Drama Queen's Momma

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Trick or Treat?

How bad is it that I'm dreading tonight? It's cold outside and will only get colder as the sun goes down. My best friend that we go trick-or-treating with every year can't go because her son's football team has a tournament. Tonight. On Halloween. Who schedules a ballgame on Halloween?

I had a tiny ray of hope when Drama Queen asked if she could go with a friend of hers. I started to dream about how I would get to spend the evening in the warmth of my home, letting Karate Kid hand out candy. Then DQ informed me that I would take them to our regular haunt (get it? haunt? Oh well, maybe I haven't caught up on my sleep quite yet) and then she would go around her friend's neighborhood with her. I would just send The Hubster with her, but he can't even order a pizza by himself, let alone go trick-or-treating without me.

I guess I'll just bundle up and hope for the best. The best being good candy for me to steal from her sack, of course.

Posted @ 4:38 PM ~ 6 comments

Monday, October 30, 2006

Hallelujah!

I'm done! Done, I say! I can actually have my life back now. My life consists of blogging, of course, so I'll finally be around to your sites again to catch up on what's been going on. It may take me a few days, but I'll come see you.

In other news, we've found a piece of land that we're interested in buying. It "happens" to be right by my sister's new place. There are lots of unknowns and details to be worked through before we know for sure whether or not we're going to try for it. Normally I would be a nervous wreck about the whole thing. I'm sure I'll totally fall apart if we actually decide to buy it, but for now I'm okay. I realized that life can pass me by if I'm too scared to make any changes or take any risks. Who knows how many times have I missed out on the best things in life by being to scared to take a chance? Not this time.

Posted @ 9:56 AM ~ 6 comments

Saturday, October 28, 2006

Coming Up For Air

I don't have anything profound to write about because my brain is totally consumed with getting these bows done by tomorrow. Hallelujah for my friend who is also behind on getting hers done. They were originally due Thursday, but we'll both be done (hopefully) and get them turned in tomorrow. There is a light at the end of the tunnel!

I know I gripe about how much time these take up and all the things I'm not accomplishing (like sleeping!), but it isn't as bad as I make it out to be. I continue to do these because we use the money as play money. No bills, no obligations, just fun. In fact, I paid for the cruise we'll be taking in January entirely with money I made doing bows. Plus I'm adding a hefty little amount of spending money from the ones I'm finishing up right now.

I'll leave you with a picture of what happens when The Hubster inadvertently tells the Tivo not to record something I set it to record. Of course I couldn't just sit and watch the shows on the computer 'cause I have bows to finish, dang it! I hauled everything over to the computer and realized there wasn't enough light. The first clip-on lamp burned out, so I dragged the piano bench over and put another lamp on it. It wasn't tall enough, so I had to add my small ironing board to get it raised up enough. Just pretend like you don't see all the jackets and things piled on the chair next the computer. Those belong to all of the kiddos I watch. I've really got to get a coat rack.

Presenting the Redneck Bow and TV Hour:

Posted @ 11:45 AM ~ 7 comments

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Thirteen Things I'm Going To Do When I'm Done with Bows

1. Sleep!
2. Take Drama Queen ice skating
3. Take Karate Kid to the movies
4. Catch up on reading with my children
5. Read more of my own book
6. Blog
7. Catch up on everyone else's blog!
8. Sleep!
9. Clean my house
10. Get a haircut
11. Lie in the hammock
12. Daydream (more on this in a later post)
13. Make a real effort to lose some weight

Posted @ 9:48 AM ~ 10 comments

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Works For Me Wednesday

For those of you new to my site, I am a voracious reader. The Hubster is not. When Karate Kid was born, I was determined to make him love reading just as much as me. We spent lots of time reading when he was a baby, but once he hit toddlerhood, it was impossible to keep him still long enough to read to him. My solution? I read while he was in his high chair eating breakfast. He was a captive audience then.

This became a daily routine for us: breakfast and books. I did the same thing when Drama Queen was small. It was such a part of our life that it continued until Karate Kid was in 4th grade and Drama Queen was in 1st. It was too hard then because they were both getting ready for school at the same time and weren't interested in the same books. We've since moved our reading time to the evenings.

Hope this helps those of you with small ones running around. It works for me.

Posted @ 8:26 AM ~ 7 comments

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

You Did What?!

Some of you may have already read about this at my sister's site. That's okay, but I also wanted a chance to brag on my son.

This weekend we went to my grandmother's house. We had just finished lunch and were all sitting around talking. Karate Kid and his cousin, who is a year younger than K.K., walked in from hanging out on the screened-in deck, a favorite of the kids--and adults who are looking to escape the 75° heat of the house. I heard bits and pieces of the boys' conversation, and what I heard scared me just a tad. I decided I better investigate further, so I called them over to ask what they were talking about.

Karate Kid: Oh, Cousin choked on a pickle, so I did the Heimlech (said in a very nonchalant, no big deal tone)
Me: Nuh-uh.
K.K. Yes, he did.
Me: Are you kidding?
K.K. No.

This went on for quite a while until I was convinced that it really did happen.

K.K.: Cousin did the universal sign for choking, so I did the Heimlech.
Me: Could he breathe?
K.K.: No
Me: Did it fly out?
K.K. No, it just came up into his mouth enough that he could spit it out.

As I was relating this to my brother, he told us this is the 4th time my nephew has had to have the Heimlech performed on him! In my brother's words, "That is one kid that should never eat alone!"

Once I realized that the whole scenario had really happened, the adrenaline shot through me, complete with racing heart and shaking. I couldn't believe that both boys acted like it wasn't a big deal. It was a huge deal!! I love what my brother said, "Next time could you tell an adult?" He must have realized how that sounded because he immediately added, "Don't stop doing the Heimlech, though! Send somebody else to get an adult."

I am continually amazed at the maturity and responsibility that I see developing in my son. He's going to be such a great guy. What am I saying? He already is.

Posted @ 8:14 AM ~ 7 comments

Monday, October 23, 2006

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggedy Jog

I used to play this "game" with myself: "A week ago today I was _____ or two weeks from today I will be ______." For some reason I had a hard time living in the present. I was always busy mourning the end of some fun event that had already occurred or looking forward to the next big thing looming on the horizon. I would come home from camping or vacation or visiting relatives and mope around the house, wishing I was still there. The day before we were to head home, I started getting the blues. The day of was even worse; I usually ended up in tears at some point during the day. I've noticed recently, though, that the "game" has no appeal for me anymore.

This weekend was usually one of the more momentous events that stirred up all of these emotions. My grandmother lives in AR, and every October they have a big arts and crafts weekend. There are festivals all over the place near where she lives. Every year my family congregates at her house for the festivals, food and lots of family time. I look forward to this weekend every year.

Normally I start feeling "down" on Saturday, knowing that Sunday is the day we have to head home. I have a hard time enjoying myself the later in the day it gets. Instead of getting every drop of fun out of the day, I end up wasting it on wishing it could last longer. On Sunday I try to wait until the very last moment to leave. That last moment is the fraction of a second before The Hubster loses his patience with my foot-dragging. I spend the first part of the drive staring out the car window, trying to drink in every sight and commit it to memory like I will never be there again. I usually shed a few tears in the process and then fall asleep for the rest of the drive home.

As soon as I walk in the door, I start calling friends and the family that I've just left. I just can't stand for the weekend of companionship to be over. I try to drag it out as long as possible. Then I spend the next couple of days saying, "This time yesterday I was playing Skip-Bo with everybody" or "Two days ago I was taking a nap and then getting ready to go to the festival." It usually takes until Wednesday before I kick the gloom for good.

I've noticed this past year, though, that the "game" doesn't hold the same allure. I still look forward to every fun event, anticipating all of the great things I'll be doing. I have a great time whenever I'm there. The thing that has changed, though, is that I don't dread going home. I don't obsess over what I was doing 17 hours ago or what thing I have to look forward to next just so I won't be depressed that the current fun is over. In fact, if it even comes to mind, I find myself thinking, "It was fun but I'm just as happy here folding clothes/checking homework/changing diapers as I was when I was at the amusement park/my grandma's house/vacation. When the fun's over, I'm happy to be heading home. I think this change in attitude has helped me enjoy myself even more since I don't waste an entire day dreading leaving the following day.

I don't know what caused the change in me because it certainly wasn't anything I consciously chose to do. Maybe I'm finally growing up. Maybe it's because I'm not battling depression on a daily basis anymore. Maybe I've just learned to be content. Whatever the case, "there's no place like home." It's about time.

Posted @ 3:12 PM ~ 3 comments

Friday, October 20, 2006

Laugh With Me

I'm valiantly trying to visit some of your blogs and read an entry or two as time allows. I headed over to visit Kristie at Slacker-Moms-R-Us and ran across this entry. You have to go listen to this. Hilarious.

This will have to hold you over until Monday. I'll be out-of-town this weekend, taking a break from bows, and having a great time with my extended family.

Posted @ 10:33 AM ~ 2 comments

Ommmmmmmm

In my effort to lose weight and The Hubster’s goal to bring down his cholesterol, our family joined the local “Y” this week. We’ve done cardio several times this week, but I waited all week to go to the yoga class they offered last night.

Late yesterday afternoon I realized that I had nothing appropriate to wear to the class, so I headed to the handy-dandy Wal-Mart to get some workout clothes that wouldn’t gross everyone out—at least I hope. While I was there I figured that it would be in everyone’s best interest to buy some Gas-X. They now have Gas-X thin strips, so I grabbed a box and headed off.

I’ve done lots of yoga videos but have never attended a class. I was just a little apprehensive, but figured I’d just stand in the back of the room and hide. Wrong. Everyone lined up side-by-side, facing a mirror. A mirror, folks! Not only was I not in the back of the class, but my reflection was there for the whole class to see. Nice.

I had rushed out of the house so fast that I didn’t stop to think about grabbing my mat. Did they have any mats there? Nooooo. The instructor told me I would be fine without one, but another lady took pity on me and got an extra one out of her car. Turns out her son used to attend yoga class with her, but he joined one of the military branches and had shipped out. She kept his mat in her car as a reminder of him.

Class started and I was able to keep pace with everything they were doing. All of the moves were familiar to me, so I felt at ease right away. Well, I felt at ease with what we were doing. The Gas-X strips, unfortunately, did not work at all. There is nothing like bending over, clenching and praying that nothing escapes to enhance one’s workout. It really lends itself to relaxation.

We ended the class with the relaxation pose. Everyone laid on their backs, eyes closed, and, well, relaxed. Hence the name, I suppose. The instructor even turned the lights off. The music was still playing softly, but once it ended all I could concentrate on was the airplane flying overhead and the cars passing on the highway. I don’t know how long we stayed like that, probably 7 or 8 minutes. It seemed like forever. Had I not tanked up on caffeine, I would have fallen asleep. My mind must have wandered or I drifted off just a tad because I suddenly thought, How long have we been here? Did everyone leave? I raised my head just a tad and saw that everyone else was, thankfully, still there. I don’t know why I thought everyone had left. How could they all get up, put on their shoes, roll up their mats and exit without me hearing? I’m thinking too much caffeine and not enough sleep on my part. Makes me think crazy thoughts, I guess.

All in all it was a great experience. Next time I will arrive mat in hand, hopefully flatulence-free, ready to fully enjoy myself and relax as intended.

Namaste.

Posted @ 8:18 AM ~ 4 comments

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Where One Leaves Off...

Once in a very great while, my children have a very low-key, ordinary, run of the mill day. It's usually when one of them is gone and the other is left at home without an adversary to fight. Lest I enjoy the peace too much, I can always count on one of my child care kiddos to step in and provide the drama du jour.

My children are out of school for the rest of the week for Fall Break. I, craving the quiet of the normal nap time around here, shuffled children around to new sleeping spots so Drama Queen could play in her room while they napped. I just didn't have the fortitude to hear her complain about having someone in her room or how she was bored or a myriad of other complaints that she lodges during this very elusive time in my day--the hour of peace and quiet. In order to preserve my sanity, I put up a playpen in the "big kid" room. This created a dilemma because Mr. Red Head loves to stand up in the playpen and holler at the others as they are trying to go to sleep (thus the reason he sleeps all by his lonesome in DQ's room). I decided to rig up a tent/divider/obstruction of sorts, thinking maybe he would settle down easier if he couldn't see any of the others.

I brought a chair into the room and draped one end of a blanket over it and shut the other end in the top dresser drawer. One side was high enough but not the other, so I had to figure out a way to raise the lower side. Apparently just a teensy bit of the creativity my children have came from me. I ran into my bedroom and got the clamp-on light that's on our headboard. In the process of getting the lamp, I accidentally unplugged my alarm clock. Does anybody hate having to reset their clock as much as me? It just annoys me to no end. I decided that I would just leave it and set it when I got ready to go to bed. Back in the other room, I clamped the light onto the back of the chair. Voila! The blanket was high enough that he couldn't see over it.

Just as I was getting ready to walk out of the room, I heard Mr. Red Head having a meltdown in the hall. I walked out to see him pointing in fear into my bedroom. Since there is a gate in the doorway, I knew that none of the kids or the dogs had gone in there. I looked around to see what was scaring him, but I couldn't see anything. He kept pointing and babbling/crying, so I looked several more times to try to find the reason for his fear. Have you figured it out yet? It took me awhile. The big, bad monster scaring this new 2yo was: (drumroll please) the blinking numbers on my alarm clock. Seriously. As soon as I set the clock he was fine again.

Just when I think we've cornered the market on insane phobias, someone else comes along and lets me know there's more than enough craziness to go around.

Posted @ 2:48 PM ~ 0 comments

Where One Leaves Off...

Once in a very great while, my children have a very low-key, ordinary, run of the mill day. It's usually when one of them is gone and the other is left at home without an adversary to fight. Lest I enjoy the peace too much, I can always count on one of my child care kiddos to step in and provide the drama du jour.

My children are out of school for the rest of the week for Fall Break. I, craving the quiet of the normal nap time around here, shuffled children around to new sleeping spots so Drama Queen could play in her room while they napped. I just didn't have the fortitude to hear her complain about having someone in her room or how she was bored or a myriad of other complaints that she lodges during this very elusive time in my day--the hour of peace and quiet. In order to preserve my sanity, I put up a playpen in the "big kid" room. This created a dilemma because Mr. Red Head loves to stand up in the playpen and holler at the others as they are trying to go to sleep (thus the reason he sleeps all by his lonesome in DQ's room). I decided to rig up a tent/divider/obstruction of sorts, thinking maybe he would settle down easier if he couldn't see any of the others.

I brought a chair into the room and draped one end of a blanket over it and shut the other end in the top dresser drawer. One side was high enough but not the other, so I had to figure out a way to raise the lower side. Apparently just a teensy bit of the creativity my children have came from me. I ran into my bedroom and got the clamp-on light that's on our headboard. In the process of getting the lamp, I accidentally unplugged my alarm clock. Does anybody hate having to reset their clock as much as me? It just annoys me to no end. I decided that I would just leave it and set it when I got ready to go to bed. Back in the other room, I clamped the light onto the back of the chair. Voila! The blanket was high enough that he couldn't see over it.

Just as I was getting ready to walk out of the room, I heard Mr. Red Head having a meltdown in the hall. I walked out to see him pointing in fear into my bedroom. Since there is a gate in the doorway, I knew that none of the kids or the dogs had gone in there. I looked around to see what was scaring him, but I couldn't see anything. He kept pointing and babbling/crying, so I looked several more times to try to find the reason for his fear. Have you figured it out yet? It took me awhile. The big, bad monster scaring this new 2yo was: (drumroll please) the blinking numbers on my alarm clock. Seriously. As soon as I set the clock he was fine again.

Just when I think we've cornered the market on insane phobias, someone else comes along and lets me know there's more than enough craziness to go around.

Posted @ 2:48 PM ~ 4 comments

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Thank You!

Thank to each and every one of you who helped Drama Queen with her school project! I'm not sure that every one of you will be included because she had already gone to school by the time I received some of your addresses. I emailed them to the teacher ( I had written her a note telling her I might be sending more), but I'm not sure what time they actually worked on this project. I didn't tell DQ that I was asking for your help (obviously, since I posted it at 12:30 this morning!), so she was surprised when I told her this morning. She was so excited about all the different states. She kept saying over and over, "I love your blog friends! That was so nice of them!"

You guys are wonderful. Me, not so much right now. I'm swamped, sinking in the mire of bows that are sucking me ever downward (Where does my daughter get her dramatic flair?). I'm trying to hit everyone's blog a post at a time, here and there, whenever I can sneak one in. Please don't think I've forgotten you! I'll be back to visiting you daily, my faithful friends, as soon as this two weeks of caffeine and sleeplessness are over.

Posted @ 1:58 PM ~ 5 comments

Monday, October 16, 2006

Help!

This is a very last minute cry for help. Drama Queen's class just read a book called Flat Stanley. I don't know anything about the book other than Stanley was flattened and then went on adventures through the mail. Drama Queen's class is going to be mailing their own Flat Stanleys, and they need addresses. I think they're trying to see how many places they can go.

If any of you would be willing to help out, please email me and let me know. There is a link to my email in the sidebar, but just to make it easy, you can email me at:

1booklover@sbcglobal.net

I think they will want you to send them a short letter back. This is a one time deal, no pen pal things. If any of you would be willing to participate, please let me know. I promise to delete your address from my email as soon as I send it with her to school. Thanks to anybody that can help.

Posted @ 11:10 PM ~ 7 comments

Saturday, October 14, 2006

Aspirations

As of 3:00 this morning, I am through making these (sorry the picture quality isn't the greatest):

It's only temporary, though. My friend brings my next batch of bows to me this afternoon after she delivers these to the "bow lady," as my children call her.

Remember my post about modesty? Drama Queen came home the other day and had this little gem to share with me:

DQ: Mom, I know what I want to be when I grow up, but I'm not telling you because you won't want me to do it.

Me: What is it?

DQ: I'm not telling.

Karate Kid: A stripper? (Always full of helpful ideas, that one.)

Me: What is it, Drama Queen?

DQ: Okaaaaay, I'll tell you--but you won't like it. I'm going to be...a swimsuit model! Because they get to wear those tiny little swimsuits.

Please just kill me now.

Posted @ 11:07 AM ~ 6 comments

Friday, October 13, 2006

Just MS

I grew up in a Victorian era-type household, where many subjects were taboo. I was so sheltered and naieve. While there is something to be said for that, it was carried way too far. I never want my children to be embarrassed to talk to me about anything, so I've tried to be very open and honest with them. I try to do it tastefully, but I now have a pre-pubescent son and a husband whose mind-set very closely matches his son. Drama Queen wouldn't even call the Christmas ornaments "balls" last year for fear of what the boys would dream up to say. Once you get them started, it's all downhill from there.

A few days ago I asked Karate Kid to run to the neighborhood convenience store (a family store, owned and operated by a man in our church and the only convenience store I'll let K.K. go to) to buy me a candy bar. Apparently my child knows me well:

K.K. Do you have PMS (He knows that's the only time I crave chocolate.)?
Me: There's no "P" to it; it's "MS" all the way, baby.
K.K. What does that mean?
Me: There's no "pre." I'm smack dab in the middle of it.

A few minutes later he called his best friend to see if he wanted to ride bikes up there with him. I overheard him say, "No, it's just MS. (pause) There's no 'P,' just 'MS.' I guess the 'P' means "pre" or something. She must just be in the middle of it."

Knowing my son, the owner of the convenience store now knows that I have "MS."

Posted @ 3:34 PM ~ 7 comments

Thursday, October 12, 2006

Halloween Meme

Kristie over at Slacker-Moms-R-Us tagged me with this meme several days ago, and I'm just now finding the time to participate.

1. What's the scariest movie you've ever seen?

I can't remember the name of the scariest one I saw because it's been many years since I've seen it. Something about gargoyles and a woman stealing people's breath.

2. What was your favorite Halloween costume from childhood?

The one that stands out in my mind the most was when I went as half boy/half girl. That costume took some doing: folding a ball cap in half and pinning it to my head, wearing pants and then rolling up one leg and pinning a skirt over the top, makeup on one half of my face, etc.

3. If you had an unlimited budget, what would your fantasy costume for this Halloween be?

If I had an unlimited budget, I'd be in a log cabin in the mountains, sitting next to a roaring fire, sipping a drink and reading a book. The river right outside the cabin would be loud enough that I'd be able to hear it in the cabin.

4. When was the last time you went trick or treating?

Well, I took the kids last year, but all I had to do was stand on the sidewalk and talk to my friend. Two years ago I actually had to walk Drama Queen up to the houses.

5. What's your favorite Halloween candy?

Dots!

6. Tell us about a scary nightmare you once had.

Good grief, where would I start? I have nightmares all the time. One that I remember from when I was younger was dreaming that someone broke into our house and killed my family. I think I found my sister stuffed in a trashcan.

7. What is your supernatural fear?

Demons.

8. What is your creepy-crawly fear?

Spiders and mice.

9. Tell us about a time you saw a ghost or heard something go bump in the night.

When I was younger, our front door was very heavy and had to be slammed to get it to shut. There was a small window in the door, and it rattled every time it was slammed. One night everyone was in bed, and I heard the door slam and the window rattle. My brother and I each had a friend spending the night, so I assumed the boys had gone outside. I went to check and found them both snoring in the living room floor. I went to see if my dad had gone outside for some reason, but he was so soundly asleep that I had a hard time waking him up. I thought maybe I had just imagined hearing it, but when I went back in my room, my friend asked me who had gone outside.

10. Would you ever stay in a real haunted house overnight?

No! I don't believe in ghosts and hauntings, but I do believe that the things people see as ghosts are really demons. No way would I ever want to stay around them!

11. Are you a traditionalist (just a face) Jack O'Lantern carver, or do you get really creative with your pumpkins?

I think I personally have only carved one pumpkin, and it was the traditional face. I much prefer painting them or leaving them be--because I'm lazy and can't stand to scrape all the stuff out.

12. How much do you decorate your home for Halloween?

Not at all. The only time I decorate is for Christmas. That one takes so long and is so intense, I think it ruined me for all other holidays/seasons.

13. What do you want on your tombstone?

Pepperoni and mushrooms. Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Posted @ 8:37 AM ~ 3 comments

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Daddy's Girl

Posted @ 11:17 AM ~ 4 comments

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Busy Little Bee

How much coffee and how little sleep can a girl get without her body imploding?

I have been working on my "other" job. You know the oh-so-fabulous school uniforms that girls have to wear? The plaid "school girl" skirts? Well, there is a lady that lives a couple of towns over that supplies matching hair accessories to the stores that sell the uniforms. She makes all of the accessories for 19 of this company's stores. Correction: she hires the people that make the accessories that match the skirts that are sold in the stores in the house that Jack built.

I am one of said hired people. I have no idea how many people she employs nor all of the different kinds of accessories that are made. All I know is that I am responsible for two different kinds. And, holy crap (just for you, Meg), if I haven't been loaded down this time! This is a seasonal job, so we usually only have one order this time of year that takes two weeks for us to complete. The order this time was so huge that she split it into two 2-week orders. My first order is 306 sets (2 bows per set) of one kind and 162 bows (1 bow per set, but each bow is made up of 3 bows stacked on top of each other) of the other. I have never, ever, ever had such a huge order. I feel like I haven't seen the light of day in over a week.

I kind of want to nominate myself for the Super Woman of the Day award for yesterday (I'm sure such an award exists somewhere). I went to bed at 3:00 yesterday morning and finally fell asleep around 3:20-ish. I got up at 6:00 to get the new day started. Since I had been holed up with bows all weekend, I had never had a chance to get to the grocery store. Since my family has this crazy notion that there should be food in the house, I decided a trip to the store would be in order. And what's more fun than a trip to the store by oneself? Why, taking 6 kids all age 3 and under, of course! The fact that we all made it back in one piece and not too much worse for the wear was a huge accomplishment, if I do say so myself.

This order is due Friday, so those of you who normally see me at your blogs, don't give up on me. I'll be there as soon as I can, comment guns blazing. As soon as I have a finished product of both kinds of bows, I'll post pics. In the meantime, I can hear the whip cracking over my head, so it's back to work for me.

Posted @ 11:30 AM ~ 6 comments

Monday, October 09, 2006

I'd Like to Thank the Academy...

Drama Queen has always been able to spend long amounts of time playing by herself. It is a joyous thing in our household since her older brother can’t ever be by himself. We are often treated to muffled conversations and hours of singing floating through her closed bedroom door. Her ability to be entertain herself can cause conflict at times because she is content to play whatever girlie game she desires while her brother begs, pleads, bargains and fights to get her to play with him. Different ages, different genders, big problems.

Last night I sent Drama Queen in to take a shower. I heard her say, “Pretend like I can’t swim.” That one stopped me because I was wondering who she was talking to since we were the only two at home. I shrugged it off and went on with what I was doing. Pretty soon I was treated to this award-winning performance (she had left the door open, so I had no problem hearing):

I…can’t…go…on! (accompanied by much gasping and hard breathing)

You have to!

I…can’t.

But I love you!

I’m…just…not…strong…enough.

How will I go on without you?!

I’m…

No! (insert much sobbing here)

I guess the title of this one act play was Sybil Meets Titanic.

Posted @ 10:30 AM ~ 7 comments

Friday, October 06, 2006

Get the Kleenex Ready

I got this in an email yesterday and thought it was too good not the share.

The night before the burial of her husband's body, Katherine Cathey refused to leave the casket, asking to sleep next to his body for the last time. The Marines made a bed for her, tucking in the sheets below the flag. Before
she fell asleep, she opened her laptop computer and played songs that reminded her of 'Cat,' and one of the Marines asked if she wanted them to continue standing watch as she slept. "I think it would be kind of nice if you kept doing it," she said. "I think that's what he would have wanted."

Posted @ 12:02 PM ~ 6 comments

The Answer

Okay, I meant to post the total yesterday, but I got busy. Alison was the closest with a guess of $1.20 (you need to start a blog, girl, so we can all come visit you!).Currently in the "Yelling Management" Jar: $2.60. A full $1.00 of that was the result of a "discussion" with The Hubster (I didn't actually keep track, I just figured $1.00 was a good even figure). I was very tempted to just throw in another $1.00 and get it all out of my system!

That's a lot of yelling over the week, but it's so much less than it would have been. I think only 3 of those times were directed at my children. Most of them were yelling over the loudness of the child care kids when I should have just crossed the room to speak directly to whatever child I was talking to at the moment. Notice I said "most" not "all." There were times that it was just frustrated yelling coming out of my mouth.

I noticed something funny today that I hadn't even really realized. Instead of yelling "Heeeeeyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!" over the loudness of all the kids to get their attention, I've been doing a sing-songy "Yoo hoo" instead (Yes, I'm fully aware of how hokey it is.). Today the child care licensing rep. was here doing his drop-in visit. One of the boys was trying to talk to him, but the rep. wasn't paying attention. Suddenly I heard, "Yooooo hooooo!" Apparently my technique is catching on.

Posted @ 11:54 AM ~ 4 comments

Thursday, October 05, 2006

Update

It's been a week since I started my "quiet" month. Anybody want to guess how much is in the jar? Go ahead, guess. I'll come back later and let you know who got the closest.

Posted @ 8:30 AM ~ 4 comments

Come On In

Because nothing says, "Welcome to Our Home" like dirty socks and a dead Open House project. *sigh*

Posted @ 8:24 AM ~ 4 comments

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Messages

If I don’t write it down, I’ll never remember it again. I am constantly writing notes to myself. Sticky notes abound on my kitchen counter, which make a nice colorful mess when they get wet. There are times my counter looks like Eric Carle has been illustrating his newest book right there in my very own kitchen.

The other day at the store, I saw that they had an easel dry erase board. I picked it up, fell in love, and then proceeded to try to talk myself out of it. Did I really need to spend that much money on another note writing tool? After all, I also have a love affair with dry erase boards and have several at home already. Not only that, I already had one in my basket that I was going to use in the laundry room. It didn’t take too long for the board to convince me that it would be absolutely the next greatest thing for my house.

I knew that it would come in handy, but I never knew it would be communication central between Drama Queen and myself. We are both very visually-oriented people. Trying to get my daughter to talk to me is sometimes an exercise in futility. She’s so distracted by whatever catches her eye that conversation is often a lost cause. We call her “Oooo, Shiny” behind her back because her eye is so easily caught by anything, resulting in many, many MANY frustrating attempts at speaking with her.

Enter the wonderful board. I wrote this note to her the first morning, and she added her own little note back to me (terribly misspelled because she was in a hurry--and spelling is not her strongest subject anyway)

This note is from this morning, when she was in a bad mood and I was using the board to try and avoid nagging or a confrontation. Can you just hear the attitude in those two words?

From one extreme to the other!

Posted @ 8:32 AM ~ 5 comments

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Contentment, Part 1

I’ve discovered something recently, quite by surprise. I am happy with who I am and where I am in my life. In fact, if you had asked me at the ripe old age of 16 what I pictured myself doing in 20 years, I would have described my life as it is now, with the exception of doing childcare. Although I love what I do, I would much prefer to be able to stay at home with just my own children. Since childcare lets me stay home with them while also contributing to our family financially, that is what I do.

Drama Queen asked me last week if I could be any age besides 36, what age would I want to be. I thought back to my childhood, which was great, but I wouldn’t want to relive it because I was unknowingly suffering from depression. I had the weight of the world on my shoulders and always felt responsible for everyone and everything around me.

What about 16? Well, we had just moved across the state, and I was starting a brand-new (to me) high school. A much larger school than I had been attending. My graduating class had as many as my whole junior high (7^th, 8^th, and 9^th) put together.

What about that next big milestone, 21? Not on your life. I got engaged on my 21^st birthday and was married 8 months later. I began birth control pills in April and had to stop in August. I could not begin to describe to you the panic attacks they caused. I would throw up every morning, not from nausea from the Pill, but from anxiety. I would go for 3 days without eating until The Hubster would finally beg me to eat. I could usually choke down part of a salad and then would throw it all up again the next morning. The paranoia was terrible! I was scared to get the mail and to check the answering machine. I burst into tears for absolutely no reason. Thank God my aunt recognized the symptoms since she had gone through the same thing. I just wish it hadn’t taken so long. She lived in another state, so August was the first time I had seen her since the wedding in May.

No, there isn’t another age I would rather be. I am perfectly content with the age I am. I know medication for depression and anxiety has played a huge roll in the peace and contentment I have finally been able to experience.

There’s more to my contentment, but you’ll have to wait until tomorrow to hear (dun, dun, dun…) The Rest of the Story (a la Paul Harvey).

Posted @ 8:06 AM ~ 4 comments

Monday, October 02, 2006

A Kind Act

For Boy Scouts, Karate Kid had to plan and organize his whole family into carrying out a project that would help someone else. We have a divorced woman living across the street from us who now lives alone since both of her sons have moved out. Karate Kid wanted to do her yard work as his project. Since we all had to participate, I wasn't sure what Drama Queen was going to get to do since she is too young to use any of the equipment. With that in mind, I tried to steer him in another direction, like picking up trash at the local park. Nope, he was dead-set on doing her yard.

After several times of scheduling and re-scheduling, he decided last night would be the night. The Hubster tried to get me to weed eat, but I'm scared of the weed eater. We finally decided K.K. would mow, I would edge and The Hubster would weed eat. That still left D.Q. hanging. Thankfully our neighbor was on her way out the door as we were discussing the various jobs. She helped us out by telling us that D.Q. could pull the grass out of the flower bed.

It ended up that I pulled the grass, D.Q. worked for about 2 minutes and then spent the rest of the time playing with a roly-poly, looking at flower bulbs, getting a drink, and then finally putting all the grass that I had pulled into the sack.

It felt so good to be helping our neighbor! I tried to stress to D.Q. how it was helping and how good we could feel for doing something nice for her. It was great to all work together in an unselfish, helpful way.

**********

On a totally different note, Karate Kid has been on a hiatus from karate for a good 4 months. Last night I was considering changing his nickname from Karate Kid to Boy Scout on my blog. Since I sometimes shorten Karate Kid to K.K., I didn't think the abbreviation for Boy Scout, B.S., would be such a hot idea. Yes, he gets on my nerves at times, but "B.S." seems to be carrying it a little too far, dontcha think?

Posted @ 8:10 AM ~ 5 comments

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