Random Tuesday Thoughts: Vampires and Bloggers

I haven’t read a book other than Harry Potter in four years. Seriously. How sad is that? Then I got this Kindle… and I’ve managed to read the entire Twilight Saga in under a month. I keep having these crazy dreams… not like crazy sexy… just crazy vampire dreams. I read a blog post from one of my favorite bloggers one night while I was breastfeeding…then dreamed that she was a vampire (you can see now why I’m not linking her). I read all of the Vampire Chronicles back in the day, too. Now what shall I read? I hear True Blood is some full on vampire porn… maybe I should go there. Heaven forbid I should read something of SUBSTANCE that might improve my brain function…. isn’t that what Words With Friends is for?

I’m amazed at the retention rate of my 4yo. He is unfortunately, quite the good listener…even if he pretends not to be. I try to make sure he is listening by having him look at me…. the other day he was rambling about something while I was changing SuperBaby’s diaper and he says to me “Mom. Look at me so I know you are listening.”

I’m a little worried about what the future holds for him, however. The other night he was shaking his head back and forth as fast as he could…making silly noises all the while…making himself as dizzy as possible. When he stopped his eyes were glazed and he slumped back in his chair and said “Niiiiiiice” with a dopey grin on his face. DH and I just looked at each other and laughed, despite ourselves.

Have I mentioned yet today how pure and wonderful and calm SuperBaby is? Even at his WORST moments… he soothes me and makes me feel calm and protected.

We booked our HONEYMOON! Five years in the making DH and I are taking our honeymoon….to St. Lucia! We are staying at an all inclusive resort with the WORKS and I am so excited!! Want to know the best part? We are paying cash! Saving and putting money away we were intent upon having this trip be fun and extravagant… without pulling us into debt and WE DID IT!

I’ve got nothing else today. I’m not random…I’m sleep deprived and under medicated. Better luck next week!

For some other random individuals…be sure to visit Keeley at TheUnMom. If you are random in your Tuesday thoughts…leave a link here and I’ll come ponder your views.

Random Tuesday Thoughts: I Finally Figured it Out

She emptied my dishwasher.

I’ve had a DAY.  More like 5 days all wrapped up in one.  I seriously thought it was Saturday night a few minutes ago and realized that it was, in fact, still Monday.

Right before Christmas my dear friend Aprile had the kids and I over for lunch and her husband had the unfortunate experience of running a T-Bone on my minivan, parked securely in their driveway.  I felt bad.  They have insurance, we made arrangements and I finally got around to getting it fixed … TODAY.

The plan was to take it to Kansas City, pick up the rental car and come home.  We left half an hour late…big surprise.  I was pretty pleased with myself for getting the van cleaned out before we took it in…fairly certain that the mechanics at O’Neill Honda would not want to deal with mounds of half – finished coloring book pages, random socks (SuperGirl likes to de-sock herself in the car)…the occasionally snot rag and errant shopping receipts running amok.

I digress.

We head to Kansas City…about a 40 minute drive to the Honda dealership.  We get there…they call the rental car company and I go wait patiently in my car.  I’m in an strangely calm mood.

Then I begin to dig through the diaper bag for my driver’s license so I would have it ready when the rental car arrived.  I dug, and I dug…and yet…. no license.  I’d left it at home.  There was nothing to do but turn around and go get it.

That’s okay…this was the only thing I had planned for today.  No sweat.  I have a DVD player in the van and my kids REALLY like Sonic.

Drive back to Lawrence. Stop at Sonic and pick up lunches for the kids.  Drive all the way across town to our house.  Pull in the driveway as SuperGirl begins to shriek “Iiiiiicccckkkkyyy!” and proceeds to spew vomit all over herself.

Again, I’m calm.  Odd? Yes!  I clean her up…comfort her…grab my driver’s license, a plastic bowl and an extra set of clothing and head back out the door.  We drive BACK to Kansas city… SuperGirl vomits again as we pull into the dealership.

And AGAIN…I clean her up.  Its a little worse this time.  I change her clothes and clean everything up.  Transfer all car seats to the rental van… slyly stuff all of the vomit evidence into empty Sonic bags and slide them into the back of the rental van praying that the nice man picking us up would not notice.

Fill out paperwork at rental place.  Kids screaming.  SCREAMING.  SuperBoy doesn’t feel good….SuperBaby is starving and sick of his carseat.  The rental van has no DVD player.

And yet, I’m calm.  I drive to a parking lot and pull over.  I feed SuperBaby and we are on our way home.  Kids all snooze for a short period during the trip.  We get home safely…. six hours after we left the first time.  I’m still able to get dinner made and a load of laundry done.

I’m baffled.  This is NOT NORMAL for me.  I should be freaking out…stressed to the max…cursing my husband when this CLEARLY has no trace of being even remotely his fault….  but I’m not.  I know that because I was calm my kids were happier…and handled the situation better.

What could it be?

I finally figured it out:

She emptied my dishwasher.

Last night our sitter unloaded our dishwasher and put away the dishes for me.  I didn’t realize this until I was fixing breakfast this morning.  It was such a pleasant, happy surprise.  Having an empty dishwasher in the morning is one of my household-chore fantasies.  It was random.  It was nice….and it set my mood for the day.  I truly believe that I was calmer and able to take it all in stride…not simply because the dishwasher was empty…but because of the random kindness and the pleasant surprise it added to my day.

And on other random notes: Bella Swan irritates the bejeezus out of me.  I cannot stand the self-loathing weak woman that she is.  It is very irritating.

Visit Keely at TheUnMom…the creator of all things Random and Tuesday.

That is all.

Oh….and link up if you think you have something random to say.

Random Tuesday Thoughts: Weaning, Weenies and an “F”

Randomly stopping in again this week…because its the middle of the night, I have a stomach bug and NONE of my kids are sleeping well….so why not blog?

To wean or not to wean…that is the question. No, not SuperBaby. SuperGirl. That’s right…the 2 year old. Let’s be more specific…the 26 month old. She CAN do without it…and, as it turns out, might actually be better off without it (all this time thinking she could finally tolerate milk in MY diet….oops…not so much)… but she is such a whirlwind of activity it is my only snuggle time with her some days…

Speaking of weaning…or weenies, actually… another grave decision: To have SuperBaby circumcised? Thaaaat’s right. The poor boy is 5 months old and we haven’t circumcised him yet. Mainly because I don’t want to….I’ve put it in DH’s lap…and it isn’t getting done. Now it will be an ordeal if we do it…anesthesia, urologist… all that and SuperBoy has to have his “fixed” because the doc who did it botched it, in a manner of speaking.

And finally….I’m very put off by the sign off conversation I just heard on our local news station KCTV5 in Kansas City… apparently there is a discussion on the table where if your child receives an “F” in any subject they will have to sit out of the next semester’s extra curricular activities. The news personalities thought this was ridiculous?! They actually said “Can you imagine having to pull your child from speech, drama, choir, band or SPORTS just because they got an F in like French?” Um… yes. ABSOLUTELY. If your child is FAILING a subject in school it seems to me that perhaps they need to be a little more focused, supported or aided in their studies. Whatever. In my life an “F” in ANY area of my studies was unacceptable…and it will be the same for my kids.

That’s all I’ve got.  No offense, but I don’t REALLY want to hear your opinions on circumcision or nursing a toddler…I’m just thinking outloud.  Feel free, however, to comment away about the whole extra curricular activities thing.

I’m going to go and dream about vampires now.  Damn you, Aprile  and your introductions to the world of the Twilight Saga.

If Zombies are more your thing…or you want to read some incredibly random and entertaining stuff… go visit the Queen of Random… Keeley at The UnMom. If you, yourself are random, feel free to leave your mark in the Mister Linky below.

Random Tuesday Thoughts

In true spirit, I’m randomly showing up again for Random Tuesday Thoughts. I need to get my act together so I can keep up with all you other random individuals.

My (nearly) 4yo slipped and fell flat on his face today…split his lip wide open and knocked a tooth loose….I think he was more freaked out by all of the blood. His (nearly) 2 yo sister was very concerned about him…and when she saw him with a cloth on his lip to stop the blood…she proceeded to walk around holding a kleenex on her upper lip. They both copy each other in almost everything they do…I find it hysterical.

I feel like my head might explode from all of the deals I scanned and watched this past weekend. Do you have any idea how much stuff I bought? None. That’s right. Not. One. Thing. Yeah me!

I haven’t yet informed my husband that I’m going to Blissdom. Hope he’s cool with it.

Saw a commercial that severely disturbed me the other day…but I can’t remember what it was. I remember thinking….”Include THIS in your next RTT”…but alas, mommy brain strikes again.

I busted my ass to get SuperBaby back to the boob after two months of basically all formula…it is REALLY important to me…I still feed SuperGirl and she is almost TWO!…but now every time he wants to eat I cringe…I’m just.so.tired. Grass is always greener. It WILL be easier at some point. I think. Maybe.

I have actually gained weight since he was born.

I think I have all of my Christmas shopping done. Maybe a couple of random things here and there…but mostly done. I’m thrilled. I MIGHT even start wrapping. Maybe I should put the tree up first.

My sister…my baby sister…had her first baby two weeks ago.  My BABY sister.  How very cool that sisters 13 years apart in age can be pregnant at the same time…my last…her first.

Baby crying…time to go.  I didn’t even get to say anything clever.

For true random genius …with clever to boot…go visit Keely at The UnMom.  She’s a rock star.

Random Tuesday Thoughts: I’m Randomly Back

I have blogged like twice since Ryan was born six weeks ago. Crazy. My new project, Shop Talk with Jenn and Julie, has been keeping me busy, but hey… they pay me, its easier to make time for them

I’ve decided to try to make use of the iPhone WordPress app to try to get some stuff done. Lookey me!! I’m writing on my phone now.

My babies are sick. All of them. It rots. Oldest has the flu, middle is a walking cesspool of green nasal excretions and SuperBaby is wheezing and barking…hoping it’s not RSV.

I don’t like typing with my thumbs but I DO like writing while Ryan snoozes in my arms. Ahhhh, mommy blogging.

I bought a ticket to Blissdom…terribly excited about that.  I’ve been looking at plane tickets…something crazy like $112 from Kansas to Tennessee… I need to buy it…can’t decide whether to fly in Wed night or Thurs morning…extra sessions…blah blah blah… by the time I decide I will probably spend the $125 I would have on an extra night on the new ticket price…. *sigh*  I’ll be bringing SuperBaby with me… all 5 months of him… anyone know a sponsor who would want to help foot the bill?  I wear slings…I use cloth diapers (ok…I HAVE cloth diapers…used them exclusively with #1 …still in sposies to date for this guy)…. I breastfeed (ok…kind of… I’m having to supplement with formula)… oh wait….I’m guessing sponsors would want someone who actually WRITES IN THEIR BLOG… that wouldn’t be me as of late…. I have ever intention of making this my return…. we shall see.

Coupon deals have been outrageous lately…. wonder when they will end…after the first of the year?  They always seem to take a sabbatical…

I love the return to Standard Time…. I love early dark evenings…can’t wait until it is dark in the am too… check back with me in the spring I’ll be telling you I love the return to Daylight Savings.  In the meantime something about the dark fall evenings makes me want to bake and cook…. if only I could find my kitchen beneath the rubble.  Did I mention I have several (ok 10) months of rubbish to clean up in my house? 

I AM amazed at how wonderful it feels to be able to get up and DO things…instead of thinking about them and wishing they were done…knowing if I did them I would have contractions or be so exhausted I’d be out of commission for the rest of the day.  Its AWESOME.

DH is getting “The Big Snip” this week.  Wednesday, actually.  I’m very confused by the fact that this makes me sad.  I DO NOT WANT MORE KIDS….three is KILLING ME… I’m too old to have more…my body can’t take another pregnancy…and my mind couldn’t take this last one!!! So why am I sad?  Dunno.

Be nice…sign up in the linky here… I will do my Honest to God best to get back and leave a reply….I think I can do that from my iPhone   Then head on over to The UnMom and visit Keeley…. she is cool as hell…I miss her.

Random Tuesday Thoughts: Its Been A While

Not sure how long its been since I did Random Tuesdays…maybe not that long…seems like forever….

Time is flying by me over here and I’m sort of wandering through life half dazed…half asleep and praying for the end of this pregnancy.

In the meantime…my other two kids are growing so fast I feel like every day I’m amazed at some new thing they are doing or saying…. and when, pray tell, did they get old enough to be sneaky?  In preparation for Baby #3 we moved Lil and B into the same bedroom…got them bunkbeds.  We don’t have a mattress for the bottom yet so Lil is still in her crib (with the side off) … which sort of defeats the purpose entirely… anyway… they no longer nap very well because they are too busy keeping each other awake.  She climbs into his bunk and wakes him up if he goes to sleep first and vice versa… the sneaky part is that when we go in to tell them to lie down… they both hide whatever toy they have under the nearest blanket and hit the bed as fast as they can to pretend to be asleep.  They are 3.5 and 1.5!!!

Brendan is using big words like “enormous” and “ridiculous” …and it sounds so funny coming out of a little guy’s body.  He also told me the other day “I’m jus’ messin’ with ya, mom”…grreeeeaaat.

They are both big singers these days.  In the van they will sing their little hearts out to They Might Be Giants: Here come the ABC’s.  Lilli doesn’t know all of the words … or really any of them…but gets some of the letters and ALL of the intonations right which is hysterical.  As if I don’t have enough issues with pee… I laugh so hard when they sing sometimes that I might just pee myself one of these days.  Lots of “huhmmm..hunnhh….DOUBLE-YOU! THEN THERE”S DOUBLE-YOU..hunnnh hummh hum hunnh” ….freaking hysterical.

Genetics is also something I’m thinking a lot about…the wonder and amazement of it all as I wait to see what #3 will be like.  My dad used to have this HORRIBLE problem smelling like garlic whenever he had any at all… I remember my mom being completely disgusted…. she said it would seep out of his poors.  I think Lilli has that problem.  The girl must have had some garlic in her beans and rice at lunch out with Daddy the other day because garlic is all I could smell for the rest of the day…and night…. and it wasn’t her breath.

Eric turned on a television show the other night, “Renovation Realities” …I’ve never seen it before but I laughed so hard it hurt my already irritated uterus.  This couple…who is having a baby in like 2 weeks… decides to renovate their bathroom completely…and wants the project done in 4 days.  It quickly becomes apparent that the dude has NO CLUE what he is doing…comments like “Oh, gee…I hope this isn’t a load bearing wall” as he is swinging a sledge hammer… and there is no way this chic was really pregnant because she was calm and clueless and kept saying what a great job he was doing….and she let the tile guy convince her that she only needed 6 tiles for her shower…? Huh?  In the first 5 minutes of the show…Day 1 of the renovation…she is up early to start…he is sleeping in…she starts throwing up…(which they get on camera)…and still she is not yelling at anyone.  There would have been BLOODSHED at my house.  Granted…Eric is running around like a chicken with his head cut off trying to finish up our DIY’s…(tiling kitchen floor…finishing edges on hard floors and putting in transitions,etc) …but hey…at least he’s been dragging this out since March…he didn’t get the bright idea a week ago.

My dogs are driving me insane.  INSANE.  There is so. much. dog. hair.  And they smell. And they are becoming incontinent (I use the word “becoming” loosely).  And they are loud.  And they wake the kids and us up every morning way too early.  The oldest one paces around and pants at like 4:30 in the morning until you let her out…if you don’t let her out she poops on the floor…right in front of the door.  Strangest thing…. she can open the screen door to let herself back in after she goes out….but can’t manage to do the same to get out there in the first place?  Who knew dogs could be passive aggressive.

That’s all I have for today.  More than I thought…amazingly.  I’m not even going to reread to see if it makes sense.  If you want some truly hilarious and random writing to enjoy….go and visit Keely at The UnMom.  She is uber fantastic and delicious.

Random Tuesday Thoughts: The Webs We Weave

You know…when first we practice to deceive….

Here are some of my favorite webs of deception

“The kids just did NOT nap today”…. An oldie but goodie…makes an incredible cover story for my lack of any type of housework being done…and no blog posts to show….so in other words…twitter time and reading blogs.

“Daddy Dash” … kind of ties into the previous web of deception.  About 1/2 hour before DH heads home from work I start rushing around the house to tidy up…get dinner started…oh…get dressed… all to create the appearance of a well put together household…to give the impression that I’ve been slaving away all day…. OR .. I’ve been playing on the computer/napping and can’t fess up.

“Oh THOSE crumbs….Lilli was eating a cookie while I held her earlier”… OR… I spilled on myself AGAIN and the crumbs got stuck in my boobs…you know, whatever.

“I shared those brownies with (insert rotating friends’ name here) because they stopped by”… OR… I binged on brownies…thought if I didn’t eat them ALL you would know how many I really ate…

Peni Update: This will be my last peni update.  As it turns out…what I at first found to be cute, baffling and entertaining has turned into drudgery and pure nature…I get the same stuff day after day and HE still finds it funny…. so does his dad…which leads me to believe it will be more of the same for the next…forever.

We have been in big boy undies day AND night (the kicker) for 6 days now…and clean and dry the entire time.  I’m so proud…and so GRATEFUL to the gods and goddesses who watch over my diaper/ladden children.  One more butt I don’t have to change…

For more truly random thoughts from the Queen of Fabulous…visit Keely at The UnMom ….

Random Tuesday Thougts: Nursing the Storm

So proud of myself this week as I was organized enough to get MOST posts written and scheduled before the week began. Totally forgot my RTT.

So here I sit (okay, I’m actually lying in bed) at 3:30am writing whatever randomness comes to me because we are having a giant thunderstorm that I can’t manage to sleep through.

I’m writing this on my iPhone. I find this both ludicrous and tantilizing at the same time. I DO wish I hadn’t run down my battery earlier playing that stupid Snoozle game.

I don’t usually play games on my phone. I’d go so far as to say I NEVER play games on my phone, that is sort of Eric’s forte and it generally annoys me.
Last week when I was at the OB I was looking for grocery list apps (suggestions anyone?) while I waited. Doc came in and asked what I was doing, when I told him searching for apps he whips out his phone and says “Oh! You’ve got to get Snoozle! The kids will love it, we have tournaments at my house. It’s addicting!”. All while he is showing me how to play the game.

The kids DO love the game. So do I, unfortunately. Thank you, Dr. M for introducing me to another time drain. As the person set to deliver my THIRD child under the age of four I would have hoped you would have shown a little more foresight on that one.

I bet his wife wouldn’t have shown me that.

I think my bedroom is the loudest room in the house during a storm. I always wake up like this. Generally I have to lie here and go through my mental checklist: car windows up? Toys in the house? Important electrical devices unplugged? Then I have to check the weather on my phone to make sure there is nothing overtly severe to worry about… I’ve already done all of that. Good thing it’s RTT, what else would I do? Tweet? Play Snoozle?

I’m hungry. I’ve been ravishingly hungry for two days now. I went away to BlogHer thinking that would be the end of nursing for my 19mo. When I came home she still wanted to nurse and it brought my milk back in full force. Now she wants to nurse all the time because she is actually getting milk, not sure there was much before. So now I’m starving all the time.

She must have heard me THINKING the word milk, I am no longer the only one awake. I’m guessing she will want to climb into bed with me and nurse. I should get a snack first.

For some good random thoughts that are truley entertaining and fabulous visit Keely at The Unmom. She is luscious. Be sure to leave your link so I can visit you, too… I need some more random in my life.

Random Tuesday Thoughts

It has been a full week since I posted anything.  ANYTHING.  Good grief.  I was so overwhelmed with getting to BlogHer…and then taking in every single minute of BlogHer…and then recovering from BlogHer…. now its back to the norm I suppose.

I’m not feeling very random.  In fact…I’m feeling very mundane.  I have no inspiration to write…a giant sinus infection rages in my  head and I just want to sleep.

My kids got ONE bath the entire time I was at BlogHer.  I left Wed morning and returned Sunday night.  ONE bath.

My belly grew like 2 inches while I was in Chicago as well…no one told me.  I came home and put a shirt on…one that I wear on a regular basis…and it crawled up my front.

Lilli had no need for nursing when I returned.  I didn’t leak a drop the entire time I was gone.  Monday morning she crawled into bed with me and wanted to nurse (giant grins)…and milk magically appeared for her.  I guess I will be nursing two babies…I’m okay with this.  I don’t want her to stop before she is ready…and its our special time.  Ask me if I still think its a good idea about the middle of October.

My husband taught himself how to do piggy tails in Lilli’s hair while I was gone.  Super adorable to me that he did that…and he does it well.  Despite the super messy house and loads of laundry that I returned to…my kids had a fabulous time with him … having some one on one Daddy time…and he was thrilled to have them to himself for a while as well.

I think I will cut coupons and make lists today.  I need to make hubs a “Before Baby List” …since he has 9 weeks left to get it all done. LOL

For some reading that is actually entertaining…head on over and read KEELY at the UnMom …she is stellar and superb and absolutely luscious.

Random Tuesday Thoughts: BlogHer Edition

Tuesday sure comes around awfully quickly each week.  My head is so wrapped around trying to plan menus for my family while I’m in Chicago…doing everyone’s laundry…cleaning the house.  Maybe by Tuesday night I’ll get to start making plans for BlogHer.

Here is what I DO know:  I will be in Chicago for 5 days, 4 nights.  EA is sponsoring the Wii Mommies for this fabulous conference.  This means I have FOUR FULL DAYS of:

*  Showers.  Every. Single. Day.  Without worrying about everyone being tied down or otherwise occupied.

* No dogs.  NONE.  No dog hair to vacuum up twice a day…or clicking toenails on the hard wood floor.

* No Disney Channel.  No Nickelodeon.

* No dishes to clean up at the end of the day when I’m exhausted.

*Bras.  REAL Bras.  Not nursing ones.  Thank you @HanesComfort!

*A LIMO, not a minivan, will be picking me up and taking me to the airport.

But on the other hand:

*No little voices singing They Might Be Giants: Here Come the ABC’s in the backseat wherever we go.

*No snuggling and nursing in bed in the morning…maybe every again with Lilli.

*No “Mommy, you BEAUTIFUL” four or five times a day.

*No little voices giggling and squealing as they play through the afternoon.

I guess it balances out.  This is the first time in 4 years that I will be alone.  ALONE.  And this is the single longest time I’ve been without my kids…and equals a trip my hubby took on his own earlier this year for the most time I’ve been away from him since we got married.  With the baby arriving in October…it is the last time I will be alone for a very long time again.  I’m already missing my family!

I got some great suggestions last week on how to mess with the kids’ rooms when I get home.  Eric actually talked to some friends of ours who are GIVING us a set of bunkbeds that matches the furniture that we have.  I’m feeling optimistic and lucky.

I started taking zoloft.  I know it is a little controversial in third trimester in particular…but my family and I are miserable….I feel like I have post partum depression…and I’m certainly not post partum yet.  I’m watching myself react like a crazy lady to almost everything (bet you can’t wait to meet me at BlogHer!! LOL)

Remember a couple of weeks ago I said that I KNOW my due date is Oct 6 …not October 16?  I’m right.  Completely right.  Had another sonogram on Friday and the tech put in no dates…just took measurments and the date that she came up with was Oct 6 on the NOSE.  She also looked back at last sono and said it was consistant with that date as well.  I didn’t get to see my OB but if I can convince him that this is the date to go with…I still have a shot at delivering this baby on October 1 which was my dad’s birthday.  It also means that I am actually 29 weeks pregnant now instead of 27.  WOO HOO!

We have to come up with a name so we don’t keep calling him “this baby”.

I’m done.  I need to go forth and switch over the laundry.  For some great random thoughts that will rock your casbah… visit Keely at The UnMom.  She is fabulrific.  If you are feeling random today…leave your linky below.  I’ll return your comment…it might not be until I’m safely on my way to Chicago

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