Weekend Catch Up...

Thank freaking goodness for the second trimester of pregnancy!!!!! I was starting to think I would never again feel even close to human again. The evil "morning" sickness is over, unless I'm hungry of course, and the headaches are bearable. I'm still tired but not nearly as much as before. I don't think I've taken a nap in like 4 or 5 days! And I've been able to make meals for dinner without the smells making me want to hurl. I'm so excited! I'm pretty sure the rest of the household is too! lol.

So Friday was a crazy day! J had to work for a few hours in the morning so D and I decided that at nap time, she and I would go get hair cuts. Miss Teeny is old enough to babysit. So I text J and told him what we were doing but he said he was almost done at work and needed a hair cut too. So we said ok, we'd wait for him and all of us would go. While waiting for him S showed up and it was decided she would tag along with us. J was way late of course plus still needed a shower. Finally we all left. Didn't have time for hair cuts at this point cause I had a 1:45 doctors appointment. So we all went to the park instead. Then all 8 of us went to my appointment. Miss Teeny and Jordyn got to go back with me this time and see the ultrasound. Baby is doing perfect. Then we went to get lunch cause I was starving. Think they all were too! lol. Afterwards, finally off to get our haircuts. D's took forever! lol. Her hair is so thick plus she does layers, I don't. Then we split up sending all kids home with D, S's boyfriend came to get her, and J and I headed off to pick up the boys for the weekend. Run back home, drop us off, then J had like a 45 minute drive to pick up his other "daughter" Tilly for the weekend. I'm at home getting things ready for later that night. D gave Hunter and Holly a much needed late nap and I fed A and Mr. Man. By the time J and Tilly got back we had everything ready, then it was off to Nitro Jams. Drag racing! So we are standing by the car getting everything organized, and all of a sudden my leg hurts bad! Takes a minute then we realize Mr. Man and Hunter are trying to play with some big black ants. Two of them had quickly made their way up my pant legs! I'm reaching all the way down my pants  picking up ants and throwing them on the ground! So I end up sitting in J's car, taking my shoes and pants off, checking for more ants! Not fun!!! My legs freaking hurt!!!! So, get everything all settled and off to the races. Walked around for a bit looking at cars and stuff then found us a great seat where we could all fit plus the double and umbrella strollers. Things were going great. The first car got ready, then had an oil spill. It took like an hour to get that cleaned up! We walked around, ate snacks I had packed, cause I'm awesome like that, and waited, and waited....Eventually we were hungry and me, J, D, Mr. Man and Holly went in search of food. Other than kettle corn, way too expensive! I came up with just eating that plus the two bags of popcorn I brought and eating afterwards. So that's what we did, The races finally got started. We had to cover Holly's ears each time but other than that everybody did great. My legs had stopped hurting but I later discovered this was only because of the cold. Once I got warm again, they hurt again. We ended up leaving before it was completely done but we saw most of it. It was almost midnight when we left. So we grabbed some family packs at taco bell and headed home. The little kids hardly ate then crashed. I ate 3 soft tacos. I was hungry. About 1amthe adults finally got to crash. Then poor J, he had to be at work the next morning by like 7:15.  Most of the kids slept til like 10:30 this morning! WOW! Yesterday really was a crazy ass day! lol. Now after writing and rereading all of that, I think it's time for a snack and maybe a nap! lol. 

 

At Nitro Jam. There were 10 of us and that's how many balloons we ended up with too. 8 of them attatched to the two strollers!

 

Posing with the Black Pearl! Arg.....

 

Shockwave...wow was he loud and bad ass! lol

Hormones and other rants

My hormones must be off the freaking chart!!!! So far I think this might actually be my most difficult pregnancy. I'm tired constantly, can't hardly stand the smell of anything, especially food. I feel like crying but can't. Feel like screaming, but again can't. I feel depressed, mad, sad and confused. Half the time I don't know what the hell I'm doing or feeling. Between this emotional roller coaster, nausea and migraines, I have no motivation to do anything besides the bare necessities. And that just depresses me even more.

I'm even starting to really really miss the small town in Ohio that I just moved away from. I've wanted to come back to Tucson for so many years now, but now that I'm here, I just don't know. I hate the schools and there's too much crime. My daughter's elementary school was put on lock down last week cause the was a shooting in the area! They didn't even call the parents. Just sent home notes at the end of the day. And Jordyn hates this school. She can't stand her teacher, and the kids are all so bad that the whole class loses their recess on a regular basis. Every time I've sent a note to her teacher about something, she never responds. Her work hardly ever gets sent home, and I haven't seen one of her spelling test since she started there. This just doesn't work for me. I need to be kept informed on what is going on with my child at school. We didn't have any of these problems at her old school. The staff was amazing, the kids were friendly, and Jordyn thrived there. I really really don't want to homeschool her but I'm seriously considering it!

And I really need to find something I can do from home to make money. I don't want to give up the benefits of staying home with my kids while they're young, but I need to make money. Hubby who I'm separated from, is no help financially, and even though I take care of the house and all of the kids, I still just feel too dependant on others. I need something to give me some sense of Independence. But there's so many work at home scams out there, that I'm not sure how to go about finding something legit. Does anybody have any advice?

Kreativ Blogger Award

I just got a huge and very exciting surprise today! Life has been so crazy lately that I've been really slacking on blogging, both writing and reading other amazing bloggers. So imagine my surprise when I wandered over to Cinnamon's blog to play catch up and see that she passed an award on to me! Totally made my day! Cinnamon is amazingly awesome but now that's just been tripled!

Here's the rules:

1. Thank & link back to the person who gave you the award,

2. Answer the form questions below.

3. Share ten random facts / thoughts about yourself.

4. Nominate (at least) 7 other blogs for the Kreativ Blogger Award.

So a HUGE Thank You to a smart, funny, wonderful, unforgettable person and fellow blogger Cinnamon from Cinnamon's Spicy Life. If you haven't checked her out yet, then you're definitely missing out!

Now for the questions:

Favorite song: There's no way I can pick one song! I love music and a lot of it just depends on the mood I'm in. I love songs where you can feel the music and that tells a story. Bob Segar's Turn the Page is a favorite cause I love the saxophone in the beginning. Nickleback's Far Away is high on my list too. It's a perfect love song. My playlist bounce around a lot if you can't tell! lol

Favorite dessert: Chocolate. Chocolate. Chocolate. And cheesecake! Although since I'm prego right now anything can be considered a dessert depending on my mood.

What ticks me off: Lying, dishonesty, rudeness, disrespect.

When I'm upset: I'm not very good at hiding my feelings and your best bet is to just leave me alone until I'm ready to talk.

Favorite pet: At the moment we have a very sweet 4 year old red nosed pit. He's great with the kids and ever since I got pregnant he's been stuck to me like an extra shadow.

Black or white: When it comes to clothes, black. It usually matches everything and it helps hide extra weight. With furniture though I'd say neither. They both show dirt or dust too badly.

Biggest fear: Spiders! I don't care how little or big they are! They are creepy nasty looking freaky creatures! I shudder to think about them even! UGH!

Everyday attitude: Usually I try to start each day out on a positive note but that's kinda difficult lately because every single day I'm battling bad headaches and nausea and intense fatigue. I can't wait until this part of pregnancy is over so I can feel normal again. I know my family can't wait either! lol

What is perfection: It doesn't exist. The closest you can get to perfection is just doing your best in everything you do. Honestly, I think perfection would be boring too. The little "mistakes" or quirks are part of what makes life interesting.

My guilty pleasure: There's a drawer in the fridge that the kids aren't allowed in. It's mostly filled with chocolate!!!

Here's the ten random facts about me:

1. I'm addicted to crime shows like Bones, Law and Order: SVU, and NCIS. I just love them!

2. I'm completely dreading cleaning and doing laundry today.

3. I am already thinking about baby names and I don't even know what I'm having yet, though I'm praying for a girl. I don't think I can handle another one of these crazy boys!

4. I would love to write a book but I'm too scared to fail that I haven't even really begun.

5. I love when my babies climb in bed with me to snuggle and watch tv.

6. I can't stand to cook meat right now cause the smell nauseates me. Although I am marinating steaks right now in Italian dressing. Hopefully I can cook it!

7. I love to read but I can't hardly stay awake long enough to even read a page lately.

8. I'd like to have my own business I just don't know what I want to do.

9. I've been having really crazy vivid dreams every night. I just can't really remember them in the morning.

10. I could have swore I felt a baby flutter the other night but I know it's too early for that. More like wishful thinking.

Ok, time to pass it on!

1. Heather at Mommy Only Has 2 Hands. She is so awesome! She just had a baby not too long ago and she still finds time to work on her wonderful blog. Plus her blog hops are some of my favorites.

2. Chantelle at Life Un-Airbrushed. She has a very straight forward, honest way of writing and looking at life. She's deep and insightful yet light and funny at the same time.

3. Danielle at Secrets of a Sweet Southern Girl. Formerly Scandal in the Choir Loft, this sweetly scandalous blogger host some of the best writing contest and has the most entertaining interviews with other bloggers.

4. Maria at Tough Cookie Mommy. She has some really awesome giveaways and reviews and also host another one of my favorite blog hops, Monday Mingle.

5. Boobies, Babies, & A Blog   is by far one of my very favorite blogs. She is hilarious and honest! A great combination. I love her giveaways, especially the KY ones, and her reviews are wonderful. I especially love her post SH#T The Boss Says! about the things her son tells her.

6. I can't leave out Mama Kat over at Mama's Losin' it. You can't pass out an award for creativity without including her. Her writing prompts are truly wonderful and inspiring!

7. Allison at Twingle Mommy. This blog is a new one for me but I'm already in bloggy love! She has three adorable little girls, she takes beautiful pics, and has wonderful ideas for decorating her girls' room and for birthday parties! You've gotta check her out!

1 year of blogging

Wow, I just realized that February 19th marked my one year of blogging! Can I just say WOW again! My aunt, who also started blogging around that time, is the one who got me into it. And I am so very grateful for that. There have been many many days that either writing on here or reading other mom's blogs have saved my sanity! I love the blogging community and the sense of knowing I'm not in this alone. We all have our moments when kids or spouses drive us crazy, or complete strangers manage to piss us off, or best friends touch our hearts. All of these everyday things that happen in our lives, blogging gives us a chance to share that.

I know that a lot of bloggers host a big giveaway or something for their blog anniversaries, and I would love to, but I really don't have anything to give away other than my appreciation. Thank you to everybody who has supported my blog, either by reading it, following me, or giving me advice. I couldn't have come this far without you. And I hope to continue foreward with my writing.

I thought I'd end with sharing some links to a few of my favorite blogs. I'm just sorry that I can't list them all. I also thought I'd through in a few links to some of my earlier blog post.

Again, thank you everybody. I hope to make it another year!

A few of my favorite blogs:

Cinnamon's Spicy Life 

Lady Goo Goo Gaga

Life Un-Airbrushed

Motherhood, WTF?

From Mrs. to Mama

A few of my first posts:

Diaper Disaster

Facebook and Texting

Things you never thought you would say to your child

The cleaning fairies must be on strike! 

A giant bunny or a man in a costume 

Here we go again.....

 

I still can't believe I'm pregnant with baby number 4!!! If any of you have ever had the Essure Procedure done, run to your doctor's office and have them make sure you're still sealed up tight! Don't get me wrong. Now that the shock is starting to fade I'm just as happy as I was all the other times, this time was just a bit of a surprise!

What would really be nice though is if all this damn "morning" sickness and complete exhaustion would just go away. I for one, think I deserve at least one pregnancy without months of unrelenting nausea and headaches. But nope, it's just not meant to be I guess. So I will suffer, in not quite silence, and let my friends, who are so wonderfully awesome, continue to pamper help me.

I will admit though that I can't walk into a store without somehow ending up in the baby aisle. Not on purpose of course! And I have to continuously fight the urge to start buying baby things. I keep telling myself I should put this off until I actually find out what I'm having. But I can't help the urge to think of baby names. It doesn't matter though because I will change my mind at least a dozen times before the baby is actually born.

One really cool thing though, no matter if it's a boy or a girl (leaning towards a girl), I have one friend with a 3 month old little boy and another with a 2 month old little girl. So either way, I'm so covered on hand-me-downs!

Have any of you had any unexpected little bundles of joy?

I peed on a stick.....

I figured that title would get your attention! So almost two years ago, after having Miss Holly, I had a procedure done called Essure. It's basically where they take these little springs, plug your fallopian tubes and it grows around it and locks out any little swimmers. Two years with no problems. I'm sealed up tighter then Alcatraz right? Evidently not! I kept telling my friend D to remind me that it was just stress that was causing me to be a week late, moody and irrational and so unbelievably tired. The good friend she is, she assured me. The better friend she is, she offered to go get me a pregnancy test to calm me down. The most awesome friend she is, she sat with me while waiting for the little hour glass to stop blinking on the pee stick. It didn't even take the full three minutes! My response. "Holy f***ing sh**!!!" That was repeated quite a few times I believe.

Now with that Essure thing I knew it was dangerous to be pregnant because it causes a high risk for an ectopic pregnancy. So they next day some friends took me out to the emergency room to get checked out. After about six hours of mostly waiting, they tell me that it is most likely ectopic. I'm in tears and these people suck at answering questions. All they really tell me is that they can't see anything even with an ultra sound. I had to explain to each person I dealt with what Essure was even! And they call themselves doctors! So they refer me to an ob/gyn and say I have to make an appointment within 24-48 hours to have more blood work done so that my hormone levels can be checked.

First thing the next morning I call to make the appointment and they fit me in the next day. At this point I am waiting for blood work to come back and for my next checkup and ultra sound next week. So far I haven't had any pain or spotting. It's just felt like a normal pregnancy. So hopefully I will be getting good news soon. Wish me luck!

Facing Demons Book Review

This is one of the best books I've had the privilege to review in awhile! At 186 pages it's a quick easy read while also being extremely thought provoking. The main characters consist of a racist gang-member, a child prostitute, an African refugee, a thrill seeking rich kid and the man who is determined to save them, both from themselves and from the cruelties each has endured.

Honestly, it's rather difficult to find the right words to tell you about this book, without giving away too much information. It is written in a very straight forward way with no sugar coating. It's broken up so that it's told from each characters point of view and the tone of the book really lets you get a sense of how they each feel. It's a wonderful book both for adults and teens. It gives just enough details without being overly graphic. Actually, now that I'm finished with it, my friends 13 year old daughter is going to read it.

The author, Ashley Sanders is currently working on prequels to this book where he goes into greater detail on the lives of these characters. I sincerely hope I get the chance to review these as well and I would also love to see him write a follow up book following their paths to recovery.

You can follow the author here at...

http://bazzavswild.blogspot.com/ 

http://www.ashleysanders.com.au/ 

http://www.facebook.com/authorashleysanders 

https://twitter.com/#!/ashleysanders84 

Let the boxing match begin!

I think we need to buy those blow up boxing gloves. Who are the contenders? In this corner weighing in at 30 pounds you have 3 1/2 year old Hunter and in this corner weighing in at a whopping 35 pounds you have 4 year old Aiden! They are the best of friends and the worst of enemies all at the same time. As soon as one of them wakes up in the morning or they are away from each other for any length of time, they are asking for each other. One of the last things Hunter tells me before he goes to bed is that when he wakes up he's going to play with Aiden. But most of the time, 5 minutes into their playing, the boxing starts. I'm convinced you can hear the screaming and yelling all the way back in Ohio! It usually starts over a toy and immediately leads to slapping, biting, punching, kicking, you name it, they do it. And unless you see it for yourself, you never really know who's at fault. Lately it gets so aggravating that we've started telling them if one of them is in trouble, they both get in trouble. We just started this like two days ago so I'm not really sure if it's working or not yet. On the highly likely chance that it doesn't work, anybody have any other ideas? The usual time out and talking to them about what they've done wrong just doesn't seem to be getting us anywhere.

More night time horrors

You may be curious about how things are going at night since the whole Night time horrors post. I wish they were going better! The next night I let Holly have one bottle to go to bed and after that I made her take a sippy cup instead. She screamed NO, threw herself down and screamed and kicked! I basically said 'Oh well and I love you. Night night" and walked out of the room. This went on off and on for about 2-3 hours. I would check on her in between to make sure she was ok and let her know I was still there. Somehow Hunter remained asleep through all of this.

I guess she got fed up eventually because the next time I went in to check on her she had removed her pants and her diaper and threw it across the room. Now here's the kicker. The diaper had nice little balls of shit in it! Nice, right? Yeah! So I'm using the light from my phone so I don't wake up Hunter, and baby wipes to look around her bed and the room trying to find all these pieces of shit. Not fun! And during this Miss Holly is just laughing and having a good ole time! I wish I knew exactly what she was thinking! It was probably along the lines of "Haha mommy, next time give me my damn bottle!"

Any ideas on how to go about this now? So far I'm just not having much luck!

Night time horrors

As much as I dearly love my children, it's nights like this that I'm just so freaking done! It's a little after 11pm. Hunter and Holly have been in bed since about 7:30pm. They took an average nap today, played a lot, and it's been a rainy day which always makes them extra tired. So why the hell are they still awake and tormenting me?!

Hunter has had countless hugs and kisses. Holly has had two diapers and is on her fifth, let me repeat FIFTH bottle! I can't decide if once the sun goes down they either hate me or love my company way too much! Now, you may be thinking that my precious little ones are just having a bad night right? Let me assure you, they're not! This is a nightly occurrence. Am I a sweet, caring, nurturing mommy who simply tucks them back into bed each and every time? Nope. Maybe the first two or three times one or two times, but after that I'm threatening spankings, no more bottles, and even calling Santa to come take their presents back. Yes, I am a mean mommy like that! This results in tears and promises to go to sleep like good little children. But they lie! Ten minutes later, if I'm that lucky even, Hunter has something he needs to tell me, needs another kiss and hug, or is crying because Holly threw her empty bottle right at his head. The bottle throwing usually happens at least twice a night.

I don't get what it is about night time that turns my little angels into screaming devils. They don't fight me this badly at nap time. Hunter goes potty, gets tucked in and goes right to sleep. Holly gets her diaper changed, gets ONE bottle and snuggles in with her blankie and panda's head (another post). So again I ask. Why do they hate me at night? When will this nightly ritual end? When will there be peace and quiet in the evenings? Nights like this, 18 just can't come soon enough. But then morning will come and my snugly little babies will be bright eyed and happy to see me and somehow I will manage to block out the horrors of the night before. Until the next bedtime that is!

The Swiss Cheese Theory of Life Book Review

I've really been falling behind on my reading lately which also means I've been slacking on my book reviews! So I figured I better get to it.

This time around I read The Swiss Cheese Theory of Life "How to get through life's holes without getting stuck in them!" By Judith A. Belmont, MS and Lora Shor, MSW.

The first thing that caught my interest about this book was definitely the title! Comparing our lives to swiss cheese with all it's many holes seemed like an intriguing metaphor. And very accurate too! Without the many holes of varying shapes and sizes, swiss simply would not be swiss.The same is true for each of us. It's the "holes" or challenges that we face that makes each of us unique.

We spend so much of our lives dwelling on the past and all of the woulda, shoulda, couldas that many times we fail to realize all of the amazing things that we do have in our lives or the things that we could have if we just let go of the past and paid attention. The Swiss Cheese Theory of Life uses different cheeses to relate to our lives, with all their many different tastes and textures. Filled with lots of quotes and handy little tips offered by The Swiss Wiz and The Swiss Cheese Fairy, this book is a wonderful and entertaining way to come to terms with life's many disappointments and also a guide to turning those roadblocks into successes!

"When one door closes another door opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us."

-Alexander Graham Bell 

With chapters titled...

Fondue can never turn back into a block of cheese...

No whine with the cheese, please!...

Living whole despite the holes!...

Smile and say cheese!...

Just to name a few, this book is a must read for anybody!



Seriously Thursday!?

I've been missing for awhile so I'm not really sure if anybody is still doing Seriously Thursday with From Mrs.To Mama but I have PLENTY of things that have made me go SERIOUSLY!? lately.

Seriously...can my 3 year old Hunter and my room mates 4 year old ever go one day without fighting and arguing with each other???? They start asking for each other as soon as they wake up or if they have to spend a few hours without each other, but then when you put them together it's fighting, biting, punishing, kicking, toy stealing...you name it, they do it! Is this like dogs trying to establish who is the Alpha male? Whatever it is, I seriously wish they would stop!

Seriously...I think this has officially been the longest week in the history of the world!!!!!! You name it and it's gone wrong this week. It's been nothing but one emotional roller coaster after another. As I type this there is more screaming from the mini alpha males....calgon take me away!

Seriously...Why does Hunter spend the 2 hours before dinner asking to be fed, like he's really just wasting away, then when it's actually time to sit down and eat he decides he's not really hungry.

Seriously...On a positive note, Monday was my birthday and a bunch of amazing made the whole weekend awesome and very special for me. I seriously love you guys!

Seriously...My room mates are completely awesome too. I've had a few melt downs this week and they have seriously helped me to de-stress lately. Much love you guys!

Seriously...I am so happy to be back to blogging again!!!!!!!!!!

Birthday Cookout

Well tomorrow is my 29th birthday, generally I'm claiming to be 25 still. Don't judge, I'm sure you've done it at some point too! So last night we had a birthday cookout. Sooo much fun! I have truly amazing friends who always manage to make things not only special but also highly entertaining! I'd have to say one of the highlights of the evening was the unwrapping of my gift. Now if you know me at all then you know that I hate to be the center of attention. This is something that I try to avoid at all cost! Do my friends know this about me? Yep! Do they care? Nope! So after using every possible excuse I could come up with to not go outside and be put in the spotlight, my lovely friends decide to bring the present, wrapped in Justin Bieber paper, (my payback from Christmas! Thanks Shannon!) inside where I could no longer hide. I will admit to cheating though. I enlisted the help of about 7 kids! And it's a good damn thing too cause this thing was sealed up tighter than Alcatraz! It was wrapped, and boxed, and duct taped I don't know how many times! Again, a little bit of payback for my Christmas wrapping this year! Due to some technical difficulties, there are no videos of this! Thank goodness! So the end result? This cute little netbook that I am now blogging on! I am so excited! I haven't really been able to do much writing lately since the computer is in the bedroom and there are 6 kids in this house. Kinda hard to make sure nobody is trying to burn the house down when I'm at the back of the house! So now, thanks to my awesome, amazing, fantastic friends, I can blog again!!!!