When Does it Matter?

I need to warn you this story is going to bounce around all over the place, but it needs to so you get my point. As the end of another year comes to a close, I look back at what has occurred this past twelve months. This year was full of events from the best of times to the worst with the highlight of 2011 being the birth of my fourth child, Riot, to then the crashing devastation and sorrow of my friends’ loss of their baby girl, Karlie Ann. I’d hoped to end the year on a good note.

I look forward to the Holidays every year. It is a blast to watch my kids get excited while putting up the tree and watch their faces light up when they see what Santa brought them Christmas morning. Right after the jolly holiday is my birthday and I have an extreme amount of mixed emotions about my birthday. My mom always made sure to make my day special growing up. She’d make sure to wrap my presents in birthday paper and keep it separate from Christmas. But, I’d always over hear the pillow talk of my parents through my bedroom wall at night, worrying if they’d have money to buy me something after they’d spent so much on Christmas. My mom would never tell me they worried though, but kids hear. She’d some how pull through and I’d have a great present.

So, because of this I’ve always made sure my kids have an awesome birthday. From the moment they wake up to the second they close their eyes for bed that night, their day was full of fun. Each year they are served a breakfast of their choice, we plan it out a few nights before so I’m prepared. They get to be “the king” or “princess” for the day and are vetoed from any chores. It’s a day all about them.  My husband even gets this treatment. Well, he still had to go to work if it’s a week day. I really try to give him a “day off” to the point he doesn’t have to lift a finger when he gets home.

This year as my birthday approached, it was kinda a big deal to me because it’s my last one in my 20’s. Next year I’ll be hitting the big 30. I hoped it’d be special. My husband asked what I wanted. I gave him a list and even showed him in the stores. Like, walked him right up to it and handed it to him so he wouldn’t have any mixed signals. The only thing I was iffy on was what to do on the actual day. We’d talked a lot about how I’ve never had a group get together or party since my thirteenth birthday. Finally, the night before arrived and with no party happening I decided to have my family (my kids and darling husband) make root beer floats and watch a movie. The day came and as I woke to screaming kids I knew it wasn’t going to be any different of a day than usual. My sweet mom did remembered me though and got me a present to open. My kids wanted to go to my sisters instead so I could out to dinner with my husband, so the root beer floats were out. (And my sister is awesome because she kept my two middle kids over night so I could get some “alone” time with the husband)

As we came home and my husband fell asleep on the couch (the “alone” time isn’t going to happen) while my oldest played a video game, I realize it’s just another day. Moms don’t get special treatment and that’s okay for me. It’s my job to spoil everyone. Are birthdays supposed to be a big deal because they never are for me? Maybe they are just for kids and all they need to be for me now is a day to grow older. While I sighed and walked upstairs to put my baby down for the night, I am grateful to be able to have that. Knowing there are parents who have empty arms. I’d trade any birthday so they could do this one more time. I know I’m lucky and kissed my baby’s chubby cheek and went to bed.

From One Trip to Another!

My husband and I were able to go Christmas shopping together for the first time in years. I know what you are thinking; I leave the husband home with the children and go blow our paycheck on everything in the store. WRONG! The honest truth, my husband is the shopper in our household. Crazy I know.

Every year the Black Friday ads come out and my husband plans out the gifts down to the very last item. Between the kids circling their wish lists and Jess' dog eared pages, I can't understand who wants what. He gets so excited to shop for the kids, he will go fight the crowds alone, without me, in the unspeakable early sales. I stay home in my warm bed. You know, safe from the lady who pulls out the pepper spray.

I sometimes have a friend or two that want their hair done after work and I'll color it or what not. But this means it's also after work hours for my husband and if the calender says it's December and we haven't finished Christmas shopping, he will leave me and get it done. I get so upset when he does this because I would like to help pick out their Christmas too, just not the early morning sales. He won't wait just one more day so I can go. Nope. He has to get it done when the itch needs scratched. Then to top it off, Jess will call and ask, "What color would they like? This shade of red or the maybe the darker shade?" WHAT?! Like I can tell what shade is what over the freaking phone. (Yes, he does this because he knows how ticked I get.)

Anyway, this year we went on a weekend together and put a serious dent in the list. The day had gone perfectly. We'd brought our 8 month old baby with us. He is still in a carrier carseat and we snap the seat on the basket. When we put the seat on the cart, we heard it snap on and even checked to make sure it was sturdy before we pushed it. Everything was fine until we checked out and were leaving the store. Just as I pushed the cart where the cement meets the black top of the parking lot, there was a lip just enough to catch the front wheels. The next thing we heard is a loud SNAP and saw the carseat falling to the ground.The seat flipped mid air and landed on it's side. The momentum causeed it to roll over and stop right side up. I'm freaked out, chasing it as it tumbled. Jess is shocked and responded like any distraught father would and yelled, "Holy shit!"

We got to our baby (who'd been asleep right before the fall)  and found him wide eyed looking around like  "What the heck just happened?" Not a scratch on him.The handle had been in the upright position and acted like a roll cage. Thank goodness I'd made sure early in the week his straps were the right tightness over his shoulders. 

Two things were learned from this; ONE: the carseat did protect him but how the latch unhooked from the cart scared us. If we had been in a wreck, would it have come undone and thrown the seat around the car? Who knows? TWO: When I called the seat's company to tell them what had happened, they told me carseats are NOT made to latch onto shopping carts and the safe way to transport the baby in the store if he is still in the carseat is to set the carseat it's self in the basket of the cart. This is how we now do the seat/cart shopping.

Woo, what a trip right? Start off with a nice enjoyable shopping trip then end it with a scary accident. I'm glad he is alright and nothing happened to him, but it freaked the shiz out of me. So, on that note, I hope you all have a safe Christmas shopping season.

Happy Holidays!

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Holy Crap! I Am My Mother.

Growing up my mother taught me how to clean through a series of index cards. These cards were the devil to me and my older sister. She listed house hold chores on them. Sure, you may think whoopedy ta, a list of chores. Let me explain these cards. One card was labeled "Daily Chores" and had the things you do everyday like make your bed, pick up clutter, and wash the dishes. She also had cards for every day of the week with additional chores to do along with the daily card. Saturday was the list from HELL Let me also add that there was also a card to do "Monthly" chores like scrub walls, shampoo carpets, etc. that were done on the first Saturday of the month, again also with the daily and original Saturday chores as well. It got to the point we knew what chores were on what day. I'd even do those chores at the homes of people I babysat for. (Yes, I got asked to tend  A LOT because they knew they'd come home to a clean house) I hated those freaking cards, but they did teach me how to properly clean.

Now that I am a mother myself, I've come to find my life seems to get away from me and my list of chores gets so backed up I don't know where to begin. With my children that have Fragile X Syndrome or Autism I've found schedules and lists are a life saver. Really, they are something we can not live without. We have to plan out our whole week in advance, then the night before we have to chart out the next day down to the hours some times. My life is full of lists! I don't think I'd function if I didn't have a list or chart to go off of.

Disorganization in MY home ( I don't give two hoots what yours is like. Really I don't because I don't want anyone judging me so I won't judge you.) drives me insane. Literally, up the flipping wall. Guess what my mom and I made tonight? CHORE CARDS! Yep, I am going to use the very thing I hated on myself to get my house in order.

As a child they seem mean and boarder line mental, but looking at them now it's genius. You only have to do certain things on certain days. Well, you still have the pesky daily things and it is not set in gold. You can miss, add, decide you don't feel like doing that one that day. But it only gives me five chores to do a day and not fifty. For me, it will work. Plus, maybe I can get my kids in on the chores too. Wait, who am I kidding?  

My Life As A Movie Scene

We had an moment right out of the movies last night here at our house. Who knew my favorite Holiday flick would come even closer to my heart. Only this particular scene isn't one you'd really like to relive. I've always loved A Christmas Story and it felt like the writer had hid out at my house while growing up and took notes for the film. Amazingly my life still plays out like the show only this time my role is the mother instead of Ralphy.

I made a delicious roast yesterday. Mouth watering, moist, flavorful roast perfect for french dip sandwiches today. After I took the meat out of the roaster, I packed it away in the fridge to soak up the Ague sauce all night. Bedtime rolled around and I came down stairs to gather the kidlings up to bed. What did I find on the counter? The Tupperware container, EMPTY! The patio door was open and I heard Seth laughing. I ran to find my dog and cat chowing down on the roast. Yes, I cried, but it probably sounded more like a scream of horror. My husband followed my wail and it happened. He said it. That famous line from the movie. "Sons a *****'s!"

SO, tonight's dinner was fed to the dog. We won't be going to the Chinese restaurant like the movie characters did though. We will most likely be feasting on something more like I don't know, cold cereal.

"PAMPAS'S!" 

***don't worry, we didn't yell any "bad words" at my child nor called him any. We love him and now laugh at this whole thing.***

A Good Day

I love the good days with my son. Lately we’ve had so many I forget how the bad days are. This past weekend there was a bad day. My husband went hunting and Seth absolutely loves hunting. Well, Seth didn’t get to go because my husband wanted a chance on his own to try and bag a deer. Understandable, when hunting with kids, all you are really doing is pushing the animals in a hundred yard radius away.

That morning Seth watched his dad load up the truck and leave. He waited at the living room window all day, watching for the truck to return. In between the visual wait, he would take his toy gun and pretend the front room was the forest crouching behind the couch and taking his careful aim at his deer/ my coffee table. By noon, Seth couldn’t take it anymore. He wanted his dad and he wanted to go hunting. An outburst beyond outburst accrued. Thankfully my mother-in-law was here and able to help. After a while, he settled down and life went back to normal.

Seth had surgery the other day and all went well. Though he did get pretty loopy after. He’s been good ever since, but it’s only been two days. This morning while getting ready for school, he got ready and put his shoes on without ANY help. He gave me a big hug before he went to school and whispered in my ear, “Mom.” He does this little thing that might look like nothing special to anyone else, but has a huge meaning to those who know. He holds his fingers like he’s pinching sand and will act like he is putting it in your palm. Seth has seen this on a move. (Its part of his “spirit” that he is leaving with you while he is gone. He picked this up on his own, don’t know why it stuck with him, but it did. I love it.) And today, he did it to me as he walked away from me.

I love you buddy.

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I Get It

I'm no longer the cool, fun mom. This morning I handed Seth his clothes for school. He got dressed and came in the bathroom to brush his teeth. His shirt had the Boise State Bronco on the front of it. He's been watching Spirit lately so I pointed to the logo and said, "Cool Seth! It's Spirit." Then proceeded to whinny like a horse. Well, that did it.

"No!" said Seth while simultaneously taking off the shirt and flinging it on the bed. He stomped back to his room and reemerged wearing a Tony Hawk tee. I opened my mouth to say it was a nice shirt he'd picked, but Seth held up his hand to stop me before the first word could exit my mouth. He said, "Stop."

Well, okay. I get the idea. Even though his vocabulary is small. He gets his point of view across. And today it was Mom-if-you-like-it-I-don't. Even though he has Fragile X and Autism, Seth still acts like a preteen.
  

Music Awards?

I watched this years MTV Music Award Show and was sadly disappointed. What the heck happened to Rock music? Really? I guess I need to rephrase that. What has happened to MTV? When I was growing up it was pretty much none stop music videos. I loved watching them, I could sit for hours waiting to see the latest songs. Now it's all reality t.v. and mini series. I mean, those are fine and all, but I want MORE MUSIC!!!

At the award show they had only one category for rock video and truly only one nominees (Foo Fighters) that were technically rock worthy of the award. Luckily, they won. I'm not saying only rock should be on MTV, I'm saying they need to actually play rock. There are a lot of other styles of music that are great too and were honored for it as well.

I was talking to my sister about the show and we both thought maybe "they" are calling what we think is rock, is now considered metal? Growing up, rock were bands like Nirvana, Metallica, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, and Ozzy. Even into my twenties, bands like Breaking Benjamin, Theory of a Deadman, Nickelback, Three Days Grace, and Godsmack were big and making new videos. But, now to watch the new videos you have to go on YouTube and be lucky you can stumble onto the new hits. Even radio stations that play the new rock releases are being bought out by hip hop and pop radio.

I hope I'm not the only one who is suffering and MTV will at least play some more "rock" bands. We need another Kurt Cobain type to come revive the industry once again. What are your thoughts? Any?

Week As A Single Mother: Day 5

Crazy, crazy morning. Seth did NOT want to go to school today. The newness had wore completely off with that child already. Thank goodness for the janitors at the elementary school, they help me out way more than I could every explain. Jay (one of the janitors) waits for me to pull up in front of the school and runs out to meet me. He helps Seth into the school with me. See, when I say help I mean he lifts the upper body while I carry the kicking legs on the days when Seth won't get out of the car with out persuasion. There are some days when he gets out and walks next to Jay like they are old buddies. (I like those days).

Thankfully, Seth calmed down after a bit and was great the rest of the day. I'm glad because I'm getting pretty depressed being the only parent here. My mother-in-law has come to help out before and right after school and that has been great. She helps the kids unload after school while I make dinner. Plus gives me some adult talk. I never knew how amazing of a lady she is. She is awesome. I'm glad I have good in-laws. I'm very lucky.

Tomorrow there is no school because of the four day weeks we do and I'm hoping to sleep in. Yeah, right, but I can dream at least. Well, until tomorrow readers.

Choa.

Week As A Single Mother: Day 4

Holy Moly! Today went perfect. The kids all got up, ate, brushed their teeth, and were dressed a half hour before the need to be at school. Seth even walked to his class with out any trouble. I was shocked.

Paisley was so cute and took a n apple for her teacher. I had the harder time when it came to leave, she looked at me out of the corner of her eye and waved. Broke my heart. Not even a tiny tear. But I guess that's alright. It's good she can handle being on her own for school...

Dom loved his first day too. He was really happy that mom walked him into his class. Yeah, my little boy has grown up and hit the stage where mom just isn't very cool anymore. We'll see if that changes when he wants a car in a few years.

I have to explain about the school clothes Seth wore. As some of you know he is very picky about the way clothes feel against his skin. If it's not right, he rips them off like Hulk Hogan. So, yes, he wore a t-shirt and basketball shorts. But, he made it all day with no outburst. So I guess its a battle I'm not fighting.

 We are really missing the daddy today. Every year he would ask them about their days when he got home, but this year he couldn't. The kids even noticed. Well, it's only a few more days and he'll be back.

Week As A Single Mother: Day 3

We had a tragic loss at our house today. Our beloved fish took a ride on the porcelain express. What made it so tragic is that they died right before my daughter's eyes. Pais won a fish at the fair the other day and the people gave her 3 instead. (They wanted to get rid of them) She loved the idea of being in charge of a pet of her very own. She fed them and helped clean the tank. But, I need to back up a little bit.

Yesterday, Dom came down stairs and asked what would happen if the fish lived in a bowl of Pepsi instead of water. I told him they'd die. Then he asked what about Kool-aid. Same thing, death. He replied with a simple,"Oh". That was that. A few minutes later I come into the kitchen to find the fish bowl a really murky brown.

 "How the heck could the fish get the water so dirty already?"

Paisley piped up and tattled on her brother, "Dom poured his soda in the tank."

CRAP! I quickly cleaned the poor fishes habitat and prayed for the best. Lesson learned here: when Dom is asking "what if" questions, worry. Fast forward to today. Pais was watching the three fish swim around when she cried, "Somethings wrong with Darwin and Dori."

Yup, they were literally puttering out as she watched. They both stopped and one floated to the top, the other to the bottom. She cried and we flushed them. A few hours later THE SAME THING. She saw the last little guy, Nemo, give his final fin flip and croak.

Everything settled down after a while and the door bell rang, but when I answered the door where a person would be standing were four over stuffed garbage bags of clothes. Two for the boys and two for Paisley. The Clothing Fairy struck again this year. These aren't just any clothes either, they are all name brand hardly ever worn (half still have the tags on them).

Today was eventful to day the least, but tomorrow is going to be an adventure. First day of school. Bring it on!

Week As A Single Mother: Day 2

Today was back to school night for my kids. We walked over to the school and the kids unloaded their supplies into their desks, so excited to see what friends were in their classes. My eight year old got pretty impatient when the kindergartners turn came and kept tapping my arm saying, "Mom. Mom. Mom." So I did what any mother would and blocked him out while I helped my little girl.

The teacher was kind to Paisley and walked her through what will be the morning routine. Pais fell in love with the teacher and I signed my life away with volunteer times for parties and snacks through out the year. Finally, it was time to go. I looked up to gather the troop and one was missing. Dom. Of course. I knew he'd probably walked home since we live a few houses away, but there is still a fear of "what if?".

I called my mother-in-law who'd stayed behind to keep Seth company. Yep, the little rascal was home on the computer. I could breathe easy now.

When we got home I made dinner and laid the guilt (we call it super-guilt in this situation) on thick. I know I'm going to damage the boy, I need to stop, but hey, it's what gets the message through. Oh, and I made my first ever zucchini bread. AND BIG SURPRISE it turned out yummy. Raise the roof. (oops, I just showed my age). Anyway, I'm beat so I'm off to bed before the baby wakes up. See you all later.  

Week As A Single Mother: Day 1

My husband had a great opportunity given to him through work this week. They shipped him off to take a course and become a CWI (certified welding inspector). Anyway, he is gone for the next week staying a few hours away busing himself all day with classes and studying. I told him it will be like a vacation because he's being put up in a posh hotel and gets a big break from the four tornadoes we call children.

This will also be the longest we have been apart in our eleven years of marriage. We've spent a few nights away from each other every hunting season, but there were still a few tears as we said goodbye this morning.  When I watched his car drive out of our subdivision, anxiety crept it's evil way up my throat and I started freaking out. (But kept a smile on my face so the husband wouldn't know any better). THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I'LL BE ALONE WITH ALL FOUR KIDS! No help. No, "Honey, I'm changing the baby can you break up the fight before one of the boys start bleeding?" Zilch. Oh, and did I mention school starts this week? No? Well, yeah it does. So it should be interesting to see how Seth acts when he realizes freedom of television and unlimited fridge raids end. Anyway...

By noon nothing had happened. Dinner time, still all quiet. Then it was bedtime. Everyone was tucked in and all quiet when the chime to the alarm chirped, "SHOP DOOR". Lights flipped on and the kids ran down the stairs screaming, "Daddy's back! Daddy's back!" But no. It was the wind. My kids had gone out earlier and didn't shut the door tight as they came back in. I explained the situation but my little girl cried and cried. She wanted her daddy. Thank goodness for cell phones. We called him up and one by one, told him good night.

Phew, that was it; only one melt down. But then again it was only day one. Let us pray the rest of the week is this uneventful.

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A Bad Morning

It was an interesting morning when I dropped off Seth for Summer school. He had been great all morning and couldn't wait to go on their field trip to the dog groomers. As we were pulling up to the curb, a few teenagers rode up on their bikes for drivers ed. and it set Seth off. See, the day before the class had gone bike ridding with Common Ground. Seth loves to ride his bike. Well, long story short, he wanted to get on the bikes and a fit settled in.

Some of you know his fits aren't the typical child tantrum. His are the equivalent of  a fight with a raging tiger. I got him settled down enough to get him up the stairs when one of the helpers from his class noticed our scuffle. She came over and grabbed Seth. I warned her not to put any of her body, especially her arms or hands in front of him or he would bite. What she do? Wrapped her arm around his mouth. Yep, CLAMP! Teeth sunk in.

I managed to release Seth's mouth from the ladies flesh but not before she screamed at me. I apologised and we got him into the class room. Guess what? She did it again. The teacher brought over a toy to distract Seth and calm him down. But, it also brought all the other kids over to the toy too. Before I could get the toy pulled further away out of Seth's bubble. He grabbed a kid and dug him. The teacher made me feel like crap by showing me what Seth had done to the kid and aid. I know what he did and I do feel bad for them and I was trying to prevent it but nobody would listen to me.

Thankfully, the aids that are familiar with Seth and knows how to work with him came in. He settled down and hopefully will stay that way. Can I just tell you all Autism sucks. It's a mean disability that really pisses me off. It takes over my son and hides him behind this violent meanness, because on the good days Seth is the best of kids and I know that's what he's really like. A good kid.

So on that note; you hear me Autism?!?! You suck! 

Say What?

My 8-year-old-son, Dom, and I were watching television the other night and he turned to me, with a serious face, and wanted to know answers to some mind boggling questions that were burning in his young, yet innocent mind. This is how it went down:

Dom: "Mom, you wax eyebrows right?"
Me: "Yes. Why do you want to know that?"
Dom clasps his hands together: "Never mind."
Me: "No, really why do you want to know?"
Dom takes a deep breath and clears his throat: "Why do girls' eyebrows look like they're angry?"
Me: *Blinks and tries not to laugh* "What?"
Dom :"Really? Why do you purposely wax them to look like you're mad?"
Me: "We think it looks pretty. It's like putting a frame around our eyes. We're not mad. It's to make us look nice."
Dom: "Well you are doing it all wrong because the frame is like a warning sign telling people to leave you alone."
Me: *Speechless*

Heaven save me now. He's only eight years old. What's it going to be like when he's a teenager?

Oh, My, REALLY?

There are things in my life I've come to accept. Example; I still get zits and I'm almost 30, stretch marks will never go away completely, with four children my house will not be spotless, and there will always be laundry to be done. But, I can not, WILL not accept being shocked to consciousness by the theme song to Harry Potter played at full volume on the surround sound at 6AM! It's just not that good of a feeling.

FOR THE LOVE MAKE IT STOP!

Me and Parking Lots

Holy Smokes! What is up with me and parking lots lately? A while back our car was victim to a hit and run, this past weekend I was honked at by a very angry driver for crossing the "crosswalk" slowly because I had all four of my kids with me, and today I, my body, got backed into. Yup, BACKED INTO!

Actually it was my baby the van hit first. Thank goodness he was in the car seat carrier, or I would have really flipped.

We got out of our car and the kids were walking next to me. Just as we passed a van, the reverse lights kicked on and backed into me. Yeah, I swore. A LOT! (My seven-year-old told me I need to wash out my mouth and I can't kiss Riot the rest of the day.) Well, the car stopped and nothing was hurt, just scared us both.

I think for now on I'm sending my husband to do all the shopping.

What Would You Do?

This summer has finally come (weather wise anyway), and I thought I would be a good mom and let my 7-year-old-son invite a friend over. He rarely is able to have friends over because of my oldest son and his autism. I know that sounds bad, but hear me out. He is my height and 100 pounds. He wants to play with his brother and friend. But, brother and friend want to run the neighborhood like little boys do. My 10-year old (Seth) RUNS!! and runs very fast. I can't catch him. Plus, I just had a baby and feedings are still taking place every two hours.

Anyways, back to the story. The friend came over and as usual they were coming in and out to play. When they would go out, Seth would hang on the door and cry, he wanted to go with them. So, after the fourth time I loaded the baby in the stroller and off we went on the bikes. Yeah, I ran. A LOT! Boy, I'm so out of shape. Seth actually did really well and stayed with the boys on the freaking MILE bike ride. He even came home like he was suppose to without a fight.

It was later that broke my heart. The boys wanted to play with just them, no Seth. So, outside they went and locked the door. The look on Seth face made my heart weep. I felt so bad because I couldn't go out to keep him where he was suppose to be and I couldn't tell the boys "Sorry, you have to be bored and stay in the back yard". (Well I could but didn't.) Seth sat by me while I was feeding the baby and whimpered "play" over and over.

What do I do? This is why we don't have my younger son have friends over. I feel bad that he always has to go over to everyone else's houses but it's just not fair to leave Seth out. Really? Am I doing the right thing?  

House Hold Memo's

Dear Laundry,

Our relationship has been getting, let's say, a little unacceptable. We use to coexist in harmony. You never seemed to overwhelm me. I miss the days when I could fold you and enjoy the fresh sent of fabric softener. Where have you gone?

As of late, you're out of control. I mean you're leaving piles everywhere. In the bathroom, in the corners of my bedroom, you've gotten so lazy in the kids' rooms I can't see the floor. And we are not even going to talk about the laundry room floor. NO! This is enough. 

This is your final notice, get it together, or you will be replaced by new clothing and never washed again.

Sincerely yours,
Laci 

The Canal

I dipped my feet into the cool water of the kiddy pool. The ripples rolled across the surface as I lifted my toes up and down. My older sister and her boyfriend sat behind me on the front porch, smooching. Gag.

Not only was the heat from the July sun making me sick, but the sound of lips smacking together wasn’t something a twelve year old wanted to hear. My six year old little brother, Bubba, ran out of the front door with the neighbor kids. Silently tagging along behind him was my two year old sister, Bailey.

“Hey Lace,” asked Bubba. “Is it okay if we go over to the Talbot’s?”

“Sure, just don’t be too long. Mom and Dad should be home soon.”

Our parents were at a funeral, my dad’s friend, who had been killed in a car accident. They had told us that we could go out for a burger when they got back, and to us kids’ fast food was awesome!

Bubba and his friends took off across the canal to the Talbot’s place. I leaned forward and hugged my knees with one arm to keep my balance while I drug my fingers across the water. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the feeling of the sun’s heat on my face. It felt nice to be back from girls camp. A weekend of passing off knots, C.P.R., and crafts were enough to do me in for the rest of the summer.

A few moments later, the Talbot kids, Kolby and Chantel, were on the bridge of the canal with Bubba. Chantel came up to me. “Did Bailey come back over here?”

“No. Why isn’t she with you?” I stood up and looked around. “Did you check over at your place? She followed you over.”

Bubba yelled to me, “Hey, someone’s in the canal.”

“It looks like a Sixth Grader,” added Kolby.

I’d just been in Sixth Grade and thought I’d probably know who was swimming next to my house; hoping deep down it was'nt a cute boy. (My hair wasn't done). With Chantel by my side, I made my way with an ever so cool sway to my walk up to the bridge.

“Look,” said Bubba, pointing to a blue object floating in the water. “Right there, see them floating?”

A few yards down the bank, a little arm rose out of the water and sunk back under. My heart jumped into my throat. “It’s Bailey!” I yelled and readied myself to jump in.

A quiet voice spoke in my ear, “Don’t jump in yet. Run to get her.” My bare feet flew over the weeded ditch bank until I reached to spot I’d seen my baby sister. I heard a large slash behind me and looked back to see my older sister’s boyfriend had jumped in to get her, but he was clear back at the bridge. I turned my attention back to the water in front of me. A few feet a head, Bailey’s tiny face bobbed up to the surface and went back down. I jumped in the water and grabbed her, lifting her up in front of me.

Bailey’s body was cold, limp, and lifeless. I looked into her eyes and nothing was there. Her happy glow of life was gone. I shook her and screamed, “No! Bailey, no! You can’t do this! You can’t die. NO!”

A tiny drop of water rolled out of her mouth and something clicked in my head. I can save her. I know this.

I listened for her breathe, nothing. Placed my ear to her chest. A faint flutter, if that. I laid her on the bank and began chest compressions. Each time I pressed down, water flowed out of her mouth. This couldn’t be happening.

After a few seconds, Bailey coughed. I turned her to her side. At this point, my parents had arrived home and heard hysterical screaming. Some strange voice yelled, “Where’s Bailey? Where is she?” It was my dad. His voice unfamiliar in that tone. He never sounded paniced.

“I’ve got her. Over here. She’s breathing now.” I shouted back. I looked up as my dad hurdled the four foot fence and run toward me. He scooped Bailey up and took off toward the van. He and my mom zoomed off to the hospital.

Still in the waist high water, everything went silent. The only sounds were the sobs of my brother and his friends. Shock of what had taken place settled in. I covered my hands over my face and wept. Slowly, a hand was placed on my shoulder.

“You did good, Laci.” I looked up to see my sister’s boyfriend. He helped me out of the water and into the house. My sister wrapped me in a blanket and cried along with me.

We waited by the phone what seemed for hours. Finally, my dad called letting us know Bailey was alright and they would be home later.

This really happened and I still have nightmares. With summer on its way, everyone be aware of water safety. Nobody needs to go though this.

News clippings of the event.

 Below is Bubba, Me holding Bailey, Chantel, and Kolby.

 This is Bailey now. 16 years later, I'm still glad she made it.

A Note From My Son.

My seven-year-old son made a list of things about me for Mother's Day and gave it to me late. He said he was embarrassed, but not anymore. After I read it, I gave him a big hug, folded it up and put it in my journal. He gave me permission to post this though. I think it's great, and kinda funny of what reminds him of me. The caps words are what he wrote. It's these types of little things that make me happy to be a mom.

1.   If my mom were a flower, she would be a ROSE, because THEY SMELL GOOD.

2.   If my mom were a song, she would be RUDOLF THE RED NOSED REINDEER, because IT REMINDS ME OF CHRISTMAS AND HER BIRTHDAY IS RIGHT AFTER THAT.

3.   If my mom were a super hero, she would be MEGA-MOM, because IT SOUNDS COOL.

4.   If my mom were a candy, she would be GUM, because IT'S SWEET.

5.   If my mom were a car, she would be a TAXI, because SHE DRIVES ME AROUND AND IT'S YELLOW.

6.   If my mom were a color, she would be WHITE, because, IT'S BRIGHT.

7.   If my mom were an animal, she would be a BUNNY,  because THEY ARE FLUFFY.

8.   If my mom were a TV show, she would be REGULAR SHOW, because IT'S FUNNY LIKE HER.

I'm glad none of them were too bad, like saying I was a monster of some kind. But, a bunny huh? At first I was worried he might say because I used to watch GIRLS NEXT DOOR. Phew. Hum, but fluffy?

I love this kid!

A Hit and A Miss

Yesterday started out amazingly with a phone call from Aprilynne Pike. She was coming through the area and asked if I wanted meet up for some grub. (Not her words exactly). We met up for lunch at a yummy restaurant and ate out little hearts out. She brought her mother along for this part of her book tour to help with her new little (adorable I might add) baby girl.

We laughed and caught up on what's been happening lately. Crazy enough, since we'd both just had babies, our lives are similar at the moment. Only mine isn't as glamorous. Hopefully someday though. Aprilynne had to hit the road and I had to get back to being a busy busy mom.

Around four o'clock that night, my husband and I took off to get our Whooping Cough booster. *OUCH* (Not really, didn't even feel it). Then stopped off at ol' Walmart to do some birthday shopping. On our way out we noticed our SUV had been hit. I mean, who could miss the big white paint scratched along the side of the rear-end?  My husband was fuming mad and had the store call the police.

This is what's pretty amazing. The cop and Walmart employee viewed the security cameras and saw the whole thing. A white car attempted to pull into the stall next to us, but hit our vehicle instead. Then they backed out (at this time the lady got out of her car, looked at the damage, and got back into the drivers seat.) She then, pulled her car into a stall two cars to the right of ours and got out and entered the store. The cop and employee then followed her (via camera angles) through the store all the way to her checking out. If she were to pay with credit or debit card or check they could trace her and find out her name, address, ect. But, this is the kick in the pants. She paid in CASH! No trail. The only thing they have is her car make and model and her face.

The camera followed her to her car, and here comes another kick, passes us inspecting the damage she had done. She gets into her car and drives away. GONE! OFF SCOTT FREE while we are stuck with the $500 repair bill. But we have a copy of the DVD of you (stupid lady) hitting and running. I hope it eats at you knowing you are dishonest.

Now it's cool and all that Walmart is able to do this, but really? BIG BROTHER! How much other stuff do they catch on camera?  And why do people hit and run? I mean come on! What happened to people doing the right thing? Well, anyway at least I had fun with Aprilynne.

I'm out!

   

Oh Where, Oh Where Have ALL My Clothes Gone?

Some of you may know the issue we've been having with son #1. He's in training to become the next Hulk Hogan or a Chip and Dale dancer, one of the two, who knows but hopefully the first. He is getting really good at ripping the clothes off too. Faster than I can stop him. I'll be doing something and I'll hear that first *rip* and start charging toward him in hopes to saving the article of clothing. We found that Shopko has the KID TOUGH guarantee and are taking full advantage of it.

Well, lately I've been noticing my clothes have been disappearing. I recently had a baby and yes the laundry does seem to stay in piles for a few days but I catch up on the weekends. Anyway, I seriously couldn't find a lot of my clothes. Well, last night I found what has been happening to them.

My laundry pile for my husband and myself is in our bathroom, next to the toilet. Are you following me? If you've read this blog before you might know what is coming next. Just put two and two together. Yep! I found him ripping my clothes and FLUSHING them! GOOD HEAVENS, YES! Down the tube they've been going.

So, that's my life this week. I'll be getting a shopping trip soon.

Illusions by Aprilynne Pike

This book comes out in a few days, but Aprilynne is an awesome friend of mine and sent it to me early! Really, this is my favorite book in the series so far. I won’t go into to detail and spoil anything since you all should read it, but I will tell you it’s amazing. The story is fast pasted from the first word and there are a lot of intense scenes. I couldn’t put it down. So, mark this book down on your to read list!

IT'S A BOY! Riot Smith

I know, I know. It’s about time. You’ve all been wondering and waiting to see my new baby. Well, what do you expect? I mean just look at his little face. I can’t get enough of him. So without further hesitation, I present to you my new baby boy, Riot. He was born March 11th and came in weighing a modest size of 8lbs 14 ounces! He was a strong healthy boy too. Now me, I gave everyone a scare. Didn’t mean to but it happened. There were lets say some complications during the c-section. Nothing was where it was suppose to be.
The following day I woke up with the worst pain in my belly I’ve EVER experienced and my heart pounding. When I looked down, it was red, and swollen. I called for a nurse and at one look she grabbed my doctor. I had red streaks running up and down my stomach. At first I thought it was new stretch marks. Not so much, it was something worse. The doctor touched my stomach and I about passed out from the pain. He performed some more tests and grabbed another doctor. By this time, I couldn’t handle life anymore and was slipping in and out.

The next thing I knew it was a few hours later and my room was full of family. My bladder had been paralyzed, kidneys shut down among other things. To top it all off, I had to get two blood transfusions. Yeah, that isn’t very fun either. But, hey I was on morphine (which I found out I HATE! I can’t stand the way it made me feel.)

So a week later, I got to come home with my baby and got an amazing surprise! Someone, ONE OF YOU READERS, contacted a photographer (Jen Smith) of RJS Photography and purchased a session for my baby! (But they wanted to keep themselves anonymous) So here is my HUGE THANK YOU! I thought it would be nice to share a few of my favorites so whoever you are (amazing friend) can see how cute of a gift you got our family.
THANK YOU AGAIN!

Paisley said.....

The other night while putting our son to bed we couldn't find his little dog. He loves this pet, it's his therapy. Me, not so much of a fan of something that will piddle on my carpet. But anyway, you do anything for your kids to be happy and calm.

Well, Seth would not go to bed with out this dog to sleep next to him. He wondered around the house whimpering, "Chester, here boy." After ten minutes, no response my husband and I call out for him.

The little voice of my 4 year old daughter yells out, "He's in my room. He was tired."

We walk into her room and find her snuggled in her bed smiling. My husband asked, "Where in your room is he? I can't see him."

Paisley's beautiful blue eyes brighten up as she smiles. "He's in my closet."

Why she locked the dog in her closet is still a mystery. What made me a little nervous for the future, this was the same smile and giggle she made when we opened the door and found the dog in the dolly bed.

Baby Shower, Ring, Scarf, OH MY!

Wow, a lot has happened. So, this post is going to jump all over and talk a lot about me, sorry in advance. First off I owe you all photos of my ring my husband got me for my birthday (back in December). We have been married going on eleven years and he surprised me with this amazing gift on my birthday. I guess he'd gotten it a while back and couldn't decide when to give it to me. I had no clue, but I think he did AMAZING at picking it out all by himself. He even got the size right. Don't mind the blury fat fingers.

I also got a gift from my friend Gretchen Stelter who lives in Portland. She is also an amazing editor if anyone is in need of some editorial work. My camera is not wanting to load my photos so The scarf looks a lot like the one Gretchen is wearing( click on the link to see photos.), but mine has a peace sign and the words love on it. I LOVE LOVE LOVE it and wear it all the time.. Here is a link to her site. Double R Design.

This past weekend my friends gave me a baby shower. I'm having my fourth baby in a few weeks and have never had a baby shower. I had no idea what I was missing! We did an open house style shower because I'm not a fan of shower games and really I just wanted to sit and chat with my friends. We had a good turn out and I really want to tell each of my friends Shannon, Ashli, and Andrea for giving me a shower, and all of the rest of you who came THANK YOU very much. I appreciate everything you did and gave me. My friend Shannon posted some photos on her blog of the decorations (which were over the top and the treats amazing!) Here is the link to see the baby shower pictures. Shannon made me a plate for my baby's room with his name on it. Love it. You'll see it in the photos.

Who wants to be a Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner?

I love pictures of babies. That being said, my friend, Jen Smith of RJS Photography is giving away a photo shoot worth $175. Believe me it's so worth entering in this contest. All you have to do is comment on her web site and here is a link. (click HERE)

Now, if you still don't believe me, here are some samples of her work. Plus there are a lot more on her site. Good Luck to any and all who enter.

A Clog in the Kitchen Sink From HELL!

I’ve had the perfect start for this year. Wait, really I haven’t and this is why. On Saturday morning, my husband noticed the water backing up from the dishwasher into the kitchen sink. He put on his Man Belt and got to work with a plunger. The water instantly shot out of the other side and landed right on his back. Don’t laugh yet, it gets better. He’s ticked, I mean really mad. He moved on to the plumbers snake and twisted that sucker to its breaking point. NOTHING. We went and bought an acid that’s supposed to eat through anything. Really, the bottle said it would eat through rags. What the bottle didn’t say is the fumes could kill an army. Still the clog stayed put.

My husband spued out a few choice words and I told him to call a plumber. He yells back, “Screw that. I got this! I can fix it myself and cheaper than hiring a plumber.” I knew that was the kiss of death. Nothing ever good comes after that saying.

He cinched up his Man Belt a little tighter and bought a new, longer plumbers snake. After shoving the 50 foot metal hose down the pipe, WE FOUND THE CLOG. Bad news, it was something so tight it bent the snake accordion style.

The next thing I heard was banging of power tools getting pulled out of the garage. “Heaven help me now!”  Sure enough the saw fired up and a pipe was being cut. I prayed for a miracle. Or at least for my husband to not chop off any of his body parts.

All of a sudden I hear, “Oh. My. Gosh.” I could have crapped my heart through an eye of a needle right then, but luckily it stayed in place. I took off down stairs, waiting to find my husband covered in blood. What I met was an invisible wall of the most horrible smelling order ever and my husband looking up at the severed pipe in disgust. It looked like what you see inside of a raw sausage link. What seemed to have happened, when we were building our house the plumber made too many bends in the pipe from the garbage disposal to the main drain of the house causing six years of discarded food particles to build up little by little until it became packed—solid.

We ended up replacing that entire length of pipe, about ten feet. It was too packed to even start to unclog. It’s a dang good thing we didn’t have the basement finished or we would've had to replace the ceiling too. But, my husband rubbed it in my face. He did save us money. The total cost of the repair, $40. My husband’s pride—priceless.

Oh, P.S. When I get the time, I have to show you what I got for my birthday from my husband. Plus an awesome gift from my friend, Gretchen Stelter.