Tuesday's Troublesome Trials

(That's not food)

At the suggestion of my publicist-I add to clarify-
This was not the result of cloth diaper failure. This was a disposible diaper failure. I needed to do laundry and we'd been using alot of diapers with this stomach bug.. So.. HAD I been using cloth, this catastrophie could have been avoided.
Cept for the catastrophie where he somehow pulled the velcro tabs off his pocket diaper and managed to get poop filled diaper to the foot of his one-piece footed PJ's later that night. Contained, yes. Messy- yes.
Remind me of this when I start thinking I want to get the kids a dog..

speechless Sunday

Thank you, opponents of gay marrage

For making our home TV free until the election is over.

Yes- OPPonents of it. The side I'm supposed to support.

I don't know what moron you have on your TV marketing campaign, but when a little girl goes to her mom on tv and says "mom, guess what I learned today in school- a prince can marry a prince and I can marry a princess" (my kids tuned right in- mention of school, a little girl with a book with a picture on it.. )

And it cuts to an old guy saying "think, it can't happen, well it can..."

DUH!!! MORON!! YOU, yes YOU MADE IT HAPPEN!!
YOU!!! exposed my kids to that while we were watching discovery channel. and I've heard about it every day since.

Sorry. The election is bringing out the best in me. And I'm fire breathing mad about this. I wrote to them, but they were only interested in campaign donations. So I write it here.

Don't believe me- here it is:

HOT HOT HOT

As in Africa Hot- THAT's the temperature inland got today- HOT, dry, windy and HOT.

And I forgot to check the weather and we went to the Wild animal park today.

The geography/weather here is just so different than what I'd experienced before- This AM I woke up COLD- fleece jacket cold and debated turning on the heat. So.. I'm thinking.. today's a good day to go- I'm finally only coughing up 1 lung with any exertion and the kids sound less like they have tuberculosis.

Outside was cool- get in the car and as we get there it gets warmer. I expected it to be about 10 degrees warmer than it is at home. And I expected home to be in the low 70's.

But no. Santa Anna was here today and she blows hot air freshly dried from the desert at gusts up to 60 mph. And I want to know why they'd name hot wind that sucks the life/wind out of you and promotes wild fires after a saint? Really. They should have named them Satan Aires or something more appropriate.

Diddn't I feel dumb as we get there, open the car door and feel the hair dryer on the hot pavement. Felt dumber as I was cleaning up car sick boy in 104 degree heat. I am grateful he waited until we got out of the car before launching breakfast. I had just buckled him into the front seat of the stroller and he started crying - no unusual for him to protest being restrained from darting in front of moving cars in parking lots... but then the fountain erupted.

I really look forward to the day none of the kids get carsick. ever.

And I'm thinking.. 'hey, it's October- pumpin patches, fall.. isn't it supposed to get cooler or something?!" Hmm.. they must not have gotten the memo.

Yes, he sprayed me with water as I took his picture. Charming, huh?

They got soaked on these animals with water spraying out of them- designed so that visitors don't get heatstroke, I think. The kids and their clothes dried in less than an hour. I kid you not -it was that hot and arid.

And of course, the highlight of the day was the animals you could pet- here it was deer-

Kayla went and hugged as many of them as she could-

Once the kids had pet all the awake ones, Sonia decided to sit and wait for the sleeping ones to wake up and play with her. For a kid that hates sitting still, she waited pretty patiently a pretty long time.

And JM was on my back - why he's not in the pictures chasing the deer. He was tired and being the lazy mom I am, I thought- hmm... one less kid to get really dirty and have to de-contaminate.. yeah, he can stay there. He was there a bit late in the day as we were checking out the non-stroller friendly exhibits- they had some really neat walk through bird houses we were checking out sans stroller.

would I go back?

maybe. Does H*ll freeze or at least cool off?

I smell smoke again

Have I mentioned I think a good snow storm would be FANTASTIC right about now?

At night time it's hard to SEE where the smoke is. I don't see glowing flames, so I assume we're fine.

And- I visited the trailer when we were allowed back to the area Thursday. I was impressed- after that huge fire that started right there-they did a fantastic job keeping that lot OFF fire. They had a firebreak around the storage lot and it looks like they even bulldozed it bigger at the time. everywhere else there looks like a moonscape since it's all burned out and black with white patches (I'm guessing the salt from the sea water dropped, but what do I know?)

When we saw where the fire started and heard the news reports of an explosion and saw the footage of everywhere around it, we figured the place was a gonner and the explosion one of the gas tanks going up in flames. I am ever so relieved. There was ash on and even IN it (but it's a redneck trailer- there are ventilation holes that weren't originally there when the trailer was produced)

Anyway... I don't think the air quality is helping the respiratory illness situation much. I was ignoring the coughs initially thinking it was from the air.. I was wrong. :-/

4 hours

2 Xrays and this is what we came home with:
As I suspected, pneumonia has taken up residence here.

And we're going back Monday with the last sick kids.

The trials in homeschooling

I had slacked off this week when everyone had a fever and we all felt pretty crummy in addition to the fun of the wildfires (which today I don't see or smell. I read that the Pendleton/Juliett one is 75% contained. )

So, today I realize that we really need to plow ahead and Joey is now my "easy" child- task driven- tell him this is what we do, you can play after and he does it.

Sonia...
ah, not so much. She is a candidate for Ritalin. In EVERYTHING not just school. Takes this child an hour to eat a snack because she starts playing around, 'forgetting' what she's supposed to be doing.. Same for meals, getting dressed.. and ESPECIALLY for school work. Joey's at 63 in writing to 100, Sonia's at 2. I get back to the table from wiping a rear end in the bathroom and she has her math book on her head. And she's drawn a picture of a flag.

I pour a drink and she's making spit bubbles...

Still here

The backyard's back on fire again and I am SOOOO done with this.

And I'll say this- it has brought a new appreciation for fear for Armageddon.

This sucks santa ana winds.

We're not going anywhere because:

a. traffic is a nightmare- they closed the highway and the only way we can get out of our neighborhood means crossing one of the secondary main roads people are now on and there was a wreck so no one on that road is going anywhere

b. where am I going to go? I've re-thought the need to get milk and we'll do without it for now. I needed to get some of our stuff from the trailer for the business, but that was at the first fire location.. we can't get there and I don't think there exists anymore.

c. Who needs to go anywhere? I have quite an airshow in the backyard again. (Thank you Canada for lending us those really cool yellow/red planes. )

d. it stinks outside. Burns your eyes and nose kind of stink.

6:25

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

~Jesus




It's still wildfire season and I'm ready for snow.

I should have written a book earlier in my life

When I thought I had the answers.

To anything.. life, finances, parenting...

Especially a book on parenting. Boy did I have all the answers when I wasn't a parent. I even thought I had a clue when the twins were young...

But NOW.. ah, my friends, NOW I don't have the answers. And I have noticed some popular parenting advice books are written by people with 2 kids or less, well spaced out (*cough* DobsonSpockDr Phil*cough*). The people with more than 2 kids are too busy trying to figure out where they went wrong to advise others on how to do it. (ok, yes, a sweeping generalization that I'm sure anyone reading my blog is the exception to this generalization)

Today, much like the last time I tried... I went to the comissary and failed miserably. It's a necessary evil. We need to eat and I plan my life to avoid being any where near there the 3 days after payday (which is Wednesday this week) And the kids are sick and I used the last 3 doses of tylenol and pediacare last night so it was either there or walmart and well.. the commisary prices are better and it's closer.

Back when I had 2 kids, I could put 2 in a cart (especially those cool ones with car steering wheels, etc...) and shop with few major issues. They were clean, fed, napped and happy.

Add 2 more to the mix and it takes me 2 hours to leave the house so.. while they were all clean, fed and napped when I start the leaving process, by the time we get there they're not.

Today. At 9, I say to the kids "we need to go to the store before lunch, please finish breakfast (to the one that slept in) and get dressed. At 9:15, 9:30,9:35,10:00; 10:14; 10:33; 10:55; 11:04 this is repeated wtih handing them clothes, shoes, changing diapers, washing hands and faces, sweeping what seems to be enough food crumbs to feed a large dog...

Find the hairbrush, get the girls' hair brushed and suddenly, their shoes (which I had handed them 5 mintues ago) have disappeared. The baby's lost a shoe I will often find floating in the toilet, and is filthy after climbing onto the counter and helping himself to muffins with chocolate chips in it.. and his diaper is wet.

So.. we leave the house finally, looking worse for the wear.

I have a list with 15 things I need, 3 of which are tylenol, vapor rub, and tissues. Plus soup, juice, milk, bananas and cereal.

I got as far as the tylenol isle when the screaming/fighting fit begins between the 2 carriage occupants. There are 2 steering wheels, but JM touches the one in front of Kayla which sends her into a screaching fit while Joey/Sonia whine that they want a turn in the cart, nevermind that 5 year olds are too old to be in there....

Ah.. I toss the wrong boxes into the cart and race down the isle.. get to the tissues isle and it's crowded. The screaching fits between the 2 littles have stopped, but the 2 olders insist on getting in the way of everyone by holding onto the cart at full-arm's reach away on each side of the cart- leading to angry shoppers telling us we're in the way and me telling them to move behind the cart (they stand in the front of it, get their feet run into because they stop short/I don't see them and start accusing me LOUDLY of hurting them and crying..) great.

So.. round the bend... and toss a bag of chips into the cart (not on the list, but... well.. if I was in the chocolate isle, I would have grabbed that)

And the screaching fits begin again.. JM wants to be held and push the cart, it's too big for him and he has a fit... While I'm trying to get him to stop screaming, Sonia scales the cart to get in and hurts herself, thus also crying and Kayla's crying because she doens't want to sit next to Sonia.. Joey meanwhile is standing in the middle of the isle blocking traffic and chewing on his shirt.

This is the point when the young moms with their sleeping 6 month old in perfectly matched and clean outfits in a car seat perched perfectly on the cart, give me the look- you know the one- the one that says "oh, that mother is doing something wrong- that would never happen to me"

yeah.. we'll see... my money's on you wishing you could remember the secret to perfect kids when you have a few more..

I also bet you'll have a problem with remembering their names when you go to yell at them. oh, right- you won't yell at them..

and I won't be peeing my pants from laughing so hard... (another gift of motherhood)

But I'll have a chance to get it right again before wednesday. We left without getting the milk or sandwich fixings we needed- we prematurely ended the mission before we reached the last 4 isles of the store.

Better luck next time. And next time, I'm reaching for the chocolate instead of the chips- definately my food of choice in these situations.. or any situation

A book about eating chocolate!! THAT one I still could write.

Introducing George the Sea Lion and his human side kick

The zoo was fun. (as if you had a doubt that it would be) And HUGE! We didn't see everything yet.

Towards the end of the day, we we to see the animal show and they needed a volunteer. Sonia and Kayla raised their hands.. Kayla was picked (from hundreds... or maybe a few dozen, lol)

We had no idea what she was volunteering for- but she got to give the sea lion a back rub, a hug and feed it fish and it gave her a kiss on a cheek. She was celebrity there at the park until we left- and she ate it all up. People would say, oh, isn't that Kayla? (the sea lion trainer asked her name) and she'd start telling them she saw the sea lion...etc... and the closer she got to them, the more they could smell the fish aroma on her.. lol..

Of course shortly before that we'd been in the petting corral, so they were pretty gross and smelly already, and Kayla somehow managed to sit in a patch of wet dirt, so her pants were filthy and wet.. thus why for the umpteeth outing the second half of the day picture show her in different shorts than the first half.. Every other time, I'd been putting her in her toddler brothers' change of clothes (they're the same size, if you can believe it) But that morning, my brain was awake enough to say 'pack HER a pair, too'. And JM was sticky from raisins and juice and was pasted with goat fur and dirt..
Ahh glad I listened to that voice.. we needed ALL changes of clothes yesterday..

Hurray for no fire!

The fire appears to be out from here. The sky wasn't glowing when we got up at 5:30. So, that was a good sign.

So... today we're going to the zoo. And I'll leave the suitcases at home.

Edit:
I thought it was just the firebreaks that make it go out, since the planes we saw dropping water stopped at sunset. I didn't see all the firefighters on the ground, so THANK you to them.

That's one heck of a bon fire

That's the view from our backyard

It could be an answer to prayer- I DO want to move from here, I should have prayed more specifically about the details, I guess. At least moving will be easy...

I'll post if we evacuate. They say that the fire is a mile from structues.. I'm not entirely convinced. I could see our neighborhood about 100 yards from the fire in the helecopter news footage.

One Word Answers

My friend Heather tagged me in this one word only meme - I have to answer each question with only one word. Then I pass it along to others to do the same. Here it goes!

1. Where is your cell phone? Pocket

2. Where is your significant other? Work

3. Your hair color? Brown

4. Your mother? Grandma

5. Your father? Papa

6. Your favorite thing? Fun

7. Your dream last night? nope

8. Your dream/goal? Goodness

9. The room you're in? Living

10. Your hobby? kids

11. Your fear? pain

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? unsure

13. Where were you last night? Group

14. What you're not? skinny

15. One of your wish-list items? bluetooth

16. Where you grew up? Connecticut

17. The last thing you did? coffee

18. What are you wearing? Fleece

19. Your TV? on

20. Your pet? dustbunny

21. Your computer? Laptop

22. Your mood? tired

23. Missing someone? Parents

24. Your car? Minivan

25. Something you're not wearing? Bra

26. Favorite store? Amazon

27. Your summer? moving

28. Love someone? yes

29. Your favorite color? blue

30. When is the last time you laughed? yesterday

31. Last time you cried? today

And now I get to tag someone else:
1. Jessi
2. Tamara
3. Manda

Tag- you're it :-)

What I did this weekend

by Joey

We saw the blue angels. They were cool. I also like rockets.

Price per day: $.0826

What a bargain, right?

They may not smell so great or look so great.. but they've more than earned their keep:

(the car seats, not the kids. The price per day on the kids is staggering)

yes, one of those is the same one seen here and here

I'm not telling which

Oh dear...

CVS...

And in other stuff I don't normally talk or blog about-

I went in there (the first time) because something (pull ups- well.. because... sigh..) was on sale, I had 3 coupons that expired the end of the month.. and it takes RME's debit card who was running a 'if you buy $25 of stuff with your card, they'd credit your card $5', so I had to go to CVS and not the comissary to use it.. so.. after I paid- it spits out those extra care things.

The thing with those extra care things is you HAVE to go back to spend them... so with those burning a hole in my pocket I went back again and again.. I think 5 times now- to 3 different cvs's.

I went online to check them out.. and there is this entire world dedicated to near worship of this established store.. so.. I was intrigued- free stuff? who can say no to free?

And the stars seemed to be in alignment since I found the mother of all clearance sales- 90% off. And that's of school supplies - not glucose tablets! I paid .05 for school supplies, .75 for those fake croc things for the kids to wear to the pool and .10/pack for those neat-0 things you put in the holes of above mentioned shoes. (just to name some of my finds) And once I wiped out one store, I went the .5 mile up the road to the next (there are 5 of them here... seriously. maybe 3 miles apart)

And as I have $5 worth of .05 items I plan on donating to the kids' school and sunday school class I'm wondering- was that time well spent? (that's 100 packages of pencils/erasers/notebooks/pencil sharpeners/etc!!!!!)

well... maybe... since I have to volunteer and/or donate items to their school- THAT might be time well sent if the count the regular retail price of the items donated...hm.... doing the math.. I think that'd be 1/2 my volunteer time if it's retail prices.. I may have to find another CVS to darken their doors and buy the last remaining clearance items...

All told I spend about $60 and most of it was stuff we needed (pull ups, toothpaste, toilet paper, hair detangler- I should buy stock in hair detangler) but some we didn't need and was after I got bit by the extra care bug and I got "free" makeup, for example. What am I going to do with makeup? I don't wear it normally and I just bought some that should last me the next 5 years.....or more.. could have been worse, I guess- I could have leap for the "free" blood glucose monitor

So.. today I went, used all those cursed extra care things up on the clearance school supplies and swear to not darken their door or look at those rabid websites again until we're low on pullups, toothpaste and detangler again.. (It will be a while and maybe just maybe we won't be needing those pullups by then)

You might live in Southern California if:

• the seasonal craft packet for fall has themes with leaves changing colors and it makes you laugh hysterically and cry at the same time
• 3 of your 20 closest neighbors are in foreclosure
• 18 of your 20 closest neighbors owe more on their house than it's currently worth, some by 200K
• you know this from the real estate fliers left by real estate agent/mortgage refinance agent trying to drum up work, but haven't actually met your neighbors
• it can take you 30 minutes to travel 6 miles. By car.
• Motorcycles lane sharing (riding between cars in the lane) no longer makes you swerve manically when they roar past you
• Seeing someone riding a bike in a speedo doesn't seem too weird
• The day it rained for 20 minutes was talked about all week as the highlight of the week/month/year
• Earthquakes no longer scare you
• your yard is measured in square feet and that amount is smaller than the square feet of your house
• you can shake hands with your neighbors through the windows and smell which kind of dog food is being served to the neighboring canines today.
• Any given night you can smell carne asada being cooked in your neighborhood
• You learn spanish by reading the street signs
• Wildfires happen
• You now know what a Santa Ana wind is
• year round tans don't come from tanning booths
• you actually don't TRY to get a tan- you use a floppy hat and long sleeves. The tourists can easily be picked out by their tank tops and burned shoulders.
• Winter no longer is something to be dreaded (halleluja)