Well since we have all been exchanging ideas and making lists and what not with each other, I thought I would try something that new reader Krista suggested on her blog the other day.
After reading this, type "your name needs" into a search engine and find out what YOU need. Some of them are funny and some of them are just plain ole weird. And a couple of them are probably true!
This is what Monica needs:
Monica needs a bicycle master plan.
Monica needs a job.
Monica needs another dress washed.
Monica needs her own board damnit!!
Monica needs to move in a new direction.
Monica needs to inspire with her pluck.
Yahoo
Monica needs some serious TLC.
Monica needs to be in counseling.
Monica needs some refinement.
Monica needs a break!!!
Monica needs some serious direction.
Dogpile
Monica needs a hug from US President Bill Clinton. (too funny!)
Monica needs to act more feminine.
Monica needs a nap.
Monica needs a distraction.Monica Needs.... Monica;
One More Week! - Sunday, October 30, 2005
I can't believe it, but by this time next week (Sunday afternoon), I will be in St. Thomas!!!! I have been looking forward to this vacation for such a long time. I wonder what I will have to look forward to after it's over.I think I pretty much have my Packing List for the trip. If I don't write crap down, then I always forget something. My list has become quite extensive. I just hope we will be able to get everything into our suitcases!
Not much going on this way. Skyler has actually been pretty decent for the most part this week. No major blow ups. So that's good. Chase has been Chase. You know how one year old boys are...into everything. I never knew one child could drag out so many toys! We just pretty much leave the house trashed until he goes to bed at night. Then the three of us (Skyler included, of course) walk around the house picking up all the toys. You just wait until Little Man is walking and can understand. We are going to start making him pick up his mess! Skyler always asks why she has to help pick up the mess because Bubby is the one who made it. I have to explain to her that Bubby is too little to pick up the toys on his own, but he will soon!
Things were really slow at work this week. Most people from the office were in San Francisco for a meeting. There were only about 10 of us left behind. Since everyone else was gone, we decided to have lunch on the company on Friday as a treat to ourselves. Of course we "ok'd" it with the boss man beforehand. But it was nice to have lunch with everyone from work. We ordered sandwiches and soups from the Bear Rock Cafe. Yum!
I really think I won't be worth much at work this week either because I am looking forward to the trip. I'll be counting the hours here before you know it.
Yesterday I had a "girl's night out" with my friend Sam. We went to Durham to shop at The Streets at Southpoint. Love the shopping there. It is so awesome. I had a $65 credit at the Apple Store where I had returned something. So I wanted to get Jonathan an iPod Shuffle to take with us on our trip. It's 1 GB and holds about 240 songs. Nothing like my iPod Photo which holds 5,000 songs. But it's all Jonathan really needs.
The only problem is Jonathan listens to Hip/Hop and Rap and I don't really listen to that crap. Maybe a bit of Hip/Hop if it has a beat, but I definitely don't like Rap. And you can only run one iTunes at once. So it means I'll have to put some of his cruddy music in my iTunes. Oh well, I'll live. I can always fast forward through the stuff.
I have a wide range of music on my iPod. Everything from 70's to Hip/Hop to the Rolling Stones. I really like a lot of music. I currently have over 1,000 songs on my iPod and climbing. Finding and downloading the music is a pain in the butt sometimes though.
So anyway, getting back to our "girl's night out." After we went to buy the shuffle we went to Penney's to see if we could find some new clothes. Of course I didn't find anything for myself, but I did manage to find Skyler two outfits for Christmas. I'm finished with Skyler's Christmas shopping, but I have hardly even begun on Chase's. It's so hard to buy for 1 1/2 year old boys! If anyone has any ideas, I'm definitely open to suggestions.
After Penney's we went to the movies. We saw Domino. I have to say I really liked it. It was really loud and pretty gory, but it was actually very good. The only thing I didn't like about it was the way they filmed the movie. It's hard to explain, but it gave me a headache. The movie is actually based on a true story (although I'm sure 90% of it isn't true). The girl who the movie is based on was named Domino Harvey. She just recently died. But if your looking for a good action movie, it's not too bad.
After the movie we had plans to eat at one of my all time favorite restaurants, PF Chang's. I was really looking forward to some chicken lettuce wraps and Kung Pau Shrimp. But after we parked and went in they informed us it would be a 90 minutes wait. Um no thank you. So we headed back towards the house and ended up eating at The Outback. I was pretty disappointed, but after a couple of lobster tails, I was over it.
Skyler is upstairs taking a nap. I don't think the time change is going to bother the kids too much. I should have gotten to sleep in an extra hour this morning since it was my morning to sleep in, but I didn't really feel like sleeping in, so I got up around 7:15. Actually it was 8:15, so I guess I "kind of" slept in.
After I got up we decided to go eat breakfast at The Cracker barrel that they just built by our house and then go shopping at the dreaded Wal-Mart. So we had done all that and were back home by 11:00 a.m. That's good for us because we normally don't even get out of our pajamas on the weekends sometimes. So to have done all that by 11:00 a.m., we were doing pretty good. None of us are really morning people, that's for sure.
Well I guess I have rambled on long enough for one day. I hope everyone had a great weekend and can't wait to get caught up on everyone's blogs.One More Week! Monica;
Things I'm Afraid Of.... - Friday, October 28, 2005
I think Caroline is trying to pay me back for making her do a list of things she has done in her life. But she has asked her readers to a list of things that they are afraid of. This one is kind of tough. I've always thought of myself as the "adventurous type" when it comes to things like sky diving (tandem of course); riding on airplanes, race cars, etc. So I'm going to have to think about this one for a bit...
I will tell you one thing I am afraid of is kind of stupid. They aren't even real, but if they were real at one time or another, I must have been killed by one or been one myself, not really sure. But the one thing I am afraid of is VAMPIRES! I know, it's ridiculous. There is no such thing as VAMPIRES, but they freak me out so bad if I even catch a glimpse of one on the television, say advertising a movie or something, it freaks me out and I scream like a little girl. And then I think about them all night when I lay down. So I definitely have a huge dislike for anything to do with VAMPIRES.
So anyway, here is my list:
1. Vampires
2. Death of a Family Member. Of course, losing anyone in my family, especially my kids, hubby, parents, etc. That one is a no brainer there.
3. Gory/Scary Movies. I have never liked scary movies. I'm one of those people if I'm watching a scary movie and something jumps out of the closet or something, I jump out of my seat, scream like a little girl and almost pee myself. So you don't see me watching too many scary movies. Especially ones with VAMPIRES!!!
4. Speaking in Front of Large Crowd. I'm with Caroline on the giving speeches thing. I hate standing up in front of a crowd. The bad thing is, I have to do it quite often with my job. Most of the time I try and pass it off to someone else if I can. I especially freak out when my boss is trying to be nice and recognize me in front of a few hundred people for the good job your doing, and then you have to go stand up there like a fool. It's nice of him to recognize me, but its also really embarrassing.
5. Failing at raising my children to be good/productive adults. We've had such a hard time with Skyler here lately. I definitely feel sometimes like we are both bad parents. I guess it's a learning process, but we haven't been doing a very good job here lately.
6. Failing to do a good job for my employer. I've been given some new duties at my job recently and I feel like I'm doing a horrible job sometimes. I've always tried to do a good job at whatever task I have been given, but here lately, things just don't seem to be coming together like I wish they would. Maybe it's just a learning process for me.
7. Marriage failing. Jonathan and I have both been through some rough times in the 15 years we have been together. When we first married in 1991, our family and friends all said it wouldn't last two years. So I guess we kind of showed them, huh? But there are still times when I wonder if we are going to make it. There are definitely more good than bad times though. I guess everyone has problems/rocky times in their marriage, so we make it work and move on.
Those are the only things that come to mind at the moment. It's weird... I'm not afraid of normal things like spiders, snakes, heights, etc. I've always pretty much been fearless in so many ways. My daughter is the same way. She isn't afraid to try or do anything at least once. Not saying we don't learn our lessons sometimes after doing something stupid, but for the most part, I'll try anything once.
So there you have it. Now how bout you?Things I'm Afraid Of.... Monica;
Things I Have Done in My Lifetime.... - Tuesday, October 25, 2005
As I was laying in bed last night unable to fall asleep, my mind was racing with the craziest thoughts. I was lying there thinking about all the things I have done in my 35 years.
As you already know, my husband and I married young (20 years old) and he served in the Army for 10 years. While he was in the Army and afterwards, we have done so many things, it's just incredible. I decided I was going to try and make a list of all the exciting things I have done in my lifetime. This list will be ongoing and this weekend I'm going to make a link of the list under the "About Me" section of the blog. My long term goal will be to scan in some of the photos of these things we have done and add it to the list.
Of course, this is not a complete list and it's just some of the things that came to mind as I was lying in bed unable to sleep last night (even after taking my Ambien no less).
Anyway, my challenge to you is to make your own list and let's share. We all know we have done exciting things in our life. So please make your own list and share it with me.
Here is the beginning of mine:
THINGS I HAVE DONE IN MY LIFETIME
1. Stepped over the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in the JAS building into North Korea (before stepping over said line, had to sign a U.S. Dept. of Defense document stating that if I were apprehended, the United States and South Korea would not be responsible for my well-being). I bet there are not many people out there who can say they have been to North Korea!
2. Had my picture taken by North Korean soldiers who were standing outside of the JAS building at the DMZ.
3. Had a gun drawn on me on the Russian/Polish border after pulling out my instant camera to take a picture of the border guard (guess they had never seen a Polaroid before). After they realized what it was, they commenced to asking me to use my entire roll of film taking pictures of them (which they kept). However, they did reward me with 3 bottles of Vodka (which I still have to this day).
4. Swam with the dolphins in Cozumel, Mexico.
5. Walked the streets of some of World War II's most notorious concentration camps, Auschwitz and Dachau. Somberly viewed the gas chambers were hundreds of thousands of lives were senselessly lost. (The gas chambers were not actually used at Dachau.)
6. Swam the coral reefs in Hawaii's Hanama Bay.
7. Snorkeled with and held the stingrays in Grand Cayman.
8. Visited Hitler's summer retreat, The Eagle's Nest.
9. Walked the bomb shelters/tunnels of World War II under a famous German hotel.
10. Stood at the top of the Eiffel Tower.
11. Sailed the Rhein River.
12. Visited the "cave room" in Crazy King Ludwig's Neuswanstein Castle (the model for Disney's Cinderella's Castle and also the ballroom floor of the dance scene in Beauty & the Beast).
13. Survived the 500-year flood in South Korea in 1998. Saw tens of dead floating in the streets. Watched mothers leave their small children at a local daycare, never to return to pick them up. Spent weeks working in a water-logged office during clean up. No one came to help, just us.
14. Swam at one of the world's most beautiful beaches, Megan's Bay in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands.
15. Paid $6.00 for a Coke in Tokyo, Japan.
16. Ate Kimchi in South Korea.
17. Visited the volcanic island of Chejudo in South Korea.
18. Danced with a beer stein on a table at Munich's Oktoberfest.
19. Rode a Segway along the levies and in Jackson Square in New Orleans.
20. Watched Old Faithful spew.
21. Saw a grizzly bear with her cubs in Yellowstone Park.
22. Viewed The Mona Lisa in France.
23. Walked along the pebble beaches of Loret De Mar, Spain.
24. Cried for the bull at the bullfights in Barcelona, Spain.
25. Read a "drug menu" in Amsterdam, Holland where drugs are actually on drink menus and are legal! (Did NOT purchase any drugs, of course).
26. Walked the streets of the "red light district" in Amsterdam where prostitution is legal.
27. Crossed over the Czech border not long after communism was ousted.
28. Stood beside and touched the Berlin Wall (a couple of years after it had fallen).
29. Got into a fist fight with a French girl while on a boat in Spain (I have not had respect for the French since said fight and also my visit to France. The French do not like Americans AT ALL).
30. Played in the snow in the Austrian mountains (in April no less).
31. Swam naked in the schwimbads of Germany (everybody has to get bootie naked after 6:00 p.m. or leave).
32. Watched fireworks while sitting on a river boat in front of the famous Heidelberg Castle.
33. Drove over 100 m.p.h. on Germany's world famous Autobahn (and it’s legal!!).
34. Visited the Badlands of South Dakota (was young and wanted to dig for dinosaur fossils while I was there).
35. Walked in the snow (in July) on the Grand Teton Mountains.
36. Crashed a mini boat while in Cancun, Mexico (Actually, my hubby was driving. Luckily they didn’t charge us for the damage!).
37. Sailed down the Martha Brae on a wooden raft in Jamaica.
38. Stood at the base of Trummelbach Falls in Switzerland.
39. Visited one of the world's smallest countries, Liechtenstein (its only 62 square miles and lies between Austria and Switzerland).
40. Walked the streets of Bangkok, Thailand.
41. Crawled through the tunnels the North Koreans had dug underground while trying to dig their way to Seoul. (The tunnels extend from the North Korean border to 50 meters inside South Korea).
42. Stood beside Freedom Bridge (also known as "The Bridge of No Return" in between North & South Korea. It is also the site of the famous ax murders of Captain Bonifas and Lieutenant Barrett as they tried to cut down a “supposed” favorite tree of the North Korean President).
43. Stood at the top of the tallest building in South Korea. Building Number 63.
44. Gave birth to two of the most beautiful children in the world!
So how bout you? Are you up for the challenge to make your own list!?!?! Let me know!Things I Have Done in My Lifetime.... Monica;
Two Weeks & Counting!!! - Friday, October 21, 2005
First off, just wanted to let you know the videos are down because jusspress is switching over to new servers. So forgive the way the posts with the videos look. They should be back up by Monday. So no new videos for today! I know, you can't stand it right? Not!
Anyway, two weeks and counting people!!! Yes, two weeks until the big ole vacation! I know you are just plain ole sick of hearing me talk about this damn vacation. But I am so excited I can't even think straight. The thought of relaxing on a gorgeous beach in the Caribbean, lounging on the deck of the Carnival Liberty. Oh heaven.
Today I spent over 45 minutes just preparing paperwork for the babysitter and my parents. After working as a Legal Assistant for so long, I am so anal about crap. I prepared two medical powers of attorneys. One for my mom and one for the babysitter. This way if anything happens to the kids while we are out of the country, things will be all set. I then made copies (front and back of course) of our medical insurance cards. Then I made a list of important phone numbers, i.e., school, doctors, etc. After that I wrote out a list of things to remember, i.e., when school releases early, when homework is due, procedure for signing Skyler in and out of school, etc. And finally I prepared a list of all the places and phone numbers where will be staying during our vacation. Btw, did you know it costs $9.50 per minute to call a ship! Dang people!
Then I put everything neatly into little folders and appropriately labeled them. I may be disorganized in some things, but in others, well you just can't be disorganized when it comes to your kids! So, can you say "anal bit--?" Yup, that's me.
Jonathan has no clue all the ground work it takes just to plan a frigging vacation. He basically just sits back and let's me make all the decisions and do all the work. The day before we leave, he drags out the suitcases from the storage barn and brings them in and then packs his own stuff. That's basically his entire preparation for the trip.
He is clueless to all the work I have done just getting ready for this vacation. Airline tickets, rental cars in St. Thomas and Florida, hotel reservations, cruise tickets, withdrawing money, traveler's checks... Well you get the point. Not to mention all the stuff that needs to be done for the kids. It must be nice to have a spouse who does everything and you just get to show up on the day and go.
The only downside to him not helping in any preparations is I have complete control of his days. He is a prisoner held hostage to my plans once we leave on vacation.
Things have gone pretty good this week. Skyler has had her moments. But no major blow-ups. It's just the mouth. The mouth people. Where does this kid get her mouth from? She lost tv privileges 3 times this week. That's usually the first thing we take away from her when she gives us lip and attitude. You just can't tell the child "No." You tell her "No" and she freaks out.
Last night it started when Jonathan got home from work. She was yelling and screaming and carrying on (playing with Chase) and he was trying to talk to work on the phone. I couldn't get her to calm down while he was on the phone, so Jonathan stepped outside to use the phone. So then she goes outside and starts playing on the swingset while he is sitting on the back deck. After he got off the phone she asked him to swing her on the swing and he told her it was getting a bit late and she needed to get on in the house and get ready for bed. Well she just lost her stuff. She commenced to screaming and yelling and carrying on. So he hauled her butt back in the house and we aent her to her room. When you send her to her room she stands at the door and screams, "Please let me out!! Please, please, please let me out!" Now we don't even have the door closed. We just tell her she can't come out of her room until she calms down. It usually takes her a good 20 minutes or so to stop screaming. This is like an every other night occurrence. I just don't know what to do with this child sometimes. She really tries both our patience.
Another thing is she can't stand for you to give Chase any attention whatsoever. If I pick him up and start playing with him, she jumps up on my lap to. If I'm trying to take a photo of him, she HAS to get in front of him. It is really frustrating because she requires 10 times more attention than he does. And the bad thing is I spend a lot more time with her. I really think I am not spending enough time with Chase. If she is in the room, she has to be the center of attention.
Another thing that really bothers me about her is she is always interrupting when Jonathan and I are trying to talk. We always include her in our conversations, especially at the dinner table. But sometimes we are trying to discuss things between ourselves. She just keeps butting in and if you ask her to please wait until you finish and then she can talk, well again she just loses it. We are just at our witts end with her. If Chase turns out as difficult as Skyler is. I think we may both lose our minds!
Anyway, moving on to other things. I must confess something. I bought myself a
We're hoping the weather will hold out and we can attend the Lexington Barbecue Festival on Saturday. If you've never heard of good ole North Carolina Lexington Barbecue, then you don't even know what your missing. I don't even like barbecue, but I do like the Lexington Barbecue. And for some reason doesn't it taste better when your starving at a festival and you sit down on the grass and eat your sandwich. Yum. The bad news is there is a 60% chance of rain for tomorrow. We won't go if it's raining. Definately don't want anyone getting sick when vacation is so near.
Well I guess I better end for now. Hope everyone has a great weekend!Two Weeks & Counting!!! Monica;
Where Has the Weekend Gone? - Monday, October 17, 2005
Ugh, it's Monday. Don't you hate how fast the weekend goes by. It seems I have all these plans of things to accomplish over the weekend and before I know it "poof" it's Monday again. I didn't get much accomplished this weekend. But at least we pretty much had a "temper tantrum free" weekend. It's kind of scary because I am starting to see the same things in Chase that Skyler has.... The temper, the "If I can't have my way I'm going to throw myself on the ground and scream." Yikes. My life isn't going to get any better any time soon. Oh well, we will forge on and pray for when they are older. I guess I'll have worse things to think about then. Like sex, drugs, getting into college, etc. Ugh! Why did we ever have kids! Nah, I'm just kidding. I love my kids more than anything, but damn can't they be challenging little hellions sometimes?So Skyler and I went to a birthday party this weekend. It went pretty well. Skyler played with several of her schoolmates. They had one of those big bouncy castles. The first thing Skyler did was climb up into the bouncy castle and she was politely "body slammed" by the birthday boy. I think it took her by surprise because she isn't used to being rough housed too much. But she was the only girl in the bouncy castle and all the little boys decided to throw one down on her. Girlfriend was stunned at first, but then she bounced up and commenced to body slamming him right back. Well as best as she could. The birthday boy just turned 5 and he pretty much is twice the size of Skyler. But she held her own.
I felt I was right at home. It was kind of a "redneck heaven" at the birthday party. This family owns about 20 acres and they have like four 4-wheelers, 5 motorcycles, etc. that they right all around the property. I guess with 3 boys, you want to give them something to occupy their time and get them out of the house. I would freak out turning my kids loose on those 4-wheelers, but hey, to each is their own. The five year old can also ride this little bitty dirt bike. Skyler can barely ride her bike with the training wheels. I guess having two older brothers helped and motivated him a lot to learn how to ride. But it was pretty funny seeing a little five year old zooming around on a dirt bike.
After the party I dropped Skyler back off at home and headed to Wal-Mart to do the grocery shopping. Don't you just hate how you go into Wal-Mart thinking your going to spend like $50 and you end up coming out of there spending more like $150! Dang! I'm counting the days until they open the doors of this new Wal-Mart right by our house. No more driving 12 miles. No sirreee, I'm going to have a Wal-Mart less than 2 miles from the ole house. Sam Walton would be proud to hear me say that wouldn't he?
As I was checking out at Wal-Mart, I realized that Jonathan had taken my debit card and he also had the checkbook. As I was sitting there mentally cussing his ass out and thinking to myself, what am I going to do? Then I realized I had the ole Target Visa. So I pulled it out and was going to pay for purchases with the Visa. The girl gave me this really snotty look and said,
"Your kidding right?
I'm like, "Excuse me"
She said, "Your not REALLY going to pay for your purchase at Wal-Mart with a TARGET card are you?"
I'm like, "Um, well it is a Target Visa, and basically yes. Because I don't have anything else to pay with seeing as how my husband confiscated my debit card this morning."
I was sitting there thinking, "B---- step back and let me pay for my frigging food why don't ya!" Geeze! It wasn't like she was saying it in a cute or funny way. She was being a real smart ass about it.
And while I'm on the subject of Wal-Mart, I don't know if it's just here in my area or what, but the cashiers don't put your merchandise in the buggy. They just keep on turning the little thing with the bags on it and even if you try and be smart and not start loading the buggy yourself. When it gets full, they will start putting your bags in the floor. Um hello, what happened to the good ole days of customer service where they could at least walk their lazy butts 2 feet and put your bags into the buggy! I guess it's just as well because they end up squashing half your stuff anyway. I have noticed that back home in TN the cashiers are friendlier and nicer and do put your stuff in the buggy. Must just be where we live or something I guess. People just aren't as outgoing and friendly as they are in TN.
Ok, enough bitching about Wal-Mart. I just had to get that off my chest. So yesterday Skyler and I headed to JCPenneys. My husband and I are so lazy (or forgetful either one) that we only get our mail like 2 or 3 times a week. So I had gotten the mail a day or so earlier and there was this coupon for Penney's for 30% off. They were having a sale on Sunday from 4:00 to 9:00 p.m. So I'm thinking, "Cool, I can finally break down and buy that microsuede comforter set I have been wanting." And Chase also needed some winter pajamas and I haven't been able to find very much at the consignment shop.
So we head to Penney's and they are having a really good sale and I'm thinking by using my 30% off coupon, I'll save a ton. So I get like 3 pair of pants, two shirts for myself, 2 pairs of pajamas for Chase and my much coveted microsuede comforter set and I take it up to the cashier. She rings it up and it's well over $200 and I'm like, yikes! But I have my 30% off coupon here, so not so bad. So I hand her the coupon and she looks at me and then she looks at my coupon and she says, "Um I'm sorry, but this coupon was for last weekend." I'm like, "What? No surely your mistaken, I just got it in the mail this week." She said, "No, it's for last week." So dangit! I didn't get to use my coupon.
Well there was no way in hell I was going to be able to buy all that crap without the coupon, so I had to put pretty much everything back. Except for Chase's pajamas and my microsuede down comforter. It was actually on sale. So I finally got it! Woohooo! I put it on the bed last night and it was heaven. I highly recommend it if your looking for a new comforter. So that was my stupid moment for the weekend. I guess it should teach my butt to check my mail more often, huh?
So if your ever wondering why sometimes you might see more photos of Skyler here than Chase.... I think I finally figured it out last night. Girlfriend is a picture hog! I was trying my best to get a picture of Chase yesterday and for the life of me, she kept on jumping into the photo. I either got her totally in front of Chase. Or somewhere in the photo was one of her body parts. Geeze. Poor Little Man can't have a decent photo taken for nothing. I guess that's just part of growing up with a brother/sister. But I keep warning her.... You just wait until he starts walking and talking girlfriend, your goose is cooked! She torments him a lot right now. She'll sit on him and pin him down where he can't move. Those days are coming to an end real soon. I have a feeling as soon as he is mobile, she is going to get a run for her money.
Well I need to get some work done. Hope everyone had a great weekend. Can't wait to get caught up on all your blogs!
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Let's Get Organized, Organized... - Friday, October 14, 2005
Did I ever mention that here lately my mind has gone to pot! I have so much going through my mind with work, the kids, appointments, bills, shopping, etc. Jonathan is great at helping me with the kids, but that is basically where it ends with him. I'm responsible for everyone's appointments (including his); paying all the bills; doing all of the grocery shopping; clothes shopping (including buying his clothes and shoes); vacation planning; house cleaning; laundry washing.... Well you get the point. So anyway, I think at some point moms just hit their "breaking point." Well I think I have hit mine! I seriously think I need some kind of medication or something.So anyway, I was freaking out about remembering everything a mom has to remember, i.e., which bill to pay when, doctor visits, school closings, teacher conferences, when homework is due, etc. So yesterday I decided to get off my ass and go out and get some calendars. Now I have a PDA, I have an Outlook calendar at work and at home, but none of that helps Jonathan help me remember things. So my first purchase was this Family Organizer I bought at Border's. I figured this was something I could carry around with me at all times to keep up with the appointments, meetings, school conferences, half days of school, etc. Well you get the idea. And then I purchased the Mom's Plan It! (Not the Christian version). So it has taken me HOURS to fill out these calendars by combining things I have on my work calendar, my PDA, Skyler's school calendar, Jonathan's calendar etc. I plan on putting the Mom's Plant It! on the refrigerator at home so Jonathan can also look at it daily and help me remember things and also maybe assist in doing things. So wish me luck! Maybe we can get a bit more organized and I can actually start sleeping better at night.
When I lay down to sleep at night I just have so much crap running through my mind that I can't fall asleep. What needs to be done tomorrow, what do I need from the grocery store, does someone have an appointment tomororw, does Skyler need to be picked up early. I just lay there and my mind races and I can't go to sleep. The doctor prescribed me Ambien and it has helped, but I don't want to use it long term or anything. I've told the doctor I'm definately not "depressed" or anything, I think maybe I'm just too anxious. I fret over too much crap that isn't necessary. It pisses Jonathan off to no end. But someone has to take charge! He can literally lay his head on the pillow and is snoring in less than 2 minutes. Must be nice! I think Skyler is going to have my "I can't seem to fall asleep" problems. That really sucks.
I guess you other moms must just be better at handling things than I am. And I know there are other moms out there who have husbands who don't help with the kids very much. I'm really glad that Jonathan is so helpful with the kids, but I wish he would help me in other areas to. He basically comes home around 6:30 or 7:00 after the kids have had dinner and had their baths. So he plays with them a bit and then it's off to bed. I will say he is responsible for getting Skyler to sleep at night. He started all of these "rituals" with her that they have to do every night. It's funny though because if he is out of town, Sklyer knows that "Mommy don't play that game." I don't go through all those rituals the two of them have. It's a bedtime story, a couple of kisses and hugs and then I'm outta there.
Skyler is invited to her first "friend" birthday party tomorrow. Yesterday we went to ToysRUs to buy the kid a gift. He is a 5 year old boy.... I hate to say it, but I suck at buying boys gifts. There are so many cute and fun things for girls, but for boys... Well I just can't relate. I know I better get my ass in gear because um hello, I have a son now, but I still just really suck in the boy department.
So when I called up the little boy's mom to RSVP, I asked her if she wouldn't mind giving me a call back and letting me know if he needed anything in particular or what his likes were. So she gives me a call back and says he doesn't need anything in particular and hasn't really asked for anything. (Surprising to me because Skyler asks for something daily). So I mentioned to her that I'm not the best at buying a boy a birthday present. She kind of laughed and said that she wasn't either and she has 3 boys! She said she loves when they get invited to a girl's birthday party because she can go out and have some fun buying something cute. So at least I'm not the only one out there that has problems buying boy gifts!
Three weeks and counting to our vacation. I think Caroline mentioned in the comments that we were leaving really soon. But we actually don't leave until November 6th. We will return on November 20th. We fly down to St. Thomas on the 6th, then back to Ft. Lauderdale on the 10th. Spend two days in Ft. Laudedale and then on the 12th we are off on our 8 day cruise.
Stalkers, don't get any bright ideas about coming to rob our house or anything because my brother is staying here the first week and then my parents will be here the second. Not to mention that I have 3 police officers on my street and the neighbor right next to me is the retired Sheriff and we have a security system. So robbers beware! Hell, if a robber came into our house and seen the mess, he would probably turn and high tail it right back out the door! Can you say "toy disaster area?"
The next thing I really need to work on is organizing our house. But I barely have enough time to get stuff down now, so the organization of the house will have to wait. Hey, I can add that to my "To Do List" in my new Family Organizer. snarf
Ok, so I have ran out of things to talk about for today. I need to get caught up on all your journals. Hope everyone has a great weekend. I'll try and report soon on the birthday party. Hope Skyler acts decent at the party. Wish me luck!
I'm a Survivor.... - Monday, October 10, 2005
I'm glad to say I survived a weekend alone with Skyler. I know that's horrible of me to say. Y ou think I can't handle my own kid, right? But heck fire, girlfriend was a mess on Friday. You already know about the temper tantrum she threw. I'm happy to say we made it through the rest of the weekend without another "major" blowup. Don't get me wrong, she had her moments, but no more knock down drag out moments, thank God. But the mouth... I have never seen a toddler with such a mouth on her. My mom and her babysitter both say the same thing. Where does she get the attitude from? Heck if I know. I guess she is cursed with my attitude and Jonathan's temper. Poor child.
Because we had such a bad night Friday, we ended up staying in the whole weekend. Of course the rainy days didn't make matters much better. It pretty much rained the entire weekend. Who wants to get out when it's gray and raining? I was definitely ready for Jonathan and Little Man to get home last night.
Tonight Skyler and I are going to a book fair at her school. She was kind enough to remind me this evening when we got home. Wouldn't know what to do without my 4 year old reminding me of our appointments.
Well I didn't get around to finishing this post yesterday, so I guess I will finish it today. I only worked like 2 1/2 hours today because both kids had a doctor's appointment with their pediatrician. I FINALLY got Chase in to see Dr. B after more than two months of calling almost daily. Good gosh what is wrong with these people. The poor child is 14 months old and is just now getting his 12 month shots. And then our appointment is at 10:00 a.m. and we don't walk out of there until 12:15. Two hours and 15 minutes is too long to be in a doctor's office for a check up and two flu shots. I mean it's not like we walked in without an appointment or anything. You try and schedule the early morning appointments, but they are always filled up. Doctor's offices don't mind to cancel your appointment if your 10 minutes late, but they run an hour and a half behind all the time and don't mind keeping YOU waiting. Doctors just overbook too much nowadays.
Skyler and I enjoyed ourselves at the book fair last night. We ended up getting this really cool craft kit called "Melty Beads." How cool is that! Skyler made the fire engine last night and I ironed it to melt the beads. We definitely have to keep this stuff away from Chase, but it was a lot of fun for Skyler and I.
Ok, that was my little bitch session about the pediatrician. So I had to pick Chase up from the babysitters today at 1:15 anyway, so by the time we got out of the doctor's office at noon, there was no sense in taking him back to the babysitters. So here I sit with an afternoon home with the kids. Skyler has already had a little "episode" this afternoon. It seems to be getting worse. I keep proscratinating about going to a doctor, i.e, psychiatrist, etc. I mean you hate to start taking your kid at the age of 4, but it's looking more and more like it is going to be a have to situation real soon. Heck, it may not even be Skyler that needs the psychiatrist, it's probably us who needs some parenting classes just to learn how to handle her better. But when your co-payment for a specialist is $50.00, that can add up really quickly. But if it would work, I would gladly sacrifice other things to be able to afford it.
Well Skyler is absolutely starving, so I better get off here and fix her some dinner. Hope all is well with everyone else. Until next time....
This video was taken at the fair a couple of weeks ago. Sklyer begged to do this and after much moaning and groaning, I finally let her. Too bad I was holding the camera sideways to get a better shot without realizing I couldn't turn the video. Oh well. Did I mention that Skyler was fearless?
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It's Never Going to End.... - Saturday, October 08, 2005
Well it happened again last night. Skyler threw an unbelievable tantrum. I'm so tired of all of this. Either I need medication or she needs medication, because one of us isn't going to make it. I just don't know what to do with her anymore. Sometimes I think some people in life aren't meant to be parents and I really think Jonathan and I fall into that category. I know it's horrible to say, but neither one of us are handling her very well. It's been about a year now. The littlest things just set her off.
Last night it started after we got home from the movies. She was actually pretty good at the movies. We also went to Best Buy, she stayed in the buggy, no fits or anything, so I was feeling pretty lucky. So then we get home and we play for awhile. I pick up the house a bit. Read a few journals online while she plays with her Leapster. Then it's time to go upstairs and go to bed. I change her into her gown and we head upstairs. I had bought her a new book at the consignment shop yesterday after I had taken some of the kids' clothes to be consigned. So I told her we would read the book after she brushed her teeth.
She said she wanted to read the book first and didn't want to brush her teeth. I said, "Sorry honey, we have to brush our teeth. We want to keep clean fresh teeth and not get any cavities." And then it turned into a power struggle. Skyler said, "I'm NOT GOING to brush my teeth, I said!!" And then it was all out war. She started screaming and yelling and I'm just sitting there looking at her dumbfounded. If you tell the child No or any variation thereof that she can't do something she wants at that exact second, she just completely loses her shit. I mean she totally freaked out. It turned into an hour and a half scream fest. As it was still going on the babysitter called. I was just in tears. I finally shut my bedroom door and just locked it. I knew if I didn't walk away, I was going to regret it. So she beat on my door for about 15 minutes while I calmed down. I'm just at my whit's end. We all need psychiatric help in this house.
It's really bad because my dad and stepmom won't keep her. My mom and my stepdad used to keep her for us occasionally while we went on vacation and what not. But now they really don't even want her to come home unless we come with her. I'm really afraid how she is going to act while we are on vacation. Not to mention two weeks is a long time for us to be gone. I think my mom will go bonkers while we are gone. I have this feeling that this may be the last time we go on vacation and get to leave the kids with my parents. I've already told my mom if Skyler starts acting completely out of control to take her to the babysitter's house. The babysitter has been keeping kids for 35 years and she is one of the only people who can set Skyler's ass straight. How sad is it when your child's grandparents don't even want to be around her sometimes? They love her dearly, but they just can't cope with her. Jonathan and I aren't doing too good of a job of it ourselves.
It's like she is Sybil with two or more personalities. She can be a perfect angel one minute (like she has been in school here for the last few weeks, thank G0d) and then the next minute she just flips her lid. She gets so angry sometimes and starts throwing things and breaking things.
I'm just at the end of my rope. I really don't know what to do. I've called the pediatrician's office dozens of times and sometimes literally in tears. And just like I said the other day, I get the "She'll grow out of it eventually speech." Please people! That is now what I need to hear.
I tried sending her to her room, sitting her in time out, talking calmly to her, talking loudly to her, holding her, ignoring her. I tried it all last night. Her fit lasted for over an hour. I tried and tried and tried to call Jonathan, but he must have been somewhere where his phone didn't work or he couldn't hear it ringing. I'm not sure.
I guess as they say the good times usually outweigh the bad times, but it just seems the bad times are getting more and more frequent here lately. I talk with my friends about it and they all just look at me like my child has two heads or something. I guess none of their kids have fits like this. But at least it's comforting to talk with some of you and hear your kind words. It's nice to know I'm not the ONLY mom out there with a difficult child. And I know my child isn't by no means the worst. But maybe some parents can handle things better than Jonathan and I can. The kids have been a huge strain on our marriage for the last couple of years. I couldn't tell you the times I thought Jonathan was just going to pack up his bags and hit the road. And here lately, I hate to say it, but I've kind of felt the same way.
Jonathan's mom left him and his brother when he was 2 and was never heard from again. Then the cycle continued when Jonathan's brother died and his girlfriend left their 3 kids behind after he had been gone for two years. They are now being adopted by some family members. I thank God that they are being well taken care of and I know now that we would have never made it if we had taken the boys. Our marriage is having a hard time surviving our own kids. If we had added 3 more boys to the mix, we both would probably be in our graves right now. But you don't know how guilty I feel at times thinking about them and how we didn't take them. But I know they are in really good hands and being well taken care of. As a matter of a fact, we are going to go see them while we are in Florida next month. They probably won't even remember who we are. I know the baby won't. But maybe the oldest one will.
Anyway, thanks for lending me your ear. You guys have really helped me deal with this a little better. Thanks for your words of comfort and advise. It's always nice to talk to other moms. I better get off here now and get some housework done and hope and pray that Skyler has a good day. I don't know if I can handle it again today.I should have known we were in for trouble when Skyler was young. Hence the little scream fest we had here when she was about 10 months old. The temper was already flaring at this tender age...
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Video Test - Friday, October 07, 2005
I'm still in the process of finding a good video host site. Please let me know if you can view this short video. Thanks!! Don't forget to read today's post below the video!
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Where Has All The Time Gone? - Thursday, October 06, 2005
I know, I know, here I go again with the sparse updates. As fellow blogger Mallard sometimes says.... "At least your not chained to your blog..." Or something along the lines of that... No, I'm not chained to my blog, I'm chained to my kids! But at least I will be getting a break from that here soon with the upcoming vacation. I know, I'm a horrible mom looking forward to being away from my precious "angels." Ha! Well just call me a horrible mom then, because I'm really looking forward to the break!
Skyler is still driving us absolutely bonkers. At least the school thing is still going well though. But the temper. Good, God! If this child makes it to the age of 18, well she will just be lucky. I thought Jonathan was going to strangle her last night. If you tell the child "No," she jut totally freaks out. Jonathan wanted to watch a television program last night and Skyler wanted to watch Tom & Jerry. Jonathan politely told Skyler that his favorite program was coming on and if she wanted to watch tv, she could go to her room and watch it there. Skyler starts in with her, "Please, please, please..." And she just keeps on and on and on and on. No matter how nicely you say it and even if you don't use the word "No," she can't take the hint. It ended up the two of them getting into an argument, him sending her to her room and a crying and kicking and screaming fit commenced. It's a good thing that Little Man is such a good sleeper, because he always sleeps through the drama that is a 4 year old girl. Lucky ducky.
It took me a good 15 minutes of talking smoothly to her to get her calmed back down. I know Jonathan has been stressed with work here lately and Skyler has been a pain. Please tell me that at some point in her life she will outgrow this?!? Please, please tell me it isn't going to last forever!
***
Things have been super crazy at work here to. I wonder if things will ever calm down. There used to be lulls in the work, but for the last year or so, it just seems things never really calm down. I guess that is to be expected when you basically work for 3 different departments.
Yesterday we had this political program. If I can tell you one thing, it is I am NOT interested in politics. My boss would strangle me if he heard me say that, but politics is just something that doesn't float my boat. So I had to sit in this program all day long running PowerPoint programs. I will have to say that some of it did slightly interest me. And my boss was kind enough to even say a thank you and the audience gave me a round of applause for my AV techniques, so it was kind of nice. Not to mention I had a fabulous lunch at a gorgeous hotel.
***
Jonathan and Chase are leaving Friday to go to the Tennessee/South Carolina game in Knoxville. Actually Jonathan will be dropping Little Man off with my parents at their campground. They have been camping for the last week or so and getting ready to take the camper down for the winter. So at least I will only have to deal with Skyler for the weekend. Not that I can't handle both of them or anything, but if he is going to be near my parents, why not send one of them off to Mamaw & Papaws. Skyler and I are planning on going to see W&G. We are still waiting on Chicken Little. Skyler can't wait until that comes out.
***
You know I'm sitting here thinking, and for the life of me, I can't remember what we did last weekend. It seems like the day I hit 30, my brain went to pot. I started having short-term memory losses, things started getting confusing and my prioritizing ability just plain ole disappeared. Geeze, what is going to happen when I hit 40 in a few years? Will my brain be totally fried?Oh yeah, now I remember what I did! Saturday I went to a women's show at the coliseum with my friend Sam. It wasn't half as good as last year. Neither one of us bought a single thing. Afterwards we had dinner at one of those Japanese steakhouses. And then we went to see Just Like Heaven with Reece Witherspoon. I will have to say I enjoyed it. It is definitely a good "chick flick" to go see with your girlfriends. As Sam said as we were leaving the movie, "But I wouldn't want to take a guy on a first date to see that movie." Well I enjoyed it. So if you like "chick flicks" rent the DVD when it comes out.
That's pretty bad when it took me a few minutes to remember that I had a REAL girl's night out with my friend this weekend. Skyler and I have girl's nights out at least twice a month, but I very seldom go out with my own friends.
***
I haven't had a chance to get caught up on my blog reading. Hopefully I can do some of that this weekend. I just dread trying to put Skyler to bed. So far we haven't mentioned to her that Little Man and Daddy are going to be gone this weekend. I know she is going to freak out when she finds out. I'll deal with that tonight I guess.
This morning I was going to take her to school and let Jonathan take Little Man, but she commenced to throwing one hellacious fit because she wanted Bubbie to go to school with her and watch her wash her hands and pick out her lunch. Jonathan takes both kids in the mornings and I pick them up in the evenings. He takes Skyler to school first and just takes Little Man into the classroom with him. If he took Little Man first then he would have to come back through some massive school traffic.
So fit number one came this morning when it was time to put on her clothes. She whined and screamed and made scenes. And when she is screaming, she makes no sense whatsoever. It finally boiled down to Jonathan had put her shirt on first instead of her hairbow. Good God! What the hell does it matter! Four year old girls and their "rituals." What is the deal? My pediatrician says it's perfectly normal and both of his daughters were like that. I've actually called the pediatrician's office in tears before. But they just kind of laugh at me and say "She'll grow out of it eventually." That's not what the hell I want to hear! What about now! It's a good thing I'm not a child beater or anything because the pediatrician's office sure as heck isn't very much help!
Not to mention it has taken me 10 weeks to get Little Man a well baby visit for his one year old appointment. Um, hello, he turned 1 back in August and I have called 3 to 4 times a week to try and get his appointment since the end of July. We finally got an appointment for October 10th. So I'm sitting in lunch on Wednesday at the hotel during the political program and my cell phone rings. It's the pediatrician's office. The lady is like, "Ms. ___, we need to reschedule Chase's appt. Dr. B. will not be in on Monday." I'm like, "Your kidding!" These people know me by name because I have harassed them almost daily for 10 weeks! She is like "I'll have to call you back tomorrow with the new appointment." I'm like, "Oh hell no, you need to give me a new appointment RIGHT now." This is how we got into this the first time around. When I took him in for his 9 month appointment they are supposed to give you their next appointment right then. But they had already cut off their computers, so they said they needed to call me the next day with the appointment. Well they never did and then look what happened.
So she put me on hold FOREVER and then finally came back and rescheduled it for the 11th. Which is good because I have a committee meeting on the 10th and couldn't have gone with him. Jonathan was going ot take him. So now at least I get to go. And let me tell you, I am going to give this pediatrician a piece of my mind!
I know, you ask "Why don't you just switch pediatricians?" It's because Skyler LOVES her pediatrician. She ASKS to go see him! How often does that happen? But the man is so popular, it takes an act of congress to get an appointment.
***
So anyway, enough rambling for today. Hopefully I can update again this weekend. Hope everyone has a great weekend!
I took one of those silly online tests. Hmm, guess I'm not a nerd after all! I borrowed this from The State of Indiana:
name: Monica
Home: Somewhere in NC
About: The life and times of a working mom with two kids who needs a break!
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