Monsers and Diapeys

Sissy is getting to be just a hoot. She does/says some of the funniest things. For instance, every time we go to bed she asks me to hold her. Okay, that's fine. Then she snuggles right up against me and tells me that I have to hold her or the "monser get me". Then I decide what to tell her...there is not a "monser" or I won't let it get her. Hmmm....
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She has gotten to where when she, or Bubba, needs a diaper she will get one for us. Last night she went to get one for her. Hubby and I always tease each other and tells her that the other one will change her. Last night wasn't any different. Finally she looked at us both and without any hesitation, she says, " 'Mon guys, shange me". Hubby and I looked at each other and just laughed, which in turn, made her keep repeating it. LOL
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I'm sure that we will continue to witness her sassiness smartness as she gets older. Until then, it will continue to be cute. I hope!

"Short" Story #1...Crush 2 Hubby

I have a few stories that I want to share with you. But they are ALL really long! So I decided to split them up and in true blogging fashion, give them to you in chronological order. So here's the first "short" story:
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At the age of 16, I started working at a big retail store. In my first few weeks, I met, and knew, everyone! One guy in particular caught my eye. He was stunning. A little shorter than me, skinny, light brown marine cut hair, and a mustache/gotee thing going on. He was also 20 going on 21 and engaged to be married.
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Without really realizing it, I became friends with his fianc'e. I had the biggest crush on this guy, but knew it was just a little "schoolgirl crush". I mean c'mon, he was 4 1/2 years older than me! When his fianc'e and I would talk, I was sure that I would see him at some point, and I did.
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I went on with my life, met another guy. Dated him off and on thru my junior and senior years of high school, and once I graduated, we ended up getting married. Shortly after we moved to a city about 2 1/2 hours away. Things between us got bad worse. I would drive back home almost every weekend while he would stay up there and do his own thing.
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One weekend that I drove home, I met up with the stunning guy that I used to work with. He was with one of our mutual friends that also used to work with us. So the three of us would sit in the parking lot and talk. I learned that this stunning guy, Crush, had gotten a divorce. So he was my ear when I needed to vent or cry...he had been there before.
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When my husband and I moved back home in less than a year, things escalated to really bad. We celebrated made it to our one year anniversary, without killing each other...literally...in June. I filed for divorce in November.
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When I left, I was scared for my life and did not want him to be able to find me. My crush lived with his brother and they invited me to stay with them. Crush worked nights, brother worked days, someone would always be home with me. I took them up on that offer.
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Needless to say, Crush and I ended up falling for each other. Hard. We started dating and when my divorce became final in January, we got engaged. In September, Crush became Hubby.

(At our wedding reception)
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Tune in later for "Short" Story #2

I gotta believe that, right?

As a member of Cafemom, we frequently make fun of those moms who posts things like, "My (insert any relative here) has (insert any ailment here). Do you think they need to see a doctor?" When you figure out that you, in fact, are one of those people...not so funny!

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Hi. My name is Shauna and I am a Hypochondriac!

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Swine Flu Symptoms ~ Check

Cancer ~ I got 1, 2, 3, 6 places that could be skin cancer

Stroke ~ My right arm feels funny along with the right side of my neck

TMJ ~ Ok, well that I do have. Ugghhh

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I figured out I was this way when I worked at the hospital about 6-7 years ago. Well, not so much figured it out, as it transgressed. So my problem, besides the neurological one, is that I refuse to go to the doctor, unless it is something where I can barely move.

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In the past 6 years, I have been to the doctor 3 times...not including with the kiddos. Once I had a bladder infection/stomach infection/UTI all at the same time! Yeah, definitely thought I was dying then! The other times were both sinus infections. If you've had one, you know!

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With this "problem", I don't take my children to the doctor either. I assume that they will get over what ever it is that they have within a few days to a week. If it lasts longer, then I will break down and take them. Don't hate...it never gets that far!!!

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My point? What if something I have, or they have, IS, in fact, something bad? What if one of us do get this stinking Swine Flu, and I roll it off as just a normal cold? What if one of those spots are in fact cancerous and we don't find out until it's too late? What if my pain is not a stroke, but in fact something almost as bad? What if? What if? What if?

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If I lived my life on "What ifs", I would never leave my house! In fact, I probably would still be living with my parents so that they could be there in case something happens to me! I'm sure they would just love that!

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I think Christopher Robin said it best when he told Winnie the Pooh...

"Promise me, you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, Stronger than you seem, and Smarter than you think."

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Thanks, Christopher Robin, I needed that!

It's a Small World After All

Today I logged onto my blog and noticed that I had a new follower. When I went to check out who, it just so happened to be a friend of mine. A friend that became my friend by order of coincidences.
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We met thru Cafemom, being as we were not only from the same state, but just so happened to have grown up in the same county. We started talking, and eventually figured out that I graduated with her husband! We added each other as friends on MySpace. I learned from her pages that she and her hubby were moving back to the county we all grew-up in. (Hubby and I had recently moved back about a year before that.)
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One day, she commented on my page that she had seen Hubby's MySpace profile pic. She noted that the vehicle in the background of his pic just so happened to be hers....parked at their house!! They had moved right across the street from us!!
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We didn't get the privilege to hang out together, though it would have been fun. Between me working and neither of us really being the type to say, "Hey come over and lets hang", (I did make my way up there a time or two though), it just never happened before they moved.
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Anyways, being the blog lurker reader that I am, I caught myself up with Ashley's life thru her blog. Yes, I spent all the better part of the day reading it. By doing that, I learned/got ideas for a few things. One thing I learned, I am a bad blogger. Yes, I have over 10 followers, but I apparently haven't blogged about anything worth commenting about. (The most comments I have had is 15, and that's because it was a Blog Party post.)
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I also got some ideas for blog posts in the future. When I am having a brain fart kinda day, but know that it is about time for a post. In fact, I knew that I would forget the ideas I got from her, btw...I hope you don't mind that I got ideas from you, Ash, so I had to write them down.
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So in the near, very near...as in probably tomorrow, I will use one of the said ideas for my post.
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Ash, if you have objections, you better tell me know, girl!! LOL

So exciting....uggh

I haven't had much to blog about here lately. It hasn't been a very exciting week.
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We did have some beautiful weather...until the clouds and rain started coming in this week. Last week was so nice and hot that we were able to buy the kids a small little plastic pool and let them swim. Well, Sissy did anyways. Bubba didn't much like the colder than normal water.
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Sunday, the kids and I went to my parents house to have lunch and spend time with some family. It was really nice. Now that our church has 2 services, we all get out at different times. So we don't get to have those family dinners anymore. We all really miss them!
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Yesterday we were supposed to get some bad storms...praise God that we barely got any rain! I am so paranoid of storms tornadoes storms that I was nervous all Sunday night and Monday day! When the sun started showing, I calmed down.
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We had a nice night last night. One that we don't have much of any more. We Hubby has been watching the NBA Playoffs this week, and last night was no different. We ate dinner, and as usual during this time of the year, I got on the computer while he was watching the games. Much to my surprise he asked for me to come sit on the couch with him and the kids. Keep in mind, a 2 1/2 year and a 9 month will not sit still for more than a minute. So, the two of us sat watching basketball until Bubba and I were ready for bed. When you have kids, those moments are far and in between, at least it has been for us. So it was nice to get back there.
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With Mother's Day, and my birthday, fast approaching, I have been trying to come up with ideas for what I would like from Hubby and the kids. I told Hubby that I would love to have a Mother's Ring for Mother's Day, and for my birthday, I would love to go to Chili's, or somewhere nicer than Wendy's Hamburgers, for my birthday. With or without kids, either is fine with me.
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Today? Today is like any other. Hubby is working, Sissy is playing in her room watching TV. Bubba is sleeping....for now. And me, well, I'm bored. Ready for a nap....

Too many thoughts...

...have been running thru my head. When I wake up at 3am every morning to feed Bubba, I think of odd things or thoughts.

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1) Why is Bubba still waking up during the middle of the night to eat? He's 9 months old!

2) Why does Sissy refuse to be potty trained? She's 2.5!

3) What do I really want for Mother's Day (May 10) and then my birthday(May 20)? I was thinking a mother's ring and dinner for Mother's Day, then I really want an iPod clock for my bedroom for my bday.

4) When is Hubby going to get time off?? I kinda miss him...a little bit.

5) Is there anything I can do to help with the clean-up around town...with a 2.5 year and a 9 month old?

6) Even though I am done, finally, with the Twilight Saga books, what happens next???

7) What theme are we going to do Bubba's 1st Birthday party in? Sports, Trucks, Animals, Superman...

8) Where in the world are we going to have the party at? It has to hold about 60 people, our house doesn't, and close to town.

9) What do I need to be doing in the church? I don't feel like I am doing enough.

10) What am I going to do when Hubby has to work overnights???

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I can't believe that I have so much running thru my head at the time of the morning, but I do. EVERY NIGHT! I wish that I could take some Tylenol PM at least one night and get some good restful sleep, but with Bub still waking up in the middle of the night, it wouldn't be so good.

Ehhh....

Have I waken up yet??

I am having a had time getting my life back on track! After this past week with my grandma passing and then burying her and having a tornado rip thru my town in the same day, and then Easter Sunday...I'm a little beat.

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Hubby has worked the past week just about non-stop. He has worked 12 hour days every day since last Tuesday, with the exception of Thursday when we had the funeral. Of course we did go to the store after the tornado hit, and worked for about 6 hours...so he really didn't get a day off.
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Easter was so serene, except for the rain that we endured. The kids and I went to early morning service at church, Hubby had to work-of course. It was a beautiful service. Wonderful song worship and then a beautiful sermon. I heard of the Crucifixion and death of Jesus, like I never had before! It was amazing!!
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After church, we went down to my grandpa's house and celebrated with a big Easter dinner. In between rain showers, the kids hunted eggs. Sissy found so many that we had to transfer hers from her basket into a Wal-Mart sack...twice! We had so much fun, it was nice after the past week...
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I was going to take lots of pics of the kids, being as it was Bubba's first Easter, but some dunce grabbed the camera and forgot to grab the battery to it that was charging....yeah, that was me! Thankfully my aunt and cousin had their cameras and got some of he kiddos, but I haven't seen them yet. The only ones I got of Bubba was when we got home and he was exhausted, and cranky!

(I finally got a little smile out of him)

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I just have to share this picture of Sissy that I took the other night. She was sooo posing!

(Isn't she the cutest?!?!)
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Hopefully the rest of my week will be pretty uneventful. Hubby has to work late again tonight, but then has tomorrow off. The only he has to do is attend the funeral for one of the victims of the tornado. (The gentleman worked for the store). We have missed Hubby so much so it will be nice to get to see him for more than a couple hours either before bed or work!
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Hope everyone else is blessed this week!

Tornado Hits My Town ~ Complete Devastation

April 9, 2009 will forever be engraved into my head and heart.

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Yesterday morning we buried my grandmother. The weather was rainy and nasty looking all day, and was supposed to get worse during the evening hours. After the funeral, burial, and visting with family was over I went home and started watching The Weather Channel. They, along with our local news, were tracking a storm just north of us, and one just south of us. They said that both of them were going to miss my town. Relief!

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Then all of a sudden the sirens started going off for a fourth time that night. I switched the channel to TWC and it was saying that there was a storm with some rotation that was headed directly for us! I freaked out!!!!

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Right then, the power went out. Hubby went outside to see if he could see anything, when it started pouring down rain, wind blowing in every which direction, and hailing dime size hail. We got the kids into a small closet that is in our master bathroom and hunkered down. Hubby is normally one to stand out and watch it, but the fact that he was taking over with us, put me on edge.

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When everything had quit, we walked outside and noticed stars. Yep, clear skies! Ridiculous!!! Not having any contact with people other than in our neighborhood, mobile phones were not working, we didn't know the extint of the damage.

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Our next door neighbor works with Hubby and walked over and asked if he knew about the store. We told him no and that's when he said it got hit. We hopped in the car and drove over to make sure that everyone was okay and see if there was anything we could do to help.

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I went to check on my sister and her family, who seemed to be in the path of destruction, and they were all okay...so relieved! Unfortunately, not everyone was so fortunate. Last count said that there were over 30 injuries and 3 fatalities here. I have included pictures that I was able to take, though I was not able to get to the worst part of it due to police and guard having it blocked off, and some that others including friends have taken.

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Please pray for our little town as it is completely devastating!!

(The roof of a local bank)

(Debris wrapped around a parts store)

(An uprooted tree behind the parts store)

(Local insurance company)

(Tire place)

Tornado Damage

Motherhood...to work or not to work

So off the sad stuff for right now, (I have cried way too much for now) I wanted to write something that came to my mind while watching Oprah today.

It was about "motherhood". One of the topics was the debate between working moms and staying at home moms.

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I have always been a working woman. Never thought about doing it any other way. When our DD was born, I went back to work 2 months later. It was tough trying to find people we trusted enough with our baby, we refused to put her in daycare.

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When unexpectedly we found out we were pregnant, again. Hubby and I kinda thru around ideas about what to do when baby got here. We never really decided until it was time for me to return to work though. We decided that as hard as it was to find people to keep Sissy, it was going to be even harder to find someone to keep both of them.

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People ask me if I am still working or not all the time. When I reply that I stay at home with the kids, it always gets followed by this reply, "Oh that's good....if you 'can' do it, do it."

To which I ALWAYS want to reply, "We make due."

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There are more times than not that I wish I was a working mom. It's hard financially on us. We struggle so much sometimes that we have to choose between paying a bill or buying some food. We have been blessed here lately, that it hasn't been an issue. But I am just waiting for when it gets hard again. Yes I am a pessimist!

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Not only is it hard financially, but stress wise, and emotionally, it's tough. There are days that I wish I had a "paying job" to where I could escape from the havocs of motherhood. Adult conversation, better pay, lunch breaks, better pay, the excitement of coming home to my wonderful family, better pay.

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Now, for the upside of being a SAHM. I love being able to keep my house clean, most days. I love watching my kids grow up, seeing Bubba start crawling and pull up for the first time will forever be embedded in my memories. I missed that with Sissy...I was working. Being able to take naps with them....ahhhh!!!

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Anyways, one woman said it best on the show..."You do what works best for you and your family." Yes it's tough on us sometimes. Yes, sometimes I wish things were different. But I wouldn't change it for anything! I am truly blessed that God has made it possible for me to stay home. It's not "able" to do it, it's "allowed" to do it.

She's gone

Just recieved the phone call...Granny passed away....I won't be around for a while!

A Very Emotional Post

Today my niece was baptized. The kids and I went and planned on staying thru service. Towards the end, Bubba started getting tired and cranky so we high-tailed it out of there. Something was telling me to go to the nursing home to see my grandmother.
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Unfortunately Granny isn't getting any better. In fact she is getting worse. She has been in a nursing home here in town since she's been out of the hospital, which has been about a month or so. Her kidney's have shut down. She is in so much pain that yesterday she asked for family. Most all of us went up there to see her (there were some family members that live out of town and didn't make it in until today).
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When we went today, she was basically telling us everything but Good-bye. One of my aunts asked if she was ready and she said yes and for us to just let her go. All her kids were there and sitting with her, along with my grandpa. I went in to see her and tell her I loved her. She looked at me and said, "Just keep the family going."
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It's so hard because I know that she is ready to go because she's in so much pain. And I know that is just tired of it all. But I also know that she is worried about our family. She is the matriarch of the family and she knows it!!
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I just talked to one of my cousins and she told me that they had put her on a morphine drip because she is in so much pain. The doctors told the kids 24 hours at the most....
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I have already made plans on what to do with the kiddos if when something so that's one thing I don't have to stress about. Trying to corral a 2 1/2 year old and a 9 month old during this time is not a good idea.
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Anyways, thanks for listening to me. If you know me personally, you know that I am an extremely emotional person and that writing about my feelings are so much easier than actually talking about them. So thanks for letting me us this as an outlet!