I'm Officially Old

Over the last year or so, I've wondered what makes me old.

Is it that I turned 30 last August? Nope.

Is it that I have 3 kids? Nope.

It's because of what I did yesterday. I became old the second I lost my ever-lovin' mind and decided I was as flexible and/or agile as Lexi was. She wanted me to walk like a crab - or her version of it anyway and so I obliged, convinced I could do it. And I did.

Except NOW my wrist hurts! Like I sprained it. Which proves two things - 1) I am horribly out of shape and 2) I'm an idiot for even thinking I could do that without repercussions.

Did I learn nothing from my own mother, who at about my age was convinced that she could do a somersault with me and ended up throwing out her back?

So there you have it friends. You are officially old the first time you think you can do something physical the same way your children can. And then actually try it.

And I Spoke Too Soon...

Just when I thought our week couldn't get worse, it did. And I'm having a really hard time finding the silver lining anymore! Thursday, Nacho emailed me to tell me he was feeling horrible, so I nagged urged him to make a doctors appointment since it seemed he was getting worse instead of better. He came and got the two youngest ones from me on his way home from work, since Samantha & I had something to do at her school and told me he had a 7:30pm appointment. I didn't even know they had regular appointments at that time of night, but that would have been useful to know earlier in the week. Anyway, when I got home he was complaining that his eye hurt, so I turned on the light and his eye was pink. He has pink eye! How did that happen? He is religious about his hand washing and he can't blame the kids. He went the doctors and was also diagnosed with an ear infection and a sinus infection. By the time he got home the pink eye had spread to the other eye.

The next morning, I left the baby home with Nacho, who had to call in sick, while I took the girls to school. When I got home the baby was awake....and his eyes were crusty, wet and swollen, but not pink. After a not so quick phone call to the advice line I was told to bring him in later that morning to be checked. And yes, he does have pink eye as well. Nacho and Jack were together for a total of 15 minutes on Thursday and they managed to share the germs. I also found out that while the ear infection that I knew about on Tuesday had cleared up, his other ear now had a horrible one that would require antibiotics.

So for anybody counting, that is 4 doctor visits in 5 days for us. Seriously, I think the pediatricians office is beginning to wonder about me. Because normally we are the family that only comes in for routine well checks and nothing more. And they saw me 3x this past week. I'm glad I went because it was needed, but I've seen enough doctors for awhile. And the way Jack is reacting to having t take the medicine we keep giving him, I'm guessing he has too.

Thank God this weekend has started out as a great one because I'm not sure how much more I can take. It's taking all I have to make sure the girls & I don't get this...and I'll be amazed if I'm successful in that. Knocking on lots & lots of wood right now......

Finding the Silver Lining

This week has turned out to be one of craptastic proportions. But I'm trying to change "my glass half empty" approach to things, which admittedly took a lot of work this week, and find the silver lining.

Sunday, Valentine's Day, started off pretty good. We went over to my mom's where Nacho made brunch for all of us. It was great. Until Samantha started complaining that her ear hurt. I knew immidiately it was an ear infection, even though she's only had two before this. I have also learned from those two prior ones and subsequent doctors trips, that she doesn't start complaining until her ear drum is bright red and the verge of bursting. This should be no big deal - we take her home, give her some Motrin and let her rest or take her to the doctor - except we have plans later in the day with other people, with (not so cheap) tickets already bought. Before you get all judgy-mcjudugerson on me, I would have no hesitation in canceling any plans if my children were sick. She however burst into tears at the idea of missing any of this. So we dosed her up with Motrin and off we went.

But you know what? We had a blast. We spent the afternoon at Safari West, which is simply amazing. We had the best tour guide ever and got closer to animals than I thought we ever could. There were laughs and giggles and squeals and lots of hugs & thank you's. And my little sickie.....well, she overcame one of her fears and rode on top of the jeep.

(Samantha riding on the top of the Jeep)

(Jack with our awesome tour guide Leslie)

But now it was Monday, and my sickie was still sick. So I made her a doctors appointment, on a 70 degree day, that she had off. I paid a ridiculous copay to see a doctor who confirmed that yes, she did have an ear infection and no, they weren't giving us anything for it, to just keep treating it the way we were. So basically I paid to have somebody tell me something I already knew.

But you know what....we're lucky we even have insurance. And she was able to check her lungs, throat, etc to make sure it was anything more, which was a relief because with everything going around, I was worried. And although it's not how I would have chosen to spend it, I will take one on one time with my oldest any day.

By Tuesday, Samantha was feeling better and off to school. Lexi had ballet, so off the rest of us went. With about 10 minutes left in her class, Jack trips and hits his head on the metal arm of a chair. He cries for a second, I pick him and he seems fine. Until he looks up and I see the huge gash above his eye that is dripping blood. Great. Get him cleaned up, get Lexi and we are on our way back to the doctors again. After waiting forever (which I actually expected since we didn't have an appointment), they tell me that yes, he is going to need some type of closure for it, but they don't do them there and I will have to take to him to ER, a half hour away. So now, I've got a semi-bleeding toddler & a preschooler with me and a Kindergartner who is an hour away from getting out of school. Called Nacho and told him he had to pick Samantha up while I took the other two. Luckily, they were able to see him fairly quickly in the ER, but that was another outrageous copay. They glued (Dermabond) him back up, gave him some stickers and we were finally on our way home.

But you know what? He is fine! He is as happy as he always is. He's leaving it alone and he didn't need stitches! And I didn't panic in the midst of this mini-crisis. Except for needing help with the logistics of picking up one of our children, I did it! I also learned that the group of girls Lexi dances with have amazing mothers. The minute they saw he was bleeding one handed me wipe to clean him up, one ran upstairs to get Lexi out of class for me, one got her shoes on and our bags packed and helped me get everything to the car. In a situation where I may be felt slightly overwhelmed, they stepped up and gave me focus. And if there is a scar.....it adds character!

(He doesn't look to worse for wear)

So yesterday, Wednesday, I was really hoping for a calm day. And it started that way. The girls both had school and Jack napped most of the morning (probably from missing his naps the day before), so I was able to get a few things done. After we got home from getting Lexi, I walked over to this desk thing we have to get a pencil. And my foot got caught in the cord of our netbook and pulled it crashing to the floor. When I finally got it turned back on, the screen was cracked. Not in literal pieces, but the LCD or whatever it looks like a window that what hit by a rock. Besides the cost to buy a new screen (which Nacho believes we can do) in an already expensive week, I'm angry at myself for being so careless. And I'm admittely lost without my ability to sit downstairs on the couch and surf the web.

But you know what? Last night I was fully engaged in my family and it was a refreshing feeling. Instead of reading blogs and playing endless games of Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook, I did this:

And that is the best silver lining there is.

Don't Drink The Water

Oh.My.God! So many people I know are pregnant. I guess it makes sense given that we are all still in our child bearing years, but still, it's a lot. Heck, even the bloggy moms I read are getting knocked up right and left! I wonder how many more will discover they're pregnant in the next month or so, you know, given the huge snowstorm of 2010! Congratulations to you all.

So, be really careful of that water ;) Or maybe you should drink it!

So Tired

I am so tired right now and yet here I am. Last night I stayed up way too late watching the Olympics. I should have DVRd it and gone to bed, but I hate nothing more than learning the results the next morning when I haven't seen it yet. And I wanted to watch the pairs skating! Although I always root for Team USA, I have to admit I was secretly rooting for Shen & Zhao to win gold. Their story is amazing - 18 years skating together, eventually falling in love and getting married, and then coming out of retirement to accomplish the one goal that has eluded them - Olympic Gold. In case you haven't seen it, I won't spoil it, but you'd have to be living in a hole if you don't yet know the results. Let's just say I'm happy!

But of course they would skate last, with the coverage ending at midnight. What is up with that? I get prime time coverage, but really? Midnight? And why are we getting it on a tape delay? Last time I checked Vancouver was Pacific time.....just like California. So why are we always getting screwed with the tape delays? You know, it wouldn't bother me as much if it was actually 4 hours of full coverage, but I swear of those 4 hours, 3 of them are commercials. I have never seen so many commercials in my life. I do however really like the Visa commercials, especially the one with Dan Jansen....it makes me cry every time because I'm bad-ass like that.

So now I should be thinking of bed and I have to admit it sounds oh so good. But the Olympics are on tonight too and I don't want to miss them. Although I think I can safely bet on the fact that I won't make it until midnight tonight. My party like a rock star days are way behind me.

Spelling Bee

So I've told you how our 5 year old can read. And how the ability got me past the first round of qualifying for parent of the year. Well I really think we're in the running after she did it to Nacho over the weekend.

While we were out to lunch, Sam had to use the bathroom. I was busy dealing with the baby so Nacho took her (it's a small mom & pop type place with one single bathroom). Later when we get in the car, she tells me there was a bad word written in the bathroom. This is how the conversation went from there.

Nacho: I thought she had forgotten it.
Sam: Nope. It said F-U
Me: Stop! I don't want you spelling it
Sam: Why?
Me: Because it's a bad word
Sam: I'm not saying it, I'm spelling it
Me: Yes, but spelling it is just as bad
Sam: Fine. But what does F-U-C
Me: I SAID STOP!
Sam: What does it mean?
Me: I'm not telling you. You don't need to know. And don't go asking people at school either. You can get kicked out of school for spelling or saying words like that.
Sam: You can?
Me: Yes, yes you can. And now we're done talking about it.

On the bright side, she has a whole repertoire for the school spelling bee. Where they will surely have the parent of the year trophy all polished for Nacho & me.

The Evolution of a Blog

I apologize in advance because I already know this post isn't going to make a whole lot of sense. I've got so many different thoughts going on in my head that are all related to this topic, although most likely do not relate to each other at all.

When I started this blog, it was right after we found out were were expecting baby #3 and it's purpose was to keep family & friends updated on the goings-on in our lives. Sure it was a place for me rant, but it was mostly to brag on my kids. And I love it that way. But there are times that I want to rant and rave and talk about more in-depth things. But I can't because people I know read this (or at least I think they do) and because I see them on a regular basis, I really can't gossip or complain about them or disclose too much of our personal business. Well, I guess I could, but it would make the next get together very uncomfortable for all us. Like right now, I am so incredibly irritated with someone that I would love to blog about it. While I'd love for everybody to tell me how right I am to be irritated, I'd also love the opportunity for people to tell me where maybe I wrong (because I have been wrong lots of times once or twice.) But even describing the situation in the broadest terms would give away who I'm talking about.

And so where do I go from here? Do I up and change the tone of this blog and hope for the best? Keep it as is and keep emailing my go-to friend with every vent I have? Start another blog not linked to this one, which doesn't use our real names for all the "stuff" I want to share, but don't feel I can here? I honestly don't know. I don't think I want to change this blog because I am happy with it. I didn't start it with the idea of making money off of it....but wouldn't that be nice if I did? I heard Dooce makes $40,000 a month. A MONTH! But she disclosed some very intimate parts of her life to make it that successful, something I'm not sure I'm ready to do. And for the record, she didn't disclose that stuff to make money, making money came because she had disclosed it.

One of my problems right now is I don't feel I can be as funny as I'd like. Or maybe it's just as funny as I think I am because right now I don't feel like my blog is funny. I want it to be funny! And while kids are just naturally funny, I feel like I need to blog about other things. I read some really funny blogs and I want to be just like them when I grow up. If you want to know what I'm talking about, check out some of these hilarious women.....Shauna, BooMama, Brittany, Sue, Michel, Melanie, and the really great collaborative effort at Aiming Low. Please know if I didn't list your blog, it's not because I don't think you're funny. I do! I've got a list of all the blogs I love down the left hand side -check them all out.

So I'm not any closer to a solution than I was when I started writing this post. If I know me, it will remain just this blog because I'm too lazy to start another one and it would be too easy to trace back to me even if I did. I'll just have to try to figure out a way to add more of the other stuff I want to talk about and hope I can do it in way as to not offend those people near and dear to me. Much anyway.

Friday Randomness

I unfortunately don't have a lot of time today, so a bullet style post it is. Sorry to those who don't like this style!

• A friend of ours is on Iron Chef America this weekend! Totally cool.
• I'd really like to thank the asshole who let their dog crap all up & down the sidewalk at school where we drop our kids off. Luckily my kids were spared, but looking how smushed some of the piles were, I'm betting some kids were not. I wish I knew who they were because I would so go empty the diaper genie on their driveway.
• Speaking of the school - to the lady who thinks arriving right at pick up and parking on the sidewalk, in a red zone, is a good idea. IT'S NOT. And yes, when we turn around, we are all talking about you. Get there early enough to get the parking spot you want or walk your lazy ass down where the kids are. Oh and I really don't appreciate you coming thisclose to hitting my child with your car, not once, but twice.
  
• I am so excited for Super Bowl this weekend. Not because I really care who's playing but because it is such a good excuse for eating all the snacks/appetizers I love and drinking lots of wine. That and we've got some friends coming over. What's even better than that? Going to Costco the Saturday before the big game and eating all those samples, which somebody else cooked and will have do clean up on. Is it me or do they always test better there?
• Did anybody else watch Private Practice last night? I love that show, even more than Grey's. How odd to like the spin-off more. Anyway, last night's episode was about a parents that specifically got pregnant with a new baby in order to use the cord blood to cure their twin 8 year old daughters. The baby was born and the parents weren't interested in him at all, only in healing the daughters; and then refused to see him when they found out there was only enough cord blood to save one of the girls. They had to decide which one to let live and which one to let die. I'm not even going to get into my feelings about their decision to have a baby specifically for this purpose because not only do I not have time, you don't have that kind of time, but I could not imagine having to be put in the position of having to chose one of your children over another. But the alternative - that they all die, isn't an option I could live with either. For those who haven't seen the show yet, I won't say what they did.....but my heart broke for a bunch of fictional characters last night. And for all the parents who are actually put in this position.
  
• How is it I could remember the whole list of things I wanted to talk about this morning and now my mind is blank? I know, I've got 3 children and it's Friday, but I refuse to believe my brain is complete mush.
• After sitting here for 15 minutes trying to remember, I give up. So I'll end with that I really like to italicize. I feel like I'm getting my feelings across better. I just wish Facebook had that feature.
  

Customer Service or Lack There Of

So I've complained about our Dish Network customer service issues in the past. About how our DVR would freeze up and would occasionally erase all the shows we had recorded. About that time it did it the night we got home from a 10-day vacation. Time after time we called customer service and they gave us the most technical advice I've ever gotten (insert sarcasm) - "unplug it and then plug it back in." I was thrilled to read this happened to another blogger, Big Mama. Well not for her. For her it sucks. But it means we're not the idiots that Dish customer service people made us out to be. Long story short, after two years and getting new receivers that did the same thing, we eventually left Dish in favor of another company.

In the past week, I've gotten two phone calls from Dish Network wanting to know why we've left them. The first call was fine. It's the second one that reminded me why I hate their customer service department so much.

Dish: Hi this is (didn't even listen to his name) from Dish Network. We'd like to know why you decided to terminate your service with us.

(did you not read they 10,000 notes of all the calls we made complaining about the same.damn.thing?)

Me: Because our DVR kept erasing our shows and you were no longer wiling to help us

Dish: You mean we wouldn't help you learn to program your DVR to record?

(do they really think we're that stupid?)

Me: No, I know how to do that. It was erasing the shows we already had recorded.

Dish: It was erasing your shows? Wow, that's terrible.

Me: Yes, it was. And after sending us receiver after receiver, you were unwilling to help us unless we upgraded our package, which we weren't willing to do. So we left.

Dish: Yeah, that really sucks about your shows

*click*

Umm, did he just hang up on me? Guess so. And I'm guessing it's because they had no defense to that. At least the first lady who called apologized for it all.