Another great weekend...

What a great weekend! Actually, it was a great long weekend. I left work about and hour early on Thursday to start my weekend. Thursday night Husband and I went to the Cheap Trick/Poison/Def Leppard concert…it was a pretty good concert. Never in my wildest teenage dreams did I ever think I’d go to a concert and see Every Rose Has It’s Thorn (Poison) and Pour Some Sugar on Me (Def Leppard) performed live. I was in 1980’s Rock and Roll heaven!
The kids and I spent time at the pool (one of our favorite activities) then spent the evening grilling out with friends. Saturday was pretty much spent inside because of gloomy weather, but it cleared up in time for another cook out. Unfortunately, Sunday was spent mostly in bed fending off a killer migraine.
The weekend was just about perfect. And I’ll admit, with the cooler than normal July, I’m really in the mood to go to the apple orchard…mmm…apple pie…apple butter…

A bloggy gift...

My first blog award presented to me by my best friend (which is a gross understatement of our friendship)...We've been together through thick and thin...

Visit to the Doctor

I forgot to post this last week, so here it is…

I’m not sure if I posted anything about Bear’s last appointment at the Children’s hospital or not…the appointment was back in April. At the time, the doctor felt that he could safely reduce the level of maintenance medications that my son takes on a daily basis without serious risk to his health. So that’s what we did. Roughly six weeks later, Bear began coughing. Nothing serious…just ‘clearing his throat’ is what he would say. As the weeks passed I noticed that he was doing it more and more. I considered calling the doctor but since we had an appointment coming up I decided to wait it out.

Normally my concern is that he hasn’t put on any weight or hasn’t grown any. Every time we would go to the doctor he would only have put on a few ounces. It is nerve-wracking because he’s so skinny…anyway, I never considered that lowering his medication would have a two fold affect. Just the other day it was time to go back to the Children’s hospital for a check up. In the three months Bear was on the lower level of maintenance he grew 3 inches and put on 4 pounds. YES! Finally! Significant growth! WooHoo! This is going to be a great visit!! When the doctor came in to examine Deacon he asked if I had any concerns. I told him that I was a little concerned about the coughing as it seemed to be getting worse over the past two months. The doctor gave him a once over and sent Bear for a lung function test (which we do every time we’re there). Here’s a quick background on lung function…people who have Bear’s level of asthma have a ‘normal’ lung function of 80% or better (meaning that their lungs do not function at 100%), when we first started seeing this doctor, Bear’s lung function was 48%. Bear’s lung function topped out at 76%, not even in the ‘normal’ range. Okay, back to normal programming. I really hadn’t thought that the lower level of meds would have such an affect on Bear…his lung function tanked 13% (which is why he was coughing so much) in three months, which, of course, is unacceptable. I was wholly disappointed. I wanted so much for him to be able to stay on the lower level of meds…but with this result it just isn’t possible. So, he is now on the higher level of maintenance medications again. Which makes me sad. It’s not an additional pill, or inhaler…just higher dosages of the meds he’s already taking. I know, at least he’s going to be able to breathe…I get that, but this has been such a battle for so many years, I thought that we were finally getting close to the light at the end of the tunnel…

I'm 36!

My 36th birthday was this past weekend…and I’m glad to say it was definitely a good weekend. On Friday the 10th my sister-in-law and I went to see Paramore and No Doubt at the Verizon Wireless Center. It was a great concert and we had an absolute blast. On Saturday the neighbors and I cooked (to celebrate a friend’s birthday) out after the rain stopped, it was fun but there were lots of bugs out and I was still tired from the night before so I turned in a little earlier than usual. Sunday (my birthday) Husband made me breakfast in bed, French toast, bacon and coffee (courtesy of Bear, he makes the BEST coffee!!). Husband bought me some awesome jewelry that I had been eying for quite some time. Later that night we loaded into the car and went to Olive Garden for dinner. It was so nice to hang out with my family (yeah, they were on their best behavior)…it turned out to be a great weekend.

Lessons Learned

I cannot eat strawberry shortcake if I leave my medication at home
I will have to work hard to lose weight
The road to being healthy is long...and boring
Old habits creep up on you with no warning
Sometimes people put you under the microscope because of the color of your skin
The above sucks
Staying true to yourself can be very difficult at times

Spring Soccer '09

I've been meaning to get this posted for a while...how time flies when things are busy! Anyway, both of my boys played soccer this year. Thank goodness that toward the end of the season Husband got a promotion and started working days. I had been running around like a chicken with my head cut off between the two boys. Once Husband switched to a day position he was able to help out with the running.

Teenager's team had a so-so season. They won some, they lost some, end of season. Bear's team went the entire season without a single win until the last two games. They blew the last two teams out of the water. The score for the second win was 7-0. Both boys had a lot of fun...next season (fall) Princess will be playing. That should be interesting!

Defending My Hobby

Some people are foodies. Some people do arts and crafts. Over the years I've tried many different hobbies. I've painted ceramics, I took a sewing class with my sister, spent time scrapbooking and I've even tried making jewelry. I enjoyed all of the hobbies I've tried and still do some of them ocassionally. None of the hobbies I've encountered have spoken to me like nail polish. Yes, nail polish. I currently have around 65 bottles (I'm waiting on my latest Zoya haul that will take my total to 71) and I'm never without polished nails. Husband thinks I'm completely insane and have spent way too much money on my collection. BUT! I can justify it...maintaining acryllic nails over the course of a year can cost over $600 a year. And let's not forget the cost of having a broken nail fixed and color changes. I think I've probably spent $150 on polish. No, I don't buy Dollar Store polish either. My favorite brands and China Glaze, Nfu-Oh and Zoya. I order from sites like Transdesign and 8ty8beauty (this is the only site I've found to offer Nfu-Oh). So, I'm getting awesome quality polish at incredible prices. No, I'm not trying to sell anyone on anthing, I'm just saying that not every person is a crafter or a foodie. I'm a nail polish junkie...and just for clarification...my nails are 'real', no acryllic on these babies. Excuse the picture quality...but this is Zoya Midori...it reminds me of a green apple but with a golden shimmer...

Celebrate good times!!

Since November of 2006 my husband has been working nights. I know when I say ‘working nights’ you might be inclined to think that I mean he goes to work at 8 or 9pm. Yeah, not so much. Not for us at least. His normal routine would be to put Princess on the bus at 12:30pm and head to work, and then he’d be gone sometimes until 3am. So, for the last two and a half years I’ve been doing 99% of all the running, doctor appointments and field trips with the kids. Well, all that’s about to change. Yesterday when Husband got to work he was asked to join a conference call with his immediate supervisor and the head honcho…they offered him a new position…a promotion of sorts. As of today I get my husband back. He started at his new position this morning…he’ll be working from 9:00am to 5:00pm. He’s been wanting a change, professionally that is. This literally fell into his lap so he eagerly accepted. I’m sure that we’ll in for a major adjustment period but I think it’ll be well worth it to have some real family time again!!!

Every woman should read this...

It could have been as long as 5 years ago that I had a benign mass removed from my breast. After recovering I was told that I needed to have a mammogram every 6 months until I turned 35, then I could have them yearly. Since then I've probably been three times. Yes, I know...I need to go have one done. Anyway, I stumbled across this blog entry yesterday and couldn't resist passing it on. Every woman should read it...

The Origins of Swine Flu...

MEF is a good influence...

Wow…how time flies. Apologies for not posting in so long, I really haven’t had anything to say.
Lately I’ve been trying to go green. The first time I went to visit MEF we went to grab some groceries. She was using reusable shopping bags…and what do you think I did when I got back? You got it. I went out and bought some. Now I have tons of them…big ones, small ones, insulated ones…I even have Ohio State reusable shopping bags. I’ve gotten pretty good about using them…I hate when I bring home plastic shopping bags even if it’s just a couple. I don’t see me being able to phase plastic shopping bags out 100%...let’s face it. That raw chicken is not going into one of my reusable bags unless it’s in a plastic bag first. But to redeem my evil ways I always take them back to the store for recycling. And by all means, if you can tell me a way not to get gross chicken juice all over my bags that does not include using a plastic bag…PLEASE share. I hate those plastic bags.
This past March (I think it was March…) I went to see MEF again…guess what kind of habits I picked up from her THIS time? Thanks to MEF, I can no longer bring myself to part with a glass jar/bottle that I can repurpose. Seriously, I use a glass jar that originally had artichoke hearts in it to hold kosher salt. I’m saving spaghetti jars to use for canning…and if it’s a cool looking bottle, you might as well give it up. I’m keeping it. I have a really cool bottle in the fridge, its current purpose? Salad dressing. It’s next purpose? Well, I don’t know yet. But I do know that I’m keeping it. Oh, and thanks to MEF, we’re also recycling. I know, I should have been doing that all along, but I haven’t been. My kids are excited about doing their part…Husband…maybe not so much. Oh well, I’m sure he’ll get over it. =]

13

Thirteen. I love the number thirteen. What’s so special about the number thirteen? Well…it’s the number of pounds that I have managed to lose so far by just changing the way I eat. I’m not going to say, “I changed my diet”…I hate the word “diet”. Diets are things people try and fail at repeatedly. “Diets” are what you do when you deprive yourself of the foods you love or crave. That’s been my experience anyway. I’ve been on the weight rollercoaster most of my life. Up and down…up 10 pounds, down 4. This time it’s different. Currently I eat everything I want. I refuse to deprive myself of the foods I love. That is a recipe for failure as far as I’m concerned. At first I was motivated by the fact that I’m on medication to lower my blood sugar levels. Now I’m motivated by the fact that I’m losing weight. THIRTEEN POUNDS! Yesterday my friend said, “Syl, you know I love you…but never wear that shirt again…it’s too big for you”. It took a moment to sink it…”it’s too big for you”…I’m not sure I’ve ever been told those words before. I know that I have a long way to go…its taken almost 5 months to lose 13 pounds, and at this rate it’s going to take a long time to lose the rest of the weight, but I don’t feel myself slipping back into old habits. No, I’m not exercising other than walking…but now that the weather is nicer, I see myself out playing with the kids more often. I’m just really excited about my progress; I’m losing weight and getting a better handle on controlling my blood sugar. I might be on blood sugar medication for the rest of my life (genetics suck)…but at least I’ll be at a healthy weight.

MEF and Me

I finally made it out to see MEF. I thought it had only been around 6 months since I’d seen her last…come to find out I was way off! We figured it had been almost a year since my last visit. This, of course, is unacceptable.

The drive out to No-man’s-land, Illinois went much better than I had anticipated. I left at 12:31 pm and got to Illinois at, oh heck…what time was it...I can’t remember exactly what time it was, but it was a lot earlier than I thought it was going to be. Of course somehow MEF and I both managed to misunderstand arrival & departure times because of different time zones. J Hopefully next time around we’ll be able to figure it out. **Seriously, can you believe that anyone let us ‘raise’ a baby when we were 19? We can’t figure out time zones…**

And what do you think happened that evening??? Yep, you guessed it, they dragged me, yes dragged me kicking and screaming no less, to the local waterin’ hole. And do you know what (not who) was in that bar?? A dog. A big black dog lying on the floor as his master’s feet. When you walk into a bar and see a huge dog on the floor it is safe to assume that you’ve officially reached “the country”.

We stayed at the bar for a few hours and then headed back to the house. On Saturday morning Beth and I went to Alton to do some shopping. We had lunch at a bar called Fast Eddie’s. This place was just cool, the outside ‘smoking area’ was impressive with its full bar and radiant heaters (of course we didn’t need the heaters because it was so darn nice outside). This bar has quite possibly the smallest menu I’ve ever seen. Beth and I decided on the $.29 (each) jumbo peel and eat shrimp. We started with 30 shrimp…and then went back for another 30! In hindsight we would have been fine with just ordering 20 shrimp for our second go-round (but really, who could resist them…they were SO good!).

We spent most of the afternoon just lounging around watching Burn Notice on DVD. Which of course, was incredibly fantastic for me, it’s not often that I get to relax without my offspring disturbing me. We, okay Beth, cooked some while I was there. Not much though. We were too busy being sloths on her couch. J

On Sunday we managed to get a little accomplished; Beth finished a beautiful necklace that she had been working on and I managed to string a lanyard for my work id badge. After inclement weather rolled through I packed up my car and begrudgingly headed back to Indianapolis…you know; I’m a very lucky person to have someone like Beth as my best friend. There have been times over the past twenty plus years that I’ve managed to fall off the face of the Earth and lost touch with her, but she’s never given up on me or our friendship. Even though we live 200 miles apart, I’d venture to say that our souls are connected at the hip.

100%

I know I'm a mom. I'm not a SAHM, but I am a mom with a full time job, 3 children and a husband that works nights. So, as you can guess most of the parenting responsibilities fall to me. And that's fine. I get it. Being a mother is a thankless job...but does it have to be? Yesterday morning I was ready to run out the door to go to work when I remembered that all three kids needed lunch money. Since neither Husband nor I carry cash that meant checks had to be written. I am instantly annoyed...but I write the checks. As I'm writing the checks Teenager grumpily comes out of his room in nothing but his boxers (seriously dude, put some pants on) and turns the television down. Yep, that was the straw that broke the camel's back. I start in on him about how we (the little ones and I) have to listen to him playing FIFA 09 in his room with that not so mainstream music cd that GirlFriend made for you every single God forsaken day of the week so get your hands off MY television. This of course wakes Husband...who really should know after 11 years of marriage to just keep quiet and let me rant for a minute. I'm not even sure what he said but off I went on him with a "Here is your daughter's lunch money now do something with it because I'm going to work". Why didn't he just say "Ok, I'll take care of it"? Why did he say, "Why didn't you write the checks last night". Why didn't I write the checks last night??? What in the name of all things holy was he trying to do??? Make my head explode??? I spun around and said, possibly even shouted (at this point I have no idea), "Last night when? When I was making dinner? Or running Teenager to GirlFriend's house while I was making dinner because you were too busy watching a movie to be bothered? I know, how about writing the checks while I was cleaning the kitchen or doing laundry so YOU would have clean clothes to wear to work..." I stomped back to my bedroom to get my bag that I use for work shouting at the family as I went, "It's 100% me, 100% of the time with ZERO gratitude from all of you!!!" I made it to the door before I realized that I hadn't said goodbye to anyone so I turned around and gave the kids the "I'm still angry but I love you and I don't want to to walk out the door without saying goodbye" kisses and said "I love you, have a good day". Same for the Husband...then I slammed the door behind me and drove mach 3 all the way to work. You know those women that you hear about sometimes in the news? The storyline reads "Mother of 3 leaves husband and kids to start new life"...yeah, I used to wonder how in the hell a woman who has a husband and children can just walk away from it all. I used to think they were crazy...and maybe some are. But I bet that some of them are just like me...frstrated with being taken for granted, frustrated with the "it's mom's job" expectations. To all you husbands out there...say "thank you" once in a while. Tell your wife that you think she's still beautiful and offer to help out from time to time. And for you kids out there...clean your damn room without a temper tantrum.

I love CVS

About a year ago I became very sick...so sick in fact that I took three sick days. I remember going to the doctor and getting some prescriptions. I dragged my achy, flu ridden body to Wal-Mart to get my prescriptions filled. The woman at the counter told me I would have to wait roughly 20 minutes for the medication. So, I sat on the bench waiting patiently...20 minutes goes by...then 30...finally after almost an hour I ask what the delay was. Now, keep in mind that I was so sick I was literally reduced to tears. The pharmacist told me that they had a bunch of customers come through the drive through so they hadn't gotten to my prescription yet. After waiting an hour and a half I was finally handed my prescription. I vowed never to return there for prescriptions...of course I did though. Bear has 4 meds that he's on daily and I figured that I was at Wal-Mart often enough that it made sense to get his meds from there. But, nothing changed. The lines were long, service was crappy and one time I was actually followed through the store by a pharmacy employee because I didn't pay for Bear's meds at the pharmacy (I had more shopping to do so I thought I'd pay for the meds at the register). I finally got fed up when I went to pick up Bear's meds and the pharmacy tech got snotty with me because I had a vendor coupon ($25 off an Advair inhaler...yeah, I'm not letting that coupon expire!). So, I transfered all the family prescriptions to the nearest CVS, which is around the corner from my apartment. Not only can I get a prescription filled in 5 minutes...but they PAY you to bring them there! I waited until to transfer the prescriptions to CVS until I had a coupon for a free $20 gift card when you transferred a prescription. And can I tell ya...it's been heaven ever since. CVS will give you $1 (extra care bucks) for every two prescriptions you get filled if you use their "Extra Care Card". With 9 prescriptions to be filled every month it really adds up. And let's not forget about the sales at CVS...if you know how to work the system the savings add up. Last week I managed to get a $10 coupon from them..I used it last night along with others I managed to receive and bought (4) 12 packs of 7-Up (on sale for 4/$12), $20 worth of Revlon products, 2 bottles of nail polish remover ($1.99 each) for $19.35 out of pocket (I used $17 in CVS coupons). What's so great about it is that when it was all said and doneI still walked out of there with a $10 coupon, a $4 coupon and a $2 coupon...that's $16 in coupons (which I like to consider money back in hand)...so if you think about it...wasn't it like paying $3.35 for that stuff??

My Journey to NOT Being Diabetic II

Just the other day I blogged about Valentine's Day. In that post I mentioned that Husband asked me to buy a new outfit for our date, but what I neglected to mention is that the outfit I bought was ONE SIZE SMALLER than the clothes I've been buying lately. The pants one size smaller and the shirt...one size smaller!!! I was so stoked I couldn't stand it. Of course there was the part of me that said, "No, Sylvia...you are not one size smaller...the clothes are just cut bigger". Well, now I'm not sure that's the case. I went to the doctor yesterday for a follow up. I knew I had been losing weight but I just wasn't sure how much (you can read about it here). Yesterday I found out how much I had lost. I'll admit, I was nervous about getting on the scale at the doctor's office...I mean, what if my 'weight loss' had been in my head? What if the clothes I bought really had been cut 'bigger'?? I'm happy to announce that in roughly 3 months I've lost 9, count 'em N-I-N-E pounds!! Does this mean that I'm ready to sport an itsy bitsy tweeny weeny yellow polka dot bikini to the pool this year? Hell no! But what it does mean is that I'm on my way to a healthier life. I know that a nine pound weight loss is not substantial by any means (I still have roughly 60 pounds to lose) but it's a start. And it's enough of a start that I can buy smaller clothes...and who doesn't love buying smaller clothes??? I'm still taking the blood glucose medication (no big surprize there) and I'll probably be on it for a while, but I lost 9 pounds! I've lost the weight just be changing my eating habits. And I'm not necessarily eating differently than I was before...I'm just not eating as much as I was before. Now that I'm bonafiably losing weight, I'm motivated to start exercising. Maybe an itsy bitsy tweeny weeny yellow polka dot bikini is in my future for next summer...

Valentine's Day...

Okay, there's always a sense of apprehension when I get this phone call from the husband, "Hey, make time this week and go buy yourself something nice...I made plans for us". First of all...uh-oh! Plans that I wasn't involved in making? YIKES! And second...I suck at shopping under pressure. Seriously. It's hard enough to find an outfit that I like when I have a lot of time to shop. Turns out that luck would be on my side. I found an outfit that I loved!

On Saturday Husband said we needed to leave the house around 11:00am...no problem! We got in the car and headed toward downtown Indy. Here's the part that meant most to me...he was so nervous about our plans that I thought he was going to have to pull over. See, we don't normally celebrate Valentine's Day. We've been married for 11 years now and somewhere along the way it just fell by the wayside. Needless to say, I was really excited about his plans. He told me that he was really nervous because he didn't want to disappoint me. It's no big secret that we've just been through a really rough patch in our relationship, so for him to make plans for us...well, that's a big deal. AND for him to be nervous about disappointing me...wow. I was floored. Yeah, I know...sappy. His plans? He bought us tickets to see Crime and Punishment at the IRT. And can I just say...it was FABULOUS. I loved it...an no. I'm not just saying that to make Husband happy. I truly enjoyed the play...and the wonderful dinner he took me out for after the play. It was so wonderful getting to spend time with him without the offspring. Oh! I almost forgot...not only did we go to a play on Valentine's Day...he bought us tickets for THIS weekend as well. We'll be seeing To Kill a Mockingbird at the IRT. It's the second half of my Valentine's Day gift. Man...it would be wonderful if he was this sweet all the time! LOL!

Who'd a thunk it?

We've all heard old wive's tales...but I found one that actually works! Seriously! I burned myself on the oven this morning. After about an hour of endless burning I put toothpaste on it. I read in my mom's book of old wive's tales (yes, they actually have books about this kind of stuff) that toothpaste makes a great salve for burns. So, I put toothpaste on my burn...and it took the heat out of it INSTANTLY. I know what you're thinking...toothpaste? On a burn? YES! My burn is not burning and now smells minty fresh. So, if you ever find yourself burned by a hot surface...remember...TOOTHPASTE.

Bumper Sticker Wisdom

I was almost home yesterday when I stopped behind a car at a stop sign. Normally I tend not to pay attention to bumper stickers unless their the size of a billboard, but this one caught my eye...

"Guns Kill People Like Spoons Make People Fat"

Now, I'm not Pro-NRA or anti-gun...but the sticker made sense to me.

My Journey to NOT Being Diabetic

No, I'm not diabetic...yet. I have a very strong family history of diabetes though. My mother takes a medication twice a day to lower her blood sugar when she eats and my father was insulin dependent. Clearly genetics are not on my side. I had a physical and blood work done about 2 months ago and the results came back that I am insulin resistant. Which means, I'm on the road to diabetes. So, the doctor prescribed a medication (the same one my mother takes) to help lower my blood sugar and hopefully stave off diabetes by jump starting my pancreas. Since that time I have also seen a nutritionist, and who knew that a donut can be better for you than muffin? Go figure. Anyway, I've been making better dietary decisions which has led to what is the beginning of weight loss. I'd like to say that I've been working out every day...but I haven't. I haven't worked out at all other than taking the dog out. Maybe it's all the stairs I've been climbing in the process. Regardless, I've started to lose weight. How much? I don't know. I'm not getting on a scale to find out either. What I do know is this...I've had a shirt that I could BARELY fit into (and when I say "BARELY", I mean I could barely get it over my head, and I surely could not sit comfortably in it) in my closet since the end of the summer. Today, I'm wearing that shirt to work...and I look good in it. My jeans...well, good news there too. I accidentally dried my jeans the other day and as we all know, that's the kiss of death for many of us when it comes to clothing our lower halves. Today, those jeans that I just knew I was going to have to rid of actually FIT! And we're not talking "kind of". We're actually talking about kind of almost too big! I have to keep yanking them up! How cool is that??? It seems strange to say, but I'm excited about the choices I'm making when it comes to eating. No, I'm not surviving on lettuce with a bit of black pepper on it. I'm eating just about everything I want, just not in the same amounts. I know eventually I'm going to have to exercise on a regular basis. It's not an option, and of course it's going to have to happen sooner than later...but for now, I'm content to lose weight by controlling what I eat. I don't know if all my efforts will all be in vain...I may end up a diabetic in the long run, there's no way to tell for sure. But at least I'm giving myself a fighting chance to outrun it for a while.

Some times it just gets to ya...

Bear has allergies; both food and outdoor (along with asthma, yeah...good times). We've been dealing with this since he was a baby (he's 9 now). People ask me how I do it. I read labels, have meeting with everyone who comes in contact with him, medications, trips to the ER...it never ends. I don't have a choice. I just do it. Somewhere along the way I must have learned to compartmentalize the roller coaster of emotion that goes along with a child that has medical issues. When I go into crisis management mode I'm calm and collected. I don't overreact when Bear has an asthma attack or an allergic reaction. I administer his meds and take appropriate actions. I remember thinking that it would get easier as he gets older...but it doesn't. It actually gets harder. When he was little it was easy, I controlled everything that he was exposed to. Now he's in the third grade and I don't get to control who stands next to him in the line for the bus. Just recently a child who ate a chocolate candy with nuts grabbed him by the arm...now this child, including the entire third grade, yes, it's that serious that the entire grade was educated about food allergies; knows that Bear can't be touched by someone who has eaten nuts. So, what happened? Thankfully, nothing because the nurse was notified immediately and she gave him some Benedryl to head off the reaction. I had no control over that child and what she did. It's frustrating to say the least. And for the most part, I deal with it (emotionally speaking)...but sometimes it's just too much. Once in a while I'll sit down and think about everything that Bear has been through and I'm reduced to tears. I don't cry for me, but for him. The stress that goes with having a child with issues like Bears is a mother's burden. I know it could always be worse; and I'm truly thankful that it's not...but he will have these issues for the rest of his life. Knowing that my child doesn't know what it's like to not be this way is sometimes heart breaking. Sometimes just finding out that someone I know has a child that has been diagnosed with food allergies is frustrating to me because I know what they're going up against. It's an incredibly long road...

I have failed

I was raised as a Catholic, my sisters and I went to Sunday school, Tuesday night CCD...of course we were all baptized, had First Communion and then Confirmation. It was some time after my Confirmation that I stopped going to church. I didn't stop believing, I just stopped attending. Seriously, it's not fun going to Catholic Mass. Stand up, sit down, kneel, Peace be with you... I'm not opposed to going, I just don't go. I think in the last 10 years I 've been to church maybe 3 times. Why am I bringing this up? Because I have failed. My sisters both carried on the tradition by torturing their children with the same up bringing that we had. I didn't. Out of my three children only Teenager is baptized and that's only because mother made it happen. Again, I'm not really into going to church.

All that being said...during the holidays Princess came running up to me and proclaimed, "Mommy! We're learning about Jesus!". Um...okay. I'll admit it. I was shocked. My kids go to public school, hello separation of church and state. Anyway, she was so excited to be learning about Jesus, so excited that she wants to learn more. Now, let me just say that I'm Mexican. I know, it's not big shocker. We Mexicans happen to have a um well, let's just say that we happen to believe certain things. So much so that this one Marine I worked with (yes, he was Mexican) once told me that the reason I was having such behavioral issues with Bear was that he is not baptized. Is there any truth to that? Maybe, I mean afterall, Teenager is baptized and I've never had problems with him. Okay, back to my story. I was having a conversation with Princess about Jesus when, out of nowhere, Bear turns around and says, "Yeah, and who is this "God" guy everyone is talking about???". There you have it ladies and gentlemen...my epic failure. I was raised Catholic and even though I have a relationship with God...my children have no idea who or what "God" is. I'm going to hell. Yes, I know I'll be in good company as all my friends will be there waiting on me, but that's not the point. Bear and Princess have asked me to start taking them to church...ughughughugh. Did I mention...I don't go to church.

Which way to the beach???

MEF and I have been friends for just about ever...I can't remember exactly when we met, but I know we've been friends for 20+ years now. Last night I was thinking about the time we were lost and looking for the beach. Okay, so we weren't really lost and we had already been to the beach (MEF, feel free to chime in if I get the details wrong...it's been a LONG time). But that's not what we told the officer that pulled us over for speeding. There we were in the car, wearing our bathing suits, sand covering the floor boards and looking like we had actually just spent the day at the beach, telling this officer that we were lost. I'm sure we thought we were clever..."I was speeding? Oh my gosh! We got lost on our way to the beach...". Seriously, who did we think we were fooling? I can't say for certain if the officer believed us, but we didn't get a ticket...and isn't that what matters? I'm sure the officer was thinking to himself, "Silly teenaged girls, I know you are not lost, I know you just left the beach, and stop looking at me with that please don't give me a ticket or my parents will kill me look." Whatever the case, we were told to lay off the lead foot and sent on our way. So, what did we do? We stopped along the road not far from where we got pulled over and took pictures of each other standing by speed limit signs and "buckle up for safety" signs. I'm going to look for the pictures tonight...and you can be sure that I find them they'll be on here tomorrow. I hope I can find the one of MEF mooning me at the beach. Yes, MEF...I love you too. :D