Tuesday, November 30, 2004

Want a 4 year old?

I am just about willing to give him away free of charge this morning. We woke up and everything was great. Everyone ate their breakfast, got their showers and got dressed, we were actually ahead of our normal schedule. We got in the van and listened to some Christmas music and laughed on the way to school, and then we pulled up...

Cameron got out with his brother and all of a sudden decided he was not going to school anymore. He started screaming at the top of his lungs that he wasn't going, and he latched on to the seat with a death grip. David being the helpful child that he is decided that he would try to drag Cam to school, and I am telling David "just go to class honey I will handle it". "Cameron come on your going to make mom go to jail if you don't go to school." now I have Cameron crying and screaming, because he doesn't want to go to school, and David crying because he thinks I am on my way to jail because Cameron won't go to school, and Colton sitting calmly in the passenger seat as if this is just a normal morning. I hop out and drag the child to the front door of the school; I let go of him to get the door opened and off he runs to the van, so again I go and get him. I take him to the door and this time he wiggled out of my grasp and back to the van. So I chase him down with David hot on my heals. Luckily Colton was in the van and let me back in because Cameron had me locked out at this point. I load them all up and drive around to the front of the school, and I grabbed Cameron out of the van and hauled his ass to the school into the front door kicking and screaming.
"David get your butt to class and quit worrying about Cam."
"mom I will take him with you."
"Just go"
Well David got half way down the hall and came running back as Cam tried to escape once again, but I was to quick for him that time. The office lady came out and helped me get him and she took him down to class and David walked with her. I left and didn't turn around once. It took us 20 minutes to get him into class today, but there was no way I was letting him come home with me, because that would have just taught him that he doesn't have to go just because he doesn't want to. Cam always goes to school without a problem unless he doesn't feel good, today was really different. I had times with David where he didn't want to go, but all I had to do was tell him he had to go and reassure him I would be there to pick him up and all was fine. Colton told granny on the phone, "Cameron almost made me and mom go to jail cause he didn't want to go to school, he may have to go live at the orphanage."

Friday, November 26, 2004

Let it snow

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. I actually cooked dinner at home so it was just Me, Steve and the boys. I was impressed with myself, I didn't burn anything and everything was edible, and the turkey was tender and juice. All 4 of my boys decided I am almost as good at cooking Thanksgiving dinner as their granny that was the best thing they could have said to me! I was going to go shopping today, but there is about 3 inches of snow on the ground and it is still falling.

Hopefully it last through Christmas, because I love a white Christmas. Tomorrow we will turn on the Christmas music and dig out the decorations to start decking the halls. I love Christmas, but for some reason I always get so sad. My mom says that I have always been that way. She always tells me that when I was a baby we would go shopping, back in the days when they use to play Christmas music in the stores, and she would look at me and I would be crying. I will still cry for no good reason during this time of year, I will hear a certain song,or see something on the news, and just break down. I think that even as a baby and a child I realized that the world should be a peaceful and wonderful place and it isn't. I have always wondered why during the holiday season everyone tries just a little harder to be kind to each other, but the rest of the year they could care less. I didn't mean for this to be such a depressing post. Well I am going to shovel the sidewalk with the boys, and make snow angels and throw snowballs!

Monday, November 22, 2004

Sore throats

I don't know what is up, but the boys are all getting the damn sore throats again. They were just getting over them and now they are getting this crap all over again. I am thinking about getting the dogs a throat culture to see if they are carrying it around and giving it back to us. I have always gotten sore throats. I have overly large tonsils that should have come out when I was little. Luckily only Colton has the huge tonsils, but all the boys seem to be like me when it comes to picking up sore throat germs. They have all been exposed to chicken pox more than once and not one of them got one bump, but someone with a sore throat comes within 50 yards of us and we get it.
I am sure that the boys are probably picking it up at school, I see a lot of snotty noses and coughing kids when I pick up mine. School is worse than the hospital for picking up germs!
I have been trying to get my house cleaned for the holidays. I am actually trying to get all the crayon off the walls and shampoo the carpets, which is really useless with 3 kids and 3 dogs! I still need to wash out my cupboards and clean my oven, and clean out the fridge, so I better get back to work!

Sunday, November 14, 2004

Hockey baby Hockey.

The players lined up anxiously awaited the zamboni to leave the ice. The normal chatter amongst players was nonexistent as I made my way to the stands. I found my seat as the door to the rink opened letting 30 some 4 to 6 year olds on the ice. Woohoo its hockey my friends, no not the NHL this is much better than any professional game you will ever watch; this is mini might hockey, and they are playing their first game of the season!

They skate around the rink warming up, the D man skates past the window where we are, and giving us the little head nod and smile that said “don’t worry mom we are going to kick ass and I am going to get my first hat trick.” That is all he talked about all week was getting that hat trick (3 goals in a game for the non-hockey readers), and his granny came to town to watch him get it. The teams both head to the bench get their line up and take the ice for the face off. The D man is left wing, the center hit the puck and D takes off after it getting to it first, he passes it off to another teammate who takes it to the net woohoo score for the Orange team! Face off the D man again is the first one to the puck and he skates passed everyone, looks at the goalie and slams it into the net. Then they have a line change, they have line changes every 2 minutes in USA mini mites.

They only had nine kids on their team so they end up with a lot of ice time in each game, which is good the more they play the better they get. It was David’s turn again the Red team took the puck and scored against us, a little girl who was on D’s team last year actually, so I had to cheer for her cause she is an awesome little thing. They face off, puck hits the ice and an Orange team kid takes off with it shoots misses, red and orange fight it out for the puck, red hits it out from behind the net. The D mans eyes never left the puck he skated up and stopped it. He looked around and slammed that puck, I thought oh he is gonna miss, “go in go in” mom and me are screaming. WOOHOO granny jumps up and down and I am beaming with pride as he scored his second goal. There is only one period of 13 minutes left, and the next two line changes David is stuck in defense, because he already scored and they try to give everyone a chance to score, he only got one more chance to get his hat trick the last minute of the game. He got the puck and away he went and BUZZ time is up.

He was excited his team won the game, but he really wanted that hat trick. He told me, I will just have to get hat tricks in ever game from now on mom.

Friday, November 12, 2004

Women are your equals

I was blog hopping as I so often do and when I came to Zelda's house I paused and thought just how good I have it because I am from the United States, more so because I am a woman in the USA.

Growing up my daddy use to tease my mom and tell her things like "and I expect you to walk 3 steps behind me and to the left." as a child I never understood that saying, but as I got older and started paying attention to how the world worked I got it. My mother being the strong, independent woman that she is would have never walked behind my father. She is his equal and he has never really tried to oppress her or my sister or me in anyway. Daddy always told us we could be anything we wanted to be. So it is always a little shocking to see things like the film Submission. As an American woman I sometimes forget that there are places that still view women as the lesser sex. If you have 11 minutes watch this film it is very tastefully done, but the shock doesn't end there it goes much deeper.

The man who made the film, Theo Van Gogh, was brutally murdered because he choose to speak out against the unequal treatment of women in the Muslim faith. I again as an American can't understand being murdered for speaking out against something I don't believe in. It is just unreal to me that someone died for making this film, and killed by religious fanatics.

I have read a lot of the Quran and a lot of the Bible, and it is utterly frightening how much the 2 books have in common if you sit down and read them not as religious text to follow, but as books of history. I have yet to find in either book where it says "Beat your wives into submission, and make them obey you." Yet both the Islamic culture and the Christen culture has been guilty of doing just that. Men throughout history have always tried to control women through religion. Most women in the Christen faith have broken the bonds and read the Bible and said "Wait that doesn't mean that at all." and that is really what the movie is saying "wait a minute the Quran doesn't say it is ok to beat me and oppress me." The film threatens the life style of some Islamic men to be in control, it defies their rights, the ones they gave themselves, not the ones the Quran gave them. These men do not like the fact that this film might make some women stand up and oppose them. It might band women together and give them strength in their God to help them over come the wrath of evil men. That is the very reason Van Gogh lost his life, because he opposed the cruel treatment of women and tried to empower them.

Two very opposing articles on the treatment of women and the Quran. It's all in the interpretation isn't it!

The Quran and Women

Quran on women

Thursday, November 11, 2004

Veterans Day

Today is the day we honor the men and women who have served our country. I think that anyone who is willing to put on a uniform and put themselves in harms way to protect me and my children is pretty damn awesome, and I thank you with all of my heart. You are all in my thoughts and prayers not only today, but everyday.

In Your Honor

Unselfishly, you left your fathers and your mothers, You left behind your sisters and your brothers. Leaving your beloved children and wives, You put on hold, your dreams—your lives.
On foreign soil, you found yourself planted To fight for those whose freedom you granted. Without your sacrifice, their cause would be lost But you carried onward, no matter the cost.

Many horrors you had endured and seen. Many faces had haunted your dreams. You cheered as your enemies littered the ground; You cried as your brothers fell all around.

When it was over, you all came back home, Some were left with memories to face all alone; Some found themselves in the company of friends As their crosses cast shadows across the land.

Those who survived were forever scarred Emotionally, physically, permanently marred. Those who did not now sleep eternally ‘Neath the ground they had given their lives to keep free.

With a hand upon my heart, I feel The pride and respect; my reverence is revealed In the tears that now stream down my upturned face As our flag waves above you, in her glory and grace. Freedom was the gift that you unselfishly gave Pain and death was the price that you ultimately paid. Every day, I give my utmost admiration To those who had fought to defend our nation.

author unknown



Toby Keith
American soldier

I'm just trying to be a father,
Raise a daughter and a son,
Be a lover to their mother,
Everything to everyone.
Up and at 'em bright and early,
I'm all in my business suit,
Yeah, I'm dressed for success from my head down to my boots,
I don't do it for money, there's still bills that I can't pay,
I don't do it for the glory, I just do it anyway,
Providing for our future's my responsibility,
Yeah I'm real good under pressure, being all that I can be,
And I can't call in sick on Mondays when the weekends been to strong,
I just work straight through the holidays,
And sometimes all night long.
You can bet that I stand ready when the wolf growls at the door,
Hey, I'm solid, hey I'm steady, hey I'm true down to the core,
And I will always do my duty, no matter what the price,
I've counted up the cost, I know the sacrifice,
Oh, and I don't want to die for you,
But if dyin's asked of me,
I'll bear that cross with an honor,
'Cause freedom don't come free.
I'm an American soldier, an American,
Beside my brothers and my sisters I will proudly take a stand,
When liberty's in jeopardy I will always do what's right,
I'm out here on the front lines, sleep in peace tonight.
American soldier, I'm an American,
An American,
An American Soldier

Wednesday, November 10, 2004

Why must people piss me off?

It is like a goal for certain people in my life to piss me off. I can't get rid of them because well it doesn't matter the fact is they are always going to be around, luckily they don't come around that often.

I am a very easy going person it takes a lot to get on my bad side. I give the benefit of doubt most of the time, and I forgive people easily, but once you have crossed the line numberous times I am done with you. Well I have been done with this person for sometime now, but there is no way to get them completely out of my life. I am polite and nice when I see them, but I am not going out of my way to engage them in conversation's, and I am not going to show up at places they tend to frequent, and I really don't want them at my house. I think what makes me most upset about the whole thing is that Steve doesn't get it and he blames me, which just causes another struggle in our already going down hill marriage. He thinks I am a bitch, and I probably am, but there are just certain things that I won't get over no matter how much time has passed. There are certain things that I shouldn't be expected to get over especially coming from the people that said them. I think that if Steve respects me even a little bit he will allow me to have my feeling and leave it at that. I am not asking him to justify them or agree with them, but to just allow me to have them without getting upset because of the way I feel. Anyway I am done ranting about it, because well it isn't going to change anything anyway.


Playing Dr.

Well I finally broke down and took myself to the doctor today as my throat is swollen shut. It went something like this.

Dr.: "Oh it's mom's turn to be sick."
Me: "I am not sick, mom's don't get sick."
Dr. Shines light at me and tells me to open my mouth. "Yep your sick." Then proceeds to look in my ears and poke at my face.
Dr.: "How long have you had this sinus infection?"
Me: "I have a sore throat not a sinus infection."
Dr.: "NO you have strep throat, ear infections in both ears, and a sinus infection. How long have you had the sinus infection?"
Me: "I have had a sinus headache and stuffy nose for about a month or so, I don't know... awhile."
Dr.: "You have been taking over the counter drugs to treat it haven't you."
Me: "Yep"
Dr: "Well stop it."
Me: "Why?"
Dr: "Because I am the Dr. and I said." Ok he didn't really say that, he said, "You have stopped the infection from draining, which has caused the sinus infection to get worse and move into your ear canals."
Me: "Oh."
Dr. hands me a prescription slip and tells me not to take anything else from over the counter and if I don't feel better by Thursday to come back.
Well now because I have not taken anything for the sinus headache and pressure my eyes feel like any moment they will pop out of my head with such force they will break the computer screen, not to mention the pressure on my ears they didn't hurt while I was taking the over the counter crap, but it is draining right down the back on my throat gagging me everytime I swallow so I must be getting better right?
It seems like it has been one thing after another lately. If I were a dog someone would have taken me out and put a bullet in my head to put me out of my misery by now, and I really don't think that would be such a bad thing at this point.

Monday, November 08, 2004

Their coming to take me away heehee hoho

Well it won't be long before I am committed to a little padded cell, and at this point I really am looking at it rather as a little vacation than a place for crazy people. This morning we were hunting coats so we could go to school, and we can't find Davids coat, it wasn't in the house, not in the back yard, not in the van. It has vanished from sight. I say to him, "Now think really hard where was the last place you had it." He thinks for a minute lets out a big sigh and says "I had it on the play ground".

Great the play ground, we had a 4 day weekend so this would have been Wednesday of last week that he "had it on the play ground." I hand him a jacket, kiss him, and tell him "find your coat" as I push him out of the van toward the playground! I pick him up early because we had to go to the airport and get his granny, and he wanted to go with us. Well I go in gather him up, get his jacket, his backpack, and sign him out. We check the lost and found no coat we check the office no coat! The coat is gone, and I tell him, "well that was a brand new coat David, and your not getting another one!" to which this child replies, "I know mom because I would just lose it too."

We proceed to the airport, get mom, and head to lunch at the village inn. She went to see my baby sister in St. Louis MO., so she gives us all the details of the trip and daddy about falls asleep in his dinner, because he worked all night and had not been to bed. We decided to forgo any shopping mom needs to do until Sunday when she comes back to town. She gives David his new hockey skates, Hespelers, she found for $9.95 on clearance in St. Louis. They were marked down from 79.95 so that was a really good deal. Then her and daddy load up and to head home, which is 90 miles from here.

We start the journey home as well, and as we are passing the school I see like 10 coats on the playground. I said "David do you think that one of those are yours?" "Yes." he says somberly. I stop the van and tell him "You go look through all those coats and see if one of them is yours." "Will you come with me mom?" he says. "No David you need to do it yourself." I tell him as he is getting out. He runs to not the first coat or the 2nd one, but to a group of coats at the far end of the playground, he throws them around and grabs one and runs to the van yelling "I FOUND IT MOM, I FOUND IT!!!" When he gets back I check the coat to make sure it is indeed his, as I have written his name in it, and sure enough it was. I am amazed not because we found his coat, but because he knew exactly where he had left it and never thought to look there to begin with!

Friday, November 05, 2004

Wow what a week.

Last Friday we had Halloween parties at the school. So I went to Cam's in the morning and then D's in the afternoon. They were very nice parties, and Colton got to march in the little classroom parade so he was very happy.

Sunday we were getting ready for Hockey, and it was snowing and cold. I asked David where his shoes were. "I don't know mom." "Where is your coat?" "I don't know."
Then I remember he had been playing outside on Sat. "David are your shoes and coat outside?"
"No mom they are in the van." he says as he is making a beeline for the front door, and I am stomping to the back door. It was no surprise to me that laying in the back yard almost covered with fresh snow was a coat, a brand new coat. I spun around quickly thinking I might just choke him this time, he will strip down naked out there and just leave his clothes laying out there until I find them, but then it happened in mid spin my knees buckled and there went my back. "God damnit." I screamed as I clinched my fists and my face contorted into something I can only imagine as evil. Steve looked at me and took off down the stairs to retrieve the missing items thinking I might have finally reached the end of my sanity, and I may kill them all at any minute. David started pleading for his life telling me his brothers must of taken it outside, and all I can say is "get in the van." He was out the door like a rocket. I thought about telling them I needed to go to the ER, but then they were all behaving so well because they thought that they had finally drove me over the edge that I sat silently on the ride to the rink. Once there however it all ended because I couldn't feel my left leg at all, and the pain shooting down my right leg about had me in tears. I managed to get out and hobble to the door. Then Sunday night we went trick or treating, I love going with the boys, so I went. About 4 houses up I told Steve I had to go get the van, so that is what I did. I drove with my window down and watched my little guys trick or treat. Colton was so funny. He was a pooky doest, or in adult spooky ghost. He found some girls that must have been about 11 or 12 to chase around this car "BOOing" at them. It was funny. Then he would get to the door and say "Trick or treat, I'n a pooky doest...BOO." He got more candy then anyone, and he didn't want to quit he was having such a good time. Cam in all his logic decided that it is just as fun to go to walmart and buy your own damn candy, and a whole lot less cold that way too. David ran into one of his school friends and they proceeded to stand at one ladies door trading candy out of their bags as she was trying to put candy in. Monday morning I barely got out of bed, I had the Ozzy walk going on, you know hunched over shuffling my feet along an inch at a time. Thankfully Steve got to stay home with me for 2 whole days.
Well that is enough for now I suppose.

Thursday, November 04, 2004

Election thoughts

This isn’t as political as it sounds.

Top 10 closest elections, by popular vote in since 1876. These are the times in our history that we were the most divided as a nation.


1876 Tilden beat Hayes by 252,224 votes, but Hayes won the Electoral College vote.

1880 Garfield beat Hancock by 7018 votes.

1884 Cleveland beat Blaine by 62,683 votes.

1888 Harrison beat Cleveland by 98,017 votes, but Cleveland won the Electoral College vote.

1892 Cleveland beat Harrison by 380,810 votes.

1896 McKinley beat Bryan by 567,692 votes.

1916 Wilson beat Hughes by 591,385 votes.

1960 Kennedy beat Nixon by 118,574 votes.

1968 Nixon beat Humphrey by 510,314 votes.

2000 Gore beat Bush by 540,895 votes, but Bush Jr. won Electoral College vote.


Top 10 Elections that were the farthest apart.

1920 Harding beat Cox by 7,004,847 votes.

1924 Coolidge beat Davis by 7,339,430 votes.

1932 F. Roosevelt beat Hoover by 7,060,016 votes.

1952 Eisenhower beat Stevenson by 6,621,249 votes.

1956 Eisenhower beat Stevenson by 9,587,720 votes.

1964 Johnson beat Goldwater by 15,951,296 votes.

1972 Nixon beat McGovern by 17,999,528 votes.

1980 Regan beat Carter by 7,497,819 votes.
1988 Bush Sr. beat Dukakis by 7,077,023 votes.

1996 Clinton beat Dole by 8,203,602 votes.


Out of the Presidents elected during the times we were the most divided Garfield, Mckinley, and Kennedy were all assassinated. There were 3 elections, the only 3 in history that the Electoral votes differed for the popular vote; Harrison vs. Cleveland, Tilden vs. Hayes, and of course Gore vs. Bush Jr. We the Spanish American war, WWI, and Vietnam.

During the times that we have been at our least divided Nixon got impeached, Clinton got impeached.

I could go on and on, but I really do have a point. This election was about average really Bush took the popular vote by about 3,582,326 give or take. I think we are just divided enough to keep everyone else on their toes, but we still are open enough to change that we don’t shut out other people’s views, and that is a good thing. We need to challenge our government, we all have a voice and we have the freedom to use it.



Wednesday, November 03, 2004

Sorry for the delay

I have screwed up my back, so moving is nearly impossible. About 2 years ago I herniated 3 disks in my lower back while we were elk hunting, and I reinjured them sunday, so don't blame me if this post doesn't make sense blame the vicoden. I am still not sure why I am taking the pills they make me tired and loopy, but do nothing for the pain. I am not suppose to pick up anything more than 5 lbs, I have 3 little boys who always want me to pick them up so I don't know when I will heal. Thankfully Steve has been home to take care of me. He drove me to vote yesterday. I am walking better this morning than I have all week, so Steve went back to work today. Well kiddies I am off to lay down sitting in this chair kills me.