I can't even think of a title

"Losing my mind" is probably what I should have called this post. It's been a stressful couple of days. I still do not have a new drivers license or a copy of K's birth certificate. And if the weatherman is right, I am going to be "snowed" in at home. Oh yeah. I've got to get both taken care of by Friday because K and I are flying to Michigan on Sunday. If you think about it, please pray for me, for K and for everyone on Southwest Airlines flight 1447 on Sunday. I am flying to Detroit with K...by myself. Now, a lot of you have never met my child. Let's just say... She's WILD. Doesn't like to sit in my lap and cuddle. That's going to be a PROBLEM. She is also a climber. I can just see her climbing over the seats. Can you tell I am STRESSED about this? We will probably end up on the news. Another toddler gets booted from an airline flight...story at 10...


The house is a wreck. But, I am working on my getting rid of scrapbook stuff. So, if it doesn't snow tomorrow and you are interested in stopping by...I am giving a TON of stuff away. I can't take it all with me and there is no point in putting it in storage. You name it...I've got it! I've probably got SEVERAL of the same item. Thursday is the only day I am offering this up. Friday I am packing it all up and take it to the Ronald McDonald House. They have a craft night every week for the families who stay there, so they are grateful for the donation. So...remember that. If you are looking to get rid of any type of craft supplies, contact the RMH if you have one in your area. So...if you want to come by and score yourself some free goodies, email me and I will give you directions.


I also have a HUGE box of goodies to donate to Project Linus here in Nashville. It is an awesome program. If you are ever looking for a service project, this is one that you can even do with your kids.


Well...the past couple of days have been emotional ones. I had lunch with a couple of my friends and when we got ready to part ways, we all said.."okay...see ya later!" Then we realized that we weren't! Sad. Then Brian informed me that the forecasted high in Michigan on Monday is ZERO DEGREES. That's the HIGH. For some of you, that might not be a big deal...for this Texas girl...it's a HUGE deal. I might not leave the apartment until the Spring. Maybe I will get a lot of scrapbooking done? Yeah...who are we kidding! I've gotten to talk to my dad a couple of times. I could tell the first time I talked to him that he was really home sick. When I spoke to my SIL today, she told me that he started crying when he was talking to my niece. They are getting settled in and are looking at houses and will be car shopping soon. I can't remember exactly what he said, but I think the "holy" day there is Friday and the work week starts on Sunday, but I am not sure that is what he said.


Miss K had a playdate at the mall with her friends MJ and Mr.B. I think the mall play area is more work for mommies than it is for the kiddos. Our kids are still a little on the small side, so some of the "bigger" kids tend to be rough with them. Miss K got wacked like 2 minutes into our visit. I don't understand moms who come in there, sit on the bench and chat and never once check on their kids. I chased one kid down twice and his mother never knew he left the play area. And don't get me started on the mean nanny. I wanted to yank her hair and give her an earful.


Okay...off to sort more scrapbook stuff. And for the record...if you do happen to come by tomorrow, my house is a wreck so PLEASE don't ask for a tour. It's TRASHED right now. Boxes and clutter everywhere.

Blog ya later.

The mess that is known as the Social Security Office

So, this past week I realized that I lost my social security card. I also remembered that I never ordered Miss K's birth certificate and my driver's licenses will expire on my birthday. I immediately got a sick feeling in my stomach. I have so much stuff going on this week (why am I wasting time on my computer?!?) and then we are out of here. I have to get my Dl renewed and if K is flying with me this weekend...I gotta have the birth certificate!

So, my big plan for today was to go and get Miss K's birth certificate. Well, that didn't happen, but right before lunch I got a wild hair and decided to go to the SS office. I went on line, printed out the form, filled it out and loaded up Miss K up in the truck and we headed out. I stopped off at McD's to pick up some lunch for her. How long could this really take? I remember getting going years ago and getting my new one after I got married. I think I was in and out of there in less than 30 minutes.

I arrived at the office at 12:36pm. I was number 87. They were on number 44. WHAT? So, I entertain Miss K with her lunch and then we moved to some different chairs where there was a bit more room. Well, when it got to be like 1:50, she was mad. She was ready to leave and she made a break for the door. I grabbed her just as she was sneaking out with some people who were leaving. The Rent-A-Cop yelled at me to keep her with me. No please or anything. Just yelled at me. Then told me that she was going to get her fingers smashed in the door and that was going to cause all kinds of problems. Thanks dumbass. Don't tell me how to parent my child. I was half a step behind her, I knew where she was going and the reason she made it to the door is because she is quite a bit shorter than I am and can go under things that I can't. Jerk.

But...let's talk about this "system" they have going. You get a number and you wait. But there is a sign that tells you that they don't call the numbers in order. What's up with that? Why even give out numbers? Why not just call people based on what color shirt they are wearing? Whatever. So, in the beginning, they were pretty much calling the numbers in order...until they got closer to number 87. I'll get to that story in a minute. There are 5 windows and at any given time, there were 3 windows open, but they kept closing windows and opening different ones. It was almost like they could only help "x" amount of people and then had to close their windows. The crazy thing was....after they helped one person, it would take them anywhere from 5-15 minutes to call another person. Sometimes it was instant, other times it was forever. At one point all 5 windows were open, but they weren't helping anyone.

So...I am sitting right next to this window and can't help but overhear this lady trying to find out why her child has the wrong SS#. She tells the lady that she filed her taxes on line and she got rejected because the SS# was wrong. The lady asked her for the SS#. Woman tells her that she never received one, but the hospital gave her the SS# before she left the hospital. Now...I will admit that I was being nosey, but I couldn't help but finish listening to how this was going to turn out. The lady tells her that they don't give you a SS# for babies when you leave the hospital. The woman keeps insisting that they did. The lady asks her for the document that she got the number off of. She says that she doesn't have it. After a LOT of going back and forth between these two, the lady tells her that she must have use the hosptial ID because the hospital is not going to issue the SS# to them before they leave the hosptial. Turns out the child did have a SS#, but it wasn't the one that they had been using. It gets better...she then asks if they can change the child's SS# to what she has been using because they already have other documents with this SS# on it. Even insist that the child has a passport with this SS# on it. (Can you get a passport without your actual SS card?) That SS# actually belongs to someone. Uh oh. Is that going to cause a problem? LOL.

So anyway...they get to number 84 and come on the speaker and announce that they are going to start calling numbers out of order so do not get upset if your number is not called in order. 85...86...88...89...79...90...91...94... Get the picture? ARG! Finally NUMBER 87! Took me 2 minutes at the window and we were done. I walked out of there at 2:45. Miss K passed out before I even got into the driver seat.

Oh...no changing table in the bathroom at the SS office either. Wonder how bad the Vital Stats office is going to be tomorrow? I am seriously thinking of faxing my order in and paying the extra $10 to "rush" it.

A Blog worth reading...

First of all, I want to say that this blog is NOT an easy read. I have spent the past 2 hours crying my eyes out. I found the link to this blog on Jody Ferlaak' s blog. It is about the short life of baby name Noah, his journey home to be with our Father and his parent's faith in the Lord.

Noah Steven "Crowned in Peace"

The reason I am passing this on is 1)his parents ask people to share the blog with other and 2) it really made me stop and look at my life.

My first reaction after reading Noah's story was to run into Miss K's room, hold her and never let her go. My second reaction was prayer. I went with prayer. Prayer for Noah, prayer for his little sister, prayer for his parents and everyone his story every touched. I also prayed for my beautiful daughter. I prayed for God to lead me in the right direction for parenting her. Tonight I felt so guilty for every time I've complained about my child whining. I should be thankful that she is here on the earth to whine. This past month with Brian out of town, I've really been struggling with the "parenting".

While Noah's story is a heartbreaking one, it is a story that I am so thankful to his parents for sharing.

I hope that Noah's story touches you as much as it has touched me.

Today is the day...

My parents are moving out of the country...
Miss K turns 18 months old...
I have a million loads of laundry to do...
I have a baby shower to go to tonight...
I need to finish baby albums for the aforementioned baby shower...

I've got more to blog about, but we have our 18 month check up. I'll be back with more later...

A lazy day for Miss K...but not for me!

As I type this, Miss K is dancing in front of the TV to the Wiggles still wearing her cutie pie red PJs. They are the kind with the flap on the bum. Too cute.

I was going to actually go somewhere today. (I am sorry Jill and Renee!) But I had a small nervous breakdown last night talking to my husband about our "move". So, today I am working on cleaning out my closet and the bathroom. I've also got about 20 loads of laundry to do. So, I am waiting for Miss K to go down for her morning nap and then I am hitting the bathroom for a GOOD scrub down. Our plan is to do some minor patch work in there this weekend, paint and have that room done. I am going to have to hire someone to come in and paint my bonus room and kitchen. The other rooms just have minor touch up that needs to be done. Gotta get in touch with the painter guy and the handy man my girlfriend uses.

So, after I had my nervous breakdown, I went out to dinner with some of my mommy friends. We had a great time. But I had a major headache from the 2 ritas that I had. They gave me a card that made me cry. They keep telling me that I am NOT moving, I am just taking a very long trip. I did tell Brian last night that I have almost talked myself out of selling our house. He wants to move. He doesn't like the house anymore than I do. It's a great house, but the layout of the house doesn't work for us. We want something that is very open.

Okay...my child is now wearing more jewelry than I ever wear. She found a box that was full of costume jewelry and she likes to play with it. She has on a necklace, and like 5 bracelets. Carmen the monkey is wearing a necklace too.

Off to start the laundry. Blog ya later!

Something I bet you didn't know about me...

I have a MAJOR crush on someone. My husband knows all about it and gives me a hard time. I always tell him that this guy is my next husband. We were in Office Depot the other day and they had a calendar of just him. Brian joked and asked me if that was what I wanted for my birthday. He thought I was kidding when I said I wanted it. I am going back tomorrow to return something, so I'll pick it up then. So, if you are even THINKING of calling me on Sunday, I probably won't talk to you. I will be cheering on my man.

How to eat apple butter

When we travel to Texas or Michigan, we usually end up stopping at Cracker Barrel. It isn't that we are huge fans of the place, it is just that we know that they do have a changing table in the bathrooms (sometimes in the daddy bathroom too!) and with the store, Miss K has room to walk around without really bothering anyone while they are eating. So, on the way back from Texas, we stopped and Miss K enjoyed some apple butter, She LOVED it. Well, I guess you can tell that from the pictures!

What do you think babies dream about?

Last night Miss K was crying in her sleep. I couldn't get her to stop. So, I put her in bed with us. 1am. I couldn't take the crying anymore. 1:30 Miss K is asleep and I am smoothing her hair and she starts giggling. Asleep. Giggling. The full out laughing. This went on for a couple of minutes. I was trying so hard not to laugh. After she stopped I started wondering....just what was she laughing at? Was she dreaming of a huge sippy cup of milk? Maybe dancing sippy cups? Maybe a dozen Carmen's were dancing for her. And for those of you who don't know...Carmen is her monkey and if you have met my daughter, you have also met Carmen.

Okay...gotta run. Brian wants me to help him fold clothes. What kind of husband expects a wife to do laundry? (I am so totally joking!)

Disgusted

I can't even talk about it.

OUCH!

I am royalty...again. And it only cost me $758.50. For a crown. And a replaced filling. Dude. No Wishblade for me. Bought some of the Rhonna Farrer $1 stamps at J's instead. Dude. My mouth hurts and it is giving me a headache.

We went out to dinner with some friends last night. One the way home, we picked up some ice cream. Miss K loves any flavor, so she was going back and forth between me and Brian for a bite. I went downstairs and when I got back upstairs, this is what I found...

While I was becoming royalty today, Miss K had to stay with a friend of mine. We have talked about how Miss K would probably cry the entire time I was gone and my friend was okay with that. I called her after my coronation and she told me that Miss K had not cried one single time. WHAT? This is the child who lay on the floor and stick her fingers under the door of the bathroom if I shut the door. I had her take Miss K upstairs so that she did not see me leave. She also has pretty much all the same toys that we have at home, so she was use to the toys that were around. Glad that it went well because I have another royal engagement later this month!

Miss K and I must be living right because Brian got a call on his way to the airport Friday telling him that he needed to be in Nashville for the week! YEAH! We are going to spend this week getting some SERIOUS purging done. I've got to get rid of a TON of my clothes. I've made it my goal that everytime I leave the house, I drop something off at Goodwill. (There is a donation center that I pass almost everytime I leave the house!) We went through a lot of stuff in our computer hutch before Christmas, so I need to drop all that stuff off tomorrow when I head out to meet a friend at the mall.

Okay...we are watching the OSU/Flordia game and we are in shock. I don't know what is going on with the Buckeyes! Even though we are Michigan fans, we are rooting for the Buckeyes.

I'm off. I can feel the gray hairs growing as I watch my child act like gymnist on the short stairs.

He's bringing sexy back....

This is my nephew, Mr.L. We went out to dinner tonight and we get ready to leave and he starts singing, "I'm bringing sexy back." And sings quite a bit of the song. I just laughed and asked him if he was really bringing sexy back! Last week he pulled out his guitar and sang "Ring of Fire" for us. And again, he sang quite a bit of the song. He's a real cutie. Oh...he's 5. And he is a ham for the camera. This is pretty much the same smile I get from him for every photo...I LOVE it!

Another sad day... And a little bit of funny

My happy place is closing!!!! Since I am out of town, I got a call from one of my good scrappy friends letting me know. I am so bummed. I really could cry. Bill and Ann are two of the most wonderful people. Everytime I walked into Scrap It, I was always greated by Ann. Kinda like "Cheers"...where everybody knows your name. I have made so many wonderful friends though Scrap It and treasure all those friendships. We are going to have to come up with someway for us to get together OFTEN. The past two days have just been emotional for me.

Miss K and I spent the day helping my dad get a laptop and Vonage for their phone. I am going to try and get that all set up for him before we leave for Tennessee. My dad...bless his heart...is computer challenged. And he has to tell EVERYONE that he is leaving to go work overseas. So, if you are standing in line to pay for your groceries and some random man tells you that he is trying to get ready to move overseas in two weeks...you just met my dad.

Brian is all set up in our new apartment in Michigan. He was given his company car today...he told me that he started laughing when they handed him the keys. We got a big old pimped out Suburban. Black...full loaded. Hey Superstar....Miss K will get to watch TV in the sky now too!

So, I am doing a photo a day journal. January 3rd will have a photo of Miss K and Santa. Yep...Santa. My best friend has one of those tall Santas that dance. K was scared of it at first. Now, she will use her toes to push the buttom to make him sing. She uses her toe because she is busy holding his hand. Later...after I took the photo, so stood infront of him holding both hands and dancing. When she saw me with the camera in my hand, she let go and started walking over to me...Santa whacked her in the head with his hand and she was NOT pleased about that. She marched right back over there and pushed the button to turn him off. Serves him right. I really need to find one of those Santas. I told Brian I would keep him set up all year long in her room since she loves him so much. Maybe next year she won't cry when she goes to get her photo taken with him!

It's super late and I need to get to bed.

It was a hard day for me...

I cried. Alot. My stepmom is leaving for El Salvador in the morning for a quick visit with her family. She gets back into Texas on Saturday at noon. We are leaving for Tennessee at 9am on Saturday. So, I won't get to see her again. I cried and cried this evening. Here is the thing...I don't see my family very often. The last time I saw them, it was Miss K's birthday and they came to visit. Brian keeps trying to impress upon me that I will probably see more of them. And I know that. But I am still sad. I think it is the distance. And I worry about them so much. I know that leaving is going to be hard on them because they are very cl0se with my brother's children. I think that is going to be the hardest part for them.

I can't blog anymore about it or I am going to start crying again. I'm a big crybaby.

Happy New Year!

Hope that everyone had a wondeful start to 2007. I am looking forward to 2007. There will be a lot of changes for my family. We are moving to Michigan and my parents are moving to Qatar. I am very happy for them, but for the past two days, everytime I think about it, I start to cry. Lots going on in the next month, so be sure to check back often for updates.

By the way...my poor husband is in mourning. His beloved Wolverines lost today. I think he is broken hearted. Poor Brian.