Fundraising, Melissa Joan Hart and Fiber

We're gearing up for the final week of school around here. Amusingly enough, the grading period actually ends today, yet they have one more week of school.

How does this make sense? If they can't grade them on anything else, why should they have school?

The answer: Field trips to waterparks and pizza places, class parties, awards ceremonies, kindergarten graduations, and days to just play in the sprinklers.

SERIOUSLY? This was sooooo not the case when I was in school! IF I were lucky, my mom would take us for a scoop of ice cream on the last day of school! Things have really changed! We have less money, yet we have more things to spend it on.

Speaking of that, I can remember the way my elementary school operated when I was a kid. When the PTA decided that the school should be able to have one of those newfangled Xerox machines, they organized a fundraiser. We sold candy bars to earn the money for the first copy machine. That's just how it was. You want something, you find a way to earn money for it. If someone asks my kids what they are having fundraisers for, their answer is usually, "Money for the school." They have no clue what the school wants or needs to do with the money.

Granted, they need the money, I know! But things were so much simpler when we just earned one thing at a time, you know? When I started elementary school, we didn't have air conditioning in the classrooms. That was a luxury. While I was there, they did install a/c.

Hehe...between the a/c and the Xerox machine, we were SO ahead of our time! HAHAHAHA!

Okay...how did I get here?

Ooooohh...that's right. I remember now: Melissa Joan Hart.

You see, Melissa Joan Hart is just a year younger than I am. I see her as an 'age equal' of sorts. So, when she was on GMA this morning talking about her weight loss after her second baby, I paid attention. I have three kids and I could definitely stand to lose some poundage myself. She talked about how she did it and how she got ready for her COVER OF PEOPLE MAGAZINE PHOTO SHOOT IN A BIKINI.

She also talked about how she saw so many pictures of herself with all the baby weight on and how she realized that she now had to compete with the young women on the scene. Then, she named off Vanessa Hudgens and Miley Cyrus.

OMG....I'M NOT YOUNG ANYMORE, AM I?

That put a little knot in my stomach. The new 'young women' are Miley Cyrus and Vanessa Hudgens? Miley is three years older than my oldest daughter.

If Sabrina the Teenaged Witch is no longer young, then neither am I!

So, here I sit. I just finished my bowl of All Bran. (No, I'm not joking. Fiber is crucial to proper digestive health, you know!) I'm also glad that I washed my compression stockings last night and hung them to dry...I'll need them today.

Hmmm....maybe the Metamucil crowd will have me. I'm sure I'd still be young on that scene...

Black Eyes and Incredible Growing Puppies

I'm trying to get her to say, "You should see the other guy!"

I often make jokes about beating my children or selling them on Craigslist. Right now, I try not to joke like that with people who don't know me because my THREE-YEAR-OLD HAS A BLACK EYE. Sunday was a rather low-key day around our house. David did some yard work (or whatever he does when he goes outside) and I was trying to recover from the day before. (Which was awesome, but tiring as well!) 3YO had been a bit on the moody side. We had just gotten back from swimming with the neighbors. 3YO goes to the freezer and attempts to help herself to a corn dog. Combine the amount of food she had already wasted that day with the fact that I was starting dinner and she gets a firm 'NO CORNDOG' in response from me.

Well, that response triggered a Class 1 meltdown from said 3YO. My only choice was to tell her that she needed to finish that tantrum in her room, should she choose to continue. She puts the corn dogs back and heads to her room, her head spinning and everything. Since I could very well hear the screaming, I knew she was heading toward her room. I did not need to watch her, anyone could tell where she was from the horrible noise she was making! The funny thing is, the crying didn't change. She hadn't gotten to her room yet. I ask her why she's not in her room and she just keeps on crying.

Just then, David walks by. He asks why she's crying and I tell him. He sort of nodded in understanding and then followed that up with, "But, what happened to her eye?"

That got my attention.

Apparently, she rounded the corner in her fit of rage and didn't pay attention to the large hutch that has always been there. She has a purple bump come up immediately under the outside corner of her eye. Once she realizes she's justified in crying, she stops. She no longer complains about her eye. We try to ice it, but she won't have it.

The next morning, she wakes up with a full-on shiner. I like to call her my little 'prize fighter.' But the jokes about beating my children and such...they pretty much have to be put on hold until my child no longer looks like I actually beat her. Then, I'm sure the tasteless jokes will continue.

In other news, LOOK HOW BIG MY PUPPY IS GETTING!

"HUH?"

I love the boxer head-tilt thing. It sums up the breed perfectly.

Here is Aly in comparison to Lily. They are just about the same height now, though Lily still has a few pounds on her! Every week, like clockwork, I have to loosen Aly's collar another notch. Is this really the puppy I was worried about? Hardly. The giant paws and lean muscle are making her look so strong and powerful. She's still all legs, but her body doesn't look so skinny now!

Lastly, Lily is still such the lady, isn't she? She always crosses her front paws when she lays down.

Such a lady.

Idle Hands, Compression Stockings, and Snuggies

Isn't there an old saying about idle hands being the devil's workshop?

Last week was very busy. So busy, in fact, that I was pretty worn out toward the end of it. Earlier in the week, 6YO had her Open House at school. Both 6YO and 3YO had gotten new sandals and I had the brilliant idea to paint their toenails for the occasion. They were as cute as can be wearing their new sandals and freshly painted toenails! Since I was a total zombie by Friday afternoon, the kids had a little more 'free time' than usual. I do remember 3YO coming to me and asking me to paint her nails red. (Hers were pink to begin with.) I remember telling her I would help her with that later. And, somehow, I remember assuming that she'd listened to me! I'm not sure why. It's not as if I'm 'NEW HERE.' I know this child has a mind of her own like no other. But, I was tired and preoccupied with either making my menu plan for the week or staring at the wall or something. And it was only a few minutes before we left to pick 13YO up from school.

I get 3YO and 6YO in the car and we drive to go pick up 13YO. A few minutes after 13YO is in the car, she says, "Mom. What did [3YO] do to her fingers?" I'm still sort of a zombie, using every bit of effort to get us all home in one piece and not paying much attention to the chatter going on amongst the girls. At some point, within a few minutes of being home, 13YO goes into the front bathroom and alerts me that I've "got to see this."

From what I gather, 3YO took it upon herself to paint her nails. She must have decided that the best place to paint them would be the bathroom (SCORE-1 for her!) so no carpet was affected. However, she must have also decided that the CLEAN, WHITE TILE on the counter could use a little color as well. Her fingers, upon closer inspection, were painted red from the knuckle to the tip of the nail. There was red nail polish all over the counter, even some in the grout. Once this was discovered, she and I had a little 'chat' and she spent the time it took for me to clean it all up in her room. Between the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser and a cotton ball with a bit of nail polish remover on it, I think I got it all off.

Now, I know I have independent children. They can pour their own milk and open their own string cheese from a very young age. I often joke that I should write a book about how to be a lazy mom! But, the independence thing also proves to be a bad thing at times. Sometimes, they think they should be able to do more, which can result in self-haircuts and spilled milk, which I try very hard not to cry about. The haircuts do hurt a little more than the milk, though.

In other news, I've ridden my bike for a few miles at a time twice this week. I plan to do it more, especially since the mornings are still rather cool here. I'm trying very hard to watch what I eat, but it's a matter of taking baby steps if I want these new habits to stick. I'm watching my carbs (somedays, just as they enter my pie hole!) and I'm making sure I get enough fiber and drinking plenty of water. Tweaking those few things and getting a bit of exercise under my belt is bound to make a slight difference, right? I hope so. As it is, I'm stuck in jeans all summer since I have to wear my 'old lady stockings.' I wish I could pull off the long dress thing without getting out of my comfort zone. I am in serious need of a makeover. It's just so hard to feel good in clothes in hot weather when the thing you care most about covering is your ANKLES. (Okay, so the rest of my legs aren't so hot either, but the ankles are the toughest to cover...especially when you have a closet-full of capri pants.) And no one really wants to see my compression stockings, do they?

Where are those people from the Style Network when you need them?

I'm finding that, the older I get, the more of myself I want to cover. At this rate, it will only be a matter of time before I won't leave the house without wearing a Snuggy.

Seriously...Style Network people? ANYONE???

Only A Woman!

Okay, so I stumbled across this through a series of clicks.

Now, as for what I found....WOW. There is a photographer based in Lake Tahoe who is very dedicated to her work. SERIOUSLY. This woman actually photographed the birth of her OWN CHILD. (This is also a great case in favor of the epidural!) As if that wasn't keeping it in the family enough, her own husband actually delivered the baby! Can you imagine???

What an awesome thing to treasure forever!

In other news, I don't know what's wrong with me. Now, before you go into the huge list that just popped into your head, (whether you'll by listing them all alphabetically or by order of importance!) let me get a little more specific: I woke up at 5:30 this morning so I could take a FIVE-MILE BIKE RIDE at 6:00. Like I said, I think there's something wrong with me! (Alright..just stop with the comments now! I get it! I get it!)

It's very awkward for me to type right now. I have a sleeping Aly on my lap. She doesn't fit quite the same as she did just a few weeks ago. Aly is growing in leaps and bounds. I need to get her back into the vet in the next week to get her third set of shots, time just passes so quickly! She is filling out quite well, too. While she used to worry me with her frail appearance, she is now building this lean muscle that makes her look even more like a miniature adult boxer than before. She's proportioned almost just like an adult dog...only smaller! Her rate of growth has been so crazy that I'm actually already starting to feel bad for her. You see, Aly loooooooves to be held and cuddled and carried around. But, the day will come (and sooner than we originally thought, too!) that she will just be too big to pick up and carry around. How will she understand? Are we going to have a sixty-pound lap dog? 3YO just carried her to me. She was huffing and puffing the whole way, while Aly just hung there patiently in her arms. I give it another week before 3YO can't pick her up at all!

Not only did I get actual physical exercise this morning (and even without being chased by a bear, no less!) but I busted out the Wii Fit yesterday. I need to get into better habits. I'm still sort of controlling my carbs, but I'm not paying as much attention to them as I am to my fiber intake. I'm also feeling the repurcussions of the sudden increase in fiber in my diet. (So is my family, actually!) I'm hoping to just keep us this pace and power through all this discomfort. It's already become a lot more tolerable, so that's a start!

Well, I need to get the Wii Fit out and start moving again, before I lose my motivation!

Have a great day!

Inside the Mind of a Hopeless Scatterbrain

Is it just me, or is this time of the year INSANE?

Somehow, the last month of school seems like shortest, as well as the longest!

Now, how does that make any sense?

If you have or had kids in school, then you know just what I'm talking about. So much gets crammed into that last month of school. I get so tired of running (usually in circles) that I long for school to end and it seems soooooooo far away. On that same note, there is so much to do during the last month of school that there is not nearly enough time to get it all done. Field trips, class parties, teachers' gifts, awards ceremonies, Open House, kindergarten graduation.....

CALGON! TAKE ME AWAY!!!

And, because we're sort of gluttons for punishment, we have two girls in softball. This is the last week of the season, so that means we also have games we cannot miss, end-of-the-season parties, coaches' gifts, trophies...AACK!

As if that's not enough, I'm trying to pull out summer clothes for myself and the girls. I am in currently in a larger state of girth than I was last summer so very little of what I wore last summer will work this year. It doesn't make a HUGE difference, since my P.A. scared me into wearing my compression stockings and tennis shoes every single day I can still wear the jeans I've been wearing. My legs really do feel better, but we'll see if I still feel that way when the temps reach 113! Yes, I'm 33 years old and I wear compression stockings. WHATOFIT??? Actually, you can talk to my parents about this one. They should have compared notes...then they might have decided to NOT BREED. From my dad's side, we get the spider veins and the swelling. (Not to mention the big thighs and the wide, flat bottoms!) From my mom's side, we get the varicose veins. (Not to mention the diabetes and the high blood pressure and all the lovely things that come along with them!) Seriously, what were they thinking?

Sometimes love just isn't enough, people!

Okay, so I'm kidding there. I HAVE to appreciate their marriage (and even their 'breeding') in the fact that I am here. I exist. Thanks to them, there is one more overwhelmed and mentally understimulated mommy spewing on pages all over the net with her sarcasm and whining. YAY ME!

Okay....where was I going with this again?

Oh. That's right. I was going to give you insight in what it's like to be a hopeless scatterbrain. And yet, you got to experience it firsthand as my train of thought derailed yet again!

13YO has a softball game tonight. Since I'm a little more on my game than usual, dinner will be ready on time. THANKS, CROCKPOT LADY! We're having THIS...and is smells divine! I will drop her off early and go home to brown some fideo on the stove and toss that and some other things into my rice cooker to make rice pilaf. My rice cooker and slow cooker both turn off automatically when done. They will be done and staying warm until we can get home and eat. So, at least that's done.

Tomorrow, I work in 6YO's class in the morning. 13YO might have another softball game tomorrow, but we won't know until after tonight's game. (STUPID PLAYOFFS! I still don't completely understand how they work!) Friday will be spent at the ZOO with 6YO and her class. Friday night is 6YO's last softball game. Her team is also having their end-of-the-year party immediately after at a local pizza joint.

Basically, we're pretty busy. Since this has been my year of gradual self-improvement, my list of things to get done is pretty long. I understand that not all of these things will be done. But still, I will breathe easier with every little accomplishment.

This morning started out okay enough. I got the kids off to school and the husband off to work, as usual. I then was able to eat my own breakfast and make something for 3YO, who just woke up after they left. I logged my breakfast on my new little 'food log' that I made up on Word. I am trying to get the correct amount of fiber, protein, and carbs. I'm not counting fat or calories, since things that are high in fiber and low in carbs aren't usually that bad for you in general. Plus, drinking almost a hundred ounces of water a day can't hurt! I needed to get some laundry put away and dinner started first things. OH! And my made my own fabric softener! It smells heavenly and it seems to work just as well as the Downy always has. Somehow, I managed to get dinner going during this time, but I can't exactly tell you when that was. It's all sort of a blur...

Well, I went back to put the laundry away and realized that I had not made my bed yet. I made my bed and started putting my clothes away. When I got to the stuff that needed to be hung, I realized that we were getting shorter and shorter on hangers. It then occured to me that so many of the things hanging in my closet are either ugly or too small. Or both. I started at one end of my side and started pulling things out. Before I knew it, quite a bit of time had passed and I had enough clothes piled up to fit into a large trash bag!

It was then that I realized that I still hadn't moved the clothes from the washer to the dryer!

3YO got into her own cleaning mood and grabbed a washcloth. She was wiping down everything she could reach. She loves to dust, so I spray a little Pledge on a piece of furniture and she wipes it down with a rag. Before I knew it, she was wiping the bathroom counters down with Pledge. WHATEVER! I have to make a mental note to wipe off those counters...AGAIN!

I quickly finished up my closet and dressers. I can now actually get clothes in and out of them without using a the jaws of life! I took all the jeans I've 'outgrown' and neatly folded them and stacked them on the top shelf of my closet. For now, I'll refer to it as my 'Pile of Despair.' Once I actually got into my cleaning mode, 3YO got out of hers. As I walked back down the hall to get a new bag to fill with all the discarded stuff, I heard 3YO playing in her room. With the door closed. (That can't be good!) She sounded like she was having a really good time in there. (Which is also a very bad sign when the door is closed...no matter what age they are, I'm afraid!) I open the door to find 3YO, a couple of plastic 'tools,' and a tub of green Play-doh cut into a billion little pieces all over the carpet. BOO! I am then reminded that I still need to put the girls' clothes away.

As I'm threatening her life, I run down the hall to get the rest of their clean clothes. I put all of their clothes away and decide to let the Play-doh dry before I try to sweep it up. (If you have a better way, please feel free to share! I'm always on the lookout for more tricks for cleaning things...or devious ways to punish the offenders!) I made her stay in her room (now that there wasn't any Play-doh in there anymore!) while I took a quick shower. We only had a few minutes to get to the school to pick up 6YO.

I've also taken a few things out to the 'Man Shed,' as we call it. (Remind me to tell the story of the man shed another day!) David finally handed the mad shed over to me...so I can fill it up with MY JUNK. Actually, it's nothing really fun...it's mostly kitchen appliances that I don't use every single day or have space for in my actual kitchen. I also have my large plastic bowls and things that take up too much cabinet space out there. I use it all, so I shouldn't get rid of it. Now I have a place to put it. HOORAY!

Anyhow, I still have so many things on my list that have not been done, yet I've been busy all day! What's even more daunting is that my new P.A. wants me to eat EVERY TWO OR THREE HOURS. All day long. Now, she may be small, but she's SCARY! I think I will listen to her, for now. If I don't, when I see her in a month she'll know I didn't listen. Even if I tried to lie, I'm not very good at it.

Well, I need to get to 13YO's game. And the clothes in dryer are needing my attention. And who knows what little Tweedledee and Tweedledum are doing while I sit here. They are a little too quiet, if you ask me!

And we all know how dangerous a quiet kid can be!

Poor Baby

Whatever I have (or had) that had no real symptoms, 3YO has it and she has ALL the symptoms. The runny nose has actually gotten a lot better since yesterday, but it's still there. There is no fever today whatsoever, but the cough is tighter. We've broken out HER albuterol inhaler and she's quite the pro at taking it now. We're quite a pair...making sure we both have our inhalers before we can leave the house.

A great trick (for my kids, anyway!) when I want them out of my hair for a few minutes is to tell them to CLEAN SOMETHING. Whatever I ask them to pick up becomes their new favorite toy and THEY MUST PLAY WITH IT NOW. RIGHT NOW. It's a good way to distract them when I'm trying to do something. Nothing ever really gets cleaned, but this works in a different way. Granted, to actually get them to clean requires me to show them the flames in my eyes....but that's a small price to pay for some peace and quiet every now and again.

So, I told the girls to clean up the backyard. They had toys all over the yard and it makes it hard for David to mow it and all that jazz. It's nice and sunny outside and this would be a perfect day for them to pick up after themselves. It would also be a great opportunity for me to get the rest of the laundry done and put away without having to trip over them every couple of minutes! I told them to pick the toys up and they disappeared. The first thing they picked up instantly became their favorite toy and they were occupied for at least 30 minutes. That is, until I looked over and saw 3YO napping in the floor.

6YO was still outside playing, but 3YO could stay awake no longer. She's still pretty worn out from this cold. It doesn't help that I scooped her up from her nap earlier to pick 6YO up from school, only to have to go and pick 13YO up from her school and drag all three of them to the eye doctor. 13YO got new glasses. We had to wait for out turn to get the glasses, wait to have them bent to fit better, and then she had to see the eye doctor to have him check them over. He just wanted to make sure the prescription was right. Then, we had to hurry back and take 13YO back to her school for the dance. She's in leadership and has to work a shift at the snack bar at the dance.

Basically, I think she's just trying to pick up where she left off with that earlier nap!

UGH! She had the worst coughing fit WHILE we were in the eye doctor's office! Those poor people just stopped wearing their MASKS to keep the Swine Flu away! Just last week, everyone working there was in masks and gloves...even the ones who just answer the phone! I guess I'm just a risk-taker or something...and I hate wearing those masks!

Anyhow, the dryer is calling. And, if I don't answer it, the mornings are way more chaotic than they need to be.

But tomorrow's Friday...YAY!!!

(BTW, I took a break toward the end of this and clipped Aly's nails. MAN SHE'S GROWING....as well as her talons! And 3YO...she still passed out in the floor!)

Poor baby.

This Message Brought to You by the Makers of Albuterol and Sleep Loss

Exactly where should I begin with all this?

*snooze*

*snore*

*gasp*

Okay...I think I'm awake now. For now.

I had a regular checkup with my doctor yesterday. Actually, I saw the P.A. I hadn't seen my doctor for a regular physical in a couple of years, I guess. Since my cholesterol tends to be on the high side and my feet swell and diabetes runs so thick in my family, I thought it best to get checked out. When I made the appointment, my feet were swelling like crazy. Of course, they couldn't get me in right away. Actually, I have this strange anxiety thing when it comes to going to the doctor. I can think of a thousand things that are probably wrong with me. I call my doctor to make an appointment, but panic at the last minute and just tell them I want a checkup. So, they got me in within a few weeks.

Since then, my ankles have returned to their normal swelling routine and I've felt fine. At least, I thought I was feeling fine!

I almost cancelled yesterday's appointment. The doctor is 35-40 minutes away from home. It just seemed like such a hassle, you know? A friend of mine offered to watch 3YO while I went. I still felt silly driving all the way out there just for them to tell me that I'm fine.

Anyhow, I went. I hadn't seen the P.A. before. I don't have a problem seeing the P.A. instead of the doctor. In my experience, the P.A. or nurse practicioner or whoever is right below the doctor is more thorough anyhow. So, I walk in and she introduces herself. She sees that I brought a list. (I had finally decided to write everything down so I wouldn't blank out and forget something that really does bother me in everyday life!) We went over general stuff and she typed most of my questions into her little laptop and made notes of things she'd order tests for. Most of my list was taken care of by routine bloodwork. I had already been fasting since I didn't want to make the trip TWICE when I could get it all done with in one shot.

As she started examining me, she did the usual eyes, ears and nose thing.

"Do you have allergies?"

"Yes. They're bad this time of year."

"Oh. Because your ears are red and so is your throat. And your eyes. You can definitely see it in your eyes. And-"

She looks up my nose then and says, "you have a sinus infection! Did you know that?"

"Nooooooo...my sinuses were bothering me a few weeks ago, but they feel fine now."

She does that little thing where she taps on different areas of my face to see if I feel any pain. No pain.

"Hmmm...well you still definitely have a sinus infection. And your lymph nodes are swollen."

She prods and poke around a little bit and listens to my lungs.

As I am inhaling and exhaling on command, she says, "Have you ever had asthma?"

"Yes. I do have mild asthma, but I haven't needed my inhaler in like forEVER."

"Well, your asthma is out of control right now. I'm only supposed to hear like 25% of your exhale. I hear 100%. Are you tired?

"Ummm...YEAH! I have three kids. Aren't I supposed to be tired?"

"Not this tired. You aren't getting enough oxygen! I'll bet you're anemic too, so we'll check for that in your bloodwork."

And I thought I was just lazy!

Well, I probably am still lazy. But, for now I have an actual reason. WOW. That P.A. found more wrong with me in five minutes than any doctor ever has. Maybe I'm just getting older or something. Most of the time, the doctors and nurses make me feel like a whiner or a hypochondriac!

This woman was thorough! She checked my legs and commented on the varicose and spider veins that covered them. She told me that was probably the reason for my swollen ankles, but she was checking for liver and kidney function anyhow. She then scolded me for my constantly being barefoot or wearing flip flops. She told me I should be wearing tennis shoes--ALWAYS. All day long, whether I'm home or not! She also wants me to wear COMPRESSION STOCKINGS!

UGH! Summer's coming, and I know have one more reason to NOT feel young and attractive!

Anyhow, since diabetes runs so heavily in my mom's side of the family, the P.A. wants me to start eating a 'diabetic-style' diet now. It's actually really reasonable. It's the same diet she followed when she was pregnant and had gestational diabetes. It's really just counting carbs, but not really a 'low carb' diet. It's more of a 'controlled carb' diet, instead. She warned me of the dangers to my liver when I follow a diet that is low in carbs. I can have 30 grams of carbs for breakfast and 30-45 grams of carbs for lunch and dinner. I also get two snacks in between that are 15 grams of carbs each. She wants me eating every 2-3 hours.

My breakfast this morning wasn't actually much different than usual. Add a piece of whole wheat toast to the two eggs I usually eat and I'm there. The rest of the 30 carbs I get comes from the half and half I put in my coffee. And I can eat again anytime within the next hour. I've finished my coffee for the day, which I never put sugar in anyway. She's thinking that eating this way now could prevent diabetes from ever coming. And once diabetes has been diagnosed, she says that the damage to the liver and kidneys is already done.

I'd actually been looking for a better way to eat, anyhow. It's totally worth a shot...and I might even lose a few pounds in the process!

*knocking on wood*

Mostly, I'll just be happy to keep so many of the headaches away.

I am not looking forward to all the albuterol I'm supposed to be inhaling in the next day or so. That stuff makes me feel like I want to crawl out of my own skin and she wants me to use it...A LOT...in the next couple of days. I'm also on Advair, which I've taken before. My asthma gets crazy when I'm pregnant, so I've needed both albuterol and Advair for the first trimester of my last two pregnancies.

It really all hit me how tired I was when I was getting ready for bed last night. Both David and I were in bed by 10:30. No television, no computer...just straight to bed. 10:30 is early for me, but I knew I needed it. I was really looking forward to getting an hour or two more of sleep than I usually get!

At 10:31, 3YO started screaming from her bed.

Fan-freakin-tastic, right?

I took her to the bathroom, which is part of my nighttime routine with her. She usually wakes up dry if put on the toilet anytime after 11:00. 10:30 was close enough. I then brought her to bed with us. She writhed and screamed like an infant that couldn't talk. She was completely inconsolable. After about 5 or 10 minutes of screaming, I was able to get that her tummy hurt. Well, that and her nose was a bit stuffy, making it harder to breathe and pissing her off even more.

I watched her like I was watching a scary movie. A little voice inside (the paranoid MOMMY voice!) was telling me to scoop her up and rush her to the E.R. Her appendix was probably rupturing at that very moment and time was crucial. Luckily, I also had the logical side of me pointing out that she had no fever and was not vomiting. Also, she calmed down when we rubbed or patted her tummy. The pain came and went every few minutes. ALL. NIGHT. LONG. She finally settled down by about 4:30 or so. I was able to get her to drink some water and blow her nose then. Neither David or myself were able to get a single bit of quality R.E.M. sleep in that first six hours. We were both in and out of sleep every few minutes. After 4:30, she calmed down and we were all able to sleep like rocks until 7:00 this morning. (Which came WAY TOO SOON, in my opinion!)

She popped up this morning like everything was fine. She might feel a tad warm this and she is definitely coming down with a cold now. Last night, I can only assume that she was suffering from a killer case of GAS paired with a slightly stuffy nose. I'm glad I was able to listen to the logical part of my brain. If I hadn't, we might have run to the E.R. in the middle of the night and caught SWINE FLU or something from the waiting room! (I know the pork industry would prefer we call it 'H1N1' but 'Swine Flu' still sounds so much cooler and bacon is STILL just as large a part of my life as it was before!)

3YO has spent the day so far alternating between playing on the swingset out back and "nuggling" with me. I finally peeled her off me and she is happily watching a Dora DVD from the recliner. I'm supposed to eat again, but I'm not sure what to eat.

I guess my goal for today is to try to stick to the meal plans and try NOT to let myself lie down and go to sleep. I get the feeling that taking a nap today will only make me feel worse. I'll just be sure to to bed early (or try anyway!) and get more rest tonight. I'm not sure what else I'll get done today besides the bare minimum. While it wasn't runny yesterday, 3YO has had a couple of good sneezes today where she has those snot rockets that look like walrus tusks fly out of her nose.

In a perfect world, this would be a good day to stay home all day. In the real world, we have to pick 6YO up from school, take her to church tonight, and find a way to squeeze in a few errands while we're at it. Of course this would be the day where I discover that we're down to our last roll of toilet paper and 13YO will DIE without a tie dye shirt to wear to school tomorrow.

Of course it would!

"It's not gonna happen to me!"

...that's what I used to say when people would mention Twitter.

Well, inner nets...I'm TWITTERPATED!!!

Somehow, I know broadcasting my random thoughts regularly is going to make ME feel better. But, I'm not so sure how the rest of you would hold up to having to read all that crap! So, you could follow me on Twitter, or perhaps get a good root canal instead. Or you might prefer to repeatedly bang you head against a wall.

It's entirely up to you!

At least I know that BAMBI understands now...

Don't catch H1N1...stay home and TWITTER SOMETHING!!!

Or...leave the house! As a matter of fact, go ahead and lick a bunch of shopping cart handles or something!

Once again, it's entirely up to you...

Homemade Laundry Detergent, Allergy Meds, and Being in Control of Something....Anything!

I'm on a quest. Now, a few days ago my so-called quest would have been to find a box of flippin' washing soda within a hundred miles of here.

I found it. So now, I'm moving onto a new quest: Making my own laundry detergent.

Go ahead and laugh. I know I did...at first. But, a family of five goes through an awful lot of laundry soap, if you must know! I do at least one to two loads a day. I finally found the silly washing soda. Thankyouverymuch, Winco! I am putting off going outside and finding one of the bazillions of 5-gallon buckets that we have on the property. (David is a collector, of sorts!)

I just stepped out the back door and asked 13YO to rustle one up for me. I've always been better at delegating than actually doing things. I would share with you my theory of how I was actually meant to never walk, but instead be carried around on a velvet pillow while being fanned with palm leaves and fed grapes by several well-oiled men in loin cloths and....

OOPS! That's a blog for another day!

So, I'm about to attempt to make my own homemade laundry detergent. It only makes sense that I would try this. After all, I do make my own homemade chicken broth. I've even made my own yogurt! I've done that a couple of times, but it's not well-received by my rather skeptical family and I cannot eat two quarts of yogurt on my own, so it doesn't actually save MY FAMILY any money. It's cool to be able to do, though!

The bucket is in and washed. I just need to get my bottom up and off this chair and do it. I think I just need to think on it a little more...

I blame the Zyrtec. I took one last night before I went to bed. It leaves me in a fog, but without the itchy throat and eyes. So, I guess it's worth it? Only time will tell...

Why do so many people like spring so much?

I've always been a cheap date when it comes to medication, and allergy meds are no exception. They either make me feel all buzzy, like I want to crawl out of my own skin, or they knock me out.

Why recreational drugs are so popular is beyond me!

I've come to learn that I need to feel more powerful in my own life. I know, running a house and raising three kids should make me feel powerful enough, right? But nothing could really be further from the truth. Instead, I feel like I am mostly ignored and the chaos just swirls around me like a vortex with bad hearing. Do you know what opened my eyes to this need to be in control? Working the cake walk at my daughter's school carnival.

I got to be the one to push the button that starts and stops the music. I realized that I controlled a huge group of people. They walked when I decided it was time to walk. They stopped when I decided it was time for the to stop.

Hmmmmm....if only my children listened so well....

I guess that's why I never really liked walking in cake walks myself! I don't like being told what to do. HECK! I don't like to follow my own to-do lists!!!

Want proof? Blogging is NOT on my list of things to do today!

Yet, here I am.

Does anyone else watch Private Practice? The season finale was Thursday night. It will be a long time before I can get that awful image of the final scenes out of my head. And I don't get to see what happens until next fall. I watched an hour of sitcom reruns to try to get the images out of my head. Yet, I still awoke in cold sweats with a knot in my stomach and a pounding head at 5:30. It was those images...they were racing through my head. They woke me up. I don't know why it's getting to me so much. Because I'm a woman and I've been pregnant?

I feel sick right now just thinking about it.

On that note, I hope the rest of your weekend goes well. Oh, and...

BITE ME, ABC!!!

I will blame you for my sleep loss until another thing stresses my out and takes the place of that knot in my stomach!

You have a good day, now.