Siblings..

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

Our Anniversary Lobster Fest..

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

For the love of God..

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

10 Years (holy shit huh?)

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

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

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

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

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

Thanks for thinking of me!

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

Pigtails..

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A Couple Camping Pics..

Yes, that's me! In a picture!! See, I do exist, if not for this one photo. Actually, the only reason I'm in this picture was because I told my husband that my camera wasn't working, so he snapped this to prove me wrong.

Here is my oldest son, and my wonderful nephew, who joined us this weekend. He was a huge help (as always) and even skipped a shower for two days, which is a big deal to him!

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

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

Next time..

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

Camping..again..

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

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

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

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

The Other Woman Reunion..

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The check is in!

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

The Smell..

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

The Stratham Fair..

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

More Loser Parenting..

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

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

Happy Birthday!

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

Don't worry, I'm fine!

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

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

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

What has happened to Andy Dick?

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

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

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

All Choked Up..

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

It's not Water Country, but they don't seem to care!

At least there's less laundry for me to do!

My husband brought the kids to visit me at work last week. I guess it's typical for a guy not to worry about how the kids look, although my sister once said it was funny because most guys (or at least our husbands) wouldn't leave the house wearing anything they put our children into.

I know he's busy, and I know he's getting a slice of my life this summer, but when my girls showed up to visit me, and meet some of my co-workers for the first time, I was only slightly mortified with one of them still in her night gown (at 4:30 p.m.) with her diaper practically sagging to her knees, and the other one wearing one filthy outfit on top of another. My youngest son was wearing a shoe on one foot, and a sock on the other- with no shoe (because of the cut he had gotten from camping) and my oldest son was still wearing the same outfit from the day before, not that anyone else besides me would have known, but they looked like a bunch of homeless children, at least to me they did. It was the first time all summer that I felt guilty for working.

Such is life though.. It's not like they're unhappy.. they're probably happier that I'm not there nagging them to put clean clothes on! I have made sure since then to get them dressed before I leave.. live and learn I guess..

Super Pooper Sunday..

We spent our Sunday evening at my husbands soccer game. I was surprised when he suggested that we go with him, but I agreed to go, if we could go to dinner first. We made of the mistake (or I should say my husband made the mistake) of letting the boys choose where we would eat. We ate at Wendy's. Yum. But the cheapskate was more than happy not to shell out more for any ambiance, or wait staff.
The game was held at a field that had a huge playground. We watched the first half of the game, and spent the second half at the playground. The girls loved it. We have a slide here at the house, which they refuse to go down. I had looked away for a moment and turned around to see my daughter going down the biggest slide there, and it was one of those curvy ones. It wasn't as nerve wracking seeing her come down, as it was seeing her climb back up it.
Anyway, the highlight of the entire night had to be when my 5 year old had to poop. And when this kid has to poop, he HAS to poop. There was a port a potty about 100 yards away, but I had just seen one of the players going in, and hadn't seen him come out yet. I didn't want to go to it anyway, port a potty's are just gross, and I would have had to bring all my kids to it. Luckily, we were the only ones at the playground, so I grabbed an empty ziploc bag from my car, some napkins from Wendy's, and made him squat. I'm still amazed at the low lights of parenting that I encounter. The repulsive things I have done as a mother, because I've had no choice. His aim was incredible, and it all just went into the bag. And even more lucky for me was the fact that there was a garbage can near by. Thank god I didn't have to transport that home with us!
So, that was my Sunday, in a nut shell.. I'm looking forward to going back to work tomorrow. My girls are still adjusting to me leaving for more than my usual couple of hours. One of them especially. She's turned to screeching very loudly, and hitting, a lot! I have some sort of bruise on my eyelid (of all places) from where she slapped me earlier. I don't think hitting your kids is right, for any reason, but when she landed one perfectly on my face today, it was all I could not to give it right back to her.. More low lights.. but anyway, I'm off to bed as all the fresh air I got today is taking it's toll on me!

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??