well....my weekend went well....this week, however, has been chaos....see the post from a few days ago (about me being happy and basking in the moment because i know that it can't always be good?), and know that the other shoe has dropped! ROFLOL

ok....the weekend....i went home, and it was wonderful. i saw my dad on his birthday, my grandma on hers...some of my extended family got to meet the twins for the first time, i got to stay with my other grandma and grandpa....it was busy, but definitely one of my better visits home. i am glad, however, that i don't live down there.....it's one word: breastfeeding. those who gave birth during the period where formula was at its pinnacle do not like to see a woman breastfeeding after 12 months. i would be a rich woman if i got money for every time my grandmother told me that it was time to wean them.... :) oh, well.....sorry, folks, you'll be seeing my nipples until the babies decide they're done. ;)

well, throughout the weekend, erin was spitting up....and when she did, there were always reasons why it could be other than being sick...........she threw up half-chewed french fries (oh, what parent doesn't experience this, i ask of you?); i thought she was chip-munking them and spit them out when she fell asleep......she spit up on my grandma's floor (which, incidentally, my uncle had just shampooed...THERE's murphy's law at it's best!); i thought it was because she had chocolate milk (which she doesn't really drink too frequently, even though i offer it) and lemonade back to back (eeeewwwww....but you know what citrus products do to milk, don't you?)........but i didn't figure out until driving down 465 that what she really has was the flu (or some whack intestinal virus) that her dad's been suffering with.....

.......................we've not thrown up since 10 o'clock this morning........it's been a long week!

needless to say, my back-to-back weekends in huntingburg aren't happening..... sorry to joshua, my baby brother, who's now 18 (what the hell happened to me?? he can't be old enough to procreate, he just can't!), whom i was going to surprise by coming to senior night and to his district band competition....i'm quite bummed out by this! :(

oh, and before i end today's novel, i have a bit of meanness to share for the pure entertainment value of it........yes, i'm driving the bus to hell..........i get an unmarked letter in the mail yesterday, but recognize right away who's writing it is........it would be gage's mother's handwriting.....she has the audacity to write me a receipt for fifty dollars or to return the clothes that she gave griffin and the unused (my ass!) package of pull-ups that i had (that i left outside by the mailbox for two days and then someone other than her, apparently, took). ok.....if you've made it this far, please provide in the comments field what action i should take. i'm really struggling here.....i really want to be the bigger person, especially after being called "rediculously juvenile", but part of me wants to write her a receipt for the amount that she would owe me had i asked her to pay me for 1) the time when her check bounced that i wound up having to pay well over 25 bucks for MY OWN checks bouncing....2)the time that she didn't pay me or question whether she should pay me after having taken gage out for a week(even though we had briefly talked about maybe her not having to pay me....tho common sense would have it that she should have at least asked, ya know?)....3)all of the uneated children's dinners and family supper meals i provided to him because she was late....4)fees for her picking up gage late for the past eight months........minus what she feels i owe her, which is highly inflated, if you ask me..... LOL whatcha think??

yesterday was another wonderful day spent at the children's museum.....i'm really beginning to like thursdays!! i only have dante on thursdays, so so far we've gone to the zoo, and now the children's museum...one of my girlfriends has a pass to the zoo, and i have the pass to the children's museum, so it's a fairly cheap day to keep four toddlers entertained. i love the looks we get when we walk around with our two double strollers. "oh my gosh, are they quads?" :) too funny.

tonight we celebrate aaron's sister's birthday! happy birthday, andrea! (who doesn't read this, but i'm wishing her well anyway!)....tomorrow is my dad's birthday, and sunday's my grandma's birthday, so we're going to southern indiana to see everyone. my uncle larry and aunt karen are coming in from davenport, iowa to see them, too, so they'll finally get to meet the snot-pots! the huntingburg herbstfest is going on this weekend, too. i've not been in ten (yes, ten!) years, so i'm excited to be able to go and see if i recognize anyone. :) people come out of the woodwork to go to things like this, so we'll see!

have a good weekend, all! :)

hi, everyone.....i've been in the midst of a great book, which i haven't been able to put down....fortunately for my husband, because he can use this time to play on the computer (which he doesn't get to do too much because someone's big butt's always in this chair!)....but unfortunately for my computer life! :D what's going on out there??

anyone read any good books lately? :) the one i'm reading is called The Time Traveler's Wife. It's a fab book so far....all 311 of the 500ish pages....It's getting to the point where I want to read and read to finish it, because it's so good....Thanks a bunch, preemie mom forum, for giving me another nasty habit! LOL

other new news at the zoo is that i have a few new animals....they are so cute, and i'm really starting to enjoy my job and life at the moment....i know that clouds are sure to appear, so i'm revelling in the moment! :) i know it sounds pessimistic to say that, but hey.....life can't always be a bed of roses, or there would be nothing to blog about, right? ;) i have two new babies to cuddle.....and boy are they sweet! it's definitely different to not have my nap time to myself anymore, but i'm dealing....you can read a book while holding a baby a whole heckuvalot easier than typing! LOL

we also are talking a lot about the risks associated with prematurity in our preemie mom forum. this is such an emotional issue for all of us there. not many people understand that unless they've been there, but apparently the BBC in the UK is airing this show about when miracle babies grow up. i'm sure that most people know that there are so many risks to having a premature baby. some wonder how ethical it is to SAVE babies like mine, who require ventillators to breathe at first, not knowing whether or not they would become vegetables later. but what alternative to parents have? the alternatives are so unspeakable to me, and i do not know what kind of state i would be in had we decided to not take the necessary measures to save erin and griffin. my babies are my life right now, and i think that everyone at our hospital and everyone who has stepped foot in my home to help them are to thank for doing all that they can to help them be the most normal babies possible. i wouldn't have it any other way......

sorry......between my mulling the premature issue about, and pondering my status in the time continuum (thanks to audrey niffenegger for the book i'm reading! LOL), i'm in a fairly reflective mood right now! :)

so i hear aaron say to the twins (whom i'm avoiding because they're driving me crazy...) "mommy had a rough day today, huh?"

i go in the kitchen and ask "why do you ask that?"

he says, "the amount of empty diet coke cans on the counters tells me what i need to know"

today's going to be a good day....tho the little man i watch two mornings a week is absolutely shattered, and i'm trying to figure out ways to keep him happy......that, and dante's grandpa on his mom's side is having an angiogram today...so keep him in your prayers if you're that kind of person...if not, then send positive wishes his way.......

other than that, it's pretty quiet here at the zoo today. i'm going to be off work by 1:00 or so....how unheard of is that?! i'm seriously very happy these days, and people have been noticing it....i still marvel at the fact that i didn't realize how miserable i was....

yes, folks....i have $157 left for the rest of the week.....and i know this because i have spent the last few hours doing the damn checkbook......i HATE writing bills and transferring money, etc....

but....the camper of ours...it's ours now! ;)

g'night all....it's now 11:10 p.m. .....do you know where your stamps are?


can i have a few? need to send out all these bills! hahahaha

OK...i truly am a dork.....LOL today's evening was spent on the following....

On my preemie mom forum, we do a "Saturday Six," where we ask six questions and answer them. So....in the effort of making my blog a little more interactive, I've decided to do the same. LOL So, please respond to the questions in the comments! :) I will try to make sure I have all six questions, as I forgot a question one week, so we had the Saturday Five! LOL

1. What is your favorite breakfast food? brown sugar cinnamon pop-tarts or cinnamon rolls from McDonalds'.

2. Online forums and message boards...Cool or Weird? Cool....I even co-own one! :)

3. Do you have a signifcant other? Where did you meet him/her? I've been married to Aaron for seven years now. We met in our college dorm.

4. Where were you on 9/11/01? I was at work. When my co-worker Pam told me about a plane hitting the WTC, I thought she was talking about some stupid person who couldn't fly their two-seater. But we watched it horror as everything unfolded. It nearly brings me to tears now how life must have been for those who were in NY, DC, and PA.

5. What do you dread when it comes to housework? um....EVERYTHING?? LOL I especially hate cleaning toilets, though....urgh!

6. What is on your computer desk? um....er.....too many papers to count, a notebook that I use for my Leaving Prints business, a spindle of blank cd's, speakers, a lamp, unmounted alphabet stamps, a stapler, a Scooby-Doo clipboard, a trash can, a pair of scissors, a baby toothbrush, a marker, a pen, a pair of tweezers, an empty make-up bag, a planner, some scrapbooking adhesives, a pair of fingernail clippers..............

ok...going to clean off my pc desk now......happy saturday! :)

you know...i have to wonder about people who make it their goal in life to start trouble for others. everyone has a busy life, one full of things they'd rather not be doing, so why cloud it up with trying to make others feel bad? over the past few weeks, i've learned this lesson all to well. i want both my home and my internet time to be free of negativity......it's a very difficult job sometimes...but we'll see how it goes...even i am guilty of sometimes being overly harsh and critical, so i'm making it my own goal to try to be more comforting to people.

so, yeah...happy birthday to me yesterday! :) it was a day that was very relaxing for the most part....we went to bahama breeze to eat....sans the bahamarita.....i really should have indulged! LOL

i cleaned the scraproom up again...i just have more than one person should be allowed! LOL i really should take pictures, because i think it's really turning into a contest of how much stuff we could possibly stuff into one closet! LOL

the rest of the weekend was pretty much a relaxing time, too....we went to a friend's house on sunday night for a cook-out. the only downer to that was that the friend's husband really treated aaron in a belittling way, which really hurt aaron's feelings. while some people can deal with the fact that we're ten years younger than most of our friends but at the same life-stage as them, i don't think that this guy can. i always tell his wife that we're at the same life-stage, but with more student loans left to pay back! LOL somehow her husband gives off the feeling that this makes him somehow superior........i've never really had a problem with him, but the fact that he made my husband feel that way upsets me.....but...unlike the rest of my life, i shall let that one go! LOL i will not address the fact that i'm pissed! hahaha

we also spent the rest of the time buying things for and packing up the camper....well...i should say that aaron packed up the camper, as i didn't really do that much to get it put in the garage! LOL i really do have a go-getter husband....and would love to figure out a way to model myself after him...i just don't have the energy! LMFAO

one of the funniest things going in the zoo these days is griffin's love for elmo....lovingly called "elmy" it is the source of much laughter. if he hears the word elmo, he makes a run for the television, screaming "elmy, elmy, elmy!"........i had divvied up the daycare toys into boxes and put them in the garage, to be brought out when i damn well felt like it, and had stuffed the elmos(a plain plush, and a tickle-me elmo) and the zoe into a box marked "stuffed animals". so, i retrieved the elmos, much to griffin's delight....now he's comfortably watching "let's make music" while snuggling his elmos! :)

yesterday was a WONDERFUL day! i had so much fun at the zoo....it felt like a saturday...honestly! :) the kids were all very well behaved, i had two great adults to talk to, and we just had a ton of fun. it's days like those that really can kick-start a good mood and rejuvenate me. i'm not sure how many of you are like that, but it really did wonders for me. i'm considering getting a zoo pass....i think that if i had an adult willing to help me that i could do that a little more with the daycare. the kids loved it, too. they were all pointing at animals and using their own baby words to say what they were, etc. the zoo also has this little water park in the middle now. the babies had a BLAST!! griffin, normally a little more afraid of water, got soaked because he would let the water splash in his face. All of the babies were soaked by the end of the day. too funny!

what a wonderful experience! :)

i'm going to the zoo today!!!!

no....i really AM leaving the house....and we're going to see animals that walk on FOUR legs, not just two! ;)

here's hoping that you and yours are having as much fun today....oh...do you think i'm jinxing myself? cos when i feel that i'm going to have a good time, i wind up jinxing myself....


.....ok, then.....wish me luck, folks! ;)

my griffin is a big boy now! :D he was released from First Steps today! :) got all the paperwork signed...the only bad part is that he will have to go through the re-enrollment process to get evaluated in february, as requested by me and suggested by the evaluation team. but, for him to get the evaulation he will need at that point, i'm ready, willing, and able to go through it all again! :)

today has been a lot more relaxing today....i see kids in a whole new light now that gage isn't here to always cause trouble.....weird how that is....i see dante as a cutie that i didn't get the chance to see before (yes...this is inferno-boy!)....and i've been able to cuddle and laugh with them so much more.....who knew? we'll see how things go from now on, but most people i talk to say that things will probably take a big upswing for me. let's hope they're right! :)

obsessive about things.....why, yes...yes i am! LOL