Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Medium..

I'm skeptical at best when it comes to psychics, or mediums. I've never been introduced to one, and I certainly have never payed one for their services. On Monday, a friend and I went to visit another friend who lost his father a couple of weeks ago. When I got to my friends place, there was a man there working on my friends computer. We were introduced, and he remained intent on fixing my friends computer. Meanwhile, my friends and I were enjoying a cocktail, catching up, and helping my other friend make lunch.
About an hour and a half later, the guy working on the computer had fixed it and was about to head out. It was then, that he asked me about my house. He asked me what was going on with it.. were we selling it?? This is when I was informed that he was a medium. He then proceeded to talk to me for about 20 minutes about all sorts of shit. Shit he shouldn't have known about. It was creepy, and exciting at the same time. He told me that my house was going to sell, and that we would be in our new place within the next two months. He also told me that there was a woman who walked with me.. my grandmother. He talked about her last 2 years with us, and how she wasn't herself, and that her disease had gripped her mind. He told me that she wanted me to know, that she wasn't like that anymore. He talked about how sad she was that there were 4 people close to her that she wished would communicate. I took this as my mother who has not communicated with her 3 siblings in almost 20 years. At one point he told me that she was sitting next to me on the couch, and put my arm around her. I know the power of suggestion is strong, but really, I felt her. I could almost smell her. It brought tears to my eyes. I miss her everyday, and have been thinking about her so much lately. If there is anyone that I would want walking with me, it's her!
He spoke of things that meant nothing to me. And I told him, I had no idea who he was talking about. He only asked that I keep an open mind, and remember what he was telling me.
It was surreal. There were so many things that he talked about, that no one would know. Not even my friends that I was with that day. The friend I had gone up with, was also skeptical, until he started talking about his family.. and started talking about things that we had talked about on our ride up to our friends house. it was fucked up!
Later that night, as I was trying to get my mind to shut down, I remembered something he had told me. He started talking about a woman named Jean, or Jeannie.. and how she had passed on, and she was someones mother. He also mentioned that she was a nurse.. I had no idea who he was talking about, nothing rang a bell.. until later. I remembered my brother in law. His mom was Jeannie, she was a nurse, and she had passed on many years ago. It gave me chills, and if it wasn't 10 o'clock when I remembered that, I would have called my sister and told her.
I am now a firm believer in this guy.. really, I am. I was sad that he had to leave, and couldn't have lunch with us. My friend informed me later that I had just gotten about 200 bucks worth of free readings.. nice!
Oh, and btw, the next day (yesterday) my house went under contract! I'm just sayin....

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Christmas is only one week away!! son of a bitch..

Losing power for almost 3 days, was really nothing.. nothing to a lot of people that just got their power back today. 7 days after the storm.
My minimal 3 days, threw me for a loop. It has gotten me all out of sync with my Christmas shopping. I am not psyched about that! I went out tonight and got a BUNCH of crap. Stocking stuffers, and whatnot. I still have a ton of shit left to buy.. and not a ton of time to do it in..
I have no stamps.. so I have not put my adorabley doctored Christmas picture in the mail. (And when I say "doctored", I mean the whole "red eye" fix.. you'll notice when you get the card!) If I don't have your mailing address, and you would like one.. let me know.. somehow I ended up with extra cards, and stamps! Over planning.. I'm really good at that!
Anyway, I have a living room littered in unfinished wrapping, so I must attend.. hope everyone is getting their shopping done!!

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Things that Suck When You Have No Electricity for 3 Days..

-having 4 children
-electricity with drawls, which also include gameboy, computer and t.v. with drawls
-having 4 kids.. did I mention that already??
-One of your only sources of light happens to be the headlamp your dorky husband wears. Turns out her doesn't like to share it. And loves to make shadows on the wall that scare the bee-jesus out of your already scaredy cat kids.
-peeing. In an already pissed in toilet, times 15..
-telling your husband that you have to crap, and that you're going to do so in a plastic bag. Being told that you're either going to dig a hole in the backyard, or drive 10 minutes to his parents, with the wake of a turtle head emerging, and suck it up.. I sucked it up.
-telling your kids over and over that this was what it was like in the olden days... seriously, they didn't want to hear it the first time.
-having no phone.. but being very grateful to your older sister who lends you an extra cell phone.. Thank you, thank you!!
-pretending that we're camping.. cooking meals on our wood stove loses it's impact and appeal when we're locked up inside our house and haven't spent the entire day swimming in a lake.
-learning that all neighboring towns have their power back. Really, we're happy for you, but wtf??
-realizing that we are so unprepared for an event like this. No cell phone. No ample stock of canned goods. No D batteries.

We are lucky that I spent my previous life collecting pretty scented candles.. which by the way gave me the worst sensory headache..

Our power came back on at 7:30 this morning. When I woke up to another day of a dark house, I wanted to cry.. My husband left to get us breakfast at dunkin donuts, and about 5 minutes after he left, the lights triumphantly came back on. I have never seen my kids so excited.. We must have cheered and clapped for a good 5 minutes. It was wonderful. We have all been left in awe of something that we take for granted everyday. How one such seemingly small thing, like electricity, rules our lives. Thank god for the wood stove, and thank god for remembering the words to many a Christmas carol.. I'm so thankful to have power again, and even more thankful that we all shit at my in laws!! ;)

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Nicknames..

My 3 year old niece has given us all nicknames today.
I am tissue paper
She is silly girl
Twin A is kooky head
Twin B is ahhhhhhhhhhh
and my husband is Happy No Hair (since he shaved his head last night..)
She's got quite the imagination!!

Sunday, December 07, 2008

The latest on the house..

We were supposed to have an open house this past Sunday, but last Wednesday I emailed my realtor and asked if we could cancel. It had been a crazy week, and I just didn't see myself being able to get the house in shape to hold an open house, which honestly, I didn't think anyone would show up for. My realtor was great and made a few calls and got everything cancelled.
She then called me on Thursday and told me that someone wanted to see the house on Saturday, and she wanted to know if I could pull it off. I told her that I could.. and I did. I spent Thursday and Friday pretty much cleaning non stop (I did take a break on Friday and had ctale and another friend over for a play date) and they were gracious enough to pick up all the toys that the 4 girls had played with.
Saturday morning was a nightmare, more so for my husband who had to listen to me boss him around and my poor kids who I threatened within an inch of their life to please not drop any crumbs on our new brown carpet (not the best color choice with all these kids!)
We took off for the afternoon, did a little shopping and had some lunch, and returned to a message from our realtor saying that the woman who had come to see our house, loved it. She didn't want to get our hopes up, as we've had a few showings like that, but nevertheless that was the case.
I got an email from her later saying that the girl who came by to look at the house wanted her mother to see it. Her mom lives in Florida, and wasn't coming here until the 18th. However, apparently, she moved her flight to the 13th, and had requested a second showing. The first second showing.
Sunday afternoon, I got a call from my realtor, who had an offer in her hands. It was a sucky offer, so we counter offered. That was on Sunday. It's now Wednesday, and they have yet to respond. It's making me mental. They still want to see the house again on Saturday, so maybe then they'll make up their minds.. the waiting is killing me though.
We went back to the house we want last night, and brought my mom. She loved it, and I guess spent last night decorating it for us in her head (gee, I don't know where I get that from!) anyway, I'm hoping for an answer by Sunday at the latest.. frickin sucks!

Thursday, December 04, 2008

Autumn's Purpose

Autumn does it every year.
Gold leaves whistle down from the turquoise sky.
Bronze leaves float down, looking like golden brown.
No one could ever count them all!
Leafless trees wait till they get more magnificent leaves.
Autumn has a gigantic job, and a holiday awaits.



This is a poem my 8 year old wrote. I was pretty impressed, as I usually am with this child. Thought I would share.. not bad for 8 huh??? Here's one more, then I promise I'm done!


Autumn means change.
My neighbor's dog circles around a colorful oak tree.
Owls whistle at a hunters' moon.
Everybody yells when they jump into a leaf pile.
Winter is coming!

Sunday, November 30, 2008

He's Back....


Our Elf on the Shelf has returned. The boys have been talking about him for days. He returns every December 1st, and they then spend each morning until Christmas looking for where he has hidden. During the night, he goes back to Santa and reports on how they've been.
It wasn't until they were in bed, that we both remembered that we had to find Snowy, our beloved Elf. I had told the boys before hand that he might not make the trip tonight due to inclement weather.. luckily, I found him in the attic and he is now perched up on the hutch, waiting to be found.
It will be a race for the boys to find him, and usually someone ends up crying. But all we have to do is remind them of why Snowy is here.. Santa hates a cry baby! So, let the insanity begin!

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Turkey Day.. and an email from an old friend..

Thanksgiving has come and gone. It was fun, and not one of my kids ran away screaming from my sister's brother in law (who was burned badly from a car accident a few years ago) In fact, they were all really good, and the only thing they were frightened of was the 2 dogs. The two big mean, labs! But my sister kindly gated them up in a room and my kids only had to hear the poor pups whine and not have to be in the same room with them. For that I was truly grateful, it would have been quite uncomfortable for me to have to hold all four of them in my lap as those dogs roamed freely.
Yesterday my husband woke up wanting a brand new t.v. We now have a brand new t.v. Despite my opposition, which literally meant nothing, as he usually gets what he wants. It's so backwards here. I wish just for a while he would pretend to be the man in the family, and let his wife get her way once or twice! I'm just saying.. couldn't he "raymond" it up a bit, and let me be"deborah" for a while??
Anyway, in other far more interesting and exciting news to me, I got an email from an old friend this morning. Someone I had worked with over a decade ago. I sort of feel like I had grown up with her. She was the kindest, sweetest and most giving person I had known. She and her husband came to my wedding, something that always meant so much to me.. For years I had tried to keep in touch with her. I would send her a card on Christmas, and try calling her. The last time I tried, which was quite a while ago, her number had been disconnected. I thought something terrible had happened to her. I figured it must have. But today when I checked my junk mail (just cause I always do) there was a note with a name I recognized. I was so happy. She was finally reconnecting with me! yea!!
Sadly I found out that her husband had passed away, suddenly, this past February. I couldn't believe that. Like I had mentioned before, they had been at my wedding. There are few details that I remember about that crazy day. But one, one detail I remember vividly, was her husband, Bill. Bringing me a beer during the long and very hot, exhausting "photo shoot" every bride has to endure. This was the first and only time I had met Bill, but I had heard enough about him, that I truly felt I knew him. This kind and generous act, which might seem silly to some, cemented the fact that I liked him! He was the mirror image of my good friend. I'm sad that he is gone. But I'm so glad that she has reappeared in my life. If only for today, and our few emails back and forth. I just hope that she won't disappear, and that if anything I can be the friend to her now, that she was to me back then, when I was growing up....

Monday, November 24, 2008

More Speech..

My youngest daughter had her first speech therapy appointment on Friday. This was the first time we had met this woman. Suzanne.. she was very nice, and somewhat awkwardly pointed out that she was not in fact a speech therapist, but in fact an early childhood educator. Something I could really care less about.. she was educated, in my home, and playing with my kids, for free. Seriously, credentials weren't that important.
Anyway, the appointment was a tad hectic, as she didn't come by until 4:15, so she had the pleasure of all the kids being in attendance. My oldest son did just what I asked, which was to be on his best behavior, and just let the woman have her session with his sister. My other daughter was right in the middle of it, which I expected. And then my 5 year old.. my seasoned speech therapy client, couldn't resist putting it into super spaz mode.. in his very loud, very abrupt way. Suzanne quickly assured me this was ok, what else is she going to say?? There was one point though, when he started throwing a ball around, when I flashed him a "cut the shit" glare, to which he promptly stuck out his little tongue at me. Ugh. shithead. His dad had run to the drug store and as soon as he got back, and saw the glaring looks I was shooting him, he quickly took care of the 5 year old, and we moved on with her speech.
Suzanne thinks my daughter is well on her way to having normal speech, even though she's not a pathologist (her words, not mine) Her reassurance was good to hear.
My 5 year old was only tamed momentarily by his father who was distracted by phone calls from his band mates. He started playing a game with his sister, rolling the ball back and forth. It got her right in the groin, to which he laughed and said "oh, it hit her wiener, oh, I mean her vagina" Yes, he's speaking so clearly these days! We're so proud!

Thursday, November 20, 2008

My Day..

This morning started out as any typical morning for me. Getting up.. feeding the kids, making lunches, dressing the kids, seeing them off, and so on.
In preparation for my yearly physical, I packed up my girls and my niece and headed to the hospital to have blood drawn to check my thyroid. Unfortunately, the girls could not withstand the 45 minute wait (and counting) and we had to leave. No blood drawn. Total bust.
We all returned home later, and I had received a message from my youngest sons kindergarten teacher, saying that I had forgotten to pack his lunch. Great. After searching high and low, and really having no memory of what I did with his lunch box, I called the school office and told them that I must have put it in his big brother's knapsack, and could they please take a look. Moments later, they called me back and said it was not there. Fabulous! So, I have to make another lunch, pack up the girls (again) and head off to the school and drop of the poor schmucks lunch.
The day progresses, and I'm exhausted (as usual) and it's time for my youngest son to get off the bus. I am totally geared up for the pissed off little boy that is going to get off the bus. I know he's going to be ripped that I forgot to put his lunch in his backpack.
Imagine my surprise, when he skips off the bus, happy as a clam.. so I asked him "gee buddy, what happened to your lunch??" "Oh," he replies "It was under Skylars jacket" REALLY??
And so goes my day.. I'm hoping tomorrow, whilst my feet are up in the stirrups, that I haven't forgotten any one's lunch, and that I have at least remembered to have shaved in the morning...

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

And they say he's got speech issues!!!

So today was the parent/teacher conference for my 5 year old. I had only met his teacher once at the open house, and she seemed very nice. In fact she is still very nice. However, I had never talked to her one on on before, and I must admit it was difficult, to say the least.
First let me say she said wonderful things about my son, and that he was very well behaved, very quiet, but was slowly coming out of his shell. He's also doing great in his overall studies, and is well liked by his classmates.
The difficult part of talking to her, was that while I was talking, while I was saying anything, quietly, under her breath, she was finishing my sentences. I have never talked to anyone who did that before. The first time she did it, I stopped dead in the middle of a sentence because I thought she was interrupting me. It only took me a second to realize that she was actually trying to talk along with me, and be ahead of what I was saying. It almost seemed like a nervous habit. It was hard to have any eye contact with her, and concentrating on what I was saying was almost impossible. I'm afraid that I may have looked like a bigger idiot than she did! It was very weird. Regardless, she was very nice, and I think she's doing a great job, even with all that weird talking going on.. I just hope that she doesn't do that with the kids!

giving multi tasking new meaning..

I can multitask as good as the next mom, however, I'm not sure how I'm going to be able to handle both my girls this Friday at my doctors with both legs up in the stirrups, getting my pap. hmmm...

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Pain in the A-Word..

Out of sheer frustration yesterday, I asked my older son why his little brother was being such a pain. And my older son said "don't you mean a pain in the a-word?"
Yea, that's what I meant.

Friday, November 14, 2008

This Apple Fell From a Different Tree...

I had a parent teacher conference with my 8 year olds teacher this week. Without actually saying it, she pretty much said my son is a genius. She showed me some of his work, and some of the testing they've done on all the students, and he scored well above his grade level. Highest in his class actually.
I graduated high school, as did my husband. I went to college for 2 years and learned how to funnel beer with the best of them. My husband graduated from college on the 5 year plan, and later became a teacher. Genius is not something we breed in these parts. But apparently, for some unknown reason, we have spawned a child that could quite possibly exceed anything his parents have ever accomplished. Every parents dream really! I just hope that he realizes his potential. And don't worry.. I plan on being there to constantly remind him! Someone has to take care of our old asses someday!!!

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

His Winter Jacket..

Every morning, when my five year old gets on the bus, he does the same exact thing. He sits directly behind the bus driver (in what my older son calls the little kids seat) and waves to me 5 or 6 times, with the most adorable shy smile.
This morning, all he did was glare at me. Not one wave, not one shy smile, just a pissed off glare. I couldn't believe it. There was of course reason I suppose in his five year old mind to blow his mother off, but really, I was still shocked.
The reason why he wouldn't wave to me, you wonder? Well, please don't report me to social services, or make a call to child and family services, but this morning, for the first time this fall, I made him wear a winter jacket. I know..I know. The horror! Instead of letting him wear his flimsy transformer "windbreaker" (which I despise btw) I made him wear his brother's old North Face fleece jacket! One that he barely wore because it never fit him quite right. I tried explaining to him that everyone is wearing winter jackets now, and that his teacher is going to think I'm nuts if I let him wear his other jacket to school. Of course reasoning with him is something neither one of us does well. He basically cried about how he didn't like his coat until the bus came. Then to punish me, not one wave. That's ok. He'll be home before I know it (with his jacket stuffed into his back pack) and most likely will feel badly for not waving to his mother.

Monday, November 10, 2008

say what?

My girls had their speech evaluation today. One of them qualifies for services, and the other one doesn't. The silver lining: the other one is going to be right in the middle of all the sessions getting her free and not necessary speech therapy! yea for twins!

Flattery will get you everywhere.. or at least on my blog roll!

I have always been a low maintenance kind of girl. A simple compliment will usually get you whatever your heart desires (just ask my husband! Or my 4 kids!)
So, when I got an email from the author of a new blog called "Hotel New Hampshire", asking if I would exchange links to our blogs, because he is a "Fan" of "4 Kids.." I just about shit, and said "of course I'll link you!!" So here it is.. check it out.. looks like he's going to have some great work on NH and all the great places here in our fine little state!

Sunday, November 09, 2008

missing in action..

My sister told me today that I needed to update my blog.. I told her that I really didn't have much to say..nothing really to update.. of course that's not all true. I guess in the past week since I last wrote, lots has happened.. We had our first showing in a month. The woman "loved it" but loved something else more and made an offer on it. Secretly I'm hoping it falls through. The house we had put an offer on a couple of weeks ago was sold to someone else. Making that the last house in our town that we can afford. Who knows what else will pop up.
I've been trying to prepare my children for Thanksgiving this year. And you wonder, what could they possibly need preparation for?? Well, it that would be my sister's brother in law who will be joining us this year. I haven't seen him in years, but about 4 years ago, he was in a horrible car accident and burned most of his body..and his face. I can't begin to imagine how my kids are going to react to him. Hopefully they won't stare too long, and hopefully he's prepared himself as well. I'm sure he's used to little kids and their filter less mouths. My 5 year old has told me that he will just stay home with his dad. Too bad for him, his dad will be joining us as well.
Tomorrow my girls are having a speech evaluation done here at the house. Yes, all of my children have had some sort of speech issue. It's not like they don't talk, jesus, I can't get them to shutup. The girls though have their own little twin language, which is the cutest thing ever, but it's completely unintelligible, and could really hinder their ability to communicate the rest of us that aren't privy to their little gibberish club. If they do qualify, then they will provide the service here, free of charge. Thank goodness.. the good thing too is that I'll know tomorrow before they leave if they qualify.
I rented Sex and the City Friday night, and just finished watching it tonight. It was good. Not good enough that I would have gone out and bought a new shirt to see it (much like my gay friend did..) But I suppose he just wanted an excuse to buy a new shirt.. Anyway, everyone is in bed, including my husband.. so I'm going to head there as well.. it's been a long weekend, with gray skies, and too much rain.. which btw has been falling on our very dry uncovered wood. nice. I guess we're just "washing" it..ridding it of it's bad karma!

Friday, October 31, 2008

Screwed by Wood.. and not in a good way!

I found a guy on facebook that I went to high school with. He was advertising 2 cords of wood for $395, delivered. I got in touch with him, and told him that I wanted his wood! That is after all, a great deal. He came today with a friend, and delivered the first cord. I gave him a check, made out to his friend, and they went on their way to get the other cord. About an hour later, I got a call from him saying he thought there was a miscommunication, and that it was actually $395 for one cord. Um, yea, I guess there was a MAJOR miscommunication. I had specifically asked him over the phone if the price was for both cords, to which he replied yes. When I told him that over the phone today, he denied that, and said that he had told me it was only for one. ugh.
I told him that I didn't want the other cord, as I could not afford almost 800 bucks for two cords of wood. I paid $250 last year for a cord, and I know the prices have gone up, but really? I mean we had a conversation about it, and his ad said "2 cords, $395, delivered"
I had to make that call to my husband of course, the one where it inevitably becomes my fault, even though clearly it was not. I went back to this guy's facebook page to see the ad he had put up, but mysteriously, it had been deleted. what a douche!
I did make a couple of calls and found some wood for $350 a cord, so his price wasn't that far off. I had no idea the prices had gone up so much. But the point is, this guy totally lied to me, and I bought it. frick.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Daddy and his girls..

My girls love their daddy. Not having a very close relationship with my dad makes me appreciate my husband and the bond he has with his daughters.. They simply adore him, and the feeling is clearly mutual. Cuties..

The Kiddo's..


Thought it was time for a twin pic.. The boys are almost as big as the girls..

Friday, October 24, 2008

My Week..

Oh what a crazy fun filled week I've had.. let's see.. I'm feeling better (thank you) The cold has settled nicely in my chest, so I'm only wheezing, but not blowing my nose nearly as much. We got turned down by the owners of the house we want, I can't say as I blame them, I would never accept an offer with a contingency in this market, but I had fun decorating my new house in my head.. it's still on the market, so the chance is still there that one day we can buy it (although the chance is slim to none, it's a chance nonetheless!) Yesterday I got so wrapped up in facebook, that I totally missed getting my oldest son off the bus, something that has NEVER happened to me, and hopefully never will. I will add though (as a lame attempt to defend myself) the bus was a good 5-7 minutes early.. I'm just sayin.. Anyway, I expected to see a tearful distraught boy get off the bus when I met it at his school, but he was actually fine. Thank god. I don't think I've ever gotten out of my house as quickly as I did yesterday, with 3 of my 4 kids in tow. I actually beat the bus back to school! Yeah me.. ok, so anyway, today I went to Heidi's for a play date, with Lnotes (Ctale was too snot ridden to join us). It was so much fun, and really, the mellowest play date I've ever been to. The 4 girls there, ranging from 16 months to 2 1/2 all played so well together.. although they really just played around each other, and I don't know how Heidi has managed to raise such a sweet girl (not that she isn't capable) But how many 2 1/2 year olds do you know that don't freak out when someone else is playing with all their toys?? Really. I've never witnessed that before. She is an angel! And I'm sure Heidi is thinking "Sure, but you should have seen her after you left!" and normally I would believe that sure, she's probably the devil with her cute little doggie shirt, and adorable blond hair, but I don't buy it! She's precious!
Anyway, I'm off to put my girls to bed, and enjoy a night alone (the hubbers is practicing tonight..) then tomorrow we're going to finish the soccer season (finally) and hopefully have a nice relaxing afternoon, with a nap for me! :)

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

I'm sick. I have been for the last couple of days. Nothing that requires me to take time off from my work, or that gets my husband to stay home and help me. Although I'm pretty sure that being hospitalized would be the only way that would ever happen.
Today my oldest son is home. He got a headache last night, and still has it. No one else is sick, which quite frankly shocks me. I still plan on going to the play date on Friay that was rescheduled from last Friday at Heidi's.. as long as I can find someone to get my youngest son off the bus, and that we remain relatively healthy the rest of the week.
In other news, it has officially been one week since we put our offer in on the house we want. And... we have heard NOTHING! The nerve.. but I'm pretty over it.. I've had a week to get all pissed, and it pretty much does nothing for me.
And lastly, my beautiful nephews are 1 today!! I can't believe that a year has passed already.. Currently, as I type, I have one crawling over my legs, and the other one emptying our movie drawer.. They have been so easy to take care of (in comparison to my own twins) And I look forward to another year getting to watch them grow! Happy Birthday Boys! them grow! Happy Birthday Boys!

Sunday, October 19, 2008

More on the birthday..

Last night, my sisters and I took my mom out to dinner at the Holy Grail in Epping. It was pretty good, despite the hour wait.. we got a waitress that my twin and I knew from our days in Newmarket. The owner used to work with my husband, teaching social studies. And his wife, who was the hostess, was an o.b. nurse that helped deliver 3 out of my 4 children, and all of my sister's kids.. It was like being at home really, except that we were in different positions!
The best part was giving my mom her birthday cards. I gave her mine first.. just a card, something I had picked up 10 minutes prior to our get together.. A very nice, sweet card about what a great mom she is, and how much I loved her.. yada yada.. this was followed by my twin sister giving her the card she had gotten, earlier in the day, at a different store. It was the same exact card. There are thousands of cards out there. Thousands. Yet we picked the same exact one. It has to be more than a twin thing.. pretty funny if you ask me!

Happy Birthday Mom!!!


We celebrated my mom's 60th birthday today.. I made her a cake.. here it is.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

I ended up having to pick up my son yesterday at school, and bring him to the dentist to have his teeth checked. The nurse thought he may have chipped them, but he didn't. And the cut on his chin was only a scratch, and luckily the little boy who tripped over him, didn't fall on him, because this "little" boy is a moose! And now I'm home with my girls, my niece and my nephew, and it would appear that one of my girls is a bit under the weather, all this the day before we are supposed to go visit Heidi for a play date.. I'm hoping that we can still make it! I'll keep you posted Heidi!
Last night we put an offer in on the house we want (not that we want it as bad as the house with the elevator.. but we want it nonetheless. We should hopefully hear later today if it's accepted. I have little hope that we'll actually move, especially since we've had no interest in our place since we lowered the price. When will I learn?? At least my house is clean! ugh, I'm so tired of saying, and hearing that!
Ok, gotta go.. 2 sets of twins are calling!!

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

It's shaping up to be a great week!

So I now know why I'm thoroughly exhausted, despite being the parent to four children. I had my blood drawn to check my thyroid, and my levels are even higher than they were back in June when my doctor increased my meds. So, they are increasing them again, and I'll have it checked again in 6 weeks. Kind of sucks that I have to wait 6 weeks, but what can I do. At least I know it's not just me being lazy.. there's actually a medical issue.. ugh.. great.
Tonight my realtor is coming over and we are going to make an offer on a house. We lowered the price of our house, and are hoping the owners of the vacant house we want will accept our contingency offer. We'll see. Just one more thing to keep me awake at night, despite how exhausted I am. This is really turning out to be a lovely post! Really uplifting! To top it off, the nurse at my sons school just called and apparently he took a digger and scratched up his chin, and may have loosened some of his lower teeth (the grown up ones!) When she first said my son had fallen, I thought for sure it was my youngest one (he's the klutz in the family and frequent flyer at the ER) But no, it was my sensitive 8 year old, who fought back the tears, and surprisingly didn't ask to go home. The nurse is going to call me back in a bit, she's going to recheck his teeth in hopes that the bleeding will have subsided. jeez..

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

blech..

My realtor called me this morning, and the cool house with the elevator that I really really wanted, closed yesterday..and it closed for less than we would have offered.
That's ok though. I'm not going to cry about it (not anymore anyway) I've decided that we'll be here forever, in our cozy little home.. with one shower, and 3 really small bedrooms. This did prompt me to go on line and buy a subscription for 3 months worth of lottery tickets, as this is the only way we're going to be able to afford something in this ridiculously expensive town.
Well, I'm off to take care of all the kids..something that has been exhausting me, mentally and physically lately. The change in seasons always bums me out, and it's no different this year. I find the cool crisp weather just annoying. I'm not even enjoying my fall clothes, and I usually do. Of course they are the same fall clothes that I've been putting on for years now. Time for a new wardrobe! Unlikely though as every cent we get that doesn't go towards bills or the kids, is going into savings so that maybe one day, if we get an offer on our house, we'll look good for the bank. No one cares if I look good for the kids I watch! ugh..

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

Soccer

I am up to my eyeballs in soccer. Or so it feels. My youngest son is still kicking ass on the kindergarten team, and scores most of their goals. It's a riot to watch, and this has been so good for his self esteem. The only drawback is that his games are on Saturday mornings at 8. It's early, and cold! The girls have fun, but the oldest one insisted last weekend that she wasn't going to wear her shoes, her jacket, or her shirt. So I had one half naked 2 year old on my hands, and a bunch of parents looking my way, wondering what the hell I was thinking. I was merely doing them a favor by not making her put her clothes back on until she was ready, to avoid an ugly scene on the sidelines. It didn't take her long to decide that being half dressed wasn't such a great idea.
Later that morning it was my 8 year olds turn to play. Being in the third grade changes things slightly. They practice once a week, and instead of playing other teams from his school, they play other schools. They are still only 8 years old, so the accuracy in which they play is still up and coming. In my opinion, it's still supposed to be fun, and not so competitive. Unfortunately, my son's coach doesn't see it the same way.. She is clearly there to win, even if it means that she's only going to play the "better" players. And it also means that when the goalie lets 6 balls by him, she's going to throw her arms up in frustration and yell "what's going on??" to him.
Having said that.. my little boy is not one of the more skilled players. He is clearly there for the fun of it, which sadly is lacking. When he gets on the field he plays "around" the other players. He never once touches the ball, and when he runs, he gets his left arm swinging like a windmill. It's pretty amusing to watch.
My son was on the field for less than 10 minutes of the entire 40 minute game. Most of the other players were on for at least half, and there were some who played the whole game. I understand that at an older level, you wouldn't put in the "windmill kid" for a lot of playing time. But these kids are 8 years old. They should all play an equal amount of time. This is the age where we want to encourage them to love the sport. To see where they can go within their own limits. And to give them time to learn and practice their skills.
I'm not sure if my son will want to play next year. Thankfully he has no clue that he's being benched. He just has fun, playing with his teammates on the sideline, having a munchkin or two.
My husband emailed his coach later that day, and asked her what her philosophy on coaching was. He never heard back from her. He coaches middle school kids, and tries to give everyone an equal amount of time on the field, as much as he can anyway.
It's disappointing that my son got stuck with this crappy coach.. can I just add (on a more judgmental note) This woman has got the mullet from hell, and wears pink warm up pants! Or shorts, with tube socks pulled up to her knees! A total fashion disaster.. there, now I feel better!

Monday, October 06, 2008

Curse You!!

This is what I decided should be said after someone has just sneezed all over your kid! Bless You is just too nice.. why bless someone when they have probably just gotten your kid sick, and therefore your entire family. So curse you snot nosed little boy. Curse you..

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Hi, I'm Buzz Kill, nice to meet you..

I feel like I have somewhat deserted this blog. I don't really have time these days to sit down and type away. If I'm not cleaning the house, to keep it ready for a showing (which we haven't had in over a week) Then I'm tending to my kids, two of which were sick all weekend. And of course it was the youngest two, the babies.. sick with fevers and needing only to sit in my lap and pick at my hands, like they always do. This left little time for any cleaning, or blogging or just general living.
They are feeling better though, the fevers have gone, but they still need to sit in my lap, and pick at my hands, just to make sure I'm still there.. at least until the memory of their horrible sickness has disappeared.
Last week, I helped my nephew move a few things to his new apartment. We had to go to UNH where he had stored his bed and a few boxes at a friends house. It was still morning when we got there, so I was pretty surprised (for like a second) at the odor that greeted us as we walked in.. my old friend Mary Jane.. The two kids sitting on MY former futon (I had given it to my nephew, who in turn gave it to these stoners) must have pretty much shit their pants. In walks my nephew, followed by me. Mother of 4.. talk about a buzz kill.. I heard one of the kids mumble "Oh shit" and he quickly exited the room. I gotta say, I didn't care that they were in the middle of a wake and bake. Been there, done that. What was most disturbing, was that I was the cause of their buzz kill. I was the mom walking in on the kids getting high! Gone are the days when I would have sat down on that futon and waited for a turn.. When did I get so old??

Friday, September 26, 2008

"What the hell is that??"

This is a direct quote from my 8 year old about a bug he saw at the playground the other day. I know exactly where he gets this from (yes, his mother) But here's where I'm ok with the reaction. A couple of years ago, if he had seen this weird bug that we were all checking out, instead of this knee jerk response, he would have been screaming, and running for the car. Instead, he swore, and nervously awaited our response. That's progress people!

Dressing Yourself, at age 8...

Seriously, I would have thought that at 8 years old, getting dressed would be a snap. If I had let him, my 8 year old would have gone to school like this. With his shirt on backwards (a polo shirt no less!) And not have had a clue.. Is it just boys?? Or is it just my boy??

Saturday, September 20, 2008

The other C word..

Nothing puts things into perspective like receiving a phone call from a friend, telling you that he has lung cancer. That pretty much makes the selling of my house way unimportant. It also gives you the chills, and makes you want to throw up.
This friend was my first boyfriend. A guy that at one point in my life, I loved. He's now married, with 2 kids who attend the same school as my kids. In fact, his daughter is in my 5 year old's kindergarten class.
Talking to him this morning, for almost an hour about his diagnosis was heart wrenching. They don't know for sure if it's malignant, or exactly what his prognosis is. He had a biopsy yesterday, but the moron doing it couldn't find the golf ball sized tumor. He feels a bit in the dark about the whole thing at this point, and has to wait until Monday to meet with his doctor.
Amazingly, he's got a great attitude, and is determined to live to be 90. He smoked for a bit, but only socially, and that was about 8 years ago. He has the sweetest boy who at 2 was diagnosed with autism. He told me his biggest fear was not being there to help his wife with him, and of course not to see his kids grow up. I can't imagine what that is like, or how on earth he is even able to talk about it.
I just hope that whatever they determine is in his lung, is benign, and that he'll be ok. 38 is too young to die.

Friday, September 19, 2008

9/22

It would appear that our first showing was a bust. Some guy in a truck, looking for a place to put his king size bed. Yea, that's not going to really work in our 10x12 "master suite". His fiance wasn't with him though, and he loved the rest of the place, so we'll see if they might show up at the open house.
It was no easy task keeping my house spotless with my 2 girls running around. And then my poor 5 year old who got off the bus about 3o minutes before the showing, famished (as usual) I gave him pretzels and all but threatened him within an inch of his life not to get crumbs anywhere.. of course the entire bag of pretzels ended up on the floor, and he stood there awaiting his lashing.. There was none. I just picked them up, and decided it was time to leave.
Anyway, after hanging at my in laws for a bit, I got a call from our realtor with the "so-so" news about the showing. Then 2 hours later, she called back and said we had another showing on Saturday. This is more action than we had before, so it's all good.
We're heading back to the house with the elevator on Sunday with our brother in law, who is a carpenter, to check out the "bones" of the house. I know it needs carpet, and paint, but we have a storeroom of paint in our basement, and carpet isn't that expensive.. who knows what will come of any of this..
We have an alarm clock that we bought at the dollar tree for our camper. Somehow it ended up in our kitchen. It's the most annoying clock ever. For some reason the alarm goes off at 9:22 every morning. I can't figure out how to change it, so I just press a button or two every morning, and it stops. A few weeks ago, I decided that 9:22 wasn't just a number, but a date as well. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that on Monday, September 22nd, something really good happens. My husband reminded me that it could be something bad.. Of course he would remind me of that. He is the voice of reason after all. But these past couple of weeks, with all the work I've been doing around here, I have been inspired by this alarm clock, and that date.. I might be nuts, but I might be right!

Thursday, September 18, 2008

First Showing..

I got a call from my realtor today that we have our first showing tomorrow. Yea. Except that of course I have a ton of shit to do to get ready for it, and it's at 2:15, which is right in the middle of nap time for the girls, something I have a hard time giving up, but at least it's Friday, and they'll be in bed nice and early!
My husband is totally unavailable to help me out in any way because of work and then coaching after work, and of course his band, and yada yada..so it's all up to me. Thank god I am amazingly organized and already in pretty good shape. I was just thinking moments ago, about all that I've done in preparation for tomorrow.. here's a summary
-I painted our sun room (with the help of my sister)
-I painted our kitchen cabinets-solo
-I painted our downstairs bathroom, with some assistance from my nephews (sorry about the paint stains on their shirt!) hah!
-I totally cleaned out the basement and have staged it to be a family room/den, whatever.. which involved moving about 15 bins of storage to our attic, and lots and lots of cob web removal! I was one sweaty pig that day!
-I painted the front deck, including the floor
-I went through every closet, cabinet and drawer, organizing.. and tossing.
-I stained, painted and layed a new floor in the stairway to the basement (it looks really good, I might be most proud of this)
-I hung blinds
-I have washed almost every carpet in our house, much thanks to my mother in law and her bissell steam cleaner.
-Oh, and I've also kept up on the laundry, cooked dinner, cleaned dishes, done homework, given baths, changed diapers, read stories, and babysat for 3 other kids.. I have to mention my mom was invaluable, and helped me a lot with the childcare.. seriously, I couldn't have done any of this without her help.. But I am quite proud of myself, and if these jackasses don't make an offer by Monday, then I'm going to open a newly purchased can of paint, and inhale away..

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Post #900..

900 posts..damn. And what have I said?? I've complained a lot about my 5 year old, my husband and life in general. We've had our house on the market almost 3 times (tomorrow will make it our last try..sure..) I've deleted stuff..been to one blog and brew (which btw we are so far overdue for another one.) I've joined facebook, had two more babies, and gotten many more gray hairs.. I've been reacquainted with an estranged family member (which I've never blogged about) I've seen two children off to school.. I've welcomed 3 new children to our family, actually4, including my niece. I've seen my nephew, who is like a son to me, graduate high school, fail out of college and move back and forth from home to apartments.
I've been to funerals.. one of a young man who died far too young, and my best friends father, who was like a dad to all of us.. I've posted lots about poop. I've met some bloggers who have inspired me with their wit and their commonality, something we all share. I've discovered that just because you think you know someone, doesn't mean that they're always going to be your friend.. I've seen struggles, and joys and love.. I've had regrets over the last 3 years, and 900 posts. Not getting up to speak at my best friends fathers funeral being on the top of that list. I learned that fear grips me like nothing else. I've regretted not speaking up to my oldest sons kindergarten teacher (a.k.a the whore). I've regretted lots. But I don't regret the way my life is. How I've wavered through tough times, or how we have all come out of it. I survived the birth, and first year of twins! I think I can survive anything! At least I hope I can!

Saturday, September 13, 2008

This is the kid..

My 5 year old had his first soccer game today. He woke up crying that he didn't want to go, that he was scared. I told him that he was going to see a bunch of kids he knew, and that he would have tons of fun.
My husband left with him, to get him there for 8 a.m. and I met them there with the rest of the kids only moments later. He was already on the field, having a great time.
Soccer at the kindergarten level is pretty entertaining to watch. The kids are basically just running all over the field, more or less chasing each other. They started with a basic practice. My son, who kept to himself, ended up playing pass with one of the 2 coaches, because all the other kids had paired up. He didn't mind one bit. While all the other kids were passing the ball to the best of their 5 year old abilities, my son passed with accuracy, and stopped the ball with clear skill.
It wasn't long into the passing the ball drill, that I heard one coach, say to the other, "This is the kid" That's right. He's the KID!
After warming up, they split the team up into small groups, and scrimmaged against the green team. My son made one of the 2 goals, and the parents on the sidelines erupted into cheer. He was high fived when he got off the field, and more than one parent asked me what his name was. "Way to go!" He was on cloud nine! He spent the rest of the day telling me that he had scored a goal!
I remember being on the sideline when my 8 year old was playing on the kindergarten team, and seeing a kid who was clearly athletic, and clearly going to be a great player. Today that kid was my kid!

Tuesday, September 09, 2008

Moving Forward..

So my friend isn't ready to buy my house. He called me today and told me to move forward with our listing, and maybe in 6 months he'll buy it. I'm hoping to god that in 6 months our house will be sold, and we'll have moved on. I really hate the idea of the house being on the market. It's so much more work, to keep it clean, and the waiting game of showings, and inspections just sucks. A part of me totally does not want to go through that process again. Yet, as my children are getting bigger, the need is coming for us to have a larger place. Today was discouraging, but I emailed my agent, and I'm ready to get going.. I just hope it works this time! Although I won't be surprised if it doesn't!

The Clean Up..

I cleaned my basement yesterday. It was no small task, as there were about 15 bins that I had to move to our attic. I then found about 4 loads of laundry that my nephew had left from when he used to live here (about a year ago..) But we're getting the house ready to put on the market, and "staging" the basement was an important part of getting the house in tip top shape.
Later in the afternoon, I got a message from a friend of mine who said he might be interested in buying our place. He's going to call me today, and let me know.. I'm really hoping he wants it.. That would make my life so much easier.. we would save so much money not having to list it, and we could get into a new house (with an elevator!! haha..) in record time. Keep your fingers crossed!

Friday, September 05, 2008

The Gay Team..

My youngest son's soccer coach called tonight. They have their first game tomorrow. He's on the gray team, which is just going to be the color of his shirt, and an easier way to find his teammates amongst all the other kids. Unfortunately, with my son's speech delays, he has a hard time pronouncing his r's.
What a delight it was for my husband to come tonight and have his son run up to him declaring "Daddy, I'm on the gay team!!" We don't care what team our kids play on, we'll love them no matter what! Go Team!

Playdate..

So I am just winding down from having ctale, bbk, and everyday news over. It was a lot of fun. I had never met Heidi, and except for reading her blog on a regular basis, I had no idea what to expect. Of course she was great, and her daughter was one of the best behaved little girls I've met. My girls ever got along with her, and not once did they try to tackle her, or bite or even hit. I was pleasantly surprised!
We had a great lunch, with some wine, followed by some yummy cupcakes courtesy of Heidi. I lucked out and got my girls off for their nap, said bye to Heidi, and bbk, and then kicked ctales ass on the wii. She later watched my 5 year old kick my ass.
The highlight, besides the fore mentioned, was about 10 minutes after my 5 year old got off the bus, and was showing off his talents on the wii, when he whispered in my ear that he was peeing his pants. Then after our guests had gone, and I was cleaning up, I dropped a wine glass on my foot, and cut it. Nice. Don't worry though, I'm fine. And I'm pretty sure that the wine I drank had already numbed any pain I might have otherwise felt.
It was a good day. And I'm hoping that next Friday everyone will return, and hang with blogless and I.. For now, I'm trying not to be hungover (as it's only 4) and I have to work in about an hour.. Thank you girls for hanging out with me today.. I look forward to another playdate!

Dance Party!!

When these girls aren't trying to kick the shit out of each other, they actually have a lot of fun.. they loved our dance party the other day..

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

My sweet sweet boy.. who for the past five years has challenged me in ways I never knew were possible. The boy who has gnawed slowly at my soul with his whining.. the child who I cradled more than once in the emergency room as they stitched up his head and told him to be more careful.. I love him with all my heart, and today, on the day that I have been waiting for for half a decade.. I missed him..





I almost forgot..
My girls are finally sleeping in their own beds, all night! My husband has been sleeping on the couch since last November when they got sick and came into bed with me. Since then, I haven't been able to let them cry it out and get them to sleep all night without me. While the boys and I were away camping, he let them cry it out, and now I'm sharing my bed with my husband.. Yeah for him!

Nuts in the nut house..

There is so much more that I should be doing, instead of blogging.
Cleaning my house is priority number one.
We are on the hunt again. We found a house in our town, that we love, and can afford. We have a realtor coming by tomorrow to give us a CMA (comparable market analysis, or something of the sort). We're insane. But this house has an elevator! Yes, an elevator! Who wouldn't want one of those??
In other news, my 5 year old got on the bus this morning with his older brother, without me having to drag him on, or wipe away ANY tears! I was so proud! Of both of them.. my older son was talking non stop about all the things his little brother was going to do at school. He even sat in front with him (and the other little kids), but he'll only do that until his brother is comfortable enough to sit with someone else. I could see him looking back towards the middle of the bus where his best friend was.. I'm sure missing all the antics of the older kids. But he's taking care of his little brother, and trying to remember what it was like when he first started 3 years ago..
We're heading out to McDonald's or Burger King for dinner tonight.. part of why my little one didn't cry.. "If you're really good, and brave, we'll get happy meals tonight..." Nothing like being able to bribe your child with a heart attack in a box!

Monday, September 01, 2008

Two Kitty's

Here is the youngest daughter of blogless. She is such a cutie.. I promised her mom I would post this from our camping trip this weekend.. Here it is!

Thursday, August 28, 2008

His First Cracker..

I hope my sister and brother in law don't mind, but I gave this little guy a cracker today.. he did pretty good!
I've been so busy the last couple of days with school starting, taking care of my sister's kids (without my husband around) and trying to get ready to go camping tomorrow..

My oldest had his 2nd day of 3rd grade today. He had a great day yesterday, although he came home in tears because I wouldn't buy him a new webkin and he was going to have to wait until today because today is payday. Then my 5 year old had his kindergarten open house, which only made him cry once, when they said that the kids were going to take a small bus ride, WITHOUT the parents.. Luckily one of the aides in the classroom just grabbed his hand and lead him away. He was fine after that. He doesn't officially start until next Wednesday (I thought it was Tuesday.. ugh, but I guess I can wait another day before I send him off to school, I'm trying to contain my disappointment here.. ) Anyway, I'm surprised to say that I've really been missing my husband. Surprised only because normally, by the end of the summer, I am counting the days til he returns to school. But this summer he was actually a big help to me. I know, it surprised me too! He's not camping with us this weekend, but he's staying home with the girls. I'm looking forward to just having the boys to take care of and maybe enjoy this trip! Of course blogless will be joining us, so that will make it even more enjoyable..

So, here's a picture of my handsome 3rd grader.. I haven't taken one of his brother yet, as he hasn't officially started.. Oh, and on a different note, I am currently blogging while 4 of the 6 kids are napping! Yeah!!

Friday, August 22, 2008

Changes..

I'm done working full time for the summer. boo-hoo. I'll get over it. But it was a bit sad leaving work tonight, for the last time this summer.. I'll be returning to the full time mom position, that doesn't pay as well, but is definitely far more rewarding.. I'm looking forward to getting into our fall routine.. school, and sports.. and balancing it all. I work best under pressure, and there will be lots of that I'm sure! It's going to be nice to be getting my husband's paycheck.. It's not easy living on mine!
Next weekend, labor day, we're having our last summer hurrah, and going camping with blogless and her family. I can't wait. I'm sad to see the summer ending, as I always am. But like I do every fall, I try to focus on the fun things we can do as a family, and getting to wear my "fall wardrobe" which is always more flattering than the summers! I just hope that all goes well with the up coming start of kindergarten for my 5 year old, and 3rd grade for my oldest.. Here's to what I hope to be a great school year!

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Siblings..

We had an impromptu photo shoot tonight.. It's time I get these kids in and have some professional pictures again.. They are the epitome of brotherly/sisterly love, really, they are so good to each other, and take such good care of each other.. I hope that continues.. I don't ever want to forget these moments..




Our Anniversary Lobster Fest..

So my husband and I had a great dinner at Cartelli's in Dover.. and enjoyed the company of my older sister and her husband.. we then headed home to find all of the kids camped out on the living room floor. It looked like a possible disaster had taken place, but my mom said they just wanted to sleep there, and when you're the sitter, I don't care what you have to do to make your night as simple as possible.
Today we had our lobster. Yum. We got it at the basket, where they so kindly, steam them for you (free of charge as well). That has to be the worst part, putting those poor animals in a vat of boiling water, so I was quite pleased not to have to do that. I also got steamers, baked potatoes, and corn on the cob. The boys didn't want to join us at the kitchen table as the smell was making them ill. So the kids had their mac and cheese, and corn on the cob in the living room, and my husband and I enjoyed a wonderful seafood feast at the table without either one of us crying, or complaining that we didn't like was what being served. It was heavenly.
Currently the girls are watching Dora the Explorer, and having their before bed time milk, the boys are up in their room playing with their webkinz before bed. My husband is at yet another show, and in about 15 minutes, I'll have the couch, and the t.v. to myself.. I can barely wait!

Friday, August 15, 2008

For the love of God..

Do my neighbors, or my entire town for that matter, not know that I am raising a brood of scardey cats, and that fireworks after the fourth of July are just unacceptable? I'm trying to enjoy an evening alone (my husband is at a show, and all of my kids are in bed) However, the second they heard the zing of the first firework, by some douche bag down the street, the boys flew down the stairs, too afraid to go back to their room. Ugh.. seriously, come on folks, I just want an hour of peace and quiet.. just an hour. Is that really too much to ask?

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

10 Years (holy shit huh?)

In 2 days my husband and I will celebrate our 10 year anniversary. I had originally said that I wanted a new wedding band. After 10 years, I've decided the one I picked out a decade ago doesn't suite me anymore. However, with our finances the way they are, that likely won't happen, but I'm ok with that.

To celebrate, we had wanted to simply get out for the night, but our usual babysitter is in Canada this week. And even though we've had multiple offers by our wonderful family and friends, we've decided that we are going to have a family day, and hang out here.. I think lobsters might come in somewhere.. and despite my pleas for a party, it's going to just be us, and the kiddo's.. And really, I'm fine with that.

I got to thinking the other night about our life, and how 10 years has passed, in a shockingly fast manner, and what my life holds for me in the next 10 years. It will no doubt be filled with child rearing, as we are still only just beginning to go down that road. But in another 10 years, when we will undoubtedly be way less attractive, and have even less energy than we do now, we will also have an 18 yer old child, who we'll be getting ready to send off to college. The thought of that makes my stomach turn in knots, but then I'm brought back by the thought of having two 12 year olds, and a 15 year old. That makes my stomach do other things (like wanting to heave into the nearest container).

I don't really even know how we got here, 4 kids, a home, work.. it just seems surreal to think of what my life was like 10 years ago.. no kids. no cares, really. just him and I.. trying to make sense of having a marriage, and trying not to giggle every time I referred to him as "my husband". I find some pride in being married for 10 years, as I should right? My folks were married for 9 years, something I thought was huge when I was a kid.. but here we are, still in love.. still having that lust for each other (oh yes I did just say that!) And still excited about what our future brings..

plan change: my older sister and her husband are taking us out for our anniversary, and my mom is coming home from Canada on Saturday to watch the kids.. Lobster will be served on Sunday instead!

Thanks for thinking of me!


I just want to say thank you to my husband's girlfriend (aka the bass player in his band) for getting me a ticket to Radiohead tonight too.. Oh, wait, he DIDN'T! Instead of getting to see a show at what used to be Great Woods, on this beautiful night, I'm at home with all 4 of my kids.. My husband on the other hand is with his buddy, and his buddy's girlfriend seeing a kick ass show. You suck dude.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Pigtails..

The fun is endless having girls.. I remember when my sister and I were 10, my aunt had a baby boy. We dressed him as often as we could (and as often as we were allowed to) like a girl. Sometimes right down to make-up and nail polish. Surprisingly my aunt never minded... The girls finally have enough hair for pigtails, and their toes are already painted.. I'm so not a girly girl, but it's fun playing with my own! I guess if I had been given some barbie dolls during my childhood, instead of being sent outside to be a tom boy, my girls wouldn't cringe when I come at them with the brush and elastics.. Anyway, how cute are they??

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

She looks too cute to be dangerous, don't ya think?


Here is one of my girls, in a shirt I found that one of my good friends gave me a while back. It is completely fitting that she be wearing this shirt, with this particular statement on it. She's the twin who gave me a black and blue eye a few weeks back, and the one who has decided the only way to communicate with anyone is by giving them a good bitch slap on whatever body part she can reach. It's charming. Unfortunately, she has decided that hitting my sister's 9 month old twins is a great way to let out some of her pent up aggression (although why someone who lives like a queen would have pent up anything is beyond me) She's learning, and by god, if I don't end up bitch slapping her myself in the process, then we might be in pretty good shape!

"I don't know how to tell you this mom, but you're fat!"

This is what my 8 year old had the nerve to say to me the other day. I couldn't believe it. First of all, I don't think he really thinks I'm fat, nor do I think people would describe me as someone who was fat. But being a woman, with feelings, and issues in the past regarding weight, this was a rather crushing statement for my son to make.
I know he was just kidding around with me. He's at the awkward stage where he doesn't really know what's funny, and what can be rude. Trust me, he's learning. When I asked him if he had just said that I was fat, he got very defensive, and immediately starting back tracking and insisting he hadn't said that. I know at that point, he understood the joke he thought he was saying, was in fact something you should not say to anyone, thin, fat or in between. I don't think he'll go there again.
In hindsight, I should have not taken his remark personally. I should have just calmly explained that telling anyone that they're fat is just not a nice thing to do, and that it's hurtful. Of course if we could all parent in hindsight, we would have perfect little children who never did anything wrong. It's a learning process, and I get that. I think he took what I said to heart, and I don't think he'll be saying that to me, or anyone else again. At least that's what I'm hoping!

Monday, August 04, 2008

"No, I said shut your ASS, not your MOUTH"

This is what I heard my 5 year old son tell his big brother yesterday in the car, giggling all the while. My husband and I were speechless, which is not to say that we couldn't help laughing out loud. But after we told him that it was a bad word, and to please not say it again, we regained some composure and wondered where he learned that word. He couldn't remember.. This is what I'm guessing.. either the Family Guy, or the Simpsons.. a couple of shows that I learned last week their dad lets them watch sometimes.. when I'm not home.

I am constantly amazed at what my dear husband thinks is good, or not good for our kids.. Pop tarts, not so good. Foul mouthed cartoons for immature adults, not so bad.

A Couple Camping Pics..

Yes, that's me! In a picture!! See, I do exist, if not for this one photo. Actually, the only reason I'm in this picture was because I told my husband that my camera wasn't working, so he snapped this to prove me wrong.
Here is my oldest son, and my wonderful nephew, who joined us this weekend. He was a huge help (as always) and even skipped a shower for two days, which is a big deal to him!


The girls enjoying the beach.. I didn't put bathing suits on them as I thought they wouldn't go in the water. big duh on my part. The one in the gray shirt took a dive into the water, and had to be rescued by yours truly. My fear of the kids getting any water in their mouths was realized when she gulped quite a huge amount while waiting for me to save her.. She hasn't shown any signs of the water being toxic..

And here is my family on the beach, under the cloudy skies.. My mom stopped in for a visit, but refused to let me get a good picture of her. She couldn't see me from the back though!

Sunday, August 03, 2008

Next time..

I'll pack for our camping trip.
While my husband did an over all good job, he did forget one essential. Diapers. We didn't realize this until bedtime, after both of us had each had a drink or two and were definitely not about to drive to the store. I had swim diapers, which I thought would be just fine for the night, however the reason they are swim diapers is because they don't absorb ANYTHING, and I spent my entire night, changing the girls, who had soaked through 5 set of pajama's, our sheets, and my clothes as they both were laying on me most of the night..It really sucked. Next time I think I'll just wrap their butts in paper towels because really, that would have worked better. To top it all off, my 5 year old woke up during one of the babies changings, and had pissed the bed as well. He was sharing it with my husband, who had already lost his patience. It was a shining moment for us as parents let me tell you!
Anyway, we had a great time, despite being covered in pee no one has gotten sick from any contaminated lake water, and the camp ground was really nice. Last night they had "Christmas in August" where we joined a bunch of the campers in the rec hall and waited for Santa. He showed up, scared the beejesus out of my girls, and gave all the kids a present (provided by their folks of course) and then shared cake and ice cream sandwiches. The kids loved it. Hopefully we'll get back there again this month, but for right now, my husband and I are both camped out, and too busy doing laundry that smells like pee to even talk about another trip...

Friday, August 01, 2008

Camping..again..

We are going camping again with the kids this weekend. It's been a stressful event planning this. First of all, last minute camping is not something I want to take on again. Finding a place that was suitable to my husband turned out to be somewhat of a nightmare. He didn't want to have to drive far, and preferred to stay at a private campground rather than a state park because there is more to do for the kids. And he wasn't willing to pay jack shit for this. Well, two days ago we found a place that had a site available, and we booked it. Yesterday while we were out, we drove to see it. We knew it was on a river, but we didn't realize that the campsite was literally ON the river, with a rather nasty drop off.. Last night my husband and I were both tossing and turning with the thought of our kids (mainly the girls) falling into the river, wandering off into the river and so on.

That was the end of that place. So, on the Internet we went, searching for another place. Not too annoying a task, especially trying to find a place with availability today. We did find one, but the rates were ridiculous. I guess this is where my husband thinks karma took over, as I had called the first place and lied saying our daughter's were sick.. and begged not to be charged a cancellation fee.

After throwing my hands up in the air, and giving my husband the task of figuring this out, he found a campground that had reasonable rates, availability, and that was close to home. I was feeling sick all morning due to the stress of this trip. I have control issues, I want to be in control, and since I had to be at work all day, having no control over this was making me sick. Literally.
I only called home about 2 dozen times to make sure he didn't forget this, and that. I'm surprised that he even answered the phone honestly!

I am now anxious to get up there and see what kind of dump this is.. my husband googled the campground and found an article about dead fish turning up on the lake in April, and concern about whether or not there was something toxic in the lake killing these fish. The only consolation is that my kids don't swim. They can't swim, I should say. They'll only wade into their knees, so I guess as long as they don't drink the water, then they should be fine.. good lord.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

The Other Woman Reunion..

When I was in first grade, my sisters, my brother and I attended a Catholic school. I hated it. It was about 30 minutes from our home, so our parents made the commute everyday to bring us. One day, my father picked us up. This was a rare treat. He then took us out to a restaurant for an ice cream. We could barely contain our excitement at getting to hang out with our dad, and get a frosty treat as well.
Coincidentally, we ran into a fellow co worker's of my dads. She was alone, and joined us in our booth.
Two weeks later, my dad left us.
A week after that, I met the reason he left us. Again. It was the woman from the restaurant. She was my dad's girlfriend.
I remember the devastation, and at 7, feeling like I had been duped into meeting the "other woman". They were together for a few years after my folks divorced, and we saw her every other weekend. She had 2 small children, who were 2 and 3. This only compounded the hurt, as these young kids got to live with my father, when I could not.
I don't know how old I was when they broke up, or even the circumstances, but in a weird twist of fate, my mother and her became friends. I think they bonded over their despise for my father. For years after they split up, my mother and her kept in touch. Like many relationships though, they lost touch, and it's been a long while since they've spoken.
I haven't seen this woman in years, I think I may have been a teenager the last time I saw her. Sadly, her only son died in his early 20's of cancer, I only remember him as someone I was jealous of.
My dad is bringing her over for a visit on Thursday. I have no mixed emotions about seeing her. I'm actually looking forward to it. I don't hold any resentments towards her. She was young, as was my dad, and that is just the way life unfolded for all of us.
It wouldn't be a full-on dysfunctional reunion if my mom wasn't here too, so of course she's coming on Thursday as well. It's a mother fucking crazy world we live in, eh?

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Let's take a look back, shall we??

I was going through my blog the other day, something I don't normally have time for when I'm at home, but since I'm working 8 hours a day away from home, I have all sorts of time for rereading my blog entries. I thought I would republish a couple.. I'm getting some traffic from facebook, and I thought this would sum me up, in a post or two..

This is one back from when I was pregnant with my twins, and utterly exhausted, and dealing with my then 2 year old was something I wasn't very good at.. you'll see!

Another story about my twin pregnancy (not for people who don't want to read about me crapping!)

This one goes way back.. when I only had 2 children, and lord, if I had known what was coming, there would have been a couple of other "do-overs" as well..

Here's one that is about my sister, during her twin pregnancy.. another one about poop!

And one more.. about my dear husband, and the kitchen table he built for us.. my handy man

Hope all 3 of you enjoyed this.. ;) hehe

The check is in!

After much debate, my husband and I decided to keep any sort of check we got from the insurance company, after the slight damage done to his car last week.. The check came yesterday in the mail. It's amazing what $1200 can do to make you feel so much better.. We have already decided that we are just going to run his car into the ground (it's a '98 and has been payed off for some time now..) The cash comes in quite handy this time of year, and we can certainly live with the guilt of not getting it fixed.. We enjoyed dinner last night at Margarita's (and when I say "last night" I mean about 4:30, we owned that dining room!!) And now we have a cushion that will get us through until school starts, and my husband gets a pay check.. I'm so fine with this! No moral dilemma here.. I think that if I had to suffer through getting hit twice, all the while thinking this guy was trying to kill me, than this is money I'm owed.. right?

The Smell..

I forgot to mention one other thing about the fair.. the smell.. Christ, it was like walking through an immense pile of shit. All day. My kids kept asking me, until there was no longer any point. Yes boys, it's shit! Lots of it.

Saturday, July 26, 2008

The Stratham Fair..

The Fair is a great way to blow a lot of money. If you have extra cash laying around and want to get rid of it in less than 30 minutes, then the fair is just what you're looking for. We lucked out on the way in as they only charged my husband and I the entrance fee ($7 each). But that was as lucky as we got. We were there less than an hour with $60 and soon had only 5 buck left! And all we did was go down the super slide once, got 3 fries, and 2 soda's, and each of the boys played a game, trying unsuccessfully to win a stuffed animal.
They sell tickets for the rides, and each ticket cost a dollar. Each ride cost as least 3! We couldn't even afford to go on the Ferris wheel.. it would have cost us $12 for one ride, with me and the two boys. As it was, it cost $7 for just one ride down the "super slide" for me and the boys! $7??? Insane.
I'm never going back there.. especially after I read this letter to the editor yesterday. (the second letter down). Ridiculous!

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

More Loser Parenting..

Mondays this summer we have had speech appointments for my 5 year old at 9:30. This past Monday at 9:40 I called the school in a panic because we had totally forgotten. Yesterday morning I called my son's dentist at 8:30 to confirm what time his appointment was (even though my husband had gotten the reminder call the night before and swore it was 10:30, but wasn't totally sure..) So, of course his appointment was at 8:30. Luckily we live about 5 minutes down the road and they said we could still come.
The funny thing about these parenting faux paus lately, is that we are only experiencing this while my husband has been off on summer vacation, helping out with our normal routine. I've decided if he just stayed out of it, and concentrated on things like fixing our dryer, or the nasty smell in the basement, or the broken door knob in our downstairs bathroom, then we would most likely all get to where we need to go. I'm just sayin.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Our dryer has sadly died.. or at least we can't seem to get it working despite my handyman husband's effort at installing a new heating element (kudos to him for at least trying..) We dropped a bunch of money to get another warranty, and someone is coming on Thursday to fix it. Meanwhile, having 4 kids and no dryer, along with the rain we've been having, has made mountains out of my already staggering laundry pile.. My husband is currently at his folks house drying some towels so that at least we can shower.. what a guy.
In other news.. my mom, mother in law, and 2 of my husband's siblings came by today with gifts for the girls birthday. At some point I'm going to get my shit together and throw them a party, maybe when they're 3!
I also wanted to shout out a big CONGRATS to my dear friend Jake, and his wife Britt on the news of their twin pregnancy! Couldn't have happened to a nicer couple! Best of luck to you both!! I always knew you would end up with more kids than me!! ;)

Happy Birthday!

My beautiful girls are two today.. It's so hard to believe that 2 years has already passed.. I look forward to the next 2 years.. I only hope it slows down a bit..

Friday, July 18, 2008

Don't worry, I'm fine!

This is what I told my husband today when I called him from work to tell him that his car (that I was driving) had been hit.

I went to the bank on my lunch break today. I pulled into the parking lot behind a mail truck. He parked outside of the bank, on the left side of the parking lot on the opposite side of the parking spaces, and ran inside. I could see beyond his truck that an elderly couple was exiting the bank, so I waited for them to cross the parking lot. As I'm waiting, I see out my passenger side window that there is a truck backing up, and he clearly doesn't see my husband's little honda civic sitting there directly behind him. Being that it was my husband's car, I could not react fast enough, and find his stupid horn (in my car the entire steering wheel is the horn, not so in this car) Despite my yelling for him to stop, and having absolutely no where to go thanks to the mail truck and the pedestrians, he plowed right into the passenger door. Bummer. The little old couple stopped dead in their tracks, and watched this unfold. The guy pulls his truck up, and seconds later, his reverse lights come on again, and he's heading for me and my car- AGAIN! wtf!! Still, no horn. wtf!! He hits me again. And for what seemed like an eternity, I'm thinking that this man is insane. Something terrible has happened to him in the bank, maybe he robbed it, and I'm in his way, and he's not stopping until he gets me out of the way. I was pretty much totally freaked out by this point. But then, finally, I find the horn.. just as the guy is getting out of his truck. Swearing. Nice, I think.. he's going to want to blame this on me. And still, I can't move, because that old couple is still frozen, watching. It only takes me seconds to realize that this guy is swearing at himself, and calling himself names. Clearly, he knows he fucked up. Thank god.

That did not however stop me from asking him "What the hell are you doing??"
"I'm such an idiot.. I didn't know I hit anything"
"You didn't feel that when you hit me the first time??"
"I thought it was the curb"
UGH!!!!!! The curb?? Ok, whatever. Finally, the old couple realize that they need to move out of my way, and I parked my car and exchanged info with the guy. He ended up being really nice, and felt really bad about ruining my day. It didn't really ruin my day, it wasn't the highlight, and I had a hard time writing down my name and number because I was shaking (I really did think for a second that he was trying to kill me, or at least run over my little car..) The guy was on his way to his insurance company and I asked him not to call my house for at least 20 minutes, so that I could call my husband and tell him what had happened first.
When I did call my husband, and give him the ridiculous story, he asked me if it was possible that I was parked where I shouldn't have been parked. Hello? Numb nuts? I wasn't parked! And clearly, yes, I was in fact somewhere I shouldn't have been, right behind some old guy with a really bad comb over, and a blind spot bigger than the dent in my husband's car. So, yea, I guess it kind of was my fault.. but don't worry... I'm fine!

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

What has happened to Andy Dick?

I could barely recognize him, with the exception of his ass chin. Here is his mug shot after he was arrested this morning for sexual battery. Allegedly he groped a 17 year old outside of a bar, pulling down her top. Nice.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Moral Dilemma (that is, if I had any..)

No, of course I have morals.. there's many things that I wouldn't do because of my morals. This is one I've been struggling with the past few days. Ctale's wedding is this weekend. I told my husband months ago that I was going to have to buy a new dress, and shoes. Of course he said I didn't need to buy any clothes and to just find something in my closet. This is truly sad, but the only dress I have in my closet, is my wedding dress.. I don't think ctale would be so cool with me showing up to her wedding in a white gown.
So, ignoring his ridiculous request that I not spend any of the money we don't already have, I went out Saturday dress shopping with the babies (who in fact were so well behaved, I couldn't believe it. Shopping with 2 almost 2 year olds does not sound fun, but it actually was!) Anyway, I found 2 dresses that I really liked. So, I bought them both. My husband was so psyched!!
Here is where my dilemma, of moral and other origins begin. I love both of the dresses. I'll obviously only wear one to the wedding. The one I'm leaning towards, is something that would be far too dressy to wear any other time, and the other one I could totally wear again.. My dilemma is that I've decided to wear the fancier dress to the wedding, hide the tags, and return it. I know how terrible that sounds, but I really like the other one. In fact, the tags are still on that as well, but I wore it to work yesterday. I guess I could still return them both.. I'm a shit. I'm going to wear the fancy one, get a stain on it, so that I'll have to keep it, and tear off the tags of the other one, so that will be mine as well. Wow, I guess I just solved my dilemma! Sort of.. blogging can be so therapeutic! hah!

All Choked Up..

My mom is in Canada this week, vacationing. She called me this morning and told me that I was going to have to thank her friend for saving her life yesterday. Apparently they were at Costco, having a hot dog, when all of a sudden she started choking. She said the experience was surreal. She was very calm, and felt like she was going to just go to sleep. When my nephew, who is up there with her, asked her if she was ok, she calming shook her head no, and was about to hit the floor. Her friend then got up and preformed the heimlick, and my mom coughed up a huge chunk of hot dog. This caused quite a commotion as you can imagine, but my mom was fine, and told the help at the counter that they didn't have to call anyone.
I can only say, that this is something that would indeed happen to my mom.. sure plenty of people choke, but the way it happened, and the fact that she stayed so calm is very much like my mother. She wouldn't want anyone to worry, and she certainly wouldn't want any attention. Luckily she's fine.. she's a cat with 9 lives, and I swear she's used them all!