A Cheap Outting in NH

This afternoon, at roughly 3:30, I suggested to my husband that we take the kids to the beach. A place where we both pretty much hate. I hate the sand, the ocean water (salt in my hair does nothing for it!) and again, the SAND!

But surprisingly, he agreed. I was in shock! Really. It was when he asked me if this would be the girls first trip to the beach, and besides a trip we took there when they were 4 weeks old and I almost dropped one, that he was sold on the idea. Our babies going to the beach....

So, living only 10 minutes from the beach (I know, you people must think that because I live so close I would be there all the time. But we have a short coast here in NH. The water is frigid, and the people are, well, gross.)

Anyhoo, I couldn't believe how much fun the kids had, and the babies! It was like they had never seen sand before (and yes, we do have a sandbox) But they just dug.. and dug.. it was really cute. My boys, who just last year were cowering at the sea gulls, lay in the sand and let the water wash over them! It was, in this mother's opinion, a HUGE step.

So here are a few pics from the day..

Camping Highlights..

There's just too much to write about this weekend, so I thought I would give you all the condensed version of the family trip..

-The weather was beautiful.. not a drop of rain fell from the sky.. I couldn't help but be a little bitter about the crap weather we had just last weekend for the girls only camp out.

-My sister saw a bear, while pushing her babies in the stroller. Kind of creepy..

-My youngest son sliced the bottom of his pinkie toe wide open on our 2nd day there.. while sliding.. He's fine, but he did spend the majority of Saturday in a stroller, refusing to walk..

-Blogless and her family were with us, and she totally saved the day by using her newly registered nursing techniques to clean up my son's foot, and change the bandage regularly. He wouldn't let me near it.. I guess being a mom doesn't quite carry the same credentials as being an RN (at least that's what he learned!) :)

-My youngest daughter woke up Saturday morning with a fever. That could have been worse. She was still easily distracted by all the kids there to play with. She's got a ton of mosquito bites, so naturally my husband thinks it's EEE... and naturally, I don't.

-Speaking of kids, there were 13 in our group, to 11 adults. Not too bad a ratio!

-My husband is a sucky driver. And I'm an even worse passenger. Let's just say that I spent most of our ride home today looking back at the kids, choosing to talk to them rather than fight with him.

-It's not as awkward taking a crap in the morning with all your girlfriends, as it is with your sister in laws.. I'm not sure why..

Anyway, that pretty much wraps it up.. there was of course lots of eating, and drinking, and lots of packing and unpacking, but it was really fun, despite the horror of my son's bloody foot and the fever, and even the bear. I'm hoping to get back there at least once more before the summers done..

Today my husband burnt his fingers on the lawn mower. This made me 3 hours late for work.. a place I had desperately wanted to be, considering the fact we had 8 kids here today, most of whom were stuck to me like glue.. Oh, and where is my darling husband, the eve before we go away for the weekend? Why he's at soccer of course.. grrrrr...

40 Fingers and 40 Toes..

Add it up people. That's a lot of friggin digits to clip.. and I was embarrassed by how long those nails had gotten.. but ever since school got out the need to make sure my kids were "presentable" has wained.. sorry guys!

Congrats to my sister and her husband for the purchase of their very sweet new pop up camper.. that girl has always got to one up me!!

Memories.. and whatever else Bab's sang in this song..

We're heading out to go camping on Friday.. it's been insanely stressful, and chaotic for me with all the shit I have to do to get ready for it.. We all went out after work tonight to get groceries. This was probably not ideal, as my 5 year old was exhausted enough, and spent most of the time at the store whining about how he needed new shoes because the new ones he has were still giving him blisters.. but we moved forward and got most of everything we needed..
I keep thinking about how these memories are going to be with them forever. The ones where we go camping, and have family time together. This weekend is going to be so much different than my last weekend of camping. Obviously. There isn't going to be the luxury of getting to sleep in til 8 (yes, 8 was the latest I could sleep) and there won't be the luxury of going pee, alone, whenever I want. It's going to be a lot of work, but well worth it for what I hope my kids take with them into adulthood. The memories of hanging out with their cousins, making s'mores by the fire, running around with their glow bracelets (which I have to get more of because I decided last weekend would be a good time to break them out- yea, I was the only one having fun with those!) And just being a kid.. and loving every minute of it! Wish me luck.. I know I'm going to need it!

Dumping It..

Here are my good friends blogless, and lnotes (aka bbk mom) heading out for a kayak ride.. You have to watch this.. it's hysterical!! And thank you to ctale for emailing me this!!

Camping in the Rain..

Really sucks. I know I had been saying that I didn't even cared if it rained.. but it turns out I did.. Actually it didn't rain Friday, that turned out to be our nicest day weather wise. Saturday was cold and overcast, and rained in the evening.. a lot! Then this morning, we had a storm like I haven't seen in quite sometime.. torrential rain, thunder and lightening. Yea, it was fun packing up our shit after that.. I think we're probably still all drying out.

Despite the shit weather, we still had a LOT of fun! Ctale was living in a fantasy thinking that other campers would assume we were college kids up there to party. Well, we partied, but I'm not sure if we would have been mistaken for college kids.. we can only hope..

Here are a few pics..




The bride to be celebrating her freedom for the weekend.. that's blogless in the background celebrating as well (in her own bootylicious way)
These are the two trees that my sister had to navigate through to get my camper onto our site. She totally rocked..
And here again is ctale, with her new friend Ted.. she is no doubt going to be ripped at me for posting this picture, but what kind of bacherolette party would it be without a blow up doll and a peni$ shaped lollipop?? right?

This Weekend..

So, this is the weekend I've been anxiously waiting for.. the girls weekend to celebrate ctale's upcoming nuptials.. The guys had their weekend last weekend, which included a lot of drinking, playing the Wii and more drinking. I guess the did some boating and fishing too, but my husband has been less than forthcoming with any details.. not that he's hiding anything, that is just him, plain and simple.
We're leaving Friday morning, and won't be coming home until sometime on Sunday.. I can't tell you how excited I am to get all that time for myself.. with no one crying at my feet, no one needing me for bum wiping, diaper changing, lunch making or anything at all!!! Sounds like paradise to me!

Wii Had Our First Injury...

My poor unsuspecting 5 year old, watching his brother playing tennis on the Wii, minding his own business ended up getting this small cut/bruise when his brother got a little over zealous and knocked him in the face. Of course this went over BIG.. my 5 year old is not exactly graceful in handling an accident.. but it did give him this impressive looking mark, that I've been convincing him is cool (in hopes of lessening some of the dirty looks directed at his big brother, who felt horrible enough..)

Kidz Rule, don't they??

I got an email the other day from a marketing person at a NH magazine for kids. It's called Kidz Rule USA. They want to send me free samples of their magazine and then post a review on my blog, with a link to their magazine. I am more than happy to do that, their website looks like it has a lot of great stuff for kids.. So, here in advance, is a link their site.. http://www.kidzruleusa.com/ I'll have more about it as soon as I get the mag, and have my kids determine if they like it or not (which of course I'm sure they will..)

Phew..

3 weeks ago, I emailed my boss asking her if she needed extra help during the summer, as my husband would be home to help out with the kids. Well, after 3 more emails, she finally has given me hours. Yee ha.. I was sweating, really I was.. my husband is a teacher, and the summer means no paycheck. And while we have a bit in savings, it just wouldn't have been enough.. Every January, I start to bug my husband about what he's going to do for the summer.. because he always says he's going to get something. But of course he never does, and so it ends up being me.. Which is fine, seriously, I have no issue getting out of my house for an extra 30 hours or so a week.. and he's going to be helping out with my sister's kids as well.. that's going to make for some pretty juicy blog material. Anyway, I can finally breathe a huge sigh of relief.. it feels good.

On To 3rd Grade..

I was at my oldest son's school today, for his end of the year party in his classroom. I hadn't been able to volunteer this year as much as I had in the past, so to get to see him in his element was a treat.
I couldn't get over how much older he seems. He's so confident, and comfortable around his peers. So much different than kindergarten or first grade, where I worried so much about him fitting in, and feeling comfortable. Clearly he has found his niche.
At the end of the party, before dismissal, the school did something that they do every year, but that I had never heard of before. All the students stand in their hallways, listening to the song "Celebration" over the p.a. system, and wait for the graduating 5th graders to parade down the halls, being cheered and high fived all the way. They'll be moving onto the middle school next year. This is how they say goodbye. It was very sweet, and exciting, and oddly sad. I don't know why I became so emotional, whether it was my raging hormones (PMS) or seeing that it won't be long before my own young son and first born will be parading down that hall as well.. but when I heard the song being played on the radio, I felt totally overwhelmed by emotion and had to hold back the tears. It was bordering pathetic, really. Kool and the Gang should not have that affect on me! But whatever, it was still a sweet moment, as I stood in the hallway, holding my youngest son's hand, and watching from a distance, my oldest son growing up before my eyes...

My Good Boy.. something I don't often refer to him as..

My youngest son had his first day of orientation for Kindergarten yesterday. I remember what it was like when I took my oldest son.. I think I actually may have gotten a bit weepy, and had the shits for days just worrying about it.. My how times have changed! I was prepared for my little one to be all upset, and clingy. I was prepared to pretty much have someone have to tear him away from my leg screaming, but he shocked me, and went away with the teacher, just like my oldest son had done 3 years before him.

I was so happy for him. So impressed.. At times, he surprises me and is more grown up than I sometimes give him credit for. He does after all, act like the spawn of Satan on most days.. although he can be an incredibly loving and caring little boy. It was so nice to hear all the teaches comment on what a nice boy he was, and how well he did. I've been worried that he was going to be compared to his older brother, and I'm sure he will be (his brother is a god send to the teachers at his school, from what I'm told..don't wanna brag, but he's wonderful to have in a classroom..) It would appear that his little brother may be just like him.. sweet, attentive, and well behaved (I can't believe I'm using these words to describe my 5 year old.. seriously!) But I'm so glad that I am..

Happy Birthday!!

Today is my twin sister's birthday (and of course mine as well.) But I'm not posting about me, I'm posting about her, and what a wonderful sister she is.. She should be recognized on this very special day.. the day that I wrestled her out of the womb first.. the day that I have always shared with her.. So Happy Birthday you ass face! (see, it wouldn't be a birthday wish, or term of endearment unless I said something really rude to her.. she gets it!) And thanks for giving me the day off from taking care of all those kids.. oh wait, you didn't! I keed, I keed.. Really, Happy Birthday from your better half..

Grocery Shopping, with 3 kids..

Don't do it. Or try to avoid it if at all possible. Especially if 2 of them are under 2 and require constant supervision, and one of them is 5 but acts like he's 2 and simply can't walk beside the cart, but needs to be in it, until he is so literally covered with the groceries that he starts crying that his legs hurt because the box of crackers are crushing them..
And when you're checking out, try to find an aisle with no candy, otherwise you're going to be picking up about 20 packages of random candy bars off the floor because the girls think it's fun to just toss shit on the floor. Of course you have to buy them each one package of candy, or the feisty twin will just walk away to another aisle, perhaps in hopes of finding a mom who will let her have the pretty purple bag of M&M's (which are dark chocolate btw, and they ate one, and threw the rest on the floor of my van..) And finally, when the bagger asks you if you need help, say "Yes, would you be available to come to my house and unload all this shit too? That would be great, thank you!"

How we survived our first camping trip..

So this weekend went better than I think anyone of us could expect.. with the exception of my youngest son who has found his goal in life will be to torture my husband and I with his incessant whining, until we die. Other than that, it went great.

The campground was ok. I'm not sure if we'd go back to this particular place.. the sites were a little small, and so many of the people there, actually lived there.. So it had kind of a creepy, sorry that this your home kind of feel, but whatever, it was fun for what it was worth.

Here are a few pics from our little excursion.. the girls loved it btw, thankfully they slept great last night.. Here are the kids enjoying a little camp snack.. This is the site (duh) It was covered in gravel too, not the barefoot sort of campground.. Our girls wouldn't feel at home unless they got naked.. notice they are still in their shoes.. that would be the rock covered camp site keeping those on. The girls in their new double stroller (I got it from a mom at my son's preschool-for free!) Let me point out that this was one of the only times my husband actually pushed it.. and it was only so I could get this crappy pic. You didn't think he would actually stop walking so I could get the shot do you? And the girls getting their feet wet (with their shoes on of course!)

After this weekend, I'm looking forward to our girls only camping trip in honor of ctales wedding.. her bacherolette party weekend, more than ever!

So Long Douchie..

One of my favorite coworkers had his last day today. He's moving on to bigger and better things, and for that, I am really happy for him. But I'm also going to miss him.. I only got to see him every few weeks, but I always looked forward to getting to hang with him for a bit and catch up. He's a distant relative of mine (cousin by marriage or something..) And we have similar screwy backgrounds.. but he's a sweetheart, he hasn't found his true love yet, but she's out there.. And when he's not putting his foot in his mouth, he's really funny.. Anyway, good luck to you douchie! You better not be a stranger!

Last Day of Preschool...

Tomorrow is my youngest sons last day of preschool. No more drop offs, or pick ups, no more calming him down because Johnny Appleseed or Mr. Bingles the Elf scared the beejesus out of him. No more plastic bags of his peed on clothes tossed into my van at the end of the day. No more refusing to eat their snack because fruit and yogurt are not edible as far as he's concerned. No more pissing off the side of my van during drop off because I forgot to make sure he went before we left. No more waiting behind other mom's as they chatted while I waited to drop him off. No more awkward tea parties, or class trips. No more forgetting to donate gifts for Christmas, or forgetting to pass in a permission slip. No more gassing up my car every other day to get this kid where he needs to be. Just 2 months off, until he starts kindergarten in the fall.. 5 days a week, on a bus!!! Yee Ha!

Mr. Big Nut

I had totally forgotten about this nickname. When my oldest son was 2, he had a hernia. One day after swimming in his little pool when I changed his diaper, his right testicle was swollen to the size of a golf ball. After that, I started calling him Mr. Big Nut.
He ended up having surgery a week later. He was a different kid after that. He went from being a bit of a crab, to having not a care in the world.. it's amazing how irritated a kid can get with a cup or so of fluid in his ball sack!

Turd Ferguson..

I don't know what it is that makes my 3 year old niece undress in the bathroom, stick her finger in her butt, and come running down the hallway with a dollop of shit on her finger laughing all the way.. Could someone please explain?

Welcome Back bbk mom..

My good friend lnotes has started a new blog.. She is now bbk mom.. Check her out!

Play Date Update..

My poor son only lasted an hour at his 2 hour play date. I got a call from his friends mom saying that he was crying, and wanted to come home. She thought maybe he was a bit overwhelmed by it all.. When I asked him what was wrong on the way home, he said he just missed me. I'm pretty sure that's a load of crap.. I mean, I know he missed me, sure, who wouldn't ;) but I think the mom was right.. I think he was just uncomfortable being somewhere he had never been before without me, and it became too much for him. He was so excited about going too, so maybe all the expectations he had just weren't met. Oh well, we'll try again. I've decided that since he's 5, he can invite someone over here. Despite the fact that I was trying to hold off him having anyone over til he was at least 7.. oh well. What's one more kid in my house??

His First Playdate..

My 5 year old was invited over to a friends house today. I cannot tell you how excited I am for him. He's been in the best mood ever today, which is nice considering the hell he has been putting us through lately.
His friends mom is coming to pick him up too, and drop him off.. I really like this woman, we've had talks about our middle children.. they are quite similar.. I never understood Jan Brady's plight, until I had a middle kid of my own.. although that doesn't explain why my 5 year old has been a constant p.i.t.a. since birth, but whatever..
I'm looking forward to having only 3 of my children for a while this afternoon.. it's going to seem very peaceful..

Campout..

We have made plans for our first official camping trip (official meaning that we are actually leaving our yard with the camper!!) This weekend we are heading about 35 minutes north, for what will hopefully be a lot of fun, but more likely will be a lot of work.
I've been trying to get some lists going on what I need to pack.. with 4 kids it's going to be a lot! I'm really looking forward to it though, despite the fact that I know I'm going to come home exhausted, and will most likely be exhausted while I'm there as well. I don't care though. My kids are going to love the outdoors, and love camping, even if it kills my husband and I in the process!

Why some mothers eat their young..

My youngest son got a blister yesterday on the inside of his foot.. from his Walmart crocs.. I couldn't have imagined the hell this blister was going to put me through for the remainder of the day, because if I could have foreseen how I would spend my Sunday, then surely I would have put a gun into my mouth and ended it all.

This is no exaggeration either. I have never seen him quite like this, and I've seen him in pretty bad shape before.. like when he couldn't have another pop tart, or when his brother accidentally took one of his transformer toys. But this was different. This came after a sleepover we had here with my sister and blogless. A sleepover in which there were 9 children (to 3 adults) and a night that kept him up until after 11, and awake before 7. Not a good combination for this little guy.

I made him take a nap, which only made his mood, and his blister worse. We all went for ice cream last night, and he refused to get out of the car because he didn't want to walk. It was a long ass day!

When he woke up this morning he cried that he didn't want to go to school, or to speech. Yea right. Like I was going to let him stay home because of a BLISTER! And I can't tell you how many times I said "It's just a blister! A Blister, we all get them, and no one has ever died from it! UGH" He wouldn't walk people! Finally though, an amazingly bright light went on, and I put a sock on. Yes, a sock, and he couldn't believe how much better it felt. He couldn't get over how it felt just like the other foot. A sock. jesus.

I'm a great aunt..like you all didn't know that already!

Yes, I am a great aunt, a fabulous one in fact, but now I am officially a GREAT aunt.. like an old lady kind of aunt.. My niece had a baby today.. a girl.. Everyone is doing well, and I'm hoping to get up to see her this weekend. I love babies..especially the ones that I don't have to bring home with me!!

My day so far..

It's not noon yet, and already I'm ready for this day to wind down.. Let's see, this morning, I brought my youngest son to school for speech. Upon arriving, there was an unusual amount of cars there and my usual spot right in front, typically reserved for the idiot with too many kids, was taken. Being the blond that I am, I decided to make my own parking space right in a double white line area.. which would have been just fine, except that I got a little too close to the curb and put a nice hole in my front tire. It hasn't popped yet, and luckily, I was able to get back home.. It's actually more of a tear than a hole, you can see the metal of the tire under the flap.. I'm sure it's perfectly safe to tool around in for a little bit.

I've killed 3 REALLY SCARY bugs already this morning, that my children could not coexist with. I've had my mind read a dozen times, and have been asked to read the little ones mind as well.. I rewashed some stinky laundry that I didn't get to quick enough and I have put a stop to more than one cat fight between the girls.. I still don't know better than to have 2 of EVERYTHING.. even if it's just my water bottles..

I met my oldest son's computer teacher. She stopped by while I was at the school to say hi to the girls, and asked if they had a brother or sister there. When I told her who their big brother was, she went on about what a great kid he was, and how he's such a good example to the other students about what being a good student is all about. She also said it was clear that we were doing a great job with him. I couldn't have said it better myself, thank you.. pat pat on my back! It was really nice to hear, and made me forget about my tire in the parking lot that I thought was most likely deflating while I waited for my youngest son.

And so now, I'm sitting at my desk, with both the girls on it right next to me.. one is trying to get into some Neil Diamond records and the other is rearranging the pencils in my cup.. in a few it's off to school for the little guy, one more week of driving his butt around..yee ha for that!! I'm glad it's Friday.. so so glad..

Summer Work..

Summer is almost here, and my husband will be unemployed for 10 weeks- there are definite pros and con's about being a teacher.. He gets paid for the summer, but we chose to take it over the course of the school year, so that basically we can afford the luxurious things like wood for the stove, and electricity.
Some teachers choose to get a balloon check at the end of the school year, and live off of that for the summer. However, this is not a choice we can make. So, when the summer comes, and after I've been saying "What are you going to do for work this summer honey?" since January, it's determined that I'm the one that is going to work, at a wage that is about 1/2 of what he makes as a teacher (so it's shit)
For a few years, he did landscaping work on his own. He had a few jobs that could carry us through the summer, oh and let me clarify, it's not landscaping, it's more mason work, building walkways, patios, and stone walls (he's very good at it, so if any of my 3 readers need anything like this, let me know!)
Last summer, I worked. It wasn't bad at all. In fact, I quite enjoyed getting out of the house for a spell. And my husband fared quite well. This year is a bit different as I'm now watching my sister's 3 children 3 days a week. My good ole hubby has said he would stay with all 7 of them for 3 hours in the afternoon, so that I could go into work. Swell.
It would appear though, after all the thought put into this (mostly by my husband) that I am not going to be needed. At least in the capacity that I was hoping for. I was offered hours in another department, but that would require me working long hours, and my husband being with all the kids for the entire day, something I'm sure he couldn't handle.
We are now back to the drawing board.. and my husband just might have to get some real work anyway.. or we could just do what I suggested, which is to put summer on the credit card! I know, I know.. but I'm sick of trying to enjoy summer, stressed out because we're poor, or working.. ugh..

Now he's reading my mind...

This has become a new game for my youngest son.. reading my mind.. today he asked me if I wanted to know what I was thinking.. sure, because on most days I have no clue what I'm thinking.. so he told me that I was thinking about how much I loved him.. awh.. And then later, when I was thinking I would call child services and have him removed from my home before I killed him, he told me I was thinking that maybe tomorrow would be a better day.. pretty much!

My Best Effort..

My niece, who I mentioned yesterday, is in the middle of potty training. It's not even 10 o'clock, and she's already had two accidents.. Sorry, but she's now in a diaper... I tried, really I did.. but it's been too crazy this morning to have to wipe pee up off my floor, and change her every 20 minutes.. Not to mention the fact that she's going to run out of clothes soon, and she's got a very important dinner this evening with her grandma and grandpa..

My husband is so excited about our new camper, that yesterday he suggested selling our house, renting a house during the winter and living in a camp ground during the summer... Then he thought maybe the kids would be embarrassed living in a pop up tent.. yea, that's the only problem with that scenario.

Potty training.. girly style

My sister is potty training my 3 year old niece. She came to my house today in a pair of underwear, a size 4, which she pointed out was too big since she's only 3.. She was pretty proud of herself though, not wearing a diaper.
She reminded me of my boys when I potty training them. She threw off all her clothes, and sat on the potty, many many times. She had 2 accidents, but peed more on the toilet than on my bench (yea, she curled up on it late this afternoon and just let it go..) She also pooped 3 times. One turd at a time. I know she's excited about using our bathroom, and she really feels like a big girl, especially with my own diaper wearing girls eagerly looking on.
My sister was worried that this would be too much for me to have to deal with, but it's not. If I can have one less child in my care wearing a diaper, then it's all good!

STAB

My husband was talking in code to me last night when we were outside about to go to sleep in the camper (our big night out camping in the backyard..)
I was in the camper with all the kids, and he was still enjoying the fire, when he came to the door and said "stab".. to which I said "what??" "stab, backwards" To which my very clever 8 year old says "BATS????" nice..

Wii Take This Very Seriously..

Here is just a taste of what it's like watching my youngest son play on the Wii.. His favorite game is boxing (yea, we were all shocked!) He gets WAY into it, and gets very annoyed if there's any talking, laughing or general living while he's trying to kick the ass of his opponent.. Anyway, here's a clip..

At least he's not dropping them off in the morning!

Ok, my brother in law has got to know this is coming.. It's been a crazy week for everyone in his household, sick babies, construction and apparently a pissing contest with a co-worker. This was enough to throw him off his usual routine, which includes picking up his children at my house after work.

I got a call about 10 minutes after I expected him, saying he was half way home and he had forgotten to pick them up. I really thought he was kidding. But he was not. It's hard having kids. It's exhausting, and damn, it can turn your brain into mush! And luckily gives me some interesting blog material! Thanks :)

I was offered a treadmill by a co-worker of mine. She's moving, and no longer needs it. I think it's from the early 90's, it appears to be in good shape, but she was asking $100 for it. I didn't reply to her email as I was undecided, and really didn't want to spend that kind of money on something that old, especially after just buying the camper.

Apparently, holding out and not responding, has forced her to drop the price to NOTHING! So, it's mine.. My husband is hopefully going to pick it up this weekend for me.. I swear I'm going to use it, despite what my husband thinks..

Our Rebate Put to Good Use.. Thank You Mr. Bush!

We are the proud new owners of this bad boy! The guy that is selling it (at an incredible price) emailed me last night and said it was ours if we wanted it. He had an overwhelming amount of interest in it. People were offering him cash, as well as cleaning his home, and hosting web pages! I just happen to have been the first offer he got, and with that, he felt obligated to let us have the first look.
Anyway, he's delivering it to us later this week.. my boys are all ready for a campout this weekend!! yea, no more tents!!

Pukey Puke and Runny Runs..

So what an exciting weekend.. it started when I got home from work on Friday night with food for the entire family. My husband and I had our Las Olas (yum!!) and I had gotten the kids happy meals.

We all sat down, about to eat, I had taken one bite of my delicious salad, and my youngest son took his first bite of his mcligament, which was shortly followed by an "oh shit" kind of cry,and a look on his face that something was going on in his belly. Moments later, after I have dragged him to the bathroom, it all comes up. Out his mouth, out his nose (which he found particularly disturbing later) and the sound of the "warning fart" let everything go down below, all at once. It's been a while since I've seen that many bodily fluids coming out in unison. And my poor little 5 year old was in shock at the loss of control he had over his tired sick body.

All the while, my husband is trying to scarf down his food, as he was about to leave for his show that night. The girls are all too curious about all the sounds coming from the bathroom, and luckily, my oldest son who usually moderates these events with a "look mom, he's puking.. or Oh my god he just pooped his pants" was busy in the other room devouring his fast food.

My son decided he was done eating and that he just wanted his root beer.. reluctantly I agreed, and we all sat back down (after a serious scrub down) and finished our food. My husband left, which most nights I am totally fine with, but when one of the kids is puking and crapping himself at the same time, I just never know what the rest of the night will bring. Thanks to the sanitation gods, or the intestinal ferry, but it was a one time deal, and he was passed out in bed less than an hour later.

I wish I could say it stopped with my youngest, but it's hit the girls too. They have each had a day with diarrhea, and a one time puking episode. It's one of the strangest viruses I've seen, and one of the shortest. Thank god for that!

This and That..

My husband and his band have a show tonight in Portsmouth.. unfortunately, I can't go, but I got my night out last week, so I'm good for now..
I'm at work, and my mouth is watering. I'm stopping by a new Mexican restaurant in Exeter on my way home.. Las Olas.. It's the best Mexican food by far! Margarita's has nothing on this place! It's fresh, and really affordable.. And they have a great salad that goes with my south beach diet (I started that again) It's been almost 2 weeks, and I've lost 8.5 lbs. A total of 18.5 lbs since I started last fall! So yea for me, yea for the clothes that I haven't been able to fit into since before I had my twins, and yea for my husband for finally noticing!! ;)

What's in a name??

Well, if you had my name, you might also have an Adam's apple and a penis.. Which can be misleading, if you don't know that I am in fact a girl, and not what my name might suggest.
My husband and I have been searching for a pop up camper. We love to camp, but sleeping with 4 kids in a tent has lost it's appeal. We found a great camper in our price range on Craigslist. I emailed the guy about it, and got back an email addressed to me and about 20 others, as there are many people interested in it.
Yesterday, in an effort to kiss some ass and maybe put my name on the top of this guys list, I emailed him and basically begged for the camper, and even offered a little more than his asking price. I even added a couple of ";)" computer winks.. It didn't dawn on me til about 3 a.m. that he totally thinks I'm a dude. Of course he does, why the hell wouldn't he?? It can so easily escape me, the fact that my name is not really a girls name, but a man's. I am after all very used to it after 35 years of having it.
I just hope that this man is open minded, and didn't take my computer winking too seriously.. maybe he's gay. I can only hope!

I've been busy the last couple of days making some baked goods for blogless's graduation party this coming Saturday (congrats btw, we are so proud of you!!)
Anyway, the bigger kids got into the mess with me this morning.. Notice the clothes are starting to come off.. We will not be totally naked today, especially after yesterdays crapfest on my back deck.. (see below). The kids were a big help though, these are going to be a labor of love!! But my dear friend blogless is well worth it!!

As if taking care of 6 kids isn't enough.. ;)

I let the girls have some naked time today (my babies that is) and their 3 year old cousin had to join in, so we had bums running around everywhere.. I was just hoping they wouldn't pee, but I was happy that something else besides my cushy lap was inviting to them. In the meantime, I was changing my nephews diapers, when I realized my niece had let herself out onto my deck. She definitely knows better than to go outside by herself, but she's 3, and she saw her chance. I ran out and got her, and then commented to my mom who was visiting, that it smelled like shit. Hmm, I didn't give it another thought since we've been keeping our trash out on our deck and figured it must have been one of the gazillion diapers in the bags.

It wasn't until a few minutes later, that my niece confessed in a rather proud, and giggly fashion, to my mother that she had pooped on my deck. Nice. Of course I had to take a picture of it, and send it off to her mom at work right away.. So here it is.. Her lovely shit.. Thank you sweetie for the gift on my back door!

Wii Love our Mothers, don't wii??

The birthday party was a success. My husband grilled all the food, and burnt only half of it. It was a great day weather wise, and there were a TON of kids there! It was great. My boys got so many great gifts, and they have a new appreciation for gift cards. They did their little shopping spree yesterday and had so much fun just picking out whatever they wanted. Something they never get to do on our budget.

On Mothers Day, I got some great art work from the boys, and just what I told my husband that I wanted for my special day- which was nothing. He never lets me down, always gets me what I ask for! We did go out to breakfast at our favorite bake shop, and then went home and I got a 2 hour nap! That was a little slice of heaven, especially since we didn't get home til 1:30 a.m. from my husbands show. It was a great night out. I got to see some friends that I hadn't seen in a while, and of course see some other interesting shit as well. The funniest thing was this skank bag doing a pole dance, minus the pole right in front of the stage. A few drunk guys tried dancing with her, but she was having none of that. She was going solo.. It was a pretty small bar, and the dance floor was about the size of my kitchen table. She couldn't have any guys crowding in on her space, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to do her split. Yea, a split! To each his own I suppose..

Anyway, in other news.. we got a Wii yesterday! It was meant to be (and this is what my husband and I are telling ourselves to avoid the post purchase guilt always associated with an expensive, and frivolous purchase) After going to the 3rd store, having no luck, there was a lady returning her unopened Wii, apparently succumbing to her very own guilt. This of course was the only one in the store, hence the whole "meant to be thing". It's fun so far.. what little time I've been able to get on it.. My husband has it the most. I did get to play 30 minutes of tennis on it today, while the girls were napping. I actually broke out into a sweat.. so there's my excuse for playing it.. exercise!!

Mother's Day...

I picked my youngest son up from preschool today, and was told upon him getting into the loser cruiser, to close my eyes. Apparently he had a Mother's Day gift for me, one that he did not want me to see, until Sunday. I closed my eyes, and played along. When we got home, we were lucky to meet my husband pulling in at the same time. He grabbed one of the babies, and my youngest son scrambled for the door, holding his gift for me as secretly as he could.

He waited by the front door, and again I closed my eyes, so that I wouldn't see the surprise he had for me. My husband let him in, and he flew upstairs, and hid it under his bed.. just like his teacher had told him.

Thankfully it's only 2 days that I have to let the plant live under his bed.
Sure I saw it, as he came bouncing along to the van at pick up. But I won't ruin the surprise.. instead on Sunday morning, when he pulls the barely breathing plant from under his bed, I'm going to act like it's the best thing in the world.. just what I always wanted.. and in many ways, it is.. my boys love, his joy at making me happy, and giving me this great surpise.. what more could a mom want on Mother's Day?

My big weekend..

Tomorrow we're having a big birthday party for the boys.. I've been cleaning and cooking all day, in fact, I just finished the goody bags for all the kids. I'm looking forward to tomorrow.. we're having a TON of people over, and tomorrow night my husband's band has a show in Newburyport. I'm looking forward to that, it's been a while since I've seen them. The other guitar player, who I so lovingly refer to as "Douche" has put up a bunch of pics on their website. It wouldn't be so bad if he didn't feel it necessary to put some dialogue under about half of the pics. Makes him douchier than ever, in my opinion. And he's one of those a-holes who wears his baseball hat slightly to the side.. Next time I see him, I might just have to smack it back to the center..
Anyhoo, I'm just hoping I have a great weekend.. I could certainly use it!

Stealing for a good cause..

I just got a call from a risk management group concerning my bank card. Apparently someone has gotten a hold of my credit card number, and donated to the red cross. That is exactly what I would do if I was going to be a criminal and steal peoples credit card numbers. I would be the Robin Hood of the electronic age.. giving to the needy. pulease.
They also used it to check my credit.. hmm.. I'm sure they were NOT impressed.
I'm not going to stop shopping on line, for me it's a necessity. They caught it quick, and what are the chances of it happening again? btw, that's a rhetorical question, so don't leave any statistics, or advice.. I don't want it. Living in blissful ignorance is my what I prefer! :)

My Jog..

I had a dream a few nights ago about jogging. I dreamed that I really loved it. It was like one of those dreams where you realize that you can fly, and in the back of your mind, in your subconscious you think "maybe I really can fly" Then you wake up, and duh, you're not a bird, and you are not going to fly, no matter how much speed you try to pick up.
But this dream about jogging made me think that I might start to do it. It made me think that despite the fact that I haven't jogged since I was in high school with ctale (which was always followed up by smoking a few butts on the way to Dairy Queen for a blizzard) that maybe I could do it.
Today, I jogged out to my car, twice.
Yea, I don't think I'm going to start jogging.

New neighbors..

It would appear that we have new neighbors across the street. I ran into someone at work who lives down the road and she knows the family, they were her neighbors until they moved.

The person I know at work lives in a very pricey, very large house. The people across the street are now renting a modest ranch, while they renovate their 3,500 square foot mansion.

My co-worker commented on how tough that must be for them going from such a large house to such a small one. That was when I asked her how many kids they had. Two. Yea, I'm not feeling too bad for them. Come live at my 1,400 square foot condex with 4 kids, and then we'll talk about a pity party for the new temporary neighbors. ugh..

Ash-hole.. hehe..

"I'm a good guy storm trooper, and my name is Ash.."
is what he meant to say, but with my youngest son's speech issues, it sounded like this..
"I'm a good guy storm trooper, and my name is Ass.."
I couldn't agree more, at least this morning.. he's been a bit of an ass all week actually, I love him dearly this boy, but he just might be the death of me!

Girly Girls..

My mom got the girls some J-Lo type glasses.. they love them, well at least one of them does.. And check out that hair! Seriously, I can't do a thing with it, and I refuse to cut it.. after 2 boys and several haircuts, I want pony tails and french braids!

8 Years Ago Today...

It's hard to believe that 8 years ago today, my oldest son was born.. It feels like I blinked, and here I am.. with 3 more kids, who at this moment are making me wish I only had one.. ugh..

Last night we celebrated with dinner, cake and presents. My youngest son has his 5th birthday coming up next week, so he got his gifts last night as well.. all to avoid a meltdown.

Happy Birthday, I love you!!

And the freak factor continues..

I had no idea this was true, but children of identical twins are genetically half siblings. So my niece and nephews are actually half sister and brother's to my own children. weird.

wtf..

Our house was woken up this morning, around 6 by the screams of my oldest son. I have never heard him like this before. In the 2.6 seconds that it took me to get to his room, I had every horrible scenario flashing through my head.. every ridiculous thought that could be compressed in those 2 seconds emerged as I ran for my screaming son. I thought that perhaps he had woken up in his own blood, with a limb somehow mysteriously missing.. or that he had suffered some sort of spinal cord injury and could not feel his legs. The screams were that wrenching.. so much so that his little brother was running from the room screaming himself because he too was so afraid of the screams coming from his older brother. This of course woke the girls up, who also started in on the screaming. It was a fine wake up call..
So, you must be wondering at this point what all the fuss is about! I didn't know whether to scream myself, or just burst out laughing.. There was (hold on, you're not going to believe this..) a MOTH in my sons room. A really. big. moth.
At that point the moth was just sitting on the wall, most likely frozen there by the screams.. After my heart stopped pounding out of my chest, I grabbed some toilet paper, and mercilessly flushed the moth out to sea. Poor little moth.
I then told my son to go back to sleep because 6 a.m. is too early to be up on a Sunday.. He said he would, right after he got some new pajama's.. Apparently the moth had scared the piss right out of him.. Poor little boy.

Will someone please look at my box..

Last Monday we had to get another Comcast cable box. That was the 3rd one we have had to replace. We woke up this morning, to no cable. Having 4 children is difficult without cable. I'd like to say that I'm one of those parents who put a strict regulation on how much t.v. my kids watch, but I'm not.
I called Comcast right away, and spoke with a lovely woman. She was verifying all my information, asked me who she was talking to (since my name is not typically a females name) When I told her she had the right person, she asked me if I would give her permission to look in my box. Having no coffee yet, and little sleep, this made me giggle.. I had to cuff the phone. But she kept it professional, and quickly corrected herself and asked if she could look at my account.. rather than my box.. Anyway, I'll bottom line it.. we're watching all the Wiggle DVD's we have and someone is coming over tomorrow to look at my box. Yes, I will let them look at whatever they want, as long as they give me back our Nickelodeon and Noggin.

Recycled Art Work..

I came home from work last night to find my oldest son working on a recycled art project. This was something he did in school for Earth day, and he thought he would continue some more at home.. we have so much garbage that he is now calling art, and that I can no longer recycle or throw away.. Here's his latest work..

And here's a close up of the picture.. notice the pregnancy test in the middle? He apparently found my old test stored in the bathroom.. he has no idea what they are, or that I've peed on it.. but it certainly made his art work unique (to say the least)

Handcuffed..

My family and I witnessed our 18 year old neighbor being cuffed and stuffed into the backseat of a police cruiser tonight at dinner.
I thought when my husband said "Oh my god, they're handcuffing her" that he was kidding. He can be a bit of a tool that one, but it wasn't until my son's friend said the same thing that I realized he wasn't kidding.
It was almost comical, all of us with our bowls of spaghetti watching from our big kitchen window. Nothing ever happens here in NH, at least not in my neighborhood. So when something does, we don't care who sees us, but we are going to be right there to watch. It's really pretty rude, but it's like a train wreck, ya know? You can't just turn away and pretend it isn't happening.
I don't know what she's been arrested for. I suspect we'll know soon enough, my mother in law is best friends with a secretary at the police station, so we'll get the scoop.
I haven't spoken with this girl much over the past couple of years. She did some babysitting for us a couple years ago, and she was very sweet. She seems to have changed a bit recently. Her hair is dyed black (not that I blame the goth look for someone straying into delinquency, most of my friends in high school had that same look, and they never sat in the back of a cop car) But some of the people I've seen her around are questionable, and we've overheard a lot of yelling, mostly from her to her mother or her little sister. It's pretty sad actually..
My son pointed out that I now know two people who have been arrested.. my neighbor, and my brother.. Like I was lucky to know such sorted people.

Pepto-Bismol is NOT a color!!

This is a house down the street from me. I don't think this picture does it justice, the actual color is much brighter, and much more disgusting. I know I'm not crazy about our peanut butter cornflake colored house, but this is beyond good taste. When they had the house painted close to a year ago, I thought the color was a tinted primer, for maybe a red house. But then the painters left, and now every time I drive by this house, I want to yell at them.

You who must agree with me.. what the hell were these people thinking??

Kids and more kids..

It's vacation week at my house.. my husband and my oldest son are home all week. My oldest son asked me today if he could have a friend over.. why not? We already have 7 kids in the house including my sister's kids, so what's one more.
Well this only makes my 4 year old livid because he has been asking me for weeks to have a friend over, and I keep blowing him off. I told him he has to be 5 to have a friend over. If I wasn't so crazy busy with all the other children, it might be ok. And at 4, I'm not sure if the mom's at his school would just drop off the kid, or want to stay and have a "play date" and I'm just not up for that, with all that I have to do. My older son can just go outside, or in his room, it wouldn't be like I had another kid to watch..
So, I don't know what to do. The bugger did go outside and ask his dad though, after I had told him no. grr.. he's a sneaky one that boy! Oh, and my husband said "Sure!"

You might not want to go in there...

This is what I told my 4 year old the other day after leaving the bathroom. Of course no one listens to me, and he strolled right in.

"Mom?"

"What?"

"Did you spray the flowery air spray?"

"Yes I did.."

"Well, it didn't work!"

thanks.

Paint and her left kidney..

We brought our daughter for her ultrasound today. That went swimmingly. Thankfully it was a very brief form of torture, and soon enough the tech sent us to the waiting room, where my daughter dried up her tears.. for the next round, which was only meeting with the doctor. However, seeing this man sent her into another fit of "I can't believe you are doing this to me" kind of rage, even though the man didn't even come close to her.

Anyway, she's fine. The hydronephrosis in her left kidney looks the same, which is good. They want her back in 2 years for one last look. She'll be almost 4 by then, so hopefully she'll handle that a little better.

We had all the kids with us, who I must say were really well behaved. We stopped at Target and bought some new curtains and a slipcover for our couch. All of which I'm not sure if I like. We had lunch at Chili's (one of the boys fav's) And then came home. It poured, which made getting in and out of the car very wet.

I hung up the curtains, and took them down almost as quick. They're uglier than the blue we painted that room. I went back to the paint store and got a much happier shade of orange. As soon as I get home from work, I'll be painting away again.

My husband is off to Portsmouth to see the band Filmschool. Ctales fiancee is opening up for them, and he's really looking forward to it. I wish I could go, but getting out on a Tuesday night is impossible.

My mom is in Canada this week for vacation. She can really use the r&r, and she most certainly deserves it.

Well, I'm at work, and blogging isn't the most productive thing I could be doing.. so later!!!

Hey Sally!!

This is what I said to my husband before I snapped this photo Friday night.. It's a nick name that I have for him.. one he doesn't care for, but after 2 beers, this light weight should not be awake, never mind painting our living room.

But we did it. Friday night we painted 2 rooms, into the wee hours of the morning. I like the living room at night, not so much during the day.. The playroom needs new curtains and rugs, so I'm still not totally hating it. I was the one who got the final say in the colors, so if it's any one's fault that they are hideous, then it's mine.

Tomorrow we are heading to Manchester for our oldest twins follow up ultrasound. Her 12 month follow up for hydronephrosis (yea, she's 21 months old.. better late than never!) I am hoping to talk the husband into some shopping before hand.. it's vacation week and the only day that I won't have my sister's kids.. we should do something special! Anyway, I'm off to bed.. Good night!!

It's getting hot in heah..

Last night we went to the second grade musical at my son's school. All of the classes sang songs that related to Earth Day and how we can do our part to live on a greener planet.
Despite it being about a hundred degrees with both the girls planted on my lap, it was really funny. The funniest part was when one of the classes starting singing a song about Global Warming.. and the opening lyrics were "it's getting hot in here.." I seriously expected them to start ripping off their clothes and sing "let's take off all our clothes".. remember that song from a few years back?? I even shot a glance at my husband, who was probably thinking the same thing..
The night ended with the whole family getting ice cream at the shop at the end of our street.. A great way to commemorate Earth Day with 4 paper cups/ and 6 plastic spoons tossed in the trash.. we're just doing our part!

Spoils of the Tooth Fairy..

My son's tooth finally fell out. Yesterday morning at 4:30, I heard him calling for me. He looks so much different without that snaggle tooth hanging out between the 2 new ones. Handsome as ever of course!
He asked me what I thought the Tooth Fairy would bring him, I said it would probably be worth a 5 spot considering what his father and I had put him through. He seemed pleased with that.
Since the Tooth Fairy tends to spoil this boy, she decided to get him the newest webkin, the Chicken one. She got here last night at about 10, and soon after I went to bed, I heard my son calling for me. She had left a beautiful note, that Fairy has some really good handwriting! And the webkin next to him in his bed. He was elated!
Then this morning around 6, I could hear my youngest son crying from his bed. He couldn't believe that the Tooth Fairy didn't bring something for him. I guess he felt as though he was owed something for having to look at that tooth all these months. Yea, we all felt like that, but in a 4 year olds head, apparently it's worth getting a toy. The poor boy was totally snubbed. Which means his whining streak is going to continue into the weekend, or maybe until I break down and buy him a new one of his own. We'll see who has the greater will.

Carrots are good for you??

Has anyone seen Carrot Top lately? What the hell happened to that freak? Jesus! There is NOTHING funny about steroids, or a brow lift for that matter! I'm just sayin

Picking out colors..

It was another beautiful day here in NH. I can't complain.. but of course I will! My youngest son has decided not to talk, but rather whine. He hasn't stopped doing it in about 2 days. It's driving me insane.

But that's life with my little boy. In other unrelated news, we have decided to do some painting at home. It only took a minute for me to decide that my husband and I are clearly going to butt heads on picking out the perfect color. It's hard to argue with the artist, and even harder to argue with the bitch. I'll let you all decide who is who.

He went to the paint store today and got a couple of samples. One of the color's is a blue. The shiniest ugliest cobalt blue I've ever seen. The other (for our living room) is green. Hemlock green. Another ugly disgusting color.

I don't know why I let him go to the store without me.. I guess I forgot that he picked out the last major color decision we had, the color of the house, which is a very 70's yellow (I call it the peanut butter cornflake) It's terrible.

So we'll see what becomes of our living room and sun room. We may just end up with large squares of paint in different colors for a while. I don't see a compromise on the horizon, but as usual, I will be the one who gives in first and will let him pick.. I do wish sometimes that he would just give me control of the decorating.. he can totally work the grill, and I can pick out colors of the house.. what's the problem with that?

Earth Day...

It came a day early for my youngest son. His school met at a local park today to clean it up a bit, plant some flowers, play some kickball and take a hike.
I enjoyed it all very much, talked with some of the mom's I know, and then almost died trying to push my girls in their double stroller up the "hill". It's not so much a hill, as it is a small mountain.. well, no, I guess it's not a mountain at all, but this "hill" kicked my ass! I would have had no problem at all if I wasn't pushing 40+ pounds of babies, and their stroller, along with all of our shit. It was exhausting. There was a mom walking with me though, that helped me out and pulled it from the front at some steep parts. We made it up a slope, everyone stopped in this clearing.. I sat down, grabbed some water, and then they started hiking again? ugh.. "We're not there yet?" I am so out of shape! There was a grandfather there, a really nice guy, who actually offered to push the girls up for me, but I claimed it was good for me, to get some exercise. I didn't want some poor older guy doing my grunt work. Honestly, I probably should have stayed at the bottom of the hill with the pregnant lady, and the woman with the other set of twins.. But if I had done that, my son never would have gone with out me. And once we were there, we had fun.
I have an idea that I'm going to be feeling this "fun" in the morning..

Shoes..

This is just a very quick video (my camera ran out of memory) but this insanity went on for a good 10 minutes. I'm persisting through though, and one of these days, shoes won't make them loose their shit!

Good Neighbors..

The two neighborhood girls came over to play with my boys today. One we know very well, she's a regular at the house. The other one, not so well. We did go to high school with her dad, and he had the nickname "meanboy". So you can imagine.. I was upstairs this afternoon getting ready for work, when I hear her rhyming my youngest son's name with some not so nice words. A second later, I can hear my son crying, and heavy footsteps headed my way.
I asked her to stop calling him names, and then to please go outside because they were using my stairway as a tar mack.. I was just waiting for one of them to fall and start bleeding.. so please, take it outside.
A while later, the boys come in and ask if they can go on the neighbors trampoline, to which my husband and I answer in unison, NO! Those things are death made out of rubber, and no thank you, we don't have the co pay for the ER this week!
Moments later, my youngest son comes back inside and tells me that the unkind neighbor girl is being mean again, and calling him names, but he can't remember what. This is when we decide it's time for dinner, and to say goodbye.
My husband told me later, that when the neighbor child we "sort of" like saw the other one coming, she told the boys "you better run.. fast!"

Spring Has Sprung!!

At least it did today.. And I'm happy to report that my girls are now walking on the grass!!! Time to celebrate, and time to keep a good eye on them! Here's my lovely daughter enjoying the beautiful weather in our backyard...

Hi Mom..

I got a call at work from my mom tonight. She asked me what the name of my blog was. I wasn't aware that she knew I had a blog. But she does. So I gave her the name, and then quickly erased anything that might offend her.. hahaha just kidding.. so Hi Mom!!

Hanging With My Peeps!

Ctale, and Lnotes came to play today with their adorable girls.. I love having my girls over..We had Chinese (thank you ctale) and wine (thank you Lnotes).. and homemade mint Oreo ice cream (thank you me!) It was a great afternoon.. Lnotes left before I could snap a picture of her beautiful girl, but here is Miss S with my two..

Animals of the human variety..

Here is my my darling, charming niece.. My kids didn't get the whole eating right from the bowl thing, since they've never seen her dogs eat before..

Yea, we're all set with the pet free household.. Seriously though, this girl cracks me up!!

Justice for the Nerds!

Finally, the one person in the top ten of American Idol that should have been sent packing weeks ago, got the boot. I can't say that I'll miss Little Miss Country a.k.a. Kristy Lee Cook.. not since Beatles week where she totally hacked a classic.. Too bad this didn't happen last week, I still miss my Aussie hottie..

Why I bother talking is beyond me.. no one listens anyway!

The past 2 days, my niece has been begging me to get into her brother's pack and play. I haven't let her because quite frankly, she's too big for it. This is what I turned around to in a split second after getting one of her brothers out of their car seat..

He just should not answer the phone!

My son's teacher just called me. It's an early release day and my son was claiming that he was supposed to go over to a friends house, but there was no note from me to say that he could. There's no note because I hadn't heard anything about this. So she had no choice but to send him home. I know he's going to be furious when he gets here, and the thing is, it's not my fault. Not one bit. I checked our caller id and there was his friends number, they called last night while I was at work, and I guess the pinhead who took the call forgot to relay the message to his wife, who does everything around here. Ugh. I've put a call into my husband at school, and tried calling the friends mom, but she's not home yet. The problem is that I can't bring him over, I've got all the kids today and not enough buckles in my loser cruiser.
I'm hoping the mom offers to come get him, they live about 1/2 a mile away, and she's very nice.. otherwise, I'm going to have 2 really pissed people here. I love it when my husband and I mesh as a team! I hardly feel single at all during those times!

Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes..

I know this isn't gourmet fair, but can someone please explain why it should make my kids cry when it's served to them? The girls loved it, but that's because "they don't know any better". But the boys sat at the table last night and cried with every bite we forced them to have. Another wonderful family dinner, full of threats "If you don't eat that, then you're not getting dessert" which btw were m&m ice cream sandwiches. Or "If you don't stop crying and eat your dinner, then I'M going to eat all of the dessert!"
It always ends the same way, we bargain with them "eat 4 more bites and you can have dessert"
And we wonder why they act this way??

His time of the month..

Is it possible for a 7 year old boy to be experiencing PMS? Because all weekend, my son has been such a grump. He went to 2 birthday parties, got a brand new webkin, and some pokemon cards, yet all he's done is whine and complain about anything and everything. I tried getting him out of his funk by making plans for his own birthday party coming in about a month, but he wouldn't have it. It just depressed him to talk about his own birthday, when the party he went to yesterday had no goodie bags. Good lord. I hope he gets his period soon, or just gets over all the injustices he feels that has been bestowed upon him.

The Geeks are Pissed!!

And by that, I mean myself, and whoever else watches American Idol religiously (that would be my husband too) But come on people? Michael Johns?? The Aussie hottie with a decent enough voice to at least make it into the top 4 or 5.. but kicked off at 8? It's a travesty, and I might not watch ever again.. although you know I will.. I know I will, we all know I will. But now I won't get to look at that bubbly lipped, big bummed, cutie patoots anymore.. damn!! Paula and I cried in unison last night.. oh Michael..

Sicko...

My poor husband has been sick for over a week.. And I mean really sick, like he's had to blow his nose at least 4 times a day, and he coughs almost as much! And the pressure?? Can I just tell you how bad the pressure is? It's right behind his eyes.. it's just horrible. Oh, and the dry mouth, and having to breath through his mouth because his nose is stuffy. It's been torture for him. I don't know if he'll ever get better.. (now imagine me pulling out my hair, screaming, ok?)

Why are men such pathetic wimps? And I don't mean ALL men, more specifically, my husband. I'm about ready to smother him in his sleep, if I have to hear more about the "pressure" and the sinus infection he thinks he has (which btw, he doesn't) and if I see him lay down on the couch after I've had a gazillion kids in my care all day, because "work was rough, real rough" Because it's not usually a picnic at our place, but I've had to do it sicker than him, and come on buddy!!!!!! Give me a break!

Ok, I think I feel better.. Now let's all hope he feels better soon too.. poor bastard.

The Tooth that Won't Fall Out..

Last night we convinced my oldest son to let us try and pull out a tooth. This tooth has been hanging on for dear life for months. Seriously, the other tooth has grown in behind it, much like the last tooth he lost. It's now perpendicular to the new one, and it was just time.
My husband was the "puller" and I was the videographer. He wrapped the dental floss around it, and right after my son said he had butterflies in his belly, he yanked, hard. Unfortunately, that tooth decided that it wasn't going anywhere, and in a split second we knew we had jumped the gun. It was the look of horror on my husband's face that I knew it had gone sour. Instead of pulling out the tooth, he had lodged the dental floss in his gums. So after the bleeding subsided, and I got the poor boy to calm down, I was able to untie it from his tooth, and remove it from the gum. It was gross, and painful for the little guy. His motivation for allowing us to do that was so that he could get the money from the tooth fairy, add it to his chore money and get a webkin tomorrow. I told him that I would front him the money from the tooth fairy, and he could pay me back. I also told him that after that fiasco, I bet the tooth fairy would kick in a little extra, maybe for some pokemon cards.. Oh, and the video, that I would have posted, was momentarily deleted by my daughter who got hold of the camera while I was trying to dislodge the dental floss. Nice. It was a great night!

Happy Easter (3 weeks later..)

My youngest son and his cousin were playing in his room today. Forever. I was enjoying the break from them, and getting a good rest on the couch. When I came to and went upstairs to check on them, I was almost knocked over by the disgusting smell coming from the room. At first I thought my niece had taken a huge power dump, but as it turns out, they had found the Easter baskets, and 2 REAL eggs that I hadn't disposed of. It wasn't enough that they just found them, but they had cracked them open too. Of course, why wouldn't they? The kids weren't bothered by the smell at all, and when my girls woke up from their nap about 1/2 hour later, as I opened their door, I smelled it again. I haven't been able to find any more eggs, but I'm having an Easter Egg Recovery mission later... ugh

Redo..

My sister called me this morning, and was so pissed about how the pictures came out yesterday that she spoke to the manager at Sears and they are redoing them for free. Here's an example of the crap they did yesterday.. which I didn't think was so crappy until I got a better look at them.. and I think we should be holding our own twins.. right?? And maybe we shouldn't be sitting on the floor.. and maybe we shouldn't be looking so stupid..

Weekend wrap-up..

Sundays are usually a bit depressing to me.. for some reason I still get that "going back to school on Monday" feeling, even though I haven't been to school in almost 2 decades.. still, I'm not a big fan.
Yesterday we brought the kids to my brother in laws for a birthday party. The kids had a great time, my husband was ready to go when he got there.. he's sick, and the poor baby (and I mean that in every literal and sarcastic way possible) just should have stayed home. I offered him that before we left, but for some reason he wanted to make us all miserable, and not let us forget for one minute that he was sick! So, there!
Today I took the girls for pictures. And not just random 20 month old pictures, but TWIN pictures. Meaning, I was in it, my sister, and her boys. Sounds like the perfect photo op right?? yea, except that the shitty photographer at Sears, was all like "OK, now, I want you to intertwine your arms, and spread your legs.." Um, are we taking a family photo or are you trying to get some pictures for the Internet?? After a flat refusal on the intertwining of our arms, and sucking it in as best we could, we got some ok pictures.
Then I ventured on up to Maine to visit a friend that I hadn't seen in a while. I had called her spur of the moment on the way to our "photo shoot" and asked her if she was free. She was, so I told her that I'd call on my way up. You can imagine my surprise when I get there, see her car in the driveway, find all the doors locked, and no one answering the door or the phone. I don't know what happened. I called her husband at work who said she was probably napping.. but I should go to the neighbors and get the key. Yea, right. All this with two toddlers who are pissed as it is because I've woken them up to stand on some ladies porch banging on her door. She called me a couple of hours later, but I'm too pissed to talk to her right now. Her and I have a bit of a history.. she's been a shitty friend, and I keep expecting her not to be. It's sort of both our faults!
So, that wraps up our weekend.. I'm already looking forward to next weekend..hopefully my husband will be cured of his cold.. and start doing some shit around here.. ugh..

Brotherly Love..

The Nap Hangover..

We all know how this feels.. waking up too soon from a nap.. it sucks. These girls are feeling it here..

Bathing 4 kids..

Here's how I do it.. All at once! It works now.. but I do understand we're on a time frame.. Oh, and are you lovin the yellow tub?? yea baby!

Shoo Shoo Blues..and other news...

My girls have been wearing baby moccasins since they could walk. They're called shoo shoo's or robeez.. They're great, and they love them dearly.

The only problem is that they will not wear regular shoes. I can't put on a pair of boots, or sneakers or cute little dressy shoes. They freak out, screaming and crying.. it's such fun! I haven't been too concerned because we haven't spent too much time outside in the past 5 months due to the horrible New England winter we've been having.

However, it was nice out today. Nice enough to put on a sweatshirt, and head outside. I let the girls wear their shoo shoo's because of course I have no choice. The minute I put them down, and they feel the earth under their feet, there's more freaking out. I swear, I don't know what scaredy cat gene my kids inherited, or from who, but wtf? They refused to walk on the dead grass. They refused to move anywhere, instead they just stood there and screamed. God help me.

Our venture outside lasted 20 seconds.. They ended up playing on the deck instead, they were more familiar with how that felt under their feet.

In other news.. I have a meeting at the school tomorrow to update my youngest son's IEP. I got a copy of the draft today, and he's made great strides since last fall. I gotta say, I'm so proud of him. He works so hard at his speech and he's so proud of the accomplishments he makes. One of the babies has mastered saying her older brothers name, but not the youngest of the boys, which has slightly broken his heart. I tried explaining to him how hard it is for her to say the "L" in his name, and he totally understood that. Such a smartie!

Time for the Soaps!

I have 5 kids in my care, 3 and under, and they have all been asleep for over an hour! I just had to post that... This NEVER happens! Oh, and my youngest is at school.. yee friggin ha!

My April Fool..

The last two April fools days I have told my husband that I was pregnant. He bought it both times. I'm not even going to try that one this year.. if I remember correctly, sex is required for a pregnancy and unless I'm the second coming of Mary, I couldn't ever make him buy that one!

So, this year, I'm trying to decide how to pull one over on him this year. It's between telling him that I met someone while he was gone, or telling him that some skank has filed a paternity suit against him. I know they're both really harsh, but that's why I love them! I'm leaning more towards the paternity thing.. I'll post on that later!

His plane is delayed tonight, so I'm going to have another night with the remote... big deal. Ok, I'm off to put the girly girls to bed..

I guess I really don't do it all..

Having my husband absent from the daily running of our household the last 4 days, has given me a new appreciation for what I never realized he was even doing.

Like holding a crying baby, while I held the other.

Bringing in buttloads of wood and getting up at 2 a.m. to stoke the fire.

Doing homework with our oldest son (which turns out to be why I miss him the most..I'm REALLY bad at 2nd grade math.. I was actually shocked! I mean it's SECOND grade!)

Getting up at the crack of dawn with our oldest.

Brushing about a hundred teeth.

Making popcorn on Friday night.

Giving the boys their vitamins (which I just remembered I forgot to do!)

Getting the mail.

Taking out the trash.

Lots and lots of stuff. It's been busy, and I'm looking forward to him getting home tonight. I miss him.. Here's a video of the babies dancing to their Daddy's music.. they miss him so much, I never realized how devastated they would be.. It's not like I left.. haha. Hearing his music put them in a great mood though..

I Have 4 Kids, and NO Band Aids..

At least I didn't until this morning. It's not like I just ran out or anything, I haven't had any in months. We don't buy them because the kids are scared of them. Yup, we're raising some pretty brave individuals over here!
However, it is kind of a crucial thing to have in a household this big. Someone is bound to step on the General Grievous action figure from Star Wars and bust open the bottom of her toe. And it's bound to bleed a little, and maybe even get on the floor. A well organized mother would have band aid after band aid on hand for this minor emergency.
But we're talking about me, and the fact that I have all my kids even dressed this morning is a miracle.
I did get the band aids though, and my toe is feeling much better, so thank you!

When the Cat's Away.. the mouse has to do everything!

My husband is en route to New Mexico. He forgot his airborne, so I'm sure he's freaking out on the plane thinking about all those germs stewing in the cabin. Poor neurotic putz. And I mean that in the most loving way, I feel for him, and how worried he gets over things. But he's a big boy, he'll be fine.

He left for 4 nights, and packed everything he needed in a knapsack. Funny. On our over night trip a couple of weeks ago, I packed an entire suitcase! What if I didn't like the clothes I brought?? He's lucky not to be burdened with low self esteem!

I'm dreading our morning tomorrow. I hear we're getting snow, which could mean a delay or a cancellation. I would be fine with this. Mornings are insane, trying to get my oldest son on the bus, getting breakfast, starting the fire. It's much easier to do all this if we can all stay in our pajamas! Dressing 4 kids, and myself is not something I enjoy doing at 7 a.m.

Anyway, I'm planning on getting the kids to bed at a reasonable hour tonight, enjoying a nice glass of wine, finish up a sign that I'm making, and watch all the TLC and HGTV that I want! That is one lame ass plan, but I'm going to love every second of it!

100.3 WHEB | The Rock Station

100.3 WHEB The Rock Station
Here's my husband and his band.. He's the second one from the left (yes, Osama Bin Laden's double!) Check out the guy in the wife beater.. ugh, what a douche!

Rocking out at the BBQ

My husband is leaving next week for 5 days to New Mexico. His band thing.. it started out as this huge deal.. 50,000 seat venue, Hannah Montana (remember??) And now, it would appear that they are playing at a barbecue! Yep, a frickin barbecue. Ok, first of all, whatever. I only found out about this because I saw the itinerary, not because he told me. And second, um, we have barbeque's here! Do you need to go to New Mexico to play at one?
I guess they are all feeling pretty duped right now, and they still aren't totally sure what to expect. I guess this barbecue is a pretty BIG one (good lord) and I know my husband is really looking forward to being with his buddies for a few days.. Although, I'm predicting right now, he'll wish he was home by the 2nd day. He's not much of a traveler, and all 5 of them are sharing a hotel room! Cozy! He's also the only one of the band that is married.. so I'm sure the other guys are going to be on skank patrol.. it should be pretty interesting to say the least! And no, I'm not worried.. not one bit!

Mmm.. steak..

Getting my kids to eat is a total pain in the ass. Unless of course it's deep fried or covered in chocolate. My husband made dinner last night. Turkey burgers. His version of a healthy meal, which is ironic because he continues to bitch at me constantly over the pop tarts and chicken nuggets I feed our 4 year old, but sees nothing wrong with giving him the leftover ground up bits of a turkey.. anyway the 4 year old hates hamburgers, or turkey burgers or any kind of burger you might try to feed him. He does however love steak, and pork chops. When I saw my husband serving up the burgers (minus the buns because none of my kids are big fans of bread..) I asked him what he was going to give the youngest one. He shrugged, and I said f* it, give him a turkey burger, and we'll tell him it's steak.
My son took one look at the cut up "steak" on his plate, and asked if it was a hamburger, to which I said "No, it's steak" He took one bite, then two, and before I knew it, he had finished his entire burger before anyone else! Now I have to figure out how to make fruits and veggies look like steak..

My youngest son asked me the other morning while having a nice cuddle in bed, if he could have my bed when his father and I die. Sure. Why not.