In and out...busy...busy...[update]

I don't really have time to relax today.

I've got things to do. Places to go. People to meet.

7:30am - Leave house to drop Princess off at school

8:30am - Arrive home

8:30-9:30am - Get gussied up

9:30am - Leave house to drop Bear off at Daddy's work

10:00am - Leave Bear with Daddy

10:30am - Interview

11:30am - Pick up Bear from Daddy's work Lunch with Bear and Daddy

12:00pm - Lunch with Bear at home

12:30pm - Put Bear down for nap (hopefully)

12:45-1:25pm2:00pm - Search internet for jobs - listen to the Bear talk over the monitor

1:25pm - Get Bear out of crib

1:26pm - Let Bear loose in playroom

2:15pm - Wake Bear up. Leave house to pick up Princess

2:30pm - Pick up Princess from school

3:30pm - Princess' 5year peds appt

4:30pm - Drive home (in traffic) Meet up with the Hubs & eat dinner at Outback Steakhouse

5:30pm - Have dinner Drive home in traffic

6:00-7:15pm - Play with kiddos

7:15pm - Get kids ready for bed

That's my day. Somewhere in there I've got to celebrate my birthday too. Yeah. That's today. I'm old!

Hopefully there won't be any bumps in my 'plan' for the day. But I'm sure stuff won't work out the way I've got it set up in my mind.

P.S. And that gas feeling? I've still got it! Dang it all! I hope I don't need to let one loose during my interview! That is SO not the way to make a first impression, eh?

Ew...yucky!

Warning: This post might have too much body information for some!

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Oh my heaven!

"Pee-uw!"

I am so gaseous today! I don't know why. I don't normally have to toot so much but (gaul darn it all!) the stuff has to come out. And boy is it...stinky. If it wasn't me polluting the air, I would be disgusted. But it is me!

Thankfully, I'm not having the issues that Very Mom is dealing with in her household.

I've got gas but the Hubs is constipated. He finally broke down and mentioned it last night.

Hubs: "I've ben having problems for 3 days now."

Me: "With what?"

Hubs: "I want to GO but nothing really happens."

Me: "You mean you're constipated?"

Hubs: "Yeah."

Me: "Oh. You mean nothing has been coming out?"

Hubs: Little pellets, but that's it."

I didn't know what to tell him. Drink more water. Eat a bunch of salad. He's an adult, he should know what to do. He should be grateful though. At least it's just 3 days worth of backup. It's not like he's just had a c-section and hasn't gone in 5 days. Right ladies?

But let me tell you that I did have to take care of my very first....floatie. Those of you with kids KNOW what I'm referring to.

I took the Bear to the park this morning. We met up with a neighbor and her two boys. We stayed for about 1-1/2 hours before it got too hot (even in the shade). The Bear and I got home and we both needed to cool down. I filled the tub and set him in there with some bath toys. I jumped into the shower (right next to the tub). Didn't take me long to get cooled off so I let the Bear continue to 'play' in the big tub. I got dressed and glanced over to him. He was bent over looking at something. I walk closer...

There was a huge log!

Yes. The Bear took a dump in the big tub. MY TUB! I quickly took the piece out and flushed it down the toilet.

"Poo-poo? All gone?"

Yes my little boy. Your poo-poo is now all gone. Down into the pipes. But I had to drain the tub. Rinse him off with clean water. Get him dressed. And then...deal with sanitizing my tub. YUCK!

Thankfully, he did have one solid piece. The second time he went today was a gooey mess. I can't even BEAR to think how I would have handled that disaster.

Crazy eh?

I knew I wasn't crazy. No where near it.

Out of the great fun of party day, there were those moments that remind me that I'm not surrounded by my parents or my sisters.

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After letting the entire IL clan into my home, I walked straight back to the kitchen/family room. They dumped their things all over the place (the bar area, the floor, wherever). There were a few parents (of the Princess friends) in the room.

MIL: "Where do we put the presents?"

I had set up a 'present' table at the end of the couch. As you walk back to the kitchen/family room, you would walk right into it if you continued on a straight line. I mean, you could see the table from the front door. It had about 6 gifts already on it.

SIL: "I guess right here." [she pointed to the table]

I went into the kitchen to continue working away on getting stuff out for people to eat.

MIL: "Well, let's introduce ourselves!"

She said it so loud. Her statement seemed to overpower the room and gain the attention of everyone (the parents who were chatting together) in the midst of conversation. It seemed to me that she seemed to be insinuating to me that I was rude for not introducing them (Hubs' clan) to the people who were in the room. After she said that I looked up from what I was doing. My BILs fiance was looking at me. I looked at her and smiled and shrugged.

To me? When I go into a social gathering at someone else's home, I don't expect to be led around and introduced to everyone. Especially if I've been to someone's home before. I do that on my own. I work the room. I chat with people individually. I don't go in and basically announce my entrance.

How about you?

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I was going outside when I noticed something next to the backdoor. A pair of house slippers. Ones that weren't mine. That's right folks. My MIL once again brought her slippers to my house. Granted we've got tile floor throughout our first floor which might be an issue for people with sensitive feet or legs. But she also has tile throughout her house. Is she making a statement that she thinks our floors are not clean enough for her pasty white feet? What IS she trying to say? If anything...

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When the pizza was delivered, I called everyone to eat. We had the pizzas and sandwiches out along with the fruit and chips. I attended to the kids and the kids' parents. The family had to fend for themselves. I turned around at one point to check on the pizza situation.

MIL: "Son (speaking to the Hubs)? Do you want this?" [she had two slices of supreme pizza on a plate]

Hubs: "No thanks. What're you doing with that?"

MIL: "I thought your brother would want it but he doesn't."

I turn to where my BIL is sitting and he's got two slices of sausage pizza. Now why did she get those pieces of pizza for my BIL? It's not like my BIL is a child who needs help getting his food.

By the time I got around to getting a plate for myself (after I made sure everyone had food), there was no supreme pizza left. I know that she didn't eat the pizza because a supreme has onions on it and she detests onions. I know my FIL didn't eat them because he's lactose intolerant. Plus, I saw him chowing on a sandwich. So, what did she end up doing with those two pieces?

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Around 1:15pm, my BIL told his family they had to leave (he had to meet a realtor at his house at 3pm). They all got up to get their things. My BIL ducked into the powder room for one last visit before the 1-1/2 hour drive home. There were hugs and kisses all around from both kidlings. My FIL went outside. My MIL was at the front door and looked around.

MIL: "Where is my son (my BIL - of course she used his name here)?"

BIL's fiance: "Oh, he went to the bathroom."

MIL: "What's taking him so long?"

Then she turns in my direction.

MIL: "I mean, you have three bathrooms don't you?"

First of all? I'm not my BILs keeper. Secondly. I'm not going to deny anyone who is smart to use the bathroom before they take a long drive. Thirdly. Who knows what kind of business (number 1 or number 2) he was doing in the bathroom. Fourthly. What does the number of bathrooms have to do with the amount of time he's taking IN the bathroom? It's not like there were a ton of people still at the house. There was one neighbor gal and about 4 kids.

Of course, I ignored her statement. I glanced over to my BILs fiance and smiled. And then walked away. Just in time to walk by my BIL who had just finished up whatever business he had in the powder room. I gave him a hug.

Me to BIL: "Thanks for coming. Have a safe trip home."

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Now some might say this is a total bitch session by me. But I am not the only one who was witness to her not-so-pleasant attitude. One of my neighbors (she's Filipino - I'll reference her as FN from now on) talked to me after Hubs' clan left (once my BIL made it out of the powder room - ha!). FN was witness to the Hubs clan exit from our home. She saw and heard my MIL in the situation listed above.

FN stated that when Hubs clan walked into the family room she got her first glimpse of my BIL.

FN: "Wow, you look just like the Hubs!"

MIL: "No he doesn't!"

FN was surprised by this. Especially since it wasn't coming from my BIL. The person who she was speaking to. Just then my Neighbor Across the Street (NATS) came in. He glances over at Hubs clan.

NATS: "You and the Hubs really look alike!"

Of course, FN was giggling inside by this. Both she and NATS said basically the same thing upon seeing my BIL for the first time. It was their first time meeting all of the Hubs family. My MIL went on to say that it is known that the Hubs looks like her and my BIL looks like my FIL.

Okey-dokey. FN said that I was really nice to my MIL. Based upon the behavior and comments my MIL made upon their first meeting, FN doesn't have the best impression of my MIL.

FN: "Dang! I know if anyone in my husband's family acted that way they would not be welcome in my house. EVER."

Let me say that FN did ban her husband's sister from her home for about 9 months after a major disagreement. The two have long since made up - as her husband's sister lives 2 houses down from her in our subdivision.

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I know there are a lot of you who have terrific ILs. Sis#2 has fantastic ILs. I love Sis#2's ILs. The entire clan. My BILs entire family includes my folks, LilSis, me, the Hubs, and the kidlings in all their gatherings. We're a part of them. Being around Sis#2s ILs is like being around my folks and my siblings. It's fantastic. Seriously.

I had wished my relationship with the Hubs family would develop the same way. But it hasn't. I can't put myself out on a limb anymore. I'm tired of being ignored when I speak. I'm tired of the snappy remarks. I try hard to ignore everything. To let it slip away and not bother me. But it does.

My MILs behavior chips away any hope of a great relationship. Every time she acts like she is prone to I take another step away. But I can't back away too much. She's the grandmother to my children. I never speak ill of her in front of the kidlings. Her personality might grate on nerves but I try to put up a good front. For my children.

That's what being a parent is about, right? Teaching our children to deal with other people. To be respectful. To duke it out with silence instead of yelling. To be good people.

But I just know that I'm not crazy. She is. Na-ne-na-ne-na-na! he-he-he-he....

Why am I awake? [update]

It's 12:01am on Sunday night/Monday morning people.

WHY is my brain & my body still up?

I didn't have any caffeine since about 10am. Must be the tension and stress about finding a job. A good job. One that'll let me pay my current bills and my past bills, while saving some money.

Or else I need to win the lottery.

I have a first interview this Wednesday at one place. I hopefully will get a call for a 2nd interview from the company I had my first interview 1 1/2 weeks ago.

I'm visiting a daycare place tomorrow with the Bear. It's near the house. Hopefully he'll like the facility and the people there. I'm thinking I'll get him started on Tuesday if the Hubs okays it. This way I can concentrate on finding a job -- not having to worry about who will watch the Bear while I'm looking for work.

What's worse is that I was awakened at 4:45am this morning by the Hubs' hand knocking the side of my head. His alarm had just sounded and he was reaching to turn it off.

Um. Honey? Your alarm clock is not in the middle of the bed. It's on the other side!

Party day!

Fun was had by all.

I woke at 6am to the Bear's calling for the day to start.

"Oh-mea?"

He got to eating while I rearranged the sectional. I turned it from a U-shape facing the tv to a U-shape faced away from the tv. There would be NO tv watching at this party. Plus having the sectional faced away from the tv made it such that whoever sat on the couch was facing whoever was in the kitchen and the breakfast nook. It was no longer separating people.

I cleaned the powder room and swept the downstairs by the time the birthday girl awoke from her slumber. She and I chatted while I cut up the fruit and rearranged the refrigerator for what was to come.

The Hubs hauled himself out of bed and got to the store at 9am. He got the cake, ice and some deli-made roast beer, turkey, and ham sandwiches. Sandwiches? Yes. For the parents who must be tired of consuming pizza at all the birthday parties they have to attend. Yes. We did have pizza delivered for the kidlings. They NEVER seem to tire of pizza.

The cake awesome.

We also had the Princess jumping castle with turrets. It was a great sight. We have view fencing. So anyone driving up the road could see the castle. There was no question as to where our house was for all the people who'd never been here before. What was nice was that the crew dropped the castle off 30 minutes earlier than they were scheduled. They picked it up 15 minutes later too. So the Princess (and I) had a blast during the extra time.

For some odd reason, the Bear did NOT want to go in the castle. He jumps on the beds. He jumps on the couch. But he did not want to jump in the castle. He had fun throwing and hitting the twenty 3" balls I blew up and threw out into the backyard.

Every child was offered a lei upon entering our house. But once the kids starting arriving, it was a free for all. They were upstairs. They were downstairs. They were out in the backyard jumping. Utter chaos for a bit but nice. At least they all room to roam. We had 10 kids in attendance so they needed space. Even the adults had space to relax. The couch. The barstools. The breakfast table. The chairs on the patio.

I set out the tortilla chips with cold salsa and with warm spinach-artichoke dip. The spinach-artichoke dip was consumed in no time flat. But alas I only had the one serving. I had purchased it from the store and not made it fresh. Had I known that the adults would enjoy it I would have bought more of it! I also set out a fruit plate (dark seedless grapes, cut strawberries & nectarines). Yummy!

The pizza arrived and everyone dug into the food. It got SO much quieter once all the kids had plates in front of them. The volume got down to a low rumble. But it didn't take the kids long to fill their tummies. I set out some paddleballs and bottles of bubbles in the backyard.

Gift opening was crazy. All the kids crowded in to check out what was inside each box/bag. The photos I took were chaotic. The Hubs could barely make out who each gift was from and what each gift actually was. But it's the age. It's to be expected. All the kids were excited.

Cake and ice cream were next. The kids crowded around the table. I was able to light the #5 candle and start singing. The kids chimed in a second after I started to sing. You should have seen them pounce on the decorations on the cake! The stuff I wanted to save! I have the cake toppings from all of my kids birthday cakes. I was able to gather most of the decorations once they were all occupied with getting a sugar fix. Thankfully, I did select a cake that was half chocolate and half vanilla. Some of kids had definite ideas on what flavors they enjoy. I couldn't believe that some of the kids didn't want ice cream!

By the time 90% had left, I realized it was all a blur. I had been setting out food. Making sure the kids were not getting into trouble. Touching base with the kids' parents. Does this happen to you when you host a kids' party? That you're a whirlwind of activity and don't remember it all?

Last year when we had just moved here. The Princess had just started preschool a few weeks before her birthday came around. We weren't sure who we should invite. We opted to just have a family party up at my BILs house. So I do hope that this party made up for the lack of a friend party last year.

I'm really glad we organized the big blow-out party. I hope they each had a good time. To tell you the truth, I really don't care of any of the adults had a good time. I know that I made sure to spend time with each of the parents of my daughter's friends. But I wanted the party to focus on the kids. It was a kids' party. I wanted the kids and my Princess to have a good time. Hopefully they did. I know that the Princess did!

ICE

You think we ran out of ice at the party?

No. No. No.

This is about "ICE". Have you heard about this? It stands for "In Case of Emergency".

There is an effort to have this spread nationwide. To all cell phone users. That we each program a couple ICE numbers into our cells. This way emergency crews (fire, police, paramedics, hospitals) know who to call in the event we are unconscious.

The suggestion to put it under "ICE -- name" is great. This way the people who are helping know that number is who they need to call. I mean, I have my hubby under "Sweetie". But would I want him to be called first? Yes. But anyone helping me (if I were unable to speak for myself) wouldn't necessarily assume that. They might call my Dad or Mom.

I am going to program a few ICE numbers into my phone tonight (ICE - hubby, ICE - Mom, ICE - Sister). YOU please do so too!

Here's a link to an article about this subject.

Making Mommy Laugh

The Bear has been doing this Vanna White kind of thing at the dinner table lately. He'll stop eating and look at us all. He'll put his hand on his chest and say his name. Then flip his hand palm-side up towards the Princess and say "Sissy". Move his arm towards me and say "Mommy". Move his arm towards the Hubs and say "Daddy". Then put his hand on his chest and say his name. He'll go around a few times. Sometimes he'll get so wound up in moving his hand around that he'll call us by the wrong name. It cracks us all up every single time.

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Upon hearing the details of the Hubs 'nightmare', I couldn't help but laugh.

"I dreamed that we had FOUR daughters about the same age range."

What's funny is that I came from a family with four daughters. Not all the same age. But four is enough, right?

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The expression on my Hubs face after I told him what the Princess said.

"Can we invite boys to my party?"

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Listening the Bear when he's watching a football game with the Hubs.

"Hi Fi! Hi Fi!"

Translation? High Five!

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Just listening to the Bear with his ever growing vocabulary.

"Waa dewing Sisssy?" - What are you doing Sissy?

"Go ow-sigh?" - Go outside?

"No. No Me-me's!" - No nap! The Hubs calls naps "me-me's"

"Nigh-nigh Bav-har." - Night Night Braveheart (a Carebear that sleeps with him).

"Pick op Sissy?" - Time to pick up Sissy?

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Watching the kids out of the corner of my eye as they both notice I've got a slab of chocolate cake on a paper plate in front of me. At 8pm this evening. They both stopped dead in their tracks. I saw the Princess lick her top lip in silence. The Bear said "Mmmm..." I glanced over to them both. I got a bit of cake on my fork and held it in their direction. They pounced like little lions. Thankfully, they took turns relishing each bit of chocolatey goodness off my fork. As for me? I had one little bite.

Still on my search

The job search.

Yes. Haven't landed one yet. The 2nd place I interviewed at had me in the final two. The other girl won. They said the reason was because she had experience in that specific industry. I think it's because she didn't have kids.

But I will be updating my resume to target specific jobs. Administrative Assistant. Accountant. Etc. I think I had post 5 different resumes on monster, right?

I did see a job that I would LOVE to get. But I don't know where it's located. It's 5 hours a day. 5 days a week. And it's at an hourly rate $6 above what I need to get to make working work. But I'm not going to get all worked up about it. I sent my resume. I send a cover letter explaining how I could "fit". That's all I can do.

I think THAT is what is driving me crazy. This waiting. Searching and waiting. The fact that I have no real control to make people see that I'd do a good job. A few of the jobs I've had, I've had because I worked as a temp at that location. Then when 'whoever was in charge' saw what I could do in person, they offered me a job. HOW do you get that kind of thing out on a resume? You don't. So I sit and wait. Patiently.