A Photo Entry

Here's what happens when you let your almost-2-year-old have access to your cupboards:



Potatoes in your bed

These are the glorious cookies I made using Sarah's recipe:



This is the cutest girl in the world...



One of my new favorite photos, Eddie and Grandpa at the creek



Paris Hilton in training:



Caitlyn the monkey at the brown park:






Eddie on the ladder:



And going down the HUUUUGE twisty slide at the brown park for the 1st time




One more at the creek:




And finally, the giant coffee mug Ed bought me at Cedar Point next to my regular favorite mug for emphasis:

K E T C H U P

I remember singing a song in grade school, something along the lines of

“Ketchup is good on most anything! Hot Dogs! Hamburger! Onion Rings!”

I thought about it the other day as I made some wonderfully tender, flavorful breaded turkey cutlets for dinner. They were quite amazing, if I do say so myself. Naturally, I took offense when Ed put ketchup on them. KETCHUP! ON TURKEY!

He said to me at one point during dinner

“The ketchup tastes kind of weird….”

I didn’t even look up from my plate, but replied quite snarkily

“Perhaps it’s because you’re dipping TURKEY in it.”

I was livid, and so offended, and so……like my mother……in that moment.

But seriously, what in the hell would possess you to slather ketchup all over your perfectly good dinner? To be honest with you, I find it to be quite rude.

I blame his mother, who coats my perfect pork chops in the stuff. I know, right!! MY PORK CHOPS! They taste like heaven!

His mother who upon dishing herself a plate of my cheesy Italian goulash this past Saturday, immediately went to the fridge and squeezed ketchup all over it.

I threw her out of my house.

OK, not really, but I sure felt like it.

And what happened when I politely informed her that there was already ketchup in the goulash?

She giggled and took her seat.

Another Non-Post

1. It is 49 days until I am on vacation, and 52 days until I will be in The White Mountains of New Hampshire in a VERY well appointed hotel room for very little money ($89/night) due to it being EXACTLY one week before their peak fall foliage season begins.

2. And in 55 days we will be in Portland, Maine where I will consume lobster for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert (where available). We will spend time in another beautiful hotel for $55 a night because our good friend Melissa is the General Manger there….ooooh yeah.

3. My 5 year wedding anniversary is also in 55 days. Do you think that vacation is enough of a gift to each other? Or should I be considering a gift for Ed?

4. It’s going to be a beautiful, sunny weekend. We’re looking for something fun to do on Saturday. I’d like to go to the Toronto Zoo, but I don’t know if we feel like driving 1.5 hours. Ed has to work on Sunday, but the kids and I are going to Canal Fest (celebrate the Erie Canal!! WOOT!! WOOT!!) with my parents. [there’s actually a really cool craft show and festival]

5. Ed spent the day with my brother and some friends at Cedar Point yesterday. He was the only husband to bring a gift back for his wife (a huuuuuge coffee mug) . He also called me from the spot where he proposed and told me how much he missed me, and that it wasn’t the same without me. Brownie points for him.

6. He bought the kids hats too.

7. This girl at work constantly starts her sentences with “As well”. For example, “As well, we will be moving to a new format next week.” She drives me insane

8. Another girl constantly asks me, when I’m by myself, “How we doing?” I answer her with a smart-assed “We’re doing great, how are you guys” every single time and she just doesn’t get it.

I started this post earlier and hated how it sounded. Here is the revised version.

Ed and I discussed the possibility of having more children last week.

I’ve always wanted 4. My mind has pretty much been made up since I was, like, 12. Ed isn’t opposed to actually having 4 children, but rather, the idea of having 4 children; the looks and the comments and the general stigma that seems to be cast upon people, in this day in age, who have more than 2 children. You know, the “what the hell is the matter with you” stigma.

It was just a quick conversation, nothing controversial, but it really got me thinking.

It has to be biology at work because although the logistics of having a third child right now would be ridiculous, when I even think about it for a second, I have an overwhelming desire to have another baby. I’m stressed to the limit with Eddie and Caitlyn being toddlers on their own, and outside of it all, introducing a newborn would be complete insanity. Then there’s the money……I pay $352 a week for daycare. We would need to make major life changes in order to add a third right now that would come down to one of us quitting our job and losing either money or health insurance. It’s not the right time at all, but the desire sure burns.

In the end, we decided to try for # 3 once Eddie is done with daycare, and we would like to get him in to public school when he is 4 (almost 5) instead of waiting until he is 5 (almost 6). I don’t want to be pregnant on my 30th birthday either, or nursing for that matter, because I am not the “pump and dump” kind of girl.

In the end this boils down to about a year or so of waiting. And if #4 comes after that, so be it.

As much as it is “the right” thing to do, I just don’t want to wait.

Sigh.

Questions, Questions

1. I need a good eye cream. The bags and circles under my eyes are unbearable. Does anyone have any suggestions? I’d like to look so young and vibrant that people would think I was the baby sitter rather than the tired, tired mommy.

2. As far as skin goes in general, mine really sucks right now. My complexion has gone down the toilet since I had Cait, and more so since I went off the pill. While the acne is a small price to pay for the absence of migraines and severe hormonal fluctuation and actually having a sex life (I often joked that the pill didn’t work by stopping me from ovulating, it just plain turned me off to doing it..), something really needs to be done here. I tried Proactiv, no go. I’ve been using this antibacterial face bar and that’s not working either. Has anyone found the secret to a beautiful complexion? This week I’m trying the “chocolate gives you zits” theory and I’m not eating any. Which sucks. And it’s only 2:00 PM on Monday. Please, tell me what to do oh wise women of the blogosphere.

3. I also need a diet that works if you have one. I can’t stomach (haha pun absolutely intended) the feeling of being hungry. I hate not eating bread. I hate limiting myself in general. I considered for a brief second trying that new Alli supplement….that is until I read that if you should by some chance over indulge in fatty foods, an oily substance will leak out of your A-hole. I even told myself that the prospect of a greasy rectum would be enough of a deterrent to not eat any fat at all. Then I took a long hard look at myself (that means I thought about my impulsive personality for about 2 seconds) and decided that unless I was committed to ruining pants and unders because they most definitely would have grease stains, this was probably not a good idea. (BUT IT’S FDA APPROVED!!!) So anyway, if anyone has a plan that meets the criteria of being able to consume bread, never being hungry, and few limits in general, plus the absence of oily anus, I would sure love to hear about it.

**On a side note, I was quite proud of myself for only having a salad for lunch, with grilled chicken as opposed to crispy chicken. That is until I discovered that the dressing alone had 200 calories in it. Why can’t everything just be easy?!?!?! (ok, I just checked and the salad itself was 90 calories and the chicken was 120, so a 440 calorie lunch…not too bad I guess. All I had for breakfast was reduced sugar oatmeal and black coffee—90 calories)


4. I need to know why my button and zipper on these capris is on the wrong side. Like, the button is on the left. I posed this question to my co-workers. Someone thought that maybe they were actually MAN-pris, or capris for men, but I assured her they were women’s. Then I was asked if maybe I bought them in Canada…apparently Canada has some backward zipper policy that I am unaware of. In any case, I didn’t cross the border to get some capris. I bought them right here, at JC Penny in the “misses” section.

5. Why oh why oh why do men insist on showing their feet off in their “mandals”. I hate feet in general, but man feet are the worst. I beg all men to please keep their feet sheathed in their socks.

Girls on Motorcycles

I remember taking a sociology class in college where it was stated that children are not predisposed to act a certain way based on their gender, but actually are molded to act like boys and girls by their parents pushing stereotypical gender based toys/clothes/shows (etc.) at them. Even back then, before having kids, I disagreed. I argued that a person is set up to be who they are regardless of gender and regardless of being given trucks or dolls to play with.

As a child, I had dolls and your basic girly toys, but I found them to be quite boring. Friends would often get upset with me because I would be all about setting up the Barbie house and furniture and arranging it just right, but I had no actual interest in playing Barbie’s. I hated dressing them up and making them talk or go out or whatever. How freaking lame, right? I didn’t want to play in a toy kitchen or use a fake vacuum (are you insane?). I liked playing make believe; I would pretend that I was camping with my stuffed animals, or that I was in a singing competition. Even at a young age I would just hang out and listen to music. I would have much rather played by myself than with a group of kids any day, and I was lucky to have a brother who was the same as me; content to chill or be by himself.

And guess what? I turned out ok! I’m not some kind of psychopath loner; I’m actually a good mom!

I admit that I put Caitlyn in dresses quite a bit, and dress her in pink and purple 98% of the time. I’ve bought her dolls and put her hair in pig tails. I’ve set her up to be the biggest princess there ever was. Despite what I have done, Caitlyn prefers to be dirty. She prefers Diego over Dora. She loves to dig and steal her brother’s trucks. She is loud and extremely outspoken (even at age 2). Regardless of what I dress her in, she always grabs her baseball cap and puts it on backwards. She also sets her stuffed animals around our table and feeds them and brings them milk. She wraps her babies in her blanket and lies them down and runs their backs. She pretends to cook in her little kitchen. I know that I’m doing something right with her because she feels free to be an individual and do her own thing, but she also has the desire to mimic me, and be a little mommy.

It’s hard to put Eddie’s personality in print. While he does all the things a typical boy is “supposed” to do (which include being dirty, loud, and maniacal at times) he is a truly sensitive soul. He’s 3 ½ now and still wants to curl up on my lap and twirl my hair. He likes to sit and have a conversation with you, and talk about his feelings. He carries a pink Dora backpack to school every day and doesn’t care. He sings and dances and loves to watch anything with music on TV. When they play dress up at school, the first thing he goes for is a denim skirt. And you know what? He plays trucks, pretends he is a monster, wrestles and loves to watch NASCAR with his dad. He likes nothing better than watching bulldozers do work.

I went outside last night to see what he and Grandpa were up to and he ran up to me and gave me a huge hug and a great big smile.

“I want to be just like you, Mommy” he says

“Me? How come?” (I think he’s about to tell me that I’m great)

“I want to wear dresses and be a girl.”

“You do?”

“Oh yeah, I want to wear dresses”

“Well, you’re already a boy and boys don’t really wear dresses.”

“Ok Mommy.”

He thinks for a minute.

“Well, can girls ride motorcycles?”

Ugh. Yesterday.

I felt like such a bad Mom.

I swear to you I yelled all day at those kids. Screamed. Me. At them.

It was a bad, bad day.

At bed time, after numerous “time outs” Eddie and I were having a talk; I was sitting in his bed and we discussed why he should listen to me when I tell him to do something once. (like not to jump over the back of the love seat, roll on to the cushions and then on to the floor) I made a mistake and told him that he was acting like “bad Anthony”, a boy from his class. I had to apologize and tell him that it wasn’t a nice thing to say, not because Anthony isn’t bad (because he is hell on wheels) but because Anthony has a bad life with no daddy around and a Mommy who works a whole lot. I told him he was a good boy and that we’d had a hard day.

He looked me in the eyes, serious as anything.

“I know I’m good mommy. I try to teach Anthony how to be good. And I am really sick of you hollering all the time.”

Me too.

I didn’t sleep and cried most of the night.

My biggest fear is fucking my kids up.

Or that they’ll hate me when they are grown and look back.

I’m at a loss as to what to do; how to balance it all.

Both kids were sweet as pie this morning, but for me, it has been a very depressing day.

I was laughing to myself (as I often do) the other day because Caitlyn has this adorable shirt that says "everyone loves a blue eyed girl" and her eyes are so not blue anymore. Isn't it weird? They are the most lovely shade of hazel that I have ever seen, grey and green with flecks of golden-brown. I was commenting to Ed yesterday that even when she wears blue, her eyes don't reflect it anymore. Then I downloaded this picture: (**edited to say [was I smoking crack? He eyes don't look blue at all.) Go ahead, enlarge the pictures. Hazel indeed.]



And this one too:




Where they look SO blue. You will also notice my newly laid kitchen floor, but please try not to notice the pieces of cat food strewn about.


We went to a wedding for Ed's cousin Karen yesterday and while I didn't take any pictures of the bride and groom, I did get 2 new pictures of my adorable niece Samantha who is nearly 3 months old. She has 2 idiots for parents, but she sure is a cute pumpkin.






We had a really nice day at the park (where the wedding was) and will probably book Cait's birthday party there as well. It was a really nice site.

I actually came up here to check my bank account to be sure that I can grocery shop, so I'm going to do that. I hear the kids waking up from their naps.....

8 Things You Previously Didn't Know About Me

Ok, so The Flying Mum has tagged me for this 8 things meme. How ever did she know that I wanted to share 8 more things in addition to my 100? The rules are below, but I am not tagging anyone because for one, she tagged all those that I would have tagged, and two, I think the entire blogosphere has done this one now. But for the sake of rules, here they are, lifted from The Flying Mum who stole them from Beck.

A. Each player lists 8 facts/habits about themselves.

B. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning before those facts/habits are listed.

C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 8 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

1. My most favorite food in all the world is Salmon. I could eat it every day in any fashion.

2. I am so excited about my vacation in September that I can hardly sleep at night. First off, I am off of work for 11 days in a row, but also, I just love New England. I have been reliving New Hampshire through our honeymoon pictures. My "new" profile pic is 5 years old, from our honeymoon.

3. Speaking of vacation, I would like to lose 20 lbs. before we go. (I would like to lose about 80 lbs. overall)

4. When I went to Ed's prom in 1995, my dress was a size 3.

5. I love to be in a swimming pool, but I am a horrible swimmer.

7. I never thought I would become so attached to this blog.

8. As much as I hate it that I need to wear glasses now, I think I look kind of cool with them on. Also, I left them downstairs, and I can barely see what I'm typing.

The 4th

It was rainy and horrible here on the 4th, so thank God we had the sense to check the weather and find fireworks on the 3rd. We picked a good show (despite being kind of in the ghetto) and we were pleased that Eddie wasn't terrified this year. Caitlyn, though not hysterical, was not thrilled with all of the noise.





We spent the 4th setting up our fish tank and getting the fish accustomed to their new home. We got 7 fish, 2 for Caitlyn and 5 for Eddie. Caitlyn named hers One and Two and Eddie named 3 of his Santa, Grandpa and Daddy. That left the 2 black molly fish to be named, so we called them Sheeba, after our dead dog, and Molly for obvious reasons.

I was off of work yesterday and I took the kids to daycare and came home and slept until after noon. I can't eve remember the last time I slept so late. After lunch, I did some laundry and cleaned up a bit. I'm off again today, and Ed and I are going to The Cheesecake Factory for lunch after a while. I always get the same meal when we go, Herb Crusted Salmon with Asparagus and Smashed Potatoes, then I change up the cheesecake I order. Last time I got lemon raspberry which was to die for. The time before that, Tira Misu (I have no idea how to spell that). I'll keep you updated as to what I get today.

My first Children's Place order arrived yesterday, and the crabby shirt is all I wanted and more. One of the tanks I got for Eddie (I ordered him all XS-4 rather than 4T with the hope that he could wear them next year too) was super huge, but the other 2 will be perfect. The crinkle skirts for Caitlyn are supercute but to keep them crinkled, you have to twist them up, tie them in a not and rubber band them after you wash them...which is probably too much maintenance for me. I'm still waiting on my second order which includes some shorts and a hat for Eddie, then 2 more shirts ad shorts plus sunglasses for Cait. I'm getting nervous because the website doesn't show that it's shipped yet.

I need to end this because I left my glasses downstairs and I can't see anything. I'm thinking of getting a new cell phone today, but we'll see how that goes. I'm eligible for a free one, but don't want to sign a contract. I don't know.

Muffins

I was totally going to make Sarah'scookies tonight, but when I came home to 5 over-ripe bananas, I decided on muffins instead.

Yes, banana muffins it was.




They were good, too.

Rock City

Last night was such a gorgeous night; cool and clear with a perfect breeze. It reminded me so much of the mountain air when we were in New Hampshire for our honeymoon, that I was taken aback for a few minutes. My fondest memory of our time there was swimming in our resort’s glorious heated outdoor pool in the moonlight and the crisp mountain air. It was September and while during the day it was about 70 degrees, the evenings were in the upper 40s. The entire trip was amazing, but when I start thinking about it, the nights are the first thing to come to mind.

We’ll have been married for 5 years this coming September, and as it happens, we’ll be going back to The White Mountains of New Hampshire. I’m so excited about it that I can hardly contain myself. While our original plan was to go to Maine to visit our friend Melissa, we’ve slowly been migrating toward taking the kids to do the things we enjoyed when we were there. We may go to Maine for a day, but the deals in NH that time of year, 1 week before their peak fall foliage season begins are phenomenal. I don’t know how I’ll make it through the next 2 months because I seriously just want to go right now.

We happened to have an amazing time on Saturday. The rock formations were just gorgeous and it was a beautiful (if not a little bit cool) sunny day. The path was just a tiny bit treacherous, with some deep crevices and a few cliffs, but we kept a good hold of the kids, and they were just beside themselves with all of the rocks and caves…..and they had to sit on every bench we came across.








We ate our picnic lunch and went through the store before leaving, and then stopped in Ellicottville where they had a teeny tiny craft show on the way home. We ended up being home by about 3:30 and grilled some pork and were all in bed early which was so needed after the long day we had.








The day’s only downside was coming home to find that we had received a letter from our insurance company stating that they would not be covering Ed’s tonsillectomy because it was not deemed to be medically necessary. You know, like he just got up one day and said “I’d sure like t have my tonsils out. What the hell. This is the same insurance company who denied his going to an ambulatory care center when his tonsils had swelled so large that he couldn’t breathe. You know, it probably wasn’t important, and he probably didn’t need to have them out. All that I know is that this really sucks. We have to go through an appeal process and if they don’t pay it….I don’t know what we’ll do.

Anyhoo….

Ed got up early yesterday to go to work, and at about 5:30AM Eddie came to let me know that he’d peed in his bed. I changed him and he crawled in bed with me, and we slept in until 8:30!! It was great to sleep in, but ended up being just about the only great thing of the day. The kids were maniacs. I don’t know what got in to them. They were just absolutely crazy, I took them for haircuts, we went to the grocery store, and I don’t even know…they were just very high maintenance. And my saint of a husband, upon coming home and seeing me frazzled, sent me to Starbucks to catch a few minutes by myself. Wonderful man. (The catch was that I had to stop and by a thermometer for our fridge, which was still acting up but I didn’t really care. Incidentally, our freezer was at 28 degrees, not nearly cold enough, and the fridge was at 55 degrees…..so we ended up putting what we could in a cooler and the rest in the fridge in the garage and completely defrosting the whole thing. As of this morning it was working great, fridge at 40 degrees and freezer at -10 degrees. Oh, and by the way [#2] you know how I was paranoid about the downstairs freezer…..it ended up being open when I went down there yesterday. Can you even believe it!! All of my freaking out wasn’t for nothing!!)

Ed’s dad ended up taking the kids out for a while last night too, so I was able to straighten up and cook dinner in peace. I normally make my own garlic bread, but I happened to buy Pepperidge Farm’s roasted garlic premium garlic bread and let me tell you it was TO.DIE.FOR. Yummy Yummy.

This has become an extraordinarily long entry, so I’ll end here. Work is super busy and even though I haven’t officially taken a lunch break there is much to be done.

~Sigh~

For the record

I think that it really sucks that the season finale of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip was also the series finale.

People need to start watching the good stuff so it doesn't get canceled.

Ok, well thanks to this:




And some retail therapy suggested by Swistle, my day ended up being much better yesterday. Any time I can spend $22.43 and get 2 shirts, 2 skirts and a bathing suit for Cait plus 3 muscle shirts for Eddie is a great day. That averages out to $2.49 per item!!!

Our fridge is being crazy though and it’s kind of making me crazy. I’m pretty sure that the problem is actually our freezer, which somehow has this solid wall of ice on the interior back wall, and while the previously frozen items are still frozen all of my fudgecicles were liquefied and my ground beef was spongy. So I spent an hour last night hauling food from upstairs to my basement freezer. I hope that Ed has a chance to look at it today. This all makes me very uncomfortable, having all of my eggs in one basket, or, er, having all of my meat in one freezer. I kept going downstairs last night to make sure that the freezer door wasn’t left open or something. I’m so paranoid that I’m going to lose all of my food. Very OCD, I know.

Today started out really crappy when I spilled my iced coffee all over me. It could have been worse though, could have been hot. Then I had some AWESOME chicken fingers for lunch…so it’s all good. Plus it’s Friday……

We are still very much looking forward to our picnic tomorrow. I’ll be sure to take tons of pictures.

Lick the Buffalo

Is it ever acceptable to drink at work? If it wasn't before, I think today might be the day.

Mojitos anyone???

If it weren't for Swistle, I don't think I would have made it past noon.


Except now I really want some cookie dough.


At least I can laugh about the customer who called me a scumbag piece of shit.


But I still really hate my job today.


I am actually really excited about going to this glacial park that's about 2 hours away on Saturday. We're packing a picnic and heading out early. It's supposed to be a really cool place, where you can climb on the rocks. There's a mile long trail through the glacial shelf (or something like that). Eddie is really excited and keeps asking me if we're going on our picnic today. Yesterday, after school, he said to me "I have a great idea about our picnic Mommy.."

"What is it?"

"Maybe we can have our picnic on the rocks instead of at a picnic table!!"

"That sounds like a great idea. We'll have to check it out!"

It amazes me that he is such a different kid than he was at this time last year. Last year, when we told him we were going to "The Taste of Buffalo", he looked at me confused and said "Will we eat the buffalo??" He thought about it for a long time after I told him that we wouldn't be eating buffalo. "Will we just lick them?", he asked.

And somehow, remembering that, my day just got better.

2 in 2

Cait bit her friend Brianna. Not once, but twice, first on Monday, and then again yesterday. I guess it was a sharing issue.

So I spoke with the director a bit yesterday and told her that I’m totally not playing the “not my kid…” card but this is not something that is ordinary for Caitlyn, so I’d like to understand the situation a little bit better. She has never bitten her brother, or anyone at home. She’s an aggressive child, yes-she will hit pinch or kick you in a minute, but she is not a biter. So did Brianna possibly do something to provoke her? Did she maybe yank a toy out of her hand? Nobody knew. They caught it just after it happened, when Brianna screamed. Brianna and Cait are the best of friends, so something must have gotten out of control---but nobody knows.

Maybe I’m missing something, but shouldn’t all eyes be on the two-year-olds? I’m just throwing it out there….

Ed and I don’t treat our kids like babies, and by this I mean that even in their 2 and 3-ness, we try and have rational discussions with them. So I talked with Cait on the way home about biting and how we tell a teacher if something is wrong, and how we have to use our words, rather than biting our friends. At the end I asked her “Why did you bite Brianna?” And she told me “Nana throw sand”.

I believe her.

And I’ll be having a conversation with her teacher when I pick her up this afternoon because while biting is severely unacceptable, throwing sand is also unacceptable. These girls need to be watched more carefully. When I pay $352 a week to send my kids to the best daycare around, I want answers. I want a detailed accounting of what occurred.

I don’t think it’s too much to ask.

Something that I struggle with in my work life is how to change a mindset; how to embrace change. How do I inspire my team to go in the new direction The Bank is taking? Why can’t they, like me, recognize the need for change and make valiant efforts to do so?

In thinking about it today, I started thinking about myself. Why can I do this at work—recognize the need for change and then just do it, because it needs to be done—but not in my personal life? I’ve read in lots of different places that it takes one month to form a new habit, or to break an old one. A month is a lot of time. How can I do something for a month when I can’t even make it through a day?

Maybe I’m trying to do too much. This month alone I’ve gotten my house in shape, thrown things out, organized, kept up on being tidy. I’ve dusted and scrubbed my floors; I’ve even cleaned my windows. I’ve also started getting my butt out of bed earlier so that I can get to work by 8:00--giving me a full extra hour with the kids in the evening. This is a huge life change, and it’s been two great weeks. I feel proud and accomplished.

Somehow though, I want more, and I don’t think I have the strength to get there.

This is about so much more than the housework.

This is about me.

I need to change me.

July is a new month……and hopefully a new start for me.

And the week ends on a happy note....

I bought a case of Vanilla Coke at Wegman's today.

Oh happy day!

GAAAH. That’s the only word coming to mind right now.

So much I want to say……like the people at work are really pissing me off. And I wanted to say something about how I’ve been blogging for 7 years now, and I thought that I might copy my very first post here, but when I read it……I was an idiot when I was 22. I’m surprised people read what I wrote then; there’s no way they’d want to read it now. And about how after a day long sob fest about how he doesn’t want to go see Robosaurus anymore—we already bought the tickets, Eddie revealed that it was because of the commercial during the super bowl where Robosaurus’ head fell off and also, he eats cars, and might Robosaurus eat his race car bed??? And I don’t know, the fact that I might like to have another baby which is the most insane thing that could ever pop in to my head…hello I have a 2 year old and a 3 year old- but it is all I can think about right now. Plus the fact that I need to get to Old Navy to buy 4th of July shirts before they’re sold out, and somehow I volunteered to work the Saturday of Labor Day weekend which kind of screws my 3-day weekend.

There’s just too much going on, so I offer you this small snapshot of my brain, confusing and mangled, making no sense at all, tired and over processing. No doubt the result of a stressful week.

I’m hoping that tonight, after the kids go to bed, I’ll have some time to sort out my thoughts. Based on the fact that Eddie refuses to go to bed, I’m not holding my breath.

Cay-eeeeer

So they guy that’s doing my training totally reminds me of my 3-year-old. Anytime he asks a question, he ends it with “yes or no”, which is exactly what Eddie is in to right now.

“Mommy, do you love me? Yes or no?”

He likes it when I say no, and then he pouts. “That’s not very nice…”

I actually wanted to write about Caitlyn today, who has made leaps and bounds in her verbal skills over the last few weeks. She went from 2 word statements to 3 and four word sentences and stringing thoughts together in what seems like overnight. You can actually carry on a conversation with her and it’s quite hysterical. This of course is a vehicle for her to express her very opinionated self, and while indeed funny, can be quite frustrating.

Over the weekend when I was cleaning my bedroom closet, I pulled out the fish tank we bought and put it in the living room. At one point, Ed caught her trying to climb up on the box. Panicking, because the tank is made of glass, he yelled “HEY!!” and she just lost it. She ran to me crying.

“Mommy…..daddy hollered at me….” (hollered sounds like hah-yerd and is adorable) then she looks at Ed. “No Holler ME DADDY!!!!” this, of course is shrieked.

The she told me yesterday “Daddy hollered at me; he cay-eeer me” I couldn’t figure it out. ”He carried you?”

“No Mommy. Daddy CAY-EEER me. Daddy holler?”

“Daddy what????”

“CAY-EEEERR MOMMY!!!!!”

“he scared you??”

I swear that if she knew how to roll her eyes she would have here. “Yeah Mommy.” She toddled away laughing hysterically and talking to her self. “Daddy scared me, daddy hollered at me”

She is tough in her almost two-ness.

And I’m sure there is more to come.

Sleeeeepy

I know I say this a lot, but I am just so darn tired.

We spent Father’s Day weekend putting a new floor in to our kitchen (well Ed did the floor and I cleaned out our whole bedroom and closet….I threw everything out because I’m sick of dealing with it). This was not planned at all, completely spur of the moment. Since then I’ve been hell bent on keeping the kitchen clean and uncluttered. I spent last night doing the dishes that wouldn’t fit in the dishwasher on Sunday as well as yesterday’s dishes, trying really hard not to shoot my father-in-law the evil eye for not helping. (Like what is wrong with you anyway, so what if you have pneumonia and are on OXYGEN….you could still do the dishes…..really, he can’t. He can barely go up and down his stairs. So I held in my selfish side, and sucked it up and did it. ) At least we had a ton of left over pulled pork from Sunday for dinner, so I didn’t cook. (It was even better on day 2)

I used to send the kids’ dinner to school with them since we don’t get home until 6:15 on most days, but it’s gotten to the point where they want to play and they’re not eating it, so I’m wasting food, so I decided to start feeding them at home. It’s working out well so far, but I felt like I was in a rush all last night. They had to eat, wanted to play in the sprinkler (woohoo no baths….), wanted to watch Dora and have a snack (I made home made chocolate chip cookies), and needed to go to bed. Plus I had to clean up the kitchen as well as the living room because Ed is supposed to clean our carpets today, and then I wanted to get everything ready last night for this morning so I could be to work for this crazy 4 day training that goes from 8 to fricken 5 every day….(I got to work at 7:38 this morning, a full hour and a half earlier than I normally get here….yeah the kids loved that). Of course Eddie wouldn’t go to sleep last night, and then both kids were up at 5:45 am (Cait was also up at 1:00 AM). At least I set the coffee pot so I could dump coffee down my throat as soon as I woke up.

So yeah, I’m tired. And I’m hoping it will rain so that I don’t have to take the kids outside tonight, and hoping that the carpets are actually done when I get home. And that nobody has used any dishes.





And that the kids will sleep tonight.

Ugh. Cait was up throwing up again last night. I can’t put my finger on what could be causing it, because it happened last year around this time too, where she was fine, and then was up in the middle of the night throwing up once or twice a week for like 3 weeks in a row. I’ve decided that it’s either the heat; maybe it doesn’t agree with her, or it’s the teething—she’s getting molars. Or perhaps it’s a combo of both. Whatever it is, I do know that cleaning broccoli chunks off of my floor in the middle of the night is sure not fun(hey, at least she eats broccoli). She is getting quite good at leaning over the toilet though. She even stops when she’s not sick and spits in there….

During all of this Eddie slept just fine, but once Cait and I settled in on the couch, he was up crying, telling me he needed his kitty.

“What kitty?”, I asked.

“Sebastian.” He’s sobbing

“What do you mean honey?”

“Sebastian is in the street”, he cried, “He’s going to get runned over.”




This may have been his first bad dream. When I showed him that Sebastian was lying right on the living room floor, he was very confused. He kept asking me “but why??”. Even this morning he was asking about him being outside in the street.

Caitlyn was fine this morning, thank goodness. We’ll have to see how tonight goes.

My FIL has been in the hospital with pneumonia since Tuesday. It crept up on him all of the sudden and out of nowhere he couldn’t breathe. Ed stopped home on Tuesday and found him slumped in his chair, pale and clammy and had to rush him to the ER. At first they thought it was heart failure, but after the tests, they determined it was pneumonia. He should be home tomorrow, but it’s going to take him a while to get better.

And finally….the wedding was Saturday and it was a wonderful day. Beautiful weather and everyone had a great time. Here are a few pictures.



Matt and Sarah


Me


Ed and Me

100 Facts About ME

1. I met my husband on the school bus when I was in 7th grade.
2. I hated his guts.
3. I complained to him about my boyfriend who was a jerk for most of my sophomore year in high school.
4. He and I began dating that summer.
5. Even though we were very young, we kind of knew we were it for each other.
6. This August will mark 12 years of togetherness for us.
7. I have loved to sing for my entire life.
8. I consider myself to be quite good.
9. It kills me that I’m not doing anything musical right now.
10. I pretended to wear glasses in 7th grade and bought a fake pair at Claire’s
11. Until Lenny Carpenter tripped me and stomped on them because he thought it was funny.
12. My 7th grade boyfriend told me he loved me in front of my father.
13. It was maybe the most embarrassing thing that had ever happened to me.
14. Until while in the mall one day my dad told Bobby Stutz that while we looked a lot alike, my moustache was thicker.
15. I have had the same best friend since I was 11 years old.
16. I consider her my sister.
17. I don’t actually have a sister.
18. But I always wanted one.
19. I have 2 great brothers.
20. As families go, mine actually gets along very well.
21. I always knew that I wanted to have children.
22. My kids are by far the greatest people in the world.
23. It never occurred to me that it would be a challenge to be a mom.
24. It’s the good kind of challenge though.
25. I don’t think before I speak.
26. I have a tendency to get in trouble.
27. I have a very dry sense of humor.
28. This is the very best gift my father could have given me.
29. I get told all the time that I am just like my father.
30. This for the most part is a compliment.
31. I wish that I wasn’t so passive though.
32. My brother Matt and I can have an entire conversation quoting obscure TV and Movie lines.
33. And it makes total sense
34. And never gets old.
35. I am a hardcore coffee drinker.
36. And I would fight you for a Donut
37. ----or anything sweet for that matter.
38. I am very passionate about cake
39. I have no idea how to apply make up
40. or do anything with my hair
41. I can’t paint my fingernails.
42. I love to bowl.
43. I’m decent at it.
44. I was the first of any of my girlfriends to have a baby.
45. I was also the second of any of my girlfriends to have a baby.
46. I craved and consumed Twinkies and root beer for my entire first pregnancy.
47. I’m convinced that this is what makes Eddie a sweet-a-holic.
48. I ate fruits and veggies my entire second pregnancy.
49. I also consumed a lot of caffeine.
50. I’m convinced this is why Caitlyn loves fruits and veggies, and has a spastic tendency.
51. I had mixed feelings about going back to work after I had kids.
52. I know now that I don’t have it in me to be a stay at home mom.
53. I’m actually kind of important at work.
54. I spend too much time on the computer.
55. I am addicted to MySpace.
56. My favorite color is pink.
57. But it was green before I had a little girl to enjoy it with.
58. I love playing at the park with my kids.
59. I go down all of the slides.
60. I get paranoid about weird crap all the time.
61. Like- did I forget to drop one of the kids off at school today?
62. Or what if a bat squeezes in that teeny tiny hole in my screen and gives me rabies.
63. Or what if I already have rabies and don’t know it.
64. I could be a ticking time bomb.
65. My desk at work is covered with pictures of my kids as well as their artwork.
66. I can often be found staring at them and smiling.
67. I had a really hard time bonding with Caitlyn after she was born because she was in the NICU away from me.
68. I wouldn’t even get up to go feed her while we were in the hospital.
69. I spent 3 days alone with her in the hospital when she was one month old because they thought she had meningitis.
70. As much as it sucked, we finally got our time together.
71. I believe that God works in mysterious ways.
72. I worry about Caitlyn a lot more than I do about Eddie.
73. But I definitely favor Eddie when it comes to mommy time.
74. I favor both of my children over my husband.
75. This is something that causes conflict in my marriage.
76. I have a bit of a shoe problem.
77. I love to get pedicures.
78. I have a lot of grey hair.
79. This surprises me because neither of my parents went grey this early on.
80. I LOATHE it.
81. I have a really hard time keeping my house clean.
82. I have hated housework my entire life.
83. I would rather scrub a strange toilet with no gloves then fold laundry.
84. Especially socks and underwear.
85. I can’t sleep with socks on, even in the dead of winter.
86. I love going barefoot in the summer.
87. I tell everyone that my cats are “my first born”
88. I know this seems weird and I don’t really care.
89. I love Howard Stern and his show.
90. Guys I meet think this is really cool.
91. Girls think I’m weird.
92. Even as a child I got along better with guys than I did with girls.
93. I’m not thrilled about turning 29 in October.
94. I’m even less thrilled about being 30 next year.
95. But I can’t wait to PARTY.
96. It’s taken me 2 hours to do this list.
97. And yes, I’m at work.
98. If I ever had another daughter, I’d love to call her Olivia.
99. Because of my last name though, this would make me a cruel parent.
100. I have a hard time taking myself away from being Mommy and doing something just for me.

A Roller Coaster Ride

This is how it always starts for me.

I’m exhausted and more than a little bit irritable. Don’t even look at me the wrong way or I’m going to jump down your throat. I’m achy. I do erratic things like convince myself that I absolutely need a new bra for my brother’s wedding and what I have will just not do. I spend an entire lunch hour plus 15 minutes trying on no less than 75 bras and do not buy anything, convinced that all undergarments are made for people who did not breast feed 2 children, and is it too much to ask to have some attractive cleavage in this very revealing dress rather than 2 smashed pancakes? I eat something extremely crazy for dinner, like 3 handfuls of garlic pumpernickel croutons and 2 English muffins with butter and jelly. I massacre one of the English muffins and put it back in the bag for someone else to eat. I dream overnight that I’m holding a pregnancy test with 2 lines on it, but how are there 2 lines when I’m just holding it and never peed on it? I nearly throw up in the morning when FIL empties a container of macaroni salad with tuna in to the garbage and the entire house (as far as I’m concerned anyway) smells like rotten fish. I gag uncontrollably and rush the kids out the door telling them that if I don’t get out of the house now I’ll puke. This is all very dramatic, punctuated with over the top gagging gestures.

I’ve calmed down now, and no, I’m not pregnant. This is PMS for me. Exciting, huh? And for whatever reason, and even though I know, every single month I wonder “could I be pregnant?”. Would I even want to be pregnant if I were? Then another bought of freaking out ensues and I’m a lunatic again.

....and I have such a craving for chicken wings right now

This will all resolve itself this weekend with the arrival of AF early next week. It always does.

But isn’t the rollercoaster a fun ride?

Love

I love summer. I love everything about it. The heat, even the mugginess (OK, maybe not the bugs). I just love the warm weather. Even the smells, especially the way the kids smell with their hair warm from the sun, and their sunscreen melting off of them....

I sat with Caitlyn for a while last Monday, at our Memorial Day picnic, gliding on the squeaky yellow bench swing, just breathing in her warm sunscreeny smell. I could have sat there for hours. The kids are sleeping downstairs now, and their room is warm. I can still smell the pool water on them mingled with their sunscreen and it's just heavenly.




It's close to 90 degrees today as it was yesterday and is very humid. There were supposed to be thunderstorms all weekend, but it has been completely dry.




The kids woke up around 8:30 this morning and I treated them to Tim Horton's for breakfast. it was a special treat because we went inside and ate rather than going through the drive through. It didn't go so well....Caitlyn threw her plate on the floor in a fit of rage and it shattered in to a million pieces. Everyone in the restaurant was staring at us. It was horrendous. From there we went to the grocery store and I ended up having everything I needed accomplished done before 10:30. We came home and filled the pool and spent a while in the yard before lunch and naps, and that leads me to now. I thought it was going to rain so I told Eddie we could go rent a movie after nap, and now it doesn't seem like it will rain at all.

Saturday

So, it’s Saturday and I’m working. We just started being open on Saturday’s and the managers rotate, so I end up working like every 8 weeks, but it’s a beautiful day today! I think I’d be stuck inside at home anyway because I was up all night with Caitlyn who was puking her guts out and had a 103.5 temp. Fun times! She was down to 99 when I left this morning, but now she’s back up at 104. Ed is giving her popsicles to try and hydrate her and she just had more Motrin. My poor poor baby.

The kids have had a great couple of days swimming in their new pool out back, which is complete with a whale shaped slide. The only thing is that they don’t like having the hose on to keep it wet, so we have to dump buckets of water down the slide so that it works. Matt came over last night to pick up his toothbrush and played with the kids for a while. Caitlyn, who normally despises him, was all over him laughing and giggling. I think she made his night. He also played shuffleboard with Eddie in the basement after Ed left, which made Eddie’s night.

And one week from today Matt will be married. I can’t believe it. It’s all very exciting.

I don’t think we have any plans tomorrow so I’ll be catching up on housework and whatnot. I think it’s supposed to thunder anyway.

I’m hoping that next week leads to some more profound entries, but right now I am just too tired to think. I’ll end with a picture I just found from Eddie’s b-day party in January, which totally captures his mischievous essence.

Back

So, I’m back. And obviously I lived. My trip was nice. Some great 10 hour work days in there, but being able to go back to the hotel and only worry about myself for 2 nights and 2 mornings was delightful. I was a bit disapointed that the kids didn’t want to speak to me on the phone and wasn’t very fond of Ed who asked how it could possible take me so long to get them ready in the morning since he got them right up and out the door, (I didn’t even say anything to him about it though because I was still enamoured with him for taking the kids and his dad out to dinner on Tuesday night so that I could pack and organize for the rest of the week in peace) but in all it was nice to get away.

And after an extremely busy weekend, I’m back at work plugging away and in complete disbelief that my brother’s wedding is in less than 2 weeks. It really came up fast. The fact that I haven’t had my dress altered yet is a tesatament to how quickly it came up.

I don’t know, I thought I had a lot to say but I’m at a loss. I suppose I’ll end here with the hopes of being inspired to write again later.

On Chaos

Yesterday I read This post over at Swistle’s, titled “Reasonable Requests”, and I started to think, “Wow, I’m Swistle’s husband…” Not literally, of course, but she described me in detail. Then all of the mom’s leaving comments. Yikes.

This is the thing about me. I can not for the life of me, ever keep my mind on one task. I’m cooking dinner, but maybe I should fold a basket of laundry while the water boils, and then Eddie has pooped and needs to be wiped, and Caitlyn needs a diaper. Then Ed asks could I possibly refill his iced tea glass. Then the pot of water boils over. It’s a vicious circle, and before I know it, yesterday’s folded laundry is crumpled in a basket, the dinner dishes are piling up in the kitchen, I’m trying to squeeze a bath or two in, the kids are going to bed late….again, I need to run the vacuum, and before I know it, the day is over.

I tell Ed all the time that I wish he could see everything that goes on inside my head. He might complain that I left my dinner plate on the couch, but I swear, it’s not because I’m lazy or had a poor upbringing. It’s because my mind jumps from task to task and I’m on to the next thing before one thought is complete. I might even see said plate as I’m passing by and make a mental note to pick it up on my way back to the kitchen, but I get so distracted that sometimes it doesn’t happen.

What is this? Some sort of adult onset of ADHD? I can’t be the only one who goes through this. How do I get to the point where I just pick up the plate?

A This & A That

Who knew that I would get old so quickly? I have prided myself on perfect vision my entire life, but over the last few months, I’ve noticed my computer screen becoming a little bit blurry after I’ve been at work for a while. Then it was hard to read the paper. Now my screen is constantly blurry. I sucked it up and went to the eye doctor today, and sure enough, I need glasses. Just for reading and computer work, but I need glasses. I think the dr. could sense that I was upset by this because he said, “Really, you have good vision, really you do! You have great distance vision! And very healthy eyes in general.” I’m sure that it’s all down hill from here and that I’ll need bifocals by the time I’m 35.

It was fun picking out frames though. I tried on a bunch and hated a lot, then liked a few until the girl found THE PERFECT FRAMES. I tried them on and loved them…..until I found out that after the $130 my insurance covers, they would still cost me $160. Not necessary for glasses I will only wear sporadically. So, I settled for a pair of plain brown frames that I didn’t have to pay anything for. I should have them next week.

Speaking of next week, I will be taking my very first ever plane ride on Wednesday morning. I’m terrified. I got an email this morning that said I was more likely to be killed by a donkey than to die in a plane crash, but I’m still scared. I’m sure I’ll be fine. Millions of people fly every day, but when you’ve never done something before….I don’t know, fear of the unknown? I’m sure that my plane won’t fall from the sky, and that if I am meant to die in a plane crash, it will happen whether or not I ever board a plane. I just wish that I could drive to NC.

Not much else is going on. Ed’s cousin, who has a son about 2 years older than Eddie and a daughter who is 3 dropped off a few bags of clothes for the kids the other day, and they were just the right sizes, some 4T tees and pants for Eddie and tons of size 24 month clothes for Cait. I had just gone through a bunch of Eddie’s old clothes to see what Caitlyn could possibly wear this summer, and these came at a good time. How is it that I spent $300 on summer clothes for them and it’s still not enough? I think we’re pretty well set now, but I have to remind myself to ask Ed’s cousin how she keeps her kid’s clothes so immaculate looking. You would never know that these have been worn before.




The weather is very grey and rainy today, and the kid’s moods matched. Caitlyn was insistent that she was coloring and painting this morning, just as we were walking out the door and she threw a huge temper tantrum and dragged Eddie right down with her. How does the almost 2-year-old convince the 3-year-old that it’s ok to paint and color when it’s time to leave? That girl, I’m telling you. She’s darn lucky I love her so much because she even walks with an attitude. On the way in to daycare this morning, with her hat off to the side, and her sunglasses on (though it was raining), her new sneakers and her walk with ‘tude, she was told “Wow, you’re going to be quite the sista when you get older.” This I know is true.

Mother's Day

I had such a great Mother’s Day.

It started at 5:30 AM with Eddie peeing the bed, but after that it was great. The kids slept until about 7:30, and I got up to get them settled and Ed let me go back to sleep. I had every intention of getting up by 8:30, but the next thing I knew it was 10:00. I went out in to the living room, and I heard Eddie and Caitlyn in FIL’s room, so I went to check things out. Eddie told me “Daddy went to get you breakfast! I’m going to help him cook it! And Cait can make the coffee!” I let them keep playing and I laid on the couch and watched TV for a while. Truthfully, my head was killing me from sleeping so long.

Ed was home soon with a big café mocha from Starbuck’s for me, and food that I wasn’t allowed to see from the grocery store (Food too? You had me at Starbucks!). Soon he had Caitlyn come in with a card for me, and then right after that, Eddie brought me a HUGE frosted pastry heart. I started to smell garlic and onions in the kitchen and I dove right in to this incredibly fattening pre-breakfast snack. Ed cooked me eggs like I like them (really runny), bacon, toast and wonderful hash browns with onions. It was so good; I could have eaten 6 eggs.

Caitlyn took a quick nap and before we knew it we were on our way to meet my parents at “A Day Out with Thomas”. We spent the day there just doing little things, and eating…..best thing I ate-a root beer float—mmmm. Caitlyn rode a horse and she was so darn cute. (Eddie refused) We nearly missed our train, but did get on in the end, had our ride and headed home.

Ed and I picked up a salad and garlic bread on the way home and we were in for the night by 7:00. It was a good dinner, even though Caitlyn ate all of the good stuff out of my salad and Eddie ate all of the garlic bread.

A perfect Mother’s Day indeed.

This Sunday I’ll be celebrating my fourth Mother’s Day. It is amazing how time flies. I’ve learned a lot over the last four years-things I would never have expected to learn before I was a mommy.

• There is nothing sweeter than your baby’s little face, even when it’s 4am and she wants to nurse, again. Or even when your baby boy is 3 ½ and has peed in his bed and cries and cries because you woke him up to change him.
• Regardless of what your “real job” is, being Mommy becomes your “real job” and the actual job you get paid for is just something you do on the side.
• Regardless of whatever you did in your pre-mommy life, being Mommy is what defines you now. It is what guides you in making any decision and it is the number one factor in who you are.
• You always feel like you could be a better mom, wish that you were a better mom, or wish that you did something differently, but your kids (at least when they’re as little as mine) think you’re the greatest.

There are countless little things, but these are the ones that stand out.

In Eddie’s preschool class this week, they have asked questions about what you do with your Mommy each day and have posted the children’s answers on the door. Some of Eddie’s:

What is the nickname your Mommy calls you? “Bushanaut” (which is a word he made up and calls us) “or Eddie Spaghetti”

What is your favorite food that your Mommy cooks you? “Pizza without the pepperoni.” Glad I’m such a great cook…..

Where is your favorite place to go with your Mommy? “Chuck E Cheeses” I read the question and thought maybe he’d say something brilliant, like the library (why would he say that when he’s never been to the library?), or at least grocery shopping, which he loves, or maybe to the park where we’ve been spending a lot of time. But no, Chuck E Cheeses, where he goes with Ed more often than me. One of the little girls said “church”, which impressed me. Eddie has been asking to come to church with Ed and me, but we don’t think he’s ready.

In Caitlyn’s case the highest form of flattery is that she says “I want Mommy” constantly. Even when I’m holding her. “I want my Mommy” and I say, “You’ve got me!” and she says it again until I say “I want my Catie!” and then she’s a happy girl. I’m excited to pick them up this afternoon and get the mother’s day gifts they made for me.

We have another busy weekend ahead of us. My brother and sister-in-law are graduating from Slippery Rock tomorrow so we are leaving at 7am to get there, and then we are spending Sunday with my parents at “A Day out with Thomas” where we actually ride on Thomas the Train. Exciting, huh?

Finally, I want to say Happy Mother’s Day to all of you wonderful moms out there. I hope your days are full of love and flowers and wonderful time spent with your children.

There's been this fun little MEME going around where you ask one of your readers to interview you, and ask you 5 questions. I asked my friend The Flying Mum to do this, and she obliged! Here are her questions and my very lengthy answers.



1. The year is 2032 and everyone is being relocated to Mars. You and Ed have your tickets for the Mars Shuttle and are packing to go, but due to limited cargo space, sentimental keepsakes must be limited to 3 items per child. Which 3 things would you pick to remind you of Caitlyn? Eddie?

Wow, I’m going to Mars! This is hard for me because everything is sentimental with them still being so young. For Caitlyn: her pink blanket, which I’m sure by the year 2032 will have all but disintegrated because she drags it around and sucks on it constantly, her pink Old Navy baseball hat that she loves to wear backwards, and her yellow giraffe that we bought her on her first vacation to Virginia Beach. For Eddie: The photo of him in the frame he made me for Mother’s Day last year, with the “fake” smile for Mommy grin, his blue fleecy blanket that he has slept with since birth, and his Spiderman sunglasses.

2. Is there any artistic piece (can be a picture, music, or film / book) that can instantly alter your mood either for the better, or worse?

I have 2. Beethoven’s 5th Symphony, which was the first piece of classical music I was ever exposed to. I get lost in the music. When I was a kid, I would picture myself conducting a huge orchestra performing this piece. To this day I can hear the entire symphony in my head.

The second is Handel’s Messiah. Handle’s use of music and harmony was phenomenal. It is my favorite thing to sing along with and pretend that I am a soprano, alto, tenor or bass singer as I choose. Plus I get strange looks when it is blasting from my car window.

3.You have mentioned that you've never been on a plane, but if you had unlimited finances and could pick one place to visit in the whole world, where would you go?

One place, Jeeze. Part of me wants to say New Zealand because I have some internet friends there, but really, I think I’d like to travel to Italy and see Rome, Venice and Tuscany. There is so much history and culture to be seen there.

4.When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up, and how does it compare with what you are currently doing?

This is a great question. What I do now does not compare at all to what I wanted to be as a child. As a very young child, I wanted to be EITHER a go-go dancer, or a bus driver. High aspirations, right? What a life of luxury to drive a bus in the morning and then strap on some knee high boots and a short dress and dance the night away……As an older child, middle and high school, I was sure that I would be teaching music. I took all of the music classes, voice lessons and piano (which I sucked at). Took the college courses, and then up and quit. I’m still not sure why—then I blamed it on working 3 jobs and not having the time it took. Today, I’m not so sure.

I do, however, use my voice in my work today. My main job is to manage a team of 16 associates who handle any mortgage related escalation/problem for the largest bank in the world. On the side, I record our automated system. Soooo, if you call my bank about your mortgage or home equity loan, it will be me you hear in our VRU.

5. Favorite color, what & why?

My favorite color really varies by day and mood. More often than not, it’s pink. Pink makes me happy, makes me feel girly. Reminds me of my baby girl. Other days it’s orange or yellow because those are Eddie’s favorite colors. Sometimes it’s green because that was my favorite color while I was growing up, and still other days it’s red because it reminds me of my wedding and the beautiful dresses and flowers. Today I have on green to celebrate this beautiful, 80 degree, spring day we’re having!!

THE VERY LAST NERVE

I think it's common for your husband to be the man who is on your very last nerve, but what about when it's your 3-year-old?

Eddie has decided that he is "the boss of Caitlyn", and dictates at her all day long. To be honest with you, I don't care what else he does, but I cannot handle him griping at her for one more second!!

"Caitlyn- we DO NOT tell Mommy no!" and then as if I'm not already aware of the situation...."Mooooomy....Cait said no-oh."

I could kill myself listening to this.

Here's what did it for me this morning:

Caitlyn opened the hall door and was holding on to the railing to go down.

Eddie: CAITLYN!! YOU DO NOT GO DOWN THOSE STAIRS WITHOUT A GROWNUP!!!
Moooooomy, Cait is going downstairs without you......

Me: Eddie, I see her

Eddie: grabs the door and slams it

Caitlyn: falls to the ground crying

Eddie: See Caitlyn? See what happens when you don't wait for a grownup?

Me: All of my hair falls out and I collapse in a heap on the floor.

I'm sure that this is common in any sort of sibling relationship, heck I'm sure it was common in my relationship with my brothers, but right now, it is truly on my very last nerve.