Damn those informercials are GOOD!!!

I have always been a sucker for a good infomercial. I mean how many other 12 year olds that you knew asked for a Ronco food dehydrated for their birthday. True story that I asked for it, even better... I got it. I made fruit leather, beef jerky, bagel chips and a plethora of dried fruits for months. Now, I am pretty sure that it is sitting in my mom's basement. Either way, I have been sucked into the magic of infomercials from a young age. Heck, I was fighting sleep the other night to stay up and watch the Cricut Expressions one. It is a sickness, I swear. If I had a disposable income, I would own soooo much infomercial stuff. Rob has recently been suckered into a particular one. The ShamWOW! I mean how could you not? Vince (that is the guy who is selling it... Vince- I know because we are super tight like that.) is wearing a headset, for no real reason. He talks loud and fast (but not loud and obnoxiously like Billy Mays), and asks the camera guy if he is following him. The whole thing is hypnotic. Rob has even gone to the extent of quoting it on pretty much a daily basis "You are going to spend $20 a month on paper towels anyway." I have actually owned a ShamWow! and that shit is AWESOME!! One drunken night in my past a neighbor and I dumped a whole gallon of water on the floor to see if it would pick it up. (It did!!)
Rob is out picking up lunch today. He is coming up on the American Eagle superstore, it sells all sorts of random stuff... lots of as seen on TV stuff. He then sees a giant scrolling sign that seems as if it directly from the informercial gods. "SHAMWOW $10" What does he do?? He pulls in and goes and buys his precious ShamWow. He did admit that he was laughing hysterically to himself while buying. I am sure that the cashier thought that he was certifiably insane. The joy he got from coming home and presenting me with his new purchase was worth the $10. He then promptly went in the kitchen and dumped a couple cups of water on the floor, just to test it out.
We are seriously an advertisers dream.

Holiday Update

After being overwhelmed with the amount of holiday cheer I felt compelled to decompress by overwhelming you with my madness. TIA!

I have recently started picking up shifts back at the bar. At first, it was a "helping out while they are short handed" deal. Now, since I am enjoying the time away and the extra cash... I am thinking that I may be starting to head back on more of a permanent basis. I will say that it is kicking my ass though. My body hurts sooo bad. This 10 hours on your feet thing is really hard to get back in the swing of doing all the time. At least I am getting exercise though. This should help with losing a couple extra pounds. :)

My kids are spoiled rotten. I was so worried that they were going to feel jipped due to us having a very limited budget this year. Arabel enjoyed trying to eat the paper the most I think. She got some really great toys though. She was so well behaved at all the places we went. Emma was so thankful for everything that she received. Watching her face on Christmas morning was awesome. I wish that I would have had the camera out. I was too involved in watching the madness. Santa even left her a note thanking her for the cookies and oatmeal for the reindeer.

We are truly very blessed to have such wonderful friends and family. I can't stress that enough.

As Christmas nears...

As Christmas nears, I felt compelled to share the famous newspaper column from a sweet 8 year old girl named Virginia. It is a great reminder that Santa does exist. I will be showing this to my kids when they ask me if Santa is real.
Hard to imagine that this famous strip was printed Sept. 21st, 1897 and that it still holds true to this day. Enjoy, and Merry Christmas!

IS THERE A SANTA CLAUS?
We take pleasure in answering at once and thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of THE SUN:

"Dear Editor: I am 8 years old.
"Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus.
"Paps says 'If you see it in THE SUN it's so.
"Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus?
"Virginia O'Hanlon.
"115 Ninety-fifth Street".

VIRGINIA, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, VIRGINIA, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole truth and knowledge.
Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exsits as certainly as love and generousity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how deary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as deary as if there were no VIRGINIAS. There would be no childlike faith then, no peotry, no romance to make tolerable this exsistence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.
Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, thought that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.
You may tear apart the baby's rattle and see whats makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, VIRGINIA, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.
No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives and lives forever. A thousand years from now, VIRGINIA, pay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Birthday to my sweet Princess! She is 4 today!

Crazy couple days

Saturday morning we woke up to our furnace that quit working. Have any idea how cool a non-working furnace is in Michigan in Decemeber... really freaking uncool. We woke up a matienance guy from the apartment complex and he had it fixed within an hour or two. We headed up north, got lost going and ended up 20 miles out of our way. The evil step-witch didn't speak to me, or the kids. She yelled at Emma for something ridiculous and Em started bawling. My grandma jumped in and was comforting her and said, you didn't even do anything wrong. Snap, evil step-mom- sit the fuck down and butt the fuck out. We left and the roads were BAD. Like 35 on the highway bad. (Speed limit here is 70 on the highway, so that is hella slow.) My dad and evil witch left after us, but must have been flying down the highway b/c they passed us and then promptly plowed straight into a snow bank. Everyone was OK, thankfully and a tow truck was there to pull their dumbasses out of the snow. My brother reamed my dad a new asshole for driving like an ass. We finally made it home after waaaayyyy too many hours in the car.
Today was Emma's birthday party. She had a great time and got entirely too many gifts. :) She is very loved.

wow

Tonight was the start of a very busy weekend for us. Rob hasn't slept since Wednesday. He has been working 24 hours a day to make this game perfect. Tonight, we had a Christmas party with my mom's side of the family. Emma got a pink scarf and jumped up and down for a solid 5 minutes screaming, "It's pink!! It's pink!!!" She wanted to sleep in it! lol When we get together with my mom's family it is a blast. There are sooo many kids. Emma had such a great time playing with all of the cousins. Tomorrow, at noon we have to be out at my mom's house to pile into her van so the girls, Rob, me, my brother and his gf can drive 2 1/2 hours to go to my dad's family Christmas. None of us are very thrilled with the idea. Oh well. Sunday morning Rob is demoing his game at 9:30 an hour away. 1:00 is Emma's party.

Now, onto some very sad news. My friend who is pregnant called tonight. I feel terrible that I have ranted about her, and relished in the fact that she was having a boy. She got the worst news that any mother can ever possibly get. She woke up yesterday to bleeding, her unborn son had no heartbeat. She was put into labor and after 20 hours gave birth to their first son, Noah Jay. My heart is literally breaking for her. I cannot imagine the pain she is going through. I can only put every positive thought that I have for her heart to heal. Rest in peace sweet baby Noah Jay.

got to thinking

Money has been a serious issue for us. Thank God some miracle happened and everything is straightened out. We were in a serious pickle... like serious. As Rob wrote an insanely large rent check, he looked at me and said, "This is like 4-5 months of a mortgage payment." Uh DUH! No shit Sherlock, I have been trying to tell you that we have been dumping money into this shitty apartment complex for 5 damn years. Do you have any idea how much 5 years worth of rent is? $55,200... yeh, seriously. Did you know that we are looking into a house that is currently on the market for $49,900. Yeh, really. Rob and I are both very interested in the place. It is 3 bedrooms with an extra room (maybe a playroom... or office) and a basement. It looks like someone has tried to fix it up. Hardwood throughout the main areas and carpet in the bedrooms. I really want to go look at it and try to get it. I am DYING to get the hell outta here. Did I mention that it is in my home town, right across town from my parents, and a short walk from my best friend's house? Yeh. I am going to push for this.

Wordless Wednesday

I take these snow pictures for my dear friend, Kristin, who lives in Texas.

lunch time

We went out to lunch today. I never thought that it would be so nice to go out to lunch as a family. A sat in the high chair and was loving the attention and oohhs and aahs from on lookers. E got to choose whatever she wanted from the menu, and she picked a chicken sandwich with applesauce. She ate the entire thing, so we got her an Oreo shake. Both of the kids were so well behaved, I couldn't have been happier. It was the best hour we have had as a family lately.

E's birthday party is next weekend, and I haven't started on buying any gifts. I really hope that we are able to swing the money for gifts. I would feel like such a failure if we can't. We are kind of hurting right now, and it is very frightening for us. Rob is working like crazy to be able to make ends meet. I even thought about getting a part time job in retail (shoot me... seriously), but Rob doesn't want me to waste the time for minimum wage. It is times like this that I miss my bartending job, and the ability to make a couple hundred dollars a night with little to no effort. I am so not ready to be gone from my kids though. Belle is entirely too needy at the moment for me to be gone at all.

I really wish that I could really get into the holiday spirit this year. I need to surround myself with wrapping paper and Christmas songs and go to town. I honestly could care less if I got anything. I just want the girls to have a good time. OK, who am I kidding?? A will be happy with a box and some wrapping paper. I want E to have a great time. She is old enough now to be such a blast. I need to go take her to see Santa, this will be the first year... we will have to see how that goes. According to her, she thinks that Santa lives down the road at an old firehouse.

Wordless Wednesday

My reasons to keep smiling.



Beat that.

Happy Turkey Day!

Today was a fantastic day. Well, I mean minus the tiny bit of sleep that I got last night. My poor tiny baby was so unhappy. She only wanted to sleep on me. Just like when she really was my teeny tiny baby. She woke up this morning and wouldn't even hold her own head up. She just wanted to lay on me. She just looked like she didn't feel good. The poor girl was such a trooper today. She was more than happy to be held all day though. My cousin Christopher loves her to death. He is dying to babysit. He fed her so that I could finish eating, and she fell asleep on him.
When A was eating dinner it was the funniest thing ever. She is such a great eater. Her Thanksgiving dinner was squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, shredded turkey and for dessert homemade applesauce. It was the funniest thing ever to watch her face with every bite of applesauce. She would pucker right up. I wish I would have had my camera at the table.
Food was more than fantastic. My mom was so worried about not having enough room. Everyone was happy and had a great time. We all got so very full.
Rob's little sister was home from college for the holiday and she came up and spent the evening with us yesterday. It was so great to be able to hang out with her.

Thirteen things about Tuesday

Here are thirteen things about today.

1. The car we are borrowing broke down in the WalMart parking lot.

2. We got a different car.

3. The car we are borrowing now is one that we are actually buying next week.

4. I gave A a bath.

5. Nothing can make me feel better than the smell of freshly clean baby.

6. Rob brought me home a Big Mac and a fountain coke.

7. I adore fountain Coke from McD's.

8. The Real Housewives of Atlanta reunion is on tonight... I am sooooo excited.

9. I got a link to watch Twilight again. I just might do it.

10. We have awesome friends.

11. Picked up a high chair that a friend is lending us. Seriously, it is practically brand new.

12. Arabel officially moved up a diaper size. (Is it bad that it made me a little sad?)

13. I talked to my mom like 4 times, no joke. I freaking love that lady.

twilight *sigh*

I love the Twilight series. I love that Edward is like the most perfect guy ever. I love that I am 27 and wish that I was a fictional character named Bella so I could make out with him. Seriously.

I went and saw the movie last night. Swoon. Watching Rob for 2 hours was worth the $4.50 for a ticket, no joke. I could have watched him for hours. Did I like it? Yup. Could have it been better... sure. The glittering part was pretty lame on my end, he kind of looked like he accidentally rubbed up against one too many strippers. (Edward would never do that though.) The whole adaptation thing from the book was pretty on par... though there were a couple things they switched up. I guess that I will live. lol I didn't realize that Eric would be a gay Asian kid. The casting for Carlise and Esme really threw me off. Though, I will probably see it at least one more time in the theater, and then buy it when it comes out.

Rob Pattinson is my new crush. The things that I could do to that boy. Yum. Add him to my 5 for sure.

Holy hot.

change, change, change

I am dying for a change. I am so ready to chop off a couple few inches of my hair and dye it super dark. I am so over my longish hair. This is actually the longest that it has been in years. I know why.

I have no idea what in the hell compelled my chunky butt to try on a pair of pre Arabel jeans. I am quite a bit heavier now than I was... (Ok like 20ish pounds heavier.) The SOB's buttoned! A size 9 pair of pants actually buttoned. I will not be wearing them out, b/c they weren't cute on... by any stretch of the imagination. But, my victory for the day is the mere fact that they fit!

I am really looking forward to tomorrow. My parents are taking both girls for the night!! Rob and I will more than likely be checking out the game (MSU v Penn State) with friends. I need a break so I couldn't be happier.

Also, totally going to see Twilight this weekend. Oh Edward... I love you.

laughing hysterically

Vindication is sweet. My "friend" found out she is having a boy. Bwhahahahahaa.

Wordless Wednesday

outrage update and a laugh

After I posted my outrage with the motrin ad, I kept checking in on what other moms thought. Let's just say that the score stands: pissed off moms-1 motrin-0. I am happy to report that they have pulled the ad and are pulling all print ads. There is even an apology up on the site. Does this mean I will run out and buy some motrin? Nope. I do honestly hope that they feel the crunch and POed moms will still boycott them, at least for awhile. I can hear generic ibprofen calling my name. :)

Remember the post about the friend who is pregnant? Yeh so she posted her first pregnancy picture. She is 19 weeks and I can honestly say... she just looks fat. Bwahahahahahahaha! I was actually bigger than her at 10 weeks with Belle. I am evil, but I am enjoying it. She is supposed to find out the sex this week, so pray it is a boy!!! Bwahahahahaa!

Trying to decide on how to spell Arabel's nickname. We obviously call her Arabel, Belle, and Bellie/Belie/etc... I have asked for some input and have gotten some options, I am just trying to decide what is the best. When Rob and I named her (God, what a tedious process that was. I would rather gnaw off my arm than do that again at the moment.) We both decided that spelling her name Arabel was perfect, we could have gone the Arabelle route, but that just looks weird to me now. lol

another shameless plug

Since the holidays are getting closer I am on the lookout for cool gifts. I actually found SteamPunk rings through Twitter. (Oh Twitter how I love thee.) SteamPunk has a shop on Etsy.com, have I mentioned how many hours I have wasted on Etsy? I need to be a millionaire, no joke. Please check out the shop, they have some amazingly cool rings. Want to see some of my faves?? (Ah hem *hint, hint*)





Please check out the blog and the Etsy shop. They are doing a giveaway, check it out!!

Mom on a rampage

You know how you see something and you get sooo upset when you see it you have no idea how to respond?? That is exactly how I felt when I saw the new "mom-versation" from Motrin. I am definitely more open about "crunchy" baby products now than I was with Emma. I am a babywearer, I go to local babywearing meetings, I love my carrier. With that said... I am literally flabbergasted with the new ad they are running. (If you are interested it is just on the motrin homepage. I will not link them as I don't want more click throughs from my blog.)
Here is the word for word from the ad:

"Wearing your baby seems to be in fashion.
I mean, in theory it’s a great idea.
There’s the front baby carrier, sling, schwing, wrap, pouch.
And who knows what else they’ve come up with. Wear your baby on your side, your front, go hands free.
Supposedly, it’s a real bonding experience.
They say that babies carried close to the bod tend to cry less than others.
But what about me? Do moms that wear their babies cry more than those who don’t?
I sure do!
These things put a ton of strain on your back, your neck, your shoulders. Did I mention your back?!
I mean, I’ll put up with the pain because it’s a good kind of pain; it’s for my kid.
Plus, it totally makes me look like an official mom.
And so if I look tired and crazy, people will understand why."

Seriously? Seriously?? Let me just touch on why I am so annoyed.
Let's start with how in fashion it is. Really? So a ridiculous VP was seen wearing her baby, celebs are wearing their babies so now it is the cool, hip, trendy thing to do? No, moms (and dads for that matter) have been wearing their little ones for... well, basically since the beginning of babies. My mom wore me when I was a tot, guess she was almost 30 years ahead of the trend.
In theory it is a good idea. Really? Not in theory, it is a good idea if it fits with your parenting style.
Supposedly, it is a great bonding experience. Well, actually it is a great bonding experience. Thanks to babywearing I have the ability to throw in a load of laundry, do the dishes, run after a crazy kid... all while having my baby close to me. You can nurse in a carrier. I mean hands free nursing? Yeah. Take that supposedly.
I have never once even been in an ounce of pain while babywearing. If you are, you need to adjust your carry. Carriers are made to distribute the weight evenly across your torso and hips evenly. That is why people can wear their kids for hours upon end with no problem. The mom that is in so much pain, that they need a painkiller... please do some reading online, find a local group, go to a birthing center, get help on your carry. There is no shame in asking for help. Maybe you just don't have the best carrier pick for you and your baby.
It totally makes me look like an official mom. Really? I guess carrying a kid around for 9 months doesn't do that.
If I look so tired and crazy people know why. Again, really? How about a baby up every couple hours and crying? I think that has made me far more crazy than babywearing.

I have already written an email to Motrin explaining my distaste for the ad. I think that it makes them look ignorant. I can't wait to see what their retort is. Whoever approved this ad should lose their job. Maybe they should try babywearing before contorting it to make it seem like such a painful experience. The condescending tone is another issue. Congrats Motrin on making moms all over pissed off beyond belief at your ignorance. It will be a cold day in hell before they get any of my money.
Poor timing as well... the ad started playing during babywearing week. Wow just wow.

sleepy

I knew that when I woke up this morning something wasn't right. I guess I finally got the crud. After spending most of the morning trying to keep from spewing (hot right?)I knew I was a hot mess. Rob and I made some cheddar broccoli a la Panera style. It took like an hour but it was worth it. The soup was awesome. After a nice big bowl with crusty bread, I passed out. Like for the next 7ish hours! (Whhhhaaaaaaattttt???)
Belle is totally sucked into the Alvin and the Chipmunks movie. It is hilarious to watch. She dances around when they sing.
I am totally boring today.

yay for me!

I am really getting into this whole blogger thing, I like it waaaaay better than the dumb livejournal page that I have for the family stuff. Anywho... thanks to my darling friend Kristin, she pointed me towards this pretty kick ass site to customize my blog. (Keep on the lookout for changes... I am just digging the blue at the moment.) Due to one of their tutorials, I was able to actually make my own blog signature!! Hooray for me.
Might I just add that dafont.com sucks me in everytime I go there. I was there for hours just looking (and downloading) new fonts.

milestones

Well, I had to move the baby out of the bassinet part of the pack-n-play. She was standing up and jumping up and down. She is not even 7 months old yet. I think that she is loving the crib though, she has a ton more room.

Em informed me today that she wants a princess tea party for her birthday. OK, I can handle that, I think. Except, I will not be paying $250 for some tea party place. Can you say insane??? Plus, I am guessing that if the Disney trip pans out we can go a little more low key for her party. I mean, she is going to be 4, she doesn't even really have friends. lol I have a couple people (and their kids) that would come. I have no idea how to make a princess tea party fun for boys. I think that I am going to make her another tutu dress that is pink and purple for her to wear. Maybe this year we won't have a crazy snowstorm so people actually show up.

Rob and I had a good talk last night. I brought up the fact that I am ready to give up on the idea of us getting married. I know that we will be together, but I want to do it the way that we both want to. Rob said that he wants to get me the ring that I deserve. (all together now... awwwww) The thing is, it seems like there will always be something more important to spend money on. He mentioned maybe the spring. I don't know, I am not getting my hopes up but at least this way I can be extra surprised and thrilled when I actually get a proposal. He thinks I am funny b/c I look at bridal magazines and have so much planned out. lol

A friend of mine took pictures of the girls when we went out to lunch, and she is using them as samples on her webpage and blog. She has decided that she would try her hand at a small photography business. Plus, she said she would take the girls pictures anytime for free! Hooray!

I wanted to say that I feel like I have been really negative lately. I am hoping that changes soon. I am making a effort to not be so negative all the time.

An add on..

To the peeves list:

*People that work their ass off for another person and yet to get paid.
*Lying. I am so fucking tired of bullshit.
*Living paycheck to paycheck.
*The idea of going back to work when the idea makes me sick. I am screwed. Period.
*Thinking that I am fucking stupid. I am not a god damn retard.
*Money and people that don't pay.
*The idea that this trip won't happen.
*The thought of a proposal. I am at the giving up stage. I am pretty sure everyone in the world will get engaged before me.

List of Peeves

I figured that I should probably get my list of peeves down somewhere. Here you go you lucky duck.

*When your significant other sets their alarm, but then pushes the snooze button 800 times. Seriously, what is the point if you aren't going to get up when it goes off.
*Alarms in general. There is nothing worse than getting woken up to an obnoxious buzzing or beeping. Plus, it wakes up the baby.
*The Wiggles. They are just plain creepy.
*Onions. They freaking annoy me.
*People who don't show up/call when they say that they will. If we made plans and you are going to back out... just let me know- don't leave me hanging.
*The fact that my daughter refuses to wear pants.
*The fact that my daughter refuses to wear clothes 90% of the time.
*The stupid shows that Rob chooses to turn on. I get it, you like space... but you don't even watch. You pretend like you will, but you are on your computer never looking up.
*Saying that you are working, when I know damn well that you are on the RCMB. You can't fool me.
*Annoying toys. Really, do we need a talking vacuum cleaner. No, the correct answer is no.
*Right wing nut jobs.
*When the kitchen is clean, your trash goes in the trash can, your dirty fork goes in the dishwasher. I swear if I wipe off the stove one more time after you cook and leave everything in the pans... I may punch you. Just saying.
*Excuses for EVERYTHING. You know who you are. Heaven forbid you just be wrong.

I am sure there will be more. It is still early.

Wordless Wednesday

Shameless Plug

I am going to a shameless plug for some contest entries.
Win a Build-a-Bear Gift Card and Video Game

It is to win a gift card to Build a Bear and a Build a Bear video game for the Wii. Emma is literally obsessed with the puppy she made there almost 2 years ago. It is a puppy dressed in a Sleeping Beauty dress, that she appropriately named... drumroll..... Princess Puppy. Sweet little Princess Puppy has been accompanying us everywhere lately. She eats every meal with us, goes on every errand. We forgot to grab her to tag along for a birthday party and I thought that Emma would have a coronary... right there. She lived through it when I told her Princess Puppy was taking a nap. (Good thinking mom!) So, anyway... that is my shameless plug to get some extra entries. :)

OMG!!

(When you read the title, please say it in that valley girl voice, and only say the letters as if you are speaking in txt language. It makes me feel young and hip. If only to amuse me, do it.)

OK. I could literally pee my pants at the possibility that was brought to my attention about 20 minutes ago. I look over and notice that Rob is looking up what seems to be some sort of travel site. Normal occurrence as he is basically the travel bitch when his dad is traveling. I guess typing in travel.yahoo is too tough for him. Oh well, more billable hours I suppose. Anywho, so I ask (kind of snottily might I add- whoops) what he is looking at. He then informs me that we need a vacation. Uh, no shit Sherlock. Our lives have been a whirlwind of poop and mouthy 3 year olds, mixed with him working like a bajillion different jobs and school. (Wow, I really am a plethra of tangents today huh. Good thing the only people that read this know how loopy I am, and still love me for it.) He was looking at airfare to Orlando. Hooray for warm weather in December!!! Oh did I mention that he brings up the fact that he would like to take the girls to Disney? Big kicker here... ON EMMA'S BIRTHDAY. I have a princess that would DIE if she actually met princesses, and Mickey and the gang. He wants to stay on site, and have breakfast with the characters for her. He is totally going to win the best dad ever award. I will never be able to live up to that, but hey I will take it for the Disney trip!!! We would also drive down to the Boca area and see his family. (Who I have never met, by the way.) We would end up staying there for a day or two and drive back to Orlando to catch the flight home. Looks like I have some serious Disney forums to scour for info. I want to do this so bad. Emma would die. She just might be good for the rest of her life if we do this. (OK, that would never happen, but it is a nice dream- OK?)

On a totally different note: I get a call from my dad tonight. Weird. He is a little... ummm... well... not with it anymore. He had a really bad motorcycle when I was 16ish and hasn't been the same since. He used to be an electrical engineer, he designed robots. Now, he gets jobs at equal oppurtunity employers. True story, he is the head janitor at a place that hires people with head injuries. (Holy another tangent.) Anyway, phone rings Daddy-O on the line. He tells me that I am invited to the big family Christmas. Insert gag here. It is with his side of the family. The side of the family that insisted that we all go to church together for my grandma's 80th birthday to surprise her. I was a bar manager, and didn't get off work until 4am. I drug my tired ass out of bed at 6:30 to get me and the family ready for church. We all show up and dear ole grandpa gets up to introduce his whole family to the congregation. He forgets my effing name. Seriously. So glad that I got up for that. I stop by my mom's house after church to tell her about the mortifying experience... she literally makes me a drink at like 10am because spending time with them... required alcohol. (Another tangent. Man, I am on a tangent roll.) He took the time to call like a month early so I am pretty much stuck going. Sweet, now I get to drive 3 hours there to hang out with a family where I am the black sheep (the bro-ham takes part of the heat too) and then, pack up 2 cranky kids and drive 3 hours back. Then, I get to get all of Emma's birthday party stuff ready for a party the next day. But, hey at least I know that sunny Orlando will be right around the corner. I swear to God, if it is not sunny in Orlando I will freak out.

snow

I have never made it a secret that I do not enjoy winter. I despise snow. Well, it isn't the snow so much but the fact that it has to be ASS cold for it to be here. I would love to wear flip flops all year long. Plus, now I have the pleasure of fighting with Emma on clothing choices. She refuses to wear any sort of pants. Stupid ugly boys wear pants. She insists on wearing dresses everyday. Not a problem if we are going to be in the house, as we prefer it to be a balmy 80 inside. lol (It's true... and our bill isn't that high, it helps to live on the second floor.) I am going to have to invest in some cute wintery dresses lots of tights and leggings. Now, I just have to figure out how to convince her that to play outside she will have to wear pants. She hates pants. If I manage to wrangler her into a pair of jeans they come off as soon as we walk in the door. Literally, she is tugging at them the second we walk in. In fact we normally have to remind her that she has to take her shoes off first.
Yay for winter. GAG.

Weekend update

We ended up pulling some favor out of our ass and went to the game. We also found out that the payment Rob was supposed to have gotten on Friday at the latest... didn't even get mailed until Thursday. Oh course it wasn't. Good thing that he got an email saying that it was sent out Tuesday. Seriously.
We found a car to buy. Finally. We are going to be getting a great deal on it. I am not thrilled with the idea of driving a ten year old car, but we don't have much of a choice. So, instead I will silently bitch about it here.
We met up with the whole fam on Friday night to have pizza and beer. Most of the family got to meet Arabel for the first time, and hand her around. Em had a freaking blast with the kids. My cousin told me to bring her over to play. I will have to take them up on that. She really needs some friends.
Saturday was a very early morning. We got up and got the kids ready to go. We were out at my friend's house by 9, and headed back into EL. The kids stayed with my friend while Rob and I tailgated. My mom can throw one hell of a tailgate. She was not joking around. They had the canopy all set up with a camping stove, picnic table and grill. Not to mention the insane amount of food. My mom made us all breakfast burritos and I made the morning cocktails. Bloody Mary's seemed to be the drink of choice. :) I switched to whiskey and coffee after that. The game was freezing cold (40 and windy) but it was worth it to be able to watch the seniors play their last game at Spartan Stadium. They pulled out another win. Now, they have a by week and then it is on to Penn State. Pray to the football gods that somehow, MSU can win against the Nittany Lions. It would be so awesome to be a Big Ten championship again.

Oh yeh, IT IS FUCKING SNOWING. Gaaah!!!! I am going to have to go buy Emma like a 1000 pairs of leggings or something because she refuses to wear pants, in winter... in Michigan. Shoot me.

OK the following is just going to be me being a petty bitch.

I have this "friend" that is pregnant. I hope that she gains like a million pounds. I am sure that she is dying for a girl. I hope that it is a boy. I know that it seems silly, but she hasn't been the greatest of friends lately. I am tired of her getting everything that she wants. Of course, she meets a guy after me, and gets engaged and married first. Boom, less than 3 months later she is pregnant. Ugh. Btw, not totally sure that I will be going to her baby shower. I don't want to at all. I don't want to watch people ooh and aah over her. I got the message (yup message) that she was pregnant via myspace. Seriously. Kiss my ass.

Pardon my French

You have been warned this will not have G rated language. With that said...

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck! I hate this. I hate waiting on a check that we were told was mailed on Tuesday. Yeh, here it is Friday with no effing check. We need to get formula, diapers and wipes. We are supposed to be going to a football game tomorrow. Tickets have already been paid for and we need to pay back my aunt tomorrow. Yet, here we are... fucking broke. I don't understand why this happens. It is like it happens every fucking time we have something planned. I am upset. I get to look like the poor ass to my family. I don't even want to show my face to be honest. I am going to go crawl into a hole.

My MNO update

I went to the mom's night out hosted by Lansing Moms Like Me. I honestly had a great time. (OK minus the kind of snooty bitches that sat by us. I don't think that it was intention, but they were a little bitchy. Though, they may have been slightly intimidated by me and Tamara. We pretty much always have a great time when we are together. lol) We got there and signed up for door prizes. We all got 4 tickets to the MSU women's volleyball game at the end of the month. I also got a really cute canvas bag for being one of the first site members. (Totally geek moment there.) I won a t-shirt/magnet/pink pen package, I got another tote bag too. They were giving out free massages and had great food. They had tons of great prizes too!! The site manager told me that they are hoping to do it once a month.

Great night all in all. I am really hoping that the days ahead are as good. :)

Oy Vey

I am not even Jewish but oy vey doesn't even begin to describe the way I am feeling.
Arabel was up and down all night long. At 5am she decided she was unhappy and just wanted to scream. Nothing was making her calm down. I was about to lose it. I pulled the pillow over my head and let Rob deal with it after a half and hour. She was overtired this morning and refused to nap- until just now. My 6 month old should be taking 3 naps a day... yeh, right.
Emma is doing everything in her power to make my head explode. Oh and guess who I caught with a mouth full of twizzler earlier? Good guess...
I need a nap. Seriously. I need a solid hour and a half of quiet. I am trying to convince Em that laying on the couch with me would be super fun. She isn't buying it. I should be cleaning or showering but that is so not happening until I get some silence. At least I have a kid free evening to look forward to. (OK, that and an abundance of shows!!)

On another totally different note my friend, Kristin introduced me to an awesome site where I can change up the whole look of my blog. Look forward to that!!

Addicted

I am sadly addicted to blogging. I have 3 blogs and a twitter account. Each of them have their own purpose, so I suppose that is a good thing. Right? Right.

Super excited about the week/weekend to come. Not often that you will hear those words come out of my mouth. I am soooo boring normally. Tomorrow, I am going to a local moms party. It is KID FREE!!! and they will be giving away tons of awesome giveaways and freebies. Oh yeh, did I mention FREE massages??? Yeh. Yeh. Massages for FREE, free stuff and adult conversation with no children in tow. Holy crap I may wet my pants with excitement just thinking about it. On Friday, I have family coming in from 3 states. I am so excited to see everyone, and have everyone meet Arabel for the first time. Plus, they are a freaking blast, so I know that I will have a great time. On Saturday we will be tailgating and going to the final MSU home game of the season. I couldn't be more excited. My parents do not mess around, so I know our tailgate will be KILLER!

A change has come!

Rob and I have been following the presidential election quite closely. OK, really Rob was starting to bug the crap out of me by being slightly obsessed. There is only so much CNN a girl can handle. (Well, unless Anderson Cooper is on, he is such a dreamboat.)
Last night, I was glued to CNN, I couldn't tear myself away. Watching the numbers roll in was such a high. When they called the election for Barack Obama, I could not have been happier. The nation that I am so proud to call home exudes hope. It was such a monumental moment in history. I am honored that I was a part of it, and proud to know that my daughters were alive to witness it. (OK, they were both in bed... but you get my drift.) Listening to the President Elect's speech last night was so moving. There were times when I had tears in my eyes and a huge smile on my face. For the first time in quite a few years, I have hope for the future.
Yes We Can, and YES WE DID!!