Menu Plan Monday 2

Click here and visit OrgJunkie! She is the organizer of Menu Plan Monday!

Menu? What Menu? Okay so this week my husband is out of town on business. When he's gone I don't cook. Treat for me and a treat for the kids. As much as they miss daddy, they also like to eat TV dinners. Great for me because they are a quick cheap microwave meal (Banquet is 99 cents) and I eat leftovers from Sunday.

Monday: TV dinners for kids and leftovers for me.

Tuesday: Same as Monday.

Wednesday: Same as Monday.

Thursday: Pot Roast with potatoes, carrots and celery.

Friday: Roasted Chicken with broccoli and mashed potatoes

Saturday: Leftovers

Sunday: Let the food and festivities begin!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Enjoy!

Eat!

Be Merry!

Take a Nap!

Eat Again!

Take another Nap!

In The Blink of an Eye

I don't know what happened. How can this be? I woke up yesterday morning and my house is a complete wreck. I've done so well the last couple of months. Everyone was putting in their fair share of helping me clean. Everyone has stopped.

Well if they can stop why can't I? Why should I clean the same exact mess, every single day? I am so tired of no one caring.

If I pick up clothes off the floor, someone else strips down and throws their cloths in the same spot. I still don't have a washer and dryer because my husband says he has someone to do the plumbing and electrical work but he's never been here. I have to go to the laundermat. It's no picnic for a family of five. It's not a matter of money. We saved the money to do this a long time ago.

Doing dishes wasn't so bad because Monica was clearing the table and scraping the dishes. Now she has to be told, over and over to do her chore. It doesn't help to take things away. She already feels like she has nothing since we moved. She misses her old friends. She isn't doing well socially and hates her new school. I can't really say that I'm happy with the school either.

Alexandra has been sneaking food all over the house. She has been told, reprimanded, screamed at and spanked. She is by far the most stubborn child on the universe. I love it when my mom says to me "Well you will just have to make her do what you want!" Yeah okay. I'll try that one too.

Lucianna is cute as can be but wants to be held all the time. She's starting to go down the willful stubborn road that Alexandra has been traveling. Lucky me.

I haven't had a child free time to myself for a long time and it's really starting to get to me. Can you tell?

Thirteen Thursday 7

Thirteen Things about Preschool Children and Their Christmas Program 1. There's always at least one who crys. 2. There's always one who sings so loud they are screaming. 3. There's always an escape artist running off the stage. 4. When the escape artist is put back on stage they run from one side of the stage to the other while the others are singing. He's trying to find another way out. 5. The children all know the hand gestures to the songs, their timing is usually a little off. 6. The dancing is adorable! 7. The children are bursting with pride when they are done. 8. Mom has cried at least once while watching. 9. At least one parent has ruined a part of your video by standing up in front of you and not moving out of the way. 10. The teachers always put hours and hours of work into these programs that last 30 minutes. 11. If you have to save all year for 1/2 day sick or personal time for this event, it is sooooo worth it. 12. There's never enough parking or seating for all the parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends that want to see this special event, but we all manage to squeeze in somehow. (There was a whole street of cars that got a parking ticket because the meters only have 1 hr of time. Ours was one of them. It's the best $10.oo show I've ever attended!) 13. Every parent thinks their child is by far the cutest one there. How is it possible that our children out cute every other child everytime?

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Wordless Wednesday 9

The Tree Is Up......Way Up!

My husband and the children went to pick out a tree on Saturday. It's huge. Way huge. Since we now live in a home with 9 foot ceilings, my husband decided to take advantage of that. The tree he brought home stands 4 inches from our 9 foot ceiling.

Apparently, Chris walked up to the guy selling the Christmas trees and said, "I want the biggest tree that you have." I wasn't there but that's what Chris tells me. Now knowing my husband the way that I do, I can only imagine the pride that went with this statement.

Everything is big. We have big furniture, a big house and now a big Christmas tree. Did I mention that we are big people? We look like very small people standing next to the tree though. I don't have a picture yet, but I will post one when I get all three girls in red and green garb and have them stand next to it. It's enormous. I'm going to have to come up with a nickname for it. It definitely deserves a nickname.

Well we put the lights, garland and some ornaments on the tree. It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas....... Tomorrow night we will finish decorating the tree. I'm going to set up the nativity set. I will have to have a heart to heart with Alexandra as to why she's not allowed to play with it.

Menu Plan Monday 1

I was so excited to happen upon OrgJunkie and the Menu Plan Monday. I have been doing this for about two months and now I get to write it down and share with others.

Monday: Scalloped Potatoes and Ham (ham is leftover from the baked ham dinner Sunday)

Tuesday: Steak, Mashed Potatoes, Biscuits & Cauliflower and Cheese Sauce

Wednesday: Spaghetti and Garlic Bread (sauce is frozen, hubby makes once a month and freezes a bunch in plastic containers, his is the best!)

Thursday: Tacos made with Ground Turkey & Pinto Beans(family Fave! you'll see this one a lot!)

Friday: Easiest and Tastiest Meatloaf in the world (recipe below) Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Green Beans

Saturday: Homemade Pizza! Family Fun Night! Alexandra's Third Birthday!

Easiest and Tastiest Meatloaf in the world!

2 lbs 85/15 or 90/10 ground beef.

1 jar Nance's chili sauce (can get at Walmart grocery condiment section)

2 eggs

1/2 to 1 cup bread crumbs - depends on your taste

mix well

put in crock pot (this comes out very moist)

put tomato sauce on top after two hours

cook until done

If that is too moist for your family's taste

put in oven on 350 degrees covered for 1hour

uncover and put tomato sauce on top

cook for 1/2 hour uncovered

You can also substitute ground turkey for half of the ground beef.

The Nance's is so tasty. You don't have to add anything. Don't try to substitute other chili sauces. It doesn't work. Trust me.

Take a Picture. It'll Last Longer.

So lately, I've been a little self-conscious. You will most likely never see a picture of me because I am the one always taking pictures. You will not see a picture of me now because I will break the camera and hurt the photographer that tries. Here is my story.

If you have read my blog you know that I had a pretty stressful summer. Buying a house, selling a house, one daughter with a birth defect (which doctors cannot figure out), one daughter with an injury and all the other crud that daily life can throw at you.

When I get extremely stressed out like this, I get a bright red, peeling, flaky dermatitis ON MY FACE. Yes, I feel like a clown. Yes, people stare at me when I'm in public. No, there isn't a cure. I have to wait for it to run it's course, which takes months.

I have also put on a few pounds. I am in process of eating better and I bought a gym membership which I am going to start using today. I don't feel very good about my weight right now.

If that's not enough, my husband suggested that I dye my hair like I used to do. He likes it red. I am a person that looks good with red hair because I am a natural redhead. Over the years my hair color has changed to a brownish copper. I have good skin tone for the red so I can get away with it. Well, I did it. Now I look like the Little Mermaid's fat cousin with a skin condition. I don't know. I picked the wrong red I guess. Too much red, not enough copper. It also brings out the red in the dermatitis on my face even more. ARRRGGGGHHH!

When I go out in public, people literally stare at me. Well, at least I know it's all temporary. The fat can come off if I work hard enough. The hair will eventually fade. The face will clear up eventually, I hope. In the meantime, I keep reminding myself that God still loves me no matter how hideous I think I am.

The Mysterious Baby

I have a very sneaky baby. She does things without letting anyone see her do it.

You see, for the past week or so, I'd put the baby on the floor. The next thing I'd know, she was across the room. The other night I put her on the floor. I was watching her play on her stomach. I looked away for an instant. When I looked back, she was sitting up.

I got very excited. I told my husband (who by the way was sitting in the same room) and he told me I was seeing things. I must be mistaken. There's no way she could have sat up without us noticing. I disagreed with him. You know how she moves across the room and we never have seen it. Well this is the same. Nope, couldn't be. We would have noticed that. He argued back. I gave up.

The next morning, I heard Lucianna in her crib. She was doing her morning "complaining" as I call it. It's not a cry and not a coo. It's somewhere in between. I know when she "complains," I better get her in a timely manner. If I don't, it turns to a full blown cry. Well I was extremely happy when I went in to get her. She was sitting up in her crib. Now I know I wasn't seeing things the night before!

Since then, I have watched the baby when I knew she couldn't tell I was watching. She sits up with ease and she crawls backwards. The mystery is solved.

Punished for Procrastination

I may have mentioned it before, but just in case you didn't know, I'm the world's biggest procrastinator. Yes, that was me scurrying around the grocery store at 7pm this evening. List in hand, trying to maneuver a front heavy cart around, hoping I don't miss anything so I don't have to make a trip to the store in the morning.

I got to the turkey aisle. A frozen turkey was out of the question because there wasn't enough thawing time so I was forced to pay 3x the amount for a "fresh" turkey that was half frozen. Not only is it half frozen but it is twenty pounds. They were all out of turkeys below twenty pounds.

This is crazy because there are only going to be four adults at the table. I was considering a turkey of maybe 10 - 12 pounds. We will be eating turkey for a month. I'm sending everyone home with as much turkey as I can pawn off on them.

Tonight I made two loaves of bread, fresh cranberry sauce and I stuffed the turkey with oranges, lemons, limes, garlic and dill. It's in the fridge now but it was soaking in water all night to thaw it as much as possible.

Well, I guess I will go to bed now so I can wake up early and get the turkey in the oven. I wouldn't normally get up early but a twenty pounder takes most of the day to cook if you want an early serving time.

By the way, I did forget something at the store. Chicken stock for the stuffing. I'll be sending my husband in the morning.

Wordless Wednesday 8

Boxes, Boxes, Still Everywhere

Okay, so it's been awhile. My plan was to stop blogging, get the house unpacked and put together, then start blogging again. Well I guess that if I don't want to blog for the next 5+ years, that plan will work.

There are still boxes everywhere. It's the day before Thanksgiving, I haven't even gone to the grocery store yet. Schools out today so the house is extra messy and to top it all off, my milk supply is diminishing so the baby is more cranky than usual.

I love my new house. I still enjoy cooking in the new house and yes, even cleaning it. What in the world has gotten into me?

We found a nice church. I was so dreading the whole "drag the children to a different church every week until we find one we like" process. I found this church through the MOPS group. A lot of the women attended church there. They were really nice so I thought we'd give it a try. We all enjoy the church very much. Wow! That was a lot easier than I thought it would be.

So much has happened since I last blogged. It wouldn't even be fair to try to catch up. I guess I will just start fresh from here. We are starting a new life in our new house going to our new church. I will start blogging fresh.

A Little More Balance and Less Chaos

Can I just say that I LOVE MY NEW HOUSE! I'm so happy that we are finally here. There is so much to be thankful for. It's been a long road to get here, but now I can enjoy it.

Don't get me wrong. There's still a ton of work to do. Boxes are everywhere and there are still a few carloads of things at the other house. But every morning I have been waking up so excited to get downstairs and take a look around. It's all ours. I talked to my husband this morning and he feels the same way. It's like it hasn't sunk in yet.

I have been cooking dinner every single night. This was something I hated to do in the other house. I have been cleaning the kitchen each night. I love it. I don't know what's wrong with me. I actually enjoy cleaning this house. If I get too crazy with this housecleaning thing, I may have to change my profile.

With this house, my husband and I have come up with some new rules. These rules help to keep the house cleaner and I enjoy life more. Here are the rules.

1. Absolutely no eating anywhere except the dining room table. I could never enforce this rule in our other house with the 2 yr old because we had let her eat in front of the TV for so long that she didn't understand the concept of a "new rule." With the new house it was easy to tell her she couldn't eat anywhere but the table. Now if she even has fruit snacks she automatically sits at the table. This has made clean up time a thousand times easier.

2. Shoes off at the door. This is a rule that we have decided to enforce because the floors are unfinished. The hardwood has been sanded down but not polyurethaned yet. I have said this house is a work in progress and I mean right in the middle of the progress. We have to be extremely careful not to get anything wet on the floors. This is a rule that will stay in effect even after we finish the floors. It keeps the house cleaner and I hate cleaning dirty floors.

3. If you make a mess, you clean it up. Even Alexandra has had fun with this rule. I think she even takes pride in our new big house.

4. Dishes done and kitchen clean before bed. This is a non negotiable rule for me. I love my new kitchen. It is so functional that I enjoy spending most of my day there. I don't want to clean first thing in the morning, so I make sure it is clean before I lay my head down. I have cooked dinner every night and I have made bread from scratch everyday and enjoyed myself while doing it (everyone else in the family has enjoyed eating too.)

5. Bedtime is bedtime. Period. Mom and Dad need time to themselves. This is a rule that we have been working with. Alexandra sleepwalks and wakes up with night terrors each night so we have to make sure that we take care of her but I think she will grow out of that once she grows comfortable with the house.

6. Minimal TV. We hooked up the TV with very basic cable. We did have every channel known to man in the other house. We had become slaves to the television by revolving our activities around the shows on in the evening. Alex and Monica were watching way too much TV. Alex would be like a zombie in front of Noggin channel all day not wanting to do anything else and Monica was developing a bad attitude. We are already enjoying our family time together. Monica and Alex do so much more playing together. Chris reads to Alexandra each night for about an hour. I do more housework. It's amazing what that "boob tube" can do to destroy quality family time.

7. Healthy food only in this house and no more eating out for a while. After living in a hotel for 5 weeks, we have had our share of fast food. We have gained a substantial amount of weight (not the girls, they are still my little skinny minnies.) The thought of eating out repulses me. McDonald's is a dirty word in this household no matter how many Monopoly prizes they try and tempt me with. No fried food for a while. And we won't even go the homemade pizza route for a decent amount of time. Our digestive systems need time to heal.

This is just a start. I'm sure more will come. We can already see the changes in our quality of life. These rules have eliminated so much chaos in our lives. If we keep this up, I may have to change the name of my blog to something like "Gentle Waters," or "Peaceful Bliss." Just kidding. I know that I will always have to balance the chaos in our lives. Right now is just one of those times that I feel more balanced than others. I am thankful to God that He has put me where I am right now.

One is the Loneliest Number

I have moved many times in my life. None of those times have been anywhere near as crazy as this one.

It's been a long road in the closing process. We have finally closed on the house and have moved most of our stuff. I say most of our stuff for a reason. We are at a standstill. Why? You ask. Let me tell you.

The man we bought this house from is a very nice man, but he has some issues. It seems that he cannot break free from this house. Half of his stuff is still here. One room is half full of his stuff and the porch is overflowing with his things. We are at a standstill because his things are in the way. Each day he has been puttering around in the backyard not really accomplishing anything. I think that he thinks he is accomplishing a lot. He is so meticulous that he is using an air compressor to blow the dust off of every single little gadget and thingamabobber that he owns. He then stacks it somewhere (other than the trailer he is using to move).

I don't want to be mean because the man is so nice. He has given us a lot of useful items (we take just about everything he gives us because we look at it as one less thing he has to take time getting out of here). He is also very lonely. He had a failed marriage and it's been six years since he has spoken to his 15 yr old son who lives in the same town. We won't ask why because that's personal but I think it's very sad regardless of the reasons. I cannot imagine going through life not speaking to one of my children for so long. The man is also eccentric. I cannot always figure out his reasoning for things he has done or does. He doesn't seem to do well in social situations with people he isn't familiar with. The closing of our house was an all out circus. Again, this is something that people who know him say was not always so.

It's amazing that I do things like get up at 3:00am just so that I can be alone. I yearn for alone time so much that I would rather go without sleep. Yet at other times, I see people like this man who I speak of above, and I see how loneliness can eat away at your very being. It can be so damaging to every part of your life.

Wordless Wednesday - Middle Child Syndrome

Moving Wreck......I Mean Week!

Yes we finally closed on our house. It's been long time coming. I cannot believe that I'm finally going to be in my new house tomorrow night.

Moving is always so much fun. Yes, I am being facetious right now. I do however, look at it as the perfect time to CLUTTER DOWN!

Conversations in the past have gone something like this:

Do we need this thingamabobber?
Of course, it's in perfect condition.
But we haven't used it in 5 years.
What if we need it? I wouldn't want to have to go buy a new thingamabobber.
Okay, pack it up.

This time the conversation is different:

Do we need this thingamajig?
Have we used it in the past year?
No.
Put it on the curb. Someone will pick it up because they think they need a thingamajig.
What if we end up needing it at some time or another?
I will go to Walmart and buy a new one.


Now of course, this conversation doesn't apply to expensive tools or other things that are considered more of an investment. It does apply to just about anything made of plastic or rubber. I'm so tired of carting junk from one house to another. How does one family collect so much stuff?

I am really going to work on scaling our lifestyle down. I want our house to be less cluttered. If we buy every new gadget on the market, use it once and never throw it out, then things will never change for us. Our problem is not that we don't throw enough away. Our problem is that we accumulate too much stuff.

I've been online too long now. It's back to work for me. I hope to post again soon. I will have to get everything situated in the new house. Hopefully the chaos level will be back to normally chaotic soon.

Thursday Thirteen 6

Thirteen Nicknames we call our children 1…. Monica has been called Monnie Moo Moo since birth. 2. Alexandra has been called Houdini ever since we first put her into a chair with straps. This child has refused to be confined since birth. She never slept in a crib, refused to play in a playpen and no stroller, carseat or highchair straps have ever held her down. 3. Lucianna has been called Hunny Bug since birth. I don't know why but that is just what comes out when I look at her. 4. Monica has been called Drama Queen for the last couple of years. And the emmy goes to......Monica for her role in the made for television movie, This is the Worst Day of my Life! 5. Alexandra is often called BooBerry. Don't know why but that was what I called her when she was just a little baby. 6. Lucianna is called Pudge by her daddy. It's amazing that this baby that was born with too much skin for her itty bitty baby body is now a little ball of pudge. 7. We often call Alexandra by the name of The Machine. She never stops running. It's exhausting watching her. 8. Alexandra is also called The Rockstar. She loves to sing, dance and entertain. 9. Lucianna is called the Princess (although all of our girls have been called princess at one time or another when they were the baby.) 10. Alexandra has been called Sweetie Pea by me for a long time. Now I find myself calling Lucianna by that one as well. 11. Lucianna laughs uncontrollable when I call her Fat Baby. It must be the way I say it that tickles her so. 12. All three of our girls have been PorkABaby, Little Pig, Pig and Porkababy Stew as little chubby babies. These were started by my husband. 13. When my husband and I are talking about the girls, we refer to them as the Three Little Indians. Individually, we refer to them as the Little Indian, the Middle Indian and the Big Indian. It's a wonder that any of our children even know there names!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Our Trip to the Shriner's Hospital

Well, we made the trip to the Shriner's Hospital in Springfield, Massachusetts yesterday. It was a 5 hour drive to get there. We arrived with time to spare for the registration process. Chris had to work so I had to take Alexandra with us as well. She did very well on the drive up.

Being a children's hospital, it was way over-stimulating for Alex. She loved it. She ran away from me to play with other children. She thought it was like a McDonald's playplace in that she could run around where ever she wanted.

We got registered and waited for approximately 5 minutes (which I thought was amazing) when the nurse called us in for Lucianna's appointment. Alexandra was having none of that. She wouldn't come out of the play area. She ran away from me and her pants fell down. She's running around the room with her pants around her ankles and I still cannot catch her. It wasn't until she tripped and fell that I was able to grab her and hoist her over my shoulders to get her to come with me.

We got through the exam and then they sent us down the hall to get x-rays of Lucianna's legs and feet. Alex ran away again and her pants fell down again (2T's are slightly big but 24 months aren't long enough and since she isn't wearing a pullup anymore.....) She continued to run away until she tripped again. She can really run. I really can't run. A nurse from the x-ray department took care of Alex while I helped with Lucianna's x-rays. It was crazy.

I've had not one, but two specialists say that they can see the difference in leg length and her feet. They took the films and measured Luci's leg and foot bones. They are both the same size. There has been a lot of prayer for this baby. I consider this a miracle. She does have a problem. She has the drop foot, which is neurological and will really affect how she walks. Her development at this time is completely perfect and symmetrical. I am so happy and relieved about that.

The good news is bittersweet in the fact that we still don't know why Luci has this birth defect. We don't know how it will affect her walking. All we can do is wait and see. The doctor at the Shriner's Hospital wants to see her again in January. She should be standing in her crib by then and we will see how she stands on her own. We will probably need a brace of some sort to aid her walking.

The people in that hospital were so nice. I cannot tell you how good they made me feel. I saw so many children that were being helped. It was mind boggling to me that access to some of this country's best orthopaedic doctors was free of charge. It's a truly wonderful thing.

I decided to cancel my hotel room for the night because we were in and out of there in less than 4 hours. I drove the 5 hours back and collapsed in bed. It was a very long day.

Nervous Mom Equals No Sleep

Hardly any sleep last night. I had to force myself to put the computer down and close my eyes. I finally fell asleep at about 2am and woke up at 5am. At least I got a full three hours.

I am taking Lucianna to the Shriner's Hospital today in Springfield, Mass. I am leaving at 7am. That should give me plenty of time for driving, eating stops and pee stops (Alex is completely potty trained except for an occasional accident at night. I wouldn't want this trip to make her regress.)

I don't know what to expect. I'm so nervous. I'm praying that her condition is one they can diagnose and one that is fixable. I just want her to walk and run.

Wordless Wednesday 5

In Other Words - What My Husband Did For Me

"A husband is a guy who tells you when you’ve got on too much lipstick and helps you with your girdle when your hips stick."~ Ogden Nash ~

I couldn't resist this quote. As I read this quote tonight and thought about my husband who I love with all my heart, one story, fits this quote to a tee.

When I was pregnant with Lucianna, I was very sick. I had high blood pressure with each pregnancy, but it was the worst with Lucianna. I was 32 weeks pregnant when I was put in the hospital and put on magnesium sulfate. Now it was just a matter of waiting as long as we could without any damage to my body. Lucianna was completely healthy.

My husband was a corporate restaurant manager at the time. He worked all hours and his restaurant was short staffed for management. It was nothing for him to work 12 10 hour days in a row. They don't call us restaurant widows for nothing.

So between his job, getting Monica to school and back and making sure Alexandra was well cared for, he was going crazy. He even brought the family to see me every other day or so. It was even more stress on him, but he knew I needed it.

The day I hit 34 weeks it was time to induce. My body couldn't take anymore. When the contractions started hurting I made the call that my husband was dreading. You see, he's one of those old fashioned wait in the waiting room and tell me when it's over types. He did not, under any circumstances, want to be in that delivery room.

My mother was in the room with me with my first daughter. My good friend was in with my second daughter. This time it was too early and I was scared. I wanted no one else but my husband with me. He reluctantly agreed.

He sat at the corner of the bed holding tight to my hands. I could see the fear in his face as each contraction came. My doctor had broke my water at 8:00 am. At 8:45 I knew the baby was coming soon. My husband went to get some juice in the little kitchenette because the nurse wanted to get me up. I didn't want too. I did not have the energy to fight even though I knew I shouldn't have gotten up at that time.

I sat up, walked around and then sat on the toilet. The nurse said that it would help the baby move down. I told her that when my husband came back I was going to tell him that he could wait outside. I didn't want him to have to be there if he really didn't want to be there. I had two nasty, long and painful contractions and wanted to go back to the bed.

What happened next was very surreal as if it were straight out of a movie. I can look back and laugh now. My husband walked in the delivery room, orange juice in hand. The nurse came to help me up so the bathroom door was open. I stood up. I screamed that the baby was coming RIGHT NOW AND RIGHT HERE! Lucianna fell out (came out bungee jumping as I like to say). The nurse was able to catch her so there was no injuries.

My husband just stood there, mouth agape, unable to move. The nurse had to tell him to help. I had so many things hooked up to me, wires from the baby monitor and iv's galore. I had to walk holding the cables, the nurse was holding the baby (it didn't help that the umbilical cord was extremely short) and Chris pushing the iv poles through the mess that he feared so much like some sort of zombie. He could not believe what he just witnessed.

Our baby was healthy. She was so healthy at 4 lbs 4 oz that she did not have to go to the NICU and she came home with me two days later. Many prayers were answered March 14th at 8:55am when Lucianna came bouncing into our world.

Later, I asked my husband why he didn't pass out. He said it was too much like watching a movie. Maybe he's not romantic but he loves me.

A New Journey -- Plan Unknown But the Purpose is There

I have posted about Lucianna having a medical problem with one of her feet. She cannot flex the foot or toes back. The problem is bigger than we first expected. Now her unaffected leg is growing with the rest of her body but the other leg is lagging behind. At 6 months old her one leg is already 3/4 of an inch longer than the other. The foot on that leg is also smaller.


I know the journey ahead of us is a long one. I also know that God has a plan for Lucianna. I don't know why Luci has this affliction. I do know that she will do something great. It is all a part of God's plan. I do not know what God's plan for Lucianna is today and I may never know. I'm sure if I did know what God's plan was I would mess it up somehow by thinking I have a better way.

I know God could and will heal Lucianna if it is His will. There have been many prayers for her. Would Luci serve her purpose for God if she were born completely healthy and whole? Probably not. As a mother, if I had the ability to heal her against God's will, would I? I would like to say that I am a woman that follows God's will all the time. You know and I know that would be a bold faced lie. I strive to follow God's will all the time but don't always succeed. Back to the question. If I had the opportunity to save my child all the future pain and heartache, even though it's not the will of God, would I? I don't know. Probably not, but maybe I would. Honestly, the inner turmoil and the fighting I'd do with myself to follow God's will would be life changing.

I am fortunate to be a chosen child of God. I don't think I could handle this without faith in God. I have a lot of faith that Lucianna will be okay. I really do think she will do something so great that I can't even imagine.

Even though I have faith, I still waiver. I cry when I think about other children making fun of her and the heartache that will cause for her. I also am heartbroken when I think of her not being able to run with the other children. I just keep in mind that there is a purpose for this. It is not an accident or luck of the draw.

Even for all the heartache to come I know there will be a matching happiness and joy. It will be something special that I will have never experienced with the other two girls.

God has a plan and a purpose. The purpose is there but the plan is unknown.

A Not So Funny Hotel Story

Got an email yesterday. Looks like the lawyers finally came to a decision that both are available to show up for the closing on our house on Tuesday. I will not hold my breath and I will not cross my fingers. If something could go wrong with this process, it has. Right now the way I look at it, I live in a hotel.

Speaking of which, I've got an icky "I-Will-Laugh-about-it-One-Day" hotel story. Believe me, I'm not laughing yet.

Last week, the hotel that we usually stay in was booked. All the hotels were booked except for Days Inn and Super 8. We have stayed in different Days Inn before and have had decent rooms. The Days Inn was in a better part of town and looked nicer so we made reservations there to stay the week. The only room we had available was a room with one queen bed. We brought the pack-n-play and were going to get a cot. Chris was working and I went to the hotel to check in.

We walked in the room and the smell of body odor and cheap disinfectant to cover up that smell of body odor hit me before I could turn on the light. I turned on the light (as my stomach turned) I saw several things immediately. The first thing I saw was all the peeling wallpaper. Ewww. I went in the bathroom and from one of the towels, someone else's hair was staring back at me. Ewww. Ewww.

Now I always pull back the sheets to check the linens before I settle in. I pulled the covers back and my stomach turned another flip. There was someone else's body hair in the bed. I'm not talking about just one. There was also short straight black hairs that looked like dog hair. This is what I saw just by pulling the covers down about two feet. It was obvious that these sheets were not changed.

I then got brave and decided to take a corner of the sheets off the bed. Before I requested clean sheets, I had to make sure the bed was in decent enough condition for us to sleep in. It wasn't. The mattress looked like a mattress that was picked up off a curb back in 1982. It was horrible. The mattress was dirty, old, smelly, ripped and worn. I immediately started crying.

I called my husband who was able to make reservations at the Super 8. I left that hotel and gave the front desk an earful. Blah Blah Blah, my children won't sleep in that filthy bed. Blah Blah Blah, why don't you make your children sleep in that bed. Blah blah blah, hair on towels and in the bed. Blah Blah Blah. He had obviously heard it all before and was not phased by it at all.

We checked in at the Super 8. It was fine. It was clean and it had two double beds. I check the beds and they were worthy of my family. Whew!

Update on the Crazy Life of Me

I don't know if this picture quite conveys the level of chaos and frustration of this week. It's just been crazy. I've always heard and believed the saying that the Lord will only give you as much as you can handle. Well I think I'm to that point. I have cried many tears. Some are of sadness and some are of frustration and anger.

Alexandra damaged her eardrum enough that she will need surgery. First we have to get a hearing test done and make sure she hasn't lost the hearing in that ear. I think she has a degree of hearing loss in that ear but not completely. She told me the other night that she had "ghosts" in her ear. Maybe she was hearing an echo. I don't know.

Lucianna had her MRI on Wednesday. It was completely normal. This ruled out any tumors in the brain or any injury or growths on her spinal cord. It looks like this is a birth defect. The pediatric neurologist said it is most likely an underdeveloped perineal nerve. Only time will tell. I am going to take her to Upstate Medical in Syracuse for a second opinion just to be safe. I was not feeling completely comfortable with the doctor saying that only time will tell.

We still have a move date of October 1st. I cannot wait to get to my new house. This is by far the craziest time I've ever had in my life. Between doctors, testing, moving and staying in a hotel during the week, I feel like a gypsy.

Monica is doing well in school. She has decided she does want to learn to play an instrument and has chosen the saxophone. I think it's a good choice. She loves jazz and blues music.

I realize that my posts are sparce and not as funny and witty as usual. To tell the truth, I'm not feeling very humorous of late. This too shall pass.

When It Rains, It Pours

Today I had had some time to myself because Chris took the girls to a movie and the baby took a nap. It was nice. When they got home we ate lunch and then I was going to take Alexandra to the salon to have her hair trimmed because it is getting in her eyes.

I called Alex who had gone to the bathroom (I think I can safely say she is completely potty trained) she came bounding out and, running as fast as she could, threw herself on the couch head first. The next thing I knew there was screaming and uncontrollable crying. When I looked at her I couldn't believe what I saw. She had Q-tips sticking out of each ear. She must have climbed up on the sink and gotten them (they were on the top shelf). Her right ear immediately started bleeding. I knew I had to take her to the hospital.

I don't know about you, but I remember my mom and grandmother telling me not to play with Q-tips because "you could really hurt yourself." I never thought it would happen to me but I listened. I've always told my daughters not to put Q-tips in their ears except for light cleaning. When they ask why, I say the same thing, "because you could really hurt yourself."

I waited a ridiculous time period at the emergency room. I hate the hospital that is "in the network" for my insurance plan. My daughter's ear was bleeding and we had to wait 3 1/2 hours before it was looked at. I was livid, to say the least.

The doctor at the emergency room said that her eardrum is ruptured it is imperative that she sees an ear, nose & throat specialist on Monday. He said that it's a big hole and she may possibly need reconstructive surgery for the eardrum and the bones around it. He also said that if I don't do this that it could affect her hearing in that ear.

This all comes during a week when I am already nervous. I take the baby to get her brain and lumbar MRI on Wednesday and then take the films to the pediatric neurologist to determine why she has paralyzed muscles in one leg (which is already not growing at the same rate as the other one) and if it is an injury or a birth defect and if it can be repaired.

Although this is a lot of stress, I would like to say that, regardless of the outcome, I still feel that God has blessed me with beautiful perfect children. They are the light of my life. If Alex has problems hearing out of one ear, we will get through it. If Lucianna has a permanent neurological problem, we will do whatever it takes to make her life as normal and happy as the other girls.

Whatever happens, happens for a reason. I will trust God, pray and have faith.

Horrified By Primetime's Cruel Intentions

I watched Primetime on Thursday night. I never watch this show but it was about preteen and teen girls. It was about the cruel, backstabbing way that girls treat each other and how computers, blogs, cellphones etc make this process more appealing to girls that normally wouldn't ever bully anyone else.

I was horrified to say the least. At first I was saying to myself "how will I protect my babies from monsters like this?" By the end of the show I was asking myself, "how will I prevent my babies from becoming monsters like this?"

I think I'm raising them right. I hope I can find the church in our new town that is going to keep their interest in activities. I hope they respect the Christian morals that I think I am teaching them.

Watching this report was an eye opener. These girls were not uneducated or horribly behaved children. They were the smart ones. "Girls who cyberbully are girls who are very invested, do well in school, have friends, want to go to college. They believe that it's sort of fun and they'll never be caught." I don't know about you but this could be my daughter.

As hard as it was to watch, I'm so glad I did. I believe it's best to be informed so that I can teach my children about the world and how to deal with it. Because of this report, we made a few life decisions (and rules) for the girls and how we parent them.

1. There will NEVER ever be a computer in the privacy of one of the girls' bedroom.

2. Church, Bible study and prayer are going to be a larger part of our lives together.

3. Monica is extremely bored at school. Since this school doesn't have an enrichment program for the gifted children, we will create our own. I am currently researching homeschooling curriculum's to supplement her public school education. Please comment with any recommendations homeschooling moms!

4. Myspace has no space in my daughters' space. I wish I could keep them from even knowing it exists. I'm sure there will be something new by the time the youngest girls grow older. I feel as if I am in a race to keep up with this garbage.

5. I'm going to have to teach my daughters how to keep themselves covered in locker rooms because some mean and nasty girls think it's fun to take pictures of girls they want to cyberbully and post on the Internet. If that ever happened to my daughter I would cry so hard and be so mad. She hates to undress in front of me.

6. Did I mention that computers will only be used by children in the common areas of the house?

This report brought back all the horrible memories of middle school. I never ate my lunch. I was too nervous for fear of what would come next. I wasn't picked on a lot but I saw it happen to others. Now it's so much worse. Arrrrgh!

Well, I think I have a few years to prepare my oldest for battle. That's what it is too. A battle.

Thursday Thirteen 5

Thirteen Things about Kim, myself (that I like) Okay so it's late. Sorry. But I did take the challenge to find 13 things about me that are good or I like about little old me. 1 I have red hair 2 I have 3 beautiful daughters 3 I have a strong personality but can easily adapt to my surroundings 4 I believe myself to be a decent amateur photographer 5 I like to read 6 I like to crochet (and feel that I'm good at it) and would like to teach myself how to knit 7 I like to be very involved with my daughter's school through PTA and volunteering (wait til her new school gets a load of me!) 8 I make sure that I keep communication lines open between myself and my older daughter. When I ask what she did in school today and I get the famous "nothing" answer I keep asking questions until I get more detailed answers. 9 I think I'm a decent wife. I'm loyal and faithful and I love my husband very much. 10 I absolutely love blogging. I can't even begin to explain how much. Of course, if you are reading this, there is a good chance you feel the same so I don't have to explain. 11 I love going to a good church that lets me get involved. I have been know to throw myself into volunteering (although time has not been on my side lately). I cannot wait to get settled in my new home so that I can start that part of my life again. 12 I'm strong in troubled situations. Once, 5 years ago, my oldest daughter got herself caught in a babydoll highchair so that she was choking and couldn't breathe. It was the only time I ever saw him do it, but my husband froze in fear. I mustered up some adrenaline strength and pulled the well built highchair apart. 13 I'm pretty handy around the house. Maybe I hate cleaning but I love painting and tiling. I taught myself how to use a miter saw two weeks ago. It's not the actual act of doing the project, it's the pride in the finished product.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

More Moving Chaos

I love the late summer flowers. Sunflowers and blackeyed susans are by far my favorites.

We are back at the house for the weekend. We still have a ton of packing to do. I set the tile on the kitchen counter and backsplash two weeks ago. I still have to grout. I could've done it last weekend, but that would have meant I would have actually finished a job in a reasonable amount of time. I have this nasty habit of getting board with a project halfway into it. Well, it has to be done before we close on the house. It was a contingincy in the contract.

Still looking at October 1st as the date we close on our new house. I will have a new appreciation for space once we are not living in a hotel 5 days a week anymore.

Monica likes her new school and is making friends. We were fearful at first because there have been a lot of tears and meltdowns at the end of last week and the beginning of this week. I think she is adjusting well though considering all the chaos of this move.

Well I miss you all and hopefully I will be posting more regularly next week.

Still Stuck in a Hotel Room With All Three Children

Arrrrggggghhhhh! That about sums it up. This is crazy. I will be able to post more next week because my husband will be back from a business trip. Still only have one laptop.

I don't like leaving the children in the room by themselves to go down and use the lobby computer (even though Monica is very capable of supervising for 30 minutes or so).

I also don't like having to race to the computer to beat out other patrons for time to blog. I'm sure they think that their business is much more important. Actually, they are so wrong. This little bit of time on the computer is what enables me to keep my sanity. That's much more important than the little tidbit of business they are trying to take care of.

Hopefully, I will be moving into my new house soon. Unfortunately, it looks like October 1st is the new date. How will I live through this?

Food 4 Thought

I read this in a church newsletter:

What would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phone?

What if:

We carried it around in our pockets or purses.
We turned back to get it if we forgot it.
We flipped through it several times a day.
We used it to receive messages through the text.
We treated it like we could not live without it.
We gave it to our children as a gift.
We used it as we traveled.
We used it in case of an emergency.
We upgraded it regularly to get the latest version.

But unlike our cell phone, we don't ever have to worry about our Bible being disconnected because Jesus already paid the bill.

I thought it was worth passing on.

In Search of .... a Church

In September of 2001 we moved to Kingston, NY. It was a transfer for my husband that we could not pass up because it came with a substantial pay raise. I still remember that morning on the 11th. I was in the hotel room with my Monica, 4 years old at the time (we had not yet found an apartment) and my soon to be mother in law called and told me to turn on the TV. (It was the only time she ever told me she loved me. Tragedy makes you say crazy things I guess.)

I took it all in for a little while and turned it off. I really couldn't handle it and we had an appointment to look at an apartment that day. As we were walking out a man in his car rolled down the window and stopped to tell the apartment manager that he was going to get his children out of school. That the towers fell. We were being attacked.

Everyone dealt with this day differently. I personally had so many emotions rolling through my body, fear, anger, confusion, pride, and sadness to name a few. This all happened less than an hour drive from where I was. I did not know how I was going to get through it. I was glued to the TV for the next few weeks. Watching the people work tirelessly in hopes of finding a sign of life among the debris. It was like a tragic movie on a loop that I could not stop watching day after day.

I don't think I knew anyone personally that lost their life that day but I do know a lot of people who knew people in that building. I did have a friend who was fired from his job in the towers the previous week. He answered his telephone for a week by saying "I'm alive!"

A few life changing things happened over the next few months.

My husband and I got married October 16, 2001. I woke up that morning, rolled over and this is the way the conversation went.

Me: Let's get married today.
Him: Let's wait until next Wednesday. I have another day off then.
Me: No way. What makes you think I'm gonna fall for that?
Him: Well, you fell for it the last seven years!

We got up. Called the Justice of the Peace and got married.

I drove past a church in town a lot.

Everytime I drove by it was like the building was calling my name. I hadn't been to church in many years. A lot of people came away from September 11th with the clear thought that they had to go back to church. I didn't. It took me until the end of December to realize that that is what I needed to do. It was the Sunday between Christmas and New Year's Day. I got my daughter dressed and we ventured to the church that had called my name so many times (now I know that it was God directing me where he wanted me to go).

There wasn't Sunday School that morning. I was going to walk back out the door because the service didn't start for an hour and fifteen minutes. A man named Harold, who is the building manager but I think he is the best greeter/evangelist I've ever met, did not let me walk back out that door. He talked to me and introduced me to others until the service was about to start. He knew, as did I, that if I left, I probably wouldn't come back.

It was the beginning of my journey back to God. I grew in that church. I attended every class I could. I studied my Bible at home. I lead the Adult Sunday School for a while. I was blessed in that church. I grew in that church. I had a new family in that church.

I had to leave early in 2003, when we moved for my husbands career again. I still miss the people who showed me so much love. It broke my heart but I knew it's what I had to do.

Now I find myself moving yet one more time. I am again in search of a church. I can only hope that the one that I find is modeled like St. James United Methodist Church in Kingston, NY.

Waking Up in A Hotel Every Morning Stinks

Well, we will finally be closing on our house by the end of next week. This should have been done a month ago, but that would have been easy and chaotic free.

We have been living in a hotel in the town where our new house is located so that Monica could start school on the first day of school. This was a non negotiable since she has been through this too many times already. She hates being the "new kid." I wanted her to start fresh just like everyone else. She loves her new teacher and she has many new friends.

Living in the hotel stinks. Literally. It has an indoor swimming pool, which the kids love. The amount of chlorine they use in that pool is enough to sterilize the Atlantic Ocean, I'm sure of it. We got there on Tuesday and by Wednesday my head felt like an overfilled balloon. The smell of chlorine permeated the whole hotel. I felt as if I was sleeping right next to the pool.

The stay went fairly well considering the fact that our family of 5 was living in a small room. It was kind of like being locked in a big cage with a wild animal.

We ate out way too much. Thank God for Holiday Inn's "Kids Eat Free." We are going to call the hotel on Sunday before we go back up. If they don't have a room with a microwave then we will take our own. I just cannot eat carry out food, expensive restaurant food or fast food any more.

Coming home was bittersweet. We really want to be in our new house. Our lives will be so much easier. We were glad to get out of the hotel but not happy to travel back to the house that we should have been moved out of by now.

Now it's back to packing. We are going to go through the garage this weekend. Anything we do not absolutely need is going to the curb. I'm sick of taking all this stuff with me everytime we move. We have to do this whirlwind packing now because we have to be back up to the new hometown on Sunday night so Monica can be at school on Monday morning.

With any luck at all, this will be the last week of living in limbo. Our lives will hopefully change back to our normal level of chaos rather than this extreme unbalanced chaos that we have been forced to live lately.

CHAOS Level At An All Time High

It's been quite a few crazy days since I've been able to blog. So much has happened, I don't know where to begin.

The chaos level is out of control as we get somewhat closer to moving. Here's a quick rundown.

We listed our house for sale, got calls to show it one hour later. We showed it the next day to three parties. We had a contract on it for the asking price the next day. That was a true blessing.

The same day I took my baby to an orthopedic specialist. Our primary care physician was concerned that her foot isn't growing correctly. Come to find out, she has a paralyzed muscle in one leg that prevents her from flexing her foot. Now we must go to a pediatric neurologist and find out the cause of this (injury or birth defect) and see if there is anything that can be done to correct this. What a bittersweet day.

The order for an appraisal on the house we are buying was lost (or it was never ordered) and we are still in limbo without a closing date. In the meantime, school starts on Wednesday. I refuse to have Monica start school here only to transfer in a week so we will be getting a hotel room on school nights and traveling back and forth to pack.

School shopping is done (THANK YOU GOD). With my husband gone and me having to take all three girls to the mall, I came home a mama with a migraine that day. There were probably a few people who thought I was a verbally abusive parent too. I couldn't keep Alexandra in one place. She doesn't listen. She figured out how to take the wrist leash off. I'm so afraid I'm going to lose her one of these days. I never thought I'd ever do it (and a HUGE apology goes out to anyone doing it that I've ever given a dirty look too) but I may have to resort to putting the harness type leash on my daughter when I'm out with all three girls by myself.

My husband is back home from his business trip and I went out by myself today. I bought some things for the girls and got my hair cut. No more SAHM hairdo for me. It looks great.

It's great to be back!

Be Back Soon

Okay. So my laptop has failed me yet again. It is not working and I have to take it somewhere to be serviced. My husband is going out of town on business and will be taking his laptop with him. I will be out of touch with the world wide web until at least Wednesday, possibly longer.

This will give me more time to pack, clean and tile the kitchen countertop.

So ta ta for now until we meet again! I will miss everyone.

Thirteen Thursday 4

Thirteen Things I Hate About the Post Office 1. Long lines 2. Ebay people who come in at 4:45 with 100 packages to be mailed. I did ebay at one time and when I started having a lot of packages, I bought a scale and used paypal to print out my own postage. It was great! 3. Post office workers who think they are God. This is not the case for all. Most of my experiences with postal workers have been very good. 4. My one very bad experience at the post office, Going Postal! 5. There aren't any pens at the tables at our post office anymore because people were stealing them. Now you have to wait in line just to ask for a pen. 6. Longer lines. 7. The smell. I don't know if it's cardboard, ink, packaging or just the fact that most post offices are in older buildings. There is a certain smell that I don't like. 8. The smallest roll of tape cost $3.29. 9. They stopped providing priority mail tape to the public. This really made me angry. Priority mail rates went up. Ebay kicked priority mail into high gear. They stopped supplying the tape to pack the boxes. Go figure. 10. If anything makes you angry, it's not like you can say, "Fine, I'll never use your service again!" They have you trapped. I have definately scaled down my use of the post office. When I do sell on ebay, I use UPS but I still have to send mail out sometimes. 11. A personal home mailbox is considered federal government property but you have to purchase it for them. The postal service should have to provide a standard mailbox. If someone doesn't like that one then they could go buy a nicer one. 12. It's so quiet. They should have muzak or something. I think silence makes the wait seem longer. 13. Did I mention the longest lines ever? Sorry this was late but my days have been full of packing and today we started showing the house to prospective buyers. Fun Fun!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Going Postal!

Until Tuesday, I had never had someone call the cops on me. Now I know I have you hooked and you must read on.

I decided to be a nice wife and take my husband's business mail to the post office to be mailed. One was an express mail envelope and one was a priority mail envelope. I got to the post office at 4:45pm. The line was long and there was only one person working. There were also several eBay sellers in line that had, what seemed like, the never ending mail carton of envelopes and packages to send out.

It was twenty five minutes in line before I got my turn. The guy behind the counter started processing my mail. He wrote down that the express mail was guaranteed two days later and I asked why not overnight. He said there cut off was 2pm. I then said I should probably send it priority to save money and he said whatever you want to do. I got my cell phone out and dialed my husband to see what he wanted me to do. Everything seems to be going fine at this point but here is where everything started going wrong.

My fat fingers hit the wrong contact and I got my brother in law. It took us about 30 seconds to realize who each other was talking to. At this point I went to dial my husband again and the clerk said to me in an irritated voice, "You need to hurry this up." Now this was the wrong thing to say to someone who had just patiently waited (wasted) 25 minutes of my life to get to the counter. I replied in an irritated voice, "I just stood here in line for 25 minutes. You can wait one minute while I find out exactly what my husband wants done with his mail."

I realize that my reply was snotty. I was extremely irritated and fed up with the whole situation as was everyone else in line. Keep in mind that I was only up at the counter for 2 minutes when this exchange took place. He stunned me with his next words. He handed both envelopes to me and said, "You can take your mail elsewhere." What? You made me wait here until 10 minutes after closing and now you are going to tell me to take my mail elsewhere? I told him to just mail them out as they were. He refused. He would not mail them. I told him I would not leave the counter until he processed my mail and slammed the envelopes down on the counter. He then called 911 on me and told the dispatcher he had an irate customer that would not leave.

I was snotty yes, irritated yes, but not irate until he called the police on me. I've never had anyone call the police on me. I am a church going, volunteering, PTA mom. Who is this little man who decided to raise an angry fist in the air at someone who voiced a complaint about how long he made me wait in line? I didn't know that was a crime. I do know that I was completely and utterly humiliated. I do know that I cried and think I even slammed the door as hard as I could when I left.

I waited around for the police because I didn't want the story to be one sided (which it was anyway). The little man wouldn't even come out of the post office. He told the police that I used a particular four letter word and that he felt threatened by me. Whatever. He had a bad day and took it out on me. I hope he felt mighty and powerful for those couple of minutes because there will be repercussions.

I have made a formal complaint to the post office. He wouldn't take my mail for what reason? He processed other people's mail after me. He also lied to the police officer. This particular police officer attends the same church as me. I have about 2 weeks to attend this church before we move. I don't want everyone to remember me as the "woman who got kicked out of the post office for cussing out that little man who works at the post office."

I have requested a face to face apology. If I don't get it I am requesting to see the security tape. He made a mistake when he decided to lie and discredit me to someone who attends my church! Arrrggggh!

We didn't get any mail on Wednesday. This has not happened in a year. Between my husband's business, bills and all the junk mail, we get mail everyday. Today, Thursday, we got an armload of mail. Maybe they realized it was a bad idea to mess with us like that when they were holding onto so much mail.

I know that one day I will laugh about this. My friends are already laughing their butts off. They think it is the most hilarious thing that has ever happened. I went to the post office on Wednesday, (thank God there are two of them in my town) and mailed those letters out. As I went out the door, my loving husband reminded me to not be "irate". I stomped off.

Wordless Wednesday 4 National Aquarium in Baltimore

The Great Box Hunt

Be verwy verwy quiet. I'm hunting boxes. Ha Ha Ha.

The local grocery store has a little alcove that is located right by the door. That is where they throw all their boxes. The public can go there anytime during store hours and pick the boxes they want without bothering the employees of the store. This is a nice thing for all of us that are moving this month (and any other month). This also saves them time and money because they have about 1/4 of the boxes they would normally have.

The box alcove can be a scary place as you get closer to the end of the month. I am one of those people who absolutely refuse to buy boxes for moving. I would end up paying hundreds of dollars to box up all the "junk" I've accumulated over the years. Every morning I get myself ready for the mad dash to the box alcove. Yesterday morning I was a little too late as I saw the woman in a SUV loading all the best boxes into her vehicle. I went in anyway to see if she left anything. There were some medium size boxes and smaller boxes. I gathered all the mediums, put them in a pile and continued looking. Another woman came in and immediately grabbed my boxes. I don't know what came over me, but I'd say that a growl came out of me. "Those are mine, I had my hands on them first, put them down." She dropped them as if they had burned her hands. I must've been very scary. I think I scared myself.

The day before that a family got to the box alcove before me and blocked the entrance. They wouldn't even let me in the room. There were two at the doorway blocking while two were inside scavenging boxes. That was scary for me so I turned and walked away.

I got so desperate for boxes, that yesterday evening I went to all the places of business in the area that I thought might have boxes. Most have cardboard compactors. The rest have cardboard only dumpsters. Yep. That was me with my butt in the air, hanging into cardboard dumpsters to get the best moving boxes.

I was so embarrassed to be doing this but several thoughts were going through my head:

1. I need to be 90% packed by Monday morning. I don't have time to go out for boxes every morning.

2. I don't want to move without boxes and just throw everything in the truck without them.

3. Don't make eye contact with ANYONE.

4. If you do make eye contact by mistake, don't worry, you're moving out of town anyway.

5. Why do some businesses lock their cardboard dumpsters when boxes are meant to be recycled anyway?

6. That woman in the McD's uniform keeps looking at my van. Is she writing my license plate down and calling the police?

7. Can you be arrested for taking boxes out of a dumpster? Fellow Prisoner, "What are you in for?" Me, "Dumpster diving for cardboard boxes."

8. That group of people waiting outside of Friendly's until a table comes available are staring at me. Who cares, anyone that would actually wait for a table at Friendly's has no right to pass judgment on me, even if I am hanging into a dumpster to get the coveted napkin box.

After I couldn't get another box into the van, I went to the store and bought $19.00 in packing tape. As I was buying it I thought to myself, "How many of these am I going to lose in my mess of a house before I get packed?"

It was quite a journey, but I came home with a pile of broken down boxes just waiting to be taped and filled. Now all I have to do is pack!

Light at the End of the Tunnel

We are preparing for a big move and a new start. My husband and his brother are doing so well with their business, that Chris has to be there more rather than just working from home. We are moving to a new town and Monica will have to change her school district one last time. The pictures above are the house we are buying. It needs some work (such as the handrails, spindles and steps on the porch were taken down and need to be stripped, painted and put back up). The whole exterior of the house needs to be painted. The bathroom upstairs needs to be completed.

The gentleman that we are buying it from bought it as a HUD house. He gutted it and put new walls up. He did keep all the original woodwork, stripped it down and put it back up. Other great things about this house are new roof, new boiler, new baseboard for heating, original hardwood floors are sanded down, pocket doors separate each room downstairs, a completely remodeled kitchen, did I mention the woodwork? The list goes on forever. We fell in love with this house as soon as we walked in and knew we were buying it before we walked out. The house was not even on the market for twenty four hours!

Now to get my feet to touch the ground again. I hate moving. I hate packing. I hate moving day. We have moved enough in the last twelve years for me to know exactly how I feel about this whole process.

Yesterday and today were spent packing and throwing junk and stuff to the curb. I completely hoed out Monica's room. Oh my, what a little packrat. Getting her to throw anything out is a chore. We did completely and successfully pack her room though.

We are now working on the Alexandra's and Lucianna's room. It's a very small room with a lot of toys in it. They will be moving to a very large room with few toys in it. The house is a four bedroom but while the two are so young, they can share a room. The extra room is going to be a playroom / TV room.

We are also dealing with the stress of not only getting packed but getting this house ready to sell. We've done a lot of work but there are a few projects left unfinished. These things need to be done before people start looking at the house. At least we are fortunate enough not to have to sell our house in order to close on the house we are buying. I think the stress of coordinating the two closings on the same day would send me right over the edge.

Anyway, we are stressed, we are excited and we are anxious. I cannot get Monica registered in her new school until we close on the house. It will be before school starts on September 6th. I have to find a new preschool for Alexandra. I have to find a new church. I have to learn my way around this new town. There are so many things to do. My head is spinning and I'm sure you will hear more about this in the weeks to come.

Thirteen Thursday # 3

Thirteen Things My Children Do That Make Me Smile 1. Lucianna - everytime anyone looks at her and smiles, she smiles back 2. Lucianna - When I know she's hungry even though shes not fussing i get ready to nurse. She sees my breast and gives me this great big "thank you for thinking of me before I get fussy" smile 3. Lucianna - she doesn't cry at night...at all...if she does wake up at night she sucks her thumb. 4. Lucianna - she talks to the tv when it's on....cooing complete conversations 5. Alexandra - when she wants something she says "peaze" and puts her hands together and interlocks her fingers as if she's praying 6. Alexandra - if she doen't get what she wants she will sniffle and wipe pretend tears from her eyes 7. Alexandra - she is like a cartoon character - full of life and constantly striving to make people laugh....if she sees you laugh then she will do whatever it is she was doing with even more intensity. 8. Alexandra - she is almost completely potty trained. Now when she follows me to the bathroom and I pee, she claps her hands and cheers for me! 9. Monica - she is compassionate, gentle and loving 10. Monica - she loves to read and reads way above her grade level 11. Monica - she gets the highest grades possible and loves school 12. Monica - she makes it easy for me to have girl talks with her, she trusts me with information she wouldn't trust anyone else with and keeps our line of communication open 13. All three of my beautiful girls still love to cuddle and be held.

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Wordless Wednesday 3 - Maryland Zoo