Netflix

We joined Netflix last month and I love it. Every time we are done with a movie we send it back and we get a new one..they are really fast...we get one within 4 days of returining it. Not only that, they have most movies when they come out on DVD and they have a huge selection of movies. Including all my oldies that I love.
The nice thing is that we don't go out to see movies...having Kyle and the baby makes it difficult to go and see them. Katherine doesn't mind waiting to see the movies she likes because she now has her own TV with DVD and a VCR (our old ones that are real slow and barely work) so she can watch them whenever she wants or right before bedtime. She only gets to do that on the weekend. She doesn't watch much tv during the week, between soccer practice, homework, and doing her chores...doesn't leave much time for tv. Maybe that's why she is always wanting to watch it. Anyways, she stopped complaining about never getting to see movies now. We have a whole bunch in our que and I think half of them are for her.

Support Group

I've decided to join a support group. I've been reading this book on my own and trying to deal with things by myself but I think the time has come to join a group. The only problem is trying to find one. I called the only two places listed in Austin/Round Rock that have them and neither one is doing one for adults right now; And the waiting list to see a counselor is 2-4 months (of course it is free so really can't complain). I can't believe in our city as big as it is and it being the state capitol and all that these are the only places; I heard from someone I know that churches and the Y also have some and she is supposed to get back to me with that info. In the meantime, it is sit and wait. I really want to do this so hopefully I don't lose hope. I usually get excited about something and if it doesn't happen right away I can get pretty darn negative.

My Workout Today

I started off my going to the female area of the Y. Our Y has a whole room just for females to work out in..has treadmills, ellipticals and of course machines and some free weights. I don't know why I decided to go there today...usually i work out in the main area. Anyways, I started by doing my walking. After my warm-up I went to run but after a minute my leg was hurting and I couldn't keep myself motivated to run so I slowed down..way down to 3.0. I just walked at that pace for the rest of the time. I was feeling good about my workout but I just wasn't into it. Afterward, I went to do my Fitness Mag. routine but I was dreading doing it. I was going through the motions hating it. When I finished the first round I just started crying. I don't know why...I cried for like 10 minutes..have no clue what got into me. I decided to calm down and cycle. I got on the cycle and after 15 min started feeling better and by the time I was done I felt energized. I picked the kids up and drove home. I'm sitting here trying to figure out what happened. I am just going to chalk it up to a slight case of the baby blues. LOL.

Dentist Visit

Today Kyle had his first dentist visit. They really didn't do much. He sat on my lap and the doctor had to kind of pry Kyle's mouth open because he kept wanting to keep his teeth clenched. Then he cried because he didn't want the dentist's finger in his mouth. He said his teeth look good but we do need to brush and floss his teeth to prevent cavaties. Since he doesn't eat grown up food and we only put water in his sippy cup at night we aren't too worried. He gave us some tips on how to brush his teeth since he is so fussy about it. He said at this age it only really needs to be done once a day...usually before bed. For the five minutes it took for him to look at Kyle it was 72.oo...isn't that ridiculous? Guess have to pay off that student loan somehow...lol.
Katie also had her checkup today. She did great. She has one itty bity start of a cavity on her lower tooth in the back...he said that all they have to do is put some sealant on it and it will be fine so she goes back in November.
Speaking of dentist...did anyone catch that segment on GMA this morning about the little five year old girl who went into coma after getting her 2 cavaites filled? Pretty interesting but to me it seemed like they were "scaring" parents into thinking this is a real problem..they aren't even sure why she went into a coma...the mother is saying the dentist "OD' her daughter. I don't think so...she was probably just allergic to it. Just something to think about I guess.

Green Bean Fight

Last night for dinner we had green beans with our meal. My lovely daughter decides to eat almost all of her food except for her veggies. I tried getting her to eat the beans with her chicken but she kept shaking her head and clamping her mouth shut. I told her no dessert, I told her no tv but she still refused. Short of having to force them down her throat she finally ate 4. Yes, I only gave her 4 to eat and she made it into an ordeal. She told Micau he was mean. She glowered at me and told me I was mean. We are so cruel for making her eat her veggies. When she ate all 4, she was made to take a shower and then had to go to bed. She went to bed without saying goodnight and with that look of I will hate you forever. I am always saddened when she says and does things like that but I guess you know you are doing your job as a parent when you hear those things every now and then. Children aren't going to like you all the time; sometimes they will hate you; but eventually they learn that you are doing what is best for them..or at least I hope so. You can't always be thier friend...so when my daughter says I hate you I know that she loves me and she is just angry for a little while...and she knows that I love her because I make her do things or I don't let her do things...that is how she knows I care for her.

Stuff

Last night Katie's dad dropped off all of her stuff that he had at his place. He is moving out and in with a friend so he didn't have room for everything. What you should know is that his exgirlfriend had bought Katie alot of clothes. Most of the items are from the limited too, arizona jean co., a girls boutique store, gymboree, etc. This is high dollar stuff. I buy Katie's stuff from Walmart and Target which according to her dad, aren't good enough. So I am sorting through the clothes and boxes and I find some books that his ex got Katherine. There are two books about growing up...getting boobs, starting your period, and questions about sex. I was really upset. I know that her dad and the ex aren't together anymore but I had a real problem with her buying Katie books like that without asking me. Its one thing to ask me if she could talk to her about but an entirely different matter if she was just going to talk to her with out consulting me first. I am her mother; not her who wanted to be Katie's mother. (Sidenote..the ex was pushing Chris to obtain custody of Katherine and there was alot of arguing over the summer as a result...she even called CPS on us for neglect because in order to take custody away from me he would have to prove there is something wrong in the household...anyway he broke up with the ex shortly after the CPS incident). I think she wanted to play being mommy without having any kids herself (she was 22 or 23). Anyways, I was just really upset and I shouldn't have been because they aren't even together; but for some reason I had a hard time letting go of the anger. Micau says its because I'm very possessive of Katherine and I feel threatened when another woman tries to come into the picture. Maybe so. It was just me and Katie for so long that we are pretty attached to each other and the idea of having someone explain the facts of life to her just doesn't sit well with me.
So anyway, as far as the clothes that don't fit...i'm offering them to some friends of mine. As for the books...I thought Katherine and I could read them together. There are other books and toys that need to be put up. There were clothes that she hasn't even worn yet; they had the price tags still on them. I better run and do the 8 or so loads of laundry I have to do. Later.

Pizza Party

Katherine's best friend had her 10th birthday party yesterday. They held it at Chuck E Cheese. What I don't like about having parties at those kind of places is that it always feels like they are rushing you out. The parents were expecting about 15 kids to show up but only 10 did. Katherine had a blast playing the games; she didn't really care for the food..she just wanted to play. Not that I blame her. Have you tried their pizza. Yep gross. But it was better than eating nothing at all. I regretted eating the 4 small slices I had; I was going to get a salad but their bar was 5.00 and all it had was lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, olives, cheese and dressing. And it didn't look very fresh. So I had the pizza.
The parents forgot their camera and their older son's camera's batteries were dead. Luckily I had mine and was turned into the designated picture taker...i'm not that great so I hope the pictures came out well enough for them. We are going to make a CD with the pics since I think that is better than emailing them. It was fun. Katherine got to go home with her best friend and they spent the afternoon playing together. Katherine wants her best friend to stay friends with her forever and I really hope they do.

Baby Died

I went to get my nails done yesterday and at my usual place and I just found out that one of the lady's lost her 4 month old a few months ago. She said that that the baby was sick and she was trying to throw up and she couldn't...it got caught in her lungs/throat and she ended up suffocating. There wasn't much they could do. I hadn't realized she had lost her baby. I felt so bad for her. She played with Lauren a little bit while my nails dried. She looked so sad. I wasn't sure what to say..I told her how sorry I am and she kept saying how much she misses her little girl. She is 46 and said she is too old to try again...it was by chance that she had gotten pregnant in the first place. She just looked so unhappy. It just made me think/realize how lucky I am that I haven't had that happen. I couldn't imagine losing a child...I'm not sure if I am strong enough to go through something like that. Just thought we could say a little prayer for her to help her get through this difficult time.

Soccer Practice

Today was Katie's first practice. We met the coach and he is so much better than the coach she has had in the past two years. He was really into it; running with the kids; playing and kicking the ball around with them. Her last coach would just tell them what to do and sometimes show them but she didn't get involved like he does. His daughter is on the team and she is very good. This saturday is picture day and then the following saturday they have an actual game. She is very excited to be playing again.
Kyle had fun too. He ran around collecting the orange cones which marked the field for each team. He kept running around everywhere and wanted to participate in the practice with Katherine. Unfortunately Lauren wasn't so cooperative. She was very fussy and after thirty minutes of crying off and on Micau took her to the car so the other parents didn't have to listen to her fuss. When we got back to the car she was asleep.
We didn't really meet any of the other parents. They all seem to be in their own world...kind of don't bother me attitude or if they did talk it was mostly how well the practice was going. Not too personable. We were the only people there who had younger children so I guess maybe that made the other parents feel a little awkard. Maybe they will be more personable a little later.

Too Cute

Last week, while I was working out at the Y, the kids were in the daycare. When I went to pick them up, the lady who was rocking Lauren told me that Kyle didn't let her out of his sight. He stood right next to her watching her. Then, after my next workout, the lady said that when Lauren woke up crying, he went and tugged on one of the workers pant's leg, pointed at Lauren and said baby. Again, he watched to make sure she was being taken care of her. A couple of days ago, I had just finished feeding Lauren and he came over and started patting her on the back until she burped. Then he just walked away. Then, when she was laying on the couch, he grabbed her bottle and tried to feed her; instead of getting the bottle into her mouth, he just kept poking her eye. After all this, he did something new. We went swimming today, and on the way back from the pool, he walked on his tippie toes so he could push the stroller himself. He wanted to push the baby. Isn't that the cutest? My little man has really started becoming the big brother.

Kidnapping Brides

I just watched a show on Discovery that depicts how women are kidnapped to be married. This is in a small country called Kergystan (sp?). Even though it is illegal it happens alot, usually with the bride's family knowing or helping....sometimes the bride's family doesn't know. What the family of the men do is sit around and talk about which girl to kidnap, the men plot it out and the women bake the ceremonial bread. The men then kidnap the girl bring her back to their home and try to convince her to stay..to accept the cermonial headscarf. If the girl refuses she is tagged as someone who is not a virgin or someone not to marry...there have even been incidents where the girl is killed. Although it is illegal, the authorities hardly investigate or arrest the families that do it. It is so ingrained into the culture that many people just accept it. They say it is about respect...beauty doesn't matter...all that matter is if a women respects the husband and vice versa. The woman must be submissive to the man..she gives he takes. Isn't it ridiculous that in this day and age this is still going on? We (Americans) live in a country where we, as women get to vote, get to work, have a say on how many children we bear, can decide what we want to do and where to go; we forget that there are countries out there that have no such rights. Women suffer kidnappings, rape, and abuse in so many places where there is no one to help; at least here there is the law. I will pray tonight for those women who are in such situations.

Marathon Kids

My daughter decided to do the Marathon Kids program this year. I am really proud of her. For those who don't know what it is I'll explain. Its where the kids have to run a full marathon (26.2 Miles) over a 6 month period in 1/4 mile increments. It's a program in Texas to help try to keep our kids fit and exercising. We are the number one state when it comes to children with diabites (sp?). Anyways, my daughter decided to do it to be healthy and to run. Plus it'll help with her soccer. She has a tendency to just stand around or walk after the ball. Today was the kickoff, everyone in the 4th grade ran at the same time. It was held at the UT Stadium, and it was jam packed. After the 1/4 mile run, she was given a water bottle and water, and they had UT athletes doing autographs. My daughter got her water bottle signed by 6 of the girls UT soccer team and by 4 of the UT boys swimming and diving team. She told one of the girls that she wanted to play soccer for UT. She was like good job. You can do it. Katie was so happy. So now, everyday she has to do 1/4 mile after school and I will be right there next to her encouraging her to run (she has a tendency to walk).

Gas Prices

Wow. It is actually at a reasonable price. I was driving home and there is an HEB on the way, the sign read 1.39 for regular. I was like damn, too bad I filled up last night..the price last night was 1.46. I am wondering how long this will last and hopefully it will go down lower. I know that I am fortunate to live in Texas where gas prices are usually lower than in most other states. Back when they kept rising, we were paying 2.89 and my sister out in California was paying over 3.00. So anyways, I just wanted to brag about our low price. Whatcha all payin?

Update

Katherine ran for student council but she lost. Her teacher said the race was real close; a girl named Shanice won. She was a little disappointed but is looking forward to trying again next year. Katie mentioned that when she grows up she either wants to be a scientist or the President; she thinks the President is the neatest person in the whole world and that he has the coolest job. Ah, to be young and believe in our country like that. Wish I still had that same young idealistic point of view. Whatever she decides, we will support her.

Kyle has croup..its this cough that sounds like a dog barking. It is a viral infection so they pretty much said we have to wait it out. We bought a humidifier (ped. said it would help) and surprisingly it did. When I had called the ped. last week, the nurse said that I didn't need to bring them in because their fevers were only at 99 and that temp. really didn't count as a fever. Well, gee if I had known it was going to get worse we could have prevented it...maybe buy a humidifier sooner so he wouldn't get sick. We are hoping that Lauren won't get it. The ped. made it sound like he was a highly contagious person, but I talked to the pharamiscist and looked at a website and they both mentioned that croup really isn't all that contagious.

Lauren, I think maybe getting sick. She has dark circles under her eyes and is starting to cough. So tonight we will put the humidifier in our room to hopefully prevent her getting croup. She now weighs a little over 13 lbs. and is looking good. She has really turned into a chunk. She has the biggest blue eyes and is so alert. Her hair has been doing crazy things lately. She is so funny.

As for me, I have been tired. I wish the kiddos didn't get so sick. Its a good thing I'm not working because I would get fired from any job I had due to having to leave work all the time to take care of them. Plus, Katie has her soccer practice in the evenings and games on the weekend starting at the end of the month. I have been going to gym this week. I'm very proud of myself...my eating habits could be a bit better though. But I have lost some fat in my butt and in my chest; I've also gained some arm strength, on the tricep I am now using a 15 lb weight and bicep a 25 lb weight. Yippee. Although my weight has gone down, I have lost at least 1 in from my waist because my clothes are fitting a little bit looser. Not enought to get into a 14 though. I will try to keep it up. Wish me luck.

As for Micau, he has been working a ton. He doesn't really like going to the gym with me because he doesn't like the treadmill or the elliptical. He really isn't a gym person. Of course, part of it is that he is just too lazy to exercise...he just doesn't care. He's pretty happy with himself..but there is a history of heart problems in his family and I don't want that to be a problem with him. I would like for him to lose at least 20 lbs..he has pretty bad heartburn too and it would help to lose weight. I just gotta keep trying.

Chores

Why does it feel like you are always cleaning your home? Because you always are. I had someone come over yesterday to clean the entire apartment..dust, dashboards, highchair, everything. Looking at my place today you wouldn't think my home had been cleaned in a year. How does it get so dirty in just one day? My kitchen has dishes galore (well that's becasue I cooked), and toys are everywhere..dust has already resettled on the tv and computer, and the bathrooms..well use your imagination..okay they aren't that disgusting. Laundry basket is already full. I feel like I just did laundry (oh wait, I just did two days ago). Ugh. I hate doing laundry. My son has no socks to wear tommorrow and the baby has no outfits. Guess I better do their clothes. My daughter keeps nagging me about pajamas. These are the times when I lay on my bed with my eyes closed thinking of cool days, sparkling sea, fruity drink in my hand and some tanned young hunk asking me if I need a massage. You betcha. Then I open my eyes and see six little eyes saying...momma feed me, momma change me..momma check my homework and I so much want to go back to the hunk. Ah well.

Good Read

I just finished this book call Messiah of Morris Avenue. It was great. This is definately a book to read even if you are not religious. It was about a reporter who didn't have faith and hard time believing in things hearing of a young hispanic man preaching and performing miracles. He meets him and still doesn't believe he is who he says he is. The "messiah" preaches mostly to love one another, even your enemies. Even at the end of the book, after the young man has died he still has a hard time believing and having faith...but the message of the book is what I like. Its all about love..doesn't matter if you believe in God, the bible, or Jesus, if you live by the simple principle to love..then that is all that matters. It is truly a touching and aspiring book to read.

UT Mania

Okay I know I'm not a big college football fan; and I really could care less about the Longhorns (I know..blasphemous) but do we really need all this hype on opening game day? I mean c'mon now. We were at the mall and almost everyone there was in UT shirts, some had their faces/bodies painted in orange. Driving home from the mall, ran into people honking their horns, screaming out of windows (Go UT), waving flags about, some even had their car/window painted. This all in N. Austin/Round Rock. The tailgate party wasn't even up here; it is downtown. As you can imagine though, nearly every sports bar is throwing a UT party..will be having the game on and if they win..usually do some discount drinks. All the clubs will be crowded...people will be driving drunk tongiht. Its ridiculous. They said on the radio traffic was backed (north and south) with people trying to get downtown. The tailgate party started at 5 and the game started at 7. There were people racing on the road trying to get home or the bar in time to see the game. C'mon now. It makes me glad that I am a responsible parent because I don't have to put up with all the crap that will be on the roads tongiht; and I won't be in the clubs (boy will 6th street be bad...almost like halloween) putting up with the stupidity of 20 yr olds. I'm so glad I will be in tonight.

Something Fun

Gotten from a friend:
Some things you didn't know about me:

A) Four jobs I have had in my life:

1. Circle K (cashier/assistant. manager)
2. Child Protective Services-Investigator
3. Secretary/receptionist
4. Being a stay at home mom

B) Four movies I could/would watch over and over:

1. Any Godfather Movie
2. Casino
3. Whatever Happened to Baby Jane
4. Super Troopers

C) Four places I have lived.

1. San Diego, CA
2. Las Vegas, NV
3. Phoenix, AZ
4. Texas (Corpus Christi, Austin)

D) Four TV shows I love to watch:

1. House
2. Top Chef
3. Two and half men
4. Star Trek (yes i'm a trekkie)/Outer Limits (its a tie with these two)

E) Four places I have been on vacation:

1. Vacation for me is just one/two days
2. so I usually go see my family in
3. Beeville TX
4. Colorodo Springs, CO

F) Four websites I visit daily:

1. My email (yahoo)
2. Ebay.com
3. Blogger
4. CNN.com

G ) Four of my favorite foods:

1. Homemade Italian
2. Mexican
3. Chinese Food
4. A yummy out of this world sandwhich w/tomato soup

H) Four places I would rather be right now:

1. Cancun
2. Sleeping
3. In space
4. Hiking

Four friends I think will respon:
Who knows

Football

Well tonight was the kickoff of the season. My hubby loves the Steelers. Been a huge fan since he could walk. He was so happy that the champs won tonight but is upset with how the offense played. At least they won. Of course I think they won on a technicality because one of the touchdowns the guy was out of bounds but the flag wasn't seen by the ref (the challenge) in time so the touchdown was good. Otherwise they may not have been so lucky. Who knows. For me its different. I like football..i don't really have a favorite team. There are teams that I don't watch; I tend to favor the Dolphins, the Packers, and of course the Steelers. I have to.
What I don't understand about my guy is how he can talk on the phone with his brother (who is also a big Steeler fan) through the whole game..sometimes they hang up during half time but not always. They talk about the game, the mistakes and the good plays, all the while shouting at the TV. Why not just call each other after the game? They are on the phone the entire time. Men. Never understand them. LOL. Go Steelers.
On Friday at my daughters school is wear your favorite football team shirt day so she decided to wear one of Micau's Steelers shirts. It looked a little funny this morning..she wearing an x-lg guy shirt..she was so cute.
Yesterday Micau swore that Kyle said football. He doesn't talk yet but he swears he said football..already training him. That's okay because when he was a baby he was so chubby that everyone said he would be a linebacker. My family wanted him to play for UT in college and then go on to play for the Texans. Micau's family wants him to play for UT also, but to go on to play for the Steelers. I say watch and say..he will grow up to be a ballerina and just to piss everyone off also announce that he is gay..flaming gay. (Micau's family is very catholic and mine is antigay). Never try to plan out your kids future..lol.

Rings

I am so excited. We went and got our wedding bands today. We had originally went to Walmart to get rings but we didn't like any of the female gold bands. We had put one on layaway for Micau. So we had been thinking about other places and even looked on ebay. Well I had gotten a mother's day necklace for his exwife last year from James Avery Craftsman and it wasn't too expensive so I thought lets try there. Well that was a great idea. They had the rings we liked at a good price and even had them in our sizes. Our rings were the exact same price too. Woohoo. Now that is over with. I totally love my ring and can't wait until I can wear it all the time. I even had it on for a little while tonight. That's not bad luck is it?

On a side note. The younger kiddos are still sick so we are going to take them to the doctor tommorrow. Lauren is spitting up worse and Kyle just isn't getting any better and its been almost a week now. And while we are there maybe we can get Kyle's neurologist referrel.

My Absence

I know its been a few days since I posted but the computer/internet wasn't working real well. Micau spent a few hours fixing it. The kids were sick all weekend so I have been waist high in poopy diapers, spit up, runny noses and hacking coughs. Whoppee. Friday Micau came home and gave me a hug and was like you smell good. I looked at him like he was crazy because I know I had to reek of spit up. I think he was just trying to make me feel better. Gotta love him. Today they are still sick but feel better. I think they are getting over it. They aren't as sniffly and not coughing as much. I sent Katherine to school, much to her despair. I am such a mean mommy for making her go to school when she is sick. LOL. Just to get them out of the house we went to play putt-putt on Sunday, I also took them to the park and walked. There was a crazy duck that was chasing Katie until Kyle got out of the stroller and started chasing the duck. It was so funny. He wanted to go in after it but I wouldn't let him go into the lake. He got so mad. It was cute. He loved holding the putter when we went to play golf but he kept trying to pick up our golf balls and throwing them so we had to put him back in the stroller. Oh well.

Movie Classics

I love old movies. Today on AMC was Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte and Creature from the Black Lagoon. My fav. movie of all time would probably be Whatever Happened to Baby Jane and Tammy and the Bachelor. I like old movies because there isn't all the gore there is in today's movies; back then people actually had to act; so did the women. It wasn't about getting naked and having sex or showing tits...and the men just couldn't be teenagers and horny. Classics were made by suspense..something missing in today's movies. Plus, romantic movies involved kissing with a hint of what might happen, not kissing and tearing each other's clothes off and jumping into bed. Today's producers don't leave much to the imagination. Don't get me wrong...there are tons of movies that I enjoy watching that were made t oday...I just feel that in today's movies its about being pretty and the willingness to show t&a. If you look at the women who were known back in the 50s and 60s, most weren't skinny skinny and not all were gorgeous. I guess that is a sign of the times. Sigh.