It's Halloween...tonight???

It's Halloween....tonight??  I've seen the commercials, I've tried to avoid the candy in the stores, I even bought the 2 babies new pumpkin buckets to collect their loot.  Yet, somehow I spaced it that Halloween was tonight.  Being the procrastinating creature that I am, I thought I still had time to figure out some costumes.  Not that it much matters because when you're small, you're ALWAYS cute.  For instance, I could send Sammi out in her pink feety pj's, duct tape a clump of cottonballs to her butt & hold two fingers up behind her head for ears & people will think she's adorable. (of course I'll get a cramp in my hand, so that costume is out)....

I suppose I'll drag out her giraffe costume from last year. (picture above)  Sammi hasn't grown much since last year, she seriously appears to be stunted in growth.  The Dr's tell me she's "petite" but how the heck did that happen with 2 amazons for parents? LOL... (I'm 5'8 and Mike is 6'4)....Her baby brother is already heavier than her by 3lbs & he's only a few inches off in height.  People are beginning to ask if they are twins...Ok, off the track now,:::smile::: and I wonder why I forgot that tonight was Halloween?

Mikey will go as a cow. (Another old Sammi costume).... I put it on him a few weeks ago for kicks & giggles. He looked sooooo freakin' cute....  Sammi thought he was a new pull toy & kept dragging him around the house by his tail.  Poor Mikey, no matter how much bigger he gets than Sammi, she will always rule him. " Girls rule & boys drool?"  (oops, there goes my mind again, wandering....)

Well, I suppose I should go and do something Halloweeny with them this afternoon. (Would smashing pumpkins & eggin' people's houses count? Hmmm, maybe instead of writing with sidewalk chalk we'll use shaving cream today. lol)   

Halloween Pic....

This pic is kind of grainy....but it's a pic of Sammi dressed in her first Halloween costume. She loved the mask & would cry if I took it off. (She was 3 months old in this pic).  How time flies....

                           .....My baby girl is already 2.....

Haunted Radio

Mike installed an under-the counter radio in the kitchen a few months ago.  I found it in a back room in the house, still in it's box, looking brand new.  He didn't remember where he got it, but he installed it because I liked it.   Weird things starting happening with the radio after about a week.  It turns itself on & off and it also changes stations usually to either a talk station or static....

I can't tell you how many times I've turned it off, only to walk back in the kitchen with it playing again.  Yesterday while I was preparing supper at the counter, the radio was making static sounds.  So I turned it off.  Within a few minutes, while I was standing there I heard these little popping sounds and on it went.  (Playing music this time...) I left it on because my 2 yr old started dancing to the music.  Mike went to turn it off one day this week and just as he reached the button to turn it off, it turned itself off.

*Laughing at self* why did I just refer to the radio as "it" sixteen times?

Guess what radio is unplugged now?   Anyone wanna buy a nice radio at our next yardsale? "IT" works great!! 

An Angel gave my kids a cold...part 2

When Angel crashed for a nap on our couch my husband said, "she really is a cute little thing."  He then went on to comment that although she was cute, she was missing something.  "No sparkle in her eyes like Sammi has."  That made me wonder about how my **precocious-laughing-mischeivous-silly-secure-in-the-love of her parents** little girl would be if that love was taken away, if that love never existed.... Yes, that sparkle would be gone and in its place would be a reality that one so young should never know. That day I cried some tears for that sleepy boogy nosed Angel sleeping on my couch.  When I brought Angel back to the nursing home at 3pm she didn't go home, her grandma was working until 11pm that night. Before I even returned to my car to leave, little Angel & her suitcase were already being shuttled off with someone else she barely knew. 

Today when Mike came home for lunch, he wasn't pleased that our two little ones have boogy noses, the beginnings of a cold.  He requested that I don't bring home anymore "stray" children.  But Angel will be back, she'll be back....

                 (pass the kleenex please),,,, 

An Angel gave my kids a cold....

An Angel came into my life on Sunday and gave my kids a cold.  Maybe I should explain....

Like a stereotypical Angel she is beautiful & has flowing blonde hair and sky blue eyes.  There is a knowing look about her, wise beyond her years.... What makes this Angel different is that she is only 3 years old.  Her name is Angel.  Her grandma/my co-worker just gained custody of her after a 2 year battle in the court system.  Angel has been shuffled thru the foster system since the day she was born.  Her mother has too many emotional issues to care for her, her father has never been in her life.  My co-worker is a single mom who works too many hours.  On the days she cannot find daycare for Angel, one can find Angel puttering around the nursing home in her pink feety pj's until her grandma (a few years older than me) is done working at 11pm. On those nights my heart aches for this little girl, who should be fast asleep in her own bed.

Last Sunday my co-worker asked if I could watch Angel from 9am - 3pm.  I agreed, knowing that she would be a great playmate for my 2 year old.  When I picked Angel up at the nursing home, she was standing there with her suitcase, looking so unsure.  Her grandma said "she might be a little shy at first".  As I took Angels hand and led her away, I reassured her that we would return to grandma at 3pm.  I don't think she understood.  As soon as I got Angel out to the car I noticed she had a boogy nose. Damn, damn...obviously the start of a cold.  But because I didn't want to bring her back in to spend yet another shift in a nursing home, I took her home with me anyways. 

It turned out that Angel & Sammi played great together, and Angel wasn't shy.  She had no problems telling me "no" and blowing raspberries when not happy.... 

  

Life called, part 2

The train ride to Boston was fun....it was full of families going to the Ringling Bros. & Barnum Circus.  Usually train rides are a bit more uncomfortable; people ride pretending to read or sleep, seldom looking a person in the eye or smiling and saying hi.  Saturday's ride was different because the children were all so excited & animated....Their mood was contagious.

The seats were reasonably priced but the food & souveniers were outrageous.  We were close enough to see the tigers & elephants without binoculars, but far enough away so we couldn't be trampled or mauled.  I wanted cotton candy & was shocked to hear that it was 10.00!  What a rip-off, but I did get a souvenier paper hat with it, whoopee!!  Mike ordered a slushy for Sammi & that small ball of ice with food dye only cost 8.00.  The clown cup it came in is cute, but I'm sure we'll be selling it at the next yardsale for .50 cents.....

When we returned home, we were greeted with toilet water from the upstairs apartment dripping down from the ceiling into our bathroom. Can you say "gross?"  Mike's mom is a poor housekeeper (so I've been told; I've never been upstairs to visit in 4 years!) so I didn't even want to imagine what her toilet looked like. Mike went upstairs and repaired the problem, so now there is no more toilet water dripping into my bathroom.  But I do have a lovely hole in the ceiling.  It's always something....

                            That's life....

                               Maybe I won't answer next time....

Nah, who am I kidding?  It's better than the alternative : )

Life called...

Life called and I had to answer it......

Saturday was a crazy day.  We have been in the process of uncluttering our lives; in order to do that we have cluttered other peoples lives by having yardsales, "Buy our clutter, please??"  We made about $370., my 15 year old son made $190. ( he sold off childhood collections of beanie babies and baseball cards).  I think we have more stuff than most couples, because when we became engaged almost 4 years ago, I sold & packed up my house of 15 years.  Put my life in boxes and taped them shut. I rented a storage unit & then moved to a different state.  I've never regretted leaving my old life, it was a life best forgotton for the most part....

I moved in with Mike (a 43 yr old bachelor) and his house lacked any presense of female domestication. (With the exception of a few lone earrings, sandals, some tampax in the bathroom & a few items of female clothes, a few sizes smaller than me, might I add).  Posters of dogs playing pool were art work, his animals had the run of the house & furniture.  I think he owned 4 forks and 2 plates, lol.  It's been a long 4 years, but FINALLY his house is becoming my house too.  In the past year, it's feeling like home.  One only has to walk into the front hallway to know that this is a house where a woman lives.... (Old girlfriends take note, lol).

After our yardsale on Saturday, some friends came over at 1pm.  We jumped the train into Boston & went to see the circus. 

.....(sigh) To be continued later, life calls again....

                     ....Mommy's coming Mikey....      

The Curse Struck Again....

Mini Mike woke up crying the second the Yankees won....
Bless his heart my lil Red Sox fan, lol...

All I have to say is...
     !!@$$?!!
      and Go MARLINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

I can't watch anymore!!

OMG, being a long-time suffering Red Sox fan I just can't watch anymore....  It's the bottom of the 8th inning & suddenly momentum seems to be swinging in the Yankee's favor.  Arghhhhhhh....I can't believe I shut the tv off, but I did! I came here so I won't go over there and check the score.  OMG, my heart and all it's palpitations can't take this, lol...

(My Grandmother was a HUGE fan of the Red Sox, not a fair weather fan like me).  Dear Memere, you looking down from up above??  Tell Babe Ruth to stop with the curse already!! 

Just scared

Posting just because I'm scared.  Trying not to panic; because being a nurse my brain tends to over-react when things aren't right with my health.  Besides, I'm staying focused that all is fine & this is just some fluke thing.

About 4 weeks ago I started having alot of heart palpitations. At first I would think, "ooooh, that was weird".  But after having it happen regularly for over a week, I called the Dr.  She put me on a 24 hour holter monitor to record my heart beats last week; today I just got the results.  Apparently I'm having 3 PVC's (premature ventricular contractions) per hour.  She said that was a pretty significant number but they can occur in healthy people.  She is just concerned because she wants to know why this is suddenly happening to a seemingly healthy 41 year old. (sigh) 

So now she is setting me up for a stress test to monitor how my heart reacts when I exercise.  I guess it will be a better indicator if these palpitations are harmless or related to heart disease.  She informed me that there is a 50% false-positive result with the test; so I should not freak out if she calls me to say I failed.  If I do fail, I will then go on for a Thalium test.  But 1 step at a time. (bigger sigh)...

Anyways, sitting here very aware of my beating heart right now & feeling all funny.  Can't help going to that place of "what if" but trying so hard to stay positive.  ~~Could really use some comforting words right now, because the ones I'm typing in this journal aren't helping a bit.

...just scared    

Pet Peeve

Because I have nothing deep or witty to say, I'll write about one of my pet peeves.  I was just reminded of this pet peeve while preparing chicken for supper last night.  I do love to cook, but before starting, I have to pull the batteries out of the smoke detectors because I always set them off.  When my son hears the smoke alarm go off, he says...."Oh good, Mom's cooking".

First let me start off by saying, that I am so thankful to live in a country where I can buy my chicken with beaks and feet not attached.  Don't want to sound ungrateful.  Hmmm, maybe I shouldn't complain, but hey, it's my journal and I'll complain if I want to, dammit! ...lol...

Why OH WHY does the poultry industry feel the need to stuff the innards back into a chicken or turkey?  Seriously, who actually eats those things?  I have heard of people making gizzard stuffing (what the hell is a gizzard?), and how many gizzards do you need to make a stuffing?  And the neck? OMG, I can't help but imagine some frustrated poultry farmer telling an uncooperative chicken, "come here or I'll break your neck and stick it where the sun don't shine!"  I've tried different ways of getting that bag of organ goodies out of the chicken cavity.  Besides my usual method of shutting my eyes and reaching in blindly, then slinging the disgusting mess into the sink; I've tried rinsing it out with the force of cold water, not very effective.  I've even tried using tongs but that requires that you keep your eyes open.  Heck, I've even hung it like a pinata & smacked the !!@%?! out of it.  I suggest wearing protective eye wear if you try this method.

Well, I for one am not going to do it anymore.  Yes, me "Michelle, the middle child peace-maker who goes with the flow" rebels!  I will no longer stick my hand into that slimy, cold, samonella laden poultry cavity.  I now cook all my chickens and turkeys stuffed; because that little pouch of grossness stays right where it was unceremoniously placed.  Ok, so Martha Stewart I'm not.  But hey, at least I'm not looking at any jail time. : )

My Night At The Fair

My night at the fair ended up being quite enjoyable.  Before we left I had a pounding headache, so I wasn't really into going at all.  Actually wished I could have just curled up in my bed and gone to sleep.  Instead I popped a few tylenol, loaded the gang in the car and departed.  When we got to the fair we gave our 15 yr old some money & off he went with his best friend.  Teens are funny creatures, still needing us more than ever, yet easily embarrassed if seen out in public with their parents.  We only saw him two other times during the night. #1) to get more money #2) when it was time to go home.  

I just love fairs at night.  With all the lights, smells of greasy foods & noises.  It was fun watching the lil one's reactions to everything.  They watched in what was a combination of uncertainty & delight.  I rode with them on the carousel, oh, what memories it all brought back from my childhood.  Mike & I both rode with them on the little train in Kiddie Land.  We sat in the seats with our knees hitting our chins & I do think the train was maxed out on it's weight limit.  Talk about the little train that could.  I swear I heard the train let out a sigh of relief when we got off, lol.

Sammi (2) ate her first corndog and LOVED it.  Mikey kept trying to grab a piece for himself but only managed to eat some of the breading.   Probably a good thing seeing he still only has 6 teeth.  We saw a 1,330 lb pumpkin, a huge sand sculpture, played a few games & scurried past the cows that had their tails lifted in anticipation of doing, well, what cows do best. (I'm NOT talking about moo'ing, lol).   We all left the fair at 10pm happy & exhausted. 

~~But what I want to know is, how the heck did we spend $140 on two scrawny animal prizes & a couple of corndogs?

It's Not Fair!!

It's not fair that everytime I decide to stay up late, one of the babies decide it's time to get up at 3am.  It never fails and last night was no exception.  I happily flopped into bed around 1:30am, and Mikey (1) decides it's time to get up at 2:48am. I stared at the alarm clock thru blurred eyes in disbelief & muttered a few words that I'm sure will keep me off the *Mother of the Year* awards list.   I think babies are born cute for a reason.  I do believe if they weren't so cute, moms half crazed from sleep deprivation would eat their young more often, lol.  

So here we are this morning.... Mikey is all bright eyed & bushy tailed; happily babbling to himself in a language that no one but perhaps the family dog understands.  While I sit here sipping my 2nd cup of coffee counting down the hours until nap time. 

                         Hmmmmm, suppose NOW is too early? : )~

Seeing the World again...

At age 41, I once again am blessed to see the world thru a child's eye.... 

My lover, My best friend....

On our honeymoon April 2002....  

(I was 5 months pregnant with our son Mikey)

My 1st journal entry....

With my 2 year old daughter dancing along to the Wiggles & my 1 year old son still sleeping I've decided to try and write my 1st entry.... This could be a very short lived first attempt, lol.  Private time is at a premium these days & so precious. Calgon take me away!!!   Having trouble even going to the bathroom alone. (Yeah, yeah more information than you needed, lol).  I'm not sure how I feel about having a journal online & am feeling a bit self conscious at the moment. But writing has always been very therapeutic to me, so I'm going to give this a shot.  Hopefully as time passes, I'll care less about who may be reading this.

Last night we were supposed to go to the fair, gotta LOVE that fair food!  We never made it because I had a holter monitor put on yesterday to record my heart for 24 hours. I thought that having the monitor would be no problem.  I foolishly envisioned it would be a small discreet box.  Well, can we say MUCH bigger than imagined with 4 different colored wires hanging out?  Talk about feeling self conscious!  The hospital told me if I go in public I should cover it; people get nervous these days due to terrorism.  So that comment sealed my fate.  We'll go to the fair on Weds. when I'm free of this contraption.  Weird how you never think about your heart unless something funky begins to happen with it.  Anyways for the past 2 weeks I've been having heart palpitations, not a clue why.  It's just the strangest sensation to feel your heart skip a beat or flutter....  

The Dr. asked if I had any stress in my life. Hahaha...with a teenager & 2 toddlers why would anyone think that??   Well, I hear my life calling me (That would be my 1 year old from his crib).  First entry accomplished.  ***whew***

                                ~~Until next time