I just had to share...

I had to share this funny photo of my Zachy. (For those that have been reading my posts for awhile, you will notice I finally learned how to put a photo in my posts. Go me! I feel stupid now that I hadn't figured it out sooner) We took the kids to the $5 store to spend their allowances and after Zachy picked out his toy he decided to do this. I can't believe he managed to get in there. Getting out was interesting too. He is so silly!Oh...and now I can finally show you all my tailbone prior to being removed. You will notice that at the end of my spine, a part of the bone makes a very sharp curve inward. That part was my tailbone. It should be shaped like a slight backwards "C". Not a very backwards "L". And that gray area that the point is almost touching, that would be my bowel. OUCH!

And this photo is one that Ashlei took of Zach and Sydney with her cool new computer program. Can you say "bubbles"?!

And last, for now, "The Crew". Minus Brandon and Ashlei of course. From left to right, Sierra, Emma, Alex, Logan, Cheyenne, Sydney and Zachy. Wow! Are they all mine?!

WANTED...The "Nobody" in My House!

Every day it is the same story..."Nobody" did everything wrong that happened in my home! I don't know who this "nobody" is and despite my efforts, I have been unable to catch him/her. So I thought maybe I would enlist the help of my online posse to locate this "Nobody". So here is the best description I have to offer...
WANTED...
the person responsible for the mess under the kitchen table after the kids have finished eaten.
The person that left their dirty socks on the front porch for the past 2 days.
The person that spilled kool-aid mix on the blinds over the kitchen sink.
The person that left the empty cookie box in the cabinet for the next person with a craving to disappointingly find.
Armed and dangerous with my missing forks and butter knives and a few other missing items from my kitchen.
May be wearing my favorite shirt I have been missing for about 2 months and Stevie's missing denim shorts.
I have no physical description except for what I gather from obvious evidence. This person has at least 10 pair of feet because they wear all of the missing socks and apparently all of the feet are right feet since they only tend to take that shoe from the pair.
"Nobody" should also be a large person since the only thing this person seems to eat is cookies and snack cakes.
Be cautious as this "nobody" is a bit of a prankster. He/she likes to leave the doors open, the windows up and the lights on. He/she also likes to take the last of the toilet paper, leaving only 1 half ripped sheet on the roll.
He/she should have a pocket full of change making them easy to hear if anywhere near by.
Oh, and if you should see this "nobody" please be advised that they are likely to have hands covered in peanut butter and jelly judging by the hand prints on all of my doors, my walls and some of my windows.
If found, please return only our missing items and kindly ask this person to stay away from my home. I would thoroughly enjoy waking up to a clean house with clean walls, doors and windows. Knowing where all of my stuff is and how it got there would be different as well. I would also really enjoy not hearing the kids argue back and forth because "nobody" played with their toys and left them out on the floor for someone else to trip over.
Thanks in advance for all of your help! It is greatly appreciated!

A Day at the Beach...

We took the kids to the beach yesterday and it was our first time going as a family. Stevie and I also have never been to the beach together so it was another first for he and I. We chose not to go to Virginia Beach itself because it is very crowded and difficult to find a parking space. Let alone anywhere to set up a spot in the sand. We opted instead for a place called Buckroe Beach. It is located in Hampton and is actually on the Chesapeake Bay. The waves were very small and the children were able to swim out pretty far and really enjoy themselves. We spotted a few jellyfish when we first arrived and warned the kids to be on look out for them and to steer clear of them if they saw any. Sierra was paranoid to go in after that and it took a good hour before she worked up the nerve to go in again. But we managed to escape the day unharmed, no jellyfish stings! Sydney seemed to really enjoy herself and after about 30 minutes she acted like a little girl who has grown up in the water. This was her very first time ever being in the ocean and she was a pro at it. I had put those little blow up arm floats on her and she figured out how to float and kick her feet to get around. It was really cute! Emma was a little timid and would only go in if her Daddy held her. Cheyenne and Alex were all over the place. Swimming under the water and going out the farthest. And Zachary did pretty well. He hated the feeling of the sand on his skin and he hated the floating seaweed even more. He has a real issue with things touching him so it was a feat to get him to relax and try to enjoy himself. But eventually he went on in and had a great time jumping the little waves and rolling around in the shallow water. I was very impressed! Stevie and I had a great time as well and even swam a little bit ourselves. He and I wound up getting a pretty bad sunburn so we are suffering from that now. But all in all, we had a great time. We will definitely be doing that again. By the time we got home everyone was exhausted and slept like babies. I think that was the best part!

Being somewhere like the beach can be a lot of fun for people watchers such as Stevie and I. Both of us are very aware of how we look and we always try to dress accordingly. I wear a one piece bathing suit with a small skirt attached to it in attempt to cover most of my flawed areas, and Stevie normally keeps his shirt on because he thinks he is too big to go without. (He isn't though, he is very attractive if you ask me) But then there are people out there who either don't care how they look, they don't own a mirror, or they seriously think they look good. I am all for freedom of speech and freedom to be yourself but some people get a little crazy with it. I kid you not, there was a lady next to us that had to be at least 55 years old, she had to weigh every bit of 300lbs and she was wearing a black 2 piece with large (and I do mean large) pink flowers on it. She was sprawled out in the sand looking like there was no possible way for her to get herself up! When she did decide to make her way to the water, it was down right scary! She was hanging out of her bathing suit in places that no one should be hanging out. I don't understand why she wouldn't just buy herself a more tasteful bathing suit. One that fits for starters! I have said it before and I will say it again, you can look good at any size if you just use good judgement and except the fact that there are certain things you just can't wear! Then there was this couple that we couldn't help but giggle at. She was short, pale, super large and wearing a super tiny bikini that left nothing for the imagination. Again, not a good choice in bathing suits! Her husband ( I am guessing) was super tall, super skinny and pale. The things we were trying to quietly figure out in our heads were just wrong! I don't think I need to tell you here. I am not trying to bash anyone, I just don't get why people don't care how they look. After all, I am a people pleaser and I am not supposed to say things that might hurt feelings.

Today we are planning on going to Roslyn, the place we are having the wedding. We have to do some last minute checking on table sizes etc. The kids haven't been there yet so we are going to take them along and show them around. It is supposed to storm later and I hope we can get it done before then. After we finish there, we are taking the kids to the $5 store to spend there first weekly allowance. We decided to offer them $5 per week if they did chores and kept their attitudes in check. They all did pretty well except for Alex. He has really had a bad attitude lately and it is really beginning to piss me off. He makes rude comments to the smaller kids and refers to them as "those bratty little kids"! So he is only getting $3 because of his bad attitude. I don't know what to do with him. He is argumentative, loud, mean and disrespectful. I know what you are thinking, "that describes most teenagers", but Alex is worse than most. I really believe that he has Aspergers and we just never realized it. He corrects everyone when they say something that he doesn't think is correct. To a fault! If I try to correct him for misbehaving it turns into a screaming match. He always tries to say I never let him talk, I never take his side and I am always screaming at him. Believe me, that is the farthest from the truth. He is a red headed, male drama queen! If anyone has suggestions, please tell me. I have tried every kind of punishment you can imagine. He has no friends so phone and going places aren't even something he does. He likes his video games, MP-3 player and his Transformers, I take those all of the time, but it doesn't seem to phase him. So aggravating....grrrr!

Is being a people pleaser so bad?!

Good morning blog world! (OK, it took 4 tries to type that first sentence, maybe I need to wake up before I try blogging!) Anyway, I was just snooping around on some other blogs and I came across a new favorite. It is Matter of Fact Mommy (link in my favorites). The reason I like her is because she is very "matter of fact" and not afraid to say what she thinks. Don't get me wrong, there are times when I do the same, but never completely letting it all out. Matter of Fact Mommy always lets her hair down and just says what she wants. I am so jealous. I am what people refer to as a "people pleaser". They remind me of this constantly and I have been known to take it as a compliment. But after reading her blog, I disagree. I can see eye to eye with her on so many of her topics and yet I would never be able to say it, or I guess type it, on my blog. I tend to "sugar coat" things or just leave out some of the gruesome details. It would upset me terribly and eat at my soul all day until I fell asleep and had a nightmare about it, if someone thought I was cruel or heartless. Even though I do not have a personal relationship with any of the people that read my blog (except for my wonderful daughter, Ashlei) I would still feel terrible if I upset some perfect stranger. So I keep a lot of my thoughts and feelings to myself. I also can't stand for people to make me feel ignorant. So if I were to make a comment about something that really irritated me, and someone came back and corrected me in a snide way, I would worry about for the next 3 days. Pitiful, ain't I?! I have been a people pleaser my entire life. I truly believe that some people are born that way for a reason and to keep a perfect balance, others are born with the ability to speak their minds. I want to be that person! I am tired of always being nice and biting my tongue. Stevie and I are people watchers and we love to critique complete strangers we see in public. Of course we would never say anything so they could actually hear it, we are both people pleasers to a fault. But when very large women decide they look good enough to go out shopping in public wearing the tightest pair of stretch pants and lowest cut shirt they own, they are asking to be talked about. I mean really, do they truly believe that looks good? Or is it just that it is so comfortable that they don't care how they look?! I understand that being that large is a terrible thing and that most people of that size are very disappointed in themselves. I also understand that there are people that are that big that believe they look good. But the truth of the matter is, if you weigh over 200lbs and you own stretch pants, it doesn't look good and nobody wants to see every dimple along your thighs up to the point that your ass is eating your pants! It is disgusting! I hate my weight right now and all of my clothes are too tight, but I wouldn't dream of donning stretch pants and going to Walmart! Hey, wait a minute, I just spoke my mind! And it felt great! But the people pleaser side of me is telling me to apologize and find some way of making it all better. I say "screw you people pleaser, it needs to be said!". Oh great, now I am arguing with myself. I think I need some help. Or maybe I just need to let more steam off. Let me think, what else really irritates the shit out of me?! Hmmm... Oh, I know, People that don't acknowledge good deeds when they are done. Like when I am out in public, I hold doors for people, I allow the person with only 1 item go before me with my 5 items, and I let cars out in front of me at intersections. But when I do these nice things and the person doesn't say thank you or give a thankful wave, it really pisses me off! I secretly wish i had let the door slam in their face, made them stand behind me in line and taken a really long time to write a check and find my ID, or let them sit there staring at me in hopes I will let them out, while I look away pretending not to notice them. When someone does something nice for you, say thanks or give a friendly wave! What the hell people? Because those of you who don't do it, you'd be the first to run around telling people how rude that person was. Would it kill you to be polite in return? You aren't all that like you think you are! Oh, and one last rant, people that drive like they are in a race through a residential neighborhood! Just because you are in a hurry and apparently should have left a few minutes earlier, doesn't mean that we want to constantly worry about our precious children getting hit. They have the right to feeling safe in their own neighborhood! Not that they are playing in the street but because kids will be kids, you need to slow the fuck down before you hit one! This is a neighborhood, not a freaking interstate! Some children are too young to understand the danger and us parents are only so fast. The speed limit is set that way for a reason! It is truly bad for us because we have 2 police officers that live down the road and they are the worst when it comes to speeding through the neighborhood. Maybe some day they will make the mistake of a lifetime by hitting a small child, then they will wish they hadn't been in such a hurry! OK, I think I have just over loaded my people pleasing conscience, so I will stop now. But I admit that I feel much better to get that off of my chest. Thanks to Matter of Fact Mommy, you may have just unintentionally created a monster! Check out her website and you will see what I mean!

What a nice surprise...

I was sleeping in my bed, snuggled up with Stevie's pillows as usual, when all of a sudden I heard the front door open. I was confused for a moment because I couldn't figure out who had a key to unlock the door. The next thing I knew, Stevie walked into the bedroom and lied down in the bed next to me. Before I could ask any questions, he said, "don't worry, nothing is wrong.". Apparently, it was a slow day at work and they didn't need him. Normally he always has a route whether they are busy or not, because Stevie is a favorite worker, but today he decided to give his route to someone else that wasn't going to have one. He had 2 really good "money" days under his belt and figured it would be nice to spend the day with me and his kids. So we snuggled together in the bed until we had to get up for the kids. I was so excited! I love the opportunity to spend extra time with my Stevie. I thought, "cool, he can go swimming with the kids and I today, they would love that!". Unfortunately, he wouldn't get in the pool with us. He spent most of the day sleeping on the sofa. I was disappointed and so were the kids. I understand that he was tired because the poor thing has to get up at 3 am Monday through Friday. We normally go to bed at 10pm, so he only gets 3 -4 hours of sleep per night. So we know he is really sleepy and he has every right to be, but we were still disappointed. He told us that he just didn't want to get in the pool. He sat out there with us for a little while, but he wouldn't get in. I admit that I got a little angry at him. I couldn't understand why he refused to get in the pool with us for just a short while. But he said he just didn't want to. I sort of felt like he could have just stayed at work and it wouldn't have mattered, because he refused to play with all of us. I guess he isn't perfect all of the time, but he is still the most awesome man alive, and I love him dearly!

His ex-bitch (excuse my language), is causing issues again. Things have been going so nice and smooth, we have all been getting along great and everyone was happy. Apparently she can't stand to be without drama because once again, she is bringing it. In a nut shell, Stevie is a good dad that always pays his child support, always helps with the kids when she needs it, always gets them when he is supposed to etc. They worked out an agreement that the kids would spend every other week, during the summer, with us and the other weeks with her. The weeks she had the kids, I would watch them while she worked for $100 per week. The weeks we had them, we wouldn't pay her anything but he would pay her $200 the weeks they are with her. Then the kids also spend every other weekend with us. So basically, she has it made! I wish my ex would do the same with our kids but fat chance. So now she is trying to put Emma back in day care because Sydney found a pair of scissors and trimmed a small piece from her hair. The girls left a pair of scissors in the upstairs bathroom and in a matter of seconds, the little ones found them. They got in trouble and all scissors were put away. Girls will be girls, kids will be kids, things happen. But according to her, I am not watching them and she thinks Emma will be safer in day care. And we have to pay half of the cost. Now keep in mind that the same sort of things happen when Emma is in her care. But apparently that is different and I am inadequate. Then she wants to only pay me $50 per week to watch the older 2 kids and I am to feed them breakfast, lunch and snack. I know these kids are our responsibility too, but we shouldn't have to pay full child support if they are with us 80% of the time. And a $50 break doesn't even cover the food they eat. Stevie tried to talk some sense into her but that is not an easy task. She just wants to be a bitch and cause drama between all of us. Emma wants to be here, she gets to spend time with her siblings and we have a good time during the day. Her mom just wants to make things difficult. She was in total agreement with us until she found out Stevie and I are getting married. Then she started finding ways to be difficult. This happens about once a year. It is just getting so old. I feel like we should all just get along and work together. After all, we are all in it for the same reasons and share the same goals. She loved Stevie once, she needs to draw from that and get over the power trip she is on. The kids are safe and happy. Leave it alone! Excuse my rant. It just ticks me off! I asked her to talk to me and she refused. I wanted to speak to her mom to mom, try to assure her that the kids were better off being here. But she wouldn't talk to me. Figures!

The upcoming weekend is a kid weekend and I want to take the kids to the beach for a day. We live only an hour and a half away from VA Beach and I know it would be fun. So hopefully we can do it. Our neighbor has a real nice older truck he wants to sell for $2000 and that is a great deal. Stevie and I need a truck for household use and as a backup vehicle. So we applied for a small loan to buy it. We decided to ask for an extra $1000 so we could pay off more bills. It wouldn't change the payment amount but $5. If it all goes through, we will take some of that money to take the beach trip. We would only need gas because I would pack us a lunch. And we would drive down in the morning and back in the evening, so no lodging expense. Wish me luck and cross your fingers. I know the kids would be ecstatic!

STUPID COMPUTER!!

I had just sat here and typed an insanely long post only to be told there was some sort of error and the entire thing was erased! Damn it! As if I have time to just sit and type all day. And it was a good one too! So I guess I will try to sum up what I previously wrote and maybe this time it won't get erased.
I was basically whining and complaining because the stupid scale in my bathroom likes to see me dance around, screaming and cursing because the number is higher than it should be. I even went as far as to post my actual weight on the Internet for the world to see, in hopes it would somehow motivate my fat ass to get up and do more about it. I started a diet/exercise regimen about a week ago. When I began I weighed in at 160lbs. Now, 1 week later, I weigh 165lbs! What the hell?! I have been good! I really have. I went through the week in my head to be sure I hadn't fooled myself, but I can't think of anything that would have caused me to gain 5lbs in a week! Had I binged on cookies, cakes and all you can eat buffets while sitting on my bum, I would understand. But I have faithfully been swimming in the pool, running laps in the pool and eating mostly steamed veggies. I quit eating desert, I cut out all of the extra sweets and I still haven't lost a pound. Maybe I have thyroid issues. Maybe I am just doomed. Maybe it is the age thing, you know, "the older you get the harder it is". As I am running around fussing at myself in the mirror, Stevie pokes his head in to inquire what is wrong. I tell him and he says, "Baby, I love you and I think you are incredibly sexy." I love him. But I explain that I need to feel that way about myself. I just lost all of this weight 2 years ago and looked and felt better than I had in a long time. Now I have gained most of it back and I am sick! He reminded me that I had 2 surgeries in under a year and that I would lose it again when I got to feeling better. i appreciate his enthusiasm but it is hard for me to muster up the strength to feel the same way when all of my clothes are too tight and I feel like hell. So now I need to try even harder. The "gin in my pocket" is to get this weight off and get back to my ideal weight of 140lbs by the end of summer. It is not only good for me physically but mentally too. Anyone interested in joining in can join the "gin in my apron pocket" group through "mom o matic's" blog. (link is in my favorites list.) Pray for me! I am only 36 and I am beginning to feel 56. I know it is the extra weight. I know how to lose it. But my body is working against me. With all of the great inventions out there, how come nobody has found a cure for fat?!

I realized I hadn't posted about my Zachy in a while so I thought I would add a quick update. He has been doing well and I believe it has a lot to do with the pool. He has an opportunity to wear himself out through physical exercise every day. And the other children are getting along better since they aren't sitting around bored with nothing to do but fight. He feeds off of them and their moods so much that when they are getting along, he is happier. Now if his dad would just buy him his trampoline like he promised, life would be perfect for him. He starts his summer school program on Monday and I can't wait. He needs constant educational stimulation to keep from losing what he has already learned. He enjoys school and he will only have to go Monday through Thursday from 8-12. I think he will like it.

Wedding Update: I have ordered the tablecloths, the plates, the utensils, the napkins and the program paper. All we have left is the remaining centerpieces, the rose petals, shoes for the kids and food and drink. Then we will be done. Thank goodness! We still have to finish paying the photographer, pay the minister and get the marriage license. Oh, and pay for the tuxes. But we should be fine financially to take care of what little is left. It is amazing how well we have done pulling this thing together with so little money. We should be getting our final divorce decrees next week too. (For those who are new to my blog, my fiance and I hadn't divorced our previous spouses simply because of finances. We have both been separated for over 3 years.) I don't worry about them not getting here in time because they have already been received by the court and accepted, the judge just needs to sign them and mail them back to the lawyer who will mail them to us.

Hope everyone has a great day! To all of you other moms dealing with the summer break thing, hang in there, we have approximately 10 weeks to go until back to school! YAY!

What a nice weekend.

Although it went by way too fast, we thoroughly enjoyed our weekend. After the children left on Saturday morning, we left to pick up my dad's truck so we could get a load of gravel. We got 1.7 tons of river rock in a 1/2 ton pick up. Needless to say, we were just slightly overloaded. We had never done the whole "get a load of gravel" thing, so we were unaware that the gravel would slip out under the tailgate if you didn't put a tarp down. By the time we figured this out, we were already driving down the road, pelting the unsuspecting people travelling behind us. I knew we were most likely getting cussed out, especially after people began to pass us and were shaking their heads as they rode past. We felt awful, but at this point, there was nothing we could do. We turned on the flashers and went a little slower than the speed limit, hoping people would realize what was happening and just get over. Most of them did, but you had a few that chose to travel behind us anyway. We were worried someone would get a crack in their windshield and want us to replace it. We would be held responsible, but goodness knows, we do not have the money to replace peoples windshields. So we slowed down a little bit more. The gravel stopped flowing out unless we hit a good bump and we made it home without any issues. We managed to get the entire pool surrounded with the gravel and even made a small rectangle, gravel patio right beside the pool, before running out of gravel. We still want to make a gravel sidewalk from the patio to the deck, but we will need more gravel. Next time we will put a tarp down first and get a little less gravel. Lesson learned!
We got in the pool for about a half of an hour before we had to get ready for a family dinner. His family gets together for dinner at various restaurants when someone has a birthday. They do it for every person in their family, not including in laws! In other words, myself, Debbie, Renee or any other person married into the family, are not given a get together lunch for our birthdays. As a matter of fact, we aren't even the recipients of a card. Yet we are expected to make an appearance at all of the others get togethers. Tell me if I am wrong, but this is rude and selfish. My family treats Stevie and his children, like on of us. There is no difference because since he and I are a couple, him and his children are now family. I believe this is the way it should be. I could not do for Ashlei and not do for Nate. Now I do spend more on Ashlei than I do Nate on holidays, but I get him some really nice things too. I would feel terrible to sit and watch everyone open gifts on Christmas morning, for instance, and not have something nice for Nate too. Yet, on Christmas morning at his mom's house, all of the other people had nice gifts to open, me and my kids got $5 gift cards to Barnes and Noble. To make things even worse, Stevie's sister-n-law Renee has 2 girls from her previous marriage, just like the rest of us in-laws, but they get tons of nice gifts including $50 gift certificates to the mall and they have their very own stockings that are stuffed by Stevie's mom. Me and Debbie have to watch our children be heart broken because not only do they not have a stocking, but they got this $5 gift card to Barnes and Noble. Oh, and a box of chocolate covered cherries. Then on birthdays, his mom comes to our house to pick up his kids on their individual day, takes them shopping and then out to dinner. Then brings them back here with all of this stuff plus a small something for Stevie's other 2 children, nothing for mine. That's just rude! Tell me if I am wrong. My family believes the phrase, "love me, love my dog!", and we may not always agree with the choices each other makes in companions, but we treat them the way we would want to be treated. They are family. It just makes me ill to constantly have to explain to my children that "yes, she does like them, but some people don't think the way we do." It just breaks my heart.
After the dinner, we went to the mall and purchased Stevie 2 new outfits. It was difficult to convince him to do it, but he never buys anything for himself. Then we came home and watched a movie before falling asleep snuggled up as usual. Sunday morning, we got up and went for our motorcycle ride. We met up with his 2 brothers and their wives and rode for 156 miles round trip. It was perfect weather and we had a really nice ride. We were both incredibly sore and so glad to be back home. The way his motorcycle seat rides, my tailbone area never touches the seat. So that wasn't an issue at all, it was the insides of my thighs that hurt. And they still do this morning. After we got back, we had to take my Dad's truck back and pick up the girls from Cheyenne's dad's house. Oh, how could I forget to tell you this one?! While we were at the mall Saturday, we got a call from Cheyenne's father's cell phone, when i answered it was Sierra. Confused, I asked what in the world she was doing on his cell phone. Apparently, Sierra's mom (Stevie's ex-wife) took Sierra (Stevie's daughter) over to Jim's (my ex-husband) house and dropped her off to spend the night with Cheyenne (my daughter). Now tell me that isn't weird as hell! Apparently, there was some issue that cancelled Sierra's birthday sleep over at their house and Sierra was able to guilt her into taking her to Cheyenne's dads to spend the night with Cheyenne. Crazy!
So now it is Monday again and we are right back to tons of kids, tons of noise and tons of excitement. Now that the pool area is cleaner, we will have a lot more fun playing in it. Zachy and Sydney will be back in a little while so I need to shower and eat before they get here. Thanks for reading my blog, feel free to leave a comment!

Oh! And I just wanted to add, RIP George Carlin. I am shocked and saddened by his death. He was a great comedian and I truly admired him for reading on the Thomas shows. My heart goes out to his family!

More fun questions...

1. Do you like Chinese food? love it!
2. How big is your bed? Queen
3. Is your room clean? mostly
4. Laptop or Desktop computer? laptop
5. Favorite comedian? That guy with the funny puppets
6. Do you smoke? no, my cigarette does, I am just the sucker at the other end
7. Does anyone like you? I hope so
8. Whats the sexiest thing about Condoleeza Rice? sorry, not into girls
10. Sleep with or without clothes on? I sleep in men's boxer briefs (they're so comfortable)
11. Who sleeps with you every night? my Stevie
12. Do long distance relationships work? sometimes, depends on the time
13. How many times have you been pulled over by the police? ummm...maybe 5
14. Pancakes or French Toast? pancakes
15. Do you like coffee? love coffee
16. How do you like your eggs? scrambled with lots of cheese
17. Do you believe in astrology? I think it is interesting, but I don't believe in it
18. Last person you talked to on the phone? Cheyenne's dad
19. Last person on your missed call list? my Stevie ( I was in the shower)
20. What was the last text message you received? Ashlei texted me about babysitting tonight
21. McDonald's or Burger King? neither. I like Chick-fil-A
22. Number of pillows? 6. I make a nest
23. Last thing you ate? some steamed corn
24. Last thing you bought? groceries
25. What are you hearing right now? Hanna Montana TV show
26. Pick a lyric? I can't think of one right now
27. What kind of jelly do you like on your PB & J sandwich? grape
28. Can you play pool? not well
29. Do you know how to swim? yes
30. Favorite ice cream? banana split
31. Do you like maps? not particularly
32. Tell me a random fact: bees should not be able to fly because their body weight is more than their wings should be able to carry.
33. Ever had a hard on at work? ummm...no
34. Ever attend a theme party? yes
35. Ever do a keg stand? what the hell is that?!
36. Craziest place you've slept after a night of drinking? in the bathroom floor
37. What is your favorite season? fall
38. What is the first music video you ever saw? oh my gosh, um, probably Money for Nothing
39. Pick a movie quote: you had me at hello
40. Favorite quote: live like there is no tomorrow, love like you've never been hurt and dance like nobody is watching
41. What is your favorite hangout? my recliner
42. Best friend's name? Stevie
43. How long have you known them? almost 3 years
44. Last time you laughed at something stupid? last night
45. What time did you wake up this morning? 700 am
46. Wake up next to anyone? no, unfortunately
47. Best thing about winter? no mosquitoes
48. Name a couple of favorite colors: green, brown
49. How old are you? 36
50. What month is your birthday in? September
51. Do you think pirates are cool or overrated? cool
52. Favorite Dave Matthews Band song (if you have one?) don't have one
53. What are you doing this weekend? spreading gravel around my pool, riding the motorcycle with my Stevie and getting a pedicure
54. Who will take this survey? hopefully all of my readers

TGIF!!!!

As you could tell by yesterday's post, it has been a really long week. I am so ready for a kid free weekend to relax and unwind a bit. All of the kids, except for Zach and Sydney, will be leaving this evening. Zach and Syd will leave tomorrow morning. We have quite a few plans for this weekend ourselves. We are going to go pick up a load of river rock to spread around the pool and create a walkway from the pool to the deck. We are going to get pedicures, meet his family for dinner on Saturday night and try to squeeze in some motorcycle riding time. It may hurt like hell to ride the motorcycle, but I at least want to attempt it. One of the things Stevie and I enjoy most, besides our kids, is riding the motorcycle. It makes us feel young and free again, just for a moment.
Yesterday was Sierra's 11th birthday. She still wasn't feel real well but she managed to spend some time out shopping with her Grandma. She is having a big party at her mom's house Saturday so she wasn't too disappointed in feeling bad yesterday. Logan was feeling much better. That was good to see because we were beginning to get concerned.
Ashlei and Madison came over for a visit yesterday too. I finally got to spend some quality time with them. It has been quite a while. Madison is getting bigger but she still sleeps most of the time. She is so beautiful! Ashlei and Nate have decided to go out to a movie tonight and let me and Grampa babysit! We are so excited! We are going to go out to eat so we can show her off. I am sure most people will think she is ours since neither of us look old enough to be a grandparent.
The kids played in the pool for a little while yesterday. Most of them decided it was still too cold but not Zachy. He swam for about 2 hours before deciding he was too cold. I haven't gotten in since the day after we got it. Our weather has been freakishly cool so the water is taking forever to warm up. Stevie hasn't been in at all. It is supposed to get up to 90 Saturday so maybe after spreading all of that gravel we will both feel like colling off in the pool. Alex will be helping us.
Speaking of Alex, we had a long discussion with him last night. Stevie and I were trying to make him understand that he needs to grow up, get a summer job and be more responsible. Alex felt like this was completely out of the blue and wanted to know why we were "punishing him". "No other 16 year old I know has to work for the summer, we are still kids!". I explained that the other children were not in my control and I wasn't concerned with what they did. He became angry and belligerent, so I made him stand in the corner. If he was going to act like a child, I was going to treat him like one. After about a half an hour and at least 15 more minutes of his arguing, I let him out. He felt like we were being cruel and trying to make him not be a part of his own family by pushing him out to get a job. He swears he has no use for a drivers license or a car. So you can't use that to motivate him. He amazes me with the way he thinks. I have been telling him for the past 6 months to get a part time job and if he didn't get a full time job for summer, he would have the same expectations and privileges as the children. He acts like I have never said anything. "We were having a great day and all of a sudden you want to make it bad by telling me I have to get a job! You need me here to help with these kids, you can't do it on your own!" I said, "I beg your pardon, I know how to take care of them and I can do it by myself. I appreciate what help you offer but my concern is for you and your future, you need to get a job!". Finally, he broke down crying. Turns out he was just letting off steam because he has been feeling angry lately. He holds alot of emotion in, he is still dealing with issues concerning his father. I reminded him, once again, that his fathers issues are not his fault and it has nothing to do with him that his dad is never around. His dad is an ass! He never calls, comes to visit etc. Both of my boys have suffered greatly because of his lack of parenting skills. Ashlei has made amends with him since she has grown up, but my boys refuse to forgive him, and I don't blame them. So by the end of the conversation, he was motivated and ready to go out tomorrow and find a job. I hope he does. For his own sake!

Is this what my summer is going to be like?!

We are just 3 days into summer vacation and I am already looking forward to the first day of school. Not that the kids have been bad, they have actually been pretty good. Logan and Sierra have been sick for 2 days, Zachy has been on the verge of a meltdown that I wish he would just go ahead and have, Alex doesn't think it is fair that I make him wake up at 10am, Cheyenne is acting like she is bored, Sydney fell down the steps and got her first black eye (my poor baby!), and Emma won't stop following her daddy around like a lost puppy. The sick ones picked up some sort of virus that has left them with a sore throat, fever and stomach ache. Logan has been sick for 3 days and he is incredibly paranoid when he gets a sore throat so he gets extremely whiny. Sierra has just been lying around and is moody as ever. I know they don't feel well so I don't fault them and I try everything I can to make them more comfortable. But it is hard when the rest of the kids are running around like miniature crazy people. Alex is almost 17 and I feel it is time for him to take more responsibility for himself. He thinks he is just going to sleep all day and play video games all night. WRONG! I explained to him 6 months ago that if he didn't get a full time summer job I would be keeping him busy around here. He wants to argue everything with me but I always win. I hope to teach him some work ethic and some responsibility. Cheyenne will just have to learn to find things to occupy herself. I wouldn't let them get in the pool yesterday because the water is very cold and there was a chilly breeze blowing. She acted like she was in a round room and I was making her find a corner. I am happy to say, she made it through the day. Sydney decided to completely ignore everything we have told her and attempt to put on a pair of Sierra's high heel shoes (who has been told to keep them put up) and walk down the steps. I think she made one step before tumbling to the bottom, head over heels. She immediately had a black eye because it appeared her face hit the floor first. We put ice on it and had her checked over, fortunately she was physically OK. She just looks so pitiful. The high heels have been permanently removed. And last but not least, Emma has been acting as though she would like nothing more than to be surgically attached to her daddy. I understand when they first come for the week, but they have been here for awhile now. She even lays outside the bathroom door until her daddy finishes taking his shower. He has almost tripped over her numerous times. No matter how hard you try to make her go play, she comes right back like a magnetic pull has her in its grips. It is quite annoying after awhile. We don't want to hurt her feelings but she needs to learn some independence. Then there is the increase in laundry and dishes. I am constantly cleaning and picking up messes. So basically, my summer thus far is incredibly busy, somewhat frustrating, and completely rewarding!

"Hey Mom, watch this..."

Why is it that children between the ages of 8 and 14 feel the need to holler "hey mom, watch" every time they get in a pool or go to the park? It is almost like someone, somewhere taught them that this was fun stuff and they should really try it. It wouldn't be so bad if they were doing something really cool and difficult, but they are just doing normal things. "Hey mom, watch"...as she goes under water and sits on her butt only to bounce right back up again. "That's nice Cheyenne", I tell her to acknowledge I saw her. If I don't as least acknowledge her then I have to sit through "mooommm, you didn't watch, watch me again". I tried to explain to them that I was trying to keep my eyes on the 3 children under 5 that needed my constant attention. They would give the usual, "I know", and then 5 seconds later, "hey mom, watch!". Some days I feel like payback would be so much fun. Like I could holler, "kids, watch this" right before I load the dishwasher or the washing machine. Or maybe I could holler, "Hey kids, watch!", right before I vacuum the floor and make my bed. At least then it would be something really cool and difficult, at least for them. After all, I have never seen them do it.

Obviously we got the pool filled and we all spent the bulk of the day yesterday, swimming. I even got in for a bit. As soon as I did and got soaking wet, Zach decided he needed a PB&J right now followed by poor little Sydney getting bit by a horse fly. (where the heck did it come from? I don't have any horses around here! LOL) So I had to get right back out, wrap a towel around me and tend to Sydney first. That stupid thing actually drew blood! I took her in to put some antiseptic on it and, of course, a band aid. Then I made 2 PB&J's, one cut into 4 squares and the other cut into 2 triangles, with a glass of water. Then I had to clean up the puddle of water I left behind before I went to put my regular clothes back on. Mommy's never get to have any fun! LOL

My gin in my pocket this week was brought on by the illustrious fun of bathing suit shopping! I just love picking a cute little bathing suit and carrying it proudly through the store to the dressing rooms all excited that I was going to actually look great in this thing, only for it to not even fit. So back to the rack I go. I pick out the cutest one piece with a skirt, in a size much larger than the first, throw it in the basket and head to the checkout. Now I am completely disgusted with myself. Just 2 years ago I had lost a bunch of weight and I was wearing that cute two piece. Now I am right back into the "grandma" suit. Granted, I am a Grama, I just don't want to have to dress like one just because my fat ass has spread to the size of Rhode Island! Thoroughly disgusted, I pull the suit on only to find it is a bit too tight around the tops of my monstrous thighs. I had to cut the elastic to keep from having my circulation cut off. Now I am disappointed in myself to the point I swear off food forever. I will just live on water! Or maybe Chinese food, most Chinese people are skinny! I do know that it is time to go on a serious diet and figure out some way of getting daily exercise. Stevie always says I look great and that I shouldn't be so hard on myself. I did have 2 back surgeries in the past year. But you know as well as I do, when you feel that gross, it is time to make a change! So I had a plate of steamed vegetables with a slice of whole grain bread for lunch yesterday. Then for dinner, I had steamed rice with steamed vegetables. I did not eat dessert and I didn't snack either. Then I got in the pool and ran laps until I could barely breathe. It is a start! I figure if I keep it up I should be 20 pounds lighter by my wedding.

I'm baaaaack!

I have been away for awhile and I guess I need to catch everyone up! We left for Kentucky on Wednesday. Before we left we went by the lawyers office to take our depositions. So we should have our final divorce decrees within the next 3 weeks. So exciting! (I guess some people wouldn't think "excited" would be appropriate in that instance) The trip out to Kentucky was really nice. We went through the Blue Ridge mountains, West Virginia and then into Kentucky. I spent my junior high school years in Dunbar, WV, so I got to show Stevie and Alex where I used to live and stuff. It was kind of cool, at least for me. It took about 11 hours to get to Elizabethtown, KY which is where we were staying. The next day we went to Ft. Knox to watch the graduation. Brandon's dad also travelled out to see the graduation which is great considering he was never really involved in Brandon's life. He has some issues I don't care to go into right now. But he didn't make it to the actual graduation, he said he was sick. I believe he got drunk the night before which is completely possible for him. But the graduation ceremony was nice and only lasted 45 minutes. Finally we were able to sign him out for the day and hug him. It was so wonderful. We all missed him so much. He looks so grown up and acts more mature. He told us all of the cool and some of the not so cool things they did for the past 9 weeks. He said in hind sight, basic training wasn't so bad. He was dressed in his "class b's" and had to stay in them all day. We hung out at the mall and ate some lunch at White Castle. (we were really excited about that because we have seen both of the movies and loved them. We were taking pictures of everything like tourists) Then we decided to get another hotel room and we hung out there until dinner time. We had to have him back on base at "20:00". It was sad to go but we know it won't be so long before we see him again. He left for Aberdeen, MD the next day to begin his AIT. He is training in diesel generator repair. He says he will be allowed to have weekend visits after a few weeks. Luckily he is only about 4 hours away there. Then after AIT is complete, he gets to come home for 2-4 weeks. And he will be able to attend the wedding! YAY!! We left for home yesterday morning at 6 am. It was a real nice, smooth ride both ways. I was hurting pretty bad and had to stay on Morphine the entire time, but we made it. It was nice to get back home because we were missing the kids. I got some great photos and will be posting them soon.

Yesterday we took the kids swimming next door for a few hours. They had a great time. After that we took them to the school playground for an hour. By the time we got home the kids were completely worn out. It was a nice peaceful evening around here. It was so nice we went out this morning and bought the kids a pool. It is 16' X 42". It is filling up now and Zachary says he is staying out there until it fills up. He can't stand to walk away from an unfinished project. So I gave him a bottle of water and a bag of chips and he is happy. His daddy is supposed to be buying them a trampoline next week too. So they will have plenty of activities to keep them busy all summer. Or at least I hope.

Happy Fathers Day to all of you dads out there. Stevie is enjoying a day of relaxation. I fixed him a nice breakfast this morning and the kids all gave him cards. I am buying him a pedicure for his gift. I know some guys think it is so girly to have a pedicure but after the first time I convinced him to try it, he loves it. I always go with him so he doesn't get teased so bad. I called my daddy and I even got Nate a card for his first fathers day. They stopped by this morning to give Stevie cards too. So I got to hold baby for a bit!

We mailed our invitations last week and we have already begun getting RSVP back. I think most people will come. It is so exciting. We have 7 weeks to go. I will get to do the final fitting next week on my wedding gown. I only have a few more things to do before then so we are just about ready.

The kids are out of school for the summer now and they will be with us just about 24/7. Zachary will be attending summer school in a few weeks. They were concerned he would fall backward if we didn't keep him in fore the summer. I think it is great although I have to provide transportation. I don't know what day he starts yet. I believe they are supposed to mail me something. But he is pretty happy about not going to school for now.

More fun questions...(I love these)

1. What CD is in your car stereo right now? I think it's Hinder!
2. Have you ever lived alone? nope...I always had someone.
3. What is the length of your longest relationship? 7 years
4. Are you a good speller? Yes, I do alrite.
5. Do you get up to pee in the middle of the night? sometimes, depends on how much I drank that day.
6. What was your lsat dirty thought? Umm...probably that I need to clean the kitchen
7. Are you close with your siblings? No. Brother is in jail, sister lives far away
8. Do you think you need to be initially sexually attracted to someone to fall in love? I think it helps but it isn't absolutely necessary.
9. Do you have more same sex friends or opposite sex? opposite, I don't know why
10. Is your life like you thought it would be when you were a kid? No. I only pictured 2 kids and 1 husband. I also pictured myself as a veterinarian.
11. What kind of car do you drive? Chevy Centure Mini Van (I need a bus!)
12. Do you make good choices? I try.
13. What's the worst thing someone has said to you? my step-dad used to call me stupid and worthless. That stays with me until this day.
14. Are you having a good hair day? No. It's a ponytail day for me.
15. Would you rather run a mile or be beaten for 20 minutes? NEITHER!
16. Cheese Nips or Cheese It's? Nips
17. Salty, sweet or both? both
18. What is your favorite fruit? banana
19. What was your first job? I was a cashier at Arby's.
20. Are you afraid to fly? I CAN FLY?!
21. Are you shy or outgoing? A little of both
22. What is your weird obsession? I like to rub cold ears and peel sunburned skin. (weird huh?!)
23. Do you spend more time naked or clothed? clothed...I have kids for pete's sake
24. Dogs or Cats? I like both, but right now I have a dog
25. Blizzard or Frosty? Tough one...ummm...Heath Bar Frosty!
26. Is it fine to cut the Barbies hair? Sure
27. Do you like these surveys? Yes...obviously!

Copy and paste this into your comments and change the answers to your own. I would love to see them!

Blog, Blog, Blog...

I have spent the past few days trying to learn a little more about this whole blogging things. I found some good information at (www.tonypierce.com/blog/2004/06/how-to-blog-by-tony-pierce-110-1.htm) . I began my blog in an attempt to have somewhere to blow off steam and connect with others that may be in the same boat as myself. I have found that I truly enjoy blogging and look forward to seeing how many people visited since the last post. I have read many blogs and normally leave a comment on each one hoping that the writers of them will visit mine. I hope that eventually I will get some tips and pointers on how to improve my blog or some comments on what people think of my blog. I have already had my "rude, opinionated, anonymous commenter". Which I actually kind of enjoyed because I was actually getting comments. But now they are gone because apparently they didn't like my responses to their badgering. My oldest daughter is the only person that knows of my blog in my family. Tony Pierce suggests not letting too many friends and family know about your blog since they may become offended by what you talk about. I had already figured that out on my own for the most part. But I also believe that you shouldn't blog about things you wouldn't be willing to talk about in person to everyone you know. Now I am reading about how people are able to make money by blogging and I want to get in on that! So I have added some ads to my log in hopes that maybe this will be the perfect way to earn a few extra dollars to support my massive family! Tony also suggests adding links to your log and I am still trying to figure out exactly how to do that. I added his link to the top of this blog and then again in the text. Is that the way you are supposed to do it? I feel like I need to go take a class on how all of this blog stuff works. I also have noticed that other bloggers are able to add photos in between their paragraphs on the blog. I can't figure this one out to save my life. I know how to add a photo to the sidebar but not within the text. If anyone out there can help me with any of this or if you just have some tips for me, please email me at stevelovesjyll@aol.com. I would greatly appreciate it.

So I finally got to hold my baby girl again yesterday. Ashlei and Madison came over for a bit and I got to spend some quality snuggle time with my sweet granddaughter. She is so good! She never cries and she loves to snuggle. I have tried to warn Ashlei that she will regret allowing Madison to stay on her chest 24/7. But you can't teach experience unfortunately. Ashlei looks great! It is almost sickening. You can not tell by looking at her that she just had a baby 11 days ago. I try everything to lose this 20 lbs I have gained and I can't even drop 1 pound. She has a baby and 11 days later she can wear a bikini and look good in it! Sickening I tell ya! I am happy for her though. I just wish sometimes that I could have that young metabolism again.
Two years ago I lost 40+ pounds by exercising and following the weight watchers plan. (http://www.weightwatchers.com/) I felt better than I had in a long time and looked great! Then i met my sweet Stevie, got happy and gained back 20 of it. Damn it! I am so disgusted with myself and my loss of willpower. I am not huge by any stretch of the imagination, but I feel huge. I can't wear my clothes from last year and I can't afford to buy new ones. Hell, I don't want to buy new ones. I only want new clothes if it is because I look so adorable in them, not because I am too fat for the ones I have. Unfortunately, I have had 2 spine surgeries in the past year and because of that it is almost impossible for me to exercise. I had planned to get back in the gym after I healed from this tail bone thing, but apparently I am never going to heal from it. I can't sit or lie on my bottom or back. I can't lift my legs or walk for a long distance. So what can I do? Nothing! I have been working out my arms a bit and doing some calf raises. But it isn't doing much of anything for my weight. I don't eat much and I don't just say that either. I have cut way back and cut out most all sweets. I eat a lot of frozen and fresh veggies and very little meat. I have lost weight before so I do know how to do it. The problem is I can't do it the way I know how. It sucks!
Now I have to bitch a bit about these prices! The gas is absolutely ridiculous damn it! Someone, somewhere has to be able to do something! How are people supposed to survive with the price of everything skyrocketing and our pay not following suit?! I am driving to Kentucky from Virginia tomorrow and I know it will cost at least $200 for just the gas. Normally it would have only cost less than $100. I believe the government could do something if they really wanted to. And I wonder why we can't use oil from right here in America? I am not real up on the moment to moment news and I am definitely not up to date on all of the political stuff, but I know I heard somewhere at some point that we have an abundance of oil in Alaska that remains untapped. I am just wondering why? Is it because of the animals or the scenery? Would it hurt the environment? Just seems like using that oil might force the oil prices back down a bit. Maybe I am dumb, who knows?! I just know I can't afford this anymore.

A night in the life of me...

I love my life! I have the most awesome, wonderful, sweet, caring, hard working, sexy, thoughtful, giving, loving man in the entire world, as my fiance'. (isn't it funny how close the words fiance' and finance are?!) I have 9 wonderful children that (although they can be difficult at times) are healthy, caring and funny individuals! We are living in a clean, cool, nice home of our own with our sweet, well behaved golden retriever. I am in the middle of planning a wedding, a trip to Kentucky to see my son graduate basic training and a few upcoming birthdays so I am not too bored nor am I feeling worthless. Life is good! Now if I could just win the lottery (for more than a dollar), spend more time with my granddaughter and finally feel normal again since my tailbone surgery. I don't mean to sound greedy, we all have our dreams and wishes despite all of the good things we already have in our lives. So long as we appreciate what we have, we are allowed to dream! And believe me, I appreciate all that I have been blessed with.
I got to spend last night with the man of my dreams (yes, you Stevie!)and it went something like this...

Go to Walmart to purchase stuff for dinner. Decide on a steak dinner with baked potatoes and salad. Find a pair of sunglasses that I just had to have...look at Stevie who tells me to get them if I want them...put them back knowing it would be greedy of me in our financial state. Walk away wondering if I will ever find such a great pair again. Look at Stevie and realize he would have let me get them because he loves me so much. Forget about sunglasses!
Go to movie store to find something to watch while we "veg out" on the sofa after dinner. Pick up 5 movies, try to decide which 2 we just had to see tonight. Ask Stevie his opinion. He says he doesn't care, I can get what I want. Realize that he actually means it and will watch whatever I pick without complaining. Swoon for a minute, pick 2 movies he wanted.
Stop by store for a pack of "cancer sticks" for me. Stevie gets out in the heat to buy me a pack against his own wishes. Think I need to quit. Light one up as soon as he gets back.
Arrive home, cook dinner. Stevie is in charge of steaks on the grill, I am the salad and potato chef. We work together to prepare the meal and then we sit down together to eat it. Pause for a second to appreciate the silence as we begin to eat. Wonder what the kids are eating tonight while at the other parents houses.
Feel guilty for eating so much yummy bad for me food knowing I have a wedding coming up in 8 weeks and I need to lose 20 pounds. Remember that Stevie loves me like I am and thinks I am the sexiest woman alive. Eat the rest of my dinner.
Sit down to watch movie. Stevie finds a "guy show" he wants to watch. Remind him we have rented 2 movies. Watch "guy show" for an hour and a half.
Finally we put in a movie. National Treasure 2. Snuggle and cuddle. Get feet rubbed. Rub his head. Movie ends at 10:30pm. Way after bed time! (great movie!) Go to bed.
Listen to Stevie tell me how much he loves me. Swoon again. Lie in bed for another hour laughing, giggling and making up stupid innuendos about sex. (IE: his pleasure stick and my happy hole!) Make love.
Go through nightly ritual of staring at each other while the light turns off because he wants me to be the last thing he sees before he falls asleep. swoon. Kiss. Roll over as he snuggles against me wrapping his arms around me. Put my foot between his legs and fall asleep.
I am truly a lucky woman!

This looked like fun, so I copied it...

44 things and more
1. Do you like blue cheese salad dressing? Yuck
2. Have you ever smoked heroin? No.
3. Do you own a gun? I don't like guns. Stevie has one but trying to get rid of it!
4. What's your favorite drink at Starbucks? I don't care to spend my life savings for a cup of coffee.
5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? Not usually.
6. What do you think of hot dogs? I like all beef if cooked on a grill
7. Favorite Christmas song? Silver Bells
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? COFFEE!!!
9. Can you do push ups? UM...Hold on...(lying in floor making rude sounds)...Yep
10. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? My gorgeous diamond engagement ring
11. Favorite hobby? HOBBY?! Who has time for hobbies?!
12. Do you have A.D.D.? Wait...what was the question?
13. What's one trait that you hate about yourself? my weight
14. Middle name? Elaine
15. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment. 1. How can I earn more money now?! 2. When is Zach and Syd going to be potty trained. 3. What am I going to blog about today?
16. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink? Water, coffee, diet soda.
17. Current worry right now? finances!!!
18. Current hate right now? The freaking heat outside
19. Favorite place to be? in my baby's arms
20. How did you bring in the New Years? I kissed Stevie and went to sleep
21. Like to go? anywhere!
22.(I don't know where this question went)
23. Do you own slippers? yep. I think they are called bed shoes. The old man styled ones
24. What color shirt are you wearing? White...exciting huh?!
25. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? sometimes
26. Can you whistle? barely
27. Favorite color? Lime green(me too!)
28. Would you be a pirate? NO!! I get sea sick too easy.
29. What songs do you sing in the shower? I am usually in a huge hurry since my 4 year old is in charge while I am in there. So no singing here!
30. Favorite girl's name? Gabrielle, London, Kennedy, Isabella and Victoria(none of which I was permitted to use darn it!)
31. Favorite boy's name? Stevie!
32. What's in your pocket right now? no pockets here
32. Last thing that made you laugh? mine and Stevies silly babblings when we go to bed at night
33. Best bed sheets as a child? Charlie Brown ans Peanuts
34. Worst injury you've ever had? broken tailbone
35. Do you love where you live? not really....when i look outside...i don't smell the sea, see the ocean, or touch sand in my toes(this was the previous persons answer but I am in total agreement!
36. How many TVs do you have in your house? 5
37. Who is your loudest friend?...Debbie
38. How many pets do you have? 1...a sweet golden retriever named Theodore
39. Does someone have a crush on you? Yep...my Stevie
40. What is your favorite book? Where the Red Fern Grows
41. What is your favorite candy? Mallo Cups
42. Favorite Sports Team? I don't do sports
43. What were you doing 12 AM last night? MMMM...wouldn't you like to know
44. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? Damn...I don't want to get up!

Man it is HOT!!!!

I didn't blog yesterday and I almost didn't today either because believe it or not, we are having a few dull moments! Seriously! In my house and in our lives we are actually slightly bored. I believe that it is for a few reasons the main one being it is no kid weekend. But the other main reason is it is so freakin' hot here! We are in the middle of a terrible heat wave with the temperature being over 100 degrees all weekend and the humidity being somewhere around a kagillion percent! It is like walking into a blast furnace when you open the front door. We have ventured out a few times, mainly to pick up groceries. Yesterday we went to the mall and got Stevie measured for his tux. And of course we ordered Alex's and advised Nate to get his ordered. We went with a 2 button, notch lapel long style jacket. Stevie will be wearing a bisque colored vest and bow tie while the rest of the guys will be wearing black vest and bow ties. They would all wear matching colors but we purchased Logan's tux and it came with a black tie and vest. We were going to rent the vest and tie but it would have cost $35. Which totally would have blown the idea of purchasing it on eBay to save money. So we decided to just let the guys wear black. And at least this way Stevie will stand out more. After doing the tux thing we walked around the mall awhile. We went to JcPenney and I got to buy a few new tops. I was so happy because like a typical mom, I never buy myself new clothes. All of my tops are old, stretched and threads are hanging from them. So i got some really cute trendy styled tops and I feel so great in them. Not to mention, they were on sale! I love a good bargain for those that can't tell. We also stopped and had our photos taken in one of those cheesy, first date photo booths. It was cute and fun. I believe those are the photos that create memories and bring smiles when you come across them years later. We stopped for lunch, priced a wedding band for Stevie, got my diamond cleaned and browsed a few other stores before getting bored with the mall thing. After leaving there we went by the post office to get stamps for our invitations. (Apparently the post office is closed on Saturday! Since when?!) Then we went home and put stamps on the invites. How exciting, they are ready to go now! We both got a bit tired so we laid down and took a little nap before we decided to venture back out into the heat. We went back to the post office to mail the invitations and then went across the street to have a drink and shoot some pool. It wasn't crowded like it normally is which we figured was because we were the only dumb a**es willing to go out of our comfortably cooled home. But it was alot of fun and we actually got to misbehave like adults for a bit. I had a few drinks and was feeling pretty good when we finally went back home. Today we ventured out once to do our normal Walmart run and to pick up some movies to watch. We really would have liked to take our motorcycle out for a ride but it is just to darn hot! So we are lying around on our lazy bums soaking up some TV and AC! The kids will return tomorrow and the dull moments will be a distant memory but after a weekend like this, I can't wait to have them home again! Maybe I am a glutton for punishment or maybe I just really miss them. Maybe it doesn't even matter! So now I have mailed the invites, bought some new clothes, rented some movies, blogged and now I am going to go snuggle with my baby and watch National Treasure 2 and Mad Money! I will let you know what I think of them. Stay cool!

Adventures in potty training...

My poor Zachy! He has had a terrible diaper rash for 3 days now. He has been having more than normal bowel movements and he has refused to go the bathroom. So his bottom is raw. Every time I have to change him it is a huge ordeal. I know it hurts and it kills me to have to do it but the only way to make it all better is to clean it up good and put lots of Desitin on it. I have tried everything to make him understand that if he would just go potty he wouldn't hurt anymore. But he just doesn't get it. I have tried giving him medicine to stop him from pooing so frequently, but it didn't work. I just don't know what to do for him. It sucks to see him in so much pain and know that he doesn't understand that he is the only one that can make it stop.
Then there is Sydney. She turns 4 on Saturday and she is not completely potty trained. I believe it is because children mimic their older siblings and since Zachy isn't trained, she isn't. She goes through periods where she will go to the bathroom all day no problem. Then the next week it is accident after accident. We have tried bribery, punishment, encouragement, you name it. I am so tired of changing diapers on children that are entirely too big to be in them. The school is supposed to help with Zachy but they aren't doing a very good job either. If Zachy ever gets trained then hopefully Sydney will. Or vice verse.
All of my other children potty trained real easy. It was a breeze. So maybe this is payback or something. If anyone has any suggestions they would be greatly appreciated.
I didn't get to see my beautiful granddaughter yesterday. Her and her mommy stayed home for the day and spent some time with Madison's other Grandma. She is coming over today so I am really excited. I think I actually started having withdrawals!
I received a letter from Brandon and he sent me some photo's of himself. He looks so grown up and handsome! I am so incredibly proud of him. We go to his graduation next week and I know it will be a very emotional day. I am looking forward to the road trip there and back because it will be the first me and Stevie have ever taken. Brandon's girlfriend and Alex are going with us. We will be driving through the city I went to junior high and I will be taking them by to show them my school and old home. It should be a neat experience for all of us. It will probably make me feel even older too. Sydney and Zach will be with their daddy while we are gone and Ashlei and Nate will be staying here to watch Cheyenne.
Wedding planning is steadily moving forward. We mail our invitations Saturday. I still have to get the stamps though. We are going to get fitted for tuxes this weekend too. I still need to get the rest of the centerpieces, decorations, etc. And shoes, I have to get shoes for all of us girls. But I still have 8 weeks to go so I have plenty of time. I ordered the girls dresses over a weeks ago and they still haven't come in. They are excited to see them. We also decided to give all of the children a dog tag on a necklace that is inscribed "many hearts, one family, joined together Aug 2, 2008." We will be doing a special vow to them as well. They don't know about it so it will be a big surprise.
Next week is the last week of school and the kids are so excited. They will pretty much be here all summer long so it will be interesting to keep them occupied. My neighbor has a pool and told them she would let them come swim from time to time. I also plan to buy an inexpensive above ground pool for our back yard. That way if it is a really hot summer they will have somewhere to cool off and play.

My very own meteorologoist...

First of all, before I begin my daily blog I need to make a comment to whoever is leaving the "anonymous" comments bashing my 5 year old little boy. If you have to hide behind an "anonymous" name to make rude, immature comments about a little boy with special needs, then you are a coward! Normally I reject your ignorant judgemental comments but I have decided to begin posting them so that my other readers can see what my poor son goes through. Please keep in mind that he is a little boy. A little boy with the diagnosis of Autism that will prevent him from ever passing judgement on rude people such as yourself. Yet he is obviously more intelligent and compassionate than you already. My baby is not an "abusive monster" and he has every right to hold his new niece Madison. As a matter of fact, he held her yesterday for over a half an hour, supervised, and he was incredibly gentle with her. He obviously loves her and would never hurt her. He has never left marks on Sydney. He has pushed her down causing her to skin her knee but the last time I was around "normal" children, they were doing the exact same thing to each other. We are working with Zachy every day to teach him how to control his impulsiveness. He is making great strides. But to "anonymous", I hope some day you will realize how wrong it is to judge a child so harshly. He is a sweet boy and he did not ask for his diagnosis. Yet he can wake up every day and smile.

Now that I got that out of the way, I wanted to tell you all about Zachy's latest interest. He is obsessed with the weather! He loves it! He comes running into the living room first thing in the morning saying, "is the weather on"? I tell him, "not yet, but its coming", he gets all excited and just giggles. Yesterday I showed the weather channel and you would have thought I showed him a new cartoon channel geared towards him. He will tell everybody he sees, what the forecast is, when it is supposed to storm and what the temperature is now. He is especially fascinated with the rain and storms. He actually remembers all of the information for the entire day. He goes to school and tells his teacher what the weather forecast is. It is so cute. I know these kids have odd interests and I think I have even read about a little boy once with this obsession. But it is so cute. I wonder if he will grow up to be a meteorologist?!
Zachy got to hold Madison yesterday and he was so incredibly gentle with her. He just sits there looking at her face and being really still. He loves it when she grabs his finger because "it means she loves him". He can be so good with small children. If Sydney is being punished and put in her time out chair, she will cry for "her Zachary". He will slowly creep toward her and look at me with the sweetest big brown eyes and ask "can I?, meaning he wants to hug her. I normally let him because it is so good to see him learning compassion. He is so sweet!
Ashlei and baby are doing well. They won't be coming over today and I will miss my Madison like crazy. But they are spending the day with her other grandma. So Sydney and I will just hang out and get some much needed rest. Sydney's birthday is Saturday and we celebrated it last night because everyone was here. She received a baby doll complete with all of the little items to make pretending fun. She got a little stroller, a little car seat and a little diaper bag. She named her baby "Lisa" and she had a ball taking her for a walk. So we will probably play with her new baby today.

Still Suffering...

First of all let me just say that Madison is home and she is doing great. Mom and Dad are pleased, proud and sleepy. Grama and Grampa are thrilled and can't wait to spoil her rotten! Ashlei and Nate brought her by here yesterday to meet her new aunts and uncles. The kids thought she was pretty awesome and seemed to fall in love immediately. Zachary just wanted to touch her, he didn't want to hold her though. He told Ashlei that he thought Madison was beautiful. He is so sweet. And Logan said that Madison was "just too cute to talk about".

It has been 6 weeks since the surgery to remove my tailbone and I am still in great pain. I am so depressed and frustrated because I am beginning to feel like I will never be normal again. I still can't sit flat on my bum, it hurts when I try to stand up and I hurt when I walk a long while. I have had numerous operations on my spine and normally I recover rapidly and am back to doing normal things in the matter of a couple of weeks. But this operation is winning the battle at this point. It hurts so bad and I really don't want to live on Morphine. But is I don't take it, the pain is excruciating. I truly feel like I am never going to completely heal and I need to just get used to the pain. I have done a lot of research on the Internet and the stories vary. Some people are healed and pain free after 6-8 weeks. Other people are still in pain 2 years later. I hope I do not end up in the latter group! I am so frustrated and miserable that I am irritable and depressed. I snapped on Zachary and Sydney's dad the other day, not for any reason except he was there. Then I cried my eyes out on Stevie's shoulder for about 10 minutes because I just didn't feel like I could take it anymore. He held me and told me it would get better and I needed to just hang in there. So that is what I am doing now. I am "hanging in there".
We leave next week for Kentucky to watch Brandon graduate basic training. (which should be interesting when you consider the previous conversation) I am anxious to see him since it has been nearly 9 weeks. He called me on Saturday so I did get to tell him about his new niece. He was shocked and a little disappointed that he didn't get to be here. But he was excited to meet her. He said that he was looking forward to our visit and that things were going well. He says they are preparing for a 5 day hike where they pretend to be in Iraq and practice the maneuvers they have been learning. He says he is excited about it and it sounds like fun. I guess the little boy is still in there. But mostly he is excited to see all of us next week.
It is almost time for school to let out for the summer. I am not really looking forward to it but i am sure it will be fine. I will have all 7 children everyday during the entire summer. Zachary and Cheyenne will attend summer school for a few hours a day for a couple of weeks. So that will lighten my load a bit. But I think we will have a lot of fun and I am glad that at least they all have someone to play with.

Now we wait for Madison to come home

Madison and Ashlei are both doing well. Baby is eating, peeing, pooing etc. She weighs 6lbs 2 oz now and she is very alert. She loves to look around and amazes me at hoe alert she is. She seems to really like me because Ashlei had said that she didn't like anyone to hold her but mommy or daddy. She said she normally screams. But I picked her up and started singing gently in her ear and she quieted down and fell asleep. It made me feel good. Fortunately mine and Ashlei's voices are very similar.
Ashlei called me this morning to tell me that they were going to release her today but that were going to keep Madison until tomorrow. She was very upset and crying and said she didn't know why they wouldn't let her go home. She said all they would tell her is that she had to stay 48 hours from birth. So I decided to go down there since nothing was making any since. When the pediatrician came in the room she started telling us that it is policy to keep babies until they are 48 hours old. So I asked her why they wouldn't let Ashlei stay too and they said because she would have to foot the bill. They said they were let her board for the night free of charge but if someone needed her room she would have to leave. This made absolutely no sense to me because Ashlei is breast feeding the baby. After thinking about it for a minute I had to ask the pediatrician, "if this is the normal case then are you telling me that all mothers go home before their babies? Because I am pretty sure I have watched numerous moms leave with their babies since we had been there." Finally she admitted the true reason. Apparently Ashlei had a slight fever when she delivered and when that happens they do a blood culture on the baby to check for sepsis(a blood infection). The culture takes 48 hours to come back and they had lost the culture. The nurses took the culture and nobody has seen it since. So even though 2 white blood cell count tests had come back fine, no signs of infection, baby looks good, alert and is eating well, they were concerned that if they sent her home she may have problems. But if they hadn't lost the culture they would know for sure if she had sepsis and she could go home on time. So I told her point blank that if it is their fault because they lost the test, then they better make sure Ashlei had somewhere to stay or there would be a lawsuit. She said she was sorry and would make sure they gave her a place to stay. The pediatrician also said that she would talk to the neonatologist on duty to see if they would let her go home today. Then I asked her if they wanted to wait the 48 hours then why can't Madison come home today at 8:46pm which is when she turns 48 hours old. She said because they don't like to have the babies out on the road so late. I explained to her that I live 5 minutes from the hospital, I have experience with preemies and they would come stay with me. So she said she would share that information and see what they said. Ashlei called me about an hour ago and said they changed their minds and they are letting baby come home at 8:30. I am so glad. But I am so pissed that they lost her blood culture. They lost 6 of Ashlei's blood samples since she had been there too. What the hell are they doing? Are they all vampires or something? I can't understand how a hospital loses blood samples. It is a little bit scary really. And then the nurse in the nursery told the pediatrician it wasn't a big deal because they could just stick the baby again. Like it doesn't cause her pain and she is some kind of pin cushion. And this is a brand new hospital! I am so disappointed in the way they handled everything.