Thursday, April 30, 2009

Ay que big girl!


I don't think I have to explain why this took my breath away about 10 minutes ago when we were all outside.

But just in case....
Elena just all of a sudden looked so big! She can ride the bike all by herself. Steer it. Get over humps. She looked so tall, and like a little girl--
Snap!

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Worry

This morning at five oclock I woke up.
Worrying.
Why is our insurance going from not so great (better than nothing) to crappy?
Worrying.
How bad are things that the state is taking back money from our salaries?
Worrying.
Have they already spent all the money that they are bragging about from the "education lottery" --that they paid someone money to design an advertisement for?--that commercial is a real gem.
Worrying.
What am I going to do next year when I have to pump milk three times a day?
Worrying.
Tossing.
How am I going to see all my children in four days?
Tossing.
Pondering just getting up...it was five oclock.
How much money does the head of BCBS make?--Would he give it all back but let's say 30,000 dollars of it--to help fix the state's little budget problem?
Getting anxious.
Getting up.
Reading.
.......
Then the day started, and things worked themselves out, the way they do.
I will pump milk in the file room.
It was suggested that I could save all my milk up during the day (in my breasts?) and just pump it at night....this person obviously fed her baby formula. ;).
We will work out the seeing of the children next year--when that is an issue.
Who cares about 15 dollars?

My mama bought me some new underwear at the Hanes outlet! yippie.
My daddy painted a dresser for Victor--the one that was mine growing up. the color is called summer cottage, and it is gorgeous!
We had supper cooked when I got home--thanks to my mama!
The little ceramic things my children painted were ready and sitting on my bed when i got home...yippie!

The day got better. I hope the worrier does not come back tonight.
Have y'all read that book? It is a children's book by Rosemary Wells and Felix is visited by the worrier at night...a little guy that climbs in the window.
Elena did not like that one too much. It is a cute book though. Felix and the Worrier, I think it is called.
Well, the worrier was certainly with me this morning in the wee hours.

Good night... :)

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Some Sunday Music....



Okay here is another music pick from Susan.
I always sing this to myself.
Today when it was twilight time there was the most beautiful shadow cast on the kitchen wall in our house. I tried to snap a picture and the camera battery went kaput! Que suerte, no?
Anyways...I love this song.
Tonight at twilight time my bebes were in the bathtub and we had just finished fishing at Nana's off the pier. E and V played in the river. Not even a nibble fishing.
We had also eaten turkey salad sandwiches at my parents' house made from the turkey my daddy killed the other day hunting. :) It was yummy!
He is going to take Elena and Victor out there to see them--sans rifle--one evening.
Bueno, I guess that is all folks! Enjoy the video--if it put itself up here. :)

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Hoy





We had the busiest day today!
I have been dreading it all week b/c I did not know how it was going to go down without Andy being here, and he was in Mebane working all day today.
Caroline came over at 7:40. I left to go to computer class (which turned out to be fun btw).
My daddy took Elena to T-ball--so who knows what happened there. Elena will not tell me, and my daddy is the guy who stands around and talks to the to the grandads while the kids play--he is definitely not at the fence hollering. I bet it was fine though.
When I got home at 12:00 both kids were happy and being played with--yay Caroline.
So then we played in the yard and I discovered what happened to the bird. The next was flipped upside down in the bush, and I guess the mama bird was eaten by some other animal???
The eggs were still in there though! Victor busted one of them immediately--which was cool, and the other one Elena held and held like a treasure to show to her Daddy when he got home--until if fell on the driveway and cracked. :(. She cried for a bit, but soon she discovered that the yolk on the driveways was interesting to play with. :).
So after a bit of lunch with Caroline and putting V. down for a nap, Elena and I left to go and see Willy Wonka at the theater downtown. The auditorium kind of the theater, not the cinema kind.
WOW! It is gorgeous! We enjoyed it immensely. :) Elena was just full of wonder watching a play. :)--So was I for that matter. :)--15 bucks it cost.
Then after the the play came home and played with Caroline again.
About 5:00 Andy got home!!
Thanks to Caroline and Grandaddy--we had a wonderful day.
The pictures: The first one is of Elena's "oh, no poor baby!" face.
The second one is of Elena posing in a pink rocking chair at a store front on Mainstreet. What a sweet moment! She popped into that chair and grinned so big, and then she wanted me to sit in the one beside it. :)
The third one is of the nest. Cardinal eggs are beige with brown speckles.

Friday, April 24, 2009

do what????

Okay, I have contemplated buying a maternity swimsuit.
I just know that when it is soooo hot and I am down on the little beach at the river at Pat and Ned's I am going to wish I would have....
BUT..
Ready?
I got on old n@vy and the cheap option (which is the only one I would buy) has..
Ready?
FREAKIN TIES ON THE SIDES OF THE BOTTOM!!!
Who is the hell wants little bows on the sides of their bathing suit bottom when they are nearing 200 lbs., are hot, and can barely move, and just discovered a big ole ugly purple vein residing on their hip...just a wee bit under where the little bow would hit.
Okay wonderful designers of clothes...
DONT PUT LITTLE BOWS ON WOMENS' HIPS..PUT THEM ON THE BABY'S BATHINGSUIT
WE ARE NOT BABIES....WE ARE HAVING THEM!!

So, I am going back to the old option...just sit down there in some old ass shorts and a tank top...who cares?
Andy might be the only one who would care--he would not want me to be ill b/c I am wearing ugly sh..I mean stuff. :)

bueno..y..something else..
oh, has anyone else started a repair list?
I am just thinking there are several areas that are going to need to be repaired after all this baby having.
Breasts--not so they won't be small, sino b/c i don't want them to be soooo...well, i won't write it...just thing of .. old national geographic photos..
they are just gross after you nurse babies.
Veins
I know my eyelids when I am in my 50s--but that has nothing to do with babies that I know of.
If I have money and we are not eating squirrel meat for every meal by then --I am gonna get it fixed too. yep!

okay--off to bed. tomorrow I get to go back to my school b/c I have to learn technology stuff--according to DP!
or DPAHHHHHH!!!
So four hours of my saturday will be spent learning how to use the smartboard--which i will never get one, but whatever, i get CEUs for it.
bueno---now i ramble, next i sleep.
sleep tight. :)

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

To the Dr.

We went to the Dr. here in town for the first time today.
Lest ye think that it is a little medical tent--this is a big office that treats children from all of the rural counties around--I think five of them.
Headache! :)
BUT, we had an appt. so no sweat.
We got there at 3:50 and we left at 5:30. They did both check-ups at the same time.
It was like a three-ring circus.
Both children had to have their fingers pricked and then get the blood drawn.
They both just stared in amazement....oooohhhh....I just told them how cool it looked etc.
Then they had to get weighed measured etc. & Victor HATED this part.
Elena had to pee in the cup for the first time--she was a champ! :)
Then we met the Dr.--she was fine with me.
Then I picked the shots I would let them get.
They wanted to give Elena FIVE SHOTS! I said no.
She turned FOUR and they wanted to give her the shots she needs before entering KINDERGARTEN. Mama said no thanks.
I also declined the MMR and chicken pox ones for Victor--until he is 3 or 4 I am thinking.
No one gave me any flack about it. --This was a relief. I have had looooonnnnggg talks with a couple docs about this issue, and I don't budge too much.
I pushed them out of my vagina. I have to raise them. I am the mama bear, and I think that 1 in 500,000 odds is waayyyyy better than 1 in 155 odds.
I also think that all these damn shots are a bit over the top.
Have y'all read the info sheets on the shots...they say things like "this shot is safe, but call the CDC immediately if your kid starts acting totally fuc!ed up or has a seizure or anything after they get a shot.....ughhh what are the people at the CDC gonna do to fix my damn kid???
Furthermore, why did they make an hpv vaccine for GIRLS ONLY? The guys are the ones with the dirty dipsticks!!!
Now, I don't have to worry about his yet--but I choose to anyway.
Did they even allow humans with penises to be in the clinical trials--or only little (9-12 yr old) putas were allowed?
So I left there with two prescriptions for antibiotics--they both had infected ears???apparently???--this is odd to me. I am not sure what to do. If I had not been going in for an appt. I would never have even taken them in over the ear thing. I had not signs or symptoms. Is that wierd to y'all?
Oh, and our Dr. in Durham was sooooo good. He totally humored my pickiness and would go through the history of vaccines with me anytime I took my children there.
What a dream....ahhh..b/c then I could make an informed decision.
I ditched the young business suit chica like a shitty diaper, after our first visit to our former clinic.



Okay now I need to calm down and go drink some water! Chew some ice...

:)

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

nature

mother nature is sometimes more than i can take.
we had the cutest little bird's nest out in the bush in front of our house.
we could look out the window and watch the mama bird.
awwwww.....right?
well, not really, b/c I wondered why in the hell a bird would put a nest in the wimpiest bush and so low down, but then i thought, well certainly she checked this area out first, no?
...
well, this morning when i got up to check on her --looked out the window--I would tell something was amiss.
:(.
she is gone.
there is something funny lying atop what was the mama bird.
tomorrow i will investigate and take pictures.
I wanted to give it some time in case she was just on a little break or something.
it looks like she checked out.
:(
I always get excited about stuff like this, and then get let down. remember the caterpillars anyone? i would link back but i am too lazy to figure that out right now.
mother nature is brutal.
and remember, when choosing a nest...
location, location, location!!!

it is amazing to me that we even have any birds.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

T-ball


This picture is of Elena running to second base in t-ball.
I took several pictures and they are all of the fence. The screen on the camera was hard to see in the bright sun.
T-ball is funny.
Some of the kids hustle and run....others...play in the dirt, sit down, wander to the base--E. is in the second tribe.
It is cute.
So, after several attempts to get to base Elena finally got to first (they did not even try to get her out).
The helmets are all too big and one little girl has a helmet that fits E. so I am off to Dicks online to buy an adjustable helmet.
She did not want to run the bases with the Helmet on. She kept trying to take it off.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

The beach

Our beach trip was grey and cold and rainy and...
FUN!
we had a good time.
granted, we had to spend money to have fun...we could not just veg. on the beach and eat sandwiches and relish in the wonderfulness of outdoor showers...
Let's see...
we..
*played in the ditch (free)a particularly fun ditch..there is no telling how many hours my sister and I played in this ditch when we were little. We caught tadpoles and watched them and squeeled and tried not to fall in (i am usually the one who does the falling in, and i managed not to.)
*we painted ceramic things at a ceramic painting place --a giant kitty cookie jar, and a train bank. we just let them paint however they wanted which means we will soon have a kiln fired mud-brown train bank (all the paint got mixed of course) "toma chain" and a rainbow kitty with mud brown areas--elena no longer mixes paint and is into rainbow stuff right now.
*we went to the pier and played arcade games two times--b/c andy and i liked it. :)
our kids are actually too small to really enjoy this--like the actual game part-
but they had fun running around pushing lots of buttons and lighting up stuff.
*i shopped--oh no you didn't! yep, i did.
*andy and i got to go out to eat! oh yeah! my cousin came and she kept the bebes. sweet. --she also shopped with me btw. she is a master shopper. :)
*we built sand castles in the freezing cold sea mist on the beach--free too--but freezing cold sea mist is not my idea of fun..i might as well not be at the beach. freezing cold sea mist and the beach should not even be associated with one another in my mind.

and last...drumroll please!!....
we waited for 3.0 hours for some fUck#rs and the tire place to PATCH the GD tire!!!
yes, 3 hours.
colony tire anyone?--Yes we will be putting a real tire in the back for the spare..there is a reason my daddy has always done this for me, and now we know why. :).

today i had to do the glucose thing at the dr. office--i cruised in to the appt. just in the nick of time--my mama had already called them to tell them the tire deal, and they were sweet to me about it.
anyways...the doc. explained that b/c of my history of having big babies and my "age" hmm hmm..he wanted my glucose level to be under 135. i was nervous b/c i have been having some pesismistic days..well
it was 85! hell yeah! go pancreas!

bueno, i am tired as hell. there is no telling how i am going to unwind to get to sleep...maybe a couple tums..some us we#kly...sounds fun, no?

buenas noches!

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Camelia bush


Here is a picture of my babies!
This is the most beautiful bush at my mama's house.
I love love love Camelia bushes. :)
E and V and I all had on Yellow and white gingham--which was just out of luck
E's dress was from Caroline's stash.
My blouse was from the free maternity stash.
V's outfit was from grandma!

Happy Easter!




**Andy got home last night after four days of being gone--He left on Tuesday.
This was wonderful--b/c I missed him so bad that yesterday morning I cried. This out of town work trip reinforced our idea that he should not be a travelin dad.

**The **official** story is that the Easter Bunny could not find their Easter Baskets last night and he just left the stuff out by the shed. That explains why I had to scramble this morning, go in the attic, get a basket, and go outside to get all their stuff together that my Daddy had put into my car last night. ;). I guess that means the Easter bunny is grandaddy? This makes me picture my daddy in a bunny suit--which is hilarious (esp. if you have seen my daddy).
Last night I was just too tired to go outside and even get stuff out of the car or even look for a vessel to put candy in! I told Elena--I thought I heard him hopping around out there last night leaving stuff...I just had to go and round it up.
My children are not going to have very high expectations of our imaginary gift givers.

**Now we are going to get ready to go to church. I have to go and round up the clothes...now those are not outside in the shed. ;). Andy is making pancakes (his are the best in the world). And he is making coffee for everyone --he is better at it. :)

**Now we are all sitting around pigging out on candy. It is all yummy stuff, as I have banned the cute, toy candy that is all made in China. All we have is the hershey's etc. that is made here in the US.

This afternoon we are leaving to go to the beach until Thursday! YAY!

Saturday, April 11, 2009

noticias de espanya!


pues,

maria mailed my mama a great letter.
She is coming over to drink coffee and share it with me.
Things have been going on over there across the pond.
Maria's father died. He was so sweet. When I was there he brought us a "romanito" every morning. :) (A small loaf of wheat bread)
He had a gruff deep voice y he always came in when we were eating, it seemed.
He would say, "que aprovecheis"--a good person to be a teacher of sevillana spanish! :)
David is getting married!! Felicidades. :)
bueno, y the big news!!
Maria y Isabel are going to come for a visit next April!!
How cool is this?
We have been waiting for this for a long time--we had to wait for ole GW to get out of office first. ;).
Not kidding on that one.

Today it is sooo rainy here.
We are going to clean out stuff.
I am going to clean out the baby closet (armoir) and then I am going to find Victor an old dresser that I can paint my favorite color blue.
No painting today, just planting.

In other news, one of my favorite people of all time is moving back to NC!! AND he and his wife are having a baby.
He is my herb man. :)
YAY!
Now, we can visit from time to time, at least. Maybe he and his family will stay put for a while. :).

The picture above is of a Virgen in Semana Santa. the celebration of holy week there is like stepping back in time. It was very impressive to this country methodist girl, let me just tell you. The men dress up in Nazarenyo outfits (looks like something from the 50s here that would have been covering a really racist dude--if you catch my drift), and then they all take out their virgenes y their jesuses and take them around on parade routes.....it was quite interesting.
Maria and Isabel will come during this celebration.

Bueno pues--have a good weekend!

Thursday, April 9, 2009

The pets I would have...



If I were one to venture into exotic pets there are two I would have.
I am at work right now, so I might not have time to post about both, but I will put a picture of one of them up here.
I love chameleons! One time Andy and I went to this nerd fest and we had to identify species of animals--this was in high school.
Well, one guy had a live chameleon...
Okay, now I can add more.

The chameleon was sooooo cute. The picture above is exactly the kind it was. We cannot really have one, though, b/c they are picky and they die easily in captivity, so I will let them be.
The other pet is a peach faced lovebird.
I have wanted a bird for a long time. The problem with birds as pets, according to my friend Morgan, is that they tweet.
She said she had one one time and all she wanted it to do was be quiet. We used to have Luna, and Luna would have either eaten the bird outright, or tormented it to death. Now my obstacle would be --Andy--he would hate to have a bird.
So no birds at our house. :)
I guess if you live somewhere warm you could just have bird and leave it outside on the porch or something and enjoy it when you are outside.


I'm off to a meeting! :)--I went to this meeting and it threw my whole day off. :)
Now, I am just waiting for the day to be finished! por dios! Let me go home!!!
Have a great day.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Eggs and Bunnies

We had a blast at an easter egg hunt today!
yay!
victor did not quite know what to do, but Elena caught on quickly and was picking up the eggs.
Then, up pulls a guy with bunnies!
All of the children were in heaven. :)
He set up a little chicken wire fence and we all hung out with the bunnies hopping around.
He was the husband of the lady who was my calculus teacher. :)

Thanks Ms. Gayle and Bethany!

Now, Bethany, my bloggy buddy is on her way to my house to drink some tea.
Oh, how I wish we could split a bottle of wine, and have buzzes...but alas, we cannot.
:)

I will have pictures as soon as Bethany sends them to me. --no camera.

I'm off to have some tea! :)

**Oh, and that last post really did end up making sense at all no?

One more thing, Elizabeth hassawhatever (the girl on the v!ew) always has babies at the same time as me...what is going on here?

Bueno, bye

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Visitors!, naturally...to clarify (edit)

Shannon, Joel, and Carter just pulled out of the driveway!
WE had the best weekend visiting with them.
WE got to go rambling around Washington.
Andy and Joel got to take three children under five to the golf course--and they had a blast (this, was lucky of course--they knew it was a gamble when they left).
Shopped downtown a bit.
Ate Bill's hot dogs.
Watched basketball.
We played outside.
Shannon got "sugied"
You should have seen her eyes when Sugie was finished...
Our out--given by Shannon, of course, --Uhhh...Susan, "Do you want me to go and check those potatoes?"
Followed by, "Um..I think I really need to check them Shannon, and All the kids need to go in and get washed up so we can eat."
It was not just me....
Shannon and Joel have all the pictures of the weekends on their...hmm hmm...I phones! HA.
And on to the "natural" part. Our visitors this weekend were natural, what does this mean, you might ask yourself.
Well, apparently "natural" can mean anything you want it to. Some other folks we know has some babies this weekend. They reported that the twins were born "naturally".
For example, when people say, "the twins were born naturally" Do they mean:
1. the twins were born, naturally (as in they can't stay in there forever)
2. the twins were born naturally (as in they came out of a vagina?)
3. the twins were born naturally, (as in there were not meds involved)
My question:
Who the hell cares that someone add an adverb, especially one that means nothing..
Couldn't you just say, "the twins were born"
Hell a c-section is even "natural" if you want it to be--I mean unless it is performed by aliens, I guess...
Is the word "natural" on food labels even fooling anyone anymore?
Who the hell cares.
Sh*t is natural, but I don't want to eat any.
Cocain3 is natural...but I don't want any...
the list goes on.
So rock on with your "natural" childbirthing of twins...it means nothing.
I am glad they are HEALTHY
and the mom is doing well..
Isn't it wonderful to have Natural friends? What does this say about Shannon and JOel? Well, it can mean anything you decide for it to. How about that?--just like with the birthing thing.
I think I have had too much coffee...

**I realized,when I read this again, that unless you know me well, and could almost hear me talking this, that this post was a bit whacky and disjointed, and might not make sense. The twins thing was a completely separate thing than the friends coming to visit. get it?

Friday, April 3, 2009

beam me up, scotty

OK...I have no idea where this saying comes from, but I know it means--please get me the hell out of here quickly.
ZAP!
This afternoon I was enjoying some sunshine, playing with my children in the yard--with and without Andy just going in and out of the house.
E. was riding her bike with our neighbor, Tristen.
Victor was pushing the stoller around.
Peace.
Then I heard it...
"Heeyyyyyy Susan!"
It was the neighbor, Sugie (like sugar without ar, and with ie), I have no idea how to spell this.
Oh, shit, I thought to myself, there goes my peace.
Sugie is sick, she has hepatitis, she is always ailing she takes all kinds of pills, they never have any money...the list goes on.
Tristen was born when she was old...so she does not play with Tristen, we do--WHICH IS FINE. :)
BUT--I have no desire to "play" with Sugie.
Is this mean, maybe.
BUT picture this scenario, that I know you have all experienced.
The endless fuc--da--(not gonna cuss) conversation with a person who is oblivious to the conversation partner, rhythm, length.
She tells stories, with whole other stories embedded into endless sentences...that have no point.
EVery time I am talked at by Sugie, I feel like someone is choking me.
How long did the torture last this time? about 45 minutes.
I just knew Andy was going to rescue me,you know the ole,"susan come here I need you!"
But no...she just kept talking ...the pins in her ankles, last dec. 24th --new year's eve..her brother killing himself...her uncle killing himself...her SEX LIFE!! yep, she even went THERE!
Finally, "ring, ring, ring" -I ran my big old tail over to the table to get the phone, all the while hollering, "okay sugie, it was good to talk to ya, I've gotta get this phone!!"
I never even looked back.
While I was fixing supper I thought of the perfect thing to say from now on, "I've got water boiling on the stove Sugie, Ihave to go in now."
I will, hopefully, never get sugied on a Friday afternoon again..
Whew.

I have also already vented this to 1. my mama (who wason the phone) 2. to Andy 3. Shannon, you are next! :)

Moo Moos and other stuff

I am sporting the Friday moo moo today, y'all and it is hilarious!
It is so ugly, and it has a pancake syrup stain on the belly--
I have worn it every Friday for three weeks...embarrassing, almost--but it takes ALOT to embarrass me.
:)
I think my smile detracts from the pancake syrup stain. :)
Update on A: She is headed back to Nayarit Mexico with her one year old-citizen of the US--baby.
Nope--no sympathy for the sweet mama.
:(
Yuck. People suck sometimes.

Apparently I am really good at changing sheets!
This morning I was talking to Andy about where our company should sleep this weekend and we decided to change all the sheets incase they would rather have our bed.
Guess who is "better at changing sheets".
ME! :)
Andy and I always use this one.. for example, he is "better" at taking out the trash.
Sort of cute, you get to flatter someone about their clean up skills and get out of doing a chore at the same time.
I did go into how it is hard to move around the giant bunk bed monstrosity when I can barely move....soo...Andy might have them changed when I get home. :)
My fingers are crossed...The only part he does not know how to do is the corners on the flat sheet...and I am so big, I don't care. :)

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

picture this...

Another story about a friend:
Sandra's brother (I used to work with Sandra, and pass countless hours hiding out in her office talking about everything under the sun), C, is married to a woman, A who came into the US illegally, in whatever year--it has been eight years or so.
When she came here she worked in a factory and met Cesar. They got married.
They now have two children. E and V played with her daughter, Chayito, since they were babies at Abue's house, so I saw A every day for a while (she is shy, so she never talked to me a lot)
A. just had a baby not even a year ago. C & A have a nice house, cars, jobs, kids, school, family etc.
A. submitted her petition to get papers--greencard, visa--whatever would make her status here legal, a while ago, and her appt. has come up...
TOMORROW!
So, she might get to just come back home, or she might have to go back to where she is from in Mexico (where the main crop is poppies)--hmm hmm for as long as someone decides she should.
Where will her kids stay...hmmm???...her husband is a US citizen and so are her children.
What will she do there?

The consulate (office where one solicits legal paperwork that has to do with residence in countries etc) is in Juarez. Anyone heard about Juarez in the news lately? It's a dangerous place.

Bueno, Can you picture that? Harrowing no? Now pray, or send her some positive vibes or whatever it is that you do ...b/c I just think this is an unthinkable situation.

Melissa: My mama read that after 72 years, Guiding L!ght has been cancelled.
I would feel sad and sentimental, but when they made R3va pregnant in the storyline last summer, i just got so disgusted with that (un)creative decision, that i really don't care if it is cancelled. that was an idiotic decision. she is bound to be 62 and in real human years that is like 82...even cloning reva was more acceptable than that! :)

Spot on!

Spot is our family's chihuahua.  He is what we call, "an evil dictator/stuffed animal come to life".  Sometimes, after he has ...