the back yard overly unpleasant - especially if Big Daddy is out there too. His patience for them is far less then mine and then, not only do I have to listen to the yappy dogs but my grouchy husband as well. At least today it was just the yappy dogs.

Well, O is done playing in the sandbox and as usual..is covered in sand from head to toe. It's I round him up and take him off to bath so he can at least look a little respectable like. Say goodbye to my back yard for now. With any luck, I'll be fortunate enough to blog from there again tomorrow.

Count down

2008-11-12T09:00:00.000-06:00

Forty-nine days until the new year and already I'm making my new year's resolutions. Surely that's a bad sign or something, right? That's what I thought too.

Lest We Forget

2008-11-11T20:38:00.002-06:00

Dear Heavenly Father,

Today we honor our veterans; worthy men and women who have given their best when they were called upon to serve and protect their country. We pray that you will bless them, Lord, for their unselfish service in the continual struggle to preserve our freedoms, our safety, and our country’s heritage. Bless them for the hardships they've faced, will face in the future and for the sacrifices they have made. We respect them. We thank them. We honor them. We are proud of them and we pray that You will watch over these special people and bless them with peace and happiness. In Your Son's name we pray, Jesus Christ; Amen.

My heartfelt thank you to all those in the Armed Forces that have and continue to serve our country.

It's Alive!!

2008-10-31T11:00:00.001-05:00

My computer works once more. It's only been something like 6 months or something. I hate having to start from scratch, but there was no other choice. I still have some work to do on it, but it's working like a dream!

Now I have no excuse to get on here and blog more. Aren't you excited?

Trunk 'R Treat

2008-10-30T13:16:00.009-05:00

In our area, churches have these great little Halloween gatherings with games, goodies, and lots of other fun activities for the kids. They are particularly good for the young kids like Critter. It provides a safe, fun environment that is geared specifically to them.

Last year's event was a blast. There were bounce houses, carnival food, live music, games, face painting, and horse rides. O had so much fun that we thought we would do it again this year in leu of trick or treating on Halloween night. This year was a bit different then last year. It was a different town, different church, different people. It wasn't that we didn't enjoy ourselves at the other on. It was close to home which was nice. But we went to "Trunk 'R Treat" because it was more like actual trick or treating with some of the other fun stuff thrown in there. People from the church volunteered to park their cars in the parking lot, decorate their trunks and hand out candy to the kids who walked around from car to car. There were animals to pet, pumpkins to decorate, wagon rides, and face painting.

O scored plenty of goodies. Some of which has already found it's way into Mama and Daddy's stomachs - shhhhh. He doesn't need all that stuff anyway.

(Sorry - these images still need editing and resizing. I just wanted to get them on here. Grandparents can be so pushy sometimes, right Mama?)

Adventures in Babysitting

2008-10-27T15:01:00.002-05:00

It seems that my illustrious career in child care is over before it ever really began (well at least with Lil C anyway). It turns out that due to the fact that Lil C is a foster child, he needs to be in a licenced day care facility. His foster Mother had been told otherwise previously, but in another inquiry, she was told differently. So..at least for the time being..I'm jobless once more.

While I was looking forward to the extra cash coming into the house, I'm okay that this happened. I don't know if it was nerves or whether it was actually something more like dread, but I was second guessing the decision to do the whole child care thing. Now I have the time to give more consideration to my choices.

I could very well be losing my mind..

2008-10-24T22:30:00.003-05:00

So..I've been considering going back to work, right? Well, not work-work like I did in my former life (read: before having Critter), but a paying gig none-the-less. I've been wanting to go out and get a job away from the house for a few months now; not that staying home with my son hasn't been fantastic. It's just time, yanno? And while I've looked at jobs from said former life (one that I could do from home) I would still be taking away valuable time together with my boy.
So after some discussion with my other half, I've turned to babysitting as a way of bringing extra money into the house. It serves to fill most every need and purpose - except the somewhat coveted time away from the house and more adult connections. But I figure with more money coming into the house each month I could use some of it to do those kinds of things on the weekend. Sounds logical enough to me.

I didn't figure things to happen so quickly, but within a couple of days of making the decision, I find myself the new care taker of another VERY active little boy. He's younger than O by almost a year and a half, but I think it's going to be beneficial for the both of them. O with have another playmate..someone to socialize with and Lil C will have an older brother-type to look up to and learn from. I'm keeping my fingers crossed he learns the good stuff that Critter has to offer and not his bad habits. What are the odds that'll happen? Bah..surely it will be all good.

Monday is the day so wish me luck won't you. Somehow I think I'm going to need it.

Critter turns 3!

2008-10-23T20:37:00.005-05:00

Happy Birthday Bebe! Ti amo!!

2008-10-19T14:25:00.002-05:00

October is "Birthday Month" in my family (several friends have birthdays in October as well). I myself, am a January baby, but both Big Daddy and the little critter were born this month. They share their birth month from a few others in my family: my niece, Nae; my littlest sister, Kelikins, my step-mom; and my nephew, Codster.

Famous people also born in October: John Lennon, Tommy Lee, Brett Favre, Pavarotti, Evel Knievel, Teddy Roosevelt, and Mahatma Gandhi to name a few.

If your birthday is this month, well then..Happy Birthday!

I live..

2008-10-13T09:53:00.002-05:00

..really, I do. I've missed you, truly, but I've been so busy with things and life and stuff..

Okay, I can't lie. While there has been plenty going on, it's not like I haven't had the time to sit down and blog. After all, I sit at the computer at least once a day. My excuse - I'm a bit of a procrastinator. I'd like to say that I wasn't, but there is always something else that I should be doing, but I'm not. So guess what gets pushed to the wayside? If you said blogging, give yourself a little pat on the back and tell yourself how smart you are :D It doesn't help that my laptop is still on the fritz (calling Dell IS on the list of things to do, but yep..procrastinating). Once I get that fixed, there is a good chance that I'll be blogging much more regularly. Are you excited? Ya, I know. Me too.

So, if I haven't been blogging..or doing the things I should be doing, what exactly have I been up to you ask? Well, we spent most of our time outside, either swimming or playing with neighbours. We also did the annual pilgrimage to Ontario to visit with family in August. That was a 3 week trip and it wasn't but a week after we returned that we had to head to Ohio. I've mentioned before that Big Daddy was from Ohio right? Two of Big Daddy's family members were ill and we trekked up there to see them. We stayed longer then we had planned, staying a couple of weeks..and subsequently returning a week later for the funeral of one of said family members.
Since returning, it's been the critter and I hanging around and getting things done around the house. Big Daddy had a business trip that could not be postponed and so we were left to fend for ourselves. These weeks we've been busy planning and getting ready for Critter's birthday party; which is this coming weekend.
When I'm not planning and plotting, I'm usually cleaning, relaxing with O or eyeball deep in my genealogical research. I'm addicted!! What can I say!

Of important note: O is pretty much fully potty trained now!!! Hurray!! I'm so happy; can you tell? I'll tell you more about it later. For now though, I think I should be off to do those things I've been putting off.

The Q..

2008-06-30T09:46:00.004-05:00

Today is our first day in Albuquerque, NM and so far it's shaping up to be a great day. Originally, we had planned to stop a couple of hours outside of the city but the trip wasn't as long as Big Daddy had thought. Don't tell that to O though who was pretty well behaved on the 9 hour(11 hour total with stops)drive.

But in true Critter fashion, the boy fell asleep 35-40 minutes from our hotel having not had a nap the entire trip. But in spite of the brief sleep he did have, the boy didn't fall asleep until 11pm (10pm local time - did I mention that we're now Mountain Time?). The kid has stamina that's for sure.

We're in a great hotel in the old part of town. Old Town Albuquerque was established in 1706 and many of the old buildings..and church..are still standing. That's where Critter and I are headed this morning actually. Most of the buildings have been converted into shops and so we're going to take in the history and the local culture. I can't say that O will be real thrilled about the shopping/history stuff, but it does get him out in the stroller which he is always happy about.

Speaking of our great hotel..you should see the view! We have two different views even. One is of the Sandia Mountains and the other is of Downtown and Old Town, Albuquerque. This morning I was fortunate to take some nice pictures in the earlish morning light. We were already passed sunrise, but the sun hadn't yet come up over the mountains and so the light was still soft. I'm hoping that tomorrow I'll wake a tad earlier to capture an even more stunning sunrise. The sky was also littered with hot air balloons early on. We are, after all, in the hot air balloon capital and it's no surprise why.

It's gorgeous here..in an ugly sort of way. I mean, with 310 days of sun (though sure enough..it was storming like crazy when we got here last night) and very little rain, there isn't a great deal of greenery.

Okay..so we're off to go exploring. I apologize for the size of the pictures. Big Daddy's computer doesn't have my photo editing software on it, so I haven't edited or resized the images. I promise to do so when we get home..cross my heart. More details on the Q later. Bye y'all.

Road Trip

2008-06-25T07:56:00.001-05:00

This Sunday we are leaving on a bit of a road trip. Of course it is work related for Big Daddy, but we are turning it into a mini family vacation. Big Daddy has plants in Albuquerque, New Mexico and El Paso, Texas that he has to visit a few times a year and I've been wanting to go with him to NM for a while now. Prior to our economic slump and gas gouging, Big Daddy normally flew out there and then rented a car. Now, it's comparable for all of us to drive out there for the week and see some sights along the way.

The problem is, what sights should we see? I've never been before and don't know that much about things to do and see. Does anyone have any recommendations?

Not Quite There Yet..

2008-06-24T07:44:00.002-05:00

Critter isn't ready to be potty trained yet it seems. Perhaps we weren't diligent enough, but after a couple days it became pretty clear that he wasn't ready yet. And rather then set ourselves and the boy up for heartache, we've slowed things down.

We're a much happier household. It's amazing just how stressful potty training actually is.

Potty Training - Day 1

2008-06-16T09:31:00.003-05:00

9:30 am - We've already had 3 accidents, 2 pants peeing and 1 poop. Hard to imagine for a kid who has only been up for an hour and a half. Fortunately for me, Ms neat/clean freak, It's all happened while we were outside.

10:25 am - Another pee accident and this too was outside. O had just gotten off of the potty, gotten dressed and headed outside so that we could go pay our water bill and then go swimming. Low and behold, when I went to strap him into his car seat..he was wet! He hadn't even been dressed more than 5 minutes.

1:15 pm - Guess what? O had another accident. This time though he told me while he was peeing. That's progress, right? That's what I keep telling myself at least. It happened about 10 minutes after we sat down to eat lunch..15 minutes since he had been sitting on the potty (with no success obviously).

So as you can see, potty training hasn't been much of a success at all. We've now been through all 6 pairs of his britches and it's only been half the day. I guess six wasn't enough, huh? So..the kid is in bed for a nap (I'm sure..happy as a lark he's got a diaper on) and I'm doing his laundry. Obviously we're headed out after his nap to purchase some more. I am NOT going to be doing laundry every day!

At least both he and I are in a good mood and staying positive. I was even happy to hear the sad lilt in his voice as I was taking him off the potty to get ready for nap time, "I didn't pee in the potty, Mama." "No, you didn't baby, but you can try again when you get up from your nap." "Yeahhhhhhh!"

Potty Talk

2008-06-11T08:32:00.003-05:00

I guess it's time. Critter is ready for potty training. The only problem is..I'm not. I want O to be potty trained, truly. Nothing would make me happier in fact. Think of all the money we would save! So, my problem you ask? I'm a bit of a neat/clean freak. I am (I come by it honestly, don't I Mama?) and with all of the messes that I'm sure will occur, I'm a little hesitant. I know he's a little kid. I know this is what happens when you're potty training. I get all that. It doesn't mean I have to like it though.

I've decided that I need The Potty Whisperer. Really, that's what they call her! It's a nurse from Chicago and in 5 hours..she has your kid potty trained. 5 HOURS!! Can you believe that? No fuss! Mo messes! I'd kill for a potty training experience like that. Unfortunately, it's not a possibility for us, but a parent can dream, right?

Instead, I'll be the one to do the majority of the training. I'm thinking though, that it would be best to wait until the end of the summer..after we've gone on our vacations. O is prone to to crazy stuff while he is away from his house and his own things and I'm wondering if our being away is going to throw him off his game. I guess we'll find out, won't we?

Wish me luck!

Knock Knock..

2008-06-09T07:45:00.000-05:00

Who's there?

Ben..

Ben who?

Ben wondering how you were doing.

Okay, so I've been gone for a while. Not physically gone..just MIA. Since the summer arrived last month, I'm lucky if I see the inside of my house until 8pm (the time Critter comes in from outside to calm down and get ready for bed). The weather has been fantastic and we've been outside enjoying it.
That's the thing about Texas. You have to get outside and enjoy the nice weather before the really hot weather settles in. We've been in the low to mid 90's for the last 2-3 weeks and while that's hot..it's not as hot as it's going to get. Nor is it that bad because it doesn't get that hot until the afternoon. It's when it doesn't cool down over night and you START at that hot of a temperature first thing in the morning that's the killer.

So what have we been doing you ask? Well, as I mentioned, we've been outside a great deal. Mostly the Critter has been running around, swinging on his new swing set (the big project that I mentioned in a previous post, but never got around to taking pictures of yet), swimming, bug catching, or playing in the dirt. We've been working on getting the boy to ride his tricycle all on his own as well as going for lots of walks. At the beginning of this month, we had a garage sale and there was a few weeks of prep to get ready for that. Who knew I had so much stuff I wanted to get rid of considering I'm the furthest thing from a pack rat.
We took a weekend trip to Texas hill country about a month back now as well. It was part work trip for big Daddy, part family fun weekend. We went to the State high school track and field meet to cheer on a boy from our neighbourhood as well as to just get away before Big Daddy had to make a visit at a plant down in that area. For Mother's Day, Big Daddy and O took me to Fredericksburg, Texas..a small German town in hill country. What a lovely day that was! We ate authentic German food and toured through the downtown, which was FILLED with tons of kitchy shops. After a short recess on a downtown park, we drove about 15 miles north to see this really neat natural rock formation just outside of town. It's called the Enchanted Rock. It's a big, huge, dome shaped piece of pink granite sticking of the earth. It goes up a few hundred feet and for a fee, you can camp, hike up it, and visit the park. We didn't do any of those things, however. It was something like $15/person..even for a short visit like ours would have been..just to get some pictures. So I took some from a distance instead. There is always next time though.

Lately O has been requiring a great deal more attention. He seems to be losing his independent streak and is wanting us to play with him more. As best we can tell, he is needing and wanting more kid interaction. We've (meaning me specifically) been busy trying to give him just that.
Speaking of which..I've had to start and stop writing this post several times (over several days even) because the boy is wanting to play. Even now, he is wanting just that so..I'm going to cut this post short I think, and take my boy outside.

Write you soon, kiddies.

And So It Begins

2008-05-09T21:12:00.003-05:00

We saw temperatures in the triple digits today and will continue to be see them the rest of the weekend!

Go Ahead..Make My Day

2008-05-09T08:28:00.003-05:00

I helped save the life of a child yesterday..or at least that was what the telemarketer on the other end of the line said when I made my donation to the Make-A-Wish foundation. She wasn't as impressed when I told her it wasn't the first time I saved a child's life today.

I sat back with a little chuckle. Little did that sweet lady know that I let my kid live today. That's the same as saving it..right? Seeing as it's my story, we'll just go with that. :) So...anyways..Critter drove me up one wall, down the other, and waaaaaaaay around the bend. I do believe I was in tears a couple of times.
I wouldn't say that it was totally and completely his fault, but maybe 98%. I'm tired. I'm bored and I haven't had any time away from this kid in well over a year. I'm ready for a bit of a break I think, but that's only a small part of yesterday's issue. Yesterday, my kid was a button pushing freak! He was pushing one button after another and trying to assert his self as the alpha dog. It made for a very looooong and tiresome day..a day that ended with me sitting out on the porch with an ice cold malted beverage.

All I can say is Thank You God for getting Big Daddy home when you did and thank you Smirnoff for a lovely evening. Amen.

Television Update

2008-05-07T21:59:00.002-05:00

..it's all good!

I was able to return our defective t.v. with NO hassle what-so-ever...AND I saved Big Daddy 10% off the cost!

Go ahead. You can say it! I'm gooooood!

Will The Real Critter Please Stand Up..

2008-05-07T21:40:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I made a trip to the dentist's office..not for me, but for the little Critter. He was amazing..for a 2 and 1/2 year old. It was his first trip to see the dentist and after a shaky start, he finished up his exam like a champ! I was so proud. No yelling! No screaming, kicking, hitting or fighting! I was so blown away that he wasn't putting on a show that I almost had to wonder if it was in fact my child!

It went so well that our dentist was able to put his finger in O's mouth and I was able to brush his teeth - for a few seconds at least - with the cool dentist spiny tooth brusher thingy. O cooperated long enough that one of the staff was even to get some semblance of an x-ray.

The best part of that first trip to the dentist? The Critter is excited to go back again. I wonder if it's because of the cool toy car he got while there or the sweet receptionist that took a real shining to him?

Manic Monday

2008-05-05T08:44:00.003-05:00

Last night our television went on the fritz and by fritz I mean all power to it is gone. Big Daddy and I are dumbfounded. There is no logical explanation for it. The t.v. hadn't been on for more than an hour and a half when it shut off. All of the other equipment is still functioning so we know it has something to do solely with the television. It happened early enough in the even that we were able to make some calls to the manufacturer, but nothing has been resolved at this point. A call to the store where we purchased said t.v. has only left us in a frenzy.

I'm supposed to be looking for the receipt of purchase instead of writing to you, kiddies, but the thing is..I have no idea where it is. Big Daddy and I basically turned the house upside down looking for it last night. I did manage to find all of the other receipts I've saved, even ones I had forgotten I had saved. No television receipt though.
We'll be out a thousand dollars if I can't find that annoying little piece of paper. I've seen it a thousand times since we bought the t.v. a couple of months ago and I'm pretty sure I put it away for safe keeping, but where..I have no idea. And if I don't find that receipt..we won't be able to take it back. I have a few more calls to make, one to the credit card company and one again to the manufacturer. I'm hoping and praying I'll be able to find a way out of this one without losing money.

Wish me luck!

Run For The Roses

2008-05-04T13:46:00.005-05:00

I was saddened yesterday watching the Kentucky Derby when the little filly, Eight Belles went down after placing second in the race. She was an impressive horse standing 17 hands high (big for a filly) and had a great record, including winning her last 4 starts. Usually Big Daddy make little wagers on such events, but didn't this time because after I picked her to win..so did B.D. I guess he found her as equally impressive.

I love horses and they just so happen to be my favourite animal. It was heartbreaking to watch her go down. I've seen a horse in agony before and it just broke my heart. Eight Belles ran a great race, the longest one of her short life, and I've been disheartened to read some of the comments posted in various forums and such. Many comments were regarding her treatment..specifically Belles' euthanization and how cruel and inhumane it is.
Personally, I feel that in cases where an animal is in extreme pain, hurt beyond repair, euthanizing it is acceptable. No animal should suffer and sometimes there are injuries that are so severe that the animal could never recover despite the best efforts. Yesterday at the Derby was one of those times.

It was a royal run for a royal lady. The following is a song by Dan Folgerberg..another favourite of mine from my youth. I thought it would be an appropriate tribute to Eight Belles.

Born in the valley and raised in the trees
Of Western Kentucky on wobbly knees
With mama beside you to help you along
You'll soon be a-growing up strong

All the long, lazy mornings in pastures of green
The sun on your withers, the wind in your mane
Could never prepare you for what lies ahead
The run for the roses so red

(Chorus)
And it's run for the roses as fast as you can
Your fate is delivered, your moment's at hand
It's the chance of a lifetime in a lifetime of chance
And it's high time you joined in the dance
It's high time you joined in the dance

From sire to sire, it's born in the blood
The fire of a mare and the strength of a stud
It's breeding and it's training and it's something unknown
That drives you and carries you home
(Chorus)

Another Week Gone By

2008-05-03T09:41:00.003-05:00

I can't believe that another week has passed since my last post. Time seems to be racing by here lately. My days feel very full, but whether they really are or not is somewhat debatable.

We're nearing the end of the school year here and you can certainly tell. Event calenders are filling up quickly with all sorts of fairs, festivals and things to do. The weather, for the most part, has been lovely and we've certainly taken advantage of it all. Last weekend we spent some time wandering around the local farmers market, puttering around the garden and playing outside (often until the sun goes down). It's rare to find us indoors when the weather is so nice. Obviously it means that I won't be writing to all of you wonderful people but someone has to make that sacrifice.

This past Monday (and the majority of the week really) however, I had something else keeping me from the computer. It was called THE FLU!! I can't remember the last time I'd been sick and throwing up like that..unless you count the 3 months of morning, afternoon, and evening sickness I had with Critter of course. Every 20-30 minutes..like clockwork, I was rushing off to the bathroom with puke bowl in hand to wretch my guts out. Thankfully, this stopped sometime early Tuesday morning but I was so sore, ill feeling and tired that Big Daddy (who had gotten sick as well late Monday night) and I took turns sleeping so that someone would always be up with O who had managed to stay healthy.

We're still dealing with some lingering effects of it all. We aren't eating much. Our stomachs our sore. My body still aches from all of the vomiting I did and we are running to the bathroom all of the time. But Big Daddy finished up the week by working part of Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Despite my slower recovery, O and I have managed to do some house chores and went on a play date with Sig, DD and Gab. Our family even managed to complete a large outdoor project this past week that I'll share with you later. I need to take some pictures..that's something else I haven't been doing much of lately either.

This is where I'm going to leave you for now kiddies. It is another gorgeous day and I need to be getting back to the day at hand. Write you soon!

A Week In Review

2008-04-27T16:09:00.003-05:00

It's been another busy week here in Texas. I say that, but to be quite honest, it hasn't REALLY been THAT busy I suppose. I have free time, but I've been spending time (either productive fun stuff or dealing with the grumpy sourpuss mood) with the Critter or getting my house hold stuff done. That doesn't mean that I haven't thought about or missed you kiddies. And seeing as though I haven't written much since the beginning of last week, I thought I would catch y'all up now.

April 23: KID's birthday. O and I called and he sang Happy Birthday to her.

April 24: Critter and I went to the park to meet up with Mrs. Coach, Superstar, Teach (Mrs. Coach's sister), Happy and Knoxville (Teach's children - both very close in age to Critter and Superstar). Everyone had a great time. Critter's behaviour went drastically down hill after that and dinner out with everyone was less pleasant than our time at the park. Thankfully though that night was the return of Grey's Anatomy! KID, Mrs. Coach and I have been patiently waiting for it's return. For me, it didn't disappoint. I felt that this show was better than the ones prior to the writer's strike and I can't wait to see what they have in store for us this coming Thursday.

April 25: Big Daddy returned from another business trip. This one was to the home office in North Carolina. I was so glad to see him considering my son's mood the majority of the week. We had a nice dinner as a family, but thankfully I was able to retreat to my own corner of the house for a couple of hours.

April 26: In the morning, I dragged Big Daddy and O to the Farmer's market in a neighbouring town. It was small in comparison to some of the ones that I have been to, but there were some nice organic vegetables, herbs, meat, and eggs that we picked up. I even indulged myself and purchased "Arabian Spice" handmade soap. It's heavenly! Afterwards, we attempted to find a park suggested to us by friend Sig. Unfortunately we were unsuccessful, but we found ourselves near Sig and J's house and decided to see if they were around. They weren't, but it just so happened that they were at the park close by. The kids ran around playing for about an hour or so. It was lovely to get caught up with Sig, with whom I didn't have much of an opportunity to speak to at DD's birthday party. We got a lovely offer to join them for lunch, which we did, sharing our haul from the market. After much playing and fun we headed home.
Our day didn't end there. Mrs. Coach, Superstar and Baby Girl joined us for dinner and some play time afterwards. Coach had been away..coaching and I thought it would be nice to have them over while he was gone. I'd hate for them to be lonely yanno?

April 27 We haven't done all that much today. Most of our time has been spent playing or just lounging around. Big Daddy did have a bit of a "meeting" with our neighbour who is on the city park board. Big Daddy has a few connections and today was just a bit of a pow wow to see if he couldn't help the city out some.
And so now..this is where I find myself. Another quiet afternoon. Thankfully, the Critter is sleeping and Big Daddy is entertaining himself. For a change, I was able to find some time to write. Aren't you glad I did?

Another First

2008-04-22T13:15:00.010-05:00

Critter went to his first birthday part on Saturday. DD, the son of our friends J and Sig, turned the big 0-4! I must admit, I was a little excited for O, this being his first party and all (I may have even gone a little overboard with all the pictures I took, but if you repeat any of what I just said..I'll deny it!!).

Big Daddy and I had agreed earlier in the week to slightly change O's schedule so that he could get a decent sized nap in and go to the party all happy. We should have known better right? Nothing ever goes as planned with a toddler in the house. My stubborn boy would just not go to sleep for his Daddy and it wasn't until I got home from running some errands and turned on his music for him, did he got to sleep.

He was a real mess when we got there, even though he was happy to see DD, Gabs, and Sig. That boy would cry and do everything you told him not to do..the reason? He was hungry. In our rush to get the boy up from his nap and get to the party on time we forgot to give him something to eat, which of course made everything unpleasant. With a little bit of food in his belly, he morphed back into my sweet, fun boy and had a great time!

After Life Comes Death

2008-04-21T22:08:00.003-05:00

Don't ask me how, I honestly don't know how, but our wee baby bunny has gone off to the big carrot patch in the sky. Tufts of fur, along with a few other body parts were found (by me of course..the bleeding heart, animal person) in the backyard. Neither Big Daddy or I had mowed over the little guy so we can rule that one out. B.D. suspects the bunny got caught out in the storm Thursday night and well..you know. We don't have a dog and our cats are strictly house bound so really, it's anyone's guess as to what happened.

And no..no new pictures of the bunny.

Mama bunny is still around which is good. She has been sunning herself in the usual spots and has even tolerated my kittens chattering at her through the window screens.

Tips and Tricks #2

2008-04-18T22:34:00.002-05:00

Ever gotten tar on your car and haven't been able to get it off?

Try smearing on some peanut butter on the tar and then scrub it off with a clean towel. It may take a little bit of elbow grease, but it does work. I've tried it.

Boy Was My Face Red

2008-04-15T13:43:00.004-05:00

Have you ever had one of those moments in which you wish the floor would open up and swallow you, saving you from the embarrassing situation you suddenly find yourself in? I had such a moment yesterday.
Critter and I had a few errands to run, one of them being a trip to the post office. It sounds innocent enough, right? The post office was brimming with people as is the norm for a Monday morning. So it was no surprise that we found ourselves waiting in line to be helped. There we were, the next in line. O was standing beside me, holding my hand, chattering away to anyone that would pay him any mind and generally being very good. And then..my moment happens. Let me pause here for dramatic effect.

There comes a time in every parent's life when your child says or does something to utterly embarrass you. It's unavoidable. It's as certain as death and taxes. I did it. My sister did it. Big Daddy did it all the time. I knew that someday O would embarrass me too. I just never thought that it would be this soon. My mistake!
So there we are, still waiting for our turn at the counter and the place begins to fill in behind us. A woman takes a spot behind us in line and behind her, a man. Critter and I talk, me trying to keep him focused on staying with me and staying out of trouble. Hearing business starting to wrap up, I turn my attention to the conversation being held by one of the postal workers and the man she is helping. My feet shuffle, I inch forward a little as I get ready to move up when all of a sudden I hear the sweet innocent voice of my toddler ring out in the almost silent lobby.."You gotta boo boo? Right there, you got a boo boo?" I turn and look to see who he is talking to and what boo boo he is pointing out. As I'm making the turn, I hear the woman behind us reply to his questioning "Yes, I do have a one and it just won't seem to go away." Looking at her feet and working my way up, I see no boo boos to speak of until I look at her face. There just below her lip is an angry-looking red sore and my son is pointing it out to everyone present. "It's red. You gotta boo boo. It's red." I'm mortified to hear him continue. I have no idea what the sore was, but it's something that I certainly wouldn't have wanted pointed out and stared at. By this time, I've turned a brilliant shade of red (likely matching the colour of her sore) and desperately trying to turn O's attention else where. "Yes it is red" the lady behind us replies politely looking slightly embarrassed herself. THANK GOD this seems to satisfy my little critter and he drops this line of conversation. I throw an apology over my shoulder to the woman as a postal worker calls out for the next in line. I quickly grabbed O's hand and ran to the counter with a speed the likes of y'all have never seen before! Thankfully, Critter forgot all about the woman's boo boo and I was able to get out of there before he could notice the b.o. smell of the man now waiting behind us.

Baby Fever..

2008-04-14T13:47:00.003-05:00

After much deliberation on whether to have another baby or not, my family and I are thrilled to share with you guys that we in fact have a new addition to announce. I just found out today and couldn't be more pleased!! Here is his or hers first picture:

(Sorry Kid..ha ha ha..I couldn't help myself.)

Pretty much from the time we moved in to our home here in Texas, we've shared our land with a shy, loyal, little jack rabbit and now it seems, she has added to her family. We've often seen her about, sunning between our house and our friend's house next door. That was much earlier this year and we thought then she was having babies..or dead (she wasn't moving at all, even when we approached). No babies were to be found - until today that is.
I had considered finishing my weed eating, but decided to pull the weeds by hand. Very ambitious of me, huh? I was glad I did because I came across this little guy/girl while going to pull one of the weeds out (as you can see from the way the little guy is shrouded in greenery). If I had used the weed eater instead, I would have seen the baby a little too late and well..you know. I would have traumatized my kid, and me too I'm sure, FOREVER. I would have been known on the streets as Muffy..the bunny rabbit killer! The Easter bunny would skip us each year for sure. Now how would I have explained that one to Critter?

Critter Favourites

2008-04-12T15:26:00.005-05:00

Food - Macaroni and Cheese
Snack - Fruit
Thing to do - Play outside (at the park or with Superstar) and dance.
Song - "No One" by Alicia Keys
Movie - Alvin and the Chipmunks (Cars and Happy Feet are still very big hits though)
Drink - Juice of any kind
Toy - Cars and trains
Animal - Turtle
Colour - Purple
Expression - "I can't believe it."
Stuffed Animal - Bear Bear (a gift from Mimi when he was first born), and Todd the monkey (bought for him by Big Daddy while touring around Intercourse, PA)

Being Proactive

2008-04-11T10:08:00.002-05:00

Instead of complaining to my family, friends, and fellow neighbours about the things I don't like about my neighbourhood or town, I've opted to get involved. Last night was the first small step in the beginning of that. I decided to go to our annual Home Owner's Association meeting and joined a couple of communities. With my Internet development background, I joined the website/newsletter as well as the crime watch committee but also intend to help with the landscape group when they need help with planting around our subdivision.
I've been wanting to get involved for a while, but I didn't quite have the time to devote to it. But now that O has become the very mobile, self sufficient, independent, and content creature that he is, I feel better about getting involved and spending time doing things away from the house and away from him. With Big Daddy having made his BIG trip for the year, I can count on him (to some extent) to be around which makes my involvement more possible.

Seeing as involvement is the word of the week around here, today I'll be contacting the president of our Chamber of Commerce to see where I can get involved in our town. We are a small community on the fringes of the DFW Metroplex but the town has become one of the fastest growing communities in Texas. There has been a population boom over the last few years and the town is doing it's best to catch up with the influx of people and the demand it brings.
If you had asked me a couple of years ago if I ever thought I'd get involved like this, I'd have told you you were crazy. I'm shy person (truly I am, kiddies) until I get comfortable with people or a certain situation. But I'm not really the type to put myself out there in the first place so to actually be the one to approach these people is monumental for me. It was time yanno? It is time away from the house in which I can be me, my own person and separate from being a mother and wife. It's also about taking pride in my community both the neighbourhood and town that I live in and making it a great place to live in. I also want to get involved just for the sake of getting involved; to meet new people; and be a part of something that maybe my critter will be proud of me for and will inspire him to be involved someday.

I'm Sorry

2008-04-08T08:21:00.003-05:00

I'm sorry kiddies. It's not that I'm ignoring you. I like y'all very much in fact. It's just that it's hard to get time on the computer any more. B.D. still is without a computer. There are some issues with my laptop (more so since updating the operating system) and so Big Daddy and I have to share the desk top; he for work and I..well..to do the bills, check email, read the news, bug Kid, and well..to write for you good people of course! If it makes a difference..I miss you guys. I really do. Not only do I not get to write to you as much, but I'm strapped to get in my daily reads of my favourite blogs. It's so sad! But the up side to this whole messy computer debacle is that I have lots to write about when I get on here.

Okay..time to go. B.D. has to get to work. See y'all soon.

UPDATE: Big Daddy's computer has been fixed. Mine, however, is still giving me fits. I should have gone back to school for IT..and not internet development. Ugh..I'll keep trying (while everything else goes to pot).

Brotherly Love

2008-04-06T08:12:00.002-05:00

I finally managed to get my pictures off of my camera, which happened to be no small feat. So you guys should consider yourselves lucky. I wouldn't work this hard for just anyone yanno.

Here is my little critter and his best buddy Superstar doing what boys do best..playing in my empty flower beds, taking the mulch and dumping it where ever they please. In other words, making a mess.

It's not too often that you see these two playing like this. They like each other and are always wanting to play with one another, or so they say. But when they get outside, one grabs the other person's toys (which is usually cars) and the other grabs the other person's cars and they play in different areas. Mrs. Coach and I chuckle at that. The whole point (besides getting them outside of course) is for them to play with one another, which was what they were asking for not five minutes earlier.
They do play together between playing with their seperate hordes and fights over whatever car is most coveted that day. They love to race each other, but that too can turn into a fight too. Both like to be win, though I believe likes to push Superstar's buttons more than he likes winning. You'd almost think that these two were brothers by the way they act, huh?

Tips and Tricks

2008-04-02T23:35:00.002-05:00

Big Daddy and I are a frugal lot. We especially dislike spending money on replacing or fixing things when we can do it ourselves. We aren't the experimental type. We don't just sit around looking for unconventional ways to repair things, but we're game to try something if it's been suggested to us (most of the time anyways). A friend of mine has been a Godsend in this department and I thought it would be nice if I shared some of them with you - didn't I tell you? I'm all about making your life easier. I'm that kind of person. Not really, but hey..I'm feeling magnanimous today.

Tip #1: Kids colour on your painted wall with crayon? No problem! For clean-up all you need is a little hairspray and a cloth. NOTE: this does not work on wallpaper.

In Da Hood..

2008-04-01T14:08:00.006-05:00

My friend Gail over at Family Matters - in Italy posted a little photography challenge last week; photograph your hood. Liking the concept, I decided to do just that, but with the laptop being very uncooperative and not recongnizing my camera, I've had to pick out some pictures from the archives. They are odds and ends and certainly not great quality but as I said, I like Gail's idea and wanted her to see my neck of the woods too. So without further ado..

Here are some pictures I took around town one very early and foggy morning. We live in your typical rustic, western, turn-of-the century small ranch towns. This is just a small taste.

We live in the new section of town where the houses go up seemingly overnight. I took this picture while my Mama and I were out driving one VERY windy day during her visit (read about it here). As you can see it was trash day. Not a pretty sight.

And if you want to see even more of my little corner of the world, check out this blog entry to see what it was like with some snow on the ground.

Current Events

2008-03-31T21:08:00.002-05:00

Today in "life..unscripted" news, Muffy and the little critter hunkered down next door with Mrs. Coach's sister (who I really should give her own name) and all the kids, as a pretty decent wall cloud passed overhead and the skies opened up. Together they weathered a short-lived tornado warning, some funnel lowerings, and flooding.

Also in the "news", Big Daddy's computer has gone into a sweet tea induced coma. This reporter watched in disbelief as a half consumed glass of sweet tea spilled out across the nearly new laptop of Big Daddy. Explicit words were used as Big Daddy rushed to save the expensive piece of machinery from the clutches of certain death. But despite all of Muffy's best efforts, the laptop remains in a vegetative like state and doctors at Dell aren't holding out much hope. There is no word yet from Big Daddy's company, but no charges are expected to be filed.

In other computer news, there is still no word on when Muffy's computer will be fixed. She is working diligently on getting it to do what she wants it to do, but with little success. At least hers works on a whole and she can still access her files. She has made little progress on getting the computer to recognize her camera, but worse comes to worse, she'll pull some pictures out of her archives.

That's all for tonight folks. Have a great rest of your day.

Book Review

2008-03-27T13:51:00.001-05:00

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett - (from the jacket) tells the story of Philip, prior of Kingsbridge, a devout and resourceful monk driven to build the greatest Gothic cathedral the world has known...of Tom, the mason who becomes his architect - a man divided in his soul...of the beautiful, elusive Lady Aliena, haunted by a secret shame...and of a struggle between good and evil that will turn church against state and brother against brother.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I read this rather large book (973 pages) while Big Daddy was in China as a way to past some of the time. I had purchased the book about a month prior, but never really had a real strong desire to read it. Mama was buying the book so I did too, what the heck right?
It was a pretty good book and while I'm tempted to say it was great, there were a couple of things about it that prevent it from being such. I'm no prude, but this book was too graphic for me in spots. Without giving a story line away, there is a bit of pillaging and plundering that goes on and the detail of it all is a little too much. Also, as an animal lover there are a couple of situations involving animals that tugged at the heart strings as well. I do understand that it was a different time and really a different culture, but animal cruelty always bothers me, fictional or not.
The only other thing I didn't like about the book was that it was very thick and wasn't very well edited. The premise of the story is a good one..the characters were great, but the book was so beefy. It was repetitive in many places and that too detracted from the quality of the book. The book could have been heavily edited and the story would have been just as good, but it likely would have made it even better.

Out of 5, I'd probably give the book a 3 and 1/2. It was a page turner (for me). I was eager to more about the characters and their stories. But I did skip over a number of paragraphs that I felt weren't adding anything to the story. I have read some reviews about the story not being very historically accurate, but given my limited knowledge of the religion and the separation of Church and State, I didn't think it took away from the story any.
I'd recommend this book to those looking for something to read. It's a good one, but like I said, it could have been better.

High-Gloss Black

2008-03-26T13:54:00.003-05:00

I consider myself the crafty DIY'er type. I love to fix, build, create, and refurbish stuff. I don't know if it has to do with being hands on or creating something from scratch that gets my blood pumping, but whatever it is, I love it. I have a great imagination and will try just about anything, but on my latest project my execution stinks!

In case you missed it in my previous posts or are just tuning in, I'm painting my kitchen table and chairs. They are only a few years old but for some reason, the finish was already coming off of the table and rather then continue to pick off the finish (which was driving Big Daddy crazy) I decided to refinish the set. Originally, I wanted to re stain the table but once I got sanding I realised just how long it would take me to get it down to the bare wood and I was looking for something a little more quick fix. So I opted for a rough sanding and then painting.

Sounds all well and good right? Not quite. I guess here is where I should mention the only blemish (that I know of yet) on my DIY career...painting. It really isn't my forte. I'm a bit of a sloppy painter and while I'm trying to be super careful and make sure I'm doing it correctly, I'm finding that my once easy and fast solution is now taking me forever! The reason (at least in my books) is high-gloss black paint. It looks great when done by a professional..or when a sprayer is used. But when you give high-gloss paint to a woman that is a sloppy painter and you have a recipe for disaster my friends.
So why give a sloppy painter high-gloss black paint in the first place you ask? Well, the table and chairs look a little Asian-esque and with all black appliances, I thought the paint choice was a good one. Uhhh..not so. Oh well, you live and you learn right. Maybe..just maybe..Big Daddy will take pity on me and help me finish up the three chairs that are left.

I'll keep you posted.

2008-03-25T22:49:00.002-05:00

I know I've said it before on this blog, and not too long ago at that, but we are busy here lately. Big Daddy made it back here safely on Sunday and so there has been much catching up to do. As well there are chairs to paint, gardens to build and plant, tax documents to prepare, more spring cleaning, a child to entertain, and some family issues are brewing as I type this. I haven't had much time to sit down and actually write, but I have much to share including some pictures and will be sure to post it all when I get some free time. Hopefully that time will be soon.

I Wish You..

2008-03-22T15:17:00.003-05:00

a Happy Easter

a warm and sunny day (like we have again here today)

patience (something I am lacking again today)

Colour Wash markers (unlike the dry erase one my son found and proceeded to draw with on the wall, carpet, tile and hardwood floors - it came off the tile and hardwood, but not the carpet or the tile grout)

never miss your connecting flight (especially after a 12 hr flight half way around the world, only to be told that there were no other flights until tomorrow - like Big Daddy was told this afternoon)

dependable people in your life that do what they said they were going to do
car rental places that are open on Sundays, because sometimes you need a vehicle on spur of the moment on Sundays too.

a clone(s) of yourself to get done all the things that need to be done, but you just don't have time to do (like me today)

a computer that works like it's supposed to (unlike my laptop - ugh!)

Busy Bees

2008-03-19T22:45:00.002-05:00

There is lots to write about here, but very little time over the next few days to do so. Today O and I had a play date..which was wonderful (thank you J, Sig, DD, and Gab). A friend of mine from high school, his wife and family moved down here last year and we've managed to squeeze in a couple of play dates between some pretty busy schedules. They were here the day after Christmas and so it was our turn to go there.
I love our next door neighbour's company, but it's always nice to meet and spend time with other people as well, Sig is good people. I really enjoy her company and think she is a very lovely woman. So..we chatted and got to know each other better while the kids played. We took them to the park and then enjoyed a nice dinner when J got home from work. I basically had to drag the little critter out of the toy room and take him home. I think he was having a blast playing with DD and J (who was playing with the boys like Big Daddy would have done if he had been around).

Tomorrow we are off to the zoo with our friends next door and Mrs. Coach's sister and kids. They all get along great and so we thought we'd take them to see the animals, something they all haven't done in a while.

I'm also working on another surprise project in the house. I haven't told Big Daddy yet, though he knew I was wanting to do it sometime. I'm sure he just didn't expect me not to be done by the time he got back. I'm refinishing our kitchen table and chairs seeing the finish on them now is wearing. I've sanded them all down and now I'm going to paint them. And yep..I don't think I'll have it done by the time Big Daddy gets home. Not with the cleaning and watching the boy. There is just that little time it seems. I was planning on having gotten the stuff yesterday and started painting last night but will all of the storms and flooding we had in the area that I just saved it for today. But of course I didn't get anything done today as we didn't make it home from our play date until an hour ago. So I've got a lot to do. You think maybe Big Daddy won't notice if they aren't done when he gets home? Yeah..that's what I thought too. Oh well.

I'm off to bed now. Tomorrow will be another early start. Night Night folks.

Odds and Ends

2008-03-18T22:08:00.002-05:00

Sometimes I wonder why my Mother is the way she is. She's generally a really great person. She's kind and compassionate. She is generous and very loving. But despite all of these things she has this innate ability to make people feel terrible by guilting them.
Today Critter and I spoke to her and the conversation went well enough, but then I made the mistake of telling her my plans for big Daddy's homecoming. I'm planning to get a nice little hotel room near the airport, grab a nice sit down dinner and go to bed early. I thought it would be a nice thing to do for him..though I'm sure he'll want to get home, but I figured it would be a nice thing to do in place of the hour drive on top of getting something to eat. Soooo..my Mother takes this nice gesture and berates it. She continually asked what O and I were going to do while Big Daddy slept the entire night. I wanted to reach through the phone and smack her. Her reason..she was ticked because O and I didn't go to Florida to meet up with her and my step-father. I'm not even going to begin to get into my reasons for not making the trip, but they are too numerous. Anyways..so ya..thanks for your support Mom.

We have had some pretty outrageous weather today. From about 9am until mid afternoon we had some major thunderstorms and rained like the end of the world was coming. There were tornado and flash flood watches most of the day. Winds were over 100 mph at times today and most all in bound and out bound flights were cancelled out of DFW. It's still raining and tomorrow isn't looking much better. Critter is going to have some major cabin fever tomorrow.

Big Daddy's boss called today, which I thought was very nice of him. He called to check on O and I, to see how we were doing. He's a good man and has always looked out for our family. But he too has been on several of these trips, a couple to China, and knows how hard it can be on a family. It was thoughtful..and much appreciated by me.

I just finished reading Ken Follett's Pillars of The Earth last night. It's a rather large book - 973 pages to be exact, but I spent just a little over 5 days reading it. I had a difficult time putting it down needless to say.
It's late now though, and well..I think I'll wait until tomorrow to tell you what I thought of the book.

So, on that note, I'm off to bed. Sleep tight kiddies!

Erin G'Braugh!

2008-03-17T20:56:00.003-05:00

To those that celebrate it..Happy St. Paddy's Day.

I don't know much about Saint Patrick, but I feel a certain sort of kinship to this particular holiday. I wasn't born in Ireland, but some of my people were. My great-great grandfather was an Irish immigrant to Canada many years ago and it is Ireland that I am named after. And so I celebrate the holiday regardless.

A vast number of Big Daddy's people were Irish as well, and so most years, I do a small feast of corn beef, boiled potatoes and cabbage. One year I even made soda bread. This year though, O and I did very little. He doesn't really get the concept (nor does he like potatoes and cabbage), so it was a very quiet celebration today. Both of us wore green as is our tradition, but there was no feast. Next year.

When Irish eyes are smiling
and Irish smiles are wide,
When Irish hearts are happy
and the piper plays a slide,
when Irish stew is bubbling
and the soda bread is hot
and the Irish tea is steeping in
a little Irish pot,
When the room is warm with laughter
and the songs are bright and bold
and there's poetry and magic
in the stories that are told,
Isn't it a blessing,
isn't it just grand
to know the heart and soul
of you belongs to Ireland?

Sun Bunny

2008-03-15T15:33:00.003-05:00

I love spring! I love being out of doors where I can feel the sun on my face (despite being allergic - I have the hives to prove it right now too), the brilliant blue skies, the smell of the wet dirt after a good rain and the intoxicating scent of hyacinths, tulips, and daffodils. What gorgeousness we have right now! The grass is still brown for the most part and the trees are still bare, but oh how I love this time of year.

Last night I found myself sitting on the porch with a glass of vino and my book as the sun was beginning to set behind the houses. It was the first night where temperatures weren't falling much below daytime temps despite the sun having gone down. As the crickets began their evensong serenade, I couldn't help but think about Big Daddy and wished that he could have been here to share the evening with me. He too would have enjoyed every minute of it and that was enough for me to feel connected to him despite the distance between us.

So here I am outside sitting on the porch..again. I can't help myself! It's too nice to be in the house. I love this quite time when Critter is napping and I can get outside without having to watch him like a hawk and just simply relax. It gives me time to reflect on my poor neglected garden.

Speaking of which, all of this fabulous weather has given me the gardening bug and I can't wait until Big Daddy gets home so that we can get on with getting on. Last year we took the metal edging out as it did little for the garden and B.D. has promised me that I can get some stone to build a nice decorative edge. Our garden needs it truthfully. At present, there is mulch everywhere. We've had some big rains and that's just the way the garden flows.
At the same time, I've taken to dressing up our porch. It has been barren most of the year and just recently I've started to make some improvements. More work is needed though Big Daddy will object to spending money on it I'm sure. I'll get him to think of it as a anniversary gift or something. :D

Okay, I think I'm done procrastinating. I have a long list of things I said I was going to do while Big Daddy was away. It's now been a week since he left and I've done only one of the eight things on my list. Oh but how I can be inside on a gorgeous day like this?!

I've determined...

2008-03-14T22:45:00.003-05:00

..that I am a woman of little patience.

I never used to be this way. I took everything in stride and was slow to react most of the time. I did a great deal of listening and thinking before saying or doing anything. I used to have patience for just about anything. But sadly, that has changed I think.

I used to think that there were things that I still had patience for, but I do believe that today, my son proved me wrong.

The End of The Sippy Cup

2008-03-13T11:33:00.002-05:00

It's time to get rid of the sippy cup. I've come to realize that O is far too content to drink out of a sippy cup never trying to use his big boy cup. He was the same way with the bottle. I understand that it feels unnatural for him and we haven't tried to practice all that often, but my big concern is that he won't even try. I don't expect him to succeed the first, second, or even 50th time he tries, but I do expect him to try. I'm tired of hearing "I can't".

So if it means more laundry, lots of spills, tantrums, and being thought of as the bad guy then so be it. I'm up to the challenge.

Today's Fab Five

2008-03-12T20:24:00.003-05:00

While there is plenty going on in these here parts, tonight I thought I would just share my 5 gratitude's for the day:

Old Friends:last night I reconnected with an old friend from high school. I had been searching for her for a while now (on facebook - yes I facebook too), but hadn't had any success. Luckily though, she found me. We spent hours on the phone with one another catching up. I so enjoyed getting to know her all over again. While she is still the same funny, happy-go-lucky, sweet, yet kinda wild girl I hung out with in high school..she has become this really great woman and Mama as well.

Phone Calls from China: they aren't near long enough, nor is there any regularity to them, but I cherish Big Daddy's phone calls home.

Warm Sunny Weather: you would never know that we had snow 2 days last week. We have had some fantastic weather this past week. It's been sunny and warm and not a single cloud in the sky. By Friday we should be up in the 90's (I'm hoping for windy too so it won't feel like 90 just yet). Critter and I have been playing outside with our neighbours and the boys are crying when we drag them inside to go to bed (ya daylight savings time).

My Little Critter: O and I may do battle quite often, but he is the light of my life and I can't begin to describe how happy I am to have him. Have I mentioned that my kid gives the best hugs ever? Well..he does. He's in bed already tonight..and while we've spent the entire day together today..I miss him.

Midol:..the best PMS medicine (for me - and anyone who is within my striking distance) out there. Need I say more?

Little Rays of Light

2008-03-10T09:52:00.011-05:00

Here are a few pictures that I took last week. It was on a gloriously sunny, but cooler day. We had beautiful sunshine streaming in the foyer window and on to the tile floor below, creating a rectangle of light. My odd little critter thought it was the perfect place to play with his cars..that very rectangle. I, of course, couldn't resist the photo opportunity.

And here are two others that enjoy the afternoon sun that streams in that window:

China Pearl lays on the upper step..Adair on the lower. These are my fury babies..both female..both calico.

Short and Sweet

2008-03-09T22:58:00.002-05:00

I'm tired tonight people and I don't feel much in the way of blogging, unless of course I could just dictate and someone else could type it for me. It's a shame the little critter isn't old enough to do that yet.

Okay, so Big Daddy made it to his little remote town in China. Don't ask me the name of said city; I know it, but I'm too tired to actually recall what it is. It was almost three in the morning when I heard from my spouse. It was short, sweet, and comforting. At least I was finally able to go back to sleep after having been awake off and on since 11pm when I went sleep. I also had a dream where I think I was literally calling out for Big Daddy in my sleep.

I wasn't able to get his first impression of China that conversation. It really was a quick hi, I made it, and bye conversation. Though he did tell me that he was showing everyone on the plane the scrap-album that I made for him. Isn't he sweet?! I'd say it pretty much makes up for the lousy Valentine's Day. It sure did make my day.
But now I'm tired, beyond really. Critter has been in bed now for 2 hrs and I have idea, but I've been prolonging going to sleep. But enough is enough. I'm headed to bed now. Sleep tight kiddies.

Big Daddy Goes International

2008-03-08T19:52:00.002-06:00

So for those of you following along with the saga that is Big Daddy goes to China..well today was finally the day. His flight was very early this morning and so rather then throwing O's schedule and making the day tougher than it was figuring to be (and it really was a tough day), Big Daddy found another way to the airport. We will, however, be meeting him there when he returns.

Big Daddy has been traveling now for more then 13.5 hrs. It's more like 15 if you count the drive to DFW. He had a brief stop over in San Francisco and then on to the second leg of his journey.
As I write this, Big Daddy is somewhere over Siberia. I know this because of the handy little software program that I like to use to watch all of our family and friend's flights when they come to visit or are leaving. This program has been a God send and a bit of a curse. Of course it allows me to see when there are flight delays as they occur as well as it being fun to watch the little airplane float across a map in real-time. You can actually see the path the flight took. Tonight though, I've actually experienced a bit of a down side. I don't know if it's because the flight is now out of North America, but right now it's showing at 0ft altitude. That made my heart drop a little considering there is supposed to be no other stops and well..the plane was showing as being over Siberia as I mentioned. The little plane keeps moving along and there on other messages, so I'm chalking it up to it being an international flight and all. I'm just a little worried. :S

Critter has asked a zillion times for his Daddy. While I smile outwardly and even inwardly some as he asks (as his constant inquiry after his Father is a testament to their strong bond and love for one another), it too breaks my heart a little because I know that he misses Big Daddy so. I'm thinking that I will get him a picture of him and his Daddy and put it in his room so that he can look at it whenever he wants. I think that I'll get out the calender and circle the date of when Big Daddy flies home and maybe this will help with the repetitive questioning.

Under 5 hrs left in Big Daddy's flight. I hope he's doing okay. I'm also hoping that I get to hear from him when he reaches Beijing. My guess is that he is going to be tired and grumpy and it won't be much of a conversation, but I will be so happy to hear his voice. It will be 1:30-2am here so maybe it will be me who is the tired grumpy one.

Okay..so it's off to occupy myself with some cleaning or something. I always clean when I'm on edge.

A Brief Announcement From Your Local Network

2008-03-06T19:21:00.002-06:00

I just wanted to let y'all know that I'm taking a few days off from blogging. Big Daddy leaves for China on Saturday and I'm trying to make sure he's ready to go and that we've all spent time together. I'm also secretly making him a like scrapbook-type mini photo album to take with him to China! Shhhh. So right now that's keeping me occupied too. Write you soon.

..Now returning to your regularly scheduled program already in progress..

Did I say Spring?

2008-03-04T10:57:00.012-06:00

There is a saying here in Texas: "If you don't like the weather, wait 10 minutes. It's sure to change". What CRAZY weather we are having here. We've gone from mid 70 degree weather this weekend with a tornado watch Sunday evening and then last night, we had this:

Big Daddy was at a meeting last night and Critter was asleep, but I couldn't help myself. I did what any Canadian would have done. I got dressed up in my winter gear and went for a walk to the corner (skipping all the way of course) and then made snowmen for O and Superstar. I was a little kid again! :D

We had a pretty decent snow too. I think we got about 6" (maybe less) of snow total. I shoveled out the driveway and de-iced it for Big Daddy (what a good wife I am, huh?) who was still out. I even helped our buddy nextdoor get his vehicles into the driveway as the roads were pretty slick. I don't typically like snow, but I felt alive after my time outside in the storm. It was if I had been transported back to Canada and I easily got lost in the crunch of my foot falls as I walked along the sidewalk, my face slightly tipped to the sky. The joyful sound of children playing out in the snow was the only other sound to be heard and the air..! What a smell. Do you now that snow has a scent?! :) It smells like a crisp, pure, clean, fresh smell.

This morning was as equally glorious. I had an early start and I was able to get out and take a pleasant walk all by myself. The Critter was still asleep when I returned and I eventually had to wake him up, but the whole family went outside and had fun playing in the snow! Too bad it's already melting. From below freezing to mid 50's today. Like I said..don't like the weather? Just wait.

My Epic Battle

2008-03-03T12:26:00.002-06:00

After years of heartache and several failed attempts to lose weight, I'm finally doing it. Over the course of 7 months I've lost a total of 35 lbs. It is only 1/3 of the weight I'd like (and need) to lose, but the fact that I've lost those pounds and have not put them back on again has been paramount. As a much added bonus, I've lost over 14" overall. That's even better then losing pounds if you ask me.

Losing weight has been a battle for me, literally a battle. It's a war that has been going on since I hit puberty, only I didn't know it until a few years ago. I, along with everyone else just assumed that I ate too much sweets and junk food. I have to admit that I did in my later high school years, but I was still very active in athletics. I ate pretty healthy in my adolescent years, my Father saw to that. I wasn't fat, not then at least, but I was heavier then most of my girl friends. Everyone has heard of the freshman 15, but in my freshman year of college, I put on 30lbs and I wasn't eating as poorly. Okay, so I drank a little bit more, had more pop, but I ate well. It didn't matter though once sports was gone out of my life.
Over the next 5 years I put on 40 more pounds. I felt horrible about myself and it showed. But with Mama and Big Daddy's help (who had just asked me to marry him), I lost 35 of those 40 pounds. But as my story had become, I put the weight back on and then some.

I had lost the battle, or at least I had thought so. It wasn't until my female bits went haywire, that I got any answers about why I couldn't just lose the weight I had put on, why no matter what effort I made, I still put on weight. Along came a miracle worker, a doctor who finally believed everything I told him and didn't run a bunch of tests and then never follow through. Thank God for this man, who knew almost instantly what my issue was and without hesitation treated me with great success (with the female bits going haywire stuff mostly). What every doctor I had previously gone to suspected I had, but didn't care to treat, was Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome or PCOS. In layman's terms, I had cysts on my ovaries that were affecting my female hormones. The symptoms are different for each woman and I won't bore you with all of those, but for me, my body wasn't breaking down insulin correctly and it was being stored in my body as excess sugar..much like a diabetic.

PCOS is treatable, but it's something that I will always have. I've done the medication route and it helped, but I wasn't on it long enough to see it's effects with losing weight. Just two short months after starting on the meds I got pregnant with Critter. I likely should have gone back on the medication once I had him, but to this date..well..I'm too stubborn. I really should though. The only other treatment for this syndrome is diet and exercise. That news only magnified the fact that I loathed dieting and exercising.

After O was born I was feeling too stressed from life's curve balls and with being a new mother that I didn't exercise (which would have been the perfect time to work-out don't you think). Since then, I've taken almost a year and a half off from any REAL working out but started back up once my weight started creeping higher and higher.

Now, I haven't been as dedicated as I should have been. It's so easy to get out of a routine of eating well and exercising with all of life's little curves that get thrown at you. The one thing that I've always lacked is self discipline. Exercising, for the sake of exercising is extremely tedious to me, which is why I find it difficult to keep on a schedule of working out as much as I need to.
My other battle is with carbohydrates. Those tasty, starchy, less nutritious bits of goodness. Oh how I crave them! My favourite has to be potatoes..of most any kind. Yummmm. I do try to eat healthy, but I most always falter when I try to keep them out of my diet. I go a little crazy after a while (Big Daddy says it's like a whole other person invades my body), and I end up binging. I know it's worse then just eating small portions of healthier versions such as brown rice, whole wheat pasta and sweet potatoes, but like I said, I just go a little crazy. And while I may fall off the wagon time and again, I do get back on and continue to do what I can.

Which is where I'm at now..getting back on the wagon and hoping for a much smoother ride. Keep your fingers crossed.