Things heard around the Hood...

Abs is still grounded from the tv. She came out while the other kids were watching tv, and I told her she needed to find something else to do.
Abs: I found something else to do.
Me: What's that?
Abs: I'm just going to sit out here and look at you because you are so beautiful. I won't even need to watch tv, because of your beauty.
Me: Thanks, now go find something to do.
Abs: It was worth a shot, but you are pretty.

A quick kiss and she was on her way.

The Day After

My friend Mel showed up at my house bright and early on Thanksgiving Day (6:30 am) while I was trying to hook up the DVD player in the car. I think I was missing a wire, so I abandoned that plan. The kids were up, dressed, and packed. We loaded the car and off we went...down the street. I forgot to feed the kids breakfast, so we stopped off at Jack in the box.

So now are headed off to my mom's house, with 2 adults and 3 kiddos. We end up in Georgetown where my sisters and mom are running around getting last minute things together. They load up their car and then all 12 of us head down the road. We were going my aunt and uncle's house for Thanksgiving dinner. We arrive just in time to eat, and spend time talking. My brother and his wife and son met us there, along with a bunch of other people I ad never laid eyes on, but somehow was related to in one way or another. My mom has a huge family.

Lunch was great, but I got tired of chasing Junior so Mel and I and three kids headed to the hotel. We stayed at the Drury Inn, and the staff was so nice! They had happy hour from 5:30-7 with three free drinks, so we made plans to go down there. My mom and sisters and kiddos arrive shortly after and we all headed down to happy hour.

My mom pulled out some leftover turkey and ham, but I couldn't bring myself to eat it since I knew it had not been refrigerated and it had been out of the oven for hours. My mom was less than pleased with us not eating. Luckily happy hour and food and we feasted.

After happy hour we decided to head down to the Christmas tree lighting in Post Oak. We got into our pajamas and started walking. We saw the fireworks and kept going even after we saw crowds or people returning to their cars and houses. We were quite a spectacle with all of us in pajamas moving along the busy streets. We wandered around for a little while and then headed back to the hotel. And then the fun began....

My mom kept my girls and Mel and I just had Junior. We were just about to go to sleep and then he puked. I went down stairs and the staff got me sheets, towels and blankets. I came back to find Mel changing Junior's clothes since he puked again. This went on all night, with many visits to the front desk for more supplies. We both got little to no sleep. At one point, Junior was hurling and my weak stomach couldn't take it anymore and I started to join him. Mel kicked me out to the bathroom and took care of Junior. Talk about a friend!

The next morning, Junior was fine, and so far so good, so are the rest of us. We spent yesterday at my brother's house eating leftovers and talking and talking and talking. Throw in 8 grandchildren and the house was busy.

The drive back was uneventful and today I am cleaning, organizing and getting ready to head over to my mom's to celebrate my sister's birthday. I have so much to do to get ready for school on Monday. Three more weeks till Christmas vacation!!!!

We're outnumbered by two

5 adults. 7 children.

Mel gets awarded friend of the year since she spent last night with me in a small hotel room and a barfy kid. Yep, leave it to Junior to get sick on this trip.

More later, but in true Gunner family style, we have left our mark.

More to follow....

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

We are off on the road to head to Houston for two days of togetherness. That might be all I can handle.

Dinner wasn't anything special. It was thrown together, and last minute. The time with my BIL was nice, he's a nice guy. Junior was wanting juice and strawberries and his Oma was catering to his every whim. I just let him fuss and eat my dinner, and he tried to tell her the same thing, but it fell on deaf ears. Welcome to my world.

Tom did say that Junior is the spitting image of Gunner and acts just like him too. Now if only Gunner were around to enjoy this time too. He missed the age from 2-3 with Abs too. Good thing we quit while we were ahead or I would be doing this again and again and again and he would strategically arrange it so he wasn't around for the terrible two's with each of them.

Anyway, my inlaws have a long way to go with the house, but my MIL admitted to me that she doesn't like having so many dogs. Ya think? I told her that when she said she was going to keep 4 of the puppies. Insane.

Anyway here are some of the things I am thankful for:

Gunner
Em, Abs and Junior
My family
My friends
And this crazy life that is my own. Who could ask for anything more?

And the hits just keep coming

So my inlaws never showed up. Big surprise. So I loaded the kids up to take to the gym with me.

Stopped to get gas. Pumped gas all over me and the car. Leave there and go back by the house to get cleaned up and leave the check for the maid, which I had carried out of the house.

Had a great workout--I am way too competitive.

Took the kids to Blimpie because the maid was still cleaning. Had a nice lunch with no fighting.

Came home and put Junior down for a nap.

I just sat down to relax and I get a call from daycare. Junior's not even there today, but they want to let me know that his benadryl for his egg allergy is expired and I need to get him a new prescription in order for him to go to daycare. ARE YOU KIDDING ME????? It is Wednesday afternoon, I am getting ready to go out of town, I am a teacher and work from sunup till sundown, have three kids and a husband who is deployed and you are telling me now that my son will be denied care on Monday????

So of course I can't relax now. I called the daycare back to talk to the director, who is out on vacation, I hope she is able to relax. I asked for the assistant who told me that he wouldn't be able to come if he didn't have a prescription benadryl. I reminded her that it is an OTC medication and the only reason that one had the information on there was because I got it from a military doctor and all OTC medications are free. I told her I was upset because I am being notified at 2 o'clock on a Wednesday before a holiday about this and being told that my son can't receive care. She said sometimes they make extensions so I might be able to take him in Monday morning and then it would be okay. I told her again that I was a teacher and didn't have the luxury of just taking off whenever I wanted (especially with the rate we get sick around here). I told her that I needed more notice than this, etc. She gave me the number of the community health nurse.

So I call her, get her voice mail, and leave a message. Then I called back to the main number, explained my predicament and how I needed to know if I could take a bottle from the store and swap them out because if he was with a civilian doctor that is what I would have to do. They aren't sure, but they think so. They said that they will track down an answer for me. Let's hope so, because if I show up Monday morning and Junior is denied care I am going to lose it.

The girl called back and everyone is gone, enjoying their holidays. My MIL works on Mondays so that option is out. Since one virus can knock out 4 sick days alone, I can't really justify taking time off and then not being there when I am needed. I'll buy a bottle of benadryl and hope for the best.

I think I prefer overflowing toilets and exploding diapers over dealing with incompetent daycare people and crap like this.

And to think now I get to go have Turkey Day with the outlaws that stood my kids up earlier. They texted me to tell me to bring dessert if my kids wanted any. They don't, we'll have our Turkey Day tomorrow with all the trimmings. I am just hoping that they cleaned and I won't get sick!

Boring?

I was just telling my mom that I have had nothing to blog about because my life is so boring.

I spoke too soon.

Junior exploded all over himself, the floor, the world. How can one little boy make so much poop? It was awful. Gunner owes me.

The outlaws are coming to get the kids, so I decided I better make sure that my hooptie was cleaned out. I went out there, and it looked good minus a few odds and ends. I opened up the trunk to get a few things out and there it was. In the little recessed area in the trunk, a gigantic bottle of antifreeze had come open and filled it. Of course there was stuff in there. So I got my favorite cleaning supply next to towels--papertowels. I can now say I know how many paper towels it takes to clean up a mess like that. And bounty is not a very quick picker upper.

So I finally get all of that cleaned up and throw it away, but then the bag I dragged out to the car was heavy, so I decided to continue dragging it. Yep, trash all over the yard. I buy the ones that never seem to break, till now. So I clean up all the trash, come in, and notice a rash all over my arms from the antifreeze.

I did what any normal person would do and called my mom. She told me to read the bottle, but that seemed like more trouble to go back out through the trash, not to mention gross, so I declined and took a shower. So much for the gym. So the rash seems to be doing better once I got out of the shower, thank goodness as a trip to the er doesn't fit into my plans. I am getting dressed and decide to clean my ears. I do the first one with no problems, then lose the qtip part of the second one in my ear. (Yes, I know you shouldn't put qtips in your ears, but I like clean ears!) So now what do I do? Abs just took a look and didn't see anything. Em didn't see anything, and Junior was searching in the wrong ear but wanted to get in on the action. It kind of hurts now. I don't know if it is from the qtip or the kids smushing my "ear knob" to get a better view.


It's only 9:30 am.

Update: Abs was eating breakfast and came out of the kitchen with her shirt stuffed. I hated to ask, but I had to. She spilled applesauce on her shirt and didn't want it to get her sticky or wet, so she unrolled papertowels and folded them nicely to stuff up her shirt. I asked her why she didn't just change her shirt. Her response "I just didn't think of that".

Yesterday she was telling me about how much faster it was to travel in a straight line vs a curvy line. She showed me a real life example, then thought about it a while and declared "But a curvy line is much more fun". That it is Abs.

It never fails....

...the one day I can sleep in and Junior wakes up at 5. He didn't cry but played for about half an hour till he fell asleep again. I am wide awake.

...the one day I want to go to the gym and I can't find any of my sports bras. Is this a sign?

...the one day a week that the housekeeper comes and I am cleaning like a crazy woman.

...the one day I have off and I am going to go into school to work on stuff...maybe....

My friend Mel came over last night to hang out for a while and decompress. Her husband is deployed and she has no kids. I am not sure how hanging out at my house with three kids is decompressing. Junior loved her and climbed up in her lap to be read to with a bicycle helmet on. She just went with the flow and pretended that kids everywhere wear bicycle helmets for fun.

We are going to the outlaws tonight for Thanksgiving dinner. I am hoping that the dogs aren't around. Call me cold, but I have no desire for a pet of any kind. I have children that slobber on me, cough on me, barf on me, and poop on me. I clean up shampoo poured on the floor, flooded bathrooms and the dining room after the girls have been "creating". I've dealt with overflowing toilets, messy rooms, and hundreds of trips to the er. Who wants to add to the craziness?

Gunner called the other day--two days in a row, I almost died from the shock of it--and I asked him to send me 20 pictures of himself or something since it had been a while. The boy sent me a couple pictures of himself and then.......flies? I have a great shot of a flystrip with a 24 hour catch and a closeup of it all. I HATE flies, so I am still trying to figure out what he thinks I need with this. There were a couple of other things, but this meals looks great. Much better than the microwave meal I scrounged up and the ramen and leftovers I fed the kids!

I think I hear the rumblings from a certain Abs which means once she is up the whole house is up within seconds.....

Around the Hood

Em had her xylophone concert at school. She did a great job, especially from the hallway where I spent most of the time watching through a window. Junior was especially cranky and was trying to get on the stage to his sister. My mom was there, but she had to leave when during the last number Abs was unscrewing lightbulbs on the stage. Mental note to find a babysitter next time.

Abs has been especially whiny and after the concert incident, I asked her what her punishment should be. She thought about it for a while and she decided that she should lose tv until the 30th of December. I gave her till the 1st of January. She is able to earn back one day by behaving--so far she has only earned back one day, but at least she can start off 2009 on the right foot. Hopefully this will make an impression on her. Not much seems to have an effect on her. She's Gunner's kid.

Gunner's other kid believes that she is not loved because I make her do her homework, clean her room, go to bed at a decent hour, and I won't let her wear nail polish. Rough life.

Gunner's son has discovered fruit chews and is in heaven. I didn't realize that every time he asked for a set of "gummies" that Gunner's girls were giving him some. He polished off a gigantic box of 48 in a week. No wonder I have to change so many dirty diapers.

Only two days of school next week, I can't wait!

Are you ready for this???? The donut of misery is at 56% done, 44% to go if we stick with the 15 month deployment. If it goes to a year, then we are 70% done, 30% to go, which means the number of trash days I will have left is manageable--well sort of manageable.

My inlaws asked me weeks ago what I was doing for Thanksgiving. I told them that I was going to Houston. Today I had 5 missed calls from them and several texts wanting to make plans. Maybe I will tell them that we can do it Wednesday? Maybe I will spend Christmas with them or something.

Junior got the memo and slept in this morning. 9 hours of sleep. Perfect.

I am hitting the gym this week. Maybe today. Maybe Wednesday. Maybe after Thanksgiving? The donut of misery has motivated me to get moving because I don't have long to get it all together! I think I need a personal trainer.

Can I quit?

What was I thinking trying to have three kids and start a new career with no husband? At least single parents get every other weekend off or more if they don't have a deadbeat ex. I've had three nights off with no children, for which I am very thankful for, but I think I need a week. Greedy I know.

Had an observation today--mental note: shaving cream and children do not mix. I felt like crap today, and my day just seemed to go downhill. Went to a meeting with nothing that I needed. Went to PT where I found out that the OT authorization wasn't there--and don't even get me started on how it has taken TWO YEARS to get her in there! So I called and finally got it and an authorization number, so Abs had an OT eval. She wasn't terribly behind like she is in PT, but it's still a significant difference, so we now go from 5-6 on Tuesday and Thursday.

I was supposed to go to a math class tomorrow, but Em has xylophone practice till 4, which is when my class starts, so that's out. That would mean my inlaws would have to drive three places to get all the kids, which would be pushing my luck.

Junior screamed almost the entire time at PT and OT. It got worse when Abs stole his goldfish. Went to grab chinese food for me and I ordered the wrong meal. It's okay, but I had my heart set on something else. Got the kids whataburger since it was late. Junior's still screaming by this point.

Is someone out to get me and push me over the edge? Someone in my class said that if she was interviewed to see if she qualified as insane, she would pass with flying colors----I would qualify to be her roommate.

So here I sit watching Biggest Loser while I feel like one. I know my life could be worse, I know. I try to keep it all in perspective. Tomorrow is a new day......

Top Chef look out

I finally watched the first episode, and the military spouse didn't make the cut. I was disappointed. Not because I particularly liked her, but just for the connection.

Wonder if they will take me, I made a mean hotdog for dinner, complete with bun and ketchup. I even had sides of olives and pineapple. Doesn't get much better than that! (or at least in our house lately it doesn't!)

Not much happening here. Had class Saturday--only one more to go this semester.

Tons going on with school. Never a dull moment. I am observing one day this week at another school, and I am looking forward to sitting down (I hope!)

My mom kept all three kids all weekend long this past weekend. One night I studied and the other night I slept. I think she needs to do that once a month, right? Now to sell her on the idea! Any ideas on how to do that?

Not much from Gunner these days. My friend Mel's husband left 3 months after Gunner, and even though we still have 7 months left out of a 15 month deployment, she considers him coming home next week since it is so soon. It's all about perspective. Shoot, if I can make it through this first year of teaching, then it is right around the corner.

I asked daycare if Junior was interested in potty training there, and they told me he wasn't even close. His initial response when you ask him where you pee or poop, "the bathrub". Guess he is waiting on Gunner.

Abs has kept things interesting by emptying a bottle of shampoo outside of her sister's door. I asked her why she did it and her response was "I thought about it, and I can't recall having done it, so you might want to check with Em to see if she did it to herself." Geez.....

On a side note, I don't ever post recipes, but this is a great dip. I had to type it up for my sister to take to her book club (if there is a book club for people reading The Rainbow Fish, 5 million times a day, sign me up for that one) so you get to try it out. You'll love it.

Cranberry Salsa Dip with cream cheese
1-12 oz bag or 3 cups fresh cranberries rinsed and drained
1/4 c. minced green onions
2 small (approx 2 tbsp) jalapenos
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. fresh cilantro, minced
2 tbsp. finely grated fresh ginger
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2-8 oz packages cream cheese

Rinse, drain and pick over cranberries. Place them in a food processor; pulse until finely chopped, but not mushy. Place crushed cranberries in a bowl. Mix together with onions, jalapeno peppers, sugar, cilantro leaves, ginger and lemon juice. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours. Put over cream cheese and serve with crackers.

Just call me Betty Crocker.

Tonight's Festivities

No one liked dinner........check.
Abs flooded the bathroom......check.
House is a wreck......check.
Tons of homework to do for Saturday's class......check.

Baby with fever.......check.

Doctor tomorrow.....let's hope that they are open!

Reaction

Junior's reaction to all the political crap going on right now. Or the stock market......or maybe he just was tired....

World's Biggest Cowlick

My sweet baby boy. If I don't keep up with haircuts, then his gigantic cowlick sticks straight up. There's no taming this thing.....he sure is cute though!

Another Wife

My husband works closely with the IA (Iraqi Army). Most of them have more than wife, and tell him that he should have more wives and more children. He just looks at them and tells them that he is done having kids and one wife is more than enough. If he does change his mind, I'd love for him to get one that would cook and clean for us. Hopefully she rubs feet too, and loves to fold laundry.

Mourning

Can I wear all black tomorrow to show my disgust?

A good thing....

It's a good thing Gunner didn't call today.

I got the kids up this morning and Abs decided that her underwear just wasn't working for her, so she would play legos instead.

Finally got the underwear issued straightened out, kids dropped off, and headed to school.

Got situated in school when the phone rings. Junior has fallen and busted open his head. My inlaws have been called and are on the way to get him and take him to the er.

A million phone calls follow as I try to make sure he is okay and they can get treatment for him. They could, although my school was more than willing to provide coverage for me so I could go take care of him if I needed to.

His head glued back together, he headed back to daycare.

School continues. Is there a full moon? Oh the stories I could tell about school.

Grab Em, leave school, grab Junior. Rush home to get things ready for my mom and brother and nephew who are going to babysit while I attend a class. Junior looks good and never skipped a beat till he told me about his owie and all of the sudden was so sad and upset about it...then he raced off.

I came home and found a citation for not having mowed my lawn. Went to my class and called to check on the kids when I was on the way home and heard Abs upset that she couldn't eat a can of olives for dinner. There had been a hassle trying to find Abs after school today too. I seriously contemplated driving around while my mom put them to bed, but thought better of it since I have class next week too, and a test this Friday.

Came home and mowed my lawn while my brother weedeated. No telling what it will look like in the morning since I couldn't see a thing.

Had a beer. The grading will have to wait, I think I need another.

How to eat chocolate cake

Happy Halloween!

The girls didn't stay still long enough to snap too many pictures. It didn't take long for Junior to get the hang of trick-or-treating and we have an obscene amount of candy. We walked by one house that had Obama/Biden signs up and my children refused to go up there to get any candy. The next day, Abs mentioned that the reason she didn't go up there was because there was the possibility of them poisoning their candy since they obviously were voting the wrong way. I did explain to her that they wouldn't poison their candy just because they were democrats, that they were just stupid.

Speaking of elections, I never did make it over to early vote, so I will be out at the polls on Tuesday with all three children in tow. I think I can fit it in after school, after physical therapy and before bath time. I hope the lines aren't too long. Gunner got his absentee ballot and mailed it off immediately. What a good Soldier he is...plus he called, which always scores points.

Hanging out in the Hood

I got this email from Ab's teacher today:

hey, I think one of my girls had static cling on Tuesday morning. I found underwear on the floor of the room. I had a sneaky suspicion that it might be Ab's because of the look on her face. So if she's missing a pair... I threw it away... :-)

Poor kid can't catch a break! To her defense, I send a change of clothes in her backpack each day, so I assured the teacher that she wasn't going "commando". On the subject of Abs, she did her own hair this morning. It was interesting to say the least. It's been a while since she had done one of her infamous hairstyles. Pictures of that to come.

Em is 11 going on 21 now. She knows everything. I can hardly wait till she is officially a teenager. Every morning when we get in my classroom she wants the tv on, the radio going, and to be hooked up to the internet. It's my calm before the storm, so I can't handle all the noise. She is a big help with getting everything ready though most days. My students love her, and she pretends like they don't exist, but waves at her fan club every once in a while to maintain the attention.

Junior has learned to take off his pajamas. I found him wrapped in a blanket the other morning. The first words out of my mouth were....."thank goodness you kept your diaper on". I tucked him in tonight, and went in to check on him because he was laughing so hard. He had undressed himself again. Never a dull moment.

Not a lot of news from Gunner. He sent a short email saying that they had access to the internet briefly and would call in a bit. That was a few days ago. I know, I know, military wives from other wars waited months for letters. Still wish he would call though....I've given up on the letters.

I'm thankful that tomorrow is Friday. Never mind my lesson plans, preparing for my pedagogy test the following weekend, a birthday party, taking care of three kids, projects for school, getting back to the gym, and organizing my "important piles" that have taken over my piano....I do plan on sleeping in till at least 6 both days too.....I'm sure there's more, but that's a few things to keep my mind off of everything else I need to do!

UPDATE:

Bouncing baby boy fell asleep naked. Got him dressed and now I hear him fussing. He's probably undressing himself again. Gunner's boy.

Flu shots

I get a flu shot every year, and I make the kids get them too. This year they were offering the flumist at our school, so Em and I got it. I feel like crap. I never have any side effects from the shot, I should have stuck with what I knew. They say that the flumist is better, so we will see. I get sneezed on, snotted on, coughed on and spit on all day long between my students and my kids. I still need to hook Junior and Abs up.

Em and Abs have decided that if they win the lottery they want to buy the Blue Hanger. Geez.

Had mexican food with the kids, my mom and my sister tonight.

I have a ton of work to do for my graduate classes, but not even sure where to start. Anyone know of any good children's literature that I can use to write social studies lessons?

I spent the morning with Ab's teacher going over the finer points of guided reading, ARI & AMI. Still so much to learn.

Abs is doing GREAT in PT. Thank goodness.

Em is headed with my mom to go to my nephew's baptism. I was going to go, but it would be a hard trip on Junior.

Haven't heard from Gunner since Thursday. I miss him.

I'm off to bed and I hope the kids sleep in tomorrow before we start our day of errands, girl scouts and cleaning...oh my!