Big Brother

Yeah. After 7 years of daily internet surfing and nesting in certain websites I have been cut off. I knew the server installed last year would eventually F up my lifestyle. So, instead of my daily refuge at the Baby Corner or Facebook, I am forced to actually work while here in the office from 8-4. You can bet your ass I will not be working past 4 anymore. Sorry. I need a break from this place on occasion and after 16 years of dedicated work I got slammed. So I will put in my time but I will not give any more of my time.

The days of checking in on old friends, making new ones and just keeping in touch with best friends that I have never had the pleasure of meeting in person are over. Left to be done at night or on weekends. For some instant messaging helps, but it's not the same. I will miss the support I get from my online friends. It truly helps. Like when I was trying to get pregnant, after my Miscarriage, when I finally gave birth. etc. All my ups and downs for the past 7 years. I shared with my friends in cyber space. Or more recently my husband's bout with appendicitis and salmonella poisoning.

Anyway, I will continue to blog here and try and keep in touch outside of work hours but it will never be to the extent I used to be in touch.

CURSE YOU BIG BROTHER!

After Christmas Markdowns

After Christmas markdowns are the Bomb! I mean seriously, when can you get a pair of beautiful Fossil wool pants tagged at $68 for only $19 ??? Never! Well except for after Christmas that is. While at the mall a few times after Christmas I realized I should buy everything then from now on. I could easily get the kids a wonderful Gymboree and CP wardrobe at half the cost of buying when they actually need it. Hmmmmm...
I received 2 sweaters from Jim that I know cost a good bit. I saw them in the store after Christmas and almost choked when I saw the markdowns. I could have gotten 3 instead of just 2 for what he paid.

So Jim and I were discussing what to do next year.. We may switch it up with our gifts for each other and just buy a crapload of Gift cards so we can get more for our money after Christmas. We could get so much more. Now there are certain drawbacks. They may be out of the size or color that you need/want. But in that case I just figure you weren't mean to have it and move on.

So in a few months we will decide how we will approach our Christmas spending for 2009. Loads of boxes to unwrap or a pile of Gift cards? The loads of boxes is visually more enticing but economically the gift cards are a better bet.

A New Year

2009.... aahhh.. the year I can drop 1 kid from daycare. The year of my Baby's 1st birthday. The year my middle child (the stubborn one) will be potty trained. The year that I hope to stay smoke free. The year I hope to let some of the little things slide rather than get all worked up over something that really doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things. The year I plan on playing more with my kids and showing my husband a bit more often how much I love and appreciate him.
I hope 2009 turns out to meet all my hopes and dreams. I guess it's time to jump in and hope for the best . And if things don't go my way try to take it with a grain of salt and move on with out much drama. I guess time will tell. All I know is that I'm on this roller coaster enjoying the ups and thankful, in hindsight, for the downs. They help mold me into who I am and I happen to like myself.... at least most days. :)

Here's to a new year to create a beautiful life with the people I love.

Living in a Petrie Dish

I was extremely proud to say for the 1st few years of my elder 2 children's lives they were relatively germ free. Meaning - they didn't contract every little sniffle and cough that came down the pike. My son (who is 5) still to this day has never had to take an antibiotic.
Now they are in Day Care. Germ central. So they have pretty much had runny noses 80% of their lives since starting at Day Care. I know I know.. they will never get sick once they hit grade school. yeah .. I'll believe it when I see it.

We are currently dealing with the ickiest bug to hit the eastern seaboard this year. Mommy was struck first on Sunday. I wouldn't wish that on anyone I ever cared about even in a fit of rage. Next Comes Alexa. Yesterday she wakes up at 6 am in a pile of her own dinner.... lovely. The other fun stuff hits her later . Four days later Mommy is still nauseous, but is coping and doing everything she normally does. which is well.. EVERYTHING.

So yesterday we go to day care for the holiday show. Talking to the other moms it seems it has run rampant through the center. Parents and children alike were dropping like flies. Nothing like discussing bowel movements and barfing with acquaintances. DH shows up. Looks white.. Starts in with the "I really feel horrible" . ugh.. and so it starts. He has it. The worst possible outcome of all this is my husband getting it. No one is ever as sick or as badly affected as he is. Well at least that's how he portrays things. **rolling eyes**

Please please please let this bug leave him soon.. because if that doesn't kill him I may have to. Oh and keep your fingers crossed that it doesn't hit the other 2.. since Christmas is less than a week away I hope we can all be healthy for it. :)

Sucked in .. yet again....

A week before Christmas and today I am scrambling to finish up the gift for my parents. Technically.. this should not be happening. For once I was not the original organizer of something important. Maybe that was my first mistake.

I get a call in November. From my older sibling. "We are thinking about going in on a bigger gift for D&S this year since everyone is sick and tired of giving them Home Depot Gift cards" I say "Great! I'm in" he says "We're looking at a big screen TV. Between the 4 of us we should be able to get them a nice one without breaking the bank" again "I'm in .. just let me know"

So a week goes by and nothing. So I call him. "What's going on with the gift?" "Well Dad says definitely do not buy them a TV. So I'm thinking maybe a weekend away at a B&B. " I say "OK.. even better!! " He says. "I will look into it if I can find the time"

I scratch my head.. find the time? These are your parents and you have two kids. The youngest of which is 11 and spends 1/2 his life with YOUR parents. You have a shitload more time than I do . But I digress.

So I leave it up to him.. I hear nothing... fast forward to 2 days ago.. I start looking.. I find a great place. So I email the link to the other 3 and ask if they are in. The other 2 say yes! Older sib doesn't not reply .. OK he hasn't seen his email. So I call his cell that night (he has it strapped to his waist 24/7) to see if he's read the email and what does he think. He does not answer so I leave a message. the next day.. no reply no call back. OK.. STILL giving the benefit of the doubt. I call again .. still no answer. By now I'm thinking he better be laid up in the hospital cause otherwise I may have to beat the living daylights out of him.

fast forward (from yesterday) to today. Little brother says he's in and so is sister but older sibling and his wife have already gotten something for D&S so count them out. WTF !?! All he had to do was answer my freaking phone call and tell me that so I can get it ordered earlier. But no. He has to be the extreme slacker and ignore me. I assume he's hoping I'll just go away and forget about it. But he doesn't seem to realize I am of the mind lately that I'll forgive but it's usually AFTER I've told you off.

So.. because of him we will not have the voucher for the weekend away in hand by Christmas and I am stuck printing an I.O.U. for them as a gift.

He had better watch his ass on Christmas Eve cause if he says a single little hint of anything about a gift I'll rip him a new one so fast he will wish he stayed home.

Moral of this story is.. don't get sucked into a false sense of security when someone else claims responsibility for something you will be putting your name on .. if you want it done correctly, DO IT YOURSELF.

Happy Holidays my patootie

If you know me at all IRL then you will know I am not one to give into political correctness. I hate being PC in order to spare someone's feelings. "Man up" and deal. So at this time of year I especially get a bit riled. All the Happy Holidays crap bugs the shit outta me. Say Merry Christmas or Happy Hanukah or whatever that person happens to celebrate. I sent out cards in December and as most of you know they are CHRISTMAS cards. Not holiday cards. I'm still pissed at myself for getting ones that said "Happy Holidays" in them but in my defense.. they were the only ones I found that were red & green and could be a portrait or landscape picture. So I made it a point to handwrite "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year" in all 95 cards.

I have recently come to the conclusion that people who say "Happy Holidays" are just lazy. They don't feel like saying Merry Christmas and Happy New Year or "Happy Hanukah and Happy New Year" or whatever that person happens to be celebrating. Now don't all you happy holiday-ers get your panties in a bunch and call me out or come to my house with torches. I say what I feel and if you don't like it you are more than welcome to tell me how you feel. I promise I won't get all PC on you and be offended with a gasp.

So in closing today.. I just want to say ..
Happy Hanukah, Happy Ramadan, Happy Kwanzaa, Merry Christmas and A happy and joyful New Year to everyone .. no matter how you celebrate. :)

The Quest for the Best Christmas Card Photo

I start mulling over in my head right around February of every year what I can do to top the previous year's photo. With each subsequent pregnancy and birth the creativity has dwindled. Now it's just a matter of getting a decent picture. This year with the 3 kids I had it all planned out. I would make them costumes like the Blessed Family and sneak onto church grounds that housed a large nativity scene on the front lawn. I would pull out Mary, Joseph and the Baby Jesus and toss my kids in for a picture. It would be priceless and talked about by the recipients for years to follow. Piece of Cake right?? yeah.. that's a negative. I practiced just trying to get all 3 to look at me at the same time.. that little practice shoot took approximately 20 minutes with 20 or so UNUSABLE photos. So I get to thinking.. how the heck am I going to get all 3 kids into the manger scene incognito ?? Not sure, but I hung onto that hope for a while.. Not even taking into consideration the possibility of being caught.. and the excommunication that would follow. Not that I care because I've pretty much removed myself from the church due to recent events. Last week I tried some more practice shots.. still nothing..


So now that we are into December and the photo hasn't been taken I am getting desperate. I finally give up the Great Nativity Scene photo. I was hoping for the nativity picture so I hadn't picked up matching PJ's yet. Well that's just great. I can't find matchy matchy sets anywhere now. So I have to settle for Christmas PJ's in general. Not a good thing for my anal retentiveness.

Finally after about a 1/2 hour of click click clicking away and taking over 40 shots. I found 1 picture decent enough of all 3 children (in their only "somewhat" matching PJ's) to go out to 100 family and friends this year.

I guess I better start thinking of some new ideas for next year and get on the stick alot sooner so I can do a better job for Christmas 2009.