It's today! It's today!

We pick up Momma and Kevin from the airport today! We are all SO excited!! I've still got a lot to do today tho!

I've got the NORAD Santa Tracker up for when Monk wakes up, Bug spent the night with one of her cheerleading buddies last night. They wanted to sleep in her treehouse last night, but it got too cold so they came inside. LOL

Monk and I decided that we were going to make the pumpkin pies last night. We used The Pioneer Womans' recipe for the perfect pie crust. Of course, we only had 1 cup of Crisco, so we had to use butter for the rest, so I hope it turns out okay! Monkey made the pie filling pretty much all by himself! I helped him open some cans, and got the right spices for him. He was SO proud! I then showed him how to roll out the crust and put it in the pie tin. We then rolled out the 2nd crust and he filled it and crimped the edges all by himself!

Sorry for the crappy picture, but I took it with my cell phone. Can't even hardly tell the difference can you? That's right... because my boy is the next Jamie Oliver! (I tried for Gordon Ramsay, but Monk said he cusses too much... LOL)

Anyways! I just wanted to share our baking adventures today! Still lots to do before Momma arrives!

I hope that you all have a very Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Oh bother...

So, the last couple days I've been in an Eeyore mood. I've been in my "dark place" as I used to refer to it. I guess I just feel down on myself. I recently found out some things that really showed me how deep and dark the hole that I've climbed out of really is. You know, that proverbial hole in the road of life. Yeah, mine was pretty darn deep. I spent the better part of 3 years trying to climb out of it.

Back in the day, I wasn't a good person. I was a master manipulator, partly learned, partly instinct, and partly necessity. I manipulated those around me to get what I needed or wanted with as little work as possible. I would use people for what I wanted and when resources had gone dry there, I would move on. I started my decent into my pit long before I started manipulating those around me tho. My decent started right about the time I found out that my (then)husband was cheating on me. He was a truck driver and was gone more often than home. One time he came home with one of his trainees, a young-ish girl, mid 20's, pretty thing. I knew that he trained female drivers and had not had a problem with them before. Even inviting them to come have dinner with our family at our apartment. They were usually older ladies. I loved talking with them. One of his trainees actually went to school with Garth Brooks! How awesome it was to hear her tell stories of what my favorite singer was like in high school! Well, one time he brought this young girl home and had forgotten something in his truck and asked (told) me if I would get it. Me, being about 93846759283645987 months pregnant with our 2nd child, crawled up in the cab, crawled over the seat, opened the curtain to the sleeper and was met by a bare bum. I quickly grabbed the forgotten item and exited the cab and proceeded to tell him that there was a naked girl in his bed. He didn't see what the big deal was and of course I threw a fit! *I* didn't even get to sleep naked in his truck, how is it that some other woman could, and in his bed none the less? It wasn't until later that evening, when he invited her to have dinner with us, that I realized that something wasn't right. It was the coy glances and stolen looks. The twinkle in her eye and the way that she laughed at his un-funny jokes and touched his knee. The way that he leaned into her when they talked while sitting on the couch. While I do have blonde hair, I'm not an idiot. That was the beginning of my decent into my own personal hell.

I can honestly say that when I look back at the person I was, it makes me want to cry. I did so many things that were so unlike the caring, compassionate person that I know that I am. I hurt so many people that I love(d). I did many many horrible things to people that I cared about so very much. I lost 4 years of my kids lives because of the guilt, shame, manipulation, and immaturity that plagued me. I lost the person that I was in that pit.  It was like I was so close to hell that the devil himself came and stole me. I was just like Eeyores tail. Lost.

I started pulling myself out of the hole. I got a job. I got an apartment. I got a cell phone. I was making great progress! Then I had a small set-back. I met Sam. Not that Sam was in any way bad, he just set me back a step. I started thinking things like "Oh, well, if Sam's going to take me out to dinner, I can spend more money on THIS item!" and buy a new top or jeans at Old Navy. Then we bought cars together and things started to get serious, so I really had to buckle down. I was even more determined to get my life straight and be someone.

I think it all boils down to me wanting to make my Mom proud of me. I guess I just don't feel like I've done anything that she CAN be proud of, other than get my life back on track. How terrible is it that I feel like I've done nothing that my Mom can be proud of me for? My brother has his certification in HVAC. One of my sisters is a nurse. The other one is a truck driver. What am I? A housewife. A poor one at that! It doesn't seem to matter what I say or do, we're always broke. I tell Sam that we're not going to buy anything and he buys things anyways. He tells me to stop him, and when I try he gets angry at me because he works for the money and feels like he should be able to spend it how he wants. Mom has been poor, and still had 4 kids to take care of. She got (what would become) a  fantastic job, went to night school got her GED, graduated college, all while working a full time job. Granted part of that time it was only me and my brother and then just me, but, she did it! If I were her mom I would be so proud! But me, I've not done anything like that. I've bucked the system at every turn!

The other problem is, I'm comfortable being a housewife. I have no ambitions to be at the top of some corporate ladder, to have people that are "under" me, to graduate Cum Laude from some fancy school, or even an unfancy one. I have no silly notions that I can follow in my Moms footsteps because I know I can't. My Mom is super smart. I'm lucky to be able to add without using my fingers. My daughter takes after my Mom. She's so smart! My son takes after me, but he has great ambition, which makes up for his lack of genius. I'm working with him to try and get his reading better. It's a slow process. Growing up I never wanted to be anything other than a horse trainer. Everything I did revolved around my horses. I ate, breathed, and slept horses. Even my bedroom was set up with a western theme and my ribbons and trophies were all around my room. I gave all of that up when I got married to my ex-husband, and I still have no idea where any of my old ribbons and trophies are.

I guess, just like Eeyore, I'm going to have to find my tail. I'm not exactly sure how I'm supposed to do that. I don't even know if I know what my tail is any more. I don't know what makes me happy any more. I don't know how to make my Mom proud of me, or if I ever have, but I know that someday it's got to happen. I need to validate my existence somehow, mostly to myself.  

A-Quiltin' We Will Go!

So, it's no secret that I read a TON of blogs (82 and counting!)! Usually my morning routine, after getting the kids off to school is to read thru all of the blogs that have posted over the night, and periodically throughout the day. That's a lot of blogs I say, but each and every one of them has something that I want to learn, or improve upon, (Well, except for those few that are family and friends!) I added one yesterday about how to improve your marriage. Sam and I have a pretty good marriage these days, but, it NEVER hurts to find ways to improve things!

So, the other day, I found this FANTASTIC site called Cluck Cluck Sew, and she had this really cute quilt on there, and talked about Charm Packs and all kinds of things that I had NO IDEA existed. Allison is really nice too! Anyways! I was talking with Sam last night, and I told him that I would like for us to MAKE a quilt TOGETHER! So that way, we are spending time together, he gets to use his fantastic artistic ability, (who knew a colorblind guy could be so great at art?!), and we get a new comforter for our bed (which we REALLY need)! Oh, and it doesn't hurt that I'll be getting to use the fantastic sewing machine that he bought me last year! (Sadly, I've only used it a handful of times!) He thought it was a FANTASTIC idea! HOORAY! So, I guess that only leaves us to plan the pattern (anybody have any ideas for simpler quilt patterns??), pick the colors, buy the fabric, make the blocks, sew all the blocks together, get batting, and find someone to teach me the rest!! LOL

I think that this will be a fantastic adventure that Sam and I are about to embark upon. Never know, maybe I'll do so well at it, that I'll make one for Monkey and Buggy! I thought about making a Purple and Gold quilt for Monkey, maybe with some ECU Pirates fabric thrown in there as well. Never know! I think Momma has something up her sleeve for Monkey with purple and gold. I have no idea what, but I think she does. (I could be wrong tho!) For Buggy, it would be super simple... pink and purple. She's ALL girl! I'm not exactly sure WHERE she gets it from. I'm almost the opposite of girlie! I don't wear make up that often, I love t-shirt and jeans, heels are very uncomfortable to me, and I HATE doing my hair, but every once in a while, I like to get dressed up, look really nice, and be girlie (like, once or twice a year, seriously.).

Okay! Well, I'm stalking the UPS man today. My new workout video in on his truck! I'm off to do some recruiting, clean the house, figure out what I'm makin for dinner, work out, and have a hot shower with my new shower head! YAY! (Yes, the simple things really do bring me the greatest pleasure!)

Home From Vacation!!

So, we had a great time on vacation. Tho it was a crazy crazy ride I tell you!

Thursday(22July) Mom called and said that because of Tropical Storm Bonnie, that she thought that we should leave on Friday (23July) instead of Saturday like we had originally planned. While this was a fantastic idea, it was sort of last minute for me. I was going to do a bunch of laundry on Friday and leave on Saturday. This left me in quite the predicament! That meant that I needed to go home (we were out having dinner) and pack for our entire family!

We get on the road after I couldn't sleep all night and finally went to bed at 3AM. We drive all day, and get to Montgomery Alabama about 9 that night in th pouring rain. needless to say I crashed and burned that night in my discounted (plus free upgrade!) LaQuinta room! I don't remember much of the room, other than the kids jumping all over the beds while watching Star Wars: The Clone Wars until my eyelids closed and then there was peaceful darkness!

The next day we get back on the road for another 10-12 hours of driving. I must say, the drivers in Texas are CRAZY! The road conditions are FANTASTIC! I just couldn't get over how their lane markers were the little reflectors! Then it started raining when I was pulling into my moms town. I was not exactly happy! I WAS happy to finally be off the road for a while.

We got to visit with family which was totally awesome. We went to the Houston Space Center which was also awesome. We got to go swimming every day in Moms pool. We all got tans. Some of us more than others. Sam and Bug are darker complected than Monkey and I, so, they totally got darker than us! Monkey and Sam both got Swimmers Ear, tho Sams' was MUCH worse! I think one of my favorite days of the trip was when we all went to IKEA! Sam has decided that he likes it, which makes me about the happiest person in the entire universe! Why, might you ask? Because IKEA is just about my favorite place to be. I could spend an entire years salary there and not blink an eye! (Which isn't exactly a good thing...) I've found all kinds of things that I want to do with the house now! (More on that another day!) Bug lost 2 teeth, and the Tooth Fairy brought her $9 in total. (Inflation is CRAZY these days!!)

We then drove from Houston to the Memphis area to visit my sister. There Kris and I chatted, and picked up some steaks for dinner that night. Kris told me that my steak was too rare and I thought that it was just perfect! The kids got to go to the skating rink. Monkey and Bug weren't exactly graceful, but, Bug had fun but her "tooshie" hurt afterwards!

From there we left to drive home. We finally got home around 2AM. We walked in and had a small reunion with the doggies and fell asleep snuggled in our own beds. I'm sure that I'm missing HUGE chunks of what happened, but there will be more another time!

Day 21: A recipe

Oh wow... okay.. lets see. One recipe?! I found this one somewhere, printed out, made it, and it became an instant family favorite.

Beef Burgundy

Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds beef round steak or beef stew meat
1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1 cup red wine (I use beef broth instead)
1 can (4oz) sliced mushrooms, drained
1 package (1oz) dry onion soup mix
1 tablespoon minced garlic

Directions
Combine all ingredients into a (at least) 4 1/2 quart crock pot, Cover, cook on low for 6-8 hours or until beef is tender.

Let me tell you! This is a FANTASTIC recipe! It feeds us 4 with maybe a little tiny bit of left overs. Basically it's enough juice to put on some rice for lunch the next day. I made a double batch of this for when my parents came to visit, with some potatoes, and there were a few left overs, but not many! This can be served with mashed potatoes, rice, or noodles. We like it with potatoes! I like the left over juice with rice.
This is worth the hassle of making it. (C'mon, how much easier can it get than throwing everything in a crock pot, turning it on, and throwing a lid on it be?!)

Day 11: A photo of you taken recently

So, I recently got my hair cut. I've had long hair for years. I think the last time my hair was any shorter than my shoulders was when I was a Senior in high school. I had VERY long hair before that. My sister had been doing my hair since I was pretty young. I think I was about 8 when my sister started doing my hair. I can honestly say that from the time I was about 8, until the time I was 17, my sister was the only person that touched my hair with scissors, or did pretty much anything with my hair. I was happy with letting it air dry and throw it in a pony tail.  My mom and I went to the mall to have a hair cut. I wanted to get my hair trimmed because I had Senior pictures coming up. The stylist pretty much badgered me into getting the new trendy "Rachel" cut (You know... from Friends. It was just a couple years old at that point in time.) I was very hesitant about it. I didn't really want to cut my hair so close to Senior pictures. She assured me that everything would be fine, that my hair would look fanTASTIC! Well, it didn't. It looked terrible. I hated it. She cut the sides too short to even be CONSIDERED a Rachel cut! She should have never even suggested the cut to me in the first place. My hair is WAY too thick, and WAY too wavy/curly for it! Since then, I've been VERY selective about who I go to for a hair cut. If it was feasible for me to drive to my sisters house just to have my hair cut, I would. She only lives about 10 hours from here. Because of the horrible experience of that terrible hair cut, I very rarely get my hair cut.  For my birthday, Sam took me, Monkey, and Bug to go get our hair cut. This is what I got.

Day 9: A photo you took

Okay, so I've been pretty bad about actually blogging EVERY DAY! But, I have other things to attend to as well! You know, like cleaning the house, cooking, doing laundry, working out. Yes. I said it. I've started exercising again. I lost some weight last time. I'm going to try it again. Using pretty much the same methods, but this time, I've got a work out partner. I got over to my friend Brittneys' house on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to work out. We do Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred, and Tuesdays and Thursdays, I do The Biggest Loser Cardio Max. We will see how this goes! I really want to get in shape. I hate being the size that I am, not to say that I'm a big ol fatty, but, I'm not comfortable with how I look. I've also tried to start cooking more. I HATE how generally unhealthy things are for you. I would be none the happier if I could just have a lot of land, with a couple cows, some chickens, maybe a goat and a biiiiiiiiiiiiiig garden! I would be super super happy. Of course, then I wouldn't need to work out because I would be outside all the time working with the garden and the animals!

Okay, anyways. Todays' picture is one that I took when we went to the Pine Knoll Shores Aquarium. Monkey actually seen the Cardinal before I did, and I took a picture for him. I think it actually turned out pretty good! Maybe I do have a bit of my Momma in me after all! :-)

Day 5: Your favorite quote

Hmm.. I think that my favorite quote for life would have to be:

"Well behaved women seldom make history." Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

I don't know why it's my favorite, other than I used to cause a lot of trouble when I was younger. I know that's not exactly what it means, but, that's still my take on it.

I can honestly say that when I was younger, I was quite the trouble maker. I just never actually got *caught*! My Mom always knew though. She always knew that I had done something I shouldn't have done, and somehow she would make me feel bad about doing it, without every saying a word. Maybe it was just my subconscious doing it for her. How about that? Never even knowing that your kid has done something that might be illegal in several states, and they punish themselves for it?! LOL

Also, today is my 30th birthday. Shocking, I know! I want to thank my Momma for always being there for me, no matter how old I was, no matter how much you wanted to smack me in the head with a frying pan, and no matter how many HORRIBLE choices I made. If it wasn't for my wonderfully sweet Momma, I wouldn't be here, nor be the person I am today. I also want to thank my Step-dad Kevin. He's been a very positive influence in my life since I was about 17 years old. I know he's had a few times when he just wanted to pop me, but, he always tried to give me the benefit of the doubt. My sisters Angie and Kris, what would I do without you guys? And Jamey, well, I wouldn't have been as well looked after as I was in high school if it wasn't for Jamey! My wonderful hubby, Sam, for always loving me, no matter how grumpy, cross, or bitchy I get. And my fantastic children, who never cease to amaze me at how much of a kid I can still be at my "old age" and how much things have changed since I was their age.

Day 4: Your favorite book

My favorite book. Wow.. I've never thought about my favorite book. I look around my house, and I see books everywhere. Kids books, adult books, dog books, dictionaries, military books, borrowed books, books to give away, books to keep, spiral bound books, hard cover books, soft cover books, books on tape!
I grew up with a mom that read all the time. I think some of my earliest memories involve my mom, sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee and a cigarette, and her book.  When I was 14, my mom quit smoking (about the time I *started* smoking) and so from then on it was just the coffee and the book at the kitchen table! My mom instilled a deep love for reading in me, which I HOPE that I can instill in my children. (Worked for Bug, Monkey, not so much!)

I think my favorite book for this past week would actually not be a book at all, it's a pamphlet that I picked up from my doctors office quite a while back. It's about what happens to your body when you quit smoking. Seven days ago today, I quit smoking. Actually, I had my last smoke around 5pm, but, yano! I am halfway to increasing my circulation today! I  feel a whole lot better physically! Now I just need to "relearn" how to calm myself from an agitated state without smoking. I don't think I ever really learned how to do this without the aid of smoking, so, my poor husband gets to endure me learning! All I can say is it's a good thing that he loves me! Here is a poster of basically what my pamphlet says, but much cooler!

Bugs tooth!!

So, Bug had a couple of her adult teeth come in behind her teeth on the bottom because she absolutely refuses to wiggle, or try to pull her teeth at all. When we were at the Dentist a few weeks ago, they told her that she needed to pull them out and that if she hadn't pulled them by the next time she came in that they were going to have to pull them out for her. This sort of scared her a bit. It just so happened that she had Poison Ivy at that time and they weren't able to do her cleaning. So, we went back on Wednesday for her cleaning and she was SO worried that they were going to pull her teeth! I told her that they weren't going to pull them and that they would give her a little more time. She was still a bit worried though. Well yesterday Sam picked the kids up from school because I had a little more running around to do, and when I got home she runs up to me with a little baggy and says "Mom! I pulled my tooth at school today!" We then had dinner while we watched The Tooth Fairy with Dwayne Johnson in it. It was a really cute movie! Then the Tooth Fairy gave her $2 for her tooth and she was very happy that he didn't just leave $1 like in the movie!

Yesterday was an okay day. I went to Sams therapist with him. He gave us some good ideas for communicating better and whatnot. We, of course, started talking while we were in bed, and I told him that I didn't completely trust him yet. I KNOW that he's not going to do anything, but, to have been treated the same way that I was in just about every previous relationship really has me flummoxed. I never thought that my wonderful husband would be capable of anything like that. He has such strong ethics and values, which is one of the things that I love so much about him, and to just blatantly disregard them is just mind boggling! He ended up pretty upset because I can't completely trust him right now. I told him that it would take some time and effort on his part to regain that trust. He completely disagreed. He thinks trust is something that I have to work towards on my own, like forgiveness. I told him that wasn't the case. He was the one that did the damage, and he needed to make efforts to repair it. I guess maybe I should have asked him if I set a wooden bridge on fire, but put it out voluntarily, if I should expect it to repair itself. Sam ended up sleeping on the couch last night because he was upset. We didn't fight, or argue, he was just upset that I told him that I couldn't trust him completely yet.

Today, I'm watching my friend Keonas' lil boy! He's such a little cutie!! Every time he sees me he gets all excited and squishes up his little face. Keona is going to her little girls class tea party. Who was I to come in between a mother-daughter tea party?! Besides, I really like watching lil man. It gives me enough "baby time" to not want another one, which is something I'm sure my mother is thankful for!  I've started to think that I'm just getting to "old" to have more kids. Monkey is 11, and Bug is almost 7. They're both in school all day, can feed themselves, no bottles or dirty diapers to deal with. I don't think I want to start all over again! I'll be 30 in just over a month. I really didn't want kids in the first place, but I'm glad that I do have them and I'm glad that I had them young. I don't know how my Dad stayed sane when he found out Mom was having me. He was getting ready to turn 50 when I was born! Sheesh!

Today is also Military Spouse Appreciation Day! I can still claim this title for that time being. If you are a Military Spouse I want to thank you for "standing by your man (or woman)", and if you know one, make sure they know that you appreciate them today.

My Momma

So, we had a good visit with Momma and Kevin. Their flight landed right on time at our tiny airport, though it took off late from Atlanta. Bug and I were driving to the airport and seen their plane coming in for a landing, so we drove a little faster and got there right before they stepped off the plane. Bug was really excited to see "Garmmy and Pampa Punkin-head!" I had asked Monkey if he would pick up the living room and sweep, since sweeping is one of his most favorite things to do on the planet. Well, he did a really good job of picking up the living room, but when we came back from the airport he was picking Lilly fur off the floor. I asked him why he didn't vacuum and Sam said that when we walked out of the bedroom, he had picked up the living room, but had gone right back to playing his Star Wars game! LOL Poor guy. That night we had Beef Burgundy and homemade apple pie with vanilla ice cream. It was the first time I'd actually made apple pie, and it turned out FANTASTIC! Sam also made Frybread and we had Frybread tacos one night as well!

Bug got over her rash from the allergic reaction, but we didn't get to go to the beach because she was still a little bit splotchy. We got to go to base and look for a patch for my step-dads brother. They had initially wanted to get him a hat that said Navy Veteran. You would think in a town that is full of Navy and Marines you would be able to find that. NOPE! We settled for a patch that said it instead. Then came the daunting task of finding a plain blue hat to put it on. Do you know how hard it is to find just a plain navy blue ball cap?! We had to go to the mall and find a (not so inexpensive) one at a little vendor called Lids. Of course Kevin couldn't help but get Bug a cute little plaid fedora hat. She looks really cute in it too!! She said she looks like Michael Jackson.

We also discovered how great the NetFlix streaming to the Wii is as well!! My parents, being the intelligent people that they are, introduced us to a series call Torchwood. It's kinda sorta like a spin off of Doctor Who, which is the other show they got us watching! We watched some really good shows, the kids don't particularly like either show, they think they're both scary. I mean, if you think about it from a kids point of view, I guess aliens that come to Earth in the for of mannequins is sort of scary! I think if I seen a real mannequin pop down it's fingers and expose a gun I would be pretty freaked out!! Monkey got a new East Carolina University hat. He LOVES it! He tried to wear it to school yesterday, but I wouldn't let him. He was quite saddened by this.

It turns out that his therapist went to school at ECU and is very excited that he's thinking about going there. Mt best friend J, she will also be going there starting the Spring Semester. (At least that's what I think she said!) Monkey wants to be an Architect. We've talked to him, at length, about how math and reading are important in Architecture, and he has agreed to buckle down this summer and work hard to get up to speed. He's doing pretty well though, in spite of everything that has been thrown his way. He works pretty hard to try and keep up.

Bug had a Dentist appointment today as well. All was well with that. She has 2 teeth that have grown in on the bottom behind her other teeth. The Dentist told her that she needed to pull them out, and also said that if she ate an apple that one of them would probably come right out. She eats all the time, trouble is, she never tries to actually take a bite out of an apple the way most people would. She will try to take it off with the SIDE of her teeth!! Strange kid, but, look who her Momma is!! LOL

The Final Countdown!

So, tomorrow my Momma and Step-dad will be here. We're all really excited for the arrival of my parents (and Grammy and Pampa-Punkin Head). I have got practically nothing done! I did get the carpet cleaned, but, that feels like the only thing that got done!! With Bug being sick, it's taken most of my time to get her to this doctor or that doctor, running her, running there. I admit, I did go on a snail excursion to New Bern to try and find a pink or purple snail, but that didn't take too long! I guess just the fact that my parents are coming is making me a little bit nervous. I've got to try and "out-cook" my soon-to-be brother-in-law sister, which I know it's not a competition, but I still like to try and impress Momma a little bit! The kids rooms are a mess!! Of course, when aren't they?! I've got laundry to do. I've got to clean our bathroom, I did the kids bathroom yesterday. I've got to sweep and mop the kitchen and both bathrooms. I've got to vacuum. I've got laundry to put away. UGH!!! TOO MUCH!!

On a lighter note! Bug looks SO much better this morning than she did a couple days ago! The redness is s-l-o-w-l-y going away. She's not as itchy. She's REALLY bored!LOL I told her this morning that if she didn't let me get my work done, that I was going to send her back to school. She said she didn't want that so she went back to watching Hannah Montana. God love her!

Okay, it's back to cleaning! I imagine that I should probably shove some food down my throat before  I start cleaning everything!! *sigh*

My Poor Little Bug!

So, a couple of weeks ago, Bug came down with a case of poison ivy, right before her Father-Daughter dance. We decided that the best course of action would be to go to our Doctors office and get her a Cortisone shot, just like she had right before her fall school pictures. (Yes, it seems like any time something "fancy" is going to happen she gets some sort of skin condition!)Well, it seemed a little better the next day, and we could easily cover it up with some make-up and off to the dance she went! By that Monday, her rash was worse, so we took her back to the Doctors. Well, he decided that she had some sort of mild skin infection, and gave her some antibiotics, telling me that if it hadn't gotten any better by Wednesday, that she would need to go to a Pediatrician. (They're a General Practitioner.) All seemed well, and she took her last dose of the antibiotics Monday morning. Yesterday morning she gets up, goes to school, everything is normal. I get a call from the Boys & Girls Club saying that she's itching like crazy. I just so happened to have a conference with Bugs teacher yesterday afternoon and I told her that I would drop some cream off before I went to her teachers room and I would be back soon after that to pick them both up and take them home. Not a terrible thing, and I knew she could wait just a little bit with the cream. Well, we get home and Bug has a HORRIBLE rash all over her body. I call the Doctors office to see if they had any appointments and they told me to bring her as a walk-in at 6. No big deal.

Now this is the part of the story where it starts to get a little bit hairy. We walk into the Doctors office just after 6pm yesterday afternoon and they take all of her vitals. Blood pressure is just *slightly* up, but she was in a bit of pain, so not terrible. Her temp was right under 99 degrees, so still normal. Everything is looking normal so far, except for the horrible looking rash covering a little over half of her body. The Doctor comes in and looks at her, and determines that it is, in fact, a skin infection because her skin was warm to the touch, and that because the antibiotics cleared it up the first time, that she would refill the prescription and hopefully we could get her into the Dermatologist before the antibiotic was done. (I knew that this would probably NOT happen!) Of course, I ask her 4 or 5 times if it could be an allergic reaction to the medications, and she assures me it's not, but it could be to the Poison Ivy. Well, we fill her prescription, get her some oatmeal bath, and a bar of Aveeno soap with oatmeal in it and go home for a nice warm bath and bed.

This morning Bug wakes up and her skin looks like someone dumped really hot water all over her and she's saying that it doesn't itch, it hurts! Of course, this was right after I give her the morning dose of antibiotics. I'm not a Doctor, they're supposed to know what's wrong with her, so I give her the prescription that she was given. I decide that not only am I going to keep her home from school, that I'm also going to take her to the Emergency Room. If it is in fact a skin infection, and it looks WORSE than it did 10 hours ago, there is something seriously wrong, and I don't want to take a chance! I get Sam up and dressed and Monkey off to school (Who wants to go along so he can play his DSi!), we head in to the ER. They take her right from the door to triage, to a bed. We skipped the admission paperwork and everything. Bug was happy because the triage nurse showed her how to work the bed, and she got to watch cartoons!

We finally get to see a Doctor and she says that she wants to get a CBC on her and check to make sure she doesn't have an infection going on and SHE thinks it's an allergic reaction to something. She gets he blood drawn, after some convincing, and they send that off to be tested. Of course, she didn't want to eat any breakfast this morning because she didn't want to move off the couch, so they bring her some Sierra Mist and her new rounds of medication (Steroids and Benadryl). The CBC comes back clean. She does not, in fact, have any sort of infection, and it shows that she is having some sort of allergic reaction. The ER Doc takes her off of the antibiotic that she was on and asks us if anything new had come into the home. The only things were the antibiotic and new fabric softner. She advised us to switch back to our old fabric softner and discontinue the antibiotic. *sigh*

So, the whole time I was giving her the 2nd course of antibiotic, I was pumping her body full of something that it was trying to fight off. I'm a bit upset by this. I'm not sure if I should request TriCare to change her Doctor, or, give them another chance. This was her life we are talking about!! Who knows how bad this could have gotten if I would have just kept giving her those antibiotics! Who's to say that her poor little body wouldn't have just stopped trying to fight it off and gave in?! What would have happened then?! What would have happened if she would have had a seizure last night in her sleep or gone into anaphylactic shock?! UGH! I'm so upset!!

The worst is over for now, I think. I will just have to add the new antibiotic to the list of medications that she can no longer have. Last year she had a bad reaction to Amoxicillin and she's had that since she was a teeny baby!! Lord... this cuts down on the antibiotics that she CAN have by a lot!! She does look a lot better than she did this morning. The redness and swelling has decreased considerably, and she almost looks back to normal.

I didn't get ANYTHING done today on the house. It's not Bugs fault. I'm just going to work harder tomorrow. I know everything will be okay. It's my mom. It's not like she's coming to do a white glove inspection of my house. It's not like the house is a disaster area, I would just like it to be spotless for my parents visit!! Is that so much to ask?! LOL

New friends!

So, as some of you know (mom), I have blogged for a very very long time. THIS blog only started recently, but I've been keeping blogs since Bug was just a wee little thing. My Mommy got me started back in 2004. That blog is long gone now, tho I still have it archived for my personal entertainment. Recently, I decided that I needed to reach out, and get to know, more military spouses blogs. Some of them I've been following for a while, some I just found. I've added a lot of people to my blog roll. I think the best thing about my blog roll is that all I need to do is look at it and I can see who's posted a new blog! Of course, that means that I have to come to my own blog to see who's posted a new one, but that's fine! :-)

Some of these women are braver and stronger than I could ever imagine being. My hats off to you, and I commend you for your strength. I cannot imagine what these women are going through, but my heart aches for you none the less.

I've found more things to do in my quest to make the house look mom-ready! All 3 dogs need baths, and Lilly needs her nails trimmed!! *She's got Velociraptor talons, I swear it!* That will get done later in the week (dogs seem to get dirty quickly,especially the white one!), except for Lilly's talons nails, they need done ASAP. She HATES to have her nails trimmed. Of course, I think that sort of stems from the fact that ONE time, I accidentally quicked her. (Sorry puppy!) Sam wants to get a picture of the 3 dogs all together, just them, to put on our mantle. His thinking is "They're part of the family too!" which is true. I just have NO idea how we are going to get 2 Greyhounds and an American Eskimo to all sit still and stay in the same place long enough to get a good picture of them for the mantle! I do have one picture of them that is really cute tho. Our dogs, just like us, are very strange characters. They LOVE fruits and veggies! They will all sit in front of Sam and patiently wait for him to drop some apple or banana their way. While I'm making dinner, they're always waiting for me to throw an errant potato or slice of celery at them. Well, one day, Sam was eating and apple with PB. They were all standing right in front of him just staring. You know the kind of staring that makes you feel like you've got a pork chop tied around your neck, that was it. Well, I stood on a chair and took a picture of them, and it's actually a very cute shot.

Okay. I've got laundry in, waiting for it to dry so I can fold it and put MORE laundry in. Sam's still sleeping (I wanna sleep like him! *pout*) so I have to wait until he gets up to run the vacuum and carpet cleaner. I guess that means that I can make a complete bit of a mess of my kitchen and throw some Amish bread in the bread machine and clean the fish tank as well. Man oh MAN! Today is going to be busy busy busy!

Julie and Julia

So, as of late, I have become a little bit of a Domestic Diva. I've learned how to make Amish bread (partly in the bread machine, of course), I've learned to cook more than roasts and soup beans in my crock pot, and I've (sorta) learned how to sew. I've kept the house fairly clean, been shopping and recipe swapping, and have even gone out to brunch! I've learned the best way to get stains out of clothes, and the quickest ways to iron a shirt, and which fabric softner works, and smells, the best!

Tonight we watched Julie & Julia. It was a pretty good movie. I love food, and apparently it really loves me, it likes to stick around. (Bah duh duh!) I did some laundry while watching it as well. Monkey had an accident again, despite going to the bathroom right before he went to bed. It happens every now and again, but I try not to dwell on it and just wash the sheets. I never ridicule or make fun of him. It's not his fault that the muscle just hasn't developed yet and there's honestly nothing that the doctors can do about it. (We've been to one... said it's normal.) Monkey and I made his bed, I grabbed him a comforter since his hadn't made it's journey through the washer and dryer yet. Both of the kiddos are now sleeping peacefully in their beds while visions of sugar-plums dance through their heads. *Yes, I know it's not Christmas* While all of this is wonderful, I have a rather busy week ahead of me.

First on the agenda, deep cleaning the dinning room carpets! You guessed it! I never got to it on Friday with all of the commotion of going to appointments and whatnot. So, I said I wanted it done by Monday, so it will be done by tomorrow! Then, I need to finish up the laundry. I've also got to go to the grocery store and figure out something for dinner, and make another loaf of bread. I think that will keep me busy for the majority of the day. I've also got to slip in a workout as well!

Tuesday brings another day of busy-ness. I want to wash all of the windows, at least on the inside and clean the curtains. (What curtains that we do have!) Then I want to clean out the cabinets and rearrange every thing, and also clean the cabinet doors as well. (That means upper AND lower cabinets.) Also fit in a work-out and made dinner as well.

Wednesday, I believe I will wash the sheets (for my parents), and the blankets in the dogs crates as well. (No, not together Mom...) More than likely the blankets that go in the living room as well. I will more than likely vacuum and dust as well. (Hopefully) Also, clean both bathrooms, sweep and mop. Did I mention work out in there at all? Oh... and Girl Scouts!

Thursday, I and going to sweep and mop the kitchen. Since the kitchen gets used so much, the floor can get rather icky, and even with mopping it, sometimes there is still some gunk left on the floor, so I'm going to scrub it with a scrubby sponge. I haven't done that in a while! (Oh yeah... and work out!)

Friday is pay day! (Hooray!!) So, I would like to pick up some sheer material and a curtain rod for the dinning room and make a curtain for the sliding glass door, get Bug a new set of blinds, and maybe even make some curtains for her room as well. Also, I will more than likely pre-make the apple pie that I want to have for dessert for Saturday, which is when my parents will be here! Shew!!

Saturday morning, I'll throw the beef Burgundy in the crock pot for dinner, and relax a bit before I have to pick up my parents at the local airport at 11! Shew!!! I have a VERY busy week ahead of me! Here's to accomplishing it all! Now it's off to bed to read a bit and slip off to Never-Never Land in the arms of my wonderful husband!

By the way, I forgot to mention that Friday was my FANTASTIC step-dads' (That's you Kevin) birthday! Hope you had a good one, and glad you liked the cards! :-D*

Chilly morning

So, today started off not so good. I couldn't fall asleep last night, so I ended up reading The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson until almost midnight. I was then riddled with a recurring dream that I just cannot seem to remember. I woke up dazed and a bit confused, and 5 minutes after I should have already been up. I get out of bed to find BOTH of my children in Monkeys bed. For anyone that knows me, my kids, or knows a 11 year old brother and 6 year old sister, knows that these two get along about as well as gas and fire. I was sort of shocked that they were both in there giggling and playing at 7:05am. I hurried them both out of there and on with medications. Bug has Poison Ivy (again) and this time we had to give her antibiotics to calm the rash. It seems that there was a touch of infection and the Cortisone shot that they had given her, which worked last time she had it, made the infection explode all over her upper torso. Monkey takes his usual morning medications, tho he is slowly being weened from the Risperidone. It's a good thing.

I went with Sam to his cognitive therapy this morning. It went well. I have realized from the few times that I am a cornucopia of knowledge that I never thought I knew. Sam and his therapist were talking about proverbs. Everyone  knows at least one proverb. One of the most common ones is: Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. Well, Sam had to break them down and tell his therapist what they meant. Of course, I knew what this meant, and where it actually came from. I explained it came from the actual horses mouth, that if you look in a horses mouth you can find out all kinds of information on it. It's approximate age, and some heath issues also stem from the mouth, and how well the horse had been treated. So, looking at a horse's mouth, that was a gift, would be just like telling someone that has just given you a baby grand piano that it has a scratch on the top. Going to these things with Sam is always good for me, because I learn about what he's learning, where he is struggling, and how I can help, or at least try. Sam got a headache while he was in therapy, so she stopped and told him that he did a good job. I'm really proud of Sam for everything that he has been doing, to try and regain some memory, some shred of his former life.

Today on the agenda is, again, cleaning the living room, and the kitchen. I'm HOPING that I can get the dinning room carpet cleaned today, but by the latest Monday. It's not that it's overly dirty, but, I'm sure it could use some TLC. I've already got the kitchen clean, but will be doing it again next Friday right before Mom and Kevin come for their visit. Also, I'm going to start the laundry today. Most of the time it takes me a couple of days to actually get all of the laundry done, and I would like for it all to be completed by Saturday. Next Friday, not only will I have to do ALL of the normal laundry, but I want to wash the sheets and comforter that my parents will be using on the blow up mattress that we will set up for them. They've been in storage since the last time they came for a visit! All in all, not a horribly busy day, but enough to keep me busy for the day, and part of the weekend.

I think next Saturday, I will put some beef burgundy in the crock pot for the family. It's one of our new favorite meals, and we normally serve it with mashed potatoes and corn. Kevin normally isn't the real potato type of guy. Sam and I have been trying to make most everything we can from scratch to try and cut down on the processed food that our family eats. (Thanks Jamie Oliver!) So I'm hoping that he doesn't much mind that for one night, he has to eat potatoes that were in the ground. We also normally eat corn from a can, but I think next Saturday, we'll have corn on the cob. I will probably make a fresh loaf of bread as well. Maybe I'll even make an apple pie for dessert and have some vanilla ice cream! *Don't I just sound like the little domestic Goddess!* I think that would beat my sister and her grilled tenderloin steaks any day of the week! ;-)

On that note, I think I should go have some lunch. All the food talk really made me hungry, and I forgot to eat breakfast with all of the hustle and bustle of getting the kids around to go to school and going to therapy with Sam!

Thinking back

So, any of you that really know me, know that Sam is pending medical discharge from the military. We're hoping that they will medically retire him, not just discharge him. It's been a very long road to get to this point, and there still isn't a real end in site. He will be 2 years past his EAS date on 1 June. That's 2 years of fighting to get the medical assistance that he needs and should rightfully have because of an injury that the Marine Corps caused, well, at least part of it. The other part we figured out after all of this started. He was also diagnosed with TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) which was caused by a car accident right after he started a long weekend. He wasn't drinking, he had his seat belt on, they were pulling out from a light, and a guy ran a red light and t-boned them on my husbands side doing about 60mph. He was knocked unconscious for a while and was life flighted to the hospital. The insurance company was very surprised that Sam even lived. We figured out that all of the migraines and memory problems were from that, not "failing health." He also has PTSD from being in the worlds two most dangerous cities (at the time). I know other people from the same unit as the one he went out with last. I know some of the things that went on, I don't even have to ask. He does talk about it every now and again, and I just listen. I don't interject, I don't try to tell him that I know how hard it is, because I don't. I've never put my life on the line for the freedoms of our country, couldn't even fathom doing it for another nation a million miles away that I had only heard of in passing before 9/11!

I'm trying to be more understanding, have more patience. This is one of the hardest things for me. I am not a very patient person. I abhor waiting in line. I have the attention span of a gnat, and most of the times I forget why I'm even standing in line, which pisses me off to no end! I know that sometimes I can be very short with Sam and the kids, and that is one of the biggest things that I am trying to change. So far, I have made small baby steps towards my goal of not exploding when something isn't completed in exactly the way I want it to be done, but, any step forward is better than a step back or no step at all! Looking back, 5 years ago I couldn't really say that. Five years ago, I was nowhere near where I am now. I was still sort of small, quite young, even for being 25! I feel more like an adult now, more like I should at the age of 30. (Well, okay, 30 in June, but close enough!) I've come to accept more of my shortcomings, and realize that some of them I can overcome, some of them it's going to be a very long time before I can even scratch the surface.

On a happier note, Bug learned to ride her bike without training wheels this weekend! She did really well! She yelled at me because she didn't think I was supporting her enough when she was doing just great even without me holding her up. Sometimes I feel like I've robbed myself of my children, but really it was for their own good. Bug learning to ride a 2 wheeler is just one more step to her becoming independent and not needing me any more. I can't say that any child really ever grows to the point that they don't need their Mom. I know I still need my Mom! I wouldn't know what to do without my many frequent phone calls to her! "Mom, how do you do this?" "Mom, how do I make this?" "Mom, can you tell me where I can find this?" My Mom is a cornucopia of knowledge that if I could master half of, I will be doing great! I think that is enough for tonight dear readers. Sam is ready to go to bed, and I can't say that I blame him. The past two nights I have been up and down frequently during the night, and up before my alarm with the dogs. Any of you who know me, me without sleep is almost as bad as being stuck in a confined space with a starving bear.

Merry Christmas... and all that happy jazz.

So, Christmas was here and gone. We had a pretty good Christmas. Living with only one income in the house has been kind of hard! I did find a new job, and I start on the 29th! (Hooray!) We set a pretty strict budget this year, and came in just barely over! I achieved that by using online coupons whenever possible. Sams' birthday was on the 18th, we had Christmas on the 25th, our anniversary is on the 29th, and Monkey's birthday is on the 31st!  We have a pretty busy December!
The kids were really pleased with their Christmas bounty. They both got DSi's. If you don't know anything about Nintendo DSi's, oh man! I would suggest getting one! They have 2 cameras on them, so you can take pictures of yourself, or outside your DSi. The ones that the kids got came preloaded with a few games and such. Now that we have 4 Nintendo DS/DSi's in the house, we can all play our own games, or, we can use the chat feature and chat with each other. (Yes, I know this is the lazy mans way! *hehe*) They also got some new clothes and some toys. They also got a gift card each, which was promptly spent getting toys and other various things that they deemed as necessities after the holidays. My best friend got us a portrait package from Sears. We're pretty happy about that, the kids would rather have the presents tho.
Sam got himself a very nice guitar for his birthday/Christmas/anniversary present. It's black Fender and it's an acoustic/electric guitar. Maybe next year I will get him an amp! For my Christmas/anniversary present, I got a sewing machine! It's been a very long time since I've used one, and so we just simply bought an inexpensive one. Hopefully, someday, I can be as good as my mom. She used to make things for us all the time. I remember her making me a pilgrim costume for Halloween one time, complete with the white bonnet and apron! More recently, she made a clown costume (which is REALLY awesome, by the way) and a vampire cape! I'm sure she has made other things as well, but, I just don't know about them.
I have already found some really neat things that I want to try to make. Hopefully, I don't screw them up. I have my eye on a couple books that I would like to get. Both the kids would like to learn how to sew as well. This gave me quite the surprise from Monkey. He is begging to have a Sock Monkey kit for his birthday. I would say that we may just have to oblige him that request. My mom made him a Sock Monkey a very long time ago, but, Lilly, his dog, tore it up.
Other than that, things have been going pretty well here. Sam is still working on getting out of the Marine Corps. That seems like a never ending project itself! It seems like it has taken forever for things to work themselves out, but, we have been assured that we're close to the end. We're figuring that it will be at least another 6 months before he gets out. In a way, that's the hardest part, not knowing. We don't know when he's going to get out, so he can't look for a job. Nobody will even consider him unless he's 90 days from getting out. We're in the process of trying to save up a years worth of expenses right now. We refinanced the house and his car, both with a better payment. Unfortunately, we didn't win the Powerball last night either. Congrats to the lucky winner in KY. We sure could have used that $128,600,000! I'm sure alot of people could have.
Anyways, It's Sunday Funday here, and I'm behind on laundry and dishes, so it's time to get back to that! I hope that everyone had a great Christmas, and from my family to yours, Happy New Year!

ThriftyGrl Giveaway!

So, as most of you know, I try to be as thrifty as possible. As most of you know, living the life of a military wife is not that easy, and it isn't any easier being a military child. Old Navy is one of my favorite places on Earth to shop! Well, there is a nice young lady that is giving away a $50 off of $100 at Old Navy coupon and I REALLY want it! As part of the contest to win this coupon, I said that I would blog about it, and add her to my blog roll. Well, the more that I started looking around, the more that I like the site! I am pleased to announce the addition of ThrifyGrl to my blog roll! Go check her out, and enter to win the coupon!

Black Friday

So, yesterday was Thanksgiving. We stayed at home, just Sam, the kids and I. It was strange actually. This is the first Thanksgiving with all of us together, with no traveling. I cooked a turkey breast because there was really no reason for us to cook an entire bird. It would have been too much for the four of us to eat in a reasonable amount of time. I also made sweet potatoes for the very first time! I know that seems like such a strange thing to have never made for Thanksgiving, but, in all honesty, I've never actually made a Thanksgiving dinner by myself! We've always gone to my moms house. This year my mom is in Texas, my one sister is moving to Tennessee, my other sister and brother are the only two left in Ohio. We did get a call from my sister-in-law and brother. They wanted to talk to the kids and say hello. They missed them. I miss my family too. I'm not sure if we will be able to go to Ohio for Christmas or not.

Sam is out shopping for Black Friday. He ran into his first snag. We were going to get another crate for the Greyhound that we would eventually like to adopt. PetSmart advertising stated that they had wire crates on sale for 50% off. Great deal! Sam gets there this morning, and it's the crates that are a size down from what we would need that are on sale! Ugh! So, he is leaving there to do some other shopping. I guess we will see how it works out!