Winter break blues...

My kids are on February vacation this week. It’s hard to believe that it’s been 6 weeks since their last vacation, in another 6 weeks, it’ll be spring vacation, and just 6 more weeks after that, summer! Hurry the hell up, please. This winter is killing me. Unlike our last winter, which was mild, and almost completely void of snow, this year we have seen more of the white stuff than any hard core junkie has seen in their lifetime. It has been wreaking havoc on my plans, which pisses me off to no end. This past weekend was supposed to be my weekend away with the girls..and no, not my 6 year old girls, but my girls that I have known for almost 25 years. It’s no easy feat either to schedule a weekend away, but we did it, and then the god damn mother fucking snow killed it. Enough already!
Many people I know, have taken their families away on vacation. Somewhere tropical, and exciting. Somewhere away from here. To those people, I say, suck it. Hard. My family on the other hand is spending this week catching up on our yearly physicals, eye exams, and mammograms. Why would we want to go anywhere else, when we can stay right here and wait for more snow to fall? Which apparently is going to happen again in 2 days. Fanfuckingtastic!
wow, that felt good. Rather cathartic! But I'm done, and now I can rant about others things! Today was my boys yearly physicals. My youngest son was up first. He's growing like a weed, and is as healthy as can be. He did however, fail their eye screening exam. The nurse told me he had a hard time seeing most of the words and came back with 20/70 vision. She recommended that he see an optometrist and have an official exam performed. The minute the nurse left the room, he looked at me and said "I am not wearing glasses. I don't care if I need them, which I don't, but if they say I do, i won't." all the while fighting back tears. I reminded him of some friends he had who wore glasses, and that his brother did! I made him try to read a part of a sign in the doctors office, which he couldn't, but he claimed it was because the letters were in green, and he's not to used to reading in green. Um, ok. Then I told him how i always wanted glasses, and how jealous i was when my sister got them in the 6th grade, and i didn't. If there was one of my kids that I thought would never need glasses it would be him. As accident prone as he's always been, it always seemed to be because his body couldn't slow down. Not because he couldn't see where he was going! We shall see though. I've made an appointment with our eye doctor and we'll know in a couple of weeks. I hope for his sake that he simply choked on the eye exam. It's possible that nerves got the better of him, and he just said fuck it. He's more like me than he knows!

The Hallmark Holiday..

I am beyond tired today. I was up past midnight making Valentines day cards for my girls first grade class. I did this last year too, it took me forever, and when I mentioned doing it again this year, my girls freaked. There are a few kids in their class this year that were in it last year, and how embarrassing would it be to give out the same old crappy homemade cards! I reassured them that I would make brand new crappy cards, and would save them the embarrassment. Good lord, those two are something else!
My husband (who is 12 weeks post op from his shoulder surgery and coming along just fine) came home from work today and asked if I would like to go out with him for dinner Friday night.  I guess for valentines day. For as long as I've known him, he has been strictly opposed to valentines day. Often calling it the "Hallmark Holiday", just another way for the retail industry to bleed us dry. I won't say that I disagree, but who cares? It's one stupid day out of our stupid lives to tell the people around us, that we love them. So, yea, I guess you could say I was surprised by his invite..it probably also means that he hasn't gotten me a card, and most likely won't until our date on Friday night, at which point all the cards will be marked down 50%, and he will have won his independent war with hallmark. Do I know him or what?


My fourth grader has a party in his classroom tomorrow, and I have no idea what is planned in the girls class. I'm sure there was a note about it, and its probably in one of the towering piles of stuff, on the counter in my kitchen. It's not the best way to keep it all "together" but I work best under pressure. If I know too much ahead of time, it'll just stress me out. Call me a fly by the seat kinda girl,  but 9 times out of 10, it works. Unfortunately for my husband, that one time that it doesn't work, is usually when I've delegated something for him to do. An example would be when I asked him to go to the parent teacher conference for our 4th grader (because i was gonna be busy buying presale tickets for a mumford and sons show-shut up, i know!) only to find out that I had sent him to the wrong parent teacher conference. Oopsie.  He was mortified when he showed up to find out our appointment wasn't until the next day! Not as mortified as I was when the girls teacher called me moments after my husband had chewed me a new one, to see if I was coming in for our meeting. But you know what? There's a lot to remember with 4 kids..there's a lot to remember with just ME! So, I go about it the best I can. I try not to get far behind on what needs to get done, I put a lot of shit on my iPhone (which works famously if you enter the information correctly, I might need a smarter phone, if you know what I mean!)  i have lists and calendars, post it's. I have it all. One day, I'll get my shit completely together..until then, I'm hoping for forgiveness of my faults..some compassion, a little bit of empathy, and a fabulous Valentines Day..  here's a few of the lame cards I made.. ;)

Bruno..you're an asshat!

It's been almost a year since I contacted Bruno Reversade, a scientist based out of Singapore, who was interviewed in the January 2012 National Geographic article about twins. He's been all over the world, swabbing the cheeks of every twin he can find. When I initially contacted him with my own twin story, asking him if he'd come across another one like ours, he immediately responded and forwarded me a picture of a set of male twins in the UK, who had fathered identical twins. He had not heard of any female id. twins who had each given birth to identical twins. He sounded quite excited about my story, and asked me if my family and I would participate in his study. I agreed, and asked him if he would pass on my contact info to the twins in the UK, and that I would love to talk to another set of twins who have shared our experience. He said he would pass on my info, and then requested that I do a pedigree, or a family tree, and list as many twins as I could find. I obliged, signed up to Geni.com (which costs an arm and a leg by the way). Sent him  my fine family tree, and then  never heard back from him again.
I emailed him a couple of weeks after I had sent out my hard work, wondering if he had ever gotten my email. Nothing. A couple of weeks after that, I sent him this:

"hey
not sure what's up.. maybe you ran out of cheek swabs? maybe my emails don't reach Singapore?? I have no idea..but it's kinda rude. I just wanted to get some contact info on that set of twins in the UK, the set of twins that I have been searching for for 5 years..soooo again, unless you're dead, which I suspect your not, could you reply either way? "
Maybe that's a little harsh, but still. RUDE! I have no idea why that assbag never got back in touch with me. I am a bit suspicious however, and I  know this sounds paranoid, but I believe it has to do with his current study on linking twins genetically and the male twins in the UK. There was an International Twin conference held in Italy last spring, and the fine doctor presented his male twins. I don't know what his presentation was about, but in my paranoid brain I've come up with the idea that he was trying to get funding, or an award for his continued work on proving that identical twins are somehow linked to genetics. Perhaps he's been focusing on the male genes and my story would just put a kibosh on his theory somehow. I don't know, it is rude either way. I have issues with being pushed aside, and blown off.. can't help it. I can only hope that he's got a google alert for anything written about him. And if he does, then suck it Reversade!

It was a cold, fall night, and despite being grounded, I was about to head out to bring my older sister  some Motrin at work. Her cramps were awful, and I was more than obliged to take advantage of my mom attending one of her continuing ed. classes and sneak out. She would never know.  My boyfriend was more than willing to drive me to my sister's job, just so that he could have a minute or two alone with his sweetie.
We were leaving my house, when at the end of the driveway, he leaned over and kissed me. It was sweet, but if he hadn't, we would have avoided the accident we were about to get into about a mile up the road. He was driving his parents Chevy Celebrity, a Memere and Pepe car if there ever was one! We were rounding a corner, and that's when I saw the oncoming truck, taking a left and cutting right in front of us. I wasn't wearing a seat belt (the last time I ever made that decision) and I don't remember much more about the accident, except for a loud crash, breaking glass, then silence, then my name being shouted by my boyfriend. When I awoke from the crash, I was on the floor of the front seat. My side of the car was completely crushed in, as I felt pieces of tooth crumbling in my mouth, all I thought of was getting out of the car before it burst into flames. I had no idea if in fact it was gonna do that, but it always does in the movies, and at age 16, that was pretty much reality to me. It took all my strength to kick the door open, but somehow I did. I have never been so scared, in all my life. I was literally shaking. We were then met by the man who had hit us, assaulting us with questions about why we hadn't stopped..why did we just keep going.. Well, sir. We didn't stop, because there was no stop sign. Clearly, he was in the wrong, and we had witnesses to that effect. It didn't stop me from shaking. All I wanted to do was leave. I wanted to go home and pretend that this had never happened. After the police arrived, and determined that we were ok, they allowed us to walk to my boyfriends house, which was less than a mile down the road. From there, I called my older sister and had her come get me. His parents weren't so concerned about how we were, but more concerned for their dear car, which was totalled, but I believed they had fixed anyway. It was their love.
I arrived home before my mom had gotten back from her class and quickly went to bed. It wasn't until the following morning, that I confessed about my sneaking out and told her about the accident. She was furious that I had disobeyed her, but more furious that the police had just let us walk away. How did they know there wasn't anything wrong with us?? We ended up spending a good part of the day at the E.R. having xrays and what not, to make sure I hadn't broken anything.. I hadn't, and I was fine. I had chipped my two front teeth, and had a couple of loose ones, but a trip to the dentist for some filing, and I was fine. The loose ones held their own, and that was that. It was roughly 4 months later that I started having problems with my jaw. It kept locking on me, and the only way to unlock it was to move my lower jaw back and forth til it unlocked. I eventually ended up seeing an oral surgeon, who did an MRI and discovered that the disc inside my jaw (the meniscus) had slipped, and was causing my jaw to lock. The only fix was surgery, in which the doctor would pull the disc back up in place, and hope for the best. Recovering from surgery sucked, as it would, but the part that was suckier than that was when it slipped again less than a year later, and I had to have another operation in which to just remove the disc. Something that my doctor did not want to do to someone so young..since I would most likely have problems with it when I was older.
24 years later, and my jaw is fine. I remember the doctor telling me that I would most likely have problems with it when I hit 40, and that arthritis would likely set in. I'm patiently waiting, but happy to report that it's given me no problems thus far. Only time will tell..
Three years after the accident, I met my future husband. It wasn't until our 2nd or 3rd date, that he took me out in his mom's car. A Chevy Celebrity. Same make and model, different color..different boy..different time. I only drove in it a few times, until I got my own car (a geo metro, another chevy brand) which suited both my boyfriend and I just fine. I won't ever forget that night, when for a split second I passed out, fallen to the floor of the car. And I won't forget how I realized something so small, like a kiss, could alter your life forever.

Find Chevy trucks in PA a Reedman

Lois Mahalia

Every once and a while, I come across something worth sharing. I have been known to occasionally "over" share, but not today.
Recently, I was introduced to the beautiful voice of Lois Mahalia. She's an accomplished vocalist who has recently toured with Joe Walsh.  She's bluesy, soulful, and her voice sings to my heart..She has come out with a Christmas Album for kids appropriately titled "Feeling Like a Kid" but don't think for a second that grown ups alike won't fall in love!
Give her a listen, you can download the CD for just 7 bucks! Just go here to get it! You can also get a preview here. I promise, your kids, your family and your EARS will thank you for it! Now GO!!! ;)

Subbey Douby Do!

My senior year in high was a tumultuous time in my life, as it is for many kids facing adulthood. I was barely scraping by with my grades, and despite getting into Northeastern for journalism, the minute I stepped off the T in the "big city", I knew I could never go there. Opting for northern NH instead, in the mountains of Plymouth State. Those two schools couldn't have been more different from each other, but I felt safe in the woods, and exposed in the city.
One of the many struggles we had that year, my mom, sister and I, was transportation. We had a number of cars that year, but my favorite was my red Subaru station wagon. I loved that car! It had enough room for all my friends, and a cozy backseat for my boyfriend and I. Yes, we would take that car out, and find quiet places to go and talk. Yes, talk.. I was NOT that kinda girl! hhmm.. Anyway, I will never forget taking him to one of the many places I had lived in my childhood. This was one of my favorite places..not the house itself (the single wide we rented) but the property it was on. It stretched on for miles it seems and my sister and I used to spend hours exploring it. Part of it had been cleared by loggers, part of it was swamp and most of it were trails. Some people might call them roads..but not the people with any common sense! One of these roads,  led to the most beautiful pond, with the best swimming anywhere. It was private, and secluded, and I had to show him this. We could have walked in. That would have been smart, but I had four wheel drive in my subbey, so off we went. Roughly 20 feet into our adventure, I got the thing stuck. Really stuck. Despite my best efforts, and my boyfriends insistence that he could push it out, we had no such luck. With an impending curfew, and a mother who I knew was gonna kill me I was completely panicked. It wasn't long before someone had heard all our attempts at getting it unstuck, when the cops were called. Fabulous. I told them why we were there..because I had grown up down the road and had wanted to show him the pond..I'm sure they bought it... I coulda punched my boyfriend when he started telling the cops that his grandfather was a prominent judge in town. Shut up, no one wants to hear that you think you're "somebody" to get us off the hook. They weren't there to arrest us, so let's not brag about who we are, k? cause I was nobody to them, and I wanted to keep it that way. Thankfully, they just ignored his attempts to impress them, and called a tow truck for us.  My boyfriend had enough cash on him to cover it, (you know, cause his grandfather was a judge!)  and we got pulled out. The rest of our night was spent at the car wash trying to wash all the mud off the Subaru and hide any evidence from my mom. She wouldn't believe for one second that we were going out there just to see the pond. She had enough experience and abuse from my older siblings to keep my sister and I on a very short leash..even though, really, we didn't need it.
The car soon became my mom's, as I would be leaving for school in the mountains, and she would end up needing it more than me.. I miss that car. The way it (normally) handled the roads..when you actually stay on them! My nephew has a Subaru now, and so does my dad. They are a solid car, dependable, and are well priced. I think my ex-boyfriend ended up in a Subaru somewhere.. I'm sure he did. And I'm sure he probably told the guy selling him the car who his grandfather was! punk..

  For more information on some of the newer models by Subaru, go to Reedman Subaru, a top PA car dealership.

Wimps..or maybe not.

It's been a long couple of weeks. I may or may not have mentioned this before, but roughly 4 years ago, my husband injured his right shoulder, and has been suffering (not so silently) with it ever since. He can't pin point the exact thing he did to tear his rotator cuff. It could have been anything, from the countless hours he's spent carrying any and all of our four kids at some point during their earlier years. It could have been all the landscaping he's done over the years..or the jerking off!  I simply don't know, and could care less. I just wanted it fixed!
It's a fact. Men are wimps when it comes to pain. (am I right ladies, c'mon??) When my husband and I were first together, we went and got tattoo's. He went first, and got a lizard on his right shoulder blade. He had a thing for lizards when he was in his early 20's. He had two (supposedly both female) til one of them got pregnant, then subsequently died because the egg ruptured inside of her before being released. It's ok, don't cry. I was over that the minute those cold blooded little bitches got their own bathroom! And they got their own bathroom because 1.) they were aggresive little fuckers but needed more space than just a normal cage and 2.) because the bathroom they got had a heat lamp, and they stayed nice and cozy! There were many a night, a drunk friend, or even my husband would have to take a leak and couldn't wait for the "normal no lizards allowed" bathroom and started to do their business, and the more aggresive lizard would jump for the stream of pee.
Anyway, sorry about getting so side tracked. Let me see, oh yes, wimps! About 5 minutes into the painful tattoo, my husband fainted. Turned green like the lizard he was having put on his back, and fell over! Once he regained his composure, he let the guy finish, and then I had mine done. While it was painful, it was certainly nothing that was going to throw me to the floor. That was when I made up my mind about guys, and their wimpiness. All the rumors, were true! As women, I believe we are naturally more conditioned to endure physical pain, if we weren't, the human race would have epically failed after the first man gave birth.
So, back to my poor husband and his shoulder. When he finally did see his doctor, and had an MRI, it was discovered that he had a pretty significant torn rotator cuff. He tried physical therapy, and anti inflammatory medications, but nothing worked. He decided for surgery. I was all for whatever he thought was best, but I did ask if I could attend the meeting with the surgeon, because he lacked many answers to some pretty important questions.. like, how do they do it? How long will you be out of work? what's the time frame on healing that bad boy up? My husband was under the impression that he could go in on Friday, and be back to school on Monday. Uh, yea. It rarely goes down like that..as I discovered when the surgeon told me that he recommends most his patients take 2 weeks off from work! Not to mention the fact that he would be unable to lift anything heavier than a coffee cup for 8 weeks. It was an enlightening visit to say the least. When booking the surgery with the surgical staff, my husband was told their first opening was the day before Thanksgiving. Before I could oppose, my husband says "I'll take it!" to which I reply.."but we're hosting this year" to which he rebutts "Perfect!"
So, that is how it went down. He had to check in at noon the day before Thanksgiving, on an entirely empty stomach since midnight the day before. This may have been the hardest part for him. It's hard to tell a man who's metabolism runs like a freight train, not to eat for 18 hours! He did it though, despite his entire family eating like pigs in front of him! On his way to the OR, my husband told me that he loved me, and apologized in advance for the pain in the ass he was going to be later. That was heartfelt for him, I knew he was nervous..what if something went wrong..so telling me that was a big deal.
The surgery went really well, the assisting surgeon was someone my husband has "jammed" with before, as I discovered post op when he came back to talk to us in the recovery room, said it was "textbook" perfection..or something like that. It was a clean tear, which made fixing it that much easier.
Much to my surprise, my husband joined us for dinner the next day. I thought for sure he'd be in his bed crying about how bad it hurt (this is where the whole men are wimps comes in). He was not a wimp at all. I did everything for him, 3 hot meals a day, dressed him, gave him what he referred to a Portuguese shower..or sponge bath, washed his hair in the kitchen sink. And handled the kids, and that little holiday Thanksgiving. I had no idea how much I was going to love taking care of him. I hadn't thought of it, really. I knew he'd be layed up, but I didn't know how my maternal instinct was going to kick in, and he was going to be first priority. Maybe it was his gratitude, because he was grateful. Or maybe it was just nice to feel appreciated. Sometimes in the hub bub of our lives, we have little time for appreciation. It wasn't just one way either. I was appreicative of all he does, and could no longer do. And for once, instead of him taking care of all of us (in a deeper way than just the monetary support he provides) I was able to take care of him. I was his lifeline. And I kinda dug that! He said more than once how useless he felt, when he saw me running from one thing to the next. He often would try to help, which I never allowed. I didn't want his head to get too big either..and told him I wasn't going to be nice forever, so he better get the hell back to bed, and let me do it!
He was back in school teaching and coaching the following Monday. He was so much stronger than I had ever given him credit for. We have not had so much as a disagreement since his surgery, and there have been many opportunities! We have instead decided not to sweat the small stuff. Life is simply too short, and in the end the most important things will be what you've done for the people you love, and the impact that that has had on them...it's simple..

The New, and Improved Ford Fiesta..as cute as ever!

When I was a kid, there were many cars that came and went through my family. My earliest memory was the green pinto that my mom tooled us around in.  What I remember most about this car was how it always seemed to stale, in the middle of downtown. When I was nine(ish), I remember my aunt's Ford Fiesta. It was a turquoise bluish/green, small, and totally adorable. At that time my folks were driving a Ford Econoline van, which was HUGE, you could have fit 3 of the fiesta's in it. This particular aunt was my favorite, and even though she was only a few years younger than my mom, she seemed more like a sister to me.

I remember when she got rid of the car, in favor of a Chevette. It wasn't nearly as cute, and she later ended up regretting it. The fiesta got great gas mileage, almost 40 mpg. Much like the days we live in today, gas prices back then were also a concern. My aunt was a single mom, and needed something reliable, and something economical. She truly found that in the fiesta.

Moving forward almost 30 years, Ford has come out with the new and improved Ford Fiesta. Much like it's precedessor, it's economical, reliable, and adorable. If I wasn't chained to my loser cruiser, at least for another 12 years..then I would buy one of these in a heartbeat..for the mileage, and the dependability that comes with Ford.

Here's a Fiesta from the 80's..

And one from today..I'm not sure which I like better.. ;)

The newer model is a lot more aerodynamic in design, and offers drivers better fuel-efficiency. The older model might offer those of you that great feeling of nostalgia, which is fine, but for those of you who are a fan of the newer models. Then you can go ahead and take a look at your local ford dealership, or at Salt Lake City Ken Garff Ford dealers. Either way you look at it either Fusion is adorable.

Keeping it, not so personal..

I am so glad that once again, the American public has proved it's not just a bunch of Jersey Shore watching, Hollywood obsessed morons, and did the right thing by keeping our current president in office. Before anyone thinks I'm political, let me just say I AM NOT! I will be the first one to avoid talking politics, and the first one to admit that I know very little on the topic. I do, however, feel quite confident that I understand the character of people, the empathy that they either posses, or simply do not.
I saw in Romney, a narcissistic, self serving jackass, only in politics because he needed to prove something to his Daddy. Where I found Obama to be the type of man who first entered politics, not to end up as president one day, but to make a difference, which I believe he has, and is still working on..it's not like he walked into a mess that he could clean up in just one term.
Politics are something that my husband and I rarely discuss. As long as I've known him, he has been very private with who he votes for. Last week after he came back from voting, I asked him the same thing I ask him after every election. "Who'd ya vote for?" And like always, I got "It's personal" He always ends up telling me that he voted for someone, this year he told me that he wrote in Ron Paul. But later he said it was Romney. He's full of shit, and I never believe him. 
Two days before the election, I took advantage of some nice weather and took down the few decorations I  had up for Halloween. This inspired me to start putting up some Christmas ones, anything that gets me out of my house when everyone else is in it, I am all over!  It all sort of evolved into my very own political statement..it didn't start out that way, but I decided to go the polar opposite of my husband, and didn't keep it personal, at all!
The lights only remained lit for about 30 minutes, just enough time for my sister to see it, and some random people driving by to get a picture if it. In my opinion, keeping your political opinion "personal" is so old school. Who cares? And jeesh buddy, I'm your WIFE!! There are some things that you should keep personal, such as your social security number..or your vagina! I think he might not be getting too personal with mine anytime soon! ;)

You can write an essay too!!

Who doesn't like to win free stuff? I found this blog online recently, and entered to win a Jeep Grand Cherokee Trailhawk. Let's face it, it's a sweet looking car, and I'm pretty sure I would look damn cute in it! Oh, I kid..But honestly,  while I adore my loser cruiser, it's nearing it's 10th year, and recently we had to sink a significant amount of money into it. I have come to grips with the fact that she will not live forever. So, free stuff, please come my way! ;)
The contest details are included here in this link: http://blog.jeep.com/2012/10/24/enter-the-jeep-trailhawk-tough-blog-contest/ It's an easy 1000 letter essay, which is about as much as I've written so far in this post. easy peasy lemon squeezy. You have to describe what would make you "Trailhawk Tough" or what HAS made you trailhawk tough.  Again, easy, anything can make you tough. Having 4 kids has made me tough (and mildly insane..but I didn't tell THEM that! ;) So, go on, and enter! If you don't like a chance to win a NEW, free car, then you're a nub. Below the gorgeous jeep, is my essay. In case you need some inspiration! ;)

"If there is anything that makes you tough, it is motherhood. What would make you trailhawk tough? Twins. My husband and I had two beautiful boys, and our family was complete. My 3rd pregnancy was a surprise. Finding out they were twins was a shock, I went into survival mode. Single pregnancies are cake compared to growing two babies at once. Your body is forever changed, and not necessarily in a good way. Ask any mom of twins about her twinskin! If you're lucky, you'll have a smooth pregnancy, maybe you'll enjoy the "glow" that everyone has told you you have, maybe you'll see that glow. I didn't. Then when you've expanded so far that you believe you might split wide open, you'll meet your babies. It will make you tough in a way that you never knew possible. It will challenge you, your family, your relationships. Everything. But if your tough, you'll come out on top. All the sacrifices you make as a mother, the sleepless nights, the many trips to the ER, this is what makes you tough. "

If you are on the market for a new vehicle, and are interested in purchasing a new Jeep SUV. Then you should consider looking at the Reedman Toll Chrysler Inventory, serving Philedelphia, PA    I spent a lot of time browsing their options, and I really liked what they had to show.

Under Our Skin

I have had two tick bites in my life. Both of those ticks carried Lyme disease. Last summer I came down with it, and luckily I had the trademark bulls eye to prove it, since my blood work came back negative. This past July, I came down with the same symptoms again, but had no bulls eye.  The last tick bite I had was in April, so I thought I was in the clear since I hadn't become sick. I didn't know that you can be bit by a Lyme diseased tick, and not get sick from it for several months. I also didn't know that something like 50% of people with Lyme's don't get a bulls eye, and that blood tests are highly unreliable. It was because I knew the symptoms, and knew what to do.
My doctor is not completely with me on my feelings about Lyme disease. She's following the Infectious Disease Society of America's (the IDSA) guidelines, which are highly biased, and quite frankly are making people with Lymes sicker. She agreed however to put me on 2 weeks of the antibiotic doxycycline, and reluctantly agreed to one week more when I asked her to treat me just like she had the last time. I'm not a fan of the antibiotic, it took me a few days of taking it before I could finally hold it down. It's nasty, but untreated Lyme disease is far nastier.
I have a cousin, who is 13 now. 4 years ago, she was bit by a tick at school. The nurse removed it, and told her mother to watch out for the bulls eye. There was no bulls eye, but about 9 months later, she became very sick with flu like symptoms. Her mother had her tested for Lymes, and it came back negative. She took some antibiotics and didn't get better. It wasn't until her mom took her back for more blood work that they discovered Lymes. After visiting one of the only Lyme literate pediatric doctors in the country, she spent a year on IV antibiotics and has been pain free for 2 years. The problem with seeing a Lyme literate doctor, is that your insurance won't cover it, based on the IDSA's guidelines. Lyme is considered treated after 3 weeks of doxycycline. This is true of some cases like mine, but if its left untreated, it is significantly harder to reverse. Did I mention that over half of the doctors on the IDSA board work for the insurance companies? Hardly sounds like a fair match. There is a wonderful documentary that everyone should see. It's called "Under Our Skin" it can be found on Netflix as well as your local library. I believe that one day they are going to find cures for diseases of unknown origin, such as MS, Lou Gehrig's disease and Parkinson's. I also believe that the unknown origin will be untreated Lymes. But that's just my opinion. Go watch the movie and make up your own mind!

Change Is A Coming..

Soon you'll see different things here on my blog. I was contacted a few weeks ago by a guy named Dicky. Yes, dicky. He works for a marketing company and is representing  a local automotive group. He's offering some local bloggers money for ad placement, customer reviews, and  such on their blogs. Sign me up. Sell me out. Whatever, I need some cash! So, if you see new stuff here, please check it out! The more clicks the better! When I heard from this guy, we scheduled a phone call, twice. He emailed me the day of the call, and said he didn't have time to talk, and would I be available the following day, same time. Sure, because I have nothing else going on. I waited for his call for about an hour, before I said fuck it, I've got shit to do, and just thought he was a flake. Whatever. It was about a week later, that I awoke in the middle of the night (where I do my most logical thinking) and got really pissed, who does this Dicky  think I am? I mean, if you say you're going to call someone, then just fucking call them! So, despite wanting to email him right then and there, I decided to at least wait until the sun had come up. Nothing says crazy bitch better than  sending an email to a total stranger all fuming and pissed, in the middle of the night!
My email was simple, and straightforward. I wrote "Was it something I said? Or wrote? Just curious why you blew me off last week" There. easy peasy lemon squeezy. He responded right away. He was very apologetic, and thought he had sent me an email about rescheduling (which he did not) And he still wanted me to be part of the whole blog rental thing, or whatever it's called. Fine. I emailed him back, apologetic as well..sounding less like a wounded chick waiting for a boy to call her, and more like the witty, mildly insecure girl that I am.
So, in short, I'm hoping to be blogging more,  I'm not sure how it will all pan out. If it'll be worth any of the aggravation of putting myself out there, but I gotta try and do my part..I created a page on facebook for my little blog..feel free to like it, and comment, tell me what you think (unless it's negative, cause then can just keep it to your freakin self!) kid. I kid..I love constructive criticism. really.  My loser cruiser is currently at the shop getting itself a fancy new exhaust, and water pump. Which isn't cheap btw! And I need a purpose, besides being a wife, a mom, a seamstress, and just an overall awesome person..;)

Under the Lights..

Every year the kids soccer teams get to play a night game, under the lights, in a neighboring town. These games are so fun for the kids and everyone always looks forward to it. I was especially looking forward to it this year, because of being the ass coach and all.
I had gotten a couple emails during the day from parents wanting directions to the field. In an extremely timely fashion, I replied with the address, and an attached map. Yes, you should be impressed, a map for me is a big deal.
 My son and I left before the rest of the family because, you know, I'm the ass coach, and we need to be there either early, or at the very least on time. Imagine my surprise, and baited anxiety, to see an entirely empty field. Immediately, my son starts freaking out..but I quickly calm him down and tell him it's fine. We're the first ones here. We're early!! Something sadly, he's probably never experienced with his mutha before!
So, we get out of the car, and start commenting on how different the field looks. We both agree that they must have moved the goals and the bleachers. Sure. Sounds good. While we waited, I hit the porta potty, which was naturally disgusting, as any little "house" would be that contains random peoples dookeys.
After more waiting, and more wondering, my son says "where's the cemetery that used to be here?" I had no memory of a cemetery, but then again, I have no memory of last week. So, I think he's confused. That must be another field. And then he says "Mom, where are the lights?"  At that point, they were finally going off.  In my head. Shit. We were totally at the wrong field, and now we were late. We jumped back in the loser cruiser, and flew to the other field. We made it before the game started, but not before the rest of my family had been there, and then went out looking for us afraid I may have had car troubles.  And, where was my cell phone? Lost. Only to be found later under a pile of clean clothes on my bed waiting to be folded. It wouldn't have mattered anyway, b/c my husband and I share a cell phone. what is this, 1999?
Anyway, this wasn't the only problem of course. Miraculously, one of the parents ignored my directions and got their own, and  the other parents (the parents of twins, who I adore) showed up 2 minutes after we did. The Dad looked like he had just been to war. With his wife. whoopsie.
The worst part, was that my sister, who had driven right home after work, picked up her 3 kids, got back in her car, and then unbeknownst to her, drove to the wrong field. I borrowed a phone from the other ass coach, but I could not, for the life of me,  remember her number.
I had to leave the field, right at the beginning of the game, and fetch my sister. She was only mildly annoyed, and more relieved that she could park her car, and get her 3 restless kids out of it! I'm not sure why I didn't have a heart attack that night, it wouldn't have surprised me.  We ended up crushing the other team 6-0 and are currently undefeated!  There is another game, at a different school this season, but I'm pretty sure no one will be asking me how to get there! Maybe there is an upside to my stupidity!

I love my iPhone!!!

I never knew how badly I wanted an iPhone until I was given one. Yes, GIVEN one. I had posted random shit about  my crusty old iPod touch on Facebook. About how it wouldn't take a charge and that I had been borrowing  my kids, which was a total pain in the ass for everyone.
So, imagine my delight when a friend asked me if I was still looking for an iPod, and offered me her old iPhone because her husband was passing down his 4G to make room for his new iPhone 5. Well hells yes!!  I had no idea what the differences would be, since I'd never had anything but my first generation piece of shit. Obviously there's a huge difference! There's a camera, that takes video too. I could also download an app to play solitaire! Something the old crusty one could no longer support (solitaire!! That's how OLD it was)
When I asked my friend what she wanted for it she simply replied "zero dollars."  I have the best friends, I really do. Of course I couldn't just take this from her without something in return, that's just bad juju, so I brought her a bag I had made. One of the first bags ever stitched, and one that I thought went very well with her.
I hope she's getting some use out of it, I am getting a TON of use out of my new (very gently used) iphone, minus the phone part because I still haven't convinced my husband that we should get rid of my other phone, and use this instead (it's always about money..money, stupid fucking money).
Anyway, if my friend ever reads this, I just want to say thank you again! I am beyond excited about it, and love it! You da best!! xo

Love Songs.. or not

My husband called me from work the other morning because he found a mixed cd in his car that someone had burned. Since I occasionally drive his car, he wanted to know if it was mine. I told him it wasn't. I haven't listened to a cd in ages, hello? It's 2012!!  Soon after, I received this email from him:

upon further listening they are all love songs!
CHRISTIAN!
Something you want to tell me!
Weird

Ha! I would be so flattered if someone made me a mixed cd of love songs! I was a tiny bit flattered that my hubs actually was a little jealous. Contrary to his usual emotion, which is the equivalence of a cardboard box, this was highly unlike him. And I liked it! ;) This was my response: in 2 parts.

part 1
ahaha.. are you serious??
they're in YOUR car! maybe you have a secret admirer??
part 2
btw, I love that you're a little jealous!!
His response, and our last email:

No, I wasn't serious. Have a good day

Back in the cardboard box. That was quick. He later thought that maybe it belonged to the previous owner (he's only had the car a few months..) Maybe? ah der. And I wonder how I stand upright! ;)

more evidence that I'm a natural blond..

I went to the dollar store today to get some new glasses for my kitchen. I spare no expense when it comes to my home, clearly! The last ones I got were from Ikea, and they are nasty! No matter how many times I wash them, by hand or in the dishwasher, they always come out covered in a funky residue.  We have hard water. Hahd watah!  It's gross, and I would like to offer someone a glass of water (from our bubbler, duh), and not be horrified when I do.
So, I grabbed 10 of their best dollar glasses, a new pair of dollar sunglasses (since I had run over my other pair, mowing the lawn last week.) and cruised on over to the checkout, as I was in a hurry. The cashier, who looked about 13 but was most likely in her 30's, and whom did not have one strand of blond hair on her head,  asked me if I wanted to carry my glasses out. I just looked at her, and then said  "Um,  where would I put them?" She said I could put them in my bag.. to which I said "um..I don't think I can fit those in my bag..could you put them into one of those bags?" I asked, pointing to the bagging station in front of her. It was all very bizarre, and we were both awkward, and uncomfortable with the entire transaction. I was happy as hell to get out of there!
It wasn't until I was in my car, and the sun was blaring in my eyes, that I realized I had other glasses in my basket. SUN ones. She had asked me, or had to meant to ask me if I wanted to carry out my sunglasses  (although, the word "sun" never left her lips). Which, BTW, is a very important word in a situation where you are buying actual drinking glasses 10-1 over a pair of sunglasses! It's not that hard. jeesh!!!!!!!!!!!!

Super duper dumb ass.

We do our grocery shopping every Sunday. This is a chore that my husband and I equally despise, and in order to make it fair, we alternate weekly. This Sunday, it was my husbands turn. Normally, when it's his turn, he gets up early, gives me about 2 minutes to get a list ready, and then he's off. I knew he would LOVE the list I made this week, especially when I woke up this morning and realized that Aunt flo had paid me a visit over night.
I've never understood what the big deal is when you ask a guy to buy you tampons, or other feminine products. It's not like the cashier is going to think that you're buying them for yourself. Try being a lady and going to the drug store, with only one reason.  Then try waiting patiently in line with your little box of super tampons (for the super time you're going to have that week) tucked under your arm, only to be waited on by the one cute guy who works there. He knows exactly what you've got going on down there.. it's uncomfortable, and awkward. It's different when you're doing your weekly shopping at the grocery store, and mixed in with all the crap you're buying, is a box of tampons. Oh, and it's also different if you happen to have a penis. No one is going to wonder if your uterus is doing it's monthly house cleaning.
I made my list this morning, here's part of it:

I thought he'd get a kick out it..and I also thought he'd come home with the right stuff.. but do you know what he came home with? Pads..Maxi Pads, as he later put it. When I was unloading the groceries, and asked "what's this?" He said "tampons, super ones" Um, no.. and then he realizes that he's in fact brought me home pads. Super ones. great! I'm sure he won't mind going back and getting me the right ones.. just as sure as I am that monkey are gonna come flying out of my ass!

Oral bullshit.

I brought my girls to the dentist this morning. They handled it like troopers, and naturally wouldn't speak to anyone who spoke to them. They are such charmers that way!
The dentist happens to be a place I dread. Despite my husband having excellent medical benefits, they offer no dental for his family. This sucks, as you can imagine. Having 4 kids, and almost a hundred teeth between them, it can get costly. We go to a facility that offers financial assistance, which we have always taken advantage of. Every year though, they want you to re-fill out all the forms, and when I say ALL the forms, I mean like about 30! I get it, they want to make sure we qualify. But this year, with my best effort put forth, I had missed a few of the forms they needed, and had sent them a few they didn't. This happened to coincide with us refinancing our mortgage, and the copies got mixed up. Essentially, we were denied coverage.  This of course is after all of them had had their cleanings, and xrays and sealants and so on. I had explained the mix up, and once I finally got all the shit taken care of, and every last bit of correct financial information they needed, we were approved. Unfortunately, it wasn't retro active, and now we are stuck with almost a grand to pay back. ugh. The worst part, is that the dentist is affiliated with the hospital I work at, you would have thought they could have cut me some slack..they know what they're paying me! jeesh..
Anyway, the point of this particular post was that I decided today, one thing worst than the dentist themselves, is the hygienist. Those folks know how to lay it on thick..the guilt, the "are you helping them floss?"  "You gotta get those back ones really good, I saw some plaque" Lord have mercy! I mean really, they have no cavities, and my husband and I have been brushing the girls teeth (because we were told to). I've been there before and have heard the hygienist actually argue with a parent about the kid flossing, saying that he couldn't have been doing it, even though she swore he had. It's high stress for me, and I hate it. I sat there quietly playing solitaire on my son's ipod (because my old crusty cracked one finally stopped taking a charge) and only spoke when spoken to, pretty mature don't ya think?  Thank goodness it's only twice a year! And if I plan it right, it's in the summer, and my husband will take them. He's in charge of their teeth, and that is just the way I like it!

My thoughts on Divorce..

I realized that in my last post, I mentioned that my children have never felt the pain of divorce. I started thinking about my own parents divorce when I was 7. It sucked. There is no other way to describe it, just sucky suckage. But as I grew older, I realized that my folks weren't compatible as a couple. There were bright sides to their split. No  more fighting, well, except for all the bickering we couldn't possibly avoid, about child support and visits. It was not amicable. My dad left us for another woman. A woman with 2 young children, whom I loathed, but only because they got my dad, and I didn't.
I believe now, that if they had handled their divorce differently, that I would be different. Not that I want to be, because quite frankly, I'm pretty frickin awesome ;) (you don't really think I believe that do you? some days I do, some days I don't) If I had felt like it wasn't my fault, and if it hadn't been so crushing to my self esteem, I certainly would have made better choices in my life, even though I wouldn't choose my life to be any different. It gave me a thick, impenetrable skin and some quick wit, sarcastic attitude, and a need to be loved..which almost ruined me in my teens.
I have friends who are going through break ups right now. The good thing about these people, is that they are handling it like grown ups. They are thinking about their children, more than themselves. I know that parents did the best they could with what they had. My mom was literally devastated, and my sisters and I became her rock. It was a lot to take on at our young age. I often think back about the Saturday morning that my dad left, and wish I could go back, and tell my  mom that it would be ok, and that contrary to what she was saying, this was NOT what men do. They don't always leave, sometimes they stay, despite insecurities and triggers that I haven't understood until recently. There are better reasons to divorce, than to stay together. Some people are broken. Quite literally, inside and out. The only way to fix that relationship, is to dissolve it. Staying married for the kids sake is bullshit. The turmoil that they will suffer by being raised by two unhappy people is far more damaging than a divorce. That is just my opinion, which happens to be exactly right! ;) I can't help it if I know everything! Just ask my husband, it's his favorite part about me!

soccer

My Saturdays throughout the fall are going to be spent on the soccer field. My daughters are playing for the first time this year. It's really cute to see little kids play, but it's a nice change to watch, and help coach the older kids. There is no yelling at the first graders that they've got a man on, or to get back in position. It's all sprinkled with sugar and lollipops, know what I mean?
I knew my girls would be a bit intimidated by the whole experience. The reason I didn't sign them up last year during Kindergarten, was because I knew they would never have gotten on the field, and would have spent the entire 1.5 hours in my lap. That, and the fact that it started at 8 am. No thanks. My more reserved daughter, got out there and gave it her all. My youngest son was nothing but annoyed because she wasn't running enough.. my other daughter was a force to be reckoned with during their practice. She was all over the field, running her little butt off. However, that all changed when they started their little game with another team. She came running off the field, crying that she wanted to go home, and never wanted to come back.  She was a mess, and would not spill the beans about why she was so upset. She filled me in that night before bed that she was nervous when all the other parents were there to watch. She didn't realize apparently, that we were already watching. She's agreed to go back next week, thank goodness..it's non refundable you know! ;) And there's no discount for large families..I was a bit surprised by that. School pictures give you a break, why shouldn't school sports.. whatever, it was my choice to have such a big family (well, sort of ;)
I had to leave my daughters game to get to another field for my sons game. I met the head coach when I got there, he knew just who I was as I walked up to him. Must have been the heads up he got from his wife who had added me to Linkedin network! He claims he knew I wasn't a guy when I responded to his email offering to do the communication for the team! Dead giveaway! We passed out jerseys, did some stretching, some drills, and had an informal scrimmage with another team. Man for man, I think my son's team was better.  The other team had some great kids on it, but they also had a couple of kids who thought they were at a dance class because they keep doing these high kicks. Very graceful on the soccer field let me tell you! Until one of the kids got a cleat right between the eyes.. and you know that that kid was MINE! Poor boy, he's got a nice shiner in the shape of someones shoe, thankfully the swelling on the bridge of his nose has gone down. We lost that scrimmage, but my kid was the only one who scored a goal for the team. Cause he's awesome! Well, he is! ;) Two minutes before the game ended, we had another injury, and yup, you guessed it.. My son came limping off the field, fighting back the tears. He got his big toe stepped on. Pretty sure by the color it's changing, that his nail is going to fall off. I'm not sure, but I might have subconsciously agreed to coach so that I will be there with him when the ambulance is eventually called.. ugh..if anyone is going to get hurt, it will be him!