WHEN IT RAINS IT POURS -ER VISIT AND CAR REPAIR

Hey before we get started, could you hop on over to my friend's book blog and check out her review of book 1 in my series! It is an awesome review! (Warning her site can be adult only at times, but my review is NOT!  http://www.authorsajones.com/2013/08/review-virgin-voyage-by-jj-ellis.html

Now on with the show: Holy shizz monkeys!  The saying really is true, when it rains it pours -  and then it rains and pours some more. First off, my car broke down end of last week. It would try to start and then it would just putter out.  So we called the tow truck (79 dollars) and had it towed to our mechanic.  Tuesday we get a call from the mechanic saying it was ready and when I asked what was wrong he said: Fuel pump.  Well shizz all over again, that is an expensive repair and I knew that from previous experience.  So we go pick up my baby and the damage is.............640.22.  Crap!  Thank goodness for interest free for a year credit cards with a decent limit right???  But at least now my fuel pump should be okay for the rest of the vehicle's life (13 years old).  At least it darn site better be!!!!

And then on Friday I noticed Miss Crazy wasn't feeling top of the line and my son had a stuffy nose and so did Little Butt.  Well great, the first cold of the season brought home from school in the first week.  Lovely! Over the weekend Miss Crazy started talking about a sore throat and became a bit lethargic. Yep, she had a fever.  Oh fun!  I was thinking strep so I had plans to take her to the doctor first thing on Monday.  Her fever broke in a dramatic fashion on Sunday night and she woke up saying her throat was still sore but better and she felt fine. So, off to school with her.  When she arrived home, she was still fine but about two or three hours later, the fever was back and we started to see a rash spreading over her body.  Well, that's not good. A fever, sore throat and rash together can mean complications from strep.  So I was wondering how the HECK her fever had broken for almost 24 hours if she had strep.  So, off to the ER we went.

Now you understand I have five kids and they have all (except Little Butt) had strep at one time or another.  Never have they ever lost their fevers for even a moment and never have they ever broken out.  But the doctor in the ER told me that it isn't uncommon for that to happen.  Well shit!  I could have endangered my daughter because I didn't know... Yeah, the guilt lasted about five seconds because I truly didn't know.  Anywhoo, they offered her swallowable pills or liquid and she chose swallowable (I knew we would be changing to liquid at the pharmacy because I knew the pills would be too big but she felt like such a grown up that I couldn't say no)  but then the doctor turned back and asked if she would like one shot and she would be done.  Well as we all know, medicines can be tricky with little ones so yes, I convinced my child to get a big needle shoved in her hip.  I'm not ashamed.  They came in with two needles (oops).  They figured there would be too much medicine in one needle for her to tolerate so they broke it up. Okay cool.

She gets her shots and a popsicle and wanders the hall and stairs with daddy trying to walk off the pain and stiffness of the shot.  We head home and her fever is starting to break and the rash on her face is already looking better. She had to stay home from school for one day (I heard a lot of 'mommy my booty hurts' throughout the day) and is now back at school.  The rash on her face is gone, the rash on her trunk is barely visible and her throat isn't hurting at all anymore.  Phew!  Now we sit and wait...for the rest of the family to get it.  Poo Poo!

SIDE NOTE: My son's stuffy nose cleared up.  He brought a feather he found into the house and it seems he is allergic to feathers like his daddy is!

Until Next Time...There will always be moments when we learn something new and feel guilt because we didn't know it before but you can NOT Dwell on it! What's done is done and we can't change it, we can just
learn new things to carry us through to the next round of life!!!

BUSY WEEK/WEEKEND - RANDOM BITS AND PIECES :)

Well, today is the day!  Gwen starts college!!! I hardly believe I am old enough to have a college Freshman! But alas, there I was wishing her a good first day.  She was nervous but I know for sure she shouldn't be. She will do great!  School is her thing, she is good at it and she wants to spend her life being a teacher so I think she will be fine once she gets used to the freedom that college allows.  She is all set, she has her own car, her school, and her job. We couldn't be more proud.

We have had a sickie on our hands over the weekend. Miss Crazy had a high fever and a sore throat.  We were thinking strep, but the fever broke and she was running around and playing so we will sit tight for now and see if the fever comes back or if the sore throat persists. Don't you love school germs?  Especially when they come home the first week!!!! I am just glad that I don't have to send my sick kids to school and risk losing my job like some parents do.

Lil miss Little Butt is coming down with a cold but so far no fever thank goodness.  I'm just waiting though, waiting for it to spread through the house. :(

My car broke down the other day.  We aren't sure what happened to it yet, but I sure hope it isn't anything too expensive! On top of everything else, my wallet went missing.  I'm pretty sure I left it at the dentist's office on Thursday, but they say it isn't there.  I've checked everywhere else it could have been left. Now we have to tear the house apart to see if by some chance it isn't lost in the big bad world, but in our very own house.

I had my book release party the other day and it was really fun!  I hope some of you were able to join us.  We had contests and giveaways and sneak peeks at the next book.  I also had book 1 of the series set for free on amazon.  We had a great response and I even sold my first book overseas! I mean actually sold, not given away!!! And we actually had a bestseller rank to be proud of - click on the picture to see what it was!!! :)

I want to share a facebook post I made today because this means so much to me and kind of rejuvenated me after I had the depressing time after finishing my book. I hope you will check it out.

Have you ever had a review that made you cry? A review that reminded you why you became a writer? A review that let you know that you accomplished exactly what you set out to do with that particular story/book/article? This is one of those reviews. One that I will cherish forever! Could I please get some YES votes on it? Thanks!

http://www.amazon.com/review/R1QLHAP976O3E6/ref=cm_cr_dp_title?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00EP01L2W&channel=detail-glance&nodeID=133140011&store=digital-text

Until Next Time...Don't fret when your oldest starts college (or gets married or has kids) because if they are at that milestone it means that you have done something wonderful.  You got them to where they are and they are alive!!! ;)

THE CUTE THINGS THAT MAKE YOU SMILE :D

I've got links for my books!!! They became available early! I'll post them at the bottom.

Did missing Sam and Abigail make me cry?

Today has been rough. My car broke down and we were out in the heat forever, which means I am now sick as heck.  Blah!!! Yesterday was rough too. I was having some sort of breakdown.  I am thinking it was based on writer's self doubt but I'm not sure.  You see, my book is done and available on Amazon early. So that means that this particular chapter (pun intended) of my life is over. I lived and breathed those characters for years and then especially over the last two months. It makes me sad :(  And then I found out that a 'friend' was lying about having read my books. Sigh...If you don't want to read them just say so, don't lead me on thinking that you are reading and enjoying them, right????

So I was in a horrible state yesterday. I was about ready to throw out the five or so chapters I already have written for Wild Waves and give up writing for good. I felt like I had been made a fool of and that I was a horrible writer etc. etc. etc. But I have a great group of online friends who supported me through it. Thanks ladies, you know who you are! I was still down all night, but one thing that could put a smile on my face was Little Butt.

You know how kids do the cutest damn things that just warm your heart?  Yeah, she does that a lot lately, but there was one instance yesterday that could actually almost make me laugh when I thought back on it after my meltdown.  We were at breakfast and there was a baby across the way from us (about 10 or 11 months old I would guess) Little Butt thinks all babies are hers. So she was sitting there yelling "hi baby, hi my baby" but she would not wave at the little girl.  She would turn red and look away. So what did she do?  She would pick up my hand and say she was waving at her baby. I have seen kids shy of waving and talking at all to strangers, but I haven't seen one that would be totally fine yakking away and then turn all shy when she was expected to wave. LOL. I spent breakfast waving at a stranger's baby and I'll tell you one thing, Little Butt is strong, my wrist still hurts!!!

It has been a rough couple of days but with the help of my sweet baby girl I have come through it just fine!

Until Next Time...Give little ones credit. Just because they are small and not worldly doesn't mean they can't totally enhance your life in a positive way when things are going wrong.

PAPERBACK OF STORMY SEAS BY JJ ELLIS: http://www.amazon.com/Stormy-Seas-Sunset-Destiny-Romance/dp/0615873111/ref=sr_1_11?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1377288379&sr=1-11&keywords=Stormy+Seas

KINDLE OF STORMY SEAS BY JJ ELLIS: http://www.amazon.com/Stormy-Sunset-Destiny-Romance-ebook/dp/B00EP01L2W/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1377288477&sr=1-1&keywords=Stormy+Seas

SHE'S TURNING 7!!!

Well, tomorrow we celebrate birthday number seven for Miss Crazy. It should be an interesting day.  The Hubs starts a new position at work that we are all excited about and his hours become more regular which will be great. So at 4:30 tomorrow we can start our celebration.

Miss Crazy picked a beef and broccoli ramen meal that Gwen makes as her birthday dinner and then after dinner will be presents and cake.  We bought her a book on kindle(No, she doesn't have her own), a present yet to be determined because I just realized we haven't bought gift number 3 yet (can you say oops)  And the present she has been looking forward to all year....A rapunzel wig.  This girl is OBSESSED with rapunzel.  We used to have Tangled on DVR and she would watch it everyday if we let her.


She takes my old large fabric pieces and walks around with them on her head pretending that she is Rapunzel....and she knocks everything in the house over.  So we had to make a decision, continue to have the house torn apart or buy her a wig that she will probably wear day and night for weeks/months/years.  Well, since we someday want to sell this house we figured we better not mess it up anymore than it already is.  We are expecting the mailman to bring it any minute. It won't be a surprise, but it will be the most popular gift.  She will be ignoring everything else.

We got her a princess cake because they didn't have Rapunzel, not that she cares as long as it is chocolate with buttercream icing.  Done

Probably the highlight of her day will be playing with her little friend two doors down. At this point, little miss almost seven year old prefers to be away from her siblings and parents in favor of her friends. Now the question is, is she acting like a teen because of her sister's influence, or is this a new norm for seven year olds in this day and age.  On second thought, I don't want to think about that. I REALLY DON'T WANT TO KNOW. I'm just going to enjoy my baby girl's birthday celebration and give her an extra snuggle or two.

Tomorrow is also Little Butt's 2.5 year mark.

Until Next Time...Time flies when you're having fun.  So make sure that you truly do have fun or time will slip through your hands and you will feel unfulfilled.

I CRIED LIKE A BABY

So, we've been having a lot of milestones and exciting changes around here lately. It's been crazy emotional.  Gwen (previously, The Senior) is out of high school now and graduates officially on Monday. Mr. Insane is officially registered for Kindergarten in the Fall, and Gwen is getting her first car on Monday.

The other day, after the car purchase decision was made, I realized something. We had my old van sitting in the driveway and undrivable for the last year waiting for someone (yeah, ended up being mom) to call and have it towed away to the junkyard. Where in the heck were we going to put Gwen's car? So yesterday was the day...The big old tow truck backed up to her (Sally) in my driveway, pulled her up on the flatbed, handed me some cash and drove away. And I cried like a baby.  I haven't been able to drive her in a year, but at least she was sitting there and she was still part of our lives.

We bought her when Gwen was almost a year old. We moved to Oregon soon after and of course, she was there with us. A few months later, we moved back to Nevada and of course, the van came with us. She literally saw us through four moves, one road trip vacation, one training session for The Hubs that required him to drive from southwestern WY to South Dakota every week, driving home to Nevada every Thanksgiving for the first few years we lived in Wyoming, and driving five kids anywhere and everywhere they went. This van was the scene of hugs and kisses, puke and poop, and fights and make ups. Toys and shoes were lost in this vehicle, never to be seen again.

Is it possible for one vehicle to see so much of a person's life.  It doesn't seem possible, but it is.  Many people trade in cars every few years, but we try to use em til they are dead! And that is exactly what we did with Sally. Just think about it, we got rid of her a few days before Gwen graduated High School, the car and Gwen were a year apart in age. That is a lot of life lived right there and Sally was there the whole time.

Now what?  Well, I don't think the mourning will last long although I will ALWAYS have piles of memories. Now a new vehicle will take her place in the driveway. Come Monday, Gwen's car will be jockeying for position with mine. I only have one word to describe this time in our lives. Bittersweet, but then again, much of life is bittersweet.

Until Next Time...Remember that the objects that represent or symbolize our lives may leave us, but the memories live on in our hearts forever.

AND DON'T FORGET: Click on the Top Mommy Blogs banner to the right to vote for me! I appreciate it!

MILESTONE - A HARD PILL TO SWALLOW (PLUS A BONUS POST!)

Today I will give you two posts for the price of one...Okay for the space of one since you aren't paying to read this. Post 1 is a normal mom's adventures with kids post and Post 2 is an article I wrote for my writer's website JJ Ellis, Romance Author that delves into the mind of a writer. I have two other articles on that site too if you want to check them out (Courage was the first and Imperfections was the second)

POST 1
Okay, so I am big about milestones right?  I talk about them a lot (remember when I was all emotional because my little man preferred more grown up kids shows to Mickey Mouse?)  Well, it seems we have hit another one.

Allergy season is upon us - hardcore and since most allergy medications are over the counter we spend a fortune on them every couple of weeks.  The little one is doing well on zyrtec so she has her own bottle of liquid children's zyrtec and the only antihistamine that doesn't turn Mr. Insane into...well, Mr. Insane times 100 is Claritin so he and Miss Crazy have a bottle of liquid children's Claritin to share.  Then The Freshman decided she was tired of refusing her medicine and wanted to feel better so she needed something to take. (Zyrtec turns her into a crazy woman too). My pocket book started to ache along with my heart in watching my kids suffer.


So, The hubs and I came up with a plan.  The Claritin pills (age 6 and up) are tiny so why not see if Miss Crazy can take them. We get those at his work in bulk for cheap!. So Miss Crazy was given a try on her very first pill.  Could she swallow it? Would our experimental work?  YES!!! My baby girl is no longer a baby girl.  She is a big girl.  She can take pill forms of medicine. She is growing up, I am feeling old, this is an exciting day, I am feeling old, what a cool milestone, I am feeling old...yeah, you get the picture.  Once again this is one of those bittersweet milestones.  (I'm not even going to think about the fact that in 22 days I will be the mother of a high school graduate, and in 26 days the mother of a high school sophomore, a second grader and a kindergartner.)

So now I am happy/sad and my pocketbook is thrilled.  We can buy 400 pills really cheap for The Freshman and Miss Crazy to share and a small bottle of medicine will last Mr. Insane a long time as does the medicine we get for Little Butt.  See, there are advantages to your kids growing up!!!  Rejoice in it :)

Until Next Time...ENJOY LIFE :) There are a lot of benefits to our kids growing up and to us getting older. Embrace it or you might just drive yourself crazy. I have had to learn that lesson the hard way but I finally did. Yes, I get a bit teary eyed at milestones, but I no longer dwell on them to distraction.  There is too much fun to be had, too much life to live to dwell on how old my kids and I are getting.

POST 2

A few weeks after I published my first book, Virgin Voyage, I came to a realization that really stung, but in a way made so much sense. The story I had practically lived, and loved like a child, would never bring me reading pleasure like it did others.

In the first few weeks after publication I truly can not tell you how many times I read the book. I had this urge to see if it was a pleasurable, enjoyable read. I wanted to enjoy it (or hate it) the same way a stranger who purchased it would.

There were short periods of time where I could blank my world out and get caught up in Mari and Graham's, but my world always came crashing back in. (And I'm not talking about  my kids bother me or the phone ringing or someone knocking on the door)  You see, I can never not be the author of Virgin Voyage. I will always read it with a critical eye. 'Should I have done this, or written that, or left that out. Or will my readers enjoy this or that better.' Truthfully I just wanted to live in Mari
and Graham's finished world for fourteen chapters. I guess you could say that I was craving the ability to just be a reader to my book.

I couldn't help how I felt. I knew I shouldn't feel that way but I did. It almost felt like a betrayal to the characters. I created them, I loved them, I nurtured them,  I put them to paper and I enjoyed it thoroughly. But I couldn't experience them as they were meant to be enjoyed.

And then my first reviews started to come in. Not only on Amazon, but through people contacting me personally to tell me how much they loved the book. All of a sudden, everything I've mentioned above didn't seem to matter anymore. Friends, family and strangers were reading my book the way I wanted to, and I realized something, the whole reason I wrote the book in the first place was so people could live it, love it and enjoy it.  Low and behold, they actually were!!!!  I never betrayed Mari and Graham, I gave them a happy life, in more ways than one.

I know I will most likely have the same feelings about future books, but now I will know how to handle it - just sit back and wait, someone will enjoy it and tell me they did, and then
the world inside that book will be complete.

LET THE FIGHTS (AND LAUGHS) BEGIN!!!

First, some business to take care of. If you want easier access to my favorite blogs you can pick up my book Until Next Time...The Blogging Adventures of  a Broken Housewife. Just follow the link 6.99 for paperback and .99 cents on kindle

Second, if you have bought one of my books whether it be the blog book or my romance novel, please, when you are done with it head on over to Amazon and leave a review!  That is how us indie authors survive in this business. Thank you so much for your support! :)
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Do you have those moments when your kids do something and you just want to laugh but it just wouldn't be appropriate. You know the times when one does something to another that is 'bad' and instead of laughing you must punish the offender. Of course with five kids we have a lot of that.

Do I always succeed at not laughing? No! But I sure do try (I really do, just ask anyone) But you know, sometimes it is hard not to laugh. Really, really, really, really hard. Okay, so sometimes it's just damn impossible.

The first time a child cusses is a prime example. But some recent episodes in our house go like this :
Un named sibling: Wah wah whine whine tantrum tantrum
Little Butt: Sut up now!Un named sibling: You shut up
Little Butt: SUT UP!!!!!!!! Screech

I didn't laugh at this one, but I sure wanted to. The rule in our house is that we don't say shut up to each other because I am sick and tired of my kids being rude to each other. (and yes, both kids were properly reprimanded)
Another instance - and of course you know this has to be a really bad one that I couldn't help but let a laugh burst out the first time so it has become a regular problem.
Mr. Insane: Go away Little Butt.
Little Butt: Pay me brubber (play with me brother)
Mr. Insane: GO AWAY I DON'T WANT TO PLAY WITH YOU (yelled and getting right up in her face)
Little Butt: {{{smack!}}} right on his cheek.
Mr. Insane: Mom Little Butt hit me!
Little Butt: {{{smack}}} on the leg and run away
Mr. Insane: Tears and screeches Aaaah aaaaah she's hurting me.
Little Butt: Runs back to brubber and {{{smack}}} on the leg.
If we don't seperate them, they could do this over and over for hours. But of course we don't want Little Butt to develop a habit of hitting even if she just thinks it is a fun game that brubber is playing with her.


Okay, so the first time this happened, before I knew what was going on I laughed (hangs head in shame) But really, when people get angry and all up in your face don't you at least have a little bit of a fantasy of smacking them? And when someone has the 'balls' to do it, it kind of hits your funny bone (besides, a little girl making a big boy cry like a baby is just well....funny (Okay, maybe i'm warped, but I know some of you out there find it funny too!). You do know that once that first laugh comes out, the two year old is going to think it is okay and that you are encouraging him/her to play the new 'game' with their sibling.


Well shit. I've done it again, I've totally warped one of my children. (Okay, I know it would have happened anyway, but still.) So we do the calm talking to her thing, the no you don't hit thing, the redirection thing. It works...eventually. In the mean time my poor baby boy is traumatized by being beat up (she doesn't hit that hard really, but he is a drama queen and I love him very much) by his baby sister. Alright, alright he probably isn't really traumatized because he just likes the attention, but still, I don't want him thinking that I enjoy watching his little sister get back at him for all of the sibling torture he puts her through. (Shut up! Don't even say it!) At least he knows that he isn't allowed to hit his baby sister right?


Okay so now that we've got a handle on that problem (I think, otherwise they are going to end up beating the shit out of each other by the time they are 7 and 10) we can move on to the next one. Hopefully it is a lighthearted as this one because I hate it when those occasional serious problems crop up.
Until Next Time...When you have one of those parent moments where you say to yourself 'shit, I shouldn't have done that because now my kid is going to be a no good delinquent', don't stress yourself over it so much. It is fixable! You just have to patient, calm and consistent. And in the meantime, enjoy the laugh at the expense of your children because goodness knows they will be getting many at your expense through the years. ;)

ALL GROWN UP

My oldest baby girl is pretty much all grown up.  In 2 3/4 months she will be graduating from High School.  Can you believe it?  Oh wait, you don't really know her. But I sure know I can't believe it!  It seems just like yesterday I was walking into the hospital hoping this was finally it and finding out I was just dilated enough for them to want me to stay.  Twelve hours later, the day before The Shooter's birthday my very first child was born.  We had no idea if the baby would be a boy or a girl because during ultrasounds her cord was always snugly planted between her legs.  When she came out...the doctor had to move the cord out of the way to tell us that she was indeed a girl. Truthfully we were expecting a boy because girls are very uncommon on the husband's side of the family and since sperm decide the sex of the baby....yeah.

Now she is 17 and a senior in high school and about ready to walk across that stage.  Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh. I sure hope I'm ready for it! Granted she will be going to college locally so it's not like she's moving thousands of miles yet, but I still feel kind of...happy....sad....excited...crazy....OLD!

What brought all of this on almost three months before the event?  Well, we are re doing our flooring so when people come from out of town to visit during graduation they won't see how much my children have spilled on and dragged dirt through my living room and ruined my carpet.  I know, I know, not something sentimental and gushy to bring these thoughts to mind, but come on, this is me we are talking about.  A sneeze can make me think of the weirdest things.  Maybe that is why I have so many story ideas?

Not that I don't get mushy about my kids' milestones because I do.  Just wait until May, I will be a blubbering mess with a camera in my hands. I won't have any idea what pictures I take will look like until after the night is over and I upload them because I will have tears in my eyes the whole time.

I must say, I am a lucky mom.  The Senior is a wonderful child.  She gets great grades, is very kind and giving and will some day be a great mom. That is if she can find a decent guy. She has had the worst possible luck with guys of any teen I know of.  Jerks, dummies, a**h***s, she's had them all.  She's even been through a broken engagement. So now, onto the future! She has a current boyfriend and things seem to be going great for once - he is a nice kid, intelligent and seems to have his head on straight (as straight as a teenaged boy gets) so we all just hope it keeps going that way.

So what is next for my first baby?  College!!!  She is going to have so much fun! I hope she is able to meet a lot of great, kind, influential people to help her get a great start on her adult life.  We can't ask for anything more.  It is hard to believe that my role in her life is almost done.  Soon I will just be a support system and not a supporter of life.

Until next time...Hold your kids tight and remember, they grow up very fast so don't let time get away from you.    ENJOY YOUR KIDS TO THE FULLEST!!!