Come on and Take a Ride on that Fantastic Slide, Slide, Slippery Slide....

.....food from wake-up to 2:00......
2 cans diet coke
1 serving of Kix cereal
1 banana
1 cup Kashi Good Friends ceral
1 XL Mt. Dew from Taco Bell
2 Cheesy Bean and Rice Burritos from Taco Bell
handful of M&M's....

*sigh*

Other than that, aside from a bunch of screaming children, the day's gone pretty well.....just be glad you're not sitting in the same room as me. *plugs nose*

***food, 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm********
a hand ful of M&M's
1/2 a saltine cracker
*sticks tongue out at person who questioned, the two burritos.... it's not THAT much food*****

*********food 6:00 pm to bed************
too many glasses of Mt. Dew....cos, well, i don't drink diet Pepsi
1 chicken fajita roll up from Applebees'
1 order of onion peels

It was Mardi Gras, after all.....

So...

**********ETA: The guinea pigs are doing quite well, though do not like that I'm constantly shoving antibiotics in their faces. Did you know....full fat yogurt cost significantly more than low fat? And, that antibiotics for a damn guinea are TRIPLE what I'd pay for human ones?? ************

...I feel sometimes like my life is one of those books I've been reading....where they SAY they're going to change, but take the long road there....

...Not only did I have problems with Griffin this weekend, but I had problems fitting into all my jeans. I've never in my life weighed more than I do right now without having two babies in my belly. I weigh now MORE than I did when eight months pregnant with Collin, and, well, that just makes me sad. I once thought that double digit pants were huge.....now I'm headed toward a size 16 pants. I know that it's not a terrible size to be, but lemme tell you. I'd rather be spending my money on clothes because I WANT to, not out of NECESSITY.

...So, I'm going to really make an effort to control my eating. Between not having to nursing babies to eat up my calories and being on Paxil, which notoriously makes people gain weight, I just don't feel pretty any more. Not that I do anyway, unless I have make-up on and everyone tells me I look pretty. lmao

...I'm half-tempted to journal my eating habits on here, so that you all can make fun of me when I eat a pint of ice cream all in one go, or a box of Girl Scout cookies. Both of which I do way more often than I should.

...I'm also cutting back on eating the kids' food. No more eating corn dogs and Totino's pizza. These are simply bad for me. Well, maybe not every week, in any case. I'm going to eat rice with picante sauce for lunch a few days a week. Low fat. I soooo can't do low carb. But, I will try to eat whole grains whenever humanly possible, and beef up my fiber intake. I. WILL. LOSE. WEIGHT.

...Don't get me wrong, I don't want to be my 125 lb. 19 year-old self again. That's just simply TOO thin, and way unrealistic. BUT, I would like to maybe be a size 10 in clothes. That's not too bad of a goal to shoot for. I've not been a size ten for longer than two or three months since I had the gruesome twosome. When I was nursing, I got down to 140, and damn, I LOOKED HOT. With porn star boobies (that would spray milk at you, but nevermind) and a thin waist.... I don't think I looked half bad. I want to be that thin again. And only that thin, really.

....And last, but certainly not least....I'm going to cut back on my diet Coke consumption. I'm slowly replacing diet Coke with tea. I can't give caffiene up completely yet. It's just not gonna happen. But, diet Coke is an evil that I must part with.

So there you have it....my rambling thoughts on losing weight.....I don't have a scale, so we'll be measuring.......

Waist....where I wear my jeans, which is right at my belly button..... *gulps* 39"
Thigh....24"

These are the two places I feel like I lack in. Most of my weight is carried from my belly button to the middle of my thigh. The rest of me is tolerable, and makes me look thin..... I just look about 3 mos pg half the time, and, well, that's not cool when you're not getting a baby out of it!


*******food morning-noon*********
1 cup Good Friends cereal
1 1/2 bananas ---gotta love kids not wanting theirs
4 oz. raspberry yogurt
1/2 c. rice with 1/4 c. picante sauce
12 oz. diet coke
2 cups cocomint green tea
32 oz. water with Apricot stevia
four or five m&m's
a nibble of our Queen of Hearts tarts (refridgerator biscuit dough rolled out with strawberry preserves in the middle)

******food noon-six********
2 cans diet Coke (riding the slippery slope, I am....)
10 m&m's (come on and ride on that slide, slide, slippery slide...)
1 cup Kashi Good Friends
1/2 a Pillsbury Grands' biscuit with strawberry preserves
water somewhere in and around there

****food six-bedtime*****
1 serving or so of rice, chicken, with broccoli cheese soup over it...quite yummy.
1 cup chocolate skim milk
1 can diet Coke
1 cup ice cream.....fuck it.....I'm making a bit of progress

My Weekend.....you don't really wanna know...

....but since Nancy has said already that she does, I'll go ahead and enlighten you to a day of Zookeeper hell.

....It started out innocently enough. Aaron let me sleep in, kind chap that he is. Some weekends we switch off on who gets to sleep in, and some weekends I get to sleep in both days. He's very nice like that. This morning, I didn't sleep in, because Aaron painted the hallway into the wee hours. I'll post pics later. Suffice it to say that it compliments nicely with the pumpkin-colored walls of the kitchen and living room, and that it's in orange's triad on the color wheel. Got your curiosity up now, don't I? *winks*

....ANYWAY, I digress. The first bit to alarm me to the fact that this, indeed, would not be an all that pleasant day, was my wake-up call. Something to the affect of a lion's roar, with the words "I JUST PICKED ALL OF THOSE TOYS UP!! PICK THEM UP! PICK THEM UP NOW!" Needless to say, I hopped out of bed, threw on some clothes, and went down to see what the hell was going on. Apparently, Aaron, in an effort to be the nice guy that he is, had picked up the daycare, carefully sorting all the numerous tiny toys. All made in vain within the first two minutes of the Gruesome Twosome's entrance into the daycare room. I told him that this is why I don't feel the need to clean in there anyway, to which he said something about our little pet mouse and there being crumbs everywhere. Fair point.

....So, we spend a lovely half hour on the sofa, cuddling our Guinea Pig Girls, Ginny and Lucy. Now, Lucy has been sneezing since the very first night we had her, and Aaron noticed now that she is congested. *sigh* This is NOT good news for any pig owner, as this usually signifies a respiratory infection, which are fatal to the average cavy. So calls are made to the pet store and then to the vet's office (paid for by the pet store, as they so kindly informed us on the night that we bought the piggies that one of their pigs was in the back because he had a cold). Well, we had to go pick up medicine (antibiotics to stave off a bacterial infection....God, I feel like I'm back at the NICU with all the preventative duck-hunting-with-a-canon stuff). So, we're having fun, and decide to stay out for a little while. We go to a store to get Aaron some jeans, as his mom had so lovingly gifted us with a ton of gift cards, one being to this store. Well, it has a toy section, so I figured that we'd get out of his hair to play with toys. We walk all the way around the store and to the toy section. Mind you, the twins are going diaperless these days while out and about. I repeatedly ask them whether they need to use the potty. I sometimes force them to sit on the potty, kicking and screaming. Well, they repeatedly told me that, no, they didn't have to go. We weren't in the damn toy section for more than two minutes when Griffin pipes up..."Mommy, I pee pee on the floiy (floor..he's got some funky-ass Brooklyn or Bostonian accent going on...)". Fuck me running, we go all the way back to where Aaron is and I get keys to the car and usher Griffin out. Bad news. No back-up bag, holding fresh undies, pants, and socks. So, we go back into the store and retreive Aaron and head home.

....Naps, lunch, cleaning most of my office, yadda, yadda, yadda....

....We decide that we want to brave going out to supper. (stop laughing at me...you know where I'm headed, don't you?) We honestly make it through dinner without any urination or defecation. Well, Collin won a 10-dollar gift certificate to Barnes & Noble for being a bookworm (seriously...I'll enlighten you all to this later...it deserves its own recognition). So, we decide to go there for some enjoyment. Aaron and I take turns sitting in back with the kids while the other gets to browse the shelves on their own. Well, we take our respective genders to the potty before we go to the kids' section. Erin decides that in no way shape or form is she going to be able to pee it out for me. This is fine, because you don't usually hear about her accidents, do you? We go to play. Griffin beats a quick path to the Thomas train table and Aaron sits down to read Erin a book. I ask Aaron if I can make my exit and spend a glorious fifteen minutes all to myself. So, feeling that I've taken my time, I go back to relieve Aaron so that he, too, can browse. That's when the real hellish part of my day begins. I check in on Griffin to discover him taking off his pants in the middle of the fucking store! "Mommy, I pee pee on the floiy. And I poopie" Boo-fucking-yah, I'm having a blast. So, I decide to calmly go get the back-up bag from Aaron, only to discover that there aren't any wipes. Go me. I have Aaron go out to the van to get the wipes, while trying not to cry. So, I clean up the shit mess while Aaron cleans up the mess that is Griffin. And next is the real fun part. I tell Griffin that we're going home. Let's just say, that this particular B&N is a big store....yet EVERYONE could hear him screaming like I was beating the shit out of him....and to see the pants partially covered with a paper towel, most of them assumed that I had. So, we go home, and Aaron takes a shot of vodka, and I grab a diet Cherry Coke and go to bed to read for a bit.

......Now THIS.... THIS is the highlight of my parenting experience.

A Very Long Day....

...of course, I got nothing done that I wanted to.... :(

...but I did go to the school's Winter Carneval after working 12 hours today. I'm tired, so I shall go to bed now.

Productive....

...and Stephanie don't usually go together in the same sentence....unless it's in negation. I try, but find myself getting sidetracked. A lot. Some of this can be chalked up to the six youngsters that are plaguing my house, but most of it would more likely be attributed to just plain getting sidetracked by things that look more fun than the tasks I have on my mental to-do list. So today, my friends, I'm going to try to stay on task and accomplish the following:

1. clean daycare
2. clean office
3. fold Mt. Needtofold

With that, I bid you adieu to put the kidlets down for their naps and get started!

Not a Bad Day After All....

....Pig 2's name is now Lucy, after Chronicles of Narnia.

....I'm getting off at 4:00 today!!

....The house is still standing.....

Crisis Averted....

....so you know when you smell something burning, but can't figure out what it is?? Well, I'm happy to report that I found out what was burning, and it just so happens to be the lamp that's been in my craft room! YIKES. The switch won't turn off, and methinks that there was some loose wiring in there. This so gave me flashbacks to the time when our dryer plug burned to a crisp, making us so thankful that our whole house didn't catch fire. yeah...this is kinda like that!

They're Here!

Say hello to Ginny..... one of the newest members of the Byers clan. 

They're Here! Teil Zwei

Here is Pig X, who will be named at a later date. Collin named Ginny (after, you guessed it... Weasley....as in Harry Potter), and Aaron's class will name Pig X, who will also be named after a literary character.

Poop....

....as in Griffin's. I've cleaned up his messes no less than three times today, two of which were fecal in nature. We've had corn recently here at the Zoo, and well, let's just say, Griffin made the almighty discovery that corn goes solidly through the digestive tract. As I'm cleaning up the second mess of a gigantic (solid, thankfully) turd, he starts running after me........."MOMMY, IT'S GOT YELLOW ON IT! MMMOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMYYYY, IT'S GOT YELLLLLOWWWWW ON IT!!!!!"

....this, my friends, is the heighth of motherhood.

For Those Of You Who Like To Read For Fun.....

.... Go check out Susan Jane Gilman. She's funny as can be. I'm currently reading Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress. It's one of the best books I've read in a long time. She's extremely funny, and says all those things you might have thought growing up. I can't wait to read more from her. After I get done with this, my next read will be one of the two that Katie sent me. I'll post more on those later.

....I never thought my blog would turn into a literary digest. hehe

Tuesday, Tuesday....

....So yesterday was for shit. I wish someone would tell the cold/cough-up-your-lungs germs where to go. I'm so tired of coughing. *whine*

....Anyway, I'm trying to be a good Zookeeper again by doing fun stuff with the kids. Today, they entertained themselves well with playdough. Of course, some of them think it's snacktime when I bust out the dough, for they eat it like it's their last supper.

....So I went to change my ink cartridge yesterday on the printer, and found just where my new stamps had got to....am hoping that it's not messing up my printer too much, as I have tons of stuff that I need to print out if I'm going to be a good Zookeeper.

....So I felt that maybe I shouldn't tell you all how wonderful my husband is, as I know for certain that some don't spoil their wives as rotten as I am spoiled by Aaron. But, I thought that a good man should get his props, so here goes: This past week, I got a gift EVERY SINGLE DAY. How awesome is that? Last Monday, it was the Curious George Soundtrack. Tuesday, it was a pair of earrings. Wednesday, it was a book (which is awesome and a must-read, by the way). Thursday, it was a Vanilla Chai Latte from Starbucks. And Friday, it was a box of Choxie chocolates from Target (which are yummy, and nearly all gone....*oink, oink*). I have to tell you, that, even though this is not the first time he's done something like this, I was pleasantly surprised and floored by it. Three of the gifts came with their own cards, too, telling me just how wonderful he thinks I am (got him snowballed, don't i?). And you know what. Despite anything I might write here to grumble about him, I think he's pretty wonderful, too. Take that, after nearly nine years of marriage!

Monday, Monday....

....still hacking up my lungs. Haven't been able to fully accomplish getting them up and out, but you'd think I was trying with all the coughing that I've been doing. *sigh*

....no other real news to report. Just another Federal holiday that everyone else but me seems to have off from work. Lovely. Not too shabby, though, as I only have two extra kidlets today. Yes, you've read that right. Two extra. Which feels like a vacation at times, except I don't have the choice on whether or not to go somewhere, as I don't have enough space in the Bingo Bus for two extra carseats. Collin's slim, but I'm afraid he's not that slim.

Hacking....

....I wish that I could say that "hacking" was referring to something exciting...like hacking off someone's limbs or hacking into some big computer program in order to acquire millions of stolen dollars. Alas, I'm referring to the good old fashion "hacking up a lung" hacking. Guafinesen, anyone?

Reading....

....why is it that only one hobby prevails at a time? For me, it's either scrapbooking/paper crafting, reading, or computer overuse that takes precedence over any and all spare time. But usually only one occurs at a time. For successive days, I'll do only one of these things. Not like on Monday, I'll read for a bit, or Tuesday I'll scrapbook.... it just doesn't work that way. Nor does it usually happen on the same day. I know this sounds trivial.... lmao

....so the reading hobby has taken the forefront as of late. In a string of wonderful Valentine's Day gifts, Aaron gave me Hypocrite in a Puffy White Dress, which shall be my next read. Though I hope that I don't do my normal bit of dropping-all-else-until-I-read-the-last-50-pages, bit. This might be easier, cos it's set up as a series of short stories.... I think. It's what it looks like from the cover and a peek at the table of contents....

...This weekend, I have a few things to try to accomplish. I need to find a venue for my sister-in-law's baby shower. And I need to keep brainstorming ideas for the invitation to the shower. I have a few albums to complete within the near future, one of them being another commissioned album for Kari . It's for her first daughter, who was also a 26 week preemie!

Birthday Cake.....

....see...now why could I not leave it alone! ;) White with white home-made icing....made by yours truly! this is the first time i've made a birthday cake with the fun edging... LOL

Lesson Learned....

....single-handedly eating 3/4 of the twins' birthday cakes has made my loose-fitting jeans tight-fitting jeans.....

dog tired...

.... So my resolve to do anything with these kiddos today left with Dante and his sister yesterday. I'm feeling a bit down in the dumps, but know that they are going to have more fun being with their momma during the day. I will miss seeing them everyday, though!

....I went out to dinner with Aaron last night. We went to this placed called the Fox and Hound. It reminds me of an up-scale diner. They serve just about darn near everything, and had 2.50 draughts. So Aaron and I both ordered a drink, which we both had said we weren't getting. I ordered a Woodchuck, and get the feeling that perhaps it shouldn't be mixed with my new medication, for I feel similar effects of last week this morning, though not to the same degree.

....Can I tell you how strange it feels to have just four extra kids in my house today? It's much too quiet, despite the fact that the monkey-girl is here today. I wish that I felt better, as I should really be doing *something* with them today. I sure hope that I can find a toddler to replace Dante. The income would be nice.

OK, off to tame the wild masses... :)

I Didn't Realize....

....that Dante's last day was today instead of tomorrow. Now I'm a little sad. My longest running daycare gig comes to an end. They were the ones who stayed with me through thick and thin, and I'm going to miss them.

Happy Valentine's Day....

....I'm hoping that your Valentine's Day will be a good one, spent with someone you love very much, whether it be your entire family or a significant other, or a bunch of friends.

....I gave Aaron a Carmel Frappacino and tickets to see Ben Folds in Indy on St. Patrick's Day (ok, so those were for me, too, I suppose, since I like him, but Aaron's the bigger fan). He has given me a cd (Jack Johnson and friends, the Curious George music) and a pair of earrings. :) He's a sweetie. And he's said some wonderful things to me, which I know he means. I'm a very lucky girl! :)

...OK, back to the kids. I just stopped in my office to get some deco-scissors and to blog. ;)

Shit Monday....

....nuf sed.

A Good Weekend....

....I can't believe that it's already coming to a close! At least I don't have to wake up quite as early tomorrow, so there might be a few more hours in the evening for me yet!

....We really had a fun time with the babies on Saturday. Babies...yeah, right. Three years old they are, and it's amazing to think about. I will post pictures when I download them off the cam, but they had fun. They even went into my closet this morning, where they discovered their presents were....looking for more presents. LOL But anyway, they were totally excited about the fact that it was their birthday. I made them each a small white cake and decorated it (the first time i'd ever really used a piping bag to do more than write "happy birthday, *** on it!). Griffin spat on his cake, unsuccessfully trying to blow out the candles, so everyone ate off Erin's cake! So, guess who's eaten most of Griffin's cake today? (Yes, folks, there is a reason I will ever be 160+ pounds and in a size 14!) Anyway, they were hilarious when they ran at everyone who came in the door carrying a package. They looked like little baby birds scrambling for the worm! This is the first time they reall "got" the fact that it was their special day. And they got more presents than I can list! Collin made mention of the fact that they got more than he did. I am forever reminding him that there is only ONE of him, but there are TWO of them, so they naturally would get more presents. I also reminded him that we spent LESS money on each twin, and that his presents are MORE EXPENSIVE than theirs. So I think he finally understood why it looked as though he'd been shafted this year. *rolls eyes* I shouldn't roll my eyes at that, for it would have been exactly how I was at his age, but now I know why my parents would always be so exasperated with us! LOL

....So today we lounged around in the morning, watching the twins' new movie, "Nick Jr. Favorites 2." For about a half hour in my house, we had one of those "special" moments, where we were all laughing together, and lounging around in our PJ's on the sofas. Heart warming fluff, it was. After we hung out, we all got ready and went to Schlotzky's to eat, followed by a wonderful (insert note of sarcasm here) time of exchanging Griffin's duplicated present and taking back my Valentine's present that Aaron spent too much money on. You see, for Christmas he bought me this awesome down duvet. Well, I've not yet used it because we haven't bought a cover for it. Well, in reconciling our checkbook, he found out that he'd used the wrong card to purchase it, and so we decided to take it back and get what we wanted for it. That way, we can know that we do, in deed, have enough money for it before we buy it. *sigh* I shall still be sleeping with my old trusty comforter on top of me. Which is OK. The thing's only three years old. I can't believe we don't keep things around here longer than we do. We've had as many new comforters as we've moved since we've been married. Don't ask about either...it's quite a shocking number.

Anyway, if you've made it through this novel without falling asleep on your keyboard or skipping through...congratulations, because I don't think I would have made it through! ;)

Happy Birthday, Erin and Griffin!

....now if we could just get them to leave diapers behind, we'd be through with the baby stage!

Three Years Ago Today....

....I'd be just waking up in a morphine and magneseum sulfate haze. (If you've ever done either, you'd know that it ain't pretty) I'd be soon finding out that instead of staying 25% effaced and 1cm dilated, that I'd be 2cm dilated and 50% effaced. No one could have prepared me for the fact that I would not be leaving the hospital on bedrest and Trebutaline. That I would be staying at the hospital and having contractions that they couldn't stop. That I would be pleading for someone to check me, for I was having contractions that the morphine couldn't ease the pain. That the doctor would come in to tell me that the babies would be born that very day.

....And no one, I repeat NO ONE could have prepared me for what I have today. Two unruly kids who scratch their friends (well, the other daycare kids...people give me money to have their kids play with mine.... sounds not so bad when i think of it that way...*wink* ), talk back to me, and eat all my food. Nor could they have prepared me for the wonderful kisses and words of love that I would get from these two little people who have made such an impact on so many lives.

My Road To Hell Is Paved With Envy.....

....You've heard me say that I'm jealous of people. I think that it is a human characteristic to be jealous of people. But I suppose what makes me a saddo this go is that I'm jealous of my husband. Why? Because he gets to go to things like Science Conventions with his best friend. What have I done with any friend lately?? Well, I suppose the last time I saw friends was about a month ago at Judy's SU! party. So I'm throwing myself a pity party. Yes, a pity party. Table for one. To solve my problems with this greenish cast to my face, I made Aaron and Curt take me to BW's...formerly known as BW3 for some Woodchuck and some hot wings. I do, in fact, feel a bit better, but still envious that I didn't get out of my job while my heart told me that it was in the best interests of my entire family. Cos then reality made me see that it's really not in the best interests of many in my family if I bring home wages that would land us in the bread lines. Seriously, over half of my paycheck would be shelled out for some other psychobitch (other than me) to care for my children. And yes, I would really have to take the chance that they would really be a bigger psycho-bitch than yours truly.

...Anyway, I digress. Anyone care to join me on the bus I'm driving? It's No. 666.

Musings....

....Garnier Fructis shampoo and conditioner....with active fruit concentrate.

as opposed to what? inactive fruit concentrate? active fruit fully leaded (non-concentrate?)?

someone explain, please.....

Only 2 day to go....

....and then I can hang out with Alaina! :) She's my sis-in-law, who's a big ol' law student and will be taking the bar this July! (and then I will be reeeaaally good to her, cos she'll pass with flying colors and get a job that pays much fatter cash than keeping the zoo!) See, Nain? How's THAT for props? Now go clicking! ;)

....Not too bad a day here at the Zoo. Though I daresay that six kids extra is getting to be a bit scary! :-S It's only when the newborn is thrown in that I get a little stressed out.....oh, and when one of the almost-two-year-olds (who happens to look like she's about four!) gets on the counter (which hasn't happened today...yet...). Griffin did bite Dante, though, which makes me sad. I think that Dante was trying to take back the stroller (which was his, but Griffin was borrowing at the moment), and Griffin was a bit pissed off about it. Damn.....see? Nobody, I repeat, NOBODY ask me whether Griffin's stopped biting...cos it was only the other day, and I told them "I'm not saying that it's stopped, but it's been a while.".... see...fodder for Griffin to pull another stunt. *sigh*

....We took the twins to the library last night. I caught up with a friend I'd not seen in a while. She was there with her two boys. We sat musing about the fact that our second/second and third kids are so much rowdier than the first one. Erin and Griffin did pretty well with the library, and I got all paid up in fines, and took out more books (in order to be able to fund the library with more money when I forget to turn them in three weeks from now).

How's everyone else?

Blogkeeping....

....I keep feeling like I'm ignoring Judy's questions and requests.... so here are some of her unanswered prayers....
1. My Mary Kay lady. She'll even ship for free. So, go forth, and buy. I love the stuff personally, but know that selling things isn't for me. But I'll give you my recommendation on this shit. I lurve it! About a year or better ago, I started complaining about getting fine lines about my eyes.... well, not so much anymore, since i started using all their stuff! :) So if I can look like I'm 17 until I'm 60, that will be just groovy with me. ;)
2. Dante's parents actually gave me a two week notice, so their last day will be February 15th. As in next Wednesday. *sobs* I love having Dante about. I'll miss Francesca, too, but am still reeling from figuring out a newborn again. She's cute and snuggly, but she's losing the newborn-type cry. I'm quite sad to not be as big a part of her life as I have been Dante, however. Anyone with any sense of heart will get attached to things they care for longer than a week.
3. Michael's should rot in hell for not having Judy's 850 Xyron refills!

k...that's about it. Sweet dreams, my faithful following! *winks*

Getting My Butt Kicked, No More Elmo, and other things...

...OK, so the kids have totally kept me on my toes today. So far today, we've eaten twice (breakfast and lunch), colored Dora Princess coloring pages, played with puzzles, and drew on the chalkboard. We've broken the chalkboard, we've broken a puzzle and have strewn the pieces about the house, and colored on various surfaces around the daycare (excluding walls, thankfully). The twins have decided to finally sleep (put them down an hour ago), and the only thing I've eaten today is a bunch of Valentine's Day candy. *sigh*

...So we went Krogering the other night, and found some Pamper's Easy-Ups, Pamper's version of the Pull-Up, on sale. So we bought a few packages. Well, Sesame Street characters can be found on pretty much anything that has to do with Pampers these days. So they have Elmo on them. Erin was happy to have Elmo panties, but Griffin REFUSED to put on Elmo undies, preferring to have his Bugs Bunny undies instead. These would be the White Cloud version of the Pull-Ups, which would be like sandpaper in comparison to the Pampers! So, in this house where "Elmy!" used to be screamed, we're finding a lack of love where Elmo is concerned. *sigh*

...So I have a dentist appointment today. I feel like I'm always going to the damn doctor for something or other. Today, it's to get two teeth sealed. Apparently, they're not bad enough for fillings, so this is more of a preventative thing. The sealants are cheaper than fillings, so here we are, paying out of pocket for sealants. Because we don't have insurance, though it wouldn't have been covered under insurance anyway....*raises eyebrows at the irony of failing to cover preventative treatments*

Nothing New....

....same old, same old. Watch a bunch of kids, get said kids off kitchen counters, feed said kids, diaper said kids, make said kids take naps, ship said kids home. Make dinner (yes, it was me and not Aaron this time!), go to Post Office, take Collin to karate, and go grocery shopping.

do you really want to hear about all this?? *winks*

Winter Wonderland....

...cos of course this is the midwest...If you don't like the weather here, wait a day, cos it's sure to change! *winks*

...I got a nice lie in this morning, courtesy of Aaron. We take turns with this, but I daresay that I get more turns than he does! I did get up at 9:30, so I'm not totally a wretched bitch.

...I've been working on a commissioned scrapbook this morning. the pics are now up on my scrapping blog.....I've made over half of the pages and have covered the album (which was one of those craft ones that needs some sprucing up. It's a baby album, to be given as a shower gift. The only drawback to all of this? Mum's the word on the sex of the baby. Unisex has proven to be much more difficult! I hope that both the buyer and receiver like it, though.

....anyway, off to eat some pizza that I bought from a fundraiser. Also, off to try some dill green beans, a new find. Do any of you know how much I love dill as a spice? YUMMY!

blogkeeping and zookeeper sadness....

....so, since we last chatted, people have had questions...yes, dante, who was once a terrible baby, is leaving me! his momma got a second shift job, for she wanted to stay home with the kids for the bulk of their waking hours. that, and she didn't really wanna give up half of her paycheck to paying daycare for two kiddos...sound familiar?? *winks* she's promised to come by with the kids, and i hope that life doesn't get in the way too much to where we don't see them anymore. i would be gutted. it's totally understandable if she can't come up as often as intended, though, because it's not easy to leave your house once you establish being there, you know?

....anyway, as if the sad stuff stops there, i was talking to my mom tonight. she told me that my brother has been sleeping pretty much the entire day while his two young children (aged two and four) roam the house. now, aaron and i differ on our opinions of sleeping with waking toddlers....my thought? a few minutes of a cat-nap to the mom or dad who was up late at work? not too bad? an hour for the mom who has a sinus infection from hell and can't keep her head up? not so good if people roam in and out of her house while she's sleeping, but if she has the house on lock-down, and the kids can't harm themselves, i'd say she's entitled....but an otherwise healthy man sleeping all day while his two very active and inquisitive toddlers roam about the house, scrounging for food? NOT GOOD. i'm near tears of anger and sadness at the thought of a man who was once in the shoes of his two sons....only he had a younger sister to figure out how to feed as their mother slept or otherwise ignored them....yes, that was my brother and me. we were the neglected kids. he's often been so mad at my (biological...not the one i refer to as 'mom'...sorry for the ambiguity) mother for neglecting us as children, for choosing her animals (whose shit she didn't bother to clean up) over her children, who only wanted some attention and honest-to-god love from the woman who birthed them....aaron mentioned the sad double-standard of moms versus dads in this case, too, as if we had been talking about my brother's wife sleeping while the kids fended for themselves, it would be more of an outrage....but to me, it's an outrage, and i'm finding it very difficult to keep my mouth shut....so, as other people i know, i'm venting here...cos, well, after all, it is my diary, and i'll lay it all out for people to see....i really don't care. *sticks tongue out* but....if anyone has any ideas on how i could broach this subject with my brother without cutting the very frayed threads holding our relationship together, please let me know. perhaps i shouldn't say anything, but i would hate myself if something horrible happened to those boys because i didn't speak up when i should have and he keeps this shit up.....

...and with that, i bid you all adieu...."the good earth" by pearl s. buck (i think...anyway, it's an oprah book club read) awaits me after i put the kids to bed.... *sigh*

*yawn*

...is it friday yet? well, it's thursday, so only one more 12 hour day to live through before the weekend. i'm up to fifty mgs of the medicine that i'm on, and it's still kicking my butt. funnily enough, one of my friends is also on this medicine and told me that she can't go beyond 25 mgs because she gets so tired. i figure i'm about three inches taller than she is and several pounds heavier, so fifty ought to do me just fine after a while...i just have to get used to it.

ok off to feed the newborn.....anyone know of anyone who's looking for a daycare provider? just found out that my longest running daycare gig is coming to an end... *sobs*

It's 10 minutes to 10 o'clock PM....

....and this is the first time I'm sitting down sans a baby in my lap. Somehow, I don't think it's entirely the medicine that makes me tired.

....So I took my Zoobook Michael's coupon and bought some new pens tonight. Took the price from 15.99 to under 10, so i'm not upset at shelling out the cash. I hope that with my new pens and my new book "Love Your Handwriting" by Heidi Swapp, a scrapbooking guru, that I'll love my handwriting. It's not awful, but I don't love it. I'll let you know if I change my feelings.

....I also filled my van. Sorry to those of you with bigger vehicles, as I know you pay more than the 38.00 I shelled out. Makes me wanna cry, that does.

....Now that the State of the Union address, and the wonderment that occurred while GW was there giving his speech was compared to that of British antics, I fully realize how very shallow a life I lead, as I know nothing about what Tony Blair and the chaps of Parliament get into....I must find a way to have more worldly knowledge, though I daresay that this would only increase my royalty as Queen of Useless Facts. Do toddlers care whether Parliament is at times like a zoo? No, they just wonder where the hell the lunch lady is at 11:00. Sorry to my UK buddies that I don't know more about you all!

....ok, I'm off to shower and to perhaps read a bit before I hit the hay, gearing up for another 11 1/2 hour day tomorrow with the animals at the Zoo.