Medical Mysteries - Can You Figure It Out?

Have you ever seen that show? They show you all these crazy symptoms and you get to guess what the heck is wrong with that person. Then at the end, they tell you.

That's what I am going do today with ya. If you guess it right, all ya get is a big ol' "Good Job" and a pat on the back. Oh, and you get to know that you are smarter than all the doctors in Shreveport, LA and Texarkana, TX.

On Memorial day in 2005, we went to my parents house to see them. My mom was in bed sick. This is really weird because my mom is NEVER sick. I think with her current job at the time, she had never even taken a sick day. She is not on any medication and doesn't even like taking Tylenol. She was literally the healthiest person I knew.

I went in, gave her a kiss, and left so she could rest. This went on for days and we started getting worried. She had severe fatigue, weakness, back pain, nausea, vomiting, joint pain, confusion and fever. With each day, more symptoms appeared. She got to the point that she couldn't eat, walk good, think, or sleep. Her being a Physical Therapist, this drove her crazy.

At first, they thought she had hepatitis but it wasn't. Then, they did a CT scan to see if she had a kidney infection because of the back pain. During that, they found some cysts on her lymph glands. Father's Day weekend, they said she could have lymphoma. We were devastated. Just one month earlier, she was climbing trees with Little Man on Mother's Day.

Turns out, it wasn't cancer. When she was 18, she was in a car wreck and her spleen basically exploded. The 'cysts' on her lymph glands were pieces of her spleen and were not causing any problems. We were so happy she didn't have cancer, but wanted to know what was wrong with her. She went through months of tests. They sent her to Shreveport for test and they thought it might be lupus. She had tested positive on some test that basically said her body was attacking itself.

Nope, not lupus. Whatever it was, it was affecting so many parts of her body. She also had dry mouth, mouth sores, sore throat, her vision got a lot worse, restless leg syndrome, headaches, chest and abdominal pain, red blotches on her face, and itching. Her symptoms would get worse after she ate so she didn't like eating. Hubby went out of town to work so I moved in with them to help out. Dad works nights so I needed to be there.

Then they thought she had Multiple Sclerosis. Nope, not that.

They did a spinal tap to see if that would tell them anything and it didn't. She had good days and bad days. Sometimes she seemed almost normal and others she was so sick. On her good days, she basically seemed drunk. Used the wrong words, unbalanced, and forgetful. Ya, those were her good days. On her bad days, she had to use a walker if she got up and hurt so bad and was so sick. The doctors finally decided it was all in her head and that she needed to see a shrink.

She didn't see a shrink. We all knew better.

In February of 2006, with still no answers, my parents decided to get away for a week. They went up to Arkansas for a fly fishing thing and I stayed at their house to dog sit. She called me on one of the days and told me to make her an appointment with a certain kind of doctor. I got out the phone book and made one for that Tuesday.

Within 2 weeks, she was pretty much back to normal. If she got too tired or ate the wrong food, she would show some symptoms but not bad. Within a couple of months, she was totally normal, healthy and back at work. This is not something that will ever come back but she still has to watch what she eats (kinda). We are so glad that this is behind us all.

So, can you guess what was wrong with her? I will let you all know Monday. Until then, good luck guessing.

Fur Babies

First thing, I do know that the proper way to spell Zues is Zeus. I spelled it wrong (for my dogs name) on purpose because that's how I think it should be spelled. I even spelled it like that on his papers. Ok, now on to today's post.

I am a major dog person. Always have been. There is seriously no telling how many stray dogs I have brought home and either kept or found a good home for. Anytime we see a stray, Hubby starts saying "NO! We already have too many". Ya, it's that bad.

So, when MamaKat put the prompts up for this week, I knew immediately which one I was doing.
When your done with mine, go check out all the others.

#1. Tell us about a stray animal you took in.

Not long after we moved into our house, I was sitting there watching some TV. The dogs started barking so I looked outside the window to see what was up. I saw them in the road with a brown furry thing so I ran out to see what they had.

It was a dog. A little bitty dog. My dogs were trying to play and she was freaking out. I scooped her up and took her inside to see if she was hurt and figure out who she belonged to. She was a mini pom and I know those dogs aren't cheap. I called my neighbor, who knows EVERYONE, and she said she had never seen the dog before. She didn't belong to anyone near us.

Then I noticed her shoulder. It was all jacked up and I thought my dogs had dislocated her shoulder. I pulled on it a little and she didn't care. Huh, that's weird. So I called the vet and took her in. When I left the vet, I was no longer looking for the owners of this very sweet dog.

The vet said that it looked like she had BROKE her shoulder some time before and nobody bothered to have it fixed. So, it grew back wrong. The only way to fix it was to rebrake it and then set it. She could walk fine and wasn't in pain so he thought that there was no reason to put her through that. She also chewed on that leg and he decided it was probably a nervous habit and that the leg probably had some nerve damage.

Then he looked at her teeth. They were so rotten. I have never seen teeth on an animal or human look that bad. He said he couldn't decide her age because she was obviously not taken care of so she looked older than she really was. I had to buy her can food because she couldn't eat dry dog food.

Next, he flipped her over and looked at her belly. She had not been spayed.

You add this up and what do you get? Most likely, a puppy mill dog that someone had dumped in my driveway. He said that they had probably used her all up and didn't need her anymore. That's probably why they didn't fix her shoulder because a vet would have noticed all the other problems.

I was so pissed at these people and I knew right where to go. At our local grocery store, there was ALWAYS a sign for Mini Pom's for sale (small town, remember). On the way there, I decided that I really didn't want to go to jail and went home. With no way of proving this was their dog, there wasn't much I could do. I reported them to the sheriffs dept as suspicious that the sign was always there and I haven't seen it since.

We decided to keep her. She was the sweetest little dog and loved her new home. Because of her shoulder, she often walked kinda sideways or just fell over so we named her Tipsy. We loved her like we had picked her out ourselves. She quickly became part of the family.
She lived about a year and a half with us before she passed away. I'm so glad I was home the day she was left and was able to give her a good home, finally.

And for your viewing pleasure, here my other fur babies that have been with me through out life:

Max (boxer) - He was already around when I was born. We had him for 8 years.

Hawk (lab)- I was 4 when we got him and we had him for 16 years.

Sugar (cocker spaniel) - I got her when I was 7 and had her for 15 years.

Zues (boxer) - I got him when I was 16 and had him for 9 years.

And here is our current fur babies:

Outside fur babies (they don't want in, I've tried):

Booger Bear (lab) - We got him almost 6 years ago.

Danny (boxer) -We got her 5 years ago to be a wife to Zues but, umm, he didn't know what to do. Now, she is Booger's wife (that is spayed).

Inside fur babies:

Lady (king charles cavalier), Fern (stray kitten dumped on our road), and Smokey (grey cat we adopted)

We live in the country so animals get dumped a lot. Hubby just prays that I always find them a home that is NOT ours.

Wordless Wednesday

Spring break 98. That's my brother Toph, Zues, and me goofing off. He must be really strong because I was about 4 months pregnant!

For more WW go check out A Daily Dose Of Toni and 5 Minutes for Mom.

So not cool, but really cold!

I was reading every ones blogs, kinda, (the kids are sick so I squeezed in some reading when I could) and one thing I noticed was a few folks were mentioning ice. Not snow, not just freezing temps, but ICE.

So I got to looking outside. Here is what I noticed. Good thing I read yalls blogs!

• It's really cold. It was 34 degrees when I picked up Toot at noon and that's FREEZING for Texas.
• It's really grey. Looks like it could snow any minute. I'm actually just guessing because I have lived in Texas all my life so I don't really know what it looks like when it's about to snow.
• And then I notice, it's raining. That can't be good.

So, I decided to watch the weather report. I can't remember the last time I actually did that.

And DAMMIT, we are suppose to get some ice. Not a good thing here. People literally flip out.

We haven't had an ice storm in about 7 years and I still haven't recovered from that one. Oh, I pray we don't have one this year!!!

To those of you that deal with this all the time; you do know you can live places where this is a very rare occurrence, right? OK, just making sure. Drive safe.

And to my Mom, because I know you are reading this, DRIVE THE JEEP TODAY AND TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!! I love you and want you as safe as possible.

Kurtis the stock boy

Ya, I got nothing. Saturday I was sick and Sunday I worked my ass off. Literally, it's gone. I looked. So, I am cheating and copying an e-mail I got. I have no idea who wrote it but it really touched me. I remember when I first started dating Hubby and wondering how he was going to handle the fact I had a 4 year old son that had diabetes.


KURTIS THE STOCK BOY AND BRENDA THE CHECKOUT GIRL

In a supermarket, Kurtis the stock boy, was busily working when a new voice came over the loud speaker asking for a carry out at register 4. Kurtis was almost finished, and wanted to get some fresh air, and decided to answer the call.

As he approached the check-out stand, a distant smile caught his eye. The new check-out girl was beautiful. She was an older woman (maybe 26, and he was only 22) and he fell in love.

Later that day, after his shift was over, he waited by the punch clock to find out her name. She came into the break room, smiled softly at him, took her card and punched out, then left. He looked at her card, BRENDA. He walked out only to see her start walking up the road. Next day, he waited outside as she left the supermarket, and offered her a ride home. He looked harmless enough, and she accepted.

When he dropped her off, he asked if maybe he could see her again, outside of work. She simply
said it wasn't possible. He pressed and she explained she had two children and she couldn't afford a baby-sitter, so he offered to pay for the baby-sitter. Reluctantly she accepted his offer for a date for the following Saturday.

That Saturday night he arrived at her door only to have her tell him that she was unable to go with him. The baby-sitter had called and canceled. To which Kurtis simply said, "Well, let's take the kids with us." She tried to explain that taking the children was not an option, but again not taking no for an answer, he pressed. Finally Brenda, brought him inside to meet her children.

She had an older daughter who was just as cute as a bug, Kurtis thought, then Brenda brought out her son, in a wheelchair. He was born a paraplegic with Down Syndrome. Kurtis asked Brenda, "I still don't understand why the kids can't come with us?" Brenda was amazed. Most men would run away from a woman with two kids, especially if one had disabilities - just like her first husband and father of her children had done.

Kurtis was not ordinary - - - he had a different mindset. That evening Kurtis and Brenda loaded up the kids, went to dinner and the movies. When her son needed anything Kurtis would take care of him. When he needed to use the restroom, he picked him up out of his wheelchair, took him and brought him back. The kids loved Kurtis. At the end of the evening, Brenda knew this was the man she was going to marry and spend the rest of her life with.

A year later, they were married and Kurtis adopted both of her children. Since then they have added two more kids.

So what happened to Kurtis the stock boy and Brenda the check-out girl?

Well, Mr. & Mrs. Kurt Warner now live in Arizona , where he is currently employed as the quarterback of the National Football League Arizona Cardinals and has his Cardinals in the Super Bowl.

Is this a surprise ending or could you have guessed that he was not an ordinary person. It should be noted that he also quarterbacked the Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI. He has also been the NLF's Most Valuable Player twice and the Super Bowl's Most Valuable Player.

AND THE REST OF THE STORY:

Today at church our minister mentioned that when Kurt, his wife and children go out to eat he
has one of his children pick out a family eating at the restaurant. Kurt then tells the wait staff he is picking up the tab for that family's dinner anonymously. He remembers the days he was working nights in the grocery store and feeding his family on food stamps.

Makes it hard not to root for the Cardinals IN THE SUPER BOWL ...doesn't it?


Seeing as how my Cowboys didn't make it and the Eagles already lost (good job Cardinals) it was a toss up for me. Not anymore.

Stupid me!!

Raise your hand if you have ever done something so stupid and you felt like a complete idiot.
Really? That many of you? Ok, you can put your hand down now.

I had one of those moments that was a pretty bad one. It involved the sheriffs dept.

Last month, I mentioned briefly that Smiley locked himself in my car FOR AN HOUR.

I didn't expand on it because so much other stuff was going on. Well, today you get to hear what really happened.

I put Smiley in the car so we could head to the school for Little Man's Christmas program.
By the time I was going to get in the drivers side, he had locked the doors. SHIT!

For about 20 minutes I begged him to unlock the door or just open it. He just kept telling me no and was pretending to drive. Double SHIT!

At one point, he actually put the keys in and turned the key on but didn't crank it. Luckily, you can't put my car into gear without pushing the brake. I was actually happy about this because now he could roll down the window. Instead, he scared himself by cranking up the radio. Now the tears were rolling. His and mine.

I made the decision to call the sheriffs department. AAA takes about 6-8 hours to get there and I didn't have that kind of time (we went through this with Toot so I knew what to do). If I am being honest, I have locked Little Man in the car too.

I sit and wait, trying to calm Smiley, when the sheriff FINALLY shows up. It has now been an hour. No Christmas program for us.

The cop walks up and I explain what happened. He walks over to the window and tries to get Smiley to unlock the door. Nope, he's not gonna do it. Now what?

Then the cop looks at me and says "I notice you don't have one of those buttons on your key chain that unlock your door. Do you know where it is?"

HOLY SHIT!!!!!

I run into my house, grab it off the shelf and free my son. After I could have done it an hour ago.
Yep, I'm that stupid sometimes.

I have never been as embarrassed as I was that day. I thanked him and he replied that he didn't do anything. Ya, except remind me I am a complete idiot.

I bet they got a good laugh about it down at the station. I know Hubby and all his co-workers thought it was freaking hilarious. As for me and Smiley, we don't talk about it. We like to pretend that one never happened.

I hope everyone has a great Friday!!!!

22 acres and a pond!

She's at it again and wants to really know more about us this week. Yes, that's MamaKat I am talking about. It's Thursday so it's time to do our homework. When you are done with mine, go check out what everyone else wrote for their writing assignment. I could take the easy road or I could take the hard road but I choose to take the joyous road.

The Prompts:

1.) Tell us about a memorable blind date. Never been on one.

2.) Other than the birth of a child or your wedding, write about a joyous moment. Joyous road.

3.) Write about one of the most difficult decisions you have made in your life. Hard road.

4.) Share the best picture you took last month and explain why it's your favorite. Easy road.

I was 22 years old and really living a dream. I had married the man of my dreams 3 1/2 months earlier and we were buying our first place together. It was such a beautiful place. We had 22 acres, a 2 acre pond, and trees everywhere. You could literally stand in my drive way and everything you could see was all ours. Also, our closest neighbor was a mile away so it was VERY peaceful. We were so excited!

Hubby was excited because of all the land. He had always wanted to live out in the country on a bunch of land. Now his dream had come true.

For me it was so much more.

This was the first place I had ever bought. Now, I had lived in a house with my ex-husband and it was ours but I didn't contribute to the purchase nor pick it out. And it was bought 3 days before we got married. Sound fishy? It should.

After my divorce, I lived in an apartment with a roommate for a very short period of time and then my parents bought me a house and put it on their property. So I was living on my own but not really because I still basically lived off them while I was in college. This new place Hubby and I purchased was the final straw that showed I had finally grown up.

I did have Little Man through it all (first marriage, divorce, life) and should have already grown up but I hadn't. Not really. We were basically growing up together and luckily I have wonderful parents that helped us through this.

This place to me was a symbol that I was now a full fledged adult that had bills, a job, a hubby, and a yard to mow. Just like other adults I have known! It was such an awesome feeling signing those final papers and having the keys in my hands. A place where we could do whatever we wanted to it. We were on cloud 9. We planned on living there forever.

BUT, plans changed. Did you notice how I kept calling it our "place" and not house. That's because it had the ugliest little house on it. It wasn't the house that we loved (or even liked for that matter) but the land. We were going to build a house there and live happily ever after. But then there was that 22 acres. Hubby worked nights (and we didn't have a tractor) and couldn't keep up the land like it should be and we now had two more kids living in this very small ugly house.

We couldn't take it anymore and we decided to sell it. We bought a beautiful huge house and now only have 5 acres. It is a wonderful home and we are very happy about it. Big enough for everyone to have their own room and Hubby can manage the land. I'm sure we wont live here forever (not near as much privacy) but it's great right now.

So my very joyous days were the day I bought my first place and the day I sold my first place.

Wordless Wednesday

We went to the park Sunday and I told Smiley to go stand by the "baby ducks" so I could take a picture. I'm so wrong, I know. He wasn't so sure about the "baby ducks".

First try

Then a little closer
The "baby duck" moved and he hauled ass! Smart kid!
Toot had fun doing flips on the bars.

That is, until she fell and broke her nose. Again. 2 times in 4 years. Poor kid. BTW, she's ok now. It wasn't real bad.

It's all fun and games until someone goes and breaks their nose. It's always something with my kids I tell ya.

And once again, For more WW go check out Punky Monkey's and 5 Minutes for Mom. And everyone else that does it!

Trust

This is long and not funny at all. Just something I needed to write. The award is right under this so if ya want to skip on down, you wont hurt my feelings.

My Mom did such a wonderful post for me but still only told you a little about me. She put in all the great things about me that I am truly proud of. She is such a great Mom and I am so blessed that I am lucky enough to be her daughter. We are really close and she is really my best friend. I believe she is the only person that I totally trust 100%. I trust Hubby but truthfully, not as much as I trust her.

I have a hard time really trusting people. Mostly men. I have been stepped on and really hurt by some men. One of which, I should have been able to really trust. It was my Mom's father.

I would go see him and my step-grandmother every summer to spend a week or so. They didn't live close to us so that's why I would stay for an extended time when I did go see them. I loved him so much and it was so special to get to spend time with him. I would always steal his seat and make him move me. It was a little game we would play. I also remember going to the golf course with him and being so excited because he let me drive the golf cart. He is a very controlling man so this was a big thing to such a little girl. He was always a very proud man. He served in the military and was always willing to talk about it. You could just see how proud of himself he was in his eyes.

I also knew that my Aunt and him didn't get along. They never did. She was kind of an odd ball and I always assumed that they just clashed in personalities and that's why they didn't talk. My mom was always a "daddy's girl". I think she always strived to impress him growing up and tried to make him as proud of her as he was of himself. I would do the same. When I was there, I would do what he asked without question. I even ate green beans and said I liked them (which I HATE green beans) to make him happy. I had total respect for him as he demanded it from everyone.

That is, until I saw the real him. In one day, he lost every ounce of trust and respect that I had for him. I now knew (without knowing it), why my Aunt hated him. He did the same thing to me that he had once done to her. I was so young and kept it all inside. I don't know why I didn't tell anyone. I know it wasn't because I thought I had done something wrong. I knew I hadn't but that he had. Maybe I didn't tell because he was so loved and respected and I didn't think anyone would believe me. Maybe because I didn't want to break my Moms heart. Or maybe, I was just so scared and didn't want to face it. Either way, I was broke inside and no one knew that was the reason. Other things had happened that year that would also cause a little girl to loose that sparkle in her eye so my Mom just thought those were the reasons.

When I was 12 years old (5 years later), I finally told someone. I told my best friend and we told my counselor at my school. Needless to say, EVERYONE found out. I now had to face it. I remember being so scared yet so relieved after that. But then came new problems.

When I talked to my Mom that night, I remember wondering if she even believed me. This was a man that she grew up loving and trusting. Now, she was hearing awful things about the man she called Dad. I blamed everyone but I don't remember ever blaming myself. I didn't blame them for what happened, but for not noticing. I had a lot of questions that took me another 5 years to ask. After that happened (before anyone knew), I would stick to my step-grandmother like glue to make sure I was never alone with him. Why didn't she notice and think it was strange? Why did she stay married to such a monster after she found out (she is still with him to this day)? Did she not believe me? Did my Mom really believe me? Why would she have me see him again knowing that I must really not want to see him? Why wasn't he in prison? Why me? They always tell you it happens to the weak, not the strong. That bothered me bad because I always saw myself as strong, so was I wrong? These were questions that floated through my head for years.

When I was 18 years old, I had a long talk about it with my Mom. She told me things I never knew before. Like the fact that I wasn't the first child he had done that too nor the last. She told me that my step-grandmother had told her to believe everything I had said when everyone found out because she had caught him doing the same to my step-cousin. She told me that truthfully, she had no idea how to handle it and took the advise (bad advise) from the social worker and counselor. She said that it had happened after other life changing things in my life (my friend accidentally killed her little sister while I was there and I had been in a car wreck) so I wasn't real strong at that time in my life. I was actually in counseling at the time and didn't even tell her. She also told me she felt guilty. She wasn't to blame for what had happened and I never did.

To this day, he has never apologised. Not really. All he said was "I hope we can move past this" but never "I am so sorry for what I did to you. That I hurt you so bad." Nor has he ever apologised to my Mom. I thinks she deserves one too. And to this day, I have NEVER forgiven him. I don't know that I ever will. He has never asked me to. I have no contact with him or his wife at all and he has never laid eyes on my daughter. He never will. He has seen Little Man twice and I was very uncomfortable about it both times. The last time was on Little Man's first birthday. The two times he did see him, I did it for my Mom's benefit. I thought that was what she wanted. Turns out, I was wrong. I learned that in our talk too.

To this day I still have questions. Like, why didn't my step-grandmother tell anyone when she caught him? Why can't he admit out loud what he did? How can my step-grandmother wake up every day knowing what lays next to her? When will he finally get what he deserves? Can, and should, I ever forgive him? When will I stop hating him? And, why do 'they' say that a lot of time people that do this horrible thing have had it happen to them? They should know better than anyone what it does to a persons heart and soul. I could NEVER do anything like that.

As you can see, I still deal with it everyday. It is not something that I will ever forget. I think it has played a big part in some of the things I have done in my life, mistakes I have made. But they were my mistakes and I know that I ultimately am the one that made those choices. I think it has a lot to do with my self esteem problems and everything to do with my trust issues. I think it has a lot to do with the depression issues I have had. I try and not 'act' like a victim but, I am.

I'm not broke anymore though. Hubby has helped a lot with that but mostly my Mom and Dad did. I will be eternally grateful to them for that.

I really try to believe that everything happens for a reason. I blamed God for a long time for allowing it to happen. I don't anymore. I realize God didn't do it nor chose to let it happen. My Mom's father made that choice all by himself. I have looked so hard and long for something good to come out of the whole situation. Here is what I have come up with so far.

Because it happened to me, maybe I will be a little wiser (paranoid) and be able to protect my children (especially Toot) a little better.
Because it happened to me, now my brothers and cousins know what a monster he is and will not allow their children to be alone with him.
Because it happened to me, now everyone knows what really happened to my aunt.
Because it happened to me, I know what doesn't kill me, makes me stronger. Eventually.

I don't know why I felt I needed to write this. Trust me, it wasn't easy. It's not that I wanted to but more that I needed to. I have felt that way since the day I started my blog. If it helps only one person, it was worth it. Even if that only person is me.

Hugs that I so needed

Alicia gave me this award Sunday and I just love it. I had just written today's post so I was really needing a hug at the time. It's like she is psychic.

This award is given to you in appreciation of your lovely and witty comments and for always knowing the right thing to say at the right time....

I am suppose to give it to 10 more people but I am feeling a little drained so I am only going to do a few. Actually, just three. At least I am handing it out at all. I was just going to keep it for myself but changed my mind.

Carrin, Gwen, and TMM.

100TH POST!!!!! By Mom

What you see is what you get, but, Don’t judge a book by the cover. Contradicting statements, yet both describe my April Dee.

This is my Baby Girl’s 100 blog post and I have the honor to post for her. Over the years, I have put a lot of thought into just “who is April.” I never really came up with the answer. That is such a difficult question, as she is a complicated and diverse woman, while at the same time being simple and predictable. She places her values not in material things, but in her heart. Let me introduce you to my “Baby Girl”

April was always an adventure. She was the youngest of 5, yet the only girl. I guess she was anxious to begin the adventure of her life, because she was delivered after only 80 minutes of labor and she weighed 8 lbs 9 oz. This should have been an omen to me that I had something special given to me that day. I have heard that great things come in little packages. The largest of all my babies; she grew to a full grown height of exactly 5 feet tall.

I was a tom boy, so was really pleased that she was too. Don’t know what I would have done with a girly-girl. But, April is the best of both worlds. She is the best fisherman of all our kids, had the best balance, could ice skate in a skirt, and tear you up in fast pitch softball. She could shinny up a tree as fast as any of her brothers, and learned to stand up on a knee board behind the boat at the age of 4. April got her motorcycle license at the age of 15, and drove the bike to high school, just like the boys did. She could dress up like a princess on Friday night to go with her Dad proudly to the Father-Daughter dance, and the next day slide into second base to beat the throw. April knew more about a carburetor than most of her guy friends did. She was and still is a Daddy's Girl.

April graduated from kindergarten as valedictorian, took high school classes in Jr. High, and graduated with honors a year early from high school. I went to college when April was in 5th grade and she would help, by being my study partner. April could have passed the college Anatomy & Physiology final at the age of 10.

She has an intelligence that would make you jealous, yet loves a simple life. A night out with Hubby includes riding in the truck on back/dirt roads and stopping to dance in the moonlight when a favorite song is played on the radio. My Baby Girl is intelligent enough to have discovered at an early age, the true meaning of success – a happy and loving self and family. April has the career that she feels is right up her alley, that of wife and Mommy, and I couldn’t be more proud of her. Her success is measured in the laughs and smiles on the faces of her husband and children. April’s children are raised by her, and not by a day care worker. They are raised to appreciate, cherish, and respect the love of family. I am so happy to see the joy on the face of my daughter every time she tells me of the most recent adventure with Little Man, Toot, or Smiley. Of course, I also delight in telling her that she deserves every minute of the adventure, as she sure kept us on our toes.

Here is the great contradiction: April has always felt that people should be themselves, and if others didn’t like it, then go away and leave her alone. She would do the same for you. Sort of a "what you see, is what you get" type of girl. At the same time, she also felt she had to prove a point to society. At the age of 14, my beautiful April shaved her head, wore Doc Martin boots, black: nail polish, make-up, and clothes, and walked around with a look of “attitude” on her face. This girl loved for strangers to make under their breath comments, calling her a LOOSER, so she could inform then that she was in fact, an honor student. They would then hear her smart-ass comment “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” Her Dad didn’t know whether to be proud of her, or royally pissed off. He showed her the pissed off side, because he didn’t like the appearance of rebellion and didn’t want to encourage it, but was so very proud that while going thru this stage she still had self pride and kept her grades up. As much as we didn’t like the shaved head, we did find humor in the fact that she chose to do it in January – during a very cold winter. April spent most of that time wearing a stocking cap to keep her head warm until the hair grew back out. LMAO

Well, now she has Toot, a little girl just like her Mommy!!! … AND APRIL DESERVES EVERY MINUTE OF IT. Of course, my Mom tells me that April was just like me. I guess the independent adventure and love is passed down from generation to generation. Let’s all hope that Toot has one of her own some day, just like her Mommy. This is our precious Toot, and you can just see the adventurous instincts oozing out of her:

Thank you all for being April’s friends and for the honor of allowing me to join you for the 100 post of April’s blog. This is me, I guess April comes by it honestly. Mom

(Thanks Mom for the great post and for being my best friend and a wonderful Mom. I have and always will strive to be as good as you. I love you so much. What a road we have gone down the last 27 years. I'm sure the rest will be just as fun!)

Things I just don't get

I have found myself saying "I just don't get it" a lot lately. There are things in this world I guess I will just never get.

• Mean people. I mean come on, what's the point.


• How I can loose something that was JUST in my hands and I haven't moved. I totally just lost my camera.


• Why my kids want my food when it is the EXACT same thing they have. And if I switch with them, they totally flip out.


• People that create drama. Are ya that bored with your life? Get a hobby!


• Why there are NO jeans that fit ANY of my kids. If the waist fits, they are to short. If long enough, the waist is way to big.


• Directions that have NO words. I hate trying to figure out what all the pictures want me to do just to put together a stupid kid toy.


• And last (for now), why Smiley thought this was a good idea:

That's Anti Monkey Butt powder. All over him and my floor! I guess he thought I didn't already have enough on my plate for today.

It will teach me to watch what I say. I said last night that if it was going to get this cold here, we could at least get a little snow. Toot informed me that Smiley made snow. Thanks kid.

In other news, I figured out what I am going to do for my 100th post. Sorry TMM, it's not flash you 100 times 100 different ways. Maybe later. Anyway, a lot of people do a give away but truthfully, I'm broke right now because of Christmas. Then there are those that attempt to write 100 things about themselves. I have read a few and so far and only one person actually made it to 100 (of the ones I have read). I don't think I could make it either so I pass on this too. Is what I am doing, is having my lovely Mom write a post about me. What better way to let you know a little bit more about me (cause I know you are dying to know more) than to let the person that has known me the longest tell you. It will be posted Monday so you gotta check it out. She did a really good job so make sure and leave some comment love.

"TWO INCHES TO SPARE"

Recently, my wife got a new phone. She loves it! She spent alot of time texting me on it the other day. We went back and forth with some small talk, then the subject matter slowly began to change.(FOR THE BETTER)!!! Shit was starting to get hot. You know what I'm talking about, SEX TEXT!!! Who ever knew that typing the things you would like to do to your other half into a phone and sending it to each other would be so arousing.
This went on ALL DAY! The favors we had promised each other in our text, we were going to live them out that night. The time had come!
When I walked through the door she was waiting on me. The look on her face, I knew she wanted it bad. For once I had the upper hand, and she knew it. I took my sweet time, creating just that much more tension in the air. When I knew she couldn't stand any more I was more than ready myself.
I stood in front her and pulled out what she wanted so badly. I looked down at her beautiful face as she looked up at me and smiled. With both hands she gently grabbed it and slowly lifted it toward her eager mouth. I thought, this could be the day she finally swallowed all of it. Slowly, bit by bit, inch by inch. I watched as she focused on the task at hand. She was almost there! She tried with all her might! She couldn't Swallow Any More! THERE WAS STILL TWO INCHES TO SPARE!!!
Oh well, she tried. Maybe one day Subway will make a 10 inch cold cut combo. Hey, I promised her Subway. She made promises to, but I can't talk about those.

Writing Assignment (Could get sappy)

Time for MamaKat's assignment. When your done with mine, head on over and check out the others.
I am so not doing all of them this week. Let me explain:

The Prompts:

1.) Describe your significant other's most attractive quality (on the inside).
I'm doing this one. It's the least I could do sense he played along and posted the other day.

2.) Tell about a time you stole something.
Couldn't pick just one instance. KIDDING. It would be boring. Got in trouble, learned my lesson.

3.) Choose a poem you like. Take the last line and use it as the first line of your own poem. (creativewritingprompts.com)
Ya, I don't do poems so no on this one.

4.) Write about a scary encounter with one of your old professors.
None were scary so no story.



So back to number 1.



Hmmm, most attractive quality on the inside. There are so many to choose from. He is really that great of a guy. If I had to pick one on the outside, it would be his smile. He has so many different smiles and I love them all. Or his eyes. They are so dark brown and inviting. I love them too. Or his ass. It's really cute. Or, oh never mind, that not what this is suppose to be about.


Anyway, back to the assignment.
I can't pick just one so I will tell you about my favorites.


He is really nice. To everyone. Even shitty people. I don't think he has it in him to be mean. I have heard stories about how he use to be an ass in his younger days but I just can't see it. Good thing I didn't meet him when he was 21 because I don't like mean people. And I would have only been 11, not a good thing.


He is a great friend (kinda goes with the being nice thing). If he is your friend, he will move mountains to help you out. Now, he is not like this with everyone. He is picky about who he befriends. But once you are, he will always be there when there is a problem or when you just want to party. Of course, we will be there too because he is always with his family which lead me to....


He is VERY family oriented. His family means EVERYTHING to him. If you mess with his family, you will be on his shit list forever but be nice about it when he sees you. Not in a two faced kind of way, just not mean. He would do anything for us and more. He cares about our well being more than his own. He is always with us when he is not at work. He doesn't go out to bars or parties because he would rather be with us. I am the exact same way so it works out really good.


And, I guess the thing I love about him the most is the love he has for me. Ya, it's all about me! He didn't have to love me. I'm not his kid, sister, mom or even life long friend. Just a random girl he met at a bar. He loves me because of who I am. He has always accepted everything about me. He has never tried to change one thing about me. He shows me everyday how much he loves me.

He lets me ramble on and on about stupid shit he doesn't care at all about because he loves me that much. He lets me bitch at him even when he knows I am not really mad at him, just releasing whatever is inside me that needs to be released, because he loves me that much. He will leave work early to let me cry on his shoulder if he feels that is what I need because he loves me that much. He will watch stupid shows on TV (Bachelor) because he wants to be near me. He knows me inside and out and still loves me. And, he will get drunk with me and have a blast doing it!


Really, after all the crap I have put that man through and all the baggage that came with me, I am truly amazed at how much he loves me. He just doesn't care about all the bullshit and does care about me. The crazy, silly, emotional, bitchy, moody, sweet me.


And, I love him that much too.


He is the perfect man for me.

OK, so apparently TMM created a monster because Hubby says he wants to post ONE more time (ya right) so he will probably be doing it tomorrow. All I can think of is what all I will do for post #100 so this gets #98 out of my way. Win Win situation baby! Make sure and check back tomorrow. It better be interesting because he wont even tell me what he wants to tell yall. And it's all about yall you know! THANKS C for the monster! I'm kinda scared!

Wordless Wednesday (with words of course)

Yep. That's me. I let Toot do my make-up the other day. She use to do it pretty good until 'Santa' brought her a shit load of make-up in so many different colors.
Hubby thought I resembled some one off of a big movie that came out this year and thought it was SO funny so he took a picture. Hey, it makes for good blog material, right?
Can ya guess who he thought I looked like?

We were laughing so hard he could barely take the picture!

Apparently, my lips were not quite big enough so she had to draw extra. This was actually after a lot of it wore off from me being in bed ALL day Saturday.
We all had a good laugh and I am back to normal now. Well, not normal, but back to my old looking self.


And once again, For more WW go check out Punky Monkey's and 5 Minutes for Mom. And everyone else that does it!

We've all got wings

Hey, it's me hubby. I don't really know what a blog is so I'm just gonna talk at ya a bit. Alot would take advantage of this situation and just *UNLOAD*, but I've had something else that has been hanging over my head for a few days now.

Recently, my daughter and wife were talking about my work. This wouldn't be a problem, except that my lovely wife has a hard enough time telling adults what I do for a living! Knowing this, she decided to simplify matters by saying, "HE FIXES THINGS".

SO IN THE EYES OF A LITTLE GIRL,

I'M A TINKER FAIRY!!!

So hubby has made up his mind, IF I'M A FAIRY EVERYBODY IS GONNA BE A FAIRY!!!

1.Smiley (AKA "THE STINKER FAIRY")

His poots have wings!

2.Toot (AKA "THE GOTHIC BRIDE FAIRY")

Thanks for the make -up Santa!

3.Little Man (AKA "THE BOOK WORM FAIRY")

10yrs old on a High School JR. reading level. GO LITTLE MAN!!!

4.April (AKA ("THE PAJAMA MAMA SEX FAIRY")

For Hubby's eye's only!!!

Maybe April can find some pics of the 3 little fairies. THANKS FOR THE INVITE TMM!!!

For more guest hubbies check out

TMM

Rolling in dough!

YEAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!
Hubby got a new job. Sorta. It is for the same company just different position. Much better position that makes way more money.

Hubby works shut downs for a very well known company. Trace Adkins use to work for them too btw. Anyways, Hubby did everything. He is a pipe fitter, tube welder, millwright, welder ....
You name it, he did it. Except concrete. He DOES NOT do that. The office he works out of works at 5 different power plants. Hubby has worked at all of them and knows them inside and out. These being coal plants makes for one dirty guy when he was there. He was going through jeans faster than I could buy them and the shirts always got covered in holes (because of the welding).

NOT ANYMORE!!

He is now their new tool room foreman. No more lay-offs, no more nasty clothes, and way more money. Maybe I can get a maid finally!!

We were scared they wouldn't hire him because at EVERY job site he goes to, every foreman request him. So we were scared they would rather have him working on the plant instead of this. But we found out last night that wasn't the case. Or rather they were desprate for someone that knew what he was doing. His new job basically consist of keeping track and repairing EVERY SINGLE tool at all 5 plants. That's a lot of tools folks! The guys check them out and are suppose to check them back in when they are done with them but that doesn't always happen. The were just using pen and paper to keep track of it but now will be using a computer. He had to carry a laptop to do reports all the time for about 5 years when we first got together so this is simple for him. I had to just give him a refresher course on Excel but it all came back to him.

I know he will be so much happier with this job. He will really get to use his brain and not have to work so damn hard. Hubby is probably one of the smartest people I know and he loves being challanged and actually having to think, so this is good. Actually, he is the only one of everyone I have ever dated that is on my level of intelligence (or higher now that I have 3 kids). It's kinda nice but can be annoying sometimes.

Anyway, I'm happy, he's happy, and my Mom is happy. We can stop worrying about lay-off season and start helping my parents out for when my Dad retires. It will be nice to be able to help them instead of them helping us.

Also, we are so going to get a boat! I can't wait!!!!

Hubby's time with the kids

When you have 2 kids under the age of 5 you are bound to hear some funny things. I just happen to have some examples for ya! I know you are so excited so you can stop your happy dance now. Or continue. If you can read and dance at the same time, I am so jealous.

Conversation with Toot:

Toot: Daddy, are you a hottie?

Hubby: Mama says I am. Ha! A 4 year old made him blush!

Toot: Ugghhh! Daddy, just say YES!

Me whispering to Toot: Daddy has a cute hiney too.

Toot: Daddy, do you have a cute hiney?

Hubby: Ugghhh! YES! Still blushing.

Conversation around/with Smiley:

Hubby: Blah Blah Blah FUCK IT!

Smiley: Daddy, don't say FUCK! With a very serious face and pointing at Hubby. He meant business.

Hubby: Uhhh, yes sir. What else could he say?

Me: Laughing a few feet away. At least it wasn't me in trouble! This time!

It's been a fun 10 days watching Hubby take care of the little ones. He has been home since the 31st so he is getting to hear a lot of what I hear all day every day AND deal with everything they do. Sometimes alone. He He

Example:

When I was at the hospital with my Great Grandfather (after we realized he would be just fine), I took advantage of the situation and spent time with my Mom catching up as April and not as Mama (this NEVER happens). Shhh, don't tell Hubby! He thinks I HAD to be there.

Here was a VERY quick conversation we had on this subject -Hubby alone with the kids and he has a VERY weak stomach.

Mom: What if Smiley has a poopy diaper?

Me: I guess he will just have to change it outside so he can puke. He'll be alright. With an evil little grin.

Mom: So, when is your new phone arriving?

We were not very concerned AT ALL!

Ya, it was funny at that moment but Hubby got the last laugh. Smiley decided to just hold it for 2 days and then give it to me all at once! He's a sweet kid I tell ya! He LOVES me so much!

Are ya feelin' the love?

I am. Brandy over at Not Your Average Soccer Mom gave me this award. Wasn't that so sweet of her? It's always nice to hear great things about yourself! Thank you Brandy.


Of course there are some rules to follow so I shall do what is asked of me since she was nice enough to give it to me.

1. Say one nice thing to a man in your life.


2. List at least 6 ways you measure success in your life (or your blog).


3. Assign 5 other blogs.

Seems easy enough.

1. I told Hubby he was a hottie!


2. Raising good kids, being happy, having a good marriage, learning to pick myself up when I fall (physically and mentally), having happy kids, and having met some wonderful people threw my blog.


3. Carrin, Drama Mama, Hula, Sera, and Sissy

Now that I am done with that, my 100th post is coming up. What do y'all think I should do for it? Any suggestions will be considered.

Writing Assingment

Well, it's Thursday and ya know what that means. Mama Kat's writing assignment. I haven't done it in a while (I think, it's been crazy around here) so I am going to do it this week.

I am choosing this one.

2.) Ask a loved one to use 6 descriptive words to describe you and report your findings. How well do they know you?

I would do them all but I just got a new Palm One Treo so I got some playing to do (I can get on-line with it!!!). I am asking Hubby because he is the only one near me that knows what 'descriptive words' are.

Here we go:

1. Unique


2. Outspoken


3. Family oriented


4. Sexy


5. Flirtatious


6. Heart felt (everything I say comes from the heart)

I don't know about all that but he knows me better than anyone so I will go with it. I asked what he meant about 'flirtatious' but I didn't get an answer. Then later, I asked again and he said I had a flirtatious attitude.

Good thing he wasn't mad at me or you might have gotten a whole other list. I guess I should be real nice before he does his guest post on Tuesday (thanks to TMM!)

Now head on over to Mama Kat's and check out everyone else.

Wordless Wednesday

Toot helping me pay bills. She stole my glasses so I hope I paid mine right!

For more WW go check out Punky Monkey's and 5 Minutes for Mom.

Also, go check out TMM. She has a great idea for a guest post that I think everyone should join in. I know we will.

It's like a car crash

I can't help but watch. I haven't watched TV in so long but last night we were (or I was) trying to get back in the grove because school started back today. So last night, Little Man and me watched TV. Hubby doesn't like to watch TV (especially what I watch) and the little one's don't care unless it is a movie.

Anyway, we watched the Bachelor. I don't usually watch much 'reality' TV but this one always gets me hooked. I watched it all last season and many seasons before that (Hubby actually got into it last season) and every time I am so amused with it all. Seriously, if 25 girls really wanted this guy then why is he single? But of course, that's besides the point.

These women (and I say women because they are so much worse than the men) are so fuckin' ridiculous. Haven't they ever seen the show before? DON'T GET DRUNK! You WILL look like a fool.

There is always one that drinks a little too much and everyone else laughs at them along with the rest of America. Then you got your girls (cause that's how they act) that sit in a little circle talking about everyone else. I thought they were there to fall in love with what's his name? Kinda hard to do just sitting around talking to the other girls. Then you got the go getter's. They will do what ever it takes to talk to the guy. Even shove their panties down his pants! I know, that was a few seasons back but it still cracks me up. She also fell into the "should not have drank that much" category.

So as I watched last night, I started doing other stuff because it was kinda boring. He is a sweet guy in all but these girls weren't acting stupid enough to hold my interest. There wasn't really anyone to point and laugh at as we always do. One seemed like a stalker but that wasn't much of a big deal. I figured this would be one of the years I watched something else on Monday nights.

That was, until they showed the previews for the rest of the season. DeAnna comes and wants him back! I think my exact words were "Holy Shit!" That will make me watch. Them producers really know what they are doing I tell ya. That's pretty sneaky of them to have a boring show and throw a twist like that in it. I guess it's only interesting if you watched last season but I did. I liked her until she broke up with Jesse. He was always Hubby and my favorite because he wasn't trying to be someone else (until the end that is). He seemed so heart broken on the internet telling everyone they broke up. I guess now we know the real reason why. She had to get in on the the guy she dumped while he was taping his show. He He! It made me laugh. Drama, Drama, Drama!

So I guess from now until the end I will be sitting my ass in front of my TV on Monday nights to see which "lucky" girl he picks. Damn twists getting me hooked again!

Quick update

Just a little update real quick. My great grandfather was allowed to go home from the hospital today. He made it all night without getting a fever so they let him go. YEA! When this all started, his temp was over 106 degrees. He hates people worrying about him and he really hates not being with his own stuff. I'm sure being in the hospital was driving him crazy. He is happy now and I am sure doing all the stuff he thought he should have been doing while wasting time in the stupid hospital. That's just how he thinks.

Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers. Me and my family really do appreciate it.

MIA for good reasons

OK, so I have been a really bad blogger lately. But hey, I got some good reasons.

Holidays with family. Pretty good reason huh!

Hubby has been working almost non stop, 7 days a week for a couple months and now he is off work for a week. Another good reason, I think.

And then, yesterday my Great-Grandfather (the only grandfather I have ever had) was admitted to the hospital for the first time in his life (he is 90 years old) with pneumonia and I have been hanging out with him and helping when I can. The REALLY big reason!

He is the sweetest man that made my Jodie (great-grandmother) happy. So I will be busy until he is home and safe. He seems to be doing good and in good spirits. He said to me "Fancy meeting you here" when I showed up today and that helped ease my fear. It really helps that Hubby is home and can watch the kids. I wanted a break from being "Mommy" but not for this reason. I guess I should watch what I wish for.

He was teaching Toot to play golf.

Any prayers you got would be nice. Be back when I can and let you know how he is doing.