Pose zumba!!!!

one two step zumba

Day 5 Of the Stop smoking Saga , Zumba & Zuma

Alrighty then welcome to Day 5 of the stop smoking saga.  Yesterday I did alot better, back down to 1 1/2 real cigs, seems like I do alot better when Bill is not around.  Still am not using the thing constantly, only having one or two puffs at a time.  The real test will start tomorrow, when Bill is off work. I am going to try and go without any real cigarettes the rest of today.  Then no more of those!  Speaking of Mr. Bill, its his birthday.  Yesterday the boys and I went out to get his cards and a present.  The boys picked out the card they wanted and the present.  And they paid with their own money. Apparently, that was the hardest thing they have ever done, Aden just doesn't like parting with his money lol.  The card was cute, and for the present, they chose a nifty little safety orange colored ice cream scoop.  I think from now on I will let them pick out the presents we get for Bill.  He loves ice cream and we didn't have an ice cream scoop before this morning.  I know, that's a bit retarded, but I just never remembered we needed one while at a store.  I only seemed to remember when trying to scoop out ice cream with a spoon.  Which does work, its just a pain.  So Bill was happy.  We will make him Devils food cupcakes with chocolate icing later today.  We are hopeful that he will be home before 9 pm.  Tomorrow, I will make Chicken Marsala, Garlic rolls and Italian green beans with tomatoes.  The green beans are the very last  from our garden last year.  I think I have done a marvelous job hoarding them :). 
Yesterday, I didn't feel like doing Pilate's or yoga or Tae bo.  So I took a look around online and found some of the beginner Zumba videos on YouTube.  I am freakin' hooked!  I loved it!  Aden and I moved the table in the dining room and we did Zumba for about 40 minutes, Aden just loved it, but then like his mama, he does love to dance.  Evan mostly wrestled the dog and ran around screaming like a banshee.  Then in the afternoon, we walked down to the store for Bill's stuff.  its not a long walk, only about 6 blocks and all downhill until you want to get back to the house:)  About 2 blocks from the house on the way home, Aden stopped turned around to look at me and said, "I was really wrong".  I asked him about what and he said, "Five year old kids do get tired,  my legs are all jiggly".  He had told me before while we were doing Zumba that Five year olds don't ever get tired, especially him, because he is so strong".  I did understand the jiggly legs, my legs felt like jello too.  But it was still fun. 
Aden just had to show Bill the video we were doing yesterday, Bill wanted to know if he could watch.  I told him, perhaps in a few weeks :)  So pretty much, I can just go ahead and get whatever I want to do the Zumba.   So I got a Dvd from Ebay:)  should be here by Monday :) 
My beautiful sister-in-law in Germany, sent me this invite to play a game on facebook.  We had been playing Bejeweled Blitz, which I just love, but she sent an invite to a different game.  I think I should be very mad at her.  The new game is Zuma Blitz.  I am so addicted it is a wonder I get any sleep at all.  I actually got up the other morning at 3:30am and was playing it.  That is sad and very pathetic.  I have no life.  Another issue with the game, Aden likes it too.  Now that he has figured out how to work the computer and find what he wants, he does.  I caught him yesterday on facebook, playing bejeweled.  He was playing that because he couldn't find the Zuma, it was to far down on my apps list.  I am so screwed when he really learns how to read well.  I should have logged completely out of facebook instead of just closing the window.  Thats just one more thing to remember, Aden is sneaky. Lock Down the Computer!.
But I still love the Zuma game & Zumba!!!!  Speaking of which, I think I'll go and do that now :)

Stop Smoking Day 4 and Gravy

I have Decided that Bill is a very bad influence!!!!!  I did horribly yesterday.  I smoked 3 real cigarettes and only used the e-cig twice.  Wait, maybe that isn't such a bad thing...3 is less than 5, or it used to be, so maybe I did pretty well and I just didn't realize it.
So, much for Bill spending the day with us.  After the boys got back from speech we did the Wal-Mart run, the cover charge was more than usual. After that, Bill had to go to work, four and a half hours early. 
I actually got the entire downstairs vacuumed, mopped and dusted.  I was pretty proud of myself.  But it was a complete waste of time.  Within 15 minutes Evan dumped a cup of juice on the floor.  Then while I was upstairs with the boys cleaning their room, Sam decides to use the dining room as her own personal toilet.  Nice, Just Lovely.  She doesn't have accidents in the house.  So why did she just have to right after I mopped?  I have a theory.  She hates the smell of pine sol.  That has to be it.  Ha HA. I got her, I had to re- mop everything, so I used pine sol again!  That will teach her.
I was very surprised that I actually got to mop in the first place.  Trying to keep the boys still for more than 30 seconds is practically impossible.
I still ended up with foot prints & paw prints on the floors, but at least they were clean for a minute or two.
Moving right along, Gracie has decided to follow in her mother's footsteps.  When we got Mama fixed, she was about 8 years old, right after we brought her back home, within 3 days she had brought home some stray kitten she found, Dart.  Dart has his own little story somewhere else on the blog and I'm not going to get into that now.  Anyway, we noticed a small gray, very adorable kitten hanging around the porch about 3 days ago.  Normally, Gracie and Monkey won't allow another cat on there porch so it seemed a bit odd.  The kitten looks to be about 3 or 4 months old , maybe.  Yesterday evening, I looked out the window and there was Gracie, bathing this kitten.  Then I watched her scoot it over to the food dish.  Dammit! We do not need anything else that eats! Or needs Shots, or medications of any kind!.  I didn't say anything, I didn't chase it off.  I was kind of hoping that she would get bored with playing mommy and the kitten would wander to someone else's house.  No such luck.  Aden & Evan saw Sam sniffing like crazy at the door, so they had to investigate.  They saw the kitten.  Dammit Again! For about 1 hour, it was referred to as Gracie's baby.  They wanted to know if it was a boy or a girl and when Gracie had the baby.  After explaining that I have no idea if it is a boy or girl, because I haven't tried to check, they insisted on knowing when Gracie had the baby.  They do understand that babies come from the mother's belly. But I can't seem to make them understand "fixed" lol.  I kept trying to explain that Gracie can't have babies and she probably found the kitten and brought it home, or the kitten wandered over and she kept it, or she might have even stole the kitten.  Wrong choice of words.  Aden said we should call the Animal police, right then, Gracie should go to kitty jail. That took about 20 minutes to explain why that wasn't going to happen.  But, it was decided that the kitten's name is Gravy.  I have no idea why, that's just what they came up with.  We will have to see if it sticks around.

I decided yesterday that I would do Pilate's.  Another poor choice.  Today I'll just a little yoga. Tomorrow, I am not doing anything other than walking.  The boys and I will probably make a library run:)
Okay the natives are getting restless, I'm off to play referee.

Day 3 of the Stop Smoking Saga & Quality Time with Billy Banks

So Day 2 went pretty well, only cheated  for 1 whole regular cigarette, but I did make it last all day:)  But was able to get by with the e-cig the rest of the time, without killing anyone.  Although it did seem like I was hitting that thing every 10 minutes for awhile, but it is alot less nicotine than what is in a cigarette.  I still can't seem to make myself sit down and actually smoke it. Whatever, I got alot of crap done.
So since I have clearance from the doctor to start exercising again, I did.
But, being the complete dumbass I am, instead of gradually getting back into it, I figured I'd just jump back in.
Not one of the smartest things I have ever done.
Back last September I got a Billy Banks DVD, the Billy's Bootcamp, Billy's Blaster Ball Workout.  I never got to use it, because that is when all that pain started getting really bad.  Anyway, I blew up the big workout ball thing, and that alone was a workout and probably why my arms feel like they are going to fall off now.  It has a manual pump, a very small one.  Its not even one of the big balls.
So, after that was done, the boys and I moved the furniture around and bit and we got started.  They loved it.  They weren't exactly doing what they were supposed to be doing, but hey, I had the ball. 
I think there was a printing error on DVD.  It says "Blaster Ball"  It should say Ball Blaster.  First, the ball is too small for me to be doing alot of the things he was doing with his ball.  But I did try.  There was alot of improvising.  I have never used one of these ball things before.  I am thinking that a wise course of action, would have been learning how to balance on the damn thing before actually attempting to use it.  I am grateful I had the foresight to close all the curtains before I got started.  I believe that I delivered a $10,000 performance, too bad no one videotaped it.  American's Funniest Home Videos would have loved it.
I did, in a very strange and bizarre way, enjoy it.  But, it was probably not what I should have started with after 6 months of sitting on my ass.  Tomorrow, I will do Pilate's, Wednesday Yoga. Maybe if I can move by Thursday I'll spend some more quality time with Mr. Banks.   Just a little tidbit, while I am writing this it is still Monday night, thought I would get an early start on Tuesday's bloggy thingy.
I would like to not do anything but, I have a feeling that if I don't do something Tuesday, I will end up in full rigamortis, now its only partial. 
But I did make it through the whole workout.  I am surprised I can type.  But then I am not moving my arms, only my fingers.  My Fingers are in outstanding shape, since that has been the only thing working out during this whole surgery/recovery time.  Knitting.  My fingers have been knitting.  Just thought I would pull you back out of the gutter :)
I am off to read stories to the maniacs, before they destroy my room.  I'll finish this off in the am.

Tuesday morning.
Alrighty, so we are up, the boys are eating and despite my constantly telling them Nana doesn't live here, they are eating completely different things.  Why do I do this to myself??  Aden is eating Mini wheats mixed with Life cereal and Evan wanted cheesy eggs.  Fine whatever keeps the arguing down to a tolerable level.
Mama surprised me last night by following me upstairs & actually jumping on my bed.  She can actually jump up on the bed.  I was shocked an amazed.  I had no idea she could still jump that high.  I was a little concerned the bed would collapse once she landed, but it didn't.  She stayed up there all night and managed to take up most of the bed.  Bill wasn't even brave enough to kick her off the bed when he came home.  She scares everyone.  But at least it was some exercise for her, our stairs are pretty steep and there are 17 of them.  She is still up there.
So today Bill doesn't have to be in to work until 5 pm so we at least get him until 4pm.  Which will be really nice!.  I wanted to have the errand running at a minimum, but we have to go and get groceries.  I literally have nothing to eat.  So I see a wal-mart run in our immediate future. The boys have speech this morning so I hope to be able to use the 30 minutes they are gone to figure out how to use that silly ball thing and not kill myself.  It came with a 20 minute workout dvd, so I think I'll give it a try.  As long as I don't need to use my arms I'll be okay.  They still feel like they are going to fall off.  Nothing else really hurts, which is really surprising.  But there is a good chance it just hasn't hit me yet :) I'll do the 20 minute thing anyway.  It may actually be better to use the ball when the boys aren't here. 
Okay so with the smoking/not smoking thing, I think I doing pretty good, other than I cheated again this morning and had about 3 drags off a real cigarette when I took Sam out.  I know I should just grab the e-cig and take that out with me, but Sam is pretty frisky in the morning and I don't want to end up with that liquid nicotine in my mouth. because she jerked me and it tipped.  I could just not take anything outside except her, but I get bored really easily.  But Still from 5 down to 2 in two days is pretty good, I think.  I would like to be off everything by my birthday, but I am not holding my breath.  If Bill doesn't quit that is going to be a big issue. 
Still not sure about what to do for his birthday.  He actually works on his birthday, so we will have to do whatever it is on Friday or Saturday.  So far it appears as though he will be off work those days, but you just never know.  I did convince Bill's mom to at least try my e-cig, and she said if she likes it, she will get a kit.  I really want his parents to switch. I really would like them to quit, but the odds of them quitting are about the same as monkeys flying out of my butt and fixing the roof this week :)  Speaking of which, Bill will be talking to the roofers today so hopefully we'll have a start date nailed down.  Surely the replicated pieces are done by now :) We just need 5 days of clear weather with temperatures 40 degrees or above. 
Sam is getting better with mama, or maybe its that mama is really just ignoring Sam better, not really sure.
Either way there was alot less blood.
Today I am going to try not to smoke any more regular cigarettes.  I still haven't had to charge my battery yet, I am impressed :)  its on the same original charge from Saturday.  I need to go and get busy.
And Remember,  Shop Smart.

STopPing Smoking.., Day 2..

Okay, so I did pretty good yesterday, I only smoked 2 regular cigarettes.  One when I took out Sam first thing in the morning and then when I took her out the last time, at night. 
So far its not to bad, except getting the liquid in your mouth, that is just unpleasant.  I had to rinse my mouth out 3 times yesterday.  According to the manual, getting the liquid in your mouth is caused my tipping the  unit and not holding it level, completely horizontal.  I am learning that that is very important.
Still on the same vanilla cartridge.  Battery is still working.  I wonder how long before the battery dies???  I only have one, but I guess that isn't that bad of a thing, surely I can go without it for 2-3 hours while it recharges lol.

So Bill got up this morning and did not go outside for a cigarette.  He did however pass by the e-cig 3 times.  Finally, I just told him to go ahead and try it.  He did, the look on his face was priceless!  He said it wasn't bad and we discussed it a bit before he left.  He thinks he will give it a serious go this weekend when he is home.  LOL  Now if I can only convince his mom and dad to switch! 

I do have some concerns.  I wonder if I am going to turn into one of those asshole ex-smokers.  You know the ones that glare at people for smoking or make snippy little comments if they see someone smoking??  I already glare at people, and I have really hard time Not making snippy little comments, I just usually don't target smokers, unless of course they are doing something really stupid.  Like smoking in the car with their kids.  Although the people I see smoking in cars with their kids, usually don't have them buckled in or in car seats either.  I will probably continue to glare and make comments to those people, I don't see a problem with that:)

So Mama decided that her old, fat butt was going to stay on the couch last night.  This would be the second night in a row.  She has been wandering out right after Evan goes to bed.  Aden has slept on the couch for the last two nights because he wanted to be with Mama.  He can't do that tonight though.  Sam is loosing her mind.  she kept jumping up and trying to get on the couch with Mama.  Mama wasn't having it.  I just couldn't figure out what Sam wanted.  I had the boys go sit on the other side of the couch this morning and I just watched Sam and Mama for about 5 minutes.  Then I figured it out.  Sam, was trying to lay down next to Mama on couch.  OMG.  Really, oh my poor, pathetic puppy.  It is very sweet.  However, its a good way to get herself, maimed.   She just doesn't get it.  I am starting to think that pet insurance might be a good idea.  Sam isn't so bouncy if I stay in living room with both of them, but if I leave the room, she starts bouncing all over the place, I am hoping it will get better pretty quickly.  Its hard to sit on the couch and knit with all the bouncing and fighting :)

I did cheat a bit this morning and had about 1/4th of a real cig while I had Sam out.  But, I am really not even craving a real one, yeah I know I've only been up about 4 hours, but still, I used to do most of my smoking in the morning.  I think its an improvement anyway.
Alrighty, I am out of here :) 

Day One...The Stop Smoking Saga Begins

Yesterday, the United States Postal service was kind enough to deliver the electronic cigarette kit I ordered, on Tuesday.  Outstanding.  Because I am female, immediately after opening the package, I read the instruction manual, all of it, word for word, cover to cover.  I am mentioning this, because if I was male , I would have just winged it, without reading anything. Anyway, So I read it, and plugged in the battery part to the wall charger and figured I had about 2 1/2 to 3 hours to wait until the battery was fully charged.  Surprise, it took about 1 1/2 hours to fully charge.

Step two.  I unplugged the battery thing and tried to decide which flavor pack I was going to try first.  I decided on Vanilla. So I put that part where it was supposed to go and it appeared that I was ready to go.
For some reason, I just put it back in the holder part of the package.  And looked at it.
I just wasn't sure if I really wanted to put that thing in my mouth.  It has a battery, I have always been told you don't put batteries in your mouth.  It it plastic and metal, with a microchip and then a little plastic thing filled with poison (the nicotine, glycol, water stuff).  None which sound like things that you should put in your mouth.  So I took the dog outside to pee and I lit up a real cigarette while I contemplated this electronic thingy and any possible consequences of putting it in my mouth.

After much contemplation, well okay it was about 3 minutes worth, I decided that I would actually use the thingy and see. 
But, not right that minute, I just had 1/2 of a cigarette.

About 2 hours later, I needed to get dinner started so, I picked up the e-cig and gave it a quick, little pull.  Hmmm not too shabby.  It didn't really taste like vanilla.  It tasted more like a swisher sweet. Which I have been known to enjoy on occasion.  The little red light lit up like it was supposed to, and there was just a little bit of the smoke stuff, which isn't smoke at all, its a water vapor.  It was like your breath, outside on a chilly morning, not much at all. In fact if you aren't watching closely you will miss it.  But, I noticed the hit of nicotine immediately and after one hit, not 1/2 a cigarette.  I can see how this would work. Well for some people.  I am not now , nor have I ever been a heavy smoker.  Maybe 5 cigarettes a day, that's why I chose to go with the lowest dose they carried, that still contained nicotine.  They have flavor cartridges that are just flavor and no nicotine. 
So I tried to do just use the e-cig for the rest of the day.  And I did do pretty well, except I did have the rest of my real cigarette about 8:30 when I took Sam out. 
This morning, I didn't use it I had a real cigarette.  The e-cig is still in its little holder.  I will try to use it most of the day.
There are couple of things I don't like about it.  Its @$#%ing heavy. I can't hold it like a regular cigarette, my hand aren't big enough.  When I say heavy, I am not joking, it is also  a bit bigger than a regular cigarette. 

Real Cig on Left- E-cig on the right

As you can see the electronic one is alot bigger.  I am not saying I don't like it.  I just have to use it more than I am.  I still haven't just sat down and smoked it like a real cigarette yet.  Maybe that is my problem.  I rarely can just set down and smoke.  I stand outside, take 2 or 3 hits and come back in.  But I also don't want to use the e-cig in front of the boys.  Maybe I should start doing it in the laundry room :)

So that is the update for today.  I would like to switch over completely by Monday.  But of course I would also have to use the thing more than once or twice. 
In case I haven't mentioned it,  I am using the South Beach Smoke Premium Starter kit. 
Let's see how today goes. 

The New Adventures of McD Barbie

I have a really hard time coming up with titles for these blogs.  I have been told that just labeling them with the days of the week aren't the best of ideas, because then the indexing system thingy on the site has trouble sorting them.  As if that is my problem, but hey I will try and be a team player.
I survived my Anniversary.  Bill got back about 8 pm last night so that was pretty great except that I was wiped from breaking up numerous physical altercations all day.  There was also way too much screaming, so I had a headache as well.  Then once Bill came home, Aden didn't want to go to bed, which I completely understand, I wanted to spend some time with daddy too, before I passed out from exhaustion.  Once Aden finished watching Bill eat dinner, he did go to bed, and only came down 4 more times, because he had to tell me something.  Very important things like, cats are nocturnal and dogs aren't.  He wanted cereal for breakfast, with milk.  He is thirsty and is just going to get a quick drink and then he'll go to bed.  And my favorite of the evening, I'll go to bed when you go to bed.  I lost my patience with that one and told him that if he didn't get to bed and stay there, he would never play his puppy, running, fishing game (that's what he calls the Fate game) ever again!.  That did the job.  So, finally everyone who is supposed to be in bed gets to bed.  It was quiet for about 10 minutes then Mama decides to start yelling.  At what or who, I have no idea.  I guess she was just in a mood.  She comes out to the living rooms and starts in on Sam, who is shaking like she is having some sort of seizure, because Mama is looking at her.  I swear that dog needs therapy.  Granted Mama scares me too, but Sam is a pitt bull, she has a reputation to think about!  If the other dogs in the neighborhood found out.........
Mama bitched at us for about another 5 minutes then jumped up on the couch, smacked Sam, who immediately crawled under the coffee table and started crying, then Mama glared at me & Bill and then just started licking her butt.  Nice.  A very pleasant evening.
I gave up and went up stairs, maybe a soak in the tub would help.  It would have, if Aden wasn't running in and out of the bathroom every 3 minutes!  AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Can I have a minute or two, by myself? Without anyone talking to me, looking at me, wanting me to do something, or just bugging me in general?  No, I guess not.  So much for the nice relaxing bath, I used to be able to spend a whole hour in the tub, by myself, uninterupted.  It was nice.  I finally gave up and went to bed.  Bill joined me a few minutes after.  At least the entire night wasn't a wash.
Moving right along,
So May 7th, I am going to participate in a Run/walk thing for Doves, I think its 2k or 5K or something, I should probably get the details.  No I will not be running.  I don't run.  For me to actually run, someone needs to be dead, dying or bleeding profusely.  But, its for a good cause and I can bring the boys and I am pretty sure since it starts  in the early am, that if the boys have to walk that far first thing, I may end up with a pretty quiet afternoon:)  If it works, we'll be doing that often.  They have no problem walking a couple miles now, we do that every time we go to the library. So I think the walk thing is only about a mile & a half or so, if its the 2k and I remember how far a kilometer is.  Anyway, that's what I am going to do. 
Bill's birthday is next week and so far I have nothing planned!  I can't even get him to tell me what kind of cake he wants.  I did ask him what he wanted, but I am not going to share exactly what he said, I'll leave that to your imagination.  While he will probably get that, I was actually asking about what kind of Food he wanted to eat, like for dinner.  Sometimes its hard to talk to him :) 
I did get him a present a movie that he wanted, 21 about those kids that ripped off Vegas.  He likes Math, there is just no accounting for taste:)  He also doesn't have season 8 of the show 24 so I am looking around for that.  But I still can't figure out what kind of cake.  Last year I made german chocolate, maybe I'll just do that again.
For dinner, he really likes it when I make chicken marsala so that is also on the list.  We'll see, I have a whole 5 days to figure it out.
I do wish to state for the record, his new schedule sucks.  I just don't care for it.  He leaves at 7 am and doesn't get home till around 11:30 pm.  We just don't get to see him.  Then when the boys do see him they act like crazy people to get his attention.  They haven't yet caught on to the fact that while it does appear as if Bill isn't paying attention to anything, he really is. 
Aden has decided who he wants to marry, since Bill told him he can't marry me.  For some reason the last month or so he is obessed with getting married.  We have shot down all of his ideas on who he wants to marry.  I was his first choice, I am not sure if I should be freaked out or flattered.  Nana and Aunt Jana came in a close second.  I think now though he understands that he can't marry someone he is related to.  So, he was standing next to me this morning while I was checking facebook and saw some pictures a friend of mine had posted of him and his daughters going to a Father/Daughter dance.  My friend has 2 daughters I am not sure how old the oldest one is, I think around 9 or so, but I do know the youngest one is just a few months younger than Evan.  Anyway, Aden pointed right at the oldest girl and said, "I will marry that girl, we can go get her when Daddy gets home!".  Evan immediately had to chime in with " That one is just my size, I want her" while pointing to the little one.  While I think they have outstanding taste, both girls are just beautiful, I do know their daddy pretty well, and I am pretty sure he doesn't want to hear about any boys, looking at his baby girls.  But it still pretty funny, I told Aden that we couldn't go and get her just yet, but I'll see what I can do about him at least getting to meet his future wife.  Hey you never know.  It's not that big of an age difference, about the same as between me and Bill :) 
So that was pretty amusing. 
Oh, Midwest News Flash.  Its snowing.  Wow.  Nifty.  We are also getting a bit of thunder, which I really do like.  Thunder snow is just cool, I don't care who you are, its cool.  Its right up there will hail in August.  Although if I see hail in August, I tend run to the basement.  Ooo Be right back, there is a message from the National Weather Service :)
Not for us, yet.  It is just a Winter Weather Advisory.  Why do they do that?  Shouldn't it be a Spring Weather Advisory?  It is Spring.  This is pretty typical Spring weather for here.  Or even better than spring weather advisory, how about All weather Advisory?  Since we are getting All of the Weather.
I am thinking about calling Mattel about my new Barbie and Ken doll Lines.  I wonder what they would think?  I know its tacky, I can't help it. 
 Well I had better quit screwing around and get busy.  I have laundry to do, floors to mop and a dog to wash.  Yay me :)

Happy Anniversary To Me!

Well its my anniversary, my first anniversary, even though I have been with Bill for 12 years now.  I finally gave in and let him drag me to courthouse last year.  I knew when he asked me, that I didn't want anyone else, I was taking my time :)
But, today he is in Omaha.  The weather is for shit and the boys are acting like monkeys who have hijacked a mountain dew truck and drank all of the contents. 
I am a bit bummed.  Oh well, isn't this anniversary the one where you are supposed to get paper?  I really don't want any paper, although we could use more toliet paper, I really don't want it as a present.  We don't usually do alot of presents and things like that.  Maybe a card for birthdays,  I think I have gotten flowers maybe 4 times since I've known him :) And I am pretty sure those times his mother or father told him to lol.  No worries though, I've never gotten him flowers.  But it would have been nice to maybe go out to dinner and have the kids stay at Nana's.  Maybe next year.  He has to work tomorrow too, and next weekend is his birthday, so I guess we will wait.  But I do think I may get  and wrap up a 12 pack of Charmin for his anniversary present :)

Moving on, I saw this thing on one of the morning shows the other day, about the breastfeeding doll.  Have you seen this thing?  I thought it was old news, apparently not.
They showed the video, which I will post because its just weird and I love to share.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqYoZVroBZs

I am all for breastfeeding.  Formula is just too freakin' expensive and there is all that sterilizing and washing and mixing, it just wouldn't have worked for me, I'm too lazy.  But this doll is creepy and weird.  I don't think it is necessary to have this doll to promote breastfeeding.  Ask my boys how baby's eat and they will tell you baby's get milk from boobies.  No doll needed.  If you want to promote breastfeeding, more mother's should do it.  Young girls will just see it.  You don't need to give them a freaky vest. 
Before formula, all women nursed their children.  None of those toddlers needed freaky vests & dolls to practice. 
If a young woman had never around any other women or children and had a baby and there was no one around to to tell her how to feed the baby, I have no doubts that she'd figure it out anyway.  Do you really need a doll to practice with?  Whats next?  The picky eater doll?  Throws a fit if you try to feed him anything other that mac & cheese?  How about the nose picking doll, constantly has one finger up his nose, diggin' for gold, then he eats it?  how about the hand down the pants doll?  or my personal favorite and one I think I should invent, Baby Flatulent with realistic smells.  Or Colic Baby?  Or Hold me baby, that would be the baby that screams hysterically if you ever put her down, you just have to hold the baby all the time or else.  If those babies were available for sale, I can imagine that about 13 or so years after they hit the market, birth control pill sales would skyrocket.  If they are going to make a breastfeeding doll, lets not screw around with it, let's really show toddlers what parenthood is all about.  How about expanding the market a bit?  I am thinking Teen Mom Barbie.  She comes with a baby and a McDonald's uniform.  No house, she gets to live with her parents (wait I don't think Barbie had parents), No fancy car, she gets a bus pass.  She also gets assigned her own Social services case worker.  You can't have Barbie without Ken! So lets have Teen Dad Ken, comes with his own Court documents & Wage Garnishment for child support.  Ken can also have little pay checks with the stubs attached to show how much money is coming out of his minimum wage job for child support.  Ken also doesn't get a car he gets a bus pass too, because he can't have a drivers license, because he is behind on his child support, because he had to quit school to support his kid.  Oh the fun we could have with these  toys.
The possiblities are endless! 
What ever happened to just a plain doll, a few clothes and you had to just make it up as you went along?  All kids will pretend at being parents, its an important part of their development. Both of the boys have at one time or another pretended they were 'daddy' to one of their toys.  I even at one time had to get a girl doll, because they didn't have anything that looked like a baby and they really wanted a baby.  The baby thing lasted a couple of days and I haven't seen the doll since.
When Aden was 3 he had a Denver Assesment, its one of those tests that gauges development, just to make sure your child is developing skills he should be at that age.  Anyway, on one part of the test Aden was given a baby and a bottle and asked what he should do with those things.  He had no clue.  She then asked if he knew how a baby eats.  He gave her the bottle back and told her "babies get Mommy milk, Evan wasn't any better with his test, both of them were completely clueless as what a bottle was for.  Kids learn from watching their parents.   The doll is freaky but not as freaky as the vest thingy. Enough said.

I think I am done bitching, for the moment anyway.  I am off to tackle the laundry and clean the house.  Both are pointless activites.  I will wash all the clothes and everything I was today will be dirty by Monday.  I will clean the house, it will be clean for about 20 minutes and then it will look like it hasn't been cleaned in 4 years.  oh well, I really don't have anything better to do with my time anyway :)

To Vap or Not to Vap

So it obviously doesn't take a genius to know that smoking is bad. Very Bad. So, since it appears that I may in fact live to be 40, I think maybe I'll try and add even more time on to that;) So, that means that I need to quit smoking, no really quit, like permanently not just for a year or so. So I was doing some checking and I like the idea of a pill you just take and presto chango, you quit smoking. Sounds nice, but see I am one of those folks that needs to pay attention to side effects. You know that Nasonex spray for allergies? Several years ago, right after we moved up here the doctor prescribed it to me. I had just about every side effect listed. Coughing, bloody nose, headache, sore throat. It was worse than the allergies. So I read side effects. Carefully. Chantix looks like a great thing, but it has alot of potential side effects that I would rather not deal with.
There are other things, patches, gum, etc. But I just don't want to do that. To be really honest, I don't want to quit. I just don't want to do it. Supposedly with all of the afore mentioned things, you really need some motivation. The only motivation I have is that I should quit and its getting pretty pricey. If I quit smoking I could buy more cheese. I really love cheese.
So I saw this thing about Vaping. What exactly is it, I wanted to know, so I have been doing some research.
The commericals show all of these happy smokers putting down their cigarettes and sucking on this metal looking this that appears to produce smoke. But its not smoke. So what the hell is it? Apparently it is a water & liquid nicotine vapor that you breath. Okay. Isn't is bad to get water in our lungs? Liquid Nicotine? Hmmm. No other ingredients. No second hand smoke. No hundreds of strange things to breath in that you shouldn't be. No Tobacco.
Did lots of research and it seems that one side effect is people actually stop smoking and don't go back to regular (now called analog cigarettes by the vaping community) cigarettes and the other side effect is alot of people get completely off nicotine quickly, without any withdrawal. Nice.
So Now I have the basics, but where to buy them, What companies are legit, which ones are scams. What kind of kit do I need?
Oh here is a video if you are interested :)

So now that I have decided I want to do this, I am now left with the question of what kind of kit I want.
There are a ton of choices. Ones that are 2 part or 3 part, ones that come pre-filled with the nicotine, ones that you have to fill yourself.
I am lazy so I don't want to bother having to fill anything or clean anything. So I will probably go with a pre-filled unit. Next, do I want a 3 part unit, which is cheaper than the 2 piece, or do I want to go with the 2 piece which is supposedly better? Next choice, what strength of nicotine do I want? I've never been a heavy smoker, I don't care for full flavor cigs and I have never been a pack a day smoker. At most I smoke 10 a day, usually closer to 4 or 5. Then once that is decided, what flavor do I want. They have all sorts of flavors, chocolate, tobacco, mint, menthol, cherry, banana, vanilla, Coffee, you name it. Actually that part probably won't be that hard, I think its pretty clear what my first choice would be :) Next I have to decide on Batteries. Do I want one or two. two is good if you are out and about alot. I don't go anywhere so I'll probably just go with one rechargeable battery.
So we'll see, I am hoping ot make my decisions and get a kit ordered today. Shipping is typically 2-3 days, so I'll keep you posted on how it goes. Now this whole electronic cigarette thing make me wonder alot of things, the first thing I wondered was how long before someone figures out how to make liquid THC. Someone probably already has but still, I have to wonder lol.
Continued.. Wednesday.
So I started this on Tuesday and got distracted, happens to me alot. I went on ahead and ordered a kit. Decided to try a 2 piece that has pre-filled cartridges. Cost $29.99 with shipping and should be here Friday or so. I'll keep you posted on how it works. Bill still thinks he can quit cold turkey, we'll see how that goes. It hasn't worked for him before, but you never know. He thinks he can because I quit cold turkey when I was pregnant. He just doesn't seem to understand pregnancy all that much. I couldn't stand the smell, it wasn't a matter of wanting to, I did, but I couldn't drink coffee either. But I have hopes that this will work for me.
I also decided to go with the assorted flavors pack. Tobacco, cherry, vanilla, chocolate & menthol (which I am not thrilled with) but the menthol is supposed to taste more like mint than menthol, we'll see.
Its still not good for you, but its better.
I'll keep you posted on this little adventure, I know you are so thrilled :)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xI_XIVYtERk

So, So, So....Sew Buttons on Your Underwear

Sew Buttons on Your Underwear???  Yeah its a bit silly, but my grandmother used to say it to me whenever I would say "So". 
Just had to throw that out there, no point, no reason, it was just there.

So it appears that Spring has officially Sprung!

That means for those of us in the fun filled, ever so exciting Midwest, storms, storms, flooding, tornado's and a few more storms.
Never a dull moment, well until August.  August is pretty dull.  Hot and boring.  But I love the storms. I always have.

Spent a few hours outside yesterday, watching Evan work in his garden.  He was getting his flower bed ready.  He loves digging.  Too bad we can't actually plant anything till after the roof is done.  We also have to wait to put up the fence till they are done.  Hopefully, next week they can start, the weather is looking pretty good.  I know, I've said that before.  We just need it to be dry and over 40 degrees for 5 days full days.    I can't wait till its done.

I don't want to be premature, but it appears that Evan is officially potty trained.  Absolutely no accidents, day or nighttime, for 4 weeks.  Yeah!

Mama cat still won't go back outside.  She is having alot of trouble walking, I am sure that has nothing to do with how fat she is.  She looks like a whale with chicken legs :)
Whatever makes her happy :)

Hopefully my yarrow, tulips & Lillie's will survive the roofers.  The yarrow was planted by the original owners wife, so its been here 120 years.  I moved some it, just in case.

So we are having some family drama.  Someone in the family has decided to get back together with someone that everyone else in family just can't stand.
We'll call them Dick & Jane.  So Jane dated Dick a few years ago and they were together for a few years.  Jane is the family member in case you hadn't figured that out.  Dick was, well a dick.  One of those people who mooches off people and has an excuse for everything.  Everyone is out to get him.  Poor little Dick.  Jane broke up with Dick a couple of years ago, much to the relief of everyone.  Dick managed to con the family out of over $12,000 before the relationship ended.  Dick has many, many children of which he doesn't support but a couple of them and those couple, not very well or often.  He recently got out of jail for failure to pay child support.  He lies constantly.  Jane isn't much better when it comes to Dick.  Being around him, tends to make her lie too.  Whether he is lying to her and she doesn't know or he tells her the truth and she just lies to everyone about it, is anyone's guess.  Either way, no one is thrilled they are back together. 
And Dick and Jane both like to start trouble. 
It is hard to tell people that they are being an idiot.  Well some people have trouble telling other people they are being idiots.  I used to, I don't have issues with that anymore.  The problem is, most of the time if you tell someone they are being stupid, they don't listen and get all offended.  Really though, some guy, who has 5+ kids with 5+ women, doesn't support them, has been in jail several times as an adult, mooches of everyone, including the state, doesn't pay taxes, lies about everything, you would think once you had figured that out that you would avoid said con artist like the plague.  No, not our Jane.  Sucked right back in.  Because Dick, being a con artist, is good at telling people what they want to hear.  It doesn't help that Dick knows which of Jane's buttons he needs to push, and that Jane has some self esteem issues.  Some doesn't quite cover it, but I'll skip the details.
So, while no one is happy, no one can really do anything about it.  Jane has been coddled and given her way since she was born.  There are alot of underlying issues with Jane, which would take forever to cover, so I won't.
Point is, Everyone would rather Dick just go back to annoying other people.  I was however very proud of Bill for not saying anything to him and not kicking his ass. Jane of course had to invite Dick to Aden's Birthday party, even though she was told that no one wanted him there.  Bill would not even look at him.  Didn't say a word to him either. 
I do wonder though if this is just a way for Jane to get attention.  Or perhaps she really is just being an idiot.   Probably a bit of both.
So that is our drama.  I guess I can only hope that he will end up back in jail, because is probably the only way this crap will end.

Enough Drama for now.  Moving right along.  Made Black beans and Brown rice last night, it was yummy. 
Went to pick up a prescription Saturday and the pharmacist had a message from my doctor.  She even printed it out on the prescription label in all caps, "MAKE AN APPOINTMENT ASAP".  Geez, ya think he wants to see me?  It is probably because I stopped by and the nurses did my height, weight, blood pressure & that was it, I was just supposed to check in with the nurses, he wasn't even there.  But I guess now he wants to see me.  Why do they check your height every appointment?  Are they expecting me to get taller?  That would be kinda cool.  I am still short barely 5'4" inches. By his measuring thingy. I still think he's wrong. But Easily fixed, now all the shoes I wear have at least 2 inch heels :)  He probably wants to see me because of the weight thing.    It appears that I have lost 12 pounds since the surgery.  I can see some bloodwork in my immediate future, but I believe cause of the weight loss is pretty easy to figure out.  I can't friggin' eat anything good.  All I am eating is vegetables, no fat, no sugar, no meat.  Just flippin' vegetables.  I am F***ing hungry.  I want Steak, chocolate, and perhaps a pound or two of bacon without the grease drained off, because Fat Has Flavor!!!!!.  Anyway, whatever.

Doctor said he wants me to stay between 120 & 130, which is I guess a good weight for my build.  When I stopped in the other day, his scales said 107 but mine at home says 112.  And my scales show the boys all weighting the same here as they do at their doctors, so its not my scale, I do know how to calibrate a scale.  I am not to worried about it, I am sure I'll gain it back as soon as we figure out what I can eat.

I'm off to clean the cat box, so exciting :)

Yesterday went well, I think.  Aden threw a massive fit when it came time to get his shots, such a fit that he actually missed when the nurse gave him the shots.  He was thrown off a bit that he was screaming and she was already done.  So the results of his checkup were, he's completely healthy.  But we are going to have to watch him closely, seems he is a bit short.  Really?  You think?  The NBA isn't exactly beating down the door to our house.  WE are all short.  There are a few tall men on Bill's mother's side of the family but to the best of my knowledge there are none on my side.  So we'll watch Aden for the next year to see if he gets any taller, if he doesn't then there are some tests we can do to make sure that its not any sort of medical reason that he's not taller, other reasons than he's just not going to be tall that is.
Evan has a bit of an ear infection left over from being sick and his Oxygen stats were on the lower side, not anything dangerous just at 92% so we are giving him breathing treatments.  He gets to wear a little mask that looks like a dragon so he thinks he is a fire breathing dragon, its pretty funny.  He is pretty wheezy and has alot of chest congestion so we'll do the treatments till he clears up.  Had to do the same thing with Aden a couple of years ago, but he has allergy induced asthma, so do I for that matter, so as long as we keep the allergies under control he won't need the treatments.  But he did want to use the dragon mask last night. 
Bill suffered through the day, he was very tired.  He ended up only getting about 4 hours sleep, again, but instead of going to bed early, he got sucked into that show Blue Bloods. Which is a great show I just love Tom Selleck, always have but once it hits 9pm I have a hard time keeping my eyes open.
We let the girls, the cats, outside yesterday.  Mama couldn't make up her mind.  She went out, then came back in, then went out again.  But they ended up very happy to be outside, it was a perfect day outside, warm & sunny.  We turned off the heat and opened up the house for a few hours. 
With the weather warming up, there is a decent chance that we may finally be able to get our roof rebuilt.  I said decent chance, I am not holding my breath. I just want it done now.  We can't fence in the yard until the roof is done because they will have to come in from the back yard to do the back roof.  I really, really need the yard fenced in!  These boys and the dog are driving me nuts.  A fenced in yard would mean I could just send them all outside. They could then run it off out there.  Maybe then I could get some stuff done. 
Call me over protective but I don't let them go outside by themselves now.  Evan has a habit of just taking off.  Aden is pretty good but Evan is not.  Without the yard fenced in we have to keep Sam chained up and that's not fair to her, she wants to run and play.  Besides how well could she watch the boys if she is chained up?  She probably would break the chain easily enough if she needed to, but I like the idea of everyone safely enclosed in a nice 6 foot wooden fence.  We are pretty sure Sam won't be able to jump over a six foot fence, she can jump over a 4 foot one with no problem.  The boys I am sure would have no problem getting over a 4 foot fence either.  I don't think Aden would, he is pretty good about obeying the rules, but Evan would see the fence as a challenge and get to work scaling it immediately.  A 6 foot fence should give us at least the summer before he figures out how to get over it, we hope.
I have figured out that the military is the place for Evan to be :)  either that or a demolition derby.  The boy has some massive destructive tendencies.  Maybe he should check out the Army, they let you blow stuff up and I am sure he would enjoy that.  I always thought that I would never let any child of mine join any branch of the military that wasn't the Air Force or maybe the Navy, but thinking about it, I am just not sure that the Air Force or Navy would be suitable for Evan.  I am thinking Army.  Aden on the other hand, I don't think is suited for any branch of the military.  But you never know, I bet people never figured I would be suited for the Air Force either at least not while I was growing up.
Anyway, I just got way off topic.  Wait what was the topic?
Today we need to do a Wal-Mart run....oh goody, goody.  Then I am pretty sure we'll work in the yard.  The boys have some severe spring fever and really need to get out and run some of this energy off.  There will be alot of poop to pick up, guess who gets to do that?  Me, of course, somehow in the division of labor for the household, I got stuck with poop.  Oh joy of joys.  Maybe after I am done with that, I can make everyone stay outside long enough that I can mop.  It will be a wasted effort since as soon as they come in the floors will be muddy again, but hey at least I know I did it. 
Bill's mom is recovering nicely from surgery, all the biopsies came back benign so she's good, sore, but good.

I am suffering from spring fever myself :)  My surprise lilies, tulips and irises are just starting to come up.  I can't believe how my surprise lilies have spread.  They are everywhere!  I am not sure what they are really called but one of the neighbors said they are called surprise lilies because when they bloom its always a surprise and it really is.  They only bloom once a year, nice big wispy pal pink petals and at a slightly different time each year.    My tulips are all along the front porch and down the side of the steps so I don't know if they will bloom and be done before the roofers squish them.  The irises are mostly safe I have a back up patch of them in case the roofers kill the ones in front of the house.  I think Bill has finally killed off the bachelor buttons, we literally had a field of them.  I love them but Bill hates how horrible they look before they bloom, says it looks like a weed patch.  That is pretty true, but I liked having a 20 foot long by 6 foot wide mini field of them.  It was less he had to mow.  It doesn't look like we will be able to put in much of a veggie garden this year.  Maybe we can get some summer crops in but then again our lives are being controlled by the roofers so who knows.
Anyway, nothing really major to report, as usual
I should go make up my list for wal-mart. 
The excitement never ends :)

Friday, Friday

Well, we survived the birthday!  Even though we didn't do much yesterday because Bill had to work Aden said he did have a great day.  The Strawberry cupcakes with chocolate icing turned out much better than I thought they would.  For some reason I had it in my head that strawberries and chocolate wouldn't taste good together.  Yeah I know, Not sure what I was thinking, I do know better than that.  I remember that Bill and I used to eat alot of chocolate covered strawberries and......ah ...yeah..let's just move on.
So we had the cupcakes, opened a few small presents and played games.  Today is the yearly checkup at the doctor, then off to the Macaroni -n-cheese pizza store.  Its just a little buffet style pizza joint that has macaroni & cheese pizza, so as you can imagine, its a popular place.  It is also Cheap!  The Magic store is Cici's Pizza in case anyone cares.  Its not the best pizza in the world, but it is barely passable and the kids love it. 
We also need to make a library run, picking up and dropping off.  I love the library!!!!!  I love that you don't have to pay to watch movies, you just need a little patience.  Bill likes that I am not spending a mini fortune on books.  Although occasionally we do still have to buy one or two, because I really need them :)
Today should be fun and Bill is off tomorrow.  The boys may get another present tomorrow, it depends on if the lady makes it to town or not.  She is giving us a Big Wheel bike.  I just love those!  They have one now at Nana's house because her house is big enough they can ride it inside.  But we just can't get away with only one of anything :)
One of the presents Aden got yesterday was the Zurg (the bad guy from Toy Story)  So that is causing alot of fights.  Aden got the big one, about 8 " tall and Evan got a little one about 4 " tall.  Evan of course wants them both.  It caused a huge 30 minute screaming fit at bedtime, then again at about 2:30 am Evan got up to go to the bathroom, which woke up Aden who had to mention that Zurg was on the floor.  That of course reminded Evan that he wanted the big one. Which started the screaming again, which lasted until  Bill put the key in the door.  Bill missed the screaming fit, but didn't miss Aden trying to wake Evan up to see if he was sleeping.  Aden said he just wanted to see if Evan was done throwing a fit. 
I love it when Bill is gets off.  Ah I'll rephrase that.  I love it when Bill has the weekend off. (pretty fond of the other too). 
The Cats are going to be very happy tomorrow.  I think that we can let them outside now.  I think we are done with snow and ice for now.  Now I will just have to get Mama to let me give her the flea treatment. 
Maybe I will just have Bill do it. 
I guess I should get my butt off of here and get into gear.  I have children to dress or rather re-dress Aden dressed himself and I am thinking that a pirate outfit isn't really appropriate for today's outing. 
Ya'll have a lovely day. 

Evan the Author

Back in the beginning of last October, Evan and I started working on a story.  He was still taking naps, so instead of me reading to him, we started making up our own story.  I  have to admit, that even coming from a 3 year old, its a pretty good story.
So we have worked on it at least once a day.  The good thing about having a three- year old tell you a story is that you really don't have to wait to get to the good parts.  This little story, well it started out little, has turned into an epic fantasy adventure.  It has all the classic fantasy elements.  A hero of course, a dragon, animals that shape-shift and talk.  An Evil king, Nosy mother/local witch that reluctantly helps the hero (guess who got to be the witch), the hero's brother/sidekick and the beautiful and mysterious woman.  Oh and a beautiful princess who is always getting into trouble and needing rescued.
Tons of Adventure!  I am actually pretty impressed.  The only thing we don't have are pictures.  Evan and I did sit down and draw out a map one day after I had the surgery.  Alot of this story was done while Evan visited with me while I was still upstairs stuck in bed.  We needed a map, this little world Evan had in mind was just way to big for us not to have a map.
Since Aden's birthday is Thursday, Evan and I were discussing what presents to wrap for him and I asked Evan what he wanted for his birthday.  His answer really threw me for a loop.  He said he wanted to hold his story.  After some careful questioning, it seems that what he means is he wants his story to be a book, with pictures.  Hmmmmmmm
I actually think that would be a really cool present.  I remember when I was a kid I had an Aunt who got me a Snow White and the Seven Dwarf's book and my name was in the book.  There was a company that would add your child's name to just about any story.  They still have those companies but I wonder if they have a company that would print just one or two copies of a book.....  We don't have any pictures and Evan was insistent on pictures.  Bill draws really well and so does Papa, but could we get either of them to actually read the story and draw the pictures????  So its a challenge.
I know of several self-publishing companies, were you pay per book, but those tend to be very pricey and I am not sure if they are what we are looking for.  But I will do some checking with them anyway.  We could go the children's book publisher route, but I am not really sure if there is even a category for fantasy for the very young child..  I could ask our children's librarian, she knows everything :)

I sat down last night after the boys went to bed and started writing  it down.  It wasn't that hard since every time Evan and I told the story we always started at the beginning, covered all previous adventures and then added on.  Its alot like Harry Potter for the 3 year old, without the magic wands.  Actually there isn't alot of magic usage.  Magic critters, but not alot of Abracadabra--poof stuff.

Although I could always have Bill draw us up some some pics and I could print everything off the computer.  There is a book binder not to far from us.  I am sure that would be alot more reasonable that having a printer do the book. 

So I'll give it some more thought and work on getting it typed up.  But it do think its a cool idea.  Maybe I should post it on here as I get it typed up.   I would have to copyright it first.
Well anyway I am off to get everyone busy.  Cupcakes to make, presents to wrap, fights to break up, Laundry to do, coffee to drink and litter boxes to wash.  I am sure I am missing some stuff, but it will get done.....eventually.

Shop Smart!

One more Sugery update

I was reminded that it has been awhile since I have officially done an update on the surgery.  I haven't done one since there isn't much to tell and I thought I had been doing little updates.
Whatever, I'll go on ahead and do one now.
So we are at week 8 after the surgery.  I am feeling alot better, still have alot of soreness and I still get tired pretty easy but as far as pain goes its pretty much just the post surgery pain except that the pain in my upper right quadrant (abdomen) is still there.
Not as bad as before, but it definitely still there enough to get my attention a few times a day. But, we know its not my gallbladder, which is sitting in a lab somewhere being tested. Its not my appendix, which is who knows where and its not adhesion's, we think.
The doctor said he cleaned all of them out.  The first surgery he got the top ones he could get to and with this last surgery he got the rest.  He did put barriers in during the first surgery and those appeared to be working when he went in for the second surgery.  So we have every reason to believe that they would work when he applied the second batch.  The barriers are to slow down the growth of the scar tissue. Anyway, so it shouldn't be more adhesion's but there is no real way to know without going back in. The CT scan doesn't show anything and the Ultrasounds are clear too.  Now I did have adhesions attached to my liver which is amazing high up for only having had surgeries in my lower abdomen and no one thought I could have them up there. But I did, so with me anything is possible.  So what to do?  I personally do not want to have any more surgeries of any kind, anytime soon.  If it is adhesions, which I am suspecting it might be, then I will just have to suck it up.  The barriers have a pretty high fail rate.  So I knew going in that I only had maybe a 20% chance that the barriers would work at all and I knew that by having any kind of surgery, it would just cause more adhesions to grow, even if the barriers worked for a little while.  But, I believed then and I still believe that for me, just getting the relief, even temporarily, was worth it. Besides he did more than just cut out the adhesions.  I won't have any issues with endometriosis again and the veins that were all swollen and nasty and causing alot of pain on their own are completely gone. Everything has been put back where it goes. So all in all, even if the adhesions are growing back, I am sure that I can deal with this pain for at least a few years before it just becomes to much.  Then we can go back in and clean them out.  But I would like to wait at least 2 years.
So, we will go with the assumption that it could be adhesions and I'll have to just deal with it.  But, it could also be the gastritis, which I was warned would come back.  Could also be something that I am eating that is causing the pain, so we will continue to screw around with my diet till we figure it out.  For the record, I do not believe that I have developed an intolerance to dairy products.  I will not give up cheese.  No one can make me. I will not do it!  I love cheese.  I would praise the name daily, if I knew it, of the first person to look at a cows udders and say, "I wonder what that stuff that comes out of there tastes like?".  Also for the record, I do not believe I have celiacs disease, which is an allergy to wheat gluten. 
It helps alot that I have a doctor who actually listens to me and no longer believes I am a complete idiot.  He didn't believe me when I said I thought the original pain was adhesions but when he went in saw them, he did apologize.  He doesn't guess, he tests which in my opinion is alot better.  But we are about out of tests we can do.  I don't want another CT scan, I just had one and I doubt it will show anything new.  We'll just continue to remove things from my diet and then add them back slowly till we figure out if it is something I am eating.  Maybe I have just stopped processing some foods like I should, who knows.  I am pretty convinced that the original barriers have failed or perhaps the scar tissue attached to someplace he missed, I don't know. I do know that it isn't that bad and I am sure I will survive.  But on the bright side, I should not ever have to sliced open again like I was. He should be able to get to everything laproscopically from now on.  Now that he can see and everything is where it should be.  Sometimes the barriers provide a permanent fix.  The scar tissue never grows back.  That would be frickin' awesome, but I won't hold my breath. 
I only miss my uterus a little bit.  I keep waiting for cramps or something and nothing.  Its really weird.  I still get PMS, I still get all weepy and then eat like a bear getting ready for hibernation, but none of the psycho,demonic, everyone in the house is pissing me off, episodes.  Haven't flipped out on anyone yet, well no flip outs that were hormonally inspired. 

The infections have all cleared up, well the ones that I got post-surgery, I am not sure about what I might end up with after this round of the flu finishes up here.  So all in all doing pretty good.
All of the stitches are out or dissolved, well the ones that are not permanent, those are still where they should be.  Doesn't look like I will be healed up enough to use the auger by the time Bill starts building the fence, but you never know.  He can't start the fence till the roof is done and the house next door is torn down. So the weather is working in my favor!  I really want to use the great big two person auger!!!!!  Really really bad!  Great big huge power tools are cool.  Although knowing Bill, he will come up with a reason why I can play with it.  He doesn't let me use the tools we do have and he does have some cool tools. 
I can't think of much else to add.  I haven't lost any more weight, which is good because most of my clothes don't even come close to fitting now, except for my Lucky jeans.  They fit again!!!!!!!!  Yeah me!  I haven't been able to get those on and actually zipped for about 9 years.  But I can now :)  although with all of the shrinking I have been doing I will have to wear heels with them because they are way long me now, they didn't use to be.  So I have proof that I used to be taller!  Although I do kinda like having to look up a Bill, that's kinda cool.  Oops better stop that train of thought now lol.  Anyway, I guess that the overall consensus is that I'll live :)
So unless something new comes up, which I doubt it will, this will be the last update on this last surgery:)

I Missed Something

I went around all day yesterday thinking it was Sunday, only to wake up this morning and realize that today is Sunday.  Fuckitall.  I am sure you noticed the profanity has returned.  I figured out how to change the settings on here to only allow people over 18 years of age to read it.  I really don't think that is much of a security setting but it is what they have.  I only did that because I have a niece that apparently lives on the Internet and I don't really want her to stumble across this little corner of the multi verse.  So that is the reason I edited out alot of my more colorful language for awhile.  But now if anyone under 18 tries to read the blog they will get a 'warning' that will state that only persons over the age of 18 can read this blog, oh and they will have to click a button that says that they are verifying they are are over 18 to get to this blog.  I tell you what, I just feel so safe  now.  What a load of crap.  Now I can't say for sure what I would have done, since there wasn't an Internet when I was a kid, but knowing me, I am pretty sure I would have just clicked the "yes I am old enough" button and gone on ahead.  So that is my tiny little rant for the morning.  Now for my slightly bigger one.
So by the time the boys hit the bed last night they were both acting like they felt pretty good. No fevers, they were running around all crazy and fighting like well, they were fighting like they normally do.  No issues last night, a pretty lovely little coughing spell about 10:30pm and Aden moved into my bed about 11pm.  So no big deal really Bill put him back in his bed when he got home.  This morning however, is a whole other ballgame.
Both boys got up all happy and smiley.  Evan even used the bathroom without having to be reminded, oh and he stayed dry all night:)  But about half way through breakfast, Evan started coughing and wanted to be held and Aden decided he wasn't hungry and he wanted to lay down.  SHIT! SHIT! SHIT! AH Damn it.  So, I took the food away and checked them.  I swear I checked them no less than 20 minutes before to see if they had fevers and nothing, they weren't in the slightest bit hot.
But for some reason the 2nd time I checked they were both frying.  So I actually used the thermometer, because even though they feel like the fever is over 100 degrees, I can't really tell for sure.  I can only tell fever or not with my hand.  Evan is sitting at 102.3 and Aden at 101.6.  Yippee fuckin Skippy.  I am also out of Truvia so I am forced to drink my coffee with real sugar which I am not supposed to do, so I am sure that will bit me in ass later.  But I refuse to use that splenda stuff Fran brought over.  Anyway, I am still deciding whether or not I will let them ride out the fever as long as they are fairly comfortable or if I should make a preemptive move and dose them up....It doesn't seem like it is something I need to make an immediate decision on since they are feeling good enough to argue over something they saw on TV.   
Moving right along.  I posted before that I was feeling a little guilty about not talking about world issues and that I probably won't unless I just really feel the need.  Because this blog is my therapy.  I am pretty sure I have mentioned that before.... Anyway I got an email from someone who read the blog saying that they think I should talk more about world issues and politics.   I am really thrilled to get an email or any comments from this but, let's all just keep in mind the purpose of this particular blog.  It's just about crap I feel like rambling on about.  Stuff that I don't feel I should bother my few friends with and weird crap that I don't wish to freak out family with, we probably need some clarification on the family bit.  For the most part, Bill's family likes me, yes that right folks, they freakin' like me!  I would like to keep it that way.  My few friends are well aware of how strange I am, so I don't wish to make it any worse than it already is.  My few family members, well they will just have to deal, I am thinking the oddness is a biological trait,  so there isn't much I can do.
So I started this blog so I could vent and rattle on without disturbing people I know.  I can't really do the traditional journal thing because if I whip out a pen and some paper the boys go crazy and think I am making up menus or a shopping list.  So that just doesn't work.  Besides I have mad typing skills :)  Anyone else remember typing classes?  Do they still have those? Or did they do away with those because kids are now using the computer by the time they are 3 and just naturally can type.  I didn't say they can spell, because that appears to be a skill that is no longer taught.  I have some major issues with texting.  I just don't get it.  You have the flippin' phone right there in your hand....dial! Or if you are someplace you shouldn't be using the phone, perhaps you should just wait.  Remember way back in the day when you had to wait till you got home to call someone???  My God how did we live???  And these text messages they  send...... why can't they just spell the word or use abbreviations people can understand!!!!
Wait sorry I got off track..  See that is another reason I have the blog, I tend to vear off into other directions without any notice.  This is safer for everyone concerned.   :)
I just don't tend to voice my political opinions to people other than Bill, most of the time. But rest assured that when the mood strikes me, I will talk about it on here. 
This is my 10 minutes in the morning that I can use to get out as much of the sarcasm and shitty attitude as possible, so I don't go around all day and inflict it on innocent bystanders.  Okay so the only other people I see ever day are Bill & the boys, so I guess the truth of the matter is I need to get the sarcasm out before I use it on the boys and then they use it back on me.  Which while I find it strangely amusing, it also pisses me off.  But I can't get to mad at them, they are learning it from me.  That could be a good thing or a bad thing.
I also get requests wanting to know what is going on with Sam & Mama.  Not sure why that is. Unless it is just that people find it funny to hear that a Pitt Bull got her ass kicked by an old, Fat Cat.  Okay that is pretty funny.  But what you need to keep in mind is that Mama cat is about 18 years old and was feral when she decide to stay with us. She was also about 8 years old at that time.  That is already old for a feral cat.  She didn't live that long by being all cuddly and sweet.  We have seen her jump a fence and attack a full size Boxer.  For no reason other than the poor dog decided to walk to the front of his yard.  She was very fast and the poor thing didn't even get a chance to touch her before she jumped back over the fence and proceeded to lick her butt like nothing happened. The boxer was left with several good size gashes on his nose and ears.  Back to Sam, she is going to turn 2 years old in about 3 months.  She has been babied since she was rescued.  She may be alot bigger than Mama but she isn't quite as smart.  She doesn't stand a chance if/when Mama decides that she isn't in the mood to be sniffed, even though Mama is ancient and fat, she is still pretty quick.  She only likes to get up to eat and use the litter box.  Other than that, she wants to be left alone.  Sam is not a vicious dog.  She is really gentle and curious and perfect for the boys.  She plays well with some dogs, some she doesn't.  Cats fascinate her. She tries to play with Gracie and Monkey but they are terrified of her.  If they would stand their ground and not run, just once, everyone could be happy.  
Man I really went off track there lol. Anyway, this blog is once again all about me and me not bothering people with my petty little issues, of which there are many.
I have a few weeks left of recovery time and I am sure in that time I will watch more tv than is good for me and that I will see something that irritates me.  More than likely it will be political or religious in nature.  I promise only to blog about crap that I find stupid and irritating.  So there you go.  Most of the time, though, its going to be alot like today's blog.  Lots of crap only I care about :)

That being said, I have made a discover that I want to share.

I have come to the conclusion that Skinny Jeans do not make you look skinny.  You have to be skinny to wear them.  Now you know.

I am still irritated that it is only Sunday.  I think I will concentrate on getting the laundry done.  If the boys are still running fevers, its pretty pointless trying to disinfect the house. 

I will leave you with a favorite quote.....From Army of Darkness


Ash: Yeah!
[after shooting King Arthur's sword in half]
Ash: Alright you Primitive Screwheads, listen up! You see this? This... is my boomstick! The twelve-gauge double-barreled Remington. S-Mart's top of the line. You can find this in the sporting goods department. That's right, this sweet baby was made in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Retails for about a hundred and nine, ninety five. It's got a walnut stock, cobalt blue steel, and a hair trigger. That's right. Shop smart. Shop S-Mart. You got that?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106308/quotes?qt0390806

They Are Alive!

After spending the last 4 days up to my neck in scorching fevers and bodily fluids, it appears that everyone will live.
My first indication that everyone will survive, occurred this morning, when I was awoken to sing-song voices demanding breakfast.  I said sing-song, to make it sound considerably more pleasant than it actually was.  It was pretty much high-pitched shrieking ,that brings to mind a cat being run over and  a few hoarse demands to be feed immediately or suffer the wrath of the pre-schoolers.
My indication that Bill was feeling alot better occurred about 2 am, but until I figure out how to change the settings on this blog so that anyone under 18 can't read it, I think I should skip the details.  You will just have to take my word for it.  He did make it to work this morning.  Moving right along.  After the many demands for food, the natives immediately erupted into fighting.  So all is well.  I think.
The little maniacs are still running a low-grade fever, but I think that they will be fine to go to school Tuesday. 
I'll try and keep them calm (roflmao) I said try, probably won't ,but I will try.
Update on my big afghan.
So all of the pieces are done.  This is one huge afghan.  Next time I will use a pattern I think. This thing is a little bigger than a queen size blanket.  So last night when I finished the last piece, I tried to sew the pieces together.  Not going to work as the pieces are now.  Everyone I asked just said, do the pieces then sew them together.  Okay i tried that. Not working.  It looked like crap.  Using this loom, one end the stitches are lot more loose, so when I tried to sew them together I get a gap.  So, I think I have to finish the edges of the pieces first then try and sew them together.  I am starting to get a big frustrated with it, I keep thinking maybe I should just whip out the sewing machine and call it a day :).
I still can't decide what I should knit next.  I think I will go with the next hardest thing or at least it looks hard to me, fingerless gloves :) 
I keep thinking that I should actually use this blog to talk about pressing world issues.  But then I remember that if I did that I would be making the blog about something other than me and my petty little issues.  I like it to be all about me :) 
So let's get back to me.
The recovery from the surgery is starting to drag out a little too much for me.  I am ready to not be sore.  I know its only been 8 weeks but enough already.  According to doctor I have 4-6 more weeks before I should be completely healed and relatively pain free.  Apparently he wasn't joking about the recovery time.  It just sucks.  But on the bright side, the swelling has finally gone down enough that I am back in my jeans :)  on the down side, I will need to get out the sewing machine and start taking things in.  Since I haven't been able to wear jeans since October, I didn't really notice the weight loss except in my bras.  Which is disappointing.  I bought 6 new bras online that fit perfectly, last August.  Now the bands are too big.  But I am not going to go out and spend more money until I know for sure what size I am going to end up being.  I am not complaining!  Jeans and bras are easy to take in.  This diet thing is getting old too.  I am officially sick of spinach, mushrooms and cauliflower.  Which is pretty much all we are sure I can eat without issues.  I am sure that it didn't help that I ended up breaking the rules  and drinking all of that cranberry juice when I got the infections.  So all of the work getting rid of the gastritis was blown with the first glass of that.  As far as the other food issues, we still have no idea what else could be causing it.  I have completely cut out all meat except for chicken and that I am only able to tolerate an itsty bitsy teeny tiny bit at a time. I am pretty sure at the next visit he will tell me no meat at all.  That really sucks.  I love meat.  He also decided that dairy may be a problem so I am only getting limited amounts of that and that really sucks too.  Also sucking, no garlic, nothing spicy, no onions, no hard cheese, NO CHOCOLATE.  The man hates me.  What the hell am I supposed to eat??  I put garlic in everything, really everything. 
The new hairstyle thing I wanted to do has run into a few snags.  The cut I have on my hair works just fine, but my hair is way to curly to do the style without a pound of gel.  The color that Bill wanted is the one I did.  Everyone else voted for the more brown,red, golden color.  He like the darker red.  So darker red we did.  I really wasn't to concerned about what color I have as long as the silver was all covered.  I am talking silver, not gray, not white, Silver.  Very shiny, reflective, can see it 2 blocks away, silver.  I wouldn't be to concerned about it, if it looked like highlights or something, but they way they are growing in it just looks like I let the boys color my hair.  Besides here all of the mothers with kids the same age as my boys are still in their teens and it makes me feel ancient.   Most of the women in town, my age are grandmothers.  Scary.
Back to the hair.  So I guess I have two choices I can use a curling iron and alot of gel or I can use hot rollers and alot of gel.  Either way I am going to need alot of product.  So as you can imagine with me, that isn't going to happen often.  At the moment and most of the time, I am embracing my Annie hair.  Red, poufy and pretty round in shape.  Whatever, no one really sees me anyway except Bill & the boys. 
On to other matters.
So our first Real anniversary is coming up in a couple of weeks.  Even though we have been together almost 12 years, we've only been married a year.  Yeah I know and it was all me, I have discussed the commitment issue thing before.  Anyway, he had wanted to do something the weekend of the anniversary like dinner or something, but he now has to go out of town that weekend for work.  Lovely.  Its not a big deal really, we can always do something the next weekend, but the following weekend is his birthday. So who knows.  I am only a little disappointed. 
I did hear from a friend the other day who is back from deployment, that made my day.  I am so glad is his home safe.  I just can't imagine how his wife does it. 
Well the natives are getting restless so I should go and entertain them.
Since they are still running fevers I can probably wait till tomorrow for the massive disinfecting. I think I will need several gallons of bleach :)