7 Things....

Ever the poser, I've taken the semi-challenge posed by CMHL ........

7 Things I Want to Do Before I Kick It.....
1. Go to Europe
2. Get caught up with my scrapbooks
3. Get grandchildren....or adopt someone else's should my children choose not to procreate.
4. Learn yet another foreign language.
5. Be able to change my blog skin *all on my own!*
6. Do a job I absolutely love.

7 Things I Can Do...
1. Speak, write, and read German....though I'm quite rusty...
2. Sing....though I'm quite rusty at that, too....(this is getting depressing...)
3. Sit and Play Collapse or Pop N' Drop for hours.
4. Most always find the good in people.
5. Have 10 kids in my house at once and make it through the day.
6. Make damn good Toll House Cookie bars.
7. Nurse two babies at the same time for two years.

7 Things I Cannot Do....
1. Boil eggs.
2. Keep a Clean house.
3. Have sex at the moment....(sorry Nain, but it's pissing me off...stop reading if it bothers you! ROFL)
4. Carry a baby to term. *sigh*
5. Find the energy to scrapbook right now *sobs*
6. Run very far without getting shin splints.
7. Build a webpage on my own.

7 Things that Attract Me to the Opposite Sex....
1. Sense of humor.
2. Smile.
3. Eyes.
4. Ability to interact well with children.
5. Sensitivity.
6. Ability to give me a run for my money.
7. Ability to carry a tune.

7 Things I say most often.....
1. For Pete's Sake!
2. For Fuck's Sake!
3. Be Nice to Your Friends!
4. Turn Your Light Off!
5. I love being your Mommy.
6. Get out!
7. OK, let's watch Elmo, then....

7 Celebrity Crushes...
1. Ben Folds
2. Kevin Griffen (lead singer of Better than Ezra)
3. the Wiggles (hahahaha)
4. i don't really have crushes on celebs, so i'm going to stop with four....

So, there you have it....useless tid bits of information about me.....I have half an inkling to scrapbook this should I ever do a Book of Me......

I Want to Be Like Mommy.....

you know the mint i spent in victoria's secret therapy? here's the proof.

And By the Way.....

.....to add to all the rest of my troubles.....


........let's just say I need to make another trip to Wal-Mart to get some of this.

*bangs head on desk in sexual frustration*

What are you doing, Griffin??

bam, bam, bam

"Mommy, I painting!" as he bangs on the wall with a toy hammer.

"Griffin, what's that smell?"

"I have some, Mommy?" as he puts on my Burt's Bees Lip Shimmer.

What can I say? I love the boy!

It's Raining.....

.....thank you very much Katrina. I suppose I am very thankful that I don't live directly in her wake right now. My heart goes out to those affected directly!

Nothing much ado in the Land of Shitty Diapers. I've got six kidlets in the mix today. The only negative is that we're all stuck inside. I suppose I shall bust out some fun stuff today to take the edge off. Right now they've got Nick Jr. to entertain them.

I'm getting more and more anxious to get a new blog look. I really don't want all of my past comments and links to go away, though. I would have to figure out how to put my blogroll back together, wouldn't I? (INSERT "HELP, KATIE" HERE)

You Know When You've Got too Many Kids.....

.....when you think five (kids) is a nice easy number....

.....when you can count crazy days by the number of half-empty diet Coke cans are lying about the counters (because you don't remember not drinking them all and grab another in a fit of caffiene-need-fury while racing to your next fire (a.k.a. shitty diaper, crying kid, etc.)

i really had a decent day, despite the fact that the youngest of the day was teething and was needy.


by the way, can anyone give me a quick and dirty explanation of how to change the blog format without losing comments? or does that just happen and i need to suck it up and deal? TIA

Not Sure What I ate.......

....but the bellyache happened again yesterday. I suppose it could be from the fried food I had, but I didn't think that it would only take two or three short hours to go through me? I dunno.....and then the worrywart hypochondriac comes out in me....What else could it be? argh!

Anyway, I had a very productive Sunday. I woke up at a decent hour (eight-thirty-ish), prepared to try and make it to 9:30 mass....but alas, we didn't get there in time. So I started cleaning. I cleaned all two and a half baths...and we're talking deeeep cleaning, here. Then I cleaned a bit in the kitchen. And then.....I rearranged some stuff in the daycare, as I got a new cabinet set for the left-over supplies I had.

And to think I still have more to go is depressing. hehe

Happy Monday! :-S

Pass the Pepto....Cruel Irony at it's Best.....

....I had no plans today, so I got to sleep in until about 8:30. I moved at a snail's pace getting up and getting going. It appeared that it would be a groovy day. Aaron's mom calls to say that Poppa B would be putting his newly-finished classic car in a show down the street from where we live. Groovy, we say, and get ready. I take a shower, including the wonderful things that often get neglected in my brief hose-offs of a typical day, like using my three-minute conditioner and shaving my legs. I spend the extra few minutes putting on make-up to doll myself up.

We hang out with Aaron's parents, sister and boyfriend, and aunt and uncle for a little while at the park. We vote on his dad's car to win prizes. We then decide to go out to eat. While there, we all realize just how tired we are. I start to feel that wonderful disconnected feeling that comes from ingesting allergy medicine. I start to feel very groggy. Lunch takes an insufferably long time. We FINALLY get to go home and I take a nap. All is right with the world again, right? WRONG.

I get up from my nap, thinking at first that I will now tackle the arm-length to-do list that's running in my head....when, all of a sudden, my stomach cramps up with those ever familiar feelings that I'll soon be blowing the back out of the toilet......


........cruel, cruel irony that is my life......no, there were no missions of organization and cleanliness taking place in my home today. And I shall have to clean the toilet tomorrow when I'm feeling a bit better.

I.Love.My.Life.

Copying.... ;) De-lurking Friday/Saturday....

OK, to copy a blogger-buddy ...if you read my little bit of fun here, please drop me a comment and tell me what a weirdo or wonderful person you think I am. ;)

I'm sitting here on a Friday night, having spent the majority of the night either clutching my head in agony or cleaning a bit in the scraproom/office. My stash is a bit more organized, and I'm getting itchy scissors. I'm wishing some time and energy for me so that I can actually bore you with my work again. It's been a long time since I posted any of my work. (for those of you who've not seen anything, I am a scrapbooker-wannabe...)

Why is it that when I actually get up some nerve to work on my albums, the headache gods present me with the gift of pain?

Also, did you know that it costs eight-freaking-dollars to rent a video game at Blockbuster? Never again shall I be a generous mommy and give the gift of game. And really...should he be rotting his brain with that crap anyway?

Happy weekend, all!

Easy Friday.....Hopefully

You know, I'll say things that turn around and bite me flat in the ass....like saying today should be an easier Friday just because I only have five kids total. Kind of like telling Katie that Griffin hadn't bitten anyone in two weeks, only to have him bite that same day. *sigh*

On another note, I did get to sleep in this morning until 7:30. :) And I'm also decked out like a girlie-girl in make-up!

I'm very stoked, as I just put in my order for the Ft. Wayne Scrapbook Convention that I'll be attending with my friend Jan. We're completely stoked about being able to go. I just need to figure out what to do with the gruesome twosome. We shall see *bites nails*

Stephanie and Ice Cream.....

....ok, so those words don't always go together....well, ok maybe they do. ROFL

....Stephanie: Griffin has started to call me Stephanie. If I'm upstairs for more than five minutes while daycare is going on, he'll call "Stephanie!" The first time he said it, I thought he was yelling "Tha's not funny!" It was funny to realize that he was really saying my name.

.....Ice Cream: Tonight, we decided to go get ice cream....Well, Erin decides that she wants pink ice cream, as all things in her life are best when pink in color. So, being the nice mommy that I am, I buy her a strawberry ice cream sandwich (you would have thought that I'd learned when she put the damn thing in her purse last time...but, no...). Well...she decided that she didn't really want it after all, as when I tried to give her some of it, she swiped at it like she wanted to throw it on the ground. After a few more attempts to give her some and her refusing, I decide to eat the damn thing myself. Well, this pisses her off to no end. Not because she wanted to eat the fucking thing in the first place, but because she didn't want ME to have it. She screamed like we were killing her for the next fifteen minutes. Heaven help me when she's fifteen.....

Yes, I think this Confirms it.....

.....I'm both insane, and am also shaving time off purgatory.

...........there are ten kids in my house ages nine months to four years.

If you're the praying sort, say one to whomever you pray to....I'm sure someone will hear it and take pity on me, even if it's Buddha himself.

Life, In a Nutshell....

....is but a neverending supply of dirty diapers.

I think that I need to go online and take one of those "you'd be good at this with your personality" type tests. Funny...it would probably lead me back to teaching. Oh, what I wouldn't give for the vacation time that a teacher has at this point!

Of course, herein lies the problem that I've let the good-old German teaching degree lapse and am therefore not eligible to teach anymore. *sigh*

methinks a new career is in order! Any ideas? Feel free to share them with me! ;)

OMG, OMG, OMG.....you gotta go.....

....and check this out.....way too funny....and one of the only pics of me drunk you'll ever see.....for those of you who don't know me right off...i'm the only one with blonde hair. ;)

The State Fair....

.....OK, so I've lived so close to the State Fair for nearly five years now (a 1/2 drive to the fair grounds), and just went for the first time yesterday. It was a lot of fun, and I'm so glad that we got the chance to go. It was much bigger than I expected, and next year, I know that I'll have to take two days or so to go. When I get the chance to upload my pictures, I'll have to show several from the months past.

Not much else to report today. I'm in full make-up, and today during naptime, I managed to give myself a pedicure and half a manicure. I just need to put the color on my fingernails and I'll be set! It sure does make for a happier mommy. Makes for a good stress relief, since I can have sex, as have been bleeding for nearly five days now. :( I sure hope AF decides not to hang out for very long this go. (sorry, TMI, I know, but after all....this is my blog. ROFL)

This week we're learning about fish at daycare. I'm really undecided on whether I should buy a goldfish or some other assorted pet for the daycare. A fish would be less work than a hamster, and definitely more attractive than a rat (which are supposedly awesome pets....figures...they're uglier than the bearded dragon lizards, imho!)!

OK, so that's the little look into the nothingness that is my life right now. Have a good one, all!

A Productive Day....

So today was a pretty productive day. I did get to sleep in, but mostly because I had one killer fucking headache this morning. Thanks to Aaron for letting me try to sleep it off, though!

After I got up, though, I puttered around the daycare space, putting up a bulletin board (that the kids kept knocking down when it was on the brackets....I fixed those little shits, though....mounting tape does wonders! ROFL), put up an alphabet banner (which didn't stay...the sticky-tack fell down! *pouts*), and put back all the rugs that I'd taken up to sweep and mop last night (I was up until past eleven just cleaning the daycare...urgh). After we ate a nice lunch, Aaron, the twins, and I went to Lowe's to pick out some cabinets and shelves for the daycare. I got a set of Black n' Decker plastic cabinets (I figure, hey...the kids don't give two shits whether they're pretty!), and a set of white shelves to hang above the changing table. I think that this will aide in keeping everyone's diapers separated, etc. We shall see. After Aaron went to work tonight, I put on some non-skid stuff on the table and chairs. It really does a great job of keeping my lawn-furniture-turned-kids'-furniture in place. They were scooting the table all over the floor, and getting pissed at eachother during lunch, so this should help!

I did have a bit of fun tonight. My friend Rebecca brought over her The Angel Company catalog so I could see all the new stuff they brought out. We then met up with Stephenie and Maggie and went to a Mexican restaurant for supper. It was fun, and the twins were very good throughout dinner (which is a miracle in and of itself!). We then picked up Collin from the in-laws (where he stayed last night so that he could go to Dayton with them today to move Alaina in her apartment.) and then went to a custard stand for ice cream sandwiches. Erin did the funniest thing with hers....she stuck it in her little purse that Santa brought her for Christmas last year. Yes, my friends, in the purse. That's the second thing that's gone in the purse. The first was spaghetti. I love my daughter! ROFL. Oh, she also decided to give herself marker tattoos today....A full-body one. She even colored her girl parts.... what color, you ask? Red, of course. sheesh.

So, the fun didn't stop after my friends went home and I dug the ice cream sandwich out of Erin's purse....I am hell-bent and determined to finally get to scrapbook sometime in the near future. So, I started organizing things today. I'm definitely nowhere to being finished, but I did manage to start grouping my embellishments by color.

Is everyone having as much fun as I am today? ;)

Off to bed for me....I think we might be going to the State Fair tomorrow.

TGIF!!! :)

I'm very excited at the thought that the weekend is nearly here. Only eight or so more hours to go (unless everyone gets picked up earlier...have an earlier day of it, as the two later ones aren't here, so it could be more like six or seven! woohoo!).

I have been exhausted beyond all belief these past few days. I'm not sure what's wrong with me, but am hoping that this passes soon. It could just be that all the late nights and early mornings are catching up with me, and my body's trying to tell itself to slow down.

I slept on the sofa last night.....but not because Aaron and I were fighting. Griffin's been coughing a ton these past few days, so I doped him up and let him lay on me so that I could put him at an angle. He's been so congested, and I have a feeling that it's just running down the back of his throat, the poor dear! So we slept on the sofa last night. It wasn't too bad, though I dare say that someone needs to break it in a little more so that it's a better napping/sleeping couch! ;)

Collin rode the bus for the first time ever this morning. It nearly brought tears to my eyes. The bus stop is at the corner of our cul-de-sac. Collin and a gaggle of boys were there this morning. Somehow I worry about this, but I think that Collin will enjoy it. They camp out in a neighbor's driveway, so I'm thinking that perhaps that mother will be watching out her window every day? *crossing fingers* I also wonder if it's bad of me to hope this, since it's nearly pawning my child off on someone for ten minutes or so each day....

Anyway, that's it.....I wish you all a good weekend!

More of the Nothingness that is My Life

I love my kids....and I love the daycare kids. But I'm suddenly feeling cooped up inside my house, losing any brain cells that I've worked so hard to accumulate all these years. I'm feeling anti-social lately, too, which is some sort of social inertia that is coupled with being a stay-at-home-daycare-provider.

Am I going to be remotely close to what I was when I stop being the Zookeeper? Will I be a happy and useful office employee, or what should I do after the twins start full-day school? Is is really fucking possible that these life-changes are three years away?

Am feeling very reflective and cooped up today.....can you tell?

So, nothing wrong with me.....or so he says.....

....I went to the doc's today to check up on my bleeding. All he did was shove the speculum up there, cauterize (gotta love that word....ewww...) something bleeding (which did nothing to stop the bleeding, but in fact created more....), and hand me a chart to keep track of my bleeding. GRRRRR....I'm half-tempted to switch GYN's.

Other than that, nothing much going on here...just more of the same old, same old.

Nothing Much to Say....

....another day, another five extra kids to watch.

Oh, Griffin is making us laugh again, though he's not doing it on purpose. He's recently learned to like Dora the Explorer. His favorite character besides Dora herself? "Boobs"

Funny, "Pussy" is also his favorite Thomas the Tank Engine character.

I didn't make it to putting on a full face of make-up today. I did, however, unsucessfully wax my eyebrows. The stuff I got is right shit. I'm so sad. I might be doing something wrong, but I followed the instructions to a T! *pouts, furling my hairy eyebrows*

Two Days in a Row....

....of wearing make-up! ROFL....I sound like I'm fourteen again. I look hot, though! ;) perhaps I will wear that little something or other that Aaron picked out for me. (sorry, Nain )

We took the kidlets to the Chilren's Museum today. Collin brought Steven, the next door neighbor-boy. I think that they had a good time. The twins did their usual "let's see how far apart we can play" bit. We all fared well, though.

I just went to Wal-Mart to do the back-to-school shopping. I splurged a little on myself by buying a manicure set (a whopping five dollars), some wax-off for my brows, and some lipstick (I could see myself being one of those girlie types after all....maybe I'll be less depressed!).

OK, my work's just beginning. I need to go clean the daycare and clean out the fridge.

*crosses fingers for a good week for me and all my blogger-buddies*

Perhaps I should try to Be a Girlie-Girl After All.....

OK, so I just hopped out of the tub. I now have a red ass and red cheeks, because I really like HOOOOTTTT water, but I'm so much more relaxed than I have been in a long time. Am planning on drinking more in future, too. ;)

We went to an outlet mall this afternoon and dropped more money than I thought possible. Aaron's fully kitted out for the new school year, sans a new pair of boots. Autumn's still a little way away, though, so we still have time. I was also able to score some new duds for myself. Aside from clothing that I can wear outside with the tots, I haven't really bought much new for myself in a while. I got a new pair of shorts (that are a bit shorter than I usually wear, but didn't look hideous...though I swear they do something to the mirrors in fitting rooms, because it never seems to look as good or fit as well when you get it home! ROFL), a dress, and a few tops. Oh, and a little hoochie-mamma skirt that Aaron convinced me to buy that I definitely will be wearing full-bottom undies with! No Bridget Jones-like scenes for me, thankyouverymuch!

I also got the twins some pull-on shorts, as we're starting to potty-train in earnest now. This is some scary shit for me, as I'm already tired enough. It's tough work sometimes! ack! But, when we got home, both kidlets peed on the potty!! So hopefully that is a good sign. Erin still just pees down her leg like it's no big deal, but we'll see. Cross your fingers for me!

OK, hope everyone's having a good weekend!

Gina, I wish I lived a bit closer, I'd come help you pack, girlie! Congrats on the sale of your house, and good luck with all your move plans to Hawaii! I shall be coming to visit you soon! ;)

Exhaustion Doesn't Even Begin

....to describe what I'm feeling right now. I'm so friggin' tired that I don't want to do anything. Most of what I can get accomplished in a day is the very basics of what needs to be done. I'm very tired of this, but cannot see a way out of it at this current juncture.....If anyone has any ideas for a woman to do that doesn't include paying daycare, let me know. I can't really afford daycare right now....

..........how I wish that I could work outside the home again.

Nearly Two Days Now.....

....Without a biting incident. I suppose I shouldn't count my chicken before he's hatched with today, though, eh? The day still has about five of the eleven and a half hours to go..... I'm glad that we had at least one bite-free day.

Collin had his third swim lesson last night. He did pretty well, considering I stayed by the pool this time. He's still a bit nervous, which is written all over his face at times, but he seems to be pulling through.

We've decided to make him go ahead and go for his black belt in karate. He seemed upset about this when we first had the conversation, but I told him that the tears over it needed to stop. It's not like he hates karate. He's just afraid of the process, which, in my opinion, is not a viable excuse right now.

Other than that, not much is going on around here. I finally was able to give Aaron his anniversary present (Aunt Flow and exhaustion had prevented it up until then...). But now I'm afraid that my body's going back to it's previous fucked up state. Every time we have sex these days, I bleed. So I think that a call will have to be made to good ol' Doc Feeney. *sigh* What's the use of a vasectomy (not that it will be useful at this current juncture) if I'm going to bleed every time we have sex? The injustice of it all is ironically on target, though.

Have a good one, all!

Weekends are never long enough.....

....especially when you're busy with work nearly 60 hours a week!

I keep hoping that my desire to figure out how to get some relaxation in will miraculously appear. Parts of me think that that might never happen. I'm so worn out and tired of life at the moment. I know that other people get this way, too, so I should just be happy with what I do have. Sometimes it's just not that easy. For the moment, I've managed to talk myself down from the roof, though, so I'll stay with that.

So yesterday we spent the day running around. There is a new mall in our area that is all outdoor, but has all the schwanky shops like Victoria's Secret, Hollister, etc. Aaron and his parents picked out new shoes for the babies. They're growing like little weeds, and needed a pair of good shoes each. Or at least a pair that hadn't been in mud puddles. Erin's pair is a hot pink pair with pink leopard-print trim. (She's into EVERYTHING pink right now!) Griffin's is a pair of red shoes, which he lovingly calls his James shoes. (he's into EVERYTHING Thomas the Tank right now)

After we left the mall, we took Aaron's sister with us to Target and then out to eat. She is away at law school for most of the year, so it's good to hang out with her when she's home for the summer and on breaks. We watched Ocean's 12, which was a pretty good flick. It's fun to figure out the twists and turns in the plots.

Today we went to church, and made it all the way through communion! We still left early, but the kids made their hour limit, and that's about as much as you can expect from the gruesome twosome.

OK, off to read more Harry Potter to Collin. I'm actually destroying my voice with reading aloud to him so much! It's quite funny, but we're having a lot of fun with this.

Warning....written with about 4 shots of gin in me....

.....i really can't take much more....griffin has been biting everyone in the daycare, and no one seems to be immune from it. i spend most of my days with the daycare, abandoning the computer for the most part. but when i go to the bathroom or fix lunch, or steal just five seconds at the computer, he strikes.

even if i were sober, this would be a plea....if anyone knows anything about biting children, and how to cope with it WITHOUT biting your child back, please let me know, as this gets harder each time.....

....right...i'm off to bed now, as i can barely hold my head up any longer.....i really should just drink at night. ROFL...says she who is a daughter in a long line of alcoholics....AA here i come.....

Contagious, perhaps?

I think we've all agreed that sinus infections and other communicable diseases are contagious through blogs. But methinks that depression must also be contagious online.....and perhaps not depression, per sey, but those normal down-in-the-dumps feelings that creep up sometimes. I'm going through one of those times where I feel like I'm no longer the witty and intelligent girl that I was when I was working outside the home. I rarely talk to people over the age of ten. Not that I don't love being with all these wonderful LITTLE people, don't get me wrong. I'm just missing adult company these days. I know that my life has a good purpose right now, even if it might slowly drive me over the edge. My children are my world. But sometimes I just want to have that "adult" life again. I figured it up that I work twelve hours a day most days. If I sleep eight, that only leaves four measly hours with which to do anything else. Take about two of that for supper and cleaning, and you have two hours left. Not much time at all. And it's wearing me out. It's not a wonder that in-home daycare providers usually have a high burn-out rate. Most of it is that I'm lonely, I can't listen to anything other than the Wiggles, and I'm freaking out-of-my-mind tired most times.

The bad thing about this is that I don't see a way out of this all too soon. I have about three or four more years before the twins are ready for kindergarten, and another year after that before they are in school full-time. After that, what is a mom to do? I feel like my brain is slowly turning to mush, and that, even if I wanted to, I couldn't keep a nice little kushy office job because my brain is so far gone that no one will want to hire me. *sigh*

So, set another place at the pity party table if there's room.

Snowballed by an Eight Year-Old.....

So, Aaron's family has been dogging me unmercifully about the fact that Collin doesn't know how to swim and also doesn't want to even get in the water. So, Aaron's mom is paying for him to get private swim lessons from one of her friends' daughters.

So we go for his first lesson last night....and the tears are spilling before we even leave the house. And when he gets to the pool, he's all-out crying. Aaron and I leave to take the twins to a nearby park to play, leaving him there by himself for the next half hour. Well, we get to the pool, and find him still in the water, having a blast.....

......I'm being snowballed by an eight year-old. hehe

Wish us luck on future lessons....not too sure if this was a one-time fluke or not, but we'll see.

The Weekend.....

*yawn*

three kids. a mini-van. a three-hour drive. a mommy worn out.

my stepmom's family had their annual reunion this past weekend, so we went. it was fun, though between the twins fighting right behind my seat, erin trying to strip at every given moment, and the fact that aaron was not with me, I'm a fairly worn out zookeeper today. oh, did i mention that i forgot to bring all my medicine with me so i felt like shit, too? lol

otherwise, it was a good time. my baby brothers, who are 17 and 18 did take some time out of their busy schedules to hang out with me. they are absolutely hilarious. and are two of the nicest boys that could possibly be. the three of us, along with their two girlfriends, took collin bowling. usually collin has the bumpers, but didn't get them this time, as we would have all had to move lanes, so it wound up being a little frustrating on his part. the boys (the baby brothers) did their best to make collin laugh by throwing odd balls (one of them could actually get the ball down the aisle by throwing it behind him and through his legs! quite impressive, actually!) and making collin do things like lie down flat on his stomach and roll the ball down the aisle. i think he had fun despite the fact that he was getting mostly gutter balls. and just where in the hell were the bumpers when i was a kid? my parents didn't get me bumpers for bowling....suck it up, collin! ROFL

anyway, happy monday, all! :)