Holidays

I am an addict when it comes to my morning rituals. I get up, let the dogs out, make coffee, go empty my bladder, grab a cup of coffee, let the dogs back in, sit down at my laptop, sip my coffee and go through a various selection of websites that include forums, Facebook and news. One of my first sites I go to is our regional newspaper to check out the obituary's. I heard you start doing that more often the older you get, so I guess I must be old because it's a daily thing for me.
I'm always saddened when I see anyone under the age of 18, especially babies. What a devastating loss to that family. Then, as the holidays approach, I am saddened by all of them. Even those 102 year old great-great grandmas that have had such a wonderful full life being a wife, mom, aunt, sister, grandma, great grandma... to lose anyone so close to the holidays is so heartbreaking. I can't imagine how these people must feel at their dinner table on Thanksgiving or Christmas knowing that in the days after they have to say goodbye to a loved one.
Whats funny about my thinking is that I should be able to imagine it. Sometime around Thanksgiving in 1980 my mom went into the hospital because of a heart attack. Just days before my birthday, which is December 11th, we lost her. Maybe this is why the obits bother me this time of year, I don't know, but I don't remember this time of year that year. I remember Christmases before she died, but I can't remember the one right after. I know we celebrated it because I've been told, but the memory has been wiped from my mind. Protection maybe? Maybe it was a sad and miserable time for my older brothers and sister and my dad, I would assume so, but I don't remember. I was 8 years old that year and I know many people who have crystal clear memories of that time in their life, but I have what I like to call a patchwork memory. Just bits and peices.
My moms parents were both passed many years ago. Her father when she was a toddler I believe and her mother when she was 16. My dad's dad died in the 60s and his mother a year after my mom died. I was telling him yesterday that one thing I miss having, which we never had, was going to a grandparents house for the holidays (grandma was in a nursing home and we did visit her, but we didn't have a "family dinner" or anything). We didn't even go to aunts or uncles... its always just been our immediate family. I envy you readers who have a grandparent to go visit tomorrow - or on Christmas - even if you are visiting in a nursing home or some other similar place. My girls have it and I hope someday they realize how special it really is. My husband even had his grandparents, both sets, up until 2 years ago when he lost both grandpas. I have "adopted" his paternal grandma as the grandma I never had. She is the picture of the perfect little white haired grandma who cooks & cleans and lives for her kids & grandkids. Luckily I get that "grandma" experience through my husband and I remind him quite often how lucky he really is.
So the moral of my rambling - if you are one of those lucky ones to go visit a grandparent during the holidays or even both of your parents... no matter how messed up your family dynamics are, remember how blessed you really are to still have them. Thats what the holidays are about afterall.

Halloween, football and why I'll never be president

Halloween went better than I expected. Our high school football team was at the semi-finals out of town last night so everyone figured that, no pun intended, that this town would be a ghost town. We had quite a few kids, it was fun. A friend of ours who I used to work with pulled up in his hearse for his yearly drive through town dressed up as the Grim Reaper. Gotta love him.

Our team got their ass kicked. We usually have these obnoxious scores of 64-0 or something stupid like that and they sulked away with a 30-0 loss. To quote this mornings news:

“They just seem to go to the state tournament every year,” said New London-Spicer fullback Taylor Dammermann of the Huskies, who have been to state 18 times since 1974.

See? I love my high school and all that, but these constant trips to the prep bowls gets old.....

And I decided this morning that I will never run for president of the United States. Sorry to disappoint you all, but I'd be screwed. I've spent the last few weeks listening to all of these people (ok I'm not just talking about the presidential candidates here) apologizing for things that they said that somehow or another were taken out of context. Or not apologizing, whatever. Like McCain and his "that one" comment. I honestly didn't even catch any offensiveness when I heard him say it and I still think it's the stupidest thing to make headlines and end up on t-shirts all over the country. I'd say something stupid the first day of my campaign, I know I would. I say stupid things at least 10 times a day. Sometimes just to the dogs or the cats and I'm sure they are offended, but luckily they can't tell me they are and thankfully, if I ever did run for a position, they can't dial the phone and tell people the stupid things I've said.
With the end in sight I hope everyone has made up their minds by Tuesday. I don't know how they can - there is so much mudslinging going on that both of the candidates look like complete assholes. I'm just voting for who the majority of my family is voting for. At least they told me good things about the dude.
And then... we have these states who have this electronic voting machines problem. Votes being switched, votes not being counted. WTF? I head some guy say on some news station last night that we can stick a card in an ATM and get cash and our bank knows exactly how much we took out, we can buy a lottery ticket and not have that messed up but the government can't figure out a voting machine? I think it's time to go back to the old fashioned "check here if you wish to vote for this person". Lets hope it's not another year of a 6 year wait to see who will win.

I'm sure it will be a close race, so I could see it happening.

And today the husband is headed out to sight in the gun he's using next weekend for deer hunting. And do a bunch of other stuff, too I guess. He'll be gone for 10 days.... that's gonna be strange. Well, less than that if they get their limit of deer. That'd be sweet. I want a freezer full of venison hamburger when this is all said and done! Num Yummy.

Earth Day

What did you do earthy today?

A rose on a Wednesday. Just a normal, everyday Wednesday

If anybody remembers this post, they will remember how I feel about a husband buying roses on Valentine's Day. I haven't changed my feelings on the matter.

Holidays such as Valentine's Day were put on the calendar for those who don't think, to think.

My daughter, Demon #1, is not one of those people. She's not the smartest person when it comes to common sense (thats another post), but she makes it up in many other ways.

Last night at her church confirmation class, someone was either going to throw away a couple roses or something, I didn't get the whole story, but Demon #1 spoke up and said that she wanted one.

What did she do with the rose? She gave it to her favorite mother, of course!

This helps me explain the basics of romance, gift giving and thoughtfulness. Anyone can buy flowers, candy and a card on Valentine's Day, Mother's Day or someone's birthday. It's expected. Do it when it isn't expected... trust me, it will mean more than any Mother's Day card given on that Sunday morning. Give Mom an "I love you" card for absolutely no reason other than you love her... you'll send her to tears, I promise.

The husband stopped his semi truck on the side of a road one day, jumped out (cut the side of his leg wide open) and ran into a field because he saw a bunch of wildflowers he knew my heart would melt over. They were wilted by the time he got home and thankfully the blood clotted in his leg, but just the thought that he did what he did on some odd summer day meant the world to me.

When you see something at a store or on the side of the road that make you think "Gosh, she would really get a kick out of this" or "she would just love that" or "her favorite color is pink, next Mother's Day I'll have to remember to get pink roses"... do it then, right that second. Don't wait. Do it.

Or be the first to speak up and say "I want it", only to go home and hand the rose to your mom. It's priceless. It's worth more than any dozen roses someone could buy me at a flower shop.

Easter egg coloring

Sisterly love?

Demon #1, being a camera ham as usual

Demon #2 waiting for her egg to change color. We have NEVER been able to get a yellow easter egg.

a row of colors.. the green dye is in the blue cup, the blue dye is in the green cup. Really messed us up.

Demon #2 painting glitter on an egg... no matter how hard you try, you can't make it look like the package! I finally went and grabbed some glitter nail polish.

the end result...

28 days, being alone and a lot of money

Day #28 today and $168 saved. Remember, thats a low number though... I put down $4/pack on the website, but we really pay close to $5. And double that for the husbands quitting. I'm pretty much down to 1 pill a day, too, but not by choice. I just keep forgetting to take the other fricken pill.

Yesterday was Valentine's Day. My husband left me. Ok, ok, not really... well, yes he did. He left me at 5am for snow covered snowmobile trails and a bunch of guys who all they do is sit around and talk BS and snowmobiles all day. It sorta rather sucked without him yesterday...

I'm not a huge fan of Valentine's Day - or any commercialized holiday really. Yeah ok, I go overboard on Christmas, but the rest? Bah humbug. A few years back... probably 8 or 9 years ago the husband walked in the door the afternoon of Valentine's Day with a huge vase filled with one dozen roses and a balloon that said "I love you" attached to it. I was in shock! MY husband did this? Talk about falling in love all over again!

In our house we have one checkbook and it stays with me. He hates writing checks and when he became a truck driver I was forced to be responsible for the bills, so it's just kinda turned into me handling it. Which works for us... and hey! no fighting about money! It's great. #1 reason for divorce in America is financial fighting - won't happen here! Anyway, I have the checkbook, but he has one of those handy dandy plastic cards that works as a check, so when he uses it he has to give me the reciept so I can deduct it out of the checkbook. He used the check-card for the roses, so he handed me the reciept. I took one look at it and said; "If you EVER buy me roses on Valentine's Day again, I'm leaving you".

And I mean it. Some guys will say women don't mean it when they say it, but I do. $85.00 for a dozen roses, a vase and a stupid balloon. That should be illegal. $85.00!! If he would have waited a week they would have been $40. It's stupid and as far as I'm concerned - not very original. If most men think women don't mean it... think about this. Women expect it. Valentine's and roses go together. We don't think men can think past what they know... it's an easy-out. Throw money out, bring home roses. Done.

Let me put it this way - I have all 3 notes that my husband has ever written me. I cherish them like I cherish my children. How many of those 12 roses do I have? None. Figure it out.

Anyway. How about a picture of my puppies just to lighten the mood?

Today we are off to the orthodontist and then the dentist. Demon #1 has braces and she doesn't have enough room in her mouth for all the teeth she has, so today the ortho is going to remove her brackets so the dentist can pull 2 of her teeth... then Monday we go back and have 2 more pulled. She's going to be a hurting unit after all this is said and done!

Speaking of money... do we really want to go here when talking about braces? Ugh. And, of course, our dental insurance is good, but it ain't that good! $4600 for braces... that should be illegal too! And I know that Taryn is going to remember that amount until the day she dies because she is always reminded of the cost. Now granted, she might have ended up with braces anyway, but a lot of it is her own fault. She had no idea what the outcome would be, but when she was little and her baby teeth were loosening up, she wouldn't tell us. She didn't want us to pull them out. So by the time we realized they were loose, they were hanging by a thread and the adult tooth had already come in... and not in the right place. She did this time and time again and it drove us nuts. Snaggletooth we called her, because... she was!

So I'm long winded today, ain't I? If you are still reading... whats wrong with you? I'm not that exciting! LOL

Anyway... have a great day and remember to smile at a stranger for no reason. They'll smile back - I promise!

Make sure you read the instructions!

Here is the box I was talking about.....

Christmas is over

Christmas came and went without any problems... thats all a mom can ask for, right?

The husband & I were awake long before the girls woke up even after Demon #2 announced to us the night before that we were going to open presents when SHE woke up, no matter what time it was - even 3am. The demons finally rolled out of bed at 7am.

Man they are growing up.

After realizing how overboard I went on gifts this year from the cramp in my hand from holding the camcorder for over 1/2 hour, the demons were happy. #1 got her digital camera which she was convinced she wasn't getting and #2 got her Squakers McCaw parrot. By the end of the day I was regretting that purchase. That thing is annoying!

Remind me to take pictures of the box of one of the presents - the warning labels on there are hilarious! As the husband was reading them off I was laughing so hard my stomach hurt! Not good when the only thing in your stomach is coffee.

We hit the movie theater at noon yesterday, too. Went and saw National Treasure 2. Great movie - it got bad reviews from somebody but they must hate movies or something - that was a GREAT movie! But what the hell is on page 47??? Grrrrr Perfect opening for part 3, thats for sure.

At last

I suppose I need to make no excuses why this has been set on the back burner recently? It's that time of year... busy, busy, busy! It's Christmas Eve today and there's just a magic feel to the air. I love Christmas. I love the feeling of giving...

A bunch of people got the feeling of giving this year. I have a friend, one of my best friends, who has been in one bad month after another this year. Her husband had a good job, but the place was screwing him out of commissions, then they closed up. He was out of work. Her dad died and she is a bigger Daddy's Girl than I am! Her husband kept looking for work, but the problem is - he's too qualified. How messed up is that? He applied at low-end jobs such as a cashier at Home Depot - the person that was interviewing him basically laughed at him telling him he was more qualified for his job than he was! He did find a job, but a few days later the owners took off out of the country for work related stuff, but shut the doors while they were gone. So he's left waiting - and still looking for something to feed his family in the meantime. Oh yeah, did I mention they have 5 kids? They went to the food shelf, but they only give food, no necessities and a bunch of the food was either close to expiration or already expired. She got a bag of moldy sweet potatoes! Ewwww.
In the middle of all this her dryer, oven, washer & A/C broke. They live in Arizona. The A/C is sorta important. She's been washing clothes in the bathtub! For 7 people!
So a bunch of us who know her online got together - Saturday she received a gift box from one friend. Some food, toys, hygiene stuff. This week she will be getting at least $200 in Walmart gift cards, at least 3 more gift boxes filled with food, toys & needed things and a box full of frozen steaks and other meat from various people.
Funny thing about it all? They don't celebrate Christmas! They sure are this year though thanks to a bunch of friends that are sending love from all over the country!

It's amazing what the magic of Christmas can make happen!

And to all of you - Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays or whatever you would prefer me to say to you. I prefer Merry Christmas, so thats what you are getting the most of.

Threaten them and you shall get...

I decided to say hell with the outside picture idea... our Christmas cards are going to consist of the cropped picture of the husband & I and 2 pictures of the girls by the tree.

It was -10 below outside, I didn't think I'd get anyone outside so I didn't even try.

I threatened them. For every picture that they didn't smile - I would take away a Christmas present.

I should have tried that last weekend.

And this, my friends, is the true Demon Spawns showing through. I wasn't kidding when I say they are demons...

Are You There?

Yikes... it's been quite a few days since I've posted, huh? Damn holiday week anyway.

I think I'm putting my tree up today. Wish me luck. I hate putting the tree up. The demons fight over who gets to do what.

I hate Christmas.

Bah Humbug.

Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

I dug my snowman table runner & placemats out of the basement today. Got them all washed and on the table.

It's my version of a snow dance (rain dance, get it?). Maybe the snow will flock to my visions of snowmen???

... wishful thinking.

GROUP HUG! Oh wait, it's breaking rules.

Did you hear about that 13 year old that got detention for hugging her friend goodbye the other day? It wasn't even a real hug! It was a sideways hug at that. This country is going to hell or maybe we are in hell, I don't know. Detention for hugging? Give me a fricken break. Sexual harassment - where do people come up with this shit? How about these hug-police walk around the school and start handing out detention for more meaningful things...

Lets see, how about name-calling? Teasing? Pushing? Downright rudeness to your fellow classmates? Nope. They can't seem to do that and trust me, I know from personal experience. Demon #2 has shown me the light on what other kids can get away with... but don't hug anyone.

Jesus help us all.

That whole story had me in a tizzy all day yesterday. I just fumed at the thought of it. I could say so much about it, but it would all basically be the same crap. Thats what it is, crap.

And crap is what I heard last night. Demon #1 got in trouble yesterday at school. No detention or anything, but her and her friends got a good talking to...

about.....

a group hug at lunchtime!

Yes. A group hug. In our school. The school that still sings Silent Night and Hear Comes Santa Claus at the CHRISTMAS program has fallen into the no-hugging bullcrap.

Maybe they should have yelled at each other, maybe that would have been acceptable. But no hugs. Nope. Don't show friendship or caring or loving or compassion.

Ok I'm done. I have dust to terminate.

THE BRAIN DONOR

Demon #1 as a brain donor

A HALLOWEEN "DUH, MOM"

Happy Halloween everyone!

I crawl out of bed at 4:30 this morning to find Demon #2 awake. "I woke up at 2:00 and couldn't get back to sleep" Yesterday morning she was up at 4:30 and never went back to sleep. This morning I checked the living room at about 6:30 and she was out like a light again, so somewhere between 6-6:30 she fell asleep. I try to wake her up and her eyes just won't open, no matter how hard she tries or I try. She just can't get herself to wake up. I know she hasn't been sleeping well, so I ask her if she just wants to stay home and miss the Halloween party at school. We are one of the few districts left in the country that allows kids to dress up for Halloween... and we celebrate Christmas too!
She wants to stay home, regardless of the party. So I call school and tell them the truth - the waking up at 2:00, the whole works. They said I can bring her in when she wakes up - the sympathy runs pretty clear with our school secretaries, they are so sweet.
So she wakes up around 9:00 and I ask her if she wants to go to school. No. She says she has a headache.

"You'll miss the Halloween party"

"It's ok, I really don't like Halloween parties"

This is where I should have figured it out.

"Ok, but no computer."

"What? Awww Mom!"

"Nope. Thats the deal. You can stay home, but you are home sick. Do you want to go to school instead?"

"No, it's ok, I'll just stay off the computer"

This kid must really not feel good.


"Well, we'll see tonight if you can go trick or treating, but you might not get to go, ok?"

"Ok>"

No arguing on that one? Huh?

DUH MOM.

What kid are we talking about here? This is the same one that since she was 2 years old has been scared to death of Halloween. She would scream bloody murder if you even tried to go past the Halloween aisle in a store!

Then came the movie Scream.

We own the mask, but it's hidden in the basement. She will not go into a room even if the mask is laying ALONE, by itself, on a table. She won't do it.

Every year it's the same thing - she goes out begging for candy, but doesn't last long. "I'm cold", "My feet hurt". That's not it at all and I know better.

Same with today. She doesn't want to go to school because of the costumes. She's afraid that there will be a scary one... and quite possibly a Scream costume. Call me a bad mom, but I'm not forcing my kid to go somewhere that will throw her into an anxiety filled fear. I won't do it. I should have figured this all out from the minute she hadn't been sleeping the past week - she's been scared of the upcoming holiday.

Duh.

The other Demon, she loves Halloween. Tonight she's going as a brain donor. We are taking a head of cauliflower, putting it in red food coloring water and wrapping her head up with gauze with fake blood. Today at school, she's a hippie. And the cat is a cowboy - or was for a few minutes.