Tuesday morning reprieve

My kids were up at the crack of dawn this morning. That wasn't the repreive, because I definitely wasn't finished in dreamland when they woke me up. Either way, today is shaping up to be a nice one. N found out what unit he's going to. It's not the one we thought, it's not the one that's going to Iraq in the fall. The unit he'll be with is on their way back from Iraq, which means we have at least a year or so vefore he'll have to go. We want to have another child. We don't want him to be in Iraq when that child is born, so we've been putting off the idea. I know that being a soldier means making sacrifices, and we're both prepared to deal with those, but no one WANTS to go to Iraq, so this is good news. Another good news moment is he'll go on "free" leave (he doesn't have to "pay" for these days) this weekend to come back to TX and help me move. Everything is going smoothly, and that's such a sigh of relief after the year we've had. He says our new house is great, a decent amount of space, hardwood floors, a nice yard, storage space, nice appliances. Things are pretty good, and the sad part is I almost don't know how to react. Who knew things weren't always stressful, life wasn't always crunching down on you?

Did you get that?

Ok, get ready to be confused. I live in Texas right now. I've lived here for over 3 years. I still have a Florida driver's license. See, when I moved here from Florida, Inever bothered to switch to a TX license, because I technically didn't have to. My home of record as far as the military was concerned was West Palm Beach, FL. After my divorce, I chose to stay in TX, and basically made TX my home. I still never bothered to switch my license, because TX charges crazy fees and they mail you your ID. It takes a couple weeks. In FL, you walk out same day with it. Last week, during our trip to Indiana, I lost my license. (Not my right to drive, the actual card) CRAP. This is an issue in a couple ways, first, the only ID I have that isn't expired is my OLD license with my maiden name. (Don't ask me why or how I have it, but I do.) My maiden name is not legally my name, it doesn't match my social security or credit cards. I'm moving to KS, but TX will be my new home of record. (Basically, I vote, pay taxes, and claim residency in TX as of last year) I don't have enough time to go to the TX DMV, and have them mail me a license with their insanely slow process. Next factor is my name. I haven't changed from my ex's last name to Nate's, because my ex screwed up my income tax return this year, and I wanted to wait to legally change my name until it was worked out. God knows we don't need to confuse the IRS any more than normal. It's worked out, and I was about to change my name legally. Do I pay for an ID, only to go to the social security office, change my name, and pay for another new damn ID? DAMN MY PROCRASTINATION ALL TO HELL! I'm in identity purgatory. What I can do is go to FL's DMV website, and order a new license, which I needed to renew in September anyway. $15 bucks. AND they mail it to me in less than a week. This is all sounding great right? We're slowly working towards a solution. Except... the FL DMV already knows my TX address, and since it's my mailing address they have to put it on my license. I got it in the mail today, I have a Florida driver's license with Texas address on it. Oh, and since I don't have a military ID, I have no way of proving the discrepancy is because I'm a military dependant. Nate said "You know if you get pulled over they're gonna arrest you until they can figure that whole mess out." Great, thanks hon!! Either way, I have my replacement ID. Oh, but the picture they used? It's from 4 years ago, and I look like a dude in drag for some reason. That hair style was just not a good idea, and I always look pissed in IDs. Probably because I had to stand in line with a bunch of non-English speaking people for 2 hours, just to get a replacement ID so I could go to the club that night. Ah, the life of a non-mommy. Anyway... now, I have to wait until I go to KS, go get my name changed on my social security card, and get a KS driver's license with my (newer) married name. Plus military ID. ***Sigh*** Can't anything be easy??

Edited: See the drag queen look first hand... yes, I'm really that bored tonight.



What'd I tell ya? I look like a pissed off dude!! WTF is that? That's only gonna add to the confusing should I get pulled over.

Moments ago...

The kids were in bed at 7:45. They weren't SLEEPING, but we were giving it the old college try. It's 8:46 CST, and this was overheard in my house just about 2 minutes ago.

(Setting the scene, my room is on one end of the house, and the kids' room is on the other. It's a small house, but still.)

Shane: Mom! Moooommmm! MOM!

Me: (walking towards their room) What Shane? Go to bed!!

Shane: (still yelling) MOM!! MADISON IS SLEEPING!!

Me: (As I open their door) Maddie's sleeping? That's good, stop yelling!!

Shane: SHHH! Maddie's SLEEPING!!

Me: That's great, stop yelling! Get in bed, son. Good night. Love you.

Shane: (whispering) Nite mommy!

Fast forward to this moment (8:50 pm)

Shane: MADISON'S SLEEEEEEPING!

My son is a quick one. Little bugger. Where's that duct tape?

Woo HOOO!

We have a house on post in KS. This is really impressive to us, because at Ft. Hood the housing waiting lists are a MINIMUM of 3 months. Some people have to wait up to 2 years. Ft. Riley is not at full capacity right now, so there are plenty of on post quarters available. Nate just called to say he signed the offer, and will pick up keys Wednesday, so I'll be moving before the end of the month. **Whew!!** Big sigh of relief. Oh, crap... I've gotta start packing. Anyone have some boxes?!

Holy Terror, Batman!

Ok, fess up. I demand to know who slipped the Hellraiser pills to my kids today. Was it you? I oughta kick your ass for that one! Highlights of today...
~Tantrums
~Pulling, hitting, slapping, and yelling at each other. Sibling love is great.
~Destroying 2 books in the car, and handing me the confetti as I vacuumed at the car wash.
~Tantrums
~Running into the street while I was cleaning out the car. I was letting them run around, and all of a sudden they were in the road. We don't live on a busy street, but we are at the end of a horseshoe, and cars whip around the curve way too fast. One came about 30 seconds after I pulled them out of the road, so I shudder at what might have been.
~Did I mention tantrums?!
~Dinner was a disaster. They wouldn't sit, they grabbed food from each other, things hit the floor. I even got a fork to the back of my thigh, because Shane was buttering me up with a hug so my head wouldn't explode over him not sitting down. Fine dining this was not.
~Bath was too easy, so easy I knew something was up. They never let me wash them without a fight, so when there was no screaming during rinsing I got worried. I was right, the next 20 minutes were a splashy whirlwind of disaster, their bathroom is practically flooded.
~They boycotted clothes. Hell no, we won't dress, and you can't make us. 20 minutes of "PLEASE put your underpants on. STOP RUNNING! Hey!!! HEY!!!"
~We pay for DTV service every month, basically so the kids can watch Dora. I rarely get to take over the TV (It's all kiddie shows, all the time here!), but tonight my all time favorite band, Dave Matthews Band, was featured on CNN. I've been waiting since Tuesday to see this, so I was really looking forward to it. The first half of the show was crap about U2 (I only say crap because I could care less I just wanted to hear about DMB!!) The moment the segment turned to DMB, the kids decided they wanted to start fighting, screaming next to my migraine-ridden head, and jumping on me. My nerves were already frayed, this wasn't helpful.
~Shane didn't want to put on his pajamas. Period.
~That, of course, led to more TANTRUMS
~We call Daddy to read stories and say goodnight. They compete over who gets to "read" to Daddy first, and since Madison was the lucky one, Shane interrupted at every chance. "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" (Mads style) took 20 minutes.
~Shane is reading "Brown Bear, Brown Bear..." at a snail's pace as well, when Mads announced she had to pee. She runs to the bathroom, and after a few minutes I go to check on her (while Shane gets frustrated that Daddy isn't making the appropriate animal noises with the book, and we make very little progress). Come on, take a guess... she LOCKED HERSELF IN! Nate is on speaker phone listening to me scream to Maddie to open up the door, just unlock it please! I am trying to pick the lock, while begging Mads to just turn the lock back for me, and yelling to Shane to please keep "reading". Finally, Mads just unlocked it for me. N had hung up, after yelling to me he'd call later since my hands were full. I quickly tucked everyone in and went to watch DH and drown my sorrows in cake. I really wish I'd just stayed in bed today.

**I'd give some link-age to the things mentioned in the post, but that would involve more work, and I'm so not feeling it. Anyone who doesn't know who Dave Matthews Band is, or CNN, or hasn't heard of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, email me. I'll bring you up to speed with the 21st century.

Need a laugh?

I came across this via a comment on Purple Goddess' blog, and it is one of the funniest things I've ever heard. It's toilet humor, so don't read it if you are easily grossed out. Or if you are eating. Otherwise, be prepared to actually laugh out loud.

Just a moment

I want to take a moment from my usual babble-assing (Thanks Jenn... I love that word!) to send some cyber hugs to a good friend. She's struggling right now, going through a blue patch of life that most of us go through at one point or another (usually more than once). She's one of the best people I know, an awesome mom, a great wife, a fantastic friend. I admire her, I strive to be half the mom and friend she is. She deserves all the happiness and serenity in the world, and I hate seeing her down. Go visit her and show some support, tell her a joke, give her some hugs, whatever you see fit. I have AWESOME readers, so I trust everyone will be nice, but just in case some asshat stumbles across this and wants to be mean or critical, let me say this: Anyone who is less than nice and supportive to this wonderful blogger will have to deal with me personally. I will kick your ass. Be nice. As SJ says, "Don't suck!"

My weekend in pictures

I've survived my my first weekend "alone", providing I make it through the rest of today of course. When bored and left to my own devices, I tend to snap a lot of pics.
All of my free time seems to be spent here... and I really need to dust the bottom of the monitor!! Notice the ever-present can of Coke. And IM box to Cori... I'm so predicatable.


I'm embarassed to admit that N is the one in our family who is consistant about making the bed. I decided to leave it like this... just in case crawling back in yesterday seemed like a good idea. I did make the bed today though, I'm not totally shameful.



Even the cats are feeling lazy... who can blame them?




Oh, and since Kim posted a pic of her scaring small children and young men, I promised to share a purple faced pic here. If you are faint of heart, pregnant, have high blood pressue, low blood sugar, are easily disturbed, or a small child please look away. I cannot be held accountable for adverse side effects....



The things we do for beauty, or soemthing like it.

Congrats!!!

Congrats to Kasey Kahne and the #9 Dodge with their first Nextel Cup Series win!!!



Ok, back to your regularly scheduled programing. Oh, and no redneck jokes... I married an Indy boy, racing is required viewing in our house!

I am a dork.

Put down the phone, 20/20 is already aware of this newsflash! Wow, I feel like such a nerd. Cori and I were messing with our Haloscan accounts yesterday to see if we could coax them into working the way we'd like. At some point I turned on "allow moderation" and forgot about it. Well, out of all the comments in the last 24 hours, only 2 were emailed to me (and one was a test from Haloscan), so when the nice Haloscan guy told me why they weren't showing on my site, I went to "moderate" those 2 comments. Much to my surprise, there was a page full, y'all had been giving me comment love, and I was holding it hostage. Sorry about that. We're back to normal (well, as close as we've ever been) now.

The SHAME!!!

I fall into the trap like the rest of you. I'm not perfect. I love me some blogroll love, and try to stay aware of who hads me rolled and who doesn't. A certain blogger doesn't, and I'm beginning to get a complex over it. I was Mystery Site, I read his site regularly and he reads mine from time to time. My friends are on there. WHY NOT ME!? I just want a cool "approved" button! Oh, GOD! I'm beginning to act like a certain blog whore we all love. I'm here shamelessly begging for links, like a common bum. I promise not to buy booze with your links, at least not all the time! Next I'll be copying Dooce and getting hatemail from conservatives. The shame of it all.

Haloscan trouble

I'm now noticing that not only am I not receiving all of my comments by email as I should, but I occasionally receive one or 2 that don't show up on the site. What is happening over at Haloscan?! Am I the only one having problems? What did I do too piss those people off? (I don't own them money, and generally that's the only thing that makes a company hate me) Grrr....

Friday Fun Fest

First things first, I need to address something. Kenny and Renee got married. We ALL know!! Even non-country fans are aware of this event. We can stop discussing it now. It was even on Nickelodeon for crissakes, and I'm really not sure why. How many kids do you know that give a fuck about that?! He's a hottie country star that everyone thought would be a bachelor forever. He has been infatuated with Miss. Z for ever. They met, fell in love (or lust, who knows) and got themselves hitched in the islands. Got it? Good. Now on to bigger and better things. Someone email me if they have a baby.

There is an article in this month's Parents about a woman who is still nursing her 5 year old. Yes, I just said FIVE YEAR old. Hey, whatever works for you, but this still creeps me out. Everybody has to draw a line somewhere. **shudders** Oh, and Parents has an article on twins, with one little untruth. Identical twins are not genetic. The occurance of monozygotic twins is a steady 0.4% in all areas of the world, regardless of genetic or environmental factors. Feel free to ignore my little "know-it-all" moment, it's just a pet peeve of mine.

Nextel is not a military friendly company. Just in case you ever need to know that. They are supreme asshats.

Here's a WTF concept. You notice how most Disney/Pixar movies come out now as "Only in theaters"? Shark Tale comes to mind. I believe Monster's Inc was the same way. It seems that most of the movies they release claim "Only in theaters!!" only to come out on DVD like 2 days later. Do people actually fall for that? I haven't set foot into a theater since my 20th birthday, and every time I hear that little "threat" I say "Yeah yeah, whatever... I'll see it on DVD in a couple months." Never fails.

Well, that's all for now, I'll be bringing you more randomness all weekend long. Stay tuned, dammit!!

What title?

Ah, I don't feel like writing a title today. I drove Nate to Dallas today, he'll be on his way to Kansas in the morning. We spent a week apart about this time last year, but other than that we haven't been apart for any length of time yet. It's strange. The first day is always the hardest, and the first day of the fist separation is by far the worst. Of course, it doesn't help that I didn't sleep last night, since I had to drive him there at 2:20am this morning. I hate being all mopey and lonely, it's just a dreadful feeling. It'll pass, but man it sucks.
On another front, when we pulled into downtown Dallas, N suddenly says "There's the grassy knoll!" I was sleepy eyed, and he caught me a bit off guard with that one. Sure enough, the Federal Building is on S. Houston St, less than a block away from the infamous knoll. Since neither of us were even thought of when JFK was killed, we decided to ask the guard if we were looking at the right location. He verified that it was *right there* and told us there was a plaque in the grass to mark the tragedy. It's funny, it's one of the biggest "mysteries" in American history, and just the ghost of the event lies in a busy center city, we drove by more than once before we realized we were there. Maybe it's the wife and mother I've become, but I didn't think about how our nation felt that day, I thought of Jackie O. She sat helpless with her fatally wounded husband, held his bleeding body. My heart breaks for her, because we lost a President, but she lost the man she loved, and couldn't do anything to help him.
I really don't have any tie in from that little downer moment, but next up in my ramblings is traffic. Specifically drivers in Waco, TX. You live, work, or go to school in Waco? Listen up. I know y'all think that your destination might disappear off the map at any moment, but it won't. I'm not a perfect driver, but WTF is wrong with you people? Seriously. First of all, I have a healthy repsect for tractor trailers. These guys drive for a living, and their vehicles are MUCH bigger than mine. Granted, some of them are asshats, and dangerous, but the golden rule is size. If you could squash my car, I'm gonna give you some breathing room. Here's a newsflash, oh people of Waco... these big rigs CANNOT stop on a dime. It is VERY unwise to pull in front of them at 80 mph, and just barely clear their front bumper in heavy traffic. You are not only going to get yourself killed, but all of us around you. Stop it. On that note, tailgating. N is a tailgater, and it is an endless argument with us. You people are even worse. If I can count your nose hairs when I look out my rearview, you might be too close. I don't care if Dale Jr. uses the chrome horn to pass, this isn't Talladega, and our cars don't come with pit crews and roll cages. One of these days I'm gonna brake check your ass, and since you're already sitting in my back seat, you can use my cell phone to call your insurance agent. After all, I wouldn't want you to hang up your urgent call, I mean someone must be dying for you to risk all of our lives to take that call! Usually, when we see someone cutting in and out of traffic like an ass, N will say "Drive it like you stole it!". Today, I really did think I was gonna see cops tailing a couple of these drivers, because they were trading paint just to get into tiny gaps and dip around the other 3 million drivers on I-35. It was total white knuckle from Waco to Temple today, and I'm so freaking glad I don't have to drive that daily anymore. Now I know why NJ has such strict driver's education, these asshats could use a course or 10.
Well, I'm off to check in with your blogs, and then to bed. I'm *still* not receiving all my comments via email (Thanks, Haloscan!!) So for the time being I'm going to start responding to comments in the comment section. (Unless it's more personal, I'll email you.) That means check back... feel free to talk amongst yourselves as well.

Mixmania!!

I hadn't forgotten about my Mixmania CD, I just hadn't gotten around to posting about it. **cough, cough... ok Jim??** :) My CD came from Heather over at Adventures of the Happy Heathen. The CD was quite enjoyable, and I knew I liked this woman when I heard Bartender on one of the tracks. She worships at the alter of DMB, as do I. So, here is the track list from the lovely Heather, don't forget to go over and check out her site. She has a brand new nephew, send her some congrats!!

Nine Inch Nails - The Hand That Feeds
Brand spanking new and hot off the press

Across The Room - Las Vegas
Because the singers voice is utterly seductive

Tori Amos - Suede
We can all use a little Tori right?

Zero 7 - Distractions
Simply lovely

Thievery Corporation - Lebanese Blonde
Who can't dig the indian influence?

Dave Matthews Band - Bartender
I worship at the temple of DMB!!!

Wilco - California Stars
Your cd is coming from sunny California and I can't stand hotel California so you got this. And if you don't know who Wilco is, well then you are in for a treat!

Metallica - Dirty Window
Metallica meets Japanese daiko drumming and I'm in love!

Cracker - Low
And oldie but a goodie

The Secret Machines - Nowhere Again
My current favourite band no one has ever heard of.

Radiohead - There, There
mumble, mumble, toil and trouble... really a great song!

Snow Patrol - Run
Run forest Run!

Deftones - Change
Great creepy imagery

Lisa Gerard - The Song I Don't Know The Name Of
Bonus un-named song off an import CD - It's beautiful and one of the few songs done entirely in english.

Photos

Here is my trip in photos. First we have the Dallas Morning News building, across from which we were sitting in a parking lot waiting for the MEPS people to straighten out the recruiting mess. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Dallas, the Federal Building and the Morning News are in the heart of "center city", it's a really cool place. (except that morning!!)

Along with the Morning News building, here's a picture of how unamused I was at 4:30 in the morning.

Next up is our sleepy head children, passed out in their car seats


Sunrise around the Illinois/Indiana line

We stopped for breakfast in Terre Haute and we were giddy over these gas prices. It's a sad, sad world when you get excited about $1.96/gal

Finally, we arrive!! The next few photos are the property N's grandfather lives on. The cardinal and squirrel are *right* outside the kitchen window, I loved watching them and the other birds eat!!



Front yard

Side yard


Back yard

Here are pictures of the kids living it up. The other kids in the pictures are their cousins, but I'm only posting ones where faces cannot be seen because I don't have permission to post them.




One of my and the kids, which I'm really only adding because it's probably the best photo taken of the 3 of us, ever. N claims to be camera dumb, but he's doing something right!


This trip didn't last nearly long enough, I can't wait to go back!!

Hello, Toto!!

Remember the news I mentioned? We're moving to Kansas. We had pretty much expected to stay at Ft. Hood, but the Army never does things as expected, especially if it would make sense to do it that way. So... N had 3 choices. **For those who are shaking their heads and saying "The military doesn't give you choices, that's bullshit.", they do if you are prior service or switching from one branch to another. If you are a fresh recruit do not expect the same options** Alaska, Korea, or Kansas. I refuse to move to Alaska, flat out will not go. Korea is a solo tour, meaning we'd have to stay behind for the year he was there, and N's already been there once. Kansas won by default, which is oddly enough how I ended up in TX. (The 3 choices my ex-husband was offered were NY, KY, and TX. NY had just had a blizzard, KY was not appealing to me, so TX won. I CRIED at the idea, but I've come to love it here.) In my deja vu moment, I bawled and bawled, I so do not love the idea of Kansas, especially since they have a much cooler climate and my in laws moved here. We were FINALLY going to have some family nearby, and now we're off to a new place. We'll try to come back here when N is up for re-enlistment, but in the meantime we'll just make the best of it. We find out the report date on the 12th, and we should be in KS by the end of the month. I will be slacking on blogging and reading in the next few weeks as we prepare for this whirlwind move. I will post pictures from our trip later tonight, once I get a chance to crunch and host them. There's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place like home!!

**Sleeping Mommy asked which post, which I forgot to mention. We'll be at Ft. Riley.

Our trip

We left at 1:30AM Wednesday morning to head to Dallas for N to be at MEPS (Military Entrance Processing). We got to MEPs at 4AM, and expected (per the recruiter) to have him go in, get a height and weight check, finish up some paperwork, and be right out. Our problems started before the sun was even up, because the recruiter, who hadn't done a single thing right this entire process, didn't have the right paperwork waiting in Dallas. After waiting for offices to open, and making a few frantic phone calls, we got things somewhat back on track by 7:30. Then we were stuck waiting, with 2 cranky children, one VERY cranky mommy, and a pissed off daddy. Finally, at about 1:00pm, we finished up the paperwork, and Shane threw a tantrum in the middle of a Dallas crosswalk, in front of a few police officers on horse. It was UGLY. Really, really ugly. Wow, this trip was starting off nicely. Anyway, we finally got back on the road and headed for Indiana, hoping the worst was over. In Blytheville, Arkansas, we were looking for an exit, only to find it didn't exist. We pulled off, and N went into a gas station to find out WTF the big idea was. The lady behind the counter said "Let me guess... you're looking for 66a." N, figuring she was some kind of psychic or something, said we were. She wasn't psychic, apparently EVERYONE gets stuck at that point, the mile marker 66 in ARKANSAS didn't have an exit, but cross that state line to Missouri and follow it for another 66 miles, you'll get there. Oh. Thanks. Back to driving. We did eventually find our exit, and made it well into Illinois before tapping out. At 11:30pm we pulled into a rest stop to sleep for a few hours, because we'd been up for almost 40 hours, and on the road for almost 24 of them. We finally got to our destination in IN at 8AM Thursday, tired and relieved to be out of the car. The trip was still wonderful, N's grandfather has the most incredible place, 14 acres of beauty and serenity. The weather was gorgeous, warmer than normal for that area, but much cooler than we're used to in TX. The kids ran, played, jumped, and had a blast. N got to see family members he hadn't seen in years, show me the places he grew up near, and just generally relax. I didn't want to leave, it was just so beautiful. His grandfather has a bird feeder outside the kitchen window, we could sit and watch the birds and squirrels munch away, we sat on the front porch swing and watched the kids play in the green grass, picking dandelion "puffers" and enjoying the fresh air. The dogwoods were in bloom, the lavender trees were fragrant, and the maples rained down their "helicopter" pods when the wind blew. There were cousins to play with, stories to tell, and lots of warmth and friendly faces. I hadn't met N's relatives before, and I was amazed at how welcoming they were towards me and the kids. We left late Saturday evening, though it was really hard to do. N's mom and middle brother also drove back to TX with us, as they are in the process of moving here once the baby brother graduates HS this month. Our trip back was uneventful for the most part, though we did see a high speed chase early Sunday morning. We were about 6 miles from the TX state line, and passed an Arkansas trooper. I thanked my lucky stars I was doing the speed limit (N's mom was following me) and about 30 seconds later noticed blue lights. We both pulled to the side, scaring the crap out of N with the rumble strips, just in time for a car to speed by us with the trooper close behind. I'm guessing the "runner" figured he could make it to the TX border and then would be home free, though I doubt it works that way. Another mile or 2 up the road we saw he had taken an exit and tried to make a hard left on the overpass, wrecking his car above the highway. Ooops... guess that didn't go according to plan. I guess he never watched Cops, because everyone knows you can't win in that situation! We made it home safely, N and his brother made dinner for my mother-in-law and me, and we stayed up just barely long enough to watch Desperate Housewives. It's been quite a week!
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Miss me?

I'm back, and I know everyone missed me dearly! (Oh, come on... lie to me if you have to!) I have tons of catching up to do, I wanted to let everyone know I've read their comments, I will be catching up on their posts ASAP. I also have my Mixmania CD, and will be tracking down the sender in a little bit. :) Oh, and I have stories, pictures, and.... BIG news. Well, it's big to me. BUT.... I can't blog it until I've had a chance to talk to Cori, so I leave you in suspense.

See you soon...

I am taking a break from a mad dash of packing and preparing, because the Insanity household is going on a spur of the moment road trip. We're going to Indiana for a few days to see N's family, because he swears in to the Army tomorrow, but won't have to report for a week or so, therefore this will be our last opportunity to go for a while. I probably won't be online during the trip, since we'll only actually be in Indiana for 3 days, no time to spare. I promise to catch up with y'all when we get back (after I sleep for a couple days, of course) and find my Mixmania match in the blogosphere. In the meantime, talk amongst yourselves, visit the wonderful blogs on my blogroll, and for the love of blogging someone email me if anything important happens! (I can't be allowed to get too far out of the loop!) Ok, seriously, I need to go pack!!

**My Mixmania CD list is below, I hope that recipient didn't totally hate it!**

Mixmania!!

Here is my CD playlist for Mixmania. It's a strange and eclectic mix, but then again, so am I.

1. Dave Matthews Band- The Dreaming Tree
Definitely one of my favorite DMB tracks, it's a beautiful tale of progress and destruction, which unfortunately can go hand in hand.

2. Everclear- Heroin Girl
I can't really say much about this choice, it's just a good song

3. Big and Rich- Holy Water
This was written for the songwriter's sister, and I think most people can relate to it in some way, a overwhelmed feeling and needing to be cleansed of it all.

4. Jimmy Buffett- Mother Ocean
I heart Buffett... I blame my parents for that! ;)

5. Kenny Chesney- The Woman With You
From career woman to working mom/wife, this song is about all the roles she plays, and the support of the man by her side.

6. Ludacris- Number One Spot
He calls out Bill O'Reilly again, and mentions Dora and Swiper. What more could you ask for in lyrics??

7. Me First and the Gimme Gimmes- I Want You To Want Me
Everyone needs some punk in their life. This is actually off the Hubs music list, but I figured I'd spice things up

8. Montgomery Gentry- Hell Yeah
A perfect song for any music lover, I don't know how anyone could NOT love this song

9. Musiq Soulchild- Don't Change
Musiq has such a wonderful voice, full of soul and rhythm. He's a Philly boy, so he gets bonus points from me.

10. Nelly ft Tim McGraw- Over and Over
Hip hop meets country, it's pretty unique.

11. The Von Bondies- C'mon C'mon
This is actually the theme to Rescue Me, I don't know why I love this song so much, I just do.

12. Sublime- April 29, 1992
Sublime was such a great band, and the death of Bradley was tragic. Can you believe the LA riots were 13 years ago?

13. Third Eye Blind- God of Wine
I kinda lost interest in TEB after this album, but there was some awesome songwriting here. This wasn't one of the radio singles, but still a powerful song.

14. Verve Pipe- The Freshman
I must be feeling nostalgic, this is just a blast from my alternative music past.

15. Matchbox 20- Long Day
Again with the nostalgia, not like I really want to go back to my HS days, but the music was pretty good.

16. Kevin Fowler- Ain't Drinking Anymore
Local Texan artist, this song is upbeat and totally Fowler. We met him last year, he's such a down to earth country boy!

17. Ron White- Lug Nut Day
Everyone needs a little comedy in their life. Ok, so it's not a song, but I could listen to this bit over and over, it's still funny the 100th time.

Family friendly

I got a Canon G2 Digital Camera for Mother's Day (ok, I know I got it early... hee hee!) And I've been snapping pics like crazy since. I'm so in love with this camera already, though the included software is not what I'd call simple. Either way, I figured I'd share a few of the pics with everyone.

Me and Shane, making our "serious" face. He was pouting, so no smiles from us!!


Me and Maddie, making our Princess faces. She's thoroughly convinced she is a Princess. She even has the royal lollipop, so take that Cinderella!


Shane and Madison showing off their sibling love. There were a couple pictures where they were literally putting each other in choke holds, so this was as sweet as it got.



Oh, scroll back up and look closely at my childrens' faces. Notice anything? Yeah, Maddie got that shiner horsing around with Shane in the dark, and Shane bruised his nose throwing a fit. I promise I don't beat them, they do it to themselves!!

The one where I offend everyone

Let me start this post by directing you to my sidebar, where my hate mail disclaimer is. If you are pissed off by anything I write here, feel free to let me know.

Now, this topic was brought on by a blog post in which a wonderful writer replayed an actual incident, and described the people involved. The writer mentioned that one of the people was a "thin, black man". The writer is white. Stop the fucking presses, a white person said "black man". Now, this *shouldn't* be an issue, because good writing involves giving a clear mental picture to the readers, but a black reader was offended, and commented so. Basically, the reader felt race should have been left out of it, and by saying "thin, black man" the writer was racist. Have we all lost our minds?

You're black? I'm cool with that. You're Asian? Cool with that, too. Hispanic? Still cool with it. (Except the Mexican laborers who whipped their dicks out and peed in my front yard, on more than one occasion, where my kids could see, then pretended not to speak English when I yelled at them. BUT I wouldn't be cool with a person of any race exposing themselves to my kids, and pissing in my yard. Sorry.) Anyway, I don't care if you are white, black, green, purple, pink, red, blue, orange, aqua, cyan, brown, grey, mauve, yellow, or motherfucking clear. As long as you aren't an ass, you can be any color in the rainbow and still be cool by me. What does it matter? It doesn't. It doesn't matter where you live, what religion (or lack thereof) you follow, what your political beliefs are, how much money you have, or anything else, because we're still flesh and blood humans.

Now here's where I'm probably going to piss off anyone who hasn't already put out a hit on me for this post. Why is it that I should feel the need to walk on eggshells because I was born with less melanin than some? Should you automatically be angry if you were born with more? Am I not allowed to mention someone's race? Then why are people of other races allowed to call me white? (Ignoring the more derogatory names for white people, because that further complicates things) Why can there be the NAACP, Black Miss America, and BET (and I certainly do not mean to only call out black organizations, but they are the only "exclusive" ones I know of) but a group that only allowed white people, or called themselves the White *whatever* would be a public outrage. I don't think there should be any "exclusive" groups, but if there are going to be, then shouldn't it be equal across the board?? Basically, I'm sick of being hated and judged because I'm white. For the record, no member of my anscestry, going back to my people on the Mayflower, owned any slaves. We were all born and raised in the Northeastern US (except my children), until you get back to William Brewster, who was born in Scrooby, England and came to Plymouth Rock. SO.... stop making an entire race pay for the crimes of some people 200 years ago. I don't use derogatory terms to describe anyone's skin color, so what's the problem? There are asshats in every race, get over it. Why do we make an issue out of a harmless (and truthful) description? Isn't that reverse racism? Just stop it. I'm white, I am not a racist, I love some people, I hate others, and I base the decision off the actions of the person, not the color of their skin. I'm not going to apologize for stating someone's race, and I don't think my friend should either. It's fucking ridiculous to judge a book by it's cover, so don't.

Another Multiple Post Day... Scroll down or else!!

While many of the other bloggers are taking the weekend off of blogging as usual, I'm diligently working at my computer to bring you lots of weekend babbling entertainment. Use that scroll to check out the full weekend line up!! Oh, and a friend has gone back to Adorable Rodent because of her busy schedule, and I'm determined to bring her to her rightful place with the Marsupials. Have a linky, darlin'!! (and if you aren't reading her site, what's your problem? You don't know what you are missing!!

Haloscan has been a butthead

I normally try to respond to every comment, but lately Haloscan hasn't been consistantly emailing me comments. I've also noticed it's eaten a few. So... please know I read every comment left (and cherish them, I'm overjoyed when anyone reads the site!), and if I don't respond it's not because I don't like you or your breath stinks. Haloscan's breath does stink though, someone needs to pass it an Altoid!! Oh, and delurkers??



Talk to me here, my fragile ego needs you!!

Have you gotten a compliment today??

Every once in a while, we stubmle upon a completely different type of blog. One that comes to mind is Michele, who devotes her site to her readers, and creates a sense of community for us all. Today I recieved a comment from someone who has a wonderful blog idea. They have devoted their site to compliments, especially complimenting by comments. So... there is a new blog on my blogroll, The Complimenting Commenter. Go over and take a peek, then spread some compliments! After all, you might brighten up someone's day when they need it most!! Don't forget to compliment those around you, their smile will be worth it!!

More music nostalgia

Buzz posted what his iPod (had they existed) list would have looked like the year he graduated HS. So... here's mine (you can figure out the year for yourselves!!)
I actually had to pull up the top singles from that year, and pick the ones I liked. In no particular order:

OutKast~ Ms. Jackson
Nelly~ Country Grammar
Kelis~ Caught Out There
Eminem~ The Real Slim Shady
Eminem~ The Way I Am
Destiny's Child~ Jumpin' Jumpin'
Sisqo~ Thong Song (Shut UP!! I know I'm not the only one who liked that song, it made the top 10!)
Craig David~ Fill Me In
Santana ft. Rob Thomas~ Smooth
3 Doors Down~ Kryptonite
Brian McKnight~ Back at One
Jagged Edge~ Let's Get Married
Jay Z ft UGK~ Big Pimpin'
Next~ Wifey
Third Eye Blind~ Never Let You Go
Pink~ There You Go
Dr. Dre~ Forgot About Dre
Sisqo~ Got To Get It
Missy Elliott ~ Hot Boyz
Eve~ Love is Blind
DMX~ Party Up
Train~ Meet Virginia
Santana~ Maria Maria
Kid Rock~ Only God Knows Why
Papa Roach~ Last Resort
Da Brat~ What Chu Like
504 Boyz ~ Wobble Wobble
Black Rob~ Whoa
Ludacris~ What's Your Fantasy
Juvenile~ Back That Thang Up
Mya~ Case of the Ex
Trick Daddy~ Shut Up

Of course, there would be a healthy dose of Dave Matthews Band, since I've been following them since 1996, and probably a good chunk of Third Eye Blind, since I was still hooked on them at the time. Ok, let the teasing begin...

Just wondering

Is it wrong that I spent my Saturday morning dancing to Chingy, Trick Daddy, and Ludacris (mmm... Luda...) with the kids? Going through unmarked mix CDs is always fun, it's like an audio treasure hunt. (Note to self, save time by marked CDs as they are burned!!) Oh, and for the record... my son cannot dance. I'm pretty sure he may never get laid due to the twisting butt shake that must have come from his paternal genes. It's definitely a unique set of moves.

Scroll down

Tonight I'll be boring entertaining you with multiple posts, so please scroll down for more crap quality writing. Thank you.

More Ego-riffic-ness!

My TTLB ranking is currently up to Marauding Marsupial, which puts me in some excellent company (most of which I think are way better bloggers than moi!) . I'm way too excited about it, I just called the Hubs, and had to then explain the TTLB. He's proud of me for moving up on the evolutionary charts, of course. Now let's see if it stays that way. :)

Horror in Suburbia

I saw this on TV while out to lunch with my family today, but couldn't hear it at the time. After reading the article, I feel ill, literally feeling like I need to vomit. I cannot possibly understand what would make someone do this, let alone to her own children. Each child was stabbed more than 200 times. She stabbed her 9 year old and 3 year old in separate rooms, more than 200 times each. Wrap your mind around that for a second. You can't, can you?! Fucking unbelievable. I cannot muster any sympathy for this woman, regardless of the circumstances. It takes an especially cruel, sadistic person to inflict so many stab wounds on someone, let alone a child. This methodical murder deserves the most horrible and painful punishment imaginable, and it's stories like this that make me sad our nation is protected from "cruel and unusual punishment". After all, who protected those babies from cruel and unusual punishment? And if she comes back with the "post-partum psychosis" excuse I don't buy it. I've suffered through lots of depression and more than a few suicidal thoughts, but even at my lowest lows I made sure my children were safe. I almost handed them over to their out-of-state grandparents at one point, for fear I couldn't take proper care of them, but I could never have hurt them. That's instinct, to make sure your babies are cared for. It's unforgivable to hurt them, and I hope this woman rots in the deepest pits of hell for her crimes.

I can see!!

A couple of well-known bloggers are talking about depression lately. Some are struggling worse than others, and even more are struggling silently. Most of us can say we've been there at least once in our lives, in a place so bad that it seems pitch black, like the light switch to the world has been flicked off. For some, they live their whole lives like that, sometimes they get help, sometimes they cannot be helped, and so often they suffer quietly because it's difficult to admit, difficult to explain, just plain difficult. I'm actually writing this post because I've reached a new point, I've been struggling in the trenches of depression for a few years now, with the highs and lows, the quiet times and the overwhelming moments. It's often incredibly hard to recognize a depression, and even harder to admit it. After all, you must be the only one feeling this way, there just must be something wrong with you, why can't you feel normal and happy?! The beginning of my recognition came shortly after the birth of my children, three years ago. You often don't see the "truth" until it has become crippling, until you realize you cannot even function. I was diagnosed with anxiety disorder after seeking help (and being ignored once by a medical professional) at my 8 week post-partum check-up. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat, I was afraid to leave my house. I couldn't drive, I was too scared something would happen. I had horrible nightmares about being stuck on the train tracks and unable to get both children out of the car. Nightmares about bugs crawling down the kids' throats and choking them while I slept. Fires separating me and the kids, blocking me from saving them. The most horrible and paranoid thoughts kept me awake at night, jumping at the slightest creak or shadow. I had become a crippled shell of myself. I sought help, and was doing much better, eventually became strong enough to leave an abusive marriage, but leaving meant losing my healthcare, and the stress of the divorce took it's toll. I've spent the last 2 years in an up and down cycle, just barely treading water. The beautiful thing is I'm finally seeing the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. Things are falling into place, and allowing me a few moments of sunshine and fresh air rather than constant suffocation. We've worked hard as a family, and sacrificed a lot just to get to this point, and though it's not going to be all smooth sailing from here we are finally doing more than just surviving. I hope that everyone out there who is feeling depressed or stressed or just at the end of their rope realizes relief will come. There are so many news stories of parents just snapping, killing their children, killing themselves, abandoning everything, or otherwise losing control. My heart weeps for those people, because more often than not someone could have helped them. I probably wouldn't be alive today if not for support from people close to me, and my heart breaks for those who feel so isolated that they have no other options. This is my thank you to Cori, for all the times she has listened to me bitch and moan, the unconditional friendship and support. To my husband for every moment he has stuck by me when everyone else had given up, for picking me up when I couldn't do it myself, and giving me a break when life made it hard to breathe. Think of the people you know, do you recognize the cries for help? Pay attention to them, and reach out a hand, even if it's just a shoulder to cry on or offering a helping hand. Wouldn't you want someone to do the same for you?

To: My cats Re: Your behavior

While I can appreciate your current circumstance, I promise being in heat will not kill you. I will not allow you to satisfy your urges outside with the stray toms for your own good. Believe me, it's not a good idea, no matter how much fun it seems. Now, we need to chat about your current behavior. You see, you are both female cats, and while I support homosexuality in general, I would prefer not to witness feline lesbian acts. Furthermore, there are children present, and explaining what you are doing with each other is not on my list of fun things to do. So stop. NOW. It's gross, and will not be tolerated. Failure to comply will result in the squirt gun, and it won't be fun.

Thank you,
The Management

PS:
Stop peeing in corners and on blankets. It's not funny.

Um...

My kids have been quite "spirited" this week (read: they've been total buttheads... YES! I just called my children "buttheads", you wanna make something of it?!) and the end result is usually a Mommy Migraine. Tonight, even though they've been in bed for an hour, they are still up screaming and fighting with each other, in the dark. Every so often, if the screams become too tortured, I'll go in, watch them scramble back to their beds, and tell them to knock it off. Anyway, I heard Madison scream that special kind of scream only a little girl can do. You know, the one that sounds like a hockey mask-wearing gorilla jumped out of the closet and tore her arms from her body? Yeah, that's the one. So I go in, and find Shane sitting by her bed, dilligently working at something that he had taken from her. (All the while, hearing her scream "GIVE IT BACK!!! BACK!! MOMMY!!", and we're still in darkness.) I walked over to find him with this...

What you see there is a toy can from a kitchen set, and a knife from a tea set. Shane was splitting open the can like it contained the last morsel of food on the planet. I wonder how totally bummed he would have been had he fully cracked it to find only air. I can picture it now, him shaking the can into his mouth, and then throwing it with frustration, much like you'd see an animal do in the wild. The sad part is that happens frequently enough for the image to be permanently etched in my mind. Oh, the joys...

Ego-riffic!

Everyone needs their ego stroked once in a while, right? I took a test on alcohol knowledge, and considering I've bartended before I wasn't impressed with my score. I do know me some good English though!

English Genius You scored 100% Beginner, 92% Intermediate, 93% Advanced, and 86% Expert!

You did so extremely well, even I can't find a word to describe your excellence! You have the uncommon intelligence necessary to understand things that most people don't. You have an extensive vocabulary, and you're not afraid to use it properly! Way to go! Thank you so much for taking my test. I hope you enjoyed it! For the complete Answer Key, visit my blog: http://shortredhead78.blogspot.com/.

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 72% on Beginner You scored higher than 29% on Intermediate You scored higher than 53% on Advanced You scored higher than 90% on Expert

Link: The Commonly Confused Words Test written by shortredhead78 on OkCupid Free Online Dating

Kimmy the tiger

I found this on Amy's site, and my virtual pet is on the bottom of my sidebar. I was chatting with Shylah as I was trying to come up with a name, so we deferred to her daughter, who decided Kimmy was a good name. Scroll down there, and check her out. Careful, she scratches if you get too close...

The image game

Monty has created a fun little game, you pick 5 blogfriends, choose one or two words that describe them, and do an image search on those words. Then you post them!! Soooooo... here goes! :)

My close friendship with Cori makes it hard to choose just one word, but above all else she is "Sincere"

I really don't have a word in my vocabulary to describe Tish (no worries, darlin' all of the possibilities were good!) One thing you can count on, she is "Real"

Mel is incredibly "Gracious"

Brandon is at times "Outlandish", and I mean that in a positive way

Jay is definitely "Animated"

Come on, give it a shot, and let me know in comments if you post your list!

Water anyone?

I had to share this, because it's so amazing that I couldn't keep it to myself. This is my tap water, water I pay for, not from a well. This is how it looks straight out of the tap, into a clean glass. Am I the only one who thinks there is something majorly fucking wrong with that? Needless to say, we don't drink it. Either way, I'm so glad our water company is well regulated and gives us clean drinking water and all.

For the love of children

My husband will do anything to make our children happy. Our agreement was I could post these pictures if I put that disclaimer. So, again...

My husband will do anything to make our children happy. The following pictures are proof of that, and not something he does for his own entertainment. Thank you.

Anyway, here we go...

The kids "tattooed" Daddy aka the giant coloring book.



Madison made Daddy pretty (or as pretty as a grown man in dress up can get)



More getting gussied up



Finally, smiles make it all worth it...



Come on, it just doesn't get sweeter than that!!

#@$^&*#%$ Blogger

Blogger is acting funny. Not funny ha ha, funny like the smell of the diaper pail. (Oh, how happy I am that we no longer have a diaper pail!) When I try to see my site, and a couple other Blogger sites, it sends me back to the dashboard. I can acess my site from Cori's blogroll, but that's it. WTF is that? Stupid Blogger. Ok, back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Win or Go Home

It's playoff time in the NBA. I love playoff time, especially if my team is in it. Indiana just won their game, so instead of being in the 6th slot, the Sixers are in the 7th, and playing Detroit first round. I'm not optimistic on that match up, but we shall see. Hopefully, will be able to carry the team, because I'm like every other Philadelphia fan, and have very little faith in Webber. Honestly, we don't like Chris Webber because he gets paid a whole lot of money, and hasn't produced results. He gets his feelings hurt when the fans are disappointed with him, but Philadelphia sports fans are notoriously loud and tempermental, so he'd better get some thicker skin if he wants to be accepted by the city. Cori tells me he was well loved in Sacramento, I say they can have him back! In the meantime, I'm expecting a lot from Iverson and Iguodala, as well as 6th man Aaron McKie. Korver needs to bring his beautiful 3pt abilities, and Webber needs to suck it up and stop pouting. Those things happen and we have a chance, which would make me a very happy camper. Oh, and to the City of Philadelphia, I again plead... dress the damn statue!! Happy Playoffs everyone!

Send help

This post was written last night at 12:30, and not surprisingly, Sprint was incorrect in telling me my DSL would be back up at 6pm today. It's 7:51pm CST, and I'm on dialup, because I'm not going to have my DSL back until at least tomorrow night. I'm beginning to wonder how Sprint has become such a major company, because in 3 years of using various services from them (they have a local phone service monopoly in my area) this seems to be the norm. Grrrrrrrr....

I'm actually writing this in Notepad, because disaster has struck. My DSL is down and will be down until "no later than 6PM". It's 12:42AM. 18 hours people! EIGHTEEN HOURS! No blogging, no email, no message boards, no Yahoo Messenger. OMG I think I might die from withdrawal. Actually, if I die from withdrawal you won't ever read this, so I guess I'm not dead yet. Have I mentioned 18 hours? Considering my disdain for Sprint already, this is just salt in the wound. **sigh** I'm going to go cry now.

Survey Time

Do you or have you ever had a three year old? If so, I'd like you to help me out by answering a few questions. Sound good? Ok, great! My kids will be 3 in June. (OH. MY. GOD! Where did the time go?) We've been kicking around the idea of getting them real bikes with training wheels for their birthday, but we're not too sure. What were your kids' favorite presents at this age? What gifts were totally crap, or drove you nuts? Basically, I'm looking for things that will be a big hit, and a list of things to avoid. When did you get your children their first bike? When did they start really enjoying it? Any computer games they would be able to play? (We haven't introduced the kids to the PC yet, but they've got to learn soon or they'll surely be behind in pre-school!) Thank you for your cooperation in this research, it is greatly appreciated!

Cleanup on aisle 7

***Please skip this post if you are eating, or are easily grossed out. We here at Insanity cannot be held responsible for any adverse reactions while reading this post**

I'm not sure I ever covered this topic on this site, though it was discussed at one of the Genuine Bashes, so this alone should be incentive enough to attend the next one. You just never know where the conversations will go. In June 2004 Nate had seen this adorable puppy at the police animal control, and since we'd gone back and forth on getting a dog we finally decided this was the one. A cute little pit bull pup, he was about 10 weeks old when we brought him home. We moved out to our current house, and N was working for an ambulance service, 24 on and 48 off. We were having some trouble getting Peanut trained, and couldn't afford training classes, but since N had Boxers with his ex-wife and had trained them himself, I figured he could handle it. Honestly, I'm not much of a dog person anymore, especially a puppy, because they require lots of time and attention, and I've got enough on my plate. The deal was N would train Peanut to act like a respectable inside dog, no pooping on the floors, no chewing furniture or belongings, normal stuff. Well, Peanut had different ideas, and we were getting frustrated. We started doing a canine version of attachment parenting, except it was literally attachment as the puppy was to be on a leash and by our sides at all times. We were using crate training while we were out of the house, and seemed to be making a bit of progress with this hard-headed dog. Remember, I'm not too enthused about training him, and am getting annoyed that I have to drag him around during N's 24 hour shifts. After a couple weeks, I start to notice an odd occurrence. The Pink collection had just hit Victoria's Secret stores, and panties were 5 for $20, so I bought 10 pairs. I bought them because I was running a bit low on undergarments, but I just chalked that up to the dryer monster or whatever. About a month after I had gone shopping, I was missing a few more of the new pairs, and starting to get curious. I bought 5 more, and started paying attention. One day while N was at work, I got out of the shower and saw Peanut run out of the bathroom. I chased him and caught up with him just as the last bit of fabric went into his mouth. Busted, the little bastard has been eating my thongs! We bought a hanging hamper, but no matter what we tried he would still manage to sneak a snack out of my laundry. I bought 10 more pairs, so now we're up to $100 in panties in a few months, and I'm getting pissed. The obvious question is where are they going? Mind you, he'd swallow them whole, often so quickly that no one would notice. We started looking around in the yard one day, and sure enough my property was littered with digested underwear. Since we live on an acre, we weren't very diligent about scooping poop, and over time the poop disinigrated leaving a dried up pair of underwear in it's place. Nice huh? You can bet that was a fun scavenger hunt. Oh, and one day while I was at work, N called me and said "I found your black panties, Peanut just threw them up. What do you want me to do with them?" Only a man would ask that... I wanted them to go in the trash, of course. Well, to shorten the story a bit, we finally had enough between the panties and a few other costly disasters, and we gave Peanut away to a nice woman who had more time and space to care for him. It's been about 6 months since we gave him away, but since it's spring we've been doing some maintenance outside. Nate cut down some overgrown areas on the edges of our property, and I went out to rake the trimmings. What did I find? Another old, digested thong. I picked it up with the rake, and threw it one of the burn piles, joking with Nate about that damn dog and his fetish, and he tells me he found another pair on the other side. We'll be moving this summer, but I have to wonder what the next tenants will think should they find any more. On the other hand, one must be impressed by the craftsmanship of VS... now that's durability.

PSA

I am decent speller. Not perfect by any means, there are often common words that I just cannot seem to spell, but I blame it on Mommybrain and ask someone. (Usually Cori, because she's one smart cookie! Mmm... cookies...) Anyway, there are a couple of things that I see online ALL the time, so here's a quick PSA for those of you who need it.
"Loose" means "not snug".
Ex: "That bolt is loose, can you hand me a wrench?"
I'm pretty sure "looser" is not a word, and I'm very sure "loosing" is not.
"Lose" is the opposite of "gain" or "win". Therefore "losing" is the opposite of "gaining" or "winning".
You are not "loosing" your marbles when your sanity is waning. Your team did not "loose" the game. Got it?
Ok, great. Next, we'll address the "their, there, they're" thing.
"Their" is "belonging to them".
Ex: "Their house is gorgeous!"
"There" is a place.
Ex: "Call me when you get there."
"They're" is "they are".
Ex: "I cannot wait until the kids go to bed, they're driving me nuts!"
Please take notes, this is basic English! I can overlook most things, just as I'd hope you'll overlook the sometimes poor punctuation in my writing, but I'm feeling particularly snarky tonight, so I had to address those issues. Ok, class dismissed!

Check the tail end

Someone on my Freecycle list was looking for a male kitten, which made me think back to my first apartment and the cat we had. I was just barely 18, and living in this total shithole with the guy I was dating. I wanted a cat, and his mom knew someone who had kittens, so I came home from work one night to find a cute little grey furball and the required accessories. I was totally stoked to have this cat. You see, I had to give away my childhood pet, because my step-dad's German Shepard wanted to eat him, so this was my "replacement" now that I was on my own. I named her Princess, because I wasn't very creative and it seemed like a perfectly acceptable kitty name. Fast forward about 3 months, my Grandmom is visiting from Florida, and stops by my apartment. After telling me I really ought to get curtains, and shouldn't I get a couple throw rugs to brighten up the place, she picks up Princess to show her some love. "Crystal, why on earth would you name this cat Princess?" "Well, I don't know, it seemed like a good name. What's the big deal?" She proceeds to lift up the cats tail, and show me it's rear end. Meanwhile, I'm thinking "Wow, she's totally lost it, why do I want to look at a cat's butt?" My wonderful grandmother tells me "It's a BOY cat! You don't name a boy cat Princess!" No, that can't be right... I specifically asked for a female kitten. She's crazy, right? "This cat has a ding-a-ling! Look! Those are his jewels! What on earth did you think that was?" Sure enough, she was right, I'd been calling my boy cat Princess for months. One might think I'd be able to tell the difference at 18, but sadly I believed it was a cooter. *Sigh* So much for all those years of Sex Ed right? We promptly renamed the cat Flip, but I'm sure it couldn't have been good for his self image.

Musings from Madison

My little girl has got quite the imagination. She's bossy like her mom, creative, and loves to sing and dance. We went for a walk tonight, and Maddie was singing, making up the song using our names and whatever else we saw along the way. When we came home she was singing "Shake your butt, shake your head, shake your arms, shake shake shake!", while doing the appropriate (or inappropriate, considering she was lifting up her nightgown to shake her groove thing!) motions. She's also named this cheap plastic doll, one of those fake-Barbie things that came in an Easter basket. She's dubbed it LaLa, out of nowhere. (No, it's not from Telletubbies, we don't watch that!) LaLa has become her companion, which means I have to constantly re-attach LaLa's various body parts since she cannot hold it together. Madison has also started calling her brother Shaney Boy, as if she were a little old grandma. Mark my words, this one is going to be a drama mama, and she's going to have all the boys wrapped around her little finger. Daddy and Shane have already fallen under her spell, so consider this fair warning. Your son could be next.

A to Z

Stolen from Cori and Raven, here's the A to Z meme!

Accent: NJ/Philadelphia accent, with a bit of the south tossed in there.

Bra Size: 34B... I'm still waiting for Cori to share some of hers, her cups runneth over!

Chore I hate: Most of all? Sweeping and mopping

Dad's Name: Rich

Essential Make-Up: Foundation, my skin is horrible!

Favorite Perfume: Hmmm... Aqua di Gio by Armani

Gold or Silver: White gold or silver

Hometown: Tabernacle, NJ... obviously I don't live there anymore, but it's where I grew up.

Interesting fact: I'm a direct descendant (15th gen I believe) of William Brewster, a priest on the Mayflower. I was the first to be born in Plymouth after our people left that area a couple centuries ago.

Job Title: Household CEO aka Mommy and Wife

Kids: 2, a boy and a girl who will be 3 in June

Living Arrangements: A rental in the country

Mom's Birthplace: Either Mt. Holly, NJ or Philadelphia, PA. I'll have to ask her that one.

Number of Apples Eaten in the Last Week: 2, which is pretty unusual for me, I rarely eat them

Overnight Hospital Stays: When the kids were born

Phobias: No real phobias, but I'm scared of spiders and snakes

Question You Ask Yourself A Lot: Am I doing this right?

Siblings: A half-sister who is 10, and a half-brother who is 5

Time I Wake Up: Embarrassingly late, my alarm is set for 8:30

Unnatural Hair Color: I dyed my hair recently back to my natural color, dark brown. I've been a redhead, and quite a few shades of brown.

Vegetable I refuse to Eat: Beets

Worst Habit: Picking at my skin. That's my nervous habit in the same way some people bite their nails. It's awful!

X-Rays: Teeth, foot

Yummy Food I Make: My 3 best are probably Chicken Parm, Lasagna, and Reese's cookies

Zodiac Sign: Virgo. I used to think I didn't fit the bill, but as I get older I see just how much of a true Virgo I am, though I'm more lax than the "typical" Virgo

Googlicious!

We all get strange search hits. Those of us who monitor our stats (ok, EVERYONE!) know what kind of demented visitors you can get from Google or other search engines. Jay does an advice column from time to time (psst... Jay, I love those entries!), so that market may be cornered. I don't usually bother posting about the hits, but tonight I will. I get a couple hits a day from keywords "Poke Her". Apparently a lot of people want to do just that, and are using Google to find out how. I get the random ones that I'm the 546th result for, and often wonder just how bored that person must have been to dig that deep into the search pile. Tonight I had a visitor from Arkansas searching this. My advice? Just tell her, and save everyone involved the headache. And honestly, did you need the internet to tell you that?

It's the little things

Sometimes I'm easy to please. (most of the time I'm a pain in the ass, but that's not the point. Shut UP!) So little things can totally make my day, but it sometimes makes me wonder just how boring I've become. Case in point, I seem to do a constant stream of laundry. In reality I rpobably do 2 loads a day, but it just seems like there is always one in the washer, one in the dryer, and at least one waiting. You wanna see me do the happy dance? Leave me with an empty dryer. I get way too excited when I'm expecting to have to remove a load before adding the freshly washed stuff, but instead open that door to find an empty drum. Seriously, it's such a great little surprise! Empty dishwasher just waiting for the dirty dishes? Another great surprise! And it's free, so that's always a plus. An awesome not-free pleasure is new sheets. I ordered some last week on Overstock.com (addicted!), and they came in today. The thread count is not extravagantly high but it's still a good quality, sateen set. I washed them earlier, and am about to remake the bed so I can enjoy their yumminess tonight. Of course, it's so much sweeter knowing I got them really cheap, like 70% off. 70% off definitely makes me happy. See? I'm not *always* difficult!

Class participation

Joe is doing a nifty little project, which you can read about here. Basically he wants you to send him a line from 2 of your favorite posts on your blog, which he'll then use to compose a poem. I've sent my lines, so why not add yours? Your blog will be linked with your lines, and this should prove an interesting little creation!!

Settle a debate?

Ok, can you help settle a little "debate"? N and I disagree on the meaning of this song, he says it's about God, and I say that it's about a woman, the one God sent him to "save" him, so to speak. Either way it's a great song, but I thought I'd get some outside opinions on the meaning. I really don't want to have to stalk Mr. Green to find out!


Artist/Band: Green Pat
Wave On Wave


Mile upon Mile I got no direction.
We’re all playing the same game
We’re all looking for redemption
Just afraid to say the name
So caught up now in pretending
What we’re seeking is the truth
I’m just look for a happy ending
All I’m looking for is you


It came upon me wave on wave
You’re the reason I’m still here
Am I the one you were sent to save?
It came upon me wave on wave


I wandered out into the water
I thought that I might drown
I don’t know what I was after
Just know that I was going down
That’s when she found me
I’m not afraid anymore
She said, you know I always had ya baby
Just waiting for you to find what you were looking for


It came upon me wave on wave
You’re the reason I’m still here
Am I the one you were sent to save?
It came upon me wave on wave


Wave on wave
Wave on wave


The clouds broke and the angels cried
You ain’t gotta walk alone
That’s why he put me in your way
You came upon wave on wave


It came upon me wave on wave
You’re the reason I’m still here
Am I the one you were sent to save?
It came upon me wave on wave

You wanna fight??

***If you are a Republican, you might want to just skip this post. I'm not trying to start a political debate, nor am I trying to offend.

I knew when we put the bumper stickers on our car that it would anger some people, especially here. A couple weeks before the election, we bought some bumper stickers that were anti-Bush. (Remember, I only live about 30 minutes from the "Western White House", Dubya is a god here.) I'll admit the "Bush is a punk-ass chump" one is rude and obnoxious, but I've seen more obnoxious decals here, so we decided to put it on anyway. The other 2 (they all go across our back windshield) are "Bring Them Home Now" and "Iraq: the 51st State". We've been lucky to not have any vandalism to our car, I know this. Anyway, someone pulled up behind N at a stop light this evening, and the passenger got out of his car, came up to N, and challenged him to a brawl. Apparently, the guy felt N's protest against our current administration was non-support for our troops which is untrue. He was screaming at N about not support soldiers and whatnot, all the while not knowing N is a former (and soon to be active) soldier, with many friends who served in Iraq, and more than a few who died there. I've often contemplated taking them down, if only to avoid serious confrontation that could get dangerous, but my idealistic mind says most people can control themselves. This isn't always true, of course, but I still believe in free speech, and I feel like taking them down would be giving up that right. No one takes their "Dubya 04" stickers off their cars, there are political signs all up and down the highway telling the public to support Republican politicians here, but because I disagree with the majority, it's "unacceptable". I wouldn't get out of my car to threaten anyone, especially not for an opinion, so I cannot comprehend this guy's decision. It's legal to carry a concealed weapon here as long as you have a license. What if N was some crazy with a gun, and dude just came up to him and challenged him. Was telling N off worth that risk? (Of course, N doesn't carry a weapon, but dude had no way of knowing that) Then again, is making an unpopular statement such a wise choice for us? Maybe the next guy who comes up to our window will be the crazy with a weapon, and that's not really a risk I want to take. I do think it's pretty sad that we cannot all agree to disagree. No one seems to be changing anyone else's mind with the debating/arguing, yet we cannot seem to give it up. Here's a novel idea... we share ideas and opinions nicely, even if they are opposing opinions. If we cannot agree, it's ok. We don't have to. Please stop trying to convince everyone you are right, and they are wrong, because honestly, we could all be wrong, and we'll all feel like asses then.

The men had two eggs!

I've talked before about the intelligent conversations about biology that people engage in with parents of multiples. Today, while getting the kids' portraits taken, the "photographer" enlightened me on the human reproductive system's abilities. You see, I'd been under the impression that dizygotic (fraternal) multiples resulted from hyperovulation (more than one egg released) and then the eggs are fertilized by sperm. The resulting conclusion would then be that fraternals are a result of a genetic response on the female side, since females ovulate. In other words, the father cannot "cause" a fraternal multiple pregnancy. Color me stupid, I was wrong. According to the photographer/biologist fraternals can be carried on both sides, men can hyperovulate. As a matter of fact, when asking me if twins ran on N's side of the family (she was unaware that he was not their biological father) she told me "Men can have two eggs, too!" I must have slept through freshman biology, because I had it all wrong. Maybe I can get some eggs from that rooster outside for breakfast tomorrow.

Not dead

See? My boredom didn't kill me. Actually, Wednesday and Thursday are our weekend, so I tend to not blog as much, but I make up for it on Fridays. Anyway, I had a post drafted last night, referencing Kim's post about phone calls, but I didn't like it, so it sits in lonely Blogger purgatory. Sad existence, huh? I do so hope everyone is having a wonderful week, and if you live in TX you might want to hang on to something sturdy, these winds are threatening to blow us away! Oh, and if you don't read the Sarcastic Journalist regularly, go over and give her a hug. Someone stole her pregnancy photos off her other site, passing them off as their own. Can anyone tell me how to watermark my pics? I'd rather the sick puppies of the internet not be able to steal them.

Snore

I'm booooooooooooooooorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeddddddddddddddd! Really really bored. As in I keep checking my email in hopes of something new showing up, and I've been doing cyber circles all night to find something to do. If you notice an IP address showing up on your stats every 13 seconds, it's me, because I'm BORED! Ok, I'm done now.

Blockbuster.com

Let me preempt this post by saying I hate Netflix. I had nothing but problems when I used them a couple years ago, and so many people I know have had problems since that I won't even think about giving them another shot. They have a nasty little habit of overcharging, double billing, and otherwise wreaking havoc on your credit card. Anyway, I was pretty stoked about Blockbuster.com, I signed up for the 2 week trial, they have better prices than Netflix and 2 free in store rentals a month, enabling us to rent games for free. I've been singing their praises since I signed up about 6 months ago, and I guess I jinxed myself. For the last few weeks I've been noticing it's taking much longer to receive my movies, the turn around was about twice as long as it had been. Ok, no big, I guess they are just growing a little faster than they planned, it'll even out. Hmmm. Movies I mailed back together are being processed almost a week apart, that's odd. Wait a minute, they haven't updated their new releases in weeks, and my queue is running low. I'll do a quick search and look for some recent releases I've heard good things about. Nope, they don't have those either. Great, I can't find anything to watch, and even when I do pick something it takes forever to get to me. Ok, I guess it's time to cancel. Blockbuster is doing the same unlimited rental thing in their stores, though I'm not sure our local stores are participating. Not to mention the 20+ minute drive to get there. *sigh* I'm pretty disappointed, they had a great thing going and dropped the ball. Hopefully Blockbuster.com will get their act together, I'd definitely be willing to reconcile if they did.

I need TiVo!

N and I have been discussing TiVo as one of those things we'd like to get when we're not broke. We don't want to get DirecTV's DVR, because it just adds to your contract and is worthless if you discontinue DTV, so we are going to do the actual TiVo thing. Anyway, I'm not clamoring to get it yet, because it hasn't seemed that important, just a nice extra. Until tonight. There really isn't too much I care about on TV, except of course Desperate Housewives. I noticed 14 Hours was on TNT tonight at the same time as DH. No problem, they are replaying it after DH, I can watch it then. Oh, but I *had* to go scrolling through other channels on my guide, and see that an episode of Rescue Me that I'd missed was on during the second showing of 14 Hours. Rescue Me was my pre-DH obsession, a show on FX that I stumbled upon last summer. Ok, there is a 3rd showing of 14 Hours tonight, it ends at 1am. I'll go watch Rescue Me in a few minutes, then 14 Hours, then go to bed. As I'm typing this I realized the TV gods hate me, because a Sixers game was televised on ABC** during the NASCAR race today, and N and I had spent the first half of the race flipping back to see the ball game. I can never find a damn thing on TV that I want to watch, and it seems like today I couldn't find anything I *didn't* want to see. I guess that's why the rest of you love TiVo. Can I come over and use your TV?
** Sixers games are a rare luxury for me here in TX, I've only seen 3 or 4 this season, they won today.

Let's Make a Deal!!

I've already demonstrated time and again how neurotic I am. It's no secret, I don't even try to hide it anymore. However, I cannot possibly be the only person who has this little quirk. You see, I make deals with myself in order to be productive. You know how mom used to say "If you get all As on this report card, we can go to *insert fun thing here*."? Well, I make those deals with myself. For example, every night I put the kids in bed, and start negotiating in my mind. "I can go online only after I do X, Y, and Z." Otherwise, I'd never get a damn thing done around here. Sometimes, when there are a bunch of things that need to be done, my mind will sound like contract negotiations before a strike.
Mental conversation:
"The floors are a mess, there's laundry in the washer and dryer, we need to discuss those dishes, and for Pete's sake let's find some agreeable terms about those bathrooms!"

"Ok, vacuuming done immediately, household ordinance requires that be completed before the kids are asleep. The dishes are non-negotiable, we don't go to bed with dishes in the sink. I guess we can handle the kitchen floors at a later date, and we'll compromise on the laundry under the condition that the bathrooms are handled now."

"Ok, vacuum, then put the dry laundry on the bed, wet stuff in the dryer. Then bathrooms, and you can have your break time. However, it' is required that both loads of laundry are folded and put away before bed. Deal?"

It's a sad little method, and could probably be handled with medication, but it works for me. Next on the agenda is filing papers, I might actually have to strike over that issue. Where's my damn picket sign?

Randomness

First of all, I'm not a fan of April Fool's day. I'm just not a prankster at heart, so I don't see the appeal. Anyway, are you reading 63 Days? If not you should be. Have you been living under a rock? It seems everyone is addicted to this blog, the story of a boot camp in Utah for wayward teens. The author spent 63 hellish days being abused by the "counselors" and lived to tell about it. (Some didn't) Go check it out. Also California Hammonds is having a commenting fundraiser until midnight tonight PST. Go. Comment. NOW! Thank you!

Copycat?

Should I be concerned? Someone visited from a Yahoo! search for "pics of twins". Most of their results were the Olsen twins, but after this "mommy blog" thief, I have to wonder if someone came here to steal my pictures. If you happen to stumble upon pictures of the kids could ya email me or something? Thanks!