My Older Daughter Was So Sad Yesterday....

Background on my 8 yo daughter. She is a go getter. She could not wait to learn about the computer. She uses my computer more than even I do. She has all her favorite sites (cartoonnetwork, PBSKids, Barbie, Polly Pocket and so on) she likes to visit. She knows how to go from window to window. She has her own e-mail address (it's under ours but has her own name for it). She loves to search for things on the internet. She was really into spy stuff before Christmas and researched all the spy gear. Don't get too freaked. We have gone over all the cautions of there are people out there that aren't nice. We don't give out our name, address and so on. If she has a question she is to ask. The computer is in the kitchen where I can see everything. So anyway, she loves the computer.

She found a new site last week. She and her Brother signed up. Got an account. I had to approve it and everything. She discovered Neopets. On this site you can adopt or buy up to 3 neopets per account. You use those neopets to play games and win toys and stuff for them. She has almost all her friends signed on. I'm sure their parents really like that my daughter encourages them to use their computer and walks them through the whole registration. She would live on the computer if I let her.

Last night as I was cleaning the kitchen she came in and wanted to get on the computer. I said sure. Off to Neopets she goes. I left when Andrew came in to help Catherine with a game. Not 10 minutes later she walks into the living room with tears in her eyes. The first thing I thought is that she had checked her e-mail and got some sad news, or had a fight with her best friend (she will call her and they talk about what they see on the computer). I called her over and asked what is wrong. She said nothing. Now I get really concerned. I make her come over to me and talk. She sits in my lap and starts bawling. I"m about to freak trying to come up with an explanation. She finally tells me she almost killed her neopets. Ok, not a good mommy moment but I had to stifle my relief as well as giggles. So it ends up she played a game and her pets ate a poisonous plant and has Neopneumonia. She was so devastated, so sad and I had to be so "It's ok. I"m sure they will live. Neopheumonia probably won't kill them. Give them lots of water but why not shut the game off for right now and help them tomorrow".

It's hard to do some of this mommy stuff with a straight face.

One More Bad Thing About My Family Being Gone....

Is discovering that you sent the last tube of adult toothpaste with them. There is just something wrong with brushing your teeth with bubble gum flavored pink toothpaste. What do they add to that stuff? I'm usually not very picky about things... I mean, I eat and drink after my kids. Who knows where they have dropped forks, cups, that piece of candy they gave me with no trash can around. So really I'm not that picky. Brushing your teeth with this kids toothpaste just leaves a taste in your mouth and a not so fresh clean. It's like brushing your teeth with candy. And not good candy at that. I could do it with a good piece of fudge if I thought it would do the trick but nope. I had to dig for a tube of itty bitty toothpaste (it was a free sample that was VERY tiny) of the vanilla flavored BAM crest toothpaste. It still wasn't my crest with baking soda fresh feel but much better than the sickly sweet bubble gum. Who knew it would annoy me that much. And that I'll still slather it on my kids' toothbrush. Whatever works.

Psycho Cats With No Family Around....

So I'm enjoying my night of vacation. A friend called and wanted to take me out for supper. We had a really good time. Cracker Barrel breakfast rocks! She took Charlotte and I back home. It was close to bedtime so I checked all the doors and made sure everything is locked up tight. Charlotte fell asleep and I was on my way to slumber land when I hear something. Now usually I'm ok with the dark. Even when Jeff works late it doesn't bother me but when I know I"m here for the whole night, by myself.... well, I can get antsy. So I hear the noise again. It sounds like someone is turning the front door knob. So I open my bedroom door (which is closed so the cats won't smother us with love) and inch out into the hall. I hear the noise again. I flip the light on to the porch. Look outside. Nothing. It finally dawns on me it is probably one of our crazy cats. Meowing doesn't get much attention with 4 kids running in the house so to let us know they are ready to come in they jump up to our door knob and try to turn it. I opened the door and Tiger struts in ready to bed down for the night. Crazy cat... but smart.

Listen.... Do You Hear That?

We were planning to go out of town this weekend to Jeff's family up in North Arkansas. I was actually looking forward to a family trip. We haven't been anywhere together in a long time. Traveling with 4 kids is always an adventure. Just going across town with 4 kids is an adventure. We went to a friends house for supper one night and it took all of 5 minutes to get there. During those 5 long minutes all for kids thought blowing raspberries would be ideal entertainment. Jeff was trying to hush them up but I said let them be. HAVE you been in a van with 4 SCREAMING kids? Raspberries are just fine and dandy. Trust me. Today we (meaning Jeff and I) decided that I would stay home with Charlotte while he took the kids. All 3 of the older kids. One of those kids has no soft button. She is on and loud at all times (well, except at school but I think that gives her the chance to save it all up and be even louder when she gets home). I'm thinking that some may not understand my thrill of this short vacation. I"ll have 2 nights by myself (and Charlotte but she doesn't count when 3 others are gone). All I hear is the hummm of my computer. Silence. Blessed silence. Now the countdown begins.

My Mountain....

My Mother used to call ours "Hamby Mountain". Sounds like something that we owned, could climb to the top of, do the whole "goodnight John boy" routine on. But our mountain didn't rival Walton's mountain. Nothing so spectacular. Nothing so grand. It was actually pretty horrifying and dreaded. See Hamby Mountain was what we called the pile of laundry we had to contend with every day/week/month/year. With raising four kids, my mom had a massive amount of laundry. We did a dance and celebrated when we could see the bottom of the baskets. It didn't last long.

I never thought I would see the day when I had my own mountain. It keep growing. The bad thing is that I hate doing laundry. I hate every step there is of doing laundry. I think it is a carry over from my childhood mountain. ~grins~ The image you are about to see may scare some. Please note that I did not have all the laundry in that one pile. It was the major bulk of it though. Again, note that I did warn you about the graphic nature of the photo. May it not scare you as much as it scares me.

Todays Accomplishments Are...

1. Got kids up, fed, dressed and off to school.
2. Taught 2 classes and only 1 student fell asleep... Woo-Hoo!!
3. Returned library books before I was hunted down by the Library Lady.
4. Finished up my cookie order to turn into the Cookie Manager. (don't think about delivery)
5. Bought diapers... was down to my last 5.
6. Stressed over a movie I watched last night called "If Only" with Jennifer Love Hewitt. Dang sad movie, I cried.
7. Got things ready for our last Webelos II meeting today. How is it that one can feel so sad yet so happy at the same time. We have had some of these boys for 4 years doing Cub Scouts. It is all coming to an end in February when they bridge over to Boy Scouts. Only other meeting we have left is the blow out pizza party.
8. Fed my family frozen pizza for supper.
9. Vegged on Family's funniest home videos and laughed.
10. Got ready for bed to start things over tomorrow.

I left out the running of Georgia to dance, Andrew to taekwondo, being scared when the cops pulled up to my house but was looking for our neighbor (I swear I turned in those books!), juggling town homeless dudes looking for food and a few other minor details but that is enough. I'll have more to tell later.

I Am So Addicted To These Things.....

Make. Me. Stop. Please!

My 8 Year Old Daughters Picture Of Our Family.....

My Daddy... I Miss You.....

I find it hard to believe it has been 3 years since he has died. Probably one of the hardest days of my life was not at his funeral but when he asked my permission to stop fighting. He was such a fighter.

Here is who my Dad was:

• Smart-- I would just hold the phone up to my car making some awful noise and he would tell me exactly what was wrong and how much it would cost to fix it.
• Funny -- I think I have his dry sense of humor. I had to always reassure my friends that my Dad really did like them and he was always that way. He had the most wonderful smile.
• Giving -- Jeffs and my car (little datsun b210) broke down when we were in college. My Dad hitched up a trailer, brought us a clunker that ran and took our car down to be fixed. It was a 3 hour trip 1 way.
• Thoughtful-- One lady had a very old truck (it even had a crank starter) and my dad would drive miles out where she lived to help her keep it up. I remember going out there and watch him work on that truck. She hated coming into town. She paid him in vegatables and other goods.
• Hard-working-- I can only remember a couple of times in my life that he took off of work because of illness or any other problem. He would have customers call him with car problems all the time and he was there.
• Spiritual -- My dad was ordained as a Southern Baptist Preacher when I was around 9 years old. He had a small country church. There were times the wasps outnumbers the church members but he was there.
• Loving -- He loved so many people... My mom, brothers, sister, myself, Reba, her children, his grandchildren, his brother and his family, his parents, his church, God. He tried to be everything he could be for these people in his life. And we loved him for that.

He was so much more and my life is just a little bit less with him not in it. I miss him.

Fun With 4

Four Jobs You've Had

1. Flipping burgers at Tastee Freez (Per Jack and Diane)
2. Cataloguing at the registrars office at my college alma mater
3. Researcher on Drug Prevention programs in Dallas, TX
4. Instructor at my Alma Mater

Four Movies You Could Watch Over and Over

1. Princess Bride
2. Lethal Weapon
3. Sleepless in Seattle
4. Galaxy Quest

Four Places You've Lived

1. A trailer in the middle of rural AR
2. Concrete cinder block apartments for married students in AR
3. A tri-plex in the Mojave desert in CA
4. A little brick house with 4 kids in AR

Four TV Shows You Love To Watch

1. Grey's Anatomy
2. Amazing Race
3. M*A*S*H
4. Clean Sweep

Four of Your Favorite Books

1. The Source by James Michener
2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling
3. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
4. I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

Four Places You've Been On Vacation

1. San Francisco, CA
2. Panama City Beach, FL
3. Denver, CO
4. Washington D. C.

Four Websites You Visit Daily

1. My mommy boards
2. Girl Scouting boards
3. Blogs... I'm addicted to these things
4. Freecycle site for my area

Four of Your Favorite Foods

1. Shrimp Scampi
2. Chicken Quesadilla
3. Most Chinese food
4. Red beans and rice

Four Places You Would Rather Be Right Now

1. Visiting with my brother... He lives too far away
2. In my office with my faster internet connection
3. San Francisco.... I just loved being there
4. Egypt? I've just always wanted to visit there ever since I was a kid.

Four Bloggers You Are Tagging

1. Amy
2. Jeff
3. Allison
4. Angie

Pet Peeve #2....

Dear Residents of the town I live in,

I have lived in this house for almost 7 years. I know I live on a busy street. I know you will drive down my busy street. I know when I am backing out onto said busy street that there MIGHT be a chance that you will be there. That is ok. I know how to use my brakes. I know how to look both ways. I apologize for the 2 huge pine trees that block some of my view so that I have to back up more than you think I should but I am still FEET away from the street. So PLEASE do not honk your horn. And if you do honk, just one short blast will be fine. The constant laying on of horn even though I am stopped really annoys me and causes me to step on the gas and back up even closer to the street just to scare you. Even though I do get joy from doing that, you are causing me to show my evil side to my kids. So please stop.

I appreciate your cooperation in this matter.

sincerely yours,
Kim

My Momma Said There Would Be Days Like This....

but she didn't mention weeks, months and years! It's not a bad life, don't get me wrong. Just let me tell you what happened in the span of 1 week in my family life.

• I dress Charlotte up real nice so that we can go to a school function from my oldest daughter and Charlotte decides to jump in the only mud puddle we have had in months. sigh.
• Charlotte decides to help me feed the cat by dumping all the cat food from their bowls into the cat's water bowl. She also decides to try drinking like a cat from said bowl.
• Charlotte wants to run around sans diaper one evening after a bath. Ok. Not bad since we started introducing the potty to her. As she is standing in my chair by my computer she started yelling for me and saying "Momon!! Pooting!!" and then freaks cause poo is now all over her leg, chair, floor.... well, you get the picture.
• Charlotte washing her hands and then deciding to tear toilet paper up and put it down our drain (which in the grand scheme of things she has done isn't that bad... she took my bathtub cleaner and squirted it all over the bathroom... but at least it was really clean after I scrubed it all up. LOL).
• Georgia my 5 yr old has no soft button. When she talks it is full force who needs a bullhorn. My brain swells when she comes home from school and she had to be so quiet for so long.
• Georgia is also my helper and wants to help in the kitchen. Let's just say when she makes her own PB&J sandwiches my kitchen is very sticky. And her way of helping is making her meal and leaving me the mess (we are working on that. LOL)
• For all the kids, the amount of time spent in my car taking them to and from places (and we limit what they can do because of time and money) is astronomical. Hours and hours. It is only getting worse. 3 are doing things. I still have one on the way up.
• Georgia and Charlotte fighting over things. Little things. Things that if I threw them in the trash after the fight they probably wouldn't remember we had them to begin with. Survival of the fittest (or who gets the toy first) reigns. Catherine joins in on this too.
• Catherine and Andrew's hormone fluctuations. Holy cow. They aren't even teenagers yet. One minute lovey dovey and then next ... well, not. Please tell me it won't be too bad!

Oh, there is more. That is enough for one week. I need more diet coke. I tried to quit one time (my friend was going to quit too). I lasted 2 days, if that. I need my diet coke. My Momma tells me "This too shall pass", "you will miss all this once they are older", "The quiet is louder than all that noise", "Better you than me"... ok, the last one is probably what she says when she leaves here. LOL. She raised 4 also. She knows. I know she knows. At least I have my diet coke.

She Is Out To Get Me....

Our county Librarian is on a roll. I think she is out to get me. I'm paranoid that way. Or it could be the truth. Our beginning together wasn't a smooth one. When I first moved here I lovenly took my kids to the Library. It is just down the street. I filled out the application for a Library card. One of the spots asks for a reference. I filled in one of my friends' name that lives here already. The Librarian looks at me and says "You know Sam?" I said "Yes, for about 15 years now, we are good friends". She just looks at me for a minute and says "I'll be watching you. Tell her her books are a month overdue!" . I should have run away, I know. Because before kids I would have never let my books be overdue. Never, ever. But things changed with each child. My brains leaked out and overdue books were the name of the game in our house. Then I lost one (well, I think one of the kids I watch in the summer took it but far be it from me to accuse). She started stalking me. Everytime she saw me (it's a small town, it is bound to happen) she would quote title and author and ask where it was. Finally I paid the hush money and moved one.

Then another book came up missing. I started seeing her everywhere. I started running down isles of Wal-mart just so I wouldn't see her. I stopped going to the Library. The kids couldn't understand why I stopped. My 8 year old was looking forward to her birthday cause they let you get a library card when you are 8. I put off that occasion (um, I still have to go and do that). Then we found the book. Glorious book. Elmo's Picnic was found. I made my oldest run it in, surely they wouldn't gripe at him. Now She will stop haunting me. I let a couple of months slide and yesterday I went back. Charlotte played with the toys. I found a book. Charlotte found a book. I decided to brave the desk and check them out. The new girl took my card and no bells or whistles went off. The books were checked out. We put them in our bag and started for the door. The Librarian looked up and said "You do know we have a new policy, don't you?" Crap, she spotted me. "The New policy is that if you are late, even 1 day late, I can ban you from checking out books for 6 months!" She smile and says goodbye. I escape.

Now I have to take those books back today because I'm afraid and I know she made up that policy because of me. The Librarian, I swear she is out to get me.

I Am Morphing. There Is Nothing I Can Do....

I lived for the day that my babies said "Momma". I love the word Momma. I like to be called Momma. Not Mom, not Mommy, Not Mother.... Just Momma. Now as much as I love that word I also have days I can't stand the word. You know the kind where there is a whine added to the sound. Or they use that voice that is borderline griping. Or a top nerve getter is when my kids say "Momma, Momma, Momma, Momma, Momma, Momma...." over and over. I have said 'what' in a nice voice. Then WHAT? Their reply "Nothing. I just like saying Momma a lot". Can I cry? It isn't the same with their dad. He will be watching TV and they will be trying to get his attention with "Daddy. Daddy? Daddy! Daddy!! Daddy!!" until I have to say "Jeff for the love of my sanity answer them!!!" And he goes "Oh, sorry honey, I didn't hear you" to the kids. Why can't I not hear them. Do we have a special bone in our ear that makes us HAVE to hear them?

Any way, on to the morph. My older kids have moved on to the more sophisticated label of "Mom" for me. Most of the time. I still hear Momma a lot. My 5 year old has decided that she is in love with all names, especially my first name. She has latched on that my "real" name is Kim. But it isn't pronounced like most people do she says it where the K has a T and a J sounded added into it. How she does that I don't know. But it is my 2 yr old that has morphed my name into something new. I laugh when I hear it. I wonder where do they get this. It isn't something so far removed from Momma but I feel like I've been named after a pokemon character. She wants me and calls me "Momon, help pease". I feel like she should have an English accent of something when she is talking to me. I am Momon at your service.

It's Cookie Time....

It's time to be good little cookie soldiers and sell, sell, sell. Now please note that I am the cookie mom for my daughters troop and all that I say is in fun and my order will be huge because I do love them Girl Scout cookies. I have noticed a difference between my son and my daughter when it comes to selling. My son is in cub scouts and they sell the popcorn (which is wonderful, especially the chocolate covered caramel corn). My son can take it or leave it on the selling. He likes to get the stuff. Enjoys the chase to beat his old sell record. But when it comes down to getting out and selling, eh. He would rather stay home and watch the Simpsons.

Now my daughter. She is another story. The sell is on and she is focused. We get the form. She wants to sell. I say "let's wait and go to such and such next week". She says "when do they close?" I tell her and she says "you still have 5 minutes. We can get there!" and off we go cause I am an enabler. Have mini van, will travel. She has our day planned out tomorrow. I hope it is warmer than today. I hope she doesn't work me too hard. I'm kind of lazy that way. Every box she sells is a box we have to deliver. I'm good on the sell. I'm bad on the deliver. There are, like, deadlines and everything. So when that little girl scout rings your doorbell and you buy a couple of boxes (Thin Mints are the best!!) just snicker a little when you see how many boxes she has sold and it is the other mom that has to deliver them all and not you.

He Is Almost 11... Why Does That Scare Me?

I think this one is harder for me since he is my first. Each year older he gets it reminds me of when we became a family and how much we have changed. I had been married for almost 7 years when Andrew came along. Before Andrew came along I did a few things that I wouldn't now that I have kids. Skydiving being one of them. Your whole focus on life changes in a single moment. You might not recoginize it at that time but it starts changing. I laugh now when people say "Having this child hasn't changed us at all". Running around to the schools, dance, taekwondo, scouts, church youth meetings, teaching the church youth group, driving a mini van, having 3 cats, 1 dog and a hamster would not have happened if I didn't have my kids. Things change. That's life. And I wouldn't change a thing about it. Thanks Juju.

Pet Peeve #1

The ripping of bags.

• Cereal Box box bags: I tried to get into a box of cereal. The bag in the cereal box would not tear open.... well it did but not how I wanted it too. Cereal went everywhere.
• Trash bags: I don't want them to tear but they do. I know we make too much trash but I don't over stuff. It never fails... I go to pick up said trash bag and there is a huge gash down the side.
• Grocery bags: I use the plastic ones (I know, maybe I should use the brown bag ones but I'm a mom of 4 and unloading groceries is something I hate to do so the more I can grab the better). I get a lot of groceries. There are some stores that I'm just going to bring my own plastic bags. I could put a loaf of bread in it and swish, everything falls out.
• Cat food and dog food bags. We have animals. 3 cats and a dog. For some reason they want to eat. I buy those bags of food that you have to pull the little string to get it to open. 75% of the time I do it wrong. How is that. It should be easy to open and yet it isn't.

I know. Why not just get the scissors and be done with it. Well, I have 4 kids who love to craft and my scissors are never in the place they should be. But that is another pet peeve post.