What the hell is a MeMe anyway???

Well, whatever it is, Katie asked me to do it, and since she gave me some Dark Chocolate Twix, I don't have the balls to tell her no....so here's the deal...pick five from this list and answer them then tag three of your blogging buddies to do it, too.

If I could be a scientist...
If I could be a farmer...
If I could be a musician...
If I could be a doctor...
If I could be a painter...
If I could be a gardener...
If I could be a missionary...
If I could be a chef...
If I could be an architect...
If I could be a linguist...
If I could be a psychologist...
If I could be a librarian...
If I could be an athlete...
If I could be a lawyer...
If I could be an inn-keeper...
If I could be a professor...
If I could be a writer...
If I could be a llama-rider...
If I could be a bonnie pirate...
If I could be an astronaut...
If I could be a world famous blogger...
If I could be a justice on any one court in the world...
If I could be married to any current famous political figure...

If I could be a musician... I'd be a world-reknown opera singer and win all sorts of awards.
If I could be a doctor... I'd be a neonatologist and save premature babies.
If I could be a chef... I would be a bakery chef and the world would be covered in the best damn cookies ever.
If I could be a psychologist... I would delve into why I'm as fucked up as I am.
If I could be a llama-rider... I would have so much fucking fun, and my llama would look just like Tina.

OK, now that everyone's asleep at their keyboards, I tag Hammer, Gina, and Alaina to do this, too! (And all of those found on my blogroll list!)

Life....not too shabby....

It never ceases to amaze me the way we're all dealt life. In looking at the struggles and joys of those around us, we can truly appreciate what we're given sometimes. The lives of those around us are ones which we couldn't live ourselves...and this fact makes us look at how we're definitely dealt what we personally can handle. When people ask me how I do what I do....I tell them "I just do..." There are no answers to how a person can find the will and energy to keep going when it's rough. You keep going because it's what you have to do to be living. The alternatives are to give up, and therefore to not live at all...

Someone once told me, when I didn't think I could live the life I'd been dealt... "You have to find a new perspective." I hated hearing that.....but a part of me listened, and now I fully understand. We don't always choose what we get out of life. We're given a lot...and sometimes we'd like to exchange or get a refund... LOL But the perspective with which we see what we're given makes or breaks the situation. When someone hears about my life, they see it from their perspective....and they wonder how I do it. Hell, sometimes I wonder myself. But I do it....and I am not really sure that I'd do it differently.....unless it involved unlimited spending power.....and maybe a maid. ;)

Slurp, Slurp

That's the sound of me drinking my new tea I got my starter set yesterday, and have been a tea-drinking fool. The pot does really work well! :)

Other than that, no real news to report. We had the buyer's inspection on our home last night. I think that it went reasonably well. I tried very hard to get the place cleaned up before everyone arrived. It proved to be a lot more difficult than I would have thought. We managed, though! We also took everyone over to the neighbor's house to hang while they did the inspection. The good part about it all? I got to meet the new owners! They are a very cute couple. He's a manager for a local CVS Pharmacy, and she's a World History teacher at a local high school. They're to be married in July.

I sorted some more in my scrapcloset in the evening, after cleaning the kitchen. *patting myself on my domestic little back* I'm really having a bit of a block with the twins' albums....am hoping that I can get over that so that I can start their albums before I forget even more than I have already.

I wrote the hospital earlier this week and finally heard back from them. They said that I can come in and sit myself down at a computer and get the information that I want from their files. I'm hoping to be able to do that when I get a day off in the near future....I really want to do that so that I can have good dates to put down. Which I'm sure might sound stupid to most, but I really want those dates and to find out just how many blood transfusions that the kids have, when they got off the vent, and when they took their first bottles, etc....

Anyway, that's life in a nutshell....and because my dear hubby didn't get around to wishing his sister a happy birthday, I shall do it myself. Hope you had a good one, Nain!

March of Dimes....It's that Time of Year again!!

Hey there, I am making a last ditch effort to raise money for the March of Dimes for my upcoming walk on May 1st. If you haven't given to the MOD recently, think of this....

Fifty years ago, the March of Dimes helped to raise money for the funding of the Polio Vaccine!

Many of the tests that newborn babies receive are due to the monies provided by the March of Dimes. EVERY baby benefits from their efforts!

My walk site is HERE You can make a donation online (with a credit card or debit card) and the money will go directly to them!

Thank you so much!
Stephanie

Today in the U.S., 1 in every 8 babies will be born prematurely. Some of them won't survive, and others will have health problems that could last a lifetime. The funds we raise in WalkAmerica support research that saves babies' lives.

Griffin and Erin Byers, my twins, were born at 26 wks. Had it not been for some of the research and developments that March of Dimes has funded, the babies probably would not have done as well as they are now.

The mission of the March of Dimes is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects and infant mortality.

Crazy Day....

Number of Children in the house today: 9
Number of Butts to Change: 7
Number of hours I have to figure out what to do with the kids while someone inspects my home: 3

What's the Patron Saint of Daycare Providers???

Has Anyone Seen Mary.....

Poppins, that is? I really need her to come sing "A Spoonful of Sugar" to me.....

and I really need her to clean my house so that it's not littered with cookie crumbs, shoes, and toys.....

Anyone Have a Zookeeper's Workout for me To Try??

I've realized that I'm back up to my pre-pregnancy weight......what? "up to" you say? Shouldn't you be working off the baby weight? Um, yeah....But with the stress of premature children, and the miracle (freak-show?) of producing 16 oz. of breastmilk every three hours, I lost a ton of weight. Oh, and don't forget that I was puking for 10 weeks straight there....

So, I've become a stress/boredom eater....If it's sweet and it's in my house, it's mine! And, I've recently given up the Pop-Tart kick. Did you know that each package of 2 Pop-Tarts has something like 450 calories?? And that one bowl of Special K *might* have 250? That will be a ton of calories that I'll save if I give up the habit.

So, here's the deal...my house is fairly occupied with kiddos from the hours of 6am to 6pm....aside from the running around to change diapers and feed...when can I fit in an exercise program?

Have you Tried Adagio Teas?

www.adagio.com

they had a promotion at one point that if you link your site to theirs that they would give you free tea. I'm not as cool as Katie --she got the teapot. But, they were true to their word, and sent me my sample of their vanilla black tea. Boy, is it yummy!! :)

I also ordered three of their starter sets last night. One for my mother-in-law, one for my mom, and one for me, of course! ;) I got the Flavors Set. I can wait to use the teapot, though. I'm such a nerd. (BTW, Aaron, don't be mad at me! ROFL just wrap it and give it to me for Mother's Day.)

Anyway, off to brew another cup. I think it could possibly be a little better for me than the diet Coke/Mt. Dew habit I've got going on here.

Have I Been Duped??

I would say that I'm a fairly gullible and trusting person. I believe that all people are innately good. I think that this is an endearing quality to have, but also a dangerous one sometimes.

So I have these new babysitting kids. They come before and after school every day. Collin recently (with money accumulated from his first communion) got a prized Yu-Gi-Oh card, Slifer the Sky Dragon. He got it on Saturday evening. It's gone already, and Collin has no idea what happened to it. Now, Collin would lose his head if it weren't attached to his body, and his room tends to be a pit. But he does take reasonably good care of his things, when he remembers to take them out of his pants pocket before sending them through the wash, as he's done with so many of his Gameboy games.

I'm really not sure what to think. I'm really bothered by it. No matter what, it's MIA and he can't play with it. But I'm really torn between being pissed that he might have lost it, and pissed at the thought that someone took it. It's funny that nothing's ever turned up missing when this kid WASN'T around....but then again, my kid can sometimes be laxadazical (sp??) with his things......

Being a Smartass Can Have Its Rewards.......

.....so, today the doorbell rings. I answer it to find a nice elderly couple (laden with a foil-wrapped something or other) from the Orchard Park Presbyterian Church at my doorstep. They ask "Hi, is this Barbara?"..."No..."I say. "Isn't this 16641 Brownstone Ct.?"..."No, I'm afraid that you've got the wrong address, but if you need anyone to unload that baked good on, feel free."

.......they handed me the loaf.....it's lemon poppyseed bread.....




............do i eat it or no?

Not too shabby of a day thusfar....

So today has been a busy, but not hectic, day. Although, it started SEVEN hours ago! YIKES. Erin Louise cried herself awake at 5:20. The same time I was supposed to be showering and getting ready to run to the store for milk and be back by 6:00 to get the first daycare kids. But no...I was up, but not at anything other than nursing Erin until 5:40, at which time it was too late to get to the store, with or without the shower. So, Aaron went to the store, and I caught the first three daycare kids.

The before/after school kids started today. And I think that it's going to be an interesting ride. The kids have ADHD, and the girl was abused as a very small child. You know, it never really is ever dull around here! But, the kids are very sweet, and I think that it will be ok with them.

Erin managed to go back to sleep this morning and slept in until TEN!! I was quite shocked, but am sensing that we're either with a sinus infection, or the worst cold known to mind, because I don't think I could possibly have sucked out more snot from the girl's nose! :(

Other than that, the theme for the week is the Zoo. How appropriate! LOL. So we made Lion stick puppets, sang a zoo song to the tune of "skip to my lou", and did a finger play about lions. And all before 12:00! LOL

Life Path 3....

Your Life Path Number Is 3

3 Your Life Path is one that emphasizes expression, sociability, and creativity as the lesson to be learned in this life. You are among the entertainers of the world, bright, effervescent, sparkling people with very optimistic attitudes. You possess the most exceptional creative skills: normally in the verbal realm, writing, speaking, acting, or similar endeavors. The lesson to be learned with a 3 life path is that of achievement through expression. The bright side of this path stresses harmony, beauty and pleasures; of sharing your creative talents with the world. Capturing your capability in creative self-expression is the highest level of attainment for this life path. You are warm and friendly, a good conversationalist, social and open. A good conversationalist both from the standpoint of being a delight to listen to, but even more importantly, one who has the ability to listen to others. You are always a welcome addition to any social situation and know how to make others feel at home. Your reative imagination is present, if sometimes latent, as the you may not be moved to develop you talent. Your approach to life tends to be exceedingly positive, and your disposition is almost surely sunny and open-hearted. You effectively cope with all of the many setbacks that occur in life and readily bounce back for more. It is usually easy for you to deal with problems because you can freely admit the existence of problems without letting them get you down. You have good manners and seem to be very conscious of other people's feelings and emotions. Life is generally lived to the fullest, often without much worry about tomorrow. You are not very good at handling money because of a general lack of concern about it. You spend it when you have it and don't when you don't. On the negative side, a 3 may be so delighted with the joy of living that the life becomes frivolous and superficial. You may scatter your abilities and express little sense of purpose. You can be an enigma, for no apparent reason you may become moody and tend to retreat. Escapist tendencies are not uncommon with the 3 life path, and you find it very hard to settle into one place or one position. Guard against being critical of others, impatient, intolerant, or overly optimistic. Typically, the life path 3 gives an above-average ability in some art form. This can encompass painting, interior decorating, landscaping, crafts, writing, music, or the stage, or all of the above. You are apt to be a happy, inspired person, constantly seeking the stimuli of similar people. Your exuberant nature can take you far, especially if you are ever able to focus your energies and talents.

What Is Your Life Path Number?

Oh, God....I should have known.....

You Are 45% Normal (Somewhat Normal)

While some of your behavior is quite normal... Other things you do are downright strange You've got a little of your freak going on But you mostly keep your weirdness to yourself

How Normal Are You?

A Recent Scrapbook Page....

I've not shared anything as of late...mostly because I hadn't done much as of late. I've started the twins' albums....I'm still working on all the fluffy-type pages before I get to the emotionally-laden NICU pages.....I've written out the twins' birth story, but just need to figure out how exactly I'm going to do the page.

Anyway, without further ado, here's my latest page....I used MM Simply stated rub-ons for the title, ProvoCraft's Slab IV paper, MM brads, and the good ol' Dymo label maker...


Journaling: When we found out we were having twins, I came across these pcitures and laughed. I have quite a few friends that have twins. I've always been enamored with twins, but never thought I'd be exotic to have them myself. And because of these friends, I didn't think I wanted them! Are you SURE they're not contagious?!"

Collin's First Communion....

My little boy is becoming quite the young man....I told him today that he's no longer allowed to fart around in church, because it should mean more to him now. LOL

Katie, Katie, Katie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You'll so appreciate this, knowing that I'm possibly the dumbest person on the face of this planet with respects to HTML.....

.........blogger came up with an error with the HTML....and I fixed it myself!!!!!!

*will go away now, as feeling very smug and proud of myself*

My Linguistic Profile

Your Linguistic Profile:

85% General American English

15% Yankee

0% Dixie

0% Midwestern

0% Upper Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak

Someone talk me down from the roof.....

I'm so at the end of my rope today. I'm hoping that this is just a passing phase and that I'm not in for the long haul....here are a list of things that are bothering me right now...

1. i have a girl who insists on crying pretty much non-stop...am thinking she's teething.
2. erin's glasses were broken this morning.
3. i must have slept strangely on my neck last night, as i can't really move it well and it hurts like a mofo
4. griffin's been biting pretty much all morning
5. i have to figure out what to do with seven children while someone inspects my house next thursday.


i'm sure that there is more that is bringing me down right now, but i'm really feeling down right now........i've already cried twice this morning and am ready to go at it again.....

Oy.....

My little four-eyed boo is sick tonight....I'm feeling a little ill myself, but I really feel badly for her. It started out with a fever, and then she threw up. What was strange, was that it looked like breakfast..... :-S

The bonus is that after something like three counter offers, we are accepting their final offer for the house. I'm excited, because the thought of having an extra space is so appealing at this point! And the house is absolutely BEAUTIFUL! :) I never in my life would have imagined that I would have such a nice house.....we seriously could fathom growing old there.

It's Been a Crazy Day

Of course, do you really expect any less of me? LOL

So we had the counter offer. They countered to take 1,400 off the asking price and to not pay some warranty fee that our realtor advises (which I'm not sure is really necessary, but I really don't know anything about this subject....), but they would pay closing costs. So, we ask them to take 2,400 off the asking price and to pay closing costs. At this point, I'd pay the asking price for their home if someone would give ME that much money in a loan. Stupid mortgage brokers. They don't even count my income into the bargain, though I made well over half of what Aaron made last year....it's not my fault that I haven't been running the Zoo for over two years and that I can deduct well over half my income on my taxes. Fucked if I do, fucked if I don't. I might as well not have even claimed anything on taxes, save the fact that it benefits my daycare families. So I'm not sure what happens now. I'm in a mood about it, though. I WANT to give the family that is giving us a good deal what they deserve. But I am not sure that I can. Here's hoping that Uncle Sam comes through with my money.

Oh, what else pisses me off is that I screwed up my taxes, which is no big deal, since the credits we can take negate any of our tax liability, but it's the principle of the matter that I screwed them up that honks me off. LOL

Other than that, the day was just typical when you have eight kids in your house, seven of which are in diapers, two of which are your own. Throw in an interview for before and after school kids that will start next week, and you have one huge barrel of laughs. LOL I'm not complaining, though. I'm not feeling psychotic, which is a lot better than last year at this time.

the house...if the link works.....

http://public.propertylinx.com/templates/media.asp?Uid=2429391&MlsNum=2512480

I'm Shitting My Pants.....

............we put an offer on "the" house............................................................

.............................................i only have to wait until 5:00 pm tomorrow to see whether they've accepted..........................but i'm sure they'll counter......................but then we'll counter again..........................why can't the whole house-buying dealy-o be easier??

Busy Ol' Day, and Buttmunches on My Blog.....

Today has been busier than busy..... Now I know why there are limits to how many kids you can keep in one day. *sigh* And I'm tired of screaming babies.... :-S

And to those who are posting comments anonymously, show your faces, you yellow-bellied scalawags! *waves to Jason and Aaron (also known as DH)* dumbasses

Why is it......

.....that if I plan a bunch of activities for these younguns that they are nutty babies? If I let them free play (by choice or by circumstance), they are fine...happy-go-lucky and NOT crying??

So I got a phone call today from someone who needs care for her 8 and 10 year old children before and after school. She seemed flabbergasted that I would only charge her $45-$50 dollars a week for her two kids? And $150 during the summer for both? I can't believe that a daycare center would charge someone $300 a week for watching older children like that. It's a crime!

Griffin's back to wheezing again. Yesterday he had a bit of a fever, too. I think that he might be getting bogged down by allergies..... 'tis the season.

We go tonight to look at a few more houses. I really hope that we get the house that we have in mind. It would be so nice for us......

Yummy Egg Nests.....What Not to Fix for Lunch...

Yeah, these little bits of breakfast sandwhiches went over like lead balloons..... Basically, you take eggs, separate them. Whip the egg whites to a merengue (sp?) and spoon that on top of a cheese covered Engslish muffin half. Put the egg yolk in the center and bake on 350 until golden....

......sounds kid friendly? But they didn't really eat it. Harumph.....

Anyone want a Brazilian boyfriend today? Cos he's driving me crazy! LOL

The Week Ahead....

This week should be a busy one, if we do everything that's on the agenda. And that's just after work stuff! *whew*

So tonight Collin has rehearsal for his First Communion on Saturday. *sniff, sniff* I'm coming to the realization that my babies aren't babies anymore. I have three full-blown kids! I love it, though, and look forward to the next adventure life brings us.

Tomorrow night, we have three houses that we're going to see. We are going back to one (that we really, really like), and have two more that we're going to peep at to make sure that the one we like is really "the one". One of them is a three bedroom (which means more work in the long-run, as Aaron's hell-bent and determined for Griffin and Collin to not share a room), but it's on the next cul-de-sac over. One of them is a four bedroom, and is just a little bit further out than we'd wanted, but a little more in our price-range. Ho-hum. We'll figure it out.

Other than that, the week isn't too terribly busy. I do need to go to the library to get books to read to the snots this week. We're doing birds this week, and will hopefully have a good time of it! We're going to make bird feeders today, bread tomorrow, cookies the next day, and then I'm not sure what! lol Insane? Me? Why, thank you!

We Interrupt Our Regular Blog Programming.....

to let you know that we sold our house!!!! :) Now we just need to make sure it all goes through! *biting nails*

and the D&C went well, and I feel back to normal....

.....life is good.....

Enough About Me.....

Erin got glasses today! :)

I've Been Diced and Spliced....

....OK, I exaggerate, but my uterus currently feels like someone took a blow torch to it. The doc came out and said that he found lots of good yucky up there, so I'm now anxious to see what he has to say. But lemme tell ya...it was the best damn nap I've had in a while! hehehe

So feel free to send gifts of chocolate, Mountain Dew or whatever.... my address is
666 Notgonnableedanymore Way
Fertileville, IN

ROFL

It's Raining, It's Pouring....

....but not outside....we're talking about "Rain" this week at the Zoo! I'm really starting to get in the swing of trying to do some fun stuff with the kids each day. We never seem to get around to major crafts, but we always seem to have something to do...whether it be to sing a song, read a book, or play with playdough. Ari and Dante usually do the best with listening to stories. Griffin and Art usually do the best with songs and finger plays. Everyone else kind of just looks at me like I'm a little crazy, or tries their hardest to participate. It's quite funny!

I have a pile of posters that I had Aaron laminate at school. So we'll soon be doing things like learning our ABC's with more diligence and also working on learning our colors and shapes. We shall see how long I can keep this up!

I'm getting nervous about Friday. I'm not as nervous as I otherwise would be, as it's not like it's a Pulmonary Arteriogram, or something as invasive. I am nervous more about whether there is a bigger issue that I don't know of going on inside me. So many people I know are getting cancer...it scares me to no end to hear the results of this surgery. What exactly is going on up there? We shall see. At least I've been a week or so without bleeding. I'm all about that! ROFL

I really can't wait to hear about the showing on our house. Cross your fingers, pray, do a "house selling dance".......

Second Showing Hell......

Please someone buy my house A.S.A.P. I don't think I can take much more of this stuff. I love having a clean house, don't get me wrong...I just don't want to have to work like a fucking maniac to get it clean to get out and have strangers walk around.

I'm excited at the thought of having a bigger space....with wood floors, perhaps! ;) And the thought of having to stretch the budget now in order to get a house that we can stay in long enough to see Erin come down the staircase in a wedding dress (thanks for that one, Nancy..lol) is kind of exciting....

Now just the thought of putting the twins to bed and being able to be a floor away is REALLY appealing! ;)

10 Sounds I like to Hear....and 10 I Don't....

thanks, Leann, for the idea! :)

I love to hear.....

1. baby belly-laughs
2. when Collin's really excited about something
3. the suckling of the twins as they nurse
4. the sound of any of my kids or my husband telling me they love me
5. music...good music
6. the quiet of naptime (ahhhh.....)
7. the sound of a choir during midnight mass
8. the sound of kids playing on a playground
9. the sweet voices of those saying their marriage vows
10. the sound of a toddler singing

I hate to hear.....

1. an all-out sobbing baby
2. kids fighting
3. my husband complaining
4. that sound that can only be accompanied by a shitty diaper
5. the sound that comes before a child empties their stomach of all contents
6. loud rap or heavy heavy metal music
7. the sound of a car crash
8. NASCAR commentary
9. gunshots
10. kids asking me questions.... :(

Crazy Day, Yet She Has Energy at the End....

Today was a looney day, but a good day. I had extra kids at the Zoo, but we actually were able to accomplish a few of the things on my list. I am trying to make it a habit to read at least once to the kids per day. It's one of those things that's easy to forget, but is easy to sneak in right before I lay everyone down. Much easier, though, when the Mary Kay lady isn't coming around to get things from me. And then wonders why I'm so stressed sounding. I just needed to get everyone down for afternoon nap, and she was interrupting it. That's all. Oh, well.

So, to add to the lunacy, a new animal starts at the Zoo tomorrow. Well, a new-old animal. She's huge now, though...at a whopping 11 months, she's enough to break an arm! ROFL....but she's a sweetie, so I think that we'll get along pretty well after a while. Her name is as cute as she is.... Lilli. :)

So tomorrow I have to figure out how to unload two kids around the five o'clock hour.......stay tuned for further details on the second showing of our house..... YIKES!!!

Off to clean now.....

Working on a Saturday? WTF????

LOL....I'm really having to get used to this whole working on a Saturday bit again. I had the Brazilian Boyfriend with me at 5:30 this morning. And boy, was he PISSED to be at Miss Steph's today. He even hit me! :( But when he realized that his momma wasn't there to rescue him and that she really HAD gone, he quieted down and went back to sleep. Can you tell he's got the mom wrapped around his little finger? lol

So we packed up the little man and took him house hunting, after we'd dropped our "real" kids off at the in-laws'. He was really good, surprisingly, as we went around to three different houses. All of the houses has potential, but there were only two that we like really well. The first and the last were the ones that we liked. One has three bedrooms and a loft, and one has four bedrooms. The very last house we saw -- only a little out of our price range-- was the one that we like the most. I'm trying not to get my hopes up on anything, and keep my mind open, as we won't know what we can get until we unload our house. I still like my little house, but I realize that we could really stand to use a bigger house that will be good for long-term purposes.

It's funny....this whole move makes me wonder whether I should go back to the business world or remain a Zookeeper after the twins are in school full day. I love being my own boss, and I love having had the time at home with the family. But, I'm not sure that I'm good being so tied down to the home. I'm becoming more and more hermitous as the time goes on, which is so not like me. But I do love that I'm tied down to the four people in my life that matter most. I just wonder if I would be a BETTER mommy and wife if I worked outside the home. Would I have the energy to actually do things at the end of the day? That's what I'm looking for now. I suppose if I seriously weaned the babies that I would have more energy. But I'm not sure I want to do that yet, either.

I know, I'm obsessive about things sometimes.....but, like I said to Nain, and I'll say it to everyone....this is my diary after all! LOL

You Want Wild and Exotic.....

....you can come on over today, then. There are 12 children in my little 1240 sq. ft. house today. Aaron has helped a little bit, but it's sure busy! At least everyone is 11 months old or older. But I'm running around like a madwoman today! It wouldn't be that bad, but there are a few kids on Spring Break, so they came along.

Other than that, no new news to report. Griffin did go in the potty a little bit before bed last night. Methinks that we're on our way to being big kids, which both scares the hell out of me and makes me so very proud and excited. There's something to be said for the cute little butts in underwear! Totally not on a pedophile level, either, but if you're a mommy or daddy of a toddler, you can so relate.

This time next week, I shall be getting diced and spliced. I'm not so much looking forward to it, but I'm experiencing a bit of pain these days, so I'll be glad to get rid of that. Then I can decide which method of sterilization would be best for Aaron and me. Then, I can be the girl who isn't on birth control and actually WANTS to have sex. (Sorry, Nain, but this is my diary, after all.)

Anyway, happy weekend, all! :)

We Bring You This Special Blogger Report.....

......to state that Griffin Robert Byers, 2 years, 2 months old, has just peed in the potty. That's right folks! Mom reported that he has been taking his own diaper off these days, so she brought out the new potty chair, only to have him pee right in it!

Happy Birthday, Dear Aaron....

Today, Aaron turns 29.....funny how I don't feel like I should be nearly 30. 30 used to seem so old. And I'm in the age that I used to think was so cool.....when you're 10, twenty-somethings seem like so much fun to be. How come I don't feel cool and fun? ROFL

Anyway, dear, since you read this now sometimes, I wish you a very happy birthday! :) And I'm glad that I'm turning into an old fart with you! hehe

If I had a magic wand, I would.....

.........make Erin's eyes better, making glasses a non-issue.
.........cause Erin and Griffin to magically catch up to their peers.
.........make Collin be happy and content all the time.
.........make it so that Collin had tons of great friends to play with all the time.
.........cause there to be no more puking.
.........take about 20 lbs. weight of both Aaron and I, therefore making us a little happier with ourselves.
..........make another hour in the day for things that go on the back-burner.
..........remember to do the nice things for Aaron that he does for me.
..........put money into our bank account so that we could afford a larger house.
..........make the confusion easier for friend.
..........make all the preemie kiddos healthy.
..........find a stop to premature deliveries and all the craziness that causes them.

I'd figure out how to make the world perfect....

......if only I had a better magic wand than the one I've got. It's just collecting dust in the dress-up box at the moment.


.........

A Day in the Life of the Zookeeper.....

I'm often asked how I do what I do....I just do....I don't really have a choice, because if I didn't do what I do, I'd qualify for food stamps...no lie. I probably would qualify anyway, as I don't really make all that much as the Zookeeper. But thankfully, we haven't needed to use food stamps yet. Anyway, you wanna sneak peak into my life? Here it is:

5:20 a.m. ---the alarm goes off...I camp out on the sofa and wait for the first daycare kiddo to get here at 5:30.
5:30-- the first kiddo gets here, and we go back to sleep....UNLESS, it's a day that the next daycare kiddo comes at 6:00...then I go back to sleep until 6:00...
(6:00--the next daycare kiddo comes, and I'm up)
5:30-7:15-- I nap with the kiddo beside me...
7:15-8:30-- I play cafeteria lady and serve between 2 and 8 kids breakfast.... sometimes spoon feeding a baby
8:30-10:00--the kids play and watch television while I take turns changing shitty diapers, putting clothes on for the day......now that it is nice, we may or may not go outside during this time...i'm also trying my damndest to turn a new leaf and do some activities with the kids...we're doing spring and flowers this week....
10:30-12:00-- Again, I play lunch lady, feeding between five and eight kids lunch, I change another load of diapers, sometimes shuffle girls off to preschool, and get everyone laid down for nap.
12:00-2:00-- My only semblance of a break....during which you can find me playing Literati, playing VJ for the ones who are not nappers, shushing the non-nappers, and sometimes cleaning up the mess left by lunch.
2:00-3:30--cafeteria lady comes out again to play as I dole out snacks that range anywhere from muffins to cheese sticks to graham crackers.
3:30-6:00 --- I can be found changing more shitty diapers, playing with the kids outside, and shuffling everyone home....handing communication notices to the infant/toddlers of the group.

After this, I'm pretty much wiped out, but still manage to help with dinner (Aaron usually does most of the cooking), get the babies ready for bed (Aaron and I tag team with this usually), occasionally read a book with Collin, and hide out playing Literati. I also occasionally use this time to scrapbook, go to Wal-Mart and buy shit for the next day, and occasionally hose myself off.....

It's a tiring day, but it has been working well for the last six months or so. :)

Beautiful Day.....not so beautiful ending.....

So today was a pretty good day. Boy do I owe Aaron something fierce....as he took Ari (the four-year-old-loud-as-can-be-mouth) with Collin and Kyle to half price books this afternoon. So I got a few hours to myself....with which I gave a breathing treatment (to Ari's younger sister, Alex), and changed a few butts. I did get one game of Literati in, so all was not lost. I should have taken a nap, but alas, sleep still eludes me.

After nap, we were able to color a spring sheet, and sing "Itsy Bitsy Spider"....and then we headed outside and played for a bit in the absolutely beautiful weather.

After work, we had some neighbors over for a mini-cookout. The wife, Julie, is a pre-school teacher, so we have a lot in common, and can bounce ideas off of one another. It's so refreshing and inspiring to be around someone who knows exactly what it's like to work with kids all day and get little appreciation. So we were able to help eachother out with ideas and materials. She has TONS of books that she's purchased for her classroom.

I figured this week we'd do Spring, since Collin's on Spring Break and it's so freaking beautiful outside. So I broke out the planning materials, and will try to do some things with them this week. I also printed out some "communication" sheets to hand out for the toddlers and younger kids each day. My Brazilian boyfriend's dad, said "what? you getting all fancy?" But I think that it will make me look a little more professional.

So, just a little under ten minutes ago, I cleaned up more puke.....this time it is Collin, who didn't make it to the toilet in time. Let's just say that I won't be having any more chocolate shakes for a while. :-&

So, I'm off to shower....hopefully the stench won't stay in my nose all night.....

Uncle Sam and Puke.....

Well, the weekend promised to be fun.....until both my sister-in-law and Aaron got sick. The sister-in-law (who shall hereforth be referred to as Andrea), called us up on Saturday morning and said "well, I have a problem....see...I've been throwing up and in the bathroom all morning...so I'm afraid that I'm not going to be able to watch the kids this evening for you." No problem, we say....we'll just take them to the wedding that we were going to make a date out of, and they can all wear their Easter clothes. So...that's what we did. :D It was a good time, but the twins got grumpy before the real party started, so we went home. That's when the fun started.....for as I sit sorting through receipts to search for things I could claim as daycare expenses, Aaron starts alternating between praying to the porcelain god and perching himself on the porcelain throne. Oy, can I tell you how bad my whole room/bathroom/closet stunk last night? About as bad as a good day with the diapers around here.

The bonus of the weekend is that Uncle Sam's going to give me a helluva good refund this year. Though, Uncle Hoosier is going to take a few bucks from me. I suppose I can afford $58.....Considering I didn't pay one damn dime of my money in for an estimated payment, I'd say that we came out on top.

Now we just have to wait until we either get the money and the IRS (who isn't all that bright at times anyway) says that they're happy with my shoddy accounting work (perhaps shoddy is a bit harsh, as I'm not trying to screw the government out of anything...I just am not certain that I'm following the instructions properly).......or I get a loverly notice and have to figure out what the hell I did wrong.

I used to work in an accounting firm, see....and they always made big talk of "self-assurance"....basically, self-check of the shit they were cranking out.....well....I think that I should ask for a better job when I go back and beg Uncle Ernie for a job, as I think that I did a very good job of self-assurance....I found a few minor mistakes (keystroke errors, no doubt) in my return, and was able to fix it. Of course, it meant getting fifty less back, but oh, well.....I'm still going to get a hefty return. Just one less set of stamps I can buy. hehe