How Do I Love Thee....

Let me count the ways!

I love this woman for so many reasons.  She is my strength when I feel weak.  She is my encouragement when I feel discouraged.  She is my beauty when I feel not so pretty.  She is my optimism when I feel pessimistic.  She is my happy when I feel sad.  She is my memory when I am forgetful.  She is my wisdom when I feel unintelligent.  She is my future when I feel stuck in today.

This year has been the roughest on us financially.  I know it could be worse, that many people are way worse off than we are.  And I am thankful/grateful for everything that we do have. 

Kelly took a huge pay cut last year.  We struggled to make things work, and we were just barely getting by.  And then this year hit.  We have always tried not to rely on child support as a form of income, but after the pay cut, we didn't have a choice.  We came to rely on it.  When that quit coming in this year, things got super hard.  Cause not only were we lacking that money, we now had medical bills out the wazoo.  So to say that things have been tight would be a huge understatement.

And of course, when money is super tight, what happens?  The toilet breaks, the clutch goes out on the truck, the brakes go out on the car - first the front, then the rear - the air conditioning doesn't wanna work, the fridge stops working, and let me tell ya, the list goes on and on.

Amidst all this, the woman I love has stepped up and become my Kelly of All Trades!

She has become our plumber, our electrician, our a/c repair woman, our dish network repair woman, and most recently our refrigerator repair woman.  I am so lucky to have her!!

'I love you, not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you'
~Roy Croft

And today, that would be a happy woman, able to get stuff out of our chilled fridge and freezing freezer!!
Thanks baby! I love you!!

What does PC mean to you?

When you hear PC - what comes to your mind?

Maybe it is Politically Correct? Is it PC to say gay, lesbian, homosexual?  To say someone is black or African American?  Is this what you think of when you hear PC?

Or maybe when you hear PC you think of pu$$y control?  Whether it is the song, or maybe it makes you think about whether you like to control, or be controlled! ;)

But these days, when I think of PC, I think of portion control.  Ya know, with my food.  I am trying to do good.  I have lost 46 pounds - which is amazing!  And I know had I stuck with it all along, that that number would be higher.  But, I am not going to beat myself up over this.  I am back in the game, and I have lost 46 pounds!  During the week, I do great.  I get up at the same time Monday thru Friday.  I eat breakfast, lunch and dinner at the same time Monday thru Friday.  I work out at the same time Monday thru Friday.  I do great Monday thru Friday.  Then comes Saturday and Sunday.  And I lose it.  I sleep in, I don't exercise, I over eat.  So, I live for the weekends, but they are killing my healthy life style.  I will start out Monday weighing more than I did on my Friday weigh in.  And then I have to make up for what I gained over the weekend, and still try to lose.  And yeah, it's not working so much.  So - my PC is portion control.  Weekend portion control.  I have a lot more weight to lose, so if I am going to keep at it, and see the results that I want, my weekend PC has to be in check!!! 

So - here's to weekend PC!!  Here's to weighing the same (or less) on Monday than I did today!!


(Ok, now with a show of hands, how many people are now singing ahhhhh pu$$y control?  Yeah, that's what I thought.  I'm singing it too!  ;)

Wordless Wednesday

Saturday Seance

Back in November of 2009, I wrote about my brother's house.  Here is the post Do You Believe?.  I wrote about his ghostly encounters.  Since then, not too much has happened.

We were leaving his house on Saturday, after watching the Michigan football game, and he said did you guys see the toadstools in the yard?  We were like no, and he was like go check them out.  So we walk over to the fenced in area, and we could not believe it. They were only in one spot. Nowhere else in his yard. And I mean that - there was not a single toadstool anywhere else in the yard. 

You tell me, is this a coincidence?  Are these toadstools just randomly growing like this?  Is there some scientific reasoning as to why they would grow like this?  Or is there some other reasoning?  Is this some kind of toadstool ritualistic seance by the afterlife?!!  :o)

Saturday Seance

This Moment

Sometimes being a brother is even better than being a superhero
~Marc Brown

Maybe I Am Naive...

And maybe I do live my life through rose colored glasses.  We have money struggles.  Kel and I have our occasional disagreement.  But our life is good.  We have a great family.  Our kids are wonderful (bad at times, and make me wanna pull my hair out at times, but nonetheless, still wonderful).  Kel and I love each other, very much.  We really do honestly have a great relationship.  We want to be together.  We want to spend time together, with and without our kids.  We enjoy our kids.  And I mean, really, honestly enjoy spending time with them, and doing things with them.  Our kids keep us busy.  My Mom and Kelly's parents, they do love us, and they love our kids.  Some things may be said or done at times that hurt us or upset us, but they do love us, always.  Kel's brother, his wife and their 2 kids are great.  We love spending time with them.  My brother and his 2 kids are also great.  He can be grumpy at times, but we have lots of fun with them too.  My BFF is always there for me.  We don't spend much time together cause we are both so busy, but I always know that she is my best friend and always there if we ever need her for anything.  These are the people that we spend most of our time with.  These are the people that matter most to us.  These are the people that are inside my naive, rose-colored life.

Then, there are the other people.  The other people that bring stuff into my life.  Stuff that is not only not wanted, but stuff that is loathed.  I am not one to use the word hate, but I hate the things that have been brought into our lives.  I hate that I have to deal with these things.  Don't get me wrong.  I know that there is bad in the world.  I know that the world is filled with evil.  I know that the world is full of bad people, and people that do bad things.  I know what is on the news (granted, I choose not to watch the news, but I know what is there).  I know that people get addicted to drugs.  But dammit, why does it have to be people that are in my world.  (let me clarify that it is not any of the people mentioned above - these are my rose colored life people - people that I want to just sweep up and take away with me).

I don't want this crap.  I don't want to have to deal with it.  And the shit of it all, not only was I informed of one addiction, I was informed of two.  One is a pain killer/narcotic addiction, and the other is heroin.  They are two separate people, that don't have anything to do with each other.  I actually have to deal with the narcotic addiction, and the ramifications of it.  And I am at a loss.  And I hate it.  I hate everything about it. 

This may make me seem bitchy, or insensitive, but I really do not have any patience for addicts.  I just don't.  That person chose to pick up that drug and to take it, snort it, or however it is that they take these drugs.  Drugs are addictive people.  This has been said since the beginning of time - DRUGS ARE ADDICTIVE!  THEY RUIN YOUR LIFE!!  So, how can I have sympathy, or compassion, for someone who willingly chose to take these drugs? 

All I know, is that my kids come first.  Always.  And what I have to do is keep them safe.  And that is what I will do.  I don't know what all of this will entail, I don't know what steps may have to be taken.  Cause, shit, I don't really know much about any of this.  (the rose colored sheltered life, I suppose)  All I know is that I hate this.  I mean, I really hate this.

If anyone has any info, any insight, any knowledge, or knows of somewhere that I can go to get more info.  Please let me know.  I am not sure what my rights are.  Something has to be on my side.  It just has to be.

Baby Stats!!

I got this from CJ, over at Don't Lick The Ferrets.  Pretty fun, pretty neat idea!

First up - Our oldest, Jarrod

 1.Age? 13

2. Name? Jarrod Michael

3. Birthday? Nov 16, 1997

4. Time of birth? 12:36 AM

5. How long did labor last? 9 hours

6. Who was in the room when baby was born? Jarrod's dad, me - and of course the dr and a couple of nurses

7. How long did you push? 50 minutes

8. Weight? 7lbs 5oz

9. Length? 20 in

10. Any hair? he had a mini-mullett - a lil on top, and it was long in the back :)  And it was light, my Mom thought he was going to have read hair, and she was super excited

11. Who does baby look like? Some people said he looked like me, some said he looked like his dad, and sometimes, he would wrinkle his forehead up, and give this look, and it reminded me so much of my Dad

12. Be honest…how much weight did you gain during pregnancy? 55 pounds

13. Was baby early or late? He was born 2 days before his due date

14. Who drove you home from hospital? Mike

15. How many baby showers did you have? one

16. When did baby start sleeping through the night? hmmm, not sure - been so long ago

17. Did you breastfeed? for almost 6 months

18. If not, what kind of formula? Is.omil

19. Who keeps your baby the most? He was always with me, and sometimes my Mom

20. When do you wanna have another? After I had Jarrod, I was done. I was content with being just him and I - that is until I met Kel!

21. How did you pick the name? We were having a hard time agreeing on a name.  I was watching the credits after a movie, and saw Jarrod - reminded me of Mike's best friend growing up. So, he is named after his dads best friend growing up, and his middle name is after his dad

22. How did you know when it was time to go to hospital? I started bleeding and the dr told me to go in and be checked out

23. What was your pain management? I got an epidural

24. Did you go home or somewhere else when you left the hospital? home

25. Anyone spend the night with you first night home? Just Mike, Jarrod and I

Next up, our Jaykie Man!

1.Age? 11

2. Name? Jaykob Daniel

3. Birthday? July 5, 2000

4. Time of birth? 9:02 PM

5. How long did labor last? 10 hours

6. Who was in the room when baby was born? Kel, Billie, the dr and a nurse

7. How long did you push? 3 pushes

8. Weight? 6lbs 11oz

9. Length? 20 in

10. Any hair? some dark hair

11. Who does baby look like? must be the donor cause he didn't look like Kel :)

12. Be honest…how much weight did you gain during pregnancy? 24 pounds

13. Was baby early or late? 6 days early

14. Who drove you home from hospital? Billie

15. How many baby showers did you have? 3 (someone was spoiled ;)

16. When did baby start sleeping through the night? Don't quite remember, he wasn't a good sleeper

17. Did you breastfeed? No

18. If not, what kind of formula? Similac

19. Who keeps your baby the most? Kelly, til back to work, and Billie's sister Lisa kept him and Kel's Mom

20. When do you wanna have another? Didn't actively think about it until she got with me ;)

21. How did you pick the name? Jaykob was picked from a baby book, when the list was read, and Jaykob was said, he kicked - guess he liked it!  And Daniel is after Kel's good friend who died in a car accident when she was pregnant

22. How did you know when it was time to go to hospital? Contractions were getting closer

23. What was your pain management? epidural

24. Did you go home or somewhere else when you left the hospital? Home

25. Anyone spend the night with you first night home? Just Kel, Jaykie and Billie




And now, Our GryfiMonster!

 1.Age? 5

2. Name? Gryfinn Maddox

3. Birthday? July 29, 2006

4. Time of birth? 11:50 PM

5. How long did labor last? 8 hours

6. Who was in the room when baby was born? Kel, me, my Mom, nurse and the GIANT dr haha

7. How long did you push? 3 pushes and he was here!

8. Weight? 7lbs 1 oz

9. Length? 20 in

10. Any hair? he has a little bit

11. Who does baby look like? According to everyone else, Jarrod, but Kel and I saw a resemblance between him and a donor sibling. 

12. Be honest…how much weight did you gain during pregnancy? 44 pounds

13. Was baby early or late? He came on his due date

14. Who drove you home from hospital? Kelly

15. How many baby showers did you have? 2

16. When did baby start sleeping through the night?  He started sleeping for more than just three hours at around 4 months.

17. Did you breastfeed? Yes, for the first year

18. If not, what kind of formula? Did not have any formula

19. Who keeps your baby the most? Kel and I, and every now and then Kel's Mom or my Mom

20. When do you wanna have another? We bought more of our donor when I was pregnant with Gryfinn, and we planned to start trying again around the time he turned a year old

21. How did you pick the name? A name book - actually, multiple name books!

22. How did you know when it was time to go to hospital? When my contractions where 4 minutes apart

23. What was your pain management? Breathing, breathing, breathing.  Rocking back and forth, either on the yoga ball or slow dancing, closed my eyes and focused on my breathing and my rocking, labored some in the birthing tub

24. Did you go home or somewhere else when you left the hospital? Home

25. Anyone spend the night with you first night home? Just us, and our 3 boys!

And last but not least, the Princess, Miss Caelyn

1.Age? 3

2. Name? Caelyn Alexa

3. Birthday? June 10, 2008

4. Time of birth? 9pm

5. How long did labor last? 3 hours - pitocin started at 6, and she arrived at 9!

6. Who was in the room when baby was born? Kel, me, nurse and the dr

7. How long did you push? 3 pushes and she was here!

8. Weight? 7 lbs

9. Length? 20.5 inches

10. Any hair? Lots of dark hair!

11. Who does baby look like? Everyone goes on and on about how much she looks like Kelly!  (and I LOVE this!!)

12. Be honest…how much weight did you gain during pregnancy? 24 pounds

13. Was baby early or late? She came on her due date

14. Who drove you home from hospital? Kelly

15. How many baby showers did you have? 0

16. When did baby start sleeping through the night? She started sleeping for more than 3 hours a night right around 4 months

17. Did you breastfeed? Yes, for about 13-14 months

18. If not, what kind of formula? No formula

19. Who keeps your baby the most? Kel and I, and sometimes her Mom and my Mom

20. When do you wanna have another? hmmm, I would love like to have another baby.  I don't know if we will, or if we won't, but I'd love like to and preferably soon in the next year or two.

21. How did you pick the name? Caelyn was from the baby book.  We had made lists upon lists of names, girls and boys, and we had a name picked out for a girl and a boy, and then two weeks before she came, we changed our minds, and decided that the name we had picked out for a girl just wasn't it.  So, we went back to the books/list, and decided on Caelyn.  Alexa is after our good friend who had cancer and died when I was pregnant with Caelyn

22. How did you know when it was time to go to hospital? The dr had sent me to have a NST and a scan to check my fluid levels.  My fluid levels were low, so he sent me to be admitted for induction.  Good thing I had said to Kel before we left the house, we should take the bags, just in case! :)

23. What was your pain management? Breathing, breathing, breathing. Rocking back and forth.  Closing my eyes, and focused on my breathing and rocking - didn't think I was going to make it natural, those pitocin contractions are no joke, but I made it!

24. Did you go home or somewhere else when you left the hospital? We went home

25. Anyone spend the night with you first night home? Just us and our 4 beautiful kids!

Love Struck

Our lil kindergartener is in love.  The first day of school, he came home and told us that he had made a friend, and her name is Destiny.  And every time he says her name, he smiles.  You know, that sweet, 'oh my gosh she hung the moon' kinda smile.  And if he tells us anything about Miss Destiny, he will giggle.  You know that giggle.  The one that says 'she is the cutest, funniest person in the world, and I love her'.

And then today, he came home heartbroken.  He said that Destiny was mad at him.  He said that he was sad and he was in tears.  He said on the play ground, he was pushing her on the swings (how freaking cute is that? :) and then she told him that she didn't want him to push her.  That she wanted someone else to push her.  Another boy.  The boy from the blue table.  Stupid skank, how dare she break our boys sweet little heart!  Oh, um, yeah, kids will be kids, girls will be girls.... ;) haha

My poor baby.  His first love, his first heartache, all within his first week of school.

Schools Back In Session! Part 2

I am having difficulty uploading multiple pictures.  Damn blogger.  :o)  So forgive the multiple posts in one day!


Gryfinn had his kindergarten screening on the 24th, and he did great!  He scored in the 90th percentile and got 29 out of 29 on the reading assessment.  And he had so much fun that he didn't want to leave when it was over!!  His first day of school was on the 30th. Half of the kindergarten went on the 30th and the other half on the 31st, and then they all started on the 1st. To say he was SUPER excited would be an understatment!!



Peeking out from the shower!

  

Getting dressed for the day!




Mama's Big Boy!

 

His stuff is all ready to go!  And yes, there is a theme here!




Getting ready to head to school!

 

Gryfinn and his lunch box!  LOVE the dimple!!




Mommy and her babies!!



ENOUGH PICTURES! LET'S GO TO SCHOOL!!  haha

 

Getting ready to walk in the building - could he be any sweeter?!!




Kindergarten and 6th grade - at the beginning and end
Yeah, that brought tears....



Sis snuck in on this picture!  haha

  

Putting his stuff in his cubby




Playing with blocks while they were waiting on the other kids to arrive

 

Saying goodbye to her Gryfi brother



Sis tells us several times each day how much she misses him.  It sounds more like this "I miss Fiffi SO much' and it breaks your heart, cause you know she does. Jarrod is already gone by the time the other kids get up for school, so we didn't get our first day of school pic of all 4 of them.  We may need to 'fake' it - and have them all get ready for school, put their book bags on and take the picture after school one day.  Kel's Mom took the pic from last year and put it on a plate for us as a Christmas present, and we LOVE it.  And are requesting one every year from now on! :o)

Schools Back In Session! Part 1

I so sing that to the tune of 'Schools out for Summer!' haha

School being back in is bittersweet. I wasn't ready for our kids to go back, but I sure was ready for the neighborhood kids! haha That sounds awful. And don't get me wrong, I love our neighborhood, and we have some great kids in it. It just makes for a long work day at home when you keep having kids come to the door. The dog goes crazy, the kids go crazy, and then you get the sad looks when you tell them they can't come out and play, cause you are working, and no they can't come in either, cause you are working. And going through this each day, every day, several times a day, was getting old.

Jarrod and Jayk went back on Aug 24. Jarrod was excited and ready, Jayk wasn't ready for Summer break to be over. Which is opposite of all the other years! Jarrod is taking Spanish this year. He is in 8th grade and his Spanish class is at the high school. It is a great opportunity, as it is also a high school credit! (I think this had to do with some of his readiness to go back to school! :) The only thing he isn't too thrilled about is the time school starts. Middle classes don't start til 8:45, but the high school class starts at 7:30. The bus picks him up at 6:40. That explains the super tired eyes in his pic below!




Super handsome... Super sleepy eyes!

 

Ready for the 6th grade!!