Friday, December 29, 2006

2006 in review

More reflections. Fun, hey? I just read this on Tina's blog and thought I'd borrow it.

What did you do in 2006 that you’ve never done before?
Performed in a musical with my son

Did you keep your New Years’ resolutions and will you make more for next year?
I sort of kept one, blew the other to bits and of course I will make more for next year! I'm a work-in-progress... gotta keep pushing, moving, and trying to grow!

Did anyone close to you give birth? Not this year
Not this year... 2005 was the year of the baby around here!

Did anyone close to you die?
Nope!!!!

What countries did you visit?
None

What would you like to have in 2007 that you lacked in 2006?
More money, more patience...

What date from 2006 will remain etched in your memory and why?
June - flood week. It was insane around here!

What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Wait! I was supposed to achieve something?!?

What was your biggest failure?
Not handling my finances as well as I would've liked and not losing any weight

Did you suffer illness or injury?
Not this year, thank God! Even got the thyroid mess reading as normal! Yahoo!

What was the best thing you bought?
I don't really buy a whole lot... not for me, anyway.

Where did most of your money go?
bills and boys!

What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Kyan's first birthday! Jaben's birthday camping trip, Christmas

What scripture is a theme of 2006?
Matthew 7:12 Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.

God has always given His people guidance on how they should treat one another. We tend to be selfish, unless trained otherwise. But God wants us to be considerate of others. He said that we should treat others they way we would like to be treated. How do you like to be treated? With respect, listened to, not interrupted, loved, share things with, treated fairly, honest with, follow through on promises. If we like these things from others, it is only natural that others would like us to treat them the same. (also known as the Golden Rule!)

Happier or sadder?
I think I might be a bit happier. Good for me!

Thinner or fatter?
probably about the same, although the jeans I have on now were tight when I bought them in '05 and are quite loose now... but not enough lost to be visible.

Richer or poorer?
oh, the same. *sigh*

What do you wish you’d done more of?
exercise!

What do you wish you’d done less of?
eating, impulse spending


How did you spend Christmas?
Christmas Eve was the whole family at my aunt's house, then Christmas Day was me and the boys, my mom, my sister and her gf - opened gifts and just lazed around

Did you fall in love in 2006?
only more with my children

What was your favorite TV show?
I kind of like that new one, The Class

What was the best book you read?
I read so much it's hard to choose! I'm late to the game but I'm really into the Harry Potter books right now

What was your greatest musical discovery of 2006?
I don't think my taste changed much this past year... maybe getting into Fallout Boy, but that's the same type of music I've always liked

What did you want and get?
a new tv

What did you want and not get?
oh... I think I'll skip this one. It'd mostly be involving things about Jaben and I'd prefer to keep some things to myself. :-)

What was your favorite film this year?
Pirates of the Carribean

What did you do on your birthday?
I went to work!

What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
losing weight, handling my money better, things going better for Jaben in regards to school

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2006?
my personal fashion concept? lol... that makes it sound like I think about it! I love jeans, t-shirts, sweatshirts, sweaters... if it's comfortable and fits and I'm WARM enough (I'm always, always cold!) then it's all good

What kept you sane?
who said I was sane?

which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
I don't really get into celebrities

What political issue stirred you the most?
I get mad about the gay marriage thing. I mean seriously... why not?? You can't dictate who YOU love, so what give you the right to dictate who someone else loves? Just pass it already and let people be HAPPY, for goodness sake!

Who did you miss?
Hm... nobody, really. Some of my family moved nearby this year and so we get to see them all the time!

Who was the best new person you met?
Jaben's drama teacher, Jill. LOVE HER! She's so fun!

Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2006.
don't sweat the small stuff. Okay, I knew that already. Um... Hm... okay, how about "some people are just nuts and it's best to just ignore them and make fun of them in private!" Does that count?? ;-)

Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
Such a heart that will lead you to deceiving
All the pain held in your
Hands are shaking cold
Your hands are mine to hold

Speak to me, when all you got to keep is strong
Move along, move along like I know you do
And even when your hope is gone
Move along, move along just to make it through

All American Rejects

Monday, December 25, 2006

The year in review

I've seen this on several blogs so I thought I'd try it myself. I can't start with January cuz I didn't start this blog until April, so it's 3/4 of the year in review. Anyway, whatcha do is take the first line of the first post of each month -- voila! Year in review...

April - The big one is watching cartoons (on a sunny Saturday afternoon! What is wrong with this child - or rather his mother who LETS him watch cartoons on a sunny Saturday afternoon!) and the little one is napping, after passing out over a nutritious lunch of Krispy Kreme.

May - Talented, smart, and friendly... you're also one of the sanest people around.

June - Mom jeans. We’ve all heard of them. But what exactly are “mom jeans?” I asked this same question on my message board today and am waiting (sort of) patiently to see what kind of responses I get. So…. What do you consider to be “mom jeans” and if you’re a mom, do you own any?

July - wouldn’t have thought an 18-mo old would be in the “why” stage yet, but somehow Kyan has caught on that he can keep Mommy’s attention and keep Mommy talking by saying “why?” after everything I say.

August - Okay so I tried typing a post earlier and my fabu mac froze up and of course I hadn’t saved anything yet so POOF! Gone.

September - Have I mentioned I love my Dr?

October - Yesterday my boys and I got to see the hottest show this season – among the toddler set! We were lucky enough to go see the Doodlebops Live!

November - What?? An American who doesn't post a "what I'm thankful for" post on Thanksgiving??

December - Okay, I will post play pictures. Eventually. Gots other stuff on my mind right now.

Y'know, once I started doing this, I thought it'd be more fun to post the subject line of the first post of each month. Maybe next year...

Merry Christmas and hey - if you're going out on NYE, don't drink and drive - call a friend or a cab! If you live near me, call me - I'll come getcha!

Friday, December 22, 2006

Vingettes (sorta)

Okay, I will post play pictures. Eventually. Gots other stuff on my mind right now.

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On the ADD front... I didn't mention yet but I heard from the school psychologist. What a bitch. Yes, that's right, I said it. B-i-t-c-h. Apparently I am the dumbest mother to walk the face of the earth (but you knew that, right?), his teachers have told her there are no problems with him (say WHAT??), and the school system doesn't DO ADD testing so she has no idea where I got my information. Um... maybe from EVERYFREAKINBODY I'VE SPOKEN TO?!? So yeah whatever. To tell the truth, I'm pretty sick of being dicked around by an uncaring school system that only cares about numbers. He's not flunking out? Then he's fine. They beat the tar out of him but didn't hospitalize him? Oh, then it's a grey area. God these people are idiots. Death threats to other kids at the middle school but it's okay to hit other kids at the intermediate school... um, yeah.

So we went to see his Dr and we're going to start treatment anyway. We'll know in a couple of weeks how it's going. I'm not going to tell his teachers anything and in a couple of weeks if he's not having any bad side effects, I'm going to send out new evaluations to the teachers to see if there's been any difference/improvement. We figure it'll be an interesting experiment. But like I told the Dr, at this point I don't really care about the school, I don't care in the least what they say or do - my concern and responsibility is to MY SON and they can BITE ME if they're not interested in cooperating and oh, maybe making sure the kids they're responsible for are getting the best - as they deserve. I will make sure my son gets the best care, the best treatment, whatever it is that he needs. And if they have problems with him? Well, guess that's they're problem, isn't it?

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Kyan choked tonight. He's FINE, don't worry. But he doesn't chew very well and I gave him something that he should be fine with but either put too much in his mouth or didn't chew well enough or something and seriously choked. He got it up himself and I got him to spit the rest out and gave him something else to eat, but he scared me so badly that I'm not going to be able to give him anything that even remotely needs to really be chewed for quite a while.

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Jeep sucks. You heard me, Jeep sucks. I am NOT happy with my Liberty and if I could sell it and pay off my loan and get something else, I would. 2 recalls in the not-quite-2-yrs I've had it, repairs, etc. I know some of this is due to a crappy dealership (who I won't be buying from EVER again) but I won't be buying another Jeep and I would advise anyone to ignore the "Jeep rocks" hype and think HARD before purchasing one.

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Cookie exchange tonight. Actually in about 1/2 an hour and I probably should be getting Kyan ready. We'll be bringing home something like 20 dozen cookies. Yikes. We've decided to make a cookie tray and give it to Jaben's friend's family. I'm sure they'll be very happy to get it and with 3 growing boys will get thru them pretty quickly.

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And last, but not least, Happy Holiday of your choice! Merry Christmas!

Monday, December 18, 2006

Supastar... Part II

Jaben's play was yesterday and even tho I haven't uploaded the pics yet (I will later) I had to post because...

MY BOY STOLE THE SHOW!!! LOL!

I don't sound like a proud mama at all, do I? As I'm sure most of you know, he played one of the Cratchit kids, Kris Cratchit, which is a pretty big part, but not huge. He did VERY well at this part, and he actually played that part on Saturday night as well for a child who was sick. He's very good at it... especially the part where the Cratchits are visiting Tiny Kim's grave during the Ghost of Christmas Future scene... he held his head down, put his hat over his heart and generally looked heartbroken. Very, very sad scene. Very well played by all the kids, actually.

BUT -- it was his scene as Bob Marley that killed!! You all know A Christmas Carol... you hear the scary, ghostly voice in the dark saying "Scroooooogeee.... Scroooooooge....." and then Jacob Marley appears to tell Scrooge of the ghosts who will be coming to visit him. However, in this version, after the disembodied voice says "Scroooooge...." the music turns to rasta music and out walks (or jives, really) Jaben wearing tie dye and a dreadlock wig! The crowd went NUTS!!

Scrooge: "Marley? Is that you?"
Bob: Yeah mon, it's me Marley!
Scrooge: Jacob Marley?
Bob: No mon, BOB Marley! Jam with me brudda!

Cue music for the Banana Boat song, Scrooge and Bob dance while Bob sings...

Now Jaben and Brandon (the INCREDIBLY talented boy playing Scrooge) play off each other very well, and the crowd response was so HUGE that they fed off that like you had to see to believe - thru all rehearsals and practice at home I have NEVER seen Jaben get SO into that part or do it SO WELL as he did yesterday. He was SO FUNNY and he did SO GOOD!!!! The audience were all laughing so hard -- I can't tell you how proud I am of him!

So they finish the song/dance to tons of applause and Jacob Marley comes out...

Jacob: Bob, what are you doing here? You're in the wrong play!
Bob: (smacks forehead) Oh mon... isn't this Rent?
Jacob: No, that's playing down the street at the (local theatre)
Bob: Ohhhhhh... sorry, mon, sorry...

Bob leaves the stage to the Banana Boat song, dancing and singing all the way off....

The other 2 boys had to WAIT for the crowd to stop laughing and applauding to continue the scene! I tell you - Jaben ROCKS!!!

And I must say, not only is Brandon (Scrooge) very talented, most of the kids who were in our cast are amazing. Really good at what they do - so it's GREAT and wonderful and so good for Jaben not only to do this, but hold his own and SHINE in a group of such talented kids. He'd had a really bad day at school on Friday (long story) and his self esteem really needed this - badly.

So now we want Jill to win this contest she's in, to get her dream - we really do. But boy we sure don't want to lose her as a drama teacher. This is the BEST thing Jaben has ever done... it's so good for him and his self-image issues. He's GOOD at it, he gets the applause he so badly needs, and is recognized for being really good at something. It's wonderful.

Oh... and Jaben's mom? Yeah, not only did she NOT throw up (haha) but she actually got INTO it and had fun too! I forgot what it's like to be on stage. AND I did hit the note I was worried about during my solo. Thank God. I was standing right next to Jill and there was only one other one line solo between hers and mine and boy is it INTIMIDATING to hear her sing like she does (she IS a professional!!) and then to have to take that same mic and sing out too. But I did it! Yay for me!

I've really got to get the pictures uploaded and see what came out. I took a bunch backstage beforehand, and had someone take some from the audience, during, so we should have a few that came out well. I hope. And I will post for all the world to see how amazing my son is! Betcha can't wait, huh???

So -- it's over. Wow, I hope he gets to do Beauty and the Beast.... but then I also hope Jill wins. Tough call....

Thursday, December 07, 2006

Fun at the gas station

So we locked the baby in the car…

Um, yeah. No, that’s not a typo. We locked the baby in the car. On Tuesday. At the gas station.

I am so proud.

In retrospect, it’s funny, but at the time – not so much.

See, I’d had a bad day to begin with. The whole day was one thing after another, very busy – crazy, actually. And when I got home I was hit with 2 shots of bad news and my mood was not so hot. But, we had to go to the Cub Scout Christmas party, so we loaded into the car and ran to get gas on the way.

And that’s when it happened. That’s when we locked the baby in the car.

I pulled up to the pumps and, leaving the keys dangling in the ignition, commented to Jaben as I got out that it was so cold that the window washer liquid was frozen. Then I went to the back part of the car and started pumping the gas, not thinking a thing about it. Jaben knows he needs to stay in the car with Kyan if we’re getting gas when it’s dark out because Ky freaks if he doesn’t. He’s 22 mos old and he doesn’t like to be strapped into a car seat, in a dark car, alone at night. Makes sense.

But Jabe wanted to see the frozen windshield fluid, so he got out and ran around the car to peek. At this point I was mildly irritated (Kyan was screeching “Day-Bin! Day-Bin!” from his seat) because I really didn’t want him getting out, but I figured it would only be for a minute. So, Jaben looked at the frozen stuff and exclaimed, “Wow! It’s really cold! I want Kyan to see this!” and proceeded to try to pull open the car door.

* click *

NOT the sound I wanted to hear… my stomach hit my shoes and I said, “Jaben, did you lock the car??”

“Um, no… I’ll go try my door.”

* click *


“Oh you’re so kidding me.”

By this time the tank was full, so I grabbed my receipt and started trying doors. All locked. Keys in ignition, baby in the back – strapped into his seat.

Greeeeeaaaat.

Fortunately, it wasn’t 90 degrees out in August, I’d had the heat running before I shut off the car, so Kyan was probably more comfortable than we were. Now I just needed someone to go get the spare key. So, out came the cell phone and we called Aunt Keli. I have never been so impatient for someone to pick up the phone in my life. Ever.

Nothin’ like locking your almost-2-yr-old in the car, in December, in Ohio.

After I talked to Kel, who said she’d come, she called back and said my mom was on the way and would bring the key. So all we had to do was keep Kyan calm until she got there. And keep me from killing Jaben. Keeping Kyan calm seemed much more do-able at this point.

So, we stood at the windows and talked to him, made funny faces, etc, until Grandma arrived..

Tap, tap, tap… “Kyyyy-Kyyyyyyy… hi baby!! Mommy will get you in a minute!! Are you in the car? Is it warm?”

“Day-Ben! Mommy! I tuck!”

“Jaben – talk to him!!”

“Kyyyyan! Lookit me!” (makes faces in the glass)

“Momma – I TUCK!!”

“Oh baby, grandma’s coming…. We’ll get you out in just a minute. Mommy promises.”

Yeah, a good ten minutes of this. Add it to your list of “fun things to do at a gas station on a Tuesday night in December.”

When Grandma arrived (smirking, as I would’ve been doing myself), I unlocked the doors and hugged my poor, brave, surprisingly calm baby.

The whole drama lasted probably 15 minutes from the time Jaben jumped out of the car to the time my mom arrived, but believe me, it seemed MUCH longer. I keep catching myself giggling now tho… I am now one of those moms with a “when we locked the kid in the car” stories…

So – if anyone is still reading this infrequently updated blog… tell me your “When I locked the kid(s) in the car story. Then we can all share the “Mother of the year” award!

Friday, December 01, 2006

A little slow on the uptake

Yeah, I might be a little slow to post this but I just have to.

Did you NOT know that Britney Spears is a skank? I mean seriously, did she surprise you? Yeah, me either. It really was only a matter of time before she self-destructed and oh boy is she skipping towards kaboom now! What kind of MOTHER shows her cootchie to the world? We all know it wasn't an accident (I almost typed assident but thought that'd be over-the-top....... but maybe not), so what was she trying to prove? That she's nasty? Got it. That she doesn't care what people think? Got that too.

But hey, listen up, Brit -- you can lose your children for certain kinds of behavior and if you want to keep them with you, hug them when the urge hits, watch them grow, give them the fairytale childhood your kind of money can provide -- then grow the fuck up and act like their MOTHER. You can no longer behave like Paris Hilton's bitch... you have babies depending on you and you ought to be ashamed of yourself. Imagine how you'd feel if that were your mother.......... that's how your boys are going to feel one day. Straighten up girl -- it's not about you anymore.

'Nuff said.

Okay, moving on. I heard all about the Clay Aiken/Kelley Rippa thing (yeah yeah, yesterdays news... bear with me) where he put his hand over her mouth. And? First of all, have y'all seen the picture of her doing just that to Regis? Okay then, Rippa needs to get over herself. And Rosie O'Donnell going off like it was a gay thing? Pul-eeze. It's not all about gays, it had nothing whatsoever to do with whether or not Aiken is gay (and who cares anyway? it's HIS business)... Rosie (who I used to love, BTW) needs to learn when to keep her mouth shut.

*shakes head* But that's not why I started talking about this. I read on a message board one woman calling Clay putting his hand over Kelley's mouth abuse. Read that again. He put his hand over her mouth and it was abuse. Let that sink in a bit. Now, did you see the clip? Think about that clip and think about the word abuse. Was that abuse? Not by a long shot, people. It probably wasn't the most polite or hygenic thing he could've done (but as we've all seen, I'm sure, Kelley is guilty of the same thing) but it most certainly was not abusive. Abuse hurts someone... mentally, physically, and likely both. A guest host on a stupid morning talk show making a rude, inappropriate mistake is NOT abuse. Statements like that - his hand over her mouth was abuse - are one of the reasons so many people do not take real abuse seriously. How can you, in good conscience, compare that to the experience of someone who is hit, someone whose character, intelligence, whose very sense of self is wiped out every day by the words of someone who is supposed to love them? Is that even remotely comprable to the bruises on a child's face? To the broken bones of a mother (or father) who takes it themselves to spare their children? To.................

Well, there are a million sad, scary, sickening examples. But one thing is certain. What Clay Aiken did is in no way abuse. It was kind of gross, it was inappropriate, it was definitely rude. But abusive? That kind of comparison keeps true abuse from being recognized and the person who said it should spend a little time at an abused women's and children's shelter to learn the truth. She should be ashamed of herself.

Okay, sorry about the rant. Sometimes these things just gotta come out.

On a more upbeat note, things are going well with our play, a lot of ads sold for the program and I have a lot of work ahead of me to get it ready to copy by Tuesday. But it'll get done, no problem. To those who know us IRL, it's Dec 17 at 2pm - don't forget!! Jaben is going to be AWESOME!! Can't wait!