Mom to the Screaming Masses

The luck of the Irish

The radio announcer spoke.  "You just heard the song of the day, Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA.  We pledge that we won't repeat any songs today, except that that one.  When you hear it, be the 10th call at xxx-xxxfm, and you will win $1000!"

Cool.  It's not often that I'm in the car at the right time and can hear which song is the lucky "song of the day".   Now, the odds were pretty much not in my favor that I'd actually HEAR the Song of the Day, but I could dream, right?  I thought I'd better write down the phone number for the radio station, just in case I did hear that special song.  I grabbed my purse, fishing for a pen, and almost immediately stopped searching when the police officer pulled out behind me.  I was so concerned about driving correctly that I promptly forgot that I wanted to jot down the phone number.

Riley had therapy, and after that we both took a short nap.  We got up, and got ready to go pick up the kids at school. Grabbing my water, her cup and my purse, I took her out to the car and strapped her in her car seat.  I buckled up my seat belt and turned the key in the ignition.  Before driving out of the driveway, I picked up my phone to check it for messages.

The opening chords of a song stopped me.  Oh, my GOD!  It was the Song of the Day - I knew it was, because I hate the song with a passion that will never die and I have memorized the opening sequence in order to change the channel quickly. I could call!  And win!  $1000!!!

Except.

I could not remember the phone number.  And I didn't write it down, thanks to the city cop following me earlier.  I dialed multiple variations of what I thought could be the number, and never did get through.  How could all of the obstacles evaporate, and the one road block was my own brain.  Only me.

But, really, what do you expect from a person who walked 7 miles today, and yet walked off the path with the stroller AGAIN?????

Note to self:

Do NOT attempt to play air guitar along with American Woman while pushing a stroller and walking a very rapid pace.  Have you learned nothing in the past week, you doofus?

Also?  If you know you can't sing well, please TRY to remember not to sing out loud with the music.  Bobbing your head in time with the music looks rather weird, but it's better to look weird than to sound weird. 

And I leave you with a partial list of songs from my IPOD - which I extremely puffy heart, by the way - so that you can see I really must be bipolar, to have such a broad selection.

• Hollaback Girl, Gwen Stefani
• Folsom Prison blues, Johnny Cash
• American Woman, The Guess Who
• Bohemian Rhapsody, Queen
• Flood, Jars of Clay
• Multiple songs by The Clash
• Dream On, Aerosmith
• Hungry like the Wolf, Duran Duran
• Fallin, Alicia Keyes
• Killin me softly, The Fugees
• A Little Less Conversation, Elvis
• TubThumping, Chubawumba
• Young Turks, Rod Stewart
• Walk on the Wild Side, Lou Reed
• Ready to Go, Republica
• Save a Horse, Big and Rich
• Shoulda been a Cowboy, Toby Keith
• Thank you, Dido

So, am I schizo, or what?  OH!  And I weighed myself today - what a depressing activity that was, let me assure you.  Down 2.5 pounds, from an all time high of - well, let's not go there.  I was hoping to get on the scale and see 10 pounds gone, but I guess I'll take a forward (backward?) movement.

Random nonsense

In no particular order:

• When I went walking today - 5 miles for five days now, and three weeks of walking total! - I was reminded of a man I secretly call "Preacher Man".  Whenever I pass him, he calls out, in a joyful voice, "Praise the Lord for another day!"  I usually answer back with "Amen", but I wonder how others answer?  What would he do if I jumped up and shouted, "Halleluiah, brother!"?
• I'm in the process of tie dying 26 shirts for Allegra's soccer team, for practice shirts.  I'm using two shades of blue, two shades of green, and yellow.  I keep forgetting to put my gloves on, and now my hands are blue.  I look like I've got frostbite.
• While walking, I saw two very strange sights.  One was a man, walking up the side of the mountain using ski poles.  He then "skiied" down, swishing from side to side.  another trip up the side showed him lunging from leg to leg, digging in with his ski poles.  The second sight was two men running together.  They ran up to the public restrooms, and one ran inside the building.  The one outside continued to run in place, the second man ran back out, and they ran off.  I wonder if he ran in place while peeing?
• When I got home today, I realized I had left something outside and went to pick it up.  Except, for some reason, my legs did NOT want to go down those stairs.  I tried to take a step, and my right leg said, "Excuse me?"  while the left leg said, "She must be joking us."  Don't look at me as I crawl down the steps. Just whistle and look the other way and help me preserve my dignity.
• While showering, I usually listen to the radio.  I heard the announcer say, "And now, a live version of a great favorite."  Having recently heard Dream On  and Stairway to Heaven both live fairly recently on this station, I was excited.  I soaped up while listening to the crowd go wild, all the while wondering which live song I'd soon be enjoying.  Sweet Caroline.  Neil Diamond.  One of my MOTHER'S very favorite singers.  Gag.  the thought of a live version, with all those older women tossing their panties to Neil, was enough to rush me right out of the shower.
• On yet ANOTHER trip to Wal-Mart, I took a detour down one aisle, and noticed that there were two people restocking the shelves.  One a very large, very dark black man, and one, well, not.  The person was about five feet tall, with extremely muscular arms and legs.  So, a short man.  But the waist dipped in and the hips flared.  Ok, so a muscled-bound woman.  With a beard.  So a man.  With a fairly developed chest.  Hmmmm.  I decided I'd try to get something in front of the person, and I said "Excuse me."  "Oh, no problem", in a very bright Minnie Mouse voice.  Man or woman?
• I am soooo hungry.  All this walking, with cutting out junk and most soda, should be making my pants awfully loose.  Not yet, though.  I better see some results soon - ha!  I just typed food by mistake!- or I'm dipping into the Chocolate cake I'm dying to make.

Oh, I'm an idiot!

So, I am walking.  I'm doing between 4 and 5 miles a day. When I first started this route two weeks ago, people were passing me like water.  All I heard while walking was "Left!  left!", meaning that people were passing me on the left and I needed to get over already.  I was slow, bay-bee.

But, this week I found that I was a bit speedier.  The walk wasn't quite as hard, and I was actually keeping up with people and even passing the really slow ones.  I have a bunch of of songs on my IPOD that are upbeat, and as long as I keep those on, I can keep a good pace up.

Wednesday, I found myself coming up on a trio of guys.  Younger guys, probably 25 or 30, sauntering along and talking.  They covered the path, blocking my way around. The next part of the path contains an incline, and I still struggle with it.  Hmm.  Should I slack off, and stay behind, or try to pass?  If I could get around them, by the time I got over the incline I'd be in good shape and not have to slow up the entire time. I decided to go for it, and uttered my first ever, "LEFT!"  A glance behind them, and apparently they decided I meant business.  I look fairly fearsome when I walk - hair every which way, hat shoved down on my head, sweat pouring off my face.  I don't sweat beautifully, that's for sure.

I passed around the guys, using my right arm to push the single stroller - Emma was at my girlfriend's house and I just had Riley - swinging my left.  Man!  UP an incline, passing a group of guys, and I felt great!  I moved safely around, muttered "thanks" and continued over to the right side of the path.  Where my stroller decided to continue moving to the right, and went straight off the path, into the muddy grass.  Thinking quickly, I slapped my other hand onto the handle of the stroller and decided to play this off, pretending that I had MEANT to do this.  "Riley!  Isn't this fun, in the grass!" I jostled the stroller around, pretending that I was four wheeling my daughter, making engine noises, all the while trying to get the damned thing back on the path.  No go - for some stupid reason it kept veering off to the right.  Where I promptly got stuck in the mud. 

A glance to the side - for by this point, the men in question had caught up with me - confirmed that, indeed, they had secured a laugh at my expense.

Next time, I slow up.

Anyone up for a walk?

Exercise is my least favorite thing to do.  I may have said this a time or two, I'm not sure.

I've forced myself to get into a walking habit.  We have a large park here, with a walking path that goes around the lake.  Here is a really crudely drawn map of the area:

So when I started walking, I went around the loop that is 2.2 miles.  Last week, I decided to add a bit more, and I added on the right hand circle, which is about a mile long, taking the walk to a bit over 3 miles, I'm guessing.  I'm walking hard enough to sweat profusely and fog up my sunglasses, and not be able to sing along with my IPOD.  So it's a good, quick pace that took me 40 minutes in the beginning, and now takes me 30.  Today. I did all three circles, but the paths overlap so you can't count all of it.  I think it's about 4 miles.  Plus, there are two sets of steps, and I see people all the time climb up them -50 steps to the top of the hill and 50 down.  With the double stroller, I can't do this.  So today, I left the girls at the bottom, went up 20 steps, waved at them, and made faces all the way down.  I did this three times, and they loved it.  The different trails have distance markers all around, so in the beginning I pass a marker that says 2 miles just a bit in.  That feels good, but at the end of the third section, the marker says .25 miles, and that really stinks.

So, over 4 miles today.  Whoo-hoo!!

Now I'm wiped.  I'm trying to eat better. Drink less soda, more water, and cut out most junk. Except for last night, when I went out with my girlfriends and ate mexican food, which means you MUST have a margarita.  Oh, the headache today!

But, the walking is getting done.  I need to see some results, though. How long before my really tight pants loosen up?  December, do you think???

Watching other people walk is a funny thing.  The older men, without fail, smile at my girls and say hello to me.  They will also give that little head nod, you know, the one your granddad used to give?  I find myself giving the same nod back.  The other women my age, if they have kids, are also friendly.  They smile, usually.  The men of younger age, especially the black men, are very careful not to catch my eyes.  They don't say anything.  The older women just ignore me and the girls, including one women today who I passed three times and each time I swer she almost growled at me.  Yikes!

What do these two have in common?

These two pictures?

One of which made me very happy, and one of which explains why I'm so irritable and sleepy today...

It's multiple choice, can you guess which one is which?

It's Monday, no, Tuesday

I HATE it when that happens.  I lost a whole day.  Every time it's a Monday holiday, I'm thrown for a loop. 

I did nothing special today. Washed clothes, went to the grocery for milk, bread and juice.  Played outside with Emma and Riley.  I haven't had much of an opportunity to play outside with them, and it was nice to just have time to spend with them.  They invented a new game, one Emma called, "Mama, COUNT!".  Basically, they stood back by the fence........

and when I said "three!" they launched themselves towards the swings and landed on their bellies. 

Riley swings in therapy, and it's one of her favorite activities.

She grabs the ground with her toes and pushes off, and she can swing quite high.  She's pretty pleased to be able to do it.  (yes, Ginger, that's your daughter's outfit.  It's her favorite - I swear I'll mail it soon!)

So, I missed Monday.  It passed in a blur of work.  Labor day has gone, all local schools have started.  Now fall is officially here. I wish the thermometer would catch up to the calendar, but it will.  I know that in a few weeks, I might very well complain about the homework, the routinues, the Saturdays full of soccer.  Not yet.  The thrill of the beginning of the school year is still fresh.

My big project is coming slowly.  Veddy, Veddy sl-ow-ly.  But I'm still moving in a forward creep, so that's good.  I'm pleased to say that I have worked out a few times, and I didn't die, so I guess that means I need to keep it up.  I really hate working out.  I love eating, though, so I've got to get a set pattern with the movement. 

Tomorrow we have a checkup with the Neurodevelopment doctor, to check Riley's progress after three months of therapy.  Any questions I should ask?

And what is it with my big kids fighting?  I lost it tonight, and screamed at both of them.  I have HAD IT with the punching, the hair pulling, the slapping and the body slamming.  Allegra is actually more physical than Nikolas - he's more into the verbal onslaught.  I really hate when I act like a lunatic, but I can't seem to get it through their heads that the physical stuff isn't going to be tolerated.

Gak.  Augh.  I think this must be one of the most boring blog posts around.

Weekend roundup

Well, yes, hello.  It's 6:40 on Sunday morning, and here I am, wide awake eyes barely open and breakfast already served to four kids.  I guess it's the perks of a routinue for school.  They are used to being up early, but can't seem to understand that you can sleep in on the weekend.  Ah, well.  Think of how much I could get done, if I was inspired to get up and do something.  But, I'm not.  And so I sit.

Yesterday Gabriel came to me and said that his mouth hurt.  Inspecting said mouth, I noticed that he has his first two loose teeth, right down in the bottom.  Explaining this to him, he promptly burst into tears.  He didn't want to lose his teeth - he's afraid he will bleed and it will hurt.  I explained that all will be well, but he wasn't inclined to listen to me and so I sent him outside.

This morning, he informed me that if we had a hurricane and he had no toys, he could still be busy, because he has a playground in his mouth.  HA!

Emma ate a blue lollipop yesterday, and was furious when I told her that she couldn't have another.  Because I'm a really mean mom, with an equally mean mother, she took this picture:

The first week of school passed uneventfully, with the possible exception of Gabe not wanting to eat any lunch because he was worried that he'd have an allergic reaction.  I have reassured him over and over, and now I think it's something he's just going to have to accept and work through.  Gabe has decided that I need to buy him a Blackberry, so that he can call me if he eats something that he's allergic to.  Ha!  I get one first, buddy boy.

Mackenzie loves to jump rope - the child never sits still, and this shot is a perfect example:

Next weekend is our bonus time.  The Hubster gets a performance bonus September of each year that he's been at this job, and we plan for it almost all year.  Currently it's earmarked for a new table and chairs, credit card payment and new mattresses for the big girls.  We also put a chunk aside for Christmas purchases and the rest in the bank.  That's a small amount, let me tell you!  I'm pretty excited planning for Christmas this year, although I have NO idea what to get Nikolas.

Speaking of Nikolas, he's making me more nuts than usual, and that's saying something right there.  He spends most of each morning rushing everyone out of the house, wanting to have each of us in the car by 7.  It takes 15-20 minutes to get to school, and they don't need to be there until 7:40.  Every morning is a blur of Nikolas yelling at everyone, rushing through his own breakfast, and me biting my tongue.  I don't want him to go off to school with the memory of my red face screaming at him, with the veins in my neck bulging.  It's getting to that point, though.  I'm pretty tired of the daily stress.  My understanding has reached it's limit, one week into the school year.  That's sad.

I spent hours yesterday trolling the various furniture stores looking for a table.  I think I've found one, but do you know how hard it is to find a table longer than 72"?  I'd really like one that is 84', but that's tough.  Just a plain, no frills table with plain undetailed chairs and a bench for one side.  I can go to the Unfinished store and find what I want, but I'd have to stain it.  HAHAHAHAHAHA!  So not going to happen.

So, what's new with you this weekend?  Any great Labor day plans? 

Preparedness?

How many of us have an emergency plan?  Food, water, medications?  I have been thinking over this for a couple of days now. 

If I was in the path of a storm, I like to think I'd evacuate.  I've been through a Cat 1 and Cat 2 storm here in my state, and I was fairly comfortable staying home.  The last hurricane we had, we lost power for 8 days.  There was no power for gas stations, stores, or anything.  That was an eye opener for me, though.  It was really sobering to be in line for gas at the one station open, sitting for an hour.  Being limited to ten gallons, cash only.  Seeing people screaming at each other, fist fights breaking out of line placement, threats. 

That was enough for me.  I have no desire to do anything like that again, or any worse.  If I'm encouraged to evacuate, I will be gone.  I'd load up my van, toss the kids in, and drive in the opposite direction. I'm extremely lucky to have that option.  So many don't, either because they are homebound, without transportation, or too ill.

But I was contemplating what I'd take with me.  My laptop.  My kids scrapbooks.  Coats, blankets, pillows, clothes.  Water, juice, milk, cereal.  Nutrigrain bars, medications, soap, diapers.  Batteries.  The tablets my son has  in his camping pack to clean water, to make it safe for drinking. 

Which got me to thinking.  What preparations have I made for emergency?  I've poo-poo'ed it in the past.  My father in law talks end times incessantly, and he's told us to get enough food for two months, as well as water and gasoline.  I've done a bit here and there - some water, some extra cans, a manual can opener.  A couple of bags of charcoal, some extra waterproof matches.  But, I'm wondering if I should do more.  After the gas price jump yesterday, I've decided to try to keep my van as close to full as possible.  It won't cost me less, but it will feel better for me - $10 each day is easier on me than $85 or more at once.  I paid $2.53 a gallon for gas at 12 noon, and I drove The Hubster's Suburban last night.  I filled it at the same gas station - $3.09 a gallon. I think I'll try to get a few more extra cans of food, and stick them in the garage.  Probably some boxed milk, and some water.  After all, I do live in a high hurricane area.  I probably should be better prepared than I am.

What do you have in case of emergency?  What would make you evacuate?  Do you think everyone should make attempts to evacuate if encouraged to do so?