Leaving shortly for SC. Have a wonderful holiday everyone!

I'm such a follower.......

1. Your name spelled backward? Eener.

2. Where were your parents born? Mom - South Carolina, Dad - New Jersey

3. What is the last thing you downloaded onto your computer? Kaazaa I think.

4. What's your favorite restaurant? Hmmm...well our friends used to own a Chilean restaurant on Restaurant Row in the city (that'd be NYC) called Pomaire. Actually, it's still called Pomaire, but Lilly sold it. I loved going there. Since we don't go there anymore I'd have to say a little Italian restaurant called Michaelangelo's. Or maybe E&V's. Bella Napoli's is pretty good too. Sheesh, I'm like Lucia...I have an Italian theme going on!

5. Last time you swam in a pool? Mid-October. A heated outdoor pool. It was about 40 degrees outside (it was nightime) and about 95 in the pool. It was lovely. Till I got out and froze my boobies off.

6. Have you ever been in a school play? Yes.

7. How many kids do you want? Three. I think.

8. Type of music you dislike most? I really don't like heavy metal.

9. Are you registered to vote? I plead the 5th.

10. Do you have cable? Yes.

11. Have you ever ridden on a moped? Yes, and a dirtbike too.

12. Ever prank call anybody? Yes.

13. Ever get a parking ticket? Never.

14. Would you go bungee jumping or sky diving? No, but I'd go parasailing. Does that count?

15. Furthest place you ever traveled? I'm not up on my geography. I've been to Aruba, Curacao, Tortola, Virgin Gorda and St. Thomas. Whichever one is furthest wins.

16. Do you have a garden? No, but I really, really want one. Don't think it's possible because our backyard is too shady.

17. What's your favorite comic strip? It was Peanuts. Don't read them anymore.

18. Do you really know all the words to your national anthem? Yes.

19. Bath or Shower, morning or night? Shower in the morning usually. I probably take a bath twice a week at night to relax. I used to take one every night.

20. Best movie you've seen in the past month? It's been more than a month, but I saw My Big Fat Greek Wedding and LOVED it.

21. Favorite pizza topping? Pepperoni. Or a chicken parmigiana pizza. Yum..

22. Chips or popcorn? Chips.

23. What color lipstick do you usually wear? I don't. I line my lips, fill in with the same liner, add some cream foundation in the middle of my bottom lip, throw a layer of lip gloss on top. I have no idea why I go to all that trouble. Probably because I hate the feel and taste of lipstick.

24. Have you ever smoked peanut shells? No????

25. Have you ever been in a beauty pageant? I'm embarassed to admit this. But it was not of my own doing. My aunt made me enter a beauty pageant one summer in Myrtle Beach with my dropdead gorgeous cousin. It was awful. I was probably 12. She didn't win either though.

26. Orange Juice or apple? Actually, cranberry. Watered down to half cranberry/half water. In a large cup. With crushed ice. And a straw. Remind me to tell that story one day.

27. Who was the last person you went out to dinner with and where did you dine? Bob and I went to Bella Napoli's Friday night.

28. Favorite chocolate bar? Hershey's with Almonds.

29. When was the last time you voted at the polls? Again, I'm gonna have to plead the 5th.

30. Last time you ate a homegrown tomato? Early Fall. Not mine, our friends.

31. Have you ever won a trophy? Yes, a couple.

32. Are you a good cook? Yes, very. One of the many reasons I'm so damn fat.

33. Do you know how to pump your own gas? No. We have full service pumps in NJ and I have no idea how.

34. Ever order an article from an infomercial? No.

35. Sprite or 7-up? Dr. Pepper. OK, if I absolutely had to choose....Sprite. I like Coke products.

36. Have you ever had to wear a uniform to work? No.

37. Last thing you bought at a pharmacy? Lightbulbs. Go figure.

38. Ever throw up in public? No, but I know *SOMEONE* {ahem}who has. Actually, I have. When I used to drink a little too much.

39. Would you prefer being a millionaire or find true love? Can I have both?

40. Do you believe in love at first sight? Yes.

41. Ever call a 1-900 number? No.

42. Can ex's be friends? Oh yes. I still talk to several of my ex's and I'm friendly with DH's ex too.

43. Who was the last person you visited in a hospital? Does Joey's speech therapist count?

44. Did you have a lot of hair when you were a baby? No.

45. What message is on your answering machine? "Hi, you've reached the H's. I'm sorry we're not able to answer your call right now. Please leave your name and number and we'll call you back."

46. What's your all time favorite Saturday Night Live Character? Adam Sandler, OperaMan. I get a kick out the Mary Katherine Gallagher skits too.

47. What was the name of your first pet? Muffin. He was a Peek-A-Poo. I went to visit my grandparents for the summer and when I came home my mom had given him away. :o(

48. What is in your purse? I don't carry one. But in my jacket pockets I have a wallet, sunglasses, eye drops, a diaper (big pockets), tons of postal receipts, tissues and my keys. Oh, and my cell phone.

49. Favorite thing to do before bedtime? Read.

50. What is one thing you are grateful for today? I get to see my gram tomorrow.

I'm so very tired. Lauren was up most of the night. Yawn.

I'm trying to pack and get everything ready. We're leaving tomorrow for SC. Please note: If you're a crazy stalker who plans on breaking in my house, don't bother. We have someone staying here to housesit. I'm doing all the packing/cleaning myself. Bob is working all day today. He'll be home later to pack up the car. I'm picking him up tomorrow after work and we're leaving right from there. We'll probably drive about 6 hours and stop overnight. We'll get up early the next day and drive the other 6 hours. Ugh.

I can't wait to see my gram, probably mentioned that a dozen or so times, haven't I?

Oh. My. Gosh. Did we have a good time at the Wiggles. I had the biggest, goofiest, cheesiest grin on my face when the curtain opened. I felt like I was 5 years old. I had SUCH a good time. I got such a kick out of all the moms and dads dancing and singing, I honestly think many of the parents had a better time than the kids!

We got there really early, just shortly after the earlier show let out. We got a great parking spot, and while we were walking to lunch we passed by the theater and the door to the souvenier room was still open. So we popped in and got our things early. Yay! We walked over to Wendy's to have lunch and two of the Wiggly dancers were in there having lunch too. Very exciting I tell you!

Joey got SUCH a kick out of Captain Feathersword. So did I. They're just so darn cute, all of them. DH commented when we were leaving that they seem to really get a kick out of each other and have a good time. I had thought the same thing, and one of the dads next to me made the same comment to his wife. How nice that they really enjoy working together.

Here's Joey before the show (I don't have any shots of Lauren because she and DH actually sat in the "good seats" (i.e. an aisle seat in orchestra where DH could stretch his legs) while Joey and I sat in the balcony section).



A crappy, dark picture:



And Murray was the Wiggle who came up in our section to collect roses for Dorothy:



I'm so thankful we got the tickets. It was a blast!

Ouch. It feels like someone poked me in the eye. Actually, someone *did* poke me in the eye. Well he took an instrument to my eye and rubbed my corneal flap back and forth with it. Ow. Ow. OW. I have to go back on Monday and he will, quite probably, do it again. Damn wrinkle in my flap.

I called Bob this morning and offered him two choices for dinner. He surprised me by saying that he had called his parents and asked them to babysit so we could go out to dinner. So we dropped the kids off and headed out. It was so nice! We were only gone an hour, the place we went to was literally not more than a 1/2 mile from home, but it was still so nice to go out and spend some time together alone. We got dessert for 4 to go and brought it back to his parents house and had dessert with them. All in all it was a really nice evening. Except for the eye poking thing.

I forgot to mention yesterday that I got a hair cut. First one since April or May. This is a HUGE deal for me. I told the stylist that she could cut as much as necessary to get rid of the dead hair but that I really wanted to let it grow. I also told her I didn't want triangle head (those of you with curly hair will know *exactly* what I'm talking about...and those of you who don't have it, well just be thankful!!!). I walked out with, you guessed it, triangle head. Ack. I walked in and all Bob could say was, "Wow. Your hair is REALLY big".

We are going to see the Wiggles tomorrow and I'm PIMP excited. I can't wait. I had a dream last night that I was making out with Anthony (that would be the BLUE Wiggle) after the concert. At least we had clothes on in this dream. The last dream I had about him we were nekkid and getting it on. And I'm pretty certain I had the dream because I was A) getting really excited about the concert and B) rehashing that Bachelor finale with all the smooching going on. It was a good dream. ;o)

Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. And he's bringing me an Arby's for Christmas. Yeeha! Oh how I love Arby's roast beef sandwiches with Arby's sauce (hush, I know it probably isn't real meat). There will be an Arby's less than 10 miles from my house. In my local mall no less. I can shop AND eat roast beef. I actually called Bob AND my mom to tell them the good news. I have mentioned it doesn't take much to excite me, right?

There are a ton of movies I want to see in the upcoming months. Specifically, Maid in Manhattan with Ralph Fienes and J-Lo, Solaris with George Clooney, Two weeks notice with Sandra Bullock and Hugh-the-englishman-who-visited-the-prostitue and one I CANNOT miss, Wild Thornberry's The Movie. Oh, and today I got two free tickets to see Treasure Planet so I guess we'll be going to see that too.

My little guy is finally starting to feel better. Yay!

I seriously need to fix my archives and whatnot. That's what I get for adding the Made By Mom ring on my blog. Try and fix one thing, fuck up everything else.

I finished Good in Bed today. I really enjoyed it. It was a welcome change from Wally Lamb's I Know This Much Is True which was excellent, but very intense.

Anyway, I highly recommend Good in Bed. To thumbs way up from moi. It's about a late twenties plus-size reporter for the Philadelphia Examiner. She's coming to terms with her weight and her relationships with her family, her friends and her ex. She's a really funny character. Her ex-boyfriend winds up writing a column called Good In Bed for a popular magazine and frequently writes about her.

There was a part near the end of the book that really rang true with me. I wish I had the confidence to live this way and quit the stinking thinking. "My breasts now had a purpose besides stretching out my sweaters and making it hard to find a non-biege bra. Even my waist and hips, riddled with silvery stretch marks, suggested strenth, and told a story. I might be a big girl, I reasoned, but it wasn't the worst thing in the world. I was a safe harbor and a soft place to rest."

If you're looking for an entertaining easy read, pick it up.

My little guy has scarlet fever. I took him in this morning. He woke up this morning with a rash, was still running a high fever and kept saying his throat really hurt. I didn't even think kids got scarlet fever anymore, admitting to my ignorance now. I had major flashbacks to Little House on the Prairie shows as soon Dr. L. used those words. His rash is pretty bad now. He came back from the bathroom to tell me he had "more rash". He pulled down his underwear and it's all over his groin and in the creases of his legs. It's also all over his neck, chest and belly too. I can't wait till he's feeling better. I hate seeing him so sick. as Dr. L. said it.

My little guy is pretty sick. And I'm kind of freaking out. He puked for about 3 1/2 hours last night but wasn't able to fall asleep until about 4:00 a.m. (which means I didn't get to sleep until 4, ugh). He actually seemed better this morning, not himself, but not quite as sick. He doesn't have an appetite, he's just pretty thirsty. I'm not pushing anything. I figure it's good he's drinking tons, and if he were hungry he'd eat. He's eaten a piece of toast, about 1/2 a cup of chicken soup and a piece of italian bread today. His fever spiked again tonight (that's common, right?). It was 103 right before he fell asleep. I hope he's able to sleep better tonight. I'm just kind of freaked because he never gets sick like this. I think the last time he ran a fever was when he was 10 months old. He looks all flushed and his eyes are all glazed over. He keeps telling me it hurts to swallow. I hope he feels better tomorrow. :o(

I talked to my mom twice today and my gram is doing a little bit better. They got her blood sugar back up (it really low and I guess diabetic coma was a concern) and they've been able to get rid of some of the fluid she's been retaining. My mom said she even ate a little today and that she had some color to her. I got to talk to her today for about 30 seconds before she started choking. We leave a week from tomorrow. I just hope she holds on until then.

On a happy note, I ducked out briefly when the kids napped today. I am *DONE* shopping for them (except for stocking stuffers). I had so much fun choosing their things. And I stayed way under budget. Cool!

I'm heading to bed. I've been reading Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner and I want to read a bit and hopefully get an hour or so of sleep before J. is up again.

Night y'all.

Things aren't looking good with my grandmother. They called everyone up to the hospital today, all her children and her preacher. My FUCKING aunt didn't go, that god damn mother fucking bitch. She'll have to live with herself for the rest of her life, that's the only thing that makes me feel better. And I believe in the Karmic Boomerang enough to know that when she's on her deathbed, her son won't visit her. That, and he's an asshole. You reap what you sow.

I had a baby shower to go to today. I came home and Bob said, "he's either sick or he REALLY needs a nap". As soon as I looked at him I knew he was sick, and just touching him confirmed it. I don't know what it would have taken for Bob to realize he was sick. His fever is 102. In the time I took to write this far, he got up and started throwing up too. Ugh. I have such a bad sinus headache, and all I want to do is sleep. I cried so much today, I'm exhausted. I know I'm going to be up all night tonight with him. I just hope Lauren doesn't get it too. I hope I don't either for that matter. I don't feel so hot myself.

And I have this horrible feeling that my mom is going to call me tonight.

My gram is really sick again. My mom called late tonight. As soon as I picked up the phone I could tell by her "hey" that something was wrong. She's back in the hospital again. She's got pneumonia again. She's in congestive heart failure. Again. Things are not looking good.

We had company too and it took everything in me not to burst into tears with them here. Not that they would have cared, they're good friends.

We're leaving for SC in 10 days or so. I hope she makes it until then. I honestly think that was what was keeping her going. I just had the feeling that she was holding on to see me again. I really don't think she'll make it till Christmas. But truthfully...I didn't think she'd make it this long either, so who knows. God I love her so much.

This picture was taken on my wedding day. Obviously. ;o) My crappy scanner isn't working so I took a picture of the picture so it's horrible quality and distorted. I've never seen my gram happier than she was that day. She had just had a triple bypass a few months before and she told everyone she was going to New Jersey for my wedding come hell or high water. And she did. I wish the picture wasn't so distorted. She's got such a beautiful smile on her face. I think we look alike too. We've definitely got the same chin (except I have multiple chins now). Lauren has it too. I swear sometimes Lauren looks just like my gram.

Have I mentioned lately how much I love nursing a toddler? And all those sick SOBs who think nursing a one or two (or more) year old is child abuse can bite my big fat ass.

I was nursing Lauren to sleep tonight and she was just start to drift off. I looked down at her beautiful little face and whispered "I love you" and without unlatching she put both her arms out from side to side (well, one arm was a little squished by mine). Then she popped off and said, "mama love me dis much".

THAT is one of the beautiful things about nursing a child who can talk back to you. I'm telling you, it doesn't get any better than that!

I just got up and headed to the bathroom to take out my contacts. I wonder when I'm going to quit doing that.

Bob just came off a particularly loooong shift working nights and I'm glad. Not that there's much relief in sight, he's been working like mad lately. It's crappy when your two year old comes up to you at 8:30 a.m. and says, "daddy werk late?". I need some me time. Not a lot, just an hour or two alone. He does too, poor thing. I hate that he works so hard. On the plus side of all of it, the money will be good which is always nice right before the holidays.

I'm so nosy. It's horrible. Our next door neighbors broke up. The ones we LIKE (as opposed to the 15 people living in the teeny tiny house on the other side of us who never take their garbage out, don't put their kid in a carseat and honk the horn at all hours). I just can't figure out what happened, and I'm dying to know. They put in a pool this year, and they spent every day this summer outside swimming or sitting together laughing, eating, drinking, playing cards. She's quite a bit older than him, he's Bob's age (36) and I think she's 4 years younger than my mom so that puts her at about 52 or so. They just seemed to get along so well and have so much fun together. They came to Lauren's b-day party in August together. For the past few months we noticed he really wasn't around, but we'd see him now and then. Bob finally saw him walking out of work the other day (she and I both "won" our houses in a lottery for the company we all worked for...he works there too) and he told Bob that he moved out in July. He didn't go into details but he did say he comes around to mow the lawn, check on her car. They were broken up for Lauren's party and never let on. I'm so sad for them. We really liked him, and they were both good neighbors. Something is definitely going on with her....I'm not sure if she's on disability or she quit the company, but she never goes to work anymore. She hasn't for months. She plays outside in her garden all the time. Maybe she works from home? Like I said, I'm nosy. I want to know what's going on!!!

Phew, what a day. As I predicted, my back is out. Bob and The Beez are on the mend though! Actually, it's not my back, it's sciatica. Whenever I'm on my feet too long it acts up. I spent an hour and a half just prepping food for tonight's dinner, never mind the time it actually took to COOK the food. My friends and their daughter came over for dinner tonight. I made steamed mussels in a spicy tomato sauce as an appetizer and everyone LOVED them. You couldn't have paid me to eat one, it's like snot on a shell. Blech. I also made the Beef Tenderloin with Roasted Shallot Sauce I'm so fond of, steamed rice and veggies, fresh green beans & garlic, salad and bread.

We had a really nice evening. I really enjoy spending time with my friend E. She's just so full of laughter and so bubbly, you just can't help but have a good time when you're around her. Her 11 year old daughter was wonderful with the kids. I think she read them about 37 stories. I was all set to set her up with some computer games or something so she wouldn't be bored and instead she played with my kids.

It's so funny to see how different our lives are. E. is only a year older than I am, yet she's got a pre-teen and I've still got babies. We were talking about how much K. works and he was saying that he feels like he missed so much of her growing up, and now that they're living situation will be changing in the next year and he's going to be able to spend more time with her, she's at the point where she wants to be spending time with her friends and she'll be in college before they know it. It actually made me sad. It reinforced just how precious this time is, and how much I need to enjoy it. It just flies by so quickly. I can't believe my little man will be turning FIVE in 3 months. FIVE. How did that happen?????

MY back is going to go next. Bob is out of commission (probably spelled that wrong) with two ribs that are out of place and some spasming muscles in his back. He's been to the chiropractor for three straight days now, and he's not getting better. He plans to roof a house tomorrow morning though. He can't walk. Can't turn over. Can't get up easily. Reminding me every 4.5 minutes how bad he hurts, but he's going to go roof a house tomorrow. And he wonders why I'm annoyed at him. Knowing him, he probably thinks he's still going to play hockey tomorrow night too. Where's that bashing my head against a brick wall icon???????

I took the Beez to the vet this morning (after I dropped off Bob at the chiropractor) and he does have the same thing happening again. They put him on some new medication, which doesn't seem to be doing diddly, and he's still completely unable to walk up stairs or hop in the van. WHEN HE'S HOME THAT IS. At the vets, you wouldn't have known there was a thing wrong with him. The vet said he's the type of dog who when he gets excited or nervous he "forgets" about what's ailing him. As soon as we walked out, he remembered he was hurting. More crying and yelping. I have to carry him outside so he can go to the bathroom and then carry all 50 lbs. of him back up the stairs. Did I mention my back was going to go out next? Oh, and he's running a fever too. The Beez that is, not Bob.

I really hoped to be catching zzzzz's right about now, but it wasn't meant to be tonight. I took the Beez for a ride with us tonight, and he yelped when he was getting into the car. He also didn't seem himself, he was shaking up a storm. I feel bad for not noticing sooner (was caught up with dinner, baths, stories, etc.) but he's doing the same thing he was doing a few months ago. Standing and staring at the wall, not laying down. He went outside and wouldn't come in from the rain...VERY unlike him. I even tried to get him to lay down on the couch (usually something we never offer), and he screamed when he tried to get up, then cried for about a minute straight. It was awful. I called the emergency clinic and asked if I could give him anything we have in the house. I couldn't take him in because Bob was working and I was alone with the kids (and it was 10:00 pm). Of course they said Bufferin, which I didn't have. But my sweet 17 year old BIL went to the store and got some for the Beez. We gave it to him with some food, and he finally just layed down for the first time in hours. He'll be at the vet's bright and early tomorrow morning. I guess this is going to be a recurring thing with him. They did say it was degenerative, so I guess it's something we're going to face now and then. I hate that he's getting old.

Oh my gosh. What a sucky day. I'm in SUCH a mood. It started when I didn't get enough sleep last night. Then Bob did multiple things to really annoy me, even though I probably had no right to be annoyed. And then he committed the ultimate sin. I finally left for an hour (a much needed sanity break) to go to the thrift store to look for eBay stuff. While I was gone he drank the last of the Dr. Pepper. Which I saving. I needed it. I cooked dinner, got the kids settled and had my food ready. Opened the fridge to get the Dr. P I had been saving for my dinner, and it was gone. I know it sounds petty, but I'm really territorial about "my" stuff (I think it's a lonely only thing), and he knows it. He doesn't even really LIKE Dr. Pepper (he's a diet coke guy). And he knew I was in a bad mood, and he KNOWS drinking/eating the last of something I love really pisses me off, and he still drank it. I could have wrung his neck. You don't know how much I was looking forward to that Pepper.

I think what's really putting me in this mood today is that I have MOTHER FUCKING THRUSH again. Having it full-blown for 10 months wasn't enough. Having it rear its ugly head when I overdid it on mushrooms or too much sugar for a year after that wasn't enough either. I've got it again. Lauren's got a yeasty diaper rash from it too. FUCK.

I think the fact that the house is in dire need of a cleaning has something to do with it too. The entire upstairs (ok, the downstairs too) looks like a bomb exploded in it. I always feel anxious whenever things get this messy. It's almost like my insides feel cluttered when my house is.

I think I'm going to cave in. I'm seriously thinking about getting a hair cut. I think the last one I got was in May or June. I'm due. I'm having this incredibly good hair night. It didn't look so hot this morning, but since I've ran my hand through it about eight thousand times today, it looks really good. I might even say it looked sexy. If I were the sexy sort. Which I'm not. Sassy, yes. Sexy, not so much.

Either way, it's getting really long and quite dead. Most unhealthy. I'm going to have to suck it up and make an appointment. I hate going in to get my hair cut.

I'm totally digging the song from the Mitsubishi Outlander commercial. I just heard it and had to know what it is so I Googled and found out. It's by Telepopmusik and it's called Breathe. You can go HERE to listen to it. Just give it a few seconds into the song and you'll recognize it.

I spent a good part of today cooking. At 9:30 this morning I started making the stuffed rice balls (Arancine) from Lidia's cookbook. I thought I'd surprise DH since he loves them. I finished at 12:30 p.m. Ugh. They were very good, just not my thing. I felt like I had a rock in my stomach when I ate one. For me, it wasn't worth the time and effort. But DH really enjoyed them (so did my SIL) so I will probably be making them again at some point in the future.

We stopped by my SIL's this afternoon to see their new wall unit. They hadn't eaten yet, and I was going to cook for just myself (since DH wasn't home and the kids wouldn't eat it). So instead I went back home, gathered all my ingredients and brought it back to my IL's where I cooked them Chicken Francaise. This is something I make fairly often. If you've ever attended a party I've thrown, chances are you've eaten it at some point or another. But I tried the recipe in Lidia's book. Very good. I haven't made a bad thing yet from that book. And there's still a gozillion recipes I want to try.

I spoke to my mom today about my grandmother's chances of being able to come to Thanksgiving dinner. There's no denying it, it would be a lot of work. But I just can't imagine leaving her in that nursing home/critical care place if we can swing it. Which I think we can, barring any illness or something unforeseen happening. The first concern my mom threw out at me was how we would get her from the car into the house. My gram can't walk anymore, so she'd be in the wheelchair. So I asked Bob if he would help carry my grandmother into the house. After he looked at me like I had two heads and said, "why would you even ask me such a question", he assured me he would. And then my mom reminded me of how big my grandmother is. She's maybe 200 lbs. And she is dead weight. But it's still not impossible.

Then she reminded me that she still has a catheter. There are ways to work around that. And then she said, "well what if she poops, how would we change her?". My mom and I talked a month or so ago and she admitted that she's not the kind of person who does stuff like that. And she said, "I know you'd probably do it, wouldn't you?". And I would. I wouldn't want to simply for the fact that I wouldn't want to embarrass my grandmother, but hell yes, I'd do what needed to be done. So I said, "well Bob can help get her on the bed, then he can leave, and I'll change her". These aren't mountains here. I want her there. She's gone so downhill that I can't imagine she'll be here next Thanksgiving. I don't want to eat Thanksgiving dinner with her stuck in a nursing home. I just can't imagine it.