What?! I’m still here??

Yeah. I still do exist, even if not online too much anymore. I’ve got about ten minutes to play on a borrowed computer and online access, so here’s a quick update: I’ve gone back to work. I teach 8th and 9th grade reading and English. Both babies are at daycare on the same campus where I teach. I check on them a couple times a day. DH has been out of work since July and has had a hard time getting a job because of his record. Murphey’s Law seems to be alive and well in our lives, but thankfully God’s law is supreme. To be cliche, we are in the middle of our “mess” in order to get our message…we are living the “test” to get our testimony. Just call DH and me, Job and Job Jr. And to repeat what a dear friend says, we have to live on such a tight budget, we know how to make a penny scream. Thank God for the babies’ health. Love to all. More later.

Electric Company

Yes, my faithful few…Electric Company is on. I don’t know if it’s “still” or “again”, but it’s on. From the little I’ve seen, it’s just not the same. I think they still yell, “Hey you guys!”, but it just doesn’t have the same vibe as it did way back when. I’ve seen the male and female face silhouettes that sound out words, but I haven’t seen the pinball machine that counts to twelve (my favorite), and Spidey isn’t on anymore.

Without cheating, can anyone name more than one really famous actor who was on the series?

I’m a perfectionist, therefore…

…sometimes it takes me forever to finalize a post. I have been diligently working on a post that explains why I love Louisiana. But as it isn’t perfected yet, that post remains in the “draft” box.

So, until I can get that worked out, I’m just going to let everyone know a couple of quick things.

1. I may be going back to teaching in the fall.

2. I am reading the book my sister’s keeper, which has been made into a movie.

3. C has been putting words together to form sentences. It is so amazing and cute. He also understands so much that I am amazed. For example, when I was looking for the keys he was playing with, I asked him where they were, and he went right to the obscure place in which he stored them.

4. C has also allowed one other item in his bed, beyond the blanket and his sippy cup. Yes, the boy now sleeps with one of his toy guns. Sigh. A mother’s dream.

5. Hubby has started a new job. He’s doing the same thing, working with pipe-fitters, but now he is not subject to the direct heat of the day. He’s still not working in a/c, but the shop has fans to cool things, at least a bit.

6. I love watching the show/competition, So You Think You Can Dance?. It’s on Fox on Wednesday and Thursday nights. I wish I was a dancer. I wish I could dance…I could be on a show with that title–So You Wish You Could Dance? I definitely wish I could, and I definitely know that I can’t.

7. We moved all of our stuff out of storage. We now have boxes taking up our dining room. They are piled about ten feet up. And, seeing as we also have two dogs, two kids, and a house guest in this little two-bedroom townhome, I’d say we’ve maximized pretty much all of our space.

8. If I do go back to work, I will miss watching Sesame Street and Family Feud every day. Weird, new things about Sesame Street though: Elmo is now the star; Mr. Snuffalafagus correctly spelled–Snuffleupagus, is never on (anyone remember when no one believed Big Bird that Snuffy existed?); Kermit the Frog is never on; Grover, Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, and The Count all have small parts;  Maria, Luis, Bob, and Gordon are still there. Check out this site for some fun reading.

9. (This is an extension of #8.) I think Family Feud is rigged. When they had the All-Star games with famous people, they always won the Fast Money round. That doesn’t mean I no longer want to go on the show, I just hope that my family is cute and spunky enough to get the thing rigged in our favor.

10. I have rediscovered a love that I had to give up the last two years I was pregnant. Feta cheese has now returned to my life. So good with any kind of salad! (Feta is off-limits for pregnant women because of the bacteria it may contain.)

One more thing

Oh. I forgot to mention that I found out my lovely contractor has been to prison. Of course, being a jail-bird doesn’t necessarily mean that someone is bad…but he apparently spent some time there because of unethical practices with his business. Sigh. So he may be a little shady. I think I’ve benefited from some of his shadiness, but now I’m stepping back a little. Is there anyone I can trust? Maybe I’ll get a lawyer to help with decisions about the house. Ha ha. Seriously though, I think I might get a lawyer.

Oh yeah…one lawyer (husband of a friend) has already said that I’m a perfect candidate for bankruptcy. Thanks, I think.

Eight things

Copying supermom, Joyce, who somehow has time to do all this silly stuff AND take care of twins. Craziness.

8 Things I Am Looking Forward To:
1.  sleeping in 
2. no more diapers
3. C and B playing together
4. B’s first birthday 
5. C’s second birthday in Houston
6. getting a bigger place 
7. getting my camera fixed or a new one (hence, no new pics lately)
8. going to the movies

8 Things I Did Today:
1. went to Target with the boys
2. went to Wal-Mart and made friends in the household cleaner aisle
3. ate hot wings
4. got up at 4:45 am
5. took a nap
6. mopped the living room
7. introduced C to the fruit market
8. learned that C likes to toss fruit and veggies at the fruit market

8 Things I Wish I Could Do:
1. lose weight
2. not have grey hair
3. not get hot when it is so freakin’ hot outside
4. tan evenly
5. go see Gram and Gramp soon
6. relax
7. go to the beach
8. go on a shopping spree

8 Shows I Watch:
1. So You Think You Can Dance
2. The Unit
3. Family Guy
4. Family Feud
5. Sesame Street
6. Word World
7.  The Big Bang Theory
8. The Mentalist

8 Favorite Fruits:
1. bananas
2. plums
3. peaches
4. watermelon
5. strawberries
6. oranges (all kinds, except the ones from California)
7. limes
8. kiwi

8 Places I’d Like to Travel:
1. Italy
2. Hawaii
3. any fancy beach resort
4. Ireland
5. Colorado
6. Florida
7. Texas (see #5 on “Things I wish I could do”)
8. Africa

8 People I’ve tagged: (if you feel like it):
1. To tell the truth, I’m not really sure how to tag someone.

The latest (have an aspirin ready)

So here’s a bit of a summary of the never-ending saga of our house and the dealings we have with our top three choices for most difficult entities of 2009. (Those entities being FEMA, Wilshire Credit Corporation, and Foremost Insurance.)

Foremost gave us 25K for repairs.

The contractor’s estimate of repairs that actually need to be done is 50K.

Not included in the contractor’s estimate is the estimate on what it would cost to level (straighten) the house. To level it would cost 25K.

FEMA will not give us anything for repairs because their genius estimator said that damages to our house would only cost 1K to fix.

We had to endorse the insurance check and send it to Wilshire for them to sign. Then they were supposed to send us half to get repairs going. However, today we found out that we are to come up with the difference between what Foremost gave and what the contractor said it would cost. (No one besides hubby and me care about the house being leveled…so that is not even in anyone’s dealings yet.) Wilshire suggested that we get the contractor to revamp his estimate to equal what Foremost said, or we could get a couple of other estimates from other contractors. Wilshire did not seem to care that Foremost is only paying for what our policy covered, not what actually needs to be done to fix the house. They just want the numbers to line up.

Now on the brighter side is that FEMA may give us rental reimbursement because we had to get an apartment. In order for them to make a decision on that though, my insurance company (Foremost) needs to fax them a statement of A.L.E. (Additional Living Expenses). That statement will let FEMA know that we have been denied living expenses by Foremost, and then they (FEMA) will hopefully help us out. If you are a believer and are still reading this craziness, please pray for favor and that we get living expenses/rent reimbursement from when we had to move to now (10 months).

FEMA may also help us with what we lost content-wise. However, we have to fill out an application for an S.B.A. (Small Business Administration) loan. Then if the S.B.A. denies us a loan for replacing the contents of our house, FEMA might help.

Confused? Me too. And this is all just the info from yesterday and today. Fun, huh?

On the road

Hey folks. I will be on the road tomorrow (Tuesday) so send up a prayer. I have to go to the house to meet someone who is going to give me an estimate on how much it will cost to have it leveled. By “leveled” I mean, staightened out, not demolished. I may go in and take pictures, but I’m not sure yet. (My camera is broken, and I need to find a loaner before I go.) My hubby has prepared me to go into the house though. He has brought home a respirator, safety glasses, and a nifty pair of big leather gloves–all to keep me safe. I’ll keep you posted on how the day turns out.

And in other news, B does not yet sit up, roll over, or crawl. He can roll, but he just doesn’t do it very often. He’s pretty much happy as long as he’s being held. Hubby said B would be the lap baby. Oh well. He can swat things with the best of them though, so I’m not too worried. I know there are some superbabies who crawl by five months (much love K. & A.M!), but I’ll take it as a blessing that I don’t have to go chasing after two little ones quite yet.

So I assumed

I was standing in line at the store, and there was a cute roly-poly baby in the cart in front of me. The baby was about C’s size but acted much younger. Because C talks to everyone when we go to the store, I have become used to carrying on conversations with multiple stangers throughout each shopping trip. And because C wasn’t with me this time, it was up to me to chat and be friendly. So…there’s a cute baby. The baby has a gold earring in each ear. I make an assumption. And I say, “How old is she?”

Ass u me. Yeah. “She” was a “he”. What?!

Who does that to their kid? Don’t you pierce girls’ ears? I even checked that there was an earring in each ear. Good grief. My boys will only get their ears pierced if they chose to, like say, in high school, or if they sneak and do it when they are younger. But seriously, a one-year-old baby boy with two gold studs? Craziness.

What would you do?

What wold you do if:

• You were at the too-far-to-walk-end of the parking lot to Target and your almost 2-year old starts throwing up all over himself and his carseat?
• You are in the middle of Target and your 7-month old has an exploded poo diaper in his carseat?
• The bathroom you go into has no baby changing table for the exploded diaper changing feat?
• You didn’t bring the diaper bag with you, but you were going to buy diapers and wipes anyway?
• No one is with you to help with any of the above, and you’ve lost your cell phone?

Well, this is what I did. I stopped the car and got C out to make sure he was okay. (I have no idea why he was throwing up.) Then I stripped all his clothes off as he stood next to the car. Because it was too far for us to walk and his carseat was full of ick, I had a few choices. I could have put him back into the yucky carseat; I could have driven with him in my lap Brittany-style, or I could do what I ultimately chose…I wrapped him in an old shirt of his daddy’s and sat him on the backseat, between both carseats, and drove the rest of the way to the store. 

I found some wipes and a baby t-shirt in the trunk, so I wiped C down, threw the shirt on him, and we went into the store. He had on just that t-shirt, a diaper, and no shoes. I can claim white trash in my heritage, so I had no shame.

As for the poo diaper that happened about thirty minutes into the shopping trip? Well, I simply slung B over my shoulder and with one hand, guided the shopping cart to the nearest bathroom. Along the way, I threw in the packs of diapers and wipes that I needed. Once in the bathroom, the choice was to either change B on the floor or somehow hold and change him. That was the choice until I got creative. Yep, I piled the cushy packs of wipes and diapers in the cart to make a nice changing table. B’s head was hanging off a little, but it was the best we could do. And what was big brother doing at the time? He was finishing off the Sprite I had given him to keep him happy and me a little less stressed.

Yeah. Then I eventually made my way home and cooked dinner. Superwoman, I tell ya.

Oh, as for the Sprite, we threw it away in the bathroom, practicing basketball skills. But because I actually remembered that when we checked out, I got another, had the lady scan it, and then put that one back into the cooler. I waited for someone to applaud, but it didn’t happen. Oh well. Maybe I won’t feel as guilty next time something sneaks its way through the checkout. And for those of you who are sooo concerned, C did ride in his icky carseat all the way home. A parking lot and the actual road are two totally different ballgames, horses of a different color, whatever. Superwoman, I said, not Stupidwoman.

*#*!!&##!!

*#*!!&##!!

FEMA.

Traffic

A few days ago I attempted to return to work after having been out for two weeks due to stupid Hurricane Gustav and the problems he brought with him. From our flooded house, it’s about eight miles to my job. From where we are staying now, it’s about fifty miles. But that’s not driving time. After dropping the baby off with his sitter at eight a.m., I succeeded in traveling three of those fifty miles in about thirty minutes. Traffic! Several phone calls later, my hubby suggested that I make the circle and just stand in line for emergency disaster food stamps. Another thrity minutes later, I made it to my exit (an entire five miles away from where I first got on the interstate), refueled the car, went to the bathroom, and proceeded on to the food stamp line. I arrived there at nine-thirty a.m. Total time traveled–an hour and a half. Total distance covered–one big eight mile circle. It was the beginning of another lovely day.

Food stamps, part one.

So on the day of the terrible traffic, I made my way to the disaster food stamp location to get our family’s allotment of food stamps. This, of course, was the result of the loving, though constant, prodding of my hubby’s dear aunties. To my dismay, parking was pretty far from the building and through some major mud. I hadn’t done anything but drive that day, but being eight months pregnant, I was already tired. Then a cop in a golf cart pulled up next to my parked car and said he was there to give me a ride to the front door. Yay! Someone cared about the pregnant lady’s distress at walking miles and miles through the mud.

Things I learned in the food stamp line:

There are no attractive people getting food stamps…I’m pretty cute, but because I’m knocked up, I’m out of the running.

Some people want to chat–bugging the people who just want to be left alone. (Guess which I am.)

Horror stories of medical malpractice with newborns is not the best thing to be telling a pregnant lady.

Food stamp workers don’t really look at you or seem to care about why you are there.

Two hours later, food stamp card in hand and instructions on not buying alcohol or weapons (via bullhorn), I was ready to shop…as soon as the 48 hour wait for the card to get processed was up.

Food stamps, part two.

Food stamps are just for food. Who knew?

After waiting the mandatory 48 hours for the food stamp card to get processed, I called to check the balance. The card number was not recognized in the system. The previous night’s news report must have been true for us. Apparently, the State of Louisiana messed up and gave some people double their allotment of food stamp money while others got nothing. Bummer. We were in the “got nothing” group. Another trip to the muddy parking lot, another ride on a golf cart, and I found out that the card would be good after 6pm that evening. Being the ever-so-patient person that I am, I checked the balance around 4:30pm…the money was there, so we packed up and went to Wal-Mart.

Because we are essentially starting from scratch, we loaded the cart up with necessary home items–trash cans, baby safety gear, a broom, and some food to get through the next few days. But heeding the warning that was given, we had no alcohol or weapons. At the check out line, we happily scanned our food stamp card thinking that we were on our way to a newly equipped and soon-to-be tidied apartment. Then the cashier lady told us that our balance was $130. Was that $130 remaining on the card or $130 that we owed? Obviously irritated at our food stamp stupidity, she sighed and told us that we owed $130–$130 that we didn’t have to spend. So as we decided to separate the food from the non-food items, the cashier lady rolled her eyes and called someone over to help her staighten out our mess…but not before she announced to the cashier in the next lane that we tried to buy non-food items with our food stamp card. They were apparently experts in the field and had no patience for amateurs. I told the lady to be nice to us because we lost everything in the hurricane. She thought that maybe a tree fell on our house, but I explained that no, our entire house flooded and we are starting over. She got a little nicer after that. So, we separated our stuff and rolled home with some apples, baby formula, and a frozen pizza. Trashcans and a broom would have to wait for another day.

Points to ponder:

Why did the lady with the bullhorn make such a big deal out of announcing that you can’t buy alcohol or weapons with food stamps? Why didn’t she explain that food stamps are simply just for food? Does gum count as food? Does McDonald’s count as food?

M.R.E.

Meals ready to eat. I’ve discovered that the yumminess of M.R.E.s is directly related to how hungry you are. My first M.R.E. was only okay. But after spending a morning of meeting with the insurance guy at our ruined house, my second M.R.E. was really good. However, my husband loves them whenever. And that’s fine with me because I don’t have to figure out what he’s going to eat for lunch every day, and if I’m too tired to cook, he’ll just cook for himself (military-style).

One curious thing about M.R.E.s is the smell when the food is actually heating. (The hydrogen byproduct, my hubby says.) It is a very strong and unique smell that I swear is familiar, but I can’t place where I’ve smelled it before. My hubby, who is an ex-con, and his retired cop friend (go figure) both agree that the only other smell like it is when someone is smoking crack. Lovely. I don’t think that’s where I recognize the smell from…So if anyone has any other suggestions, please let me know.

Change

Okay. This blog is about to change. I can’t write only about things that have to do with our house. Well, I can, but it’s too stressful. Every day there is a phone call to make, paperwork to fill out, or another hoop to jump through. But rehashing what I’ve been through that day in the blog has proved to be too much for me. I finally figured that out after having countless dreams about houses being destroyed by flood and fire, the dogs swimming through water just so they can ”go out”, and green moldy smoke. I think the green moldy smoke was the last one that gave me a clue that maybe it’s a little more stressful than I realize. So, I will update as soon as I figure out what else I can write on. Maybe I’ll do a “101 things in 1001 days” deal like my cousin. That way I can include updates on FEMA and everyone else, but I can also focus on lovely things such as planning a trip to California to go on Family Feud. So, look for a new blog theme soon.

TLC’s “Baby Story”

I usually don’t watch any of the baby shows on The Learning Channel because they usually stress me out. I do attempt to watch them every now and then though, thinking that “this time” it’ll be different. The other day I caught a bit of a show where the commentor said that it was hard to believe that only five hours previous to the pregnant lady’s hard labor, she was only having mild contractions that she wasn’t even sure were contractions. Hmph. I turned the program off at that point. Five hours after my mild contractions, I had done had a baby, gotten a ride in an ambulance, met with my doctor, entertained visitors, and was eating yummy food from California Pizza Kitchen. A five hour quick labor…whatever! Try zero to baby in thirty minutes. 

By the way, we got the copy of my 911 call. In the first three words I spoke to the 911 guy I dropped the f-bomb. Then I said it again several screams later. I don’t know if 911 calls should be made available. It was very stressful to hear it. The only thing that was good was the humor my hubby was able to point out. I was cussing and my mother-in-law was describing the afterbirth she apparenly saw BEFORE the baby was even born. Funny what people say in high stress situations.

Turkey Day

I am thankful for

A few days of vacation to spend with all of my boys

Blaze and Bryan

Chaz

Danielle watching the babies on Wednesday nights

Everyone who gave to us for Blaze and after we lost our house

Frankie’s cooking

Good friends

Happy times

Inventions like the dishwasher and visual baby monitors

Jennifer and Joyce–my faithful readers

Keeping it real

Love

My family

Nine one one

Only one baby in diapers…oh, that’s what I’m wishful for

People who are honest

Quiet times

Really good sleep

Sanity

Thanksgiving. Is that like a double-negative/positive or something?

Unit (The) It’s a great show!

Veggies

Walking, not waddling. (Not pregnant anymore!)

Xenial people. See http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=xenial ha ha.

Yawning

Z–a great letter. Check the kids’ names

These boots are made for walkin’

Check out what I hope to get for my birthday. I love ‘em. I’ve been wanting some tough boots, and these are it, but they are really heavy. However, I was informed that I can’t complain about heavy if I want tough. Hmph. 

These are Harley Davidson boots. Not much tougher than that, huh?

 

Stupid things people say

Ah yes. The things people say to pregnant women. Among the things I’ve heard over the past two years (and two babies):

Don’t put your hands over your head; that gets the umbilical cord wrapped around the baby’s neck.

Don’t get your hair dyed.

Don’t drink that Coke. (Note: My doc told me how much caffeine I could have.)

Your baby is going to be HUGE! (Note: He weighed a whopping 6 lbs 4 oz.)

Your baby is going to be HUGE! (Note: The next one tipped the scales at 6 lbs 11oz.)

You are getting so big. (Who likes to hear that? Even if they are pregnant, I don’t know anyone who likes to hear how big they are getting. It even annoys kids when people say it to them!)

Don’t have that baby here. (Spoken by a Wal-Mart employee…like I would have my baby at your stupid store. I’ll have him at a respectable place, like my living room!)

Girl, you trying to walk that baby out?

You still haven’t had that baby? (No dummy. He’s only 30 weeks. If I had him already we’d be in the midst of medical issues.)

Girl, you about to drop that baby outta you. (Note: I didn’t have him until weeks later.)

The next one is going to be difficult. (In reference to the first baby being so easy-going.)

They are HOW CLOSE in age?! (This is usually spoken with a look of disgust and disapproval. I always felt the need to tell people that we wanted another so soon, but it made me mad to feel that pressure.)

So when are you going to try for a girl? (This isn’t really dumb of someone to ask, but I hear it ALL the time. Do I have to have a girl to be complete? I like being the only girl…I’ve got three men to take care of me.)

You’ll lose that weight soon. (So, you think I’m fat right now?)

You look good for just having a baby. (How about, “You look good” without the qualifier?

And of course, there’s the stares. Just blatant staring. Check out the t-shirt I loved to wear months 7-9.

 

Add the dumb things you’ve heard!

Also, see http://joyco.wordpress.com/ for more on unsolicited advice.

Christmas meme

Here’s a Christmas meme from Joyce. I think I’m doing it right. Merry, happy Christmas!

 

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?  Cute, unique wrapping paper. Or whatever is available at Walgreen’s as I’m on my way to the party. 

2. Real tree or Artificial?  Real. Except that I’ve discovered that I’m allergic, so I reluctantly go with artificial.

3. When do you put up the tree? take the tree down?  When I have enough energy. (It’s not up yet!)

4. Do you like eggnog?  Yes! Yummy.

5. Favorite gift received as a child?  For Christmas?  My cat, Peppermint…for Christmas, of course.

6. Hardest person to buy for?   Grandpa. What do you get a 94 year old man? One year, I got him a bunch of chapsticks from Whole Foods. He liked ‘em.

7. Do you have a nativity scene?  Yes, somewhere in storage.

8. Mail or email Christmas cards?  Mail, except I haven’t mailed any for the past several years. I plan on it for this year though.

9. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?  Hmmmm.

10. Favorite Christmas Movie?   Elf. Hilarious! “We elves try to stick to the four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corns and syrup.”
11. When do you start shopping for Christmas?  Whenever I see stuff I know someone will like…even during the summer.

12. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?  Only for White Elephant games.  Otherwise, I’m afraid I’ll get caught.  The question should be, “have you ever wanted to recycle a Christmas present?”  Then the answer would be YES!!

13. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Gramma’s bon bons–peanut butter balls.

14. Lights on the tree?  You mean people don’t put lights on their tree? Weird.

15. Favorite Christmas song? O Holy Night.

16. Travel at Christmas or stay home?  Travel. It feels more like a holiday if I go somewhere.

17. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeers?  Let’s see…Dasher, Donner, Blitzen, Comet, Cupid, Dancer, Prancer, Rudolph, Vixen. Is that right?

18. Angel on the tree top or a star?  Whatever I find that is cute.

19. Open the presents Christmas eve or Christmas day?  One on Christmas Eve and the rest on Christmas Day. Unless my hubby gets his way…then it’s all over on Christmas Eve.

20. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?  “Happy holidays.”

21. Favorite ornament theme or color?  The gaudier the better.

22. Favorite for Christmas dinner?  Cornish hens or steak.

23. What do you want for Christmas this year?  A new teddy bear. My other was murdered. (Don’t ask.)

Chop-dawg!

Chopper, our beagle, loves to sleep under the covers. I think he is hilarious.

29 in 2009

I’ve been trying to figure out a new topic for the blog, and this is what I’ve decided on–29 things I want to accomlish in 2009. I was going to go with 101 things to do in 1001 days, but I just couldn’t come up with 101 things that I wanted to do. Soon, I will explain each a little more, but at least I’ve got my goals down and visible. Yes, they are in a messy format, but I’m working on figuring out how to fix that. (If anyone knows WordPress, your suggestions are welcome.)

Explanation

1. Quit drinking regular (non-diet) cokes

I am addicted to Coca-Cola. I love it. I can drink it warm and flat. But I definitely prefer it to be icy cold. Just writing about it makes me crave one. Dr. Pepper is a close second, with the variations of each following. (Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper is also really good, but difficult to find.) See the problem here? I love cokes, sodas, cold drinks…whatever you want to call them. I had to give them up during my pregnancy because I had gestational diabetes, but now I want to give them up for good. They simply have way too much sugar in them. And no, limiting myself to one every now and then won’t work because it just sets off my cravings for more. So hi. I’m addicted to Coke.

 

My kind of people!

2. Visit Gram and Gramp

I wanted to go during the holidays, but someone explained to me that traveling alone with two babies isn’t very wise. So, I need a ride to San Antonio to see my peoples.

Three of my favorite people

3. Get tattoos with babies’ names

Sigh. More posts on this topic later.

4. Pay off debts

What American doesn’t need to do that? We don’t have credit cards, but we do have old debts that we need to take care of. I think first priority is getting the car paid off.

5. Teach C. and B. more sign language

C. knows a few signs, but I want to teach him more so he can communicate with us a little better. It’s cool how quickly he learns. He learned the sign for “chicken” after showing it to him just once or twice.

6. Go dancing with hubby

We were supposed to do that for my birthday, but it didn’t end up happening.

7. Go karaoke-ing

See #7.

8. Go to the beach

I love the beach. I dream about the ocean. If it weren’t for hurricanes, I’d live a lot closer. I just need a major beach fix.

My favorite color...sunlight through water.

9. Do something awesome for anniversary (Dec. 31)

For the past three years we’ve ended up at my in-laws to pop fireworks. I’m ready to do something a little different and more romantic.

10. Resolve house issues

Sigh. The original reason that I started this blog. The house is still sitting there, getting more and more moldy. It’s very depressing when I think about it for too long. We want to get it fixed and then sell it.

11. Keep hair dyed

I’ve had gray hair since I was 18. I’ve been playing with color since I was in junior high. Now I have to keep it colored, and it’s a pain to keep up with.

12. Get a job

Right now I stay home and eat bon-bons all day. (According to my hubby, at least.)

13. Move to Texas

Ah, the motherland. We may need to get the house issues resolved first, though.

Beautiful!

14. Get Chocolate fixed

One of our four dogs. I found her in the ghetto one afternoon on my way home from work. She’s a pit bull mix and as sweet as can be. She is definitely much more mild than our black lab (who now lives on my aunt’s farm in Texas).

15. Find a good daycare for babies

That’s for when I go back to work.

16. Organize photos

I’ve got them in boxes and scattered in various places on the computer. Thank God that I had them consolidated enough to keep them from being ruined in the flood. Now I just need to get them sorted a little better.

17. Get a bigger vehicle

Right now I am driving my hubby’s cousin’s 4X4, F-150 extended-cab truck with big noisy exhaust-things. I LOVE it. We want to get something big like that, mainly for safety because of the babies. It being tough is just a nice plus.

We want something like this.

18. See new baby cousins–arriving in April

What explanation is needed for that? Babies are wonderful, and two at once? Awesome!

19. Read one of Obama’s books

I’ve heard a lot of negative things about what he has written, and I just want to check it out for myself. Too many people make judgements based on what others say instead of actually being informed.

20. Take C. for his first haircut from the barber

We’ve buzzed his hair several times, but he needs a professional haircut at some point.

21. Potty train C.

The day I have no diapers to change will be a great day indeed.

22. Lose at least 20 pounds

Two babies in two years has wreaked havoc on the ol’ bod.

23. Organize papers and bills

My classroom is usually pretty organized, but at home papers are everywhere. Okay, I lied. At school, I usually have students to help me be organized, but at home I just have contributers to the mess.

24. Do taxes early

My goal is to get them done as soon as we get all of our W-2’s.

25. Keep up with laundry better

See # 23 about the contributers. I like washing and drying clothes, but the hanging and putting away? Forget it. Hubby said he’d take over with the hanging and folding but working long hours has cut into his laundry time.

26. Go to family’s destination Thanksgiving in N.O.

They are already plotting the clan’s takeover of New Orleans. I can’t wait. I hope, I hope I can go.

27. Visit hubby’s family in Florida

We have visited my family lots, but I have never met his grandpa and uncles on his mom’s side. Hopefully we can get to Destin or further to see everyone. I have heard that they are noisier and more rambunctious than his immediate family though…I can’t imagine.

28. Reduce amount of carbs and sugar I eat

Again with the diabetes thing. It’s amazing how many carbs are in things when you start  paying attention to it. And, it’s amazing how good they taste. Sigh. Gotta be healthier, though.

29. Plan awesome 30th birthday for hubby

He turns 30 in January of 2010. For my 30th we went to Florida and swam with the dolphins at Discovery Cove. It was sooooo awesome. I fed stingrays. We went to Sea World several times. It was the best, best vacation. Now I have to figure out something cool to do for him.

We got to stand in a lagoon to pet and feed these guys. They feel like velvet. Having them swim all around us was so cool. When they got excited for food, they would even flop up toward our chests.

   

(Cow-nosed ray) I think their faces are so cute!

99 Reasons and the *ahem* ain’t one.

Things I have done are in bold. (Thanks Joyce. I like doing these goofy things, too.)

1. Started your own blog – Uh, yeah. Though I have wanted to quit this thing sometimes. Comments, people. Leave comments. (I also am still learning how to format things. Forgive the messiness.)

2. Slept under the stars – Camping with friends and in Switzerland. A few of us on a student tour climbed out the bedroom window to lie on the ground and look at the stars. No city lights; it was amazing!
3. Played in a band – Well, the high school band. I played tenor sax.

4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower – Oh yeah! They usually happen sometime in mid-August. I’ve lain on my grandmother’s driveway with her to watch several meteor showers. I think one time we stayed up really late or got up really early to get the best viewing.

6. Given more than you can afford to charity – Hmmm. What counts as more than I can afford?
7. Been to Disneyland/world

8. Climbed a mountain – Climbed? No. Been up? Yes. Pikes Peak and Mt. Pilatus in Switzerland.

9. Held a praying mantis – I rescued a baby one in our house this summer. I caught it in a cup and put it outside.
10. Sang a solo – A traumatizing one-liner in a stupid school musical.
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris – For the student tour when I graduated from high school. We were really tired by that point in the trip, so we really didn’t enjoy it.
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch – Painting with watercolors.

15. Adopted a child – Sometimes it feels like I adopt certain students who have extra problems or don’t quite fit in with everyone else.
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France – Little bitty thing. And dark. Not that impressive at all.
20. Slept on an overnight train – On a trip with my family from San Antonio to Chicago.

21. Had a pillow fight – Hate them. If you have a brother, they happen. I hate getting hit with pillows.

22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill – Uh, yeah.

24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb – I’ve petted lambs…no one let me hold them.

26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse – Solar and lunar eclipses…sure.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset – I could watch the sun set across the cow field at my old house. Very cool. The sun would rise over the water nearby. Also very cool.

31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied -Satisfied with what? The money? No.

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David – Very cool.
41. Sung karaoke – Not yet. I seriously want to though.

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight – Thanksgiving on the beach in Florida one year.

46. Been transported in an ambulance – Seven weeks ago when I had Blaze on the couch. When they turned the siren on, I got excited and asked if that was for me…like making sure it was our ambulance I was hearing. I thought it was cool.

47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person – Yes. And my uncle got kicked out for taking video of it. Good times.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris – And spat off.
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling - Snorkeled in St. Croix.

52. Kissed in the rain – Probably. I should do it more though. I love the rain.

53. Played in the mud – When I was a kid.

54. Gone to a drive-in theater – Had one in my hometown and saw The Crow with my uncle and cousins…funny, my cousin says she’s never been. Also watched Godzilla movies there when I was a kid.
55. Been in a movie – I have a friend who was an extra in Glory Road. You can totally see him in one of the game scenes.
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class – Yes. Keyword: “a”
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen – Our church has a food ministry called Cooking for Christ. I’ve done stuff with them, and I’ve helped at the one downtown. (I think it was with you, Taylor). I love being on the line and serving food.
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies

62. Gone whale watching – I plan on doing that before I turn 40.
63. Got flowers for no reason – There’s always a reason.
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma – When I was in college I donated plasma for money. Sad, huh?
65. Gone sky diving – NEVER!
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check – Unfortunately. My hubby is in charge of the bank account now.
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy – I have a leopard stuffed animal that my brother named Pillow because it worked really well as a pillow. I also have a koala my gramma got for me in Australia.

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten Caviar – I’ve had escargot.
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London - I remember running from the tour bus to see it and then running to another location to see something else. I didn’t (and still don’t) know what it all was that we were supposed to be seeing. I do know that our tour guide for that portion of the trip carried a parasol. And our main tour guide, Richard, thought she was stuck up.
77. Broken a bone - Though no one believed me, I swear I broke a rib when I tripped over our dogs and fell while pregnant. Okay, maybe it was just cracked, but dang! It hurt!
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican – Lots of nuns and monks walking around. It was a really cool experience.
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper – Stuff when I was a kid…for school and whatnot.
85. Read the entire Bible – Gosh. I’ve read a lot of it. But some of the Old Testament books are cumbersome.
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating – Saw almost the entire process at my aunt’s house/farm. I love bunnies…I will forever be scarred.

88. Had chickenpox – Yep.
89. Saved someone’s life – I saved those baby ducks from drowning in the swimming pool. I actually did that multiple times. The dumb momma kept getting in the pool, and she could get out but the babies couldn’t.
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous – I met one of the guys from NKOTB, and I’ve met some famous people in religious circles.
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one – Too many.
94. Had a baby – Two!

95. Seen the Alamo in person – Yep.

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit – Yep.
98. Owned a cell phone – Who doesn’t own a cell phone?
99. Been stung by a bee - Does a wasp count?

Christmas cats

more animals

more animals

more animals

more animals

Coke-coke

I am very happy about the new year. It seems that a new year gives opportunity to start fresh and dump negative things by the wayside. I’m all for that. However, I am quite unhappy about my first goal for the year–giving up cokes.

I have been drinking pretty much nothing but cokes for the past week, knowing that my time is limited. It’s like trying to get in all the time you can with loved ones before they leave or something. Except this loved one makes you fat and tastes yummy. C has even taken on my love for cokes. When he sees a bottle of any kind of soda, he says, “Coke-coke!” He even brought his sippy cup to me in the kitchen the other day, pointed and said “Coke-coke.”

Yes. Coke-coke, indeed.

Check this site (and click the links) for some interesting tidbits about Coca-Cola. http://www.snopes.com/cokelore/cokelore.asp

New Year’s Meme

I actually did type this in 2008, so it really was a reflection of the year before starting a new one. I copied it from LuLu.

1.What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before? Had a baby with NO pain killer, rode in an ambulance, threw a one-year-old a birthday party

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I didn’t make resolutions last year…I think that’s where I went wrong.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Um, me. I also have several friends who had babies this year and several more who are due soon soon.

4. Did anyone close to you die? No, thank goodness.

5. What countries did you visit? None this year.

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008? Peace.

7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? September 1st. That was the day we left our house as the water rose into it. I was eight months pregnant and had to wade in thigh deep water to get to the car. I remember telling my hubby that at least we had everything precious with us as we drove away–him, me, baby C, and baby B in my belly. It’s an eye-opener for what is really important when you have to leave everything behind.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Having baby B at home

9. What was your biggest failure? Thinking that I somehow changed after having the first baby. Specifically, I thought that maybe teaching at a private school for privileged kids would suddenly suit me. Ha! Give me expelled kids with probation officers anyday. 

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? I had the worst sinus infection in April. That’s how bad it was; I remember the date and everything. No antibiotics, but it went away in about a week…would’ve taken that long with medication anyway. Good thing for the invention of the neti pot.

11. What was the best thing you bought? Jeans that fit, although the number on the tag is ridiculous. (Not referring to the price.)

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? C loves his little brother. He tries to hold him, and he will give him a bottle or pacifier. Today he was letting B suck on his fingers to calm him down (we couldn’t find the paci).

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Ha.

14. Where did most of your money go? I don’t know. Have you seen it? Oh yeah, gasoline.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? A nap.

16. What song will always remind you of 2008? Low–Flo Rida

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: (a) happier or sadder? (b) thinner or fatter? (c) richer or poorer? Fatter.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Sleep.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Thinking about dumb things.

20. How did you spend Christmas? With my hubby and his family. The best was being on my FIL’s boat with hubby. That was probably the best time I had that day. It didn’t last long, but it was peaceful.

21. Did you fall in love in 2008? Oh yes. I got a new man in my life. 6 lbs 11 oz of hunka-hunka love.

22. What was your favorite TV program? The Unit. I also watched Jericho, but it got cancelled. Oh, So You Think You Can Dance is also awesome.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? I don’t hate anyone.

24. What was the best book you read? I read The Great Gatsby for the first time. I’m sure that would come as a surprise to my high school English teacher. Ooops.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery? I realized the song that I thought was sooo romantic when I was younger is just a big fat lie. (When You Say Nothing At All by Alison Krauss) Seriously, I need words.

26. What did you want and get? My Harley boots.

27. What did you want and not get? Tattoos of the boys’ names. I went and the guy refused do it on my arm because it was my first tattoo.

28. What was your favorite film of this year? I can’t remember all of them, but I know that I really liked Get Smart.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I went out to eat and then to the movies with my hubby.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? That is a pointless question.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008? Maternity wear.

32. What kept you sane? Medication.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? I rediscovered Ellen. C always dances when the dance segment of her show comes on.

34. What political issue stirred you the most? Oh my. Race crap really gets me fired up.

35. Who did you miss? Roxy.

36. Who was the best new person you met? The firemen who came to deliver B.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008. “Sometimes there’s not a damn thing you can do about things.” (Got that piece of wisdom from Gramma.)

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.  ??

I love Chocolate

Our pit bull mix is named Chocolate. I found her on the way home from work about three years ago. I was about three months pregnant with C at the time. A few months prior to that I had seen a skinny stray dog running the streets while on my way to work. I wanted to rescue that one but because I had already missed days of work and was running late, I couldn’t. I prayed for it to be okay and asked God to let me find it when I could pick it up and take it home. (You might think that’s goofy, but I do talk to God about my pets and animals that I’m concerned about. He made them, so He understands.) Well, I never saw that dog again, although I kept a look out for it. So when Chocolate walked directly in front of my car as I was at a stoplight, on my way home, to me it was like she was mine to rescue. I pulled into the abandoned parking lot at the corner and scooped her into the car. I went back to the school (where I taught) and got a couple of animal-loving students to take her to the vet with me.  

She checked out okay, except my husband was not pleased to hear about her. I called him from the vet’s office to tell him about the new dog, and he simply hung up on me. This, of course, was to the delight of my students. My husband also worked at the (all boys) school, and they were glad I was the one getting in trouble instead of them. But once I got her home, it took, oh, about five minutes for my dear hubby to fall in love with her. He’s the one that named her.

Fast forward to today. I am waiting to hear back from a lady who does pit bull rescue and who has found a home for her. (Let’s just say that Chocolate would be quite a surprise for our landlords if they happened to just stop by.) I’m glad there is someone local who works specifically with pits and who understands the plight they face.

There’s more to pit bulls than a lot of people realize. Basically, there are three breeds which people lump together as pit bulls. There’s the American Pit Bull Terrier, the American Staffordshire Terrier, and the Staffordshire Bull Terrier. The Staffordshire Bull Terrier is actually the breed Chocolate most resembles. Each breed is a little different. If you don’t know a whole lot about them, I’d say to read up if you have a strong opinion on them. They do get a lot of bad press but not all of it is warranted.

But anyway, here’s a few pictures of our big baby.

 

Everyone is excited when Daddy gets home from work.

 

 

Cute girl.

Being sweet.

This is where she sleeps every night. That is, until we fall asleep and she crawls into the bed.

Hiding from the camera.

Sssshhh...sleepy time.

Giving C a big fat kiss.

With her red binkie.

Cheating from Facebook

Okay. I got this thing from Facebook. I don’t care. I haven’t written in awhile, and I figured this would keep my few readers occupied for another day or so. It’s kind of like turning in the same paper for two different classes in college…or taking a poem and turning it into mini-short story for college, then back into a poem again for yet another class. Whatever.

Here’s 25 random things about me.

 
1. I miss my dog Roxy soooo much. (She went to live with my aunt in Texas after we lost our house in Gustav.)
2. I have three other dogs, two who have been sent back to us from their various temporary homes after Gustav.
3. I think my green eyes exempt me from wearing green on St. Patrick’s Day.
4. I miss teaching.
5. I don’t miss actually having to go to work every day.
6. I check to make sure everyone is still breathing while they sleep…even DH, if he is especially quiet ( not often).
7. I always say “Coca-Cola” instead of just “Coke”.
8. I pronounce LSU exactly like that– “L-S-U”, not “Eleshu” like everyone else apparently does.
9. I was surprised to find a live tiger on campus when I first started at LSU.
10. I have had grey hair since I was in high school.
11. I hate scary movies.
12. I think Carlos Mencia is hilarious, and I like most of what he has to say.
13. My parents were going to name me “Sunshine”. (Glad I gave my own kids totally normal names.)
14. I was in college while my husband was still a sophomore in high school.
15. I am extremely sentimental.
16. I love quilts.
17. Thanks to B, I can now type fairly well with one hand.
18. I hate British literature. (I am an English teacher…but please don’t judge my skills. I get tired of editing, and I like ending things with prepositions.)
19. I also hate grammar.
20. I failed a PE class in college. Stupid handball.
21. I love “The Family Feud” and plan to be on it one day.
22. My favorite movie is The Outsiders…not because they are all cute but because they are messed up.
23. I check to make sure the stove is off every night before I go to sleep…even if I haven’t cooked that day.
24. I wish I had land and resources so I could do a dog rescue thing.
25. I am sleep deprived

Dirty laundry

No, it’s not some ugly secret I’m referring to…it’s the clothes on the floor that’s the problem.

I love to wash and fold clothes, but putting those things away is a bit of a problem. My hubby said that he’d take on the task, and he did really good with it for awhile. But lately, he’s been slacking. Yeah okay, I realize that he works ten hours a day and has a fourty-five minute commute, but whatever. I still need help.

So, a professional mommy friend of mine gave me a tip on what she does. Each family member has a separate basket, and she’ll wash and dry one load (one basket) a day. Sounds simply obvious to you? Well, it was a revelation for me. But first, I have to get through the huge mountains of clean and dirty clothes before that tidy, one-load-a-day program will work. Hopefully, #25 will be resolved soon.

Clean and needs to be folded. Sigh.

Weird foods

Okay. I’m supposed to be eating healthier, but I’m not doing very well with it. However, I have been staying away from non-diet sodas (for the most part). Actually, there have been only three days when I fell off the wagon in the cola department. So for the most part, I think I’m doing pretty good.

As for the weird food thing, here’s a list of things I think are yummy but you might find weird or even gross:

Salt and vinegar chips, pork rinds (homemade or the cracklin’ variety from the store…not the puffy ones from the store), pickled okra, V8 tomato juice, chicken gristle, ranch flavored sunflower seeds, and dill pickle with popcorn or corn nuts on it (think movie theater).

Yum!

Some pork cracklins. Yum!

One more yummy (?) food

I don’t know the name of it, but in Mexico they sell corn in a cup. It has mayo, chili powder, lime and butter. OMG, so super good.
Here’s a link for more info.

Before and after

Kids, that is.

Before:
I was thin
After:
I’m not.
Before:
I ate my food very hot.
After:
I eat lukewarm food, if I’m lucky.
Before:
News reports about kids being hurt didn’t really affect me.
After:
I change the channel if there is a news report about something that happened to a kid.
Before:
Daytime commercials were a nuisance.
After:
I really think I might need the Swiffer Wet Jet and scrubbing bubbles to make my life easier.
Before:
“Gosh, that baby won’t shut up.” (My thoughts about a crying baby at a restaurant or at a random place in public.)
After:
“Are they feeding that baby? Do I need to help them? What’s wrong with the baby? Maybe they need to borrow a bottle or something. Poor parents. Poor baby.”
Before:
Never wanted to hold a baby. Ever.
After:
LOVE them. All of them.
Before:
Had an opinion on brand of jeans, makeup, and hairstyling products. (Don’t even remember)
After:
Have an opinion on brand of diapers, wipes, and formula. (Red Huggies and White Cloud, Target brand, Enfamil Lipil AR)
Before:
Walked with ease through every store.
After:
Secretly curse the people who design the aisles to be so narrow. (Try getting a double-wide stroller through Barnes and Noble with its endcap displays or into the far corners of Old Navy’s clearance section.)
Before:
Loved taking naps. Average nap time–3 hours.
After:
Love taking naps. Average nap time–45 min, if at all.
Before:
Typed with both hands.
After:
Just the one because I’m holding baby with the other.
Before:
Referred to time in years.
After:
Refer to time in weeks and months. (B is now 12 weeks old and C is 18 months old.)
Before:
I was in love with one man.
After:
I’m in love with three men.
Before:
I was normal.
After:
I’m super-mommy.

Contractor vs. insurance adjuster

And in this corner…

Every time I try to deal with my ruined house, there seems to be more issues added than resolved. The other day I called my insurance guy to tell him that he needs to communicate with my contractor. (Insurance needed my verbal permission before doing that.) Well, it turns out that my insurance guy no longer works there. So, I talked to another guy who was a supervisor. He said that he had to call Louisiana to get another person assigned to my claim. He didn’t really seem to hear me or care that I wanted him to talk to my contractor. He just said that because my contractor had a way different estimate of damages than they did, that they’d all have to meet up at the house to check things out. Again.

So I called my contractor. God bless him. He told me to tell them (insurance) to speak directly to him because they will try to put me in the middle to make things confusing and get me to accept terms that are not sufficient. He also said that he had sent them the revamped estimate on the 15th, and that it seemed like they were just sitting on it, dragging their feet and all. He mentioned reporting them to the state’s insurance commissioner if they continue to drag their feet. And he said to be careful of what I say to them regarding damages because they record every conversation, and their goal is to give us as little money as possible.

So with renewed confidence, I called the insurance guy back and left a message plainly demanding that he communicate with my contractor. Then I pushed a couple of buttons to get to a human being in order to have my claim noted that I want the communication to be between them and my contractor.

Called Mr. Contractor again. He said that he would go ahead and try to contact the insurance people that evening. I asked him what I needed to do next, and he said that I needed to sit back and depend on the good grace of God. Beautiful.

Low and behold, the next day a newly assigned insurance guy called me, and he and Mr. Contractor are going to the house next Thursday to check out the damages.

Mr. Contractor knows that we don’t have money to fix the house. He says that FEMA is useless (which I have discovered to be true). So, he’s on the case to get the money so that he can fix our house. Yay. It’s almost like having a lawyer working it out for me.

We’ll see how it goes.

More thievery from fb

Sorry fb readers. I have some facebook miscreants, so this is for them.

(ONE word answers)

Where is your cell phone…………………dunno
Your hair………………….………………stupid
Your favorite thing……………………….babies
Your dream last night…………………….stressful
Your favorite drink……………………….Coca-Cola
Your dream/goal…………….……………peace
The room you are in……………………..bedroom
Your fear………………….………………cockroaches
Where do you want to be in 6 years……..beach
Muffins……………….……………………blueberry
One of your wish list items………………..car
Where you grew up……………………….Texas
The last thing you did…………………....laundry
What are you wearing……………….…..jeans
Your TV…………………………………..off
Your pets………………….……………..aggravating
Your computer…………………………..happy (??)
Your life………………….………………busy
Your mood………………….…………….content
Your car…………………..………………none
Favorite store…………………………….books
Your summer………………..…………….favorite
Your favorite color……………………….water
When is the last time you laughed……….today
Last time you cried…………………….yesterday
Three people who email me……………..Mom, Gram, spam
Three of my favorite foods………………Mexican, chicken, candy
Three places I would rather be right now…..bed, beach, house

Strangers I love

They aren’t all complete strangers, but they aren’t people I see every day or who have to be nice because they are my friends or family.

1. My contractor. God bless him. Yesterday he met the insurance adjustor at our ruined house. He is trying his best to get the money we need to rebuild. Yes, that money will ultimately go to him, but he doesn’t have to do the leg-work that he is doing. What does he tell me to do? Trust in the grace of God. Yeah, according to him, that’s my job in all of this. And it’s nice that he personally went out to our house (about an hour west of where his office is located). He didn’t have to do that. He is the owner of the company; he could’ve sent one of his guys. But no, he did it himself. Thank God for my contractor.

2. My neighbors at our old house. They are both retired and keep an eye on everything on our street. If you  can picture 7 houses on a little country road that dead-ends into a cowfield, then you can picture my old “neighborhood.” My neighbors always kept an eye on us when we lived there, and they have definitely been keeping an eye on the place now that we are gone. They have even been collecting our mail that has been coming. (Yes, I did a change of address, but it turns out that country post office people don’t pay attention to such things.) I called my neighbors the other day just to let them know the contractor and insurance guy would be out, and they said that they’d be expecting them. Good ol’ country folk!

3. The owners of a local health club. So I still need to join, but I can still say nice things about them. I worked at one of their clubs after I had baby #1, and they let me bring him to work and put him in the nursery they have for members. The family owns and manages both workout locations, and each family member is so super, genuinely nice. They might have some money because they own a successful business, but they are regular, good, Godly people.

4. That librarian. When we lived in the country, I went to the library all the time. We didn’t have internet, so I mostly went to use the computers. There was one particular librarian who kind of adopted me and always made sure I got my favorite computer. She was always so nice. Just from me going in there so often, I could call up to the library and identify myself as the pregnant lady with the baby, and she would remember me. She was also sweet to C and called him her little man.

5. That cashier at Winn-Dixie. Okay, this was awhile ago but so true. I was pregnant with baby #2 and went to Winn-Dixie for some groceries. I don’t remember the details, but I basically didn’t have enough money to get what I needed, so the cashier helped me out. She used her discount and pushed some extra buttons on the register and my grocery bill was magically affordable. She totally didn’t have to do it, but I guess she saw a pregnant lady with a baby and just had mercy.

6. Smokey. He’s one of my new neighbors and no, that’s not his real name. I just named him for one of his recreational activities. Whenever I see him, he makes sure the babies and I are all doing okay. He asks if we need anything, and he even recently sent over a gallon of milk that he wasn’t going to drink. (It wasn’t opened yet, in case you wondered.) It’s nice to have someone check in on us.

I’m sure there’s more, but for today those are the strangers I love.

Update

1. Quit drinking regular (non-diet) cokes

 

I have had non-diet sodas very few times since the first of the year. Now I am trying to reduce the amount of diet sodas I drink, but that is a challenge because of the caffeine factor. Apparently caffeine has become a friend. 

10. Resolve house issues

 Well, I am currently waiting on my contractor and insurance guy to come to some sort of agreement on the money. House issues will be ongoing for quite some time, but at least we are moving somewhat forward.

11. Keep hair dyed

If I don’t dye my hair in the next week, I will have failed this one.

19. Read one of Obama’s books

Got the book Dreams from My Father. I’m on page 49. So far all I can really say about it is that it’s boring and, at this point, I’m making myself read it. We’ll see if things get more interesting.

21. Potty train C.

We bought a potty. He knows what it’s associated with. But beyond that, we have to be productive with it. Ha ha.

22. Lose at least 20 pounds

I started walking this week and pushing a double stroller quickly is not an easy task, so maybe the weight will start coming off. I do need to get a scale so I can actually track my progress though.

23. Organize papers and bills

Bills are getting organized. So far I have a section for “Now bills”, “Medical bills”, and “Dumb bills”. I also keep track of what we have to pay on a calendar so that we aren’t caught with no money between paychecks. It is a huge blessing that hubby gets paid every week. 

24. Do taxes early

Well now that I’ve collected the W-2’s that were mailed to the house, I can go ahead with this one. (I also need to call the post office to remind them that we moved. I mostly loved living in the country with country folk.)

25. Keep up with laundry better

Uhhh. It’s better, but not by much. I have learned that I don’t have to be as much of a perfectionist in folding. That helps in the time I have to spend on the piles of clean clothes.

That’s it for now, dull though this post is. However, if anyone has any suggestions on how to make my screen/font regular size, I’d appreciate it. C was sitting at the computer with me and managed to make everything look tiny with mere banging on the keyboard. I don’t know how to undo what he did.

 

So the fight continues

(This is our hope.)

Yeah…it’s round two or three or whatever between the insurance guy and the contractor. The insurance guy and the contractor met at our house last week, and the insurance guy was supposed to get a report together and submit it a few days later. Well, on Monday I received a phone call from an engineering firm saying that they had been contacted by my insurance company to check out the house as well.

Again I referred them to my contractor and he informed me of this:

The engineering company will check out the house on Thursday. It will take about three weeks for them to get a report together. Then we will dispute it. Then the insurance company will get an appraiser. Then we will get our own appraiser. And somehow, between everyone’s opinion on the amount of damages to be covered, we will come to a nice, cozy compromise. Ha!

Remember when the storm hit and we had to evacaute? It was September 1st. Maybe by the summer we can begin rebuilding…maybe.

My dumb dog

Actually, C now says “Dumb dog” whenever he sees one…guess he got that from me.

So, maybe you know that we had four dogs (all rescue) when we lived in the country. All four went to new homes when we lost ours, but unfortunately, two came back. What a pain it is to have two dogs in a small apartment in town. By the way, if you would like a beagle or pitt bull mix in your life, please let me know.

Anyway, back to the dumbness of my beagle, Chopper. Last week he dug out from under the fence and escaped. But he returned two hours later, happy as can be for the taste of freedom he enjoyed. So, the babies and I went to Lowe’s and got six (heavy) cinder blocks to cover the areas where he was digging and then to Wal-Mart for a big jar of cayenne pepper. “They” say the cayenne pepper deters dogs, and since a beagle’s sense of smell is supposedly 10,000 times more developed than a human’s, I figured the pepper was a good idea.

A day later, I placed the cinder blocks over the holes and sprinkled a thick, red line of cayenne pepper along the entire perimeter of the fence. Then I got some of the pepper in my eye and thought surely it was a chunk of  wood and that I would go blind. But no, just as my husband calmly explained, the pain eventually went away, and I still have eyesight.

Anyway, I let Chopper out with high hopes of him being deterred by my ingenious workings. (I had to watch through the window because going outside made my eyes automatically water.)  So guess what.

He likes pepper! Not only did he sniff the ground where the pepper was, he licked the pepper off the fence and then proceeded to eat the grass that was seasoned with pepper.

Yeah. That dumb dog.

 

This is a repeat picture, but it shows Chopper at his best.

“I’ll watch your babies.”

So twice in the past two weeks a complete stranger has offered to watch my kids for me. The first time was at church. I couldn’t find a parking spot** near the door, and there was no way I could walk from the back parking lot with one in a car seat and the other investigating every rock and flower along the way. So I pulled up to the front door and asked for help from one of the greeters. I thought maybe they’d let me park in a non-parking spot while I checked the kids into the nursery or something. But no, one of the ladies offered to watch my kids while I parked my car in the back lot. Uh, no. I simply said, “But I don’t know you.” Sheesh. I don’t care if you are with the church and a grandma of ten, you’re a stranger as far as I’m concerned…you’re lucky I’m even talking to you.

So what did I do? I gave the lady my car keys and let her park the car. Yeah. Take my car, not my kids.

The second time was earlier today at the city-wide garage sale held in an empty store in the mall. I went to find books for the babies, but when I got to the book area (double-wide stroller and all), I was promptly informed that I would have to leave the stroller outside of the book area. The ladies said that they’d watch my kids for me. Uh, no again. And again I said, “But I don’t know you.” One of the ladies was a stickler for the rules and obviously enjoyed the bit of power she was deemed at this charity-type event. The other lady was nicer and seemed a bit sad that I refused. The nicer lady even offered to give me her driver’s license. “No thanks. I still don’t know you.”

So away I went, irritated that I wasn’t allowed to peruse their stuff. But, guess what. The second pass I made by that area, the nice lady found me and said that she could let us into the book area in about five minutes. As we stood by waiting, I saw that power-trip lady was about to take her lunch break. Ha, ha. As soon as she left, the nice lady beckoned us in, and we found a bunch of kid books. Nice lady did hover over us a little…maybe she was worried that power-trip would come back and catch us.

Anyway. If I don’t know you, you can’t watch my kids. Too bad.

**These parking spots are reserved for expectant mothers and young families. How many of those cars belonged to such? Not all of them, I’ll bet.

Those are my cows

Well, sorta. Those cows at the top are the ones who live in the pasture by our house. There’s also a couple of donkeys that go with them. We found out that the donkeys are there to protect the cows from coyotes. And, the donkeys also protect the cows from the occasional dog who may seem like a threat (ie. Roxy, our black lab, who LOVED barking at the cows). Here’s some pics from the country.

So Chopper ran away

Chopper, or Copper as C says, ran away this past Saturday. Okay, he didn’t run away as much as he just didn’t come back. Yeah, okay…and I did let him go out the front door in the first place. Whatever.

Anyway, Chopper was going crazy, seriously running in circles to go outside on Saturday morning. It’s like there was a cat on the other side of the door just begging to be chased or something. And Chopper does only chase and tree cats, he does not eat them. He actually rescued a kitten by howling and howling at it until I came outside to see what all the noise was about. Chopper had found a kitten curled up in some mud during a particularly bad rainstorm when we lived at our old house. Because he was relentless in his howling at it, I found it and brought it inside and all. He wouldn’t know what to do with a cat other than make noise at it.

So Chopper was going crazy, just begging to go outside, and I had been getting over the flu and was tired and easily swayed. Because he has come back every time he has escaped, I figured I would just let him out. Sigh. What a mistake. It started raining. And raining. And raining. And apparently, water messes up a dog’s ability to find a scent and come home. So Chopper never came back.

And even though he is a pushy little dog and can be aggravating, I was pretty devastated. I kept going out the front door just to see if he was there. That night I even dreamed that he was scratching at the door, but sadly, it was just a dream.

Did I mention that it rained and rained and rained? Yeah, well, it rained all the way through Monday afternoon. So because it was still raining on Monday, my husband came home early from work. In his opinion, Chopper was gone, oh well, we need to get our apartment taken care of, and him being gone is for the best. And if I could wrap my brain around someone must’ve found and adopted him, I would have. But I couldn’t. So, on Monday morning, I called animal control just to see if anyone had turned him in. Well, someone had brought a tri-colored male beagle in just that morning. Maybe it was him!

However, my hubby didn’t want to go see. (He’s not heartless, just practical.) To him, it was a dead issue and we needed to move on. So I just cried. And cried. And cried. I couldn’t argue that Chopper was so great of a dog or that we weren’t a little less stressed with him not in the house. But I just couldn’t abandon him, if it was in fact him, at the animal shelter. And so I kept crying. We were having this discussion in the car, and I was driving. DH didn’t want to get Chopper back, but apparently I was breaking his heart by having my little heart broken. So, guess what. He changed his mind and told me to go ahead and drive to the pound.

And guess what again. Chopper was there! He was the loudest dog in the place. I could hear his howl above all the barking of the other dogs. So, we bailed him out and brought him home.

Dumb dog.

It’s not him; it’s me.

Really.

I tried reading Obama’s book. I really did. But, no matter whose life it is, I just don’t do well with biographies. I would like to read the rest of it, but for now, I quit. See, I can do that now that I’m grown. A friend of mine wisely said that we should read what we like…and the same is mostly true for kids in school. Maybe they do like to read but just not the books that they are given. Yeah, like Les Miserables? Forget it!

Anyway, Obama is somewhere under the bed. I might finish his book at some point, but every time I picked it up I felt kind of guilty that I wasn’t spending the only reading time I had reading the bible or something more important. So, I’ve traded my time in to read something by Brennan Manning. Everything of his that I’ve read is amazing.

One of the things in the book that I’ve highlighted so far is this:

“One of the stunning lessons of the Bible is God’s free use of fragile human beings to accomplish his purpose. He does not always choose the holy and devout or even the emotionally well-balanced. The venerable Liebermann, a powerful nineteenth-century missionary, was a manic-depressive who could not walk across a bridge without a compulsive desire to jump off! ‘The Holy Spirit is the beareer of gifts and these gifts are sometimes lavished in peculiar places.’ “

Anyway, I quit Obama and picked up something that feeds more than my political curiosity. Hate me or not. Judge me or whatever. I need to read about the “throwed off” who are called by God. It helps.

Itty bitty tips for itty bitty people

I love the itty bitty kitty committee.

Anyway. Here’s some things I’ve discovered or have learned from someone else that have been helpful with the little ones.

1. Cornstarch works wonders on diaper rash. Don’t know if it’s okay to use on girls, but for boys, it’s awesome. I like cornstarch so much more than any butt paste. It’s cheaper, and you can just pour away.
2. Baking soda with a little soap and water, rubbed on a baby’s head, will totally help with dry, yucky skin.
3. Dollar General has really inexpensive books. I got coloring books for .30 each and little books to read for .25 each. Also, the price marked was higher than what rang up at the register, so don’t necessarily go by what is marked. I also got a monthly planner for a penny even though it was marked for $1.50. Cool.
4. You can’t trim a newborn’s nails. Apparently the nail and the skin are attached. “They” say you can bite them, but I never did. Kinda weird to me.
5. Babies generally don’t get weird skin things like ringworm. Really. Even though you might suggest it, on several different occasions, to your pediatrician.
6. Get an official dosage chart for meds. We finally got one at the hospital this last trip to the ER. Before that, I carried around what the pediatrician had written on a torn off piece of paper from the examining table.
7. Don’t lose that dosage chart. Ha, ha. I still have my torn piece of paper though.
8. Clorox Anywhere Hard Surface spray is great. I suspect it’s just water with a drop of bleach, but whatever. It’s so handy to just spray and let dry.
9. A lot of the awesome inventions are not as awesome in actual use. The little boy pee-pee cover falls off. The fruit and other food strainer that the baby is supposed to chew on is a weird texture. The handy bowl with the lid that keeps food from falling out can be overcome. Inexpensive sippy cups can be coaxed to spill.
10. Inexpensive toys are quite entertaining. Boxes, wrapping paper, wrapping paper tubes, Tupperware, tape, CD and DVD cases, a bar of soap in the tub, a shampoo or soap bottle in the tub…
11. You can totally keep the baby entertained with the cell phone. They love the ring tones, lights, and graphics.

Okay. It’s weird to end on eleven. Add your suggestions to even things up.

A new post!

Okay. Here’s a short post about my house. 

Insurance gave us $25K. Awesome? Not really. It’s going to cost $50K to fix it all.

The house is leaning and the floors are buckled, so we need to get it leveled (ie. straightened out, not demolished). We would also like to get it raised. However, in order to get an estimate on raising the house, we need to get a base flood elevation certificate. Those apparently cost around $400.

Oh yeah.

One glimmer of hope is that there is someone out of New Orleans who has some kind of offer to give grants for people who need their home raised. (The difference in leveling and raising is several thousand dollars, which is not covered by insurance.)

Sooooo. I’m overwhlemed, again. 

I’m going shopping.

And another thing

I just called FEMA to double-check that all my options with them have been exhausted. Well, this is what I learned:

I need to send in my insurance adjuster’s estimate and awarded amount. FEMA will look at that and decide if they can help based on what their inspector said the damages will cost. However, because FEMA’s stupid inspector has already estimated the damages to be a whopping $1000, FEMA will not help. 

I can contest that once I’m given a denial letter. They will then take a second look at my home and send another inspector. But get this. If I go ahead with repairs, it’s up to the inspector’s mood that decides whether or not receipts of repairs made would be suffiecient in proof of damages. So it’s a chance I have to take if I want to go ahead with repairs before all the lovely bureaucratic paperwork is completed. 

Egad. My stomach hurts.

Have you ever…

Have you ever loaded your kids into the car after a long grocery shopping trip only to find an unpaid item at the bottom of the cart that was hidden by one of the kid’s car seats? Have you ever been so hot and tired that unloading the kids from the car to go back into the store to return or pay for the item is just too much? Have you ever felt kind of guilty but also somewhat justified because the billion dollar giant of a store doesn’t really care about customer service, refuses to keep the store comfortably cool, and has put oh so many family-owned businesses out of business?

Yeah. Me neither.

My day so far

Okay. I’ve decided to post more often. However, I can’t make promises that the posts will be long. Anyway, I envisioned today to be a great first day of working out at the Y, swimming, and having a peaceful afternoon straightening the house. So far the day has turned into rude looks from one of the Y’s nursery workers, an exploded poo diaper, doggie poo on the floor, nasty baby snot (B and C), choking on a hashbrown (me), picking up chewed pieces of sausage from the floor (from C), a door coming off one of its hinges, and a huge three-Advil headache. (And I forgot to mention the conversation with my bajillionaire landlord…I wanted her to know the difference in my priorities of worrying about late rent vs. being able to buy food. Don’t know if she understood though.)

Now I’m just hoping to take a nap.

My DH

My dear husband, for those of you who aren’t into the abbreviation thing. Anyway. I thought I’d post a few things that I’ve learned from my husband.

1. A square has five sides–the four you know about, and the fifth being the inside.

2. You can bend someone’s finger back and put pressure on it in such a way that it will make that person stop whatever trouble he/she is causing.

3. Scope is a great comeback in a water fight…it burns more as it travels further south on your body.

4. A samuri sword has a curve to it.

5. A good Bazooka tube can make a car’s sound system really loud.

6. A Bazooka tube has nothing to do with gum.

7. Family Guy really is a good show.

8. Bruce Lee had the philosophy that whatever doesn’t help, get rid of it. Like if your legs aren’t strong in a fight, don’t focus on getting them strong. Instead, focus on what is strong like your arms and your reflexes. (I know, life-changing, right?) 

9. Just because someone says he doesn’t like cats, that doesn’t mean it’s true.

10. Lotrimin spray helps with any skin ailment…sorta.

Sigh. Gotta love him.

New and improved

Okay. I think I’ve changed the commenting thing to make it easier for commenters. Try it and let me know. (This is mainly for Gram and Mom.)

Ha. Ha. What a lame post, I know. Sorry. So for your entertainment, here’s some cute sayings from C.

Spaghetti = fagetti

(Alphabet) “…L-M-N-O-P-Cute-R-Eh-T-U-V-Double-Eck-Y-Z”

In response to “C say ‘I’m smart’ ” = “I’m cute” (every single time!)

When leaving somewhere= “Bye door”, “Bye tv”, “Bye Wal-Mart”, “Bye book”…or bye to whatever other inanimate object strikes his fancy

And, the ol’ “This Little Piggie” apparently works on Chopper’s toes, too.