The Crazee Chick's View of Life

Wanna know my definition of BLISS? Walking hand in hand with the one I love while having an uninterrupted and engaging conversation. That's what Hubby and I did this afternoon. We are rarely a spontaneous couple but today we decided to just take off on the kids (mwu ha ha ha) and go for a walk in the glorious sunshine. We found outselves at Starbucks (yes, I KNOW it's Sunday but the events of the last month and a half have left very little time to steal a few moments together) where we had a nice frosty drink (yum...a blended strawberry lemonade with a couple of shots of raspberry! Try it, you'll LOVE it!)and had time to just talk, dream and stare into each others' eyes. I loved it! I'm so lucky to still be in love with the same man after 28 years (if my Hubby ever finds out about this guy he's going to be really mad! Just kidding!!). We were high school sweethearts and I can't really remember life before him. I remember when I was in university a fri...

I'm Grumpy today! Not Sneezy (although with all the cottonwood fluff in the air I'm surprised I'm not), not Dopey (that was a couple of months ago during my Gravol buzz in the hospital), not Sleepy, nor am I Apathetic (is that a dwarf?) Nope, today I am GRUMPY! Wanna know why? 'Cause I spent my whole day with my butt in the air and it's made not one iota of difference! Hmm....yes, I can see what you're thinking here and you're way off base. Allow me to explain. I spent the whole day picking stuff up of the floor (thus the butt in the air. Get it now? Pervert.) and my house still looks like a disaster! My kids, especially Kiki, have a horrible habit of just picking stuff up and moving it to another location or just dropping it on the floor when they have no more desire to touch it. When they pick stuff up and move it, wouldn't it be nice if they could ensure that the 'thing' finds it's way into the place it calls HOME? I'll be so g...

We are a bike riding family! Gone are the baby bike seats. Gone are the piggy-back devices like the Trail Gator. Gone are the training wheels! Houston, we have FREEDOM! Zee can finally ride without training wheels. It's been a long time in the works. He's been able to ride for over a year, but only if he doesn't realize we've let go. The minute he figures out that he's been 'released,' he jams on his brakes, falls over and gets mad at us. But last Sunday he got on his bike and just started riding (okay, Hubby was running after him in a zig zag motion like a crazy man trying to anticipate a 'saved in -the- nick- of-time- grab') Why the change in attitude you may ask? Good old competitive spirit! Or jealousy. On Saturday his Kindergarten friend came by to show off his bike riding prowess and it provided the impetus that Zee needed. After his friend left I listened to my intuition that told me to keep my mouth shut and not point out the fact ...

...but I didn't have it written on the calendar or entered into my iTouch so how was I to remember? Maybe the big 'E' flashing on the dashboard of my van might have been a reminder, but I always ignore it and I've never had a problem before (okay, maybe there was that one time). In my own defense, you need to understand that my Empty light is a little bit of an alarmist. The light flicks on when I've got at least 1/4 of a tank left. I mean really, if you're going to flick on then at least be accurate! I can still go a really long way on 1/4 tank of gas. And then, if you take fumes into consideration, I can go even further! I guess, tonight, I ran out of fumes. As I see it that little orange colored E-light should have been doing something more to warn me. Just sitting there, doing nothing, like it has for the last week, is ineffective! If there had been blinking, slow first and then faster as the tank got emptier, and maybe some sirens or alarms, then may...

As I sit here in the sunshine writing this blog I hear all kinds of beautiful noises; birds singing, children laughing while having a water fight...the kinds of noises that aren't noise pollution but rather are the ones that lift our souls to great heights and make our lives a song. But the one sound I have heard recently was more beautiful then any of these; it was the sound of my daughter's voice. This past long weekend, we decided to take a trip to visit my husband's parents. While we were there our daughter, Mo, developed terrible pains in the lower right quandrant of her stomach. The pains lasted all through the night and on Sunday morning she had a slight, pea sized swelling on her belly. It looked like maybe it was a hernia. After a few hours, I palpated her stomach and not only was the lump gone but her tummy made a huge gurgling sound when I pressed on it. The pain didn't subside so I took her to the ER in this little city we were visiting. The doctor gu...

My little boy is growing into a little man. An educated and studious little man.... About a month and a half ago he asked me for a new Grade 1 workbook but I told him that he had to finish his Kindergarten workbook first. I never thought he'd take me seriously, but he tackled that 318 page book like he was a one legged man in a butt-kicking contest. He worked, he read, he sharpened a million pencils (okay, maybe I exaggerate a tad), he colored and he used his cranium. I am proud to say that last night, as the daylight was dying and the single candle that he was working beside flickered with a weak flame (okay,so not really!...can't a girl like me still pretend that she's Laura from Little House on the Prairie?), Zee finished his book!! So, as a special treat, we are now heading to Costco for him to pick out any new workbook that he fancies! (as soon as Pa loads up the wagon and hitches the horses. Perhaps I'll get myself some nice calico for a dress; maybe a candy stick...

I swear there’s a conspiracy going on in my house. I think there’s some scheming, some cheating, and a little bit of fun going on. And it’s not what you think. It’s our family’s socks. Yep, SOCKS! When I put my socks into the washing machine, they go in as PAIRS but lately, and this is occurring at an alarmingly increasing rate, they’re coming out as SINGLES. Yes, my socks are divorcing one another!! Why do they not like each other anymore? Have they fallen out of love due to issues that we can fix? Maybe one has a hole and this bothers the OCD partner? Maybe it’s a color issue. Blue socks in pairs perhaps can depress one another. Maybe I should take the blue one and offer to pair it with a happy color like yellow. Both are alone anyway…it might make a nice match. I wonder where they go? In my old machine, I often thought that the socks maybe got ejected during the spin cycle and fell from the tub, but when we got rid of the old washer and opened it up, I didn’t find any forlorn, aband...

Phew.... Sigh of Relief! Dance competitions are over for the year! I can't tell you how much I love, and alternately hate, dance fesitval season. I can't wait for competition to get started in Feb./March-ish...it's so fun getting the costumes, getting the final little pieces like the fishnet stockings, the hair clips, the wigs...it's an excuse to spend money so of course I LOVE IT!!! I love getting the kids' all gussied up in their makeup and curling their hair (or straightening it, depending on the teachers' request) and then driving to the venue and walking into the dressing room with all the bright lights. It's like being a movie star for heaven's sake. Then, the best part is watching them go out on stage and dance like nobody's watching! I love the energy, the choreography, the talent...it's great! But, there comes a time when it's no longer fun! When you've curled the hair in the morning and then have to straighten it in the aft...

I had a great birthday! 42 things about me: 1. I am thankful that I got to have my 42nd birthday! 2. I love my family more than life! 3. Up until a month ago I had never been hospitalized for anything other than giving birth and that was as in and out as I could possibly make it. 4. I just learned that hospitals are painful. Someone is always poking you, hurting you or trying to hurt you. 5. I am loved. I really didn't know that until recently. 6. I am grateful for prayer and answers to prayer. 7. I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up. 8. Somedays I want to be a doctor or a nurse and other days I want to be something more creative like a photographer or a web designer. 9. I talk too much and often wish I could keep my plans quiet until they come to fruition but I usually spill the beans far in advance and someone usually talks me out of whatever I have planned. 10. I've come to realize that there are only 4 or 5 personality types in this world. W...

Ugh. Puke. Again. Not mine this time though. It's Zee's, and it looks like Mo is lining up for her turn to bow to the porcelain god. Not to be too graphic but I have never seen so much 'stuff' come out of one little boy. I don't think he digested one iota of food the entire day. Poor little guy...his stomach was so hard and distended. Luckily enough, after hurling and pooping his little bum raw, Zee managed to get to sleep and only woke one time during the night for a repeat performance. Mo woke up this morning punky, pale and pooping; hope she bypasses the puking. She's been napping off and on all day. So, in case you've lost count that makes: -2 sick kids -1 recovering mommy -1 kid recovering from asthma attacks -1 exhausted and coughing daddy It may also mean: -1 sick Grandma -1 sick Grandpa Hopefully they left yesterday before this latest 'bug' came a-callin' to our door. Wonder what's up? Why ...

My Mommy and Daddy went home today. I cried. It's been a long time since I've cried when my parents left. It's not that I don't love them or dread their leaving, it's that I know if I start to cry that I will sob uncontrollably and then my parents will follow suit and it'll all just be too tragic. We just make our goodbyes very brief and kind of cool...as if they are just heading to the mall for the day. It's easier that way. It's called :Defense Mechanisms...talk to Freud about it. He knows. Anyway, so they're gone and with them goes my gratitude, my love, my respect, my awe, and yes, a big piece of my heart. These are two of the most generous and caring people you will ever meet. They literally give the shirts off their back. My poor mom hobbled around my kitchen day after day knowing full well that doing her task would leave her in horrible pain and practically immobile for the rest of the night. I dreaded watching her struggle and wished I could ...