Thursday, October 30, 2008

Sounding Board.....

....isn't that what a blog is? Well at least that's how I use mine! I'm may lose my religion on this post and I just feel like I need to give anyone reading this fair warning! Has anyone else noticed how my sister-in-law Amanda claims that she was dragged into everything and how exhausted she was by it all but then she was there posting on my blog minutes after others would post? For those of you reading this you're probably wondering what in the world is going on and why we are acting like white trash. Well, let me just fill everyone in. My mother came last week to "help" with my kids while I was in Montana. Well by Thursday all my kids are calling crying to me. Apparently Ryan and Charlie were hit with a flute and slapped in the face by my mother. Ryan went to school the next day and his teacher asked him what was going on and why he was so sad and she took him out into the hall where he proceeded to tell her what was going on at home. She walked him to the principal's office where he had to tell the vice principal what had happened. The VP then contacted my sister-in-law, Jade, to see if she could come get the boys from school because they weren't going to be able to send my kids home to my mother. She told Jade that if she couldn't come get them she was going to have to call CPS. Jade had to leave work and go get my kids. Ryan had the bruise to prove her abuse. Well apparently my brother David and his wife Amanda thought this was warranted. So Amanda posts on her blog how disrespectful kids are and how folks use their blog to complain. Well anyone that reads it can clearly see that is was directed towards me. But when she was called on it of course the denial comes out! It just seems so strange to me that for someone who cries all this southern baptist forgiveness crap that she rambles about that she would continue to keep things stirring. Now I am all for forgiveness but doesn't that mean you leave it alone after a time? For her to be so exhausted from it all she sure was right in the middle of it very willingly. You can tell that for yourself as you read the comments she made so quickly after other comments had been posted. She loves being in the middle of the crap although she will deny that. Another funny thing is how she wants society to better teach children respect as her kids tell their dad what a fatso he is and how they so freely tell him they hate him! HMMMM! Interesting! But as my sister and I pondered on why they were so quick to believe my mother we both realized it was because they got nervous that I kept $360 that my mother had given me to put into my account. I kept this money because I had purchased my mother's plane ticket for her to help with my kids and not to abuse them. So, since she decided to be abusive I decided I would get refunded! This has made David and Amanda very nervous since they are ultra greedy and like to get something for nothing! The way they did when they rummaged through my mother's last apartment to sell her things for pennies on the dollar at a yard sale to all the african americans in their neighborhood. Instead what they should have done was give the things back to my dad who had bought all of the stuff. But this isn't the way selfish, greedy folks who live on credit cards do things! :) Instead they keep the earnings for themselves and this is exaclty what they did. So my sister called Amanda today and she was a usual prideful person not thinking she or David had done anything wrong by being accusatory. She has no idea the crap my mother has put us through and that's ok. I am just thankful for good friends and for a sister that knows exactly how it feels to have a mother like we have. I am thankful everyday for that relationship. So anyway, I know this is not the most Christ-like thing to do by blabbing all of this but it sure has helped me get things off my chest. :) I feel so much better! Y'all have a good night now! Holla.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

What's it all about?

I don't know why I let things bug me. Normally I can let things go but lately I have been a little bugged about certain things. My mom did some pretty mean things to my kids while she was here, thus meriting an early return from my trip to Montana. She then goes home and makes people think she is a victim. This is what she normally does. I guess the thing that bugs me the most is not only did she hurt my kids physically and emotionally but she makes other people think that my kids were the ones in the wrong. Now I'm not saying by any means that my kids are perfect but they for sure do not act the way she has portrayed. We have taught our kids well and yes they do act up from time to time but please show me some kids that don't. I guess it's more hurtful than anything. Then there are others in the family that love to see the crap hit the fan and like to get things stirred up and love to always be in the middle of things. This is fine with me, I'm just so glad I don't have to live my life this way. I am thankful that I can say I tried to reach out to my mom at a time when I thought she might need it and that I had no strings attached when I did it. That being said, if you don't like my blog then DON'T READ IT! But I do say thank you to all my faithful followers!

I can't seem to snap out of the crappy way that I feel. I may need to go shopping soon. Oh and yes the biggest loser class was tonight. I had to pay a dollar since I gained a pound, dang it! Of course Trisha lost more weight. That woman is up to 10 pounds gone! What the heck is my problem? The woman teaching is super sweet but the poor woman knows nothing about "real" nutrition. It's ok though, she's trying to help.

I had my first RS presidency meeting tonight and it made me feel less overwhelmed. This ward really has it together and has things planned far in advance. I am so thankful for this. It will make my job so much easier. The new president is so sweet and sincere. I love this characteristic in a person. I really do have a hard time with folks being something they aren't when they are around others. Especially when you know someone's true character.

So, the trouble making girls came around today. This time it was my little 60 year old neighbor blessing them out. Apparently, one of the girls called her little 6 year old granddaughter a b word. This did not sit well with little Kay Hadley. She has the sweetest, well mannered grandkids too. So, Taylor, (granddaughter) went and told Grandma what they had called her and Kay came out and said some words to them and called them white trash which she told my son she had gotten that term from me! I thought that was hilarious!! Folks dig the southern accent around here. I guess it just sounds better! Kay is this little 60 year old Grandma who takes care of her severely handicapped son and also cares for grandchildren on a daily basis. She is the sweetest thing you could ever meet and always willing to help me out. But that woman does not take crap off ANYONE. She will tell you how it is! I love her! I like that trait in a person as well. I mean just be nice to people and you won't have to worry about getting blessed out. People DO NOT like you messing with their kids or grandkids for that matter. Just be nice, it's as easy as that. Let that sink in folks.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

A weight lifted....

I need to thank the Lord everyday that I know how to be nice. I am thankful that I have such great kids that have learned to stand up for themselves. And I am mostly grateful that my mom is out of my house as of this morning!! YEEHAW!! Yep, I dumped her off at 9:20. :) I am so glad that's over. Now on to the next little milestone.

I'm excited about Halloween this week! We're gonna have a little Halloween dinner and then go trick or treating. I'm going to be domestic and make all sorts of cute Halloweeny edibles! I'm excited. I had to go to Zurchers today and get spider rings for Cody's party on Thursday. They happened to have all their Halloween crap 50% off and I got lots of good stuff. I love a bargain!

I have told my kids that when they turn 12 they can no longer go trick or treating. Well, Charlie turned 12 two weeks ago and he told me he didn't want to go because he felt too old!! I am so glad my kids are like that and have boundaries! One Halloween night my sister got a knock on her door at about 9:30, well after trick or treaters had stopped coming. She opens the door and there stands 2 grown teenagers. No costume or even a mask! Why do parents allow this? Anyway, my sister had a tone in her voice that made them feel a little, shall I say, awkward and they hurried on their way. So anyway, this will be Charlie's first year of no trick or treating. I think he gets excited about getting older and doing big kid things. He's a good kid!

Well Charles' homecoming has still not sunk into my brain. I cannot imagine having a husband around again and having help. I leave in about 2 1/2 weeks and I haven't gotten super excited yet because it just doesn't seem real. I am super elated about it but I just can't wrap my brain around the fact that he's coming home that soon! I will be glad for him to get home so he can get all the yard work done! :) He has a list waiting for him. I love him!

I HATE the blogs out there that try to make people think their life is so perfect when folks know dang good and well they aren't. I can't stand when people try to act like something they aren't. Just a thought!

Monday, October 27, 2008

Do you ever feel like.....

slapping someone real hard? I do! Today was a pretty good day! No gym or makeup or fixed hair for me today! I really should start dressing up more. I know it would make me feel better. I just feel like there's no point since there is nobody here to appreciate my cuteness when I am fixed up. Only 2 1/2 weeks though and then I'll start dressing up everyday. Instead of dressing up today I cleaned all day! I've feel like I've been all out of order since I returned home and I needed to regain it today. I did laundry and cleaned floors and the kitchen and my room and put laundry away. I HATE putting laundry away. I hate laundry period. I would rather do that than grocery shop though!

Tomorrow I take my mom to the airport! This is the day I have been looking forward to for the last 3 weeks. I kept telling myself if I could just make it to this day I would be good. That was before I got my new calling though! :) I like to use little milestones to countdown the days until my husband returns and tomorrow was one of them. Halloween is another and the next one will be ward temple night on the 7th of November. Once these things take place I will have only one week until I fly to Birmingham to see my sister and her cute toe heads. I am very excited about seeing all of them. My sister and I have a great relationship and we talk every single day. I am lucky to have her especially since my mother is a complete......(you can finish that sentence!)

So anyway, not much else to report. I did find some cute clothes at Wal-Mart tonight. I'm not ashamed to admit I shop there. About 90% of my wardrobe comes from this place. I love it! What would we do without it? Maybe shop at Target more??!!!

Sunday, October 26, 2008

A day in the life.......

Of a crazy lady! Ok so I got back from Montana late Friday night. It was technically Saturday morning. It was around 1 a.m. when we rolled in. We were supposed to be home earlier than that but we missed a turn somewhere in Yellowstone. I was distracted by all the animals that were within 20 feet of our car. Obviously all the people out west are used to the things you see in Yellowstone because nobody seemed to be too impressed of the pictures I had taken of the pack of buffalo that was in the middle of the road or the elk that was ALL OVER the park. I also got some pictures of big horned sheep. It was amazing if I do say so myself!! So we missed our turn and ended up having to go through Jackson Hole, Wyoming. What a cute town! That was fun! Except for having to drive a 2 lane highway the ENTIRE way back. :) Why did I come back so early you might ask yourself.....let's just say I probably won't be talking to my mother any time within the next 10-15 years! We'll leave it at that.

Anyway, I did get my certification and it feels so good to be done with that course. I'm excited that I was able to accomplish that during this deployment!

So here I am cruising along in life with my super easy calling and loving every minute of having to only teach Relief Society every other month. Clarksville did me in with the callings. So when I got here and they called me to be a teacher I was elated.....until today! I was out in the hall when the clerk came and said "hey, can you step in the bishop's office for a minute?" So I was thinking I was going to be released from my teaching calling. And I was....I was calling-less for about 5 seconds!! So now I'm in the Relief Society presidency....again! (you have to say again with the Forrest Gump accent!) I was very much enjoying the break. It was nice while it lasted. It'll be good though. I feel a little inadequate since all the ladies in our ward seem to have it together. We do have a great ward! I will miss it when we leave. It has been a nice break from Tennessee!

We went to a haunted forest last night and it was pretty fun. We also went bowling and all my kids beat me. I came in dead last! We went with Matt and Jade (bro and sis in law) and Matt and Cody had a great time slipping as they threw the ball down the lane. It was so funny! For some reason they both had a hard time staying on their feet! Bowling is a fun activity. I don't know why we don't do it more often. I guess cuz it cost me 30 freakin bucks for my family to bowl.

I'm starting to feel a little like a neglectful parent. I went out of town for 2 days this last week and now I will leave again in about 3 weeks for a week. Of course I am leaving for good reason, I just feel bad since it seems like I've had to do it so much. Too bad I don't have a mom I can rely on to help out and know that my kids would be taken super good care of. I wonder what that would be like. If anyone cares to comment on that feel free to fill me in. Dang it!

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Oh...I don't know

I did kickboxing class today and I love it! I think I'm the fattest chick in there though. I don't care because it is super fun. Maybe if I do it enough I won't be so fat! There was this adorable pregnant girl in there bouncing all over the place while I was thinking what the heck is wrong with me. Anyway, it's a fun thing to do to break up a monotonous workout. I like it a lot. I also went tanning. I need to darken some of this fat up before my husband gets home. My motto has always been dark fat looks so much better than white fat. I sound like one of those boob girls I'm always ranting about. Tanning and kickboxing...WOW. I swear I'm not really like that.....at all. I just want to be cute when my hubby gets home!

So every last one of my boys is doing a wrestling camp this week and I just have to say that Cody, my 5 year old, looks absolutely adorable out there on the mats wrestling around. He lowers down into his wrestling stance and it is hilarious! It is the cutest thing. Josh is pretty darn cute out there too. Now I know I'm biased, and I know my kids make me nuts daily, but they are super good looking kids. Charlie and Ryan say wrestling is by far their favorite sport now. Ironic too since their dad was a wrestler. I would have liked to have seen him in a singlet!! I didn't know him when he wrestled.

So tomorrow is the big day!! I leave for Montana. I am so ready for this course to be over. I'm ready to have a normal life again. That won't really happen until around April when we will hopefully be settled in Arizona. I am for real taking a trip to Vegas with my sister when my life is settled again. Can't wait. Can you imagine.....me in Vegas with no children!! I like that thought. I know I rant and rave about life sometimes but I really do have a great life. I have great kids and a fabulous, good looking husband. We've been able to travel all over through the military and I have enjoyed it. Just know that when I complain I'm just being a whiner. I know there are tons of people out there that have it a lot worse than I do. Maybe I will take my kids to Vegas one day, it just won't be when I go with my sister! I seriously will miss my kids when I leave tomorrow. Josh was crying tonight telling me he didn't want me to leave. It broke my heart and then as I was telling Charles about it he tells me he was probably just stalling having to go to bed. Thanks babe. Josh actually did go to bed just fine when I told him he could sleep in my bed. But he seriously might have anxiety about me leaving, dang it! I'm a good mom to miss!

Oh I soooo do not want to get up at 430 tomorrow morning. I AM NOT a morning person.

Monday, October 20, 2008

Proud Army Wife

So there I was talking to my husband on the computer when he says "hey you wanna see my tent?" He's now out of his trailer and living in a 40 man tent. He wanted to show me around since we have web cams and all. So he turns the camera around to show me and there it was....another man's butt. There was a guy standing in the background changing his clothes and his butt was just a shinin'! So I say to Charles "Did I just see a guy's butt?" Meanwhile my husband is completely oblivious to the fact that I am seeing this man's buns! You know, I have been an army wife for almost 14 years and I have heard my husband talk about having to shower around other soldiers and all that and I just do not get it. I mean, men will walk around naked in front of each other, fart in front of each other and shower in front of each other, change their clothes and all that stuff. They don't care who sees them. I have NEVER done any of that stuff in front of any other female, and I wouldn't dare! One day Charles comes home and tells me he saw a guy from our ward in the showers. So, I ask him, was he naked? And he tells me he was. Now how awkward would that be? Take my little friend Trisha for instance, I see her everyday, we walk every night and I spend tons of time with her. I would NEVER let her see me naked. STRANGE! This is one aspect of army life I will never understand.

So my kids were up to their crap again today. I can't wait for my husband to get home to take over the kid raising for a while. Well, here's how it went today....We had to eat dinner early because everyone had wrestling at 6. My mom, who is visiting, didn't get a chance to eat her dinner before we had to leave so she put it away to have it after we got back. Well, she was doing something else when Charlie and Ryan took her food out and poured hot sauce on her steak. Now when I say hot sauce I mean miserably hot. This stuff is so potent it could probably kill someone. So she takes a bite and is immediately on fire. The woman is dang near 60 and it could have killed her. So I am seriously pissed since we had an incident last too. I had no idea how to punish them so I told them they were going to have to reimburse me for the steak and I pulled some Texas Pete's hot sauce out of the cabinet and said "come on over here!" I made them open their mouth and gave them a dab or 2!! I know I get pissed at my kids on a daily basis and there is probably someone reading this thinking I am a terrible mother but they will be the one that ends up with a kid in prison because they had a lack of discipline. I am sick of this deployment already. I need my husband to help raise these boys. I do love my kids.... but does anyone else look forward to retirement years like I do? I just need an off day!! Any of you girls up for chippendales? Just kidding Charles!! You can be my Chippendale!!

Sunday, October 19, 2008

I love school....

Thank goodness fall break is over! Man it's been a long weekend. An even longer day! My kids have made me nuts. We missed church today because we had to drive to Salt Lake City to get my mom from the airport. We left in just enough time to get there when she landed...or so we thought. When I pulled through the terminal she was nowhere to be found so I drove around to the park and wait lot. I called Southwest to see what the heck was going on and was notified that her plane was an hour and a half delayed. I was so irritated. Here I am with 4 obnoxious kids having to wait an extra hour and a half for her to get in. Of course she doesn't have a cell phone to call and notify me of this delay. Fabulous! My kids were going crazy in the car and it was just an all around maddening situation.

So we arrive home and eat dinner and the conversation begins. I won't even go into what conversation that was but it caught me off guard only a little. I guess I half way expected it. I just wish I hadn't had to partake. So during the conversation I asked Charlie, who, by the way, is 12 freakin years old, to help the little ones get a shower. Well the next thing I know Cody is screaming and jumping up and down in the tub. I run in there to see what all the commotion was about and Charlie had them in freezing water and had painted Cody's toes with fingernail polish. Ryan had also let Charlie do this and tried to make it look like it was Charlie's fault when he could have simply not allowed Charlie to do this. I guess he thought it looked better to say Charlie did it. So Ryan, the 10 1/2 year old and Cody had painted toenails. Yeah I was pissed. Still am just thinking about it. I am so ready for this deployment to be over. I wanna go to Vegas when Charles gets home. I need a vacation. A long, long vacation all alone. If only I drank! Man, if I started now I would be an alcoholic by the end of the week. Does anyone else ever feel like they have crazy juice pouring into their veins? I feel that way as I type. I think I may go eat a bag of chocolate chips! Let me hurry and say 2 things I'm thankful for.... 1. I'm thankful I get to leave town on Wednesday. 2. I'm thankful for my legs! There....now I don't feel so bad!

uh..........

Why do we need a title for these postings? I never know what to put for that. Oh well! I got a lot accomplished today and that always feels nice. It's good when I don't waste my day away being lazy and unshowered! I had to get up early to go to zoning class. It's the last class I have before I go up for certification next week. A little nervous about that! Hopefully I can muddle through. We also went up to the Budge's farm and helped them with some things. That was a fun time! The kids weren't helpful so much but hopefully Matt and Trisha felt like we got a lot done. We cleared tons of branches and made a giant burn pile. Now we just need to have a GIANT weiner and marshmallow roast. We need to find some 10 foot long skewers to put our mallows and weiners on though. That is gonna be one large fire when it goes ablaze!!

I don't have so many interesting things to talk about tonight. Other than the zoning and the farm work everything else was just mundane and boring. I did clean my 2 bathrooms today and I was surprised Charlie and Ryan's bathroom didn't have mushrooms growing in there. I do not see how a bathroom can get so dirty so quickly. But a clean bathroom and clean sheets are 2 of my favorite things. Among other stuff! :)

I've been trying to get Christmas shopping done because it always seems to creep up on me. I have a good start but it's always the last minute, small things that are always left. One thing I can't stand about Christmas is how all these name drawings get started. Charles' family does a name draw and every year the cost of what we can spend goes up. I think I'm gonna start sending cookies and a big box of love to whoever we draw! It's the thought that counts, right?!! It stresses me out every year. I know I shouldn't let it but I also shouldn't let my laundry get so bad that I have no clean towels, but I do anyway! Oh well!

Can't wait to see my hubby! G'night y'all.

Friday, October 17, 2008

The weekend is here!

We've done Lagoon 2 days in a row! Glad we're wrapping up fall break. Two long days at Lagoon is enough. My body is so sore from the crazy workouts I did this week and it was not in the mood to do another day at the theme park but since I am such a great mother I did it anyway. I can't seem to do enough for my kids. Does anyone else ever feel this way? The never enough syndrome. My kids get a case of it from time to time. I sure do love them though!

Good news though...I got my airline tickets today to go get Charles!! He gave me his dates today and he will be leaving Iraq in November. Once I purchased the tickets it made it feel more real that he's finally coming home. It seems strange that this long year is coming to an end. It seems even more strange that we will be a real family again and not a pretend one!! Just kidding, it's just that we have been a married couple over the computer for the last year and to be able to have a conversation face to face seems crazy. Can't wait to see him in person. I also can't wait to have a week without kids, alone with my husband in a hotel!! What will we do? I guess we'll think of something!! :) Hmmm!

So...my mother is flying in this weekend. She'll spend 8 days here with us. She is coming to help me out since I have to go to Montana for my certification test in foot zonology. My mother isn't the easiest person to get along with so sometimes her visits are dreadful. I have to say though, her last one was quite pleasant. She spent lots of time with the kids and I am hoping this time will go well too. It should since she will get a daily break from the kids while they are in school.

Man it seems weird this year is almost over. I think back to all the things we have done and figured out and it is just so crazy. I remember when I first started my zoning courses and October seemed so far away and now here we are half way through it. Charles comes home in several weeks and we will be moving in the spring. My youngest child is in kindergarten and life just seems to be cruising by. Is it me or does anyone else get a smile on their face when they think of their kids being all grown up? Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE being a mom, but I am exhausted. I'm sure I will miss them when they get big and don't want to hang around me anymore. Charlie is already there and Ryan is coming close to getting there. But I do think about the days when I can have fun with grand kids and hand them back over the their parents. I really do hope that all of my boys each have a child exactly like themselves! ;)

Well I need to end this post before I pass out. Lagoon has done me in! G'night folks!

Thursday, October 16, 2008

And We're Back...........

GOOD HEAVENS! My new computer battery FINALLY came. I was computer-less for about 9 days. The day my old battery crapped out, Charles quickly searched the internet for a new one, found one and paid 17 bucks to have it shipped next day. Well the folks we ordered it from shipped it standard! Completely frustrating. We did get our $17 refunded though. :) We ordered it from ebay and I don't think the guy was American. His grammar was horrendous. But....I got it and now I'm back up and running! Woohoo! Lots has happened in the last 9 days since my last post.

First of all.....5 more ladies joined the weight loss challenge class! They are all African American! Now I know what people are thinking as I say that. YES, I'm from Alabama, however I am not a racist like southerners are normally accused of being. BUT...some black folks do bug me. One of the ones that bugs me happens to be in this class. She has this cocky attitude and that is one personality trait I can do without. I'll leave it at that before I say too much and offend someone reading this! Trisha is kicking butt though and she and I have both lost more than that chick, so HA!

I also found out Charles is coming home 2 months earlier than expected! Great news. Can't wait to see his big hunky self! Now the big question is what is the exact date of his arrival. I need to know this so I can figure out if I need to buy a plane ticket or if I need to prepare myself to drive 23 hours and 22 minutes with 4 kids across the country. Doesn't the latter sound so much fun? :| I love kids!

So, I had to scream at more neighborhood kids yesterday. I'll have all the kids in the neighborhood cussed out before I leave this place! I just DO NOT like bullies. That is one thing I won't tolerate and I don't have some sweetsie attitude to the kids that do that crap. I said a little more than I probably should have but I was angrier too because of the situation. Here's how it went....Charlie was at the park with his little brothers. Three silly kids with long, floppy hair walk by and called him a name that was not appropriate for little kids to hear. Charlie tells the kids not to talk like that in front of all the little kids at the park. So one of the kids pushes Charlie and he pushes the kid back and gets him in a head lock and blah blah blah. The kids left since Charlie was twice their size. I guess they felt safe since there was 3 of them and only one of Charlie but when the other 2 saw what Charlie did to their friend they decided it wasn't so safe anymore. So then Ryan runs off and we couldn't find him for about 30 minutes and I was scared to death. I called the cops and everything. By the time this whole incident was over I felt like the biggest piece of white trash ever. I should have been on an episode of Cops! They seem to find all the white trash in the nation on that show!

So there's a few of the highlights of the last 9 days. Kari, I hope you enjoy reading this! I saw your posting tonight and wrote this in your honor! I wasn't slacking on the writing, I just didn't have a computer handy!

P.S.- It was actually my power adapter on the computer that went out, not the battery. Charles, the computer genius, let me know I was wrong about the piece that pooped out. Power adapter not the battery! K

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

:)

Yesterday was one of those days and it carried over into today. It seems like everything likes to pile up on me at once. First of all, I had gotten a bill from our dentist in the mail yesterday. It said I owed $243.40. I thought what the heck and called the dentist office to see why the heck we owed this. The gal on the phone looked up our account and informed me that my insurance didn't cover the 11 sealants the dentist had slapped on Charlie's teeth back in August. You can probably imagine how irritated I was. This bitty that was telling me this had no desire to be helpful when I told her that the estimate I had been given told me that I wasn't going to have to pay a dime. She tells me that it was my responsibility to know what my insurance covered. So, here's my question...if it's my responsibility to know about this insurance crap then why did they give me an estimate instead of telling me to check with my insurance company to see what my portion would be? Think about it! Since she was being a turd I just told her to leave a message for the dentist to call me. I waited and then today I called to leave another message and got someone that had some sense and told me they had decided to write it off! I was so dang thankful. Then there's my husband.....they still haven't given him a definite date to come home. Completely frustrating. Every time they give us information they change it the next day. I have had to come up with 42 different plans to accomodate all the info they have given us. It seems as if every time I think I have everything in place to go see him when he gets home he tells me different info they have given him. Pisses me right off. But I'll focus on how grateful I am that my dental bill got written off. :)

My laptop battery crapped out on me today. I was trying to wiggle the cord around to see if I could get it to start charging again. Well...when I did that it shocked me and sparked and burnt the fire out of my hand and started smoking! WHOA! Scared me to death. Scared Ryan too. It seems that when it rains it pours for me. I always have to deal with a ton of crap at once. It's ok though, I am always given the strength to deal with it. I guess it makes me thankful for good days.

Tomorrow is weigh in day and I get a little nervous to weigh each week. We have to pay $1 if we gain anything. That part bugs me a bit since she gives the crappiest information for weight loss. If a morbidly obese person walked in and wanted to know what to do to lose weight they would be in for disappointment. They wouldn't learn a dang thing to lose weight.

Is it the end of the year yet?

Monday, October 6, 2008

Blah, Blah, Blah

Well today was one of those days to check a lot of the crap off of that mental list I mentioned a few days ago. I went to register to vote and various other pain in the butt errands. It's hard to believe that it's almost time for a new president! It's also hard to believe there is a possibility my husband will be coming home next month!! Woohoo! Can't wait for that! Who cares about the new president!! I need to prepare for you know what next month. :) Of course I don't need to get my hopes up until he has for sure orders from D.A.

I took the kids to the fire station activity tonight. It's hard to do that stuff these days since I have little kids that love doing that stuff and big kids who feel a little foolish doing all the kidsy stuff. Charlie is definitely getting to the point where he doesn't want to have fun with us anymore and it drives me insane. I am dreading the teenage years. I am embarrassing to him now. I'm really not so bad. He needs to be raised by my mom for a month or so and then he would know what embarrassing was! Let me tell a story about her embarrassing ways........10th grade year.... I was at a party that I was not supposed to be at. It was around the time caller ID had just starting coming out and I made the mistake of calling home from my friend's house. I had lied and said I was at the mall. I had talked to my dad during this conversation and he didn't realize I was calling from the party house. Well, I guess a little while later my mom was curious to see where I was calling from and realized I had lied. So there I was sitting at the kitchen table during the party and a girl comes up to me and says "Ashley, your mom is outside." I said to her "no way, stop lying to me." Well the next thing I know I hear my mother's voice screaming my name, ASHLEY TUCKER, to the top of her lungs! It was so friggin humiliating. So, I immediately go to the laundry room to hide out. It was just like on the movies. The minute she came in the house screaming my name the music stops and you could have heard a pin drop. Let me tell you how she was dressed...a v-neck hanes men's t-shirt with no bra! Short shorts and bare feet! I still cringe at this thought. My face is red and my butthole is puckered as I type! Back to the attire.....now my mom is not a small woman and wasn't then either. She has a big butt like me only bigger. You can only imagine what she looked like and how dadgum embarrassing it was. My siblings still laugh about that incident to this very day. My mother was the laughing stock at school the following Monday. My junior year she checked me out of school and my brother and I drove off with her in an ice cream truck. Yes, you heard me, an ice cream truck. Siren and all!! Good heavens y'all. I'm blushing RIGHT NOW. So Charlie can't say crap about me being embarrassing, he hasn't seen nothing.

So back to the fire station. They ended up having fun. There was a variety of fun kid things to do. Mostly for the little kids but there was free ice cream for all to enjoy! Now Ryan loves to do anything. He doesn't care how old he is. He's all about having him some fun! I love that about him. He cracks me up! I don't embarrass Ryan. He couldn't care less what folks think about him.

So tomorrow will be full of more things that make me nuts. Laundry, cleaning and crap! Maybe I'll get some of my footzonology notes organized too!! So, later!

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Singing in the rain

OK, so the crazy yard guy didn't call today. It rained ALL day long and I'm pretty sure that's why he didn't call. Good thing for him though cuz I had my "dukes" up. Today I lounged around and watched conference. It was the perfect day for that too. Chilly, rainy, fall day. I was able to get a few errands done on my long to do list during the conference break. Does anyone else feel like they always have a mental list a mile long? Do you know what I mean when I say mental list? Like a constant list in your mind of random things that need to be done. Things that you really don't even think of on a daily basis. It makes me nuts. It seems like my list NEVER gets shorter. I am so ready to have my companion home.

Speaking of my sweet, loving, husband...Trisha came by tonight to borrow a movie and asked what Charles thought of my posting yesterday when I said it would be easier for him to come home in January. Now I have noticed that quite a few folks read this blog and I don't want anyone to think that I am not excited for my him to come home. Charles and I talk every single night about a lot of things. As a matter of fact, we have more in depth conversation when he's away than we do when he's home. So he knows exactly what I mean when I say it would be easier for him to be home in January. We have planned ever since last October, when he left, that he would be home in January and everything has been planned around that time. For them to change the homecoming date by 2 months is a little overwhelming. That's all I meant. Don't worry, there's no threat of a divorce! ;)

Well....I took Josh and Ryan to get haircuts tonight. We ended up going to Wal-Mart to have it done. For some reason there are hair stylist that think the dumb and dumber look is appealing. My boys have had quite a few of these haircuts and now I normally tell the person cutting their hair not to cut the bangs in a blunt, straight across the forehead fashion. Well...tonight I forgot to tell the chick to please not give this haircut to Josh. So guess what...he got the dumb and dumber bangs. Good heavens! His bangs are long enough for me to comb over and make them at least look somewhat stylish. Poor kid. Of course Ryan had to mention to Josh that he looked like Jim Carey in Dumb and Dumber. And Josh told Ryan he looked like a mushroom head and we got to hear all sorts of brotherly love on the way home.

My kids fight constantly and they normally want to pull me in on it. Charlie and Ryan always make fun of the little ones, mostly Josh, about what they wear and how they wear their hair. Josh takes it pretty serious but Cody couldn't care less what ANYONE thinks of him. It is very important for Cody to look cool though. He gets this from Charlie. It drives me nuts. He never wants to be "nice" for school. Whenever I make him wear nice clothes to school he says "Mom, I don't want to be nice for school. I want to look cool." I mean the kid is 5 years old. Gimme a break. It's a good thing I have changed over the years cuz we would have some serious fights going on with me and a 5 year old. These days I don't care what my kids wear to school . As long as they don't call Child Protective Services on me. But I guess they won't do that for mismatched and wrinkled clothes. I do at least try to put only the nice stuff in drawers and they have a school clothes drawer and a play clothes drawer. See, I'm not so bad!

I never thought I would have to worry about clothes being the mom of 4 boys. Man, was I wrong. Charlie is worse than a teenage girl about what he wears. Talk about making someone want to pluck their hair out one by one. This makes me NUTS. Now, I do appreciate the fact that he cares what he looks like. He is also very into hygiene. He has to shower before we go anywhere. I got cracked up at him today because he was telling me about one of his friends at school that had a piece of pizza left over on his plate at lunch time. Charlie asked the kid if he could have his pizza and the boy said yes. The kid had already taken a bite out of the pizza so he felt the need to warn Charlie that he doesn't brush his teeth but about once a month!! Well this completely disgusted Charlie and he says "oh, well, here's your pizza back!" Hilarious!! See, I'm doing something right, I have kids who want to brush their teeth and wash their butts everyday! I'm happy!

Friday, October 3, 2008

Get This....

Tonight was temple night and we did sealings. It was nice since we were only there for about an hour. Then, the Budge's and I went for sushi! It was fun! We tried the raw stuff and it was good. Nothing like I expected. Trisha didn't like it at all but Matt thought it was alright. I love food and love trying different things. Most things, not everything. Mexican used to be my favorite but for some reason I have lost my taste for that. I love Japanese food and I love the whole Japanese experience! It's super fun.

So I get home from my sushi experience and realize that every last rule I had given my kids before I left had been broken. They weren't allowed to have food in the family room, they weren't supposed to answer the door and a few other small ones. These 2 were the "bigger" rules. The minute I walk in the door, the kids are telling me that the guy whose grass they cut yesterday came by. Remember the P.I.T.A. I mentioned in yesterday's post that had them out working until 8:15 last night? Yeah, him! He comes by and told my kids they hadn't raked his yard good enough and he wanted them to come back and finish the job. Oh I was pissed. The flyers we sent out specifically says they will MOW and WEED EAT for $10. That doesn't mean rake, sweep, clean up water from concrete, buy your groceries and wipe your butt. That means we mow and weed eat and you pay us 10 bucks. I was so irritated. I am expecting him to call tomorrow and I will take care of that situation. That will be the last time they will be mowing his yard.

So Charles has been hearing that he might be coming home in November but there are no official orders. I need orders to know this is for real. It is stressing me out like crazy not knowing a for sure date of his homecoming. I would love to see him sooner but we have already made plans for a January homecoming and him coming in November would really kind of screw things up. I mean I know that sounds completely rude and I would LOVE for him to be here for Christmas but it really would work out better for him to come in January. I guess we'll see what happens. It would be nice to have a man around again to do things only a man can do! If you know what I mean! :) Sorry Babe! Everyone knows we do it though!!

Anyway, I'm looking forward to the weekend. It's gonna be cold this weekend and I'm excited about the fall weather coming. I love this time of year. It's also gonna rain this weekend and that is something we don't get a lot of. We don't have so much going on either and it will be nice to be able to relax.

So anyway, McCain/Palin '08!

Thursday, October 2, 2008

SO.......

Today was a lazy day! It seems like I have a lot of those! I have been falling asleep way too late the last few nights and it gets me all out of sorts. I get off track and get lazy when I do that. So to feel like I did something worthwhile Cody and I baked for a couple of hours today. Well I mostly baked while Cody licked beaters and bowls. We made pancakes, apple cinnamon muffins and some delicious peanut butter oatmeal cookies. Everything was from scratch! Look at me go! I was Betty friggin' Crocker today. It made my house super hot too. My kitchen is super small and it makes it hard to move around and have more than one thing going at once. But we got it all done and the kids will be able to have a hot, delicious breakfast in the morning. Well as soon as they microwave it it will be hot!

I also got my bathroom cleaned tonight after I got back from my nightly walk with Trisha! For some reason I have more energy in the evenings. Some nights I put it to good use, other nights not so much. Like last night I curled up with a large shake from Kirt's and watched TV! I had to celebrate losing my 3.4 pounds!

So my oldest boys started cutting grass for other people this summer. They started a little business and we made flyers and all. They charge $10 a yard. They mow and weed eat for 10 little dollars. Well there is a guy in our neighborhood that wanted them to mow his yard. He thought $10 was a little too much but had them do it once back in the summer and called recently to have them do it again. So he comes by tonight and asks if they can come cut his yard. I asked the boys if they wanted to and they said yes. Well, they leave the house at about 6:15 to start on his yard. They didn't return until 8:15. I was super irritated. They come home and tell me he has had them raking, sweeping and get this, soaking up water out of his driveway!! ALL for 10 measley bucks. I guess he was wanting to get his money's worth. But here's my question...how do you soak up water off of concrete? And why would you in Utah? It would dry out in about 30 seconds! Well next time the boys won't be so accomodating. If there is one thing that irritates me it's someone that likes to take adavantage. Oh and speaking of irritating things.....can someone please tell me why there is such an abundance of fake breasts in the state of Utah? This makes me crazy. I see them EVERYWHERE I go. I am quite the pro at telling the difference too. I was in the gym one day and there was some chick telling another girl how her silicone made her a better mom and she had a better marriage because she had purchased herself a pair of boobies. How do big boobs make you a better mom? If your marriage is better only because you have bigger boobs, there is something seriously wrong in your life AND in your marriage! I don't have an answer for big boobs/better mom thing! Let me know if you figure that one out. All the women I know who do have fake boobs all give the same excuse for getting them....I have heard over and over how better their marriages are because of these boobs and how their husbands didn't want them to get them but they insisted so they could feel sexy. Now ladies out there, if your husband truly didn't want you to spend $6,000 on boobs he would put his foot down and say heck no! I know mine would. Who are they fooling, those husbands want those perky things as much as the women do. Probably more! They could feel up a barbie doll and get the same effect! Do women that have these really think that others think they're real? Fake boobs to me are like winning a game you cheated to win! One more thing and I'll stop ranting about this topic. Have you ever noticed they NEVER wear clothes that don't accentuate their boobs? They always have stuff on that makes the eye go STRAIGHT to the boobs. Makes me nuts. Maybe I'm just jealous my boobies point south. But who's wouldn't after 4 babies sucking the life right out of them! I have other thoughts on this topic but I'll stop there!

Tomorrow is temple night and I'm excited. I get to go out without children. After the temple the Budge's and I are going out for sushi! Can't wait! Until then......

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

I'm Not Country, I'm Southern

Today was good. I got all the unpleasant things I don't like doing out of the way and won't have to worry about it again until next payday. About paydays, I get so stressed out doing bills. I've been married 13 1/2 years and we still live paycheck to paycheck! Can someone tell me when this might end? Every payday I see the money come in and go right back out! I guess I should say thanks that we always have what we need and then some!

So...I got my hair cut today and can I just say I LOVE IT?!! I love short hair. My hubby isn't so hip to the idea but he can't really say a thing since he's BALD!! I do really like it. I ain't gonna be one of those people looking for a compliment and pretend to not be so sure about it! I don't care what anyone else thinks about it. I love it. You know the people I'm talking about though? The ones that act like they aren't cute when they know they are! I was on facebook the other day and saw a picture, in one of my "friends" profiles, of a girl that we went to church with in Tennessee. Now this girl is super cute and was nice. Now she KNEW she was cute though. So anyway, she has these pictures on her facebook page and they are good pictures. But the caption under her picture says "I don't know why the photographer wanted to take pics of me cuz I don't take very good pics!" Now come on, she was looking for compliments! I HATE when women do that crap!

I went to the weight loss challenge class again tonight and got even more crappy information. I had lost 3.4 pounds though! Trisha beat me out though at her 6.4 pounds in a week! I'll admit, I was a little jealous but since she is so darn sweet, I was happy too! A little!! I need to try harder this week. My husband gets home soon and I don't want to be so chubby. That's another thing! Why is it that women try so hard to look so good for their better half and men don't worry about a thing. Here I am, trying to get skinny, thinking I need to go tanning, since brown fat looks way better than white fat! Getting my hair done, getting feet done and anything else that needs to be done. All Charles is gonna do is show up! It doesn't seem so fair! But it is fun to do all that stuff so I won't complain too much!

So after the weight loss class we head to Good Earth, the health food store. I go in and ask where the green drinks are and had to repeat myself 3 dang times before they knew what I was saying. Now I know I have a southern accent but come on folks. They kept thinking I was saying grain drinks. But when I repeated myself the 2nd time I said green as in the color!! They still didn't get it! I guess folks aren't so used to that out here. Now I have to say, I like the southern accent much better than that valley talk they have out here.

Another incident at the park today while we were there. So there we are enjoying the weather and playing about the park when these 2 silly, super corny teenagers come saundering up. One of them had long hair and his face painted. It was super silly. The other was wearing a surgical mask and they were trying to set the park shed on fire so my little neighbor friend called the police. :) Well the police came and I'm not sure what happened after that. Hopefully that will be taken care of. So much for a safe place for kids to run amuck! We've had the guy whacking his willy and now the silly, corny teenagers acting like fools and there was also word someone was graffiti-ing up the bathrooms at the other park! Good heavens folks, let us be happy while we're here!