FUNNY PICTURE CAPTION - TRIBUTE TO SIBLINGS!

I Just had to do a Funny Picture Caption blog tribute to siblings because I think they are very important people in your life! Just look at these five and tell me that someday their relationship will mean nothing. I don't think you can.  I know I sure can't. Some might try, but they will fail. <3 If you have a sibling in your life, why  not give them a call today just to say hi and I love you. :D

AUTUMN - A SEASON OF BEAUTY

Fall is definitely here.  You know, that time of year where the temperature bounces up and down and up and down and the sun shines bright, the wind howls, the snow/sleet flies occasionally  (at least here in WY).  We have been having those crisp cool evenings and mornings for a while now. My kids have been wearing sweaters/light jackets to school off and on for a few weeks.

But heloooooo we are about to get a taste of what this fall thing is all about. Yesterday was near 80 and then the storms moved in and by ten p.m. we were in the forties. Today we aren't supposed to get over 55 with rain moving in and then we will have freezing rain overnight. Then tomorrow we aren't supposed to get above 43 with a frozen mix.  And then over the next few days we are supposed to climb back into the seventies. Yep, fall is here!!!

We will have the heater on one day and the a/c the next and EVERYONE will be getting sick.  Yep, weather changes bring on the sickies whether it be colds or allergies. I am so looking forward to that...NOT!!! But just like every year, we will manage.

Now here is the kicker...FALL IS MY FAVORITE SEASON! I bet you thought I hate fall didn't ya? All of the weather changes, the sickies etc. is enough to drive a mom insane right! But no, I love it.  I hate the heat so when I get that nice gentle (at first) cool down. And those nice cool breezes on still warm days I am happy as a clam<<< Where did that saying come from anyway?  And now that I don't live in the deserts of Southern Nevada (HOME) I get to experience the wonder and beauty of leaves changing colors. It's starting already, just a bit here and there. But after this cold snap, those colors are going to be popping out everywhere and Casper is going to be a beauty lover's paradise. And then pretty soon the leaves will drop and the permanent cold will settle in and then the first real snow will fall and my beautiful Autumn will be over. But then there is spring to look forward to...those first gentle (at first) warm afternoons. And those nice warm breezes...Ah!

Until Next Time...What is your favorite season? And why?
Leave a comment or drop me a note!

THINGS THAT GO MISSING IN THE NIGHT...OR DAYTIME...OR ANYTIME

I know at one point I had a blog about dryers eating stuff or some such and this is NOT another one of those.  This is about things that go missing that are so important (at least in our own minds) that when you realize they are gone you are in the middle of that whole slowmotion Nooooooooooooooo scene.  I've had two of those recently.  You see first, my Kindle Fire decided it was going to overheat and the screen was going to shatter.  And well, you see, that simple device is what makes me tick these days. I do reviews for books over on my author blog and yeah, I can't get any work done if I can't read the books to review them.  So my daughter offers me the use of her 'normal' kindle and guess what???? IT WENT MISSING. Well crap that's not good and once again I find myself living in slowmotion world. Fast forward a few days>>>>>>>> I finished chapters 1-5 of my next novel and am ready to start typing up chapter 6, which is handwritten (that's how I roll if you didn't know) in a green spiral bound notebook that is sitting next to my couch in a storage tub. So I lean over to reach for the notebook and noooooooooooooooo IT'S GONE. I freak out, we all scatter and start roaming through the house in search of a chapter that was so hard to write. I don't want to write it again, I can't write it again - it's just one of those difficult pains in the ass kind of chapters. Well, after much discussion (and constant searching) come to find out Miss Crazy took it but can't remember where she put it.  She swears she put it on the counter but obviously it's not on the counter so where do we go from there. An hour plus spent looking and it is nowhere to be found. We even went over to the neighbor's house to make sure my kids didn't give it to their kids (haha that would be quite a discovery for an 8 year old, finding a scene from
a romance novel :p). No luck.  So we give up for the night and Miss Crazy is prepared to take her punishment (which I hadn't decided on yet).
I am devastated.  I just do NOT want to have to redo that chapter again.  I just want to curl up and cry. But I don't, I go about getting ready for bed. When I pull some clean clothes out of the clothes basket guess what falls out. A green spiral bound notebook.  Did I not ask my kids to check under the clean clothes??? I did, but they insist I only asked them to look under the ones that were waiting to be folded.  But if they would have been listening they would have heard me say and in the baskets. Sigh...I think the obsession with video games we've been experiencing in this house has gone a bit too far and it is keeping us from focusing on the real issues in life...but that is a story for another time.
Until Next Time...When you lose something, the best thing to do is keep a cool head.  It's gotta be there somewhere right...except for the times we've found it in the trashcan outside the night before trash pickup. But don't focus on that.  Just know that it will turn up...sooner or later. <3

I'M A BAD PARENT BECAUSE -- SHE DIDN'T BRUSH HER HAIR!!!

So, Miss Crazy wakes up in the morning and puts her hair up in a ponytail and when I go over the checklist (potty, hair, teeth, etc.) she says she has brushed her hair and although I know she lied, I'm not going to fight her over it (and oh boy would it ever be a huge fight!).  You see, my philosophy on it is that kids need to learn things for themselves.  If I am constantly hovering and making them do stuff then what do they learn from that? Sometimes life lessons are hard and I think that we have to learn them that way  to REALLY LEARN. You know, the one where the child refuses to take a bath...until their friends (and strangers) get on their case for smelling bad.  Do I fight it and put up with screaming, crying, physically hurting myself trying to get them into the tub or do I let them not take a bath for a few days and let them learn the consequences of not bathing?  In our house we are mean parents and we let them learn for themselves because truthfully, kids don't like to listen to their parents.  Sometimes moms and dads need to learn to CHOOSE THEIR BATTLES! Everything doesn't have to be a battle in life and you will be much happier if you know when to fight and when not to.

So, back to Miss Crazy, I figure she will either get teased/asked about it by teachers or the school nurse or the knots will get so bad that it will take us an hour and a lot of tears to get them out.  Well from what I understand, a teacher may have noticed and was going to talk to the school nurse, so guess who let me brush her hair this morning??? Yep!  Lesson learned?  Probably not yet, but we will get there. (if worst comes to worst I will threaten to cut it and that would throw things in my favor)

Ever present ponytail!

In the meantime I hope I don't get calls from the school/visits from DFS for not properly taking care of my child.  I mean it is easy enough to explain.  I'm old school.  I am not a helicopter parent and I will never be one.

FYI if you didn't know a helicopter parent is: A parent who is overly involved in the life of his or her child. Helicopter parent is a colloquial, early 21st-century term for a parent who pays extremely close attention to his or her child's or children's experiences and problems, particularly at educational institutions.

Until Next Time...No matter what your parenting style is, just remember that some things are just not worth fighting over.  If your kid doesn't want to do something and it isn't detrimental to their health...let them learn the consequences. They will be stronger and more independent in the long run.  Remember the key words there are DETRIMENTAL TO THEIR HEALTH.

COMMON COURTESY

ANOTHER LIFE LESSON POST BECAUSE YOU ARE NEVER TOO OLD TO LEARN THEM!

By the title you are probably thinking 'uh oh, she's going to get on her soapbox again'. But dang it, I'm really tired of people not having common courtesy anymore.  I think this world would be a better place if people would just be considerate of each other.

This is a life lesson that I make sure to teach my children. And it had worked until about a year ago when one of them was convinced that they were the only one in our family worth the air we breathe. After that, common courtesy has all but disappeared in this house. :( And it is spilling over into his/her outside life too. The others still have it at school and in public which warms my heart. (I know the whole sibling rivalry thing erases a lot of it at home normally, but this is EXTREME) It kind of burns my butt to witness this. I know where losing consideration for others leads, I have witnessed it first hand. I really don't want to see one of my children end up alone, miserable and bitter, you know, when not even family will come around because you have alienated everyone. If you are lucky you have a spouse who is the same and you can be miserable together, but that still is no way to live life when PEOPLE WHO LOVE YOU DEARLY are missing you but can't stand to be around you.

You go out into public and be loud, obnoxious and take up space when others are waiting for it, you feel entitled to everything you want....which reminds me. We had another RESTAURANT INCIDENT!!! the other day that I just have to tell you about. It was sunday, which in this town means a busy breakfast time for local restaurants.  There will be a wait and you'd better get used to it because that is just the way it is.  All morning our favorite restaurant had had about a 25 minute wait (I overheard the manager). We waited our twenty-five minutes and sat down to have a great family
breakfast together.  The table next to ours had eight adults with an average age of fifty sitting there.  OMG these people were ten times, yes literally ten times, louder than my kids ever are. The waitresses literally could not hear to get orders taken.  And this group, who had waited an average of twenty-five minutes, sat there for goodness knows how long after their food was long gone and their dishes cleared away. These people, who another patron told us had complained about the wait, were making others wait while they sat there and yacked loudly, disturbing everyone in the place. Finally, one lady, sitting in the corner of their group started to get really antsy and she ended up putting on her jacket to try to give them the hint.  Finally it did and they left. The noise level dropped by over 3/4 and everyone in the room was relieved!  Please don't let me end up like that when I'm older.  I don't want to feel entitled to anything.  I want to earn every last damn thing I have.  And please don't let one (or any) of my children end up like that. I would be sad, mortified and embarrassed.

Until Next Time...Don't believe everything you hear. Have your own mind and find out for yourself how life should be. How YOU want it to be, not how some interfering buffon wants it to be for you. Because if someone is interfering, they probably have only their best interest at heart not yours. <3

ARE THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE FREE?

So, we went out for dinner last night and low and behold the kids were well behaved!!!  Gasp!!!  But that isn't what this post is about. This post is about people who are always trying to get something for free...no, something is the wrong word because free things are good sometimes...the right word would be everything.  This post is about people who are always trying to get everything for free.

The people we were sitting in front of at the restaurant were these kind of people.  And I think I've seen them around town pulling their scam before.  First there was one small thing wrong with one of the kids orders. Then it took too long to get the replacement out (not long at all, I was there watching). Then there was something else wrong and so on and so forth.  They complained so much, and so rudely that the manager comped their meal.  Okay, shit happens and meals get comped in restaurants but dang, do you have to be such a rude bi^%$ about it?

So things had seemed to calm down and they were eating away and complaining and bitching about everything (not just dinner, but life in general) Okay, by this point they were really getting on The Hubs' nerves.  He worked in restaurants for many years and knew this scam inside out.  Even my kids were getting annoyed at their loud bitching! And oh my did I feel sorry for the kids that were with them (two adult women). Those poor kids must have been mortified, but I can see them pulling the same thing in a few years unfortunately.

So as soon as the manager got busy again and the waitress came to check on them, they had another complaint (or twenty, who's counting). They asked for the manager again.  By this time, The Hubs was about to jump out of his seat and beat the woman down! Okay not beat her, but give her a tongue lashing she wouldn't soon forget.  These people ended up getting coupons for five free meals!!! (there were five total in the party).

Okay, it's one thing if you truly have bad service, bad food, bad experience to expect to have it made right, but come on they had absolutely nothing wrong with their food, or the service and they were so flippin rude about everything! One day at the same restaurant they had a cook go home in the middle of an order so ours took extra long to come out.  We mentioned it POLITELY to a member of management and they gave us 20 percent off.  Perfect! Everyone was satisfied and nobody made a scene.

How much do you want to bet when that 'family' goes out to eat there again, if there is a different management team on duty they will pull the same trick even with their free meal coupons?  Yep, I can see it happening. I kinda hope I'm not there though because if I am, I might just have to say something. And at this point in my life I could care less what people think of me and boy oh boy would I have fun.

Until Next Time...free things are good, but scamming to get them is just wrong. If you have a legitimate complaint then by all means say something, but do it politely and if you still aren't satisfied be firm but not rude and then if you still aren't satisfied, take it higher or leave the situation and don't go back!

ANOTHER NIGHT IN THE ER

So, guess where I spent my evening/night?  Yep, back in the ER.  But this time it was me who was in need of  medical assistance.  I went on a date with The Hubs after he got off work.  I had the best Tuna sandwich I had ever had and I started feeling like I had to go potty really bad and I kept losing my breath as I drove home.  I thought maybe it was something I ate, or perhaps I was coming down with a tummy bug.  I made it home but by then I was in full on panic mode and I just felt awful.  I went potty and discovered I had diarrhea and figured that was the end of it and I would ride out the tummy bug/food poisoning and be fine.  But then I kept having these episodes of shortness of breath and then my left shoulder started to hurt and I felt intense pressure near my ribs.

I figured it was time to go in.  After all, I am an overweight 43 year old and I figured maybe my lack of exercise had finally caught up with me. They took me right in and the first thing they did was an EKG to rule out heart attack.  The EKG came back good with no heart attack, but the doctor was concerned by my heart rate I guess so they took me back and started to run tests.  First was blood tests, then came a chest x-ray.  And of course the wait for results.  The doctor came in and listened to everything. And he said because of the elevated heart rate and the trouble breathing he wanted to do a CT Scan to rule out a blood clot in my lungs. The pain started to move from my shoulder down to my back/shoulder blade area and was lasting instead of intermittent so I called the nurse in and told him and he said he would tell the doctor.  I finally got really uncomfortable  and sat forward and belched twice. Ummm I felt better for about twenty minutes and then it started all over again. I was thinking that maybe I should try to delay the CT Scan to see if maybe it was just gas.  But then I was whisked away  halfway back from my trip to the bathroom and I ended up getting the scan anyway.  They took me back to my room and we waited for the results.  It appears that my right rib cage is out of whack or something but they weren't concerned about that and I was low on magnesium so they started an IV with fluids and magnesium. I burped a couple of more times and my heartrate dropped and my pain went away.

About an hour or so later the doctor came in and said the x rays and CT scan showed very healthy heart/lungs/gall bladder etc. And when I told him about the burping episodes he asked for the second time if I suffered from GERD.  When I told him I did he said that is what he thought it was because I was very healthy otherwise.  When I first went in  I didn't' feel gassy or acidy, but now I can feel that pressure and gurgly acid.  I now have a script for medicine to control the GERD and am downing gas pills like crazy to try to get rid of some of the pressure.  I hate that it pushes up on my lungs and heart and makes me feel like this but at least I know I'm not having a heart attack and I will start exercising even if it kills my hips and I become even less mobile because I need to keep my heart and lungs healthy so I will be around to see Little Butt turn 18 etc.

WHICH REMINDS ME - HAPPY 18TH BIRTHDAY GWENDOLYNN!!! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH AND I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT NO MATTER WHAT OTHER PEOPLE SAY, I LOVE YOU VERY MUCH AND EVEN IF I DID GROW UP POOR AND DON'T 'FIT IN' WITH THE REST OF THE FAMILY, I STILL KNOW YOU BETTER THAN ANYONE ELSE AND I KNOW  THAT IF YOU LET GO OF THE BAD THAT HAS HAPPENED OVER THE LAST YEAR AND LISTEN TO WHAT YOU KNOW IS TRUE IN YOUR HEART, THAT YOU WILL BE THE MOST AWESOME WOMAN, TEACHER, MOTHER, WIFE OF ANYONE I HAVE EVER MET!  KEEP YOUR HEAD UP KIDDO, YOU CAN DO THIS! <3

ULTRASOUNDS AND PEE :/

And no, it is not for me.  I am not going to become a mom of 6 thank you very much!

Shall we talk about pee for a bit? The ultrasound was for Little Butt. As most of you  know, she had the UTI a few weeks ago and any kid under age 5 who gets one needs an ultrasound to rule out structural problems in their system.  So early this morning (because they can't eat or drink for 4 hours beforehand) We loaded her up and took her to the radiologist office and got her ultrasound.

My super shy baby girl was taken in with me and put on a table. She doesn't like strangers at all so she clung to my hand.  The tech was awesome though she let her feel the wand that was used to 'take the pictures' and she talked soothingly to her throughout. My shy baby that used to cry around strangers just laid there and did as the tech asked without me having to help her or ask her.  I was so proud!

My pee holder when she was in ER for infection

The ultrasound was quick and easy and we were out of there in no time. She got a juice box, a sucker and a 3D butterfly sticker.  She was one happy girl!!! LOL Now we wait for the results.  My gut tells me that everything is developed properly because now I know why she got the infection.  I never thought about it before, but this little girl holds her pee way too long.  She isn't afraid of the toilet but sometimes refuses to go on it as is usual with potty training. She hates peeing in diapers for the most part but sometimes will only use the diaper (pull up actually) so she just holds it until she absolutely has to go.  She can literally wake up with a dry diaper and not go for hours, but it isn't because she is dehydrated, because when she finally does go, she floods everything!!!

I don't know how to get her to stop! If I force her onto the toilet she becomes afraid of it and I can't force her to go in her diaper. Running water doesn't even help.  And all of my kids have been champion pee holders for absolutely no reason. I literally had 3 month olds wake up dry and finally flood the diaper three hours later...I truly think it is genetic though because I was like that my whole life (until after kid 3) I would literally hold it for up to ten hours (Sometimes without really realizing it) and the only time I ever had infections was after I had the kids. So, if the tests come back okay I will have to get together with the doctor and see if he knows ways to get her to stop holding it or ways to prevent infections if I can't. I am grateful that she likes cranberry juice so maybe that will be a solution.

My son has already had two accidents at school because he doesn't realize he is holding it in the morning and won't go. I literally have to force him to go before school every day. I guess it is safe to say that my family is pee challenged. LOL

Until Next Time...Don't hold your pee! It's not good for you. :p

FAMILY DINNERS AND HOMEWORK TIME!

So, if you haven't noticed, we have a new look.  For some reason after a few months, the old look was starting to aggravate my migraines again. I'm thinking maybe it was the black background.  So we will see how this works.

We had the most awesome family dinner last night! It's not often you enjoy choking, water flying out of mouths and tears flowing freely. But all of this is awesome when it happens because of laughter. And why is this such a big deal you might ask?  Because it hasn't happened in a long, long time. The last time I remember was July 25, 2012. Before that date it happened all.the.time! After then, not so much.  We would have some decent dinners and sometimes they would be pretty fun, but not the all out hilarious, love filled, family bonding dinner like last night.  I missed them. We all missed them. And hopefully they will continue for a long time to come. By the time we were done, Gwen's chest hurt, The Sophomore was practically dehydrated from having to stop drinking so she wouldn't spit it out everywhere and my sides/ribs ached. It totally restored my belief that if you work TOGETHER as a family team, you can have a near perfect life no matter what crap gets thrown your way.  We haven't been working as a team in over a year now and I hope we continue to progress. It is quite a shock when one minute you are a strong family and within a week, a couple of unwilling attention seeking fibs can change everything.

I hope back to school is going good for everyone! It is going pretty good here so far.  Tomorrow starts week number three for us. (Except Gwen - starts week 2 for her)  Hopefully we will be getting into a groove concerning homework. Right now it is just a huge mess.  Usually there are three, sometimes four people trying to do homework all at once and it can get kind of hectic. I wish we had room for desks for everyone but we don't so Mr. Insane has to sit near whoever is helping him and Miss Crazy sits near who is helping her (And no dear family of mine. I will not help both of them at the same time anymore. Talk about losing your mind!). But when it is over and baths are taken and chores are topped off, the littles go to bed and the house is eerily quiet except for the sound of my kindle playing music for Little Butt and the xbox screeching at The Hubs. It is the time of day when I feel most at peace...for about ten minutes until I start working or get involved in an exciting new read. But it's enough to refresh me for what will come the next night. Sort of. In a way. A bit...you get the gist. ;)

Until Next Time...Never give up hope.  If you work hard enough and try your best, things will come around and your crazy upside down world will come back into focus.  It may never be exactly the same, but it will be good, maybe even better. <3

P.S. I am doing book reviews and sometimes author interviews etc. on my writer's blog now!  I did my first review the other day and it was so much fun!  I hope to have another review up tomorrow!!! Check it out http://www.writerjjellis.com