Be Honest!

How many of you knew that the tune for "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and the "ABC" song where the same?

I am nearly floored at the amount of people who never put the 2 tunes together.....

No time (or desire) for flowery wordiness....

- Ben - fever, no idea why, no symptoms other than fever, took 5 hour nap and fever went away. Keeping fingers crossed.

- Nothing cuter than a 20 month old trying to get a wad of double stick tape off of their fingers, but having no idea why it "won't let go"

- Is it adorable or terrifying that the 3 1/2 yr old knows how to use the pause/play buttons on the DVR remote?

- Is it okay to laugh out loud when said 3 1/2 yr old pauses Jimmy Neutron, heads to the bathroom, turns around and finds favorite book, places it under arm and heads back to bathroom announcing, "Mommy I gotta go poop, I'll let you know in a minute...." referring to the "I'm done come wipe me" yell.

- Is it wrong that even though I have been home all day, I have no desire whatsoever to cook dinner?

Here's to not playing the game......

I was pissed.... I was in a pissy mood, I had spent all day doing 2 jobs because my assistant did not come in to work, I had a lot more to do and I needed to make arrangements to make sure Mike would pick up the kids.

Call his cell... straight to voice mail....

Okay, so we have 2 otpions here... his cell battery is dead or he is out of range. I am praying for the latter since that one gave me even a hope of being able to speak to him. I know that his company is basically shutting down after 2 PM and BBQ-ing to celebrate a good week last week. It is now 4:oo.

Call his cell... straight to voice mail....

Damn it!

Maybe I can luck out and he went home because it was hot and he is actually at home watching TV....no luck.

I am hoping upon hope that he is taking into consideration that I am always the one who has to chauffer the kids around and his early day is a great opportunity to pick up the kids. I know he will go back to the house first so I call and call and call and call....

In between calls I am trying to speed through the last things of my day, shortcut some other issues, and cram an hour's worth of work into 10 minutes. I know I am defeated now, and I am going to have to risk a ticket for 90 miles an hour in order to get to the kids on time.

This is were it goes bad.... all this erratic behavior, work cramming and straight to voice mail calls has turned my PMS into overdrive.....

Why am I always the one to get the kids to school?
Why am I always the one to pick the kids up from school?
Why am I always the one to decide, cook, and clean dinner?
Why am I always the one to why always the one to get the kids up and dressed and breakfast made?
Why am I always the one to clean up breakfast?
Why am I always the one to clean the whole house?
Why am I always the one to think of what we need at the grocery?
Why am I always the one to go to the grocery?
Why am I always the one to do the laundry - gather, sort, wash, dry, fold, and put away?

WHY IS IT ALWAYS ASSUMED THAT I DO EVERYTHING?!?!?!?!??!?

So rather than turn right out of daycare to go home I turned left. I took them to dinner with a playground and sat there while my phone rang and rang and rang and rang... for an hour.....

I came home, Mike meets us outside. The boys run up to him, I walk to the other side of the car and into the house with no words.

He knows exactly what is wrong... he knows exactly why I am pissed....and guess what....

He doesn't play my game.....
He refuses to play my tantrum game.....
We get the kids ready and into bed....
I walked into the bedroom and read... he walked into the living room and laughed out loud at something he was watching on TV....

As pissed as I was... I was kinda proud of him.....

This morning's rituals were just the same.... he called later in the morning and asked how everybody was this morning..... fine..... and how are YOU this morning... I smiled at the comment but was cold on the line...

I don't appreciate that comment.
Okay.
From now on, it is NEVER okay to assume that I will take care of everything.
Okay.... but if you want my help in the mornings that means you guys have to get up ealier...
(Ouch)Okay... that's a deal
Okay.
Love you - bye.
Love you - bye.

Cheers to that sorry son-of-a-hoo-haw for not playing my game....

I feel like Chicken Little

I am pretty sure that we are witnessing the beginning of World War III.

Here is my question. Back when World War I and II were starting... did they know? Is it something that just slowly creeps up on us or is it a major incident that rocks the world and the next thing you know we are running for cover and praying for our lives?

And why do we have to continue to buy safety? Someone says they have a bomb.... it could reach us and cause major physical/economic harm..... here is some money, do you promise not to bomb us? 10 years later..... we have a bomb.... now we want this.....

I can't watch TV or read the articles anymore, but I can't stop.....

What the??!!?!?

These are the 4 headlines on My Yahoo....

Barbaro (the Kentucky Derby horse) doing much better....

Hezbollah: "We are ready for open war"....

Mr. T has post Katrina makeover....

DC crime emergency prompts extra patrol....

A horse with an infection, a Middle East War, and 80's fallen star's clothing choices, and a spike in crime in our nation's capital.

These are the 4 most important things going on in the world right now 4:15 PM, Friday, July 14, 2006.....

Seriously people......

Take me out.....

Never under-estimate the power of letting off a little steam......

We were blessed enough to get free tickets to see the Astros play. We had never been to the ballpark, never taken the kids to an event like this, the roof was closed, and Clements was pitching.... good times all around!



We got there an hour early... we never get ANYWHERE an hour early! It gave us plenty of time to figure our way around the park, find our seats, and get situated before all the crowds showed up.



We were up there... as the pictures show, but I don't think there is a bad seat in the house. It was perfect view of the field and perfect view of the big screen.



Max was a little uneasy at first - partly the crowds, partly the height, but he turned out to be okay once we sat down. Ben just thought the entire crowd was there to look at him and he flirted with anyone who made eye contact.



So the game was a slow starter... Max loved watching the screen and hearing the announcer....Now batting yadda yadda....Picture up on the big screen.... crowd roar and claps....

Mommy... did that man (the announcer) say my name?!?!
No baby I don't think so

Max and Ben weren't sure what to do with mommy as she kept hoot'in and holler'in and mommy doesn't normally break out into spontaneous applause.

Max mentioned something about hitting the ball and knocking down the big buildings just outside the ballpark. Mommy... I gotta go pee pee... mommy I want a hot dog...... mommy I want a soda.... mommy did that man say my name?!?

The game was getting pretty good.... by the bottom of the 8th we had done a lot of good yelling for coming back from behind to a 2 run lead that included a great home run! Everyone is happy....

Now batting yadda yadda....

I quickly start to play with Max and say, listen baby... I think he said your name they are all clapping for you!!! We all cheer and smile and watch the next batter up to plate. By this time it was getting late in the game, and I wanted to leave before the crowds. Max was very eager and down-down-down the series of steps we go.

We are at the exit and I start to feel a drag behind me....I look down and Max is crying.... no.... SOBBING! We get out the doors and walk to the side.

Are you okay? Are you hurt? What's wrong?!?!
Through heart breaking tears he says, I didn't get my turn....
What angel?
I didn't get to hit the ball.....

W-H-O-O-S-S-S-H-H-H-H!!!! The entire game runs through my mind and I realize what has just happened. Max truly thought that all the pictures of the crowd were the people "the man" was announcing out loud and it was THEIR turn to go and hit the ball!!! He kept watching the TV and listening to "the man" to hear his name. And I added to his fantasy by saying that "the man" had said his name and shortly afterward getting up and heading downstairs!

I told him that mommy was so sorry, but only the big boys got to hit the ball on the field. I gathered my utterly devastated child and carried him back to our car!

I'm it.....

I have been tagged by one of my new favorite mommy bloggers Lindsay at My splatter painted life so......

5 things.....

5 things in my fridge:
1. Rockin' watermelon
2. Diet Coke
3. Several different versions of mayo, mustard, sandwich meats and cheeses for my sandwich king husband
4. Red Kool-aid.... a total idiot.. I know!
5. Slow churned Dreyers Ice cream..... again awesome... I know they are lying about the calories and fat content.....

5 things in my closet:
1. Shoes... pretty much every where
2. A box of my favorite handbags which I never use but refuse to give away/sell
3. A shoe hanger with no sheos in it
4. A lot of my father's clothes I just couldn't let go of
5. A dresser with all of Mike's clothes

5 things in my purse:
1. Funeral card from my father's funeral
2. 4 or 5 different versions of headache and cold remedies
3. A NYC transit token..... haven't needed one in 5 years, but again, can't give it up
4. Receipts, receipts, and more receipts
5. An ostomy bag clamp..probably for a patient so long ago I can't remember

5 things in my car:
1. Empty Diet Coke can
2. Glitter from Max's mother's day gift from school that is embedded into my carpet
3. A box of over night bags that my mom didn't want but I didn't have time to go through so I took them all
4. A highly sophisticated CD organizer - a zip lock bag with about 20 cds in it.
5. Various match box toys, play cell phones, and cherished meal toys from kiddie meals

5 people I tag:
Any five of you who wander past here and care to share.....

Please

So I had a dream last night… it was such a pleasant dream that I actually remember thinking, you are gonna have to wake up soon because you know this is a dream and I told myself in the dream…. Please no…. this is too wonderful, just give me a few more minutes……

I was looking at a house. I was not in the market to move, but for some reason my mother and I were looking at this house that was for sale. I didn’t find it odd because I knew that this is something that my mother and I love to do… just look. I then had this strange feeling I had been there before. And I realized that I had been here… twice before in my life. Once in college when my roommates and I were looking for a new place to live and once when I had returned from New York. Both times we were not able to get the house or it just wasn’t the right time, but it was always the “dreamhouse”.

It was an older house, but it had been updated one room at a time, but not all the rooms were renovated. I kept going down the hallway and looking into the rooms and each room was perfect… yeah it needed paint, maybe some new tile here or there, but it was great…endless opportunity. I remember thinking… “I don’t remember this room the last time we looked at this house… why didn’t I look at the whole house then?” I would turn corners and discover new rooms and areas and just squeal with excitement of how perfect it was… it was exactly what I always wanted! I couldn’t believe how great this place was. The next thing I knew there were lots of people there, some I knew, some I didn’t and they kept pointing out the bad things or ugly things and I just shrugged them off with… “That’s fixable… that’s workable….maybe not right away, but we can make it awesome by just doing …yadda yaddda yadda……”

“Oh how I wish we could afford this house……”
“Becky, It’s only $150,000….”
“What?!?! That’s impossible…..there is just no way….. we could almost do that… it would be hard…. But we could do it….”
I ran outside to call Micheal on my cell phone to tell him what we had found… and that I needed him to come as soon as possible so we could discuss it.
The urgency was overwhelming.
As I am talking to Mike, I look around the backyard, which is small but just over the fence was a park with a walkway directly to this beautiful and charming elementary school….
“Honey, please hurry… you are not going to believe this… we could watch the boys from our backyard as they walked into their school… honey…. We have to talk about this now…. We could MISS IT!!”

I walk inside and see other people looking at the house now. Some one states that they probably put the house on the market too low so that they can start a bidding war. I start to see the kite strings floating away into the clouds out of my reach.

The owners walk in to “get something” and start to walk out again. I realize that it is what I picture myself and Mike to be in our retirement years…..

I feel myself waking from the dream as I am desperately pleading with them to give us this house….. we were not in a position to bid on this dream, but we were the most passionate for it….. please… please….. no one else will love this dream as much as I will…. No one else will fulfill it to its greatest potential than me….. please……

…please…..

Issues......

Written Monday, 07-03-06 @ 2:56 PM

It has been 10 business hours since our phone lines and internet services have gone down. At 1 o’clock on Friday, out of no where, all the lines and connections went dead. Here is how it went down:

Silence……I notice my music (from the internet) has stopped and I have a prompt that says there is a problem connecting to the internet.
I then look up to see 3 people come to my office door simultaneously:

“ I can’t get a phone line out, I think my phone is broken….”
“The fax machine doesn’t seem to be working, can you come help me?”
“ I can’t dial up to Medicare….”

It is amazing to me how quickly the world around you can freeze up and seize operations completely. What amazes me further, is the total lack of independent thought and initiative that exists here in this office. I am the Director of Patient Care Services… basically the engine of the company…. I start it, authorize it and make sure it gets done. If it is not working, I make it work or hire the people to make it work. I explain to the owners the problem and how it is going to be solved. I then write a policy and educate the entire staff on what the problem was, how “we” are going to fix it and the procedures they must now follow, backed up with regulatory requirements to shut up all groaning and moaning that will inevitably follow the announcement of the new policy and procedure.

I call the phone company and surf through the very creative prompts asking me questions so that it can direct my phone call through proper channels… the irony of this whole situation is that I have to call the phone company to explain I have no phones…. The true reason God gave us cell phone technology.

“I will start a trouble ticket for you, ma’m”
“What does that mean?”
“Someone will call you to discuss your needs further”
“How are they going to call me… I have no phones!”
“Is there an alternate phone number you can be reached?”
“That probably should be put on that trouble ticket, hmn?”
“Yes, ma’m….”
“Listen…. This is a home care agency… we rely solely on this phone for our patients to access medical attention, we must be placed in an urgent status”
“Yes, ma’m….”
“Is there any way you can capture the line and forward it to our answering service”
“Yes, ma’m”
(Can YOU perhaps offer anything to help me through this so that it is as painless as possible?!?!?!?!)

I get a call back
“We are not getting a line response”
(REALLY?!?! You mean I didn’t accurately explain the situation earlier on the trouble ticket when I stated the lines were DEAD)
“We are going to have to call SBC to have them come check the lines”
(I thought they were called ATT now, but I am too pissy to get into a “RIGHT FIGHT”)
“And how long will that take?”
“I am not sure, ma’m…. I have to send them a trouble ticket with an onsite request”
(shoot me… just shoot me….)
“What are your business hours next week?”
“It can’t be next week, it must be today.”
“What time do you close?”
“If you can make them come, I will make sure someone is here”
“Will you be there Saturday?”
“I would prefer today, but again… someone will be here whenever they need to be here to get this problem solved.”

DING DONG
“SBC is here”
(Again…. ATT thought swims through my head…. DROP IT!)
“ The problem is outside… do you have keys to the pad lock?”
(MOTHER F&^%$^ SORRY SACKS OF S&^T!)
“No, let me make a phone call…..”

“They need to make an appointment to meet us there….”
“No, they are here now… the problem is now….. they just figured out the problem now and the problem is behind the pad locked area.”
“It’ll take me 20 minutes or so to get there.”
“I will tell them you will be here is 20 minutes”
”Well… it depends on traffic”
“Okay…. I will tell them you will be here in 20 minutes depending on traffic”
“Well… if they can wait”
“They will”

Needless to say they didn’t get it solved and it is not solved yet…..Monday afternoon. We have played a constant game of it’s their problem… no it’s THEIR problem between phone companies and I now have a cell phone bill through the roof as all phone calls normally made through 5 lines to an office full of people, are all channeling through my cell phone.

Internally I have a staff of people who have no idea what they should be doing since they can’t access the phones or the internet….. I cannot believe that I am actually reminding them of things they can be doing without phones or the internet…….


IT IS NOW 10 AM WEDNESDAY MORNING AND THEY HAVE FINALLY FIXED THE PROBLEM……….