Day 2

Real Quick: My duckbill appointment was rescheduled. My doctor was called to the hospital to do an emergency c-section with complications. So, my next appointment in July 19. Another 3 weeks to sit and wonder if there is anything wrong or if it is just a thing.

Day 2 started out nice and early. We arrived at Knottsberry Farm to meet some family for breakfast. Scott decided to start off the day by seeing just how far he could push my button before I got angry. He drove around in circles, around the main street Knotts parking and then on to a side street and back again. This happened a few times before the kids started yelling for him to quit. HA he angered the kids before me! They weren't really angry, they were just ready to eat and ride some roller coasters.

We had a wonderful breakfast at the Knotts restaurant and chatted with Scott's cousin and wife for a while and when the kids got antsy because the park was about to open, Scott's cousins told us to get in there and have a fun day.

There were so many people standing in the entrance that it was hard to maneuver around. It was almost a joke. We finally got our tickets and got through the checkpoint where your bags are checked for any weapons and who knows what else.

The first ride we hit was Ghost Rider. A huge, wooden roller coaster whose ride lasts 2 1/2 minutes. It took all I had to get on that thing. My mom was ready to go and I figured if she could do it so could I. I expected her to say no to most of the rides because of her shoulder but she wanted to get on them.
My legs were shaking so bad when we got off that coaster that I had to lean on Scott to walk down the stairs off the ride.

We wandered around, searching for another roller coaster that would pass the bill of breathlessness. The ride they did find was similar to the Hollywood Tower of Terror in California Adventure. You sat on a seat and got strapped down. You were then lifted 250 feet in the air and they left you hanging up there for about 30 seconds, just long enough for the anticipation to shoot your adrenaline up more. You then dropped down at an extremely high speed and then you stopped on a dime, went back up a few feet and dropped down again. You were bounced like that a couple of times before you touched down and could unstrap and walk away. Um, No I didn't get on the ride. I know I'm a chicken. Emma did ride it along with Scott, SIL, BIL, and my niece. My little daredevil.

In fact, besides Ghost Rider, I only rode 2 other rides. And both of those were two of their water rides. The canoe ride was great fun and we all got soaked. That was the second ride I went on. Near the end of the ride, going over a particularly bone jarring dip in the water, I landed just right to know that a certain visitor made its appearance a few days early. With no warning too! The nerve!

After the canoe ride I grabbed mom because I had utilized her fanny pack she loves to wear, still, and headed to the bathroom. I brought pads along just in case, you never know what might happen early. It was almost pointless to use one though because of getting drenched in the canoe ride. I made it through the day without any leaks though, TMI I know. Sorry.

I told Scott what happened and he laughed at me. I punched him in the arm and we searched for another ride. About 30 minutes later the cramps hit and those were the worst cramps I've had in a very long time. Most of the afternoon at Knotts wasn't very fun for me.

We ended up leaving Knotts about 6pm, earlier than we had planned but everyone had ridden the rides they wanted to and no one had mentioned going on something a second time.

My BIL was in a much better mood and doesn't like roller coasters so mom and I sat and talked to him for most of the day.

One interesting tidbit. We were sitting under the coaster where your feet just dangle in the air as you are whipped around and up and down and upside down. We had a nice view of the few front riders as the came screaming towards us only to be whipped around a corner and taken away from us. On one set the first car had just one lady in it. We saw her cover her mouth and then right as she was over us she took her hand away from her mouth and blew chunks. Normally I'm not squeamish but this made my stomach turn. We managed not to get hit, but not by much. We moved to another spot after that.

After my daring daughter and the rest that had ridden the dangling coaster had their turn on it we rode the river rafting ride, it's just a nice little jaunt down a river. You might get wet, you might not. We did. The kids were in one raft and the adults in another raft. All of us fat ass adults. Which means we sat lower in the water than some of the other rides and more water was swept into our raft. We had fun though.

I told Scott if there were no objections I was ready to go because wet clothes (I never really dried off thanks to the humidity) and monthly protection don't go well together.

SIL brought up tampons. After much discussing of tampons with my husband, my SIL, and my BIL they had me convinced to try one. The first time I used one it hurt so bad I swore never again. I was told I had it in wrong and to please try again because the next day would be so much nicer if I did try a plug instead of a pad.

So I tried one and it was much nicer. Ok, done with that topic.

After walking out of the main gates for the park we walked down main street of Knotts to shop around. I could have spent most of the day in their shops and been happy. All we bought though was a couple of big jars of jams. There was a lot more that I wanted but knowing my luck it would have broken on the way home.

Saturday was SIL's birthday and when we got back to the hotel we all got cleaned up and headed to the nice restaurant across the parking lot. Scott had to do the brotherly thing and embarrass her and told our waiter it was SIL's birthday. Of course the waiters sang to her and apparently in this restaurant the waitstaff gets the other patrons involved in singing Happy Birthday. My blond SIL was a pretty shade of red that made her hair look almost white. She got a free piece of birthday cake. Huge piece of chocolate cake. Big enough that all 10 of us shared it and didn't need to order any more dessert.

After dinner the kids swam, I sat by the pool and just relaxed.
Listening to the kids scream and play.
Hearing Ethan and Emma yell Watch Me Momma Watch Me.
Soaking up the cool night air after the humid, hot day we'd had.
Wishing that noisy, yet peaceful, moment would never end.

But it did come to an end when SIL decided we should all go to bed so we would be rested for Disneyland.

We all crashed before 10pm.

Knotts just didn't impress me much. I don't know if it's because it has so many coasters and I'm not a coaster person or what it was. I know that Scott, SIL, BIL and all 5 kids enjoyed themselves.

Another interesting tidbit. This one is quite embarrassing. We had stopped to buy Emma a flower wreath with streamers on it to put in her hair and I had Ethan pick out a toy. While I was paying for the items I had told Ethan to quit touching because he was touching everything and getting in the way of other people. As I was signing the credit card slip an arm reached in front of me, bumped me and made me mess up my signature. It looked just like Ethan's chubby, tanned arm so I grabbed it and told him to quit reaching in front of me and quit touching everything like he'd been told. The arm was yanked away from me so fast I knew right away that it wasn't Ethan's arm. I felt bad for maybe 10 seconds and then got over it. The kid didn't need to reach in front of strangers like that, especially when a money transaction is going on. If the kids mom saw she didn't say anything to me. Yes, I did apologize to the little boy.

Day 3 - Disneyland coming soon. I really need to get more sleep so I can keep up with my blog and the ones I read. I'm too old to live on 4 hours a night. Now, if I could get Scott to realize this we would be good.

Off to bed, Scott just got home from work and he's being all gropy and stuff. Is gropy a word?

Quick Update

My lovely visit with the damn duck bill a couple months ago came back as abnormal so I get to visit with the lovely duck bills again tomorrow for a something or other. They didn't call it a biopsy but it sure sounds like it to me.

They're going to spray vinegar up in there, not a good place for foreign substances of that kind as far as I'm concerned, and scrape off anything that looks off.

HMMM, blech

The appointment is at 3pm so I took off all afternoon. No need to go back to work after something like that. Something like that might require a wonderful Starbucks Frappucino or some loverly drink from them when all is said and done.

When I hear on that, I'll post it here. Whether it's good or bad. It's probably nothing. But let me just add that this is how it started for my mom, my aunt, and my granny when they had abnormal paps and then biopsies and then they all had full hysterectomy. I don't think I spelled that right. Oh well.

Peace

Day 1

We will consider Friday Day 1 of the trip.

We left Flagstaff before 7am so we could hit the beach about sunset. We HAD planned to get to our room, check in, go to downtown Disney to shop and get our tickets for Sunday, and then hit the beach to watch the sunset over the beach.

Instead we checked in to our room, which took 45 minutes because the guy checking us in spoke maybe 10 words of English. It took all I had to be nice and smile politely. After finally getting the keys to our rooms (yep, we needed 2 rooms since there were 6 of us, Mom and Emma shared one room and I was stuck in the other room with Ethan, Stepson, and Scott) we unloaded luggage into the rooms only to discover that the a/c in my room didn't work. We waited another half hour for the maintenance man to show up to fix it. He spoke maybe 11 words of English. I was already wishing I was in Emma's room. Ya know, boys in one room, girls in the other.

While MM worked on the a/c I unpacked the bathroom bag and plugged in my curling iron to do my hair because I had washed it that morning and then just let it dry, I looked kind of scary. Maybe those guys could speak perfect English but I scared it right out of them. I turned on the iron and nothing. So I tried the other plug and nothing. I thought maybe it was iron and plugged in the complimentary hair dryer that was bolted to the wall. Nothing. Same for the coffee pot that will give you one cup at a time. Nothing. I went to Emma's room and it worked just fine. eeeeee

After our a/c was fixed we relaxed for a few minutes while conferring with SIL and her family about what they wanted to do. Each family had their own plan and neither wanted to give in and do what the other wanted. It was so much fun for a while. BIL was grouchy all day Friday and I was fed up with him. I was to the point of telling Scott he needed to tell SIL and family we would see them tomorrow because we were heading to Disney.

We ended up at the beach. And let me just say that when you park at Hungtington Beach and walk the few feet to the beach, it's about another quarter of a mile to the water. Ok Maybe not that far but when you have a bunch of fat ass people hiking down to the beach, it seems a really long ways a way.

And about 4 hours earlier than we wanted to be at the beach. But we had fun and even BIL laughed at our antics. None of us wore our suits but we got in the ocean anyways. Emma was knocked over by I don't know how many waves. She would get up sputtering and giggling, waiting for the next wave. Ethan stood so that most of the waves just lapped at his feet. He finally got in the water after Scott hefted up Ethan and chunked him into a big wave. Well, it was more like they both fell into the wave because Ethan is such a big kid that it was hard for Scott to throw him. Stepson, my niece and nephew swore they weren't going to get wet. They were too cool for that ya know. It wasn't long though, with all of us laughing and running around in the waves that they gave in and were the wettest of us all. I think we might have scared the natives too. Most of the people just kind of stared at us like we were a bunch of freaks! What'd you expect from obvious tourists. Besides Scott and I have fun no matter what we are doing. We make sure we do!

Huntington Beach people? Lighten up and smile, us strangers from another state won't hurt anyone. I promise, we'll just smile and say HI to you.

Even my mom walked in the water. I had to hold on to her but hey, she got wet. Until some seaweed came flying out of the water and wrapped itself around her arms and chest. It was like some sea creature knew she was afraid of the ocean and it was gonna get her. She waddled back up to dry sand very quickly after that! My poor mom, with her shoulder surgery and having broken her feet I don't know how many times, she has issues. I know she has broken them enough times that her feet don't bend. Her toes will bend but that is it. Oh, she has no arches and her ankles barely move too. Her arches fell years ago. She likes to joke that her arches fell way before gravity hit the rest of her body and her boobs fell.

There was one particular wave that was HUGE. Taller than me. We tried to yell at Emma to hurry and come up on shore a little but she didn't hear us. It took her off guard and down she went. Scott was the first to her and he literally dragged her up the beach with her hacking and coughing, sounding like she was coughing up a furball. We couldn't help but laugh at her because it went kind of like this: HACK HACK GAG MAMA GAG DAD HACK HACK over and over. I know, not so funny but it was if you were standing there. After she caught her breath she was laughing harder than the rest of us and wanted to wait around for another HUGE wave and do it all over again.

But NOPE. BIL was done and he wanted to leave after only 45 minutes at the beach. So we hiked our fat butts back the half mile, yes I know I said quarter of a mile earlier but after playing the in the water we were tired, to the parking lot and got in the cars. Soaking wet! It was worth it though. I believe we still have some of Huntington Beach in the van. hehe

Scott and I decided to drive down the Pacific Coast highway for a while and just enjoy the beautiful weather. We told BIL and SIL what we planned on doing and if they wanted to go back to the room we would see them there. They decided to follow us and about 2 minutes into the drive they called to let us know that they needed gas NOW. And they would only get gas at a Shell station. This really irritated Scott so he took the long way back to the hotel, there was a Shell station right across the street from our hotel. Ok, now when we left the hotel it took us about 25 minutes to get to the beach. It took us about 2 1/2 hours to get back to the room. :) We figured out they didn't remember the way back to the room and that is why they followed us.

By this time BIL was nice and overly grouchy and too angry with us to do anything else with us, including speak to us. We swam in the pool for a while and cooled off from the beach and then we all got ready and headed to downtown Disney. We found out that BIL and family ate at the restaurant next to the hotel and SIL got angry with her husband when she found out we waited and ate dinner at the Rainforest restaurant at Disney. It was very good and I hope to eat there again some day.

We shopped in the main Disney store and I splurged and bought 5 Pooh cabinet handles and 5 Tigger cabinet handles. They will go in my bathroom and Scott now plans on painting the bathroom yellow to match the yellow on the handles. If he can put up with all the Pooh and Anne Geddes pictures in the bathroom then I can put up with a bright ass yellow in my bathroom!

So, after listening to BIL bitch and complain most of the morning, through text messageing on the way to Anahiem, then annoying him to the point where he quit talking to us in the afternoon, playing at the beach, in the pool, wandering around downtown Disney and buying stuff and eating a wonderfull dinner, our Friday was full and quite fun.

Especially the part where we pissed of my BIL on purpose. The Ass.

Coming soon, Day 2.

Day 2 is Knottsberry Farm fun.

Oh what a day it was.

Exhaustion

We got home from the trip Monday night about midnight. We should have left Anaheim earlier than we did but that's ok. It was a fun trip and I'm glad we went.

I'm still exhausted and am ready for a nap with my Pudge.

Here is a list of 200 things that I stole from Karin to read until I have the energy to tell ya'll about our trip.
Stolen from Karin because I have nothing else to say today…

The highlighted things are things either I or Scott have done.


1. Bought everyone in the bar a drink - Both of us

2. Swam with wild dolphins - Both of us

3. Climbed a mountain - Scott has

4. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive - Scott has

5. Been inside the Great Pyramid

6. Held a tarantula

7. Taken a candlelit bath with someone - Both of us

8. Said ‘I love you’ and meant it - Both of us

9. Hugged a tree - I have

10. Done a striptease - I Have (in private only)

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea - I have

14. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise - Both of us

15. Seen the Northern Lights - I have

16. Gone to a huge sports game - I have gone to an Oakland A's ball game and we've both gone to a NasCar races

17. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa

18. Grown and eaten your own vegetables - Scott has (I've eaten the veggies he has grown)

19. Touched an iceberg

20. Slept under the stars - Both of us

21. Changed a baby’s diaper - Both of us

22. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon

23. Watched a meteor shower - Both of us

24. Gotten drunk on champagne

25. Given more than you can afford to charity - Both of us

26. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope - Both of us

27. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment - I have

28. Had a food fight - Both of us

29. Bet on a winning horse

30. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill - Both of us

31. Asked out a stranger - Scott has (that stranger was me!)

32. Had a snowball fight - Both of us

33. Photocopied your bottom on the office photocopier - I have

34. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can - Both of us

35. Held a lamb

36. Enacted a favorite fantasy - I have

37. Taken a midnight skinny dip - Both of us

38. Taken an ice cold bath - I have

39. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar

40. Seen a total eclipse - I have

41. Ridden a roller coaster - Both of us

42. Hit a home run - I have

43. Fit three weeks miraculously into three days

44. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking - Both of us

45. Adopted an accent for an entire day

46. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors (Northern Ireland)

47. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment - Both of us

48. Had two hard drives for your computer

49. Visited all 50 states

50. Loved your job for all accounts - Both of us

51. Taken care of someone who was shit faced - I have

52. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

53. Had amazing friends - Both of us

54. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country

55. Watched wild whales - Both of us

56. Stolen a sign - Scott has

57. Backpacked in Europe

58. Taken a road-trip - Both of us

59. Rock climbing - Both of us

60. Lied to foreign government’s official in that country to avoid notice - Scott has (Marines)

61. Midnight walk on the beach - I have

62. Sky diving - Scott has (for the Marines)

63. Visited Ireland

64. Been heartbroken longer then you were actually in love

65. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them

66. Visited Japan

67. Benchpressed your own weight

68. Milked a cow

69. Alphabetized your records - I have

70. Pretended to be a superhero

71. Sung karaoke - I have

72. Lounged around in bed all day - Both of us

73. Posed nude in front of strangers - I have

74. Scuba diving

75. Got it on to “Let’s Get It On” by Marvin Gaye - I have

76. Kissed in the rain - Both of us

77. Played in the mud - Both of us

78. Played in the rain - Both of us

79. Gone to a drive-in theater - Both of us

80. Done something you should regret, but don’t regret it - Both of us

81. Visited the Great Wall of China - Scott has

82. Discovered that someone who’s not supposed to have known about your blog has discovered your blog. - I have

83. Dropped Windows in favor of something better

84. Started a business

85. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken - Both of us

86. Toured ancient sites - Both of us

87. Taken a martial arts class

88. Sword fought for the honor of a woman/man

89. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight

90. Gotten married - Both of us

91. Been in a movie - Scott has (his platoon was part of the extra's in Full Metal Jacket)

92. Crashed a party - Both of us

93. Loved someone you shouldn’t have - I have

94. Kissed someone so passionately it made them dizzy - Both of us (kissing each other!)

95. Gotten divorced - Both of us

96. Had sex at the office - I have

97. Gone without food for 5 days

98. Made cookies from scratch - Both of us

99. Won first prize in a costume contest - I have

100. Ridden a gondola in Venice

101. Gotten a tattoo - Both of us

102. Found that the texture of some materials can turn you on - I have

103. Rafted the Snake River

104. Been on television news programs as an “expert”

105. Got flowers for no reason

106. Masturbated in a public place

107. Got so drunk you don’t remember anything - Scott has

108. Been addicted to some form of illegal drug

109. Performed on stage - I have

110. Been to Las Vegas - Both of us

111. Recorded music - I have

112. Eaten shark - Scott

113. Had a one-night stand - I have

114. Gone to Thailand - Scott (Marines)

115. Seen Siouxsie live

116. Bought a house

117. Been in a combat zone - Scott has (Marines)

118. Buried one/both of your parents - I have

119. Shaved or waxed your pubic hair off - Both of us, tmi, sorry!

120. Been on a cruise ship

121. Spoken more than one language fluently

122. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone - Both of us

123. Bounced a check - Both of us

124. Performed in Rocky Horror.

125. Read - and understood - your credit report - I have

126. Raised children. - Both of us

127. Recently bought and played with a favorite childhood toy. - Scott has

128. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour

129. Created and named your own constellation of stars

130. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country

131. Found out something significant that your ancestors did - Both of us

132. Called or written your Congress person

133. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over - Both of us

134. …more than once? - More than thrice?

135. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge - I have

136. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking - Both of us

137. Had an abortion or your female partner did

138. Had plastic surgery

139. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived.

140. Wrote articles for a large publication

141. Lost over 100 pounds

142. Held someone while they were having a flashback

143. Piloted an airplane (Well, for a few minutes anyway)

144. Petted a stingray - Both of us

145. Broken someone’s heart - Both of us

146. Helped an animal give birth - I have

147. Been fired or laid off from a job

148. Won money on a T.V. game show

149. Broken a bone - Scott has

150. Killed a human being

151. Gone on an African photo safari

152. Ridden a motorcycle - Scott has

153. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100 mph - Scott has (he used to race cars at the local race track)

154. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced

155. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol - Both of us

156. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild- Both of us

157. Ridden a horse - Both of us

158. Had major surgery - Both of us

159. Had sex on a moving train

160. Had a snake as a pet

161. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon

162. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing

163. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hour - Scott has (when he had thyroid cancer)

164. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states

165. Visited all 7 continents

166. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days

167. Eaten kangaroo meat

168. Fallen in love at an ancient Mayan burial ground

169. Been a sperm or egg donor

170. Eaten sushi - Scott has

171. Had your picture in the newspaper- Both of us

172. Had 2 (or more) healthy romantic relationships for over a year in your lifetime - Both of us

173. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about- Both of us

174. Gotten someone fired for their actions - I have

175. Gone back to school - Both of us

176. Parasailed

177. Changed your name - I have

178. Petted a cockroach

179. Eaten fried green tomatoes. - Both of us

180. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey - I have

181. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read - I have

182. Dined in a restaurant and stolen silverware, plates, cups because your apartment needed
them - Both of us

183. …and gotten 86′ed from the restaurant because you did it so many times, they figured out it was you

184. Taught yourself an art from scratch

185. Killed and prepared an animal for eating - Scott has

186. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt

187. Skipped all your school reunions - Both of us

188. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language

189. Been elected to public office

190. Written your own computer language

191. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream

192. Had to put someone you love into hospice care - I have

193. Built your own PC from parts

194. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you

195. Had a booth at a street fair

196: Dyed your hair - both Scott and I have

197: Been a DJ

198: Found out someone was going to dump you via the internet

199: Written your own role playing game

200: Been arrested. (In a foreign country no less!) Scott was arrested in Korea,Marines again.

I should be sleeping

It's almost midnight here in the Land of Enchantment and I should be sound asleep. I'm a procrastinator though and chose to pack tonight instead of doing it over the weekend. Ah well. I'm done now, except for the bathroom bags and meds.

Scott got home from work and then turned around and went to Walmart with Stepson because Stepson finally told us his shoes are hurting his feet because they are too small. He could have told me this evening when I got home from work and made the three younger kids get in the car so we could head to Sam's Club and Walmart to get some snacks, juices, and Ethan a new swimsuit. That boy has gone from a size 12 last summer to a size 16/18 this summer. He's a chunk. Strattera doesn't affect his appetite like the Ritalin did and it is so hard to help him to understand that he doesn't have to eat 24/7.

Did Stepson tell me though? Nooooo. He waited until almost 10pm to let me know and by then I was tired and lounging in the chair with a freshly bathed Pudge sleeping on my shoulder. Plus I already had my bra off and that sucker wasn't going back on my body until my shoulders have had a few hours break.

Punk!

I really don't know how I'm going to make it through work tomorrow. I'm ready to explode but at the same time I'm so tired I'm seeing double as I type. And I realized my house is a mess and my friend who volunteered to house-sit is going to think we have turned into slobs!

My kitchen and bathrooms are clean and that's about it. Gues What? I don't care! I get to hug Winnie the Pooh again in 4 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm off to bed. Scott and Stepson should be home in about 20 minutes or so.

Everyone have a great weekend and I'll share any good stories when we get back. I should really just break down and buy a laptop one of these days so I can write them as they happen so I don't forget anything.

Peace

Thank you Karin and Britmum for the hugs and thoughts. Something has worked.

Since Emma has started the meds she has slept through the night. She hasn't gotten up once to turn on all the lights in the house or watch tv. The daytime med takes a while to start working but I've noticed a calming effect already. She can take requests to do chores without a meltdown and tears. Another week or so and we shall see if this is the way we need to go or if there is another path to take. Cute doctor man in Durango wrote a script for Emma to have a full panel of blood work done and so she had to have it done while fasting. My mom was wonderful and took her to get the blood drawn this past Friday morning. I got a call when they were done that Emma did beautifully and the lucky girl didn't even bruise.

In other news in our crazy household: All the kids are in an uproar about the looming trip. Secretly all of us adults are too but we are trying to hide it so the kids will stay a little calm. It's not really working though.

I get to meet more of Scott's family Saturday morning. He has a couple cousins that work for Knottsberry Farms and we are meeting them for breakfast and they might give us a tour of the park, if they have time. Both have to work that day. I don't know if working at a huge theme park would be fun or not for me. It is for them, apparently they have worked there for their whole adult lives.

Scott is trying to get me on some of those huge roller coasters. I DON'T THINK SO. I am chicken! I had a hard time doing Splash Mountain at Disneyland! Go look at some of those roller coasters! The one on their home page? No Way, No How. I am Not going to sit on a chair and squeeze my too ample chest under a locking device to strap me in and then have my feet dangle, DANGLE, in the air as I'm whipped about millions of feet in the air. Ok, maybe millions is an exaggeration. But you get the picture. I'm asceered.

Big Foot Rapids I will do. I don't know why that is different, maybe the water helps.

Knowing my lovely husband, he'll be able to talk me into going on every. single. roller caoster there is. If I live to tell about it I'll let you know how I did.

Right now what I'm most excited about is seeing my mom's face when we walk her down Main Street in Disneyland. She has dreamed for years of going and it took lots of talking to get her to come with us this summer. She loves Disney stuff just as much as I do but she's more of a Mickey fan. That's ok, not every one is perfect! ;) We all know that Winnie the Pooh is da bomb. That rumbly bear is the best.

We will be in Flagstaff three days from now. We are making the drive to California last for 2 days. We leave Thursday night when Scott and I get off work and will drive to Flagstaff to spend the night. We plan on getting up and leaving at the butt crack of dawn Friday morning so we can reach the beach with plenty of time to play, eat supper, and then watch the sunset on the beach. SIL and her family are still coming with us but they have all of a sudden made all these plans without us so we are doing our own thing. This is the second time SIL and her husband have done this to us so we've decided no more big family vacations after this one.

Harley is excited to spend the weekend with his Nana. He's going on about the chickens (bok boks) and the dogs and the kittens. I'll miss him lots but he just wouldn't have fun yet and last year showed me it was way too hard to try to maneuver a stroller around the park.

And then there is me. I got a call from my Gynnie telling me I had an abnormal pap smear and they needed to set up an appointment for me to go back so she could have another looksie. I asked her if it was because of all the bad jokes I made the last time I was there. So, I go on the 28th to have that done. I'm not sure what it's called. I know they will stick that wonderful duck bill back up my cookie and then spray vinegar in there (OUCH) to see where any abnormal cells might be. I'm not worried about it. Scott said he's not either but he keeps questioning me. My first appointment was actually this Wednesday but my Gynnie said I won't be able to swim, get in a hot tub, or have sex for 3 days or so once its done. So it was rescheduled.

I'm off to bed. I'm tired and I've waited up as long as I can for Scott. His hours are outrageous this week so he can get all of his time on the next paycheck since we are out of the state for a few days.

Oh, we caught Harley standing in front of the fridge, fridge door wide open, lid of the chocolate syrup set on the counter, and the chocolate syrup bottle in his hands, tipped up so he could drink the loverly yumminess of his Cow Milk right out of the bottle. Who needs actual milk for that stuff? Just chug it right out of the bottle! My mom took the bottle away and had it put up before I could get the camera. Black mail pictures ya know. Harley was also caught standing on the arms of his booster seat, balancing. Not hanging on to anything. Ready to topple the few feet to our hard kitchen floor at any time but not caring because he is Big Daredevil Boy. Apparently just like his dad. I aged a few years when I saw him doing that.

Note to self: need to get the child proof door lock for fridges. I know they make them but it will probably be pointless. My Pudge will have it figured out and unlocked in under a day once we get it installed.
He has mommy's brains and daddy's daring streak. I don't know if that is a good combo or not.

I need to invest in a good hair dyeing company.

Emma's Day

Today was Emma's appointment with the child psychatrist in Durango. I found the place ok, even though you have to drive down an alley to find the front door of the clinic.

We arrived right at the appointment time, instead of 10 minutes early, because we got stuck behind a bus load of people all set to go river rafting. The trailer behind them held at least 15 rafts, too many for that little trailer.

We had to wait almost 3o minutes to see the CP and during that time Emma sat there next to me, staring at the beauty of the clinic, commenting on how which part of the old building would be her bedroom, which would be the living room, the bathrooms would be there there and up there. She even had a room picked out for Stepson. He's fitting in nicely now, just thought I'd throw that in. He's helping wonderfully with whatever is asked and is great with Ethan.

The 30 minute wait was worth it. I think I might have fallen in love with this doctor, just a little. Wait, maybe it was lust. Not sure. Emma sees him as yet another doctor that wants to question her and talk and talk about stuff she hates to talk about and mom see a very tall man, not exactly handsome but rugged, and big. Not fat but musclie (is that a word?). And I just realized how stupid that sounded. But he was also the doctor that was the easiest to talk to, ever. I swore as soon as I saw him I would make a huge fool out of myself but I didn't. I answered his questions, held perfect conversations with him and then took his opinion of what Emma is or has with no tears or outbursts.

He wants to see her a couple more times to weed out the symptoms. He is mixed between a depressive/anxiety disorder and bipolar disorder. He did start her on something to help her sleep and she took the first pill tonight. We shall see if she can get through the night without getting up and turning on all the lights in the front part of the house.

He also started her on something else for the daytime but I'm not going to list what it is. We shall see what this brings. If it helps her great, if it doesn't we'll find something else. I've readied myself to start discovering which meds work best with yet another child.

So many people probably think I am horrible and I really don't care. If this will end up helping Emma control her mood swings then I am all for it. I've tried different diets, eliminating different foods for long periods. I've tried exercise, which does help her but not to the extent I feel she is ok.

Believe me, I hate having two children with issues. Two children that need meds to get through the day or night without freaking out. I still keep hoping that one day I will wake up and both kids will be perfectly normal. I know that will never happen but that, right now, is my fairy tale. I already have my prince in shining armor so I don't need that tale anymore.

I stumbled across this poem reading Dear Abby of all things

HEAVEN'S VERY SPECIAL CHILD

A meeting was held quite far from Earth
it was time again for another birth.
Said the Angels to the Lord above
"This special child will need much love"
"Her progress may be very slow
accomplishments she may not show.
And she'll require extra care
from the folks she meets down there."
"She may not run or laugh or play
her thoughts may seem quite far away."
"So many times she will be labeled
different, helpless, and disabled."
"So, let's be careful where she's sent.
We want her life to be content."
"Please, Lord, find the parents who
will do a special job for you."
"They will not realize right away
the leading role they are asked to play."
"But with this child sent from above
comes stronger faith and richer love."
"And soon they'll know the privilege given
in caring for their gift from heaven."
"Their precious charge, so meek and mild
is heaven's very special child."

Now, this really doesn't apply to Emma, but she is still special and still needs that extra care right now. I'm hoping Emma, at least, will grow out of this thing she has now. I don't know if that is possible but I can dream.

I won't let my heart get broken if that dream doesn't come true because I'll know I've done all I can to help my two babies get through this world. My son will know love and happiness and my daughter will know what it means to be a strong woman.

Now that all the kids are asleep and Scott isn't home from work yet, I'm going to go to let my tears go this one night.

Even strong women deserve to cry sometimes.

sorry for any typos, i don't feel like proof reading right now.

Stepson is Here

And this 13 year old kid is exactly my heighth. Not a little bit shorter or a little bit taller but exactly my heighth.

And so far so good. Of course we've only had him for 33 1/2 hours.

His plane arrived early so we were out of the airport and on our way to see Over the Hedge at the Cottonwood Mall in Rio Rancho by 2:10 yesterday. We ate an oh-so-nutritional lunch of huge slices of pizza and then enjoyed the movie. I loved the movie. It had just enough sarcasm in it for the parents and enough cartoon humour and action for the kids. Harley sat entranced by it until it was almost over and he was ready for a nap.

After the movie we proceeded to spend almost $200 in clothes for all four kids at Old Navy. Scott has fallen in love with this store and he was so disappointed that he didn't find anything he liked this time. We are just lucky enough to live in a place that doesn't have an Old Navy. Scott really hates this.

When shopping was done and we hit the road to drive the 2 1/2 hours back home I was ready for a nap. Did I get one though? No. Why? you might ask. Because my lovely husband loves adventure and back roads and exploring roads we haven't taken. He turned off on a lovely little road that should have added only 1 hour to our trip. It was only 7pm, no big deal, home at 10:30 or so instead of 9:30 or so.

That was not our luck. He missed the turn off to get us looped back around and back onto the highway just north of a tiny place called Cuba.

We realized he missed the turn when we ended up in Los Alamos. And that town doesn't believe in street signs, or signs telling us anything at all. Or, maybe it was because we were so tired that our eyes were blurry and we missed the stinkin' signs. Either way I wasn't impressed with Los Alamos last night.

After spending 2 hours lost in Los AlaLost we ended up at a Sonic where a wonderfully nice girl there told us what roads we needed to take to get back home. Glad she knew where our town was! Note to self: NEED AN UPDATED MAP IN THE VAN

We finally walked in our front door at 1:30 this morning. A 2 1/2 hour trip took almost 7 hours. The scenery was gorgeous when we could see it. But when its pitch black and the trees cover up any moonlight and you can't see anything (meaning you never know when a deer or elk will jump out on the road and totally mangle your vehicle) and your 2 year old is crying because he's been stuck in that damn car seat for so long you start to not care about the damn scenery. You just want to get home! The older kids were very good. Emma slept, Stepson played his gameboy, and Ethan and I sang along to the songs on whatever CD happened to be in at the time. We harmonized very well on Pink. :)

But we got home safe and sound and the kids let Scott and I sleep til 10am this morning. It was rather nice.

I have done absolutely nothing today. Oh wait, I napped with Harley curled up beside me in bed while Scott played on the computer and chatted with a couple friends.

Then 5pm rolled around and Scott had to leave for work, Harley decided to wake up, and the other kdis were yelling for dinner.

Now it's almost midnight and I'm off to bed. Tomorrow has the unfortunate Monday label and 6:30am will be here pretty early.

Night all

17 hours

Until Stepson is here. I'm as ready as I'll ever be.

Two weeks from today we will be in California, watching the sun set over the ocean. Very Excited.

We found out one of my favoritest rides, Pirates of the Caribbean, will be closed for refurbishing, remodeling, whatever you want to call it, while we are there. Oh well.

Emma came home from the last day of school ready to go back to school. Her shirt was covered in names and number of most of the 3rd grade, so she could keep in touch over the summer. I'm glad I made her wear an older shirt yesterday. I had a feeling something like that would happen.

I can't think of anything else to post right now. Mainly because I'm a little toasty. The family ate dinner at a great Mexican restaurant in Aztec called Rubios. Wonderful chili rellenos without batter so us freaks allergic to eggs can eat them. Scrumptious chimi's with spicy, spicy carne adovada. And potent Strawberry Margaritas. I had two Margaritas.

Hehe

I'm off to bed because it has taken entirely too long to write this short little post. Typos galore that even in my fuzzy state I've still tried to locate and correct.

Peace

thank god for spell check

15 days and counting

To Disneyland that is!

And I have survived yet another school year. Both kids are going on to the 4th grade and Emma no longer has the wicked witch of the west as her teacher. Well, she does for 3 more hours but that's all. Tomorrow is nothing but a big ice cream social for all three 3rd grade classes.

Emma's class had an awards ceremony yesterday and she received 2 honor roll certificates, a citizenship of the year award, and a spelling achievement award. I am so very proud.

Ethan's class awards were today and he received a citizenship award, a cheerful award, and an achievement award for testing out at a 10th grade level in comprehension. HA! I cried when I heard that. His teacher and aid didn't tell me on purpose because they wanted to make sure I heard it in front of his class and all the parents for some reason. His teacher was bragging! Go ahead, let her brag, she deserves it! Once again, BITE ME Mr. Diagnostician who told me Ethan would never learn. What do you think of that, 10th grade level! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEk

The weekend with my aunt and uncle here was so nice. Well, maybe because we really didn't do much because Ethan and I were sick. Just sitting around and watching movies and talking was very nice, relaxing, much needed down time.

Emma stayed home from school last Thursday, she had spent the night before puking. Ethan waited until Friday night to start throwing up. At least he didn't miss any school. We were watching Chicken Little when I hear Ethan moaning. He had his puke bucket with him already. I looked over just in time to see him throw up in the bucket. Yippee. I got him cleaned up and in bed and once the movie was over got the other kids in bed. I had to change his bed one time before I got to sleep. I woke up about 4am with my stomach in knots. I took some tums and hoped it was just exhaustion but had a feeling it was my turn for the stomach bug. I spent all day Saturday in bed, sleeping. By Saturday night I was feeling a bit better but slept all night too.

Both kids were over their stomach thing within 24 hours but mine lasted from Saturday morning to last night. Not Fair! I lost 3lbs in 4 days though! I know, bad way to do it but they're gone.

Time for bed and I'll try to update more often.

Stepson will be here in 2 days and 13 hours.

We get him in Albuquerque Saturday and then are taking all the kids to see Over the Hedge.

More Later

Peace

A little less Whining

Tonight was a good night. I snuggled in our big, comfy chair with Harley and watched American Idol.

Emma sat on the floor wiggling around to the music.

Ethan lay on the couch, SNOOZING through the whole thing. The end of the school year must be wearing him out.

Mom sat here, at the computer, playing Solitaire and listening to the show.

I sang along with the songs I know, trying to get Harley to go to sleep. It finally worked right before the big announcement.

It was so hard not to cheer because I was thrilled that Taylor won!

Anyways, I'm doing a little better. I've made it to the gym twice this week and have every intention of going tomorrow and Friday.

I tried again, to talk to Scott about my feelings and once again his response was to just deal with it. SO, I'm dealing with it. One day at a time.


My aunt and uncle will be visiting us this weekend. I'm sure they are looking forward to the cooler weather, they live in Mesa AZ.

My office is actually closed for Memorial Day so I get a 3 day weekend. Looking forward to it!!!

My SIL and her family will be here sometime Sunday. They moved to Texas last year because my BIL was transferred. Emma is soooooo excited to see her cousins and can hardly wait for the BBQ Monday night. We are all supposed to go to the lake Monday morning and spend the day fishing and boating. We'll see about that. I'd rather be lazy around my own house that day.

Harley is becoming more and more verbal. His latest is telling Ethan and Emma to go to bed, shoving them into their bedrooms and shutting their doors. He then runs around the house yelling his own name HARLEY ALLEN L****. It can be quite funny at times, that is until Ethan gets mad and has a meltdown.

Emma is thrilled because she finally learned how to ride her bike without training wheels. I've tried for 2 years now to take those extra wheels off and she was just too scared I guess. Now that she knows what she's doing she wants to go riding all the time. But it wears her out and she goes to sleep so good lately. That is a definite plus.

I'm off to bed now to see if I can get a whole 8 hours sleep.

Venting, Whining, Complaining, and Crying

I am about done.

I need a break.

I need a vacation from my office, my family. From Me.

I hate feeling this way too.

I love my family to pieces. I enjoy my job and the people I work with.

I am just so tired, stiff, and sore. I sleep 6 1/2 to 7 hours a night. Sometimes it is more and sometimes it is less, just depending on what is going on.

I am trying to eat much healthier than I used to because of the way my body feels. I even try very hard to make it to the gym at least 3 times a week.

I am worn out from having so many issues. We have so many projects here at my house that need to get done within the next couple weeks or by the end of the summer and it feels like the list is getting longer and longer.

I am stressing about my stepson coming because he always pushes me past my limits and Scott never sees it. Scott just thinks I have no patience with my stepson. I try really hard but when he disobeys on purpose just to see how I’m going to punish him, well, I do lose my patience FAST.

With all of Ethan's problems and Emma's emerging problems I feel like I've failed as a mother. Now, I know this isn't true but I'm at the end of my leash.

I've been ok with Ethan because I've come to terms with his disabilities and know he will have them forever. I know he won't just wake up one day and **POOF** be normal. It took quite a few years for me to be ok. After lots of tears and laughter I have more laughter and very few tears.

Emma is another story all together. The lovely therapist we have seen for the past month wants Emma to see a child psychiatrist. She thinks Emma might be bipolar. hmmm..... This is why I feel like a failure. I have two children with issues.

Emma's first appointment with the CP is 6-6-06. I don't like that date at all! If we find that she is bipolar I will deal with it and I will have lots of tears and some laughter and I will learn to deal with it and then I’m sure there will be lots of laughter and little tears or just lots of tears and laughter.

That's what moms do. We deal and cope.

I guess the time has come for me to get into therapy. It doesn't help to talk to my mom about it. She's in her own little world since granny died.

I can't really talk to Scott about it. The last time I tried to he didn't really blow me off but he didn't really listen. He said that's a part of the life I was dealt and I need to deal.

Scott is the type of person that can maneuver around problems and obstacles in life without any worries. He never worries. When we first met I thought he was just being a stubborn man who didn't want to show any emotions. Now that we've been together for 4 years I can see that he doesn't worry. And if he does worry he hides it oh-so-well and no know one can tell. Even his mother comments on his "ability" to not worry.

I feel like since I am their mother, I should be able to fix anything and everything that is wrong with them.

I’m going to keep on doing what I’ve been doing, loving them and taking care of them. Providing what they need as much as I possibly can.

Venting, whining, complaining and crying is done. For now at least.

Hopefully my next post will be better.

Happy Birthday to my Wookie

Today is Scott's 42nd birthday.

I'm just writing a short post to vent. I ordered his birthday present online a week ago, paid for express shipping, and it still hasn't shown up. I am Irritated. I paid for faster shipping to make sure I would have it before today.

I can't get the stupid company to respond to any emails, they don't take calls on order inquiries.

He's begging me to tell him what I got but I won't do it. When I do get the gift I'm going to wrap it up and make him open it.

It was a good day otherwise. I made a spinach portabello mushroom lasagna, a turkey mushroom lasagna, and key lime pie for dessert. We had my inlaws and SIL and her 2 kids over for Scott's birthday dinner and there isn't much food left.

Now I'm off to bed to collapse. Good night all.

Oh, his present? Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle pillow cases. He had some when we met and we took them on our honeymoon and accidentally left those pillows in one of the hotels we stayed at. He still talks about those pillow cases so I thought I would finally get them replaced.
:)

Deleting Your Own Comment

Who are you? Why do you keep deleting your comments on my blog?

I'm assuming right now that the numerous comments that someone has deleted after they have posted them on my site is done by the same person.

I would never delete anyone's comment and have never had a reason to.

So, whoever you are that keeps deleting their comments... Pleast don't.

If you don't want people to see what you've written send me an email.

poohfreak73@yahoo.com

Letter H

Sam tagged me to write about the letter H. Specifically ten words with the letter H.

So, here we go.

H is for Harley. Naturally that would be my number 1 word with H. Harley after his first birthday cake.






H is for Hugs that I get from my children. Knee hugs are the best sometimes.



H is for Home. Home is where I get my Harley Hugs.



H is for Heart. Ethan, Emma, Harley, and Scott. Need I say more about my Hearts?


H is for Hamsters. Stinky little rodents that stink up my house, no matter how many times their cage is cleaned.

H is for Hair which I'm trying to grow out. And it's really bugging me and I'm fighting the urge to cut it off again.

H is for Highway. I'm ready to hit the road and get out of town for a while.

H is for Horny. I'm talking about Horny Toads now. I bet I know what the rest of you were thinking! Naughty Naughty

H is for Harry Connick Jr. A yummy talented man.

And last but not least,

H is for Holidays. Extra time with my family!

If anyone wants to take on the letter I, be my guest. I don't mind being tagged at all. I'm just chicken to pick someone to tag!

Humorous Harley and Cleaning Closets (warning) LONG POST

My pudge's sense of humor has emerged. I've known for a while that he is just like his dad and loves attention and loves to make people laugh. The past week has been filled with his antics and play.

I first noticed the extra wanton attitude Tuesday night after everyone else was in bed asleep. I had taken off my bra, folded it up, and placed it on the arm of the chair I was sitting in. Sometimes a woman just needs to take off her bra and let the boobs roam free for a while before you head to bed. They need some breathing room too ya know! BOOBALANCH

All the lights in the house were off but the computer lamp and light from the TV was flickering around the living room

Harley noticed I was removing my bra and became overly excited. I wasn't sure why considering I hadn't nursed the boy since he was 4 months old.

He slowly moved away from his toys and would wander by me and give me a sideways look and let his glance slide towards my bra. I giggled and went back to watching Medium, which I'd recorded the night before.

He did the pass and glance a few times before he rushed me and grabbed the bra and ran away.

A couple minutes later he ran back by me yelling JIPPLES as loud as he could and he had his legs through the arm holes of the bra and was holding the bra up kind of riding it like it was a horse. He galloped by me a few times with his legs in the arm holes of the bra and the ends of the bra flapping behind him as he yelled JIPPLES.

Oh, the giggles, coming from me not Harley.

Last night was rather calm. The kids were ready for bed and nice and quiet by 7pm. I finished up some soccer stuff on the computer and then went and lay down with Emma to watch American Idol. We were both shocked at last night's outcome, probably like most of the other Idol fans! When it was over I wandered out to the front of the house to see what Scott was doing (he HATES American Idol and refuses to watch it). He was nodding off in his chair and he woke up enough to ask if I wanted to run to Lowe's to pick up some paint for Granny's room. Mom has decided that some fresh paint will help get rid of that smell Granny had in the last couple months before her death. I hope it does. That death smell just lingers, it's not nearly as noticeable but it's there.

We spent $75 at Lowe's and then came home to tackle our bedroom closet. I never realized how much of a packrat I was until Granny passed away. For some reason her death made me realize that I was just like her and saved everything, napkins from someone's wedding, tax returns from 15 years ago, an engagement announcement of a friend who has since divorced, Ethan's baby pictures from the hospital, earrings I thought I'd thrown away years ago because I wore them in high school, and who knows what else.

It took me about 1 1/2 hours to clean out my side of the closet floor and threw most of the stuff away. There are some clothes I put in a bag that I am swearing to myself I'll fit into again. Truthfully it might not happen but I'm going to try.

It took Scott about 45 minutes to clean out his side of the closet floor. His stuff was mainly big boxes that were empty. The Dell box from our new computer, the old printer box, and a box full of speaker wires, cables and rca jacks.

While we were cleaning we watched three Supernaturals that have been waiting to be viewed on TIVO for a month now.

This is where Harley decided to bring out his funny bone again. Scott and I took turns putting the little booger to bed. At first he would sneak into Ethan's bed. Poor Ethan would just scoot over to the edge of the bed and cover Harley up. Ethan has a twin bed and Harley likes to sleep spread eagle with his arm tucked behind his head. The time I caught him in Ethan's bed, Ethan was hanging off the side trying to hold on to the headboard, and Harley was on the pillow, arms tucked behind his head. His eyes were closed but I just stood there standing quietly for a couple minutes, just watching to see if he was really asleep. After a minute Harley cracked one eye open, then the other, and as soon as he saw me he snapped them closed again. I couldn't help but giggle.

I scooped him up and put him back to bed and told him to stay there. He asked for his many hugs and kisses and snuggled down. I assumed he would actually go to sleep this time. HA! What does assume mean? Hmm anybody know? Yep, I made an ass out of me. Ok, not necessarily an ass but I was thoroughly annoyed by now.

I shut our bedroom door and got in bed while Scott finished up his side of the closet. We were on our 3rd Supernatural and I was almost asleep. I didn't hear our bedroom door open but Harley managed to open our bedroom door without making a noise. He then proceeded to CRAWL down the little hallway and was sitting with his back against Scott's dresser, watching the TV. I have no idea how long he was there when a spooky part came on the screen and I heard him squeak. You might be wondering how we know he crawled down the hallway. I'll get to that in just a second.

Instead of getting out of bed I just called out his name. His little head popped around the corner and he smiled oh-so-brightly and said HI! He was escorted back to bed yet again, and the door shut soundly.

We waited for him to come back and had even turned the volume down on the TV. This time we heard the door creak open so Scott peeked around the corner to see what he was doing. That little turd was CRAWLING down the hallway and he settled in his spot, leaning up against the dresser.

We finally turned off our light and the TV, which is probably what we should have done to begin with but we didn't, and he finally stayed in bed. Until 3:08am.

He got up screaming and I could hear him heading out his bedroom calling for GAMMA, GAMMA! I grabbed him up and he calmed right down. I headed to the bathroom to pee and he started screaming again when I set him down so I could do the deed without a 30 pound turd hanging on. I think that's the fastest I've peed in a long time. I really didn't want to wake up the whole house.

He refused to let me go when I put him back in his bed and I was so tired I that I just gave up and plopped him in bed with us. He snuggled down and as soon as I lay down he plopped his head on my breast and his feet on Scott's chest. Pat, a friend and co-worker (the guy who walked me down the aisle when I married Scott), has called my overly-abundant breasts buckwheat pillows for years. Apparently Harley thinks the same thing and stayed there until my alarm went off. I also got a fist in the nose and just knew I'd have a bruise.

No bruise, too tired to think properly, and in need of caffeine or a nap the next morning.

But I love my baby and actually love the nights I "give in" and let him sleep with us. It's not hard for me to give in though.

I will now finish my very long post and say Good Night talk to ya'll tomorrow.

Short post of Harley's Toddlerisms

Harley loves to point out anyone's jipples (nipples), especially his own. He will pull up his shirt for all to see his glorious Jipples!

He calls animals and people by their proper names, with one addition. It is either a mommy something or a daddy something. Whether it be a mommy frog or a daddy dog, everything is a mommy or daddy. He also loves to introduce the whole family to anyone he meets anymore. He will introduce Emma first and won't go on until the other person has said her name and then he will move on to Anie (Ethan), then gamma, mama, and daddy. The only catch is that the other person must repeat each name after Harley says it or he will keep on repeating the name.

I absolutely adore the way he talks. He forms sentences so well, they are a little halting at times but he uses 3 or more word sentences lately.

He is having the normal 2 year old temper tantrums but I've found if I take a stern tone immediately I can stop them before they become a full blown fit. All I have to do is tell him that's enough and 98% of the time he'll calm right down and say OK mama, and within seconds be happy again. The other 2% is ok, I can deal with it. Still, compared to the fits Ethan used to throw, Harley's are nothing. I would have to leave restaurants because of Ethan's toddler fits.

If we tell him no, he can't do something or take something out of the house, Harley will throw his arms up in the air (or throw the toy on the ground) and say FINE while he glares at you and wrinkles his nose. This is normally followed by a growl as he walks out the door or into another room.

Most mornings Harley is up before the kids and I leave for work and school. He'll climb up on the chair with Emma and share her breakfast and cow milk (chocolate milk). The only reason I can think of for Harley calling chocolate cow milk is because the Hershey's Syrup bottle has a cow on it and he is aware that chocolate comes out of that bottle. It's really rather adorable.

Scott loves to run around the house trying to scare the kids. Every time Scott sneaks up behind Harley and growls Harley will squeal, growl back, and then take some kind of stance and yell HIYA. I have no idea where the HIYA came from, with the stance even. Legs spread and arms up at the ready to strike out and HIYA whatever he can hit.

He plays with his bath toys now. Not just splashing play but standing up and plopping down on his butt to make a huge splash while throwing toys around and making exploding noises. I know his dad is a Marine but we really haven't gone over bombing noises with him and he doesn't watch anything like that on tv. His television day consists of the Backyardigans on Nickelodeon and The Wiggles on Disney. The rest of his day is play play play! Does that kind of noise come naturally to little boys?

That is all I can think of for now. For some reason I'm still worn out from the busy weekend. I'm off to bed after I finish watching a TIVO'd Invasion.

I haven't posted in so long I have no idea where to start.

Last week was ok and not much happened. Emma's first real therapy session was last Monday morning and I'm not sure what to think so far. She talks to the doctor and that is what matters.

The rest of the week was just work. No more soccer practice or games for a few months. :):)

Scott was off Thursday so we used that as our date night and went out with one a couple of friends. I ended up drinking a little too much and we didn't get home until almost 3am. I was a good girl and got up and made it to work on time. I did just fine during the day but when supper rolled around I was dragging.

I even stayed up late Friday night, waiting for Scott to get off work. I got caught up on Dr. Who on the Sci-Fi channel and a couple of other shows that I like that Scott doesn't.

Saturday came way too fast, only because mom had planned a yardsale and we all got up early to drag everything out before people started showing up. As usual people showed up early and were looking through what we had out already.

The day was perfect for a yardsale, nice and sunny, a few puffy clouds, and just enough of a breeze to keep you cool. I still managed to get sunburnt, even after applying lots of sunscreen many times. At least the kids came away unscathed.

There were times when we would have lots of people rifling through the goodies and then there were times when we would have no one. We finally closed up about 2pm but felt good with how much we had sold. Both mom and I were a little amazed that we hadn't sold some of our bigger items. In the past the bigger items have always gone first. Not this time though.

So I dragged all that stuff back into the house, Scott had chickened out and not asked for the day off and had to be to work by 2pm, and then collapsed for a couple of hours. The kids helped with what they could and were so good for the whole thing.

Mom took the kids and I out to dinner and we went to a little 50's style diner called Dad's Diner. The food is great and most of the waiters and waitresses are young. Our waitress was actually pleasant and asked how our day had gone. Mom is kind of like Scott and loves to talk to anyone about anything. Mom told our nice waitress about our yardsale and how she was amazed that we still had some big stuff left. NW eyes got big and she asked about the big stuff and we told her we had a couple of rocker-recliner chairs, a dining set, a headboard, and a couple of other things. NW had another waitress come over and they asked about the chairs and gave us a cell number to call with the promise of coming over to look at them. They were moving in together and had almost no furniture.

NW showed up today with a couple of big guys, Sam, you would have been in heaven because these guys were HOT. Even Emma commented on how cute they were.

NW loved the chairs and bought both of them and we asked if she wanted an end table too, which we would just give to her because we wanted it out of the playroom that bad. Our playroom now has just a little more room for play now that 2 chairs and an end table is gone.

Today was filled with not much. We went grocery shopping and that is always so much fun when Every. Single. Person!!! in the house comes along. It took us almost 3 hours to get groceries and not because the place was busy. We had 6 people all wanting to go six different ways.

I finally gave up trying to keep everyone together when my SIL and niece showed up. I just continued on with shopping and every once in a while would run into a child or husband or mom. Every once in a while I would hear a squeal from a kid because Scott was torturing them. Then I would hear a squeal from Scott because said kid would get him back. I am rather surprised that we haven't been kicked out of the grocery store yet. I'm sure our day will come though.

Harley was exhausted when we got home so I had to hurry to put groceries away because he wanted me to lay down with him. He refused to lay down unless it was in bed with me. I couldn't let my baby down could I? After the weekend we'd had I was ready for a nap.

I managed to get all the groceries put away in under 10 minutes, a record for me I might add. I have to make a trip back to the store though because I was a little too hurried and accidentally dropped a sack filled with a couple of glass jars. One was cranberry juice and it didn't break. Good thing, that cranberry juice comes in handy when you feel a bladder infection coming on plus I just love cranberry juice. The other jar was spaghetti sauce.

Unfortunately the pretty red sauce didn't make it. Our blue kitchen carpet has another stain. That poor carpet looks like a mini-war has been waged on it over the years. I'm so glad we'll be replacing it soon. I've picked out a wood floor to put in, messes will be easier to clean and stains will be easier to avoid.

My lovely husband cracked up laughing and started singing Another One Bite's the Dust when he saw what had happened. Harley helped me get him back though, when we lay down for a nap Harley was laying on my breast with his butt in Scott's face. A couple of minutes after we lay down I thought Harley was asleep but I didn't dare move. All of a sudden Harley lets out a pretty big fart and starts giggling so hard he can barely get out the words "I Tarted!" I think he actually fell asleep giggling.

Scott acted offended but was rather proud of his son. We had a good laugh about that. Amazing that most people laugh over bodily functions. I guess since you can't help but burp and fart you might as well laugh at it.

Right now I'm waiting for Harley to get sleepy enough to put to bed but I think the wait will be long. He ended up sleeping until a little after 6pm. Right now we are watching Homeward Bound on the Disney channel. He's fascinated by it. Well, that and his belly button. He shows it to anyone he can right now. Again. I was hoping that stage was over but its not.

Time to see if I can get him in bed and get myself to bed. I never manage to go to sleep before 1am on Sundays anymore, or should I say Mondays.

I'll try to update more this week.

And only 40 more days until we leave for Disneyland and Knottsberry Farm. I'm ready to go now!

ETHAN

Today's post was supposed to be on Harleyisms but I've decided to leave that for another day and post about Ethan.

His diagnosis is A-Typical Autism, Tourette's Syndrome, Severe ADHD, and slight Mental Retardation. We have been to 7 doctors for this diagnosis and I've vowed to never see another doctor about it. Ok, that is probably a stupid thing to vow because who knows when the state or the school system will want him to see a doctor again but at least no more for a year or two. Both Ethan and I are sick and tired of those kind of doctors. No offense to any of them, we're just tired of the testing.

With all of the different disabilities he has, Ethan has been in a main stream class with a full time aid and only spends a couple of hours (if that) a day in the special ed class. I've fought the school system hard to get him in a main stream class. The first diagnostician for the school told me Ethan was totally mentally retarded would never learn and that is when the stupid principal of the school told me to put him in a home and basically forget about him. I informed both idiots that my son would learn, we would prove them wrong, and that dumbass diagnostician was to never step foot near my son again.

Well, here it is 4 years later and we are proving them wrong. Ethan is excelling in his main stream class and is set to move up to the 4th grade. Granted he should be going into the 5th grade but his 2nd year in the 2nd grade did wonders for him.

Today was Ethan's IEP to see where he would be next school year. Like I said he will be moving up to the 4th grade as planned. He will not have his own aid, the class will have an aid but she will be there for all the kids, not just Ethan. Right now he is in D Level and I found out today he has progressed so much that our lovely Special Ed D Level teacher Mrs. M will be relinquishing Ethan to the lovely Mrs. K the B Level teacher.

MY BABY IS GOING TO B LEVEL. HE IS TOTALLY SKIPPING C LEVEL AND GOING STRAIGHT TO B LEVEL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can you tell I'm happy, excited, ecstatic, thrilled? No? I'll try harder. HEHE

I also found out that he has treated his aid more like his own personal assistant. Telling her to run "errands" for him. Asking her to tell Mrs. M he'd rather not go to her class today cause he is just fine where he is for now. Telling her to run along and find something to do (this is done with a wave of his hand as he shoo's her away). Telling her it's time for lunch and would she be willing to run to Burker King or McDonalds to buy them something. And the list goes on.

My son is the class comedian and his humor is lost on the other kids sometimes but its never lost on the teachers.

Unlike some autistic/retarded children, my son likes to be around others. He still doesn't like to be touched and normally won't interact with the other kids unless he initiates it but he's learning and getting "better" and tolerates being around others. He'll never be better but he's definitely improving.

Most of the kids love Ethan and I think all of the girls in his class adore Ethan. They all take care of him and if another kid from another class picks on him than the girls will stick up for Ethan and tell the mean kid off.

During the IEP, as the teachers, speech therapist, occupational therapist, and new diagnostician, sat around talking I finally realized they were saying B level, not C level. My heart skipped a few beats as I listened for each letter to come out of their mouths. I could hardly believe what they were talking about. My baby!

When the school counselor finally came in and sat down we were almost done, just had forms to sign, and learned that Ethan was going to B level his jaw dropped. He could hardly believe it too. He knew Ethan was doing so well but he'd been so busy he didn't know how well.

So, to the stupid-head, idiotic, dumbass diagnostician who told me my son would never learn and to our school's principal who told me to put him in a home: KISS MY WHITE ASS BIOTCHES!

We have proved you wrong. NO, wait, Ethan has proved you wrong. He did it, with help from my mom, his aid, and myself and Scott, but he still did it. He was willing to learn and willing to be pushed by us and work through his tears and my tears and learn to read, write, do math, learn about bugs and the solar system, and land forms in science, and write in cursive.

The second biggest thing of all was this report card. STRAIGHT A's. Again, he did it with the help of his aid but I found out his aid is only with him for 2 hours a day now. The majority of those A's are his. I can only imagine what Ethan would be like if he were a "normal" boy.

I don't want a normal boy though. I wouldn't change him for the world. God gave Ethan to me the way he is for a reason and I would never change that.

I Love You Ethan! and Congratulations on all your hard work.

Unfortunately we have many more years of hard work but I will be right here for you for anything that comes your way.

One last thing, Emma loves her hair now and is glad I had it cut that short. Apparently soccer was nicer without her long ponytail blowing in her face as she ran.
Tomorrow is the last soccer game until Fall.

I Am Happy

Maybe it's not such a good thing to make your Gynie laugh while she has the duck bill up your cookie

I was warned about the receptionist at my GYN office a couple of days ago. I knew they had a grumpy receptionist but this lady beat them all.

I walked up to their window to sign in and said Hi, how are you today. Grouchy lady said Just give me your insurance card. WOW

Being the nice person I am, and the lovely mood I was in for having to go to the Gynie, I threw it at her. It didn't hit her, it landed on the desk right in front of her. She scanned the card, sighed and scanned it again. Apparently her machine wouldn't read my insurance card, or my insurance card just wouldn't allow itself to be scanned by such a grouch. She typed in the insurance number and I was totally surprised that the keyboard didn't try to get up and run away from her. She was punching those keys as if she were punishing them.

She handed me the card and told me to please leave a urine sample. I said ok, I'll go pee in the cup, have a great day. And then I walked to the bathroom. She probably wasn't amused by me at all.

When the nurse called me back the first thing I was asked to do was step on the scale. I pulled a Harley and said No! I really like my Gynie's nurse so I had a smile on my face when I said it. She said ok, just tell me how much you weigh and we won't share it with anyone else. Ha, I know she shared it with my Gynie.

Then she took my blood pressure and told me it was high. I informed her that No, it wasn't try it again. So she did and it was normal that time.

For some reason I went in ready to argue! But no one was arguing with me. I was just making the nurse laugh.

The nurse showed me to my room after making small talk about the perils of infomercials and how much money she has spent on crap for weight loss. I told her I haven't bought anything for weight loss but a gym membership and so far it was a big load of crap too.

Nurse said you know what to do, gown opens in back. And then she left me all alone in the little room with posters about birth control and permanent hair removal and the table with stirrups in a permanent, upright position. For some reason I am paranoid in those rooms. I'm always afraid that someone will walk in on me in the middle of undress and find me bent over with my ass facing the door and my underwear around my knees. It's never happened to me but the fear is there. Lingering. Never going away.

So, I get undressed and hop up on the table. Ok maybe I just step up on the little step and sit down on the table, but hopping just sounds so much better.

The way the table is arranged whoever walks in would have a clear shot of my naked back and ass crack. I'm so glad I have a pretty butterfly tat decorating my back so if someone were to walk in on me their eyes would be drawn to the bright colors and not my scare fluffy back. Only my husband likes that sight and I still haven't figured out why. I guess I should stop trying to figure him out. I never will.

Anyways...Doc knocks on the door and I say Hi in a squeaky voice. She walks in and asks if I'm ok and I say yes, why? I'm sitting half naked on the table with the paper stuck to my butt cheeks (I tend not to cuss in front of doctors) and getting more and more anxious by the minute! Doc laughed and sat down and asked me the normal questions.

Doc: How are you feeling
Me: Fine thanks.
Doc: How are you periods? Are they normal?
Me: They still come every month and stay for a few days and then leave.

Then I told her that they come a week later every month and are just a little bit heavier than they used to be. I still cramp but it's still not bad at all. Not compared to what it was before I had kids.

We went on discussing my weight gain over the past year and how hubby and I are now working out and I've only last a few pounds since we started working out but I can run around the soccer field with my daughter for a whole practice when I couldn't do that last Fall. She was pleased to hear that and said as long as I'm getting healthier don't worry about the weight loss.

What is it with doctors and telling me that? First my family doctor told me I will get healthier but probably never lose weight and then my Gynie says pretty much the same thing. Weenies

After the Q&A session she tells me it's time to start the exam. Deep breath in and repeat 5 times. Breathe normal please. Ok, lie down and I'm going to do the breast exam. That's always loads of fun, getting felt up by another woman while laying on an exam table while those stirrups are taunting you.

Then comes the dreaded statement. Go ahead and scoot on down so your bottom is at the end of the table. I don't know about you other women but that means its time to wiggle and squirm and unstick your ass from the damn paper so you can scoot down. Doc assured me that it does happen to other women but I've never heard anyone else complain about it. When I'm anxious I tend to get hot and I tend to sweat just a little and that will make that damn paper stick.

I wiggle and squirm and unstick and scoot on down so my butt is touching the bottom of the table and then I plop my feet into the stirrups. I had this overwhelming urge to yell Giddyup and almost felt around for some reins but I held myself together and lay still. Doc lifted my cover and got all serious and said ok, now you'll feel my fingers and then the speculem (duckbill) and proceeded to tell me about everything she was going to do before she did it. The nurse is in the room by now and is making small talk, asking how the kids are doing and how big the baby is. I just had to tell them about the cute things that Harley does and had doc giggling pretty good, with the duckbill still up in the cookie. Probably not a wise thing to do considering I've been pinched by a duckbill in the past. I almost kicked the doctor for that one because it was his fault.

When that was done she said it's time to do the finger exam. She puts one palm on my stomach and stick a couple of fingers from the other hand back up the cookie and feels around. I just had to ask if she has ever made anyone fart while doing this. She laughed and said many, many times.

I thought we were done and she would leave so I could get dressed and regain some dignity. I was wrong. She told me to sit up as she sat back down on her stool She told me she wants to have my thyroid checked because of the changes I had mentioned to her. I told her if she thought it necessary but I didn't think anything was wrong with it. I've had it checked once a year for the past 4 years or so because doctors seem to think I have a problem with my thyroid. The test always comes back normal.

She wrote up the script for the blood work and then got up and said have a great day and I'll see you next year. I told her I didn't think so! She frowned at me and asked why not. I told her because every time I see her she pokes and prods and wants to have needles stuck in me. Why would I want to come back? She laughed some more as she walked out of the room.

I hopped down from the table, yes, I actually hopped that time, and started getting dressed. I never knew exactly how fast I could get dressed until I found myself standing in a small room at the Gynie's office never knowing when someone could make a mistake and walk into your room while you are still naked. That still hasn't happened.

Then I had the fun of heading back to work after the violation of my cookie. I just feel rather yucky after that exam and wished I could have had the afternoon off to go home and shower.

That was the long and boring tale of my trip to the Gynie today. If you have stuck around this long, I am impressed.

Tomorrow will be tales of Harleyisms. Like you all haven't had enough of those.