Take Me Out To The T-Ball

Steven had his first game on Saturday and I officially became the nervous mother on the sideline. This was opening day for all the teams in the county from t-ball up to the minors or majors, I'm not sure what the older kids are called. Anyways the kids who were around 12 to 13 yrs. old. Give me a few more weeks and I'm sure I'll be an aficionado of baseball. There were 27 out of 29 teams present for the opening ceremony which was awesome. Of course one of the teams who canceled out was the team opposing Steven's team. Thankfully one of the t-ball teams that had played earlier in the day agreed to play another game with Steven's team. Poor Hubster got wrangled into helping the kids at the tee, but he soon got into the swing of it and had a good time.
As you can see it was a beautiful day, not too cool or windy. Thats Hubster in the black jacket & hat and Steven is at bat.
Steven played great for his first game. He made me very proud by hitting well and by not picking his nose out on the field. We all had a fun day and it will be nice having something else to do as a family. We started practice last week and I was worried how Dean would handle not being able to play with his brother. Well as you can see we had our ups and our downs. Next year little man, next year.

Enough with the rain already!

I know we need the rain, but come on already. We actually had some sunshine for about 5 hours today and of course I was stuck in my office, but I did get to go out in the glorious sun when I went to do the deposit. My flowerbeds are so overgrown with weeds that I can't even tell where or what I planted last summer. Rain or shine this weekend I'm going to have to get out there and just weed. I just went and checked the forecast and Thursday is suppose to hit 71 degrees and sunny!! That's more like it.

Today was the last day of Steven's spring break and we pretty much spent it being lazy. I of course planned on sleeping in late for four glorious mornings, but the boys were not so inclined. Every morning I was either awakened to giggles, crying, or fighting. And since I had to get up early for work this morning, they of course did not want to get up from there warm cuddly beds making me run behind. Little shits. Loved little shits though.

Tomorrow is Steven's first t-ball practice and I shall be officially shoved into the wonderful world of sport mom. I am so dreading when Dean gets old enough to play since they are 2 years apart I'll be driving from one end of the county to the other chauffeuring them from one game to the other. I am vowing right now I am not getting a mini van. No way! Steven is so excited for t-ball he had a hard time falling asleep tonight. Since Hubster won't be home from work yet when practice starts I'm taking Dean with me. I just hope he understands that he can't go and play ball along side his brother. I'm taking the camera so I can capture the sure to be precious moments of Steven at bat and hopefully a happy cheering Dean.

Yesterday when Hubster got home from work we all went out mushroom picking. We went to our favorite spots and found a few shrooms here and there, but they need a good dose of sunshine to pop up. When we got home we looked around our property and we hit the jackpot. We filled up the rest of our bag and ended up having a huge batch of battered mushrooms for dinner. Yum!

We had a quiet Easter with just the little family. Since it was RAINING the Easter bunny hid the eggs around the house. Dean got so excited when he found an egg and he actually found the harder to find eggs before Steven. For dinner I decide to go a different route from the usual ham dinner and made a seafood fare. I cooked shrimp and made scallops for the first time. I don't know where I went wrong or even if I did do something wrong but the scallops sucked. Hubster swears I've had scallops before, but I honestly don't remember ever eating them. I do know I don't plan on having them again anytime soon. Hubster, bless his heart tried battering and frying the scallops to see if we could eat them that way, but, uh no they weren't better.

And speaking of seafood...I'm going to go laze in my recliner and watch Deadliest C@tch before hitting the hay. Later.

Time To Start Caring

Since last Spring I have gained 16 pounds and boy do I feel them. This winter my knee started bothering me to the point I had to wear a brace while bowling. My energy level has been at its all time low. So I'd say some changes are due otherwise my future is looking pretty bleak. I have been on countless diets and I know that I can't lose the weight by going on another. The best plan for me is to enjoy food that is good for me like whole grains, vegies, and fruits. Basically stay away from processed foods. I went shopping this morning and spent $247.00 (gulp) on getting this house stocked on good stuff. Hubster and the boys will not be happy when they start snooping through the cupboards come snack time.
About 3 weeks ago Hubster and I invested in a Bow Flex. Hubster has been using it 4 times a week and is developing quite nicely. Oh yeah, quite nicely. Me?? I have used it once. One frigging time. Its gotten to the point I walk right past it and don't even know its there. Sad. I love to lift weights, so I know if I get going I will enjoy it. I just have to get to it. I'm going to talk to Hubster and see if we can lift together. You know what...no, I'm not going to make it Hubster's responsibility to make me use the damn thing, thats not fair to him. I will make the time and energy to do it myself. Eating better will bring my energy levels up and of course getting my ass to bed on time would be beneficial also. I have so many outdoor projects I want to get done this summer and if I don't take care of myself I won't have the beautiful yard I desire. More important I need to do this for my family or I won't be able to play with my boys and enjoy the life we have together.

Hiding out of Desperation

This morning after I got Steven on the bus, I came home and logged on to the internet and hid from the world. Its days like this I'm still glad I have dial up. I love the people I work with, but cripes they call me over the stupidist things. They'll call to ask me if they should charge a motel customer the weekly rate if they are staying for 7 days. Ummm, that would be yes. 7 days is a week the last I looked. Anyways I hid at least from the phone. The sad thing is that I spent my day at the computer working only getting away to make Dean lunch and giving him a 20 minute piggyback ride of which I'm paying for tonight from the ache in my lower back.

Steven lost another tooth tonight. This is his 6th tooth he has lost so he is getting to be a real pro now. When he lost his first few teeth he got hysterical at the sight of the blood. Today he brought the tooth to me and went in the bathroom and got a wet washcloth to hold on the hole until the bleeding stopped. One more sign he doesn't need his mommy as much. Sigh.

Hubster went back to work today after only being off since March 15th. He is usually laid off until the end of April or first of May so we were a little suprised when he got the call this weekend. I'm relieved in the financial aspect, but bummed because we usually use this time to get projects done around outside. I guess we'll just have to plan our weekends for the list of honey-do's I had made.

Last week our local power company called to let us know we will be without power for 5-6 hours on Wed. starting at 9:00 am. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the days I go in to the office to do the books. Basically I will have to get everything I do in those two days done tomorrow. If everything goes well tomorrow I should only have to go in Wednesday to get the bags done for Thursday and deposit monies from Tuesday. And with the thought of the long day ahead of me tomorrow I had better get myself to bed of course after some tooth fairy dust is scattered.

I Am So Ready

Since the beginning of January every possible waking moment I have sat at this computer and worked on investigating the embezzlement case. I want to be done with it now! I have 4 more months of daily till tapes to go through and then I will be able to hand all this over to a forensic accountant. The money has been great and has been our saving grace with Hubster being off work for spring break up, but I want my life back. I feel like a horrible mom since all the boys hear from me is, "Later Mommy is working." "Honey I can't right now, I'm working." "Boys! Quiet! I'm trying to work!". So I guess I won't be winning Mommy of the Year this year.

You remember in November when I was re-decorating the bathroom. Well it has not been touched since I removed most of the wall paper. Yeah, you read that right, I don't even have all the wall paper down. So I set a goal for myself. Mom and Dad will be back the end of April from Arizona and I want it done before they get back. I could care less if it is done for their eyes, I just need a deadline and since I'm not expecting company any time soon I figured them coming home would do the trick. Steven has his Spring Break starting April 14th so that shall be the big vacation project. Steven loves to paint and so he will. I'll be done with the embezzlement stuff by then also, so I should have the time.

I have been feeling so much better since I started taking my sinus meds. I didn't realize how much it was draining my energy. I should probably go to the doctor to make sure it is not a sinus infection, but so far the meds seem to be doing the trick.

I signed up on some web rings last night in hopes of getting some more traffic to my site. When I first started doing this I didn't really care if too many people read. But I now I'm feeling well....insecure. I don't know what I'm really feeling. Do I suck so bad at this that no one wants to stick around and read. According to site meter, I get hits, but no one sticks around to read. I have one person who comments and thats Jules (Thank you!) so that has made me feel better. I'll just keep plugging away and try to get back to my original plan that this is for my boys and me. I feel like I'm back in high school, do they like me? Ugh!

Okay my sunday shows are starting so I'm outta here. Later.

I don't want to grow up.

I am so glad this week is over! The last 3 nights I have had bowling meetings, I worked 21 hours in 2 days and I think I still have a family since the laundry hamper is full once again. Frickin' laundry. On top of all this busy business I was dealing with a headache. I very rarely get headaches and when I do if I take an advil its gone within the hour. But this bugger started Tuesday night during the meeting right on the side of my head with this consistent pressure. When I got home I popped some advil and went to bed. Wake up Wed and its still there. I took some more advil and went to work. Counting money while you have a headache is not fun. One of the bartenders in the lounge offered me some advil liquid gels claiming they would kick my headache's ass. About an hour later the whole top of my head felt like somebody had poured hot grease on it. After I went to the bank to make the deposit, the thought of a stroke or an aneurysm convinced me to stop at the doctor's office to have my blood pressure checked. It was fine 124/70. The nurse laughed at my hypochondria and said I wasn't having a stroke. Okay that helped. Laugh at my concerns wench, you'll be sorry when you read my obituary. So I dragged myself back to work until 5:00 ran home and put a lasagne in the oven to bake which I had so smartly pre-made Monday night, ran back to the bowling alley for our Wed night league meeting and banquet at 6:15. Tried not to kill too many innocent people while dealing with the constant brain drilling, hot grease scalding headache, did the liquor order for the lanes, went home to find Dean still awake and in hyperdrive. Took some more advil and finally got Dean successfully tucked into bed. I then stupidly stayed up until 1:30 afraid if I went to bed my aneurysm would explode during my sleep and I'd be found dead in my bed that I haven't changed the sheets in for 2 weeks. I compensated and put on some clean underwear and crawled into bed. Awoke (yes!) at 6:30 to begin the "get yo ass outta bed its time for school" routine. At 8:00 I sat down at the computer to begin my day of embezzlement investigating with only the brain drilling portion of the headache remaining. After about 2 hours of squinting through the pain I went in to take a hot shower. When I got out I went through my after shower ritual lotion, deodorant, brush teeth, blow nose. When I blew my nose my head felt like it was going to explode where my headache was located. I then noticed I could affect the degree of pain in my head just by sniffing. Sniff in and head explosion, breath out moderate pressure. So I popped some Tylenol sinus. Within an hour my headache was gone. Thank ya Jesus! I've noticed as I get older my sinus' are so much more sensitive to changes in the weather. So I guess nurse-laugh-a-lot was correct.
Speaking of getting older, I think I may be starting the first stages of menopause. The last 3 months my emotions have been on an ever ending rollercoaster ride. WHHEEE! Well I want off....like now. Right now. I used to mock women who would blame their moods on hormones. I have always been able to put a smile on my face when I'm grumpy or sad since I'm one of these people who HATE people who take a bad day out on others. I have become one of those people I hate. I'm surprised I'm not hacking up hairballs from all the heads I've bitten off lately. The only upside to the hormonal swing I've been on is my sex drive. For three weeks of every month I'm insatiable. Poor Hubster can't even scratch his balls without me wanting to jump him. Actually now that I think of it he has been scratching them more, so maybe its not poor Hubster. But he pays for the 3 week stretch of horny honey of a wife with one week of rabid hairball hacking wench he resides with while quivering on the far side of the bed. And it wouldn't be so bad if that week fell while I'm on my period, but no it comes the week before I start. So technically only 2 out of my 3 weeks of the sex in overdrive is spent satisfactory. I just only hope that when my menopause changes gears its finds me in sex overdrive and not in full road rage run your ass over then reverse and run it over again gear. Later. I have to go see what Hubsters up to ;)

Daddy's Day

Dad turned 72 yrs old today. Wow doesn't seem possible. Mom and Dad should be heading home in another 3 to 4 weeks from Arizona. It will be so good having them back here. Seems too long since they left in October. I'm anxious for them to see the boys. Dean is talking so much more clearly and isn't the shy little boy he was when they saw him last. I know they can hear a big difference when they talk to him on the phone, but his expressions and hand gestures are so much of his communicating they can't see. Steven is getting so grown up now. He isn't the little boy who comes crying to Mommy anymore, instead he sucks it up when he is hurt now. That breaks my heart not to be needed as much, so I know it will Granny also. Anyway it will be interesting.
Today was raining and we actually had some snowfall a couple of times so I spent my day getting caught up on bowling stuff. It will be good to get this all done for the season and concentrate on other things. Like my house! Oh my god, I haven't let my housework fall behind this bad for ages. I got so busy in December with training for the bookkeeping and investigating the embezzlement crap, I let my house take last priority. I finally got caught up on the laundry Thursday, well as much as you can ever catch up on laundry. I had probably 14 loads laying there. That is so disgusting! I feel like a new woman finally getting caught up to a reasonable load a day. Isn't that sad that laundry can affect my state of mind?
I joined a website a few years ago called "flylady" that helped you get your household in order. I really liked the concept and think it could work, but I swear I received about 20 chore reminder emails daily. I felt like my mother was nagging me to clean my room every 10 minutes. Eventually I lost interest or maybe it was more that I acted like a sullen teenager and said I'm not going to clean my room flylady and quit. Anyways I should check it out and see if it can help me with all the spring cleaning tasks on my list, because before I know it I'll have yard work calling out to me.
Okay my favorite night of tv (Desperate Housewives & Grey's Anatomy) is about to start so I'm outta here. Later.

Spring

Today I actually got outside and did some stuff around the yard and it felt fantastic! Its definitely too muddy yet to get real serious, but I put out a decorative bird house I got for Christmas and picked a few rocks out of the yard. Last year when the contractor put our septic system in they spread drainage rock all over when they were filling in the trenches. Of course this is an area where we envisioned a lovely lawn. So I spent several weeks last year picking rocks and hauling them to low spots in the driveway. Well it seems that over the winter the rocks have had a love fest and multiplied. It doesn't even look like I picked a single rock. I know once the lawn comes in fully we won't see them, but I keep envisioning rocks flying through my windows as Hubster mows the lawn. Oh well I got one hell of a tan last year so I guess I'll look at it as my way of achieving that golden glow. I need to make a plan for a couple of flower beds and what kind of flowers will work best. I don't know why I try to grow flowers because basically all I end up doing is growing food for the deer, the little bastards. I started a two tiered flower bed last fall that I need to put a rock border around. Over the years whenever Hubster and I go anywhere in the mountains I always collect interesting rocks so I figured a border would be a good way to display them. Well I think I'll dig out the garden books and plan what bulbs to order for the deer's dining pleasure. Later.

Just Say It

I've spent the majority of the day reading a new online journal and got to thinking I should update my own. I have several journals that I faithfully read daily (Hi Jules!) and some I check in on once a week or so. I love to find new journals through links and read through the archives. Kind of like reading a good book on a rainy day.
One thing that struck me lately as I've been reading journals is that I'm putting too much effort into my entries. Heh I'm talking quality, not quantity obviously since I'm averaging 3 entries a month lately. I keep thinking I have to have something exciting or of meaning to say whenever I write. Don't misunderstand me I'm not saying that other peoples journals are boring. I'm saying that I realized that I enjoy reading journals because I get a glimpse of how they live day to day. Granted some have much more exciting lives than I ever will. The journals I read are people whom I can relate to in some facet. So I'm going to take some pressure off of myself and write about me, my life and if somebody out there connects with me that's great.

Happy Birthday to me!

Yeppers I turn 41 yrs old today. I kept being asked this week what big plans I had for my birthday and when I replied "absolutely nothing" I would get sympathetic looks. Since mid December all I have wanted is to have a day I had no obligations. I have a lot I need to get done, but I figured my birthday was the perfect day to just say no to it all.
Okay since I haven't updated for a month..geesh...let me recap.
Steven is doing really good in school. He even says he likes it now so that is quite a turn around and a relief. His personality is changing or maybe its just that he growing up. In some ways the changes are positive, but he is learning things from other kids that are not so good. I was concerned when Steven started school that he would get his feeling hurt because he was such a good hearted trusting kid. I think that was part of why he hated school for awhile, but now its like he has gotten street wise and that is hard for me to take. The majority of his classmates are from disfunctional homes. Steven has had a few episodes of kids punching him or pushing him down which I expected..hell it happened to me when I was in school, but not until I was in 3rd grade. When I talk to the school about these incidences they tell me it has been handled. But when I investigate further the information I get back on these kids is horribly sad. One of the boys' mom is a crank addict, another boy spends the majority of his time at various babysitters because mom is out partying. It all comes down to drugs, alcohol and sex are the focus for some of these parents and their child gets acknowledged when its convenient or absolutely necessary. Rumors out of the school are that suspensions are at an all time high and the teachers are throwing their hands up not knowing how to handle the problems. I'm scared. I can only hope that if I keep reinforcing my expectations on my boys that they will stay on track. To me this is sad that I'm facing this when my child is in kindergarten, hell I expected this stuff around 4th or 5th grade. So I'm signing Steven up for baseball Tuesday night and maybe just maybe I can get him sports orientated young. I used to think it was sad how parents ran their kids from one event to the next, but now I'm beginning to see the positives of keeping them busy.
Whoa went off on a rant there... Hubster is off work for spring break up as of Thursday and probably won't be back to work until mid May. I hate this time of year financially, but we muddle through. At least I don't have to pay for daycare! Plus we have a lot of projects around the house to get finished.
The bowling leagues are finishing up this month so that will be one less thing on my plate. I'm going to try to keep the bowling alley open for the summer. I've got two leagues organized starting in May so that should help. Otherwise open bowling sucks during the summer since everyone would rather play outside which I don't blame them.
I'm still bookkeeping twice a week and loving the challenge. I can't remember if I mentioned that I've been gathering evidence on the previous bookkeeper for embezzlement. I stumbled upon some discrepancies when I first started doing the books and my boss asked me to go over everything from when she started in July 2004. This includes daily sales, accounts receivables and gaming money. I got the gaming done and I'm now working on the rest. I'm finding basically that anyway she could skim she did it. I wasn't friends with the previous gal but it still has been very hard emotionally on me. I don't like that I'm potentially ruining someones reputation and life but I keep reminding myself she chose her actions.
Okay enough rambling I have to continue my plans of....NOTHING!!! Whoohooo! Plus I've got a couple loads of laundry thats bugging me and we need some groceries. Who was I fooling?

Its Been Nice

Well "Molly" is gone. Her owner Rick showed up at our door Monday morning. I've known Rick since we were kids and have never liked him so I was suprised such a sweet dog would belong to him. The only satisfaction I got in watching Molly go was the fact that Rick had to drag her to the truck, she did not want to leave. The boys handled it better than I thought they would. Steven insisted Rick take a rope toy Molly had been playing with. I could tell Steven was trying to be a big boy and not act sad. Dean had mixed emotions. He was sad, but relieved to not have this big dog around slobbering on him. Hubster and I decided its time to get prepared for a dog. We have to figure out if we want to build a kennel or just make a dog run. Griz had us spoiled in that he would stay in the yard without being tied up. So we'll see what happens.

Good Golly

Hubster took "Molly" over to the people's house whom he thought may be her owners this morning. I felt sad but somewhat relieved that she was gone. What I like about her is even though we figure her to be about a year old she has a mellow soul. What I didn't care about her is she chased our cats. Griz was such a softie with our cats which will be hard to find in another dog. But we got Griz as a puppy and I suppose that made a difference. So while Hubster took her back home I started to make blueberry muffins and just as I was putting the pan in the oven it slipped out of my hand and landed upside down on the floor. The floor I spent an hour scrubbing yesterday. So I once again dug out the cleaning supplies and when I turned "Molly" was there licking up the spilled batter. The people didn't own "Molly". So we have her until Wednesday at least when the local paper comes out. She looks like she has been well cared for, she's shiny and her back toe nails have been cut recently. I'll call the vet tomorrow and see if they know the owners. Last night when I put Steven in his bed, she hopped up at the foot of his bed and laid down. I'm afraid by Wednesday she may be permanently etched into our hearts.

Baby Its Freezing Out There

I should have known. Earlier this week I made a comment to Hubster that it felt like Spring. I was even trying to think of anything that I could do around the yard this weekend. Well Thursday night we hit 11 below and it was 9 below this morning. It sure doesn't feel like Spring anymore. We have had beautiful sunny days and starry nights which has made the spring fever bearable.
I got interrupted while writing this entry by an unexpected visitor. The boys were playing ninjas and during there hi-yaws and wwaaaa's I heard Steven say "Dog!". I assumed they were pretending they had a ninja dog when Dean screamed "Moooommmmmmaaaa! Dog!!!" I have to say I was mighty surprised when I turned and here stands a chocolate lab in the livingroom. The boys jumped to the top of the couch terrified. My adrenaline was definitely pumping with a strange dog in my house. I have to laugh because thanks to one of the journals I read I knew I had to act in control and show dominance. (Thanks Bev!) The dog didn't seem aggressive, but just in search of water, food or heat, probably all of the above. She has a collar on so I grabbed her and literally had to drag her to the door and shove her out. She immediately jumped on the door and began scratching and whining. She got in through our kitchen door which hasn't been latching well with the change of weather so I ran to that door to get it latched and locked. I made a few calls to neighbors and no one knew of the dog. I called the Sheriff's Office, but they had no lost dog reports. Hubster was at a friends house so I called him to tell him to get his ass home like now. While I was on the phone with my sil, the door once again popped open (apparently I didn't turn the lock the right way). Since she simply acted relieved to be in where it is warm and not aggressive I let her stay in until Hubster got home. Of course while we waited I couldn't help but give her some water and food, which was not the sight Hubster expected to see when he came barging through the door. Within 5 minutes of Hubster's arrival Dean announced she shall be named Molly. Oh yeah, Hubster loved that. He thought he knew who she belonged to so he loaded "Molly" into the pickup and drove over to there house. Its stupid to think that within a 40 minute time span I was already planning on running into town to get dog food, disinfecting Griz's dog dishes and planning when I could get her to the vet.
I have to tell you when Hubster walked back into the house and "Molly" was still shadowing him I felt happy. The people he thinks she belongs to weren't home, so I guess she is spending the night until we can reach them in the morning. She did get too playful with Dean to the point he screamed and cried. I've told the boys no rough housing or running just in case this would set Molly off. I took her out with me when I took the garbage to the dumpster so she could do her business and I can tell you it was nice having a four legged companion along. When I put Dean down for bed just now I asked him if he was scared of Molly and he said "No Mama, I wike her." So I'm predicting broken hearts come morning when Molly goes home.

Handicap in Bowling

This past Saturday I took my second lesson from Dave the bowling coach. He changed my release so I can get a more aggressive hook and improve my accuracy. He also worked on getting me to bend my knees more during my release. I did okay during the lesson, but Saturday night I was brought to tears with the pain in my right knee. I injured my knee in high school while playing basketball and have had problems with it off and on through the years, but never like this. Turning 40 really didn't bother me, but what is bothering me is my body is starting to show the wear and tear I've put it through. Since I manage the bowling alley and love the sport, I'm always looking for ways to improve my game...hence the lessons. Sunday I woke up feeling depressed. Have I, at 40, peaked in my game. Do I now look forward to my average declining year after year now? I stopped in to talk to Dave before he left and tearfully told him how I was feeling. He felt terrible that he may have pushed my knee far past what it can handle and assured me that I could continue to improve my game even if I can't get down more at the line. After I talked to him I felt a little better, but it still got me to thinking that unless I start taking preventative measures my body will keep failing me one way or another. So I ordered a bow flex. Hubster wasn't too sure he wanted to spend that much money for a weight machine, but I convinced him into it. Of course it could have something to do with the improved sex life I mentioned that changed his mind. Hopefully building up some muscle in my thighs will help support my knee better. Plus it will give Hubster and I something else to do together.
Before I went bowling tonight I dug out my old knee brace and took a bunch of Tylenol. I tried to bend a little more than normal, but mostly concentrated on the new release. My knee is a little achy tonight which I can handle. I ended up bowling a 555 series so I felt pretty good all the way around. My goal is to end the season with the highest women's average for the house. Currently I'm the third highest with a 172. The highest is a 174, so I can do this. Heck maybe I should set my goals higher and shoot for the highest in men and women! Eh...the men's highest is 217, I think 175 sounds just fine.

Okay So I Did Feel Good...

How was your weekend? Great? How did I spend my weekend? I got in touch with someone whom I haven't visited with for quite some time. His name....Ralph the Potty God. Yeah, we had a grand old time. He came by Saturday morning and overstayed his welcome until Sunday evening. To tell the truth I really didn't want him to come over, but he caught me before I could draw the blinds and hide. Hubster was at work Saturday so all day it was Ralph and me trying to keep the boys entertained. The boys had met Ralph earlier in the week and they didn't like him at all so they pretty much stayed away for the most part. Don't blame them. I thought I was going to have to call the cops and have Ralph physically removed, but he finally hit the road Sunday night. So people beware...Ralph is out there...somewhere and he may be at your door next.

I Feel Good, I Feel Good.....

I keep repeating "I feel good, I feel good" to myself because I don't have time to be sick. Last night at 12:30 am Steven, whom was sleeping with Hubster and I sat up and said Dad I don't feel good. Hubster grabbed him but Steven did puke some on my pillow and on the rug before Hubster got him in the bathroom. So I put Steven in the tub to clean him up and I then proceeded to clean the mess. I got Steven in some fresh pjs and put him in his own bed. Hubster changed our bedding and I crawled back to bed and laid there listening for Steven. Soon I slipped off to sleep and was just hitting the deep zzz's when this little voice at my bedside said Mama and rrrrrrrrrrralllllllph. Thinking it was Steven I was suprised when I turned on the light to find Dean standing there with vomit down the front of him and on my bedspread. Great. So from 1:30 to 5:00 I bounced from Steven to Dean and to trying to salvage my carpets. When Steven woke up this morning he was all gungho to go to school, but within 20 minutes he was once again visiting the toilet. So today was a lay around the house day for the boys and load after load of laundry for me. Both Hubster and I have had ishy tummies all day but I think its all in our heads, well I hope. One good thing is I didn't have to cook dinner because nobody was hungry. Before I had kids I had the weakest stomach and the sound of someone throwing up would make me join right in with them. I remember when I saw the movie Witches of Eastwick and they have the scene where the witches put a spell on a woman making her throw up cherry pits I had to run out of the theater and go outside and get some fresh air. For the longest time whenever I saw Cher my stomach would get ishy and I would feel sick. I definitely wasn't the friend you would want to party with and rely upon to hold your hair back while you worshipped the porcelain gods. Hell I'd push you out of the way of the toilet.
Work has been very draining. I worked 21 hours Tues and Wed. I'm enjoying the job though, but I don't like how it is invading into my home life. Hopefully things will balance out soon. I'm bummed I've let this journal go by the wayside. I felt like I was finally getting some readers. I decided I'm going to have to schedule myself to sit and write entries. So bear with me and drop a comment once in awhile to let me know you stopped by.

Why?

Danelle was a single 22 yr old mother of a 4 yr old boy. Danelle, her boyfriend Dan and his cousin Chris were out snowmobiling Saturday the 14th enjoying the wintry outdoors when tragedy hit. One of Montana's biggest avalanche took Danelle and Chris away from their families and friends. Dan was rescued by nearby snowmobilers who came to investigate the tremendous noise. He was buried under 6 feet of snow. Chris was found that afternoon buried 15 feet under blocks of ice from the lake at the base of the slide. Danelle was found Sunday 20 feet from where Dan was found under 15 feet of powdery snow. 20 feet from where her body was recovered the avalanche ended. 20 feet from life. 20 feet that took a little 4 yr old boys mom away from him. 20 feet.

How Time Does Fly!

Wow, I never meant for this long to lapse between entries. I guess once the holidays hit time flew by. Oh and the bathroom...not done. When I realized I'm going to have to remove the tank I knew it wasn't a job I could get done in a matter of hours. I was actually going to work on it this week while Steven is on winter break, but I'm enjoying just being a mom.
Mid December I added on to my job duties at work. I am now bookkeeping 2 days a week and became the motel manager. So for two weeks straight I was training daily for the bookkeeping, running the lanes and learning the motel ins and outs. At the moment I'm still feeling a little overwhelmed with everything, but once I get into the flow it will be fine. The owner suspects the previous bookkeeper was stealing from him and he has made it my job to find the proof. I can do a lot of the investigating at home, but he is one of these bachelor types who thinks I can run into the office at the drop of hat and find a file for him or some other urgent need. I can't seem to get him to understand that I have kids, young kids who need a babysitter and that isn't easy to do whenever he snaps his fingers. I'm ready to turn over this embezzlement crap over to the accounting firm like now! But Owner thinks I can handle it just fine.
Christmas was great! For the first time in 18 years I didn't make the traditional turkey dinner instead we had steak, shrimp scampi, asparagus and red potatoes. It was just Hubster, the boys and myself so I never even changed out of my comfy pajama pants all day. Perfect day was had by all! I'll post some pics later. Not of me in my pajamas but of the tree and the boys.
Every year we have a New Year's Eve party we attend at some friends house. It is always an awesome time and I am so ready to let loose for an evening. Everyone else has kids close to the boys' age so we moms take turns checking on the brood, plus there are older kids there also.
So hopefully life will settle down after the holidays and I can get back to posting regularly.

End of Day Update

I am tired. Here is another photo update. This first picture was taken at approximately 8:00 tonight after I took a break to get the family fed and dishes done. Not much progress, huh? This, I hope, will be the slowest part of the project. Unlike the first layer of wall paper where I was getting pieces 2 feet long, now I'm lucky if I scrape off 5 inches. All of the glue and paper is not coming off so I'll have to take a fine grit sandpaper to it tomorrow to get down to just a paint layer. I still have to spackle a few holes and places that the drywall paper started to lift up so there will be plenty of sanding going on tomorrow. My biggest obstacle is that son of a bitchin' toilet. Whomever wall papered this room either was a professional or anal retentive. Now that I think of it I can't picture my flower paper lovin' granny doing this herself. I'm thinking that when they wall papered they must have removed the tank. So when I'm done here I'll be doing a search on how to remove a toilet tank. Because I've gotten as far as I can scrape behind the damn thing. I left a portion of the lower wall for Steven to do when we get up in the morning. He came in and helped me a lot this afternoon before Hubster got home from work. I still have the upper part of the wall to do myself. Hubster hasn't even noticed what I've been doing. He is still feeling a little under the weather from his oral surgery Thursday. He basically walked in the door and headed to the bedroom. He only came out once and that was for dinner. He is going hunting early tomorrow morning so I hope I can get all the paper removed and start painting before he gets home. I just know he is going to roll his eyes when he sees I went ahead and tackled the damn room. One benefit about redoing the bathroom that has the washer/dryer in it is that I'm getting all my laundry done. Of course there is the added benefit of that I can scrape the walls while I'm taking a potty break. Not many jobs you can do that.

While I Take A Break From Stripping

Lets see what g00gle hits I get from that title. I thought I'd give you a photo progress report on the big weekend bathroom makeover while my stripper sets. I started out with this. After half way through scoring the wallpaper with the thingamajig for doing so, I found out it was faster to just try to take off the first layer of paper. Its actually a job that a person can really get into if you make a game of it. How big of a piece paper can you pull off before it tears? I about had an orgasm on this chunk! I'm finding you have to keep the paper at a certain angle and speed in order to achieve the bigger strips of paper. Its all in the technique. I'm also finding my masculine side in this project by changes in my vocabulary. Son of a bitch is now most frequently used word. I think I get this from my Dad. He'll be so proud I'm sure. I also discovered that applying wall paper behind a toilet is much easier than removing wall paper from behind the son of a bitchin' thing. I was at the height of my masculine side during this portion of the project. One of the things I liked about the house when we got it was how well the rooms were decorated. I didn't care so much for the choice of colors and wall paper, but was impressed on the attention to details. During the stripping of the wall paper I've been cursing the son of a bitches for being so detailed oriented. Every strip of molding has wall paper behind it and at some point the odds are a piece of molding is going to crack. I know this will be the one thing that will set me up to miss my deadline. I don't have time to be repairing or replacing molding. So far I haven't broke one, but I have one more long piece of molding to remove and I hope my luck continues. Okay back to work. I'll update my progress regularly over the weekend. Hopefully by Monday at noon I'll be posting pictures of my made over bathroom.