The "NO" Mom

It's Not The 90's Anymore...Unfortunately

2011-04-25T22:20:00.000-04:00

My kids are all public school children...for now. While I love the time alone from September to mid-June, I get a rude awakening when I hear stories about some of the young middle school girls in my daughter's home room. What I thought was a better environment for my child is turning out NOT to be. When I hear "Sydnie is one of the good girls at school and there are only like 5 of us!" I cringe and want to keep her home, locked in her room until she is 21. When I see marks on the arms of 12yr olds that are from a game called "Eraser", I am reminded of what I used to do only I was in high school. What ever happened to sleepovers, prank calling, bloody Mary and toilet papering people's houses? Now there's sex, drugs, smoking and running away before you even get out of middle school!

Like I wrote before, I'm not a perfect mother or wife, nor do I try to be, but I DO strive to raise my children to the best they can be. I want them to succeed in life, not fail. They walk out the door in the morning KNOWING that if they EVER do anything like what these girls and boys in middle school are doing (smoking, sneaking out in the middle of the night, talking nasty to their parents, even "making out" with the opposite sex because they think they can) that I will personally sign their death certificate and hand it to the coroner then throw myself in jail! I know what I did as a teenager and I was NOT nice to my mom all the time, but I did NOT disrespect her the way these kids do. If I were to ever speak to my mother the way I hear some of these kids speak to their parents, I would have false front teeth right now. If I came home with eraser burns at the age of 12, I'm pretty sure she would have done something equally as drastic. Again, I wasn't perfect then, but I had respect and I teach my children respect...even if I have to threaten bodily harm. (I kid...kinda)

With that said, I am really thinking about pulling my children and home schooling them if we do not get transferred out of Norfolk or if we do not sell this house and move somewhere "safer" or more up to my "standards". I'm not quite sure what my standards are, but I just don't want my 12yr old being one of the ONLY good girls in school. I'd like her to have a lot of people she can rely on, not just a select few. And I don't want to feel like I have to be afraid of becoming a grandmother in the near future just because these girls are so so very influential. Ugh. Being a mom is really hard work. Anyone want my job?

I Don't Have To Be Perfect

2011-04-19T20:40:00.001-04:00

Over the years, mostly the past 7yrs of being a "housewife", I have often been jealous of fellow mothers and the neat and tidiness of their homes when I would visit for playdates or get togethers. It always made me feel like less of a person because I couldn't be that neat and clean, always dust-free, not a speck of food on the counter. As I got older, the feeling got worse and grew into a sort of phobia. I really didn't like the super clean freaks to come to my house because I didn't want to be judged by how much dust was on my TV stand or how many kool aid stains were on the kitchen counter.

I've always kept my house CLEAN, but there has always been clutter somewhere in plain sight. To the average OCDer, my house would drive them to the looney bin. In order for there not to be dust on things, I would have to dust every single day and, well, that's just not gonna happen. In order to get rid of all the stains on my kitchen counters and floor, them bitches have to be replaced and unless someone can give us $10,000...that isn't happening either.

I am a housewife, yes, and keeping house is my "job", but it is not my life. I have 3 beautiful children to tend to as well as 3 dogs, a pool, friends, a husband, school, my crafting business and whatever else my happy butt wants to do. I'm not perfect in any way, shape or form, but I think if I can keep my house clean, free from mice (another post in it's own!!) and pests and do the laundry so the people who live here don't stink when they leave, I am doing my job. I am a mom and mom's don't have to be perfect.

*_*Rachelle*_*

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Day 10...Who's Laughing Now?! (my homework)

2011-03-25T20:15:00.000-04:00

It is coming to the end of the 10th day of being off the "crack". I DID have to log on and post to some people to get addresses for my Pay-it-Forward 2011 gifts and once today to tag one of my Pay-it-Forward 2011 recipients and boy did I get crap from one of my friends JUST for doing that! All that matters is that I went a FULL WEEK without even rolling my cursor over that word even once! And if anyone knows my routine they would know the first thing I do after clicking on the Safari circle is to click on the "crack" button. I proved to my mother and my husband and to my disbelieving friends that I could stay away for longer than 3 days. (Ass holes) Even if I did log on, it wasn't to update my status, check up on my friends or do anything but ask for some addresses and post some pictures. Before my sabbatical I was on there all day long. I sat at my computer from the time I got up until I went to sleep taking breaks only to take and pick up kids from school and to make dinner. Occasionally I would clean up, do some laundry, run a mop over my floors, but I neglected so much. I napped every day because I used my eyes so much on the damn computer.

In the 10 days I have been off I have gotten caught up on house work and sewing, laundry ~~can kiss my ass~~ is always backed up and school work... I've been doing so much around the house that (like how I changed the subject?!) I have been falling asleep sitting up watching TV with my husband by about 2200 every night. It's sad, really. When I was on the "crack" I could stay up all hours of the night. Huh. Kinda like the real thing! In 4 short days my 2 week sabbatical will be up and I will be back on the "crack", updating and posting as usual. Probably not on like I used to because my house smells MUCH better when I take care of it and so do my kids!(Kidding) I will probably give myself a schedule and include blogging as part of my computer time. Gots to keep my 7 followers up to date on my "crack" usage!

4 Days, 5 POUNDS!!

2011-03-19T09:30:00.002-04:00

I never thought that taking a sabbatical from Z-crack would allow me to lose weight! I have been off the Z-crack, a.k.a. Facebook, for almost 4 days and have lost 5 pounds as of this morning! I was so astonished that I even changed the battery to be sure. Shoot, this just might be worth the 14 days away from all the maddness! My house is clean, dishes are done, floors swept...

Some ask why I am doing this and my answer: because I can. Honestly, because I am going to be super busy next week and want to prep myself for not being ABLE to be online at all for the whole week. I have 1 day the whole week when I am not doing anything and that is Friday. I think I will plan to drink some wine! Monday is ball practice, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are medical appointments for the kids so yes, yes, yes, Friday is definitely a wine day!

It helps that I have things to keep me busy. I am, however, behind on my schoolwork...STILL. That is the one thing I wanted to keep up with. I am sad that I haven't kept up with it. I just can't get into the groove of "Investment Planning' and all the formulas. I have a study plan, but it just isn't interesting enough for me to sit down when I have an extra hour or two. I'd rather watch a few episodes of Bones or Days of our Lives or play some Angry Birds on my iPod. I have priorities, sheesh!

4 days down...10 more to go!

Facebook Sabbatical...

2011-03-16T22:23:00.000-04:00

This is day 1 of my facebook sabbatical and I must say I have done a damn good job at it! I feel like I am out of the loop, but I have to remember that there WAS life before Mark Zuckerberg's crack. I got quite a bit done today without my Z-crack but with the help of my liquid crack 5hr Energy and Amp. Yep, I found a new love! YAY! I didn't do ANY homework, just HOUSEwork but shit, my HOUSE needed it. The homework can wait. I have a ton of things on my "to do" list and I have only crossed off like 2 out of the ton.

I started my day by shopping for cleaning supplies. While there I found some cute bags on clearance that I immediately got an awesome craft idea for for my girls and 2 of their friends. Once home, I turned on my tunes and cleaned the bathroom, organizing and throwing away 1 bag of ~~shit I hoarded~~ crap, cleaned and organized the area I call the pit of ~~more shit I hoard~~ missing things getting 2 more bags of crap and 1 bag of flat sheets (who uses those things anyway?) to send to Salvation Army. I then took a break to work on my awesome craft idea. I embroidered the kids' names on the bags for impromptu gifts! How exciting! By the time I was done, it was time to get the kid. When we got back I finished folding and putting away the sheets, checked all my email (perused the internet), yelled at the boy to finish his homework then loaded everyone into the van for free kids meal night at Hooters!

After Hooters, we came home. The kids fed the dogs and wrote Uncle Mike letters, dad did homework and I cleaned the kitchen...like REALLY cleaned it. I threw out another bag of ~~shit I hoarded~~ crap! Swept and mopped the floor, put everything in its place and set the dishwasher to start at midnight...to save energy. I then sat here reading Craigslist ads like I used to, BEFORE Zuckerberg Crack.

1 day down...13 more to go. I can DO this.

Christmas Giveaway Event - 4K in Prizes!

2010-11-01T16:54:00.000-04:00

Christmas Giveaway Event - 4K in Prizes!

This is an AWESOME giveaway! Just click on the link to go to the page and ENTER!! It will be worth it...especially to the winner, who will be winning over $4,000 in prizes! All the prizes can be viewed at http://faithfullyfrugal-and-free.com/giftguide2010/ Good luck and HAPPY ENTERING!!!

Well You Got To Have...

2010-10-07T23:38:00.000-04:00

...Faith. God has been on my mind a whole lot lately. There are so many things going on in my life that I have turned to Him for guidance. Some days I feel like He is listening, other days I feel my prayers are falling on deaf ears. My mom always told me that God doesn't give us more than we can handle and He is always there to pick us up when we fall...then why do I feel like I have fallen and no one has picked me up yet? I know that not all prayers are answered, I get that, but sometimes it seems like NONE of mine are and that's hard on the Faith! Believe me, I have more faith than most mothers of 3, but I sometimes have a hard time BELIEVING. Is that wrong? There are times I wonder what it would be like to be Jewish, Hindu, Mormon, a Buddhist...just something other than Christian. I wonder if the prayers are the same even though the God is different. I wonder if believing in another God would get more of my prayers answered. I KNOW I shouldn't feel this way if I have a strong FAITH in my creator, but I do. I believe there is a higher being, but I am not sure that I am praying to the right one. How can I find my way? I feel lost. It puts a big hole in a part of my life I thought was filled. I need to step back and take a look at my history with God and Jesus and whomever else I prayed TO as a Catholic child. My beliefs are...well, I think they are confused. I'm not sure what to do. My strong faith in a higher being is really messing with me. I don't like feeling this emptiness when I should feel FULL. Something is missing...something is WRONG...something just isn't me.

I have NO motivation or reasoning behind how I am feeling. I just woke up feeling like this...or maybe going to this new church and new denomination 2yrs ago just wasn't what I needed. I have no motivation to complete certain things in my life that are concrete like going back to my seasonal job, finishing school, getting my business going, teaching those angels at church. I know I CAN do it all, I just don't WANT to. Where did it all go? That motivation to DO, HONOR, SERVE??

I love every aspect of my life EXCEPT this awful feeling of emptiness. I need somewhere to turn...any suggestions?

Lookin' For a NEW Name...

2010-09-05T17:08:00.000-04:00

Ok fellow followers and bloggers, it is time for me to change my blog name. Yes, I say no alot to my kiddos, but I want something catchy and up to date. I NEED something that fits me and makes me WANT to write more. I am going to attempt to fit blogging into my daily routine. If not every day, every OTHER day. I want to get my thoughts out of my poor brain instead of keeping them couped up. It sucks to have so much to write or say but I just don't do it. I wanna do it! So, I want to ask my followers/readers to help me out...help me pick a name! I will leave this open for a few days and then pick a winner. The winner will get some sort of gift, haven't decided on that just yet, but I am crafty, so we shall see!

So, what do YOU think my blog should be named? Get creative!

Save Money, Save Time, Save Your Sanity

2010-08-30T18:45:00.000-04:00

Saving money is fun, most of the time. Figuring out HOW to save the money is the not-so-fun part. When we made the decision to stop cable, I figured it out that we would be saving a little over $100 a month. So what to do with this extra cash? Well, we decided to go ahead and "invest in" the school lunch program. Wouldn't you know it, the total for 3 kiddos is a little over $100 a month! When figuring lunches INTO our monthly budget, I figured that we would actually SAVE with them eating school lunch. How? Well let me break it down for you!

We have 3 kids so I am going to do this for 1 child then multiply it by 3 at the end.

Juice/drink - Most juice comes in a 10-pack and runs about $2 a pack. 1 child would use 5 juices per week, 20 juices per month so 2 10-packs or $4 per month for 1 child. ($12 for 3)

Sandwhich - Now, depending on what you send, this can be pricey, so let's stick to good old PB&J! The average loaf of bread costs around $2 a loaf and has about 20 slices of bread. 1 child would use 2 slices per day, 10 slices per week, 40 slices a month, so about 2 loaves or $4 per month for bread for 1 child. ($12 for 3)

Peanut butter can be bought for roughly $4 a jar and that jar should last 1 child 1 month or more. With my 3, I can get away with 2 jars a month so $8 a month for PB.

Jelly. Ugh. $2 or so per container that will probably last 1 child a week, maybe 2. So say you have to buy 3 jars of jelly per month, that's $6 a month for Jelly for 1. ($18 for 3)

Fruit - Depending on what is in season, fruit can be expensive. Bananas last about a week for 5, apples last a whole lot longer and oranges, well, oranges are super exspensive here so we only get them in the summer! Let's go with apples. They come in singles, 3lb and 5lb bags. Most economical would be the 5lb bag and that will run you about $6. There are about 9-12 apples in that bag but we will go with the lower. If you have 1 child, the bag will last you 2 weeks so 2 bags, 1 month, $12. (My 3 $36 per month)

Snack - Crackers are a hit, especially goldfish, and sometimes I allow cookies. My kids are stingy, but for economical purposes, we are going to keep with 1 snack and go with the cheapest, crackers. A 10-pk of crackers runs about, as the others, $2 and will last 2 weeks for 1 child. So that means 2 10pks for 1 month equals $4 a month for 1 child. ($12 for 3)

Totals - School lunch runs $32 a month for elementary school and $35 a month for middle school. I can tell you now that it is a S-T-E-A-L! Anyway, for a family with 1 child to pack a lunch every day, the food alone would run you about $34 a month. This doesn't include lunch bags, sandwich bags, anything extra like spoons for yogurt or pudding or if you have lunch meat instead of PB&J. For 3 kiddos, and MY kiddos at that, it would run around $98 per month plus all the bags, spoons and extras.

All-in-all, it may seem like we aren't saving anything by making the kids buy lunch at school, but we really are. We are saving a TON, including my sanity. I cannot tell you how many times in the past few years I have had to run a lunch to school for it being left in the van or a sandwich was left on the counter or the kids forgot to mention we ran out of juice until 5 minutes before we had to leave for school so they had to buy milk anyway. It's easier, cheaper and saves me from worrying if my 2nd grader is going to tell his teacher he left his lunch at home when it's really in his backpack just so he could have pizza and I could owe the cafeteria $1.75 at the end of the week.

The Girl Who Has Everything...

2010-08-22T23:00:00.000-04:00

I've always loved Ariel, you know, that red-headed princess from that one Disney movie? She reminds me of myself, not ONLY because she keeps a cave full of "treasures", but because she lives in the ocean, has a semi-spastic best friend who listens to everything she says and is in love with a handsome prince. (Not that my husband is a prince, but he IS handsome!) Ah, who am I kidding? Ariel and I are alike because I, too, want more!

I want a better paying job, a bigger house, no bills, a better sex life but most of all, I want my child to be okay. See, she has always been "off", ever since she was able to throw her bottle at me when she was done with it. The doctors call it "flinging". Now "flinging" is supposed to cease with most children by the age of 3 but with my daughter, well, she still flings! Unfortunately when she does, it is usually in anger and it usually means she is flinging something to break it. My child is currently being evaluated for ADHD and bipolar disorder. She has been evaluated in the past, but she was too young for a definitive diagnosis. Some problems have come to light recently so we have decided to move ahead with further testing.

The problems doctors are having with diagnosing GIRLS with ADHD is that they don't show the "H" part as outwardly as boys do. Their "H" can include such things as chewing on their hair or clothing, talking excessively or out of turn, being "too bossy" to their friends or siblings, messiness, not finishing their work, not being able to follow simple tasks without step-by-step instruction. I can tell you all, from experience, that most, if not all of the above, happens in my house DAILY and it is frustrating. There was a point in time when my daughters sudden rage, which is a symptom of the bipolar, was so bad, it threatened our marriage. She would throw herself off her bed onto the hardwood floor and "promise to break a bone so" we would go to jail. It was a nightmare to hear that come from a 4yr old!

She has been to a therapist before, been evaluated before, been on medication before and I didn't like any of it because of my strong belief that children should not be medicated. I adjusted her diet (and ours) so that we could go medication-free and it had worked for 5+ years...but it is no longer an option. Hormones will soon play a huge role in her life and will start to make ALL of our lives a living nightmare. We can already tell the diet isn't helping, the rage is back, the inattentiveness, sloppiness, bossiness...it's all quickly returning. I am a scared mom right now. I want to be the girl who has everything, you know, Ariel? But I can't when my baby is hurting so bad mentally.

Saving Money, Going Crazy

2010-08-17T16:56:00.000-04:00

This weekend the hubs and I decided that we were going to go ahead and cut out some things in our lives that we don't "need". Some of these things we don't really "use" and some of these things we have exchanged for other things. We have decided to rid our lives of the awful burden of a $100+ cable bill! Go head and show me your bug eyes! Yes, $100 is the amount we shall save a month cutting out the cable. We will add Netflix for a mere $8.99 a month so we can stream movies and other things on our TV via the Wii, rent movies and watch them on our DVD player and watch our other shows and the such via Hulu and FanCast. Both offer streaming video of all your favorite TV shows, soaps, some movies, etc., and it is...now hold on to your britches, everyone...FREE!!!! WOO HOO! I love me some free! Right now our Netflix is on a free 31-day trial while we decide if it is what we want, but the hubs thinks it is a cool deal. We have watched a few movies as a couple and as a fam via the Wii and I got him all set up on Hulu today. I think once he sees that he can watch his shows whenever he wants and sees just how much moolah we are saving, he will think it is just as cool as I do...maybe.

The next thing on the list was the house phone. It costs right around $16 a month plus whatever the kids use in long distance. So, we decided to "add a line" to our cell plan. We get unlimited any cell to any cell, 1500 anytime minutes that the hubs and I never use because everyone we know uses a cell (FREE calls!!)so all the minutes would be for the kids to call their friends since our family has cell phones and that would be FREE! (There's that word again!! LOVE IT!) Anyway, to add a line, it is a straight up $19.99 a month, no extra fees and since we already had an extra phone I didn't even have to buy one. I activated some security features on the phone that it already had on it like disabling data, limiting the number of numbers they can call and locking texting so they CANNOT TEXT!!

All in all, I think that we are going to end up saving a total of $116 per month, that makes it $1,392 per year! Heck yeah! WOO HOO!! Guess I'll have to sneak it into a Christmas fund or maybe even into the Scottrade...WTC was I thinking?!?! Christmas fund it is!

You Say I'm A Dreamer

2010-08-12T13:00:00.000-04:00

But I am definitely not the only one! Everyone dreams every night whether you remember them or not! I recently purchased The Dream Dictionary, which is an online dream dictionary put together by the lovely Lauri Loewenberg. I have been interpreting my own dreams with The Dream Dictionary since I purchased it (lifetime membership for a 1-time fee of just $9.95!) about a month or so ago. I guess I should say that sometimes I am astounded by my dreams and what they tell about my "inner self"! I thought telling my thoughts, opinions and rantings to my 2 best friends was enough until last night when I dreamt about bathrooms. You know what the dictionary says about bathrooms??? Here's a snippet..."Bathroom/Restroom/Washroom: Do you need to cleanse yourself of negativity or frustration or a negative behavior? If the bathroom is filthy or unusable (the ones I was trying to use were all "occupied"), then you are not properly relieving your frustrations. You probably tend to hold in your thoughts or opinions when something is bothering you rather than relieving yourself of it. This dream is showing you that your psychological plumbing is backed up because you are not properly flushing away that which bothers you. In other words: Don't hold in your "crap" or you're gonna start to stink!!" SERIOUSLY??????? Because last time I checked, I unloaded on my friends DAILY! Guess that means I need to "take a dump" more than once a day! MAN! That's a whole lot of "bathroom" time!

Next up was...the cat. This cat was a beautiful, black cat and it just kept staring at me! Anyone that knows me, knows I DESPISE cats, but this one was so beautiful! It was starting to creep me out though because everytime I came out from another set of "occupied" bathrooms, it was just sitting there, with its accusing eyes, staring. I didn't understand the dictionaries interpretation so I asked Lauri, on Facebook, what it meant and she said "Look at your intimate life first. Cats in a woman's dream often refer to her sexuality, sometimes even her reproductive self. It is looking at you because it represents something in your life that needs attention. Is there anything you need to become independent from?" Obviously I need to fix my female parts but I cannot, for the life of me, figure out anything I need to become independent from! Anyone have a clue? Food maybe? I sure am dependent upon food!!!

Anyway, another big part of my dream was the big picture window. Can ya guess what a window means in a dream? It's your perception of things and your ability to see through barriers. I can totally see through barriers! Especially those of my friends...you know, the friends from my last post that are going through tough times? Divorce is a pretty big barrier in SOOOO many ways. The final part of my dream with a meaning was the mansion but, just because I can, I'm going to leave it to you all to find out the meaning of the mansion!

So, next time you wake up in the middle of the night from a nightmare or have that sexy dream about Justin Bieber (BAHAHAHAHAHAHA!), head on over to The Dream Zone and say hello to Lauri!

Happy Dreaming!

I Pretty Much Suck

2010-08-10T10:16:00.000-04:00

It has been another 6 months since my last awful post about being fat. Still fat, went on vacay fat and, I think, I will always carry this extra 20lbs no matter what I do. I just love to eat. Dieting isn't my "style". Anyway, I was thinking (I do that only while in the shower) that Facebook and Myspace just aren't the places to post the things I want to say about my friends, family, enemies...and that I really need to start updating this thing to keep peeps in the loop about MY life, my friends' lives and start posting funny stuff here and stupid stuff on Facebook! HA! Plus, last night when I was waiting for the children's camp to post an update on my ~~heathens'~~ kiddos' first day at camp, I ran across my good friend's blog and was flabbergasted to see she is getting a divorce and I HAD NO CLUE!!! I mean, we ARE friends...at least I thought so. (insert sad crying face here) Anyway, since I am never I here, I didn't know so I decided I need to be on here more! Plus I like to write smartallic things and what a better place than blogger?!

Turning Over a New...

2010-02-26T14:35:00.000-05:00

...fat roll? OMG! Girl Scout Cookies, Valentine Candy, Christmas food, Thanksgiving...OH MY! I think I have gained a whole person since November! I have ordered the P90X program and plan on starting it NOW (rather as soon as I get it in the mail) so that I have my ~~bikini~~ swimsuit body by the summer. I am trying to lose about 30-ish pounds by the end of May/beginning of June. I am taking a week vacation to Florida with my family in June so I want to look ~~hot~~ SMOKIN'! I am hoping to be able to get the ~~guts~~ ~~balls~~ nerve to start a sort of progression blog to help me keep up. I am just afraid that you all will ~~scream in terror~~ laugh at me when you see my "before" picture. I have such a horrid fat roll. UGH! Oh well. I guess I will have to bite the bullet and just post it...once I get up the nerve to let my husband see me half nekkid!

TTFN,

Candle Safety: A Lesson Well Learned

2009-11-13T18:18:00.000-05:00

Just a little wake up call to all of us who use candles for light and on a daily basis for scent...BE CAREFUL! Our neighbors were using them because we had no power most of the day yesterday and weren't expected to get our power back until tomorrow night. Around 1030a this morning, an unattended candle was the cause of this...

What they didn't lose to this fire, I am sure they will have to replace because of smoke and water damage. From the time they called 911 to the time the firefighters were on scene it took about 10 minutes and we are about 2 minutes from a fire station. This was a fire that used fire fighters from 6 stations!! And it only took the fire about 15 minutes at most to look like these pictures.

Fortunately for us, we got our power back, but only because DOM had to come out and cut the lines to their house after the fire was out so they just stayed and fixed the lines in our neighborhood. My son calls the Norfolk Firefighters "heroes". Today, to him, they were since they saved our house and put out the fire next door so quickly.

Stay safe!

My Crafty Blog...

2009-06-26T11:09:00.004-04:00

...coming soon!

I think I need to start a NEW blog and advertise my crafts on there. I am not sure WHEN I will start it, but I am thinking about it soon. I got a new MAC Book since my horrid little PC took a nose dive into PC crap land and I am learning the ins and outs of this wonderful piece of machinery! It is so beautiful and yeah, I am in love all over again! Anyway, here are a few examples of what I have for "sale" and what I am making and can make. Hairbows mostly but I do blankies too and some other novelties as well. (Crayon caddies and stethoscope covers and bible covers...you get what I mean?) Sooo, here you go!

Bumblebee Hair clip

Patriotic Pony

I have more and plan on adding them to my new blog. Watch out bloggysphere!!

TTFN,

To Hell In A Diva Purse

2009-01-11T20:14:00.005-05:00

Originally posted at www.tidewatermommies.com by me but had to share with my blogger friends as well! :) Enjoy!

Last night I "hosted" my daughter's 10th birthday party which just so happened to be her first ever sleepover. She invited 10 girls from her class and 1 girl from the neighborhood and 6 from her class came as well as the girl from the neighborhood. Ages ranged from 9 to 12. The girls started to arrive promptly at 5pm with their sleeping bags, bookbags, presents and cell phones...yes, CELL PHONES!!!!! I was in the kitchen finishing cooking the pizzas, covered in cake batter. I was totally exhausted from preparing. The last girl arrived around 6pm and we started the "festivities" at about that time with a Diva Toast...totally their idea. I bought ginger ale and root beer just to limit the amount of non-sleep inducing products in my home. I was hoping to get to sleep around 1am. :D Next was cupcake decorating, followed by another Diva Toast. We then did presents, more Diva Toasts, then ice cream with several Diva Toasts. They then wanted a shot at being an American Idol. Oh boy. 7 out of the 8 girls played 2 rounds and were done. That was it for them, they were bored.

They then went downstairs to chat. It got EXTREMELY loud so I went on down to check it out and they were down there beating the crap out of each other with their pillows. That's fine and dandy, but they were aiming for heads and heads only!!! REALLY?? Can't you get some kind of head injury or something? I let them beat on each other for a bit because I was still hoping for that 1am bedtime and it was only 730pm. :) About an hour later, the first bout of crying began. :lol: Of course the first girl to cry was my kid and I know how much of a drama queen she is so I stifle my laugh when she says she is upset because no one wants to play with her. Then the next girl comes up and says one of the other girls said she didn't like her and that was why she was crying. The night continued on like that, one girl crying, then two until finally I had had enough and called them all in for a "Diva Mom Chat". :lol: :lol: :lol: By this time my blood pressure was probably so high I should have been confined to my bed, but I couldn't find my BP monitor to check it, I was so mad at these girls! :evil: It was 1130pm and super close to my 1am bedtime. :roll: I told them they needed to sit in front of me and discuss their problems right now before they could get up. Then all Diva Hell broke lose. All the Divas started to cry about how they missed their parents who were out to sea or their dad who was a deadbeat oh and one girl even told all the girls about how she missed her mom because she didn't like living with her dad but she didn't have a choice cuz her mom was IN JAIL!?!?! Finally I thought I had got it through to them that it was time to settle, be nice and chill.

OH HELL NO! Not 15 min had passed and they were at it again!!! This time they were slapping each other! :shock: :shock: Supposedly they were playing a game of some sort. I told them that had to stop before someone got hurt. At that point of the night I became the worst mother in the world because they all wanted to leave. (BTW, I tried movies, games and just letting them be....it sucked!) 1am came and went. 2am came and went. I fell asleep sometime between 1 and 2 and when I woke up there was an injured girl and TONS of girls screaming!! I get up and all I could smell was peanut butter. OMG. There was PB all over the place. :evil: :evil: It was on the floor and the walls and the sink...everywhere but where WE used to put it when we had sleepovers! I was finally pissed. There were 2 girls who were asleep, some who WANTED to sleep and some that just wanted to be...Divas is the word I will give them for now! So, I told Sydnie to pick 3 girls to come up with me to the living room and 3 BEGGED to come up so they could go to sleep. The other 4 slept in Sydnie's room, which is actually our gameroom. By now it is creeping up on 3am. Noise is still billowing from Sydnie's room and I yell down a few more times and it turns to whispers. The girls up with me can't sleep because the floor is way hard and I feel bad for them. Then the dog starts to snore so it is way harder for them to fall asleep. Finally, at 330a, the last girl falls off to Diva Wonderland, then Miss Lady Bird, my dog, decides she has to pee. YAY! I finally get to MY Wonderland around 4am, just in time for me to have to wake the Divas back up at 9am.

I have a before picture of all of them together, when the night was young. I wish I would have thought with my tired mind to take a picture of them the next day all tattered and tore up!!! :lol: :lol: Never again will I host a sleepover like that in my home. I will steal the idea of the mother who came to pick up one of the girls and rent a hotel room with an adjoining room! One January birthday down, one more to go.

My Diva at 3

My Diva NOW

I'm Ready (Post Written on Tidewatermommies.com)

2008-12-26T15:48:00.003-05:00

Ready to go back to Virginia
Ready to see my doggies...I miss them sooo much
Ready to sleep in my own bed
Ready to be able to hide in my own room, with no kids
Ready to eat my OWN food when I decide to cook it
Ready to be done with this nasty weather
Ready to be done with Christmas Vacation
Ready to be in MY home
Ready for January 15th...even if you DON'T have a place to live, you can live with me!!!!!!!! ;)
Ready for this deployment to end so the end of sea duty is closer
Ready to go to coffee with my VIRGINIA friends since these Ohio women all want to hibernate
Ready for my Costa Rican rum...anyone want to join me?

I've been ready to leave here since I left Virginia. This place is super depressing and just makes it that much harder to be here on top of being without my husband and my grandfather. Add the fact that my mother has been off work only two whole days since we've been here, Christmas Day being one of them, doesn't help. She works days so she goes to bed at like 9pm. They don't eat a normal dinner so I have to figure out what to cook here and be sure to make enough for my kids and my step-dad and whomever else decides to come over at dinner time. OH and then we were informed last night that the water softner (they have well water) broke and that is why my mom and I have been sick for the past 3 days. (We drink a TON of coffee) My son got sick shortly after we got here with strep and LUCKILY I found a little clinic that took Tricare Prime so we only paid $3 for the antibiotics. Christmas Eve day I cut my eye opening packages I had delivered here, but it is now healing nicely! But Christmas Day went amazingly well. My mother bought $150 worth of petit fillets (steak) and cooked them on the grill. She also made crab soup and my grandmother brough over shrimp and noodles and LOTS of sweets. There was other stuff too like potatoes and this bread stuff and...yeah, I'm getting hungry. Before my sister left we had our Christmas fight over how I discipline my children. She thinks I yell at my middle child more than the other two but it just so happens the middle child has acted out the most in front of "Aunt Shay" for attention. Anyway, it ended with her boyfriend and our step-sister interveneing by giving my sister money. That always shuts her up! LOL! The end of the night was laden with beer and cards and basketball. It was nice.

If you made it this far, I commend you. Guess I should have blogged this instead. Maybe I will since I haven't done that in a while! LOL! Here's all the grandchildren posing nicely in front of the tree. Aren't they just adorable?! :) Happy Holidays to all and I can't wait to get back to my home.

Friday Fiesta Foto Finish

2008-11-21T07:56:00.004-05:00

It's Friday again and a whole week just flew by me without a word. I know, I am a complete slacker, but what can I say! My husband is gone and juggling 3 kids who have taken a turn for the worse in the attitude department is really trying doing it on my own!! My health really sucks too so I tend to sleep half my day away and then spend the other half cleaning. Anyway, here is a cute picture of my son and his really cute mohawk. I let him do it once and he loves it. He looks just like his daddy! I hope you enjoy his picture as much as I enjoy taking them. Don't forget to head on over to Candid Carrie for FX4 today!!

TTFN,

Seven Things Sunday

2008-11-16T21:07:00.003-05:00

Because I have been slacking, I decided to steal a meme from my girl over at Diapers and Wine. It is 7 Things from Your First Month of Motherhood. Go grab a tissue because you are going to cry...from laughing so freakin' hard!

1. I became a mother the first time in January 1999. I flew home when Syd was just under a month old. From sunny San Diego to cold and snowy Ohio with a colicky infant, alone, non-stop and I forgot the formula and forgot to bring a winter coat for my newborn. Needless to say my mother thought ahead for me and was waiting at the airport with a winter coat and a warm bottle.

2. Syd was only 2 days old and she again, needed some formula because I ran out of the stuff from the hospital. (Had to supplement because she was a HUGE kid!) I knew I wasn't supposed to drive, but I was home alone, again, and really needed the formula. Off to Target I went. About half way through my 10 minute shopping trip I realized I really needed to "go" and thought I could hold it. Well, I couldn't and shat myself right there in line at Target. All I could do was stand in line and laugh my ass off.

3. My baby fit in a clothes basket softened with a pillow, slept in said clothes basket for the first month of her life because it was more convenient for me to keep her close while I cat napped on the couch between feedings.

4. I fell asleep with my baby on my chest while breast feeding only to awake to her on the floor...sleeping soundly. I'm a baaaaadddd mom!

5. Colic is just another word for bitchy baby, seriously. My kid screamed her head off non-stop for like the first 7 months of her life unless she was stuffing her face! And the doctor called it colic. WTF? How many different types of milk ARE there in this world?! I know which ones smell the worst that is FO SHO!

6. I lost all my baby weight and then some. (Mind you, I now have 2 more children so that is NOT the case!!)

7. When you decide to QUIT breastfeeding, DO NOT take a warm shower! Them bitches just start flowing alllll over again!!!

I hope you all enjoyed my little meme today. I am not going to tag anyone, but if you read this, go ahead and do it. Just for fun! Have a great week. I might be back later. :)

TTFN,

Friday Fiesta Foto Finish

2008-11-14T00:36:00.004-05:00

I haven't been posting alot. Mainly it is because the house has been sick. BOO! That and I have been hiding my laptop from myself so I can get some housework done. Anyway, today is FX4 day. I am sharing one of my favorite photos from my fabulous trip to Washington DC. These kids cracked me up trying to get on top of this poor statue. The foto was taken at the National Zoo. I must say I was completely disappointed in the zoo. 1/2 of it was closed the day (extremely cold day) we were there because they are building something for the elefants. Either way, the kids had fun with the animals we DID catch, especially this inanimate one! Enjoy and don't forget to stop on over to Candid Carrie's Place for Fiesta Friday!

Friday Fiesta Foto Finish

2008-10-31T00:09:00.004-04:00

Well it has been DAYS since I posted so I figured I would go ahead and do an FX4 for a post to catch you all up on where I've been. I decided to take the kiddos and head up to Washington D.C. for a few days. Yes, myself and 3 children all alone in a busy metropolitan area...I'm nuts. We had fun though. So I figured what a better picture than a picture of the infamous White House?! Mind you we were FAAAARRRR away from it. I just cropped and zoomed in to get it this close! Enjoy my pic and head on over to Candid Carrie for some more pics this Friday!! (Surely most of them will be about Halloween!)

Recovering...

2008-10-23T07:59:00.003-04:00

...from my BATW comment hangover! My goal for the rest of the week is to personally respond to the 50+ comments because, well, that is just what I want to do! Thanks to all who stopped by and know that I will definately be responding and maybe even travel to your neck really soon. Oh and thanks again Debbie for "making" me be a part of BATW yesterday. It was fun to get so many comments!

TTFN,

Virgin-i-a...Welcome BATW!

2008-10-22T00:00:00.000-04:00

Welcome all you Bloggers from BATW! This is Mama Roho from the great state of Virgin-i-a or VA or Virginia or whatever you want to call it. I am not originally from here as I was dumped here by the US Navy back in 2002 because, well, they had to put me somewhere and the USS McFaul needed another "Sailor" and I was "it". (I am originally from Ohio. GO BUCKEYES!!!) So I packed up my girls and my stuff and traveled cross-country from San Diego, California with my then-boyfriend and this is where we landed. And we have been here since. Oh what joy this great state has brought us. A marriage, another child, a dog, a home, another dog, lots of fish and equity, even in this awful "recession" we are having.

While Virginia is not a place I would PERSONALLY spend the rest of my dying days, it does have it's perks. You can go to the beach and the mountains in the same day...oh wait, that was in California. My bad. Wait, you CAN go to the mountains here in Virginia as well, you just have to travel about 7.5hrs to Virginia's highest "mountain" peak, Mount Rogers, which stands at an elevation of about 5,729ft. That just means that it is 5,729ft above sea level. Mount Rogers is actually considered a "summit" which, by definition is "In topography, a summit is a point on a surface which is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. Mathematically speaking, a summit is a local maximum in elevation." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summit (topography) Now that's no Mount Everest, but that is pretty high! (Which stands at a peak of 8,848ft at the highest!!)

There is a TON to do where I live in Virginia, especially going to the beach, like festivals! Oh my the festivals they have are DA BOMB! I enjoy the Greek festival in Norfolk that they have twice a year now! They also have a wine festival, rock-n-roll festival, beer festival, Harborfest, Neptune Festival, Kite Festival, Bayou Boogaloo, Sailfest, Latino Music Fest, Big Band Fest, Jazz Fest, More Ship Festivals, More alcohol festivals and a TON more music festivals and they go on all year long!!! Both beaches, Norfolk and Virginia Beach, host a variety of things. Norfolk Festevents is a great place to look for things if you are ever in the Norfolk area. Beach Street USA is the place to look for things to do in Virginia Beach.

There are museums everywhere, Naval Bases galore, stores on the beach, souvenirs, places to eat, people to meet, things to do...this place is the BEST place to vacation. Gee, now that I did all the research to pump up my towns, I think I might like it just that much more. :)

I hope you enjoyed your stay here and I hope you find Virginia a cozy little place to visit. If you are ever in the area and I am still here, email me and I will give you a little tour.

TTFN,

What's YOUR Blogging Personality?

2008-10-20T01:45:00.002-04:00

I saw this on a few blogs lately and decided I would steal and take the short quiz. It's kinda right so I will post my results. Enjoy and I will "see" you all later!

Your Blogging Type is Unique and Avant-Garde

You're a bit ... unusual. And so is your blog.

You're impulsive, and you'll often post the first thing that pops in your head.

Completely uncensored, you blog tends to shock... even though that's not your intent.

You tend to change your blog often, experimenting with new designs and content.

What's Your Blogging Personality?

Friday Fiesta Foto Finish

2008-10-17T01:13:00.004-04:00

Gettin' back in the grrrrooooove a little with a Candid Carrie FX4. Here we have my "Free Baby". She has always been the free-spirited of my kids. Never caring about what clothes she wears, if her hair is perfect (look at the pic!), or if she is with the "in crowd". She is her own self all the time. She always smiles at everyone and when she is by herself, you get this...a child deep in thought. Makes you wonder just what this little girl is thinking. She has extreme views for a child of only 7 1/2. She likes to watch the news and is very inquisitive. She wants to vote NOW even though she is too young! She is definately a hippy stuck in 2008.
So here's to you kid. Mommy loves you!

MacKenzie Free @ Mount Trashmore

First Annual SITS Blogathon!!

2008-10-14T00:00:00.003-04:00

WOOT! WOOT! Welcome to my blog if you are headed over from SITS or from a SITSta!! Feel free to browse my posts and pictures but be forwarned that I can have a bit of sarcasm in my bones! ;) Anywho, I must frist thank the SITStas Tiffany and Heather for making this site what it is. It has brought me some of the most WONDERFUL support people in the bloggy world. I never thought comments from perfect strangers could lift my spirits on a bad day or make me laugh so hard I almost pee my pants!! With that said and to keep with the rules, I am going to clue you all in on some of the lovely people I have "met" through SITS! Shall I begin with the person who introduced me to SITS? Why not!

Meet Jenna! She is my RL-never-met-you-before friend from my mommies website. (www.tidewatermommies.com) I originally "met" her on another mom site and then she joined ours. One day while reading one of her HILARIOUS posts I saw the pretty pink and brown icon for SITS and clicked on it. The rest is history. Check out Jenna! Leave her some love!!

Next is Lula from Lulaville! This woman corrupted me! A fellow Virgin-i-an, she has made me laugh, cry and laugh so hard I cried many times in my short bloggy life. She introduced me to the methliture (my word)or crackliture (her word) called The Twilight Series. She got me hooked on the Edward/Bella love story that has pretty much taken up my bathroom time! I ~~"lurk"~~ read her blog daily and do not know what I would do with out some Lula-crack.

Let us all head on over now to Candid Carrie! Another one of my favorite reads, Carrie is a momma of SIX children...SIX!...and she does it with such ease. She has an uncanny love for cats that I will NEVER understand and she hosts one of the BEST photo days on Blogger. At least I think it is the best! On top of all that, she is FUNNY! I love myself some funny blogs! SO, head on over to Candid Carrie and check her out!

Hmmm, who should I put next...let's see...ahhhh! How about Debbie from This is the life! Let me just say that this woman has amazing abilities! Not only does she post on her own regular blog, but she also hosts another blog called Blog Around The World. BATW is a super busy commenting blog. I don't know how she does it!! But she takes in people from literally all around the world and features them over there. On her regular blog, she makes me laugh with her quips about politics, people and her very own life. So, why not head on over to This is The Life and while you are at it, check out her other site too called Blog Around The World!

Now how about flying on over to Tale of a Kansas Girl and saying hi to Ronnica! I just love reading her blog. Some days her posts just calm my spirit. She is NOT afraid to speak her mind and her blog is comical and fun at times but she can also be serious. My current faves from her are her School Days posts. They take me back to when I was just a kid myself and some days, yeah, I need that. Soooo, click, click, click on over to Tale of a Kansas Girl and leave some love!!

Finally, just because I absolutely ADORE and am secretly jealous of her awsome blog layout, meet Kaycee from Life as a Mom at 21 22! I have only just started to read her blog this past week, but I am ADDICTED to her layout. It is pink and brown, my newly acquired favorite color scheme, and it just SCREAMS cuteness! Not to mention she has the most adorable 2yr old little girl AND is about to have another one here VERY soon! (If she hasn't by the time this posts!) So, you know the drill, go leave her love!

Well, that is all! Whew! I hope you got your commenting in and that you remembered to leave ME some love as well! Enjoy this SITS day and OH! Go on over there and check them out too! What a wonderful way to network and meet new people! The Secret really IS in the sauce!! ;)

TTFN,

Friends...

2008-10-10T21:52:00.004-04:00

Have you ever wondered if you were good enough to be someone's friend? Have you ever wondered why you put so much time into your friends just to get nothing in return? Have you ever taken a step back to look at your "list" of friends and wonder if your life would even sputter if certain people weren't in it? I have. Many times. I am doing it now. There are ~~people~~ friends in my life that I think I could just never talk to ever again and they either wouldn't care or wouldn't notice! How sad is THAT? I put forth the effort and get NOTHING, why should I? I am SICK of always "being there" yet when I am in need of someone to be there for me, everyone disappears! I must bitch WAY too much! Imagine that. Me, bitching too much!

I have a friend that I have known for almost 4 years now. I USED to tell this friend EVERYTHING about my life and she did the same. We talked and texted daily and if someone wanted to know where one of us was, they asked one of us because we always knew. I was there for her through some pretty rough times including her decision to have an abortion and a really horrible breakup with her boyfriend that landed ME on the phone for days on end, hours at a time, listening to her cry, bitch, get mad and then get drunk. She moved before all that and since then has visited a few times. During her visits she usually gets wasted and talks shit, hits on my husband (he loves it, no harm, no foul), becomes beligerant to the both of us and the next day acts like nothing happened. She NEVER remembers being a jerk just that SHE visited. That's fine, I get over it and we continue on with our relationship as always.

So, I haven't talked to her in a few months. She is usually the first one I call when I have a problem or if I need to cry but this time, when I found out about my heart problems, I didn't call her. I called Mrs Paruser because she has pretty much taken the place of the friend that moved away. Instead, I messaged her and asked if she could call me when she had a free hour and she said she would, today, Friday, in the afternoon after she got out of class. Well here it is, 10:15pm and the beloved friend has not called. Has not texted to even say "sorry, I lost track of time". Has not even messaged me to apologize and I GUARENTEE she won't. She probably forgot and will remember in a few days and will finally message me and say she will call when she gets a free minute. Well what the hell about all the free minutes I didn't really have when she had boyfriend troubles? And when she got done with her procedure? How about whenever we talk the conversation always ends up going to her. It is like she always has it worse than me and really, I would give anything to have her life at her age.

So I guess I am just tired of being put on the back burner all the damn time and that is why I have written off so many ~~people~~ friends in my lifetime. If I'm not put on the back burner, I am being back stabbed. Either way, I guess it is time for me to "watch my back" and start making another "hit" list.

TTFN,

Survey Saturday...Summer's End

2008-10-04T21:28:00.002-04:00

Kinda late with this one, but today was sorta busy. So, here's my survey for this Saturday! Enjoy!!!

Any summer crushes?
Just my hubby

Gone on vacation?
Does Annapolis for the weekend count?

Spend the night in a hotel with a friend?
Why yes! Kara and Brian and Balla and I

Did you go to any camps?
Nope

Did you have to take summer school?
Not in school

Did you get heartbroken?
Nope

Any fights with friends?
Not that I remember

Was your birthday over the summer?
Nope

Did you go to any parties over the summer?
Oh hell yeah!

What illegal things did you do?
None

Did you go over your minutes?
Probably. I usually do.

Did you go shopping?
A hell of a lot

Sing?
I love to sing

Did you go to a barbecue?
I think we had more BBQ's then went to them

Any friends really tick you off over the summer?
Oh yeah

What time did you usually go to bed?
Pretty friggin' late

What was the latest you ever stayed up over the summer?
All night long

What time did you usually wake up?
About 8a

Most memorable things about this summer?
Spending a ton of time with Balla

Who did you meet this summer?
Quite a few new people on TM

Did you have a job over the summer?
Nope

Lose something this summer?
Probably my mind

Did you go to any ice cream places?
Oh geez...Maybe

Did you get sick?
Yes

Go to a lake?
Uh...just to fish

How about a mountain?
Nope

What was the most expensive restaurant that you went to ?
The Grate Steak...Yummo!

Have you gotten your schedule for school yet?
Not in school...

Are you pleased with it?
N/A

Did you go see any new movies in the theater?
Oh yeah!

What was the most serious conversation you had about?
I would say either my daughter's eye or Balla's deployment

Anything personality wise and/or physically change this summer?
Nah. I'm still a sarcastic bitch!

Was this summer better than last summer?
Most definately!!!

Who are you dating?
I'm married to Balla

How is your heart lately?
HA! It's literally broken

Is your dad over the age of 40?
Yes

Do you have siblings over the age of 21?
Yes

Do you still talk to the person you fell hardest for?
I am married to him!

What are you looking forward to in the next days?
Waking up

Are you happy with your life?
Hell yeah I am

Have you ever changed your clothes while in a vehicle?
Um, yeah...it was interesting

Will you kiss the last person you kissed again?
Yep

Would you wanna trade lives with a famous person?
Hell no! Bank accounts, yes

Are you ready to get out of this town?
Norfolk, hell yeah!

When was the last time you went shopping?
Today

Are you wearing any jewelry?
My wedding ring, a sweet necklace made by Kiki and Lele with Balla's name on it and an amber anklet

What did you eat today?
Food

What are you doing tomorrow?
Taking 5 kids to the zoo

Is there anyone that you wish was out of your life?
Not at the moment

Last time you ate cereal?
Couple weeks ago

Do you have any tattoos or piercings?
3 tatts, 7 piercings

Did you hug or kiss anyone today?
My kids and my dogs ;)

Will you kiss anyone today?
Duh

Will you talk to the person you like on the phone tonight?
It is highly unlikely. He is in the middle of the ocean

What were you doing at 1am last night?
Sleeping for a change

Where was your default picture taken?
The one on here was taken at Fort Story

What woke you up this morning?
The bitter coldness of my room

How late did you stay up last night and why?
Until about midnight thirty just because I can

Do you like someone?
I LOVE my husband

Have you ever kissed someone whose name started with an S?
My sister! LOL!

How's your life lately?
Crazy, as always

Was yesterday a good day?
It was productive for a change

CLICK HERE TO TAKE THIS SURVEY!

Friday Fiesta Foto Finish AND A SITS Contest

2008-10-03T00:00:00.000-04:00

I missed one or two of these so I am back. Hopefully I won't miss Candid Carrie's FX4 again because I love sharing my photos! This week's photo is actually from Thursday night. It is two photos together because the first is Jayson looking under the table and I wasn't sure WHAT he was doing but I had to take pictures because last time he did that he found something disgusting and I DIDN'T have my camera out so here's him under the table Shortly after he pops his head up and smiles the biggest smile. The smile that can mean only ONE thingThe boy found money. Whenever we need to get him to smile, don't tell him to say "cheese" or "truck" or "ice cream" tell him to say "MONEY" and he will crack that smile.

Thanks to Candid Carrie for hosting FX4 as always. Get on over and play yourself. Oh and head on over to SITS and enter to win Photoshop Elements 7. It would be a GREAT tool to have for FX4 FO SHO! Not to mention SITS is an awesome blog for comment generation if you LOVE bloggy comments! Soooo, hit them both up!

Awareness Wednesday...Pectus Excavatum and MY Heart

2008-10-01T07:00:00.000-04:00

My Reasons To Live

I was born with a chest wall deformity called pectus excavatum or "sunken chest" syndrome. When I was a child, my mother was told that it would have little, if any, affect on me later in life. As I got older I was diagnosed with severe reverse "S" curve scoliosis. I also had problems with my breathing as my lungs started to get bigger in my small, sunken chest. Of course my bones would grow, but with the sternum sunk in, there was not much space for the lungs and heart and other organs.

Pectus excavatum occurs in an estimated 1 in 300-400 births, with male predominance (male-to-female ratio of 3:1). Imagine that! I'm a girl, just my luck. Some patients with pectus excavatum experience chest and back pain that is usually musculoskeletal in origin.

Pulmonary function

Doctors have observed that many patients with pectus excavatum tend to become symptomatic during their teenage years or early in adult life. Patients younger than 10 years who have pectus excavatum do not typically experience symptoms associated with shortness of breath. I began feeling my shortness of breath and difficulties when in high school during heavy exercise gym classes. I even spent 7 years in the military with decreased pulmonary function.

Cardiac function (All of this info is technical and here for a reason. You will see soon why. Please read it, it is informative for my disease.)

Displacement of the sternum in pectus excavatum can produce a deformity of the heart, with anterior indentation of the right ventricle. Early pathologic studies demonstrated this finding, and a series of early case reports included cardiac evaluations for patients with severe symptoms. Angiographic studies have demonstrated the sternal imprint on the anterior wall of the right ventricle.
Several studies have demonstrated limitation of cardiac stroke volume in patients with pectus excavatum, particularly in the sitting, or upright, position. When patients with pectus remain in the supine position (lying flat), no significant impairment to cardiac function is apparent. Further evidence has suggested that operative repair of pectus results in normalization of the cardiac function.

Physical

The hallmark of pectus excavatum is the caved-in appearance of the anterior chest. As mentioned above, the severity of the defect and the asymmetry of the chest widely vary. Patients may present with a very mild form of pectus excavatum or their sternum may be almost touching the spine. Typically, the lower third of the sternum is more involved, and the upper third may appear fairly normal. A compensatory anterior flaring of the lower ribs at each costal margin is also common. Many patients have associated scoliosis, but this is not directly related to the presence of pectus excavatum. My pectus is severe towards the middle and bottom. It crushes my heart and lungs but I do not think it touches my spine. At least not yet.

Auscultation of the chest: Heart sounds are typically displaced to the left side because of displacement and rotation of the heart. A click sound of mitral valve prolapse may be present. Lung sounds are clear, but the lung sounds may appear diminished at both bases because of decreased pulmonary volumes.
Pectus posture: The term pectus posture refers to the position assumed by most patients with significant pectus excavatum. They appear to create an anterior curvature of the thoracic spine with the shoulders slumped forward. Whether this is a subconscious maneuver to hide the chest wall deformity or a postural defect directly related to pectus excavatum is unclear. Such positioning of the spine appears to accentuate the pectus excavatum and can generate spine problems related to poor posture and inadequate spinal support. Correcting this posture is quite difficult, even after successful repair of the pectus excavatum.

Causes

The cause of pectus excavatum is unknown. It probably originates from a genetic defect that results in abnormal musculoskeletal growth. The cartilaginous portion of the rib is very likely the main source of this abnormal growth pattern. Abnormalities of rib morphogenesis and growth are the most likely causes of pectus excavatum and pectus carinatum. In pectus excavatum, the sternum is thought to be pushed in by abnormal growth at the articulation with the ribs and cartilage. Again, the exact mechanism that results in this abnormal growth pattern is not known. Increased work of breathing, as is observed in young patients during exercise or play activity, may contribute to the progression of the pectus deformity, particularly during early the teenage years. However, no scientific evidence supports such a theory. (Courtesy of eMedicine)

With all that medical mumbo jumbo said I come to my MIA status and why. (I am going to ASSUME a couple of weeks before my husband left this happened because it was the only time I really felt like crap.) I had been feeling overly tired lately and "off" so I decided to head on over to the doc and see what was up. I explained that I had thought I had a pulled muscle in my arm/shoulder and that the pain was in my chest too and it was making it hard to breathe sometimes. She didn't like my explaination nor did she like the way I looked. The nurse took my oxygen level because I was out of breath and it was 100%, my blood pressure was normal but they still wanted to do an EKG just to be "safe". I didn't care, I was just tired. Anything to lay down, it was easier to breathe and my chest didn't HURT when I was on my back. So they hook me up, do the test and the nurse looks at it, asks how old I am and then says she'll be right back. The doc comes in and says "No wonder you look like shit. Looks like you had a mild heart attack. Something going on in your life?" I explained to her about the hubby leaving and that I was a bit stressed out and all and I was like wait, what? And she said, oh it's probably nothing, let's do another EKG to make sure they put the probes in the right place. So the other nurse comes in, puts the probes in a different place, does the test and then just leaves me laying there still hooked up. By that point I am FREAKING out because she just LEFT. She comes back and says, ok, one more time. She does it one more time and then says "Yep, still the same, see?" And shows me the three tests that look totally normal to me. Like a graph with lines. Nothing. I know NOTHING about EKGs. They both come back into the room and say I have to go to the hospital RIGHT NOW and have more tests done to make sure I am not currently having a heart attack. I looked at them like they were on crack! I mean wouldn't I KNOW if I was having one?? Obviously NOT since I had already had at least one before that day.

So they order me a CT scan and chest xray to rule out anything abnormal in my lungs and off to the hospital I go. I was so scared. I got to my truck, called Mrs Paruser and said "I'm in trouble" and just started BALLING. Of course she was at my house shortly after I got there with her smiling face and her smiling baby. She came with me to the hospital and then went back to my house to be with my kids so I could go back to my doc for the results. Once I got the initial results of "not life threatening" I was so much better. I was given a few things to try to rule out the normal things like heart burn, acid reflux, asthma, etc but they didn't work. When I finally went back on Friday I was told I had some inflammation around my lungs and heart and was given some steroids to help with the inflammation and vicodin for the pain.

I have to have some pulmonary and cardiac function testing done now. I can, even at my age, have the surgery to correct the pectus IF that is what is causing my heart to "attack". All of the initial testing came back clear. No blocked arteries, nothing abnormal except for the fact there just isn't any room in there for me to GET sick if my body decides to. My heart is off to the side instead of in the middle of my chest. There is physical stress on it as well as all the mental and emotional stress I have in my normal, everyday life. Now I have to be careful because something triggered this and next time I just might feel it really good! Next time I might not be lucky enough to walk around just tired.

If you got this far, thank you for reading. If YOU have a story or know someone who does, please feel free to forward their story and a picture of them to me for another Awareness Wednesday to goudegirl03@aim.com

MIA...Yes, It's Serious

2008-09-28T00:53:00.004-04:00

Uh huh. I've been MIA from the blog world only reading and commenting here and there. But I have a good excuse and plan on blogging about it...soon. Just give me time to recompose myself and hopefully I can do a little research on what I just went through and put together a post for "Awareness Wednesday". I'm really tired so it's hard for me to THINK about what to write let alone write it. Let me just say that this IS health related and it just might smack you all in the face.

Until then, here's a pic of Mrs. Paruser and Lil Squirt. We said goodbye today for a long "vacation" as they take off to Michigan for about 5 months. It was sad, but I only ~~balled like a baby when no one was looking~~ shed like 20 tears. ;)

TTFN,

Sunday Shoutouts

2008-09-21T07:00:00.001-04:00

How lame, right? Stealing a title from other blogs! I can't help it. I couldn't think of a good enough title so I did it. Oh well. Anyway, on to the reason for today's post...check THIS out...

Jealous? Yeah, that's what I THOUGHT! This is my AWESOME, CUSTOM, HAND-MADE prize from Kiki & Lele. Yeah, they are awesome and not only do they make bad ass jewelry, they are also donating a portion of their annual procedes to thier local NICU. No, REALLY! You should go read their story here. They are just all around wonderful ladies!

I also want to thank SITS for bringing me such wonderful bloggy friends and bloggy contest like the one above. Without my SITStas I don't think I would still be blogging, honestly. You all should really check them out. They start a new contest every Saturday. This week they are featuring Star Looks Boutique's AllyZabba blanket and boy does it look comfy! They are giving away the large size which measures 34 x 28!!! So hurry on over and check out this week's contest!

This next person doesn't really need to be named AGAIN but she insisted more discussion so hell, why not. Lula, Lula, Lula! Thank you OH so much for introducing me to my methliture! I do not think I could have survived these first 9 days of deployment without the storyline of Edward and Bella. I am in absolute LOVE with this series and will be in utter depression when it is over. I am now 1/4 of the way into Eclipse and am totally pleased with the way the books have flowed from one to the next. Yes, I am once again gushing over the Twilight Series. And yes, it's in the teen section in the bookstore, so freakin' what. I didn't even know that until I bought the SECOND book they didn't have at WalMart and the KID at B&N said "That's ok, we get you "older" people buying these books all the time. I've seen OLDER." I guess that was his compliment? Gee kid, thanks! But I'm only 31!!! Anyway. THANK YOU DEAR LULA for adding to my list of addictions! In all actuality, reading as fast as I have has opened my mind to other blogging ideas so I am really excited!

Finally, I want to extend my thanks to all the rest of my blog-world friends who have been supporting me in this really rough time I am going through. It's only been 9 days but these last 9 days has felt like 9 WEEKS. So much is different this time around and I feel so empty yet you all seem to find a way to make me smile or help me deal. (Carrie, Lula, M...you guys rock!) And to my real world friends who also blog and who don't but come here and stalk, thank you oh so much for understanding that I really can't hand the outside world just yet. At least not all at once. I am taking it one day at a time and eventually I will be the social butterfly I was before my heart sailed away.

I love you all and this Sunday is dedicated to you!

TTFN,

Survey Saturday...Strangeness

2008-09-20T07:00:00.000-04:00

First off I want to thank everyone who has been showering me with the love these past few posts ESPECIALLY on my Fridays with the hubby pics. I have really needed the support since I am missing my man the most severely...more so than I have ever. Secondly, I know I have NOT been the best comment leaver as of late and I am totally sorry. I am lost in my own little world here and hope to pull out of it soon. I just blog and read and occasionally find it in me to crack a joke on someone's blog.

Anyway, here's today's interesting survey. It isn't anything special, but it IS strange.

1. Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18, find line 4. Write down what it says:
"For me, as well."

2. Stretch your left arm out as far as you can...what do you touch first?
The wall

3. What is the last thing you watched on TV?
The news

4. WITHOUT LOOKING, what time is it?
midnight thirty?

5. Now look at the clock, what is the actual time?
12:26am

6. With the exception of the computer, what can you hear:
The wind outside, the fan inside and my door blowing open and closed

7. When did you last step outside? What were you doing?:
About 15 minutes ago to yell at my dog to get her butt inside

8. Before you came to this website, what were you looking at?
My dog peeing outside

9. What are you wearing?
tank top and sleep shorts

10. What did you dream last night?
I was so tired I don't remember my dream from last night

11. When did you last laugh?
Tonight at Jayson and Sydnie playing the Wii

12. What's on the walls of the room you're in?:
A stuffed goose...it's real and I always hit my head on it's talons

13. Seen anything weird lately?:
Depends on what your definition of "weird" is

14. What do you think of this survey?
Uh it's strange

15. What's the last film you saw?
16 Candles...yes. old movie, but it was good!

16. If you became a multi-millionaire overnight, what would you buy first?
A brand new house i don't have to do ANY work on that has enough room for all my kids to have their own room

17. Tell me something about you that I don't know.
This summer I cut a total of 14 inches of hair off my head. :)

18. If you could change one thing about the world, what would you change?
Just one? Can't we all just get along??! :)

19. Do you like to dance?
When I am with Balla and when I am drunk!

20. Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her?
My first child WAS a girl and I call her Sydnie

21. Boy?
And my first boy is Jayson

22. Would you ever consider living abroad?
Once retirement comes along, we have plans to own property in Costa Rica so yes.

Friday Fiesta Foto Finish

2008-09-19T06:00:00.002-04:00

Ahhh. It's FINALLY Friday. And what do we all crave the most on Friday? Yup, that's right! FX4! WHOOP WHOOP! So get your booties on over to Candid Carrie and join me and the others (I think she might have over 100 of us now!) in the crazy fad we like to call Friday Fiesta Foto Finish!

My foto for the week features friends sharing THEIR life's guilty pleasures...stogies and beer! Now, the one on the right has given up drinking so he isn't partaking in the beer, but he is surely enjoying the fat stogie in his mouth! The one on the left is, of course, Balla. I cannot quite remember which night this was taken, but it was taken shortly before the boys deployed. These two are like Frick and Frack and they can always be caught with a stogie in their mouths...or at the computer playing World of Warcraft.

TTFN,

Teachers, No More Blowpops!

2008-09-18T00:05:00.002-04:00

I was trying to finish one of my addictions (Days of Our Lives, Tuesday Edition) on DVR when I heard a "Don't tell momma" and then a scream. So I pressed pause and yelled from my lair for the screamer to come hither. Well the scream turned into a cry with real tears and here comes little man. He's holding his neck and says "It hurts really bad" and I couldn't tell what the heck hurt so bad to make him throw the complete fit he was throwing at the moment. (He was jumping up and down, crying and screaming holding his neck!) I thought for sure he had hurt himself good until he tried to take his hand away and it kinda stuck there for a second. Then I saw it. Gum. Ugh. All the times I have said "Keep that sh!t in your mouth!" and now the kid has it literally wrapped around his neck! (Later he tells me "I was wrapping it around and around like a necklace" WTF?!?!) And it is stuck pretty good to his skin and in his hair so that is why he is throwing a fit saying it hurts really bad because it's stuck to his tiny neck hairs and it was in his hair. So I got some ice and the scissors and went to getting the gum out. Here's a few pics of the "drama"...

Gum on the side of his neck. You can see the tiny bits in his hair...

Gum all in the back of his hair. It was worse in person, trust me...

I ended up cutting the bottom of his hair because he was SCREAMING LIKE A LITTLE GIRL when I iced down his neck to pull off the gum from his skin. If only I had clippers...

There was gum on both sides of his neck, but I didn't think about the camera until I was done with one side...look at how red his poor neck was.

I didn't get it all because he wouldn't hold still and when I was just about done I saw him pop something in his mouth. I was like what was that? And he goes "My gum" I took it from him and threw it in with all the hair and gum pieces. Ugh. Boys!!!

P.S. He got the gum from a blowpop he got from his teacher for "being good". I can't imagine.

Where Did Mama Roho Go?

2008-09-15T23:37:00.002-04:00

You want to know where I went? Well why not head on over to Lulaville and ask Lula! Why? Because it is HER FAULT that I am busy READING instead of blogging. What am I reading? Hmmm...Again, I point you to a blog that I read over in Lulaville titled "The End". After reading it I truly hesitated, reread and then went about my business for the day. After reading it, every damn bookstore I went into reminded me of that blog post. Every eBay auction I ran across, every Amazon page filled with the memory...so I broke. I bought it. And then I let it sit in the bag for a few days because I had to finish a Stephen King book first. It was good, although the title totally slips my mind at this moment.

On the night of the first reading I promised myself I would finish the last 64 pages of my King book and then just read the first chapter of this "Crackliture" as everyone was calling it. I finished the SK book and off to pick up the crack I went. I didn't know what to expect from a book I found way too easily at WalMart. (It seemed to call out to me and it was on sale...bonus.) I'm not much into vampires and werevolves nor am I into books about them but I decided that since there were so many people out there that ADORED Edward and Bella that I would give this book a chance.

That night, as I fumbled my way through the meth, I found the story to be just as addictive, if not more, than what everyone had said. I made my way to the 1/2 way point before I realized that Chapter one was a thing of the past. I was on a high and couldn't put the book down but I knew I HAD to sleep because I HAD to get up in the morning and get the hoodlums off to school so I could have my quiet time with my book. OH DAMN IT! My husband was still home all week long. No quiet time unless I stole myself away to the bathroom. I faked a stomach virus JUST to get some quality Edward/Bella time.

So, I finished Twilight in about 4 days which is a record for me. I went out on a hunt for a paperback version of New Moon and Eclipse and could only find New Moon so I grabbed it. (Sticking to paperback because it is easier to tote along with me.) Since Balla left for deployment I have had too much time on my hands and I have made it 3/4ths of the way through New Moon. Yes. I am addicted. It IS my crystal meth. My crackliture. My new drug. The Twilight Series. What will I do when it is all gone? Come blog again?! Oh my. I guess I will just have to wait for the movie so I can critique it against the book.

Thanks Lula. Thanks for getting me hooked on crack. :)

Survey Saturday...This Is My Husband

2008-09-13T06:00:00.000-04:00

Welcome to this week's version of Survey Saturday. Can you tell that this weekend is TOTALLY focused on my hunny?! I am pre-posting because I can't sleep. Here are some facts about him/us. I miss him already and it didn't help they showed the ship on the local news. :**(
My thoughts are with those in the path of that icky, nasty hurricane Ike.

About my Husband

1. How did you meet your husband and how old were you?
We met at Sonar School in 2001. I was 24.

2. Was it love at first sight?
Hell no! I thought he was a jerk and he thought I was a bitch!

3. How did you know you were supossed to marry him?
Well, I got preggo with his son! No, really, the first time I actually LOOKED into his eyes I knew.

4. What was the first date like?
A-FREAKIN'-MAZING

5. Where did your first kiss take place?
Haha...I'll never tell

6. Dating... local or long distance?
local

7. Do you know everything there is to know about your husband?
I don't think so. We are always learning new things about each other.

8. Were your parents supportive of you when you started dating?
Yes

9. Did you wait till marriage to have sex?
Um, no

10. How long was it till you got engaged after you started dating?
Um...I think a year and a half?

11. Long or short engagement?
Extremely short

12. Did you write your own vows?
Yeah right!

13. What was one of the things that attracted you to your husband?
He made me laugh...all the time

14. Do you believe he is your soulmate?
Yes I do

15. Are you happy that you married him?
Very much so

Facts:

1. Place your husband was born and date?
St Paul, MN on 5/7/75

2. Favorite movie?
Anything Sci Fi

3. Occupation?
US Navy

4. What is one of his favorite things to do on the weekends?
Cuddle with ME of course! No, he likes to catch up on the DVR'd sci fi shows and work outside

5. What was his first thought of you when you first met?
Ha. See above #2

6. Does he snore at night while sleeping?
Yes. LOUDLY

7. What about farting in his sleep?
O.M.G. I have an automatic air freshner in our room to help me sleep!

8. If you could go one place with him anywhere in the world where would that be?
Costa Rica...again!

9. How often do you have sex?
Well, not again for 7 months. :( But often enough to be grossly in love!

10. Is he the best thing that ever happend to you?
Besides my children, yes he is. :)

CLICK HERE TO TAKE THIS SURVEY!

TTFN,

Friday Fiesta Foto Finish

2008-09-12T06:00:00.001-04:00

Here is my addition to Candid Carrie's Friday Fiesta Foto Finish.

I am "pre-posting" as I will be busy wallowing in my sorrows tomorrow. So, this FX4 is dedicated to my best friend, lover and confidant...oh and husband of course! He leaves today on a 7 month deployment. Seven long and lonely months without him. I'm pretty sure my blogs will be as happy as they can be. Have you noticed they have be sparse this week? Yeah, this was our last week together. Anyway, here's a montage of my faves of my baby. I'll miss you, my love. :*(

Interesting Steal From Debbie...Thanks!

2008-09-08T19:51:00.004-04:00

While reading my dailies, and there are many, I stumbled upon Debbie's blog and how she was 1 of 8. My interest peaked so I decided to join her in the mission to find out just how many of ME there are in this wonderful world. Well, there is only ONE of me with my current first and last name. Imagine that. I am unique. However, there are 28,983 people in the U.S. with the first name Rachelle. Wow. But there are only 580 people in the U.S. with my married last name. When I looked up my maiden name, well all I can say is that it is the 4th most popular last name in the U.S. and it is not Smith! 1,894,602 people carry my maiden name as their last name!!! HOLY CRAP! And with my maiden name, there were 180 of me. Not so unique now, are we?! Now, let ME break down my clan...

Balla: 2
Sydnie: She's the only one!
MacKenzie: Again, the only one!
Jayson: Damn, I did good! He's an only as well! WOO HOO!

I guess our last names make us unique in this family. My girls have a different last name than Balla, Jay and I, in which there are several italian variations but the variation they have has a total of 9,549 in the U.S. I really enjoyed this little tidbit of information. It was fun testing out all the combos. If you all are bored, you should try it, it is interesting to see just how many of you there really are out there. And Debbie, it's ok, someone will name their child Deborah, Deb or Debbie again. It will catch on again, promise! Thanks for the blog idea!

HowManyOfMe.com

There are
1
or fewer people with my name in the U.S.A.

http://howmanyofme.com">How many have your name?

TTFN,

Survey Saturday...Favorites/Least Favorites

2008-09-06T10:24:00.004-04:00

So I missed FX4 this week because Mrs Paruser and I spent the day in Williamsburg shopping and then we went and bought some "supplies" for Tropical Storm Hanna that didn't do much so I never really made it home until really late. Plus we weren't sure but our husbands were told they may even leave for the weekend because of said tropical storm when they are supposed to leave on the 12th for seven months so we decided to take out our frustrations on our wallets. We got some good deals, had lunch and didn't even hit any tunnel traffic. WOO HOO! So here is my survey for this Saturday. Enjoy!

1 Favorite Color
--> blue and green

2 Least Favorite Color
--> I don't really have a least favorite

3 Favorite Number
--> 13

4 Favorite Animal
--> Dog

5 Least Favorite Animal
--> Cat

6 Favorite Flower
--> Lilley

7 Favorite Food
--> Mexican

8 Least Favorite Food
--> Seafood

9 Favorite Junk Food
--> chips and salsa

10 Least Favorite Junk Food
--> candy

11 Favorite Restaraunt
--> Gordon Biersch or Hooters

12 Favorite Ice Cream Flavor
--> Vanilla with fresh cookie dough

13 Favorite Candy
--> not a fan of candy

14 Favorite Alcoholic Drink
--> Beer!

15 Favorite NON Alcoholic Drink
--> Diet Coke or unsweet iced tea

16 Least Favorite Alcoholic Drink
--> Gin? LOL

17 Least Favorite NON Alcoholic Drink
--> Pepsi or sweet tea

18 Favorite Genre of Music
--> pop

19 Favorite Radio Station
--> FM99

20 Favorite Band/Artist
--> Dixie Chicks

21 Least Favorite Band/Artist
--> Don't really have one

22 Favorite Song
--> Have waaaaayyyy too many

23 Least Favorite Song
--> Friends in Low Places

24 Least Favorite Genre
--> Rap

25 Favorite Book
--> Anything Stephen King

26 Least Favorite Book
--> Atonement

27 Favorite Type of Movie
--> Comedy

28 Least Favorite Type of Movie
--> Sci Fi

29 Favorite Movie
--> Beaches

30 Worst Movie Ever
--> I have NO CLUE!

31 Favorite TV Show
--> I have so many. Do I really need to name just one??

32 Worst TV Show
--> There are so many, do I really need to name just one?? LMFAO!

33 Favorite Season of the Year
--> Spring! Summer!

34 Worst Season
--> Winter

35 Best Friend
--> Damn. I have a few. Kara, Jessica, Lynn

36 Worst Enemy
--> James Patrick Pennell II...My girls' biological father. Yes, I hold a grudge for someone who has never paid child support!

37 Favorite Day of the Week
--> Everyday I wake up!

38 Least Favorite Day of the Week
--> I don't have one!

39 Favorite Sport
--> Football!

40 Sport You Hate
--> I don't really hate sports

41 One thing you cant get enough of
--> muhahahahaha! Sex!

42 One thing you hate more than anything
--> see #36!!!

Sarah Palin, A Girl After My Own Heart!

2008-09-04T07:00:00.001-04:00

So last night was the Republican National Convention, part tres I think, because it was Governor Palin's turn to speak. Now normally I do not sit and purposely watch boring political speeches but since my favorite BIL said he would kick my ass if I voted for Pedro I decided it would be a good idea if I watched. (Yes, Pedro from Napoleon Dynamite!) Balla and I turned the tube to NBC towards the end of Giuliani's speech and that little bugger can TALK! Good stage presence and he's funny to boot. (Biden better get that VP thing in writing, I love myself a comedian! ) He then went on to discuss big "O"s constant flip-flopping and ended by letting everyone know he supported Palin. He then introduced her. WOW! The crowd went BONKERS! They put a camera on her hubby and boy was that handsome devil beaming! He was wearing his pride on his sleeve all night long for sure! You could tell he loved his wife and family! Then they show her and she is just up there all calm and composed, looking all hot and porn-star secretarial! LMFAO! (That is how Tommy and Rumble from FM99 described her one morning. Perves!)

Anyway, you can find her FULL speech here, but I want to just tell you that it was compelling and completely mesmerizing! I listened the WHOLE TIME! Amazing, right?! I am NOT a political person and she had me at "Mr. Chairman, delegates, and fellow citizens..." They prepared her VERY well on foreign policy and whatever else they had to. I know she was reading from a teleprompter, but DAMN she was GOOD! AND FUN! The inflection in her voice where it needed to be made her believable. FO SHO. She introduced her whole family, including her mom and dad which I thought was really nice. She didn't bring up any of the rumors but she didn't avoid them either. She threw in little smart ass comments here and there and never really bashed the big "O" by using his name! At one point, there was about 2 minutes of booing after she said:

"I'm not a member of the permanent political establishment. And I've learned quickly, these past few days, that if you're not a member in good standing of the Washington elite, then some in the media consider a candidate unqualified for that reason alone."

She then interrupted and continued by saying:

"But here's a little news flash for all those reporters and commentators: I'm not going to Washington to seek their good opinion - I'm going to Washington to serve the people of this country. Americans expect us to go to Washington for the right reasons, and not just to mingle with the right people."

The people then began their roaring and cheering and got on their feet. It was such an exciting night for her and her family. It was interesting to hear her outlook on the war, energy, oil and gas and what her plans were if McCain and she were elected. (I MUST be getting older or this stuff just would NOT be interesting at all to listen to.) Most of all I enjoyed listening to her because I connected to the way she presented the topics at hand. She threw in a couple upper cuts here and there and didn't just talk. And she didn't just talk about HERSELF either. She talked about McCain and his POW friend Tom...which almost made me cry...and it just wasn't all about me, me, me. There was VARIETY! And SPICE!

The Hockey Mom from a small town in Alaska proved to me to get the job done. At the end of the night, she didn't leave doubts in the eyes of any voters in THIS house anyway! Between her strong family values, funny smart ass comments ("I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a "community organizer," except that you have actual responsibilities." ), and even the comedic tone thrown in here and there ( "What's the difference between a Hockey Mom and a pitbull? lipstick!" ) I would say that Sarah Palin is well on her way to helping John McCain win the Presidential election.

TTFN,

Photobucket src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y142/rachellegoude/signature1.jpg" border=0>

Want To Win a Cricut?

2008-09-03T19:43:00.003-04:00

So you want a Cricut Expressions? Who doesn't?

This thing does it all.
Scrapbooking
Vinyl Lettering
School Projects

The list goes on and on!
The Cricut Expressions is the craft fanatics must-have!

And, here is YOUR chance to win one. Yep. Just head on over to my all time favorite blog recognition blogger site SITS and check out their September contest to find out how to win!! While you're over there, check out the featured bloggers and make some new friends, enter some contests and win like I did! WOO HOO! Thanks Kiki & Lele for giving away such an awesome necklace! I can't wait to see the result!

That's all for today. Balla and I spent the day sick and sniffling in bed so I need to just relax some more. :)

TTFN,

Happy Birthday Jayson Alexander!

2008-09-02T21:10:00.006-04:00

Today is my little man's birthday. He turned 5yrs old today. We sent him off to Kindergarten today as well. He went in all by himself telling us: "I can do it, I'm 5!" It was bittersweet as it was my last to go to school, my last first day of kindergarten, my last little man. :( I didn't cry though. Hesitated, but didn't cry. Anyway, we had a birthday party for him over the weekend and Mrs. Paruser and I showed off our baking and decorating skills. I decided I was going to bake Jay a HUGE cupcake. THAT was the easy part! The steps that followed were the hardest and required the heads of two totally stressed out women whose men are about to deploy! HA! Can somebody say bring on the crack pipe! LOL! We had fun though and here are the results of our masterpiece...

View Album

Get your own

Nice, isn't it? We thought so. And I don't like chocolate cake AT ALL but I used Devil's Food cake mix and that stuff is DEVINE! Soooo moist!!! The day of the party we got super creative with the decorating, but all in all we were pleased and so were the kids, especially Jayson.

Well, now my big boy is 5 and in school. Pretty soon he will be 15 and cursing me, playing loud music and ignoring my commands so I guess I should enjoy him while I can at 5. Here are the back-to-school pics I took. The first is the one of him in his way-too-big-for-a-5-year-old back pack from LL Bean and the second one is of all of my hoodlums in front of their school.

To all you moms out there, Happy Back-To-School Day!

Just Another Manic Monday

2008-09-01T22:40:00.004-04:00

Only 10 more days until Balla hits the open ocean and leaves us for 7 long and lonely months. I figured out this weekend that I am NOT doing so well with this little tidbit of information! Not as well as I originally THOUGHT at least! I have been through 3 deployments with this man and this time I think I feel the worst.

Our first deployment, I was also in the Navy so my days were spent working 9+hrs then coming home and taking care of my daughters. A couple of weeks into the deployment I found out I was preggo and then we decided to go ahead and get married so I also had the joy of planning my wedding. I kept really busy during that deployment and I actually got lucky and they ended it in about 5 months. Our next deployment was H-E-L-L! Kevin had to go to school first so he spent the first 3 months of the deployment in Rhode Island. Some would think that to be a good thing for us, but no. He drank a lot and we were fighting when he left for RI so conversation was short and shitty to say the least. When I finally dropped him off at the airport so he could fly to Bahrain, I didn't even care that he was going. It didn't even phase me. Of course we worked out all of our problems over the deployment (that got extended to EIGHT months) but it was still very strange to see my husband after leaving him the way we left each other.

This time is different. The past year has been different for us. We have grown as a couple. He has become my best friend again and we are just, I dunno, the almost perfect couple again. I find myself crying at the stupid things and wanting to just chill with my husband. I get jealous when he wants to be on the computer playing games with his brother who pretty much stole a whole week of my husband's last few weeks with us by "dropping in" during the first week of Balla's leave! I want him to just hold me. I don't want the days or nights to end. I want to love on him and play fight with him all day long. I don't want the Navy to take my man away!

Anyway, tomorrow is another day closer to departure but it is also our son's 5th birthday and the start of school for everyone. I will get 3 days "alone" with my hunny and we have plans to try to finish the last half of our deck for the pool. It's been a rough day today, but I got through it without crying. Not sure if I will get throught the NIGHT, but I'll find out soon enough. It's been a long day. A Manic Monday!

TTFN,

The History of ME on Survey Saturday

2008-08-30T09:58:00.000-04:00

1) Raised in: Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
2) Your whole name: Rachelle Lynne Goude

3) Birth date: November 29, 1976

4) Any siblings: 1 Sister, 1 Step-sister, 1 brother, 1 half-brother, 3 step-brothers

5) Oldest of them all: yeppers!!

6) Hair color: natural? really dark brown with reddish highlights.

7) Hair length: at my shoulders

8) First school: Preston Elementary

9) Eye color: bluish greyish green

10) Shoe size: 10

11) Mood: frazzled

12) College: Dual bachelor's degree

13) Height: 5'7"

14) Lefty/Righty: Righty

LOVE LIFE

1) Do you remember your first real relationship: a little

2) Do you believe in love: yes i do

3) Where did 3 go?
4) Have you ever been heartbroken: Yes

5) Do you love someone right now: Sure do. With all my heart

6) Have you ever fallen for a friend: Yes. Not a good idea

7) Are you afraid of commitment: Um, no

8) Do you believe in love at first sight: No. I believe in LUST at first sight

THIS OR THAT:

1) Love or Money: Love

2) Coffee or alcohol: um, both?

3) One night stands or relationships: relationships

4) Television or internet: internet

5) Pepsi or Coke; Coke...preferably diet

6) Long night out or romantic night in: how about both?

7) Phone or in Person: In person

HAVE YOU EVER:

1) Have you ever been caught sneaking out : nope

2) Have you ever been skinny dipping: yup

3) Have you ever been on a house boat: only once

4) Have you ever finished an entire jawbreaker: yes

5) Have you ever colored your hair: way too many times to count

6) Have you ever been streaking? waaaayyyyy too many times! LOL!

RANDOM:

1) Are you talking to anyone right now: nope

2) Are you German: I don't think so

3) Are you Italian: no

4) Are you French: maybe a little

5) Are you Mexican: No

6) Are you Dutch: No

7) Are you Indian: yes

8) Are you Irish: yes

9) Are you Russian: No

10) Are your parents still married: no

DO YOU:

1) Do you get depressed about things easily: lately, yes. but Balla is leaving soon

2) Where in the sam hell is 2??

3) Are you comfortable with the way you look: For the most part, yes.

4) How do you dress: some would say in the latest fashion. I call it "Mom gear"

5) Are you scared of growing old alone: no. I have kids, a husband, family and friends. I will never be alone

6) What do you want to be when you grow up: a grandma!

7) Favorite season: spring and fall

8) Are you a vegetarian: NOOOOO! I love meat waaaayyy too much to be a vegetarian!

Friday Fiesta Foto Finish

2008-08-29T07:00:00.007-04:00

I have a phun photo montage this week for Candid Carrie. It actually comes from our photo shoot this past Sunday with my phriend Melissa phrom Hudd's Photography. We were delightfully pleased with the results and I will share with you phour of my phaves to keep in sync with the FX4 for this week! Enjoy because we had a blast taking the pics. Be sure to stop by Candid Carrie's site and why not stop and take a look at Melissa's other photos too. She does a wonderful job. :) Here we go!

My family

Reflecting on a Theme

2008-08-27T10:27:00.001-04:00

I've been doing pretty good at keeping up my blog, I must say. I said I would do the Survey Saturday and I have kept up with it. (With the exception of this past Saturday, but I was truly not even home at all or even on my computer all day!) I said I was going to do Cadid Carrie's FX4 every Friday and I've stayed true to that so far as well! It's been fun! I wanted to start doing something on Wednesdays as well. I was thinking of something like what I did for Liam Matthews
and calling it something like Awareness Wednesday and then picking something like a specific cancer or something like CMV or a specific disease and writing on it but also featuring someone and their story or struggle with the disease. My only problem is getting the word out and getting volunteers to send me their stories. I can do the research, I can write but I can't make up a person! I will keep working on my networking and see what I can do. Maybe, in the near future, you will see an Awareness Wednesday. I need your help, my friends. Keep on reading and sending YOUR friends and readers my way. Let them know I am looking for features and maybe I will have it. Maybe. Some. Day.

TTFN,

Super Survey Sunday! Me In Pictures

2008-08-24T10:00:00.000-04:00

I totally missed Survey Saturday because I just pushed fast forward and my day went "BYE BYE"! No, seriously, my day was gone before I could even breathe! I had tax instructor school training in the morning that went over then I went shopping for a quick minute then I had to nap then dinner with my girls and by the time I got home...well I am home now! HAHA! I am pre-writing for Sunday and pushing Saturday's blog to Sunday. I know, I know, lazy me. BUT, I won't find the time and I don't want to make my readers unhappy. I DO have SOME readers, ya know! So, here's something creative I found on myspace. It's neat. I copied and pasted and here are MY answers! Enjoy and I will see you on the flip side!

these are the rules:
Go to www.photobucket. com but don't sign in
Type in your answer to the question in the "search" box.
Use ONLY the first page unless nothing on that page has NOTHING to do with the question.
copy the html and paste it as the answer!

1. What's your first name? (When this posts, it doesn't show my full name so you have to click on it so you can see my full name. ;) )
2. What's your relationship status?
3. What's your favorite color?
4. What's your favorite TV show? (again, not the full image, but you get it)
5. Another Favorite TV show?
6. Fav Disney Movie?
7. Fav Non-Alcoholic Beverage?
8. Fav Alcoholic Beverage?
9. What is your dream vacation?
10. Use one word to describe yourself. (tee-hee)
11.I was born in:
12. My eye color is:
13. Last Movie You watched? (this cuts off half the pic too. it's supposed to be a type of ant.)
14. What kinda cell phone do you have?
15. What is something you do a lot?

TTFN,

Friday Fiesta Foto Finish

2008-08-22T09:15:00.000-04:00

It's time again phor another photo phinish on Candid Carrie! WOO HOO! It's Phriday! It's Phriday! I am SUPER excited about THIS Phriday because Balla starts his 2 WONDERFUL weeks of leave today at 1600hrs! (Phour o'clock phor you civillians!) Anyway, here is MY pick phor the photo phinish! I LOVE this pic because it captures my two lovies, Lady Bird and Little Red! We have a big chocolate lab and a small miniature pinscher. I love this pic also because I don't think I could have captured a more perfect pic of them with such perfect timing! They are such beauties and I love them as much as I love my kiddos! Here you go and enjoy! Oh and check out Candid Carrie's FX4 while you're at it!

Traumatic Tuesday

2008-08-19T22:03:00.000-04:00

(Previously posted on www.tidewatermommies.com/forum. Some contents edited for comedic relief!)

Today we decided to go fishing instead of heading up to Water Country. I don't know WHOSE idea it was,(it was Balla's) but I would have much rather spent the day, stress free, than deal with baiting hooks and dialing 9-1-1. Yes, I said dialing 9-1-1. Did you know that you don't get a signal on the Little Creek base out by Gator Pool? Nope. And trying to scream into a cell phone while your kid is hurt at someone who just can't hear you, yeah. So, let me set it up for you!

We got our poles together and headed to WalMart around 9am to get some worms, ice and drinks and then headed out to the base. We made camp out at Seal Park at the lake and bait up our poles. It was about 930a by the time we started fishing. It was humid and we were getting bites but NOTHING. About 10a, Syd caught the SMALLEST fish I have seen!!! Balla showed her how to get it off the hook then how to kick the thing in the water because it freaked her out once she got it off the hook. The kids continued to bait their hooks after losing numerous worms. Jayson I think was sick of baiting his hook because I was watching him just cast out over and over and over and SNAG! SCREAM! Yep. He caught something alright! He caught Syd right in her eye! Balla and I were on the bank fishing so we had to drop our poles and run to the dock so no one would rip out the hook. Jayson dropped his pole and just started screaming that he didn't do it on purpose and he was sorry and he was a mess. What almost 5yr old kid wouldn't be! That fish was HUGE! LMFAO! Balla cut the line off the hook and looked to see if he could just pull the hook out but nope. It was in there pretty good. So I started to call 9-1-1 while he picked up Syd and took her to the truck. When I called the stupid 9-1-1 it connected me to Norfolk but we were in Virginia Beach. WTF?? So they connected me to VB and they couldn't even hear me. Balla was about to leave me and the other two kids at the beach and I was like HELL NO! So we left EVERYTHING and took her to Boone Clinic hoping to 1. not get pulled over (he was going like 50mph ON BASE!) and 2. be able to get help when we get there since Boone was under renovation. We get there and have no clue where to go. Syd's eye is bleeding and she says she feels dizzy. Balla, A.K.A. best dad in the WORLD, picks her up and we go in. I stop a lady at the pharmacy and ask "Is there a place we can go? My kid has a hook in her eye." That was all it took for them to help us.

All in all it was a wonderful experience. We went to the prime clinic and some LT took us right to a room. They numbed up her eye lid and tried to get it out without cutting it. He had to make a small cut to get the hook out. She didn't get any stitches, just 2 steri strips but she did get a tetanus shot. She was a trooper. It was harder on us than it was on her. The two little ones were all upset too and we had have them taken outside the room. So from the time we left the house (9am ish) until the time we left the clinic (1130a ish) we were out for a total of 2 1/2hrs. We fished for about an hour...we caught nothing worth writing about. (And here I sit, blogging about it!) I wish I would have taken a picture while they were workin on her eye for her scrapbook. She would have loved to have that. So Sydnie is not allowed to swim for a week now. But at least she still has her eye sight!

I must say that I have THE BEST husband in the world. He is the BEST DAD in the world too. He acted on instinct and took care of Syd like she was his own when biologically she is not. I thanked him today at dinner and he asked why. I told him for being a good dad. He looked at me like I was on crack and said "Why? Because I make the best burgers in the world?" and then winked at me and kissed me. He then proceeded to give Sydnie another high five and tell her how proud he was of her today for being so brave. I love him!!

Survey Saturday...This Is My Life

2008-08-16T11:24:00.000-04:00

Do you have any voicemails on your cellphone? Nope

How many times a day do you shower? I only shower once every other day

When you wake up what's the first thing you do? Hit snooze and then let the dogs out

Do you play video games? I am addicted to Wii Rock Band

What's the last thing you bought at the store? 4 Algae Eaters, 4 loaves of bread, tuna fish and soy milk

How many states have you lived in? 6 so far, I think

Are you a high school drop out? nope. Graduated in 1995

Left handed or right handed? Righty

Look out the window, what do you see? My deck and the pool

What is to your left? MacKenzie

What was the last thing that made you laugh? My dog swimmin' in the lake on base

Who do you think will be a better mom Nicole Richie? Or Christina Aguilera? Nicole. She is younger and will pay more attention to her kid

Do you read the newspaper? Yep

Can you cook? A little

How many pets do you have? 2 doggies and a ton of fishies

Are you close with your parents? Just my mom

How many best friends do you have? A few.

What are you doing tonight? Maybe playing Rock Band and having some beers with Balla

What time is it? 5:29pm. Yep, I am behind in posting this weekend

Can you make a dollar in change right now? Yup

Do you read gossip magazines? Nope. I go to Perez Hilton for my gossip!

Do you like to sing or dance in the shower? Um, no. Dancing would be a bit dangerous

How do you like your eggs? Cooked?

At McDonalds what do you usually order? I don't! McFatty's is NOT for me!

Are you a friendly person? Sure am!

If you could change one thing about your life right now, what would it be? I'd be holding the winning lottery ticket!!

If you could go back in time, where would you go? At my current age? Probably the 60's or 70's

Have you ever met a famous person? Lots! I used to work at a comedy club

Do you look like anyone famous? Some people say I look like the chick from the Matrix when my hair is dyed black

Have you ever done drugs? I am on a few, yes. OH! You mean ILLEGAL ones? HAHAHAHA! Just mary jane in my younger days!

Have you ever woke up and didn't know who the person was sleeping next to you? um, no

Do you have a criminal record? Nope

What really annoys you? Stupid people and Virgin-i-a drivers...oh wait, those are the same things! LOL!

What are you listening to? My son playing his Leapster and the movie "Unbreakable"

What's your favorite tv-show? I have way too many to list here. My current obsession though is Eureka!

What's your favorite color? blue and green

Who do you want to become the next president? Well, he's dead so I guess Johnny Boy will have to do!

Do you listen to the radio? I listen to FM99 in the morning

Where you ever voted for prom queen/prom king? yeah right!

Do you play any insturments? Clarinet and piano

What's the date today? 8/16/08

What are you looking forward to? Balla's 2 week vacation

When was the last time you were in a swimming pool? Thursday

When your in the shower, what's the first thing you wash? My hair

Do you wear makeup? sometimes

Where is the strangest place you've slept? Hugging the toilet!

How many colors have you dyed your hair? Hmmm...waaaayyy too many!

Have you ever been hit on by somebody 10 years older than you? More than likely. Happens when you are a waitress!

Friday Fiesta Foto Finish

2008-08-15T10:30:00.000-04:00

Friday's Fiesta Foto Finish came on pretty fast this week! But I must say that Thursday proved to be a phun photo day pho sho! I took the kids up to Water Country for the day with some of my mommy phriends (yes, it's spelled wrong on purpose!)and we continued the day with dinner at one of the phriend's houses. We met up with another phellow mommy and when it was time phor us to leave we headed on down phor some Rita's Italian Ice. We ate some ice and let the kids play in the grass and before long they were all "dog piled" on top of my oldest daughter. Check it out! She is the one on the bottom. You can only see her hair and her arm! Poor kid!

Not the greatest of photos, but I was too lazy to get my camera out of the car so I used my cell phone. Thanks Candid Carrie for letting me share my photo skillz! I am loving this! AND loving reading your blogs!

TTFN,

Check Out These Giveaways!

2008-08-13T18:02:00.000-04:00

I know I already posted today, but I need to go ahead and make a post of some pretty neato giveaways! So, here they are, in no special order! ;)

Mary Says... having a Blogaversary giveaway on her blog. She hasn't set a deadline yet, but her stash of gifts are sure to please every girl! Go sign up now and wish her a Happy blogaversary!!!

Don't forget that the SITS Girls Recipe site is having their awesome contest that I have personally entered! Once the voting starts I am going to need all the support of my readers and friends alike IF I make it into the top! I really wouldn't mind that $100 Sonoma gift card!!!

SITS is also having a contest on their main site. The winner of that contest will win a set of taper candles from Ana Candles. Ana Candles are still made in the USA and owned and operated in NJ as a family owned business. The candles burn cleanly for at least 14 hours. The color pallet used and the finish on make them the premier striped candle on the market today. Head on over to SITS and enter today!!

I think that is all for now. If I find more, I will edit my post and add them!

TTFN

Awareness Wednesday...For Liam Matthews

2008-08-13T11:32:00.000-04:00

People come into your life for a variety of reasons. I have posted this before. Whether she knows it or not, the person I am posting for I still consider a friend. Things may not be the greatest for either of us right now, but oh well. We might both be on different pages in our book of life, but again, oh well. We are both adults and should know that no matter what, we should act as such.

Anyway, I am here today to write about something that has affected the Matthews family in a way they probably never thought possible. I am here today to write about Cytomegalovirus, or CMV. CMV is the virus most frequently transmitted to a developing child before birth. When a baby catches CMV prior to birth it is known as a congenital CMV infection. Approximately 90% of all infants who are infected with CMV prior to delivery are born without symptoms of the virus; however, the remaining 10% will have varying degrees of abnormalities. For infants who are infected by their mothers before birth, two potential problems exist:

1) Generalized infection may occur in the infant, and symptoms may range from moderate enlargement of the liver and spleen (with jaundice) to fatal illness. With supportive treatment most infants with CMV disease usually survive. However, from 80% to 90% will have complications within the first few years of life that may include hearing loss, vision impairment, and varying degrees of mental retardation.

2) Another 5% to 10% of infants who are infected but without symptoms at birth will subsequently have varying degrees of hearing and mental or coordination problems.

(above excerpts taken from StopCMV.com)

Liam Matthews survived. He is deaf but with the help of a cochlear implant, he is learning to hear. He has several delayed developments, but he is learning at his own pace with the help of his extremely patient and loving mother and father, friends and family members. He is making great strides and is always a smiling and happy little boy. Sometimes you can see his frustration, like when he wants to walk on his own but he just can't quite get it. But just around the corner is that happy smile when he hears something he's never heard before or when someone lets him have a sweet treat. All in all I bet the best thing in the world for this family is when they wake up in the morning and see their little boy, their miracle, and his happy face because that is what Liam is. A happy little miracle.

Support Liam and all the other babies out there with CMV by visiting the StopCMV website and joining the fight. I did.

TTFN.

Mama Roho's Leftover Goulash

2008-08-11T13:16:00.000-04:00

There are many a night when Balla has duty or he is underway and I just do not feel like cooking so the kids have hot dogs and mac & cheese or rice and pork or sausage and rice or something easy. Well one day I was really bored with all of the same old stuff and just grabbed a bunch of things and threw them together and came up with my own little pot of goodness. They LOVED it! AND my oldest even got to help out so she was happy in the long run. I call it "Mama Roho's Leftover Goulash" and I am sharing it with you. (I have an alterior motive...go check THIS contest out!)

Ingredients

Leftover Mac & Cheese
1 box of Mac & Cheese
1 lb of ground pork
1 can of corn
1 can of peas
Spices to taste including:
garlic powder
chopped onion
onion salt
Lowery's seasoned pork rub

Directions

Cook box of mac & cheese according to directions.

In a skillet pan, add pork, Lowery's pork rub, garlic powder, onion salt and chopped onion to pan and cook until pork is no longer pink.

In a large pot, combine corn, peas and leftover mac & cheese and heat on medium heat until warm.

Add pork and newly cooked mac & cheese to the pot and stir all ingrediants together until well blended. Let simmer for about 3 minutes. Feel free to add more spices during this 3 minutes if you would like.

That's it! Enjoy! This makes alot so you WILL have leftovers if you have a small family! Be sure to check out the Saucy Eats Contest and try your luck at winning a $100 Gift Card to Williams-Sonoma and a New Digital Camera so that YOU can become the next "lady-who-posts-great-pictures-and-recipes-on-her-blog" blogger!!!

TTFN!!

Survey Saturday...About Me

2008-08-09T11:00:00.000-04:00

I Am a mom, a wife, a friend, a daughter, a sister, a granddaughter and so much more.
I Want to hold the winning lottery ticket!
I Have everything I could possibly want in life.
I Wish for the perfect job...
I Hate James Patrick Pennell II...my ex-husband and biological father of my 2 daughters.
I Fear the dark and losing my children.
I Hear the trickling of the fish tanks...it is what inspires me to write some days.
I Search the internet for stupid things, like this survey!
I Wonder what my grand-babies are going to look like.
I Regret nothing.
I Love my life and everything in it!
I Ache every morning when I roll over to hit the snooze button.
I Always hit that damn snooze button!
I Usually listen to Tommy and Rumble on FM99 Monday thru Friday after I hit the snooze button a few times.
I Am Not afraid to stand up for myself!
I Dance when I clean!
I Sing all the time!
I Never say never...unless we are talking about Hampton Roads traffic!
I Rarely go to bed before 10pm.
I Cry at least once a week. :(
I Am Not Always perfect, but I try NOT to be!
I Lose my temper quite often when my kids ask me "What are we doing today" 5 times each...before 10am!
I'm Confused ...doesn't that say enough?
I Need this deployment to come and go quickly so Balla and I can start our 101 nights of...ahem..."love".
I Should do the dishes NOW so I don't have to do them LATER!

Friday Fiesta Foto Finish

2008-08-08T12:08:00.000-04:00

I am going to try something out on Candid Carrie's Blog called Phavorite Phriday Photo! This week I am picking the photo of Balla and Mrs Paruser right before she gave birth to Lil Squirt. We went out the night she went into labor and I caught them "comparing" bellies. It made me laugh soooo hard and I think it will make you all laugh as well. So, here is MY Phavorite Phriday Photo!

TTFN!

I'm A Blogger 'Tard

2008-08-06T22:21:00.001-04:00

While reading some pretty informative and funny blogs today I noticed pretty colors and big words and wondered to myself 'how does one make my blog all pretty and neat like those?? I want pretty words every now and again and I want to make my words really big or make them really really small but HOW?' So I googled and I searched my pretty little 'tardo heart out for a good 45 minutes. Yes, 45 minutes I searched for an answer to my question. All this time I have been writing my blog in "edit html" because I know how to work it...really work it. I mean I took a bunch of classes on it at one time and even wrote a program that rocked! But 'tardo me obviouslyCANNOT READ!!! Either that or I am really effing blind to miss the stinking COMPOSE button. Now I know. But now I feel like a computer illiterated blogger 'tard.

Now if someone could just teach me how to insert cute names and smilies...oh wait, that's HTML Ro-ho! DER!

TTFN

"Pesky Pest" Product Review

2008-08-05T21:54:00.000-04:00

Living here in good 'ole Virginia there is quite a bit of water or "sources" of water lurking EVERYWHERE. In our backyard we have a pool for the kiddos and a pool for the doggies. We have to empty the pool for the doggies every other day because of pesky pests known as mosquitoes. YUCK! Now the big pool is treated with chemicals so THOSE pesky pests do not enjoy the big pool but another pesky pest, known as the fly, does. So, in our wonderfully comfy back yard oasis we have, or rather HAD, two of THE MOST annoying pest known to man. The mosquito and the fly. Let us add to the fact that we also live about 20 minutes from the ocean, 5 minutes from the nearest stagnant water source AND we have animals that poo in the yard and we have a haven for those pesky pests!

On a journey one day to my local home improvement store I was looking for a solution to my mosquito problem because my giant lab had become severely allergic to their bites and vets had not come up with a flea, tick AND mosquito prevention at that time yet. Anyway, I asked the Man-in-the-Blue-Shirt for some help and he directed me to the insecticide isle and to the best product ever to hit the shelves! Cutter Bug Free Backyard!! You just spray this stuff on your lawn and in an hour or so your yard is "bug free" from those pesky mosquitoes for "up to 4 weeks"!! Now, I buy at least 4 bottles to keep us stocked for the summer.

My next find was actually introduced to me after a "playdate gone bad". Yes, I shall explain. HAHA! I hosted a few friends and their kiddos for a playdate before we had our big pool installed. It was a nice, summer day and we set up a small, kiddie pool on the deck and just let the kids play while us "adults" chatted it up under the umbrella outside. Everyone brought something to share and we kept it inside but left the door open so people could go in and out as they pleased. I was HORRIFIED to see that as soon as we opened up the food, it was ~~attacked~~ assulted by flies! We covered up what we could but the kiddos kept uncovering things and not covering it back up. BLAH! GROSS! One of the ladies was trying to feed her little one a banana and flies were just hovering all over the poor baby and its banana! I was soo embarrassed I wanted to crawl up into a ball and DIE! After everyone left I had to buy fly paper and a fly swatter to kill all those pesky pests that were left over in my home.

The next day I called my BFF and told her of my misfortune at my first and probably last playdate. She stops me mid-story and says "OH! I have something for you! It stinks to high heaven but works like a charm. If you want it, I'll bring you one to try." So, she brought one over and yes, it stunk to high heaven and all the way down to hell and back but all be damned if it didn't work! Of course the flies were still attracked to the sweet stuff, but not so much that it is totally overwhelming. We used to have to put something over our sodas, ice tea, beer, food, ANYTHING we took outside. Now we can take anything outside as long as we use this thing! It is AWSOME! OH! You want to know what it IS?! My bad! It is the Rescue Disposable Fly Bag!! All you do is add water and tie it somewhere FAR FAR away from where ever you sit outside and it attracks the flies into the bag. When it is full, well, you will know it. We can always tell because the fly poplulation around US increases and THOSE pesky pests ARE attracted to our pool, checmical or no chemical!

So, I still host playdates and BBQs pretty much bug free thanks to Cutter Bug Free Backyard and Rescue Disposable Fly Bag. You can fo sho tell the difference when the backyard needs a spray or when we need a new bag! I hope some of my blog friends can benefit from MY success with these awsome products!!

TTFN!

Survey Saturday...30 Fun Facts

2008-08-02T17:53:00.000-04:00

1. What is your occupation right now? i'm a mom and a wife until September

2. What color are your socks right now? what socks?

3. What are you listening to right now? the fish tank

4. What was the last thing you ate? prime rib from The Grate Steak

5. Can you drive a stick shift? yep

6. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Mrs Paruser

7. Do you like the person who sent this to you? she is one of my BFF's

8. How old are you today? 31

9. What is your favorite sport to watch? Football...GO BROWNS!!!!!

10. What is your favorite drink? beer...micro-brewed please!

11. Have you ever dyed your hair? once...every 6-8 weeks!

12. Favorite food? yes! (LMFAO!)

13. What is the last movie you watched? The Bucket List

14. Favorite day of the year? every day I wake up next to Balla

15. How do you vent anger? by blogging and venting to my BFF's

16. What was your favorite toy as a child? uh, I don't remember

17. What is your favorite season? when it's warm and the kids are in school

18. Cherries or Blueberries? cherries

19. Living arrangements? Balla, the 3 kids, 2 doggies and the 2 fish tanks full of fish

20. When was the last time you cried? last night cuz i didn't feel good

21. What is on the floor of your closet? my new rollerblades, a pair of old Navy combat boots and a pair of tennis shoes on my side and a camel back and a Navy bag on his side

22. What did you do last night? went out with my girls from TM to Cheddars

23. What inspires you? stupid people and those I love the most

24. What are you most afraid of? losing my kids

25. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers? cheese

26. Favorite dog breed? lab

27. Favorite day of the week? any day i wake up and Balla is there

28. How many states have you lived in? 6...i think

29. Can you name those states? Ohio, Illinois, California, Florida, Mississippi, Virginia

30. Favorite state you have lived in? Cali baby!

Are YOU Handicap? THEN DON'T PARK THERE!!

2008-08-01T22:34:00.000-04:00

Today I braved the world of tax-free Friday. It was ok. I got most, if not all of our school supplies all in one trip. Total cost for supplies was $59 tax-free and that was for 3 kiddos. Total cost for 3 pair of kiddo shoes at Payless was $51 tax-free. Not bad considering my oldest has to wear adult shoes! I am only missing 6 "fat" pencils for my son, some paper towels and a couple things of hand sanitizer.

Normally, I park in the back of the parking lot and walk because, well, that is how we get our exercise. Walk in the stifling heat as far as you can and sweat off those calories! Today, however, we went to Target and our Target is being renovated so the parking lot is not big AT ALL. So, I just chose the parking spot that was open and it just happened to be right up front...next to the handicap spot. When we went to leave, I got in the car and let it "cool off" for a minute and glanced up after looking at my steals. I spotted a van with a permanent handicap symbol on it so I decided to watch and see who would get out. Normally I do not give a rat's butt, but I was super curious because this van was covered in those car magnets, most of which were sports related. Like: "Cheerleader" "Soccer MOM" "Team Parent" "Baseball Mom"...stuff like that. I waited and watched. In the mean time ANOTHER van with a similar license plate pulled up. I am sitting there thinking to myself that maybe, just maybe it will be a mom with a handicap child or maybe the mom is handicap or carrying a cane or helping out one of HER parents or something like that. Yeah, no. The door opens and out jumps this healthy, skinny, young lady and 3 kids, all of them obviously NOT handicap. No grandma, no wheelchair, no cane. UM, HELLO? Park somewhere else and WALK!!! Leave the handicap spot for someone who actually needs it! Especially when, two spaces down there were like 5 spots open!!! AHHH!

I continue to sit and watch because it is taking van #2 quite a while to get out. This one HAS to be handicap of some sort. I wait. And from the back of the car my kid asks "Momma, what are we doing?" and I say "People watching" and continue to stare at van #2. While waiting for van #2 to open up and get out, a third vehicle pulls in next to me. It's two really young ladies in a Cadillac with one of those hanging handicap signs. I watch THEM get out. Are THEY handicap? yeah. right. About as handicap as a kid in a candy shop. Douche bags! I wanted to get out and yell at them! Completely appalled by this time I am still holding out for van #2. The occupant is STILL inside so they just HAVE to be handicap. OH! WAIT! The door is opening! They are stepping out! Is that a cane? A walker? Oh HELL no! Chick was on her cell phone and still is!!! Ain't nothing wrong with HER either!!! What is WRONG with people these days?!?! I swear! No wonder I see all these old people driving around the parking lots over and over and over again! It's because all these young people are taking up their parking spots using their grandma's cars!!!

Anyway, I won free ice cream today over on Tale of a Kansas Girl. I've never won anything before so that was kinda cool to win yummy ice cream! Tomorrow is Survey Saturday so look for something good to come from me if I can find something fun and flavorful! I also made some yummy goulash that I want to post the recipe for so look for that soon as well. I have been a slacker, I know. There's alot for me to catch up on! HA! But this is all for now.

TTFN

SITS...The Blogger's Disease

2008-07-27T00:00:00.001-04:00

So earlier in the week I stumbled upon this awsome site neatly abbreviated SITS or The Secret is in the Sauce. On said website they support each other by visiting fellow bloggers and commenting if they have this button on their profile proudly displayed. Every day they have a featured blogger and for the past 6 weeks I guess they have been giving away prizes randomly. This week they are giving away this...

Apple 4G iPod Nano in Silver. Plays up to 1,000 songs, 4 hours of video or 3,500 pictures! Do I NEED it? Hell no! But I think it would be cool to have to transfer all these songs off of my computer to make more room for better things like pictures! :)

So, I did was I was obligated to do per the terms of the contest. Now let us wait and see if I randomly win! And good luck to all my other fellow SITStas!!!

TTFN,

Mama Roho

50 ODD (Not Really) Things About ME!

2008-07-26T14:09:00.000-04:00

I got this in an email today from one of my best friends. I thought it was funny and, of course, answered some of the things pretty funny so I decided to make it a blog for Saturday. I was thinking, why not make this a little ritual on my part as well. Kinda like I see on here from a lot of people. They pick a day and make that day of the week a special day and stick to it. Like Mad Monday or Freaky Friday and they write something in particular on that day. I think I will make mine Survey Saturday and pick a survey that tells the blogging world all about little old (and I don't mean that literally because I am NOT old!)ME! I think it will be fun and you bloggers (and stalkers alike) will get to know me slowly but surely! YAY! This is going to be fun. Maybe.

Here we go!

50 ODD (Not Really) Things About ME ME ME!!!

1. Do you like chunky blue cheese? NO

2. Have you ever smoked heroin? No, but these days, it's possible it might be in our drinking water! LOL! kidding

3. Do you own a gun? No, but Balla owns a shotgun. I'd like a hand gun for when he is gone

4. What flavor do you add to your drink at sonic? I like cherry added to my diet coke

5. Do you get nervous before doctor Appointments? Yes. I hate the dentist and gynecologist

6. What do you think of hot dogs? yuck unless they are grilled all beef and those jewish ones

7. Favorite Christmas movie? um, i don't really know

8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? i like iced coffee in the summer, hot coffee in the winter...lots of espresso either way

9. Can you do push ups? yep. spent 7 years in the military so I had to

10. Age? 31 (see! not so old!)

11. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? my wedding ring and this new amber necklace and ankle bracelet i have

12. Favorite hobby? sex...I'll keep Lynn's answer and add that I like to blog as well. It helps with coping with my emotions

13. Favorite Actor/Actress? Well, I would like to say I do not have one, but I really dig Sean Connery

14. Do you have A.D.D.? maybe sometimes. I get distracted by this computer sometimes

15. What's one trait you hate about yourself? sometimes I curse a whole hell of a lot and I have no patience with my kids on some days

16. What is your Middle name? Lynne

17. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment. The dishes are calling my name, I miss Balla, I really need a perma sitter

18. Name 3 things you bought yesterday/today: not a damn thing

19. Favorite drink? rum and coke...I will say yes to Lynn's answer but it has to be my Costa Rican rum. Oh and I love love love beer

20. Current worry? my uterus

21. Current hate right now? i always hate my ex-husband because I feel he should have to pay for all the things I have had to pay for over the past 7 1/2 years

22. Favorite place to be? anywhere i can have a drink in my hand and not a care in the world

23. How did you bring in the New Year? at my house with a few friends watching a movie in the dark! lol

24. Where would you like to go? back to Costa Rica would be nice

25. Name three people who will complete this? Becky...Kara...Sharon

26. Do you own slippers? Nope. they were getting nasty so I...wait, I might

27. What shirt are you wearing? dark blue tank top

28. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? no, too slippery

29. Can you whistle? not too good

30. Favorite color? blue and green

31. Would you be a pirate? hell yeah!

32. What songs do you sing in the shower? too much ~~shit~~ crap in my head to sing in the shower

33. Favorite girl's name? uh, mine?

35. What is in your pocket right now? my cell...call it and my butt will vibrate

36. Last thing that made you laugh? typing that my butt would vibrate

37. Best bed sheets as a child? strawberry shortcake and holly hobbie were my fave

38. Worst injury you've ever had? hmmm...fractured ankle but only because I couldn't work the Pablo Francisco show at the FB :**(

39. Love where you live? I wouldn't call it love, no. I loathe this place.

40. How many TVs do you have in your house? 6...holy ~~shit~~ crap LYNN!!! We have 2 TVs. That is more than plenty.

41. Who is your loudest friend? Loudest? Gee...that is a hard one. We can all be loud if we want to.

42. How many dogs do you have? 2

43. Does someone have a crush on you? Sean Connery? LMFAO! Balla better. That dope.

44. What is your favorite book? Either the Green Mile or The Dark Tower Series. It's a toss up. Both by Stephen King though.

45. Where were you born? Good Old AK-Rowdy (Akron, Ohio for those of you non-natives)

46. What is your favorite candy? I don't like candy. Chocolate is a staple in my home when it is that time of the month though

47 Sports Team? Hmmm...Let me see...I am from Ohio...that would make me a mutha grabbin' CLEVELAND BROWNS FAN!!!!
Yeah, I know they suck and all that stupid blahzy blah, but when you have been a fan since birth, you stay a fan through thick and thin! DUH!!

48 . What song do you want played at your funeral? What? I gotta die? Whatev

49. What were you doing 12 AM last night? Watching "The Bucket List" Damn good movie

50. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? Am I awake? Shit.(No deleting that. Plain and simply did not want to wake up!)

I hope you enjoyed the first installment of Survey Saturday! I hope I remember to do this EVERY Saturday so you all get to know me better and so I can work on my curse word diet. I have issues especially when writing because the occasional "shit" pops in and always the "damn" so I have to really work on it. I don't think "damn" is that bad but the other really should go.

Until next time.

TTFN,

Mama Roho

EEEWWW That SMELL!

2008-07-24T23:36:00.000-04:00

Ok, so tonight is "gather all the trash" night so I can put it out in the morning and I had Kenzie grab the trash in the bathroom and then grab the worms out of the fridge and run them out to the can. I told her to put them in the fullest trash can so I only had to put one out this week since I have to get up for an early appointment tomorrow. Well she comes in almost throwing up from who knows what :rolling my eyes: (drama queen) and says the one can by the recycle bin WREEKS! I was like, ok, so did you put the trash in THAT bin then? And she was like, no, there was nothing in it! (Kinda dark back there for a short kid!) So I went out to investigate and OH MY GOSH!!!!! I came in and got the tongs for the fish tank, mixed up a soap and bleach concoction and grabbed Balla's industrial outdoor light. I donned my tank top over my nose, opened up the smelly container and the non-smelly container and leaned in. Laying there, in the container, was a dirty diaper?! Um, HELLO? No one that I know that has children in DIAPERS has been to my house lately! Mrs. Paruser uses cloth and the last time the Southern Bell threw away a diaper I watched her bag that thing up!!! (I clearly remember because she was nice about it and I laughed. Hysterically.) This thing was NOT bagged up!!! The WORST of the smell was coming from the fly bag. While they work WONDERS, once they are all used up and the water is all dried up, yeah. Not so nice smelling. I pulled that thing out of the bottom of the trash can and there were those little white worms all in the Ziploc bag(making throw up sounds)...thank goodness I put them in a ziploc bag!!!...and it just STANK!!!(NOW who's the drama queen?!) But back to the diaper! Why in the hell would you do that to someone, for real?? I KNOW it was my redneck neighbors. They are...well redneck is a nice word for them! Luckily I can get the stench out of my can, but HOLY COW did that stink!!!!

What The Hell Is Wrong With Me?

2008-07-22T22:10:00.000-04:00

Lately, the tears come freely. I can pretty much turn them on at will. Sometimes they even come without notice. I’m not quite sure WHY this is happening, but most of the time it is pretty ~~fucking~~ friggin’ annoying. (Still on the curse word diet.) Maybe it is because Balla leaves soon on a 7 month journey to that ugly place they call the Middle East? I mean I seem to turn on the waterworks as soon as he walks out the door for a week underway period so it’s possible! Maybe it is because my children seem to be demanding constant entertainment this summer. More so than last year? So much so that I feel like I am constantly on the go during the day and when I finally stop, it’s dinner time, and I have forgotten to take something out of the freezer so we end up at some dumb restaurant which only makes the day even worse. But then maybe it is just stress because my brain is full and I never get enough sleep so I feel like ~~shit~~ crap all the time and the kids do nothing but whine and ~~bitch~~ complain and it seems like being at home just sucks without Balla and I know I am going to have to do it without him for 7 FRIGGIN’ MONTHS! AHHHHHHHHH! (BTW, I really am doing well on my diet...when I'm not so upset! I just use babies! Thanks Squirt!)

Yeah, see, I need therapy. But at least I can admit it. Isn’t that one of the 12 steps? Wait, I’m not trying to recover from anything except this perpetual hangover. Bleh. I don’t feel depressed, just extremely stressed out and anxious and it sucks. I need a break…alone…or with some highly intoxicated friends and a karaoke mic! Who’s coming with me and, well, where are we going?

What Part of NO Don't You FRIGGIN' Understand?!

2008-07-16T22:55:00.000-04:00

"How come all you ever say is NO!?"
"Momma, can we play the Wii?" "NO!"
"Momma, can we go to Water Country tomorrow?" "NO!"
"Momma, can we go out to eat?" "NO!"
"Momma, can I get on the computer for an hour?" "NO!"
"Momma, can you make us dinner?" "NO!"

Well, I guess I should have said "yes" to that last one since I said "no" to lunch. I'm kidding! This is one of the reasons why I changed the title of my blog to "The NO! Mom's Blog" because my son so seriously asked me why I always said no. I tried to keep track one day of how many times I said it and lost count after 52...yes, I say "no" a whole heck of a lot!

I also curse a lot. A WHOLE lot. I spent 7 years in the US Navy serving with mostly men who, at one glorious time, bowed to me whenever I said the word "pussy" or "mother f*&ker" just because they never heard a female say curse words! But I noticed lately, with my increase in frustration, my increase in the frequency of my usage of not only the "normal" curse words but also my favorite word F*CK! I have replaced most of my curse words with...creative words. So, for now, I am on a curse word diet. Let's see how long this ~~shit~~ crap lasts! OY!

I have so much more to blog about, but it seems to be stuck in my head right now. Not sure why, but I think I will go take a head laxative and see if that helps. Now that I am down a kid, maybe that will free up some brain cells and allow me type away. For now, this is all you get. WOO HOO! Now someone get me a beer...

TTFN,
Mama Roho

Have You Ever?

2008-07-03T23:52:00.000-04:00

Have you ever wanted to hide away for days, or better yet, months at a time because your life seems to be just so...ahhh? Have you ever wanted to pull out your hair, one strand at a time because it would feel better than the emotions that are ~~pounding~~ pulverizing your skull and making your head spin out of control? Have you ever wanted get into the dryer with the wet clothes, turn it on high and just tumble because the pain of tumble dry would feel alot better than the screeching sound in your ears when the kids wake you up at 7 o'clock in the morning?

The past couple of weeks have been trying to say the least. The kids have been out of school and pretty much demand...no...COMMAND my attention 24/7. And the whining...oh the insatiable whining!...I thought that shit stopped! Hell no it doesn't! Maybe it is PMS or old age or insanity creeping up on me. Or maybe it is just the fact that my mother was right and my children are completely and utterly fucking SPOILED! I thought I could handle them, but when I go out of my way to do all these nice things for them and don't even get a ~~"blow me"~~ "thank you", yeah, I give up! I had to PULL OVER ON THE SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY to stop a fight between my 9 and 7 year old girls tonight. We weren't even gone from the park for 1/2 a minute and they were arguing over...get this shit...CUP HOLDERS!!! For real? A cup holder? You are going to make me almost wreck my car by arguing over a mother effing cup holder???? Oy.

So Diapers and Wine, I wasn't kidding when I said it doesn't get easier because they get bigger, they talk back, they cry louder and they learn how to say "I HATE you!" and "I wish you weren't my mom!" Boo to the big kids today. I wish I could go on strike. I wish I could take my bottle of rum, a bag of ice and a 2 liter of coke and hide in my room for a couple of hours until I can't feel my head anymore.

Have you ever wanted to just roll one and disappear for a few? LMFAO!

TTFN, Happy 4th

Mama RoHo

Can You Remember This ONE Thing, Please?

2008-06-28T01:15:00.000-04:00

I'm scared. In two weeks from today, Saturday, July 12th, it will be my 5th wedding anniversary. Over the past month I have ~~drilled~~ mentioned a few times the date to Balla with the hopes that he will remember and do something special. I'm afraid he is going to forget. Forget like he forgot Mother's Day or the few other things he's forgotten over the past year. I'm afraid of getting my feelings hurt because this time it will hurt worse than it has hurt in a long time and I don't want to feel that way again. He's a great guy, really, and I love him with all my heart and soul, but forgetting something this big even a great guy with a shitty memory needs ~~his legs broken with a baseball bat~~ to see someone "special". He would definately deserve everything I threw at him...words and all.

I go all out for him. I should be the man. I know what he likes and dislikes in pretty much every facet of his life but when it comes to me, he knows nothing and does not take the time to even ask. Five years is a long time to be married and still not know what a person's likes and dislikes are to the point where you cannot go out and buy them something without asking.

What would I do? What would I say? How in the hell would I recover if he forgot such a milestone in our life especially since this is the anniversary that we have discussed, in detail, for the past few years? We have been through SO MUCH over the past 5 years that I am hoping, praying (which I do NOT pray) that he remembers. To forget would be a tragedy and just might put me over the edge that I have been teetering on now for the past few months. Mother's Day was one thing, not bringing back anything from deployment, trivial (a shot glass????) and just not doing anything at all for me for the past 2 YEARS for my birthday...I just hope he remembers OUR day.

I'm not a hard person, really. I don't ask for much. But I do ask that you remember me...when it's important.

TTFN,

Mama Roho

Temporarily Insane Mom of Four

2008-06-18T11:44:00.000-04:00

I never thought for a ~~HOUR~~ ~~MINUTE~~ SECOND that life with four ~~rowdie~~ precious children would be so hard and demanding. Trying to keep these people entertained 24/7 has been a job in itself. They definately keep ME entertained. Let's take this picture for instance...

That is my nephew James. He is 10yrs old and weighs in at 135lbs. What in the HELL was he thinking when he decided to put this thing over his head??? Max weight on one of these things is 40lbs! The age on the package is 3-5!! I swear. Children!

In the end, I think I must have lost my mind when I volunteered my free time to take in an extra child for a month. But who can resist cousinly love like this?

TTFN,

Mama Roho

Friends...Can't Live With Them...Can't Live Without Them!

2008-06-14T22:19:00.000-04:00

I am the one who answers the phone at 2am when someone needs to chat because they are drunk, in emotional pain, or just need someone to talk to. I am the one who everyone else turns to when they need that friend to vent to just because I am here and really have nothing else to do. I am the one that puts myself out there FOR the venting and the phone calls and really, honestly, I do NOT mind, not one bit. I was put on this earth to help and that is what I do...at least I THINK that is what I do.

Some days I think that the more I say, the more advice I give, the more people ignore it. Some days I think that when I talk, it is to a brick wall and brick walls, well, they do not talk back! Some days I think I would be better off ignoring the venting friend because it puts me smack dab in the middle of drama that I do not want to be involved in. Some days I think that some people THRIVE on drama like it was their way to breathe. Well guess what? Drama sucks the life right out of you.

What is my point. Hmmm...good question. My point would be that first of all, for a woman, it is really hard to find other women that you can actually stand to be in the same room with. Once you find women you can tolerate, it is equally hard, if not harder, to make FRIENDS with those women because women are ~~catty~~ bitches. Women tend to "click" and once they "click" they bond and once they bond it is hard to break that bond and join that "click". IF you can break that bond just a little bit and nudge your way in to that "click", it is really hard to find that ONE person you can call best friend. Shit, even if you get in, it's hard to find someone you can call your GOOD friend! Sometimes it is even hard to STAY once you get in. It is like trying to join a group with dues...there is always SOME price to pay.

I believe there is a reason why each and every person enters and exits your life. A while back a high school friend of mine found something and posted it on myspace and I ~~stole~~ borrowed it from her. It makes complete sense especially when thinking about your friends, what they really mean to you and what they mean to your life. I know when I first read it I thought, 'I could have written this myself.' It is my thoughts, in a blog, EXACTLY.

So, humor me, my stalkers, and read the passage below. Remember that everyone comes into your life for a reason and they leave for a reason as well. It might hurt when they leave, but maybe it is what is right. You may THINK you want them to leave, but maybe this is a time you need to grow together and learn. Patience is a virtue...

People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime. When you know which one it is, you will know what to do for that person.

When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed. They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually. They may seem like a godsend and they are. They are there for the reason you need them to be. Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end. Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away. Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand. What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled, their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.

Some people come into your life for a SEASON, because your turn has come to share, grow or learn. They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done. They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy. Believe it, it is real. But only for a season.

LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons, things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life. It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.

With that said, I want to thank you all for being a part of my life, whether you are a reason, a season or a lifetime.

TTFN,

Mama Roho

Race...ism...ist...Virginia...Whatever. Call Me/It What You Will

2008-06-10T01:57:00.000-04:00

I have 3 beautiful children and a wonderful husband that put up with my ~~shit~~ ~~crap~~ stuff day in and day out. And with the exception of about 10-12 days out of the month, I am a fairly stable, harmless, happy, but opinionated woman…except for lately. I do not know if it is because of this STATE and the MISERABLE people I have run into since moving here in 2002 or if it is because I am just getting older and finally finding my roots (yeah right), but I have found myself becoming more and more profoundly racist as the months drag by and I HATE it! Let’s take today for a really horribly perfect example!

I was on my way home from somewhere, can’t remember where because I was so pissed off afterwards I forgot where I was coming from, on the phone with Mrs. Paruser idly chatting about who knows what in my own lane. (Let’s set this up.) On the road there are TWO left turn lanes…one that goes straight once you turn and one that goes right into Wal-Mart once you turn…I was in the straight left turn lane because I CLEARLY wanted to go HOME! DUH! Well I guess someone in the RIGHT TURN Wal-Mart lane wanted to do the same (not go to my house, but go straight!) and decided it would be cool to try to come into my lane while I was turning and then had the ~~BALLS~~ COOKIES to honk their horn and throw their hands up in the air like I was in the wrong! HELLO! I was in my lane and YOU wanted to get over AFTER you turned, asshat! Anyway, I was hot because I don’t use my air and irritated because I had already had another “encounter” earlier so I told Mrs. Paruser to pardon my French because I was about to get vulgar. So, while said person was throwing his hands in the air at me, I yelled a horrible racist remark at him and flipped him off! That just is NOT me! I mean COME ON!!!! I do NOT resort to stuff like that! Well, I use my middle finger, but NEVER comments like that!!! Oy. I am officially a Racist Bitch. :(

So, I do not feel like myself. I feel like I am living in a world of fake people. Like my brother-in-law said, I should not feel like I have to keep my feelings inside when I am mad just because I am afraid of getting shot or stabbed! HA! (I know, easy for him to say. He lives in Arkansas in the middle of nowhere!) I guess my point is, I rant and rant about racism and how it is horrible and there I was, spewing out that nasty word…with my damn windows down. I could have been shot!

Directions Please!

2008-06-05T23:05:00.000-04:00

Ever wonder why a man always fails to take the extra minute to read the directions? How about why said man scratches his head trying to figure out what he did wrong BECAUSE he didn't read said directions? Let me just say that our little deck project is turning in to a nightmare because said man is NOT reading the FULL instructions.

We are building a deck to attach our pool to our current deck. Not TOO complicated, but it involves angles and other stuff. When we started, I pulled a "man" and couldn't find the instructions so we cut the boards the wrong size for 3 out of the 4 sections and had to recut them. Luckily they were too LONG so we could just cut them shorter. :) Well today, he was laying blocks for the posts and he layed them all out nice and pretty and level. He then set guts on top of the blocks to make sure the blocks were layed out the right way. Everytime he set the guts on top of the leveled blocks, the guts wouldn't connect, he'd have to relevel them and he just couldn't figure out why! So, I went and got the directions...what a damn good concept...and read them. Right there, plain and simple, it says to lay out 4 blocks, level them, put up posts, level them, cut posts, attach guts and continue with the next section! DUH!!! No wonder the sections weren't lining up! Your dumb ass wasn't reading the directions!

Lesson of the day: Directions are good for the man-soul! READ THEM FIRST!!!

TTFN,

Mama Roho

Copy Cat!

2008-06-04T22:47:00.001-04:00

I decided that since everyone else has one that I would get one too! Imagine that! I have silly, random things to say most days, why not keep them here with a link on my website that way people aren't FORCED to read them! They can read them if they WANT to instead! HAHA!!! Some days my rantings can be quite the annoyance and extrememly random, but I have to get them out or I will explode. I mean I live in a house with children, animals and, well, children and animals. ;) I guess you could say I have no one to talk to except a computer screen because I am too much of a chicken to pick up the phone and call one of my MANY friends on my contacts list I KNOW I can count on to lend me an ear. Guess it is just because of all the times I have done that and been slammed. :( Not a fun feeling.

Anyway, this is the start of my blogs. Hopefully I can keep up with them. It would be nice to keep them up to date and keep my nonsense out of control on a different board other than my mommy board! DOH!

Till later!

TTFN,

Mama Roho