First Crush

Abby has her first crush. It's on a boy in her class. It's pretty cute to watch her talk about him and give me updates on how things are going. Apparently, from what she told me, he likes her, too. But she knows she's too young for a boyfriend. The funny thing is she talks about him whenever she wants to, regardless of who is around. But, she has sworn me to secrecy and tells Mr. Ham that she's not going to talk about Addison with him. LOL It's pretty cute, I think.

Thinking about this reminds me of my first crush. I was in preschool, and his name was Steven. I remember that on Valentine's Day I was early to preschool, and the teacher had heart-shaped name tags at the snack table. We had to open the heart to find out where we were sitting, and I remember scoping it out to find his. When he got there, I showed him his spot, all proud of myself, only to be chastised by my teacher for ruining the fun for Steven! LOL I also remember hounding my mom with questions as the time to start kindergarten grew closer. I can't remember everything, but I do remember asking if he'll go to the same school. I know she said she didn't think so. And I remember that she was right. He wasn't at my kindergarten. But, my last memory of my first crush was on the last day of school. I kissed him good-bye. LOL The only thing I remember is that he was taller than I was, and I leaned up on my tiptoes to give him the kiss. (Don't know if I kissed his cheek, forehead, or – gasp! – lips.)I also remember that parents were in the room – I'm guessing it was pickup time.

Aaahhh! Young love ...

Anyone else wanna share about their first crush? I'd love if others shared their stories!

Things That Shouldn't Surprise Me

... but somehow they do!

1. My son, Grant, is a very picky eater. Given that I am a picky eater ... Ironically, my girls are better eaters than my boy is. Go figure! LOL 
2. Speaking of my girls, Abby is a nonstop talker. Talk, talk, talk. She even says that she LOVES talking! Why shouldn't this surprise me? I'm so glad you asked! As a newborn, this girl cried and cried and cried. All. the. time. Unless she was eating or sleeping, of course. No, no colic – doctor said so, and i know so. Just crying for no apparent reason. My mom, who has TONS of experience with babies and kids, even found her challenging – and I quote "she's the hardest baby I've ever seen!" Thankfully, she waited until Abby got a little less difficult before saying that! Anyway, now I think she was just TALKING. As a newborn, the only way she knew to do that was to CRY! So, when I look at it that way, I realize that I shouldn't be so surprised that the girl neverstopstalking! ;-)
3. Natalie is – well, how do I say it ... challenging – and in a way that's completely different from her older sister. She's go, go, go all the time. She's constantly testing boundaries. She's into EVERYTHING. She was more active than the other two as an infant – started getting into aforementioned EVERYTHING much earlier. Why should this be anything but surprising? For one, she was the MOST active before she was born. This girl moved more regularly, AND with much more oomph behind her movements, than her siblings! MUCH more. MUCH, MUCH more. Add to that, hers was my most difficult pregnancy, and most uncomfortable.

And that's it – for now. I'm sure I'll have more to come somewhere down the road.

Liar, Liar ~ Now What?

It was the best of days, it was the worst of days, it was a day of good reports, it was a day of bad revelations, it was a day of pride, it was a day of disappointment ...

And I'm done trying to mimic Charles Dickens! LOL (For the confused, that tidbit above is loosely in the style of the first paragraph – the longest run-on sentence I've ever seen – of Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities. EXCELLENT book. I read it my freshman year in high school and really enjoyed it. But I digress.

So, now I have a decision to make: Do I discuss the positive first, or end on the positive? Hmm...

Today was parent-teacher conferences throughout our school district. In the morning, I had Grant's (preschool) conference. He is doing VERY well, and progressing quite nicely in areas we wanted to work on. He's becoming much more social, and most of my fears have been laid to rest. YAY, Grant! :-)

Abby's school does student-led conferences. It's something I hadn't heard of prior to her kindergarten roundup night two years ago, but it works quite well. She basically runs the conference – shows me her work, progress, etc. We work together to make goals she can strive for, too. The teachers (she has a different teacher for reading/writing and everything else) are both there and answer any questions we might have. It goes pretty well. Overall, Abby is doing GREAT in first grade. We're very proud of her – at least on the academic side.

I'll explain the not-so-proud parts in a moment.

I feel background is necessary, especially knowing that I haven't really said much on this blog about anything concerning this particular subject. This year has been slightly more difficult than last year was, behaviorally speaking. She LOVES, LOVES, LOVES to talk. A lot. Nonstop. ESPECIALLY when she gets tired. This has led to her having some behavior issues at school – not listening and distracting others being the main issues. Because of this, we have been offering her incentives for good behavior. When she has a week of GOOD behavior (meaning no warnings), she gets to do something extra-fun on the weekend: see a movie (Alice in Wonderland last weekend) in the theater, spend some extra time with her best friend, stuff like that. Daily incentives include the privilege of playing games on Facebook, PBS Kids, or the Wii; watching TV between dinner and bed (not constantly, of course, just one show); sometimes even staying up a little later than usual. Those incentives seemed to have been working ...

Side note: Sometimes she brings a lunch to school, and other times she buys a lunch. When she brings, it's almost always a sandwich with some side items. She often doesn't have time to finish her entire lunch (some of it is her fault – for talking too much), but I tell her she needs to eat at least part of her sandwich. Whenever she brings a lunch, I ask her if she ate it. Last night was no different. While at dinner, I asked her if she ate her lunch. She said not all of it, but most of it. I asked about her sandwich. She looked me in the eye and said, " I ate about five bites." I said, "OK, good," and left it at that.

Fast forward to this morning, when I finally unpack her lunch bag (usually I do it right after school – not sure why I didn't yesterday) to find her sandwich UNTOUCHED! It was a Smucker's Uncrustable sandwich, and the package was still SEALED! She had a half day today, so I wasn't able to say anything to her until around lunch time. When I picked her up, I asked her about her lunch from yesterday – specifically inquiring about the sandwich. Her response: "I ate about five bites. Wait, no, actually, I ate about half of it." I couldn't help but smile to myself (not sure why, but I know she didn't see) while shaking my head. When we got home, I asked her to explain what I found in her lunch bag. It was then that she admitted to lying. I had to leave soon for Grant's conference, so my husband got to deal with the issue, but I think it's better that way. For some reason, she takes important chats more seriously when they come from him.

I must admit that I have wondered several times today how many other times she's lied about the sandwich, but threw it out instead of bringing it home. I did ask her about it this evening, and it sounds like it wasn't the first time she's lied about it.

And now back to the other part of this.

We walked to her school for her conference, and on the way there she confessed something to me. When I picked her up this morning, she said that she had a great day today. But, apparently, that was not entirely honest. She got a warning today. Meaning that she deliberately lied to me about her conduct at school. :-(

It gets worse.

We have thought for a few weeks now that she was responding quite favorably to our incentives. We were pleasantly surprised – and WRONG! :-( She has been lying about her conduct (and warnings) at school since late February! :-( She has been getting rewarded when she really didn't deserve them. In fact, she has had at least one warning on at least one day per week for the past several weeks – not counting last week (when she missed two days because of her tooth extraction). As I mentioned above, she got a warning today. Yesterday, she had TWO. By itself, not SUPER bad, but still bad. Coupled with the fact that she told us ZERO warnings for the day, SUPER BAD! I did discuss this with her teacher, who said she and the afternoon teacher would pay closer attention to Abby's planner – which is where she notes how the day went.

I am at a complete loss! How in the world did this happen? And, more importantly, now what? Firstly, how do we respond to this? Secondly, how do we trust her now? And, most importantly, how do we prevent this from happening in the future?

If you have any advice, please feel free to share. Again, I am at a complete loss! << shaking head >>

Worst. Parents. Ever.

There are few things worse than waking up to your child crying. One of those things is when you realize it's your fault...

My poor sweet Abigail had a VERY disappointing morning. The Tooth Fairy forgot to come! Ordinarily, this would be disappointing for any child, but this was especially bad. This was the tooth she had extracted yesterday. The one we told her the Tooth Fairy would leave EXTRA for because the dentist took it out. The one that caused her much discomfort and made it hard for her to eat because she has to be careful. The one that is GIGANTIC because the root is still fully in tact. THE TOOTH!

I awoke to the sound of her crying and entering my room. Tears were flowing as she announced, "She didn't come!" Immediately, I had words run through my head that I'll not share here. Then came the thoughts I can share. HOW could we FORGET? After all the poor thing had been through, HOW did we not remember? Now what? How do we explain this one away? What does the Tooth Fairy need to do to restore my daughter's faith in her?

I feel absolutely horrible about this. Horrible! :-( I let her down. How could I?

Monday Madness

Today has truly been one of those crazy days. I finally have some peace - Natalie's napping - and hope it stays somewhat peaceful. The morning just wore me out!

After dropping Grant off at school, Abby and I headed to my physical therapy appointment. It went pretty well. After a lengthy assessment, she gave me some exercises to try. I go back on Thursday. The appointment lasted quite long, and we barely got out on time to make it to Abby's appointment! We immediately headed to the dentist. Abby did very well with her tooth extraction. She didn't like the Novocaine shot - which I cannot blame her for! I HATE those! She did quite well, though - and seems to be just fine now. Upon inspecting the tooth (which he let her bring home for the Tooth Fairy), we can see a groove in the root of the tooth, where the permanent tooth was stuck! That tooth definitely needed to get out! Now we're just praying for quick healing!

While the morning felt crazy, the afternoon really wasn't too bad. We spent some time at the library, where I was able to sign Natalie up for some toddler story time in April. :-) Kids are in bed. I have a headache. :-( I might be going to bed early, too.

Tomorrow: I MUST pay bills. Should've done that today.

Just pitiful

We tried hard with all three kids to avoid the Linus syndrome - you know, having a blanket that must go EVERYWHERE with them! Abby and Grant went along with it, choosing something smaller (and more portable) to cling to. Natalie, however, did not cooperate.

Yesterday Natalie decided that she simply couldn't do anything without her precious blanket. While my husband makes her leave it in the crib every morning, I let her bring it downstairs. Sometimes - like yesterday - she tries to carry it with her everywhere. I say "tries" because I don't let her leave the house with it. And sometimes - again, like yesterday - she protests. Usually she just throws a fit and cries for about 5 minutes or so. Not yesterday. She threw a fit in the kitchen and refused to cooperate as I was trying to get everyone into the car. So, I forced her through the door (gently of course), after which point she relented and walked to the car without more fussing. This was in the morning, when dropping Abby off at school.

About 30 minutes later it was time to bring Grant to school. Natalie again attempted to bring the blanket. There was another fit. Again she refused to leave the house willingly. As I'm (again, gently) dragging her out the door, I asked "Do we really need to do this again?" Her response: "Yes" in the most pitiful voice I've ever heard! LMAO I couldn't help but crack up. And, yes, this occurred one more time when it was time to pick Grant up - complete with the pitiful "Yes" when asked if we really had to do that again! LOL

Natalie is such a character. All three of my kiddos are. But, I wouldn't change them - or my life with them - for anything. God has blessed me beyond my greatest hopes!

Letter to Santa

For the second-straight year, Abby has taken it upon herself to write a letter to Santa. No prompting, no influence of which I am aware, just her own initiative. And, as always, it's cute as ever. I thought I'd share it. (It will be as she wrote it, complete with spelling errors. I'll correct in red, to help you read it. Oh, and I'm centering it just for my own preference!)

Dear Santa I want

a roabot (robot) dog one that

has fur I also want

a real puppy. I also want

a stuft (stuffed) animle (animal) Horse.

I also want a bell from

your sled. I also want

a book. Santa I have

ben (been) mostly beeing (being)

good this year. And Santa

I rily (really) like your rein

dears (reindeer's) names.

Your

friend

Abby

What's with the Guilt?

Mommy Guilt. If you're a mom, you know what I'm talking about. I just wanna know: What's up with that? I mean, why do we feel guilty for everything and nothing all at once? Why is it that being a mom seems to make one a guilt magnet?

Example: I have three kids and I worry about equal treatment - as much as is possible, as perfectly equal is not. Individuals can't be treated exactly the same simply because they aren't the same. That said, I still find myself feeling guilty over just about anything. The latest is pictures, of all things! When Abby was born, I was diligent about having pictures taken at regular intervals. I started at 6 weeks (figuring her hospital pics were good enough for newborn), then 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 months, 18 months, 24 months, and annually after that. When school started, we just started relying on those for her annual individual shots. For Grant, I was pretty good about sticking to that schedule. There might have been some slight variation - like 19 months instead of 18 months - but I still did a pretty good job. Poor sweet Natalie, however, is getting the short end of the annual-pictures stick! Long story short: I missed her 18-month pictures! My husband was gone to Fargo for 30 days when she hit that milestone, and I just never got around to it. And now, she's 21 months - three months from her 24-month pictures. I feel bad - and I am sure this will be a source of regret at times in the future. We do take pictures of her at home, but not nearly as much as we did Abby - or Grant. Poor kid is getting the classic third-born treatment!

Why do I feel so friggin' guilty about this? I mean, seriously! It's not like it's a life-or-death thing! And it's not like she hasn't gotten treatment the others missed out on! For one, we take lots of videos of her - something we didn't do with Abby very much at all, simply for lack of the requisite equipment. Same for Grant. Plus, I worked full time, so I missed a lot of what I've taken video of with Natalie. And then Grant got more ultrasounds (prior to birth) than the girls. Poor Abby didn't get any - our insurance wouldn't pay for it! Natalie got the standard mid-point ultrasound. Grant, however, got two in-depth sonograms. Poor Abby, when we showed her Natalie's pictures, asked about hers from when she was still "in Mommy's tummy." The disappointment on her face brought on major Mommy Guilt! I found myself wishing we'd gotten one - but that would've cost us $300 or more! We didn't really have that to spare.

All of this to illustrate the things over which I tend to struggle with feeling guilty over. There are many more that come and go, depending on what we're dealing with and how I'm feeling, but those are the major ones right now. It's annoying, to say the least. There are times I get down on myself because of this stuff, but then I remind myself that these aren't major issues. Overall, we do a good job (I think) with our kids. We love them; we take good care of them; and we do our very best to make sure we do right by them. Still, there's always something that brings on the guilt. Why is that?

How about you? Do you suffer from Mommy Guilt? If so, what brings it on for you? If not, how do you manage to keep it away?

And now we're back to love ...

Whatever I did seems to have worked! :-) The feed is working again. So, frustration - good-bye! :-) MUCH better! Thanks for "listening" to me complain about this! LOL

Oh, and in case you're wondering, DH got home later than expected - but before Abby went to bed. And he did finally call about an hour before he got home. It's better than nothing, right?

Good night, all, and God bless!

And just like that

It seems like just yesterday I was writing my post about Abby's fifth birthday. But, it wasn't - it was exactly one year ago today! How the heck is that even possible? My baby is SIX! SIX years old! Where have the years gone? I remember snuggling that precious newborn baby in my arms six years ago. How is it that I now have this not-so-little 6-year-old girl? Oddly, this isn't as emotional as last year was. Perhaps it's because kindergarten has passed and now she's heading to first grade. There's something about that kindergarten milestone that just gets a mother really deep.

It is late and I am tired. So, I'm going to wrap this up so I can get some sleep. I just didn't want today to go by without me saying something.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, my precious, sweet, wonderful Abigail! I love you!

It's Hump Day Again ...

Well, for me it is! As of now, DH has 15 days until his return. We're smack-dab in the middle of his deployment. Going away last week was the best thing I could've done. It really helped the time fly by. With appointments and soccer practices and school, this week flew by, too. Two weeks from tomorrow, he'll be home. I cannot wait!

I will admit it - this (so far, at least) - seems to be a bit easier than the past times were. Perhaps it's because the kids are older - or because I've had more practice. I dunno. But, it's not a matter of creating a new routine, only of falling into an established alternate routine. I used to be in awe of military wives, who do this regularly. I still am - but now I'm more grateful that I'm NOT a military wife. At least my husband never has to go if he doesn't choose to. As a civilian, he can turn down deployments at any point - heck, he could even leave mid-deployment if he ever needed to. And, at least I know he's safe. He's never going into harm's way. I am grateful for that, too. And, yes, that alone leaves me in awe of military wives, as does the fact that my husband's deployment is much shorter than a typical military deployment.

Anyway, I just wanted to celebrate - it's all downhill from here, right? ;-) These next two weeks cannot pass quickly enough. Although, I do think they will fly by. We have a soccer game - complete with team photos - tomorrow, plus her practices on Mondays and Wednesdays and more games for the next few Saturdays. We have Abby's carnival at school on Friday. Grant has another appointment with the speech therapist. And so on. We'll keep busy, and that's good. It's how I have found it's best to pass the time until DH's return. Once he is back, I wanna just slow down - for a long time!

Well, thanks for bearing with me as I mark what is an important day for me. Now I just pray my adrenaline rush lasts another 15 days - or so!

Top 10 Kids' Shows

As I sit here, Abby is watching one of her favorite kids' shows. And that served as inspiration. I thought I'd share with you what shows my kids watch that I don't mind having on the TV. These are in no particular order.

1. Martha Speaks ~ This PBS Kids show is great. I have no idea how long it's been on air, but we discovered it in the fall. Abby immediately took a liking to it. While the concept is kinda goofy, it's very educational. I have noticed a significant increase in her vocabulary since we've started watching this show. Plus, it's hilarious. There are times they put little witty comments in there that my husband and I both find ourselves laughing at. It's a great, educational, and witty show!
2. Word Girl ~ Another PBS Kids show that we just love. Like Martha Speaks, it is funny, educational, and another great show. This, too, helps Abby's vocabulary. In fact, when I hear her use a big word, I often ask her where she learned that word - and nine times out of 10, she'll say one of the two shows. Pretty cool, if you ask me! While I don't find it quite as amusing as Martha Speaks, it still cracks me up on occasion.
3. Little Bear ~ This one's a Noggin fave in our house. The kids love it. I like it, too. I'm not sure why - it's definitely not the most educational show. But, it is cute.
   
4. Jack's Big Music Show ~ Another Noggin fave here, JBMS is a music-centered show. The kids love it - the puppets are attention grabbers, and the music is a hit. My kids are especially fond of Laurie Berkner. I like this because it actually teaches them about music and even exposes them to different genres of music. As a music fan, I find that a HUGE plus!
5. Little Einsteins ~ Another music-centered show, Disney's Little Einsteins is another big hit in my house. My favorite thing about this one is they use classical music. I don't always like the lyrics they add - and sometimes I wish the kids were better singers - but the exposure to classical music makes me very happy. Plus, they teach kids all sorts of musical terms.
6. Sid the Science Kid ~ While this one tends to be annoying at times, I appreciate the fact that this new PBS show goes beyond the typical teaching of the alphabet and numbers to teach youngsters science. I have been very impressed by the stuff it covers - from irreversible change to caring for your teeth to why some people need glasses. It's pretty neat - and my son just loves this show.
7. Word World ~ I love this PBS show because not only does it teach letters and words, but it teaches phonics, too. It helps children learn to sound out words - my 3-year-old son can read three- and four-letter words and I'm sure it's partially thanks to this show.
8. Curious George ~ Yes, this is another PBS show. (We do not have cable/satellite TV.) It's based on the popular series of books, and it's a highly entertaining show. It was one of the first shows we discovered after we canceled our DirecTV service almost two years ago. It's quite funny at times, and it still finds a way to teach kids subtle lessons. We like it, though, purely for its entertainment value!
9. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse ~ Another Disney hit, MMC is a favorite in our house. Grant, especially, loves it. It teaches everything from counting and shapes to colors and numbers. The kids find it highly entertaining, and that's always good.
   
10. Super WHY! ~ I don't know why, but PBS is big on reading. And that's a good thing - I am NOT complaining! This is a cute show that takes common - and not-so-common - fairy tales and childhood stories and uses them to help kids learn some reading skills and letter recognition. Sometimes I get annoyed by the retelling of some of the fairy tales, but that's just the purist literature lover in me! ;-) This show is another one that's helping my kids learn to love reading. I'm not gonna complain.
    

So, there you have it. My 10 favorite shows for young kids. All of these are guaranteed hits in my house.

Now it's your turn. Please share a list of your favorite kids' shows, and post a comment with a link to your post so I can come see! :-)

Now I Remember

Not that I really forgot, but now I really remember why I HATE Walmart. HATE it. My husband is out of town for a couple of days, so it's me and the kiddos. We're doing fine, but last night I found out we have hardly any cat food, as in what I fed them last night was it. No more. My wonderful husband usually feeds them, so I don't generally know when we need food unless I'm told. See where I'm going?

While DH is gone, I have to drop Abby off at school. That's fine, we've got a good routine down now. Yesterday we needed groceries, so we just went straight to Jewel before heading home after dropping Abby off. I wanted to go to Target, b/c I generally prefer it over Walmart, but they didn't open for another 15 minutes. It takes about 5 minutes to get there from Abby's school. I didn't want to sit in the parking lot for 10 minutes. So, I headed to our 24-hour Walmart. Dumb move. Really dumb move.

Firstly, it's like a black hole of time. I never, ever can get in and out of there quickly. For one, it takes me forever to find what I need - they keep moving the damn store around. And, well, there often are things I wanna check while I'm there. I go there so rarely that there's almost always a good-size list of what I want to check out there. That part, I'll admit, is not Walmart's fault - well, at least not my having a list! ;-)

Secondly - and finally - they never, ever, ever have enough checkout lanes open. NEVER. Today was the worst I've ever experienced. Some stupid buyer three people ahead of me was causing all sorts of trouble. I waited in that line for half an hour - that's THIRTY MINUTES, folks - before finally getting checked out! If I was at Target, the second I lined up (three deep), they would've opened a new lane and taken me right away. But, it wasn't. So, the kids (minus Abby) and I sat - er, I guess stood. And stood. And stood. They did remarkably well, although Natalie got tired of being strapped in the cart after about 10 minutes. Poor kid.

So, this just reaffirms my hatred of that stupid store called Walmart. Ironically, I probably would've gotten in and out of Target faster - and home earlier, despite the fact that they weren't open yet! Teach me to make that choice again!

Politics in The Lion King

I have to take Grant and Natalie with me to pick Abby up at school every afternoon. On cold and/or wet days, we wait in the car for her to come to us. (On warmer/dry days, we meet her at the door.) Regardless of which we have, it is imperative that we arrive at the school as early as possible so that we can park nearby - and in a legal parking spot. I have gotten there as much as 25-ish minutes prior to school's release, and there are ALWAYS at least 4 cars there - with people inside! I don't get it - do these people have nothing better to do than sit by the school waiting for class to get out? Anyway, the waiting can be difficult with two little ones in the back seat. They get bored - and who can blame them? It took me more than half of the school year to figure a good way to handle that. (Why it took me so long, I'm not quite sure. I have a couple of theories, but I'll spare you. Suffice it to say, I wish I'd figured this out at the beginning of winter, rather than the end of winter.) We have a factory-installed DVD player in the van, so now I play a movie while we wait. It keeps Natalie and Grant occupied, and my sanity in check! Added benefit: I can read while we wait for Abby. The current movie is - you guessed it - Disney's The Lion King. And, finally, I get to the point of this post! LOL

Today's "segment" (we generally get through about 30-45 minutes most days) started just after Mufasa rescues the lion cubs from the elephant graveyard. I don't know when it ended, but the beginning was shortly before Scar sings "Be Prepared." DH and I have always noted the dripping references to the USSR (man, haven't seen those letters together in who knows how long) and even Nazi Germany in this part of the movie. But, well, today, it hit closer to home for me.

It's no surprise to anyone who knows me that I'm a strong Republican. While I generally avoid too much talk of politics - simply because I'm not a fan of the conflict - the current state of our country worries me, to say the least. The USA is a republic - not a democracy, not a socialist nation. At least not at its birth. I hate seeing where we're headed. I hate seeing the big government we have headed our way. I hate seeing the class warfare that is being brought into our country. I hate that there's so much negative press about the corrupt, GREEDY people who make loads of cash. For every one of those, there are several hard-working Americans who also make loads of cash, but no one hears their stories. We'd rather hear about the CEOs who abuse their position for personal gain. I think it's criminal that those who make more pay a majority of the income tax in this country. Income tax should be flat and fair. Why should people be punished for making more than some "magic" amount of money? Just not right. Talk about killing productivity and discouraging those who would otherwise be driven. But, alas, I'm on a tangent. Sorry.

That said, there's a part of the aforementioned song, "Be Prepared," in which Scar and the hyenas are speaking between verses. And it goes like this:

Scar: Be prepared!

Hyena: Yeah! Be prepared. We'll be prepared! For what?

Scar: For the death of the king

Hyena: Is he sick?

Scar: No, fool! We're going to kill him. And Simba, too

Hyenas: Great idea! Who needs a king? No king, no king! La la la la la!

Scar: Idiots! There will be a king!

Hyena: But you said...

Scar: I will be king! Stick with me and you'll never go hungry again!

That last line is what struck me as so ... America right now! Sorry, but I hate Obama. I know I shouldn't, but I do. For many, many reasons. But, that's not my purpose in writing right now. It just sounds to me like what he's saying between the lines of his speeches: "I'm king of America. Stick with me - back me up - and you'll never go hungry again. We'll take what we want from the Haves and give it to the Have-nots ..." Yes, this is me simplifying my thoughts on this - and what I think Obama is doing. (It's getting late; I'm exhausted; and we have an early morning tomorrow.) People totally miss the point. The Declaration of Independence says everyone has the right to the pursuit of happiness. To me, that means we have the right to do what we can to make the most of our lives - but that does (or at least so far as I'm concerned, SHOULD) NOT include taking what belongs to someone else, even if that someone else has plenty to spare.

"But, you're a Christian. Doesn't God say to give, give, give. Not to hold onto your money and things?" Well, yes. But, God gives us free will. He tells us what we should do, but we can choose our own actions. If we choose to do as He says, He will reward us. If not, well, we're on our own. But, they key here is free will, something that doesn't apply to taxes and other ways of taking what belongs to the Haves. Christian or not, these people aren't given a choice - their hard-earned (in most cases) cash is taken out from under them, without their consent. Like it or not, you have to pay taxes based on your income. As a Christian, I'm happy to give - so long as I'm able to choose if, when, how, and to whom I give.

OK, wow, this is one long rant about something I'm not very qualified to argue. Sorry. These are my thoughts and feelings on this subject. No, I don't have all of the facts. But, know this: I am not in the class of the Haves, so I am not arguing this as one who wants to keep what is hers. I'm arguing this as one who sees big-time unfairness. Yes, people argue about it being unfair that these people have what they have when there are others starving to death or barely able to make ends meet. But, if these people are honestly working hard for what they have, how is it unfair for them to have it? You're not entitled to it simply for being American - and even in some cases merely for being in America, whether legally or not. (And that is a whole other ball of wax I'm just going to avoid, as I have even stronger feelings about that.) Let's not forget that these Haves are also the people with the money to employ others. When we tax the hell out of these people, there's less for them to share with others - whether it's by gifting, hiring, or something else! I'm sorry, but Reagan was right. Trickle-down economics does work. It did work. It would work again, if we went back to it. Alas, Obama is going the opposite way. Except, it's not going to work.

Finally, has anyone else thought how ridiculous these stimulus plans are? Wanna get the country back on its feet? Spend, spend, spend! You don't have the money? Borrow, then spend. Nevermind that's what's got us into this mess in the first place: spending money we DON'T have! And printing more money. REALLY? Do you really think that'll help? I did HORRIBLY in my economics class in college, but even I know that'll just cause recession. That means higher prices for everything. More money floating around means it is worth less than it was before the newly printed money was released. That means it'll take more money to buy EVERYTHING! How do people not see this? *sigh*

This totally ended up being something I never intended it to be. But, since this is my place to share my mind, here you go.

Never Saw It Coming

It's amazing how having babies changes your life - or at least how it changed my life. I'm not talking about the stuff like years of being sleep-deprived, suddenly loving driving a mini-van, having leftover baby fat, or other typical - and somewhat expected - changes. I'm talking other things. Things I never in a million years saw coming.

Seven years ago (I say seven because six years ago I was pregnant with Abby and the changes were under way), I was so different it's amazing. Well, not just me - my life. My husband and I had some close friends with whom we'd stay up into the wee hours of the morning playing games and just hanging out. (We still have those friends, but they moved to another state and we don't see or hear from them much.) Oh, yeah, and I worked second shift as a copy editor - a job I generally hated. I hated reading all those boring news stories, then having to write headlines. I think I've mentioned before that I'm not very good at that - and knowing that made it all the worse, especially when TPTB like puns. I hate punny headlines - so overused - and I could never write them. Well, not never, per say, just VERY rarely!

Seven years ago we had a nice house (we still live in it) with new carpeting and a dinky garage we were hoping to replace in the near future. That garage was so small that one of my sisters thought it was a shed the first time she saw it! LOL Pathetic - and, really, that's all it was worth. We could barely fit a Dodge NEON in it, let alone anything else! In that house, we had one cat and were planning to get another one - we ended up with two more. The first cat, Shadow, was our "first baby" - as I'd referred to her many times. She was a sweet cat, and was my pet before DH and I were married. So, naturally, she was part of the package - marry me, marry my cat. And I was one of those people who doted on her cat. I bought her birthday and Christmas presents (and presents from her for DH) and loved her to pieces. All that despite the fact that she was literbox-challenged to the worst degree. She would NOT pee in a litterbox to save her life. She had had a couple of UTIs, but even healthy she flat out REFUSED to pee in the litterbox. Thankfully, she did at least poop in there, but the pee's almost worse. The smell - and the fact that it's next to impossible to get out! Let's just say I wish we'd gotten rid of her long before we did. It was heartbreaking to do so - she's such a people kitty and really was my furbaby. We gave her to my ILs, who were planning to keep her outside. She's disappeared. :-( I feel guilty - a tiny bit - but less so than I did a couple of years ago. Anyway, what compelled me to get rid of her was - you guessed it - the kids. I was pregnant with Grant when finally I'd had it. I was ready to let her go. By that point, we already had Zeus and Huckleberry - angels compared to Shadow. Well, unless Huckleberry's antics were bothersome - he'd attack the toilet paper, shredding an entire brand-new role when we weren't looking. He'd done plenty of other things, but that's the one that most sticks out in my mind. I think what Dh and I referred to as "the voices" would tell him to do it. Either that or the toilet paper was taunting him! We'll never know, but - thankfully - he has out grown that. My point is I was one of those people who doted on her pets. Loved them and even referred to them as her babies. Until I had babies. Poor cats were forced to take a back seat when Abby was born. I still tried to give them attention and whatnot, but they definitely became second-class citizens. That's something I'd NEVER thought would happen.

Between Grant and Natalie we got a puppy. I don't know WHAT possessed me, as it was my idea. And, yes, I'm still kicking myself for that one! Grant was 6 months old when Sawyer was born - on Abby's third birthday. He was about 8 months when we brought Sawyer home. The cute thing is they are like buddies. They're growing up together, sorta. It's neat to see their bond. Anyway, Sawyer is a PITA. Now, I grew up with cats. So, perhaps part of the problem is this dog is much needier than any cat I'd ever had. I'm sure I'd have enjoyed him more if we'd gotten him before kids. Now, he's just extra work - an extra kid, if you will. But not an extra kid - they trump him. ALWAYS. I found myself thinking of him today as just a dog, and all of the pets in this house as "just animals." GASP! That's what prompted this post. It made me realize just how much kids change things you never see coming!

I had more on my mind, but it's gone. Maybe having to write between feeding the kids, letting the dog out, and other things is to blame! LOL Yeah, that's it! ;-)

Year in Review

A follow-up to my New Year's post, if you will. My friend Lisa posted this on her blog and I had to follow suit! You go back through your blog and copy the opening sentence from a post (or two) for each month. I began this blog in March, so I will start there - obviously! LOL

Below is the opening sentence from a post from each month. (Any italicized text is a comment I'm writing NOW.) To read the whole post, click on the date/month name:

March: I had a bunch of stuff that I wanted to write. (Is that the story of my blog or what? LMAO)

April: I saw my allergist yesterday, and he said it doesn't sound like an allergy to food!

May: I've never been good at titles - or writing headlines, for that matter.

June: That sums it up perfectly!
June 25: My precious baby girl was born.

July: Around 9:30 p.m. our power was restored!

August: A few months ago, once my daughter got into the wonderful world of Webkinz, I bought her a couple I knew she'd LOVE off eBay.

September: I was just starting up a Baby Einstein DVD for Grant.

October: At this point exactly 12 months ago I was getting to know my sweet new baby girl, Natalie.

November: There is so much going on in my mind right now.

December: DH got home yesterday!

In looking this over, I have to say a couple of things. One, I need to blog more. And two, I need to be more creative in my first lines of my posts! It was hard finding something interesting. No more first sentences being one-word sentences! LOL So far as blogging goes, for 2009 I resolve to write more and better! Wish me luck!

Happy New Year!

I cannot believe that 2008 is now a mere memory and 2009 is upon us! Wow, that happened fast! A year ago I had a 2-month-old baby and was just beginning my stint as a stay-at-home mom. Abby was in her last year of preschool before starting Kindergarten in August. Grant has grown from a 2-year-old toddler to a talking, running, reasoning 3-year old. Natalie, well, she's gone from newborn to full-fledged toddler - they go through so many changes that first year or so that it's impossible to catalog it all! Me? I dunno - I've continued to slowly lose the baby weight. Slowly. I weaned Natalie about a month ago, so hopefully more weight will come of quickly! DH - well, he's working. He spent 30 days in Austin, TX, for work - working with FEMA in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike. It was all about the money - that's a lot of OT and extra cash. And we desperately needed it. In fact, I suspect he'll be doing it somewhat regularly (not necessarily Austin - wherever there's need) to help make it possible for me to continue to SAH. Oh, and he had his vasectomy - no more surprise babies for us! ;-)

So, what are my hopes for this year? That's a very good question.

• Lose weight - at the very least get to my pre-Natalie weight. That's a start. I eventually want to get to my pre-Abby weight, but that's 60 lbs away, so I'm not kidding myself that it'll happen this year!
• Get off the Zoloft - I've been on it for three years in February. I didn't get to wean off after weaning Grant like I'd wanted b/c I got knocked up. Now that there's no chance of that, I wanna get off it. Natalie's weaned, so the only thing working against me is possible PMS issues. But, I don't wanna be on the Zoloft forever!
• Be a better housekeeper
• Stop spending and help us get out of debt. Don't know how yet, but stopping spending is a first BIG step! ;-)
• Get back in the habit of attending church regularly.

I'm sure there are more things I'd like to change, but really having too many goals can set one up for failure. I already might be setting the bar too high. Time will only tell. That said, HAPPY 2009! I wish you all many blessings and much happiness this year!

We made it!

DH got home yesterday! :-) His flight ended up delayed by about a total of an hour - not too bad, especially not when flying out of ORD (more commonly known as O'Hare). The kids and I picked him up at the airport. We got there as his plane was landing, and could see it taxiing to the gate. By the time we got settled in the waiting area just outside the security checkpoint, DH was coming down the hallway. I saw him and asked Abby who that was. She took off running "Daddy" - and Grant followed suit. Natalie had to be brought over to him - she was too distracted by the new surroundings to notice people! LOL When she first saw him, she hesitated a little. But once he spoke to her, she came running! It was so sweet! She clearly missed him much more than I'd realized. She was big-time clingy with him last night, and still some today. She's more animated and just doing better overall. It's amazing the difference. She hadn't acted all that different during his absence, so I really thought she was somewhat indifferent.

Me? I must've been running on adrenaline while he was gone - once he was home, I just got DEAD tired! I couldn't believe it! LOL I had to take a nap this afternoon, too. I have been just so very tired. Must be the adrenaline crash! He's super tired, too - falling asleep on the couch since about 7:30! LOL But, he worked almost constantly, so it's not unexpected.

Well, in my super-tired state, I'm feeling not too eloquent right now. So, I'm gonna jet - maybe go to bed early. Night, night (to quote Natalie)!

The Home Stretch!

That's right. We're about to enter the FINAL week of DH's deployment! :-D A week from this very moment, he will be HOME. I cannot wait! I pray this last week flies by, as I am so ready for him to be home. He said today he's finally getting tired of living out of a suitcase and not being home. Saturday, December 6, cannot come fast enough! I had to get groceries today, and I picked up some things that he typically uses and I don't so that we have them when he comes. (I'm hoping that was my last trip while he's away. I also hope I have enough diapers for this week - I'm pretty sure I do.) He gets home about 2:30-ish in the afternoon, so the kids and I will pick him up at the airport. I'm so excited about that. I remember when he went on his first deployment - a little over three years ago. Abby and I picked him up, and were walking from the baggage claim area to the waiting area. He turned round the corner into the hallway, and Abby was so excited! She screamed "Daddy" and took off running to him. It was so sweet (and a little funny, as she had been eating some fruit snacks and left a little trail behind her LOL)! It's definitely a memory I'll cherish. I can't remember if we picked him up last time - I think we did, but clearly it wasn't quite as sweet! LOL I'm hoping this time he'll have all three of 'em running to him. We've talked using Gmail's video chat, and they just LOVE getting to see him while talking! Even Natalie - who shies away from the phone - loved it. She was blowing him kisses - very sweet. Anyway, we're entering the home stretch of being without DH. C'mon, Saturday - GET HERE ALREADY! ;-)

Happy Hump Day!

Yes, I know, it's not Wednesday. But, it's still hump day - and, no, I'm not being dirty! LOL Today is the midway point of DH's absence. We've reached the hump - it's all downhill from here! :-) In some ways, it's energizing. In others, it's EXHAUSTING. But, I'm excited. Two weeks from TOMORROW, he comes HOME! :-) I'm so excited. It's odd, but I think I've missed him even more this time - which I so didn't expect. The other times I was pregnant, and I thought my hormones made it worse. But, perhaps this time it's b/c I don't work. It's me and the kids, day in and day out. Always. No breaks for me, unless right now counts, but even then I have to be ready in case I'm needed. I miss his companionship more than I have in the past. I'm sure our new situation accounts for that. But, I'm not complaining - especially with Thanksgiving being a few days away. My mom is coming out - and probably bringing my niece and nephew - so that'll keep us busy. Hopefully the time will FLY! Abby only has 2 and a half days of school. Part of me wishes she was off all week, but I know it's better NOT that way - we clash way too much! LOL

On a completely unrelated note, I decided I wanted a more seasonal template. So, I found a Christmas/winter one. It was so hard to choose! I again went with Simply Fabulous Blogger Templates - I just LOVE her stuff! She recently released her seasonal templates, so I decided to switch. She does an absolutely lovely job!

I have another post I want to write - about my faith. But, it'll have to wait until I'm not falling asleep at the keyboard! ;-) That said, I gotta get to sleep. I'll write more tomorrow.