My New 'Do

I went to get my hair done on Sunday. I made an appt with Brenda at the JCPenney Salon. I took a picture of a makeover I did with the cut and color I wanted thinking that would make it easier than trying to explain to her what I wanted.

I get there and I show her the picture on my phone... she says "I cant see that." So I try to explain it to her and she gets this horrified look on her face. She says, "You want it black? With highlights?" To which I replied... "Yes... black as the base color, with red and blonde highlights." She says she cant do that... she is not an expert. So Im thinking... well what CAN you do? I was about to just get the blonde and red highlights when she suggested we talk to Lina, a hair expert.

Lina suggested doing black and red lowlights and blonde highlights throughout. Going all black wouldnt be that difficult but once my blonde started growing out it would look bad. Good point! Brenda didnt sound like she could do all those highlights either and suggested doing a dark brown base color with the highlights. I looked over at Lina who was shaking her head no and said, "Let me see if I can get you in today."

She looked over her schedule and said she could get me in now, it wouldnt take that long. That, I could, pissed Brenda off. I didnt care though. She wasnt a very friendly person. My sister had her a day earlier and she didnt really get what my sister wanted.

Lina cut my hair before highlighting another girl's hair. Then she came back to do my color while the other girl "processed." The whole thing took over 3 hours... from the time I got there til the time I left. It was well worth it though. I was very impressed with the outcome and EVERYONE loves it. I have yet to come across someone that hasnt liked it. Ill definitely be going back to Lina.

Here are some pics for your enjoying pleasure...

Before:

During:


After:




Now if only I could get my hair to look that good again! I need a personal stylist LoL

Saving Gas is Hard Work

I recently bought a bike with the intention of actually riding it. I bought a bike trailer for it for the kids and got it all set to ride. I think my sister has ridden the bike more than I have but I HAVE ridden it. Today, as a matter of fact.

I decided this morning would be the perfect opportunity for a bike ride. It wasnt too hot, Sara and Adam were still sleeping and I needed just a couple things at the grocery store. The grocery store that is 2 miles away. I walked it before, never rode it though. Thought it couldnt be too hard...

Boy was I frickin' wrong. It was alright on the way there, pulling atleast 32lbs behind me. I parked in the parking lot right next to a cart corral. Locked my bike up and went about my shopping. Kadie and I bought milk, orange juice, fruit, yogurt and toilet paper. I knew I couldnt buy too much or else the trailer would be too heavy.

We bought got a yogurt drink as well and headed for home. Wow... that was a pain in the ass... no, it was a pain in my legs. My legs were killing me... my heart was racing... and I was sweating my butt off (which may or may not be a good thing, I dont really want to lose my butt). We stopped maybe 5 or 6 times because I needed a break. I made it about half way down my street when I got off the bike and walked a bit to rest my legs. I then got back on the bike and pushed it all the way home. Whew!

I can honestly say, I will not be saving very much gas this way... but I will be toning my legs.

Mini Heart Attack

Mom's Night Out

I finally got a mom's night... absolutely NO kids...

My babysitter got here around 6. The kids were fed and already in pjs. I was worried about getting out the door. Three out of five wanted to go with me and two of them cried as I shut the door behind me and left them in. Kinda sad...

My sister and I went to dinner. Something we have NEVER done, just the two of us... well, atleast not in a really long time. We are usually with other people or one to five kids. We went to Red Lobster. Neither of us had been in a while so it was a nice change. They werent busy at all. Even though it was a Thursday night at 630, I expected them to be busier. We got a table immediately. It took me a minute to figure out what exactly I wanted... I wanted EVERYTHING LoL I finally settled on the Ultimate Feast. My sister ordered the same. I dont think I actually finished any one thing on my plate... save for the shrimp scampi, that does NOT go to waste. I had bits of everything else left over and most of my crab legs. I wished my husband was there, if for nothing else but to finish my dinner... he is good to have around for that. Love you baby :)

Dinner was good and I was STUFFED! The waitress tried talking us into dessert but a) we had NO room for dessert, b) that would have made our bill over $70 including tip and I still had to pay the babysitter, and c) we had to go to my friend's house for drinks and jewelry (and little did I know how much I would end up spending there).

We stopped back by the house to pick up the chocolate covered strawberries I made. I sent April in so the kids wouldnt see me and freak out again. However, when she went in she left the door open and the babies decided to make their escape. I tried ducking down in my seat so they couldnt see me but I wasnt quick enough. Sara was coaxing Adam to follow her (with a backwards wave, meaning come on) and then Adam comes running up the car saying "MOOOOOOOOOOOOM!" in his most excited tone ever. Sara was more interested in the teeter totter than she was me though. The babysitter came out to get Adam and I carried Sara back in the house. She was not happy that I was leaving AGAIN, but I think she was more pissed off that I wouldnt let her play outside.

We got to my friends about 745 and my sister agreed to be the DD. She is on a drinking break. Good thing she has 50 bucks on her not drinking or else Im not sure how we would have gotten home last night. I had three tall margaritas... original, on the rocks, no salt. I dont particularly like unflavored margaritas but these were really good and definitely much better than the wine alternative (I dont do wine). We started the night chit chatting about our kids and after a few drinks ended up talking about who had sex on their wedding night and who kissed another girl. It was a fun night... even getting bounced around on the trampoline was fun. Dangerous... but fun. Thank goodness for the walls of mesh or else I probably would have ended up in the grass with the froggies. I could not stay on my feet and at one point thought I was going to break my ankle. I kept trying to get off but my sister and friend kept bouncing me... I was laughing so hard I thought I might puke LoL

I didnt puke and I didnt get kicked out of the group for being too skinny :p so it was a good night!!! Love you girls! Thanks!

I Have Issues

While I'm sure most of you already knew that I just wanted to elaborate a bit...

I was talking to my friend about this the other day... the debatably nice one, that is really nice, cause she watches my kids and brings me food ;) ... I was telling her how I have conversations with myself. Always in my head but sometimes in weird accents. Usually a British accent. Weird, I know.

Sometimes I even have to tell myself to shut up. Ill be talking in my head about stuff I know nothing about... pulmonary embolisms, subcranial hematomas, etc etc. Lots of times its things they say on Grey's, House, NCIS or any of the CSIs. Maybe I watch too much tv. Doesn't explain the British accent though.

Maybe we should just move to England and stop watching tv. There, problem solved. :p

Cosleeping

John and I were talking about cosleeping the other day. I do not consider cosleeping to be when a kid climbs into bed with us in the middle of the night because they are scared or whatever. When I think of cosleeping, I think of the kid going to bed with us, at the same time as us, and staying in bed with us the whole night. THAT is cosleeping.

I am not against cosleeping... John is. He didn't even want the kids climbing into bed with us in the middle of the night, but I wasn't budging on that one. I however do not always want them in my bed. I saw how my sister was with my mom... then again, I see Kadie being the same way. Must be a middle child thing. Anyway, I digress.

If someone wants to cosleep, great. Whatever works for them... but I think this is taking cosleeping to a whole new level...



Jacob came out of his room last night to tell me that Kadie was in Adam's crib, ASLEEP! I went to check on them and sure enough, both were passed out (Adam minus his diaper as always) and Kadie had zipped them both up in the crib tent. I put Adam's diaper back on him (well pullups are easier to get on a sleeping kid) and left them both there. I wasn't about to attempt moving Kadie, so I got my camera and snapped a picture. And they slept ALL night!!! Maybe I should put Kadie back in a crib, then she might actually go to bed at a decent hour... hmmmm.

Do I Have a Fever?

And no, I don't mean baby fever... I'm talking about the cleaning bug. I think Ive been infected.

Two mornings ago I was awakened by a rustling sound. A sound I have grown quite adept in recognizing within the last two and a half years of living in the deep south. It's the sound of a bug (a water bug or palmetto bug or roach, depending on what you prefer to call it) and it can wake me from a dead sleep. I jump out of bed, grab my glasses and turn on the light in search of the vile creature. I moved some papers around that were on my dresser and the little bugger emerged from underneath. I used a self defense technique called "squishing" to attack the bug that had invaded my home. They creep me out when I see them near my bed. So needless to say, I could not get back to sleep.

At 430am I decided that I would clean my room. By the time I finished it was almost time to get the kids up for school. Since I couldn't go back to sleep I decided to do my Yoga Booty Ballet workout instead.

Now this morning I was awakened again. This time by not such a vile creature... just a sweet, loving, wanted-to-say-I-love-you-at-330-in-the-morning deployed soldier. I jumped out of bed hearing the music of my messenger alert. I talked to him for a few minutes and was supposed to go back to sleep. If you can't tell, I never went back to sleep.

Since I had no desire to go back to bed I decided I would clean the living room. I even mopped in here and in the hallway. I'm telling you, something is seriously wrong with me. I've never felt so sick, yet so productive this early in the morning. I'm not quite sure if I am happy with this new cleaning ailment I'm experiencing or if I'm peeved.

Here are the pros and cons...

Pros: the house gets cleaned, the kids are still sleeping, I get a little "me" time even if it is just to clean

Cons: I'm not getting that much sleep, if this cleaning thing lasts I'm going to be spending all my time doing that and nothing else, the kids are just going to mess it up when they wake up

See my dilemma?! Oh well, you take the good with the bad right?

Laundry Up to My Eyeballs

Or atleast up to the top of the pack n play. That is how much laundry I still have left to fold and I (with the help of the debatable nice friend, I'm on the nice side of that debate)folded atleast 8 baskets full of clothes and took care of most of them too. Still got a bit to take care of but man am I beat.

I think I really need to cut back on the amount of clothes we all have. How many of them actually get worn? We pretty much wear the same things all the time... I just keep the extras for good measure apparently.

I dont mind doing laundry though... it's the folding part that kills me, hence the 8 baskets plus pack n play full of clothes needing folded. I think I have issues.

Smiles to Make me Feel Better

My number 1 girl...

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Never a dull moment... (mohawk n all)

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

She thinks she's a princess...

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

I took this without even looking... (he is under the foosball table)

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

So sweet to share...

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Nothing would make me happier...

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Crying for Daddy

I hate it when he does this. He gets pissed off at me for sending him to bed... only getting him in there hours after he was first sent and now he screams and cries for his daddy as if the mere thought of being around mom is unfathomable.

He hates me when he gets like this. He cries that he wants his daddy. That he wants to live somewhere where they are nice. That he wants dad to come home right now. Where is my daddy? Screaming bloody murder at times...

And there is nothing I can do but cry too. I want all those things... I want his daddy home too. I don't want my kids to think I'm the worst parent in the world. I don't want them to hate me so much that they want to live with someone else.

I don't want to hear them cry for their dad... or feel like they were abandoned... or feel like they are stuck in a living hell. Which at times, it really is a living hell around here.

I just wish I knew how to survive these last seven weeks or so, and I hope that daddy brings home a miracle... or agrees to be on Supernanny.

Today is YOUR day!

Thunderstorms, tornado warnings and lots of rain were just a few of my mother's day gifts this year. Jacob signed a "Greatest Mom Award" for me at school and Lexi made me a ton of cute little things at school. They include, a green and yellow butterfly, a paper bag "mom" complete with red hair and yellow dress, a poem, a circle with a cutout of her hand, a card with her picture on it, a card with how much she loves me written on the inside next to a picture of her and I eating ice cream, and a fill in the blank "My Mother" card that was rather humorous. I will have to post pictures later, but you all know how good I am about uploading pictures LoL

I'm thinking about packing the kids up after nap time to get me some chinese food. I should call my friend to see if she will stop and get me some on her way home from Target. She lives right up the street and I did bring her a milkshake the other day, but then again she was watching my kids... damn, she should just do it cause she likes me LoL not cause she is nice cause that is debatable :p

It's either chinese or Texas Roadhouse or I make sausage at home. That would mean Id have to clean my kitchen though and I don't really feel like it on Mother's Day! It does need done though... and Jacob did say he wanted to make me food. Maybe Ill let him make dinner tonight and supervise. Its pretty simple to make sausage. We could have sausage, corn, mac n cheese and crescent rolls. I think he is capable of all that, don't you?

Well I better go clean up so he can eventually make us dinner. I'm hoping my hubby calls sometime today too... even though I talked to him twice yesterday, Supernanny has a question for him (yes, I'm that desperate!).

Six Years and Counting

John and I have been married for 6 years. Yesterday was our anniversary. I was hoping to get a babysitter and spend the day at the movies and at dinner but no one would do it.

I then decided that if I could get someone to watch three of them for a couple hours I could take Jacob to the movies while Lexi was at her friend's house. The plan was the see Speedracer, that started at 135. I didn't work out the sitter until 140 so that wasn't going to work. Iron Man came on at 2 so we decided to see that instead.

Just as I was calling Jacob in the house I noticed a white SUV in my driveway. At first I was wondering who it was then it hit me... it must be a flower delivery. Sure enough it was... and can I just say, they took my breath away. This arrangement was the biggest I have ever seen and the most beautiful. I love me some red and white carnations. The card read "Baby! Here's to countless more years together! I love you." It made me teary. Good job babe (even though you couldn't remember what you picked out and told me before hand that I would be getting them), I love you too!

We got to the theater for our movie at exactly 2. This was the only movie being shown at this time and there were 10 people in line. It took us 10 minutes just to get our tickets, it was ridiculous. Then we HAD to get popcorn and candy and they only had ONE person working the concession stand on a SATURDAY!!! It took another 10 minutes there cause she was obviously training. Oh, and don't get me started on the handicapped man they have tearing tickets because it took him a whole minute to tear our three tickets and give us our stubs back. Not sure what all we missed in the beginning but it wasn't much thanks to previews, however we only made it 25 minutes before leaving. Jacob didn't like it... said it was too scary, he thought Iron Man was gonna die. I asked if it made him think of dad (the beginning was based in Afghanistan) and he said yes and that was why he wanted to leave. So we left, so much for the $32 I just spent there. We went over to Target for dog food since we were just about out and then headed over to Chick Fil A so I could get some comfort food. I deserved it for having to spend my anniversary without my husband. Now to stop eating like that so I can win my Cali Meetup Weightloss Challenge.

I went to bed early... 945 to be exact and I was asleep before 1015 (I know cause I woke up suddenly then but went right back to sleep). Jacob and Kadie both went to bed with me then too. I hate when they wont go to sleep if I'm still up. Oh well... it was just nice to be asleep before midnight for a change.

I Love Wireless

I'm sitting here watching the kids practice soccer. I'm in my car... miles away from home and still surfing the web.

Yup, I'm wireless. I love when people don't set their networks to private. Then I can keep myself busy while the babies scream for my attention in the back.

Atleast one part of all this is good... I get to stay connected to the outside world when I feel like I want to just drive my car over the closest bridge.

Is it a fullmoon or something???

Remember the story about the bird I kicked. It seemed like such an isolated incident but now Im not so sure.

This week has been rather weird. Strange things have been popping up in my yard and it's starting to really weird me out. Did I piss off someone in the neighborhood? Are the animals after me for killing the bird? Are the gods punishing me for not telling that man at the post office that his fly was down as he was holding the door open for us? What's your guess.

A couple of weeks ago I saw something in the yard. I took a closer look to see it was a snake. It was laying on it's back and curled up. I thought it was dead so I poked it with a stick... it felt kinda hard. Not sure if it was dead or plastic... but Im not picking it up to find out... ewwww!

Then this week I noticed a dead squirrel in my yard. We have a lot of cats in the neighborhood but usually they are all pretty lazy. The same squirrel was being chewed on by my dog the other morning when he got out of the yard. Which he decided to drop right in front of the door. I had to kick it out of my way, it was so gross.

As I was getting in the car I noticed another dead animal... this time a bird. It was by my house and dead as can be. And very weird that this was yet another dead animal in my yard. I was getting creeped out.

Since the neighbor kid had thought the squirrel in front of my door was a different one than was in my yard I had to check it out. When I got to the laying ground of previous mentioned squirrel, it was gone. In it's place was yet ANOTHER damn bird. WTH?!

At this point I was seriously wondering what the hell I had done to be punished this way. I asked a friend what I should do and she said to scoop them up and throw them away. So I did. I grabbed an old cloth and grabbed the squirrel by his tail. I was trying to open the lid of the garbage can when the bugger slipped out of my hand narrowly missing my flip-flopped foot. I screached like an 8 yr old school boy being chased by all the girls. It was so gross. I picked it up again and tossed it into the bottom of my garbage can... it would figure garbage day is Monday. I then scooped up the bird by the house into a cup and tossed both into the garbage. Getting the other bird proved to be a bit trickier. He was flat as a pancake and I couldnt get ahold of his foot to pick him up. It took a few tries but I eventually got it into the garbage too. Yuck!

Then today as I was cleaning up in the front yard I noticed something blue... looked like maybe a shirt or something. As I got closer I thought it looked like a tank top. I grabbed a corner and realized what they were. Underwear!!! Men's briefs!!! IN MY FRONT YARD!!! Looked like they had been ribbed off of someone like a wedgie gone terrible wrong. Or maybe my dogs attacked some man running down the street in his skivvies, then he turned into two birds and a squirrel???

Reminds me... after my last yard sale I found one of my signs torn to shreds in my front yard. I feel like Im being targeted... shredded signs, tattered underwear and dead animals. Sounds like someone is trying to send me a message? But what is it that they are saying... "Take your signs down or we will give you the worst imaginable wedgie or kill wild vermin." Hmmmm???

CopyCat

I was catching up on a friend's blog and her most recent has inspired me.

My husband has also breached the year mark in this deployment. 12 months came on April 27th. It sucks to still have two months left. It is just crazy to be apart that long (well he was home in February for 18 days, but that was not nearly long enough).

The kids and I are so excited to have him home and will be starting an official countdown soon. I'd post one, but for OPSEC reasons I don't want to give any of you terrorists reading my blog any pertinent information.

I'd like to share some pictures of D-day and some from R&R in February to compare. A lot has happened in a year... the kids are growing up so fast and Im not such a cow LoL









And the dogs in February and Now...

How Does He Know?

It doesn't matter how big of a smile I put on.

It doesn't matter how much pep I put into my voice.

It doesn't matter that I just called to tell him he has mail here.

It doesn't matter how hard I try to act like I'm fine... he still knows when I'm not.

How does he know? He has only known me for about 8 years. He used to live with us. My kids adore him. He doesn't think to highly of me. Yet he is always the first one to ask me if I'm ok.

He offered to come by for a little while one night out of the blue. I agreed; it was nice to have some adult company again. Why did he offer to come over? He heard something in my voice that was screaming for help. How? I was upbeat... I was smiling, laughing, joking. I never made any indication that I was stressed or anything. Could have been the screaming kids in the background but he claims he just heard it in my voice, he had an inclination that something was wrong. He just knew I needed to escape parenthood, if only for a couple of hours.

Now what made me type this blog is because he has done it again. The dogs were whining, they had gotten out of the backyard numerous times this evening, and were trying to get back out. I couldn't find them when I went to bring them in, so I gave him a call. He didn't answer and I was too stressed to go back to sleep.

I was thinking that I couldn't handle all of this... the kids are always stressing me, never listening, running around like maniacs all the time... the dogs are pretty much the same. So yah, I've got SEVEN of those things driving me crazy.

I had just went to bed shortly after midnight and the dogs woke me at 115am. Why? Because the kids hadn't interrupted my sleep tomight? I'm a cranky witch when I haven't had my sleep and it doesn't help I've stopped taking my meds (I don't think they were working) and apparently that is the way I am supposed to be... I'm not allowed to have any decent amount of uninterrupted sleep. It just wouldn't be fair for the kids to have a well rested mom.

I digress... I give Scott a call to let them know I couldn't find the dogs, thought they were in the neighbor's yard, not sure how they got out again. I'm pretty sure I rambled my way through that message as I had just woken up. He called back and asked me about 15 times if I was sure I was alright... I tried to assure him I was but I'm not sure I actually convinced him.

I was literally in the midst of writing a blog bitching about the dogs and the kids and how I just can't handle all of this crap. He is kinda creepin' me out. No matter how hard I try he can always still tell when I'm not having a good day/night or am stressed, etc. How the heck does he know? It totally baffles me. My husband's cousin can read me, between the lines of course.

Letting Go

I've come to a crazy realization and not a moment too soon.

I find it difficult to let go of things, especially pertaining to my past. I hold onto things for nostalgic reasons and because sometimes I think, "I just may need this at some point."

I have a terrible memory and my life hasn't been all that peachy so I think this plays into why I hold onto special things. A stuffed bear sits on my bookshelf that I was given in 1994 by my boyfriend at the time. We were pretty serious, on an off for a couple years, for being only 13 years old. He gave me the bear for Christmas, I believe. I was so madly "in love" with him... obsessed is probably a better word, but doesn't sound as nice. I'm not quite sure why I still have it. Maybe it has to do with my dad moving us 800 miles away the following summer, tearing me away from my "soulmate" and my best friends. Or maybe it's because it's the only thing I have from my childhood. Granted, I was a teenager by the time I received it but I have nothing from when I was little. I don't have memories from when I was little either so I think this has a lot to do with it. That was also a great time in my life... junior high was so much fun and those were such simpler days back then.

For a long time I held onto all the notes I had from those days and from high school as well. It was also so peaceful to go back and read what we were talking about. Who we were "in love" with and who we "hated" were always great topics to read about. My favorites though were notes from old boyfriends. I liked reading about how pretty they thought I was or how in love with me they were. I was never very confident in those areas so it really made me smile to know that someone thought those things about me. However, a few years ago I threw them all away. I had held onto them long enough and having letters from old boyfriends laying around the house didn't seem like a good idea.

Today I just came across something I have had for over ten years and have no idea why I am still keeping it. When I was in high school I had bunkbeds... yes, bunk beds LoL and there were boards that were under the top mattress that I always wrote on. I was big into writing my name or the current love of my life's name. I also had some people sign them. This particular board was signed by my boyfriend at the time and also by my cousin. I started writing on it in 1997 when I was still in love with my junior high boyfriend. I scratched that out to make room for the new love in my life and it still reads that I will love him for life. Which, yes, is true... the kind of love has just changed over the years.

So as I sit here thinking about all the clutter I have around here... the stuff we don't use, the stuff that just takes up space... I realize that I need to let go. I don't know what makes me hold onto the sentimental things and I really have no clue why I hold onto junk that hasn't been used in years. This spring I will officially letting of all of that... letting go of the old me.

I am committing to change my habits. I'm willing to admit that the things I hold onto are for purely idiotic reasons. I've held onto things for fear that someone one day will ask about it... I've held onto things just because a certain someone gave it to me or touched it (as I think is the case with the board). None of these things have made an impact on my life in a physical manner... the thought, the memory, will still be there in my heart and in my head long after the clutter is gone. So I vow, here and now, to let go of the past, to let go of the clutter, to live more minimally. I am letting go...

(and I feel like I had some sort of epiphany that you would see a character in a movie having... I am standing on at a podium, holding a torch above my head, there are rays of light behind me and triumphant music is playing. I am ready to exhaust the flame of the past and move on to a brighter future. How dumb do I sound? LoL Honestly though, I'm ready to get rid of all this junk. It only stresses me more. Now if only I could get Clean Sweep or my mother in law in here to help me.)

I'm Feeling Feverish

I was browsing around BabyCenter when I started to not feel so well. My chest felt like it was beginning to swell. That familiar smell... that familiar sound... that familiar knot in your stomach. I couldn't stop it. It creeped up on me from out of nowhere.

There is no doctor to cure my ailment. Many have dealt with this time and time again. I didn't think it would happen to me. I was in such a good place... how could this be happening.

I could feel my emotions welling up inside as I stared at the cause of my symptoms. Those beautfil little babies...

Yup, that's right. I've got the fever! Baby fever.

*disclaimer: I want to be pregnant again, have a little baby again, but I do NOT want another kid. Don't worry honey, I still won't bring it up for another 4 years :p