Well, it's been a few days, so I guess I should update!

Christmas is almost over. We have one more Christmas party to attend and then it is finally over. Santa (AKA Grandma Judy) got the kids a new PS2 this year. Lil'Man wore out the old PS2. He also got some new PS2 games, a few Cabela's games, a Star Wars game, and ATV Offroad Fury 3 (he already has 1 & 2). He also got much needed new cloths & a belt. Gomer got a Sony Walkman MP3 Compatible CD player. She loves it! My brother burned her a CD with 132 songs on it. She also got new cloths, mostly Aeropostale stuff. (Remember the great deals I got back in the first of November?) Beanie got a new Bratz Head, other Bratz dolls, and cloths. They also got Uno Attack. That game is so fun! I got the Miranda Lambert CD too and a pizza cooker. They got a lot of stuff, too much really. They really don't need much except for cloths any more. They rarely play with the toys they do have. Except for the PS2 & computer games.

I kind-of forgot to pay the water bill. Now I have to pay an extra $30 because they shut it off. Have I ever told you how much I hate living in town? I think it is such a crock to have to pay for your water. Water is free, dang it! What are they going to charge us for next? The air we breathe? That is about the only free thing left anymore! I so need to sell my house & move into the country. Taxes are lower outside of the city and the water is free!


Isn't this the cutest baby? She is 8 now! This is Beanie when she was 6 months old. Now she is sassy! In this picture she couldn't talk yet. What happened to those days? I just wanna reach into the picture and squeeze those cheeks! Looking at pictures of the kids as babies almost makes me want to have another one. Thank goodness I closed up that factory! Too bad their Ol'Man will be reproducing until his "woo hoo" falls off!

I so need to get away from everything! I'm really at the point if someone were to offer me a job in another state I would take it. As long as I have housing and can pay my bills each month I'd move. Isn't that sad? I'd hate to uproot my kids but I'd do it. They are friendly, well adjusted kids- they would make new friends quickly.

Well I should get back to work. Incase I don't update before Friday, Happy New Year Everyone! Don't Drink & Drive.

Another birthday at our household! This time it is Lil’Man’s birthday and today he is 10! Where did the time go? I really hope I am doing a good job raising him. I so don’t want him to turn out like his father. I hope I have enough of a positive impact on him to cancel out the negative influence his dad has on him. I so want him to treat women correctly. He will make some woman very happy one day (at least I hope!). He loves to message feet and rub lotion on them. I have no idea where he gets that from, cuz I don’t really like other people’s feet. Anyways, back to his birthday. I made him a Peanut Butter Pie- he is a peanut butter freak!. I will make a giant chocolate chip cookie for the rest of the birthday goers, as I realize not everyone likes Peanut Butter.
I got him Star Wars Episode III w/ the bonus DVD pack for his gift. It’s what he wanted so that
is what he got. He was counting down the days. He knew that I would be getting him the DVD, when he opened it this morning he said that now he has all 6 Star Wars movies. I even wrapped it in Star Wars wrapping paper. I know that as soon as he gets home he will be planting himself in front of the T.V. to watch his new movie. I just hope he does his chores first, after all the Grandparents are coming over to see him- not his underwear lying on the floor!

I can’t wait for it to get colder. I have decided that this year I am going to take the kids to Lake Michigan when it freezes. We live so stickin’ close & I’ve taken them to Lake Michigan twice! My poor kids- they had fun each time and ask to go back. My parents took me when I was in the 3rd grade. It is the coolest sight to see that huge lake frozen as far as the eye can see. And it doesn’t freeze smooth either. The waves freeze, so it looks like frozen mountains. When we went we were able to walk out on the ice and climb some of the mountains. It was so cool! I am hoping that we can do that this year too. However I will not take my kids out on the ice if I think even for a minute that it is not thick enough. I worry about Lil’Man when he goes ice fishing with his Grandpa. After the news report I heard yesterday I don’t know if we will go out on the ice or not. They reported that they found a fishing hole in the ice with some fishing equipment around it, tracks leading up to it and it looked like there had been a struggle around the opening of the ice. I think the fisher dude fell in and couldn’t get out. They had divers going in looking and a special camera because of the tempt of the water the divers couldn’t stay in for very long. I hate it when Lil’Man goes ice fishing, I always worry!

My kids have asked me already if we could go to Oklahoma for Spring Break. Geez, most kids would ask for someplace like Florida- but not my kids. They had fun when we were there before & they want to go back to visit Aunt Jenn, Uncle David and the Ducklings. Gomer does want to bring a friend this time. I might be able to swing a trip to St Louis, if Aunt Jenn & crew want to meet us half way. I think driving all the way to Miami & getting a room might be cheaper then staying in St Louis. I first have to figure out how much money I will have by that time. Spring Break is March 31- April 9th this year. I know that Jenn’s kids might not have break at the same time. We’ll just have to see.

Bag-Balm & Vet Wrap

My son has finally done it.  I’ve told him & told him to stop it before something gets broke.  & what happens?  He breaks his cousin.  Let me explain.  Sunday night at youth group Lil’Man and his cousin Mr. Politian (he tries to talk his way into doing what he wants- quite annoying!) were wrestling upstairs while the adults were talking in the living room.  Apparently Mr. Politian was going in for a body punch and Lil’Man decided to block it with his foot.  Well foot made contact with finger (ring man on the right hand) and the finger lost.  Surprisingly Mr. Politian didn’t shed a tear.  He came downstairs holding his bad finger in his other hand and made a few wincing sounds.  His mom (my sil) asked him what was wrong- she had just gotten back from driving other kids home & had JUST sat down for the first time in hours.    Mr. Politian promptly says, “Lil’Man kicked my finger”.  This statement made me look up from the Sunday Ad Flyers!  Lil’Man can have quite the temper sometimes- takes after his dad.  Mr. Politian quickly adds ” it was an accident we were wrestling”, he didn’t want Lil’Man to get in trouble.  So Mr. Politian brings his sore hand over to his mom for a look-see.  Yep- definitely broken, no doubt about it.  So then he has to show his dad (my oldest brother), who pushes & pokes at it.  Then he shows me.  I ask him if he can make a fist.  He tells me that Lil’Man already asked him that & he could not do it.    Hmm, guess Lil’Man was trying to cover his butt before everyone knew that he broke his cousin!   So off to the ER goes Mr. Politian and his mom, it’s about 8pm at this time; they got home around 10:30pm.  Not bad for a trip to the ER that included X-rays.   A cousin of Ol’Man’s (The Horse Shoer) was there too, he fixes everything with Bag-balm & vet wrap.  He offered to tape up Mr. Politian’s finger to the good ones.  But for some reason, they all wanted his finger to heal straight so the declined the offer!    Poor Mrs Horse Shoer, if they ever have kids she just might come home one day to find her little one covered in vet-wrap and Bag-balm!  

My baby is sick

My baby is sick.  She came home on Thursday (yes on her birthday) complaining of a sore throat.  Friday morning she woke up with a fever.   She stayed home with her daddy while I went to work.  I made a doctors appointment for her, got her in at 4:15- so I got to leave work early.  She has all the symptoms of strep throat just no visible signs of it yet.  They did a throat culture and put her on some meds.  Friday night was a very long night.  Her daddy was gone late; I let her sleep with me.  At midnight she sat straight up in bed and started screaming.  Screaming at the top of her lungs, screaming for her Daddy and then for her sister.  She had such a look of terror in her eyes it was scary!   I got her calmed down and back to sleep.  Shortly after that is when her daddy decided to show up.  At sometime between 2:30 and 3 she had another nightmare.  After this one she was too scared to go back to sleep.  She didn’t go back to sleep until after 6 o’clock that night!    Fever induced nightmares are the worst!   Saturday was supposed to be her birthday party with her little girlfriends.  We had to postpone that.  Today she is still running a fever.  I really hope this fever goes away soon.  She is going to end up missing a lot of school.  The doctor’s office called this morning & yep, its strep throat.  I think they should remove her tonsils.  She is so prone to strep throat.   Plus I really hate seeing her without her normal energy.

Well, my day has now slipped away from me & it is now time for me to log out of the computer & go home.  I fill you in on the rest tomorrow.

It's your birthday, gonna party like it's your birthday!

I can’t believe my baby is 8 today!  She is getting to be such the little adult.  She will tell her older siblings what to do & how to do it-  all the while saying “Mom says…” & I didn’t say a thing!  I just have to chuckle a little under my breath.    Last night she was telling me what she wanted Santa to bring her.  She wants a boy Bratz doll.  I asked her what else she wanted.  Her reply “You said Santa was only bringing one gift this year.”  Yes, I did say that.  So I asked her what her back-up item was- a girl Bratz doll.  Well this morning when she opened her birthday gifts she got a boy & a girl Bratz doll.  Now Santa has to figure out what to get her.  I think anything Bratz will fit the bill.  Tonight we are having cake & ice cream with the Grandparents.  Beanie picked out banana cake- a favorite of everyone in my household!  I can’t wait for cake!  We are making our own pizza’s for dinner too.  I can’t wait to get home to chow!

Here we are the day before Thanksgiving. Nothing much has been going on around here. The kids have a half day of school today, was suposed to have no school but that was changed about 2 weeks ago. I don't have to work Thursday or Friday either- nice long weekend at home with the kids. Ol'Mans been out of town for the past 3 weeks and he flies in tomorrow night. That is causing much excitement around the house. The kids really miss their dad. The dog has been lost without him, she will be so excited! She will have to have her reunion outside cuz I just know she will be so excited she will piss her pants (if she were wearing any that is) and I don't want it in my carpets!

I broke the news to the kids last night that Santa is only going to bring each of them one present this year. Ya know, due to all of the other deserving kids out there this year he is just needed in other parts of the world so much more this year & cuz they have so much crap already that they don't take care of. I don't think they bought that excuse. I did tell they that they will still get some cloths & stuff from me but Santa is only doing 1 gift this year. Beanie didn't like that idea what so ever. She has been very touchy (cry at the drop of a hat) while her daddy has been gone, and she started crying. Saying something about how Santa won't bring her what she wants or something. She is hard to understand when she is crying. I told her to figure out what it is she really wants and to let me know so I can tell Santa. She is the only one of my 3 that still believes. I've tried every excuse on the other 2 but they don't buy it. Gomer told me that she saw me carrying the presents done the hall one year. They've also figured out that Santa & I have the same wrapping paper. I told them that Santa doesn't wrap the presents, that he brings them over & then I have to wrap them and that is why Santa & I have the same paper & why Gomer saw me carrying them down the hall. That didn't work. I just hope they don't ruin it for Beanie. She will be crushed if she were to find out now.

I think this year for family presents I will be making the gifts. I am too broke to go buy stuff. Plus that gives me an excuse to bake. I love to bake but don't like having all of the goodies at my house cuz I would eat them all.

I am hungry now, so I think I am going to go find a Subway. Or McDee's depending on how bad the roads are!

What is that cold white flakely stuff on my lawn?

Okay, I want to know, Who ordered the snow? It certainly wasn't me! I am perfectly fine with no snow until Christmas and then it melts away shortly afterwards. I wouldn't mind snow at all if it were to stay off of the roads. I just know some crazy driver who thinks his SUV is just the conquerer of all things snowy will lose control and take me out with him! The snow started to fall Wednesday afternoon, after it had rained all morning. So the snow has a nice ice base- doesn't help with the driving what so ever!

When I got home on Wednesday night, after the normal 45 minute drive that turned into an hour & 1/2, I had to get the lawn tractor & bikes into the shed. I've been on the kids for days to get the stuff put away but they don't listen to me about that kind of stuff. So Gomer & I were outside in the cold, snowy weather taking care of stuff. The tractor was froze in place and the key was frozen in it's hidy spot so we had to push it across the yard to the shed. What fun. After we got that taken care of we tackled the garage. I have a 2 1/2 stall garage that up until Wednesday night had only housed the boat & all of the stuff I don't want in the house. I had to re-arrange the stuff to make room for the Durango. I had done this in the summer but the kids decided to play in that extra space and it was full of kid clutter. Now there is stuff (mattress & sheet wood) on top of the boat. Did you know the boat makes a great place to hide christmas presents? The kids aren't allowed to climb on it & they aren't tall enought to see into it. Anyway, back to the story. After we got the space cleared I backed the Durango into the garage. I have to back in cuz the school is directly across the street & the bus route is the street my driveway is connected to. The bus drivers do not stop when they pull out of the parking lot. So backing out of my drive is not an option- unless I want school bus yellow embedded into my Durango and I like it forest green...thank you very much!

Call the Medics we've got a bad wheel!

The poor doggie, she hurt her widdle foot. Sometimes I think she is such a baby! A few nights ago when she was out doing her nightly pooing she hurt her foot. After she is done pooing she does this strange scratch thing, where she scratches at the ground with all four feet at the same time. While she was performing this little ritual she backed up onto the cement and then yelped in pain. The next morning she wouldn’t put any weight on her back foot. Gomer & I had to pin her down to check out what was going on. I held her mouth closed while Gomer checked out the paw. Yep, she sliced her pad. After hopping her up on doggie vicadin she seems to be doing better. Last night she finally walked on all fours again. Then this morning after I got out of the shower I found her on my bed, watching tv! Guess she just likes to veg out too when she’s not feeling well! You can’t see it in the picture very well, but she’s got the remote with her too. Silly doggie! & I thought Gomer was the Remote Queen in my house!

Beanie is a bit upset with me this morning. She just has to have these fuzzy Bratz posters from her school book order. It’s due today. Well, she didn’t tell me until bedtime last night that she needed $4.95 for this poster thing. Let me just tell you, if I can’t use my debit or credit card I don’t buy it. I am not a cash carrying person. I opened a new bank account about 6 months ago & I still have to purchase my checks, so right now it is strictly cash or card. I have a dollar in my purse, that’s it for the moment. She was not happy. I told her to find something in Lil’Man’s book order- his is due next Friday, that would give me time to go get some cash. I could have sent $4.95 in nickels, dime & pennies but I don’t think her teacher would appreciate that too much! Bean was ready to raid the coin jar however. Guess I will have to keep my eyes open for fuzzy Bratz posters in the stores.

Tomorrow we have to go to a funeral. Ol’Man’s step Grandma died on Monday & her service is Saturday. I hate going to funerals. Granted I grew up around them (my family has owned a funeral home for over 100 years) and never really minded them. But after my mom died I really don’t like going to them. It always reminds me of her. Plus this is just a goofy family I don’t know if I want to submit my kids to the drama. One son isn’t even going to be there, he didn’t want to cut his Cobo vacation short- atleast that is the story I’ve been told. She did go relatively quickly, she had been in poor health for a long time but had a stroke on Sunday. That pretty much did her in. I don’t mean to sound cruel, but she is better off now. She was in so much pain, she had lung cancer, kidney problems, heart problems, and was a diabetic.

Just a little background info:

For those who don't know me, let me fill you in a bit. I am no longer going to update my yahoo 360 blog, I'm going to update this one now.

I have 3 children. Gomer is my 12 year old daughter. Lil'Man is my almost 10 year old son. Bean(ie) is my almost 8 year old daughter. Ol'Man is their dad. Ol'Man & I were married for 6 years until he decided just one woman wasn't enough. So I divorced him. But then I took him back (guess I am a sucker). We are together now, working on things. We have been divorced for 3 years now and have been back together for just over 1 year. As with any relationship things can get tough, but as I said we are working on it.

One of my closest friends turned me onto blogging. Now I find it is the easiest way to find out what's going on in her life (even if that means I have to read Diva's blog to find out) as she lives of so far away (like almost 800 miles away). But I guess when you find a man as great as hers you move to be with him. I would too! And that gives me an excuse to go on a road trip. Granted I've made the trip only twice & once they met us half way! Jenn- I will make another trip, I promise!

I don't think much exciting happens in my life but I promise to not bore ya'll to much. If there is anything you want to know, just ask.

Bacon, Anyone?

A friend and I went to Birch Run (an outlet shopping meca in Eastern Michigan). We did a little shopping on Friday night when we arrived, went to a company dinner, then back to our hotel (http://www.zehnders.com/) to get a good nights sleep before we hit the stores. Before we were able to shop til we dropped, we needed breakfast. We went to a local diner called Tony's. I had heard the portions were huge, so we decided to share french toast with bacon. Our eyes about popped out of our heads when the bacon arrived! It had to be about 2 pounds of bacon! We left most of it behind! How can 2 people eat that much bacon? After we had ordered I was looking through the menu, the BLT has a whole pound of bacon on it! That thing must be huge!
After we ate as much breakfast as we could, we headed back to the hotel to check out the indoor waterpark. It was so cool! I think I am going to take Gomer & 2 of her friends there for her 13th birthday! They have 2 slides that weave in & out of the building, they are fast & dark- sometimes you are in complete darkness. When we had played kid enough, we got ready to go shopping. We visited many of the stores but being on a time limit we couldn't get them all. I had to get back to my kiddos, Lil'Man had an end of the season football party at a roller rink @ 4:30 and I was shopping over 3 hours away. So the rush started at 1 and didn't end until 9pm! I was tired. We left Birch Run around 1, arrived in Grand Rapids around 3:15- giving me 1 hour & 15 minutes to get Lil'Man to the roller rink. They were at Grandma's, an hour drive from Grand Rapids, the skating rink is in Howard City- about 20 minutes from Grandma's. We just made it to the rink. Only 1 cop (a state trooper) saw me, he pumped his brakes at me as he was traveling in the opposite direction as I was and I was nearing the expressway and by the time he would have turned around to nab me I would have been gone. Guess going 70 in a 55 isn't a good thing in their eyes, go figure!
After the skating pary ended at 6:30 (yes I skated) we had to drop off a few of the other boys at their Dad's house, then we had to drop off some jewelry to a cousin on the east side of Grant & then go to my brother's house on the west side of Grant to pick up the dog. Couldn't leave the poor thing home alone all night, last time I did that I lost a bathroom door. It was around 7:30 when we got to my brother's. By the time we were done visiting and got home it was 9:30 and bed time. Boy was I tired!
Today is a bit slower. We don't have to start running until 4:30. Bean has a Girl Scout skating party from 5-7, same time as youth group so I am hoping that she can ride with her little friend. We are also cleaning the house today, fun fun. Well gotta get back to work, the little slave laborers has stopped working and are watching a cartoon. Gotta go crack the whip! (just joking!)

Um, lets see now. Today my 11 year old daughter (Gomer) comes home from camp. This is the longest she has been away from me and hasn't been with a family member. Just to let you know what kind of a loon I am, I wrote her a letter and signed it from the dog & cat.

This week has been a little crazy, I am in the middle of refinancing my house. We have been busy getting it ready for the appraisal- what joy! I'm refinancing because my mortgagee is smoking crack! They seem to think that I should be paying more than $400 more each month, it's an escrow thing. Yuck, yuck, yuck, oh yeah, it I tell you it is yuck? On the bright side, the remodel project that was started in March is now getting completed. I am not much of a planner, I do things on the spur of the moment. The remodel project is a great example of that. It started out as a simple "hey, lets see what is under the carpet!" It turned into walls coming down, door being replaced, new carpet, new paint job- all because I wanted a new comforter for my bed. The ugly olive green walls didn't match. Now they are "Peacock Plume". The dining room will be the next project, but that will wait until March- income tax time.

Now I come from a pretty normal family. I have 2 older brothers, no sisters. My parents were happily married until my Mom passed away from cancer. Both of my brothers are happilied married and have kids. Now the family that I married into is a bit Jerry Springer! His parents have been divorced for a long time, both of his parents are now remarried. His mom is happilied married to a wonderful man. His dad on the other hand is where the Springer remark would be coming from. He married a woman that is stranger than strange. He is now taking care of his wife, mother in law, step daughter and his step grandson that I think is actually his son. I told you they were Springer-ish. Now don't think that the step daughter is a prize, my husband (xhubby/boyfriend/whatever the heck he is) and his brothers have always called her Shamu. Shamu and her mother had tried for years to hook Shamu and either my hubby or one of his brothers up. Need less to say they never succeeded. I'll fill in more later.