Blah..Well Maybe This Monday Isn't So Bad After All

Today, again, has been "one of those days". It started out with stress, the stress grew bigger, to the point where Punk got himself all worked up..started hitting everyone, calling everyone names, slamming doors and just being down-right unenjoyable. Needless to say, he's now grounded from all video and computer games for the rest of the day and has been informed if he acts up ONE MORE TIME he will lose them for tomorrow as well.

Twinkletoes, has done nothing but cry and whine all day. She refused to listen to me only moments ago when I told her to stop jumping off of our end tables, and fell off of one of them and bit a hole right through her tongue. The screaming coming out of her was ear-piercing and got even worse when I made the stupid mistake of mentioning that she was bleeding.

Ducky, well she is napping now, but before that, she just learned the word, "Cookie", and screamed it at the top of her lungs over and over again when I told her she would not be getting a second one after lunch.

The only good thing today was that I may have found a home business company that I actually KNOW I could thrive at, and am seriously considering joining it. (IF I can convince SB to let me spend the $99 to buy the Consultant kit.) I'll share more about that if I can convince him, and if I can't, well I'll give you the link to the consultant's site. I'd give it to you now, but in case I do join, I want to save it so I get the chance to win your business! ;) Seriously, this company seems PERFECT for me. I still have my "coaching" business, but I just am not passionate about it anymore. Sure I still work out, but I think I jumped into that when I was feeling really "gung ho" about exercise. It was not something that I had always had a passion for. But this other business, is something that I truly LOVE and every single person in my life loves too. So..we'll see. CROSS YOUR FINGERS THAT SB SAYS "YES"!

Mondays truly stink, but at least there was a good thing in mine.

Wow..My Busy Life, In Pictures

Where oh where have I been? Let's see if this is any explanation...



We spent a rainy day at the Muirfield Golf Course for a practice round of the Memorial Tournament to celebrate my dad's 55th birthday. This is SB & me!



And here is the "birthday boy" my dad and my brother.



We got to watch Tiger & Jack Nicklaus play in the Double Skins Tournament. (Tiger was the winner!)



We had our driveway widened and re-gravelled.

BEFORE

AFTER

We've enjoyed many evenings on our breezeway playing with the kids..here we were letting them be photographers.




We've had water fights.



We've played in the sprinkler.



Twinkletoes had her dance recital.


And of course we have had many, MANY bonfires. (The man in the picture is my 20 year old stepson, J.)

So I have been trying to be online..but it hasn't been happening too much. I do promise a more "wordy" post tomorrow!

SUMMER ROCKS!!

The Sickbed

Last night, SB and I loaded up the kids to head out on our hour journey to the town where my stepdaughter lives to watch her school play. We got about 15 minutes into our drive when SB said he wasn't feeling well. He felt like he could throw up and was very light-headed. We decided to turn around and go home because it would be a very long night if he ended up getting sick at the school play and I was left to wrangle all of our kids and then drive us back home.

We hit the McDonald's drive-thru on our way back into town because nothing had been planned for dinner and as soon as we walked in the door SB headed for bed to rest and told me to wake him up at 7:30pm so he didn't sleep all evening.

Hmm.

Now I was supportive that he should rest. Anyone with whom you love, when they're not feeling well you want them to rest, right? But I couldn't help being a little upset. There are many many times when I've been sick. Really sick. Not just feeling sick. That I have felt so much guilt over just going and laying in bed, behind a closed door and leaving SB to take care of the kids alone that I just don't do it. I suck it up and wait until the kids are down for the night and THEN I get my resting in.

Maybe I need to be less self-sacrificing and start following his lead. He seemed to have not one ounce of guilt that I then had to sit with the kids, alone, while they ate their dinner. Then I took them outside so their screeching and fighting wouldn't disturb him. And then I had to fight with each one individually when it was time to go in the house to go to bed. Ducky I put to bed at 7pm, Twinkletoes at 7:30 (she normally goes to bed with Ducky, but I was feeling nice and let her stay up a bit longer) and then, Punk was off to dreamland at 8.

Spoiled Housewife, my ass.

I did indulge in 2 glasses of chilled wine and finally got around to reading my April's edition of Family Circle and after I got all the kids tucked into bed I took a hot bubble bath. But frankly, I earned it.

I'm curious. How do YOU as a mother deal with sickness? When you're sick, do you take the time to nap and rest once your husband is home? What about your husband? Do you allow him to take that time to himself even if you don't do it for yourself? Let me know by commenting here, and if you're lurking around the shadows..come out come out wherever you are! I want to know who's visiting so I can visit YOU!

And if you noticed that you used to be on my sidebar, but are no longer there, please leave a comment. I lost my blogroll when I switched names, and now..I am having trouble getting everyone added again.

Reason Why It Was The Best Weekend...

...minus pictures because I am too lazy it's too nice outside to mess around with trying to find my USB plug to upload!

My husband took off Friday, Saturday & Sunday!

We bought a new (to us) minivan!

We had two nights of hanging out until the wee hours of the morning on our breezeway with my husband's adult sons laughing and enjoying the warm breeze.

Our kids rode their bikes and played with the neighbor boy for hours on end, thus NOT whining about being bored.

I finished reading "The Shack".

I started reading "The Host", by Stephenie Meyer.

I got a suntan.

I got to hang out with my favorite neighbor & enjoy some great laughs.

My son's t-ball game went off without a hitch.

We grilled out twice!

We ate all of our meals on our outdoor dining set.

My husband finally installed my old fashioned wooden screen doors on our breezeway.

I then spent the entire weekend opening them just to hear them smack shut.

We bought some new plants and did a little landscape work.

We enjoyed EVERY SINGLE MOMENT!!

How did YOU enjoy YOUR weekend?

100 Thing (That May or May Not Bore You To Death!)

I got the idea to post "100 Things About Me" from this blogger. I hope you enjoy..

1. I am a self-proclaimed "Twilight" addict. It's bad..really, really, bad! EDIT: The series of books..the movie was just okay for me..I think I watched it too soon after reading the book, though. I'll try it again in a couple of months.

2. My favorite color has always been purple.

3. When my husband and I got married, I was 2 months pregnant with our second child. No one knew except immediate family, until my 15 year old stepson announced it during his toast at the reception.

4. I really think I'm mildly OCD. I have to have things in a certain order, or I totally lose my cool. It's strange, but me!

5. Since buying our house in December, my husband and I have not been able to stop working on home projects or planning new projects..we really need a 12-step program!

6. My favorite cartoon when I was a kid was "The Gummi Bears".

7. I watched "Marley & Me" last night, and haven't cried like that over a movie since I saw "Beaches". (NOT recommended for anyone who has lost a beloved dog, recently!!)

8. I check my email multiple times a day. Usually it's nothing but junk, but I hate having a cluttered inbox..again OCD..

9. I am beyond mad that "Life On Mars" was canceled.

10. For that matter I'm still mad that "What About Brian" was canceled, too!

11. I only watch 1 soap opera (contrary to the opinion that SAHM's sit around and watch soaps all day).

12. I DVR that soap opera, "As The World Turns", and as of today am 4 weeks behind. I never have time to actually sit and watch it, but I always get around to it eventually. Last year I watched their Christmas episodes in March!

13. My friends and I when we were growing up (around 9 & 10) used to hold "concerts" for our families. We'd practice for days, and on Saturday night we'd subject our parents to listen to us sing, Wilson Phillips, Mariah Carey, and New Kids On The Block.

14. As many times as I THOUGHT I was in love..I realize now having been married to my husband for the last 4 years, that I never really knew love until I met him.

15. Speaking of my husband, he makes a point to leave the house in the morning before I get out of bed, because I am a total "B" when I wake up..and I stay that way until I've had at least 2 full cups of coffee.

16. I never drank coffee until this past winter. Now I can't survive without it.

17. I gained 55 pounds when I was pregnant with my first child.

18. I only gained 25 and then 30 pounds with the other 2 kids.

19. I lost the baby weight with the "Slim in 6" program, and am now a Beachbody coach.

20. My dad wanted to name me, Heather.

21. I am so glad my mom didn't let him. Not that there is anything wrong with that name, but I'm SO not a "Heather".

22. I live in the friendliest neighborhood EVER! All of the neighbors spend time outside chatting with one another. We share things with each other. We're constantly knocking on each other's doors asking to borrow something, or bringing over goodies. It is my DREAM neighborhood, and I am so happy we moved here. I've made some great, great friends! (And we've only lived here since December!)

23. I live on a "Dead End" street, so since we don't have heavy traffic, it's perfect to let the kids ride their bikes in the road..with close supervision, of course.

24. I love hardwood floors and my husband and I were thrilled to find the natural hardwood floor (in great condition)under the carpet in the dining room, living room & hallway. We ripped it all up this past weekend.

25. I learned this weekend, that taking up carpet is NOT MY THING. I have blisters and my hand still feel like it's in a permanent cramp from pulling up the 1000's of staples that were holding the carpet padding down.

26. My favorite flowers are white roses.

27. My second favorite flowers are hydrangeas..the kind with the blue tips on the petals. They composed my wedding bouquet.

28. My husband and my's song is "Remember When" by Alan Jackson.

29. My dad and my's song is "The Way You Look Tonight" by Frank Sinatra.

30. I would never ever ever relive my high school years if I had the chance.

31. I love the band "Hinder" and if you ever come to my house in the summer, and I happen to be drinking beer(which is almost everyday in the warm months) you will hear their CD played, over, and Over, and OVER! One of my stepson's friends hates coming to our house for that exact reason. And not because he doesn't like the band..he just got tired of hearing me playing my favorite songs on repeat..like 7 times in a row.

32. I have 5 tattoos.

33. I used to have my nose pierced and am considering doing it again.

34. When I eat at the Olive Garden, I always order the same meal, every time. I have no idea what their other food tastes like.

35. I will be 27 on my next birthday.

36. I am (sorta) a Grandma. My stepson has a 2 1/2 year old little boy. He calls me "GiGi".

37. My husband is 11 years older than I am. (He had his oldest when he was 16.)

38. I have begged my husband to let us move to Florida..he isn't budging..even though he lived there for 8 years and misses it.

39. I've come to learn that a healthy relationship involves sacrifices on both sides.

40. I'm not even half way done, and am having trouble..Maybe this may just be 50 things about me??

41. I've had 3 previous blogs before this one that I gave up. This one and STAYING, that's for sure!

42. I knit.

43. I cross-stitch.

44. I can hula dance..oh no wait..no I can't.

45. I pig out while watching "The Biggest Loser"...last night it was a root beer float...ugh..so ashamed!

46. I'm done having children. It's sad sometimes to think about, but in all honesty..I'd probably go totally insane if I had another one.

47. My son has his first t-ball game this Saturday. I can not wait!!!

48. My 3 y/o daughter has her first dance recital in June.

49. As I'm doing this I'm writing out my check for the garbage company.

50. My favorite place to be when I was a little girl was at my grandma's farm. I am a true country girl at heart, even though I've lived most of my life in town.

51. I have many many cousins, but most of them I dont talk to, which I find very sad.

52. One day I was driving home from the bank and I SWEAR I saw the guy that played Brandon in 90210 driving in a HUGE FANCY BLACK HUMMER through our town.

53. Luke Perry(who played Dylan in 90210) grew up in the town beside us..his parents still live there..so really I could have seen "Brandon" driving through our town..maybe here was here visiting with Luke Perry?

54. My cousins rode the school bus with Luke Perry when they were younger and said he was a total jerk.

55. Enough about Luke Perry...I've never been to Disney World.

56. I had never been to Florida at all until my honeymoon. I haven't been there since either. Probably because I bugged my husband for months after we came home to pack us up and MOVE!

57. I have to sleep on my stomach or I can't sleep at all.

58. I get very very angry at my husband when he falls asleep in front of the TV.

59. I LOVE to pick at people. Got a splinter? Let me squeeze it outta ya! My family avoids me at all costs when things like that happen..apparently they say "it hurts"..buncha babies!

60. I am scared to call and order pizza. Seriously, it causes me to have a mild anxiety attack. My husband gets very aggravated with me about it and has been making me do it to get over my fear.

61. I always wanted a big brother.

62. When I was a little girl, my favorite Cabbage Patch's name was "Blanche Catilda". I left her at a neighbors house one day and remembered the next weekend, only to find that they had up and moved practically in the middle of the night. Taking my beloved Blanche with them.

63. If I wasn't a mom, I'd probably have been a nurse. Who knows, maybe someday I'll go back to school and become one..but I doubt it. I like being home with my kids. I think that's very important.

64.Date nights with my husband used to consist of hitting every bar in town and making new friends along the way.

65. Now..date nights with my husband consist of going out to dinner, hitting Lowe's and working on home projects (sober) until 2 or 3 in the morning.

66. I love the sound of wooden screen doors smacking shut in the summer months. My mom just bought us a pair of screen doors to put on our breezeway doors as our Easter gift. (I'm still waiting for my husband to install them..hopefully this weekend!)

67. I used to HATE blue walls. This past weekend my husband and I painted our dining room, living room AND hallway a beautiful blue color called "Smokescreen". It looks absolutely awesome with the hardwood floors!

68. Talking on the phone with friends for hours is probably the only thing I miss about being a teenager.

69. Sleeping is my favorite thing to do. If I didn't have kids, I'd still probably sleep until mid-afternoon on the weekends.

70. I'm the happiest when my family can be outside chatting with the neighbors until dark and watching the kids running around and laughing.

71. I love to read. Every time my 20 year old stepson visits (which is about every other week) he is amazed that I'm reading a different book than the last time he's been here. What can I say, I read fast. Especially when I feel a connection to the characters.

72. I have 3 stepkids. A 21 (almost 22) year old stepson(the one who has the little boy). A 20 year old stepson. And a 7 (almost 8) year old step daughter. The boys and I get along great, it's been harder with my step daughter, even thought I've been with her dad since she was just a year old. But now that she's getting older, and coming to visit us regularly every other weekend, we're finally establishing a good relationship.

73. I have no regrets of things I've done in the past. Every decision I've ever made has made me who I am today.

74. My son's middle name is my mom's maiden name. Giving him that name was probably the best gift I ever gave my mom. The Christmas I was pregnant with him, we gave my mom a snowman ornament that said "Grandma" on it, along with a card (from the baby) signed with his full name. It took her a minute to realize what she was reading and when she did, she started crying because she was so excited and honored.

75. I miss my dad a lot. He moved 2 hours north 4 years ago, and we only get to see him 1 or 2 times a year. We used to see him at least once a week before he moved.

76. I have only one (younger) brother, and we fight ALL THE TIME. We've ruined holidays with our fighting. (Its never my fault..seriously, it's not!)

77. I used to think my husband's sister didn't like me. Now we get along great!

78. I have been impatiently waiting for my 19 month old daughter to start talking. She's only been saying "Bye", "dada" or "Tag"(our dog's name) for months now. The other day she said her first (sorta) sentence. She pointed out the window and said "Side, wanna play!" "Side" meaning "Outside". And she's also started calling me "mama"..finally!!

79. When I was little I had the chicken pox 4 times! I KNOW, you're only supposed to have them once, but I never had them bad enough to become immune until the last time.

80. Last year on Mother's Day I came down with the worst flu I've ever had in my life. It was SUCH a great day..NOT!

81. I never have figured out what the playground taunt "Go suck an egg" was supposed to mean.

82. I can't wait to become one of those "snooty" moms on the PTA.

83. I have a weak lower back and am constantly injuring myself because of it.

84. I blame pregnancy for my back problems..kids really screw your body up!

85. Months 5-7 are the most enjoyable being pregnant. At least for me. You're finally showing, not just looking like you ate too many desserts, and you're not to that miserable point yet. I'd have 100 kids if the whole experience was as fun and comfortable as those couple of months.

86. My tubes are tied. (Too much info? Sorry!)

87. I had all of my kids by c-section. My body is incapable of dilating properly, even with the help of Pitocin(a drug that induces labor). We found that out during labor with my son, and I had to have a (sorta) emergency c-section with him. Hospital policy where I had him at doesn't allow VBAC's (vaginal birth after cesarean) so I had the girls by scheduled c-sections. (Again, TMI? Sorry!)

88. I could have gone to a different hospital and tried a VBAC, but for me, it wasn't worth it. It would have been different if I'd have had a c-section because he was breach or something, but since it was a flaw in my body, I knew it would be safer just to schedule the c-sections. Plus, CONVIENIENT! My husband and mom knew months in advance to plan their vacation time.

89. Even if I won the lottery, I'd probably never move from our 3 bedroom 1 bath ranch house. It's so perfect for us. (Although, I would finish the basement, adding an additional bedroom & bath down there, and expand the girls' room.)

90. Even if I dont ever win the lottery, which is probably pretty likely since we dont play it) we will still do those things to our house..it'll just be YEARS down the road.

91. My favorite holiday is the 4th of July. I love the hot weather, cookouts, fireworks, parades, and the feeling of pride of our country.

92. My wedding dress was priced at $695. I bought it from a local boutique that was going out of business, for $65! (That was including tax!) Can you say BEST BARGAIN SHOPPING EVER!?

93. I'm slightly addicted to Facebook.

94. I dont understand Twitter, but I tweet on it everyday.

95. I never realized how much I love yard work until we owned our own home.

96. When my son was born, and I held him for the first time after he had been cleaned up, weighed, and measured in the nursery. I asked my husband if they had put baby lotion on him. (He smelled so sweet..just like Baby Magic lotion.) My husband told me no, they didn't even use any soap, just a warm towel. I never realized how amazingly good newborn babies smelt. I was instantly in love and wanted to just chew on him!!!

97. I still get butterflies holding my husband's hand.

98. There are 2 books that I read once a year, and have done so for the past 10 years. "Gone With The Wind" in the summer. "Little Women" in the winter.

99. Before my son was born, I wished he would have my hazel eyes. He instead got his dad's gorgeous blue eyes. When my 2nd child was born, I wanted her to get her brother and dad's blue eyes..she did. So when I had my 3rd child, I again wanted her to have those blue eyes..it wouldn't be fair for her to not get them since the other 2 did..but she has my hazel eyes, and I tell ya, I was a tad upset at the beginning, but there is NOTHING like looking into your child's eyes and seeing a reflection of yourself.

100. My name is Jen..and I just probably bored my 2 readers with 100 things about myself..but at least I had fun doing it!


If you want to do this (it is kinda fun!) make sure you leave a comment for me so I can visit you and read your 100 Things!

A Good Day Turned Bad

Yesterday was a lovely/awful day. I woke up early with my kids as always and immediately started getting ready for church. I recently have recommitted to finding the right church for us so that I can continue my spiritual growth and raise my children up to love Jesus. SB informed me on the way out the door to head to work (that's right, my husband works on weekends..the OT is SO worth it!) that Punk had been up very early coughing and decided to head back to bed because he didn't feel well. I was concerned for him, but pretty upset. This meant that my goal to try a new church was squashed. I still went ahead and showered and got dressed "just in case".

At 9am, I called my mom, who had intended to join the kids and I on our new church adventure, and told her that unfortunately, it looked like I had to stay home. Once she found out that I was dressed she told me that since she hadn't started to get ready yet, she would come stay with the kids and I could go check it out and let her know if it was worth it to go back next week.

Let me just say, I was SO thankful for this and when she showed up at 10:15 I headed out on my merry way to attend the 10:30 service. It was WONDERFUL! This church does an amazing job at acknowledging visitors. They provide a packet of information on their church and after the service invite visitors to go to a reception in the church office where the Associate Pastor waits for you and answers all of your questions. (You even get coffee, doughnuts, and a coffee mug filled with Hershey Kisses to keep!)

Not to say I was swayed by the gift, but the other churches I had tried out last fall did NOTHING to acknowledge visitors. I had even filled out the visitor cards requesting more information and never received so much as a phone call! So THIS was JUST what I needed to feel comfortable and welcome.

I returned home so excited to share with my mom that not only did this church make me feel welcome, but the sermon was AWESOME, the people were friendly, and there were plenty of young families (which was majorly important for me since I have all these kids!). We then headed outside since it was warm and sunny and spent the rest of the afternoon walking around my yard checking out what plants were popping up. (This is my family's first spring in our new house so it's going to be surprise to see what landscaping we have.) Later, we decided to sit on the front porch to chat.

It was then that I started to get a few whiffs of natural gas. At first I just ignored it because I thought I was just smelling things, but then my husband came home and I asked him if he could smell it. He said no, but he had smelt it a few days before, but didn't think anything of it. My mom then said she could smell it and SB went to check the basement where the meter is and said there was an odor down there.

CRAP!!!!

So we proceeded to call the gas company's emergency line and they sent a technician out right away. Turns out our entire gas line from the street to our house needed replaced, as well as our meter. The man informed us that yes they would have to dig in our yard, but promised that it would be a small line dug and by the time they left we'd barely notice they had been there.

We spent the night without heat and hot water because of course they turned everything off, and awoke this morning a bit chilly, but otherwise okay and ready to have this mess taken care of.

About an hour ago the gas company showed up. With. A. BACKHOE!!

I now have a totally dug up yard, dirt ground into my carpet because they have to keep coming in to check things out in the basement. And a crying 3 year old because she is positive that the backhoe is going to crash through our house.

Fun times. Let me tell ya!

Welcome To The New Edition!

So let me do a quick intro to my new "mommy" blog edition to the "Kitchen Table" name. If your looking for fitness info, advice, or coaching information you're at the wrong place..you need to go visit my Kitchen Table Fitness blog.

That being said, let me introduce the "crazies" you'll find featured on this blog. There's me, Jen, the mom. SB, the husband. Punk, the 5 y/o son. Twinkletoes, the 3 y/o daughter. And last, but not least, Ducky the 1 1/2 y/o daughter. Oh and there's also our shed-crazy dog, Tag.

Stay tuned for the funny, heart-wrenching, wild, adventures of raising 3 kids in a small town in Ohio! Our extended family will make occasional appearances I am sure. They give us enough stories to last multiple lifetimes!

So take a seat at OUR "kitchen table" and let us entertain you!