Friday, January 30, 2009

Frozen

For the most part, I like winter. Except when the weather gets below freezing. I'm not too bitter, yet. Even though we're around storm 17 and we technically have six more weeks of winter. And my kids have had quite a few snow days and delayed school openings (which in Moe's case, means no school). but damn, this morning sucked.

Husband (whom I still haven't renamed) woke me up at 6 to ask me to move the van. Apparently one guy he car pools with thought they already left and the other guy was MIA, so he needed the car. Which was parked in front of the van in opur super obnoxious driveway. So after me waking up and trudging outside in 10 degree weather, we spent about 20 minutes trying to free his car. We tried re-shoveling, using the ice hacker thing to break the ice and kitty litter. I ran out of sand/salt yesterday so kitty litter was all we had (we've never owned a cat, BTW). Nada. He spent more time spinning his tires. His car was stuck. And of course, it was on the part of the driveway that sloped down. Which caught all the water as the ice melted yesterday and then refroze. Yeah.

So, he had to take the van. Which left me vehicle-less. My kids don't take a bus. So yeah. I got them a ride to and from school. Bailed on a coffee playdate. Bailed on helping serve ice cream at school. And am now hoping it warms up so the ice melts and I can move the car furthur back. At least Husband said he'd pick up ice melt on the way home. If he can find it - afterall, it is New England and since it's now time for bathing suits and sunblock, not snowsuits and ice melt, he may have a problem there....

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

25 Random things

Okay, so I took this from my Facebook page, but I have no clue what to blog about.

Snow days are getting old - there are only so many times I can say the kids are home from school, we went sledding and I baked more cookies, brownies, pancakes or cookie brownies... So here goes. Sorry if you read this already :P

* Wait, actually there are a few changes....

Hum what to share…..

1. I met Husband when I was 14 and married him when I was 19. We are celebrating out 10 year anniversary this fall! We brought our first house at 20 and I had our first child at 21.

2. Over a four year period (from October 2002 – May 2005) I had three surgeries, three babies and numerous ER visits. That was just myself, and does not include visits made by Husband or the girls in that time period.

3. I used to be a perfectionist. It’s taken a long time to realize that hey, you cannot be perfect all the time.

4. I am way too serious. It takes a long time for me to “lighten up”.

5. I have panic/anxiety attacks. They fucking suck. I hate them and hate feeling like I’m letting people down.

6. I graduated second in my class in high school. And was amongst the top in my class in college.

7. Other then motherhood, I’ve never had a full time job.

8. I have no clue what I want to do for a job when Moe go to Kindergarten next year. And it scares me.

9. I was the first (and only) member of my immediate family to go to (and graduate) from college.

10. My three daughters are 33 months apart (18 months between Einey and Meenie and 15 months between Moe and Meenie). Moe was a surprise. A happy surprise.

11. I gave birth to all three with no drugs. I was in labor for Einey for 8 hours, Meenie for 15 minutes and Moe for 45 hours. Thank good she was last. I delivered all of them naturally. Moe was breech. I was not allowed to leave the hospital while in labor with her.

12. I love my inlaws. They are great people. Even so, I tend to make things difficult at time.

13. I have a blog. Lately it’s sucked. I need something to write about.

14. I coach soccer but have never ever played before. It’s a lot of fun. Now none of my kids want to play though.

15. I love spending time outdoors with my family.

16. My family drives me nuts! Seriously.

17. I always count stairs as I walk up them.

18. I tend to volunteer myself for anything when people need help. I’ve finally learned to smile and say “no.” But then I feel bad.

19. *I hate scary movies almost as much as I like them. I think it stems from being brought to see Nightmare on Elm Street when I was four. I remember hiding in my seat in the movie theater the whole movie.

20. I tend to be laid back as a mom. My kids are not involved in a lot of activities, they don’t always wear hats during the winter, they play outside by them selves, watch a lot of TV, run barefoot during the summer and play way to many video games. They are, I think fairly well adjusted and so I’m told, pretty well behaved (the last part, I’m not so sure :P)

21. I didn’t drink coffee until I was pregnant with Moe (which I think is self explanatory). Now I’m hooked, and so is she.

22. I never dreamed I’d be a stay at home mother. Nor that I’d spend many days in an elementary school. But I love watching my kids at school and having lunch with them.

23. As you can tell, my life and who I am pretty much revolves around my family. But I’m okay with that. Even if it makes me slightly boring.

24. I usually read a book in one to two nights. I’m not exaggerating, ask my friends.

25. I would love to have had more kids. Husband, was done way before I was.

I'm not passing it along as I did on Facebook already, but feel free to play along if you want.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Girly girls

There is changes afoot.

Last week, Moe had a play date at a friends house. When I went to pick her up, I could see they did their own makeup. Which was fine. their kids. Even the resulting rash because she has sensitive skin didn't bother me. A few days later, she came downstairs with glitter glue all around her lips. That was a fun one to clean up.

And then it moved to the school bathroom. There is a group of little girls who huddle by the mirrors and share lip gloss. Lip gloss, that's not supposed to be brought to school. This week, Meenie came home and said I kept my lip gloss in my pocket at school except for the one time I put some on in the bathroom. Even after we talked about not bringing it to school, it went anyway. The next day she came home and said "I shared my lip gloss with Girl #1 and Girl #2. Okkaaaaaaaaaaayyyy. Into the trash went the lip gloss. But apparently there's a stash. Because now Meenie and Moe have at least TWO lip glosses on them every time I turn around.

Yesterday, I took Einey for a haircut. She choose her style -it's a cute little bob. And today after admiring herself in a mirror for a million years, she proclaimed "I like my hair. It makes me look older. I look like I'm ten!".

Gah - I thought I had a few more years!

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Tomorrow's the day, the three ring circus rolls into town.

Tomorrow is Inauguration Day. And while most people will sit glued to their TV,s computers and phones (or stand in the crowds in DC), I will not. I'm hoping to avoid the whole three ring circus. I didn't vote for Obama (despite pleas from Moe). And while I'm not a fan of the man, I will support him. I have hopes, like many Americans, that he'll help out our country. He has the charisma to win over many people, but I'd like to think that there is more to him then just another pretty face. Although American's are shallow like that. And since his whol "change" [platform has invovled rehiring or keeping on old cabinet members, yeah.... So much for change. Iraq? Well maybe we won't pull out as soon as I said we would. Bush's tax plan? Well I'll just let it run out in 2010 instead of changing it. Yeah, so much for change.

That being said, I'm still trying to wrap my brains around a few things. It's no secret that our nation, our world, is in a recession. A recession that cannot be blamed on just one person. A recession that has cost many people their jobs, their homes, their lives. It's no secret that times are hard. Many people do not have to look much further then away from their immediate surrounds to see this. So why the fuck, is this whole three ring circus inauguration costing more than $150 million . I'm sorry, but one would think the man who ran on the change platform, who wants to help the economy, would, I don't know, be a bit more conservative.

Not to mention, furniture is being delivered to the White House. The bed alone, ordered from a local New England company, has a price tag of $12,500.

So yeah, apparently the way to lead the country is to party hard. Who cares about money anyway?

Wish us luck....

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Just how cold?

As we were walking out the door to school today, I once again reminded the girls to put their hats and mittens on (which really, they need for the 10 steps from the house to the van and then 10 steps from the van to the school door since it's too cold for recess this week). Einey looked at the thermometer and commented, "hum it's 12 degrees, I thought it was only supposed to be 10".

Yeah 'cuz those 2 extra degrees make a whole ton of a difference!

So yeah, it's cold out side, but nice and comfy inside. I have the curtains drawn next to my desk. I prefer them open, but since they are for the door to the deck, it lets in alot of air. And this morning, I finally go around to putting plastic over two of the 4 windows in the playroom that need it. I did the two that had the biggest drafts and Iswear I can already tell a difference. Either that, or it's because I struggled with moving full bookshelves to get enough room to work at the window.

I hope everyone else is staying warm!

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Out of balance

Time seems like it's flying by. And no, it's not because I'm having fun.

Lately, it seems like the days are a swirl of school drop-offs and pick ups, housework, and homework. Normal everyday activities but for some reason, I feel overwhelmed and out of control. I wake up to find that I don't have pieces to their lunches (bread one day, juice another) which ends up with me just sending in lunch money. Library books, set out the night before are left forgotten on shelves. Homework lays forgotten until the morning it's due (Moe's but only because she only gets it once a week). School uniform pieces cannot be found. This week, we even forgot to put our garbage out.

And the battles. Oh my god, how and I going to survive their teenage years???!!! There's battles over who should clean the playroom and when. Bedrooms are a mess. I get them to clean it and next thing I know, it's a pig sty. Einey has to be the worst! At seven, her counter is a mass of pixos, Lego's, pens, pieces or papers and hair accessories. The floors have piles of clothes (which probably explains WHY we can't find uniform pieces), hair accessories, more Lego's, shoes (despite my pleas of leaving the damn things downstairs) and Webkinz. We'll go through and I'll help her put the stuff away and the next day, looks like a bomb went off in there. And she's so forgetful. I hate that she, with the most responsibility, also needs constant reminders. She's the oldest, yet the only one I have to worry about whether or not she's going to remember to bring her hat, mittens, lunchbox, homework, backpack home form school.

Einey and Moe just have toys all over. And clothes. I swear, if I have to pick up more clean clothes I may start tossing them out. They change their minds a million times each day. Or they try to wear dresses and skirts when its 15 degrees out. The toys, I expect out. And for awhile, they were doing great picking them up. Lately, not so great.

It seems, though that we've had a hard time adjusting to our normal routine after the school winter break. We slept late. The kids would wake up and go downstairs to play quietly, allowing me extra time in the morning to rest. They played well and put things away. So far, school has been irregular. Their first week back had delays and days off due to weather. And half days that were pre-scheduled. This week, so far, has been normal. But the kids, they're still tired. Mornings are filled with tears and outbursts ("I forgot my library book," "I hate pep squad," "I hate second grade," and "I don't want to go to school"). And trying to get them focused in the mornings have left me drained.

And to top it all off, yesterday I got hit with a nasty virus (I say virus, because it almost the same as what Husband had a few days earlier). I was volunteering in the classroom and suddenly, I had a migraine (and being my first migraine, it sucked.) and it also made me very nauseated. Husband, told me to lay down and let me sleep (with little interruptions) for four hours! Then when i finally ate something last night, I spent the rest of the night in the bathroom. It hit suddenly, but when I woke up this morning, I was fine. I'm tired and achy, but no where near what I felt yesterday.

I'm hoping that we can get back into the swing of a routine soon! Everything just feels so off.

Friday, January 09, 2009

Still here

I'm still here, I haven't given up on '09 yet :P We've had a few days where we've been sorting things out on the computer. We had a virus. One that was quite tricky. We suspected one, but when we ran a virus scan and ad-aware scan, nothing showed up. We ran a few more scans with other programs and still nothing. Finally, on like the 6th scan, we were ready to admit defeat and say "maybe we didn't have a virus" when it was like - hey look, here's a virus. So we found it and managed to get rid of it.

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This week was also tricky school wise. The girls weer slated to go back to school Monday morning but then there was a 90 minute delay for weather. Which meant, the older two went in, but Moe's class would be canceled for the day. Tuesday, they had school which was great because I had to go to the dentist. Wednesday school was canceled for everyone due to ice. Thursday they went to school on time and today was a half day (but it was a pre-scheduled half day). And tomorrow? More snow. We've already gotten more snow then we've had the last few years. The words "paint" and "walls" were used in the same sentence too many times. Thankfully, they are big enough that they knew enough to clean it up before I saw. They missed the big hand print on the curtain though... Remind me again who brought the paint at Christmas?

We also spent the majority of the day without cable. I had to smother a laugh when I heard from the other room "I wonder if Mom will let me play the Wii." "No, you can't, we don't have cable, remember?" "OH yeah, okay". And with that, they continued to play together. With real toys. Toys that make you think. I didn't bother correcting them.

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Today, Husband had a friend over the re-wire a junction box. Only they waited to about 3:30 pm to start. It's New England. The sun sets around 4:30. Around 4:00 they realized they needed one more piece and had to run to Lowe's. Meanwhile, he had cut power (and heat!) to the whole house (it was easier!). See where I'm going? Yup, they had to finish the job with aid from a flashlight as it too dark.


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Are my kids the only one's who want to order meat with a side of meat? Case and point, last week when we went to the hot dog stand, when I asked what they wanted on the side of their hot dogs. They replied with "chicken nuggets". On occasion, when we go to McDonald's and I ask what they want with their chicken nuggets, at least one will try to ask for a cheese burger.


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Yesterday, they asked if winter was almost over. They want spring and summer. They were NOT happy when I informed them that is has only been winter for about 3 weeks and we still had about 9 weeks left.

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I've decided Husband needs a new name. At least, here he does. So I'm taking suggestions.


Sunday, January 04, 2009

Come here and look...

"Momma, Momma, look at what I found" she whispered as she held her cupped hands high. There was a smile on her face and a twinkle in her clear blue eyes as she looked up into the deep brown eyes of her Momma.

"What is it? What did you find?" she asked.

"Here Momma, look" she whispered.

Taking her tiny cupped hands in her own, she marveled at the differences. She slowly spread her tiny hands apart, revealing the itty bitty red with black spotted creatures carefully held inside.

"It's a ladybug*. See! Isn't is cute? her name is Gem Hunt" the little girl said.

"It is very cute. Why don't you go find a plant for it to live on. You cannot take it out with us" her Momma told her.

"Please Momma? I'll hold it between my hands like this. It can't get cold if I hold it".

"It's way too cold out today, it will freeze".

A few minutes later, the little girl reappeared carrying a yellow and green container.

"Look Momma, I found it a home. It can come with us now" she smiled.

"That's a great house for it, but I'm afraid it still won't keep it warm".

"Oh" she frowned.

"Here, let's leave it here and it will be waiting when we come home".

Carefully, they set the container on the counter top.

Hand in hand, the little girl and her Momma walked out into the chilly air. And the ladybug waited.

* What a difference a year makes! Moe is finally not afraid of ladybugs!

Second chance

The puking child has stopped puking. In fact, it wasn't anything more than what was posted last night (thankfully!). I'm crossing my fingers that the others don't pick up where she left off.

The leak, is still a leak, but Husband is pretty confident he know where it is. Unfortunately, it could cost anywhere from $300 to $1200 (or more, that's just an estimate) just for the piece. He's taking the plans he drew in tomorrow along with some pictures he took to get a second opinion from a co-worked and he hopes, that said co-worker can help him install the new piece (once we figure out where to order it) thus, making a plumber unnecessary. I'm crossing my fingers.

The van - still starts. it will be getting a new battery soon just in case!

Myself, I've vowed to give 2009 a second chance. Don't make me regret that decission!

Seriously, I quit....

Hey, as an added bonus to the New Year, let's throw in a middle of the night wake-up call with a puking child. One who puked twice on the floor on the ten steps from her bed to the toilet.

Think anyone will miss me if I just hibernate for the next 361 days?

Saturday, January 03, 2009

2009 can officially suck it

If you notice a small leak say in a pipe that comes out of a wall outside, don't ignore it. If you notice say a small increase in your gallons per usage in your water bill, don't assume it's from the tiny leaky faucet in your bathroom. If you notice an increase of over $150 on your quarterly water bill, officially freak out. Because that in turn will not go away (see step one and two). And that will also make your sewer bill go up (it's based on water usage).

My husband has been in the basement all freaking day mapping out water lines (yeah I know, shouldn't be so complicated but you haven't seen out house). He figured it was down to a leaky part in the water heater on the solar side and decided to bypass that. Yeah, it finally stopped the water heater on it's mad spin to conquer the world. Hello freaking massive water usage, no carbon offset global warming reduce, reuse, recycle and all that jazz points here, in fact, can I borrow some of yours? So back to the bypassing. Worked. Yeah only it also shut off all our HOT WATER! Which we noticed when I started the laundry.

So we had to un-bypass the water collector heater thingie. And now we're back to square one - with a tilt a whirl of fun spinning water meter and water making a marsh out of my yard. And now a call the a plumber the beginning of the week.

In other words, my van did in fact start today. But we think it's the battery and it needs to be replaced before it won't start again when it's cold out.

2009, I'm officially done. You can suck it and officially go to hell. We're done. Finished. Kaput. And you had such potential. I had high hopes for you....

Friday, January 02, 2009

Sitting in the dark

She sits in the dark movie theater. It's dingy and small. On screen, images of a dog, trying to get back to his person pass before her eyes. Next to her, sits her oldest born. Between the two, sits the large bag of popcorn. It's the only size available at the counter out front. The pickings were slim, an assortment of candy, one size of popcorn, soda, bottled water and nachos. The kids behind the counter were not much older than the girl that sat beside her.

They sat there for the length of the movie. Mother and daughter. Oblivious to their surroundings. They walked out hand in hand, happy to have spent some time alone. Time together. Time not shared with the other beings who inhabit their space. Time enjoy each others company. Time to be mother and daughter. And in that span of time, their surroundings didn't matter. All that mattered was that they were together.

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Walking in the door she asked "what's wrong?" before she even had time to set the popcorn bag down. She knew, just walking in the door that not all was right. She didn't expect the others to be home, and even if their errands were finished quicker than the movie, she didn't expect the neatly packaged birthday gift to be sitting on the counter. Surely, he couldn't have forgotten his one job today? Instead, in that short span of time, the universe decided to conspire against them. The van, which was supposed to transport middle to her party, and the man and youngest on errands, wouldn't start. It's dead. They're hoping, a trip to pick up a new battery in the morning is all it will take to fix it.

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If this is how the year is going to start, 2009 can go suck it!

Thursday, January 01, 2009

2-0-0-9

Happy New year! As I write this, it is around noon on January 1st. There is snow on the ground and it's about 15 degrees out. We arrived home about an hour ago, having spent the New Year with some great friends and their families. There was food, booze and fun. The only thing missing was Husband, as he celebrated the New Year at work.

Last year was a pretty quiet year. For our family no babies, no sickness, no deaths, no good friends moving away, no lost jobs. For some of our friends, 2008 was tremulous. We've learned to count our blessings and appreciate all the we have and not spend time dwelling on that which we don't have.

For 2009 - we can only hope that we have a year as good as 2008.

For me personally, I'd like to continuing losing some more weight. While not completely following the South Beach diet still, I am losing a little here and there. And I'm sure the Wii Fit will help. I feel much better than I have in a awhile and I know Husband feels the same.

I'd also like to actually contribute to the household income more. So already, I have 2 full days lined up to sub at the local schools (which, BTW, would already put me at more time worked the last two years). I'm going to try and work more, mainly to pay off some credit card debt we've accumulated from way back when (which isn't much, but it's still there). And also, to ease back into working. You see, come September, Moe will be in school full time. Let that sink in for a moment. All my kids will be in school. All day. Everyday. Now I don't know about anyone else, but I think I'd go bonkers staying home. I know already on the three half days, I've started finding myself a bit bored (which is, BTW, why I have a gazillion scrabble games going on in Facebook at the moment). So, while I still won't need to work, I want to. For my sanity and to help contribute to the family. I still have guilt that I've spent so many years at home (I know, I shouldn't, I've been raising my family after all, but still...mommy guilt....). At the same time, I don't know what I want to do once they're in school. I have no real career path. I guess it all depends on what happens in the beginning of the year with Husband's job (nothing bad, don't worry) that would control whether or not I can go back to school as well.

Eventually, (and maybe closer to the near future) Husband and I have talked about buying (or building) a new house. One with, you know, insulated walls, windows that open (and stay open), a garage, where each of the girls can have their own room, three bathrooms (although no one uses the two that we have, so...) and a yard. Maybe a barn instead of a garage, we'll see. Ideally, we'd love an old farmhouse, but I'm sure it wouldn't have the modern convinces like insulated walls (sensing a trend??) we I want. But who know, we'll know it when we see it. So that's part of why I want to work more and reduce our debt. I want us to be in a great place when we find that house of our dreams. And with the market being as it is, it may be closer than we thought.

And when I'm home, which is alot, I want to use my time more wisely. We have many, many projects around the house that need to be finished. The hallway is going on 8 months or so... The bedroom, needs wallpaper still. There are touch ups to be done everywhere. The playroom repainted. The glass panel in the dining room needs to be replaced. The walls washed down. Little things that no one wants to do. But I want to now, and I'm going to try. Get some of those unfinished projects finished so if when the time comes to sell, we won't be rushing to finish things.

I also want to take more time, to make more clothes for the girls. I have a ton of fabric I've picked up, and before summer come, I want to make them some more outfits. It takes me a bit, because I'm learning as I go. But I've been happy with almost everything I've created thus far.

And a once a month game night with friends is definitely in the cards! We tried in 2008, but it never really caught. So here's to making an actually effort!

So that's it in a nutshell, just some things I want to work on. Here's to hoping everyone has a healthy and prosperous 2009.