Stick Mommy

Nothing to see here... move along...

2009-09-18T00:44:00.002-05:00

Because of recent dramatic events, I apparently can not continue my blog.

Actually, I will not continue my blog.

I have entirely too much going on and far too many great things going on in my life to deal with this bull shit.

This is my last post. This site will go password protected this weekend.

An Email to my Mom

2009-09-16T14:55:00.002-05:00

This was an email I just sent to my mom. As I was proof-reading it (don't you all proof-read your emails to your moms? You would if your mom was a teacher!), I realized that this was about as good of an update as anyone was going to get on what is going on here in Oak Harbor.

Sorry, Klubby, this is all you get for now!
:)

Hi mom!
I started to reply to your email and then got sidetracked the other day (me? sidetracked? never? :) ). Anyway, when I asked you about Jack's birthday, I had totally forgotten that you had started school. Don't feel like you have to come. Besides, the Buddy Holly thing is really important to you, Liana and Shannon. I don't want you to feel like you have to come.
With that said, Brian, Renee and Nick are coming October 9-12. So, your dates are just fine.

I think the new Dan Brown book sounds awesome! I'd love it if you sent it to me. We are going to start "Sin and the Second City" for our book club. It was interesting enough, that even Alex joined our book club! Stinkin' Alex, hoarding in on my fun!

I got two books already from the chain letter I sent you! I'm totally excited! I got "Testimony" by Anita Shreve and "My Latest Grievance" by Elinor Lipman. I'll let you know how that turns out.

In addition to that, I had my first day of Bible study this morning. It's at the Nazerene church here in town, and I'm going with my neighbor, who has a little girl that is Lexi's age. It'll be interesting. I'll let you know about that one, too. The movers have misplaced/mispacked/?? my bible, so I had to BUY a bible. It's really nice, and I got the tabs for it and it has a pink leather cover, but it was totally wierd to BUY a bible! I also miss all my highlighting and notes from PRE and the wedding. I've GOT to find my 'real' bible at some point! (It was the one that the Hess' gave us for conformation, when I was in High School- just the study bibles from St. Mary's, but still nice enough)

Okay, that was enough of a rant about that...

Jack started pre-pre-school yesterday. It's 2 hours on Mondays. We're going to do this semester and then I think start him in preschool next semester at the same facility. The staff seems really educated and they're not affiliated with the school district, so they're more flexible about the age thing. He fussed for the first 15 minutes, but the teacher got them really excited about kicking a ball or playing tag or something and he was good to go! I'm trying to get him in as many things as possible, so he will become more independant. All this moving has taken a toll on him, as far as independance goes.

We also started swim lessons yesterday. They are Tuesdays and Thursdays for 1/2 hour. He was all about it,until he realized that I wasn't getting IN the pool with him. I decided not to do mommy and me, because he's already getting to be a good little swimmer, and it's not a water fear thing for him. Again with the independance, though. I'm not sure what I'm going to do about that. I might just have to leave the pool area and come back at the end of the lesson. All he wanted to do was stay with me.

If all goes well, then Lexi and I will start mommy and me swimming next session, while Jack is in the same preschool Level 1 class. I know he can do it, it's just a matter of convincing him that he can do it! :)

It looks like Bella will be getting sold at the farm where she is now in JAX. The little girl is 13 and just loves Bella. I'm going to miss that mare like crazy. I get sick to my stomach just thinking about having to sell her, but I know it's the right thing to do. Shipping her all the way across the country (especially in the winter), it totally not fair to her.

Everything else is going fine. Alex is working a crazy schedule. We never know when he's going to have to fly or have a meeting, so it's making for some interesting days. He's totally exhausted by the end of the week. He's my overachiever and is already way ahead of the timeline for his qualifications. His goal is to be totally qualified and have his team by deployment at the end of April.

I can't believe he's going to Iraq. I know it's part of what he does for a living, but it doesn't make it any easier when it's YOUR husband that's over there, fighting the fight. He's really excited to go and do his part.

Well, that's about all I've got for you! Really long email this time, wasn't it! That's what you get for not answering the phone the other night. I figured you and Daddy were out with the Browns.

I guess I'd better get going. I have a mountain of laundry that needs attending to, while the kids are asleep. I've been neglecting the laundry this week (okay, last week, too!). Time to go watch some HGTV while I fold!

I love you, mom! Say hi to daddy for me!
~Hol

25 days!

2009-06-28T21:33:00.006-05:00

This is Deception Pass Bridge. It's less than 10 miles from our house! (totally not kidding!)

We move to Washington in 25 days. I'm not sure if it's totally sunk in just yet. I guess I should just get through this week first. I keep forgetting to schedule Lexi's 1 year well-baby visit (bad mommy!). Also, I'm not totally sure that a "HiB" vaccination is, but apparently there has been a shortage and NAS JAX finally has it. Know what that means? Not only will I have 1 pissed off toddler, with band-aids on their legs, but I get TWO pissed off toddlers with band-aids on their legs. Woo-freakin'-hoo!

Back to this whole moving thing...

3200 miles doesn't sound like fun to me, but seeing family and friends definitely does! If you're on our itenary, yea! If you're not... stinks to be you! :)

We already have our house waiting for us in Oak Harbor. 3 bedrooms/2 baths on 2 1/2 acres. Bella is staying here, but will get shipped out ASAP!

That's about all I have in me tonight, but I'll keep you all updated.

Oh, remind me to tell you all about having to feed all this week. My barn owner is out of town, and left me in charge. I don't know if she's desperate or gullable!

Lexi's First Birthday Party

2009-06-15T22:01:00.004-05:00

Need To Update, But...

2009-06-15T21:25:00.001-05:00

there is just no time (and no drive right now). We've had orders to Washington, a birthday party and so much else, but I'm feeling overwhelmed by blogging right now...

I leave you with this link to think about for now...

http://tastelikecrazy.com/2009/06/15/take-back-your-power/

Go, read it, think about it...

New Member To Our Family

2009-04-24T21:01:00.002-05:00

I haven't really updated anyone, but Isis was apparently just a ship passing in the night. I wasn't totally sold on her staying here. I just knew she needed to get out of the situation she was in... She went to Weim rescue (where she SHOULD have gone in the first place, without the brief layover at my house). She was very geeked out about the kids. Apparetly, not properly socialized as a puppy- shocker.

I have a few friends that might know the name of the farm that now does Weimaraner rescue in NE Florida. It's Moonshine Kennels. Moonshine has produced some of the top Weims in the country in the last 20 years. Judy is the name of the owner. She's wonderful.

Anyway, my friend, Sara, works for a ginormous vet clinic on the other side of the river. She called me one day to say that she had a lab puppy that I should come in and meet. He was 7 months old and very sweet. I took Killian, Jack and Lexi to the clinic to meet this guy. Killian liked him, Lexi was... well, Lexi (she's only 10 months old)... Jack was TERRIFIED of this puppy. In his defense this "puppy" was 60 pounds! He was your typical 7 month old puppy- a ball of energy...

I told Sara that I didn't think that it was going to work out if Jack was terrified of him. We probably needed to go older or younger. I then added that older was better, because, after Killian, I had no desire to have a puppy ever again. (she was satan's hand-maiden until she was 3... hey, she IS a Weim! )

As we were leaving, she said, "You totally have to see this 8 week old puppy that was brought in for a euthanasia." I then looked at her like SHE was satan's handmaiden...

She explained that a breeder brought this puppy in to be euthanized, because he is blind. There is nothing else wrong with him, except that he's completely blind in his right eye and about 75% in his left.

I was pretty apathetic about the whole thing. Puppies? Pfft... No puppies in this house, thank you very much...

(you know where this is going, don't you?)

She brought him in...

I was instantly in love, Jack was instantly in love, even Lex and Killian were enthralled with this pup...

That was 8 days ago... Rocky (Rolling Rock- did you expect me to name my dog after something other than beer?) gained 3.5 pounds (going from 9 to 12.5) as of today, when I took him back to the clinic for show and tell.

He's just like any other puppy. Other than the "losing" us in the house or the backyard, he's pretty much like all other puppies. He "pegs" us, when we are walking (i.e. bumps us with his nose), so he can keep track of us.

He knows where his kennel, food, water and outside are (we do still have accidents, but he is only 10 weeks). We never taught him. He figured it out.

Love him!
Rocky ROCKS!

p.s. Now, what you all are really waiting for... pics!

A Gentle Reminder...

2009-04-08T11:06:00.003-05:00

To the guy who lives in my house-

Hi! Remember me? I am your wife, the mother of your two children. I am about 6 feet tall, brunette, slightly chubby from bearing your kids. Oh! You do remember me!

When I clean the house and take care of the kids, it's because I love my family. A thank you once in a while would be nice. Don't thank me for "doing my job." That's a jerk thing to do.

When I'm tired, because a 9 month old and a 29 month old are exhausting, please take the kids on a walk for a bit, or get them ready for bed. I would love that. Fighting with our toddler to get him to go to bed is not helping!

I understand that this is all my job. I also understand that I could "just go back to work." I don't want to. We agreed that me raising our kids would be the best for everyone. It's also hard to hold down a real job, when you don't know when the movers are coming next. We have moved a LOT. I also don't think anyone can take as good care of our kids as I can. Most moms would feel this way. Also, when you're on deployment, some sense of stability would be good.

Why is it that, when you're exhausted from working all day, I have to cater to you by making dinner, listening to you, letting you sleep in, etc? When I am tired from working all day, I still suck it up.

You do help out around the house. You've been known to do the laundry, cook dinner, and even take care of the kids, so I can sleep in. You DO work hard to provide for this family. I understand that. The problem is that your day doesn't end, when you park that plane. You still have to be a husband and father. You can't take "a little time for yourself" whenever you want.

I am trying to be understanding. I guess I should be a little more understanding.

I know I should ask you to do things, but I shouldn't have to as you. If you are shoving stuff in the trashcan, then it probably needs to be taken out. Have you smelled that horrible smell from the nursery? TAKE OUT THE DIAPER PAIL! Don't wear your shoes through the house, when I have just vacuumed. Put your clothes in the laundry basket. This is all stuff I shoudn't have to ask you to do.

I am not your mom. I know darn well that your mom wouldn't put up with this b.s. Why should I?

Apparently, all you need is a maid, a nanny and a concubine. I'll start taking resumes on Monday, for all three positions.

Pictures

2009-04-01T14:06:00.007-05:00

My sister and her husband were here for a long weekend.
Good times were had by all!

Sometimes, I like to bury my son in the sand.

The Diva was nonplussed by the whole "beach thing"

+Pics+009.jpg" border=0> Liana (Fi) and Nick

Jack thought the water was way too cold (so did his dad and Uncle Nick)

Sitting like a "big girl"

Sandcastles are Jack's favorite part of the beach

Well, we do live in "gator nation"
(gag)

At the zoo

Sleeping at the zoo. Lexi is pretty much nonplussed my most things these days.
It's hard to be a baby

Misting jets are cool, when you get a ride from your uncle

: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UAshIgpZlcE/SdO7oa1u2QI/AAAAAAAAAME/eUcjtXBAhwY/s400/Liana+and+Nick+weekend+038.jpg" border=0> Jack's favorite part of the zoo. He was M.A.D. when we left the carosuel!

Now, we're getting a ride from dad. See a running theme here?

R_PHOTO_ID_5319801872999253858 style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UAshIgpZlcE/SdO7njOUB2I/AAAAAAAAALs/wLVkmJIkC3Q/s400/Liana+and+Nick+weekend+015.jpg" border=0> "Hi, nake!"

Hard Day Today

2009-04-01T13:20:00.004-05:00

*sigh* It's really appropriate that today is so dreary outside. It fits in well with my mood today.

Three years ago today I lost my aunt. Three years ago today, my cousins basically became orphans. So many times, in the last three years, I have reached for the phone to call her and ask her a question. She was a nurse and raised three really cool boys. In raising my own children, there have been times when I needed her. "Is this temp too high?" or when Lex was in respiratory distress when she was born. Did I really need that damn apnea monitor? What should I have done?

More than me, her own kids have needed her. Graduating high school and college. They have made good decisions that should've been praised by their mother, and they've needed a good kick in the pants once in awhile, like only a mother can give.

I'm sad that she's gone. I'm pissed that she's one, too. She was like a second mom to many of us. I miss her and hate what it's done to my family. It sucks ass.

I came out of 2006 minus one aunt, minus one grandfather and still with my sister. Thankfully, I still have my Fi(s). My sisters rock. I don't know how my mom copes with her sister being gone. As a mother, I don't know how my grandmother copes everyday with 2 dead children and her husband gone. She's stronger than anyone gives her credit for.

That's all for now...

Executive Life for Sale (or Repo) not mine

2009-03-26T13:15:00.003-05:00

Sometimes, when I'm bored, and avoiding my stay-at-home-mom/wife duties, I like to look at the "Best of Craigslist." There are dishes AND laundry to be put away today, and yet... here I am... (for those of you that are overly concerned about the Muffin Children, rest assured... they are napping)

**WARNING! EXPLICIT LANGUAGE!**
(I swear.. It happens... apparently, it happens to this guy, too)

EXECUTIVE LIFE FOR SALE OR (REPO)

Date: 2009-01-29, 1:27PM EST

Well here we are another year 2009 ahhhhhhhh

Well what I have for sale is a life of Debt, illusions and bill collectors

I think for 1,000,000 I’ll let it go. The price will include a complete 20,000 equipment only fabrication shop a beautiful house in the country 3,500 sqft 30 x 40 barn 13 acres ahhh the American dream!!!!!! It will also buy you 12 useless employees 4 large break even contracts and a business name that has become completely ruined because CORPORATE AMERICA SUCKS DICK. I have however made it 5 years so I guess I beat the statistic.

If you don’t want to buy the dream that’s fine I’m just going to FUCK everybody Like I got fucked. Bankruptcy FUCKERS

Chrysler financial, you can have my diesel truck back, that’s 20,000 over mileage and smashed because I just hit a deer. I looked cool in it for a while, but I just bought a 95 S-10 cash and I love it. So stop calling me five times a day and come get the piece of shit.

Btw, how do you expect people to pay your late charges if they can’t even make the regular payment? Also if you called me on Tuesday I bet my situation won’t be any different Wednesday. Bastards. Fuck you I’m going to hide it

American express I was a good customer to you. Once I was 10 days late you canceled my card. You will never get your money. Bastards

53rd I would really like to keep my camper but if you insist on coming to get it because I’m 45 days late come and get it. I’ve got a fucking tent. Chryslers going to take my fucking truck and I’m sure my S-10 won’t pull it. Bring a fucking shovel because there’s 8 feet of snow pushed in front of it because all it fucking does is snow around here.

Speaking of snow got some snowmobiles, there going back to! I loved riding them but I financed them to pay the 12 useless employees to work on the 4 large break even contracts I have. Behind on them same story come and get em bastards

The only thing in my life I won’t sell is my 4 year old daughter (she is a keeper). My very sexy supportive wife and the dog. You can have the rest of the illusion.

Material bull shit.
We learned our lesson.

Love to tell you more but I’ve got to search for a job so I can pay taxes to support all the Bailout money we gave the people that are going to repo my shit and put America in this situation. I wonder what I’ll be paid with food.

Don’t think the dollar illusion can go on much longer.

Keep the faith protect your kids. Your family is all that matters

A Broke Michigan resident

Amusing, sad and true are the three things that pop into my mind.

I am on a rant today

2009-03-25T21:33:00.005-05:00

Aren't you glad that I decided to dig this thing up, and dust it off, just to rant a little? Yeah, you know you think I'm at least amusing sometimes.

Here goes:
Most of you know by now that Crazy and I are quite close. She sent me a link a couple of days ago, to an article about Formula Feeding vs. Breastfeeding. The jist of it was that the author was stating how hard it would be to actually run studies on which child did better, the breastfed child or the formula fed child.

Think about it... The children would have to have the EXACT same childhood, save the breastfeeding vs. bottle feeding. Wait. What about the children that get formula, but through a tube next to the nipple or the *gasp* children that get fed expressed breast milk through a bottle! Oh the HORROR!

From a scientific prospective, there are just too many variables. Too many things than can skew the results. Genetic history, economic status, even a traumatic event in the child's life could drastically change the results for the study.

Crazy wrote a little something about it. I posted my usual smartass remark, but then genuinely said that I appreciated that we are on total opposite sides of the parenting fence, but we manage to talk about why we do what we do in an ADULT manner.

I have to say that both of my very best friends in the whole wide world breastfeed for an "extended period of time" (i.e. longer than 6 months) and are totally "attached-parenting-baby-wearing-mamas."

I'm not going to go on here and talk about why I formula fed both of my children. I shouldn't have to defend myself on my own blog. I will post about Postpartum Depression and having a 10 pound baby 15 days late another day.

There are several things that I don't appreciate being shoved down my throat:
1) Religion- I have several good friends of drastically different religion, than my good ol' Catholicism. They are totally cool when I ask questions like: "why don't Mormons drink?" and "are Kosher pickles really Kosher?" The people that act like I'm evil because I stayed with my church, through all the horrible molestation trials of the last few years can shove it.
2) Parenting- I let my kids cry it out. I formula fed my son for 13 months, and my little girl is 9 months old and going strong (growin' like a weed!). I was induced with both my pregnancies. I even *gasp* took my PPD meds while pregnant with Lexi. You don't like it? Too freakin' bad. I didn't ask for your opinion. Alex and I are on the same page. You aren't in this book, go write your own.
3) Politics- This IS where I have to remind my dear dear husband that we may have different views, and that's okay. I think the war in Iraq is justified. I am proud as hell that my husband is a pilot in the Navy. I think marriage is between a man and a woman. I was sad that the last president made some "less than stellar" decisions. I am/was optimistic that the new administration would make good decisions. So far, nothing but disappointment. It has less to do with the little letter behind his name, and more to do with the people he listens to.

There you have it. I have learned in the past few years that being honest is one of the greatest gifts that we can posses. We have the great opportunity to make all sorts of decisions in this country, from our career, to our mate to the number of children we have.

I also have the opportunity not to breastfeed my kids. This is my choice, so stop judging me!

p.s. This would be the final two responses on Crazy's breastfeeding post on her blog (just in case you're too lazy to hit the link):
Jennifer Walker

March 25th, 2009 at 8:10 am
It is in a breastfeeding mom’s nature to desire to share her perfect food with all babies, especially when you read the ingredients list on a can of formula. Yum, corn syrup solids and lab created vitamins and minerals for dinner anyone? Didn’t anyone notice that they found mercury in corn syrup, I am pretty sure I don’t have that in my milk.

StickMommy

March 25th, 2009 at 8:31 pm
So, all the crap that breastfeeding moms eat goes into the baby via the boob. Is that better than the crap in a formula can? How many moms have I met that have given up dairy, chocolate, caffeine, meds for breastfeeding. No thank you.
I’ll take my “dumber than your” kids any day of the week. Why? Because, my sickly, stupid, inferior children have a mom that ROCKS! I am happy. I am healthy. I can eat, drink and take whatever I want. I kicked PPD’s ass!
Am I better than a breastfeeding mom? No. Am I happier and healthier than some breastfeeding moms? HELL YES!
I don’t care who whips their boob out. Just don’t ask me to get oats for your high horse, because you’re too busy breastfeeding.

I Shall Shred, Too.

2009-03-02T20:43:00.004-06:00

Shredding is the new craze. Particularly, among stay at home mommies with high numbers on the scale and low self-esteem. Sadly, I fit into this category in many ways.

I need to lose about 40 pounds. I will not post my start weight, however, I will post my "I am down xx pounds."

My goals are going to be simple (I hope):
~ Drink at least 64 ounces of water everyday.
~ Shred with Jillian Michaels Monday-Friday
~ Have one large meal per day
~ Have 3 small meals
~ESPECIALLY BREAKFAST
~ Ride (excellent cardio, good for the horse) AT LEAST 2 times/week

I already eat very little during the day, but I snack from about 4pm until bedtime. I eat constant crap, and entirely too much dinner. Quality is usually there, it's just consumed in mass quantities. D'oh!

I'm going to start out at level 1. Level one is going to be for 2 weeks (or until I feel that I need to "step it up a little." I'll keep you all posted on how it's going.

And, no, I will not be posting before and after pics. (okay, maybe after pics...)

Equine Confessions

2009-02-13T08:33:00.004-06:00

I post this, knowing full well that my family reads my blog. I am prepared for the backlash. I will, however, point out that none of you should be suprised at all about my/our news....

With that, I introduce you to:

Bella (aka Second Chances)

Bella came to us through the Horse Protection Association of Florida in Micanopy (near Gainesville). She was a seizure by the county, because of severe neglect to the animals on the property. Bella and her pasturemate were being fed dogfood, while the dogs on the property were fed nothing. All animals were seized from the property.

Morgan Silver, the Director of HPAF, took both mares, and was able to put a decent amount of weight on both.

(a pic of Bella, 3 weeks after HPAF took her in- still VERY skinny)

I "happened" to be looking through their website, and found Bella (they called her Lady). Bella looks nothing now, like she did in the picture then. I convinced Alex for us to go down and "just look." Alex was being quite stubborn, and said this horse had better be "damn near perfect" for us to be able to take her home.

We saw another horse, that was older and had several issues. I could tell in Alex's eyes, that he thought this was going to be easy. If this mare that I wanted had as many issues, telling me 'no' was going to be very easy.

We drove down the road to the other pasture (it is a 600 acre property), and met Bella. Alex messed with her, picked up her feet, felt her legs, etc. While Morgan went back to her truck to get a lounge line, Alex looked at me, narrowed his eyes and said, "I hate you."

I knew at that instant that Bella was mine. Alex was (mostly) joking. He liked Bella very much from the first meeting. He took our barn owners trailer down, the next week and picked her up.

Bella is now at Ivanhoe Farms, where Jack (our barn owner/trainer- not our son) takes very good care of her. She's happy at Ivanhoe, and we're very happy there, too. Jack treats the boarder horses, as if they were his own.

Our plan is to take Bella to her very first show March 14 and 15. She's already jumping with Alex and she's got a real talent for it! I've already started riding her (as she is "supposed" to be MY horse!), and she is calm, quiet and honest. Exactly what I need.

I will keep you all updated about Bella, as long as you keep the judgements (directed at YOU, family) to a minimum.

Oh yeah, the kids are fine!
:)

If you squint your eyes just so...

2009-01-21T09:37:00.004-06:00

So very sorry that I have left some of you out in the proverbial cold. We had family in town last week (my mom and grandmother! yay!). I took the kids back to my grandmother's condo in Pompano Beach for a long weekend. It was fun, and there were minimal meltdowns. I did have to fight the urge one evening to jump out of the car and run away with the doorman. It was that bad.

Other than that one, brief, incident, things were pretty good and fairly low key in South Florida. I had a good time with my grandmother, and Jack is more attached to her than ever. Lexi? Well, Lexi is a smiley girl, but is still in that "lump of baby flesh" category.

Jack has a new obsession. It's very interesting to see a toddler's obsessions come and go. While we were moving, and through Christmas (the "big ass roadtrip" if you remember), it was "Pinky Dinky Doo." Then it was "Red Rocket? Red Rocket! RED ROCKET MOMMY!"

Pat, pat, pat.
Now pat faster
patpatpatpat
Now raise your arms, as high as you can, and say, "blastoff!"
BLASTOFF!!!
(if you have no idea what I am talking about, count yourself very lucky!)

His other new obsession is to draw. He's no Picasso (actually, his drawings kind of look like Picasso), but he loves having paper. His favorite thing to draw with would be an ink pen. I assume because it's better to draw on the couch, yourself, your sister, your dog, etc. You would have to work much much harder to get all those marks with an ordinary crayon.

Jack also has a chalkboard in his room. His toybox/chalkboard was made by his great-great-grandfather for his grandfather when he was a boy (didja follow that? it sounded better in my head). It has been passed around the family for the last 50ish years, and now we have it. It was in a sad shape, so we (and by "we" I mean Alex) sanded, painted, and re-chalkboard painted it. Good as new! It's a strange green color. We thought it was going to be denim blue. That's what we get for just using leftover garage paint. I guess "sage" really doesn't equal "denim." Oh well...

Oh wait... Back to Jack's obsession. Drawing. Right...

Jack will get up in the middle of the night and play. I'm usually okay with that, as he never needs anything and he plays quietly. He also falls asleep in some strange places (floor of the closet? on the train table?). Makes for a good laugh in the morning. We all need a good laugh in the morning. Isn't that why we have kids?

He LOVES (and I do mean LOVES) to draw circles. It was the first shape he learned. He now has to point out all circles to us, have us draw circles, talk about circles, etc.

He also loves to draw concentric circles (i.e. circles with more, smaller, circles inside).

Can you see where I'm going with this? Go back and look at that picture again...

Does it look like boobs to anyone else? Alex and I about died the other day when we found that on his chalkboard!

Kids.

Always for a good laugh!

Bitten... (and the story of Mickey)

2009-01-10T23:12:00.003-06:00

Well, those of you who know me in real life knew that it was bound to happen. I've been bitten. We found a farm. Alex and I have started riding again.

This wouldn't be a big deal, except that I have now spent the last 4 hours on the Internet, looking at horses. 4 HOURS!

There are actually two reasons for this.
1) I REALLY want a new horse. It broke my heart to have to sell our horses when we moved to Pensacola. I want to get back into horse ownership.
2) There are two horses that I wish I knew were okay. Both were geldings and both were Alex's horses.

See, I was lucky enough to have one horse in my life. Her name is Zelda and she was my princess. I sold her when I found out I was pregnant with Jack in 2006. I just found out that she's been sold again, but to a wonderful show family. It's all good.

I bought Alex a present for our engagement in 2002. I'm the one that's supposed to get the ring, but he's the one that gets the present. How does that work?

It works because we were at a horse sale in central Iowa, when we were still in college at Iowa State. Alex came up to me, like a little kid, with his eyes all lit up. He was so excited. He had found "the horse." I sigh, and walk through the pens of horses of every imaginable age, breed, size, shape and health you could imagine. It was the height of sale season, and there were about 250 horses to be run through the auction ring that day.

As I walked back through the pens, I wondered what I was going to find. What kind of horse was "the horse?" He stopped at a pen that was (barely) holding 2 of the biggest spotted drafts that I had ever seen in my entire life.

I thought it was a mistake. Maybe this was a joke. In the land of Quarter Horses, Paints and even the occasional off-the-track Thoroughbred, he takes me to a pen of spotted drafts.

"They're not broke to ride," he tells me, with a smile. Not broke to ride? Not broke to ride! I look at these two, wild-eyed creatures doing laps around the pen, as if they thought they were on their very own racetrack.

"Not broke to ride seems to be the least of their problems," I said. "Are they even broke to lead? Furthermore, you are NOT taking them both. Which one is the horse for you?"

Alex furrows his brow, and looks at these horses. "I like the black and white. He's better put together."

"Do we even know anything about him? Is he gelded? Why is he here? How old is he? What's his story?" I was pressing to see how much research he did, before he decided to show these tornadoes with legs to his future wife.

"Well, I talked to the guy. He's over there." He points to an obviously Amish man, complete with grizzled beard, hat and overalls. "He said that they were born on his farm, out of his paint stud and Percheron mares. They were born in 1998."

We were making progress. I still needed to know one thing.
"Why are they here? Why is he not keeping them? Why an auction house?"

I have to stop and mention that the nearest Amish farm to this particular auction house is probably an hour away. Why here? Back to the story...

"Um, he said that he couldn't break them to drive. That's good, though. I don't know how to drive horses anyway."

I should have stopped right there. There were warning bells and flags as clear as all of the dust these two freight trains were kicking up. "If the Amish can't break a horse, it probably cannot be broken... " I was always told.

Long story made slightly longer, we bought Mickey for the handsome sum of $850. I thought my husband was going to explode with joy as he wrote out the check that day. He was known at the auction house as "the kid that bought the crazy draft."

Mickey went back to our farm, and lived with our barn owner's mare for several days. He was impossible to catch and had the nasty habit of just pushing down whatever was in his way, whether it be human (usually me) or inanimate object (usually the wall separating the wall between his stall and Zelda's. Zelda was never impressed by that.). Mickey was one of those rare horses that knew how big he actually was. NEVER a good thing in horses.

Eventually, Mickey was trained (mostly), and shown (with moderate success). Our wedding came and went. Alex decided that the military was a calling for him. Zelda could go and be pasture boarded at a farm where a very good friend would take care of her. Mickey was too hard to take care of. He had his own set of "special needs." Being 1500 pounds and scared of everything took some skill to deal with.

We contacted a school that we had competed against, while on the Equestrian Team for Iowa State. This was the University of Minnesota-Crookston. You don't know where UMC is? Look on the western side of Minnesota and look north. Way north. North of Grand Forks, north. Yup. That dot. That dot on the Canadian boarder. They have a top-notch equestrian program all the way up there. They would take wonderful care of Mickey. They were excited to have him.

Or so we thought...

He, apparently, was not a good fit for the program. Lesson #2. If the Amish can't train the horse and a college full of horse trainers can't train the horse, then you've got a problem.

Mickey was sold, trained and sold again. I have no idea where he is now. I wish I did. Alex says that he doesn't want him back, but I see him looking at their picture on the wall. I know. I know he'd take our special guy back.

Now you know the story of Mickey. Now you also know why and how I can spend so much time on the Internet. I'm always looking for the next great "horse-deal" (if there is such a thing), and also looking for our little man that got away...

If you ever stumble across an ad for a spotted draft in the Great Lakes region of the US, let me know. It might just be our guy.

Sadness...

2009-01-06T15:38:00.003-06:00

Shlomit- my heart and thoughts are with you and Sariel today.

Christmas Pictures

2009-01-05T18:39:00.007-06:00

I'm pretty sure that Lexi and her Oma have a good "Uno" hand. Lexi has a terrible poker face!

Alex talking smack to Joel's wife (one of my very good friends). We get super-competative while playing "Sorry"...

Alex's BFF, Joel. That's his wife's (Jaime's) stud, Okie.

Lexi's baptism. My sister, Liana and her husband, Nick are Jack and Lexi's GodParents.

Jack- strung out on Chocolate Santas...

I think I was a little punchy by this time...

My dad and Lexi. One of my all-time favorite pics.

Jack's first time ever seeing snow. He wasn't impressed.

Opening presents on Christmas Eve with my sisters and parents.

Just enough cuteness to make you start thinking about sharp objects...

We're back

2009-01-05T09:30:00.004-06:00

We've actually been back from our "big-ass" roadtrip since Friday morning. We drove 20 hours straight (well, I drove the 1 hour to my parents' house and Alex drove the rest of the way) to get home "in a timely fashion." It was Alex's idea, so I "let" him drive. I'm so nice...

Personally, I would've rather stayed in a hotel halfway through, or at least around Atlanta. That last part from Atlanta to home was AWFUL and I wasn't the one driving!

We got home at about 6:30am, and we all promptly went to sleep. Back in our happy beds, in our own rooms. I have decided that the kids don't like sharing a room (big suprise there, who does?). Lexi frequently wakes up at night, screeches onces and goes back to sleep. She's done it since she was very small, and that was the reason she was relegated to the closet in Corpus Christi. Jack likes waking up at night, playing in his room, quietly for a little bit, and going back to sleep. Sometimes, when I wake up at night, I can hear him talking in his room. He's totally happy, so I never disturb him.

Christmas was wonderful. We were lucky enough to spend time with both families. Alex's parents were in Virginia, visiting his granparents. We stopped there for a few days. We had so much fun. Alex's family is so much different than mine, but they are a good time. We spent the time talking, telling stories, playing cards (Alex's stepmom is killer at UNO), and drinking. I didn't drink that much this time, as I always feel like I've sprained my liver when I've visited Alex's family!

We moved onto Iowa, after a few days in Virginia. As soon as we got on the other side of Indianaoplis, the weather was AWFUL! What shoul've been a short 5 hour drive, took us over 8 hours. Alex was majorly stressed, and the kids were exhausted, but we were there! Yay!

We stayed with my grandmother, except for Christmas Eve, when we stayed in Burlington to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with my family. We were all there. My parents, us, my sister and her (new) husband and my baby sister who isn't such a baby anymore.

Santa brought Jack a frog tent, among other things. I could've saved a fortune and just bought a froggie tent, instead of giving Jack his own bedroom! :) He loves it!

Lexi is currently enjoying her new exer-saucer (farm-theme, of course). Her old one was in a sad way. Jack is also the proud owner of a new horsie (the "you don't have to feed" kind).

There is so much more to say, but I don't have it in me today to torture you any longer. More tomorrow (hopefully).

On the Road

2008-12-23T10:37:00.000-06:00

I'm sitting here, in the back seat of the car. Lexi is sitting next to me, pondering her hands, because that's what babies do. Jack is watching his current girlfriend, Pinky Dinky Doo, on the DVD player, right behind me. It is starting to freeze rain. We are on I-74, in Indianapolis. We'll hopefully be in Iowa City by this afternoon.
I have to tell you all how much I love my navigation system in my car. No more arguments about getting lost. Yay!
Something I don't love is my six month old getting her first teeth while we are driving. She's such a bear when she doesn't feel well.
The trip is going well so far. Except for the peanut gallery in the back with me. Back to my mom-ly duties.

Where is it?

2008-12-18T09:45:00.004-06:00

I am wondering if I am the only person who has this problem with their spouse. My husband is an officer in the Navy, a pilot for the mighty P-3C Orion, and a kickass dad. The problem, you ask?

He can't find his bum with both hands. Seriously, he is always losing something and then coming to ask me about it. It would not be a big deal, us being "partners for life" and all, but it is ALL THE TIME! I spend more time finding things for him, than I do looking for lost binkies and lovies. I have a 2 year old and a 6 month old. I should be on "high emergency alert" for the lost binkie, not where he put his car keys.

The things he loses, ranges from the mundane (car keys, cell phone, etc), to the annoying (his "cover" i.e. hat, for his uniform, his Military ID, etc), to the downright ridiculous (the baby formula?! seriously, how do you lose a can of baby formula!?).

We once had an honest to God, shouting-and-pointing-argument at 6am over khaki socks! He accused me of hiding his khaki socks, so that he couldn't go to work. (They were in the closet used only for his uniforms at the time, right on the shelf.) That was the worst argument.

Jen told me to designate a place for the "essential Alex going to work items." Sounds good in theory. However, he would have to put the items in said place, to be able to find them the next morning. That, my friend, is where in lies the problem. ISO 9001, my husband is not...

His family told me to have him set everything out the night before. That makes it 10 times worse. Then, said items (like his flight-suit) are not in the place he thinks they are in. More "lights-on-at-6am-with-pointing."

We have been married a short 5 years, however, I feel totally alone in this. Is there a "husbands losing everything anonymous?" If so, please forward me the link!

My husband needs an intervention!

**Thanks to http://thursdayfridaysaturday.com/ for the image!**

Why Do I Do This Now?

2008-12-17T22:36:00.005-06:00

As you can tell, I'm in the process of making some upgrades to the site. The goal is to have the comments up and running before the "Big-ass roadtrip," and to have the new site up and running shortly after we get back. We'll see...

If the site looks screwed up, feel free to leave me a note, or email me. I may or may not know about it. If I can't take care of it, then I'll pass the care and feeding of my blog onto Crazy. She's good with that stuff!

**As always, thanks to HeyJude for the pic!**

My New Secret Addiction

2008-12-17T08:29:00.004-06:00

When I started this "blogging" thing, I really didn't think that it would take up that much of my time. I was astounded how much time Crazy spent on her blog (now blogs). How on earth could that girl spend 8-12 hours a day on her computer?! All you have to do is throw up some random thoughts, maybe put in a funny/cute pic and you're good for the day, right? WRONG!

What I've discovered is that blogging is all about networking. It's awesome that my friends and family read about the wild times at our house, but to reach out to other people... that's a whole different ball-game.

Crazy suggested (strike that... insisted) that I join Twitter. My first thought was, "Oh great, one more thing to check in the morning." Not exactly.

Twitter is a cross-section of many different people, in many different jobs. It's very interesting to see contradicting points of view. And, yes, we do have some drama sometimes.

To make matters worse, I downloaded a program that automatically updates my Twitter for me. I literally spent hours on TweetDeck, just chatting with all these people I've never met.

The dishes weren't done, the laundry wasn't put away. I was basically a slacker mommy all day long. Alex was suprisingly understanding. However, with the departure of the "big-ass roadtrip" being 48 hours away, I think it's time for me to step away from the Twitter. Otherwise, we may be going naked to Virginia and Iowa. I hear it's cold up there, so naked might not be the best idea...

Wish me luck. I just found that Twitter is mobile, too! I am so sad sometimes!

**As always, thanks to soulkeeper for the rockin' pic!**

Meet Patrice

2008-12-14T21:46:00.004-06:00

This is what happens when my BFF, Jen, and I haven't seen each other in way too long and had some wine... c'mon, you know she's hot...

**Jen and her family are leaving tomorrow morning (Monday). I'll be back to my old tricks soon!**

Rain and Randomness...

2008-12-11T10:02:00.003-06:00

So, you all hear me talk a LOT about my BFFs. Crazy is one of them. If you haven't been to her main blog, I strongly recommend it. She's way more interesting than I am most days. Anyway, we have this term, "randomness." Randomness is when we just totally change the subject in the middle of the conversation. I'm pretty sure that's how my post for today is going to go, so bear with me.

It's raining today. When I talked to Crazy on the phone last night, she said that it was warm 2 days ago, in her neck of the woods, but it started raining and now it's friggin' cold. Dammit! I woke up to rain this morning. That means that it's probably going to get really cold in the next few days, after being nice and in the mid 80s. Double damn!

We're supposed to be going to the zoo tomorrow. My other BFF, Jen, who doesn't have a blog, but should, and her family, are coming to stay with us for 5 (FIVE!!) days. They're on their way (I hope), as I type. Her oldest is 10 weeks older than Jack, and her baby is 10 weeks younger than Lexi. How freakin' cool is that. Crazy, Jen and I all have kids that are the same age. We couldn't have done it better if we had planned it. There will be lots of pics to come.

Oh, back to the zoo. Yeah, it will probably be cold. No zoo if it's raining. We can handle cold, just not rain. Damn rain...

Jack is OBSESSED with our Christmas tree. How on earth am I going to keep him off the trees at families' houses? Ugh, at least they're only two once, right? Lexi isn't very interested in the tree, but she is only 5 1/2 months old.

Alex just walked in. He's home from work for the day (wouldn't it be nice to only have to work 4 hours a day? yeah, no kidding). He walks in and informs me that it's raining. Really? We DO have windows in this house. *sigh* Captain Obvious (or more appropriately, Lieutenant Obvious) hard at work.

Well, since Lieutenant Obvious is home, I'm going to take the free time to go to Target. I suppose Jen and her husband needs sheets for the guest bed. Our sheets are threadbare. An easy excuse to spend money!

More later....

Oh! Jack's hearing is "well within normal limits." WOOT! As the audiologist for my friend, Julie, said about her daughter, "there is apparently a difference between hearing and listening." I thought that was an appropriate phrase about most 2-year-olds!

**Thank you to Kuky Ideas for that rockin' cute pic!**

Sorry 'bout that...

2008-12-10T14:58:00.003-06:00

I thought I had posted my Mostly Wordless Wednesday, but apparently, I never hit post. Damn computer and its post button!

Mostly Wordless Wednesday to come before Wednesday's end...