New obsession.....

I am afraid this may have become my new addiction. I am not a "regular" coffe drinker. But, I love a good cappuccino. Now, I find that I can make them at home!! (My hickville stores did not carry anything like this until now) I have to tell you, I have had my first cup and I am in LOVE.

Another new obsession? (like I needed any more) I saw this reality show... Gene Simmon's Family Jewels. It was on A&E. Oh, my was this show FUNNY!!! I guess I was catching the reruns because I saw a marathon of them. Now, I am not a huge KISS fan. Truth be told, I have heard very few KISS songs. (I think I like Beth and that is all I can remember now) But to see this man as a father and as a "husband" (as he states, he is NOT married to B movie star Shannon Tweed- they have just been living and raising their kids together forever!). And it is coming back on March 25th YAY.

I think that is enough confessions today........

On the mend

Finally, we are all on the mend. I seriously thought I would have to take Kat's suggestion and MOVE. LOL But everyone is back to school now, so the chances of us staying healthy now are slim! Germs seem to cling to those kids in school. 4 are in school, and you figure there are atleast 20 kids per class, that is alot of contact with a lot of germs! Almost makes me think of home schooling..... ALMOST. I don't have the patience or drive to home school. The teachers at the respected schools are much more qualified than I. Besides, me being away from them for a few hours a day makes me appreciate them all the more!

Nothing else is really happening. We just bought new living room furniture from Rooms to Go, but we won't get it for a MONTH. Yup, you heard me, a month. It is back ordered. So, other than a HUGE drop in our savings, we have nothing to show for it. Well, I guess I can oggle it online when I feel I need to see it. Later in March it will be here, and boy will it be worth the wait. Our poor funiture now is decrepit. Very bad. LOL We made it last as long as possible, but the couch needs to be put out of it's misery. We will be holding a small ceremony on March 22nd, I might even write a eulogy before we burn it down.

In the trenches

My household is NOT the place to be right now. Since last week we have dealt with strep throat, rotovirus and the stomache flu. The first sign that one is getting better, another on is getting worse. It has even affected me. I am drained, I have recurrant stomache flu from helping all the kids with it. Ray is lucky to have a job that takes him away. He isn't subject to all the sickness and he doesn't have to feel like he is knee deep in vomit and diapers, unlike myself. I think after this epidemic is over, I will have to replace the carpet in my bathroom, all the kids seem to make it to the carpet, but not the toilet. So, hopefully all the Lysol I have been using will start working soon so that we can resume a normal life again. I really think I should buy stock in Lysol, I bet I could make a fortune!

On a really sad note, my aunt Peg has just discovered that the cancer that is in her lung, liver and throat has now spread to her brain. The first dr that gave her the diagnosis was very bleak and gave her 6 months to live. She has since seen another dr who has given her hope that she might be able to overcome it. She has been unable to do Chemotherapy as it has given her terrible bad reactions to it. What chemo she has received has not helped at all anyway, her liver has gotten worse, not better. So, this dr has proposed more radiation. They are going to start the radiation with her head and go from there. The dr feels optomistic because she has not experienced any symptoms, like headaches, from the brain cancer. This prospect is especially scary for our family as my grandpa, her father, had lung cancer that spread to his brain and he died in a relatively short time. Peg is only in her 40's and has a young son still to raise. We just can't lose her yet. Any prayers would be greatly appreciated. We are trying to stay optomistic.

Happy Birthday Baby!!

I may not have carried you inside of me, and I wasn't there when you were a baby. I met you on a warm August day when you were just about 4. I had been dating your dad for just over a month and we had finally scheduled a meeting between you, my kids and I. You shyly knocked on the door to my house and asked where my kids and the toys were. I fell in love with you that day. It feels like you have forever been inside my heart.

I was very excited the day I married your dad. Not only because I had found my mate, but because I had gained a son to whom my love would know no bounds. You made my heart melt the night of the wedding, when we were putting you into bed, and you asked if you could call me mom. We have been together now for 5 years and you amaze me with every day. You are a burst of sunshine and can always make me laugh. You are growing into such a fine young man and I am so happy to have you as my son.

Happy 10th Birthday baby! I love you.

Happy Valentine part 2

It is just getting better and better!

My older princess girl has strep throat. Since she seems to be getting it multiple times in a year, dr is advising that she get a tonsilectomy. I feel so bad for her!

Ray is still in Illinois and he still has NOT unloaded his load. His truck has broke down. He has not moved from where he stopped last night. Now it looks as though the truck won't be fixed until later tonight and he might/might not be able to unload the load today. So, he might not come home until Saturday because the "company" will make him still run the rest of the week's run. What fun. I really have to just laugh now because it has become so ridiculous!

Happy Valentines???

Well, today has been a day for all days! You know that Alabama song "Roll on 18 wheeler". Well it talks about a husband/father that is stuck in a snowbank in Illinois. Ok, that trucker was in a wreck, my hubby, the trucker, is stuck BECAUSE of those damn snowbanks in Illinois. He was doing his runs and because of the storms, he (and his partner) couldn't get their last load unloaded. They are now being forced to stay overnight (he should have been home tonight). Not only that, they will NOT be paid extra for losing their day off and they will not receive another day off to comp. it. It is utter and complete BULLSHIT, if you ask me. The company claims is that they "can't control the weather". Um, ok, and my husband can??? Do they really think that they would prefer to stay in Illiniois on thier day off than to come home??? Wouldn't you think the buttheads at the company might have thought to call the route OFF if the weather was going to be bad? Seriously, does everyone have their heads up thier asses??? I swear, if we didn't need the job, he would already be gone.

Well, I apologize for all the profanity. If you read me regularly, you know I don't cuss like a "trucker" (sorry, LOL, I had to use it). But I am very, very upset. Can you hear my heart breaking? So, again, ignore the expelatives.

Did I also mention that I have been at home all day with 5 sick kids and I have been fighting a terrible cold now for almost a week. LOL I don't know about you, but I am soooo ready for this week to already be over.

So, anyway, I hope everyone else out there has a Happy V day!

Days like these

ANNA NALICK - Breathe (2 AM)

"Cause you can't jump the track,were like cars on a cable and life's like an hour glass glued to the table. No one can find the rewind button, girl so cradle your head in your hands. And breathe, just breath, oooh breathe, just breathe"

"There's a light at each end of this tunnel you shout cause you're just as far in as you'll ever be out. And these mistakes you've made, you'll just make them again.. if you only try turnin' around.2am and I'm still awake writing a song. If I get it all down on paper it's no longer inside of me threatenin' the life it belongs to. And I feel like I am naked in front of a crowd because these words are my diary screaming out loud and I know you will use them however you want to. Because you can't jump the track, we're like cars on a cable and life's like an hourglass glued to the table. No one can find the rewind button now, yeah sing it if you understand and breathe, just breathe, oooh breathe, just breathe."

Something I need to remember on days like these......

Baby B has come into her own

Now, what exactly has she come into you might ask. TERROR. She has become a holy terror. You turn your back for 5 seconds and she starts destroying things left and right. Temper tanturms are a daily occurance now. Not just the loud wailing, but the full on the floor, throwing the body around, kicking and screaming legs tantrums. I am not surprised, it was bound to happen sooner or later. (I would have preferred later) What HAS surprised me is her new facinations.
Picture this ANGELIC child. You see her. She is innocent, right? Well, the other night while we are watching a movie, she opts to go and play in the older kids rooms. Seems harmless enough. We were WRONG. She comes out after being in there, oh about 5 minutes, and comes to sit on my lap. I look down and she is COVERED in nail polish. Bright pink nail polish to be exact. She has it all over her hands, up her arms, on her pj's. OMG the smell. I would swear by the smell of it, fumes should have been flying off of her. Apparently, my oldest daughter, took off with my case of nail polish and left it in Ty's room (ok, don't ask me why my SON had it in his room,I have no answer). Not only did she cover herself in nail polish, but she opened many more bottles and POURED them into the box. So, off to the bath we go. Let me tell you, scrubbing does little for nail polish. And the nail polish that was on her pj's, leaked onto her skin, so her knees and legs were also pink. And do you think I have ANY nail polish remover in the house?? Yeah, no, fresh out. So, needless to say, after an hour in the bath, she went to bed slightly pink.

So, my peaceful days of watching this innocent child are gone. Here are the days where I must watch her like a HAWK.

I don't know

I have been racking my brain to find something funny to talk about. I felt I needed something lighthearted to show. I can't find anything. I am not depressed or anything, but I just am not finding anything humerous in life these days. My kids do their normal funny things and I do giggle then, but it doesn't seem noteworthy enough to sit down and write about.

The one thing that keeps infultrating my mind is my aunt. She is barely over 40 and she is dying. We are trying to keep a positive outlook, but the odds seemed stacked against us. She has cancer. She has cancer of the throat, lungs and liver. The tumor, also known as the mothership, is located in her throat and is inoperable. For that area they are using radiation. For her lungs and liver, they are using Chemo. But, she has now had bad allergic reactions to the chemo. They aren't sure they can keep treating it with the chemo. What happens then? No one seems to be giving a good answer. Meanwhile she is in pain. She is being taken care of my my grandma and my uncle. Both of whom have medical conditions of their own. This situation keeps going from bad to worse. I live only a few hours away from her and I would love to help, but I have many kids. These many kids, besides the fact I am with them alone 3/4 of the week, brings home many germs. I can't come near my aunt because of these germs. I can't even visit with my grandma or uncle for fear that I could transfer some germs and they could carry them to her. I feel so helpless. My aunt is really trying to put up a brave front, but has confided in me that she would really like to give up. How do you talk someone into trying harder? Seriously, with all she is going thru now, if it were me, would I want to give up too?

I am trying to have faith that this was caught early enough. I am trying to have faith that
she will be alright. She has a son who is around my kids age, I couldn't imagine him growing
up without her. I couldn't imagine this family without her. She is the comic relief, she is the confidant, she is the mediator, she is the life of the party and she is the drama mama.
Since she is all those things, the family can not lose her. So, we hold on to faith that
this cancer will go into remission, I just hope it doesn't destroy her in the process.

Happy Birthday

70+ years today a remarkable woman was born. She survived poverty. She survived being a sickly child and forced to live with relatives instead of her parents. She met and married the love of her life when she was 21. A good Irish Catholic girl who stayed home and raised 7 kids. She buried one more when she was only a day old. She survived her first triple bypass surgery at the young age of 30. She had many more after that. She survived a near fatal car crash when a bridge fell that was holding her car. It crashed 40 feet to cement, her lower half of her body crushed. The dr's told us there wasn't much hope that she would live. She lived. They told us she wouldn't walk again. She walks, drives, does almost everything she did before. This time with one leg in a permenant brace. She has survived 2 more children who have died. She cared for her husband, who ulitmately died from Cancer. She survived another car crash. This time a tornado ripped a tree from it's roots and tossed it in front of her moving car. She was bedridden for months, but she is up walking again. She is, right now, caring for another one of her kids, my aunt who has Cancer. She is fearless. She is brave. She is loving. She is kind. She can be generous to a fault. She is so remarkable that it is hard for me to even put into words.

When my mom died, I was 5. My grandma took me in. She cared for me as a mother would. She let us (my sister and I) live with our father for the school year and she kept us in the summer.(long story, but my she had custody of us, not my father, but she wanted to do what was right for us) When my dad died and I was having a hard time leaving an abusive boyfriend, she took me in again. She encouraged me to be better. She hugged me when I was sad. She scolded me when I made the wrong choices (and boy, did I make many). She has shared with me my joys and sorrows. She is my idol, my mother and my best friend. She is the grandma to 33 grandkids (I am the oldest) and she makes each one of us feel special and loved.

Happy Birthday Grandma, I love you. There are no words that can really express my feelings accurately for you. You are remarkable and I want to be just like you when I grow up.

Hmmmmmm.....

So, school was called off today. Snow. Snow? Does this look like snow to you???


Yeah, the kids 'tried' to have a snowball fight. They wanted to ride a sled. I think they were a little dissapointed with the "Snow Day".

And on another note:

ME 1
Mouse 0
Ray 0

So, we bought $40 worth of mouse catching equipment. $35 of it went to ONE machine that Ray said was just "IT". The machine has caught NO mice in the whole week it has been active. I insisted Ray set the $2 mouse traps last night. And low and behold, a vermin has been caught.... in the $2 trap!!! I would normally be gloating right about now, but........ I need someone to remove the vermin and set the trap again... LOL.... any takers???