sorry I am so quiet

Image by harold.lloyd (won’t somebody think of the bokeh?) via Flickr

we lost the hubby’s father yesterday.

we are flying to Fargo tomorrow.

just kind of sad around here.

My get up and go…

got up and went.  I have no energy to day at all.  The kids slept through the night, I slept well, except for some really weird dreams, and the kids are being good today.  The sun is out but somehow, I am in a funk.

My mother is recovering.  She is still really sore but is hanging in there.  Dad and my nephew are off to Old City Philadelphiafor a historic tour.  Mom and my niece are home making people out of toilet paper and paper towel rolls.  The kids are coming over tonight for supper.  This should be interesting.  I really need to shake this funk.

I am still shaking my head about all the press coverage on MJ’s death, Farrah’s death and now Billy Mays.  Poor Patrick Swayze is probably getting very nervous.  I just want to watch something else on TV other than celebrity death.

I have lots of pictures to post of both our trip on the Choo Choo and the baby skunks that are wondering our block.  Tomorrow, the kids are coming back over to go swimming and then Wednesday, we are going to the Crayolafactory.  So I will probably post a ton of picutres on thursday.

Oh, and I got my new phone.  I love it.  I will miss my blackberry and mobile tweeting, but I love having a camera phone again.  Oh, and it saves us more than $30 per month, so it’s really a good thing!

 

Not what I had planned

My blog post was supposed to be called “Three Little Stinkers” and I was going to tell you about the three baby skunks that are living next door to us and how cute they are.  Or I would have told you all about the trip to Lancaster County and our ride on the Strasbugh Railroad (choo choo).  But instead, I am at my mom and Dad’s house.

My mom fell this morning and cracked her head open.

She was taken by ambulance to the hospital.

Now I am just waiting to hear if she is okay.

Please say a prayer.

Shhhh……can you keep a secret?

Don’t tell the hubby, but I bought a new phone today.

I got an LG enV.  It’s used, but in great condition.

I found it on zendoo.com.

Oh…and I bought myself a little treat from Great Cakes Soap Works.  It is the new Skin Glow Moisturizer that I was lucky enough to help test a few weeks back.  This stuff is THE BEST.  Better than my old love, Philosophy Hope In A Jar.  Stop over at Amy’s place and check it out if you get a chance.

I managed to get my running around done and now am just waiting for the hubs to get home so I can go to the gym.  It was pouring rain this morning while I was loading the kids in the cart at Wally Mart.  melissa thought it was funny.  Daniel….not so much…..

But we made it.

Anybody have any idea how to build an ark?  We might need it before too long.

Refusal

Image by Natalia Gustafson via Flickr

Today I feel strong.

I refuse to be in a funk.

I have the day planned out, and despite the forecast of yet more rain and storms, I have every intention of doing what I need to do today.

I just made waffles(that was a disaster…but that is another story for another blog post), got the kids up, folded laundry, got myself dressed, made me a big ol’ pot of cinnamon swirl coffeeand am doing a quick post before I (wrestle the kids to the ground and try to) dress them.

We are off to Super Wally Mart….you know, the kind with the grocery store in it……then it is off to Mom and Dad’s to drop everything off.  Then back home, hopefully for naps.  Then when the hubby gets home, I plan on going over to the gym to workout.

And to top it off….I have a song stuck in my head…..

Remember Pretty Woman……..and the song “King of Wishful Thinking” (ok…it may be the dumbest video ever made), but the line that keeps sticking is:

I refuse to give in to my blues
That’s not how it’s going to be

And I deny the tears in my eyes
I don’t want to let you see.. no

Darn music from 1990 whatever the heck year it was….it was a long time ago……

So there is light at the end of the tunnel.  The kids are even sort of, somewhat, kind of, behaving a little bit this morning.  There have been no tears….yet.

Finally Friday

It has just been a rough week here.  Yesterday went pretty well.  I seemed to have an unusual amount of energy and got a lot done (tons of laundry, sorting winter kid clothes, etc)….Today, not so much.  Maybe I just stayed up too late last night.  Maybe it is because we haven’t seen the sun here in days.  Maybe it is because Daniel and Melissa are running everywhere, getting into everything, climbing, screaming, hair pulling, tormenting the dogs, etc…..oh to have their energy for just one day.

My parents come home tomorrow.  I am so happy.  I am going to hit the grocery store for my mother so it is one less thing for her to worry about when they get home.  They are bringing my neice and nephew with them.  The kids will go back home in July.  Boy, I can’t wait until it is my turn to have the kids stay at Grandma and Grandpa’s house for 2 + weeks. Imagine my sparkling clean house, the return of sanity, the idea of actually sleeping in……but alas, that is years away……  My hubby has volunteered to teach my 9 year old nephew to ride a bike.  Yeah, 9 years old……What the heck?  We are also planning on going to the Crayola factory and to the Please Touch Museum while they are visiting.  We thought about doing Sesame Place, but not at $52 per person and $15 to park…..um….how do I say this…..no thank you……I can find something else to do with $200+  not including food.

But at least my parents will be home.  I feel terrible for my Mother.  She has been sleeping (or trying to sleep rather) on a futon mattress for the last 2 weeks.  She has bursitis in her hip and now has been diagnosed with arthritis in her spine.  She is going to our favorite orthopaedist in July….(I secretly want to see the doctor…..he’s completely HOT).  We call him Dr. Mc Cutie…….that pre-dates any McSteamy or McDreamy……. So Mom will be back on vicodin for the pain.  It is yet another reason for her to really take her dieting seriously.

Well, at least I got something done today….I blogged.  Oh, and I got a shower….Oh, and I watched Animal Cops in South Africa.  Wow!  How beautiful is that place!  It is on my list of places to visit someday!  now I just need to figure out what to feed the family for supper.  It is not going to be a late night for me.  I am determined to get up tomorrow, go to the gym, doing the shopping for Mom, and try to relax with the hubs and kids.  Oh crap…………need to get father’s day cards…….crap crap crap……..I guess that means I have to get him breakfast in bed on Sunday.  Lucky me.

 

sluggish….

Image by Cesar R. via Flickr

I know that I have been too quiet.  Things around here are just too much for me to handle some days.  The babies are in their “we refuse to be restrained” phase, and are pretty much kicking my butt.  The hubby took yesterday off to give me a little bit of a break.  I really didn’t get one, but it was a nice gesture on his part.

I had a few days where my depression got the best of me.  I hate feeling like that.  It was 48 full, long hours of me in self-loathing, worst mother and person in the world, feeling like I was going to burst in to tears at any moment kind of a thing.  And I didn’t go off my meds or anything.  It just creeped up on me and felt so dark.  And then I woke up, and felt like I could deal with life again.  It has to be hormonal….I don’t know if there is any other way to explain it.

Our garden is pretty much shot.  We have had so much rain that the slugs…ewwwwww….took over and pretty much ate everything.  I got a dew radishes, and a few peas, but the cucumbers, cauliflower, onions, peppers and cilantro are gone.  We might try again.  I don’t know.  I just hate slugs more than anything in the world.  The slugs won!

My parents are back home on Saturday.  That means at least I can have someone to talk to other than the hubby.  It also means that I can drop the kids off for an hour or two and have some me time.  I know, that sounds selfish, but really, the last week and a half without having my parents around has been so difficult.  I didn’t realize how much they really do help me out with the twins.

We were hoping to have a date night this week, but that isn’t going to happen.  Our sitter is busy and I will not make my parents watch the kids after being in the car for 7+ hours.  So, it, like many things in my life, will have to wait.

I guess the only real bright spot is that we have found a home for the frosties.  The family is “ready to go” and maybe everything that happened was for a reason.  I was really upset about the other family.  But this family, well, it seems that all of the stars have aligned.  Oh, and her name is the same as my sister’s…just spelled differently.  Is that weird or what?  My sister’s name is not at all common.

I have a metric ton of laundry to put away while the kids are taking their nap.  I just wanted to let anyone who is still reading know that I am alive and still somehow, by the grace of God, keeping my head above water.

BISCUIT HEAD!

Image via Wikipedia

I am claiming the biscuit head award for myself. 

While checking out at Wal.mart, I was dumb enough to put my ATM/visa debit card in my pocket rather than into my purse like a responsible adult.

And then I unloaded the kids, unloaded the cart, returned the cart and drove my babies for the healthiest of lunches….McDonald.s.   It was then that I realized that my card was not in my pocket.  It was also not in my purse.  Enter panic mode.  I remember the phone number to the bank…but since my ancient blackberry 7250 doesn’t have the alpha’s on the numeric’s, I couldn’t spell out the bank name.

I drive over to mom and dad’s and unload the kids, call the bank and cancel the card.  I realize that mom and dad have left 3 bananas out for me.  They are almost black…and besides, I wasn’t really hungry after McDonald.s.

I drove home, thinking I was going to stop at the bank branch and pick up a new card and then I realized that it was almost 2 pm, and the kids had not napped yet!  Not good.

So, I will wait until the hubby gets home and then go over to the bank.

And I got a visit from the UPS guy!  Wahoo!  New fitflops and two pair of cropped pants from Victoria’s Secret.

But I still feel like a biscuit head.  I am just wondering what else can go wrong today.

At least the kids are napping..

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

So we have finally done it.

We got rid of the phone company.

We got a Magic Jack.  $40 and it includes unlimited local and long distance, call waiting, caller ID, and voice mail.  I am sure you have seen the commercials on tv.

Of course, the only drawback is that if there is a power failure (which is rare in these parts) we would have to use our cell phones.  Oh darn. 

So far, so good.  We had to lose our old phone number, but that means that there will be less “fund raising” and unwanted telemarketers calling.  Of course, this also means that the hubby has to remember a new number.  He can’t even remember his own cell phone number.  I, on the other hand, can remember the majority of all the phone numbers I have ever had…going back to the 70’s. 832-6135 was my first phone number, 233-6755 was the second, 263-7197 was the third, etc etc….I have always been able to memorize numbers. My SSN, the hubby’s SSN, my sister’s SSN, both kids SSN.  Don’t ask me to do algebra, but I will rattle off stock numbers for agfa film from when I worked for Ritz Camera.  I’m a dork!

We also “splurged” a little. Since most of the good shows that we like come on later at night, and we are pretty much wiped out by the kids by 9 pm, we got the DVR package so we can record shows.  As a matter of fact, I can record them downstairs and watch them in bed, so as not to disturb the hubby when he is watching Fox News, or the Military Channel, or Patton 360.

And since we ditched the phone service, we are actually saving money. 

In other news, the kids slept all night again.  They slept through a doozey of a thunderstorm and let me sleep in until….9 AM!  Yes, you read that right!  9 FRIGGIN AM!  I am taking a day off from the gym as both my upper and lower body are telling me that they have had enough for a day or so.  Going back to the gym has made me feel so great.  I keep begging the hubby, but so far…no luck.  I haven’t given up on him yet.

We are going to attempt to install insulation at my parent’s house tonight.  This should be a real adventure as I am so looking forward to lifting bales of insulation over my head while chasing the kids.

Anyhoo!  I need to check facebook (am soooo addicted).

Miffed….kind of….

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

So, I decided to call the embryo adoption facilitator today to just check in and see what was going on witht he status of the adoptive couple and the frosties.  If you remember, I had to run and get a ton of blood work done to suit the specifics that their lab required.  I had to do this with the twins in tow.  The couple did reimburse me for the blood work and they were essentially all set to take possession of the frosties in April or May.  So, here it is in June and I have heard nothing.

Well, as it turn out…they tried “something different”.  And they are pregnant.  Good for them.  But, the original agreement was that they were going to pay for the storage costs of the frosties.  Now, they want to keep us “on the back burner” in case this pregnancy fails.  We have been paying $125 per quarter since 4/07.  This does add up and we were going to just pay off the credit card that the storage is being billed to.  But, it is really going to be up to these folks if they decided to honor their original agreement.

It also leaves us with frosties again and the search for another family.

I want to be happy for them.  I really do.  But at the same time, I am miffed.  They were all about our frosties.  And then poof!  I am not sure what I am supposed to be feeling.  Our second choice family is pregnant too.

At least the facilitator is on our side.  She has sentthe email requesting that they abide by their original agreement.

grrrr……