It's Over!!

I was almost excited to go to work today. I knew that today was the last day that I have to carry the caseload by myself because tomorrow my supervisor comes back. I get to work and I ask the rehab director if 'for sure' he is coming back.
"Well, that's what he said." was her reply.

So now I'm looking around because I thought this was a sure thing.
"you mean, you didn't call to make sure?" I asked.

"no...I hope he remembers." she said.

"can't we send him a 'Hey, can't wait to see you back at work tomorrow' type of text?" I desperately asked.

Regardless. His ass better be there. I didn't skip and whistle around work all day for nothing!
I waited and busted my ass for 3 weeks Dammit!!

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Last night my husband told me that he didn't want to move from Corpus. We have been discussing moving for more money and cheaper rent but he loves the beach and easy access to fishing so much.
The house we are going to move to is his mother's and she is giving it up to us. No central Air or Heat. We will be fixing it up. I will happily put in A/C window units in so that we won't suffocate but the only person who has a problem with the heat is Miah. She is just like her daddy. Always hot.
Right now we live in an apartment that has the bills included (they even throw in basic cable free). I don't know..I'm torn. I've already come to terms with moving and living closer to family and now he wants to stay.


Well..I can say this....it's day 3 and the kids are eager to get home and start earning some money!!
I've made it a little more interesting for them. Dom wanted to keep the dishes chore cause it pays 75 cents but I made a list of all the chores and cut them out and put them in a jar so they can pick them at random.
I'll see how that works out. Devyn is loving the dining room chore and Miah loves the living room so I'm not sure...maybe I won't rock the boat.
Angel has been cooking for me lately...I wonder if he is expecting some kind of payment too....hmm.

Anyway...It's Hump Day (no pun intended).
I sure start looking forward to the weekend, don't I?

Appointments and chores.

Several weeks ago I told Angel it was his turn to take the kids to one of their appts. (not like we are actually taking turns, I just decided he should do it for once and let me stay at work) So, he took the kids to their dentist appt.
I made this appt about a month ago. I purposely make appts for all the kids at the same time to save time. I gave specific directions to Dom so that they know how to get there and left explicit details for Angel on how to pick the kids up from school. All of this was going pretty smoothly until my phone was ringing (vibrating) off the hook at work. Finally, I stepped away and called to find out what was wrong. He tells me that only Miah has an appt. and they were able to squeeze Dom in but they couldn't see Devyn.

What?!

That's not right. I know I made an appt for all of them. I put on the calender "Kids dentist appt @noon" not "Miah plus 1".

Well, there was nothing I could do about it right now. So I just say "okay" and go on with work. A little bit later I call Angel again to find out what the dentist said.
He tells me," I don't know..the kids are still back there, I'm up front with Devyn."

again.....What?!?

Now I'm a little frustrated..."you are supposed to go back there and listen to what the dentist says because Miah has that contraption in her mouth and we need to know when it can come out! Do you really expect her to come out and relay his messages about it?"
His reply.."Oh, let me go back there then."

Now, I thought that was a given. I thought men knew that when you take the kids to any medical, dental or vision appt that you go back with them to find out what's going on with your kids.

Apparently, mine didn't get the memo.

On a brighter note...

I posted a list of chore prices for the kids.
Living room is .50
Dining room is .40
Dishes.... .75 etc...

Well the kids saw this while they were cleaning and automatically started trying to add to the list.
Devyn: "I know...how much for our homework?"

Me: "nothing..that's your responsibility"

Miah: "what about dusting?"

Me: "good one Miah...Dusting.....20"

Devyn: "what about the toilet?"

Me: "that's part of the restroom chore"

Devyn: "Awww, mann"

Dom: "what about throwing the trash when Dad BBQ's?"

Me: "trash is up there, it's 15"

This went on and on until I finally said.."Why are you guys trying to add to the list when you haven't even finished the first day's chores or earned any money yet? Now all of a sudden you guys are so anxious to clean."

They got back to cleaning.

The topic of discussion during dinner was how much money they made today.

I hope this lasts for a very long time.

LOOONG WEEK, SHORT WEEKEND.

I know I mentioned in an earlier blog about my Supervisor being gone for 3 weeks and me having to pick up the caseload. Well, Friday was an especially large caseload because of the new old people coming in the facility. My rehab director made this looong list of patients for me to treat. I thought I'd never get finished. On a couple of patients, we broke out the Wii and started bowling. They loved it. By the end of the day. I had treated all the patients and my blood pressure had returned to normal and I was feeling pretty good because my Supervisor was coming back on monday to pick up half of the slack.

WRONG!

Turns out, he isn't coming back until Thursday. *sigh* well, I survived 3 weeks...what's 3 more days?

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I have a lot of lesbian friends and....
One of my friends was reading my blog and told me that the caps that I wear....make me look GAY.
What?!
Now see, I wear caps all the time. I am very comfortable wearing caps, t-shirts, jeans and sneakers. I'm not exactly the type of person who likes to dress up because revealing clothes are not my style. I would constantly feel like I needed to cover up. I throw on a cap the majority of the time because my hair is a mixture of Hispanic and Black. I don't exactly have flowing locks down my back but I don't exactly have an afro either. I'm a mixed breed with mixed breed hair. (which right now has waged war against me).
.......back to the point.
So I told my other friend about the comment and she started laughing and said I come across to lesbians as a 'soft butch'.
WHOA!
Is that supposed to be flattering???
The fact that I'm not gay and don't look like a dike, but attract women because I look like a soft butch, is supposed to make me feel good. I don't know, man. I see lots of women wearing caps walking around with their husbands and I don't think they are gay.
I can't believe I give off that impression. hmmm.

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We went to the Valley this weekend to go visit our families and take care of some business. We usually take 2 vehicles so that he can see all his friends and family and I could do the same. This time we just took mine cause it was cheaper on gas. We got down there and I left my husband and Devyn at his grandmother's house, Dom went to hang out with my Dad for a bit and Miah stayed with my sister and her kids. I hung out with my sister for a bit then went to my friend Jen's to stay the night.
Jen has 3 cats (you thought you had your problems with one). There was cat hair EVERYWHERE. I have allergies to cats (even though I still like them) just some sneezing and irritated eyes...goes away if I wash my hands and face....and down some antihistimine.
Anyway...Jen is one of the few people I hang out and have happy time with. So we did...all freaking day. By the end of the day I was eating everything in site. (I'm never eating like that again)
Now, for those of you who don't know, you have these systems in your body..Sympathetic nervous system and Parasympathetic nervous system. The first one (sympathetic) is your "fight or flight" system. It gets your adrenaline pumping to either prepare you unforseen circumstances that may cause you to have to run or stay and fight.
The second (parasympathetic) is pretty much your digestive system at work. It'll shut down most of your body to prepare for digestion.
That's what happened to me. At around 11pm, my body cut me off. Shut me down. Why wouldn't it. I looked like I was smuggling a baby elephant. I could barely move. Jen, her girlfriend and her daughter were getting ready to watch a movie so I told her I was going to go lay in her bed and for them to wake me when they were ready to go to sleep so I could move to the couch. I went and knocked out. Woke up around 2:30 am because it was time to "unload". I was still in their bed and they had crashed on the couches.
I got up and went to the restroom and looked in the mirror...my eyes were super swollen and I wasn't sure why. I've stayed here several hundred times in the past and I never came away looking like this. I was up until 5 am going back and forth to the restroom "unloading". (I had my phone with me so I kept myself occupied by reading several blogs.) At that time, Jen woke up and came to her bed. I told her that my eyes were swollen and she explained that I was sleeping on the cat's pillow. Ughhh. Why is the cat's pillow on the bed with the rest of the pillows anyway?
Still...she comes in, then the cats trail in behind her and get on the bed. All I hear is "lick, lick, lick" where the cat is bathing herself right in the middle of the bed at 5am. I picked up the cat and toss her to the floor and Jen tells me, "it doesn't do any good, she'll come back up and keep doing it."
That morning, I got up, picked up all my kids that were scattered across the Valley, got my husband and drove home. Tired as hell.
Came into the house, made a sandwich, ate a piece of cheesecake, crawled into bed (this is at 3pm) and crashed until 12:30 am.


Now I'm up.

UPDATE: Dominique is now sporting a new haircut. Well, new buzz cut anyway.
He'll survive.

My Childhood Story..

Since everyone is telling stories about their childhood and I have plenty even though no one knows me...my childhood was filled with games and laughter...

I have an older brother (by 1 yr) and a younger sister (by 4). My Dad was in the Air Force so we traveled a lot. At this time we were in Spokane Wa. I was in the 4th grade and my dad was overseas in Germany. My mom was taking care of us by herself. Her main priority at that time was clubbing. She was ALWAYS at the club. We were always alone.
We all know that in those days kids were left by themselves a lot and it wasn't a big deal. Well..we were alone at night and had no bedtime so we made up a few games. My poor little sister (who had to have been about 5 yrs old then) was always the object of our "fun".

1st game: Darts!
Supplies:
1) one long hallway
2) 3 doors (1 at the end and 2 across from each other near the end)
3) metal tipped darts
4) bandages

Here's how we played:

You tell the youngest person (who was my sister) to run from one of the doors to the other across the hall. The door at the end of the hall stays closed. She would run as fast as she could across the hall and we would throw the darts and they would land in the door. (occasionally a couple would hit her leg and I think 1 may have stuck one time).
She lives to tell the tale.

This game was varied a little depending on the weather. On nice days we would go outside and play 'lawn darts'....except she was the target.

2nd game: "Frostbite".
This game could only be played during the winter. (there must be snow on the ground)
Same place (Spokane, Wa). This time we targeted my older brother.

This is how you play:
First, you fill the tub with hot water. Then you step in (barefoot of course) and make a mad dash out of the house through the front door and run completely around the house (making sure you are running in the snow...no cheating). Then run back into the house and jump into the tub so your feet can get warm again. We all had a turn and we were on our second round when my sister and I (well...it was mostly my idea cause she was still 5) decided to lock my brother out of the house during his turn.
Oooooohhhh...he was mad. his banging on the door didn't make me want to open it up in any kind of hurry.
He lives to tell the tale.

3rd game: Bites
This game involves a Doberman Pincher (we had one)
A sheet (color not important) fitted was better.
You may need bandages here too..

Here's how you play:
You get the smallest person (which was my sister again) to lay on a sheet on the floor (hardwood preferably for better gliding and sliding). Then you have the dog ready and watching. You start dragging the person on the sheet and when she gets near the dog...you scratch the dog's belly (apparently these dogs don't liked their tummys rubbed or scratched). The dog would chase after her and you run like hell pulling the sheet (and her) while the dog is snapping at the victim on the sheet.

Those are only a few games we played...
Those were the days.
Such joy and fun.

I know, I know...we must be pretty delusional.

We were kids.

Devyn has an attitude and a crush.

Devyn is 6 yrs old. (he'll tell you he's 6 1/2) and his B-day is in June. He has been so happy since the first day of school when he laid eyes on his teacher. She really is pretty and nice. At that time she was pregnant and all Devyn could talk about.


This is Devyn an I in the picture..





This is my sweet little boy who always tells me he loves me and will lay on my covers on me to keep me warm.
Ever since he started school this year his attitude has been changing. That coupled with the fact that he has spent 2 summers so far in New York with his uncle who's a cop. Now, he's trying to act like he's the shit.
Slowly he started becoming someone else. I don't know where he gets it from.


Here..we were outside BBQing and the kids were playing with all the kids outside and I got my phone to take a picture of Devyn and his best friend playing nicely. I'm focusing on them and they see me and strike a pose.



He's the one in the blue hat. This was the first time he posed like that and he actually stayed that way cause I was just staring at him for about 20 seconds blankly and asking him what was the matter. I thought something was wrong. I didn't know he was posing.He started asking me, "did you take it yet?" while he stayed frozen in that position until I did.




What's with this pose? It's easter dude.:

I liked when he was going through this phase:



Either way...right now..he has a crush on his Teacher. Mrs. Scott.

I started noticing it when he would get his graded papers back and he brought them home. He had to write sentences. His sentences were:

Mrs. Scott is pretty.

Mrs Scott is nice.

Mrs. Scott has long hair.

There were times when he would draw me pictures of flowers. Lots of them. Now he would ask me to buy him a poster board and crayons at the dollar store. He would sit in his room for a looooong time sprawled out on the floor coloring. For about 4 days straight. Just come home and do his homework and color. He finished and brought it to me and I gushed over how pretty it was. I asked him, "is this for me?" and he quickly said, "it's for Mrs. Scott".

I was like.."what?..for real? You had me buy all the supplies so you can color for days and it's not even for me? Your own mother?!"

So he says, "Okay, you can have it."

I was like.."nawww...I don't want it if it wasn't for me first."

He thought for a minute and said.."Really mom, you can have it, then when I go to school tomorrow I'll take it to Mrs. Scott tomorrow."

*sigh*

I told him I was just playing and that he can give it to her and that it was very pretty. Still, he was determined to get to McDonald's one day because the teachers were going to be cooking and Mrs. Scott was going to be there.

Miah is in Spirit Club. We took her to march in a parade one Saturday and that is when Devyn found out that Mrs. Scott was one of the coaches of it. Miah told me Devyn wants to join Spirit Club.

He's going to be pretty sad when we move. But, he'll find someone else to crush on then.

Sooo upset.

Well, I checked online at Dom's report card grades and I was devastated. I honestly believed he may have been doing better than he actually was. He told me he was doing his work but he lied to me. It doesn't even look like he will make it out of the 7th grade unless he pulls some A's out of his ass for this last 6 weeks and we are already 1 week into it. He says he can do it...I don't know...he hasn't done it before.
Last night I was so upset about it. I'm disappointed because I thought we had an agreement. Also, we were giving him so much freedom and now we have to pull it back because maybe we gave him too much freedom.
Here are the grades:


science: 50
theater arts: 71
math: 72
PE: 33
English: 65
texhg: 71

Not one B in the bunch.
Barely a few Cs.

Unfortunately..this means..no allowance (for now).
No MP3 player
No PSP
No drums
Nothing electronic
I'm even debating about his hair now. We had a deal and all of this 6 weeks he slacked off and lied.
He broke my heart.

Of course Angel 'knew this was going to happen' but I wanted to believe he was going to be doing better. I looked in his binder and there was a crapload of papers that weren't even completed. Am I supposed to go back to searching his work for incomplete work?...again?
I've been through this before and I thought we were past this. What no one knows is that he has an IQ of 140. So why doesn't he do his work?

*sigh*

What am I doing wrong?
My friend told me that he is just lazy, well, lazy isn't going to get him out of 7th grade.
Maybe I should home-school him...but that would mean I would have to be home.
I don't know what to do.


I can't not care.

HAPPY 4/20!! (belated)

I have to go to work but I am getting out early today because my kids have an appointment for their coughs. I will be home lounging and looking online for a wallet for Dom's new income. One that will go with his new income. I dreampt about him last night. We were buying him some jeans. Why? I don't know...maybe he needs some. I got paid today so I guess I will go and get him some.

I started 'dieting' and exercising Sunday night. Angel is my partner in crime in this. We both walked on the treadclimber and we will be walking on it everyday and keep increasing the distance.
Well, guess who chumped out on me last night?! Guess who broke his pinky promise?!
He couldn't stop messing with his fishing poles. He said they were calling out to him cause he hasn't been fishing lately. Whatever. I'm not the one who decided to put some away in storage and cut down on fishing. I don't care. When he does go, he take the kids cause they have their own poles and they love it.
More ME time.
Anyway, I have to get dressed for work and make sure Devyn is awake and getting dressed.
Miah and Dominique pop right out of their beds like 'jack-in-the-boxes' and are in my room dressed and ready in less than 5 min.
Devyn...drags.

Have a good day, guys.

p.s. how the heck do you place pics all over the page? My pics only come up at the top and if I try to move them my screen freezes?

Allowance. Dominique.

We decided to give Dom an allowance. He's 13 now and a teenager so I am incorporating more to his responsibilities.

This is our first time giving allowance and Angel and I didn't know how much was a good amount. My son asked us about that and we kind of looked at each other blankly and shrugged our shoulders. I think this was my son's chance to jump in and negotiate.

So here is what we came up with:

• $15 a week. (to be paid on Sunday evening)

• Dom washes dishes everyday. (along with keeping his room clean and washing his own clothes)

• Any day missed will result in subtracting $2.15 per day missed.

• His room and clothes are his responsibility. He can't complain to me about not having something to wear.

• His grades are his main responsibilities. They will result in a $5 decreas in his allowance for every failing grade. Now that only means he can get 3 before he will start owing us money.

• Now..if he does get to the point where he loses his allowance...it will be a long time of doing dishes and keeping grades up before he will begin to get paid again.

He wasnt feeling well yesterday because his throat was hurting and I could hear his horrible coughing fits. So he ducked out of doing dishes last night (only cause he was sick).

Today is the first day I put the plan into motion. I will need to keep a log book to make sure we got the figures right when it starts getting mixed up. Trust me, he will argue for more money forever. Not gonna have it. I will keep up with the calculations.

I'll keep you posted on what the totals are at the end of the weeks.

Another thing we (well Angel) decided on was not to cut his hair if he gets bad grades. Their report cards come out on Friday. He still believes he will get his hair chopped like Devyn's. I won't tell him about the change of heart so that he won't give up the motivation. It's working.

He loves spending time with me and just hanging and watching TV shows or movies. Yesterday we watched Sweeny Todd. I was reluctant to watch it cause I just have to be in the mood for something like that but I forgot I ordered it online and it was here. So...may as well watch it.

We did.

We liked it.

We watched the whole thing lounging on my bed and leaning on each other. He's more affectionate now.

Now, because we both have ADHD, we bump heads ALOT. We realize that we both need to be patient with each other. I'm hoping that in the coming years we grow closer and don't develop any riffs (well, nothing too major anyway). I can't imagine him growing up and resenting me and not communicating for any period of time out of spite.

I don't want that with my children.

Anyway...he was going to have a chance to stay overnight at one of his friend's house this Sat. (He doesn't get to stay over anywhere much at all.) He was towns over with his dad and brother at their grandfather's house. I called told Angel that his friend came over asking if he could stay the night and I told him "yes". (this was at 7pm)

They didn't get home until 11pm. I wanted Dom to have a good time this weekend. He asked me he could still go but I am not that familiar with the boy's parents so I didn't want to call at 11. I told him next weekend would be better. I really felt bad about him not being able to go. I was actually a little hurt. Of course this is the kids that he is hanging with and cursing with (so I wasn't all thaaaaat hurt) but as long as he isn't out just cursing people out and it doesn't become a problem at school/home, then we will put it on the back burner for now.

So I went just now and got the kids from Latchkey (for those of you who don't know...Latchkey is a program that keeps your children in an afterschool program for parents who work until 5 or so. They keep them until 6.) This isn't without pay.

Anyway...As I was walking out the door ..his friend Jordan (the one he was supposed to spend the night with) asks me if maybe Dom could stay the night this weekend. I told him that it may be a possibility.

I get the kids and Dom points out Jordan's mom. (remember I said I didnt know his parents well enough to call so late?...) well, she's in her car and he glances over and...ugh...looks at me like she didn't want to look at me. I told Dom this and he said.."naww...she just looks like that at everyone" ok...so then I figured that Jordan isn't intimidated by my superiority because his mom is pretty stern too. Everytime he would come over and ask if Dom could come out I would tell him that Dom can't come out cause he has this and this to do cause he didnt do it and he would say "Let me come in and I'll help him". I always tell him "no" but sometimes I wonder if 2 is better than one. Then I figured they would just play around and make a mess.

Dom confirmed this by saying "yeah...pretty much".

So Dom rides solo on his chores.

That's it for Dom..for now.

Home Sweet Home!

LAST NIGHT....

So last night my friend Jen and I went out. She is only a few years younger than I am. We got dressed up and Angel stayed home with the kids. Understand one thing...I don't go out very often...at all. Im a super home-body. I prefer to entertain at home, IF I decided to entertain at all. We've been out together before and well...we are usually home by 10:30-11:00. Last night was going to be different! We were going to be out till the cows come home! We were on a mission!

Also keep in mind that I don't have a lot of dress up clothes. I'm very laid back and casual in my dressing (except in my scrubs for work). So the few tops that I had didn't even fit right. I have this one black top but it's very low cut and that is what I had to wear. I knew I was going to be fighting with the dang "V" neck all night.....and I did. We first went to our friend's house to visit with her and have a few drinks before we actually hit a bar (she's a lesbian) and she had a safety pin that I could use to help with my shirt situation. So here I am fumbling with the safety pin and my shirt and my bra trying to keep everything from popping out.
No luck. the safety pin was too big and it was just obvious that i was trying to pin my shirt. So no pin. (I really need to get new clothes, or just stay home).

We talked about our kids over drinks. I told them about how just yesterday Dom was busted by me for cussing as soon as I picked him up from school. He started telling me some story about some bird and he said the 'F' word. Of course when I called him on it he denied it and even broke out some tears while proclaiming that 'I don't even believe him when he tells me the truth!'
Yeah...Okay.
So this is what I told him. "Alright, I'll believe you, but understand this...I am giving you fair warning right now. Don't let me hear you cussing. You just turned into a teenager 4 days ago. Don't think you're grown. I am pretty sure that you are hanging with your friends cussing up a storm around them like it's nothing. Watch out, you're going to get too comfortable saying these words and you're gonna slip up and say it at home."
Sure enough...he did. He was in my room talking with Jen and I before we left to go out and he turned to walk out of the doorway and he tripped. Clear as a bell he said, "Oh, Shit!". He disappeared.
Jen and I sat there looking at each other saying, "did he just say what I think he said?"
We called him back and he of course denied it...while trying out his newly developed squeezing out tears routine. We asked him what he said and he tried to tell us "I said OH!"
WRONG!
I told him, "I heard 2 words come out of your mouth."
We busted him. Then as we were walking out of the door, I told Angel about that little episode and at that time Dom tried to cover it up and said..."I said..I TRIPPED."
Whatever...he's busted twice in one day. Not a good record for a 13 year old.

Anyway..We go to another place and get our drinks, the thing about us is....we talk about anything no matter where we are.
So there we are sitting face to face in a booth and she just says, "I need to have a boob job done just like this...", now..not only does she say it out loud but she grabs her breasts (one in each hand), squishes, lifts, separates and places them on the edge of the table. I was a teensy bit horrified at this point because the "booth" we were in wasn't an actual booth that is taller than your head when you are sitting but only shoulder level. Yes, people may have seen my friend fondling herself at the table unintentionally.

Now, in my much younger years, I used to be able to put away a ton of beer. Last night, I was sipping it like it was hot chocolate. I know I'm getting old. We baby sat our drinks (both of them). Then we moved onto another location and babysat our drinks there. We were eager to get somewhere and I believe that somewhere was home.

We managed to pilfer around until we walked in the door at 12:12am. We did it! We stayed out until tomorrow!

TODAY....

I gave it up for a sprite.

How shallow can I be? We didn't have any and the only thing that makes my head feel better after drinking is sprite. My husband said he would go and get me some if I "gave it up".
deed done. sprite drank.
moving on...

It's saturday. Jen and I got roped into a birthday party and running errands for said party like getting ice...chips...stuff from the dollar store. We were there for HOURS and the party had barely begun. Angel had taken the boys with him to his dad's house and I had Miah. Miah had a ball cause its a party. We were surrounded with tons of kids. As soon as we left there, we picked up something to eat, some ice-cream, came home, picked a movie and just bummed.
That is my plan for the rest of the night. I'm exhausted. I'm happiest on my couch or in my bed resting.

That's what I am going to do now. My eyes are heavy. I feel like everything and everyone is in slow motion. (except Miah).

It's 7:30 now....hmmm...almost bed time.

Child labor and Devil toys.

I took Miah to work with me today because yesterday she was coughing and coughing. I honestly thought she was choking. 5 times I had to ask her if she was "OK". This was later in the evening so I had to check to see how she was this morning before I decided to send her to school. She was with me. I didnt have any worries about taking her to work. My job is pretty laid back when it comes to situations like that. They will accommodate my needs to keep their employees. Plus, I knew Miah would be a good girl. She always is. She hasn't fully crossed to the dark side yet.
So ...those who have (and don't have) children should know first hand:

• Children will (without fail) make a liar out of you. Especially those children who are sick. They are comparable to cars and mechanics. You can take the kids/cars to the doctor/mechanic and once there...*poof* no evidence of malfunction.

This is what happened at work.
We get there, she's coughing and coughing. I bought her breakfast, sat her in a corner and started my work. After breakfast she started to become restless.

• Children are unable to resist the temptation of stools with wheels. They will sit and glide across the floor making a continuous rolling noise throughout the time they are on or around them.

I had to tell her several times not to play on the stools because my co-workers and I use/need them to maneuver around patients when they are in a sitting position.

• Children cannot sit still no matter how well behaved they are.

She would get up randomly and SKIP around the room.

Now, c'mon. I tried to explain to her numerous times that "sick kids don't skip around because they are sick", and "sick kids don't play outside if they didn't go to school because they are sick". This logic is lost to them.

I decided if she isn't going to be sick then I would put her to work. She followed me with wheelchairs and sat next to residents and helped them keep count during their exercises. For some reason, some elderly people thrive on the presence of children and pets. Yesterday there was a therapy dog there and today my daughter. It all made the day fly by.

On a side note...

Just exactly 1 minute ago, Miah and I were looking around the house for some stupid toy that was automatically playing it's own tune. You know..those musical toys that come on at random when no one's around? Well, we decided to trek through the house and look for it. We knew it was in one room and for some reason it automatically became a spooky toy hunt. There we are, creeping down the hall looking for the toy and we hear it, faintly. Then we creep closer and the stupid toy says "YEEHAW!" as loud as can be. Scared the shit out of me which made me scream, which in turn causes Miah to scream, and in a split second she clung to me like a baby monkey. I swear, she literally pounced on me and was velcroed to my torso. I had turned in that same instant and ran back to my room and she was balling with her head in my chest.

You know what happened then?...I had to pry her off me and go back down the hall to hunt it down (by myself) because SOMEONE had to shut that stupid toy up. So now, all is right with the world. Devil toy is in the trash and Miah and I have decided to take GROUP NAP. I sooooo love group nap. All the kids napping at the same time and you know already that no one is getting into anything they shouldn't be.

Anyway...my friend just texted me saying she will be here shortly so that we can get ready to go on our girl hunt and my husband told me that he is going to the Valley this weekend and he is taking all the kids. he won't be back until Sun. afternoon.

That leaves us the apartment to ourselves and plenty of time to get into trouble.

I will keep you undated on how that goes.

Was this a rite of passage?....

Did I pass? Am I evolving?

The kids have been bugging me since early this week about going to McDonald's. Apparently there was some hype about their teachers from their school being there and cooking their meals for them. Allllll week long.
"Can we go to McDonald's?"

I decided to go ahead and take them.

What was I thinking? I knew that when we got there...and believe me, it started from 5pm to 8pm and we were there at 5. I knew there was going to be tons of kids there and I was right. We got our food right away and find a place to sit.

CHAOS. UTTER CHAOS.

There were kids running allll over the place. Screaming, jumping, hitting, running, falling, crying. These kids were acting like they never had a momma. Lucky for me. None of this was happening with my children. They were complete angels. I wasn't even frustrated like I usually am when we all go someplace. It's like they were looking at all the other kids wondering what's wrong with them. We were sitting at the table eating and all we here is this *POP*.

A balloon popped and all the kids started yelling. Just like when girls are in the restroom in school and someone reaches in and turns off the light. AND...the dumb girls scream.."AAAAHHHH!" Sooo annoying.

Anyway, So Grimace and the Hamburgler show up. Little did I know that my children were not aware of these character's names. They just pointed and said "Look!" I told them the name Hamburgler and they all busted out laughing. Devyn especially thought it was funny. The kids finished their meals and wanted to go play in the playland (except Dom, he sat next to me cause he was definately too old to be scrambling around in there). Normally, I don't like for them to play in there cause I always have these horrible feelings that some irresponsible parent has been letting their little pissy ass children crawl around and streak pee down the slides. Truthfully, I'm not sure if any of the employees actually get up there with disinfectant to sanitize that area at all. Gross.

Finally we stayed there for an hour and it was time to go. I did what I usually do. I stood in front of the playland and called their names one time each. "MIAH! DEVYN!" Within seconds they were right in front of me. A little disappointed that we were leaving but gathered their shoes nontheless. All in all, it really was a good day. I didn't lose my temper once. Dom and I discussed his grades and what he has decided to do to make up a couple of zeros he has because he really wants to keep his hair.

We went home. Devyn being the sweetest kids in the world told me "Thank you for taking us to McDonald's Momma!" He always thanks me for little things. He also tells me "I love you." more times randomly in his lifetime than my husband has. He also takes things that he hears literally. He heard the words Serial killer and he scrunched up his face and said.."cereal killer, they kill cereal?" Miah being the smartalec that she is said "No silly, serial killers kill people, they just eat cereal for strength."

On another note. I decided the kids were going to start washing, drying and folding their own clothes. Dom got his together and took care of it, Miah gathered hers and completed her chores. Angel was in charge of Devyn's teachings of laundry. (remember, Devyn is 6). He called out to devyn to gather his dirty clothes and put them in the washer. done. 12 min later he called out for devyn to put them in the dryer. done. Devyn is in bed now and Angel decided to put a load of his own work clothes in the wash, then dry. He comes in the room snickering and tells me that Devyn washed 1 pair of pants, 2 underware and 1 shirt. Hey..whatever dude...Devyn washed some clothes. He's happy.

We finished watching a movie...Lars and the Real Girl. It was .......interesting. The kids got a kick out of it.

Time for bed. Friday Eve is almost over. Tomorrow ...work..then party.

Looking forward to it.

New Tactic...gone bad.

I thought I had found a new tactic for getting my husband to take care of things around the house.....at least for the day.
Here's how...
I went to the dentist yesterday. I got a couple of fillings in on the top left teeth.

(BTW-I didn't get any more "sneaky pics" of my dentist, I tried but they were highly embarrassing photos of his ceiling, cabinet, lights...even my ear. Guess I'll hold on to my day job after all).

Anyway, he shot me up with lidocane again. The other times were on the bottom back row of teeth so the injections were no biggie...this time they were so close to my nose. I was there and worried about picking up the kids on time so I texted my husband and asked if he will be able to because of my situation. He got off work early to get them. I finally got out and went home and he was there sitting on the couch. I sat next to him and showed him the many funky faces I could make with my upper lip being numb. I couldn't drink cause I couldn't pucker. I couldn't sip from a spoon for the same reason.

He thought it was pretty funny.

After a while, my upper lip started to itch because the numbness was starting to wear off. THEN..it hit me. My nose started to become irritated because it felt like I was inhaling too much air from it. I was starting to feel a little pain from the injection site. (keep in mind..I said 'little pain').

BUT...I sooooo overplayed it.

I, being the wife and mother, hardly ever get sick and when/if I do no one really takes care of me. no one brings me soup and lays with me and checks on me or covers me. So..here was my chance. I'm running with it.

Angel (my husband) decided he was going to do laundry for me and cook dinner for the kids. I mentioned that we have some hamburger helper in the pantry so he goes and gets it. I'm laying on the couch watching my shows (Medium and Bones) eating ice-cream......cause well, I told him it helps my 'pain'.

He has already started dinner and is gathering clothes for the laundry. My shows are over and I am tired. I decided to go and lay in bed. I did ask him a couple times if he needs my help. "Nope", he said. "Okaaaay".

Later he sends Devyn to ask me what I was doing. I get up to check what he needed and well...The food is undercooked (the pasta anyway). I explain that he has to bring it all to a boil THEN let it simmer...Okay....back on track.

Back to bed.

He comes back in later to tell me that...well...not to scrape the pan, just get the food on top cause it burnt.
*sigh*

Now I pictured a little burned.

This morning, I wake up. He's gone to work. I go to the kitchen and there is this pan on the stove with what looks like a full pan of food. But, it's actually a full pan of charred remains. ( I really should let him stick to cooking on the grill).

Clothes are ALLLLL over the place, living room. dining room. hall.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is what happens when you become a teensie bit coniving.

It appears my plan has backfired. My instincts told me I should have aborted this whole operation back when the food was undercooked.

Now..I am in charge of damage control.

On a brighter note...One of my best friends is coming this Friday for the weekend to see me. I've known her since our oldest kids were 3 (10 yrs). She only lives 2 hrs away so we see each other frequently.

She lost her job and is looking to move up here where I am. Unfortunately, in Sept. I will be moving down to the Valley where she is currently living. We are going to go out and Angel is going to hang with the kids. She wants to find a chick to hook up with (she's a lesbian).
I have a ton of lesbian friends. Angel was always afraid that they were going to gang up on me and convert me to lesbianism. I had to explain to him that it isn't exactly how it works. Girls like me...yes.Some even hit on me. Am I interested in girlies?...NO. I mean..I will see a pretty girl and think she's pretty or has a great body, but No, not into girls.

I prefer my Angel.

Either way, I guess I'll be out scouting for chicks for her this weekend.

I DON'T WANT TO GROW OLD!

Man!
I DON'T!

Working in a rehab/nursing home has definately shown me the many ways to grow old. So far, I haven't seen one I like. I walk around and work with elderly people all day. Some of them are great and old and crickety. Some are bitter old hags, and feisty old men, those who are just barely there and we have to go in and stretch out their limbs so they don't curl up and stay that way.
Now...see..some of, well mostly all of them are between the ages of 70 and 100 yrs old. They all wear diapers and some of them get spoon fed and some have peg tubes that go right in their stomach to feed them.
None of those is the way I want to be around that age.
If I make it to that age.
I don't want to lose my hair, my teeth, my sight,my hearing OR my mind.
My old PT boss and I would talk about how we were going to be when we were old. We decided on just being dropped off at a nudist colony. A permanent resident. We could walk around naked and just shit as we go. I don't want anyone wiping my ass for me. There's a nice pool somewhere on the premises..I'll just cruise one throught it a couple of times and I would be bathed too.
A lot of elderly don't even know how to clothe themselves.
Not a problem at 'The Colony'.
Shoot. I don't need a bra there. No underware. No diapers. NADA. All of our junk would just be hanging and swishing back and forth. We don't friggin care. Just have a buffet laid out and a couple of cot here and there. Cause I don't want to be the one who forgets where my room is. If I'm sleepy...there's a cot...gimmie a blanket and pillow.

Anyway...the reason for my rant..was cause an elderly male resident was just cursing me out today during my treatment with him. He was really in an uproar during lunchtime. Something about getting too much food on his plate and having to go to his car and get more money to have to pay for it all.
They don't pay for their food there. I mean, insurance pays it but not at their tableside.
He was confused about all of that and he thought he could just stand up from his wheelchair and walk. Not happenin. He could barely lift himself out of the seat.
I was just trying to get him to propel his wheelchair back to his room because he didn't want to do anything else. The whole way down the hall he was telling me to get away from him and swatting at me. Anyone he came into contact with was getting verbally attacked. I finally got him to his destination.
Tomorrow, he may have a different attitude. Either way, I'm definately going to treat him BEFORE lunch.



I still don't want to grow old.
To me...there's no way to do it gracefully.

The Tortoise and The Hare...

At least that is exactly what came to mind AND played out when my husband told me that his sister was coming into town to visit last night.
My house was a mess. Who'd think that with a whole family being out of the house the majority of the day that it would get messy? Keep in mind...I said "messy" not "dirty". There is a difference.
I just have random paper and clothing scattered everywhere. There aren't any dirty dishes under beds or in closets or anything like that. All of our dishes stay in the dining room and the kitchen..with the exception of an occasional glass of tea, water, or sprite here near my computer.

I was in total lack of control yesterday. I'm under a lot of stress from work because my boss (he hates when I call him my boss because he is at least 10 yrs younger than I am) has taken 3 weeks off to go and get married. This leaves me to handle all the patients in our Physical Therapy caseload. This is about 18 patients with varying treatment times ranging from 35 min. to 75 min. In our whole rehab department there is Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy and a Speech. No one from OT or Speech could come and help me with my patients because we address different 'areas' of the patient. I have been hustling the past couple of days to get my patients treated. I have 3 more weeks of this.

Now, when I clock out at the end of the day, I'm exhausted from pulling patients to help them stand, holding them up to keep them from falling, transfering them from their wheelchairs.. to their beds.. to mats..etc.
The last thing I wanted to have to do was come home and clean and go grocery shopping.

That's exactly what I did.
I got home and cleaned and scrubbed and vacuumed and dusted.

I knew my husband had a dr's appointment that morning and I figured he was going back to work. So I called him to see how it went at the Doctors and see if he made it to work on time.and guess what...he didn't go to work. Guess where he was.....

(yeah, I know you know)

Fishing.

He had just gotten there. He said he finished everything at the dr's at around 1 pm. He came home and "picked up" and went fishing.

"oh cool", I thought. I pictured walking in the house and everything was in it's place and the clothes (that should have been folded and put away) were actually folded and put away, the floor being vacuumed and at least the restroom wiped down.

Nope.

I walked into exactly the same scene that I left from this morning MINUS a few papers here and there and the dining room table being a little bit more visible. The kitchen could have used a good once over too.

About an hour later, he comes in and just looks at me cause I had already gotten into work mode. I had come across this AOL music and found a station and turned it up loud on my computer and just started going. Like I mentioned before, I haven't been taking my meds. I still haven't take them and I've been off for about a month now. So here I am, moving in "fast mode" but because I can't really focus..I am pecking at things here and there.

Let's see...started collecting all the dirty clothes, then got sidetracked when I went to get a basket to put them in by wondering what was on the other stations to listen to so I'm going back and forth between the computer, the clothes, wiping the dining room table while sorting things in my bedroom because I was wondering what happened to that activesync cd that came with my phone so I can link my phone to my computer while vacuuming the living room, dining room, bedroom and hall, which led me to wonder if I have any more scented candles and if I should go to walmart while I'm cleaning my bathroom sink.

Now remember....Angel is still here. But all I remember is flashes of him here and there. I did spot him sitting on the couch watching that stupid fishing channel. I did make a remark about him helping me. I think he said he put the dishes away. But I didn't see him washing any.
I also had to go to HEB to get groceries (twice) so he can BBQ. I say "twice" because it's true. I had to go back a second time because my dumb ass didn't make a list of the items we needed. My instincts told me to make a list. I know cause I heard it. BUT...the 'dumb ass' side of me ALWAYS wins. I never listen to my instincts. So, there I was...walking around wondering OUT LOUD......"what else was there?...let's see...meat, charcoal, foil....um....is that it? ....what else? what else?"....
Hence..the second trip.
F.Y.I. - if you were wondering where all the elderly people in the world were yesterday....they were at my HEB. Every one of 'em.



Anyway, my sister in law came over, stayed for about 3 hrs last night and left.


Today, my house is clean.
Angel took the kids to the beach so I can be alone for while (and he took his damn time about it). Talkin about .."Hey, lets watch a movie" and "Oh, I gotta burn a CD before I go."

Dude, just go already.

Now I'm by myself.

Think I'll take a shower and go for a drive.

Mood Swings...yup....

That's what I'm having. Maybe I should be diagnosed as Bipolar. Last week..I was pretty down. This week...super happy. Not exactly knowing why. I was driving home thinking about how difficult my day could have gone at work without the help of our rehab tech, Elvira. I was the only staff member for the PT department there today and I had to treat a ton of patients....anywayyyyy...

I was driving home and I was thinking about my dentist (I don't even know why) and I instantly thought of the movie 'Flash Gordon'.

That's him in the pic.

Now...to me, my dentist looks like the man who played Flash gordon. Either that...or Mr. Incredible. He has super shiny teeth and when he talks...I can't draw my eyes away from his teeth.

They do that on purpose you know. Shiny up their teeth.

Also...they love to ask you questions with your mouth WIDE open and watch you wiggle your tongue around trying to make words.

I asked him why "they" do that. Hes says he doesn't even think about it....

yeah right.

Also, one time, was injecting me with lidocain and he made a comment .."this must be the highlight of your day."

I told him, "What? Having some strange man's finger in my mouth?"

He obviously didn't know what I was thinking till then.

So anyway, I took a pic of him. Keep in mind...this is a "sneaky" pic. I couldn't even see if he was even in view cause my phone was at my side and I was trying to take it inconspicuously.

What do you think?

Might need to continue my meds...

I really shouldn't be allowed out of the house alone. At least, not without taking my meds.

Yesterday after work I went to HEB to get a few groceries before I picked up the kids from school. I was, again, listening to my music and getting tomatoes. I got my tomatoes and was still looking at the other tomatoes and their prices thinking...'ohhh, look at those, that's a pretty good price' and then I started looking at the other stuff from a distance...avocados, lettuce, cucumbers. All the while, I'm walking back to my cart.
at least I thought it was my cart. I grab ahold of the handle and start pushing. Then I realized it...
It's not my cart. It's the guys who works there and stocks the produce. It's not even a cart at all. more like a couple of shelves on wheels. He saw me pushing his "cart" and he came rushing over to me. After a few seconds of pushing, I noticed that the handle was different. I looked down and saw...well...exactly how dumb I looked.
The dude came over and started laughing at me.....out loud.
I said in my most innocent voice "oops, hee hee, that's not my cart, hee hee".

It's a good thing my kids weren't there. They would have made a big deal out of it.
There would have been more than 6 people to see me quietly trying to run off with a produce cart, the numbers would have increased drastically.

So, I guess I'm pulling my meds out of my drawer ...again.

Focus. Focus. Focus.

Old Blog...New Place

I wrote this blog a while back on Myspace. The majority of the "friends" on my list (cause I only have 43) are actually family members. I placed their comments too. The first comment is my husband's cousin Cyndi, the second response is mine, and the third is my husband's sister (my sister in law).

This one has always been my favorate blog cause I was really pissy about the situation. So I thought I'd share it.

Okay...for all of you who are my family, you know I love my husband and you know exactly how he is. But what you don't know...
At night, when it's time to go to bed. There is a battle going on all the time. Not between me and him exactly cause he is usually knocked out as soon as his head hits the pillow but between me and those talons he calls toe nails. I have asked him numerous times to trim those bad boys and I have even threatened to bind his feet like those little old oriental ladies. But noooo, his lazy ass won't tame them. He claims he can't find any clippers. What he fails to realize is that those claws are beyond clippers. He now needs some hedge trimmers. I even asked him to put on some socks but since he radiates heat he would be too uncomfortable....god forbid.
Everytime I get into bed, I lay there anticipating any movement from him. I keep picturing that scene from Child's Play or Pet Cemetary (I can't remember which) where that man gets his achilles tendons sliced by that scary ass friggin doll and he can't walk. Or I imagine myself waking with a club foot.
At the moment, this is my biggest problem. Once this is taken care of...I can go back to the usual battles of being elbowed in the head or kneed in the back...ground and pound. I may come out with a few bumps and bruises but at least then I have a chance.

First Response:
lol. too funny. trim 'em for him when he's passed out!

Second Response:
Are you kidding me! It's bad enough when he trims them himself they fly all over the carpet and become land mines. I just don't think I have enough protective equipment to be doing that kind of labor. Goggles....Bomb suit.....naw, I'll pass.

Third Response:
Okay girl, FIRST OF ALL, you've got some balls to get on this myspace deal and even TALK about nasty crustations lurking in your sheets!!! LMAO I would tell you to get his ass to Progresso so that they can give him a pedicure (cause God knows that they have to see, touch and deal with worse feet) but I can't even get Steve to sit down with his nasty claws. I don't see why they act like they've got shame and they don't want other people to put the saw and file to their toes when we have to look at their nasty feet EVERY DAY! I say we get em' nice and drunk and get them BOTH to do it together. Monkey see, monkey do. Besides, with all this nonsense talk about the unmentional club of theirs, we should comment to them that THEY CAN'T CATCH FUCKING SHARKS WHEN THE FISH WONT EVEN COME NEAR THEIR FEET!!!! PEACE!

NOOOO...NOT MY MIAH!!!

The day has come people.
I seriously had my doubts but in the back of my mind, I knew this day would come.
I learned today...that....(it pains me to say this)...

Miah has been hiding homework from me.

I never thought she'd do that. After all she has seen her older brother going through when he does.
I guess she thinks 'well, he's still alive'...and then was still willing to take the risk.
She's still at latchkey, she thinks she's going to play outside today.

Now, I know I can't give all the blame to her cause I should have been checking ALL of their homework and making them read instead of relying on them to do it all of the time.

But still...my poor, innocent, sweet, goodhearted, little girl...has crossed over to the dark side.

Devyn is left.

I must try my best not to let him be converted too.

I'm such a dork...

I made a fool of myself in two different ways at the same time.

Here's what happened..

I got out of work and drove to Hollywood Video, cause you know it's Tuesday and I gotta have my new movies on 'new movie tuesday'.
Anyway, I always take my phone and listen to my music on it through earphones. Today..I had it really loud and I didn't even realize it. I'm walking through the store and Everlong comes on. I was jammin and scanning the shelves and walking sideways (accidentally in front of people) and I didnt realize that more and more people were gathering behind me. *sigh*...I also didn't realize that I was singing out loud and dancing. It also may have looked like I was performing in front of a small audience in the back of the store...at least to newcomers who enter the store.
I can't sing and I definately can't dance. I just kind of "bob around".
By the time I turned around and noticed all the people...I know I must have really traumatized them.

I was first in line at the register.

I think they did that on purpose.

What tha f...

I got up early this morning and took my truck to the dealer cause the Maintainance light was on. I had already had the oil changed so they showed me how to reset it. Then I went and got the kids some sandals to go to the river cause that was our plan for the day.
It was a beautiful day. Sunny but a little breezy to keep it nice and cool. Unfortunately, as we were packing up, we realized that someone stole my lawnchair out of the back of Angel's truck. Dang. I loved that chair.

We get there and the kids are having a good time. I fished and helped cook. We enjoyed ourselves and for the first time I wasn't trying to escape. I told Angel that this was better than the beach cause...well..no sand to irritate me.

We stayed about 7 hrs. I caught a ton of fish and gave them to the family that was next to me. They weren't catching much. Thanks to the quick thinking of my husband who watches that BORING fishing channel, he knew exactly what bait would catch these freshwater fish. On the downside...the bait was something called cheese bait and was in a container with a lid. It was the nastiest, foulest smelling crap and if you got it on your fingers...you'd swear that you just wiped your ass without toilet paper.
Yeah, I know, ....ewwww.
But it worked. The fish were flocking to me...if fish flock.

We packed up, came home, fed the kids, I ate more cake and then I crashed. This is around 9:30.
I'm awake right now cause of the stupidest dream I just had.
I'm at a grocery store and guess who is in there...Justin Timberlake. Yep, that's right. I don't rush him or anything cause that's not my style. I do say "hi" and I walk on ...shopping...oblivious. Then I come to a part of the store that has a swimming pool. (don't ask.) Looking in the pool is explosives. C4.
I hear someone say..."be careful, he could get upset and blow us all up...and we're right next to the knives".
again...shopping...oblivious.
Then I come across him again. And I notice it. He's holding up the grocery store with a pitchfork. (remember...this is a dream)
Then I think.
I ask him if I can go to the restroom. He's like.."yeah, whatever".
Lucky for me the restrooms are right around the corner by the entrance/exit.
I get there and with cat-like reflexes...I book. I mean...I'M GONE. I run to the police to tell them what is going on and they all rush to the store. For some stupid reason, I'm out there standing with them as if to say..."Yeah, I told on you". Then I see what looks like those dumb little round 4th of July smoke bombs(all they do is blow colored smoke) fly out of one of the window and land next to a cop car...near me.
Again.....I'M GONE.
I start running away from the scene. Jumping over fences, cutting across lawns...just like Ferris Bueller. I look back for a sec and I see this other girl running perpindicular to me.

Wonder what she's running from?!

Anyway. I'm up for awhile. I do believe there is an episode of Smallville I've been meaning to watch...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DOMINIQUE!

Yesterday was my son's 13th birthday. For some reason, it seems like he matured overnight. He is actually taking the time to think about his response before he actually responds. I hope this keeps up.

Here's what we did:

I picked up the kids from school and we went grocery shopping. I told him he could pick out whatever he wanted to eat and a cake. He decided he wanted to make homemade pizza (we do that occasionally) and this is the cake he picked. It is actually delicious. Strawberries, kiwi, pineapple and grapes on top. My husband bought his gift..a Zen stone mp3 player. (which I didn't know is what he wanted) so Dom and I sat in front of the computer and downloaded songs onto it. It has a mini built-in speaker so we can hear the music too. He is happy. Even though we didn't take him someplace expensive, he said he really enjoyed his day.

As for me....My husband sent me a text earlier saying that he was still going to get me a gift for our anniversary. He got me a pair of sunglasses, a small potted plant and a choker. (I loooove chokers).

I guess I will have to continue to get used to all my gifts being late. In my case...it's the after-thought that counts. He pointed out that he forgets to take his daily meds (he's had Rheumatoid Arthritis since he was 23 and now he takes as much meds as an elderly person) so if I can't get mad at him for forgetting his meds... I can't get mad at him for forgetting certain days of the year.

Today we are taking the kids to a park area where they can ride their ripstick, skateboards, bikes..etc.

Devyn is my athelete. He can throw anything, catch anything and is just always running.

Miah is the Diva, wants to sit and brush her hair, skips around in her skirts and has a crapload of lipgloss (more than I have).

Dominique is the brain. Always figuring things out and finishing games before anyone has a chance to play them on his xbox. He corrects me on some of the things I say or do (which can be really annoying sometimes).

Either way. I am in a better mood. I will be sad again come Mother's Day but that is my routine. I always let my husband off the hook when he shows up the next day with gifts.