The WORST tooth fairy...ever...

Max lost two teeth a while back and we did the whole tooth fairy thing just fine. He put the tooth in a bag under his pillow, and either Daddy the Tooth Fairy or Mommy the Tooth Fairy did the big switcheroo. He got a shiny dollar coin. He was so excited about that, and we were too - it was an easy switch. We were very good Tooth Fairies.

Well, I guess the shine has work off in more ways than one. First off, we completely forgot the get the tooth and leave the coin the first night. Yes, we forgot to be the Tooth Fairy. How terrible are we? I know, it isn't the first time, but Max was bummed. He came in to our bedroom at 7am, woke me from a dead sleep, and said, "Mom, the tooth fairy didn't take my tooth last night!" At 7 am it's tough to think on your feet (as they are still wrapped up in a blanket!), but I said, "well, honey, maybe she just couldn't see the bag." How lame is that. But, he believed me and made sure that the bag was sticking out the side of the pillow far enough so that the Tooth Fairy could see it. This is where it all goes wrong.

All was well at bed time - the bag was hanging out nicely, and it was my turn to play Tooth Fairy. Max was camped and sleeping peacefully, draped across his pillow. So, I snuck in and tried to FIND the bag. He was on the side of the pillow where the bag was, and I didn't want to wake him so I was being delicate. That wasn't working so I slunk out of the room. After a quick consult with Tom, I went back in more determined to be a good Tooth Fairy. Problem was, Max was really draped across the plastic bag, or so I thought. I reached under the pillow and had to dig really far under there to find the bag. I tried to give it a tug and it wouldn't budge. I realized at this point that Max had the bag IN HIS HANDS. Geez. Talk about making it tough for the Tooth Fairy! So, I pried the bag out of his warm little fingers and slid the coin under the pillow.

Now, remember I said that the shine had worn off in more ways than one? Well, I asked Max late this afternoon if the Tooth Fairy came today and he did his usual "Yeah" thing. He didn't seem too excited about it, so I asked what the tooth fairy left - pocket lint was my guess from his tone and body language. "A dollar coin." Huh. Guess it just isn't as cool the third time around. I pointed out that he has 20 teeth and that when all is said and done he would have $20. He wasn't too impressed with that either. Maybe pocket lint would have been better...

Ants and Bees and Spiders - OH MY!

Well, there are no spiders here, but it didn't sound as fun with just the ants and the bees. And it certainly didn't sound as fun if I would have said Ants and Bees and Entourages, OH MY!


WOO HOO! That's right! We're closing in on a new vehicle that starts consistently, whose windows roll down, and whose battery doesn't go dead if you open a door for an hour and a half. After driving several cars and vans over the past week, we've really honed in on the Hyundai Entourage. Even though we LOVED LOVED LOVED the Mazda CX-9, we just were too cheap to pay extra for a smaller vehicle just because it drives more like a car. So, we decided to go and hunt up ourselves a nice mini-van. A very nice mini van I should say! Tomorrow we'll head out and acquire said mini van, and hopefully bring it home with us (or maybe grab it on Monday). We heard numbers that we like, we have the financing lined up, and we're good to go!


Now, the not so fun parts. The bees and the ants are real. Well, one ant. One very BIG ant. It was brazen enough to walk across the living room floor, so of course we took a picture of it:

It's hard to tell, but that's a quarter - a state quarter to boot. The ant was almost as big as the quarter. We think it was a big old carpenter ant that just got lost, but he is no longer with us. Yeeh.

And last but not least, the bees. We've had run ins with bees and hornets before. Max found the hornets at our old house and I mowed over the bees here and got stung on my ankle last week. Not so noteworthy that I needed to discuss it, but it did itch for a solid week (thank goodness for spray on Benadryl!). Well, today the boys were running around while we were outside and Ian got stung by a bee from the same nest. It was just a non-descript hole in the ground kind of nest - nothing special. Ian fussed and complained until I showed him my sting, and until I sprayed the lovely Benadryl on it, and then he was good to go. The good thing here was that we found out that he did not have an immediate allergic reaction to the sting - which is always a concern with the first one. A trip to the ER today just wasn't in the plans. Ian in typical Ian drama, said "It's going to hurt for YEARS and YEARS...sigh..." I explained that it might itch for a week, but then it would stop and he would be just fine. He was satisfied with that and went on about his business - and hasn't looked back since.

So, that's the story of the bees and the ant. Hopefully the ant is happy at "ant camp" and we'll have to figure out how to get those darn bees out of the hole in the ground before they sting anyone else.

It's a LOVE/HATE kind of thing

So often in life the things that we love the most end up hurting us. Well, not really, but they often end up being not so pleasant. For example, pizza. I love pizza, but it doesn't love me. It hurts after I eat pizza, so I gave up on it a while back and I can love it once again - from afar.

I found something else that I have a love/hate relationship with - my trainer. I love that there's someone who knows lots more about exercise than me whom I can pay to make my body do what it needs to do to get into shape. I hate the way I feel the first time back with the trainer after two and a half months of no exercise.

It's like that first day of high school volleyball. We all walked in like we were hot s*&t, and the coaches beat us up one side and down the other. They made us run and jump and roll until we couldn't feel the cramps in our sore muscles let alone our muscles themselves. We hurt so much that first week of practice, but we were stronger and faster and could perform better because of it.

Back to this week. I've been exercising for a grand total of two weeks since my surgery - with the doctor's approval, of course. I was making my way back slowly to the gym, but I was there, and had been about five times since my surgery. Not bad I thought, so it's time to bring in the big guns - the personal trainer. Well, not nearly good enough. I know that the whole point of working out is to work the muscles (including your heart) that aren't quite up to snuff to get them heading in the right direction once again. But man oh man, my muscles haven't even entered the playing field let alone started warming up! Thus the hate part of the relationship with the trainer. He's great and all, but I still hurt three days later. At least today I can raise my hands over my head. I count that as a victory, but will head back to the gym tomorrow for another round. I figured that after two weeks back that since the rest of my muscles didn't hurt when I did my old workouts, that I was in decent shape. (The abs are completely shot and are starting over from square one.) So, I proceeded to share this with the trainer and he ran with it. *Note to self - never tell the trainer that you've made progress, or think that you've made progress. He believes you and makes it harder...

So anyway, I'm once again able to move - like I said the arms are better today, as it the butt. So, it's back tomorrow to the gym. Do you think that climbing in and out of the hot tub counts as an exercise?

What a Day!

How's this for an error message on your computer?


If you look closely you see that it says "You do not have permission to shut down and restart this computer." Huh? HUH? If I'm not allowed to restart the computer then who is? I have no computer gnome as far as I know of. Hmmm...


(And yes, that's a big old starfish behind the error message. I took that at the Zoo a while back - starfish was just hanging out waiting on the glass.)



On another note, Max is officially done with school! He's now a Second Grader! Here he is at the beginning and end of the school year (by the front door - two different houses). He's all of a few inches taller, he's missing a few teeth, he's filled his brain with all kinds of interesting facts, plus some cool Spanish stuff, and he's adopted the attitude of a rebel. Yes, Max is no longer sweet little polite Max. He's turned into a *gasp* - a little boy. He's joined the ranks of those who talk back, disobey, and create new and different ways to cause trouble. Funny part is, it doesn't bother me in the least! He's growing up and trying to figure out who the heck he is. I'm so proud of all the strides he's made this past year and how well he's doing. So, even though he's turned into a stinky boy this past year, I'm glad that he's finding his way. Hopefully next year will bring back some of that respectful little man that used to live here, but I'm not holding my breath.

It knows...

I have always believed that our vehicles know when we are talking about them. My blue van (a 2001 Dodge Grand Caravan) is no exception to this. Yesterday this once again was proven to us. My van has decided to give up...sort of. This is not a surprise to us nor is this new behavior on the part of the blue van. I'll call it a "he" because it's being mischievous, like my boys sometimes are.

Tom generously offered to clean out the van yesterday. It was sunny outside and Max had a friend coming over for a sleep over. Tom tackled the van and after about two hours of tossing, moving, shaking, and vacuuming, the van looked fantastic. It was like an archaeological dig though - you could tell when the last time it was cleaned by the layers of stuff. Didn't really know that chicken nuggets, french fries, wrappers, and water bottles would be able to create layers of sediment, but they did. Needless to say it had been a while since the van was cleaned out, but it is spotless now. Actually looks nice.

Tom went to start the van so he could go grab a new light bulb to replace the one that had burnt out in the tail light set, and nothing happened. Not a click, nothing. Then the gauges in the dash started creeping, and the windshield wipers in front and back started creeping. Huh? Tom couldn't get it to turn over and he sat there and laughed. Now, this actually happens pretty often. About every two weeks the van decides that it doesn't want to start - but never the weird gauge and wiper stuff. I reminded Tom of this - and that there's been electrical problems since we bought the van, but he couldn't get it to even click when he turned the key. Then, it clicked a bunch and we knew we were sunk. The battery didn't look too good, but after a jump start it did indeed start up.

The best we can figure is that the battery was drained while Tom was cleaning the van out. He had the doors open (shock!) while doing this, and it drained the battery. How screwy is that?

I firmly believe in Karma, and I think that this time we're on the losing end. We were talking about how nice the van looked when it was cleaned out. It looked "so nice that we should go and trade it" nice. Yeah, and the van heard us. Yes, it decided to give up right then when it heard us talking about trading it in. We were kind of joking around, but that darn van didn't get the joke.

So, now it really has come to the end of it's time with the Phipps family. We are officially on the hunt for a new vehicle. Tom and I won't put up with a mouthy van, one who throws fits when it feels like it, and doesn't follow directions when told to do something (the passenger side window no longer rolls down - insolent van). But, for now it is up and running, and we're just starting to look, but I'm going to have a talk with the van tomorrow to make sure that we're good. I'd hate to have it take a total dump while I'm out and about. It needs to know that we still love it, but that at 7 years old, it's time to go to a new home. We don't generally kick 7 year olds out of the house, but car years are like animal years...

Please take note

I am not a morning person. I have never been a morning person. The fact that all three of my kids are morning people boggles my mind, and often drives me nuts. (Tom isn't a morning person either.)

So, this note is directed to the person who called me at 6:12, and again at 6:14 this morning. The phone, which is generally right near my bed but wasn't last night, rang the first time. I decided not to run down the stairs in my asleep state to answer it, having noticed that it was indeed 6:12 am. I rolled over and went back to sleep. Then, two minutes later, it rang again. I figured if someone had the nerve to call at that hour,and call back when I didn't answer the first time, it was an emergency. No one in their right mind calls that early unless they are desperate to get a hold of me. Those that know me might even hesitate at that. Anyway, I finally got down the stairs and barely missed the call. Low and behold the number on the Caller ID was 000-000-0000. Go figure. Someone calls me at 6 o'clock in the morning, wakes me up, drags me out of bed, and hides their number in the Caller ID. Guess they did know who they were calling - and what they were getting into calling this early in the morning. Please, next time before you call me, be sure to check the clock. No one in this house is allowed up before 7am, and I hope dearly that you too follow this. I don't need to careen down the stairs again after the phone at six in the morning.

Sam, Sam the Dancing Man

Check out the moves on this little man:



He danced all night at Bill and Brooke's wedding - we had to pull him off the floor to grab a drink! We even started stripping clothes off so he wouldn't pass out. He loved every minute of it!

Playing Catch Up

Here are some random assorted things from the past few months, well weeks. Enjoy!

Ian completely camped out at dinner (in FL - we drove for a few hours that day after a rowdy day with family). This kid can sleep anywhere:

We finally found a Star Wars mailbox!!! Look - it's R2-D2 right smack in the middle of Crystal City!!!

And look who we saw at the bookstore! It's John Lithgow!

Here's Max scoring one of his many goals!

And a cooler action shot:

And I'll leave you with one Bunsen adventure. Tom was painting the screen for our big TV and Bunsen had to check it out. He did, and Tom caught him white footed! Check out his paws and the prints he left behind in the cardboard:

No, we didn't have to call the fire department

But yes, it was a fire. I was cooking dinner for myself and was looking forward to some Pierogies. If you've never had these, they are cheese and potatoes tucked inside a pasta shell. My first college roommate Mary introduced me to these. She made them with some cool sauce - I just cook them and eat. Anyway, I had fed the kids and they were eating and I was boiling water for some mediterranean pasta salad. In case you were wondering, I did not light the water on fire - that's something even I couldn't do. I'll try to blame it on the stove - ours just has a High setting, but I'm not sure that it's entirely the stove's fault.

The way I cook Pierogies is to throw some butter in a pan and basically fry them up. They are frozen and cook in about 10 minutes tops. Very yummy. I had the box pulled out on the counter, and there it sat until it was returned to the freezer. It started out well, the pan was heating up nicely. THen, it all took a turn for the worse - I dropped int he butter. Generally when you drop in butter it might sizzle a bit and slide around the pan. Well, this slid around, then burst into flames. i grabbed the pan so it wouldn't catch the microwave on fire, and stood there for aminute trying to decide what to do. Fortunately these are cool new pans where then handle doesn't get hot,so I was able to stand there for a minute while deciding what to do.

There's always that second of "can I douse this with water, or will it get 10 times worse" question that goes through my head (no, this isn't the first time I've caught something on fire in teh kitchen, but this time it was my fault. Anyway, I waited for about 10 seconds while the flame kept going, then I slowly put it under the water, very slowly as soot was jumping around and I didn't want to make an even bigger mess. So, I got the fire out, all the while having an interesting conversation with the kids, and making sure that the pot with the pasta didn't overflow.

The conversation with this kids was funny. not exactly sure who said what, but one asked

-Is it fire? Yes.

-Do we need to call the fire deparement? No.

-Are you going to set the smoke alarm off again? (Smart alek.) No.

-Wow, the room is filled with smoke. Should we open a door? (Yes, like I said I've done this before and have my kids trained.) Go ahead, and get the other door open too.

-Can you turn it off - I dont like it. No, give me a minute though, and it will be gone.

So, after opening up windows and reassuring the kiddos that I wasn't goign to burn the house down, and after turning off the smoke alarm (yes, it went off again), I was left with chips and cheese dip to go with my mediterranean pasta salad. Bummer - no pierogies, but I didn't burn the house down. Well, not this time, but I might have to reconsider cooking when Tom isn't home. Like I said, this isn't the first time I've set the smoke alarm off, and this isn't the first time that I've caught somehting on fire, but this time it probably was my fault, even though I'd like to blame it on the stove.

Oh, and here's the one casualty of the whole ordeal - but I think it can be saved...

Yeah, it really is burnt...

Here's what I know today:

Boys, after a few days with no cleanings, smell bad. Yuk.
Boys in general are messy. Little boys are the messiest.
Clumping Scoopable cat litter is no longer clumping nor scoopable in a humid basement. Yuk again.
Some cats eat ants. Gross.
Cats who eat ants tend to throw those ants up. Yuk.
Mowing the lawn makes me happy.
Exercising make me happy too.

Today I got to mow the lawn AND exercise, so even those smelly boys, non-clumping litter, and cat who threw up ants can get me down! It was a good day - and beautiful outside to boot.

Pics from Bill and Brooke's Wedding - May 26, 2007

Here's a bunch of pics from the wedding on May 26, 2007. Hopefully you can see all of them. If not, let me know - I'm trying a few things out here and need to figure out what works.

Disney Pics

Here's an attempt at getting those cute Disney pics from Flickr over here to my blog instead of having to wait a gazillion years for the pictures to upload here. (How's that for a big old run-on???!!!) Anyway, check out the pictures from our recent trip to Disney over at MY FLICKR ACCOUNT and let's see if you can see them!

We had a great time at Disney and got to hang out with Aaron and Kris and Baby John, who is no longer a baby but a little man. He was ready to roll with our little guys, and they all had a great time. I'll get the wedding pictures up and a few others after I get all this stuff figured out...sigh...technology - gotta love it, sometimes...

And hey, if you can't see them do let me know...

I now qualify for benefits...

Funny thing - I got a letter from the Social Security Administration today that said I have earned enough credits to qualify for benefits. That in and of itself is funny as this is the first year that I've qualified. Up until now I was always shy of the required credits - I haven't worked since 2000 and my credit earning came to a grinding halt. So, the little business I did this past year with IRW kicked me right over the limit, so now I qualify. He he he...now for the really funny part. I qualify for $214 a month if I retire at 62, and a whopping $378 per month if I retire at 70. They base this estimate on what I made in 2005 ($0) and in 2006 ($2500), and something about my earnings potential, with the caveat that my earnings might increase or decline. Then, the letter goes on to say that the system is in trouble, that they will have to pay out more than what they'll collect when I'm near retirement age, yada yada yada. So, my $214 is threatened by the fact that we as a society aren't having enough kiddos? Hmmm...can't help out there, so I'll just waive adios to my $214. Oh well.

A Story From Home

Surely this isn't where we live...oh, but it is...

A No-Hassle Way to Rob a Bank, If It Had Any Chance of Success
By Tom JackmanWashington Post Staff WriterThursday, May 31, 2007; B01

In the annals of crime, the guy who tried to rob a Fairfax County bank by sending a note through the drive-through teller's vacuum tube will not go down as one of the great evil geniuses.
But at least he didn't hurt anybody. And he did escape -- so he's got that going for him.
The man pulled up in one of the drive-through lanes of a Bank of America branch in the Baileys Crossroads area just after 7 p.m. Tuesday. Then, boldly yet stealthily, he zipped a note demanding cash through the tube.
Perhaps equally, er, ingeniously, the teller simply sent the note back. Fairfax police declined to reveal the contents of the note or say whether the teller attempted any conversation.
Receiving his note back, sans cash, the criminal drove away from the bank, at 5707 Seminary Rd., perhaps to work on a more precisely worded note.
The would-be robber, who daringly disdained a disguise, was described as a clean-shaven man in his 20s. He did not show a weapon or imply that he had one. Police said they had a description of the vehicle but didn't release it. Anyone with information about the incident may call Crime Solvers at 866-411-TIPS.

Sam's Stories

Sam likes to tell stories. We hear stories about when he was 10, when he was 6, about the last time he drove his car, about when he was flying his plane, and you get the drift. Mind you, he's only 4 and has no car, no plane, but he's a very creative little guy. But rarely do the stories encompass his past, and while they are often cute, they are not generally this funny. While we were driving in the car today (he, Ian, and I), we had this little coversation:

Sam: "Mommy, when was 2 we have an old TV."

Me: "Yes, we did."

Sam "A really really old TV - like an old lady."

At this point I had to inquire.

Me: "What do you mean?"

Ian joined in: "A TV is not an old lady."

Sam: "I know, but it is old like an old lady, or a grandma, or a grandpa, or a daddy..."

I nearly fell off my seat.

The Ultimate Fireworks Picture

So I am trying desperately to figure out how to get these neat pictures from Flickr onto this blog. For now you get a cool fireworks pictures and that's all. Don't hold your breath oh this one - I promise to get the pictures up here, just not going to let this whole Flickr/Blogger thing win. So, for now, here's a fantastic picture of the fireworks over Cinderella's castle!

It's Me! (v 2.0)

Here are some before and after pics. The doctor says that the swelling will take up to 6 months to go down completely, so hopfully the lumpy bumpies will go the way of my size FF's! Actually, I'm allowed to start back exercising again, so hopefully I can ramp that up and get rid of those lumpy bumpies myself. Now that I'm rid of those big guns I might be able to RUN. Can you imagine? Me, running? Huh. Only time will tell! Anyway, here are the pictures. More will come in a month or two as I get going on the whole exercising thing. I'm looking forward to that as it's my "Me" time and it gives me energy. Seven weeks of no exercising after a year of hitting the gym two to three times a week has almost driven me over the edge...I digree. Here are those pics!

Suzie needs...

Google games. hadn't heard of them, but just ran across one. Type your name + needs into Google and see what pops up. Here's what I got - how about you?

"Now is the time to think about Suzie's needs."
AHHH Yeah.

"Suzie needs $600."
Not really, but hey, if you are sharing...

"Suzie needs her curtains taken down, washed and put back up, the freezer defrosted and the floors scrubbed."
I whole heartedly support this one!

"Suzie Needs To Shut It"
Heard this in nicer terms in my three year old pre-school class (when I was 3, of course!)

"Suzie needs a flu shot but she hasn’t had one yet"
Kind of random.

"Suzie needs to calm the f*** down"
Well, this isn't the first time I've heard this one

"Suzie needs to find a solution which will allow her to take the rest of the year off work"
I agree!

"Suzie needs to know if anybody needs to be added or deleted"
Huh?

"Suzie needs to buy six 33- cent stamps using EXACT change"
OOO - This one has story problem written all over it

This one tops it all - and I'm not making this up (found it here):
"Suzie needs to think about the fact that there's no escape from Tom."
BWA HA HA!!!!

Startling Statistics

I can't decide if I need to stop watching Oprah's show, or start watching it more. I learned something very startling today. The show was all about domestic violence. I am fortunate not to have been touched directly (as far as I know of) by domestic violence. But, the statistics are simply staggering. When you see the numbers it will hopefully cause the same reaction in you that it caused in me - slight stress and lots of concern. If not, if you have become used to hearing statistics like this, consider then, that it's kind of scary that it has either fallen off the radar or become so commonplace that it no longer concerns you.

Anyway, Oprah mentioned a few numbers that made me go right in and look the facts up. She mentioned that the Department of Justice estimated that 10 million kids see their moms abused each year. She also said that battered women GO BACK TO THEIR ABUSERS an average of SEVEN times. SEVEN - wow. Again - very startling. So, I clicked around and found the National Domestic Violence Hotline. They are an organization that educates, guides, and even empowers those who are abused. But, they also help out the rest of us to recognize what abuse is, how to help those being abused, and even how to tell is we are abusers. I know that this is just one resource, but I had to start somewhere. I just wanted to share this info with you for now. More might come later, but for now you can peek at this info and see if you feel moved to do more.

Here are the statistics right from the National Domestic Violence Hotline site:

• 4 million American women experience a serious assault by a partner during an average 12-month period. ¹
  

• On the average, more than three women are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends every day.²

• 92% of women say that reducing domestic violence and sexual assault should be at the top of any formal efforts taken on behalf of women today.³

• 1 out of 3 women around the world has been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused during her lifetime.⁴

• 1 in 5 female high school students reports being physically and/or sexually abused by a dating partner. Abused girls are significantly more likely to get involved in other risky behaviors. They are 4 to 6 times more likely to get pregnant and 8 to 9 times more likely to have tried to commit suicide.⁴

• 1 in 3 teens report knowing a friend or peer who has been hit, punched, slapped, choked or physically hurt by his/her partner.⁵

• Women of all races are equally vulnerable to violence by an intimate partner.⁶

• 37% of all women who sought care in hospital emergency rooms for violence–related injuries were injured by a current or former spouse, boyfriend or girlfriend.⁷

• Some estimates say almost 1 million incidents of violence occur against a current or former spouse, boyfriend or girlfriend per year. ⁸

• For 30% of women who experience abuse, the first incident occurs during pregnancy.⁹

• As many as 324,000 women each year experience intimate partner violence during their pregnancy. ¹⁰

• Violence against women costs companies $72.8 million annually due to lost productivity.¹¹

• 74% of employed battered women were harassed by their partner while they were at work.¹²

• Ninety-four percent of the offenders in murder-suicides were male.¹³

• Seventy-four percent of all murder-suicides involved an intimate partner(spouse, common-law spouse, ex-spouse, or boyfriend/girlfriend). Of these, 96 percent were females killed by their intimate partners.¹³

• Most murder-suicides with three or more victims involved a "family annihilator" -- a subcategory of intimate partner murder-suicide.Family annihilators are murderers who kill not only their wives/girlfriends and children, but often other family members as well,before killing themselves.¹³

• Seventy-five percent of murder-suicides occurred in the home.¹³
  

1. Issues and Dilemmas in Family Violence: Report of the American Psychological Association Presidential Task Force on Violence and the Family . Washington, DC: American Psychological Association; 1996.

2. Bureau of Justice Statistics Crime Data Brief, Intimate Partner Violence, 1993-2001, February 2003.

3. Progress & Perils: New Agenda for Women, Center for the Advancement of Women. June 2003.

4. Silverman, Jay G., Raj, Anita, and Clements, Karen. “Dating Violence Against Adolescent Girls and Associated Substance Use, Unhealthy Weight Control, Sexual Risk Behavior, Pregnancy, and Suicidality.” Pediatrics, August 2004.

5. Teenage Research Unlimited. Findings from study commissioned by Liz Claiborne Inc. to investigate the level of and attitudes towards dating abuse among American teenagers aged 13 to 18 [online] 2005 Feb [cited 2006 Mar 20]. Available from: URL: www.loveisnotabuse.com/statistics_abuseandteens.htm

6. US. Department of Justice, Violence-Related Injuries Treated in Hospital Emergency Departments, August 1997.

7. US Department of Justice.

8. The Commonwealth Fund, Health Concerns Across a Woman’s Lifespan: 1998 Survey of Women’s Health, May 1999.

9. Helton et al 1987.

10. Gazmararian JA, Petersen R, Spitz AM, Goodwin MM, Saltzman LE, Marks JS. “Violence and reproductive health; current knowledge and future research directions.” Maternal and Child Health Journal 2000; 4(2):79-84.

11. Costs of Intimate Partner Violence Against Women in the United States. 2003. Center for disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Atlanta, GA/

12. Family Violence Prevention Fund. 1998. The Workplace Guide for Employer, Unions, and Advocates, San Francisco, CA.

13. Violence Policy Center (VPC), American Roulette: Murder-Suicide in the United States, April 2006.

Join Me

Go HERE and take a peek at Kal's challenge. She has a unique way to put energy toward your future - your goals - and where you want to be in 1 Year 1 Month and 1 Day. Take a minute and take a peek. It can be personal or professional goals, your family, your job, your friends, your house, or whatever else you want to include. It's not ascrapbooking hting, but you can include that if you want. Do this with your spouse; do this with your kids. Just go look.

I'll post mine in a week or so. I have an idea brewing and want to share it, but need to think it through first. So, join me and jot down what life will be like for you in 1 Year, 1 Month, and 1 Day.

YEA! It's WARM outside!

I don't know what it is about the Spring / early Summer, but I really dig this part of the year. It's when the flowers have come and gone, the temps have risen, the shorts come out of the closet, and the sweat drips down your back. Well, that last part is kind of gross, but it really does come along this time of year. Nice thing is that this year, and last, we are in a much cooler climate, so not as much drippy down the back sweat (and you all know exactly what I'm talking about...). Anyway, I really like this time of year, and I realized that it had arrived yesterday when I was driving home and had a thought that school was almost out. As a kid I remember that this was the absolute BEST time of year. The end of school meant summer - no classes, swimming, and no commitments. Lots of free time playing with friends, although our parents will say otherwise - they tried desperately to fill our summer days with non-destructive things that didn't involve police or rehab or any law enforcement of any kind. (Now, as a parent, I totally get that fear of OH MY GOD IT'S SUMMER AND I DON'T HAVE ANY ACTIVITIES PLANNED FOR MY KIDDOS! I digress.

Summer is almost upon us. Here in Virginia it recently got warm enough to break out those shorts. The kids have some color in their faces now - the result of more outside playtime. We've loaded up on sunscreen and bug spray because those pesky mosquitoes aren't far behind. But, the summer is definitely close. Last summer in VA it was beautiful almost all summer. Locals complained about the humidity, but man, ANY humidity when it's 80 or 85 degrees is not anything to complain about. Hah. That's nothing. It was actually cool enough last summer that the boys weren't so excited about going into the back yard pool that much. We were able to hang out and play outside throughout the summer. So, I'm looking forward to something similar this summer - beautiful blue skies and clear days. If you don't hear from me or can't find me, just peek in my back yard - I'm most likely out there with the guys hanging out and playing, maybe reading a book under the trees.

Our back deck - almost fully shaded in the AM now that the leaves have all grown in.

The boys up in their new playhouse

Our back yard - picture taken from the deck

Ahhh...Singing...

My kids, especially the little guys, like to sing. Problem is, they know about two songs. One is the ABC song, which they get most of the way through just fine. Sam still blubs the LMNO part, but it's cute at this age. Maybe when he's 20 or so I'll explain that there are actually four letters there instead of the one long letter that he sings right now. So they are good with that song. The other song they know is Jingle Bells. It's May and they are singing Jingle Bells, which in and of itself is a bit strange. But they aren't singing the regular version, they are singing the version that their six year old brother taught them...

Jingle Bells, Batman smells, Joker lays an egg.
The Batmobile lost a wheel and the Joken got away. HAY!

AAACK! They not only sing this around the house, but anywhere the moods strikes them - on the car, the grocery store, the dressing room at Nordstroms, you get the drift. Often I get strange looks from others - that "Why on earth are your kids singing Christmas carols in the Spring" until of course they listen in and then it's the look of "Why on earth do you let you children sing at all????!!!!" Some smile politely and walk away quickly, while others stop and giggle, and then there's the group that can't hide the fact that they are mortified. I've had consoling looks from some women - surely other moms who have been here done that. It's an odd enough site to be walking in the mall, the grocery store, Target, etc. with two little guys about the same age beating on each other, but when they start singing...

I have GOT to find some new material for them...

This is what happens when you ask them to sing Jingle Bells.



And this is what happens after they've seen the first video and realize that it needs more "spice:"



Sorry for hte poor quality - camera phone...

Is it just me...

...or does Michael Buble appear to be drunk every time he performs? I've seen him three times now, and while he's a magnificent artist and sings like a bird, he always looks like he's a bit snockered! I saw him first about two years ago on one of the late night shows. We were dancing to a few of his songs in Jazzercise and his voice was so soothing. I was giggling when I saw him perform - thought he was just nervous or something. He moved and spoke like he's knocked back a few before he went out on stage. Fast forward to a few weeks ago. he was on TV once again promoting his new album and same thing - loosey goosey movement and slurring of words! I can't honestly tell if it's his regular speech patterns and his regular body movements, or if he really IS slightly drunk when he goes on stage. Either way it's a bit disconcerting. He was on Oprah today and I heard him speak and while he only said a few words - SAME THING! Who knows...

Regardless, he's a cutie and he can sing for me any time!

Third try is the charm?

I am just about ready to toss this computer out on the street in front of the biggest fullest garbage truck I can find. This is the THIRD post I've typed up. So, instead of a great article on the San Antonio Spurs (and an apology for hiding out for so long), you get this and not much else. I'll get the Spurs article up tomorrow (providing I can get ANYTHING posted to this blog) and the apology is that I'm sorry that it's been so long.

Quickly (in case my computer objects once again to what I'm writing...)

We got new cell phones - I got the Motorola Q which is a cell phone/mobile internet thingy.
We joined Blockbuster online and have seen some good movies and some bad movies (Ewww).
I bought my first real bra today.
I am now allowed to drive.
I feel a bit stronger each day.

O.K. That's the update - more on the Spurs tomorrow! GO SPURS!

Total Freak Out

So I just had what one might consider a total freak out here. I was loading pictures that my FIL took while he and my MIL were here onto my hard drive. He snapped a few pics of me along the way as well. The first was one of those drug induced smiley pictures two days after the surgery when I came home from the hospital. Not a pleasant sight so I won't post it here. I had a big grin and pink cheeks though, so I wasn't in too much pain. Then, he snapped a few this past weekend when Tom was out mowing the lawn. I really wasn't micromanaging him, just lending some friendly advice on how I'd do it if I were mowing the lawn (I was actually jealous - I love mowing!). Anyway, Henry snapped a picture of the two of us standing next to one of the vans and I nearly lost it when I saw the picture. I haven't seen myself since the surgery other than in the mirror, and then all I see right now are scars. My body image is way out of whack as I have no idea what I look like. From what I've seen so far I'm very pleased with the whole thing and quite satisfied that I made a good decision here. But man oh man, I was blown away when I saw this picture. Now, it might not look that very different to you, but for the first time in a very very long time I look proportional. I have the baggy jammie bottoms and the baggy shirt on, plus a big old binder and gauze stuffed here and there, but geez I look different.
It's a wild concept to have this radical of a change to my body and for my brain not to be able to get it straight. The doctor even said that it might take a bit for my brain to get a good grasp on what my body looks like. Everyone who has seen me so far has noticed a huge difference, but I'm not quite there yet (even though I can see myself and have looked at myself every day for the past three weeks). So, I had me freak out and thought I'd share. Tom has said several times, Yes dear, that's what I've been telling you! but even that's not quite sinking in. Guess I need to take some more "after" shots and really look at the difference. Maybe tomorrow I'll get into the clothes that I put on for the "before" pics and take a tree weeks after shot. Hopefully I'll get this whole body image thing straightened out, because according to other people I look great now!

It's Me, Jigglypuff!

Tom and I were sitting at the table tonight and somehow the conversation wandered onto Pokemon. This isn't a big surprise as the boys are TOTALLY into Pokemon right now, so we are all consumed by it. They play with the cards, watch the show, watch the movie, call their stuffed animals by their "Pokemon" names, and the list goes on.



Anyway, Tom and I were sitting there at the table and he asked me if I were a Pokemon what would I be. So I replied "Jigglypuff, but I've evolved!" I crack myself up...



Here's a little info about Jigglypuff in case you were wondering:

Jigglypuff is a Normal-type Balloon Pokémon. Its body is globular, pink, fluffy, cuddly, and accented with stubby appendages, a tiny tuft of a single curl of hair, and enormous blue eyes. Jigglypuff's most popular attack is to sing its opponent to sleep. Jigglypuff also has the strange ability to puff its body full of air to make it look larger than it actually is. Jigglypuff evolves from Igglybuff through happiness, and to Wigglytuff with the use of a Moon Stone.
Jigglypuff can easily adjust the wavelength of its voice, without pausing to take a breath. However, if the listener is deaf or never sleeps, the Jigglypuff suffocates, and might even die.
-Wikipedia (5/1/07)

So go to the Pokedex and see what kind of Pokemon you are!

Have You Seen This T?

I want this t-shirt. I need this t-shirt. I have no idea where I saw this t-shirt, and it makes me sad. Have YOU seen this t-shirt? Do tell if you have...please?

Springtime

What else would you do when your front yard is COVERED with dandelions?

Ian

Sam

Oh, and of course you chase your brother around the yard blowing dandelions at him...


And what the birds do when you build a new playscape in "their" yard:

Happy Spring!

Awwww, MAN!

As Ian would say, AWWWW, MAN! It was one of those doctor's appointments. I got my last drain out (YEA!) but was told I couldn't drive until the 7th of May. The doctor even pulled out a calendar to see which date would work for her. Bummer. She said it was because I had a hernia repaired, not because of the rest of the surgery, and she literally doesn't want me to bust a gut (he he he). So, it was one of those Awwwww, man appointments. At least I got the drain out and am healing up. Not to get all of these steri-strips off - that's not a fun thought but has to be done soon - very soon. At least the nurse gave me the option of doing it at home in a shower (no baths for...a long while...sob) before she started pulling them all off. Makes my skin crawl to even think about it, so I'd like to do it in the comfort of my own home, thank you very much! So, back to the drawing board as far as resuming my daily routine. Oh, well, tomorrow's another day!

IT'S A NEW BRA!!!

I bought my first new bra today. Actually, it's a sports bra, so I'm not really sure if it counts, but it sets me free from that nasty velcro strapped, adjustable surgical bra, size 5. Yeah, it simply said Size 5 on it. I guess they do that so you aren't completely freaked out at what size you are after surgery.

Anyway, I'm officially an XL now. I haven't fit into a bra this small since high school. I'm so excited that I can wear this! It's a racer back bra, and I don't know that I've ever worn one of these (at least as far back as I can remember). It's so much more comfortable than the surgical bra - is very soft and snug. Best part is that it keeps my new little friends happy. I bought three - grey, black, and white. Yeah, not very adventurous as Tom said, but hey, baby steps man, baby steps. I'll go after that bright teal, yellow, and whatever other color after I want to take them out for a spin. For now I just need a place to tuck my new friends away - someplace that they feel happy.

Tomorrow hopefully I'll get my last drain out. It's so itchy now and while I'm still draining (yeah, kinda gross there - terribly sorry) it really needs to come out. So, I'll call tomorrow and hopefully will have good news to report. They've done a great job but it's time to go.

Otherwise, I'm cutting down on pain meds. Only taking Tylenol now - and one Percocet at night to help get settled for bed. Otherwise I mostly feel really sore (all over though) like I exercised way too much. The incisions are itchy at points and will continue to be, but the pain levels drop each day. I'm still extremely weak - you don't realize how many things you use those abdominals for. I'm going to be so much nicer to them now that I've had them all fixed up.

So, it's off to bed for me now - the Percocet is doing it's job so I can lie down. Tomorrow we're off to the park, and it should be another beautiful day here!

So much out of place

So on top of having my insides all in different places, my calendar in a different place, and my living space in a different place (well, confined to a single floor in my house), my bookmarks list is also all in a different place. This is not a big deal, but a slightly disconcerting thing. I imported all my bookmarks into Internet Explorer - my Firefox is misbehaving since my computer is misbehaving and it was driving me nuts. So, I had to switch browsers (haven't mentioned it here but I HATE IE) in order NOT to drive myself completely nutso. Again, not a big deal, but the bookmarks are all in a different order, and half of the blogs I read are called something else now. Weird, but true. I had them in a certain order in which I checked them - those I check most frequently at the top, and so on down the list. But now I can't even remember which ones I read most often (that might be the drugs though) and so today I didn't even open up a single blog - and today was the first day I felt up to it. So, crawling back onto my couch, I leave the reading of the blogs for another day.

I'm a little behind on pictures, but here's a post-op picture, a happy picture, a well medicated picture, before I realized that the person in the other half of the room was going to have an all night party in her bed picture. Big smiles from me - no pain there, and I'm sure I was asleep three seconds after the picture was taken. Until the irritating folks next to me started their big gathering at 8ish (I'm now demanding a private room - didn't even think to ask for one this time) I was all happy and dozing. Poor Tom even had to come all the way back to the hospital (well, it's like 8 minutes from our house) to rescue me from these people and demand more pain meds - any later pics you might see are me growling at the nasty night nurse.

So, enjoy the smiling Suzie - she's still here and healing up at a good pace. Even cut my pain meds in half today - Woo hoo! (Although they are good pills...) So enjoy the picture!

My Grand Adventure Day 5

The human body is an amazing thing. I'm five days out from major surgery and am sitting here at home, typing on a computer (it's a laptop and I'm heavily drugged and this most likely will be all I do today, but still!). The surgery went very well. The surgeon even repaired a hernia left from when I had my gall bladder out 6 years ago (that guy really was a butcher!) and did a bang up job on my top and bottom (not the actual bottom - that's still all here). I'm feeling a bit like I was hit by a truck, but thankfully Patti and Henry are here to do basically everything that I would normally be doing, including child wrangling, so we're in good shape. I'm not allowed to do much of anything, including standing up straight, but I was released yesterday to take a show, which I'll do tonight. I'm also still not allowed (nor in any shape to) drive, climb stairs, or lift more than about 5 lbs. So, I'm healing up and feeling very good about the whole thing. The first two days were quite painful, and each day since has gotten a little better.

Considering I went from a size 40FF to a large B / small C cup (not sure what size just yet) the boys are TINY! They are so cute and perky now - it's WILD! I've never been able to see the bottom of them without lifting them up, and now I can. It's such an odd sensation. And I could go on about these guys forever...

But for now I'll leave it at this so I can sleep some more. I have the before picture and will get some others up very soon so you guys can see where I started from. Then, in a few more weeks after the rest of the drains and bandages come off (two drains out yesterday - two more out probably next week) I'll get some after pics. The swelling will take up to a year to settle as will my new perky guys, but you can get the gist from clothed pictures!

My Grand Adventure - Day 1

So I'm off on my grand adventure. I'll get the "before" pics posted here in a few days - too short on time now. But, I'm so excited and not a bit nervous (must be that I don't quite know what I'm in for - HAH!). So, I'll see you back here in a few days hopefully! Wish me luck!

Three days and counting!

As I sit here with my bra straps digging into my sides, I wonder what it will be like after my reduction surgery on Thursday. I also sit here thinking of all the things that I need to do. HAH! That's a list too long to go into, but it has brought up a few curious things. I need to take "before" pictures - clothed and unclothed. that's something I never thought I'd do. I do now have a Will and an Advanced Medical Directive, so that part is done (and we've needed that for a while). We've paid for most of the surgery - still have to get the anesthesiologist covered, but that's the last of it. Let's see - have all my post-op meds, Tom's folks are on their way to help with the kids, and I'm almost ready to teach my class tomorrow night. Need to do a few more loads of laundry, but otherwise I think that's it!

So, now I can get excited about this thing! I will get rid of the FF part of me, as well as all the extra that the kiddos "contributed" to my belly. I can stop wearing bras designed for women MUCH larger than me, as well as pants designed for women much larger than me. I wear pants four or five sizes larger than I need because I can't squish all that extra belly into the size that fits my legs and waist. My pants hang down now, so I look like I don't know how to dress (well, I don't, but that's a different story!). In about two months from now I should be able to walk (upright hopefully by then!) into a regular store and purchase regular sized clothing. As for the bras, I've only purchased bras from a specialty store - even had to order them from Texas after we moved here. I should be able to walk into any department store and buy a bra that fits. No more special ordering or $55 bras (unless they are very cute!)

So, wish me luck in getting the laundry done and the pictures taken. hopefully the class tomorrow will go quickly, and then Wednesday can be spent being excited. Tom's going to be in Florida Tues - Wed, so he'll avoid that over-caffeinated Suzie (without caffeine!) until he gets back Wed PM. And then keep me in your thoughts that all goes well and that I recover quickly. I'll get the pictures all up together once I am on the path to recovery and standing upright.

I'll also get some Easter pictures up tomorrow - we had snow on Friday and it's been unseasonably cold this Easter. But, Aunt Sue and my Dad were here, so it was a blast.

Things I miss about Texas

I realized after we moved to the DC area that things here were very different. While Virginia has a TON to offer, there were certainly some things that I missed about Texas. I was in Texas a week or two ago and snapped a few pictures of some of those things.

Taco Cabana's quesadilla's fajitas, and chips and quesoSonic's drinks, and crushed iceDo-it-yourself car washes

Wide open spaces on well traveled roads

Hobby Lobby Craft Stores

Walmart Supercenters

Fields of Bluebonnets, bunches on the sides of the roads

HEB Grocery Stores

and last but not least, good buddies

Not the best painter...

I am certainly not a Monet or a Picasso. Nor am I Joe's Painting service. In fact, I'm on the blacklist - those folks who shouldn't be painting at all. I'll show you an example...or two...or three.

So this was a little oops. Not terrible, just a little bump off of the edge. I did tape here, but not really sure what happened. O.K. That we can fix. Let's take a look at the next one.


Now, this one is also a little oops. I was getting the wall painted and the roller slipped a bit. Again, not a big deal, easily corrected. Well, this wasn't the only ceiling oops - there's more...

This one is a bit more obvious as it's right on the corner opposite the door when you walk in the room. It pretty much announces itself to anyone coming in - "HEY - LOOK AT ME! I'M A PURPLE PAINT SPOT ON THE CEILING!" Sad part is - this spot is all of 24" from the spot in the previous picture. Maybe I can claim that was the last corner I did and call them tired mistakes. Let's see what's left:
Yeah. This has nothing to do with being tired. This is all about a bad tape job. I guess that my painting technique itself isn't the problem, but my tape job is. Well, looking at the picture it may be both. Geez. I not only leaked under the tape, but I also apparently went right over the top as well. I really dig the purple but now I need some white to cover up these spots. They are all waaaaay too obvious to ignore, and since it is purple on white, it speaks to me whenever I enter the room.

So, like I said above, I'm on the banned list...until the spirit moves me to paint another room. Heeeyyyyy...wouldn't the living room look nice in sand?