I give up

Being a mom is hard, but my kids make it even harder.

The bus driver caught Maddie and Walter kissing yesterday on the bus. YESTERDAY. That was the day after the first time and the day after I yelled at her until she cried. Remember when I said she doesn't care about getting in trouble??? There ya go. Now she is banished to the front seat of the bus alone.

After school yesterday Grandpa picked up Dylan and Maddie. Before they left I asked Dylan what homework he had. He had some simple math and a puppet. What puppet? Oh it's this project due tomorrow. Tomorrow? How long have we known about this? Since MONDAY. W-T-F. I almost made him stay home, but in the end who does that really punish? Me. So I made him do it this morning. He hated it. I reminded him that if we had known about this on MONDAY it would have looked awesome.

Now I need to get back to work because I'm flipping buried in it, but I had to take a break to go to the grocery store to buy food, because we had none and I don't have a day off now until next SATURDAY.

Somewhere there is a school for nuns waiting for Maddie.

Maddie came home from school yesterday with an announcement that broke me and her father into tiny pieces.

"I kissed a boy on the lips today."

Dylan looked like he was about to explode and Joel and I were stunned speechless for quite some time.

I gave her the lecture about not kissing boys at school because you could get in trouble, but she doesn't really care about that. She got mad at a girl and tried to lock her in the bathroom. That doesn't sound like a girl who cares about her disciplinary status at the school.

Go Maddie Go!

Last night was the Awana races. Maddie and Joel worked really hard on their car. It seemed like it took FOREVER to get the races started. Maddie and Lauren were a heck of a lot more patient than 99% of the otehr kids there though. I don't know who injected these children with ADHD before they got there, but holy guacamole batman. Neither Maddie's nor Lauren's cars won. As soon as their races were over we snagged our cars and left. We met the Blacks at DQ. Originally we had planned to go there anyway, but Joel and I both left our wallets at home and didn't have any money. Amanda graciously offered to buy our kids something to eat (thank you). Maddie ate the biggest cone you'll ever see in your life. She ate it ALL. I thought for sure she was going to be up all night sugared up, but no...she was in bed at 9:00 and slept straight until 7:00. Hmm....maybe she should have a large cone before bed every night. NOT

I actually remembered to bring my camera last night, but we had pretty bad seats for the show and I gave the camera to Dylan so he could get in a better position to take some pictures. He took 2 not so good pictures and a few 1-2 second videos of the cars crossing the finish line but you can't even tell who or what is going on. He was a little preoccupied with spending all of his 200 text messages in one day.

Casa De Normal

We're almost on the healthy road. Maddie's 100% back to normal (and then some); Dylan is about 85% - he still has "moments' when he doesn't feel well and is really wiped out. It's to be expected. This virus kicked his butt.

He's had his cell phone 2 months and he ran out of money. He ran out a week early. I refused to put any money on it until the 24th, which was the day it was supposed to go through anyway. 90% of his money went to texting his friends who aren't on the network. So I made a deal with him and added the 200 free text message plan for $5 extra a month and he's going to vacume for me once a week (sweeeet). I bet he blows through those within a month too and we'll have to increase it and maybe I won't need to do any cleaning ever again!

We had a few days period where Maddie was sleeping horribly. One night she was up from 2:30 until 6:30, then she slept until 9:00. Of course I didn't. That night I had less than 3 hours of sleep. The next night it was 2:30 to 4:00. But now we're back on track. Monday night she woke up at 2:30 and I was so afraid we were going to be up for the rest of the night, but she got up and peed and went back to bed for the rest of the night. Last night she slept all night.

After that first night of only 3 hours of sleep on my part, the next morning she says to me "Mom, you were awfully cranky in the middle of the night". YOU THINK????

A mother's job

One of the many job requirements of a mother is distraction.

Today Maddie stepped on a tack. Seriously, a very minor injury. In Maddie's world, she was dying. There was just a small tiny amount of blood. Nothing to write home about. As I cleaned it up and got the Band-Aid ready I looked around and noticed that there were goldfish crackers everywhere. She had been carrying a bowl and when she stepped on the tack she must have freaked out and sent the fish flying.

So I said "Looks like we've had a fish explosion here"

Which made her laugh. There were no more tears and she forgot all about the tack incident. For now anyway.

2 Videos to Share

The first one is amazing. I have yet to see the movie Slumdog Millionaire but after seeing this user-generated video using Ryan Star's Last Train Home, I HAVE to see this movie. I cried. Seriously, I cried.

Slumdog Millionaire/ Ryan Star- Last Train Home @ Yahoo! Video

and here is a video from someone who was at a recent Ryan Star concert. There was something about this video that made me....let's just say swoon. You all know I love Ryan, but over the years it's turned into more of a respectful love; a love of his music and his talent and of him as a person. This video reminded me that this boy is HAWT. Now watch this video while I go sponge off my keyboard.

Work Update

Working two jobs is going good so far. I actually enjoy it. I will enjoy it more once the money starts rolling in. Because I started both job number 2 and restarted job number 1 at the very end of the month, I won't be seeing any money for at least another week or so because of how the pay periods fall.

Sunday's are my favorite days so far. I only work one job and it's from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m., which I thought I would hate but I love it for a few reasons:
1. It's my biggest line-producing day. Not just because I am working 8 hours but for some reason I just get better quality of work and I work faster and harder. I average 200-250 lines per hour rather than 150-200.
2. It's Joel's day with the kids and he loves that. They usually go rent some movies and having a chill-out day.
3. Joel cooks dinner AND cleans up.
4. Maddie hated it at first but now she loves it because I let her stay up until after I get off and then I read a book to her and that is special because she "thinks" it's later than she usually stays up but it actually isn't. Don't tell her that.

Monday through Thursday I work both jobs, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. By Wednesday I'm very mentally drained, but I chug on through. Friday's I only work one job.

The kids hate it but mostly because it means less computer time for them. Dylan said "We'll hate it less when you make lots of money and buy us stuff." Yea, I bet.

Maddie Love Ryan Star...take 276

She loves this Ryan Star song and she wanted to put on a concert for me and asked to put this song on. She sang the whole song and even made hand motions. It was too cute.

It's a Joel Blog

If it weren't for Joel's phrase "If I had a blog, I would blog about this", you would never know my faults.

Tonight we watched "My Name is Earl" and on it Randy said that Earl could play "Wipeout" on his belly.

Before you get ahead of yourself, no I did NOT play "Wipeout" on my belly.

Joel couldn't remember how that song goes.

So I hummed it for him.

Only I realized afterwards that I did not hum "Wipeout" but the theme to "Batman".

So we chuckled (he more than me).

Then I hummed the real "Wipeout".

Only to realize afterwards that it was not actually "Wipeout" but "Tequila".

Another hysterical moment of laughter.

Ahem.

I never really got the real version of "Wipeout" out. At this point, it's irrelevant to the moment. And thanks to Joel's insistence, you now all know that I made an error. It doesn't happen often, so enjoy the moment.

In case you were wondering, we did get to finish watching "My Name is Earl". Thank God for DVRs. The pause button was in full effect.

Goodbye Emily, hello Glowie

This morning I went in to feed Maddie's fish Emily and she had passed onto the great goldfish bowl in the sky.

Maddie cried. Not just a little, she was hysterical. So off we went to Wal Mart to get another one. They were all out of Bettas so she picked something else. I can't remember what it was called but it is all white and she named it "Glowie". Now her world is right again.

I kept Dylan home from school today. He's sick and I can't figure out if it's just a virus or something worse. He's had a really bad stomache and off and on headaches for about a week now. He's been really tired lately too. I was going to take him to the doctor but I think I'm going to give him a day of rest and see how he feels later. If I have to I'll keep him home another day and take him tomorrow. I just hate going to the doctor and having them tell you "it's just a virus, he should be better in a few days, thanks for your money".

I'm not overwhelmed, I swear.

Today was the first day I felt even remotely overwhelmed with two jobs. I had 29 reports to do this morning for my morning job - all of which needed to be done before my p.m. job started at 1:00. I took the kids to my mothers for the day so I could work in peace and it's a good thing I did. I started as soon as I got home (I never even took off my shoes) and I finished at exactly 12:58 - with 2 minutes to eat lunch - HA

Needless to say I was pretty much worthless for the afternoon job. I was mentally wiped out. Thankfully I have a simple line and time count to meet and not a report quota. Otherwise I would have had to thrown in the towel.

Not every day will have 29 reports to do in the morning. That was easily the most I've ever had.

Someday the money will come flowing in. Just in time to see it fly out the car window. Speaking of money, we also have our Coldplay tickets (with the minor inconvenience of us sitting in two different seats two rows and 35 seats apart thanks to the stupidity of yours truly) and we have our hotel booked. We decided to stay in Moses Lake, which is a bit of a drive from the Gorge, but not too bad. At least we're not camping, right?

Dear Lord:

Have mercy on us. Somewhere along the line I have done something to deserve a daughter, who at 5 years of age, is already causing gray hairs for both my husband and I. Forgive me for whatever that transgression may be. If it is my husband's fault, please let me know so I can inflict punishment where it is due.

Case in point:

This evening she asked for a bath, even though she wasn't due and it was a little later than I would have liked - I let her have one anyway because who am I to deny my daughter cleanliness; I think they have laws against that.

After her bath she said she wanted one tomorrow too, which is completely out of character for her. She said "I like to be clean."

Good. That's great, I'm glad to hear that - at least one of my children does, right?

Then she said "I want to have one everyday before school because I really am trying to find a boyfriend and I need to be sparkly clean everyday".

jottin' a quick one

I haven't had much time to post, I worked 8 hours yesterday and am essentially working 9 hours today. On top of that the kids are home from school until Wednesday.

Maddie woke up feeling crappy yesterday so I ran her to the urgent care before work and she has probably a sinus infection so they gave her some antibiotics and she is already feeling better.

We dropped my car off at the shop yesterday for mostly a tune-up but also to check out a few things that were off about the car. Turns out both front axels and both front brakes were shot. Super. In comes the income and then out it goes.

Last night

Last night was absolutely the best! We went to Ivars for dinner and drinks. They have a great happy hour there. I ordered oyster shooters and a salmon ceasar salad. I found a piece of broken glass in one of my oyster shooters!! They were extremely apologetic and although they were going to take it off the bill but in the end they cut our bill in half and we ended up paying only $25 for all the drinks and the dinner we had. It was awesome and thankfully I didn't sever my esophagus and cause massive internal injuries.

The show was really really awesome. It was sold out, which made me happy. I love Louis CK and I was under the impression that I was the only person in the world that did because nobody I know even knows who he is. I bought the DVD last night so if anyone wants to borrow it, you can. Just be warned of the offensive nature of pretty much everything he says. Think Sam Kinisin minus the yelling and obesity and hair. A guy actually fell out of his chair last night. You think I'm kidding. Front row. I think he scared Louis because he was like "Dude, are you alright?" Of course he's alright...your just HILARIOUS (if you were at the show, you would think that statement is even funnier. How sad, I'm putting inside jokes on my blog that nobody will ever understand.....)

Anyway, now I'm off to pick up my sick kids from Mam's House. Poor kids. At least I'm not hungover or anything. When you have a couple of drinks before an 8:00 show and then get home about 1:30 you're pretty much just tired the next day.

The best compliment

The TV was on and there was a commercial for a reality show called Top Chef. Dylan said "mom, you should go on that...you would totally win".

So not true, but I love him more for saying so.

I think when you're kids think you could win the title of "Top Chef", you've already won.

bleck

The kids are home sick today. I kind of expected this. I wanted to keep Maddie home yesterday but she had a field trip and didn't want to miss it. I had to pick them up early from school anyway because of the snow. Dylan started feeling acky last night so I let them both stay home and chill out for a day. Maddie was disappointed that she couldn't go to Awanas but when she found out Lauren was sick and couldn't go either, she felt better about that.

There isn't too much to report otherwise. Both jobs are going well. I'm struggling to find time to shower or bathe my children or do any cleaning to speak of so if you note a strange odor coming from our direction, don't mind us - it's just me trying to work 2 jobs. That's the smell of success.

Snow no more

I'm so tired of snow this year. I swear we've seen more snow this year then we've seen in the past 5 years combined. I'm done with this crap.

Thank god it's not that much.

Today at the Redbox they had a Noddy DVD. Maddie used to LOVE this show, but it wasn't on anymore. So I rented it and she has already watched it twice. Speaking of movies, she has a new favorite - "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" - you know the one with Johnny Depp? She grabbed it off the shelf the other day and said she wanted to watch it; she had never even seen it before. She's watched it at least once a day since then and I mean AT LEAST, sometimes twice and even once I think she watched it a third time. Now before you think I'm a horrible mom for letting my kids watch TV 24 hours a day, let me just say that she hasn't been feeling well lately and has been just kind of laying around. So shut up.

Spoiled rotten

Today is my first 8-hour Sunday shift with work - 1 p.m. until 9 p.m. I'm still doing it actually. Joel went to the store and bought steaks and lobster tail and made that and baked potatoes, salad and rolls for dinner so all I had to do was take a 20 minute break to eat it. He's the best. It was so delicious too. It was killing me to smell it while I was working too.

The shift has gone well. It's kind of encouraging to have such a high production day. I almost always have had my highest production days on Sunday's because Joel is here to watch the kids and there is usually the long "hospital" dictations like H&P's and consult notes on the system. With an 8-hour shift I see the really high numbers.

As for the sickness in the house, It think everyone is getting better. Nobody seems to be to terribly bad anyway, a little stuffy here and there. Everyone is back to school and reality tomorrow.

Happy birthday Joel!

Today is my husband's 34th birthday!! He started the day off by taking Dylan to the Zone to hit some balls and then they went to Joel's first men's league softball practice of the year. Later we'll have some family time and probably go bowling and out to dinner.

Happy birthday!! We love you!

GREAT NEWS

This morning Coldplay announced more tour dates INCLUDING July 11th at the Gorge Ampitheater. WOOT

I have been DYING about them not coming to Seattle. Now they're playing the Gorge? I've seen many concerts at the Gorge and they're always awesome, and now my favorite band is playing there. I think I'll shed a tear of joy.

Be still my heart

I happily listened to Ryan Star on the radio this morning. I will admit to being a little teary-eyed. The DJ said they were being flooded with text messages and emails from people saying how much they loved him (none of them were even me!) He announced he's going on tour with David Cook, which made both Dylan and I about scream our heads off. It was a little bittersweet for me though. I've loved him for so long and rooted for him and pulled for him and waited for the day that he broke out and people started to notice him. Now that this is happening I am feeling a little possessive. There are already many tour dates scheduled for the east coast and most of them are already sold out, which means as soon as the Seattle dates come up I have to buy my tickets right on the spot. Long gone are the days of the intimate concert settings. Now I will have to fight tons of other screaming girls to get to him, which probably won't happen. Oh well. I am really, really happy for him and I am as proud of him as I would be if it were my own son. He so deserves all the success he's worked so hard for. The fact that he's touring with David Cook totally rules too because I wanted to see that concert anyway. Now I have 2 reasons to see it. Joel is even coming!

Brief moment

Right now I'm listening to the radio waiting for Ryan to come on. How exciting. I'm recording it, although I'm not sure what to do with it after I record it. LOL

Dylan came home sick yesterday. He and I both have a little minor cold, but it's not that bad. He's going to school today. He came home pale with a headache and a bad sore throat.

Anyway, I can't type and listen to the radio right now because I'm too distracted. Maybe later, lol.

Pride, glory and girl screeching.

Ryan Star's song "Last Train Home" single was released to radio and available for download on itunes (go buy it, it's only $2 and it's awesome and it comes with Right Now. Never mind that I already have them both, now I have them again)

I heard it on the radio this morning and I about crashed my car. Then they said he was coming to the studio tomorrow to perform it. Then I did crash my car. I'm kidding. I did call the radio station and squeal like a teenager and make a fool out of myself, but this is exciting news. Too bad I have to work tomorrow or I'd stalk the radio station tomorrow. You think I'm kidding.

Aye carumba

Today was my first day doing both of my jobs on the same day. I'm exhausted. I don't feel too overwhelmed yet though. I haven't had a shower or really put any clothes on to speak of but I had all of my 2nd job done and sent off before 11:30 today and was able to get Maddie on the bus, take a little walk and get a little housecleaning done before my start of job number 1 at 1:00.

It will take some time to get used to. I am getting more comfortable with job number 2 now and when I'm really comfortable with it I should be able to get that work done in less than 2 hours rather than about 4-5.

I've been out of job number 1 for 2 weeks now and it was funny how it took me a minute to regain my bearings when I started it back up. I felt really out of sorts all of a sudden, but I caught myself back up to speed and flew right through it.

Will this all be worth it? Yes, I think so. If not - I know what to do.

Anniversary!

Today is my in-law's anniversary!!! Happy Anniversary to Karla and Roger!!

The weekend went by quickly. The kids seemed to have a blast yesterday. I was wiped out by the end of the night, seeing as though I really exerted myself and all. I worked on job number 2 today but I don't think I'm back to job number 1 until tomorrow. I'm already done with my work so I have some cleaning to do. So much fun, right? Yea, I thought so.

A big fat bowl of super!

Friday the kids spent the night at Mam's house. When they came home I could tell Maddie was really tired. We had rented a movie to watch (Igor) and less than 30 minutes into it she was sleeping. It was only 6:30. I left her to sleep for about 30 minutes and then decided to try to move her to bed. I didn't really want her to be asleep that early or we'd be up at 4:00 a.m. By moving her upstairs I secretly hoped she'd wake up and not want to go back to sleep. She did. She was still way tired though. I had her in bed by 8:00 but she was all of a sudden feeling re-energized by the power nap so I let her stay up watching TV with Dylan until she got tired, which was only 30 minutes.

She slept clear through the night and woke up at 6:30 this morning. Earlier than I would have liked, but not that bad.

Now we're getting ready for the Superbowl! We're having a few people over so I have some cleaning and cooking to do today and one final trip to the grocery store.

I hope you all have fun and I hope the Steelers lose. I don't really want the Cardinals to win, but I want to see shitsburgh fall on it's face. While you're watching it, you may hear bits and pieces of Ryan Star songs. His song "This Could Be The Year" is going to be featured in some promo spots. WOOT