I will never forget...

I'm kind of having a hard time keeping it together today. I'll be back later as soon as I can gather my thoughts. Or maybe not.

1-800-222-1222...

That's the number for Poison Control. I have now officially called them twice. It's a dubious honor, I know, but one that I can claim as my own. I should add that I've called them twice for the same child. This is also the same child that tried to walk into traffic. (I still have nightmares about that) She worries me. Obviously not enough for several of these incidents to occur, but I'm not sure that even if I did walk around in a perpetual state of "nervous, hand-wringing, worried mother" that it would hinder her. Fortunately, I was told by David at Poison Control that her drinking about an ounce of children's Motrin was not going to be bad for her. It might cause an upset stomach, but that would be about it. I should add that about an ounce of children's Motrin is about 6 times what her normal dosage would be. Oh... I almost forgot to say how she drank it. I had opened the bottle and then remembered that I didn't have anything to measure it with, so I put the lid back on and left it on the table. I'm not sure if she's ultra-talented or if I just didn't tighten the lid properly (I'll accept the blame because I don't think she could swing the child-proof cap just yet in her early daredevil career) and when I walked back into the room she was swigging down the last few drops out of the bottle. I guess she was thirsty. Thank goodness it was less than 1/4 full. So yeah... raise your glass to congratulate me as Mother of the Year.

Sloopy Rhinohump at your service...

I received this email last night from my sister. I'm not a forwarder of emails. Hardly ever. But this came at the perfect time for me... and it totally made me laugh, even though my name is pretty lame. So instead of forwarding it, I'm blogging about it. Play along if you like and leave me a comment with your new name! I need a few more good laughs today!

The following is excerpted from a children's book, Captain Underpants and the Perilous Plot of Professor Poopypants, by Dav Pilkey. In it, the evil Professor forces everyone to assume new names...

So:-

1. Use the third letter of your first name to
determine your new first name:

A = snickle
B = doombah
C = goober
D = cheesey
E = crusty
F = greasy
G = dumbo
H = farcus
I = dorky
J = doofus
K = funky
L = boobie
M = sleezy
N = sloopy
O = fluffy
P = stinky
Q = slimy
R = dorfus
S = snooty
T = tootsie
U = dipsy
V = sneezy
W = liver
X = skippy
Y = dinky
Z = zippy

2. Use the second letter of your last name to determine the first half of your new last name:

A = dippin
B = feather
C = batty
D = burger
E = chicken
F = barffy
G = lizard
H = waffle
I = farkle
J = monkey
K = flippin
L = fricken
M = bubble
N = rhino
O = potty
P = hamster
Q = buckle
R = gizzard
S = lickin
T = snickle
U = chuckle
V = pickle
W = hubble
X = dingle
Y = gorilla
Z = girdle

3. Use the third letter of your last name to determine the second half of your new last name:

A = butt
B = boob
C = face
D = nose
E = hump
F = breath
G = pants
H = shorts
I = lips
J = honker
K = head
L = tush
M = chunks
N = dunkin
O = brains
P = biscuits
Q = toes
R = doodle
S = fanny
T = sniffer
U = sprinkles
V = frack
W = squirt
X = humperdinck
Y = hiney
Z = juice
Thus, for example, George W. Bush's new name is: Fluffy Chucklefanny. And my new name is listed in the title of this blog entry.

Go ahead. Do it. You know you want to...

Cinnamon rolls, chocolate-covered strawberries with sprinkles, and grapes...

Yeah. That was dinner. And no... I didn't make it. That's the creative mind of a nine year-old, people. I asked her where the protein was. She said, "In the milk, Mom." At least she's absorbing a little of what I try to teach her...

Needless to say my middle two daughters, Spazzy McGee and Squeaks McGillicuddy were bouncing off every wall and even the ceiling. Squeaks was still awake last night at 11:45. Why can't that energy be transferred to me?

Why?...

do kids do this?


What makes the thought of going to sleep in her bed so terrible that this child will stay awake for two hours past her bedtime... crawl rather quietly into the hallway... and then promptly fall asleep in a fully lit area? It's good that I take photos of moments like this. I can remember the sweet stuff. Especially when I want to hang them upside down by their toenails.

ETA: It's now 11:45 pm and my four year-old is STILL awake and trying to sneak out of her room. What is going ON? I'm tired... why isn't she?

Grateful today for these things...

• The subscription to Wonder Time magazine that my sister got for me. Love that magazine... it's a super cool alternative to Parents and other parenting magazines like that.
  
• Hannah feeding Gabby dinner tonight so I could finish making dinner for everyone else.
• Ally (the dog) didn't chew up anything today. BIG accomplishment for her.
  
• The way Lexi climbs up into my bed and pulls my arm out so she can roll right onto it. It's a little ritual for us now.
• The way Gabby bounces in her little duck tub. She bounces up and down on her little bottom like it's some kind of trampoline. So cute.
• Taylor helped me clean up toys tonight before bedtime. Without arguing. HUGE step for her.

Taylorisms...

My Taylor never ceases to amaze me with the hilarious things she says. (At least I think they are hilarious... maybe others don't. That's ok. It's my blog, so I can post what I want, right?) Today was no exception... we were driving Hannah to soccer practice, and she sees a pizza delivery car (you know, with the sign on top?) She says... "Hey Mommy, there's a car with a triangle hat on his head!" At first I had no idea what she was talking about, but sure enough she pointed and I saw it. Another incident from today: spring has brought houseflies... much to Taylor's dismay. She asked me repeatedly for the "flyswhacker" so she could "whack those pesty flies." And I'll share just one more... the girls wanted peanut butter crackers for their snack. Taylor was quite insistent that her's needed "lids." That girl cracks me up.

Finally...

Well... I finally have a blog header! It took me long enough...LOL. For curious minds... "Off we go like a herd of turtles..." is something my grandmother used to say whenever we would go anywhere when I was a kid. It really seems fitting for my family now, though. It takes us FOREVER to get anywhere.

Quick post tonight... I have two kiddos who are sick. Lexi has a double ear infection. I found that out when I rushed her over to our neighbor's house (she's a doctor) because Lexi's fever was 104.1. What started out as a simple cold about 4 days ago has now just knocked out my poor little girl. She's so fussy and whiny, which is so unlike her. She is the most easy-going child I know, and she seems to have a really high pain tolerance. The sad thing is, if it hadn't been for the fever, I wouldn't have even worried about anything more serious than just a cold. She hadn't been pulling at her ears at all. I had no clue that's what the problem was. Hopefully, all of the other girls can just stick with a cold and not move on to any secondary infections. Hannah and Taylor are already complaining of sore throats, and Gabby already has the cold. I would like to hope I don't get it, but my throat is already starting to feel scratchy... yuck.

Anyhoo... I hope all two of you who read my blog are doing well! Bye for now!

We're mobile...

It's official... Gabby is now mobile. She picked the first day of the year to crawl. She's been inching toward it for a few days, but mostly just kinda scooting along. Today, though... she crawled several feet to get to the toy she wanted. Thank goodness my house is already child-proofed twice over!

On a side note, I'm going to participate in Project 365 this year. It shouldn't be too difficult, because once my dear sweet husband leaves, I'll be taking a ton of photos to send to him every day anyway. Here's my first photo of 2008, the Gabster right after she crawled to her toy:


On a scrapbooking note, Two Little Pixels is having a sale. According to Sharon and Megan there won't be too many of them, so if you are so inclined, head on over there by January 15 to pick up some good stuff!

Ringing in the new year...

So I know I need a new blog header... I will get to it eventually.

Tonight I am pondering Ali Edwards' concept of "one little word." You can read more about it here. To be quite honest, though, I'm not really pondering... the word came to me pretty quickly.

For most people, the new year symbolizes renewal and hope... a clean slate... things along those lines. That's what a new year typically symbolizes for me. This year won't be typical for me. I already know that 2008 will be, perhaps, the most challenging year I've ever lived. My husband is deploying (AGAIN!) and will be gone for a few days short of the entire year, not to mention a few months of 2009 as well. So while I know this year will be so hard, I've also chosen a word that I think will help me get through it.

Embrace.

Here are a few of the definitions of the word on dictionary.com:

• to take or clasp in the arms; press to the bosom; hug.
• to take or receive gladly or eagerly; accept willingly: to embrace an idea.
• to avail oneself of: to embrace an opportunity.

It's going to be a tough word for me on a daily basis, but I'm realizing that I need to embrace this deployment to not only make it easier for me to deal with personally, but to make it easier for my girls to cope. And although I'm quite sure I will not be able to always receive it "gladly"... I'll receive it nonetheless, because fighting it will only make it that much harder.

So that's my word. Kinda takes the place of resolutions... I'm not really into those. I'm sure I'll be plastering it all over the walls of my house to help me remember.... LOL.

Happy New Year, everyone. May 2008 bring you all you could ever wish for...