blah blah blah

She used to be a sleeper. She would sleep until 8, sometimes 9AM. I guarantee, if we had somewhere we needed to be, she would be sleeping late. There are two mornings a week I should be able to sleep until 8 - why are these always the mornings my irritating little girl-child wakes up early? And of course she's grouchy as all get-out, whining about everything. Add to that, I woke up with my sinuses draining. Ow. And I'm having an ecxema breakout on my left palm. What the hell is that about? Everytime I'm forced to wake up early I get on here and ramble.
Last night I worked on straightening out my basement. It was a royal mess. It looks much better now. Then I worked on a "favorites" layout. It's missing something - I'll work on it later. I have no pictures to scrap right now...what a bizarre feeling.
Have I mentioned I'm coaching Monkeybutt's soccer team this fall? What a freaking joke. You all know I've never played soccer (other than in gym class), right? It's kind of a trip, being called Coach, though.
We're off to the fabulous metropolis of Peoria tonight, so I have to accomplish some muy importante tasks today...packing and whatnot. Ah, Peoria. The home of Caterpillar, Richard Pryor, the guy who played Winchester on MASH...what a city.

Good job, Girlchild!

My daughter had a cavity. A big one. I could actually see it when I looked in her mouth. I felt horrifyingly guilty...how could I neglect my daughter's oral hygiene to that point? Anyway, lately she has been going through a fearful phase - everything scares the child. She wouldn't let the dentist clean her teeth the last time we were there, he had to use a toothbrush. So, understandably, the dentist was a bit worried that she would freak out when he had to fix the cavity. He suggested we make an appointment to have her put under at Children's and he would fix everything then. But I was a bit concerned about insurance, etc. You can see I really obsessed about this entire thing. I decided to make an appointment at the office for a regular pulpectomy and crown (pulpectomy - isn't that a disgusting word?) and proceeded to obsess and worry myself sick about the whole thing for 2 weeks.

You guys, she did great. I told them to take her in without me; I knew my presence would just make her nervous. She went right in and they did the whole thing with no crying, no screaming, no tantrums. I am so proud of her. She now has a silver crown on her molar, and hopefully will not have another cavity for a long time.

Procrastination Update

Hey! Guess what! I made jam and cleaned and organized my MOMS files! Two steps down!

1st day blues

My kiddles started school on Monday. Unlike many of my mom friends, I have not been dreading the event...I'm one of those moms turning cartwheels at the bus stop as the bus pulls away. The girl child started kindergarten! She likes her teacher, she has lots of friends in her class, and today a boy (who's name she cannot remember) told her she was pretty. Yes, friends, they're learning pick-up lines in Kindergarten. Anyway, so I was excited for her, but I have been there before, and I really didn't cry or get too worked up about it. Monkeybutt, on the other hand, started middle school. Yikes. I actually had to get myself together before I could go on with my day after he left. He will never be in elementary school again! Time to go to bed and pout.

Anyway, here are pics from the first day:

Procrastination...

Everytime I read that word, I sing it to the tune of "The Inquisition...here we go..." from "History of the World, Part I". You know, Mel Brooks movie? Now I will be singing that for the rest of the day.

So, anyway, I am a world class procrastinator. If I have something important I should be doing, you know I will put it off as long as possible. Even if it's a task that I enjoy, like organizing a file system...At any rate, since I am not getting any younger, we have lived in this house for over 3 years now, knowing there are tasks I need to complete is bad for my spiritual energy...Here is a list of the tasks I have been putting off and need to get to. Perhaps having them out there, you all read them and know my shame, will spur me on to complete at least one task a week.

1. Edge my yard. I am in charge of most outdoor chores (I tend to enjoy them), and studmuffin bought me my electric edger 2 years ago. I have yet to use it. Yikes.
2. Strip wallpaper in bathroom and paint the walls. (we've lived here 3 years and this house still looks like the previous owner's - if a little dirtier.)
3. Strip wallpaper and border in kitchen. See above. Not my style. And I hate wallpaper.
4. Reorganize my MOMS Club files. (I've only been president for over a year.)
5. Clean carpets. (3 years of letting my kids eat in the living room and 5 cats puking have left their marks. And yes, I do clean up the vomit, but it leaves a stain.)
6. Dust the house...well. And keep it up. With our allergies the way they are, this is bordering on neglectful.
7. Adopt a healthier lifestyle: My mom had a heart attack at the very young age of 35. That, plus my weight, add up to a nasty set of risk factors. I need to start exercizing and eating better. In that spirit, I have started another blog documenting my weight loss adventures. check out http://missysweightyadventures.blogspot.com/ Or just go to my profile page and click on the link there. And wish me luck.
8. Figure out what I want to be when I grow up. Bizarre, I know. My daughter starts school full time next year, so I have a year to plan the next stage of my life. I know I would like to go back to school, but I need to have a job to pay for it first, and I don't want to waste the time or money until I know what I want to study. So I need to work on finding a way to make money next year, and I have the luxury of taking time to find something I may actually enjoy. From there, I can work on what I want to study. If anyone has any ideas, please, I'm listening.
9. Adopt a meditation and yoga practice. I know this will help me with my anxiety and depression issues, and I need to take more control of my health.
10. Develop and adopt daily and weekly routines. Again, will help with anxiety and depression issues, will help me become more organized and a better mother, will help my kids (kids thrive on routine, right?), etc. I am so not a routine-oriented person, so this will be a toughy.
11. Make jam from those blackberries I picked the other day. I should be able to complete this one today... (edited at 4:42PM the same day - I made the jam and it is good.)

Ok, I know there's probably plenty more I am putting off, but this is a beginning. I can always add to it. Obviously some of these are very concrete - painting, organizing - while some are more long-term and will take a certain amount of commitment. But all are important...and I intend to put some energy into completing, or at least working on, these tasks each week.
Again, wish me luck...and a lot of energy.

One Proud Mama

Ok. I don't really get a chance to brag on the monkeybutt much. He's a great kid and all, but a bit of a challenge, as those who know him...know.
But he deserves some kudos. So I will provide them.
Earlier this summer we had a garage sale. I told the kiddles whatever they sold, the money would be their's. Monkeybutt is passing up the little boy toy stage - he doesn't really play with cars, Beyblades, most action figures, etc, anymore (sniff.) So he sold a whole buttload of stuff - and decided to donate half of what he earned to our local animal shelter. Any other money he earned this summer, he put half into his animal shelter pot. This past Tuesday, after getting his school schedule and paying his fees for (sniff) middle school (small sob), we picked up a big bag of dog food, a chew toy, and took those and the money he raised (doubled by his animal-lovin' momma) to the animal shelter. They were very pleased to get it, and we spent the next 1 1/2 hours snuggling dogs, puppies, kittens...and mourning the fact that we couldn't take them all home. I think Monkeybutt would tell you - all that snuggle time was more than worth the work he did to earn the money.

By the way, for those of you in the Northern Kentucky area - the Boone County Animal Shelter has a large number of kittens in right now, and they all need homes. So they are doing a 2 for 1 deal - adopt 1 kitten, take a 2nd home free. Please, if you are looking for a pet, think about adopting. There are too many homeless pets out there. Just ask my Monkeybutt.

Wow. Babble much?

So last night I stayed up late, thinking because my kids are at my mom's, I could sleep in, right? Wrong. Woke up coughing this morning (lingering cough from a nasty attack of asthmatic bronchitis), couldn't get back to sleep. I paid some bills, wrote up a whopper of a to-do list...and got on here to ramble. So here are some random thoughts that have entertained me thus far this morning:


1. A few years ago, I saw my first hummingbird. Seriously. I never saw one in my entire life until I moved to Kentucky. I planted red glads and the hummingbirds loved them. So this year I planted more, and my first blooms opened this week. This morning I was gazing out the window, wondering when I would see one - and there, happily sucking nectar from my first open glad, was a hummingbird. It tried the red hibiscus, too, but that didn't seem to work well. I paid some bills, looked up again, and there was another one. Kind of started off the morning on a nice note for me. I love those quick little birds.

2. It is so gorgeous outside. I went out to put something in my car, and it is sunny and warm, but not nasty hot and humid. I think at one point today I'll take my book out onto my back porch (have I ever waxed euphoric on this forum about my lounge chair on my back porch? I inherited from my grandparents - it is rather ugly, but probably the most comfortable chair I've ever sat on. I've been known to take a blanket out in chilly weather and lay on that chair reading for hours. My brother has slept overnight on that chair.)





3. I really need to start keeping some caffeine in this house.





4. My mom sells Avon and every so often, she will buy my kids useless Avon trinkets. My daughter has this Valentine's day snowglobe/music box thing that plays this very annoying electronic sounding version of some annoying song. Loud. Would she notice if I disposed of it today? Unfortunately, my mother probably would. Ok, just took out the batteries. There is certainly a better use for 3 AAA batteries in this house.





5. This basement is a serious mess.





6. Lately I've been addicted to strawberry Twizzlers. I eat way too many of them. They are perfect scrapping food - no crumbs or finger gunk. They can't be good for the teeth...





7. Speaking of teeth, my beloved girl-child has a cavity. A big one. I feel terribly guilty (should have paid better attention to the brushing), and she seems to be going through an "I'm afraid of everything" phase right now, which has prompted the dentist to suggest actually putting her under to treat the cavity. I've been stressing pretty heavily about this one.





8. I should probably get upstairs and begin my day, so I'm going to stop rambling now. Perhaps a photo? This is my snuggle-pumpkin girl-child, just after her first birthday. So freaking cute.

In Memory of Gulliver

My mom's beloved cat died yesterday. Gulliver enjoyed laying on my sister, playing with my youngest cat, Finnegan, boxes, and sitting in odd positions. We all loved him and he will be missed. Please keep my mom, sister and brother in your thoughts.

Girlfriends and good reads

Today the kiddles and I booked up north to visit some new friends for a picnic. It was supposed to be a family event, but my studmuffin bent over today. Silly man. Anyway, I left him drugged and prone and groaning and hauled butt with the kids, some random beer and soda and a bag of chips to meet a group of women I've never met face to face. We had a lovely time. My son was quite taken with one of the young ladies there and happily discussed books and music with her, whilst my daughter played with every little girl she could find, and their mama babbled incessantly. We discussed books for awhile, which, coupled with a few hours of meditative mowing this morning, is the inspiration for this post.
Most of you who actually know me know I am an avid reader. This is not to say I read large amounts of great literature - I don't. I love chicklit, romances, and murder mysteries as much as the next person. But I read - a lot. Whenever I get the chance, really. Right now I am reading 4 different books, plus whatever magazines I happen to have on the table (I am also fond of periodicals, and I don't mean Scientific American, either.) So I have decided to present to my sweet readers my top 5 favorite books - right now. Please understand, this list changes from week to week - so the "right now" is important. Although #1 has been #1 for 15 years now. And anybody who wants to recommend a book - please do. I love recommendations. I generally read them. So here thay are:

My top 5 favorite books (right now) are:

5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling (The entire series was just so entertaining and well-written, but this was my favorite story of them all.)
4. Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams (I love Douglas Adams and have since I read his Hitchhiker series during my "I love geeks" phase in high school. He is by far the most quotable author I have ever read. This book is his account of a trip he took to see and document some of the worlds' most endangered species. It is a serious book, but written in his famous satirical prose; highly enjoyable.)
3. The Stand by Stephen King (favorite King book, ever. I know it was long - but could you tell a story like that in less pages? I didn't think so.)
2. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (Perhaps this book is not for everybody. I loved her writing, but it was more than that with this book. As a person on a spiritual quest of my own, I read this book at the exact time I needed to, and it gave me a renewed energy and purpose.)
1. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (My favorite all-time book. Has been for years. I have since read everything Ms. Atwood has written, and this one is still my favorite - for the story, for the use of language, for the sheer beauty of description. I truly love this book.)