He Doesn't Want To Be a Big Boy....

So tonight Daddy was reading a book to Griffin and Erin. It's called It's Potty Time, and was courtesy of our local Wal-Mart to aide the babies in getting used to the idea of peeing on the potty. Well....at the end it reads "So don't you want to be a big kid like me?" And Griffin starts shaking his head.

I could piss my pants.

Just About Eight Hours......

.......and I'll be homeless for a day! LOL We're pretty excited that we're closing on our houses within the next two days. Moving is Friday! I can't believe that the month and a half wait is over. And in about five days, I'll be moving into the house that is likely to be mine for the next twenty or so.....the thought is both daunting and exciting. I feel nervous about my new neighbors...I am just now to the point where I feel a good commraderie with my neighbors....and now I'm leaving them. *sigh*

On another note, we went to our buddies' Marty and Julie's last night. It was a lot of fun to hang out with friends. They are totally sweet, and are good with our kidlets. That always makes a difference in the way I feel about people these days. Whoever can adjust well to the terrorizing trio I've given birth to holds a special place in my heart! LOL

Am seriously hoping that the day ends up better than it started...everyone's routines were pretty much blown from the holiday, and the kids are reeeeaallly nutty!

I hate kids' CARD GAMES!!

So, some of the neighborhood boys just knocked on the door asking for a particular card that they thought that Collin had....I swear, Neopet, Yu-Gi-Oh, Pokemon, etc....they're the devil in card form!!! More friendships have been destroyed, more tears shed, and more money spent on these damn cards!

On a another note, we are only on day four of complete weaning, and the bulk of those days have been spent sans puter, so I've not really had the chance to tell anyone until yesterday.

Also, before all hell broke loose in my extended family, I did the birth pages for the twins! :D I'm feeling very cool right now. ROFL These have to be the most involved pages I've done in a long time, despite the fact that they look so simplistic. The flap that looks semi-what like an interoffice envelope is actually attached to the sheet protector...no small feat, lemme tell ya! I used Leaving Prints alpha stickers, Making Memories rub-ons, K&C patterned paper, and Bazzill cardstock...I only have one picture of ONE of the twins on the actual day that they were born, as I didn't take my camera with me on my way to my room from recovery from the C-Section, and didn't get to go back to the NICU until something like four in the morning the day they were born. So these pictures were taken the day after they were born. It's very surreal to look back at these pictures. The only visible things that remain from their days as NICU "inmates" are scars from the IV's and heelsticks...that have grown with them over time. Otherwise, they just look a little small. Who would guess that these two kidlets gave me any more trouble than a simple set of twins would? Anyway...I digress...here are the piccy's! :D

I've Been Working.......

.....not on the railroad, but on packing up the house. I haven't packed as much as Aaron, but today I worked on packing up my scrapbooking stuff. *sniff, sniff* The good part of doing this is that pretty soon, I'll have a room dedicated to an office/scrapbook room for the next few years. Wayhay! That's definitely a welcoming thought!

We went to Aaron's parents' house today for a bit of a barbeque, as it's supposed to piss down rain tomorrow. Good for me, as I'll be working tomorrow, too. A new thought is that I'm going to start charging a premium price for holidays....Everyone else gets paid bonuses for working weekends and holidays, so is this girl!

So I finished the book that I started when I was traveling. Keeping Faith, by Jodi Picoult was a pretty good read. I'm really beginning to like her work. And, having just now looked at her site, she's written more than I'd thought.

By the way, the twins are weaned. It's not as heart-wrenching as I thought it would be. They asked to nurse on Thursday morning, but on Friday didn't ask at all. So, I decided that that was that. I'm a little sad, but happy about it, too. They aren't so upset that they aren't nursing now, either, so that makes it so much easier on this little mamma. Erin's asked a few times to nurse, but I told her that we don't nurse the baby anymore, and that she's a big girl now. She just looks like a child whose plan has been foiled, but she's not shed any tears. *whew*

OK, off to get to bed early so that I can get a good night's sleep. Much going on this week! *bites nails that are already broken from packing*

Weekend is Over....NO?!!!

OK, so the past few days have been nutty. My mom came by on Thursday evening to spend the night. After delayed flight after delayed flight, she decided that it woudl be a good idea to spend the night at my house before heading down to Southern Indiana. I don't blame her a bit. It was actually a good visit. I got to say some stuff that was on my mind about the funeral, and she shared some of her feelings, too. She stayed on until yesterday, and left only an hour before I did. I kept telling her that we might as well travel together! hehe

So yesterday I left at about three from Collin and Aaron's school to go to my second-to-youngest brother's graduation. We got there as the service started at seven....Can I tell you how stressed out I was. It never takes me that long to get home. *sigh* So I really felt like I was dropping the ball. We made it, but the babies were bad, bad babies....I really couldn't expect them to be nicely behaved, quiet little ones after being so good for four hours in the car, but at least I got to see my brother get his diploma. Afterward, they had a party for him. It was a really good time, and I saw people that I'd not seen in a very long time.

This morning, I got to spend some good quality time with Joshua, the graduate. It's amazing how quickly the past 18 years have gone! He's turned into quite the young man, and it's exciting to see him start his adult life.

We just got back to a clean house (Thanks, my dear Aaron!!). I get to see how much I can pack this evening and tomorrow. I'm getting very excited about the impending move. :)

BTW.....

the first thing that Erin Louise did when I got her out of her crib this morning was to give me a kiss all of her own accord....

.......the second thing she did was tug at my shirt and say "baby?" (what she does when she wants to nurse)......looks like we're still at once a day...methinks i shall wait until we move to fully wean now.... LOL

I'm Back....

....and I'm glad of it!

It was quite the whirl-wind trip. I'm very glad that I could be there for my mom, but otherwise, I wouldn't have cared if I took the time to go. I felt like a distant acquaintance. I suppose I do have a measure of guilt for not being able to say good-bye...and I feel a measure of guilt for not keeping up my end of the bargain of keeping in touch, but like all other relationships, it takes two. So the rap can't totally fall on me. The past is what it is, so I'm not trying to change it, but there's a bunch of confused hurt there. My thought is that it doesn't really matter all that much, really. I have four other people that are so much more important to me. Doing what's right by them is what matters...nothing else.

OK....so I nearly got to stay home.....

....why? you ask..because i wiped out like MAD this morning while dodging for the phone....yowza! gotta love being such a klutz, i do....LOL

i'm getting nervous about this trip...i know that my mom is very happy about me taking the time to come out....i'm still nervous...

cross your fingers for me.

My Week, In a Nutshell.....

Monday: daycare from 6a.m. to 5:30p.m.
take library books back
go to Target and buy things like sympathy cards and book/mags for flight
pack as much as humanly possible to aide in June 3 move... YIKES!!!
Tuesday: daycare from 6a.m. to 4:00p.m. (Aaron to take care of the two leftover dck
7:05p.m. departure from IND to MDW...layover from 8:00 to 9:35
9:35p.m. depature from MDW to OMA at 11:00 p.m. get rental car... *gulp*
1:00 a.m. arrive in Sioux City, IA at my Grandma's house
Wednesday: funeral stuff....
2:30-3:00: depart vis rental car (if said rental car is still in one piece)
4:00 or so...arrive at OMA for 5:35p.m. departure....
9:30 p.m. go back via same direction and land in IND
11:00 arrive home (am hoping is earlier, but you never know.... *gulp*
Thursday: 6a.m. to 5:30p.m. daycare
pack as much as humanly possible, as to aide in June 3 move out...
Friday: 6a.m. to 1:00p.m. daycare work
2:00p.m. have everything ready to go to get Collin from school, head South
7:00p.m. graduation ceremony for Joshua, second-to-youngest brother...
Saturday: hang out with family...come back and pack some more...
Sunday: pack some more...freak out, not having packed as much as would like.


And if I manage to do all this without losing life, limb, or sanity, I just might have to believe that there really IS a God.... ROFLOL!!

Leaving On a Jet Plane.....

....Tuesday evening, that is. My mom is going to buy my ticket out there, and I'm going to stay in the hotel with them that evening. The funeral is on Wednesday, and afterward, I'll head home....

....Aaron, while not happy about this at all, is being a wonderful man about it. I don't think dysfunction has been quite as big of an animal in his family...but who am I to say? I suppose that there is a good measure of dysfunction in ALL families....

In other news, the packing of the house has begun. A friend (I never KNEW how good of friend! LOL) came over and helped me pack up my daycare things that littered the garage. Can I tell you that I forgot I had half the stuff in there?? That's a lot of stuff! LOL It makes me inspired to USE it when we move. I was so glad and appreciative that she helped me like that! I am going to take her out for some dessert at the Cheesecake Factory for her efforts! ;)

OK, off to do more packing and then head to the land of fucking crazy dreams....Last night I dreamt that the Washington Monument was an office building that you could tour....only to find out that it should have been condemned, and we just barely made it out of the building safely....Alaina---you were in my dream! LOL It was you, Momma B, Andrea, and I....not sure what the hell we were doing there! Gotta love dreams....I rarely ever remember them, so that's funny that I actually did.

Very Confused.....

....more so than usual, folks.... ;)

I got a call late last night from my mother saying that my grandfather died....he lives out in Iowa, and it was unexpected for my mom. (mom=the one who is only a "mom" when it's something major...) Now, I am wondering if I shouldn't make an effort to go to the funeral....Why am I confused on this? Because of several things...
1)I've not seen or spoken to him in 10 years...that's right...10.
2)I feel like I should be there for my mom, despite my thoughts on her really being capable of being there for me.
3)There are a lot of underlying hurts from the past on their part.
4)I can't afford to go, really.
5)It's a bad time to go.
6)I feel like if I don't go that I'm not doing what I should for a relationship with my mom's family, despite that they've never really been there for me since I was a freshman in college.
7)I feel bad for my daycare parents/families...what are they doing to do for care? They depend on me.

There are just so many things to consider, that logic tells me not to go....But my heart tells me that I should....

*sigh*

A Fun Afternoon....

So today has been good so far, aside from the fact that my allergies are acting up and my throat *still* hurts.....the morning was awesome...I slept in until 10 am. (I really need to "thank" Aaron for that... ;) Then, a former neighbor stopped by, and that was some fun to be had.

Then, we went to Burger King so that Collin could get some Star Wars toys that they're giving out in their kids' meals. We then took our lunch to a local park, which was interrupted by the landing of a LifeLine helicopter! As much of a pain as getting out of our lunch area was, it didn't replace the wonderment on the kids' faces as they saw a helicopter land not 100 feet away from them! In the next few minutes, we knew WHY the helicopter landed there....the firehouse, which is next to the park, was having an open house! :D So we went over to see the helicopter up close and personal, and we also went up to see the firehouse. Was very fun, and Griffin is stoked beyond all belief! :)

So the kids didn't get down for a nap until after 2pm, which is totally unheard of. And I'm now sat down to play Literati with Nancy. hehe

So....the way to feel better about things......

....is to go shopping, of course! ;)

So I went out of the house to let Aaron put the babies down to bed. (Way to go, Dad! :D ) And I headed to good ol' Target for some looking around....First stop...the handbags...I've been wanting a Vera Bradley backpack bag, but I really can't afford $80 on a purse, really.... :( So, I got a Target backpack bag that is muy cute. :D I then did some shopping that wasn't for me, aside from some sore throat syrup, which doesn't really count for retail therapy anyway. ROFL I bought some presents for a friend who's having a baby next week. And then I bought some of theose wonderful no-spill bubble thingies.... next best thing to those pre-filled bubble wands! LOL

Next stop, Kohl's .....because while at Target, we see a woman in enviable sandals....so we ask her where she got them. Well, they didn't have the color that we wanted, but....they did have some Nike sandals, and we both snagged a pair....(We, you might ask? I went with a co-worker of Aaron's...and she's a good friend of the family's... LOL)

So now I have cute black and hot pink sandals and a really cute, bright pastel flowery sling type backpack purse/diaper bag.....

which makes me wonder where the girlie in me has been hiding out....there really has to be something said for the mom who's either a new mom or is breastfeeding....cos i don't think that many women who are so all about their kids really doesn't have much time to spend being "girly"... LOL...or maybe it's just this mom..... =)

It's Friday, It's Friday!!! :)

So I'm just a little happy that it's Friday....am hoping that Aaron will let me sleep in tomorrow morning.... everyone pray with me now...

So Aaron and I got a little mini-date last night, courtesy of Alaina and Andrea....his sisters. We went to the Cheesecake Factory for dessert, and tooled around the Fashion Mall (in which the CF is located). We bought absolutely nothing! LOL And then we went to Starbucks for a Venti Tazo Chai Creme....YUMMY! Aaron got a carmel mochiato (can you tell i don't drink that? LOL) without the expresso. LOL

Am hoping that my sore throat goes away soon....it still hurts to swallow.... *whine*

A Yucky Day.....

We shall be inside the entire day today....thunderstorms have moved through this morning, and they anticipate that they'll keep it up all day. *sigh*

Additionally, I am on 2 days of a good ol' Z-pack, and my throat still hurts like a mo-fo. This is really getting me down. I just want to go back to bed a sleep a bit.

So last night we went to the Red Onion in Sheridan, which is just north of us. It was the slowest possible service known to man..... a couple who had a 16 month-old baby left because they didn't get their food in time. We understand that it's all made-from-scratch food, but you can't expect a toddler to just sit down for an hour while they prepare food. LOL So that put us way behind on getting stuff done last night....oh well. Could be worse, right?

Thank God the Day's OVER!!!!!!!

And don't one person remind me that I only have 9 1/2 hours until I get up and do this all over again.

Tell me that this is healthy??

*Bangs head on desk*

Are You Sure the Moon Isn't Full??

I have heard more crying than usual this morning....the kids are truly in rare form today. Hopefully they'll do a bit better when we paint with Q-tips today! :)

Wish me luck! ROFLMFAO

Blah

My throat hurts so freaking badly right now....months ago, I had strep throat, and I'm wondering what the bloody hell is going on back there again, as I went to the doc-in-the-box last night to see what was going on, and they say no strep...but, I still have some of the same symptoms, though not the raging fever that I typically get with strep. And with the trauma I had last night with Griffin biting me twice within five minutes, I wasn't about to get my ass out of the house and go to the pharmacy...my ass was going to bed!!

So, back to Griffin....he bit me three times total yesterday. Once midday when I wasn't getting lunch on the table fast enough, and twice in the five minute period while I was trying desperately to only nurse one baby at a time. You see, if a baby isn't latched on properly, it will H-U-R-T!! And, getting two babies to latch on properly, especially at the sheer size of the twins right now, is no small feat. So, Steph has been hurting a bit these days. Knowing that I'm going to have to wean soon anyway (if nothing more than my own selfish wishes to go away for the weekend), I decided that maybe I should just try them one at a go...big mistake....Big...Huge!!

So, that decided it for me. And now I'm sad...but feeling very alone, because most people have told me that I should have stopped by now. Even my own husband, who's there to witness them jonseing to "nurse the baby" tells me that I've been thinking of myself all along to keep at it this long. Not that I haven't enjoyed it, but it's still been a job because of not wanting them ill and also not wanting them sad. So I'm feeling quite alone right now in my decision. I need some face-to-face support on this one....but I know I'm not going to get it, so I should just shut up, I suppose. The past few months of nursing have been less than comfortable, and it's only gotten worse. But everytime they have to wait, their little expressions (especially Erin's) when they *finally* get to nurse are what make it so worthwhile, because it's something that they've enjoyed so much. And I hate taking that away from them until THEY are ready. These first few years of life go by so quickly that I don't want regrets of not doing what I should have done, and never be able to get that time back.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the thought of what's next for my little munchkins. And I SSOOOOOO look forward to grandparenting (not that I want THAT to happen too soon!). But no matter when a woman is done having kids, there is always that sadness to be out of the baby stage for good. And this is it for me. There is nothing wrong with and neither is this "keeping them little too long" with child-led weaning. They are actually making an individual *choice* to give it up....and making choices is what gets them to feel like they're big kids, right? I'm just sad that *I'm* going to be making the decision instead.

I suppose this is my male equivalent of "can't live with it, can't live without it" scenario....

It Is Time....

....said ala Rafiki in the Lion King. Although, my "time" isn't as joyous. It has come to the point where I am going to wean the babies. After all, they aren't really babies anymore, and I really could use the time without someone "needing" me. And unless you've nursed a child this long, you have no idea what kind of bittersweet occasion this is for me. And it's more bitter than sweet by far. The thought of not having that makes me very sad. Yet, I know that once it's done, I'm going to be okay with it. Just not right now.

*these are simply my thoughts...please don't leave any "about time's"..."can't believe you did it this long"...or the like in my comments....Also, I need sympathy, not empathy right now, too.... thanks in advance*

All This Baby Work is Hard!!

OK, so I went to my friend Judy's on Friday night. Her son, Seth, who's five, decided that he needed to "help" with the babies by keeping them out of trouble. I must admit that it was actually a job that night. I'm always afraid of going somewhere to visit with them, and never being invited back, as they are very curious two year-olds, after all! Well, at one point, the harried Seth comes in to say "This baby work is hard!" At other points of the night, he asked them, "Do you not understand the meaning of no??" and "There is too much noise! (while covering his ears, of course!)"

We all slept until quarter to nine yesterday morning. Any of you who have two year-olds will understand that having everyone in the house sleeping this long is a rare treat!! Well, I called Judy to thank her for letting us stay for so long, as we all got a good "lie in" Well....she e-mailed me not five minutes after I got off the phone with her the following....

Seth just asked who was on the phone. So I said" Steph just called to thank you for all the baby work last night, she knows you worked really hard." Then Seth says" Those babies need to be taught a lesson." So I asked what they needed taught and he said " Not to be so naughty!" He said "Next time I am telling them to sit down and be quiet."

OMG...could that be any funnier??

Other than that, not much happening over the weekend. Went to the in-laws so that the twins could wreak (sp?) havoc somewhere other than our house. Griffin got the proverbial "ahs keem" from Grandma's freezer. And Erin toted her cute self around the house like she owns the place. She does, doesn't she??

A busy week will be upcoming....We're doing activities surrounding the book Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?. It should prove to be an interesting week.

The Joys of Parenting....

....How funny is this? Even in the best of circumstances (i.e. full-term births), you feel this great sense of joy and accomplishment with each of your children's successes. When your child takes his or her first step, you're right there with a camera or camcorder to catch every single moment.....

.......and then they start getting into stuff, and you wonder why you wanted them to do all of these neat things in the first place......


.....yes, the twins can open and shut doors now, and have discovered the joys of rooting through the pantry.

Thank Goodness....

.....that it's Friday....


but...only 18 more days until we close on the houses....YIKES!!! I need to pack.

Whew!!!

So, you want a sneak peak into the life of the Zookeeper, you say....well, here's this morning's activities.....

We read the book The Rainbow Fish.....so here's our craft time....


And the finished product....


Not too shabby, though very busy!

Next for lunch is French Toast, sausage patties, mandarin organes, and grapes (cut in half, of course...lol)....

What was I thinking?? ROFL Actually, fights have been to a minimum today...which is good. Reports later will indicate whether or not I actually get a bit of a naptime break today....

A Comedy of Errors and Chance.....

So, I go to the pharmacy tonight to get Z-packs for the twins....they're playing up the mirror image stuff with infections in opposite ears. Anyway, when I get to the drop-off window and explain to the dude that the addresses and birthdates on the slips would be the same, he said "I have twins, too." Then I realize that I'm talking to the man whose twins had so much in common with mine. They were born at the same NICU. Boy/Girl twins, born at 26 weeks, boy gets off vent before the girl...etc, etc, etc....if they were caucasion kids whose parents speak English as a native language, you would swear that they were ours. lol Anyway, it was fun to catch up with him....
Next, I get to the check-out, and lo and behold, Medicaid is still functioning.... WTF?? We've not been eligible for over a year. hmmm...No wonder this country is going to hell in a handbasket (a favorite phrase of both Katie and my mom...hehe)! We qualified the first year that I stayed home, because, well, I didn't make much money at all. And I believe that we might have still qualified if we wanted to jump through all the hoops that you have to go through to qualify. But, I love my pediatrician too much, and he's not in the Medicaid system. So, we just stopped answering the office's mail. But, apparently, the caseworker, who I swear wouldn't know his ass from his elbow (thank you Debs for that wonderful phrase), didn't take us out of the system. So, I took my free drugs and ran. I just might go to hell for that one. But, you know...it's not up to ME to take my kids OUT of the system when it comes to medicine...I asked the pharmacist. So, I just might have to call and tell them to kindly take us out of the Medicaid system...unless you all want to keep paying for my children's medications. I only used the damn Medicaid to get the million dollars wort of RSV shots covered.
Next item up for laughs is my damn car. It's a 1996 Geo Prism...to make matters worse, it's purple. I've lovingly called it the Jelly Bean ever since Aaron introduced it to me. It's generally been a good car. And hell, it's paid off, so what more do I want, right? Well, I want it to run, for starters. That just might be a good start. ROFL. There seems to be a minor glitch happening with the battery. The wires connected to the terminal on the battery were loose, so the battery keeps shorting out. To fix this, you have to pop the hood and jiggle the wires and pray. Well, I could find the handle to pop the hood....I could jiggle the wires....but I couldn't get the hood opened once I popped the latch on the inside. How sad is it that I've never popped the hood on a car that I've had nearly five years? Ya gotta love having a man around to do this type of shit! ROFL I'm going to ask Aaron to give me a lesson on basic car maintenance in our free time this summer. Well, if free time is something I can put in my vocabulary, that is.

Anyway, all of this took place within half an hour. Too funny that it's taken me that long to type it out.

Off to bed with my sorry ass!

Random Thoughts....

....the elephant on Sesame Street has to be one of the most annoying things going for them....right along with Baby Bear. If I've offended anyone by this, good....cos you need to be. ROFL

....someone should have warned me about my sensory issues to gritty things when I started the daycare.

...SoftSoap has a new hand soap with shea butter in it....really good stuff for the girl whose hands never lose the ashy look (and yes, i'm a white girl.. ROFL)

....toddlers have an unwritten and unsaid law to shit their pants five minutes after you change them.

....when you don't wake up with the alarm and semi-oversleep as I did today, it seems as though you never catch up. *sigh*



But not to worry....the pill sorters that I keep for the kids with ADHD say that there are only two more days in the week. HALLELUJAH!!

Too Young......

My child is too young to be asking me where babies come from.

Am going to shit my pants now.....

sick kids... :(

Erin and Griffin are sick with colds right now.... :( I would have thought that Spring would have brought illness-free days with it. *sigh*

We have an appt. for Griffin tomorrow at 4pm, as I'm not convinced that he didn't burst an ear drum....there is no reason for the guck that came out of his ear this morning....

BTW... am counting my blessings.....

...you see....I'm off to fold laundry. A whole big mountain of it.....

BUT...am feeling very fortunate that there are only five people to dirty laundry, not 25, as with the family in Nanny 911 tonight. Now THAT'S a mountain of laundry....she said...35 loads a day....that's 32 too many!

Though, I must add...what a wonderful family.

Off to the mothership.

Tired and a Little Worried.....

So, I'm exhausted. What else is new, right? Two extras at the zoo today makes for a bit of a tired Zookeeper. Tomorrow shall be better. Only six extra. Which is too many. ROFL.

Why worried, you ask? Well, in looking around at my pictures this evening, I encountered a problem with opening files that were generated by my old Canon camera. Has anyone else had this problem? Does anyone know how I might fix it? I know, beat me over the head with a wet noodle for not getting the damn things burned to disc yet. I will as soon as someone tells me how I might get access back.... :-S

Happy Mother's Day!

Most of my blogging buddies are moms, so Happy Mother's Day to you all! :) And if you're not a mom, do something nice for your own mom, wife, etc.....

So yesterday we did the three hour tour (each way) to Southern Indiana (waving at Katie's parents along the way). It was a long day. We saw both the moms...Sharon-mom in the early afternoon, with the brothers, and egg-donor-mom in the late afternoon at my step-grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary party. The babies were AWFUL!! So we left a bit earlier than we'd anticipated. Griffin's godfather, Aaron's best man, and our of his best friends, Jeremy, lives not so far from where the party was, so we stopped off to see him. He has a boy who's five months old, so it was good to see him, too.

I'm absolutely exhausted today, though. We went to McDonalds' to get breakfast. Collin gave me a lotion dispenser, Aaron gave me a bottle of massage/bath oil and a massager ball thingie, and the twins gave me the tea pot (so Aaron says... hehe). And later today, we're supposed to go out to lunch/dinner with the Aaron's parents. Where? To AARON'S favorite Mexican restaurant......hmmmm.....Let me see...who's day is it anyway?! ROFL

She's a Super-Sleuth Zookeeper.....

Long story short...the girl did it.....and I'm pretty certain that the boy took the card. The girl could have, but the boy probably did. And if the stuff doens't come back soon, I'm giving her a week to find alternate care. I can't keep doing this.

HUGE stress headaches yesterday with this.

On a good note, I was able to have fun last night. Of course, it was only after having a LITER of Woodchuck Hard Cider that I was able to have a good time. Poor Aaron. LOL

I went to see Ben Folds in concert last night. Was a bit of a blast, if I do say so myself. Of course, the guy that opened for him Corn Mo was a total waste of space. LOL And, Ben played one of my favorite tracks from his new album, called Gracie....about his daughter. AND, I found out, that he has boy/girl twins!! I told Aaron that his man-crush should be bigger now that he has stuff in common with him! ;)

In Daycare Hell.....

Well, I discovered yesterday that I do, in fact, have a thief on my hands. Do I and my family have "GULLIBLE: please steal thing from and be mean to me"?! This time someone stole $13 out of Collin's wallet that was under the bathroom sink. Under the bathroom sink, you ask? Yes, under the sink. He'd put it there for "safekeeping" because Dad had given it to him (after finding it in the laundry)and he forgot to take it to his room the night before. I went to the bathroom looking for butt paste, and saw the wallet there. With a sinking feeling, I opened it, only to reveal it's lack of contents. When Aaron came home, I asked him if he'd emptied the wallet before giving it back to Collin, sort of as a lesson. When he said no, I knew that we were in for it. I called up the new daycare mom, as well as the current one, with older kids. Of course, it's denied all over the place that they did it. Not one person. And the other kid who comes in the morning is one of Collin's best friends...and we've not had problems with him in the three years that we've known him.

So I think that I'm going to get rid of the new set of daycare kids. $50 a week isn't worth it to me to have my son's things (and possibly mine, too) stolen. I don't even feel at ease in my own fucking house anymore. And my heart is completely broken for Collin. I suppose these lessons are good ones, but I feel really badly that someone stole his first communion money and gifts that he bought with it.

And to top matters off, we're having problems with biters in the house again...and shovers....and hitters..... *sigh*

Anyone have some Excedrin??

Fuck it.....

.....no matter what I do, there seems to be some sort of catastrophe each day....at least most of the time it's only a box of cereal that's emptied of all contents....


............so....we're going to dance to Dave Matthews Band for a bit. It will help calm the lonely Zookeeper.

Cruel Irony......

...my life is full of cruel irony....I suppose that anyone with little children in the house would have to agree with me....

....for example.....did you know that Erin Louise quit puking by the time we got home from St. Louis...but erped up the ENTIRE TIME we were gone?

....and today, it was Griffin's turn to shower me with surprises....a former daycare kiddo's mom needed my carpt shampooer for a bit so that she could get her house ready for her son's first communion. So, I let it go....not realizing that Griffin not only took off his diaper after he shit in his diaper, but proceded to use the carpet in his bedroom as ass wipe before showing me that he took his diaper off. Of course I didn't discover this little fact until after my carpet cleaner went out the door..... *sigh*

boys are yucky.....

My Paper Stash

I need to put myself on a self-imposed buying block.....

A Pretty Good Weekend....

Yesterday we had the March of Dimes WalkAmerica in downtown Indy. It was a bunch of fun, but it definitely wore our asses out! hehe Here are some pics of the festivities....



My mother-in-law and sister-in-law went with us. The babies did a wonderful job of being good while on the walk. And I think that their Grandma Byers couldn't have been more proud of them! :)

Next year, I want them to have a Preemie Lap around the track for all those who've been born prematurely. I am going to suggest it! ;)

Today's been a day that will drive me to lunacy. I had some extras today, which brough the numbers above 10....13 kids in all today! ACK! At least Aaron is here to help out. And he's been good about it....and understanding, because my mood has been horrid.

Tonight will be another one of those nights where I hit the hay before nine.... *sigh*