I guess I am wordy today

2-27-09

Occasionally I remember recent things that I am not sure if I documented, so I will list those things here.

About a month or so ago, I was getting Bobby ready for bed when I noticed something on his toe. I was horrified to find this balled up piece of hair wrapped super tight around his toe. It looked like there was still blood flow, but it was bad. I screamed for Ken who came in and managed to get it cut off. I am pretty sure Bobby wasn’t hurt. Hell, he hadn’t even noticed until I mentioned it. It left him with a little cut on his toe where the hair had dug in. I wondered how long it had been there. They always tell you to check for those sort of things on infants since they wear those footies and often they will seem to be crying for no reason, and it is actually from pain. But who knew a toddler would get that??

Fast forward to our trip up north a couple weeks ago. Bobby was napping, and had been for some time. I went down to check on him and saw him sitting in the room. I say, “Hey, there you are! Good nap?” and he looked at me concerned. He then held up his finger, but it was covered in his blanket. I was far enough away that I didn’t see what was going on. As I got closer, I could tell he was not happy, a little freaked out, and there was bad. I got up to him and found that his blanket, which is knit, had managed to wrap around his finger so tight that the tip was blue. Can we say scary! I scooped him up and placed him on the bed and frantically started to try to remove it. I screamed for Ken, knowing that if he didn’t hear me, Andy would hear me on the monitor. Sure enough, Andy did and sent Ken down. I didn’t want to rip it off since that might cause more damage to his finger. I untwisted it enough that I watched the blue turn to pink pretty quickly. Ken was about to hand me his knife when I managed to remove it without breaking his blanket, or hurting him further. It was freaky. He was fine, finger seemed ok. But man, if he keeps trying to get rid of his digits, I don’t know what I am going to do.

Ok, back to present day. My back is killing me this morning. I am pretty sure I slept on it wrong. Or, when I was playing with the boys yesterday I messed it up. I was lying on the couch with two kids and a cat hanging out on me. I am pretty sure I wasn’t sitting nicely on my butt, so it may be sore from that. Plus, I was lying down and lifting the kids and wrestling with them and all that jazz, so I brought it on myself. However, they had fun. I had a splitting headache, hence the lying down, but they were so cool about it. We played games sitting, so that all worked out wonderful. What cracked me up the most was Monarch, my faithful minion. That cat is so insistent to sit on me when I am around, he didn’t care about the two kids crawling around him and smacking him in the head occasionally. He is a strange cat.

When I went to pick them up, I heard laughing kids and noticed that they had just set out on their walk. So I opted to sit on the porch for when they walked by. It cracks me up how the boys are so different. Dax walks by all stoic, almost doesn’t even acknowledge me. He did wave after they passed, but it seemed like this, “I need to not run to mommy, I need to be brave.” Bobby, on the other hand, jumped up and down yelling, “That’s my mommy!! Hi Mommy!!!!!” pointing me out all excited to see me. Such a nut.

I have decided rather than get a cake for tomorrow, I am letting Bobby help me make one. That way he gets to have pride in it, and he gets to decorate it how he wants. I thought this would be fun. I may even take them to the Dollar Tree to see about some cake toppers. Don’t know yet. Heck, I may just go through their toy bins before they get home and dig out some things they haven’t played with in ages. Cheaper, you see. LOL

It is going to be a long day. I just feel it in my bones. Especially since this generic pain killer isn’t cutting it. I may need to take the other one.

While I was playing with the kids, the phone had rang a couple times, both times by the same place. My caller ID says who it is while the phone rings, so I hear it say, “Chu o Sitolgy” Yes, that is how it sounded from the little mechanical chick. I thought this was odd, and didn’t really bother answering. I was also covered in 80 pounds of kid and 10 pounds of cat. When I was free and clear of kids and fur kids, I picked up the phone to look at the missed calls. What the mechanical chick was trying to say was, “Church of Scientology”. What the hell??? Why were they calling me? Twice!! I can guess they were recruiting. I can guess they called the wrong number. But either way, I think I was a little bummed they didn’t call back. Not that I knew what I was going to say to them. I wanted them to tell me to confess my crimes. I know all the talk about how they are dangerous and I shouldn’t poke that bear, but I still think it would have been fun. Matt and Trey are still alive, so I think I will be ok.

I have a workout tonight, which may be just a lot of Yoga. It will stretch out my back. Man, I was on fire on Tuesday, so I hope I can do as well tonight. I also have some housework I may do after the kids are in bed. I think that will get me a good head start to make sure the place looks ok for the company coming over. I am really loving having this fairly clean house.

Dax has started saying I love you on a pretty regular basis, which is just awesome. It is so nice to hear both boys say it. Bobby says it several times a day, which always includes him running up to me hugging me. Seriously, if these kids were smart, they would start asking for stuff right after these displays of affection since I am pretty sure I will totally cave.

I am afraid my flowers are not doing well in this office. I may need to take them home, which is a shame since they really brighten my desk.

Pain killers still not helping. My lower back is in a lot of pain, and I can tell you sitting in this crappy chair isn’t helping. I have the heater on, blowing on my back so that it warms up and feels better.

I think I need to invest in a curling iron, and a flattening iron. My bangs don’t know what to do with themselves these days. I don’t want to cut them shorter, really, since then I will look like Janeane Garofalo circa Reality Bites.


I might be able to sweep them to the side pretty well, but there is this chunk on my right side that doesn’t go with the program, so it ends up looking like this crazy curl chunk. Not like Jew Curls, but more like this random wave of hair. Not that product or equipment is going to fix these issues, but it is worth a try. I want to get some curlers, too, since I would like to curl my hair the old fashioned way some time just for the hell of it. Of course, I don’t know that I have an hour of time to spend on my hair. LOL! I need to dye it this weekend, too, so who knows what is going on. My hair has issues.

I really wish they would stop transferring every call to me. This week I have had maybe 20 calls transferred to me this week, with about 18 of them being for someone else. It is getting old.

I realized recently that my cell phone’s voicemail doesn’t seem to say who I am. I suppose I should change that. I also feel the need to add some better ring tones, despite the fact that I have my phone on vibrate first, and most of the time I don’t need it to ring. I just feel like I am wasting technology since I am not using the phone as much as I can. Of course, I don’t really need this stuff, but does anyone?

I am loving all of the chunky jewelry in the Avon book. Not that I am buying any of it, but I like that the big and bulky earrings are back. It is these edgy 80’s looks that are cracking me up. I love all of it so much. Man, I am lame.

I used to think that tenure was actually “ten year”. I assumed in order to get tenure you needed to work some place ten years. I also used to think astigmatism was actually “a stigmatism” and I worried I would get some kind of stigmatism.

I really just want to lie down. My back hurts so freaking bad!! I took two doses of the midol type crap thinking that it would work on the cramps and back pain. It did neither. I don’t want to take more stuff for a bit since I don’t need to be ODing on pain meds. Tonight I may need to take a bath with the jets on my back.

I haven’t picked a good column topic in a while. They tend to just come to me randomly. I wrote one last week, but didn’t post it. I don’t always think that my postings are appropriate. I am mad at myself for becoming so gun shy on posting everything I write. I have stuff that I write every day, but tend to not actually put it anywhere accept my computer. I used to not care what people thought. I still don’t, but I do respect the idea that not everyone is as open as me. Then again, thinking about it, I have toned down a lot of the content about myself! How many people know that Ken and I am are trying to do the sex every day thing again? Probably not many. We have been at it since New Years Eve. Do I mention things like the text messaging yesterday? It started off with me sending him a text of lyrics to the They Might Be Giants DVD of the ABC’s that the boys are obsessed with. The music is infectious and on more than one occasion, I have one or many of the freaking songs stuck in my head. So yesterday, I decided to send said lyrics to Ken, cursing the good name of TMBG. He responded with another song, I responded with another. Then Ken sent me the robot part. There is a robot that tells this little girl that he is a robot that likes to recite the alphabet. Apparently I sound like the little girl, and Ken does a pretty good robot voice. So often the two of us will go around reciting it. I know, crazy. But it makes us laugh. Especially when it often is done in bed. Nothing like ABC’s to get your groove on, right? So when he sends me the first letter, I of course tease with how hot it makes me. We get through a handful of letters, all the while me urging him on. He then send the rest of the alphabet in one text, and I respond with, “all I really wanted was an F”. I know, cheese for days, and tons of TMI and vomit sounds are being made by anyone reading this. But I am telling you, people, this is why he and I work well together. And no, you didn’t have to be there, because even if you were, it would be odd. You really would just have to be us.

OUCH!!!! My back really freaking hurts!!!!!!!!!

We finally found something good for the trash cans in the boys’ rooms. We have tried everything to keep the stink to a minimum. Now we have found something that makes it go away completely. Method at Target has these decorative little plastic do dads that you put these plastic pouch type things in that are air fresheners. The holder is like $8. The inserts are 2 for $4. Not bad. So I got just the inserts. Ken put some double back tape on them and we placed them on the inside lid of their trash cans. Holy crap, it worked beautifully. Plus, these things are supposed to last like 4 weeks. It has been about a week so far, and it is still going strong. If it keeps working, you can bet that there will be one in every trash can, by the litter pans and even in hampers in the house. So exciting! Then again, once these kids stop peeing in diapers, we will have less stink.

Bobby is mostly potty trained. During the day, no issues. Nighttime is still pull up land. It also doesn’t help that some nights he asks for like 3 or 4 glasses of milk. We need to cut him off since he doesn’t have the control, but I have to admit, I would rather him let us sleep than bitch about not getting milk. But it is time. Maybe one glass before bed, then make him pee before getting into bed.

Dax has stopped being enthusiastic about the potty. Last night, he clearly had to go, but refused, and then ended up peeing on the bathroom floor while I was getting the bath ready. Uncool, kid. I may need to bust out the M’s again since he hadn’t been using them. Bobby did the same thing where he relapsed, so I am not shocked at this. But I do need to buckle down and get him trained. Now that I don’t have too many crazy weekends ahead of me, we can get back to business.

Have I mentioned that my back hurts?

I would imagine that the Blazer is ready for pickup, so that may be an afternoon event. I may skip going to my folks the more I think about it. I have stuff to do, plus, it isn’t like my folks won’t see them all day tomorrow. We will see. If my back is like this, I might not have much of a choice.

Lycos has been getting psycho. A couple days ago, we were outside and I brought out a Frisbee to throw to her, as we always do. She of course nudged it while it was in my hand, and was very enthusiastic about the game. However, at one point when she brought it back to me, she got almost too pushy trying to get it from me. Plus, when I asked her to sit while I was going to throw it, she began to whine. A lot. She was shaking she was so obsessed with this plastic flying disc. She then began to bark at me. Look, I know, she is a dog, but she can’t get all loopy, especially when she about knocked one of the kids over while trying to get at it. She was determined, and honestly, it made me a smidge nervous. I feel like she has been more and more crazy. I don’t think she will do anything to anyone, I just don’t like how wacked out she is getting over a simple thing like a Frisbee. It is as if she never gets played with, which just isn’t true since the boys love playing with her, and the times we go out back (which is often), she gets to play Frisbee. I worry she is going to have a little heart attack with how excited she gets. She was great with Dough and Elizabeth, and overall, she likes the people that come to the house. When we were up north, she had a blast. I guess I may be worrying for nothing, I just found her behavior a little off.

I realize I never got Bobby his MP3 player. Oh, wait, was I waiting for Ken to see if he could find one on Woot? I don’t know. I just know that I am loving how much Bobby is responding to random music that is on. He digs Green Day, and I am getting him hooked on Queen. He really liked Depeche Mode, too. I think that we also need to show Bobby the pictures he has taken since I worry his interest in the camera will start to go away unless he sees something coming from his efforts. Perhaps some printing is in order this evening.

Boy, I have been chatty this morning. I am also not doing much else.

Ken hasn’t called me yet and it is after 10. I wonder if he forgot his phone. Either that or he is on the phone.

Ok, just got a text from him. Apparently he is at the car repair place. Man, this whole thing has been one big adventure. Not a good one, either. It has been a pain in the butt overall, I would say.

My boss is a tard. Just thought I would make sure everyone knows that.

I seem to not be able to chew too much cinnamon gum as it makes me nauseas. I know this sounds odd, but I have noticed it from time to time, and when I feel icky, I stop chewing the gun and I fee better. I have even gone over to a different kind of gum, and that made me feel better. I wonder if this is normal.

Ok, Ken just had me take a bunch of Tylenol. Generic, really. These little tablets called Painaid at work. 110 mg of Acetaminophen, 162mg of Aspirin, 152mg of Salicylamide and 32.4 mg of caffeine. Let’s hope this helps. I am also about to eat some lunch, which will help I would imagine in the whole process of them working. I just hope I feel better soon.

The Blazer will not be done until next week. Apparently whatever those bad guys did to the ignition really messed with it. So far State Farm says to continue work. Ken was concerned since it is a 14 year old vehicle, and no matter how good of condition it is in, it is still 14 years old, and car repairs aren’t cheap. It would be bad if this little thing cost more to fix than the value of the car.

Random happy memory. They were just playing Aha’s Take on Me. I just had the vision of Greg and Scott both playing dashboard keyboards. Awesome.

It really isn’t fair that Neil Patrick Harris is gay. I would so put him on my list. Then again, this is the norm for celebrities I crush on. British or gay, or the one two punch, both. Thanks, George.

I got my third Netflix movie of Tropic Thunder. I think that will be our viewing selection for this evening. Ken and I may need to make every Friday night movie night. We might catch up on some flicks that way. I just need to suck it up and not fall asleep. If we do it right when the kids go to bed at like 7:30, we won’t be up too late.

I sometimes wish I had appreciated the music selections of people in high school more. Specifically Greg since he had quite a few choices that I often didn’t like just because I associated them with him, and now I find myself enjoying the music, and being mad that I didn’t listen before, back when I actually purchased cd’s more often. Then again, I tend to go through random phases with my music selections. Lately, 70’s classic rock has been my favorite when it is on the radio.

Poor Tammy. I swear, I am psychic when it comes to reading out boss. Whenever I say I think he is going to be very bothersome in the morning, sure enough, he comes in and is a pain in the butt. Yesterday morning I told Tammy that he wouldn’t be bad yesterday but Friday he would be. Sure enough, he was quiet yesterday and is on fire today. I have been forbidden from saying anything anymore since it seems to come true. What she doesn’t understand is that it will come true regardless, I am just giving fair warning. LOL!

Ok, took pain meds 30 minutes ago, and I don’t feel any better. This is unacceptable. I actually feel a little dizzy, but I think that is from how much pain I am in. I worry about things like kidney issues, but it doesn’t feel like that. It feels like a pulled muscle since it gets worse when I move around too much. Of course, the dummy that I am, I wore heels today. I couldn’t find my flip flops. I have decided to go to my folks despite the pain, and I will just take it easy. If it hurts too much, I will stop. No point in making it worse.

I really need to make sure to post the other journal I wrote this week. It doesn’t do a ton of good to write and not post. LOL!

Ok, just walked to the bathroom. Pills do seem to make me all loopy in the head, but not in my back. I determined it is in fact on my left side right above my ass, right where I was sitting odd on the couch with the boys. I am an idiot.

I want a shot of that stuff they gave me in the hospital. That would knock me out.

I still feel nauseous. Unfun. I wonder if that is from the aspirin. I used to not take aspirin since I found it to make me kind of sick. Who knows. My hypochondriac self has kicked into high gear and it has given me a cancer diagnosis, a pregnancy, a heart attack and an OD. Nothing will save me now.

I wonder if I should write under a made up name.

I wonder why my dad prefers lighter, shorter hair.

Where can I find more jelly bracelets in the bigger size?

Is it just me or are ankle boots just hideous?

Ugg boots are retarded for So Cal, but to some degree they look crazy comfy, yet I could never bring myself to purchase them or even wear them.

I want Don Jose’s.

I also want salsa from Cozy’s.

I want to go to Venice.

I really want a new piercing or tattoo.

I wonder if my dad really will get more ink.

I wonder if I could convince my mom to get some.

I should trim Bobby’s hair, but I kind of like it shaggy.

How long with Dax’s curls last?

Could I get away with a nose piercing?

Red hair?

Why don’t they make a convertible mini van?

I keep having this desire to try pickles and bananas. I just can’t bring myself to do it.

And no, I don’t want to eat them together.

No, I am not preggers.

I don’t think I have actually read most of the Judy Blume books.

I need to buy a lottery ticket.

I need to get eggs.

I have novelty giant sized pens on my desk for meetings, yet I don’t go to many meetings.

I have wondered if a lap band would work for me.

I then yell at myself for even thinking about it.

I am embarrassed that I dance a bit when the Free Credit.com commercial comes on.

I want to hang up some better pics in my hallway.

I wonder if people think I am crazy when I am sitting at my desk dancing.

I would like to get professional pics of the boys.

I wonder if they are too young to play pin the tail on the donkey.

I have never played Twister.

I sometimes wonder what it would be like to believe in God.

I am not cool enough to talk to any celebrities.

I haven’t cried, like really cried, in a couple weeks. I wonder if there is something wrong with me.

Does anyone else write 9 pages of dribble each day?

Will anyone in my family’s future ever read all the stuff I have written?

I feel like I have a ball of bread in my throat.

Scooby Do annoys me.

I don’t really think I care about seeing the Dark Knight.

I wish my kids knew my friends better.

I wish I had more teddy bears given to me.

I miss having babies.

I still want a Golden Retriever.

I would love to be an auditor.

Hair bands crack me up.

Dr. Drew is even sexier when he swears.

Dr. House is less sexy when he shaves.

Dr. Steinam is sexy in jeans.

Dr. Weston is sexy even while wearing his little mask.

I laughed when my period started on Bobby’s birthday since it all seemed very appropriate.

I wonder if when I go through menopause if I will need to sleep in a different bed due to hot flashes.

I think I will go get some chocolate and post this.

My 2-25 post!

2-25-09

Happy Birthday Jenni!!!!

Yesterday was Bobby’s day of fun. In the morning, I had to go home to take them to daycare since Ken had a dentist appt early. We ended up deciding to have Bobby go to work with Ken, and I took Dax to Maria’s. Dax and I had some fun when he rediscovered his Tickle Me Cookie Monster.

I went back to work and finished up on my monthly reports. When I was done, I left for the day. I met up with Ken and Bobby where we took Bobby to McDonalds for lunch and letting him play in the playland. He loved that. He played with a few other kids there, which was nice to see. Ken had to head off to class, but Bobby and I stayed for another 30 minutes or so. The only way I was able to get him out was bribing him with ice cream.

We went and got Dax early. I wanted to get my workout done at my folks early. I figured there was a lot going on. First, my dad wanted to know how Doug was. Second, we had birthday boxes to do. Luckily, that part wasn’t being done until after Matt got there.

My workout rocked! I beat my record, twice! I did the dancing steps, and my old score of 620 was shattered. Ok, shattered is over selling it a smidge. I did get 649 and 640. So yay me! I did it barefoot, which I think was way better. I managed to walk the tightrope, which I had not been able to do before. I also got great scores across the board. I even apparently lost 2 pounds. What really cracked me up was that the Wii told me I lost that too fast. Dude, I can’t win! LOL!!


We went to Denny’s for dinner with my folks. Kids eat free, doncha know! Bobby did get all upset when we got there. He kept saying it was the wrong Denny’s. We didn’t understand how this was possible, until he pointed out it had no playground. Clearly, he enjoyed the McDonald’s trip earlier.

We headed back to my folks for birthday cupcakes. Man, was Bobby beat. He hadn’t napped, and had a full day, so when he lied down for bed, he actually fell asleep while Ken read to him. I knew he was tired, too, since he asked me to read the Lorax. It is an old favorite, but one of those ones that he doesn’t interact with as much. I think he likes to just listen intently. When I read other books, I have him help. But this one was just him enjoying the story.

I still managed to get to bed way later than I wanted to. It felt like one of those uber long days what with the trip home in the morning, reports, and all of the birthday festivities. It was crazy. Tonight sounds crazy, too. We have a grocery store run, Toys R Us, and possibly Build a Bear. Man, I need to rest.

I now have this desire to have twin boys and name them Pete and Repete.

What a weekend!

2-23-09

What a weekend!

Let’s start at the beginning. Friday evening was a pretty basic evening. Went and worked out, which was great. I needed it. The whole day was filled with frustration left and right. I was ready to scream! Luckily, not only did I get to punch a fake punching bag, I also had a movie waiting for me.

Stephanie had gotten me a Netflix gift certificate for Christmas (Thanks, Stephanie!!!) and I had finally set it up. I got my first two movies in my mailbox on Friday. Not to sound too commercial, but it was awesome and easy and I am quite pleased with the service. Our selection for Friday night was Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay. We had been huge fans of the first Harold and Kumar, but had not been able to see the second. And come on, Neil Patrick Harris was back!! I really enjoyed the movie. It wasn’t as good as the first (it was a tough act to follow) but anything with Doggie frying on shrooms, talking to a cop while seeing himself on a mystical unicorn get two enthusiastic thumbs up on my end.

Saturday had been slated as a day with Grammie. It is he birthday this week, so we went out to visit and go to lunch. It was nice. Bobby wore his Darth Vader costume, which he was pleased with. Dax didn’t eat, which was par for the course with him these days. But both boys were entertaining. We didn’t stay too long as Ken had a birthday party scheduled for 4 that afternoon. In addition to that, I had a house to clean!

I had gotten an email that morning from my brother Doug saying that he and Elizabeth were free Sunday afternoon. I was quite jazzed, especially since it was time I had free as well. My house was still suffering from the trip clutter, so I wanted to get it somewhat presentable for my house guests. So I cleaned. And cleaned, and cleaned! I got the place looking pretty good, and by the time Ken got home that night, I was proud to report that I had cleaned about 90% of what I needed done, gotten two kids fed, bathed and sleeping, and was even sitting down with my feet up, and it was only 8! YAY ME!

Sunday morning, bowling, despite how sore I was from the cleaning. We also ran by Target to pick up a few things we needed. Ok, and some things we totally didn’t. I picked up a shirt for myself (dark red with tiger stripes) and Ken got me a cool vest (both are currently on and I am loving it!). We also stopped by the grocery store and then got home to finish what needed to be done.

One of those great things about having company is it forces you to do certain cleaning you procrastinate on. Our back yard has been a work in progress. Since we cleaned out the garage, we still had been slowly removing the debris from that. We didn’t have too much left, but it did require a call to bulk pickup. Luckily, even before I knew about Sunday’s guests, I knew that this Saturday I was BBQing for Bobby’s birthday, meaning a couple of people would be over in our backyard. So I wanted it to be clear of piles of crap. So I had Ken call, and it scheduled them to be here today. We originally planned on working on it anyway, but it certainly lights a fire under your butt when you have a schedule. Ken cut up all the wood, swept and made the driveway look all clear and amazing! Our backyard, although lacking in good patio furniture, now could host an event. Of course, it was cold out, so really, we spent very little time outside last night, but at least when they went outside to see, it was not looking all white trash.

They got to the house around 3, and I was a little nervous. I mean, it had been some time since I last saw him. What do you talk about? However, apparently children are like coffee table books. They will break the ice for anyone! They had brought over some fun toys for the boys, including an inflatable t-ball set, which Bobby thought was the greatest thing ever. He proceeded to knock the ball around a few hundred times, while shouting at everyone right before each time to watch his hit. As much as I felt Bobby was a spaz at times, it would good that he was able to be so animated and personable. Dax was shy at first, but came out of his shell after a little bit.

Ken grilled burgers and dogs and I brought out some old photos I had of Doug and our dad and his mom that he hadn’t seen. It was cool. We swapped stories about Virg and Ray, and I think that what was really fun was a few things concerning our father. It was the little gems that showed us both that our dad was the way he is not just with one of us. He is that way with everyone. LOL! I also was relieved that my impression was that he wasn’t say angry at dad. And, he said that it wasn’t like he was never going to talk to him again. It meant that there would be a time in which they would talk again, and that made me very happy. Our dad is one of my favorite people in the world, and I am truly hoping to get to know my brother better and all of these developments just make me warm and fuzzy all over.

They left around 7:30 and the boys were out by 8, which left some more garbage take out for bulk pickup. Ken let me just sit and watch some of the Oscars while he did the work. I did load the rest of the few dishes (My man not only cooked for us, he cleaned the dishes and made sure no one’s cup was empty ever.) that were left, but really, the work had already been done. So I got under my new blanket (Ken found this deep red, super uber soft blanket in the clearance section of Target and got it for me) and watched maybe a third of the Oscars before I had to throw in the towel at 10 since I was beat.

My mind must have been racing from the weekend’s events. I couldn’t get comfortable or really to sleep last night. I know I was out fast, but I woke up several times in the middle of the night. This morning, I am out of it, and quite glad I don’t have to do some of the reports today. I think I would mess up a few hundred times. LOL!

I am relieved that I think that today is a basic day for me. Tomorrow is a big day, what with Bobby turning 4. 4!!!! What the heck??? Anyhoo, we are going to my folks, taking the kid to Denny’s for his birthday dinner, getting cupcakes at my folks, doing the birthday boxes and perhaps even some other events. At Toys R Us, when a kid comes in around his birthday, if he tells them, then they give him a balloon, and a hat and the whole store sings to him. So we wanted to do that. Plus, he has a coupon for Build A Bear for like $5, so we are going to let him get something small there. I want him to have fun for his birthday. He loves birthdays, even if they aren’t his. He got one party already, but I figure he should be able to have a couple of fun days when he is young. When you get older, you don’t get to have as many birthday things. Ok, I don’t really have big birthday things for me, but I do want my kids to have some fun ones. So it will be fun for him to have a lot of fun. I think today, though, I don’t have anything slated for part of this celebration. As much as I love the rain, I am kind of hoping the rain waits until tonight instead of this afternoon. The boys wanted to play outside some more, and it would be good to let them do this.

Seriously, falling asleep.

My new favorite place

2-20-09

Party City is awesome.

This being my first real foray into the children’s birthday party industry, I was shocked at everything they have. I now can understand a little bit as to how the cost of these parties goes crazy. They have themes ranging from Cars to Darth Vader to pirates. And let me tell you, each theme has a million little things that go with it to make it even more fun. The pirate theme had table cloths that were pirate maps! Every theme had party favors, cups, hats, even lunch boxes! It was crazy. The goody bags, as pricey as they get, were so freaking cute I was even tempted, and I am pretty sure there will only be 3 kids there, including 2 of my own!

Just party stuff in general was awesome. I want to throw a luau, a disco party and maybe a party for someone over the hill just for the hell of it now. What was great was how many things I was so going to come back for just for rainy day kids stuff. It wasn’t crazy expensive (although I am sure if I went in there with no self control I would end up shelling out like $500). It may become my new favorite place.

After the adventure at Party City, we walked over to Petco to get crickets for Leonard. Leonard is Bobby’s lizard that resides in his room. Bobby loves him, but I think that the crickets may even be more exciting to Bobby. This particular Petco had way more animals than our normal stop of Petsmart. They had giant rabbits, turtles, birds, and one of the cutest rats ever. This one was surprisingly curious of Bobby and I and even climbed up on the glass to peer at this giant nose pressed up against his home. The boys are getting old enough that we may look into the world of small critter ownership again. We had rats for a couple years back when we first lived in the apartment. We also had fish, which is another possibility. Of course, our house needs some reorganization before any new Brenans move in, but our eye is on this as a possible way to teach Bobby some responsibility with things like feeding fish. He may be a bit young, but with a fish, at least they don’t take much in terms of food.

The boys were wild last night. It was like they were rock stars in a hotel. They were throwing random things, running around, fighting with one another over nothing and just causing general ruckus. Finally, we made them go into Dax’s room to play, which seemed less destructive. Shockingly, this worked. We were able to watch them on the monitor and both seemed content to play with less blunt force trauma than previously exhibited. It does make me relieved that we are going to my folks tonight since it means they can run for a while.

Tomorrow we are heading to Riverside to do lunch with Grammie for her birthday. I am unsure if Ken is going or not since he does have a birthday party scheduled for 4. The only real problem with going out there is that it does kill the day. Granted, the only thing I need to do is clean the house from the trip clutter. I guess that will be my Sunday! I have to prep for Bobby’s birthday, so I need to get cracking!

I need to work on some minimal stuff this morning. It means I have time for my Wikipedia selections for the day. Today is former presidents Truman, both Roosevelts, J Edgar Hoover, and a random with Mickey Rourke. I know, random, right? I haven’t downloaded Elenore Roosevelt yet, but I think I may. She sounds interesting, too. I wish I was this diligent in school.

I just bumped into a co worker who says to me, “What, you came back for one day of work?” I pointed out to him that I was here yesterday as well. He thought for a second, then goes, “Oh yeah, I guess I did stick my tongue out at you yesterday.” LOL!

The Trip

2-19-09

It was a pretty good trip.

Friday at around 1 I wasn’t sure if we were going. Mom and Dad Brenan called and were quite nervous about the impending storm that was looming over them. They weren’t sure we would make it to the house. After some discussion, the compromise was for us to stay at a hotel in Grass Valley Friday night so that we wouldn’t have to tackle the hill late at night. Probably a good plan since even Grass Valley was covered in a blanket of snow and ice at 12:30 am when we got in town.

We had a decent room and the boys loved the hotel. We tried to have them sleep in the same bed, but they were both too distracted. So Ken slept with Dax, and I slept with Bobby. It seemed to work out ok. Bobby is a funny sleeper. He curled up with me several times, which was crazy cute. The only downside was that in a Queen size bed, he managed to take up about ¾ of the bed.

We got up in the morning to Dax walking around the room telling each of us it was time to play. Pretty cute, actually, since he was kind of whispering it. I went and got us some breakfast from the lobby. Holy crap, their continental breakfast ruled. Yummy eggs, fantastic OJ, lots of cereal, muffins and other things. We ate good!

Ken took the dog down first (we had snuck her in) and came back to get another load. He was going to then meet us at the front since he was going to bring the van around so the boys and I didn’t have to trek through the snow. The boys and I were in the lobby when Ken texts me asking me if I have the keys. Not good. For about 40 minutes, we searched our bags, the snow, and finally ended up back in the room to see where in the world they would have ended up. At one point, we both even tried to get the dog to push the unlock button on the car. She wasn’t having it.

Obviously the next plan was AAA since perhaps they could at least get us in the car to see if the keys were there. I started looking under the chairs when all of the sudden it hit me in a bolt of clarity.

“Ken! Check the toilet!”

Ok, as random as that sounds, it wasn’t. The good news, Ken looked in and saw a small part of the key in the toilet and was able to retrieve it. He looked at me all confused, so I had to explain.

Earlier in the morning, I had been putting stuff away in the bathroom bag when Dax was dinking around in the bathroom with me. He was playing with the toilet for some reason. He was putting cereal in it and cracking up. No big deal, but I did ask him to stop, which he did. What I didn’t do was to check to see if it really was just cereal making the little plunk sounds. Fun.

Before we headed up to the house, we stopped by the local Kmart to get some lanterns. Apparently the storms up there often knock out power to the house, so rather than be without light, we got some LED lanterns for us. We also got a pair of boots for Ken and I, which turned out to be a phenomenal investment. Let’s just say that shoes meant for LA do not work for snow country.

We made it part way up the driveway. But even with chains, there was no way we were going to make it all the way. So they ended up having to come down the hill in the Envoy to get us. We ended up just leaving the van on one flat area. It worked out just fine.

The snow was awesome! It was snow I had never had the pleasure of playing in before. It was perfect for the boys. I got to make my first snow angel, we made a kick ass snow man, and stomped around several times just throwing snowballs and having a blast. Andy and Scott got the boys these cute Lighting McQueen galoshes which worked great for the snow. Plus, the boys loved them so much, they wore them yesterday to daycare. The deck was covered in snow so high, it allowed the kids a perfect place to play without worry about anything like yellow snow or steaming snow. There were 4 dogs up there.

They boys got to have a mini Christmas on day since they had not opened presents from the northern crowd yet. We also had a mini birthday party for Bobby, which he loved. We had a cupcake cake and he got his presents which included his Darth Vader costume, and his camera. I honestly don’t know which one he loved more since he couldn’t get enough of them. He has taken something like 200 pictures already. We uploaded the good ones. So great.

On Monday, Jenni came up, which rocked! We went to lunch some place in town for a few hours, then came up to the house for her to play with her nephews for a bit. It was great!

Our trip home was smooth. We left early and got home before 5. The only real traffic was a bit of the rush hour traffic starting up since we hit LA around 4. Not bad, though. Even with the rain, we had no problems.

I am back at work today, which is fine by me. I have already caught up on my emails and desk full of work and it isn’t even 8 am yet. Yay me! Apparently we have a department meeting this afternoon, which always proves to be interesting. I get a little nervous, but based on the agenda, it looks pretty tame, and actually, there are several topics I am happy they are addressing.

I am not as tired as I expected to be. I mean, for the last week I have got to sleep in! But I went to bed early last night and was warm (man, on Tuesday night I was freezing for some reason). So I guess I slept well. Either that or I caught up on enough sleep that my body is ok with losing a couple hours. I still have a cluttered house since I have not completely unpacked yet, but I did manage to get a lot of laundry done, so I don’t have as much to finish. We are going to Grammie’s on Saturday, so my normal chore day is shot, but that is ok. I figure I have all day Sunday. If it is nice out, the boys can play out back while I clean house, which is perfect. Ken will be emptying the store, so he will be back and forth. Should work out well.

We BBQed ribs last night. We had gotten the recipe for Jack Daniel’s sauce off the net and had made it last week and marinated some sale ribs. We finally cooked them yesterday (a 6 hour slow cook on the BBQ) and it was yummy. The ribs weren’t the best quality, but it was still so freaking good.

I was going to get invites for Bobby’s birthday, but I don’t know if they will get mailed out in time at this point. I may take the boys to Party City tonight and if I can get something mailed by tomorrow, then they will get there in time. It isn’t like it is a huge deal, but I wanted Bobby to be able to have a part of it by picking out things like hats. I need to make a list of what we are doing today so I can get the shopping done. I suppose I will work on that now.

Ok, seriously, who made kids’ birthday parties so complicated? And my kid is only 4!!! Sheesh! It isn’t that bad, but I can only imagine when he gets older. There are more kids to consider, food for all, games, activities, presents, etc. It is no wonder it is a multi million dollar industry. Look, I know my husband does this for a living, and I hope that he stays employed, but I am blown away at how much people spend on these parties. Lego kits for everyone, not to mention goody bags, other performers, and loads of food and cake. By the time the party is done, they have spent $1500 on a kid who is turning 6!!!! What the hell, people? When I was a kid, my mom would get arts and crafts for us to do and it didn’t seem like she spent much. The party was always fun. Now days, I can’t even fight it since if my party blows chunks, my kids won’t get invited to other parties since they don’t want to get stuff for the cheap skate Brenan family. Aaaarrrggghhh!! Can we say annoying? I don’t mind going all out, but not with some of the things you hear. My mom told me about this one kid who was taken to Disneyland for her 7th birthday. Sure, this seems cool. She invited 10 friends. Plus, they got a limo. BTW-the parents of the guests didn’t pay for anything. My god! Are you kidding me? Who does that? Although, after some adding, that is almost cheaper than some of the parties, and then you could easily make the kids pay their own food bills, and all the entertainment is covered. Sheesh, though. Am I a stick in the mud? I suppose it will be different when my kids are older and care more. Shoot, all Bobby requested was balloons, and he wasn’t even sure about that since he was afraid they would blow away! Oh well, I guess I will just have to deal.

No power makes Gena a cranky girl

2-11-09

Do you ever have those weeks right before a scheduled vacation in which the week is telling you that it is a really good thing you are taking time off? This is one of those weeks for me.

We gave the kids a bath significantly later than normal, around 7. We got them out a little after and were in the process of dressing them. I was with Dax, and had just gotten on his diaper when the lights flickered. Next thing you know, we are in the dark. Power went out on our whole block, and for a few blocks over. It came back on, of course not after Dax about crapped a brick, but not with full power. It was at about a quarter of what it should be, which meant most things did not have enough juice. Lights were low, heaters wouldn’t work, it was bad. Luckily I had a fresh pack of glow sticks. I gave Dax three and he was so pleased, story time was very quiet. Heck, he almost fell asleep while I read, which never happens! Both boys went to sleep pretty easily, which shocked me, but was super convenient.

Ken went around the neighborhood and urged folks to call DWP so we were a higher priority to get fixed. Apparently they fix based on complaints. Ken wandered up to Torrance and Normandie and watched cars as they flew through the intersection, not paying attention to the fact that the lights were all out. He said that in the short time he was there, he watched almost 4 accidents. The cops showed up, and Ken and another neighbor urged them to put out flares pointing out that this intersection is notorious for accidents when the lights worked. They balked at their suggestion until they were present for yet another near miss.

Ken got back and fired up our little generator. It was so freaking loud, and I was worried neighbors would get upset. It didn’t matter since it ended up not doing us any good. So we were left with no tv, no internet, and a dark house. It is understandable why whenever there are these kind of power outages that 9 months later there is a baby boom.

Ken had spoken to the DWP and they said that it wouldn’t be up again until the wee hours of the morning. Thank goodness we had flashlights, batteries and cell phones. Flashlights since at one point, I seem to recall Ken waking me up telling me the power was 100% out again, and we needed some kind of lights in Dax’s room before he woke up. Ken ended up turning on a bunch of flashlights on in there to act as nightlights. I was so freaking tired, so I don’t know that this really happened. My phone was good since it acted as my alarm clock. Yes, the power had come on by then, but it was good to know that if it had not come on I was going to be able to get up in the morning.

I seem to recall when the power came on, but once again, I was in my weird sleep walking mode. Not that I walk, but I have been told I have conversations in my sleep, so that is kind of fun. I seem to recall touching Ken’s arm to get him to see that the light had come on. Clearly I was asleepish since don’t you think he would notice that without my help?

My reports were finally done yesterday, which is great. I have things I can work on today, but man, it is going to be a struggle. I am distracted.

I need to go to Dollar Tree tonight. Daycare’s V-Day part is tomorrow. Luckily, I already bought the valentines for it weeks ago, but I wanted to get some candy to go with them. I have considered making cupcakes, but they may already be doing that, so no need to go to the effort. The good news is there are only 5 kids (I am not counting mine) so I don’t have to get much. I just like the idea of them all getting something. I made sure Dax and Bobby each gave their own Valentines to each kid, and every one of them is different. There are three sets of sibs there, so I would imagine the boys will really only get three valentines (one from the twins, one from the other set of sibs, and one from the lone kid). I wanted to be better than that.

I also need to do some laundry and pack. I think I may do that tomorrow night. It isn’t much that needs to be done, so it won’t take long. We need to go to Target tonight, also, for things like Graham Crackers for the trip, I need a People magazine, and I may take a glance at the PJ’s and slippers since it is going to be freezing up there. We might even get snow! I also need to make sure the kids have their warm jammies clean. Plus, if I think about it today, I can remember if there was anything else needed for the trip.

I did a great workout yesterday. I am on this mission to get the best score ever on this one dance thing. I do really well, and have the top 6 spots. Granted, my only real competition was my dad, and with him out of commission, it is just me against me. Still, that is worse than competing with other people! My best score so far has been 620, and I could only get to 616 twice last night. I did it I think a total of 5 times? I also did the advanced boxing, which kicked my ass. The normal level is pretty simplistic. The advanced is not just a longer set, it is more complex moves, which threw me off. I kept falling and missing my steps. Not a huge deal since it was my first time trying it. I still worked up a sweat! I don’t get to do it for more than a week since I will be gone Friday and Tuesday, so that kind of sucks. I guess I need to beat some folks up in between then and dance!

If my bangs don’t start behaving, I may need to do something drastic.

I had a mini breakdown last night. I was frustrated with my household. I feel like I had been giving and giving and giving with nothing but grief coming back my way. The boys were cranky with me despite my best efforts to provide them with everything they asked for. I tried to help Ken with the issues concerning a lost box of paperwork (that was feared stolen in the car breakin) and his stress ended up coming out in a snip at me. I was frazzled last night, close to tears. At one point, I walked into my kitchen with the intent of getting something to drink, and I honestly forgot where we kept our cups. That is pretty bad. I calmed down after a mini vent fest, but I still felt off most of the night, which may have been just a result of my stressful day, dealing with things like the car stuff and the upcoming trip. I don’t know what caused it, but this morning, I am happy to report, I feel significantly better.

Yes, I am frantically searching for some wood.

My Wikipedia selection for today had been children’s programming. This was inspired by a CNN article talking about Sesame Street. Holy crap, that show has been on the air for 40 years this year. My goodness! I love the Street. Ok, no, I loved the Street. Big difference. Most of the recent shows seem less in the spirit of what I grew up with. I don’t like Elmo’s World, and no, not just because the little red thing irks me. Actually, I just don’t like that there is almost half the show dedicated to mostly one Muppet. The beauty of the show was that it covered lots of different Muppets and people. I may need to start recording Play With Me Sesame as it is a half hour Sesame Street spin off with lots of Grover (YAY!) and I think Bert, Ernie and Prairie Dawn. It is a lot of interactive stuff and the few times we watched it, the boys liked it, as did I, so I would like that to be a good show. Of course, the boys really are hooked on Gabba more than anything, especially Dax who still insists on every day watching Halloween Gabba. He loves the costumes (he was Woody again yesterday for daycare) and all the spiders and ghosts. He has always been fanatical about animals, so I don’t know if he likes Halloween or animals more. I may need to get him some animal costumes.

Speaking of costumes, I need to go get the one for Bobby. Perhaps we will go get it tonight in our outings. I also need to go to Party City with Bobby specifically since he needs to pick out invitations for his party. Not that it is going to be a huge shin dig, but I like the idea of him sending out invites. I just hope it doesn’t rain that weekend!

YAY! So my dad is actually talking about getting another tattoo. So funny! I need to call them to check pricing and I may talk to the artist (he will use the same one who did his spider) to see if he has any ideas for bear cubs. Although recently, my idea has shifted to a cool Hello Kitty head (or even her whole body) instead of bear cubs. I figure so far, I have seen no good bear cubs, but the boys really like Mommy Cat, as do I. It would work as a representation for the kids in a round about way. Then again, I may need to do both. Sorry, Ken!

I have to pee!! I am waiting on the next break of Kevin and Bean. Not that listening to people call for singles tickets are all that interesting, but I just can’t bring myself to miss the show.

So in our bathroom at work, there are two toilet paper dispensers. Pretty standard, right? Also, there is often a roll open either on the back of the toilet or balanced on the handicap bar. Lots of potty paper. Recently, someone put a sticker that said, “Please only use one roll at a time”. What the hell? Are people taking a piece from all three rolls to wipe their ass? So I removed the sticker, offended that the sticker was so stupid. It was replaced the next day. I then made it my mission to make sure all of the rolls of paper were always even, so that no one knew which one was the one being used more. Yes, I get worked up over stupid things. Then, someone put over that sticker something to effect of making sure to use the rolls on the dispenser before the spare. I would like to report, after having removed all stickers 2 days ago, they have not replaced them.

Yay Salma Hayek. Apparently she was visiting sick kids in Africa, and she whipped out her boob to feed this one starving baby. Awesome!

My bangs not only are not behaving, but they seem to have gone grey at the roots again. Sheesh! Maybe I need dark red bangs.

Seriously, have I done any work today? I think so, but like I said, I am distracted. Not by anything in particular, just in general.

I am happy it is cold if only because I get to wear my happy making sweatshirt. It is this big dark grey hoodie with a giant skull on the front. I don’t know why I love it so. It is comfy for one thing. But for some reason is makes me happy. I guess don’t knock it if it makes me warm all over, right?

I just discovered that an old classmate of mine has a cult like following! Amy Winfrey, a girl I played soccer with at Costa, apparently created this set of cartoons which air on NickToons (which I was dismayed to find was not on our tv) and online. I watched a few yesterday afternoon and was super amused by them. I will admit, I didn’t know her well. I mean, we sometimes were workout buddies on the team, and I have a picture of us together, but I can’t say we were BFF’s. But I was super proud to hear about her success. She even worked on the first half dozen South Parks as an animator. How cool is that! It is always fun when you find out someone you knew went on to greatness. Unless of course they were a tool, but I only know one of those kind of people.

I am loving this scent Tammy got me. Love Spell by Victoria’s Secret. I can’t get enough of it! I have two others she got me, and I have yet to wear them since I like this one so much. I may need to go get more before it goes out of season.

Maybe I need to set a goal for myself with a good reward. If I lose 10 pounds, I can go get pierced. If I lose 20 pounds, I can get new shoes. If I lose 50 pounds, I get my tattoo. I just hope those are inspiration enough to do it.

I need to make some calls, but I tend to wait until after the show and after Ken calls me. That way I can not feel like I am missing out on something. So I guess I have another 40 minutes before I can really work. Don’t get me wrong. I am doing things in between my random thoughts, but it isn’t tons of work today.

Ok, I read all of my Wikipedia articles already, and Ken has not called me. I may go and call him since I need to get a few calls in today. Ok, not really, but I should. All the people tell me is that they have no money.

I just made one call. Sure enough, no money right now. Can we say depressing?

Wow, Jenni must be swamped today, I haven’t heard from her at all!

Do I really need titles?

2-10-09

So we are trying this again, and now I am a little concerned that I have it printing. I had become frustrated and confused at the reports yesterday, and so I finally had to walk away from it in order to not throw my computer out the window. This morning, I seem to have made it run, however, I now don’t know if the variants I changed made it so this prints instead of just being available later. It isn’t a huge deal, but it is annoying.

Other than that, I am doing pretty decent. We got the Christmas stuff put up in the attic and went through a handful of boxes. Much of it was trash, which was good since we could toss it. A whole box was video tapes, which ended up just being shows we have taped like X-Files back before we got the magic that is Tivo. We also came across one random tape of me filming the cats watching this cat toy. The best part of the video is I pan to Ken who is sitting on the couch where he proceeds to snip at me with a “What are you doing?” Cracked me up.

There now is a hint of clutter from that clean out, but most was just trash in a pile that I will take out this afternoon. I also managed to get some laundry done, which means my next step is some packing. Since it is going to be cold up there, I need to probably do a load of the boys’ laundry before I pack since they will be wearing the warm things they own over the next couple of days. My job is never done.

I don’t want to like the Snuggie, but there is part of me that thinks it is really cool.

Clearly the economy has made everyone go stupid. I swear, I keep talking to folks with some of the dumbest questions. Somebody called me just to ask if the discount they took a month ago was allowed. Mind you, they have received 2 statements since that time, both of which had no indication that they were charged for the discount they took, yet now is the day they check on it?

I feel cranky. I don’t know why exactly. I got great sleep last night and am happy that I get to do the Wii tonight, but I just feel off.

Have we really become a nation that has a dating service for married people?

It is freezing in here! I have my heater practically next to my ankle, yet I am shivering. Ok, in all fairness, I am also drinking gobs of ice water.

Yay! Jenni is taking Monday off, so she will be able to come up for the day to hang out with me. Very excited! What the plan is that she will come up, see the boys for a smidge, then she and I will go to lunch. This will leave the kids for nap time, and allow Ken to visit with his family.

Bobby just called me. Ok, Ken did, but Bobby was on the line. Apparently he is going to work with Daddy today. He was very excited. He told Ken this morning that Ken had told him he could go to work with him. Ken did not remember this exchange, but not like it was a big deal. So Dax went to daycare, and Bobby got to go on the ride along. Ken only has two classes today, one this morning, and one at 3, so he may or may not do that one. Ken is considering dropping him off at my folks house so my dad can chill with him until we get there. Either that or Ken will take him to class and then drop him off at my folks after, when Dax and I will be there.

Bobby loves these go to work days. He is super well behaved. I am looking forward to the day Dax can go. I think some Daddy and Dax time would be good. Often Dax is paired off with me and vice versa. Don’t get me wrong, I hang out with Bobby when I can, but Dax sometimes gets cranky when I am not around, so it isn’t at easy to send him off with me. But once Dax gets older, I think it will be easier all around.

Ok, off to check the report to see if it worked this time.

Nope. I have a feeling it will run today and I will be actually working on them tomorrow. Not a bad thing, I just don’t want them to flip out for how long it is taking. Then again, I don’t think anyone as noticed.

I thought weekends were supposed to be good

2-9-09

It has been a craptastic weekend. Saturday morning we discovered that somebody had broken into Ken’s car. They took the boys’ DVD player, along with Wall E, a couple of Ken’s binoculars, and the checkbooks that were in his car. Not fun. As if this wasn’t enough, they also jammed something into the ignition rendering it unable to start. The morning was not good.

We had to go get a rental car, but on the plus side, they gave us a mini van. So we are going to be spoiled for the week. They gave it to us at a good rate, so the plan is that we will probably take it up north. They have to fix Ken’s car, which includes body work from his fender bender last week. Ken was not having good car Karma last week.

Other than that, the weekend was fine. Friday night, I did some good yoga to help my back, and my work out was fun. I got to make some fun of my dad who broke his foot. Apparently he was doing the Wii on Wednesday, managed to trip over the board. He assumed it was just a sprain, then went bowling for 4 hours. He got home, decided to check it out and noticed it was black and blue. He went to the doc the next morning and found out he had in fact broken it. Awesome. So he now has to wear this boot for 4 to 6 months. Not cool, especially since they are going on a couple of trips over these next 4 to 6 months. Luckily it isn’t a cast, so he can take it off for things like the shower, so he may be ok come that time.

The boys played in the rain that came while we were there. They splashed in puddles and got all kinds of muddy. It was awesome. My dad and Ken were not as amused, which I thought was funny. My mom and I thought it was great. You assume that men would be more open to the splashing. Then again, they were just thinking of the mess. Cool!

Saturday night, we went to Denny’s for dinner, and it was nice. The boys loved it and behaved great. They also wolfed down a ton of food, which is cool since that is free. LOL!

Sunday we did a grocery store run and Costco. I like Costco for the fact that the boys are in the cart. It means that Dax and I have one on one time since he is sitting inches from my face for an hour. We laugh, we chit chat, we sing. It is cool. Ken had Bobby in his cart, and every single sample they had passed out. When we were outside Costco waiting on Ken to return with our berry smoothies, Bobby turns to me, face covered in chocolate, and says very seriously, “Mommy, I love samples.” So freaking cute.

Today is supposed to be report day, but so far, nothing matches, which kind of sucks. I would like to get them done, but not much I can do if nothing is totaled right.

It is a short week, so I am happy about that. I have only 4 days. Friday we leave in the afternoon, so I have the day to run the kids while I clean the house before we leave. I am hoping to get most of that done over the next 4 days since I need to make sure that Friday can be spent getting as much energy out of the boys as humanly possible. That may be difficult since it will be raining! I might need to take them to Lakewood Mall and let them run around on the inside playground. I think there is one of those sort of things in Carson, too, so maybe I will go check that out. Or maybe just MacDonalds?

I think there is less cleaning than I think there is. A lot of stuff is stuff I can’t do. Oh, and I just realized the one thing I wanted to do this weekend did not get done. Granted, with the car stuff, we lost a lot of time. So maybe I make sure it happens today. When I get home, I am going to clean like crazy, so wish me luck.

My hair is driving me crazy. With long hair, there is more chance for tangles and it is a bitch to brush out. I just don’t know what to do with it. Of course, the obvious solution, cut it. As much as I know they are kidding, people at work have told me I can’t. They like it too much. I also know how much Ken likes my hair. I know I can make it pretty no matter what length it is, but I just don’t know how much longer I can do this long thing. I am keeping it long at least until the summer. Maybe the spring. I don’t know. I have not had it this long since I got married. I may need to just find some kind of deep conditioner to get it a little less tangled. I started using the infusiom crap we have, and although it does help with tangles and texture, it also takes away all of the curls I was getting. Plus, since it has seemed dried out, I don’t want to put a lot of product in it like mousse or my spray since that may just dry it out further. Such the dilemma. As if that wasn’t bad enough, I have been fighting with the bangs. This is probably why I grew them out in the first place. They are bangs that don’t want to stay together. They seem to part a lot, and that drives me crazy. I am afraid it looks weird. But I need to work with it since that is how it wants to be. I think I look better with the bangs overall, but it is still tough.

Tammy brought me perfume and lotion! How cool is that? I had mentioned how much I like her lotion she wears, so she got me a lotion and body mist of that, plus, two more sets of other fragrances that are similar all from Victoria’s Secret. So now I smell all pretty. I am shocked at how much I like them. I am very picky when it comes to perfumes. I mean, I have only two that I wear right now, and one of those I don’t actually have any and haven’t for some time. I don’t want to wear the one all the time, so I wanted something for other days. This stuff is awesome! And it is Victoria’s Secret, so yes, even though it is a fragrance that will only be in their stores for the next couple months, it is something that comes back next winter, so it is available. Plus, with three of them, shoot, I will stink good for a long time! YAY!

I am falling asleep. Not good. That means today will be a long one. I need to wake up!

More report pain. Ok, it is good and bad. Good is, I now am completely in charge of running the reports I need. YAY! It means I don’t have to wait on anyone (unless I mess up) and I can have it done any day of the week. I am happy about that. Plus, it clears up my IT girl from having to mess with it. She was quite thrilled and knows I can handle it. The bad is that I had to test this today. LOL! The report that ran was run on wrong dates, so my training now includes running the report for mid month Feb. Not a big deal, especially since it isn’t like mid month is as crucial, but it is a pain in the butt since it is manual every time. Since mid month is no longer the 15th, it has to be entered each time. Fun, right? Either way, nothing seems to be working right now. I have tried running it, and despite my best efforts, I am lost on it. I have throw in the towel for it today and will try to make it work tomorrow. Maybe. I don’t know. We will see.

My new hero

2-5-09

“I screwed up.” Who knew those words would make me fall deeply in love with someone. When our president said those words on Anderson Cooper, I felt a swelling of pride for the man. I didn’t care how he screwed up or what he was going to do in order to fix said screw up. I was just enamored with the man, the leader of our country that just admitted fault on national television.

This is something that really shouldn’t be that amazing. Yet it is. Looking back at history, so many politicians have flat out lied to us. “I did not have sexual relations with that woman.” “I am not a crook” and countless other statements have been made by elected officials which have no truth behind them whatsoever. I know, it isn’t shocking. I mean, if a politician doesn’t lie, he must be lying about being a politician. Perhaps that is what makes Obama so remarkable.

It isn’t just that, though. Not only is it amazing that the president admitted fault, the fact that a human being admitted fault blew me away! How often in life these days does someone actually admit fault? I know on a daily basis I see errors being made, with no one ever stepping up and taking responsibility for it. I’m not just talking about people cleaning up the mess, either. Just simply saying they did something wrong would be a great step in the right direction.

A coworker told me yesterday about how when she approached another coworker about how a particular task was handled incorrectly, he dodged responsibility and told her, with a growl nonetheless, “Oh well, it is already done.” One might assume that he was in fact saying it was done poorly. But instead of agreeing with her that he had made a wrong choice he got defensive about it and refused to listen to input. How is this productive?

They say the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. This isn’t just the steps for alcohol abuse. This is true for all aspects of life. If you are looking to grow as a person, you need to be able to accept that more often then not, you are going to make mistakes. Why not own up to them? Going back to our buddies in office, don’t you think that had Clinton just come out and said, “Yup, I hit that” that there wouldn’t have been as much of a problem? His private indiscretion became a bill for you and I to have to pay with our taxes. It is especially aggravating when really, we all knew the truth. Most people probably wouldn’t care (Oh no! a president cheated on his wife! Not that!), and it certainly would not have been as big a news story that it became.

Why don’t people want to say they screwed up? I suppose fear of reprimand is the first thing that comes to mind. You make a mistake and you don’t want to get in trouble for it. Of course they don’t look at the big picture to see that had they just fessed up in the first place, the problem would not have become even worse, as they often do. In fact, many of the biggest lies that folks get busted on are not the source of punishment. It is all in the cover-up. Clinton didn’t get in trouble for playing hide the cigar with an intern. He got in trouble for lying under oath. The consequences for that are so much higher. By doing that, he added impeachment to the ass kicking he undoubtedly got from Hilary. Maybe he did that on purpose as those hearings got him out of the house. Touché, Mr. Clinton.

I just wish that more people in authority would be ok with having flaws. People who are managers, mayors, ministers, and teachers, all of them have lied about their wrong doings, which in turn makes them less trustworthy, and gives a bad name to all those who work in the same profession. They do these horrible things, and then bold face lie about it, despite the glaring evidence to the contrary. When they do this, the next time something happens that really wasn’t the fault of another professional, we don’t believe them because of course the last time we heard that story we were hit with the truth being nothing close to it. Folks are not only crying wolf for their own lives, they are now jeopardizing other people’s reputations.

Obama offers not only hope for our country in terms of is policies and plans. Today, I see hope because he has shown folks that it is possible to be a leader and a decent human being. Sure, his inauguration speech was inspiring, but not as much as those three little words of “I screwed up”. He has just given the power to everyone of us to know that we can make mistakes, and that we are all in the same boat. With the pressure of finding out who to blame being gone, the time spent now will be to make things better. What a much more efficient way to spend time. I think there is a chance for America after all.

The morning report

2-5-09

I think I actually got some sleep last night. I am feeling groovy this morning. Of course, that could be due to the boss being out.

I need to work on some cleaning of the house this afternoon. There is a lot of toy clutter that has migrated into the living room. I am also hoping to work on some laundry today so that I don’t have to worry about that this weekend.

Our trip plans are complete. We are diving up to the Brenan compound next Friday and will come home some time on Tuesday. That gives us a few days of visiting without the evil of standard traffic. I am a little worried that Friday will be icky since it is a 3 day weekend, but hopefully since we are leaving around 3, it won’t be a problem. I took Wednesday off, also, but I don’t know if I am taking it. A lot depends on what time we get home. Ken has classes Wednesday, so I would really just be chillin at the house. Then again, maybe I can use that day to go to lunch or something with Stephanie since I will have missed her birthday. Hmm..I think that is a plan. I suppose I should tell her, unless of course she is reading this, so, hey, Stephanie, want to hang out on Wednesday?

Oh, and a quick shout out of congrats to Stephanie! I can’t wait to see the new house!!! YAY!!

I tried a new outfit today. Ok, it is old clothing, but I had not put them together before. I have a strapless dress that I love, but really, with boobies this big, it isn’t practical to wear it with a strapless bra. So I figured if I came up with something to wear on the top, perhaps it would work out well. I have paired the dress with this long sleeve sweater under, and it seems to be ok. I may actually look like a creepy sausage girl, but I am going to stick with it. I put my hair up in a funky do hoping that it would add to the very retro look that I have with this ensemble. Of course, I have no idea how I look. My opinion if often off a bit.

I am very happy to report that Angela is back in Vegas. I think it will certainly be better for her overall being closer to friends and family. I know I am jazzed since it means I stand a better chance of getting out to see her soon. Hopefully we can make those arrangements.

Ken got in a minor fender bender yesterday. Not cool. Luckily no one was hurt. But it is never good to have an accident.

Where is my rain, people? The little weather guide on my iGoogle shows the little cloud dumping buckets of water on me. It looks clear outside. Not a cloud anywhere. Blue skies do not produce rain. Unless they are invisible clouds, which might be pretty cool.

I suppose I will get back to work. I don’t really have a lot to say today. Then again, its early.

You sit on a throne of lies

2-4-09

How honest can you be with people? What is the appropriate level? Recently, we started watching the show Lie to Me which is about a company that specializes in telling when someone is lying. One of the employees walks about spewing out anything that comes to mind. He has no filters whatsoever. The reason? He figures his boss and colleagues can tell if he is being sincere when he speaks, so why bother with the office politics. I find this oddly refreshing. Of course, it is not possible in the real world.

Just this morning, one of my coworkers approached me with her normal good mornings and I was slightly grumpy at her. I wasn’t angry with her. I wasn’t feeling any sort of animosity at all towards her or her greeting. Yet I had to be this way in order to make sure she didn’t feel that she had an in to chat with me all day. She is one of those folks that needs to be a part of everyone’s conversation, and the minute you let her, she is there. So every morning, I have to tailor my hellos to her with how much I really want to be bothered by her. Ok, I guess it is truthful in a way since I am not being overly nice, but I am also lying since really, I am usually quite happy to see her.

We hold back all the time. I might be angry with Bobby because he dumped his juice out, but I am not going to scream at him. I hold it in and I do the calm rational mommy thing. Or perhaps you are at Target and your card doesn’t go through for your purchase. The first thing that comes out of my mouth is, “Oh, there must be a problem!” The problem being that you have no money, will never be worded like that. It is everything from the money is in the wrong account to the bank must have screwed up. Why not tell the truth? Like the checkout lady gives a crap if you are poor. Besides, it isn’t like you will see them again.

There are some folks we don’t lie to. Poor Ken gets all my crazy with a bow on top. If the Tivo guy at the top of the screen is creeping me out (as he often does) I let him know. The other day, the image of Darth Maul was staring at me from across the room. Even after I identified it as the package for this action figure, I was still so scared, I had to get up and turn it around. I was by myself at the time, but I still told Ken about it, even though this was news that was certainly going to get me committed eventually.

But it is our closest friends that really throw you for a loop. These are people that mean the world to us, and for the most part we tell them all the truths (including the whole evil Darth Maul thing) and get them back. There is a give and take which makes the open communication a wonderful bond. It is when there a crack in the bond that the whole thing becomes tricky.

It is one thing to lie to someone you don’t give a crap about. Or even someone that is a casual friend or acquaintance. But when it is someone you do care about and want to be open with, it is hard to know how much they want to hear, despite what they say they want.

When I got pregnant, I made my closest girlfriends promise to tell me if my child was ugly. No joke. I mean, if anyone is going to be able to tell me, isn’t it my friends? But you know that not one of them is ever going to tell me, “Dude, Gena, your baby looks like a troll doll.” It just isn’t going to happen.

Friends are the ones that lift you up when you are down and often will tell you how pretty you are despite the smeared mascara from your crying. They are the ones that even if they agree with your boyfriend on a fight, they will never let on, and will tell you he is scum and get you a pint of ice cream.

But don’t we want more from our friends? Don’t we want them to be the most honest and not to ever hold back? I say I do want that, but I don’t know if I do. I mean, I know I am a fat load, and I really do know that my friends think that despite never saying it. What good is it going to do if they tell me these things? Sugar coating doesn’t count, either. All it does is make it sound less truthful, and if the whole point is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, how is this the case?

You want the truth? You can’t handle the truth. Not many people can. Truths hurt, no matter who they are from. I had always been of the belief that I needed to not only know everything, I needed to make sure everyone in my circle had any knowledge I had that concerned them. Case and point, I was friends with a couple years back. One evening, the guy in this couple informed me and a number of our friends of his intentions to break up with the girl. I was closer with her and I was horrified that now many of her friends knew about her relationship status before she did. The worst part was a second after he told us, he then turned to me and told me not to tell her. He didn’t tell anyone else to not tell her. Just me. In fact, the whole group got on me for divulging this kind of info. I didn’t understand it. Wouldn’t they want to know? Apparently, I was the only one.

Truths that have come out have caused me grief. When two of my friends felt the need to tell Beth that her husband was fooling around with me at some point, let’s just say I feared for my life. But honestly, even though that was not the brightest move, I don’t blame them. They were just adhering to what I had always said, which is that we shouldn’t keep things like that from our friends.

Now, 15 years later, I don’t know if this is still the case. I find myself in situations with close friends and I don’t know if I should tell them everything I think and feel about certain situations. The age old question of whether or not you tell your significant other that you cheated when it was a one night stand that meant nothing comes to mind. On one hand, you want them to know so you can get it off your chest. Sure, it will never happen again, and it was just a drunken stupid mistake. But is this mistake something that needs to be told to the one person who will just get hurt by it? No good can come from it. Sure, you feel better for a nano second, but over all, you end up crushing the one you love.

This is the same thing with a friend. When they tell you how they are miserable about something that they themselves could fix, what good is it to tell them they are an idiot? Sure, this may be the case, but should we really tell them that they brought it on themselves? I am not sure this is the right answer anymore. This, my friends, is what I call growing.

My own truths about myself will always be public for anyone who wants to know. However, secrets and gut wrenching truths about others are up to someone else to decide. Even if someone tells me they want me to be brutally honest, I feel that I am in the minority on folks that really do want that. So until I get further notice, I won’t be crushing anyone anytime soon. But know this, if you ever do want me to let you know, I am here with any version you can handle.

Night time adventures

2-4-09

I am all proud of my mommy powers sometimes. I am also shocked at the comfort a slice of bread provides. A little after midnight last night, I heard Bobby crying. So I went in his room where he was quite upset. I couldn’t figure out why, but I calmed him down rather quickly. I even had him laughing, which I took great pride in. Lately, when he gets into this kind of crying groove, he is inconsolable. In fact, he seems to cry harder. Maybe I caught it early enough, I don’t know, but I was thrilled when he finally asked for more juice (despite the fact that his cup was full) and a piece of bread.

Bread for some reason is the cure all for these boys. Ken has been giving them a piece of bread for distraction for a while. It isn’t messy if they have it in bed, it isn’t filled with sugar like a cookie. If anything, a slice of bread is pretty decent. I do sometimes feel bad, especially when they also request water and there is this feeling as though I am keeping prisoners.

He seemed to settle and I headed back to bed, feeling all smug that I managed to calm him down pretty quickly. About 10 minutes later, I heard his door open and then I heard him whimpering. So I went back in to the room and found him frantically looking for something. I asked him what he needed, but his little tired, upset self could not enunciate any words. I thought he was looking for Blue, but every time I asked, he melted a little. Finally I figured it out. His slice of bread was missing. I thought perhaps he had eaten it, but I found it in his blankets, and was able to settle him down again. I stroked his hair for a while as he drifted off, and fortunately, he seemed to be sound asleep, still clutching his bread like a security blanket.

I think he made it through the rest of the night. I don’t remember hearing him again. However, I sometimes don’t hear them because Ken gets to them first, so who knows. I don’t remember Dax getting up, despite one minor outburst this morning when I was getting ready to leave. It didn’t require intervention, so this is good.

Even though I didn’t hear any noise, I felt like I had been up all night. You see, the previous night was a long night with Dax being up for 2 hours. In addition to this, what I had hoped was the cats running through the house was actually Bobby’s little feet. He had ventured out probably in search of something to drink, but ended up stopping in the bathroom for some trouble. When I got up to shower, I noted his room was open and there was no Bobby. So I went into the living room and found him. He went back to bed and I went into the bathroom where I found the evidence that he had been dinking around in there.

I have this tube of red temporary hair color. It is like a gooey hair spray style that I had yet to actually use. I found it on the floor, and evidence of a few drops of it on the bathroom rug. Not a lot, so I wasn’t too concerned, however, it seemed like if some got on the rug, thee was some other places, too. I didn’t see where, and didn’t think much about it until last night.

Monarch was on my lap and I was petting him I noted this random clump of something in his fur. Sure enough, Bobby had colored the cat’s hair. Man, my cat is patient.

So knowing this, even though I was exhausted, I didn’t want to have the kid running through the house without me knowing about it. I am now running on fumes.

I did an outstanding workout with the Wii. I broke some of my own records, and every time I do that, I really feel like I accomplished something. I also am sore again, which rocks. I know, I shouldn’t be sore, but I am not sore like in pain, I am sore like I did some good exercise.

Dax proved that he truly is my son. He was playing in the yard and showing my mom things like, “Look, Grandma, I am a bunny rabbit!” This was followed with him jumping around like a rabbit, complete with his little hands curled like paws. Way cute. So then, he looked to me for suggestions. I offered up different animals, and all of them he said no to. Finally, I randomly said, “How about a bowling ball?” Shockingly, he said, “yes!” Next thing I know, I am watching my kid pretend to be a bowling ball. He didn’t roll or anything, but his interpretive dance was fantastic. I couldn’t be prouder.

The boss is back today, so I know I will have a headache within about 20 minutes of his arrival. I would imagine he will come in early since he did take yesterday off. I am not looking forward to it. I suppose if I get myself super busy right now, I won’t have to deal with him as much. So I guess I will get to it.

How many do you need?

2-3-09

How many is too many? A Southern California woman gave birth to octuplets this month, much to the amazement of the world. It wasn’t just that the babies all lived and were healthy. It wasn’t just that this was only the second US birth of this many children at once. This was what first caught our interest, but then the happy shock turned into complete disbelief.

As more and more details began to leak out about this 33 year old woman, it became apparent that this was not going to just be another fluff story. Yes, she originally asked for media privacy, which of course is code for please dig out every piece of dirt on me you can find. But now she has opted to tell her story, for a price. What a shock, right?

Her background did not make her sound like the ideal candidate for admiration. Sure, carrying 8 babies in your uterus is pretty intense. Most women would not choose to carry that many unless of course their hospital of choice if the cardboard box behind the dryer. Yet this charming lady not only had IVF, she stuffed 8 if not more of her frozen embryos into her body. We always hear that you need to put a few in just to make sure one takes. The normal amount if 3, and if you are over 35, they put up to 5. The woman is 33, and some doctor loaded up her uterus like a gumball machine.

Ok, fine, so she ends up with 8. No biggie, right? It is a one time deal. Oh, wait, what is that you say? She already had children? What, she had one or maybe 2 and she was looking for that girl and ended up with a more than she had hoped? That would be forgivable. Instead, this woman already has, wait for it, 6 other children. All of them are under the age of 8.

It gets better. Those kids were also the result of IVF. Oh, and by the by, she is single, living with her bankrupt parents who have indicated that when she comes home from the hospital with the new set, they would not be there anymore. That’s right. She has 14 kids with no income, no help, and all of it was her doing.

All of the talk shows are clamoring to get her as a guest. The last I heard was that Oprah has already made arrangements to pay her the $2 million asking price (yes, I wrote that right) for her to tell people her story. Rumors are flying about everything from Discovery Channel to do a reality show about her to a book deal since she must be an amazing parent. Are you kidding me, people?

When I was trying to have a child, it took three years. I didn’t use fertility treatments. I couldn’t really afford them even if I opted to use them. I can tell you I cried every 28 days when the cruel truth flowed from my body with the indicator that I was not in fact with child. I wondered if maybe I just needed to get drunk and have some one night stand. Isn’t that how teenage girls do it? They seem to get knocked up just by going to health class. When the pee stick finally had the right hieroglyphics that when translated said I was pregnant, I peed on at least two more sticks to make sure it was true. I was elated to just have the one, and honestly, if I couldn’t have anymore, I didn’t care since I now had what I had wanted for most of my life.

I wanted a baby so bad and I could understand the appeal of taking a scientific approach to it. I don’t know that I would have taken such drastic measures, but I don’t fault anyone who does. What I have a problem with is someone who abuses the system.

When you have a child, or even two or three, you have to get to a point where you thank your lucky stars that you have the pleasure of having these bundles of joy. We all miss the feel of a newborn once we have toddlers. The late night nursing sessions, the onsies, the lack of their back talk. All of these are appealing things about a baby. Yet we also understand that at some point, we have to be responsible. It is expensive to raise a child. I know that there are women that are single, have a few kids and do their best to keep food on the table. They will work 2 sometimes 3 jobs just to make ends meet. Yet this woman has no job. She isn’t trying at all. Plus, she has brought 14 children into this world with no stable income. I guess that is why to have a lot of kids at once. Sponsors will pay you big bucks to use you for their product. I would imagine the folks at Pampers have sent her gobs of diapers and if the cable channels do make a show with her, everything in her life will be paid for. But who hopes to have that life for themselves and their children?

Even if she was set for life financially, is it appropriate to have 14 children anymore? We are overpopulated no only in California, not only in the US, but in the world. We have too many people. To some degree, it is irresponsible of me to have two, let alone even imagine having 14 of them. And she planned them! No, she didn’t think she would have 8 at once, but even with 6 children, she was hoping to add number 7. Is there anyone in this world that needs to have 7 kids? Not even Brad and Angelina need that many kids. At least they adopted half of their brood, but even so, how about spending a little more time on the ones you have, not always looking for a new one.

Every few months you see the news story about the crazy old broad that is living in filth with her 47 cats. She started with good intentions. She had a few rescues and took good care of them. Next thing you know, there are kittens, and then those kittens have kittens and then a few strays wander in and a friend of a friend found a cat that needs a home. It adds up pretty quick. Every new acquisition brings the lady joy. They are her babies. Let’s now compare this to crazy kid lady. How is this much different? It is very different since this lady actually planned each child! She didn’t just find some kitty in a dumpster. She put those cats in her own body. Well, ok, not cats, but actual babies! She didn’t just do it once, either. She did it at least 7 times. When does a person say enough is enough?

The most famous family in terms of a billion children is the Duggars who just had their 18th child this last December. They have had a couple of shows on Discovery back when they only had 15 kids. I know, they were a tiny family before! We have seen a glimpse into their lives which consist of home schooling, trips to the grocery store which is quite an adventure, and even their personal appearances on Good Morning America. Yup, even though they are a relatively successful family in terms of being happy and so far not having raised any serial killers, they have had help. The good folks at Discovery along with their sponsors funded their giant house. I would imagine that even though they do cut the check at the Costco, someone else is cutting them a check right back. The parents, although part of every child’s life, don’t even do the bulk of the care. Every little one has a “buddy” in which one of the older ones is in charge of everything from getting them dressed to story time. Well of course it isn’t hard to have 18 children when so much is being done for you. Parents of just one or two kids complain that they don’t even have time to be intimate, yet these Duggars seem to find time. Of course they do. If number 4 is crying while they are making number 19, all they have to do is have number 12 go check on them. I wonder if they sometimes just forget all their cute little J names which all of them were bestowed with and just call them by rank. It would be so much easier.

This brings us back to wack job and her litter. She doesn’t even have kids old enough to do the buddy system, let alone daddy to help out. Was she hurting when she had 6 kids? Did she watch these programs like Jon and Kate plus 8 or even the Duggar show and see that the real money is in multiples and having a whole bunch of kids makes for good tv? Maybe that is why she told the doc to load her up. It was like putting it all on black and hoping for the best. And sure enough, the wheel spun and the ball landed on 8, and she knew she was in for a big payout.

Whether or not her check comes with the show or other media relations, she will get the check. I just can’t get behind someone who actually did something stupid and then expects people to not only care, but to pay to see how stupid she really is. What is the worst part of it all, though, is that there are 14 children who will not understand any different for many years. I hope for endorsements if only to make sure those babies never have to tell a therapist later in life that they wish they were never born. Because at the end of the day, the only thing that matters is that the littlest members of this scandal are taken care of.

In one of my favorite movies, Parenthood, the shockingly wise character portrayed by Keanu Reeves points out that you need a license to drive, for a dog, and even to catch a fish. Yet anybody can be a father. Maybe it isn’t just fathers that should apply to be a dad. Mothers have just as much of a responsibility as the sperm donor, if not more. If ever there was a poster child for the issuing of licenses to have babies, I think this lady is her.