Fish Check In

But they don't check out.

We seem to be the black hole of fishdom.

Erika wanted a fishbowl for her birthday back in the Summer. She got the glass bowl with 2 feeder fish. Fred 1 and Fred 2. Fred 1 (or maybe it was Fred 2) decided he wanted to go to the big fish bowl in the sky. He jumped out of the bowl (that was on the higher kitchen counter) and I found him on the floor. A good 5 foot jump. Without a bungee cord. I put him back in the bowl. He swam sideways for a while. He was then flushed in to the Atlantic Ocean.

The Fred that is left is slightly nutso. Zips this way and that. Not sure where he thinks he is. Maybe he thinks the ocean??

I decided to surprise Erika this weekend with some new fish. A white one. And 2 Neon Tetra which are small fish but not necessarily tiny. They joined Fred 2 (or maybe Fred 1?) in the fish bowl.

One big happy family.

I went to feed them this afternoon. Did a quick head count. 1.2.3. Hmmmmmmm. Checked again. 1.2.3. Short one Tetra. Looked in the rocks. Looked on the floor. No fishie. I am thinking Fred 1 (or 2?) had some Sushi for lunch. Cannibalism at its best. Or maybe FISHibalism?

Luckily, the Diva has not noticed she is a fish short. I am thinking a trip to the fish store may be in order in the near future.

Fox 29

I love their morning show.

Thankful

Here we are again. Another Thanksgiving.

What am I thankful for?

Of course the obvious. My husband. My kids. They keep me grounded. And love me unconditionally.

My family..especially my mother. There was a long time period where she and I didn't speak. It doesn't matter why now. Just that we are back together. I never realized how much I missed her until she was back.

My family and friends. I am blessed to have both. I have learned over the years. Blood doesn't make you family. Love does. And I have friends that I may not see too often (especially Cookie and Gina). But I know they always have my back and that is all that counts.

The Home Depot. Funny right?? But thanks to that company, my family lives in relative ease and no longer paycheck to paycheck. Don't get me wrong. We are not rolling in it. But we are fortunate to own a brand new car with no car payments. And taking a trip to Disney in a few weeks. And not breaking the bank to do it.

My fridge and freezer. Another funny one right? My fridge and freezer are jammed full of food. My cabinets too. Not everyone has that.

Facebook. Why Facebook?? It has brought so many people to me. Old friends I had lost touch with (mostly HS friends) who I cannot even imagine losing touch with now. New friends (like my friend Naomi in Sweden who is a mom of 3 like me and slightly nuts). Even a cousin who I thought was lost forever. 33 years later. I found her on Facebook. I am so glad to have you back Deb. ♥

Mostly I am thankful to be alive. After my brush with death last year, I have realized how short our time is here on Earth and how we need to make the most of it. I try every day to do that.

Happy Thanksgiving.

a nice short week

I am so glad it is a short week this week.

Yes I am well aware of the fact that I never get a vacation. And having everyone home will probably make me more nuts. But at least I don't have to get everyone up, fed, dressed and out the door to meet Christian's bus by 8:15. We can just be lazy in our PJs for 4 days...well actually 3 since we will be at my moms for Turkey Day.

I love the next 6 weeks. Thanksgiving always reminds me of when I met my husband and gives me the warm fuzzy feeling every year. He was working security at a store in the mall and my first night there was the night before Thanksgiving. Hard to believe that was in 1989. He told me then he was going to marry me and I thought he was nuts (I was 19 at the time) Guess he knew what he was talking about.

Butter

This, by far, is the best butter you will ever have in your life.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/cinnamon-honey-butter-recipe/index.html

Thanks to my BFF Gina who turned me on to it. We made it for our pre Thanksgiving dinner and it went FAST!!

I did tweak it a little. We tried it with the Kosher salt and it was too salty for our taste. Instead, I used salted butter and no extra added salt.

It is like heaven. No other words to describe it.

Prematurity Awareness Day

Somehow I missed that this was yesterday.

Christian was a preemie. Born at 29 weeks. 3 pounds 3 ounces. 15 inches long. Total surprise. He was due on July 4th. I had him Easter Sunday. He gave us no indication he was coming early. Just decided he wanted out and that was it. They did manage to hold him off for a few days and give me time to get the shots to mature his lungs. But by Day 3, I was going into congestive heart failure from the medication I was given to stop labor so he had to be delivered.

There were so many things that could have gone wrong. But never did. He spent about 36 hours with a breathing tube. Another 3 days or so under the O2 hood. And that was it. He just needed to grow.

I can still remember how surreal it was to be discharged and leave my baby behind. To trust others to help him. I was extremely lucky. He had wonderful NICU doctors and nurses...one nurse I am still friends with to this day 10 1/2 years later. It was a feeling I don't wish on anyone. I spent all day, every day with him. From early morning to late at night. And he grew and grew and grew. We brought him home at almost 6 weeks old and at 4 1/2 pounds.

I was never afraid. I knew he would be ok. Call it mothers instinct. He thrived at home. 18 pounds 12 ounces by his first birthday. Met all of his milestones 3 months off. But still met them. No brain issues. CP is a big concern for early babies. Nothing at all. He is a bright boy who does well in school. Likes to talk and gets in trouble for that. But so did I. Apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Like I said, somehow I missed this yesterday. And it is a good thing in a way. I haven't given a thought to Christian's prematurity in years.

Papa Smurf

Our powder room toilet has been leaking. A few weeks ago, the hubs replaced all of the guts. It was good for a while. Then started to leak again. He actually took it apart and replaced some seal in between the tank and the base. It stopped leaking for a few weeks. Started again a few days ago. Tonight he was going to fix it again.

Except there in one thing different from the last time he fixed it. I put one of those blue disinfecting tablets in the tank. So now the tank and toilet water are blue.

This time around, the toilet is leaking really bad. Still leaking even though he shut the water off. Leaking BLUE water. Every thing is now blue....including his hands!! He was so pissed. "I look like an effing SMURF!!"

Christian and I laughed. And laughed. And laughed. Daddy? Not so much.

The plumber is coming tomorrow between 12 and 4.

I Wonder

how I got to this point sometimes.

Supposedly I am infertile.

We were married in May 1998. In November of that year I was diagnosed with endometriosis. Also with a pre cancerous cervical condition. Had a colposcopy and LEEP done. Luckily it was caught early. In 12 years of follow up, it hasn't come back.

But between the endo and the LEEP, no one was sure what my future held.

I was a lucky infertile lady. I just needed help pinpointing ovulation. We got pregnant on the 2nd cycle of drugs.

And then I miscarried.

We waited a few months and tried again. Those months were terrible. I thought it would never happen again. Got pregnant on the first round of drugs. That was my son. The early bird. The one who couldn't wait for his 4th of July due date. He decided to come on Easter Sunday.

We swore standing over him in the NICU that we wouldn't do it again. We just wanted him to live and be healthy.

When Christian was 3, somehow, we got pregnant. And I miscarried that one.

Well now, I had the itch to have another. Found a WONDERFUL specialist in Ohio. He did a whole round of blood work on me and a surgery to remove my endo. Turns out I have a blood disorder that puts me at a higher risk for miscarriage. Took care of that issue. Surgery to clean out my pipes in October. First round of drugs in December. BAMMMMMM Baby #2!!

Now we think we are done. One of each. Some call it a rich mans family. Boy. Girl.

Someone higher then me had a different opinion.

The Phillies won the World Series. The hubs and I celebrated...appparently a little too much. I didn't feel good on Thanksgiving Day. Thought HMMMM?? Picked up a test. Surprise. Surprise. Did #3 all on our own. I was so surprised. I was afraid to be too excited giving my history. Once again, someone higher then me had a different idea. Baby #3 was a relatively boring pregnancy compared to the first 2 (although 6 weeks after she was born is a whole different story)

Baby #3. My ooops baby. My bonus baby. My bought 2 and got 1 free baby.

I love my family. If you had told me back in 1999 that we would have 3 children, I would have laughed and laughed and laughed. I couldn't imagine my life without these 3. They are all so different yet all so the same. They got the best of both of us wrapped up into these 3 little beings. I never know what each day is going to bring. It is something different every day. I can hardly wait to see them grow. But I want them to stay little forever. ♥

Best part of this whole story? The hubby had to get the old snippety snip back in March. I was told no more babies because of the DVT last year.

The infertile couple needed to get permanent birth control. Ironic.

Parking Lot

Erika's pre k has a tiny parking lot. It is terrible. The spots are angled and you can barely see the paint and the driving lane in between the spots is barely wide enough for a car. Drop off and pick up is hair raising. You have to drive real slow...especially pulling out because you can't see anyone walking.

However, it seems as if all the parents understand this and we all take our time and are courteous to one another.

Except for one parent.

They drive this GIGANTIC SUV. And insist on parking it in front of the walkway to school. In the area that has striped lines through it that says NO PARKING. And if this isn't bad enough, they don't pull up all the way so no one can get past them to leave the parking lot. Every single day. Why?? What makes you so special?? I could understand if you are running late (although the school isn't nutty about lateness. They are 3-5 years old) I could see if you have 6 kids in there. (only one kid ever gets out of the SUV) I schlep my 2 girls every day from where ever I am parked in the lot. Rain. Wind. Cold. Hot. Why can't you??

It really annoys me to no end. But what do I do? Tattle to the director??

I just don't understand why people think they are better then others. I try to step back and think "Maybe I don't know the whole story. Maybe they are handicapped. Maybe the kid can only walk so far." There is always more to the story then what appears on the surface.

But this still annoys me.

Sometimes

during the day, out of the blue, my husband will send me a wonderful email. Something sweet. For nor reason.

And then I remember why I married him. ♥

I Don't Know

how people with large families do it. 3 kids make me slightly insane some days. There is always someone who needs something. Math checked. Batteries for the Wii remote. Nose wiped. Butt wiped. Straw in the juice box. Something. Always.

I love those kids to the bottom of my toes. Wouldn't change anything it took to get me to this point. There are days it is a nut house in here. Forget about 4-7 pm. I don't even answer the phone.

I am blessed with a great husband and father to my children. There are days he makes me slightly insane. Days he is cranky. And tired. My famous (or maybe it is infamous) expression that I say to my husband is "You may be a dick. But you are my dick." But most nights he gives them their baths. And gets the baby to sleep. And that gives me an hour or two to myself. Granted. I am still usually doing something family oriented...putting away wash, emptying the dishwasher etc... But at least I am not chasing a 1 year old down the hall way who is running away with the clean pajamas from the laundry basket.

Right now is my 120 minutes to myself. One upstairs falling asleep. 2 downstairs on the PS3. There is so much that needs to be done. We are having our pre Thanksgiving dinner this Saturday. My house needs a cleaning.

But I want my 120 minutes....

Somehow

I have ended up with a child who doesn't like to eat.

I try not to make a big deal about. Last thing I need is a daughter with a body image. But sometimes it is troubling. She very rarely eats breakfast before school. Sometimes I can get milk into her. Most mornings, no. Good thing is, she has snack by 10ish and then I pick her up at 11:30.

She is very particular about what she will and won't eat. Very little meat unless it is breaded and shaped like a dinosaur. She will not try anything new. Some veggies. Fortunately she will eat just about any fruit..especially strawberries and blueberries. But she can actually work herself into a frenzy if we are out somewhere about whether she is going to eat. I just ignore her. And most times, she will eat if I play it down. It is still concerning though.

My BFF has 4 kids. 2 boys. 2 girls. One of her girls is 2 months younger then Erika. Both of her girls give her fits with eating too. Makes me feel better. Is it just a girl thing?? Who knows??

I have paid attention over the last few weeks and it does seem as if her food balances out over the day. She had nothing for breakfast this morning but just ate 4 slices of peanut butter toast with a cup of milk for lunch. I guess in the end, it all works out. But in this day and age, we have to watch our daughters. ♥

Things My Kids Say

"Mom he farted on me"

"Mom he burped on me"

"Mom he is looking at me"

Waitress Service and my family

We are doomed to never get good service...ever. I have no idea why. We are courteous. We don't ask for anything above and beyond...well except for maybe extra napkins since we have 3 kids. Yet every time we go out, 9 times out of 10, we get crappy service.

Today is a perfect example. Local diner. About 11 am. Crowded. But not super crowded. Probably close to 10 minutes before our waitress came over and introduced herself. Should have known then. We ordered. All easy breakfast food. Then we waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. And watched everyone around us who came in AFTER us get their food. And some even leave.

Finally I went to the manager. And lo and behold. Out came our food. The waitress blamed it on the cook. "Oh he apologizes. We are busy. Blah Blah Blah" And while I actually do believe her (our food came out HOT) I do believe part of her responsibility as our waitress is to stay on top of our food.

Don't lecture me on waitresses. I know quite a few. But for some reason, the gods have decided my family is to never ever get a good one.

Well it has certainly been a while

Boy so much has changed in 2 years... the biggest that we went from a family of 4 to a family of 5.

I forgot all about this blog until my best friend in the universe started a foodie blog and I wanted to leave a comment and ended up here. People tell me all the time I should start a blog about our family adventures. Maybe I will.