OMG! I'm not dead!

Wow, over a year and a half ago I last posted here. I just lost the desire to spill my guts on the blog. I did notice that most of it was pretty boring, anyhow. I did forget why I started it in the first place. The biggest reason was the random thoughts I would have & want to share. Then I discovered the blogging community. That took me away from life for a while. I'd spend way too much time reading all the other blogs. And it was great! I enjoyed it, but it was too time consuming & I couldn't waste my day away on that. & I wasted many, many days.

I know I've mentioned in the past that I watch a lot of television. Now I have DVR. Even more television. That's one thing I do too much. I will muse about shows that I love (GLEE!!!!!!) and shows that I laugh at & would never put on the tv (Bad girls club...ftw).

I home schooled my daughter for kindergarten. Before the year was even over, I knew it was a fail for me. She, however, had a different idea. I entered her into the first grade in August this year and her teacher, bless that woman!!, always beams when she talks about how well my daughter is reading. She is the top reader in the class, head and shoulders. Not only that, but from my end I am so impressed with her ability to calculate numbers. That was where I thought she would have trouble & she's stellar. My biggest fail with my daughter, it turns out, was my inability to socialize her. While she is an ace in the academics, she cried everyday, several times a day, for the first 3 weeks. And the first thing that comes to mind when one reads this is..."awwww, how sad..".

It was sad, so very sad...for her teacher & all the other people her wailing affected. I apologized a few times to her teacher, bless that woman!!, because while I thought my daughter was gently sobbing at the thought of missing me, it was not so subtle. Nope. She let out her howls for every little thing that didn't go her way for just about the first three weeks. I shit you not, loud, obnoxious, howling cries. She still cries in class, but no where near as often & she has toned it down immensely.

I went to work with the kids in Centers last week and her friend K. told me .."she didn't even cry ONE time last week!!" K.'s eyes were wide & she was very proud of her friend. I almost cried.

7 is now 9 and is the bane of my existence. Still. I think I will worry about that boy for the rest of my life. He is still an amazing little dude he's just so difficult to raise. The most challenging thing I've ever done in my life is this kid and he's only 9.

14 is now 16, and while much improved & sometimes my saving grace, he is a royal pain in the ass. Great kid, bad arguer. About the stupidest things & most often I just shut my mouth. But sometimes I just can't let him think he's got it right. Of course those times, I end up super pissed & ready to take his tongue out & feed it to the cats. Is there such a thing a shaken teen syndrome? If not, then maybe I'd feel okay doing that...just once in a while.

The random thought that got me out of bed today: I HATE, HATE, HATE those stoopid kit kat commercials. For the love of PETE, would they please stop making them!? Who wants to hear people eating so loudly? I taught my kids to eat with their mouths closed & now Nestle has gone & ruined it all! Not only that, but the damn candy bars do not make that much noise - until the children try to make them make that much noise. You suck, advertisers. The person who thought that up, well it's people like them that brought about the need for lobotomies.

All that said, it felt good. Maybe not every day, but when I need it.

Springtime seems to be here to stay!

For that I am truly grateful! The warmer weather has us all hanging out outside, me getting some much needed maintenance done around here. I had some wall patching to do. 14 was being, erm, too active in the bathroom. (???) He jumped up to touch the ceiling (???) and his elbow came down hard on the towel bar. Needless to say, I put fixing that off until now. This will be the 4th time I'm getting a towel bar up in there since we moved in. Maybe this time it will remain securely in place. A girl can hope.

I'm listening to the sound of birds & it is remarkable! This was just a long & dreary winter.

8 celebrated his 8th birthday, hence the change to 8 instead of 7 when referencing him. Last week, I thought about posting a tribute to him & his 8 years with us, but I never got around to it. He was always a happy baby - ALWAYS! The perfect baby, but all my babies were good. I feel like I cheated because they were.

I got a new computer & can't find my power cord for my external HD. I can't add the old photos of him without it. If I can find it before the weekend, I'll share a photo tribute to him with you all. He was so cute. He still is but doesn't like to be reminded so much any more. How they change, my how they change.

My daughter still has some fabulous things to say to us. The other day she told me I was warm weather & the hub he was cold weather ..."you're freezing, daddy" she said. The she told me I was so sweet & pretty & nice and she loved me so much. Having a daughter has its perks. I always thought daughters were daddy biased. Heh.

I also found out that a dear old friend of mine has been diagnosed with Breast Cancer. I haven't had her out of my thoughts since last Sunday when I found out. If you could all send positive thoughts & prayers for her, I would truly appreciate it! Her name is Liz and she is an amazing woman with 2 gorgeous kids & a wonderful husband. She is a woman of great strength & I know she will fight it tooth & nail, coming away victorious!

I will host another auction for jewelry come October. This time the donation will be divided between the Susan G. Komen Foundation & the Caring Bridge website. Caring Bridge is a wonderful website devoted to those fighting & surviving serious illnesses. Those who are enduring can journal about what is happening in their lives to keep their families updated on what's going on with them. I know October seems a long way away, but it'll be here soon enough.

In the meantime, I hope you all are doing supremely well & that Spring fever has hit you all in the best ways!

Kids R' Great!

The other night, I was lying down with the daughter. She was fidgeting, using her talking "Oobi" hand, having a delightful conversation with her stuffed animal & telling me she wasn't tired. I knew she was.

I began to tell her it was time for bed & she needed her sleep. After all my talking, she still claimed she wasn't tired. I rested my head gently on my pillow and with my eyes closed, I thought I might apply a tactic that has worked for me in other situations. I told her that "whoever falls asleep first, wins!". A few seconds later, she chuckled and said "are you playing a game?".

She won the "game". She fell asleep so fast after that! Funny how that stuff can be so successful sometimes & fall completely flat other times. Now, when she goes down for a nap or to bed, she brings up the game. She's been winning a lot lately. ;)

Another funny Princess Fluffyfart thing - Tuesday, Dock rented movies. He brought home Wall*E. Our wonderful little girl acted as if she was uninterested with a hidey smirk on her face. A few moments later, she told her daddy:

"If you brought home Kung Fu Panda, I would say I wanted Wall*E. If you brought home Wall*E, I would say I wanted Kung Fu Panda. I wanted Kung Fu Panda."