It's been awhile..

Wow, way to take a seriously long hiatus from blogging! I think it might be therapeutic to start up again. We'll see how long this one lasts :)


Today's the day we get to go see Sesame Street Live! So glad I won tickets a few weeks ago on the radio. Never won anything on the radio in my life. Jake's excited, but Lizzy's too "old" and isn't very thrilled to go. It's about time we do something for Jacob.


We went to see the Easter Bunny yesterday. I really wish I would have saved my $27, the pictures came out horrible. Really bad quality. I was not impressed at all. We took them to McDonald's to see the bunny and their picture came out 10x better for only $3. You live and learn I guess. 


I can't believe Easter is only 2 weeks away. Yeah it's early this year but where is the year going already? Halfway through March? YIKES!! Speaking of that, in exactly a month my baby girl will be 7. 7 years old. Only 3 more years until the double digits. How in the hell did that happen? Wasn't I just about to give birth a year ago or so? I can't even comprehend this. The time seriously flew by and it makes me sick to my stomach. I only have another few years before she hates me and I'm not the cool mom anymore :( 


I have a mountain of laundry on the bed that's calling my name. I guess I should get that folded and put away since the fairy obviously got lost in transit to my house. 


Will update later with pictures from SSL!!

New Years Resolutions?

Who really makes and sticks to New Year resolutions? I know every year I attempt to make some resolution I know I'll never keep. Usually it's "This year I vow to never put another fatty food into my mouth and I'll lose enough weight to be a supermodel". Well this year, it's different. I don't even have 'lose weight' in my actual resolution list. I know it'll never happen, so why set myself up for horrid disappointment?

My actual list:
-Be nicer to the kids.
-Not use my cellphone as much.
-Stop worrying about every little detail. If something goes wrong, oh well.
-Be a better wife.
-Be more frugal.
-Take a family vacation.
-Take a picture a day.
-Blog more. It might help my mood swings!

I think they're all pretty attainable goals. Easy enough to follow and make happen. Let's see how it goes! I've already started the picture a day, and it's going quite well. Hopefully I keep up with it. I think it'd be fun to look back at the year on December 31st and see exactly how much the kids have grown and changed.

Tonight daddy has to work a late shift, so I planned on making English muffin pizzas for dinner with the kids. I'm sure Liz will get a kick out of being a chef and designing her own pizza. Jake will probably eat half of it before I get it in the oven. After dinner and baths, we'll all snuggle down with a big bowl of popcorn and watch a movie. I'm excited for a kids only night. Maybe I'll even put the cell on silent so it can't distract me!

Speaking of the kids.. Jake is in the process of breaking all of Lizzy's crayons for fun. I'll have to end this for now. *sigh*

Maximum Fudge

You may be scratching your head asking what the hell I mean by "Maximum Fudge". Well, we're adopting a cute little boy beagle from a shelter around here. Lizzy's extatic! First, she wanted to name him "Fudge". She got the name from Nick Jr where a little girl names her dog Fudge and throws him a birthday party when he turns '1'. Now it's "MAX!!!!" because she's obsessed with the Grinch, and she watched it the other night. Me, I think Fudge is effing adorable, but she's persistant on Max. My cute little play on it is just "Maximum Fudge" Fitting for a brown and white beagle, no? He got neutered today and we should be able to get him tomorrow, granted the weather cooperates.

They're calling for more snow, and ICE tomorrow. Great!

Speaking of snow and ice, Tuesday was a snow storm for us, and Wednesday brought ice. Lots of ice. I got up to do my normal 7am pee break on Wednesday morning and saw a great message saying "Treasure House- Closed- All center" WOOT WOOT! First time in about 19-20 years they actually closed for an entire day. How sweet was that? I had Monday off for no heat, and Wednesday due to ice. Thank you, Mother Nature, for your assault on NEPA!

Who's excited for the Super Bowl?! I AM! Wanna know why? I love eating great snacky food for dinner and watching hilarious make-no-sense commercials. Personally I could give a rats tootie who wins, as long as I have wings, pizza, and some good wine coolers! I guess the Steelers will be my rootin' for team, since I live in PA and all. The one thing I Don't get thought? That Steelers Terrible Towel. I mean, wtf is it for? Can someone PLEASE enlighten me!?

On a happy note, I finally went and spent my giftcard to good ole' Victoria's Secret tonight. I was putting it off, but I could hold off no longer. It was burning a hole in my wallet! I realllly wanted to go to the one on Montage Mountain because it's huge. 6pm came though and I said eff it, I'll go to the local one at the mall. 20 minutes of driving is too much for me at 6, lol. I picked up a super cute pair of sweatpants and really doubted myself because they were a size "L" but I tried them on anyway. I could hardly belive my eyes when I pulled them on and THEY FIT! Hallelujia! The only problem is they're low rise, and I'm NOT a low rise girl. It's taking a bit of getting used to to having my butt in low rise sweatpants. But hey, they're a really nice pink and look lovely :) I got some undies and some DELICOUS perfume as well (Pink- All My Love). Gotta love gift cards =)

On a severely unhappy note- I slammed the tip of my pointer finger in the door at work today. I mean slammed, hard. Ice only made it hurt worse, but I kept it on anyway. It still hurts everytime I hit a key. Wah. Look at me and my clumsy-ness. Clumsiness? Ehh, whichever.

And as I realized the other night, Hubby's turning the big 3-0 on the 24th of this month. What to do? Probably just his favorite restaurant for dinner that night with his birthday buddy. *snicker* ;) More about that later =)

I hope everyone is having a great Friday night. I think I'm gonna go pour a glass of red and watch some Bubble Guppies with my bestie <3

1 potato - 2 potato

Ahh, today was such a fabulous day. I got up around 7 as usual and laid in bed until 8 when Lizzy came running in. We snuggled for a bit and then I got up to straighten my hair and prep my lunch for the day ahead. Mondays suck. I have work until 6 and then class until god knows when, so it's a long day, and I relish my morning minutes to lay around and be lazy. Hubby calls me from the bedroom and says "Your boss is on the phone" Ugh, what do they want now? When I told her I was getting ready for work, she said the best words ever.. don't bother, our heater is broken, so you don't need to go in today! Hallelujia chorus sounds in my head and I can barely keep from jumping up and down. Lizzy had been begging me to stay home with her all morning, so I gladly shared the news.

I asked her if she wanted me to go to her school today. I love volunteering there. I really miss it, and I miss those kids like crazy! Lizzy wanted me to go, so I gladly obliged. I went a few minutes early and saw some of the morning kids too (They have AM and PM preschool there) Some of the morning kids are from my old preschool job, so of course they remembered me. They've gotten so big since I last saw them in June. Boy do I miss them. Had a great day with lizzy and her friends and some of her many boyfriends. Building block towers was never so fun <3

So tonight, class was cancelled, so it was just the boy, hubby and I. The grandparents took Lizzy to go see a dog they want to adopt. Poor Jake gets left out of everything :( Oh well, we're having a grand old time racing cars and playing ball. Oh, and trying on big sister's boots. He's obsessed!

I wasn't sure what to make for dinner at all. I was quite dizzy so I layed down for a bit and let the boy crawl all over while watching his "Nick Jr Mega Music Fest" (that boy's addicted!) I was surfing facebook and saw a friend's status about Crash Potatoes. I figured I'd check that out, as it sounds yummy. I went to my bff google and typed it in. First thing to pop up was The Pioneer Woman's recipe. Now let me tell you, this lady has NEVER steered me wrong with any recipe. Her food looks and sounds so delicious! Plus, her picture commentary along with her recipes are amazing. So of course, I clicked it. These babies look too yummy to pass up, so now I have potatos boiling, ready to be smashed and baked and topped with cheese and sour cream. Score! (ok, so PW doesn't use butter, sour cream and cheese... but some of the comments suggested it, so why not? :) )

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/06/crash-hot-potatoes/

Now I try to act like a tough chick when it comes to certain things. Weather, however, I am not a fan of. I'm sure you all have heard of this "Snowpocalypse" or "Icepocalypse" a lot of the country is supposed to get hit with. I hear of even an inch of snow and I freak out. I do not do well driving in snow. Yes, I live in NEPA. I should be used to it. I'm just one of those people that panic when sliding and hit the brake. I make fearless hubby drive me to work when the weather's bad. Snow, sure, I'll drive like 10mph or I'll have hubby drive me. But ice? Heck no. I won't set foot in a car when a lot of ice is in the forecast. I'm worried about me driving, hubby driving, and other people in other cars driving. Here I sit, wishing for a PA State of Emergency so everything will shut down for a day or two. I'm a weather wuss, deal with it.

Today has been a great Monday. Best monday on record for quite awhlie. I think once a month Monday should be this good!

Welcome Back!

Hmm, I see it's been awhile.. No, actually, too long. I haven't written since BEFORE my son was born? Wow, talk about a slacker. Sheesh!

Well anyways, welcome back. For those of you reading for the first time, Hello!

I thought it might be therapeutic to start blogging again. Some days you just gotta let it all out! Mostly, I just want to start blogging again so I'm not bitching my husband's ear off about mindless crap usually pertaining to work. Poor guy's heard enough of my job in the past week to last him a lifetime!

Speaking of my job- don't get me wrong- I love it! Teaching is what I've always wanted to do. For the first time in my life, I actually WANT to go to work, and NOT just to get away from whining children (especially since I teach whiny children..) I have such a great team where I work. I mean, where else will your boss refer to you as nipples? :) Anyway, when I last stopped blogging I was working retail. Man I hatttteeeeddd retail. So glad to be out of that world and have my foot in the door and going to school!

The children.. Ahh, my children. The snot nosed smiling screaming bundles of joy that I gave birth to...

Elizabeth is 4 3/4, going on 16. She's been deemed ''too smart'' for preschool, proficient in all areas, and hard to attain goals for because she knows everything. Miss SmartyPants. That's my girl <3 She's a firey redhead with a stubborn attitude, but is as sweet as pie. She'll be 5 on April 17th and has told me she wants a "Rapunzel party" where she wears a purple dress and has long flowy blonde hair. Want to know how to get long hair? Ask Liz.. "You need to eat the crusts of your peanut butter and jelly.. but I don't like crusts, and that's why my hair isn't long like Rapunzel's mommy!" And there you have it folks.. the key to 'long flowy hair' is to eat your peanut butter and jelly crusts!

Jacob is 19 months old, and hitting the terrible 2's already! He's a screamer, a kicker, and a thrower. Totally the 180 of Lizzy! That boy has one hell of an arm on him and can kick a ball almost as far as I can! He's a rough and tumble little ball of terror that melts right into your arms when you scold him for anything. He's on a language boom- with his 2 newest words being "Flowee" (flower) and "Ah-Oh" (apple). He's one sweet little guy but if you take something from him or tell him no, sit back and watch the tantrum unfold. After a few minutes of laying on the floor kicking and screaming he gets up and goes on his merry way as if nothing happened. He's losing his baby 'fat' and is turning into a lean mean eating machine! He's already eating us out of house and home but when he's full, watch out. You might end up wearing his dinner if you're sitting near him (as his dear godfather found out and ended up with a neck full of mashed potatoes)

Anyway, welcome back into my silly crazy life. There's been lots of ups and downs in the past year and a half since I've blogged, and I'm sure there's MANY more to come! Such is life, right?

Thinking of backing out..

of the scheduled c-section that is. My fear is getting the best of me. Sure I know what's going to happen, but that literally scares me to death.

I don't want to get the needle shoved in my back. That hurts like a BITCH when you're not in pain in the first place and begging for relief. Plus I'm afraid I'll get another shitty anestegiologist and he'll fudge my back up again. The last time they tried multiple times to put it in, even using an epidural catheter to get it in the right spot. You don't realize the shooting pains that causes until you're there biting into a pillow on the nurses shoulder, screaming and crying. I hope I get a good anestegioloist this time who gets it right the FIRST time. Bastard better watch out if it takes more than once because I'll flip shit.

I don't want a catheter either. I hate being confined to bed with a pee bag. I'm sure they'll cover it witha blanket, but it's so embarassing to know your pee is hanging on your bed. Plus that shit hurts when it's shoved up there. I'm going to demand to NOT get it until the spinal tap is in place and I can't feel a thing.

Speaking of the spinal tap itself.. it makes me vomit like the exorcist. Literal projectile vomit across the OR. Once it hits into my system it's nice, like I stepped into the hot tub. Then it gets further into the system and I'm puking up last week's lunch. Yeah they give you anti-nausea before you get the spinal but that didn't do anything but make me taste grape as I'm spewing across the room, crying and apologizing for ruining the sheets.

They don't let my husband in until AFTER the spinal is done, and after I'm strapped down like Jesus on the cross. I can't even imagine how shitty I look/looked when he came in an hour after they took me in (because the assholes took so long to get my spinal in). I know marriage isn't all beauty pagents or anything but still, I want to look good for my hubby as I'm about to have his baby.

The c-section itself wasn't bad.. I didn't feel a thing, I was loopy as hell, and didn't experience any pressure that people talk about. Must have had a hella good spinal.

They hoist the baby up over the blue screen and I have to squint to see. They take my glasses so I'm laying down, strapped and blinded and unable to move anything below my breasts. This time I'm going to request to have Jim hold my glasses and he can stick them on my face so I can see my baby this time. Still sucks though as they have so many rules and restrictions.

You gotta get stitched up. You can't even hold your child because you're still trapped. All you can do is strain to hear what's going on across the room as they clean your child and your hubby cuts the stump of cord they left for him to cut. He gets to see the baby. You get to see blue screen and imagine what your child looks like. He gets to hold the baby. You get to hold air. Not fair at all.

Then you have to recover before you can hold your baby (at least in my experience because Liz had a temperature regulation problem and had to be in an incubator for a few hours). I couldn't even SEE her and just laid there dazed, confused, and so out of it, just wanting my baby. They finally brought her in to stay in the incubator in my room and I was able to glimpse at her through the plastic walls while everyone else oohed and ahhed over my baby, and touched her through the arm holes. That's my fucking baby, don't you dare touch her before me. (I guess itw ould be 'him' in this case if he has the same problems as his sister)

All in all, I'm missing out on that 'bonding' time that all mothers rave about. I feel cheated, disgusted and alone. Liz and I have the best relationship but I can't help but wonder what it's like to bond during that first alert hour. By the time I got to her she was in that sleepy 'just been born' mode and didn't even want to wake up.

Then there's recovery. You've just been sliced from side to side and your guts feel like they're about to fall on the floor whenever you stand. That first time you stand, it feels like the entire world is going to swallow you whole and every organ and cell in your body will be on the floor for all to see. Not to mention walking (err, shuffling) across the floor. It's hell to get out of that bed. Peeing is just a joke, and don't even get me started on pooping (which you have to do before you're allowed to leave the hospital). I could barely even walk down the hall to get her hospital pics done, and had to hold onto the bassinett and wall the entire time. Yeah, that'll be GREAT with an active 3 year old at home. "sorry honey, can't play outside today because mommy's insides will be in the sandbox"

You can't even sneeze or cough without dying. I remember sneezing ONCE while driving a few weeks after the section and I think I would have caused an accident if there were other cars around. It put me in tears, and I remember not sneezing for months afterwards. Laughing is a joke too.

I'm so scared of going through all that again. The past few nights I've just been laying in bed, rembering every little painful detail of a c-section and the recovery. I know the end result is worth it, but dammit the process of getting there and afterwords is just horrendous.

Maybe this time will be different though. Maybe I'll have a better team of nurses with me and it won't be as bad and they'll keep up on pain meds. Maybe I'll go into labor and it will be so quick I have him before I can get a c section. All I can do is pray that this is easy and doesn't hurt as much as I remember.

Only 25 days to go

He surprised me!

All I can say is a BIG YAY for my hubby!

I went to work Thursday night and he was painting. He told me he'd do about half the room that night, and finish it this weekend. Well I got home and he lead me to the nursery and flipped the light on and said SURPRISE! It was DONE!!!!! It looks perfect and just screams boy. I love it.

I figured I'd do my own little surprise yesterday while he was working and almost gutted Lizzy's entire room. Her room has since been used for storage and she had no room to walk around, let alone play. I should have taken a before pic, I really should.. Damn. But anyway..

I sorted all the clothes (minus a bag) into bags for trash/goodwill/craigslist selling. Made a huge overflowing box of trash, moved stuff around, and just got it uncluttered. It looks FABULOUS now and I can't wait to finish it today. After that we just need to take the bags/boxes to goodwill and move the furniture from Liz's room to the nursery- since she still has all the nursery furniture in her room. It's going to look so bare in there but I've been stalking craigslist to find some cheap 2nd hand storage stuff since it will get ruined anyway. I plan on making her a little 'chill' corner with her TV (maybe a new one for Christmas), her couch and chair and some pillows. We'll see.

I'm also going to disassemble her toddler bed (wah) and move her to the bottom bunk of the bunk beds. It's a full bed, and I really dont' want to, but don't feel like spending another $80 + on a crib matress when we have a perfectly good one from Lizzy and she'd always wanted to sleep on the 'big bed'. I'm looking for sheets at Target tonight to liven up that bed, since the top bunk has dora sheets and all, and the bottom bunk has stars.

I can't believe I have 31 days to go.. just a month. OMFG

Tomorrow is mother's day and I'm not happy about that at all. I say piss on mother's day, but that's my bitterness comming through. I'll be sending the yearly balloon up to my mom. Much rather see her and give her the balloon but we all know that ain't gonna happen.

Happy Mother's Day to me