Shut Up I'm Talking

Cow Belle

2010-10-05T19:24:00.002-04:00

My daughter turned 6. We asked her for weeks what she wanted for her birthday and for weeks all she said was, A Cow. A cow?? seriously? A Cow that moos?

Right.

So a week before her birthday we ask her again. What do you want for your birthday? A COW! ok. I look at Hubby and suggest he find a cow by Tuesday. The next day I am making dinner and I get a text that says "I got a cow".

So we didn't tell her and Cow Belle arrived Sunday night. She is beautiful don't you think?

I read The Shack. gggrrrr

2010-04-08T10:50:00.001-04:00

Spoiler alert- if you have not read this book but plan to, I am going to talk about some details that you might want to read WHILE reading the book. But if you are like me and would have appreciated fair warning, continue.

I have a friend that is always letting me borrow the books she has to read for class since she knows I am weird like that. The latest was The Shack. I had heard about this book from several places and my impressions of it was that it was a spiritually based story that would refresh my faith and lead me on a journey closer to God. Okay. cool. I did not, however read the back cover.

The book starts talking about a "great sadness" in a mans life and how God helped him through it. I am still good here.

Then about 46 pages in I am no longer ok with this book. SOMEONE should have told me that his 7 year old daughter gets kidnapped and 3 days later they find the place she was murdered, no body, just her bloody dress. I can't read stories about little girls being kidnapped and murdered! I have not seen the movie Taken for exactly this reason! Carrie had babies and lost her ability to enjoy this form of entertainment.

The message of the book is of course wonderful, forgiveness, acceptance, unconditional love. I think that if someone had actually lost a child this would be a great gift to help them work through it. There is a LOT, a lot, a lot of dialogue which forces you to FOCUS on the words and it can drag a bit. But overall... I am not completely mad that I read it. I would have liked to mentally prepare myself though.

Next person that hands me a book about babies dying is going to be very sorry. :)

sad..

2010-02-04T00:14:00.003-05:00

I like my job. I might even love my job. I look forward to going to work. I know, you're jealous right? The job itself is pretty interesting, not extremely stressful and I work with a lot of pretty great people. Today I got to experience my job from the other side a little bit and it made me fall that much more in love with the people I work with.

When you think of a hospital staff you might have a preconceived notion of their personalities based on TV dramas, or maybe even previous history. I am not saying that our staff does not have its dramas but there is so much people don't see that I get to witness and it never fails to amaze me. Many might think that because people deal with the line between life and death every day they get hardened to it. Some things you just never get used to.

Some people may see the effects of actions and not understand the reasoning behind it. If you're in the lobby of the ER and you are frustrated with the wait time you need to know we have doctors that believe that a person flat lined deserves to receive CPR for as long as JFK was worked on, that is about 40 minutes for those of you that don't know. You would be surprised about how many can get a rhythm back.

You would expect our long term patients to hold special places in our hearts, but know that the ones that walk through the door are quickly promoted past patient status. When a surgery isn't going according to plan the number of people throughout the hospital that are praying is amazing. Compassion in this building goes far beyond "oh that is sad".

When a code is called some people are expected to respond. Then there are some who aren't that sit with baited breath hoping it is a false alarm and praying just in case it isn't.

When we have patients that pull though and get to go home there is often the urge to call them, or send a card just to say, man I am glad you made it! Hippa stinks sometimes. So we are left just hoping they know we are overjoyed.

You don't see the staff that will break down after a patient leaves with a bad diagnosis, realizes the chemo isn't working or walks out with only a bag of belongings. Just because you don't see them don't think they are not there. They don't need to know the details of your life to want you to return to it.

But our hospital is special in other ways. We have the reputation. We fix the hearts and we do it well. Top 100 in the nation for years and years and that is not a label that is easily earned. Much skill is involved and lets face it, the cardiologists have it.

We have certain heart surgeries that the patients are instantly on our close to the heart list. They come in the night before, they register and we get to try to ease the worry on their face. We look at the person sitting with them equally as scared and we assure them the hands they are in are the best, because they are. As we look at these patients they don't look sick. They walk in, they laugh their nervous laugh they spend a restless night upstairs and go for their bypass bright and early. The way this goes is they are out by noon and in the unit 2-4 days and then they get moved to a step down floor and go live their lives healthy and happy with a fixed heart.

When one of these cases doesn't go well there are many departments that are aware. Recovery is waiting for them, bedboard is waiting to transfer them, the unit has a nurse ready and waiting.

The other night a dear family friend arrived to have this procedure done. My husband and her husband have worked together for years. They come to birthday parties, we went to the same church, they watched my children grow up. When she was checking in I found her and joked that I was going to do her makeup while she was still out of it and make her purdy. She and her husband gushed about my children to the sweet woman taking their info and she responded with stories herself. They came by my office to say goodnight on their way to radiology.

I got to work yesterday expecting her to be settled into the unit, but she was still in surgery. They said she had a lot of stuff done and it was ok. It is reasonable. 7 o'clock. 8 o'clock. She is still there and it isn't looking good. Without talking you can hear the concern in everyones voice. But the doctors have not given up and that is comforting.

Then about 930 we learn she is gone.

It is hard to lose these patients. It is RARE to lose these patients. In the almost 5 years I have been at this hospital I can only think of a few that have not made it. Each time brought sadness

Several things bring comfort on this side. I know how much of the staff was praying for her. I know how many people that never had the honor of meeting this woman were heartbroken in hearing she didn't make it. I saw the staff, their genuine sadness and compassion when the family, in the fog of their own grief didn't look up to see who was touching their arm. I heard the families wishes being fulfilled and saw how people didn't mind in the least to make it happen even if it might have caused them to do extra. Above and beyond is something that is very commonplace here and that is refreshing every time I witness it.

Some might argue that we save as many lives as we do because we are state of the art and I am sure that has a lot to do with it. I am sure the talent and skill of our doctors doesn't hurt. But on nights like tonight I can't help but think that maybe we save so many because they care so much. The doctors didn't give up. They fought long and hard to find a way to bring her back, I believe beyond a shadow of a doubt they were there hours longer than they had to be and it is comforting to walk away knowing they did everything they possibly could. Possibly several times over.

You'll Never Guess What Hubby Brought Home

2010-02-02T11:50:00.000-05:00

Hubby was off work today and decided to go pick up some hay from his friends farm for our goats. He took Maddie with him because his friend had some calves and thought she would like to see the babies. awe.

I got home after picking up Sarah and hitting the Kroger sale again and I notice a wooden crate thing on the side of the house up on some barrels. hurm. My first thought is animal... too small for a cow. Maddie is bouncing up and down and chattering at me before I am even parked.

I get out and she tells me they have bunnies! with an S. BunnieSSSSS. How many you ask? 4. Four. Four bunnieSSSS.

I go and they are sweet. You can tell they have been handled, no kicking when you pick them up, they just cuddle up to you and settle in for lovin. awe. So I have to ask .Why 4? He tells me his friend has been trying to talk him into getting some for a while and he finally caved and said he would take ONE. His friend said you can't just take one, you have 2 kids, so he ended up with 4.

I don't know how people in Greenback do math but I am still confused trying to figure this one out.

Then he tells me there were like 30 there to choose from and he thinks that we have all girls. THINKS. I said, um, even if we do have ALL GIRLS, how many are currently with bunny?? Then I get the oh, I never thought of that look....

I guess we will know in a few weeks just how many bunnieSSS hubby brought home today. lol. I am going to be running a bunny farm!

My Super Fun Morning! :(

2009-11-19T08:46:00.001-05:00

I was so excited today! I got out of the house on time to take Sarah to school!! Yea, so I didn't have make up on, but I did brush my hair and teeth and changed out of my jammies so that is a success in itself. Madison was still in her jammies, but who cares she is 3 and doesn't leave the truck.

We pull out of the driveway and I notice the wheels feel weird and there is a noise when turning. I think it is wet leaves on the tires and it will get better in a second. No.

I pull into a subdivision all of 300 feet from my house and my tire is flat. Not LOW. Flat. gone. CRAP!

My BIL is at work, I call my dad who is sleeping and my mom says she will come help. k.

I call Hubby to tell him what happened and he starts telling me how to get the spare out of the back of the truck. What?

I have never in my life changed a tire. That sounds pitiful doesn't it? I have a brother and a father and a husband and awesome homegrown finger nails.

No, I am kidding, Sorta. That is all true, but I am not that type of girl. I get dirty, I break nails. I just have never HAD TO do this particular task before. I don't even know HOW to move the back seat to get to the jack and... yeah.

I am trying to keep track of my children because they think because they are standing on grass it is a yard and they can play. NO TAG!! All the while trying to figure out how to get my truck to release the spare, because it is not lowering as I turn the key in the box that says "turn for spare". It is supposed to lower from under the bed of the truck. Riight...

Then my mother calls me, don't you have AAA??

Well. I guess this would be one of the situations I would use that for!! OF COURSE! So I call, as my mom is driving up. Lets take Sarah to school! The lady tells me to stay with the vehicle... uh huh. I assure her as I am buckeling in to my mothers car and driving away.

My mother drives slow by the way. I understand she is not used to the roads and it is curvey and wet and she is being safe but I am freaking out. We get to Sarahs School and we are a minute late. I am supposed to walk her in and sign a late slip but I am giving directions to the AAA feller and well... They can call and yell at me later.

We get back to the truck and he is not there yet. YEA! I thank my mother and she runs to get ready for work, and get her Sams Card so I can go get my tire fixed after I get my spare on. I start to unload the back seat of the truck because it looks like, well, like a 3 and 5 year old sit/eat/color/play back there. He shows up and Maddie starts freaking out because he is a guy and she does not like boys. I tell her to just sit in the truck and be good he is here to help us.
So the very nice guy pulls out his air pump and inflates the tire.

He asks if it was low yesterday? (crickets chirping...)

I DROVE it yesterday but I didn't LOOK at the tire. I HATE it when I sound like a girl. But I don't know! I function on 4 hours sleep, I am lucky I remember to feed the children. He shows me the marks on the tire that mean it has been low, he explains that with the drastic temperature changes we have been having I need to look at the tires more often because it causes them to lose pressure fast.

So I guess if you put aside the inconvience of it all everything turned out OK. Sarah got to school, I don't need to buy new tires, and when I got home, my dog, who HATES being left outside but who wouldn't listen to me that morning so I left his happy butt outside to show him I was serious when I told him I would do it, was sitting on the porch waiting for me. Now I am going to go outside and practice changing my tires...

Man, I'm a Jerk

2009-11-10T09:41:00.001-05:00

Every morning it is a battle. I am grumpy because I had to get up after 4 hours sleep. The girls are in no hurry and I have to tell them over and over and over and over again to do everything. Madison is potty trained but still wears a pull up at night in case she has an accident.
Twice last week instead of going potty she laid on the couch "cold" and peed in her pull up. This just makes me mad because it is laziness not anything she doesn't have control over.

So today I am getting onto them, get dressed, go potty, get dressed, go potty, get dressed,.. My whole morning!

Maddie is in her room whining about not being able to find any pants that are 4's. I go in there and grab a pair that are sitting right in front of her and say, Go potty before you pee in your pull up. To which she replies "I already did."

GRRRRRR

What do you mean you already did! How many times did I tell you to go potty today! "lots" So I tell her to go put her butt on the potty and take her pullup off I will be there in a minute to clean her up! She is crying. The whole time. This is not unusual, this child spends the majority of her day crying. It is what she does.

So I go in there and I tell her that babies pee in pull ups and I thought she was a big girl.
She is crying. I tell her to stop crying and come here. I go to take her pull up off and it is dry.

Madison! You didn't pee in your pull up!
"I know."
Why did you tell me you did??
"I said I already did go POTTY."

I was guilt tripping my kid when she did nothing wrong. So then I tell her Mommy is soo sorry she got mad at her to which the child starts crying AGAIN! So then I start crying cause I hurt her feelings! I ask her why she didn't tell me to stop yelling at her cause she went potty and she just shrugs her shoulders and said I made her sad.

Yea. I suck.

Kindergarten

2009-10-13T11:36:00.002-04:00

My baby started kindergarten. Old news to some but I keep meaning to write this down so here you go. :)

I had Maddie spend the night at my mothers house so I could properly savor the moments. We get up and she has an outfit picked out that is most definately against the dress code, dress with spaghetti straps and flip flops but I am going to pretend I don't know because she looks adorable.

I give her a bath, french braid her hair give her cereal and take pictures. The kid is very excited. For weeks she has been bouncing off the wall. The night before I called home and hubby says Sarah put herself to bed a half hour early because she wanted morning to get here faster. I ask him why, if she has been in bed for 2 hours can I hear her in the background? The kid is in her bed giggling to herself too excited to sleep.

We get to the school after pictures outside, pictures of her buckling into her car seat and pictures of her riding to school and she tells me she does not have time for any more pictures! Bah.

So I walk my bouncing kid inside and we go to the table we are supposed to register at, I get a card for pick up and directions to walk her into this room and LEAVE HER (those people are brutal) then go to the library to meet with the principal.

I walk her into the class and it is at this point my child leaves me. Walks away. There are mothers around me with kids clinging, crying, hugging. My kid? Gone. Yep. She sat herself down at a table and is happily coloring. WHAT? Um. Mommy needs a hug! Not a goodbye, not a be good, not a I will miss you! Just... gone.

I walk towards her to give her a hug where I am intercepted and told to "go on over to the library mom, she is fine." I know she is fine. I can see that She is fine! Mommy is not fine!

I get to the library and sit down. The assistant principal is there going over basics, pick up, lunch, website, yeah, got it people. Then the principal comes in. The principal who, I am sure under any other circumstances is charming, starts off his time to talk by reading us a book. His pick? The Kissing Hand. Have you read it? I had not until that day and lemme tell you, that is not a book you read to a room full of emotional parents that didn't get to hug their kid goodbye today! It is a story about a momma raccoon who is preparing her kid for school and kisses his hand and says when you miss mommy put your hand to your face and that is me kissing you. When they get to school the baby raccoon kisses his mommas hand and tells HER when you miss me hold your hand to your face.

Stupid book.

When they were talking about pick up they said you could either come in with your card, or use car line. I was thinking, well I got robbed of my departure so I can go get her and get a joyous reunion!

I walk in the door with my card and am pounced upon by a teacher who shoos me out the door so the kids can practice. Why tell me I can come in if your going to yell at me for coming in!
So much for a joyous reunion. I get in line, I show them my card, they walkie talkie inside the school to send Sarah to the green cone.

Then my child is in my car. I ask her how school was, and she says very dryly, fine. What? I dropped this kid off 4 hours ago wired for sound and now she looked defeated. I ask her what is wrong, she says nothing. I know my child, I know there is something wrong. I was not completely on board with this kindergarten at 4 idea I will pull her out after 4 hours! She tells me she got in trouble.

See, if this was Madison and you told me she stabbed someone with a pencil I would believe it. But Sarah is my pleaser. The kid wants to help and make you happy, if she did something wrong it is because she didn't know, so I tell her to tell me so we can talk about it and make sure she doesn't get in trouble again.

She tells me they kicked her out of school. I am confused. She says
" I was in the gym playing with my new friends and they yelled at me put my backpack on and kicked me out of school!"
Just now when I picked you up?
"yeah."

So when they called into the school for her they had to get her to the green cone fast and when they called her name and sent her to me she thought she was in trouble and got kicked out of school.

Poor kid.

blah

2009-04-14T10:05:00.002-04:00

So hubby and I figured we would get the girls guinea pigs for Easter. Sounds cute right? I have never had one, although I did have hamsters. Surely guinea pigs are better than hamsters right?

I picked out my hamster because she bit me. I was young and stupid and thought that I wanted a feisty one. Yea..
So after a week or so I feel things in her belly. I tell my parents that my hamster is preggo. No, couldn't be, crazy 13 year old is imagining things. The lumps inside her belly? Tumors. Have to be tumors.
I think they were in denial.
Anywho, a couple weeks later I wake up and lo and behold.. babies. 9 of them. Cuter than cute on cute I tell you, I don't care if they were bald and looked like little maggots with legs they were BABY HAMSTERS! I loved them.
She however... I donno.
I tell myself that they died. Her babies were dying off one a day of natural causes (maybe I wanted to be a crazy 13 year old ok). I want to believe she wasn't eating them alive. I know! ick!! I was tramatized!! Except MY hampster was a little evil I think because she would always leave a leg. One uneaten egg in her nest with the others. Maybe she was taunting them, all "you better be good or I will eat you, and I am NOT bluffing!"
Sigh
I saved the last two, loved them until they died of NATURAL causes. Sick hamster.

So of course, guinea pigs have to be better than THAT right?

Well, I wouldn't know.

I tried to find a guinea pig, 2 in time for Easter. Apparently these rodents are a rarity. We have a Guinea pig rescue in town. I have called, emailed.. no response. I was WILLING to sign application forms and do their house check/meeting to make sure I knew what I was getting myself into. I say Willing because they have them in a petstore, but I was thinking hey, lets get them from somewhere OTHER then the guinea pig mill... right? Right.
And I figure these have been in someone elses care for a while, I can trust they wouldn't be knocked up when I brought it home.

They said they have TONS of these things running around needing homes. I have a home in need of little rodents running around.

(sigh)

I tried to talk my husband into getting a cat instead. I say, with a cat we don't need to buy a cage, and bedding and water spicket, and toys and 4 types of food or anything to gnaw on. We need a food bowl and a litter box. It is SOOO much easier to change a litter box instead of a guinea pig cage.
I think he is still tramatized by Baxter...

So here I sit. No kitty. No rodents. blah.

Weeeeee

2009-03-20T13:11:00.002-04:00

So for my birthday hubby has surprised me with a Wii Fit. I say surprised me because we had agreed or so I thought that we didn't need to spend the money and he couldn't find it anyway. But lo and behold one arrived to my doorstep 2 days ago.

I can only say.. wow. I can't tell you how many things I have bought with the intention of utilizing them and getting in shape. I also cant tell you where they all are because after they sit out for a few months hubby puts them out of the way. I find them every so often covered in dust and think... oh THATS where THAT went. huh.
But that is about the end of it.

The only thing that has survived is the balance ball. But more in that it is multi functional. It soothes a crying baby faster than nyquil. Both of mine have loved it. It is also helpful when the girls want me to load a movie, I can sit on that instead of getting on the floor. he he.

Anyway.
I have been sore for 3 days now. A good sore. A fun sore. You really don't feel like your working out. There are a few downsides.

First. The kids love it. The 2 year old can do almost everything. I have to share. I am not good at the sharing.

Second. It weighs you. You have this fun little Mii character that you can make to look like you, right? Yea when it weighs you your cute little mii gets fat. Like PLUMPS up right there and it says "THATS OBESE."
I know I am fat. you don't have to rub it in.

Third. When the girls get on the board to play it says yea! When I get on it is says "OH"

It is a big ol fat joke. Mean little Wii creators. not nice.

Put it does keep track of your progress, and it is really fun. I am hoping this sticks. Since the kids come running into my room every morning wanting to play mommys game I am thinking it might. They play it all day!

OH! It is my turn!!

Maddies Big Day.

2009-02-26T14:34:00.002-05:00

The day started out with me and my children going to my mothers house and sitting around looking at each other bored. Sarah asked if Mema would cut her bangs cause they were in her eyes. Sarah got her bangs cut and Maddie asked for hers cut. Mema is getting ready to when I say, lets just go get her hair cut. I have been meaning to for a while. You see, her hair is crazy. She has 2, count em 2 cowlicks. Both going in opposite directions. The top of her hair is straight. Underneath? Curley. So she has this volume from the curls which is cute, but the top strands that are straight stick straight out of her head. I can't leave it down cause she looks like a crazy wild child.

She is sooo brave. We are driving and she says, after we get my hair cut Mighty Maddie wants blue earwings. I ignore her. My mom says, lets do it. I tell her no. Hubby has this thing against earrings. Wants them to be old enough to know what they are asking for. I would have had them done when they were babies, but some things aren't important enough to battle over, this is one of them. I tell my mom no earrings, not gonna fight.
I call hubby and the miracle of miracles happens, he says he doesn't care.
So I tell Madison. Daddy said you can get your ears pierced. She immediately says no. What? When I said daddy wouldn't let you get them done you wanted them. I tell you he said you can and now you don't want them? She says yep.
I tell her Daddy said no and she says Mighty Maddie wants bwew earwings!! Whatever kid. Lets go get your hair cut.
We get in the hair cuttin place and she is determined. They call her name and she marches up there and sits down and tells her she is going go get her hair cut! She sits still, poses for pictures. My big girl.... hair looks crazy as usual, but shorter. I will have to find a magician for her hair apparently.
She struts out. Lets go get my ears pierced! She proclaims. Fine.
We go to Claires. There is only one girl working which should have been my big red flag to do it another day. But she was so cute. She got in the chair, pushed the bear over. She didn't need to hold no bear! They clean her ears and she is sitting up all big and tall. Markers? No problem. We are ready for the first gun. She doesn't blink. We ask her if she wants Mema to hold her (I am videoing this). NOPE. Line up. Shoot.

Meltdown. Oh she cried. I held her and she cried for about a minute. We showed her the earring and she fell in love! She said she was Beautiful! Yeah! And it doesn't hurt. She agreed. I asked her if she wanted me to hold her for the second one. Yep. Fine. I sat down with her. Such a brave little girl I have.

Line up. Fine. Shoot. Cries. ok. no problem. I hold her.
The girl says uhoh.
UhOH!?
The earring didn't come out of the gun. It pierced her ear... almost. Didn't go all the way through. Didn't come out.
I am a little occupied with my baby having a nervous breakdown. Shh shh shh shh shh.
I try not to cry. What are we going to do?
She says she doesn't know. She needs to call her manager. ugh.
Apparently this happens sometimes. The solution? Leave the ear alone for a day, come back and get it shot again.
SHOT AGAIN??
You want me to do this to my child again?? I have already scarred her!!! (yeah in reality she is down trying on hats with Sarah no worse for wear but I AM SCARRED!!)
I tell Madison to come here. We will take the first earring out. We will do this again when she is older (I know... insert should have listened to hubby taunting here).
Maddie says no. She WUVS her earwing.
Maddie, I say. You can't have one earring. Lets take it out.
NO! MY EARWING!!!
I don't know what to do. My child is running around with ONE ear pierced! ONE!
She is not a little boy in the early 90's. This is not cool. But she loves it. She cleaned it herself. Shows it off with pride.
I ask her what she wants to do. She said she wants to try again tomorrow.
I DON'T WANT TO TRY AGAIN TOMORROW. I am a nervous wreck and have been on the verge of crying ever since. My stomach is knotting. My nerves are shot.

The kid is braver than her mommy. Which is good cause she is tough and strong. But scary because she is hard headed and stubborn.
I don't know if I will be able to go back and do it again. Maybe I will just send her with Mema.
I want to cry...

Sarah's first...

2009-02-24T12:35:00.002-05:00

Bad word.

It would happen as we are getting dressed and ready to go to church on Sunday. I had just gotten my dog groomed. There is nothing my dog loves more after a 50 dollar bath than rolling in the dirt. I go out with him so I can police his every move and yell when I see the evil thoughts in his pretty brown eyes.
I am getting my jacket on and Sarah asks if she can come with me? I tell her no, I will be right back. Where are you going? She asks. I tell her I will be right back and let the dog out.
A minute later hubby opens the front door and asks that I come in.
He tells Sarah to repeat what she said.

She looks at me and said

"I said where the hell is she going?"

oh boy. At least she didn't ask while we were AT church.

It was an Accident.

2009-02-20T14:41:00.002-05:00

Several things can be accidents. There are car accidents. There are spilling accidents. No one means to spill 5 dollar cups of delicious Mexican cheese goodness. If your like me you spend the majority of the day being sorry for stepping on people, bumping into people, hitting people. Yes you can accidentally hit people, stretching, reacting to loudness... many ways.
Accidents happen.

Madison started crying.

Me- what are you crying about Maddie?
Her - WWWWWWAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!
Me- Madison, I don't understand crying. What happened?
Her - Sarah! WWWWWWWAAHHHHHH!!!
Me- Sarah, why is Maddie crying?
Sarah- I donno.
Maddie - Sarah (mumbling sob) me!!!!!
Me - Sarah, did you hit your sister?
Sarah - (sheepishly) no.
Me- What did you do to her?
Sarah - I didn't mean it
Me - Did you bite her!?!
Sarah - It was an accident.

Why can't they accidentally lay down and take a nap?

Serious advice for the new Redneck.

2009-02-16T09:31:00.003-05:00

It is official now. You have now embarked on a very interesting journey in your short life. I am like you, not born into this lifestyle but find myself legally bound now. I want to share some nuggets of their reality that would have made my transition go much smoother had I known.

It will take a while to get the language down. They don't pronounce vowels. If they said Pen we would understand they were asking for a writing utensil. But they say PIN. Because this causes confusion they have to specify. They need an INK PIN.
They do not heat water to a boil. They heat water to a bowl.
Same thing with oil. No oil. owl. You will be clueless for a long time. Pay attention, if you miss a word you might be able to deduce what they meant with the rest of the conversation.

Do not throw bacon grease out. EVER. I don't know what happens to bacon after it is heated but it must be incredible because it must be instantly transferred to a coffee mug and kept between the stove and the kitchen sink.
If they find out you say... threw it out, poured it down a drain (okay in the south, not so okay up there in O Canada where it will solidify instantly and really tick daddy off) or even pour it over the dogs food, fainting will ensue. Put the liquid gold in the coffee mug and don't ask questions.

Speaking of dogs. Don't fall in love with a particular breed. Dogs are only acquired when one
A. Won't leave the yard.
B. A friend of a friend of a friends mutt had puppies.
C. They were at the flea market and you threw a fit.
Redneck dogs are never to be paid for, and if they are it is never more than 20 bucks, Cause dogs are free. But don't get attached, if it gets sick it will disappear and you will have to wait on another free dog to find you.

Flea Markets. Ah. They are a way of life. Get used to them. Rednecks are required to attend at least one a week. Weddings are planned around the operation hours of the flea market. It is completely normal to see a pregnant woman walking around long after her water broke looking for a camo onsie.

Camo. (sigh). It doesn't matter if you hunt. You have to have at least one outfit that is completely camouflage. Head to toe, including under garments. Die hard rednecks have the bedspread, sheets and couch cover.

You are 5, so be prepared in 3 years to learn how to use a gun. I don't care what your disabilities are every redneck needs to be able to shoot the beer can off of their mothers head by age 8.

Driving may wait a year or two, depending on how tall you are. You should be able to drive well by 12 so that you can go get your parents from the local bar. If you are all swervey and get pulled over the cop will lay into your parents for not teaching you how to drive properly and it is back to the cow field for more practice for you.

Don't tip the cow. I don't care if there is nothing better to do when you are drunk and 13, it is mean. That point I do not waiver in.

When you are driving down the road and you see a sign for "Seasoned fire wood" do not ask what it has been seasoned with. Apparently we are supposed to know that it means the wood has sat for a year. You will never live that one down and it will be brought up anytime you are meeting new rednecks as proof you are an outsider.

Pick a tooth that you don't like and have it removed. You won't fit in if you have all your teeth. The fewer you have the more advanced you are in the hierarchy of Rednecks. Try not to cry when the scary old ladies at the flea markets without teeth try to touch you. You must not insult Rednecks with fewer teeth than you.

You will notice that soft drinks are often drank from a bottle you can see through, with a cap. This is a must. If you HAVE to drink out of a can do it quick and don't put it down. If your can has been on a table for as little as 3 seconds let it go. It is gone.
NEVER, EVER, EVER drink out of that can again.
You can never tell who around you needs to spit out the juice from their smokeless tobacco. Everyone does it. Does not matter if they are under 10, over 90, female, pregnant, or even smoking a cigarette already. The last thing in the world you want to do is mistake someones dip can for your Mountain Dew.

I hope this helps. It will give you a running start anyway.
Enjoy your new family, they love you more than you know and you are very lucky to have them.

Oh Boy, not again.

2009-02-15T14:12:00.002-05:00

Sarah has been quite um... active the past few days. Not listening, not stopping. Just I guess being a 4 year old. Last night, right about at the end of the rope I tell them to go in my bedroom and take their clothes off and we would be right in to help them get jammies on and get ready for bed.
They are in there about 40 seconds when I hear them jumping on the bed. So don't have the energy to care. Then I heard a pretty loud thud, sounding very much like 38 lbs of Maddie bug hitting the floor. Then she cries. ugh.
Now Maddie is my whiner. She cries over everything and anything. Didn't run in there because I really thought she was fine. I pick her up and she tells me she has a boo boo. Uh huh. Kiss it. Cradle and rock her. She doesn't stop.
I look at her hand and she won't let me touch it. uh oh.
I feel her arm, it feels ok (I went and became an ortho dr over the weekend ya know!) I feel her hand and she screams. I ask her where it hurts and she points to smack dab the center of her hand.

Seriously, what are the odds? What are the odds that both my kids would break the same bone within 3 months?
But more than that, what are the odds that the doctors are going to NOT turn me in for breaking my kids hands? There is a great amount of talent involved in breaking the bone Sarah broke back in the first of December. If they both have a hand (opposite hand on this one btw) that happens to have the same broken bone they are surely going to think I am breaking their hands.
I tell myself that we would be fine. They have their own rooms and beds and clothes. We have food and a semi clean house. I ponder staying up late and cleaning their rooms which currently look like... well, like kids live in them (sigh).
I give her some midol and figure we would wait and see if it swelled overnight.
Not being neglectful, but I know at this point a trip to the ER would do nothing but get me a bill and a number to an Orthopedic doctor for a cast on Monday.

I woke up this morning praying her hand was okay. They look so pitiful with those little casts on. Please be okay bug. I look at it while she is sleeping and it looks okay. Whew.
She wakes up and I ask her how she feels. She says her hand "still huwrts". awe. My broken Maddie Bug. But she can bend it and use it and hasn't mentioned it in a few hours.
We are lucky on this one.

Isn't it funny tho that the one thing you fear most when your a good parent is someone thinking your not?

GEESE!!

2009-02-10T01:50:00.002-05:00

It was spring today. Yeah full out spring on Feb. 9th. I will have to check to see if we hit the record of 71, the thought it was going to hit 70. Anyway, it was nice out. I decided to take the girls to the park and let them run around.

Sarah started off climbing up this pole with discs on them. She had done it 3 or 4 times when she declares to me that she does not need help (I had not been helping her at all mind you) and she can do it all by herself! She gets 3 discs up and falls off. It was so funny. She had her hand up on a disc and dangled for a split second before falling on her face.

I shouldn't laugh, I know I shouldn't but there is few things funnier than your kid being all "I don't need you" and then falling on their face. Karma kid. Karma. You need momma FOREVER.

We went for a walk and some lady is walking a rat on a string. Sarah of course falls in love at first site. I tell her it is a Chiwawa.

"Chiwawa?? Oh, mommy can we get one."

"no."

"why? It is so cute!"

"Because it would be breakfast for nubby (cat)" The cat has eaten rats twice that dogs size. I have seen her down in the field... I know.

The girls start to race around the walking trail. I am going to have to take video of Maddie running. I can't describe it. She moves her butt while she runs and it looks like she is always a step away from taking a nosedive into the concrete. They run pretty far, Sarah gets a pain in her side and we tell her it is from running, to slow down. Which worked for 20 seconds until the little one got ahead of her. We can walk about as fast as Maddie can run but she gets so excited when she is in front. She was yelling for us to "hurry up and run like me!!" funny kid.

We go play on the playground some more and I notice 3 geese. Which normally would not be that big of a deal, but these geese were HUGE. Ginormous geese. Their flippers were about the size of my husbands hand spread wide open. Their necks are what stood out the most I think. They were not so much necks as fire hoses. Nuts how thick their necks were. I could not help but wonder how much wringing it would take... nevermind.
Maddie freaks out. She starts hiding behind me and getting all timid which is completely out of character.
So we walk away and Sarah notices a couple ducks on the lake and asks if we can sit down and watch them on the bench. Sure.
These are obviously ducks that have been here a while. We sit, they come. Sarah asks why they care coming towards us and my mom tells her they think we have food. Sarah yells "We don't have food ducks!"
They still come. Maddie is getting nervous again because the geese are on their way over. Those big Honkin geese are closing in fast too.
"momma!"
Me, not being one to forgo an opportunity to scar my children for life tell her, Maddie, relax they just want to check your pockets to see if you have food."
She covers one pocket with both hands and stares at them. "I don't have food! Gooses!"
They get closer and she gets more desperate. "I don't have food gooses!!!!!!"
he he he he
I say, come on honey, lets go to the truck.
She won't move. The geese have stopped and are now staring at her. She has her gaze fixed to theirs. A tumble weed blows by... (whatever, shut up).
I try to prod her to move. Nothing.

So I do what any normal, caring mother would do.

I scream that there are more behind her and she better RUN!!

I get a call later from my hubby asking why Maddie is afraid of birds wanting to eat her pockets. I have no idea....

OOPS.

2009-02-09T14:26:00.003-05:00

Yesterday as we were coming home from church my mother calls. Well, she called DURING church and I was returning her call after church.
Anyway.
She then tell me that she called me yesterday, did I get the message? No, I didn't. What did you want?
"Why didn't you get the message? What were you doing yesterday?"
Now I will just say here that nothing is ever easy. I can't just ask a simple question and get a simple question. EVER. She can't just tell me what she wanted without me going over every aspect of what I did the day before and reasons I was too lazy to hit the play button on the answering machine.
We get through all of that and she tells me that she was at target yesterday and she saw 2 kitties and just wanted to let me know.
You can feel the boiling now can't you?
Did she get a Kitty? No. But she called.
When I ask why she didn't buy it and bring it to me she said she doesn't have 40 bucks to waste on a stupid cat (GGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRR).
I tell her I would have paid her back to which she replies with "uh huh".

I go to Target and I see them. They are both there. The one to the left sees me instantly and mews a greeting. Stupid cat. I pick up the one on the right hoping it is broken but as soon as I have it at eye level it starts. It mews all the way to the front register and startles the feller ringing it up. He he. So it wasn't all bad.
I put it in the truck, back seat, on the floor so it isn't staring at me. I leave it there so I can sneak it in after bed time. It is a Valentines present.

Fast forward to this morning. I procrastinate very much this morning so I am rushed to get them dressed and run out the door. It is so pretty out today and we are going to get Mema (me mudder) and we are going to the park.
While we are getting dressed Madison says she has to go potty. She sits down and goes potty!!
All 3 of us are doing a potty dance and the girls get a mini candy bar as a reward for Maddie going potty (kid loves sugar and I have to get her attention). She is sooo excited and she is going to tell Mema and she is going to be soo proud of her! So we run out the door and bounce into the truck. I open the back door to lift Madison in and I hear "MEW!". I forgot to get the Kitty.
Sarah screams and swings her door open so she can see it.
There is not much I can do from here. I tell them it is for Valentines day and give it to them.
We get to Memas and my mom looks at Sarah holding the Kitty, still in the box and says "I thought you said it was for Valentines day?"
I sigh and set in for another round of 2o questions. Why did I leave it in the truck? Did I not think of it this morning? Why would I give it to them before valetines day? Did I win the lottery that I can just buy the girls 40 dollar presents because it is Monday?? Don't I know that I shouldn't leave things in the truck cause people will steal them? Yada yada yada.

Hide and Seek.

2009-02-07T19:49:00.002-05:00

It was quite beautiful out today. A little odd in that it was 65 degrees and we still had a snowman sitting in the front yard. No snow, just the mound that was the snowman. After we got home from breakfast the head had fallen off making it hard to look at. The girls first snowman was dying a snow death in the yard. I couldn't watch.

But the girls wanted to go outside and play. I am not an outdoor playing person. I enjoy a park like the rest of us but backyard? Eh.
But I went. Sarah and I had fun thowing balls at hubby while he rode around on the 4 wheeler. Then Sarah suggested we play hide n seek.
Not a bad idea. Madison does a great job of hiding. She will be clearly visible at all times. In the rare occasion you are not looking in her direction she will give herself away by telling you to look at her!
She didn't much play.
While I was hunting my husband she asked me what I was doing. I told her I was looking for daddy! She said "oh, Daddy is right there." and disclosed his hiding place. I love a good rat.

It was Sarah's turn to hunt and so I took Madison with me to hide. We went and got in the bed of Uncle Drew's truck and laid down. This was perfect! We are laying there, looking up at the cloudless sky through tree branches that are budding for spring. It was so quiet and peaceful. Maddie and I were holding hands and she is studying my finger nails. She tells me she is a good hider and I agreed. she was doing a great job.

It is around this point in time she take my pointer finger and sticks it into her nose. She twists and pulls it out. I look at my finger and there is a booger in my fingernail. I remove it and flick it out of the truck and asked her why she did that. She tells me "I had a booger in my nose!"
I ask her why she didn't get it out on her own.

"Because Mommy! It was a big booger!!"

Yeah, it was a big booger. Crazy kid.

I am going to rip my hair OUT!

2009-02-05T12:56:00.002-05:00

Either rip my hair out or put my head through a wall. Maybe kick my butt. Yeah. THAT will teach me. I GIVE UP!
Not really. I can' t give up. You know why? Because I am a frickin mommy that is why. All I want to do is chuck it up into the oh well bin but I have a 4 year old that doesn't forget anything. You think I am kidding? We were walking down an aisle at Target and she says, Mommy, do you remember when we were here with Beaux and we went to starbucks and you got me and Maddie that coffee drink to share?
Yeah. That was a year ago last OCTOBER. The kid doesn't forget. She was barely 3 then. Does not forget.
So of course she is not going to forget that Santa forgot to bring her the illusive white kitty. I didn't know the fricking thing was illusive when I saw it everywhere I went. When it was on Amazon for 25 bucks. Nope. It was everywhere. Everywhere I looked the ugly thing was sitting right there blinking at me. I hate you kitty. I hate you with passions. I hope that Biscut the fur real friends puppy is chewing on your head.
(sigh).
I need that kitty...

RIP dear fridge.

2009-02-04T10:03:00.002-05:00

I woke up yesterday and bounced around the house (not as in bouncy ball hyper but as pinball drunken stupor from 5 hours of sleep) getting everyone their "needs". Dog needs out. Kids need juice. Breakfast? ugh. I sleep in my contacts so everything was hazy because I had not put drops in yet so I could not see a frickin thing. Okay. I remember that we have toaster strudels and Sarah saw a commercial and asked if we can get some the day before so I am thinking I will dig them out and make them that for breakfast. Easy, yummy, will buy me a good 15 minutes.
I open the freezer to dig out the box and notice that the first thing I pick up is a little squishy. Things are not supposed to be squishy in the freezer!
The blasted thing died in the night.
Hubby calls and I tell him. He comes home at 11 so we can go find a replacement. Easy right? We measure the hole and go. We find one we like. They can have it to us by Thursday. I have a laundry basket full of freezer food on my back porch packed with snow. Can't keep it that way until Thursday!
We find another one. They can have it in on Thursday.
I think for a moment about his sanity.

We pick a floor model and tell them to wrap it up.
You want to hear a fun thing about fridges? For every minute they are laying down they have to wait an HOUR to be plugged up. True we are only about 10 minutes from home but we needs to plug it up as soon as we get it in. So it was funny watching them stand the fridge up in the back of the truck and us trying to "secure" it with twine. We creep home hoping the thing doesn't fall over... it would be our luck of course.
So we get it home safe and sound. Back the truck up. Guess what! It won't fit through the front door.
It is just funny at this point.
Hubby takes the doors off, and an hour or so later it is in, reassembled and I am stocking it.
I love it.
It is so pretty.
It has ice in the door!
Or at least it will when they hook up the water line.

The Land of Uncare

2009-02-04T01:29:00.003-05:00

Okay, it is not so much a land but an existence. I have been there for years. I care about the big stuff, but otherwise.. eh. I don't care. It is right there in the title, I don't care, shut up I'm talking. I don't care.
I go to school when I think of it, cause eh, I don't care.
I don't do housework because I don't care.
I don't leave the house unless someone drags me.
Honestly the list can go on forever because I don't do ANYTHING. I don't care.

So we all remember a couple months ago when I ventured off the birth control and suddenly felt a wave of emotions. It wasn't so much what I felt, or how I felt but the fact that I felt that stood out. I felt. I felt sad. I felt happy. I felt driven. I planned, and plotted and looked ahead. I loved. I FELT.

I put the ring back in and last month I was right back smack dab in the lonely center of I don't Careville. Yeah, it can be fun to not care. But I had fun caring. I laughed over nothing. I laughed till I cried. Ashley was ready to send me upstairs to play with the crazy old people. I felt.
I didn't feel last month. I am back to being bitter and selfish and hateful and rude and go ahead, fill in the blank with the word you think goes here.

So there was a post on knoxmoms.com that got me thinking about the cause of my issues being Birth control. Hormones. Evil hormones. I don't know if it is what is making me feel the way I do, but I know I am willing to stop them and see how it goes. No, I am not trying to get pregnant, Carrie still has to lose a 12 year old, but I want to try to get normal.

I know that today, even at only day 9 with no BC I am feeling the compassion for those I didn't extend it to before. I feel guilt for the way I think about some things. I feel hopeful for the plans I want to make. I feel blessed and humbled. I feel softer. Not in the weak, walk on me soft, I will still kick your tail - watch it. But soft, and comfortable in me. I like it here.

Door to Door Bible Thumpers.

2009-01-31T00:16:00.003-05:00

I want to start by saying that although I don't believe you can earn your way into heaven by passing out cards about Jesus, I respect the beliefs of those who do. To each their own. I hope to heaven that these people who are willing to go to a strangers door and spread the love of the word of God with people are rewarded for it later.

HOWEVER

There are so many crazies in this world. I know I read the news too much. I really don't do much else besides read the news. I devour it all day every day. Love it.
I have of course read too much about people getting hurt, killed, raped, beaten... because they let their guard down.

So how do I know you aren't a cleverly disguised meanie posing as a innocent kind hearted Mormon?

Thus, when someone knocks on the door you better believe the only thing I am going to do is double check the dead bolt and try to hush the kids. Which is so frickin hard! Have you ever tried to keep a 2 and 4 year old quiet when someone is knocking at the door? They suddenly forget how to whisper. "Mommy! Who is that!?!?"
SSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
"Why do we have to be quiet?!"
GGGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

The other alternative would be to shout through the door, Thanks, but I am good! Go away!

It surely doesn't make me sound like a nice Christian whose heart is right with God does it? No. It makes me sound rude and hateful. Which most of the time I am fine with, but really... they are holding a bible. It just feels wrong.

But Alas, I have 2 very wonderful little girls and I can't take that risk. There were two of them today. I was out numbered. They were big too, it wasn't like the little Mormons on a bike, they came in a car. A man and a woman. Too much of a risk if you ask me... and they did, by knocking on my door.

I am sorry if I came across as hateful guys, but I am a momma bear just protecting her cubs. But I appreciate your concern for my soul. I really do. I hope they can understand my concern for my children and not hold it against me.

I cut her hair.

2009-01-27T10:22:00.002-05:00

My oldest is 4 and almost a half. She has never had a hair cut. Basically she has beautiful hair, always has. When she was little she had the curliest hair ever and honestly I was afraid if I cut her hair the curls would leave and never come back. Scary thought. When she got old enough to care she decided she loves her long hair. She will look in the mirror and say it is beautiful, and it is.

But it is old and has split ends. I was brushing it yesterday and on a whim decided I was going to take it upon myself to cut it. I tell her it will look beautiful and healthy and she agrees, kinda.
I start cutting and realize the scissors are dull. Too late to turn back. I set some hair down on the table next to her and she says "um, mommy, that sure is a lot of hair..."
Yeah baby, it is okay tho. All in all I took off about 5 inches. Put it in a baggie because I have issues with separation okay?

To my glee (!!!) her hair is still curly! Yea! So cute. She is happy, it is still below her shoulders so she can't see the end when it is pushed back.

I did pretty good too, even with the dull scissors, it is straight.

But afterward I was kicking myself. She would have loved to go to a salon and get it done. I didn't think. I must start thinking.

I miss you... Peanut butter cookie.

2009-01-22T12:51:00.002-05:00

I have heard that 6 people have died. BUT I can't find reports on the people who died, were they old? Babies? People with compromised health?
BECAUSE
I thought Salmonella was more of a - you get sick, stomach cramping kinda thing. Gastroenteritis...
Which of course if you are sick, you don't need to add fuel to the fire.

I understand not giving them to my kids. Fine, no PB kids.

So. That being the case. GIVE ME MY FRICKIN PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES BACK!
They have not been selling them for over a week! I am having withdrawals.
You might be thinking Carrie! Why would you want to get sick?
I say to you, my friend...

FAT PEOPLE NEED COOKIES!

But more than that... IF I do eat a cookie and get sick it means

A. I had a great time eating my cookie.
B. Cookie is not going to be in my body long enough to adhere to my hips.
C. Do you know how much weight people lose when they are sick with gastroenteritis?!?!?

Tell me, where is the problem?

Oh kitty kitty, why do you run from me?

2009-01-15T19:50:00.002-05:00

So I still can't find that stupid cat. I have hunted. Sought. Offered favors to the lady at ToysRUs (Which I must say she was not amused which made my willingness to do them for said kitty evaporate).
I found it today on Amazon. I have to say I don't understand the whole Amazon thing well. I got a couple great deals pre-Christmas which told me it was worth my while to check.
They had some, in stock 39.99 free shipping. Heck yes! It tells me they will be available 1-17, order now!!
Okay, so I put kitty in the cart. I confirm my shipping address and payment info then click on "Proceed to Checkout".
I then am informed that the quantity I selected is no longer available.
huh?
I go back to the begining. Find Kitty. Put kitty in cart again. Confirm and proceed again only to be informed I can't have it again!!
Why tell me to order it now if it isn't going to let me until Saturday? I don't understand!!!
Do they have Amazon for Dummies?
here kitty kitty....

Batteries!!! And a stupid cat.

2009-01-13T13:56:00.004-05:00

I don't remember needing batteries for everything when I was growing up. I had a light bright that you plugged into the wall. My dolls had eyes that opened and closed, but it was more of a riggie thing that had something to do with gravity. I had board games and blocks. I survived a child hood with few, very few toys that needed those portable energy bullets.

My children have not yet finished opening all of their Christmas presents. They got that much crap! We have not deboxed it all!
But what is worse than the fact that they got too much, is that Sarah didn't get a white kitty.
No, not a real white kitty, but that Ugly Fur Real Friends white kitty. I didn't get it because it is ugly. Really ugly. What do I know? Ever since then she will ask us if Santa will get it for her next year. She is good by the way at the guilt. She will just sigh out of no where. "(Sigh), Mommy, will you help me wish on that star?" Me sure!
Her - "star wight, star Brite, first star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, have this wish I wish tonight... I wish for that white kitty, not a real one, the fake one. I wuv it so much."
I smile at her. 10 seconds later she asks "Mommy, do you think that White kitty will be there when we get home?" I bang my head against the steering wheel. Why you ask? Because they were everywhere before Christmas! Now!!! NO WHERE TO BE FOUND! argh!

Today Maddie asks for her leapfrog computer thingie. It is a keyboard and mouse that you hook into the TV and play with. After wrestling with the box for 10 minutes, cutting tape and thick plastic doo hickeys and ripping a chunk of my index finger off it was free!!

Free, and in need of 8, yes count em 8 batteries. 4 AA and 4C. argh.
We have several rechargable AA's in the house. We learned a long time ago they need to be around and constantly juicing. Sarah got a VSmile pocket that cripples at least 4 batteries a day, a spongebob game that houses another 4. I have my camera needing 2, and then we have 15 remotes. We are lovers of the rechargables.
I need to get more AA's. A set for Maddie. I don't want her to have to share Sarahs.
We have some of the big batteries on the counter from Uncle Drew. He bought a bunch for the light brites he got them for Christmas, sweet huh?
So we pile into the car. I need to get some stuff to make sweedish meatballs anyway, and I am on a mission to get Sarah a Fur Real Friends White cat (if you see one, call me!).
We go to the store. We get the mandated cookies from the bakery lady, because entering WalMart or Target and not getting a cookie would provoke a meltdown that would have strangers giving them cookies to shut them up. I promise. You would fetch them cookies yourself.
So we get hamburger, sweedish meatball mix. We hunt for the still evasive cat (amazon has it for 80 bucks, but come on... that is insanity) and I get 4 AA batteries.
While we are out I figure I will check Target, just in case. No kitty. course not. Why would there be a kitty? I think about heading to ToysRUs, but they are saying they are hungry, it is 12, so I figure I will go home and make lunch.
After lunch I sit down to put the batteries in Maddies thing. I have the screwdriver. I get the 4 AA's in. I screw the lid in. I unscrew the shield for the main part that plugs into the tv and try to put the D batteries I had on the counter into the holes big enough for only C's.

Shoot me now.

I try to explain to Madison that Mommy is an Idiot. I try to stop her crying because she decided today that after 3 weeks of it being in a box she NEEDS it out NOW!!

I could have packed them back up and took them back to the store for more batteries. I could even have gone to ToysRus to buy them. But the yelling gave me a headache and instead I put them down for naps. I am going to join them. We will go on a Kitty/Battery scavenger hunt tomorrow.
C's Carrie... C's!

He done ticked me off.

2009-01-08T13:55:00.004-05:00

My children love Sams Club. Love. I mention the place and clothes suddenly find themselves on their bodies. Shoes magically appear and I don't have to ask them to turn out any lights. Sometimes I think about telling them we are going just to motivate them to get out the door, but they would catch on sooner or later.
Why do they love Sams?

Samples. OMG. They will eat anything that is in a little plastic cup with a toothpick. Itty bitty spoon? Even better. It amazes me how they will coax me into walking by a stand 2-3 times to get more and yet when I purchase this goodness they can't get enough of and put it on a regular plate with simple unexciting frogs or monkeys on it and hand them a fork they look at me like I have betrayed them and won't touch it.

I need to make a note to buy those cups, surely they sell them there right? Right.

After we check out everything in the entire warehouse we have to have Nathans hot dogs for lunch. Not that they have room after the super sampler frenzy, but we have to. They make me. I don't like those hot dogs on butter buns with mustard and onions and those neat pouches of sauerkraut. mmmm.
I digress.

This snack bar purchase accomplishes 2 things.
1. Lunch is done, easy.
2. I now at this point have 2 receipts.

Why, you ask, do I need 2 receipts??

I have 2 kids. For the longest time they had this super nice lady that checks your cart and checks off your receipt. This angel with a highlighter would draw smiley faces on them for my kids. They loved this, looked forward to it. Sometimes when she was not busy she would draw hair, long for Sarah, short for Maddie. Loved her. Miss her.

Now they have some old guy at this station who doesn't even smile at you. Why they have him doing this I will never know because he is not nice. We have to ask him everytime for a smiley face please. Please. My two beautiful daughters say please! He does not think they are cute apparently.
Yet, he has obliged us and given them smiley faces which have brought my babies great joy. It doesn't take much.

Today... on a day where the place is far from busy. When we walk up to him with neither no one behind us nor in front of us, he takes Sarahs receipt and draws a happy face with out being asked ( I think he is learning finally!) then he walks away. I turned to him and he whipped around and told me "They are just going to have to share".

-Moment of disbelief here-

I am not expecting much. It takes 4 seconds to put 2 dots and a curve on a receipt. My Maddie at this point starts to cry. I want to tell him he is a jerk , but just move out the door. My child is not a tantrum thrower and is not crying in a "I want that now!" kind of way, but more in a "why did he break my heart" kind of way, which only further prods momma bear.
My mother, recognizing the rage searches her purse for a pen and gives my baby a smiley face. She looks at it, smiles through her tears and says "Thank you for my happy face Mema."

Am I over-reacting? Yeah I know it is not his "job" to smiley face a receipt, but come on. I go there several times a month. I don't think it is too much to ask.

I'm sick

2009-01-06T11:14:00.003-05:00

Not in the OMG, your a freak kind of way. In the can't feel my head, throat hurts and can't escape the nausea kind of way. I went to bed feeling fine! I did have a dream that I kept blowing my nose. Stupid sinuses. Here I was getting ready to hit the gym for the second day in a row (almost a record thank you very much)! uh.
My girls seem to enjoy it when I am sick. I don't have the energy to tell them to stop doing anything so they have free reign of the house. All I can do is watch them from the couch as they tear the house apart and harass each other. Maddie is currently in the Lincoln logs container. She popped the bottom out so she can walk around with it around her for some reason. I am thinking it would be cute if she had shoulder straps and she could just wear a barrel, remember that? I don't remember where I remember that from, cartoon? I donno. whatever.
Girls are cool cause they don't destroy, they "decorate". They have every blanket they own out and over the carpet. I have a patch work floor. ha. But there are toys everywhere, mainly the Lincoln logs that no longer have a home... Must send hubby to store for plastic storage container. yea. I will forget that in 3 minutes.
Madison, who should be on her 4th cup of apple juice (relax, before you start on the juice causes obesity kick, I water it down, so she is really only on 2 cups of juice, and 2 cups of water. it cancels it out. And besides, the kids not fat, has my butt, but not fat. shut up I will give her juice all day if I want to) but after the first cup and her asking 40 times and me not moving she found a half empty bottle of Cherry coke and is sucking that down (yeah, 4 glasses of juice doesn't sound that bad NOW does it?).
Sarah has decided she needs hot dogs for lunch.
Anyone know a place that will deliver hot dogs??
But my darling Sarah did bring me my Slanket. She is such a good kid, always wanting to help and mother people. She is old enough to learn how to cook her own lunch right?

Bathroom Humor.

2009-01-04T23:04:00.000-05:00

After church yesterday Sarah asked if we can go to her favorite restaurant for lunch (since her um, mother was too busy being dramatic to get her breakfast, crying over nothing... telling myself it was PMS). I ask what her favorite restaurant is and she said Chinese. I explain to her that the Chinese restaurants over there suck eggs and she tells me "No! The Chinese restaurant next to Chuck E Cheese's!" Well, that makes more sense. It is a pretty good (if you can look past the health score) Japanese restaurant. Has the buffet section, a kick ass sushi buffet, and a hibachi grill in the middle. Fine. Let us go.
We get there and find it packed. There are 2 hibachi fellers but a line 7 deep. Uh. whateva. I take Sarah with me leaving hubby and Maddie. We do this dance every time we go. I take Sarah, place our order with Hibachi fellers, get Maddie a plate from the buffet and return it to her, go back to get our food and then tag hubby so he can scurry to get his food.
Today however the line is awful. I grab Maddie's food and settle in. Sarah is bouncing in exactly one square foot of space and I am starting the normal threatening, glaring and hand squeezing to keep her still.
We get up to where there is one guy a head of us. Woo hoo. Light at the end of the tunnel. If those people would just hurry up with the grilling already!!
Then of course it happens. Sarah says "Mommy! I have to go Potty!"
me- "Wait a minute." I look and I think they are about finished. So they are going to take this guys order and then I will place mine! Then we can scramble and drop off Maddie's food, run to the potty and be back by the time it is done!
Sarah, after well over a minute "Mommy, I don't think I can wait much longer."
The Hibachi fellers are still buttering veggies and plating. Really, just another minute and they should be done!
She starts bouncing. uh! Fine, lets go! We deliver Maddies food and I tell my hubby that we have not ordered yet, and Sarah has to potty. Sarah is circling the table dancing as she happily places chop sticks at every place. I tell her to come on! There was URGENCY a minute ago and now she is just dancing around the table!
Bah!
So we go to the bathroom, she sits down and just stares at me. I say WHAT? she says What??
I ask her why she is not peeing! She says because she has to poop!
Yea! great.
So I settle in for the long haul. We hear someone come in and occupy the stall next to us. Sarah says, very loud by the way "mommy! Are they going to go pee pee or poo poo?" I whisper, pleading for her to hush. "But Mommy! What are they going to do!!" I tell her I don't know!
Toilet flushes, stall is vacated.
"Mommy, she must have just gone pee pee cause she was too fast for poo poo."
Lady giggles and leaves.
whew.
She then tells me that her arms hurt. I ask her if she is done.
"Mommy! I will tell you when I am done. I am not done, my arms just hurt!!"
"What do you want me to do about that Sarah?"
I am wishing I had my phone so I could call Brad and tell him we are going to be an hour and he can go get himself some food.
"MOMMY!!! My arms Hurt!!"
"Sarah, I can not hold you on the potty. You need to hurry up."
Someone else comes in! Oh great. I lean in and tell her to be quiet.
"Why do I have to be quiet?!" Great. Now I am a freak in a stall with a child I am trying to keep quiet. I lean my head back on the door.
"Mommy! Do you have to pee?"
No Sarah, I am good. Are you almost done?
"Mommy! I already told you I will tell you when I am done! Is that lady going pee pee?"
Yes Sarah, she is going to go pee pee.
After what must have been a good 15 minutes she tells me she is done.
She stands up and I wipe her butt, and she asks me
"Mommy, how many poos did I went?
Sarah....
"Mommy! How many?! Did I go 12 poops?"
Laughing comes from stall next to us. Good, off the hook for being a freak.
Yes Sarah, you went 12 poops. Good girl.

Me Misses...

2009-01-04T16:31:00.002-05:00

From time to time I will have withdrawals for NY. I don't know if it is my family per say... could be. Could be the smog, or smell of all the buses burning diesel fuel. Maybe I miss the lack of greenery, and trees in lieu of concrete as far as the eyes can see. We lived in the nice neighbor hood where all trees were set in cement with metal grates letting the rain through to the roots. That was the way it was, and it was fine. Normal. Some neighborhoods didn't even have these trees lining the main road.

The sidewalks were never the same for more than a few houses. Some were smooth and nice, perfect for roller skating. Once you got going real good and fast it would switch up to cobblestone with huge uneven cracks that would send you flying, if you were lucky into a hedge, but more often than not I landed on the jagged brushed concrete which does a fantastic job of scraping the skin off of bone.

We could walk to where ever we needed to go. A corner grocery was a block away. Pizza parlor on the corner. Hills (thats were the toys are) 10 blocks away to the East, and then Grams was about a 30 minute walk to the West. What else do you need?

I miss not having air conditioning in the summer so we had to have all the windows open with box fans in them. We were a driveway away from our neighbors and we lived in a stacked duplex, so there was another family living above us in their house. Noise was everywhere. Muffled music, TV, or fighting was a constant comfort as I tried to sleep. Sirens, or dogs fighting and the occasional fight that had to be taken outside. I miss the noise of the city.

The snow was beautiful. We had lake effect snow all the time! I miss the trees that didn't sag under the weight and the plows that made it manageable. My mom would wrap our feet in plastic bags from bread so they didn't get wet on the walk to school, because it doesn't matter how big or waterproof your boots were, the snow was higher and it would fall in the top and get your socks wet. There is nothing worse than having cold wet feet all day.
But we could make snowmen! Snow angels, sledding, snowball fights! I am beginning to wonder if my girls will ever touch snow.

Then of course I miss my crazy family. But right now I am just thinking of the fun childhood my kids won't experience.

Right?

2008-12-25T15:34:00.002-05:00

I have figured it out. Even if I was wrong in my organizer I was supposed to start Tuesday. I don't think 2 days is long enough to start the worry. Right? People can be 2 days late. It happens all the time. Right? And I am not on birth control so there is not the rigid every 28 days on the dot-ness now. Right??
The thing is we USED protection. I feel like Ross on Friends when the betrayal of condoms attacks him and he is robbed of speech. I knew they were not 100% effective, but really, it is only NOT effective if it breaks. Right??

So, do I go get a test? Because heck, if I am. it would be neat to find out on Christmas day. If I am not, however, I really hate the idea of wasting 15 bucks on nothing and I wake up with the blasted bleeding tomorrow. That would well, suck. Right??

My Broken Baby

2008-12-12T01:10:00.002-05:00

I should have posted this last week, but I have been distracted.
Last Monday we were busy at work and I didnt' get a chance to call hubby until almost 10pm. I ask how the girls are and he tells me all calm like that Sarah (the big one) fell down the stairs off the back porch.
WHAT?! Is she okay?
Hubby- yeah, she is fine. I checked her and and nothing is broken.
Me (breathe Carrie, breathe)- You checked her?
Hubby - Yeah. She could bend her fingers she just didn't use it. She just held it in her other hand all night.
Me, with fumes swelling in head - What?!?
Hubby- she is fine.
Me- Fine.
BAH!

I get home and go to check on my baby. Her hand is swollen. Her fingers are swelling and there is a hint of blue to her whole hand. I touch it and in her sleep my angel tell me "mommy, don't touch my hand, it hurts bad."
(heart breaks here.)
The next morning she is not using it at all. I ask her if it hurts and she says "more than anything in the whole world."
Thats it! I take her to her Doctor.
Now the big one is shy. However my little one is a never ending chatter box. She will talk to you all day about everything weither you let her or not. So the Dr asks Sarah what happened and she just stared at him. I of course didn't know, I was at work (another check in the pro quitting my job column).
So Miss Maddie speaks up. She said "We were on the back porch, trying to be carefull because the leaves were wet and it was swippery. But we were tip toeing and Sawah swipped and fell." Using her Italian hand motions the whole time.
Oh. well. Okay. Thanks kid.
He checks her elbow and her wrist, feels her hand and says we need an X-Ray, but he wouldn't be surprised to find that she broke her hand.
So they take my baby off to take a picture of her bones. He comes back a while later with the X-Ray and exclaims (very surprised I might add) "She broke her hand!"
I say, you said you wouldn't be surprised if she broke her hand!
He then explains that she broke her middle finger in her palm. The most insulated bone in her hand!
She does get her grace from me...
We schedule an appt to get her casted the next day.
I call hubby and tell him that dispite him becoming an orthopedic doctor last week, she did in fact BREAK her hand.
Felt bad, because he felt awful. Sending her to bed with a broken hand, and knowing she was in a crazy amount of pain.

He gets home from work and I tell him how the appt went, how Sarah didn't tell him what happened, but Maddie stepped up and told the whole story.
He just looks at me and tells me Maddie wasn't there, she was next door on Andrews porch!

At 2, the kid is such a good liar that everyone bought it! She made up a story and we just ate it up!

I am in SOOO Much trouble!

Lights Out

2008-12-11T10:45:00.002-05:00

For some reason that the power company refuses to release my power was jacked up yesterday. But see, it wasn't just my power. It started with my Cable going out, which because of that lovely bundle meant my phone and internet was gone too. I won't get into my need for my laptop and how it is my lifeline to sanity.
I digress.
So Cable goes out, right in the middle of Charwee and WoWah. Screaming ensues. Mommy! Why did Charwee and WoWah go away?? I don't know, how about a movie?
I can't get the player in the parlor to work so I herd them into my bedroom to watch it on my TV. All is well, Mickey's Christmas is always a crowd pleaser.
Then the power goes out. What the Crap!?!
Screaming continues. MOMMY!! Why did the movie go off!?! Because that Karma crap has come back to love on mommy honey.
Now it doesn't really matter that it was daytime and it was light outside. They seem to forget that we don't turn the lights on in the day, but they choose this moment to have a nervous breakdown that the lights won't come on.
Sarah-Mommy! It is dark! We can't see!!!
Me-What? I am right here.
Sarah-Where? I can't see you!!!
Seriously?? uh.
Then they realize, without the aid of a digital clock that it is lunch time. Past lunch time. They are hungry.
I go to the kitchen and look around. Yep. I resolve that the only thing I have to give them for lunch is Bread and Water. That is not going to go over well.
The power comes back on! Woo Hoo!!
They run around turning all the lights on. dorks.
I turn the TV back on and there is CABLE! YES!!!
I turn it on playhouse Disney and before I can turn off Drake and Josh the power goes out again!

MOMMY!!! Where are you!?
I give up.
I sit down and suggest we play a game.
But We are HUNGRY!
So I ponder, do I order in, or take them out? It is raining and ugly and I have girls who will stand in the yard and scream and not move because their shoes are wet. Not an option today. I have already been tried and tested and am on the brink of insanity.
I try to order in. The phone is dead. I find my cell phone and wouldn't you know I didn't plug it up last night so it won't come on!

Yeah, I so quit. NAP TIME!
Sarah- But we are HUNGRY!
Fine, I walk into the kitchen and hand them a bagel.

Then the power comes back on!
I grab the bowl of pasta ala carbinara and throw it in the microwave. PLEASE GIVE ME 4 MINUTES OF POWER! PLEASE!?!
I get lunch done and we are eating, in the light. All is quiet on the homefront. Content.
Then the power went out again.
People wonder why I drink.

Super Sarah!

2008-12-02T11:18:00.002-05:00

My daughter is a Super Hero. You might have figured this out if you have been on play dates where she introduces herself as Super Sarah, or if you happened to attend VBS with us this year. I didn't get to go since I work evenings, but I had managed to get Friday off and learned that she was only answering to Super Sarah. I was floored at the number of kids that honestly thought that was her name.
She has a song. Her Super Hero Song. She sings it daily.
"I'm a Superhero, I save the world with the things I do!
I'm a Superhero I'm a good girl. Your not a superhero, because you can't do Karate! (kick here)
If you want to be a super hero you have to be my friend because I am the best super hero in the world"
It is funny. She makes me giggle.
So Thursday my family was at my house and the girls were showing off their new "moves" and Maddie quickly turned the conversation to cake, of course. She says she wants a Diego cake for her birthday (not allowed, hubby hates Diego, but we watch anyway because he is so cool!) and Sarah says she needs a Superhero cake, because she is a Super Hero!!
My mom says that we will take a picture of her in a cape and get it put on a cake. Sarah loves it!
Hubby tells her, Yeah, then I will eat your face!
Maddie stops her dancing. She stomped over to where hubby was sitting hand on hip, finger pointing at him and yells "NO DADDY! You will NOT eat my sister Sarah's Face!!!"
She is so cute when she is mad.
So we explain to her that it will just LOOK like Sarah in the frosting.
She thinks. Ponders. Reflects.
She turns to Sarah and with hands on her hips, finger pointing, head cocked and smiling she says "I'm gonna eat your butt!!"

Seasoned Wood.

2008-11-15T15:46:00.002-05:00

I am a Yankee. I am proud to be a Yankee. Growing up in NY has given me insight others do not have. But moving to the south there have been some things that I do not understand. If you don't grow up with some terms you have no idea what they mean! It is not that I am stupid, I am simply not educated in the hick talk.

We were driving down the road and I noticed a beautiful pile of wood. A sign made out of cardboard and red spray paint (the same color was used to spruce up the pick up in which said wood was contained) said "Seasoned wood fur sale". I am going to let that go. I have seen signs in the past, the funniest of which was "Far wood for sale" That took me a while. Far wood? really? How Far away is this wood from? Do I have to go get it? Is there cutting involved? Because I am not a go find it chop it and bring it home kinda girl. Can I drive? But no, Far wood would surely cause sweating. That might be considered exercise. I will just pick some up at Kroger all bagged up with a handle as to not risk nail chippage.

So we drive by this red truck with the fire wood. Seasoned wood. That sounds fun! I imagine burning this wood in my fire place. It has been a while, because you can't burn a fire with children around. At least not my children. They have hair, it stinks when it gets to burning.
But they are older now. They could comprehend, do not touch the fire. Stay away from the fire.
I am excited!

So I ask my husband, the love of my life, father of my children, person whom I have chosen to entrust my secrets and share my eternity with (well, or until he really pisses me off, which ever comes first). I ask him, What do you think they season it with? Cinnamon? Maybe some apple spice? It might smell sooo good!

He stares at me. Looks at me like I have 3 noses.

WHAT??
Do they use something stupid that makes it smell like pine, because I can get trees that smell like pine in my yard.

He tells me. Like I am the uneducated one. Why does the redneck with the spray painted pick up just tell me it is AGED a season!?!
Stupid wood. I didn't want a fire anyway.

Sleep!

2008-11-08T23:17:00.002-05:00

My children do not know how to tell time and the little monsters got up at 6:30/7am all week. When mommy goes to bed at 2am this time slot is not open for awakenings of any kind. Since I didn't go to work but one day last week I HAD to drag my zombie butt into work and deal with it. Every day it got worse. My lovely husband kept telling me (As if it made my knowledge of his 7 hour sleepy nights flutter away, or make me not hate him one... neither happened) that he would let me sleep in Saturday as long as I wanted.
But he kept his promise. I was asleep at 1:30 and I slept until 1 in the afternoon.
I feel like crap!
I can't win to lose apparently. I got up cuddled with my babies, went to Walmart for dog food (two days of eating dog biscuits is apparently something you don't do), and that is about it. I am so sleepy! Too much sleep, I always thought that was something silly people who are jealous of your ability to sleep 9/10 hours a night tell you. Oh well. I am sleepy! off to bed...

Come on people!

2008-11-02T07:44:00.000-05:00

So I am reading my favorite news site and I come across a headline that cracks me up.

"Fifth Grader draws scariest Halloween mask ever for Art class, gets hauled away to mental hospital by police. (with teacher-terrifying pic of mask)"

Great right? So I click the link and am taken to the most ridiculous story I have read in a long time. They tell a class of 5th graders to draw scary Halloween masks in art class. The Art teacher actually helps this kid make the eyes creepier on his vampire. Great job kid!

Kid goes back to homeroom, his homeroom teacher sees it and freaks out, takes the picture to the assistant principal who stupidly agrees that it is a crazy terrible mask and the kid obviously has issues... and can't come back to school until he has a psych evaluation.

WHAT!?!

Wait, it gets better. When people start to ask what the hell these people are thinking they try to defend their decision by saying that it could be gang related! He wrote "I kill for Blood" on it. Now, lets give the people the benefit of the doubt on this one, they may have forgotten it was a picture of a vampire, and they do... well, KILL FOR BLOOD. But okay. whatever. Idiots want to say this kid is a member of the Bloods street gang. Brilliant.

BUT then they say that the blood the child has dripping from the eyes and nose of the vampire look like tattoos gang member get for killing people.

"They told me the droplets could actually be a gang symbol for the number of people he killed," she said. (She being his mother, They being the school)

Okay, I am not going to sit here and say that gang members don't recruit 5th graders, even possibly in the crime ridden city of Savannah. BUT I am willing to put money on the idea that a fifth grader is not crafty enough to commit murder in such a way as to not get caught. Especially 8 times, which is the number of blood drops on this picture.

They look like drops of blood to me. Color them blue and the vampire is crying. Put them above his head and we got frickin RAIN DROPS PEOPLE! This whole situation is insane. People this stupid should not be in leadership positions, let alone allowed to teach our children! Why is there not a common sense exam people need to pass to be allowed in public service? I will write one. This poor kid just did what he was told to do.

ARGH!

One more pro for the homeschooling side of my pro/con list.
I won't have to deal with idiotic teachers making big deals out of innocent halloween masks and yet, somehow not caring about the bullying, teasing, hitting, fighting "normal" 5th graders do.

These people make my chest hurt!

Link to story - http://savannahnow.com/node/605769

Tucker.

2008-11-01T23:24:00.000-04:00

I really don't know at what point my dog became a dog. I dreamed of this dog for years. It took begging, pleading, crying to get my parents to let me have him. My Golden Retriever I had named before he was conceived.
I dog sat for his parents. When his mother got pregnant with his litter I would talk to her belly. I would tell him of all we would do when he was born. The places we would go, the parks, the beaches. It would be lovely. He was one in a litter of 13. I knew him when I saw him (I got first pick of course). He was my Tucker. At 4 days old he sucked my finger. I would go visit every other day until he was old enough to leave his mommy. My parents, who fought so hard for me to not get a dog, brought along his brother. 2 Puppies! But he knew he was mine.
We slept together, we played together. I would come home and he would bounce through grass to meet me. When I was sick he was there with me. My mom tried to get him to come out and eat while I slept, he would not leave my side. He was not a dog, he was my child. My first.
When I started dating my husband first things first, We were a set. He could not have me without my baby. Things got serious, and I would bring Tucker over so he could get used to our new house.
One day while Brad and I were laying on the floor watching a movie Tucker came over and peed on Brad's head. It was PRICELESS. He wanted to know who this guy was with his mommy!
I got pregnant. People told me I would not feel the same about my dog when my baby was born and I blew them off. What do they know? They don't love their dogs like I loved my dog! He will be a big brother. He is a Golden for goodness sake! It is their jobs to love kids.
But things changed. I don't know how or why. But my dog is a dog. I don't take him places. I don't cuddle with him. There are days I forget to feed him. But even after 4 years of being at the bottom of my priority list he still hopes. He hopes that I will play with him. I feel awful that I don't make time for him. I say his name and he come RUNNING from where ever he is with incredible excitement at the invitation of my attention. I do love him. He is good to my kids even though I know he knows they are what came between us.
I need to stop being an ass and be a better mommy to my dog.

What you need to know.

2008-10-29T09:02:00.001-04:00

I don't care about much.
I care about my two daughters, ages 2 and 4. My family. 3 friends.
I care about getting enough sleep.
I care about being financially stable.

Other than that, I could care less.

I am a Christian. I was Born in Buffalo NY, raised Episcopalian moved to the Bible belt of the south and now attend a Baptist church. Not because I believe what Baptist believe, but because it works right now.

I find great amusement in things I most people wouldn't think funny.
I enjoy being sarcastic. It is how I cope with life. Things are easier to handle if you laugh at them. I think people need to stop being so serious. Serious is boring and life is too short to be dramatic.

What bugs me.
It bugs me when people don't mind their business.
You don't have to agree with everything that goes on in this world and you really don't have to be a jerk about it when you don't.
It bugs me when people get on their soap boxes and gripe about other peoples lives and how they are not living up to their expectations of them regardless if they are aware of their existence or not.
You don't agree with gay marriage, don't turn gay and get married.
You don't agree with someones religion, don't practice it.
If you are not a Christian and you don't pray, that is fine. But don't go screaming that my praying offends you. That makes you a jerk.
But what really bugs me is when people use the bible as justification for being a jerk.
oh! and it is even better when people use the bible to tell someone who is not a Christian why they shouldn't be living their lives a certain way.
Telling someone they are going to hell is not the greatest way to get your point across.
I will respect you because you are an adult and capable of living your life the way you want to live it.
If people would just worry about themselves and stop getting all bent out of whack about things people do that has no impact on their lives, this world would be a much more peaceful place. As long as you don't harm myself or the people I care about I don't care who you sleep with, pray to, or vote for.

I voted for McCain. Let me tell you why. There are many reasons, and not just because I think Elizabeth needs some back up.
First, I think that the government does enough. It is not the governments job to make sure you pay your bills. It is your job to get off your butt, get educated and get a job. A job with healthcare. They have those. If you want health care, get a job.
Universal heathcare is not a good thing. There is government supported healthcare for those who are disabled, too old to work, and children who are blessed with parents who don't give them healthcare. That is fine.
But why is it my job to support lazy people who won't work? And before you get all upity with me there, let me assure you that a good 60 percent of my family falls into this lazy category. I love them, but they are fully capable of getting off of their butts and supporting themselves. If they don't want to work, I don't want to give them money. period. Honestly though, they make enough money selling drugs to be able to go buy a insurance plan on their own, but if the state gives you it for free, well, where is the motivation?
It is not my job to support women who make more babies then they can afford to keep.
This whole take money from those who earn it and give it to those who won't thing... paleeze.
Second, One of my best friends did 3 tours in Iraq. Those people are risking and giving their lives for us. The Large majority of them are voting for McCain, because they believe he will give them what they need. I will to support them.
But most importantly I don't trust Obama as far as I can throw him. I have watched him for a while. He is good. He speaks well. He is very crafty. But when I listen to him I don't hear a man. I hear a guy trying to get elected. He has made a career out of this politics thing.
I wish we could get a businessman in the white house.

But I do need you to put your teeth in before you leave the house. I don't care if your mullet sporting daughter told you that you looked fine. You don't. If you don't have teeth, don't leave the house. period.