Do Not Peel and Drive!!!

Ok, I took the kiddos to the doctor yesterday. The appt. was for Nicholas so we could check the sinus infection situation. His throat was a little red so we got some antibiotics. They are also gonna sample one of the lovely diapers that he made for them while we were there!! I then asked our wonderful pediatrician if she could take a look at Jacob's thumb (the one with the mysterious,huge blister). She said it was definitely a blister and that she was worried about infection, as it was turning a little red. Now comes the sad part. Jacob absolutely refuses (I mean refuses) to take liquid antibiotics. He refuses to consume any type of liquid medicine. It ends up in my face or on my clothes, and I end up losing a part of a finger trying to make him choke it down. So, when we were going through our ear infection saga last year we all realized that an antibiotic shot can't be spit in the face,works quickly, and is included in your copay!!!!!!


Poor little guy goes to the doctor with brother and ends up being the one getting a shot. Oh did I mention that one of the HUGE apples went with us to see the doctor?? It also went to preschool. Those darn apple have brought smiles to so many faces. I kind of hate to eat them, but they have taught me a good lesson. It's either that, I am not a loser and that seeing a huge apple is truly entertaining, or that, I am a loser and so are alot of the folks that I know.


Anyway, back to the story. Jacob gets an antibiotic shot in the leg and tenses his muscles so hard that he is walking the rest of the day like he has a peg leg. Argggghhhh.


We went to the Dollar Store after leaving so that I could buy swim goggles, and hot wheels, and misc. stuff that no one needed, just to make him feel better. One little old lady said "oh, poor boy, he has a bad leg." This was right before she saw Nicholas sucking his thumb and said "Oh, no, no momma, get me something else." I have learned one thing having my first thumbsucker. When people don't agree with your child sucking on his thumb, they will tell you. I guess I have had people make comments about binkies, I just never react (out loud, that is. On the inside, I'm always thinking I should say something like, "now what have you been putting in your mouth??? It sure is making your butt big!"). I just wonder what WOULD be acceptable to those people? Give him a bone? A chew toy? One lady suggested a lollipop once (she had a big butt).


Back to my story, I took my little peg leg boy, my mother-of-the year awards, and the 25 bucks worth of misc. junk I bought and we got back on the road.


We stopped at McDonalds, as it was already about 2 p.m. and the boys had only snacked on animal crackers at the doctors office. I got a little burger for me, chicken nuggets for the boys, and fries. So I dole out some fries, give Jacob a nugget and eat my burger. I then get ready to give Nicholas some nuggets, so I realize that I am driving down the freeway, peeling a chicken nugget with my hands. You know, the crust is kind of crispy. I wonder, when I get pulled over for weaving a little, if the cop will believe me "OFFICER, I SWEAR I WASN'T DRINKING, I WAS JUST PEELING CHICKEN NUGGETS."

I didn't get pulled over and that was good. We went on home. I talked to the UPS man, I talked to a couple other people. We went to the drugstore to pick up prescriptions and I talked to lots of nice people in there. I saw a friend that I hadn't seen in a few years, he talked to the baby and they seemed to hit it off. I always feel a little self conscious when I see an old single friend, just because my life is so totally different. I'm now mom of 3, a little(?) chunky, no makeup, wearing Crocs pretty much all of the time, and basically looking like I just got back from the beach (or escaped from the attempts to have me pushed back into the water!!)
Now, I really don't care about this too much. I know that I have a blessed life and I wouldn't change anything in the world. I don't really worry about him going back to other old friends and saying "whew, Jenny sure has let herself go". What I did end up worrying about was what he thought about the big ketchup mark I had smeared right smack-dab on my forehead. (You know from eating, and peeling, and driving.)

Look at the Size of those Apples!!!

Gaga came home from the grocery store yesterday with these HUMONGOUS apples. She said the guy at the grocery store told her that they are only available once a year and that there are never many produced because they are so large. Anyway, they are normally like $2.80 per pound!!! Anyone that knows me knows that, if I spend that much on an apple, it's time to take me in to see the shrink. However, this guy at H.E.B told her that they had marked the price wrong so she picked up a couple for the kids before they could correct it. Yes, that is how we roll!!!

I'm not sure what name these apples go by, but after we have entertained with them, showed the off and taken lots of pictures we will eat them. We still have quite a few people we want to show them to. Does this say anything about our lives? Are we missing a little excitement here?? I don't care. I'm a mom and a huge apple was the highlight of my day!!!!

Ok, now it's time to rant:

I am waiting for a day in this house where everyone is NOT sick and I mean EVERYONE. Most of us had colds last week. Ralph's turned into an infection, but a shot in the rear and $100 bucks of medicine seem to have cleared that up. I got over my cold, only to start coming down with the infection part yesterday. I was not feeling well. A visit with doctor Ashlyn fixed that right up. She gave me some medicine and I am on the mend. Oh, for any real doctors reading this, I really drove to the doctors office, sat patiently forever with patient little Nicholas, got some antibiotics and stuff, and drove home.

I think that Nicholas may be getting a sinus infection too. I have come to realize that when a poopie diaper makes the entire house smell with a smell like you have never smelled before (you know, a smell, a smelly smell that smells...smelly), there is usually some type of infection, usually sinuses. Now, did I tell you that these diapers were awful? I cannot tell you enough. Usually we are able to put dirties in the diaper pail and deal with them later, but not these. These had to be RUN outside with noses held and slammed into the trashcan. There were two dead garbagemen in our front yard when we came home. We wanted to go to Walmart to get some flowers for my dad's grave after preschool so I took Jake and Nic and loaded them up in the basket and noticed, as we were walking in with no diaper bag, that I could smell that familar stench. You guessed it, we went on in anyway. Wasn't bothering Nicholas and Jacob only commented on the stinkky once. We are banned from Walmart for a month!!!!

Jacob is not sick, but he is injured. He came in yesterday after lunch and told Gaga and me that his thumb hurt. Upon inspection, we found what looked like a blister the size of a dime on the tip of his thumb. We tried asking him what happened, but he never could tell us. He said he burned it on the fire at camp. He has never been camping or to a camp. If there is a camp for rowdy three years olds, please tell me. He told me a fireman did it. Daddy's car did it (Daddy was a work), my car did it. Now, I may not notice everything all the time, like forgetting keys, forgetting wallets, forgetting what I came to the store for. But I assure you I would have known about slamming his little thumb in the door of the car. Which reminds me of the time I slammed my breast in the hatchback of the 4-runner at HEB!! To make a long story short. I was stuck and had my mom not been with me when it happened, I may have had to ask someone for help getting my boob out of the car door. Yes, it hurt and Jacob never liked that side as much for nursing!! Anyway, I digress. We never did figure out how he got this big blister, but I did turn into a large painful blood blister!!! He's in pain so it looks like we are going to try and make a 2 for 1 pediatricians appt. today.

Austin is not sick (at least physically). Hahahah, I joke. He is having problems with a kid at school hitting and kicking him. This is the same kid who eats smoked oysters, with Tabasco sauce for lunch. Is it just me, or does this kid sound dangerous? I have sent a note to the teacher today and this will hopefully help.

That's pretty much all that is going on around here. Well, not all, but enough for me!!! We are still waiting on the house to be done, but should be moving in within a couple weeks. Hopefully when we are all WELL!!!

Nic is Walking!!!!!!!

Good Grief!! I walked into the living room last Monday with Nicholas and stood him up in the middle of the floor, thinking that he would drop to his knees and start to crawl toward his toys. Well, instead he took off and walked about 5 steps!!!! I had to double check with Annie to make sure I wasn't just imagining this. I wasn't. Now he's doing it more and more often and I am freaking out.

I remember not being able to wait until Austin learned to walk. He took his first steps right around 11 1/2 months. We were sooo excited.

I remember the first time we saw Jacob starting to crawl. We knew we were in for trouble with the second one. We were fine if he waited until 2 or 3 years to walk. No biggie. Of course, he started walking at right about 12 months.

We were not prepared for Nicholas to start walking at just over 10 months!!!! He's the third child so I have just now gotten around to talking pictures of him walking (a week after it first happened). I guess not being able to find the camera since we really don't have a home right now didn't help much either. Speaking of that, any messes you see in the background of any photos are not our messes since we don't actually have a home right now.

I am SICK, but my company won't let me take a sick day!!

I have figured out that the worst part of my job is the "no sick day" policy. I am fine with no paychecks (the benefits are great), I do fine with no vacation days, and I've gotten pretty used to the 24 hour on call policy. However, I am sick and I want to take a SICK day!!! I want to sleep in, I want to take a nap, and when not napping, I want to lay on the couch and watch HGTV.
It's just not happening that way. I'm still chauffeuring people around, cooking for them, cleaning, etc. Last night I had to help Alvin Yakkatorre with his Powerpoint presentation. He's giving a talk at career day today and being his agent, I'm in charge of stuff like that. I drove the fellows to the store yesterday and was subjected to Jefferson Stealflex's DIVA-like behavior throughout the store. He has a photoshoot today so I've got to dress him and fix his hair. You know by being his stylist, I'm in charge of stuff like that.
My eldest client, Ralph, really enjoys a good meal. So I made him some gourmet meatloaf and homemade instant potatoes. He's my most understanding client and would have been fine with takeout, but he does provide me with many of my wonderful benefits so I really wanted to do that for him. Being his personal chef and all, I felt obligated.
Nicholas is sick too (we have all been, but now it's pretty much just Nic and I). That just really makes it worse because his nose is running and he's coughing. Being that I'm his personal nurse and milkmaid, I'm in charge of stuff like that. I got called into the office between 3 and 4 a.m. and I honestly don't know what time I got back to bed. It seemed as if every time I coughed it woke him up. Now, the billion pound train barrelling down the tracks, 3 doors down from our bedroom at Annie's house, honking it's horn sooo loudly it makes your teeth rattle; he sleeps like a baby through that.
Well, I've done my venting. Work calls to me. I've got to get to the kitchen and whip up a healthy brown bag lunch for one of my clients and then get to my studio to work on Jefferson's hair (it's sticking straight up in the back and, that is gonna take some stylist magic).
Some people probably wonder why I hang onto this job, or why I took on so many clients. It's pretty simple. The benefits really are great. I get lots of hugs and kisses. I'm getting a new home. Sometimes I am given priceless artwork for all of my hard work. I think that my clients really do love me and that is satisfying.
Oh, I also have to get going because one of my clients just threw a fork into the toilet.

Time to Move!!!!

We are offically moving this weekend!!!! No, the new house is not quite ready yet, so we will be spending a couple weeks with Gaga (Annie).
We have packed and packed until we thought we could pack no more. We are still packing a little more. There is no time for being tired and no time for being sick (kids, are you listening?)
We are like college kids right now. Our beds are stored and we are sleeping on our boxsprings and mattresses. For some reason when kids only have mattresses on the floor, jumping is a must. It's been rare to walk back there lately and not see someone jumping. Last night the mattresses became a wrestling ring.
We are living out of totes and eating fastfood. The cook has turned in her resignation until further notice. The maid has PLENTY to do.
We are hoping that the new house will be ready in a couple weeks. The carpet and wood flooring need to be put in, the driveway and sidewalk poured, and all touchups done. I would include a picture of the new house, but won't for two reasons. 1:) The painters painted the shutters that were supposed to be left black and I don't think they look good and 2:) I have packed away the computer that I store all of my pictures on and I'm not willing to learn how to put them onto my laptop.
This house closes on Monday. It's been a good house. I've brought two babies home to it and put lots of hours into making it our home for over 7 years. I don't know whether I will be sad when we leave; haven't really had time to think about it. I guess we'll see on Monday.
So, for anyone who actually reads this, we'll keep ya posted on our whereabouts.

We made it!!

We made it through the first day of preschool. I picked Jacob up and he said he had a good time. His teacher said he was "busy". She had her hands full so I didn't add all that I could have to that. She said that he would fall into the routine.

I had made the mistake of telling him that, if they are good all week, on Thursday they get to pick something from the "treasure chest" in Ms. Polly's room. He was quite upset about not getting anything from the treasure chest. I explained it again. I told him it would be Thursday, if he was good. I asked him if he asked his teacher and he said "yes, she said Thursday." Jack came over later and I heard him talking about the treasure chest. I'm hoping that Jacob didn't start some sort of riot over that treasure chest.

When we got home, Jacob immediately started stripping out of his clothes and down to his underwear (his preferred lounging attire). I jokingly asked him if he kept his clothes on at school. He said "I only took off my shirt." I asked if what the teacher said. He said "she said, put it back on." He told me he only took it off because they were starting to paint. Good reasoning.

So, we are going to go back to school again today. He did have fun. They played on the nice new playground. I know they sang "Jesus Loves Me" because he kept singing it at the dinner table instead of eating. Can't fault him for that one. Plus, he sang it correctly. He had a rather dramatic way of singing it before.

Oh, one last thing. Why is he raising his hand in the picture?? During breakfast I told him that he should always raise his hand if he needed to ask the teacher something during class. So, for some reason, anytime I would say "smile" he would raise his hand.

Don't say SH**, Don't Spill Your Milk

Today is the BIG day!!! Jacob will start preschool. Now, it's only 3 days a week for 3 hours each day so why am I nervous???? Each week (well almost each week) he spends 2 hours in the church nursery while we go to Sunday School and Church. I guess this is just going to be more structured with more kids and I don't know all of their parents, so there IS a chance another parent could get mad at me when Jacob beats their child up. Just kidding. He isn't really a bully. Just a little high strung, demanding, opinionated............

We picked out our first school day outfit. Spongebob shirt and shorts. I would wear my Spongebob shirt too, but it says "Booty". (You know like a pirates treasure; booty). But the one time I wore it several people thought it meant booty like butt so I never wear it in public anymore. His says "I Need Supervision." Now that's an understatement.

He waffles back and forth between wanting to go. He realllllllly wants to go to school where Austin goes. He wants Austin to go to school with him. He told Gaga (Annie) that he was a little bit scared, but seemed totally offended (as if I gave him a Barbie to play with) when I asked him if he was.

We have gone over our rules for school. No potty talk, listen to the teacher, share with friends, don't hit, don't yell. To which Jacob says to us.....

"Don't say SH##, don't spill your milk."

We will see how it goes!!

P.S. Just for anyone wondering, the "S" word is not part of my son's vocabulary. We aren't sure where that came from. I guess, just maybe, it is possible that he may occasionally hear it muttered over permanent marker faces on bellies, leaking bags filled with water over the carpet, or, yes, when milk or some other liquid is spilled for the 3rd time in one day.