Back to School

So school starts in 2 days....

I hate to say this because I absolutely love my daughter but thank goodness!

See we have our own little group of friends, more to us like an extension of our immediate families. Between 3 couples, we have 9 kids on a daily basis. THAT'S A LOT. A L O T. Their kids are like mine, mine like theirs, husbands too...Except for the, ya know, part.

Our days are filled with Mommmm, he said this, she did that, we're hungry we're bored, can we have a sleep over, she bleeding, I don't know, I didn't do it, Noooo, where's my shoes, why not?.... Mommmmmm.......

So needless to say Kathy, Hope & I are ready to pull whatever little amount of hair that hasn't been turned gray and already pulled by us this summer, out. We have a little dry erase board on Kathy's fridge with the number of days constantly being updated to show us just how much time we have to hold on to the little bit of sanity we left.

When I was about 8 & my sister was 7, the Mom's on my block started having a brunch on the first day of school which they claim they did for quite a few years. I never understood why they would do this or why they were always so damn giddy on the first day of school. I always thought this tradition to be weird & kinda mean. They were always silly when we arrived home from school the first day, all smiles, all laughy. I never knew why.... till now.

According to sources I will leave un-named, ( my mother ) that brunch was accompanied by a few (yeah, right, more like one per mother) bottles of champagne, ya know for Mimosa's.. (again riiiiiiiiiight) to have with "brunch".

The way I look at it, we got on the bus, they each popped their own bottle, yelled hooray & walking arm & arm up the block drank directly from their own bottle while congratulating one another for not murdering any of us over the summer. Maybe they did the walk like the Monkeys, foot over foot. There never was any food, just the bubbly....That's how I picture it anyways.

So I decided that you know what, I think we deserve a "brunch"....

We made it with 9 kids, no deaths, no major injuries, we took them places & managed to bring them all home every time without losing any of them in the process of the outings. We all now have to use gray covering hair dye, have black circles under our eyes, not from make up from yesterday, but from lack of sleep, we have done dishes for 20 extra people at least once a week in our own houses, we have learned how to pack a car in 10 minutes with meals for 9 kids, 6 adults, including to infants in that total. I think we deserve a "brunch".

So if you are looking for me on September 2nd around 9am - 3pm... I will hopefully be at Kathy's, with Hope having a quiet, uninterrupted, silly, giddy BRUNCH!

Bad Blogger

I read sooo many blogs on a daily basis......

It's like reading the newspaper to me. I need it, I check them constantly to see if they have been updated. I mix the blogs with a few little celebrity gossip sites. That is my morning routine, before the kids wake I make my tea, sit at the computer & read.

I love seeing things from other peoples perspective, getting to experience life through their eyes, hearing different points of view, and sometimes just knowing that I am not the only one who feels that way....

But then I come back to my silly little blog, feeling inspired by all these intelligently written blogs & feel kinda stupid. I never really have anything to say, nothing that exciting goes on in my life currently... I don't have time for fashion, politics, reading, the arts, traveling...So I feel like I have nothing to really offer anyone reading this. That is unless you want to hear me brag about my kids....or poop diapers or how I found a new wood polish that I absolutely love the smell of... I do have alot of those moments at the moment...

I guess that's why I read them, to escape for a few minutes everyday into the life I cant live at the moment... I just feel like a bad blogger because I cant offer anyone that same escape.

Sicky Sicky

My body likes to get sick at the most unusual times... I am the person who gets the flu in the summer & allergies in the winter... I am ass backwards what can I say.

Overall I have a pretty good immune system & it takes all for me to get sick. The only time I really get sick is when I am run down & not sleeping properly, which with a 10 month old, I haven't done since I was about 3 months pregnant with her.

So my mom had the flu a few weeks ago & even though I didn't see her much when she was sick, I did see her.. Now my body feels like I have been hit by a truck. I definitely have an ear infection which sucks but luckily I had medicine left from when Lissi had hers so that saved me a trip to the doctor. But all I want to do / need to do is lay in bed.

I asked Taylor if we could do this so Mommy could feel better but by the way she ba ba dada & made squeaky noises I am pretty much assuming that is a No way mom. I think the crazy super speed crawling too showed me this is not going to happen.

So I am just sticking it out, trying to be fun for her but not breathe on her & use up all the energy that I am trying to muster on her in one shot. Being sick when your a Mom stinks...Sometimes I wish I was in Queens so that my family could help in times like this.

I miss the days when I would stay home from school sick, lay in my Nanny's bed & she would bring me tea & toast, then rub my back & play with my hair...

Baby Steps & Training Wheels

Baby Steps......
My little Monkey Miss Taylor took her first steps on Sunday... She started out small 2 here, 3 there, but by the end of the day she was taking 6-7 steps at a time!

Ask me if I have been able to get her to do it again? Um No. But I have it on video!

My baby is growing up, she is starting to talk, she loves to mimic me, plays alone in her room with her toys & has 4 teeth... *tear*

Training Wheels.......
Lissi finally stopped being a chicken & learned how to ride a 2 wheeler, she seriously learned in 5 minutes in the dark.

She is trying new foods & expanding her palate which makes dinner time alot easier & happier here!

She has a little boyfriend... Our best friends son... We have a very close on the those two!

Big Old Loser

I remain a Big Old Loser....

The firehouse raffle did not bring us the "wealth" we were hoping, in fact it cost us money.. as expected!

So in the whole spirit of trying to feel lucky last weekend, Pat bought mega millions tickets, I believe the pot was 184 Million. Between 7 tickets we had a combined total of 3 numbers...

Then there was an nice elderly lady outside Gmart selling tickets for a raffle at the church, first prize $1000 ticket was $5.00, so we figured what the hell... That drawing isnt until September 6th so I am hoping maybe our luck is delayed!

But I have a feeling all we will win is our title of Big Old Loser!

Lady Luck

I am not a gambler... I never have been.

I am not lucky, I come from a LONG line of unlucky.. It's kinda embedded in our DNA.
We never win anything, we never randomly find anything on the sidewalk, in fact we are more prone to be the ass who drops a $50, for the person who has luck to find....

So when it comes to spending money to win money, I am not exactly an optimist.

I have never had any desire to go to Atlantic City or especially Vegas, I like my money in my pocket. If I am going to spend that amount of money, sorry let me rephrase that, if I am going to hand over that amount of money to a stranger, I would just rather find someone who ACTUALLY needs it ( like my bank account) and give it to them.

My husband on the other hand, loves him some lotto tickets and I know its all " Hey you never know" to which I respond, " Hey I kinda do" .... 2 days later still wishing you had that $20 right?

Anyways that brings me to this weekend... The big $10,000 raffle at the firehouse. The tickets are well, comparable to the Golden ticket on Willie Wonka, without the crazy nut job giving you a tour with creepy orange midgets. But they are very coveted.

It's $100 each, I think only 200 tickets so your "odds" are pretty good, according to Pat. I keep trying to tell him we also have Madam Unluck stacked against us, so no they aren't & I would rather the $100.00 but again I get the "hey you never know" & "$10,000 would really help us"... Help us, it would be to us like winning the million but I keep that to myself.

Here is how it works people.. Money GOES to MONEY. And on the rare occasion that it does not.. Well we have all seen the E true Hollywood Story of " I won the Lotto" right? Never ends good.

Anyways here's hoping that my DNA has not effected Pat's .... Wish us luck, cause I KNOW we need it.

I am blessed

I am officially 28!

Sitting at the dining room table this morning, drinking my tea quietly before any of the kids woke up, I looked over at the hutch (china cabinet to some) and saw all my birthday cards. All I could think was that I am blessed.

Blessed enough to have a family that will drive 2-3 hours each way just to spend the day with me. Blessed that I gained the best extended family through marriage. Blessed that I have friends who are genuine. Blessed to have beautiful daughters & a loving husband who make my life fulfilled. Blessed to have those who couldn't share the day with me call, send cards or even just send a Happy birthday over the computer.

Funny how the days leading up I was stressed because I couldn't believe how another year had passed & how I was getting to be " my Mom's age" that she was when I think about my childhood.

But taking a minute this morning to reflect on the past year, I realized how much I have gone through, my daughter being born, the trials of being newlyweds & having a newborn, moving, friendship & family limits being tested, losing friendships, gaining friendships, I just realize how absolutely lucky I am that my kids are healthy & happy, that I am in love, that I have a wonderful family & I have gained such happy & hilarious friendships. I kept looking at all the cards all I kept thinking is how I feel so blessed.

A Good Kind of Off....

Yesterday was an off day for me to say the least. I was super emotional, not necessarily sad but a full array of emotions I have no idea why or what brought it on but I was. It started as soon as I opened my eyes till I closed them around 2am this morning.

Maybe it was because Pat & I had an unusual morning.... Him bringing Taylor in the bed at 2:30 because she whimpered for like a second, Taylor being fully awake laughing saying " Hi Dada" while smacking him on his head & Pat loving her with kisses & hugs before we all fell back asleep. I love watching the two of them, it makes my heart melt.

Him waking up late because we had play time till 3am & catching an attitude with me because he couldn't find something. ( I love being woken out of a dead sleep for something I never touched in the first place) & leaving for work pissy without the usual I love you.

Watching Taylor & Lissi all day thinking how fast they are both growing & I want them to stay the way they are. Watching them play & seeing how much they adore one another.

Talking with my Nanny & getting excited to see her this weekend. Worrying about our new editions up at the farm, if the baby ducks were warm enough, clean, had water, if Bruttus was trying to eat the baby goats. Then seeing my Mommy yesterday for the first time in a few weeks.

Pat coming right home & just about to settle into our evening routine of how was your day, talking about the kids, animals, what to have for dinner when we received unexpected company.

I really cherish our evenings. I love knowing he will be home soon & we will all sit down as a family, eat & talk. That is my favorite part of the day.

We were out the door with the company to their house. This put Pat & I off our routine which caused us to have a little tiff in the car. ( A little tiff usually ends up as WW III, tonight was no exception) Things were said that really hurt my feelings so we didn't talk much the rest of the night.

Then at one point I was walking towards where he was, it was dark out at this point, I tripped over something & smashed my leg, he immediately ran out to see if I was OK, hugged me, kissed my head & helped me hobble back to the house. This was the first contact with one another since the car ride.

Once home we put the baby to bed, Lissi opted for a sleep over there, we talked for a little then went to bed. Normally he is sleeping by the time I go, but tonight I was tired too. So I went at the same time. Once we are laying down he grabs me so I would lay my head on his chest & we talked for a little, he apologized for the war in the car, we talked about the kids, how I am going to be "an old goat" this weekend, then he kissed my head & fell asleep. I laid there on his chest for a good 20 minutes & then all of a sudden I started to cry, not out of sadness but because I was so happy....

I cried because I was exactly where I wanted to be. I cried because sometimes I am overwhelmed by him & the family we created. I cried because I know he loves me regardless. I cried for so many reasons but I just was so overcome with emotion at that moment that the only way to release it was to cry.

He slept through the whole thing..... but he never let me go. Yesterday was an off day, but a good kind of off!