Monday, March 31, 2008

The Wisconsin Dells, baby!!

We just finished Spring Break and were able to make our (almost) annual trip to the Dells to hang out with our great friends, Bart, Crisy & their daughter Samantha! I will post pics as soon as possible, but I took all my pictures with a disposable water-proof camera so they will probably suck.

We stayed at the Wilderness on the Lake. I think this was our 4th time at this resort. It's our favorite, although we don't have a lot to compare it to; We've been to Kalahari once and to the Polynesian one time in the summer.

If you stay on the lake, you get this beautiful view of the lake. (weird, huh?) It is soooo relaxing, and we spend more time in our room and the kids don't mind one bit. There are 3 bedrooms, 2 fireplaces, a full kitchen & huge table and a washer/dryer too. Oh, and did I mention the gigantic jacuzzi (which the kids love) and the two-headed shower, which the adults love. :)

The year before last was our Napolean Dynomite year (it was constantly playing on the main tv in the living room.) This year it was a Superbad year. :) We had to be more careful with this one. No kiddos allowed, cause Superbad is, well, SUPER BAD!! (and super funny)

Tim made his world famous chorizo burritos for breakfast, which made Crisy a very happy girl. They were super yummy! I drank a lot of $7.50 margaritas. Too many. They were also super yummy. I may have even had one with my chorizo burrito breakfast. I'm not sure though...it's all kind of a blur to me.

Just kidding! I know my limits, and I do have children to watch. Around water. (Please don't read my other post about the fire.) But anyway......

We have a long history with B & C. Bart hired Tim right out of college to work for him at Foot Locker. Yeah, that's a whole other story, but they immediately clicked and Crisy was the first wife of one of Tim's friends that I ever really clicked with. She is awesome. It has been a 19 year friendship for the four of us! Wow! I just realized that. Man...that's a long time! We have sooooo many great stories and memories between the four of us, that it is always an awesome time of reminiscing and making lots of new memories too.

Samantha & Princess were born exactly 4 weeks apart so the three kids really have a great time together. (most of the time - lol!) They live in Wisconsin now (traitors), but we FIBs have just stayed put in the better state. (yeah, ask around to find out what a FIB is if you don't know)

Anyway, we don't see each other nearly as much as we did in the good old no-kids days back in Chicago, but we still get together several times a year. They do most of the driving to us because of our dog situation, and have made it for just about every Hog Days since we've been here. (and why wouldn't they?) We love 'em!

Anyway, it was a great time and I highly recommend the Dells to anyone who wants a great, relaxing, somewhat expensive vacation. :)

Sunday, March 30, 2008

What is, what was, what could've been

Well, Friday and Saturday I was at a conference for the Family Readiness officers for T-Man's unit. It was very informative and beneficial and I feel a lot better about things now. Yay!

The conference was held at the Doubletree suites in Wood Dale, IL which was strangely right down the road from my "what was". In 1994 I took a job opportunity with Household Retail Services in their collections department. I quickly worked my way up and by the time I left there a few years later, I was working in sales.

When I was pregnant with Bubba in 1998 I was working with Transamerica Distribution Finance and had a company car and a base salary that is double what I'd be making if I went back to teaching. I also was on track to earn about $15,000 in bonuses that year. (which I received part of when they downsized the outside sales department at the end of '98) That was a lot of money back then. Heck, I'd be happy to be making that now - 10 years later!

Anyway, I don't say any of this to sound bragadocious or conceited or stupid, or however else I might sound, but I say this because of my trip to Wood Dale, IL over the weekend. Since Doubletree was literally on the same road across from the Industrial Park I worked in at HRSI, I decided I would take a little trip down memory lane and drive by my old stomping grounds.

As I drove down Mittel Blvd I began to feel a panic attack coming on (yeah, it wouldn't be my first) and I wasn't sure why. My throat started closing and I felt like I was suffocating - I couldn't breathe. I was suddenly overcome with a flood of emotions and flashbacks of old friends, business associates, accomplishments and visions of my former self - a career-driven, motivated, determined, successful young married woman with no kids.

Wow! What happened to her?! She is so far gone from who I have become today, it is frightening. It's hard to believe I was ever her. As I sat there staring into the building that used to hold my cubicle, I felt a real sense of loss for who I was and what I could've been. I was literally crying. I look at my husband's success and I can't believe that he and I were on similar career paths back then making about the same amount of money. Could I have accomplished as much as he has? Could I be stimulating my mind and challenging my intellect and bringing home a big, sweet, paycheck every week? It was mind boggling and made me feel bad for my sad, pathetic self.

I had to get out of there. As I drove out of the parking lot, down Mittel Blvd and back onto Thorndale I immediately noticed a sense of calm overtaking me. The sense of loss was disappearing as quickly as it had engulfed me. I thought again to the person that I was back then and realized how much I had sacrificed and put at risk - my marriage, my friendships, my family - and would have continued to sacrifice if I had followed that path.

To think that I wouldn't have been around for Bubba's first steps, or Princess' first "I love you" or Trixie's first smile. Heartbreaking. To think that there might never have even been any of them is even worse.

Of course, I also thought about T and all that he has done to make our lives what they are today. Although I wasn't happy about it, I agreed to move to the Hog Capital and it is here that I have really felt like I found my home. We NEVER had that in Chicago. Aside from leaving the home that we had built and I loved, there was nothing else, and no one else that we were really leaving behind.

It's not like I've made a boatload of friends since I've moved here, but I have made several - I found my BFF and many other amazing women that I know I could turn to for just about anything.

Because of T, I have been able to be a stay at home mom and be there for class parties, field trips and most importantly, we were able to give our kids over 5 amazing years living one mile from an incredible Grandma that they would lose way too soon.

Because of T, I have never had to sacrifice any wants or needs and have been able to buy things for myself and my kids on a whim.

We're not rich. In fact, for the first few years we lived here - it was no different than Chicago. Thanks to our HUGE amount of debt, we lived paycheck to paycheck, but we still did what we wanted. It's the Generation X mentality I guess. If we wanted something, we still bought it, or if we had a chance to go out for a nice dinner, we took it. (We are finally at the point in our lives where we are not just maintaining our debt, but paying it down. Hooray!)

But I digress. There is so much I want to say about all that I was able to think about being ALONE in a hotel room for several hours and ALONE in a car for the trip there and back. (when was the last time that ever happened?!)

I could go on and on and on. In fact, I see that I am! :)

Can I just end this post with a few more things?

I love my husband. I am so thankful for all that he does for us (and our country) every day.
I love my kids. I am so thankful that I have been able to be a stay at home mom for them.
I love where I live. Sure, I miss the malls, the restaurants, the shows, the diversity, the beautiful homes and the energy of a big city, but it is not what I need anymore. I am so thankful that I get to drive my kids (a whopping quarter mile) to school and am never more than a minute away from them if they need me. I am so thankful that I live somewhere where there are women, not even friends per se, to hug me and comfort me on a ride home from a fieldtrip when I found out I had lost my mother in law, and by the time I walked through my front door several hours later, already had cards and food left on my front porch with more to come several times a day for the next couple of days. Wow. Sorry, Chicago suburbs, but it just wouldn't have happened there.
I love who I have become. I am not perfect...I went from one extreme to the other in terms of dress, personality, etc., but I am working my way back up to a middle ground. Recapturing who I was and mixing it with who I became to make myself into who I want to be. I am a work in progress. I have a long way to go, but my little visit to Wood Dale, IL has made me see things a bit clearer, and for that I am very thankful.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Bulgarian Idol...WTH??????

Oh. My. Freakin'. Goodness.

He's bad. He's bad. You know it. Sham-on. Dah.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-HidjM1sg4

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

More sadness :(



This is my gorgeous baby girl, Princess. She looks a lot older than 7 here, doesn't she?!

I don't like my blog to be a downer. I want people to read it and laugh a little, but I guess if they cry a little too, that's okay. My little Princess has a wonderful teacher, Mrs. T, who has just suffered a huge loss. Yesterday, her dh passed away after complications from a stroke. It is heartbreaking. They are both in their 40s, and that is just too young! Please pray for Mrs. T and their 3 children as they face these difficult days ahead. I know how hard it has been to deal with our loss of Sharon, but I can't even imagine the emptiness she will face having to go home alone.

Give your hubby an extra hug today for life is really sometimes too short.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Oh, I forgot!


I want to try to remember some of the funny things Trixie says since she's still so little.

Today she was hitting me (yup, I'm a mom of a 2 year old) because she didn't want to take a nap. She threw such a screaming, crying fit that she made herself throw up all over herself, my jeans, my comforter & my sheets. Cool. Thanks.

Then when she woke up, she looked at me and smiled and said, "I hit Mommy. I say sorry now." Hee hee. That's the first time she's ever added that second line.

Then when I was getting her ready for bed, she passed a little gas and said "That was a stinker in my butt." Then -

"Mommy has stinkers in her butt. Sissy has stinkers in her butt. Bubba has a wein...Bubba has stinkers in his butt. Daddy has stinkers in his butt."

Thank you for that darlin'. And I forgive you for getting a little sidetracked when you about told me that Bubba had a weiner. See you in the mornin'!

RAKs, I've got RAKs.

Okay, so in an effort to get people to actually comment on my blog, I offered up some RAKs to the first five Peas to make at least 2 comments on my blog. (if you're wondering what a Pea is, then you have already disqualified yourself - lol!.....and if you're wondering what a RAK is, you are doubly disqualified)

Anyway, I got a few comments, but I think only two of them gave me 2 comments! (Miss French Jessica and wholarmor - thanks guys! I haven't forgotten about you!!) Now what do I do? RAK them or not? I mean, I did say 2 comments, right? Are you all trying to go all NSBR on me and ignore the TOU?!!??!!! Come on now -help a girl out!

So, if you are a PEA, and you made only ONE comment, come on in here and make one more so I can RAK you baby!!

I'll put some together this weekend and peamail you for your addy. Buh-bye!

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Checkin' in...

Just haven't felt like bloggin' the last few days.

Long story short, Trixie climbed up on the dining room table and decided to blow out a candle. Instead, she caught her hair on fire. If I hadn't walked in right that second...........

Well, I can't even think too long about it. It makes me sick to my stomach.

Things can change in an instant. I love my kids so much. I don't know how I would live without any one of them.

Anyway, as I was slapping her upside the head (to put out the fire!) I think I pressed some of the flames onto her forehead, which caused a few burns. Nothing major. Trip to the ER and some silver sulfadiazine and she's almost as good as new. (yes, I italicized and highlighted that for a reason......see below:)

Nurse: Any allergies?

Me: No, except I really don't want her to have sulfa because I had a really bad allergic reaction to it and so have some other members of my immediate family.

Nurse: Okay. Well, this is just silver, it doesn't have any sulfa in it.

Me: Okay, great!

On package in big letters: Silver Sulfadiazine. Hmmmmm...interesting.

Anyway, she's fine with it. But one day there were two spots on her head that turned bluish-silverish-purple and I had a moment of panic.

Not only did I leave a burning candle unattended, then left a 2 year old unattended (okay, I was with her in the kitchen seconds before and she had been in the dining room all of one minute I think), then I smacked her upside the head to put out the flames, which probably caused the burn marks on her forehead, then I allowed her to have sulfa applied to her face, which then began to turn her face blue.

Oh my heck, I'm going to be raising a blue man/girl :
http://www.kval.com/news/local/12648491.html

What have I done? What have I done?!

Anyway, it didn't turn out that way. She's okay. Really. And I will be too after some therapy.

Friday, March 7, 2008

Hubby say wha?! (said in my best Hannah Montana voice)

I have to share this precious peek into my home life. A few days ago T-man was getting Trixie ready to go in the car, and we had this insightful little conversation:

T-Man: "Where are her shoes?"

Me: "She wasn't wearing any." (meaning we had not gone anywhere yet today so I hadn't brought any downstairs or set any out)

T-Man: "Where are they?"

Me: "She wasn't wearing any." (I repeated)

T-Man: "But where are they?"

Me: "Well, I guess they're with all her shoes!" (getting slightly annoyed at this point)

T-Man: "Yeah. Where is that?"

Hubby say wha?!!

Are you frickin' kidding me? He doesn't know where her shoes are?! Okay, considering she shares a room with Princess and they have a teeny tiny closet, you'd think I'd be willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. However, also considering the fact that the girls have 4 large shelves above Princess' dresser, and Trixie's shoes have been (overflowing and falling off) on the bottom shelf for 2 years IN PLAIN VIEW, it's not gonna happen. No benefit of the doubt for me.

Me: "Do you mean to tell me you don't know where we keep Trixie's shoes?! Are you frickin' kidding me?!?!?!?!??!?!?!??!!?!??!?!?!?!?"

And then I had to take a deep breath, calm down and remind myself of the limited, precious time I have left with my darling hubby. So I told him where to go. (Hee, hee. No, not that kind of telling him where to go. I was helpful. Informative. Now he knows.)

The end.

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Come and check out my book reviews

As of May 1st of last year, I had read like 15 books. Or more. I can't really remember. But anyway, I was in mid-book, a sequel even, when Sharon passed away unexpectedly.

Suddenly, I became ADD (or maybe I've always been?!) and couldn't finish the doggone book! I tried a few others after that, but couldn't get past the first few pages.

I worked my way up to newspapers and magazines, and finally decided that I was going to read a stinkin' book! All of these women on Two Peas were posting about the great books they were reading or recommended. I began to feel book envy. I decided it was time to make my move. I raided my half.com stash down in my scrapbooking room. (thanks mom!) I found a couple that looked okay.

Heathen Girls by Luanne Jones was my first read. Go check out my other blog and see what I thought of it! http://lisasbookreviews.blogspot.com/

Up next: The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult. (sorry mom, but I'm still gonna read it!)

Shhhhhh...don't tell my hubby, but I'm in love with another man!




Yes, I admit it. I am madly in love with a celebrity! WTH?! I was never one to be all like "Oh, I love Shaun Cassidy, or Oh, I love John Travolta," .....well, wait a minute. I did have that one John Travolta t-shirt that I wore a lot....and my mom did make me a custom-made jacket that matched one Shaun Cassidy wore on an album cover, but anyway....


I love Dierks Bentley. His voice is soooooo unbelievable. It literally makes me melt. He's pretty easy on the eyes too. This guy should've had a record deal like eons ago! I have some of his songs on my playlist here, but you can check him out at http://www.dierks.com/ if you've never heard of him.


I have fantasies of going to his concerts wearing a little white tank top, or perhaps even a shirt that says "Can it be 'my last name' too?" Dierks lovers, you know what I'm talking about!


Anyway, he is going to be in Rockford, my hometown, on April 12th. I want to go. I WILL go. But, who can I get to go with me? I really don't want to take my husband - lol! Maybe sister #2 will go! Yeah! That's who I'll ask. She really loves Toby Keith, but I won't hold that against her.


I have one problem looming in the back of my mind and it's related to the FRG I'm the leader of. I think there may be some training going on that weekend, and if there is......arrrrrrghhhhh! I'll be really mad! (that's my really mad sound)


Anyway, gotta fly, I have work to do for the PATT tonight. Oh, the high pressures of being involved in a parent/teacher organization.....
ETA: I realize that this post dates me!!!!

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

This one hurts

Trixie was standing on a chair and looked over to a shelf that held a paper bag album Bubba made at school. It was propped open to a picture of him and Sharon. Trixie squealed with joy "I see Grandma! I see Grandma!" Then "I yuv Grandma. I want her to come back to me. "

*sob*

That was last week. Then today, a repeat. She took the album down and said almost the exact thing. "I yuv her. I want her come back. Mommy - Grandma come back my house."

I know she remembers her. I know she does. Even though she is only 27 months old and it has been exactly 10 months, I am confident that when she sees Sharon she feels her love and longs to have her back.

We all do.

Saturday, March 1, 2008

Fat woman falling

I fell down the stairs yesterday holding my sweet little Fifi Trixiebelle. I imagine it looked something like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEgatICWrvY

My back and neck hurt today.

Why do things like this only happen when the T-Man is off guarding the nation???

Oh, and while we're at it... check out these two hilarious youtube videos.

If young children swearing is offensive to you , don't click on this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2a8NLuVwIs

No swearing in this one, just a funny, funny kid! Blood: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fVDGu82FeQ