Very icky! That describes how my sinuses are making me feel today. All day I have had horrible sinus pain and pressure, and even with meds, it just isn't helping. It usually rains when I feel this way, and it has. It usually goes away with Advil Cold & Sinus, and it hasn't. This isn't nice!

On to bigger and better topics...

The weekend was very busy, but it was very nice too! I had no time to relax and the days were virtually a blur, but I still had a good time all and all.

On Saturday, we did end up going to the lake. It was an adventure, for sure. It was my sister and niece's first time on the wave runners. Can we say hilarious???

I decided that I was taking my sister out first. My machine is a 1997, and a little topsy turvy to say the least. My sister is about double my weight. It was far from easy staying righted and my upper arms are still a little sore from compensating for the extra weight and trying to keep this thing right side up. I managed to get us around the lake without falling over, we pull up to shore to jump off, what does she do??? Instead of backing off of it, no...she decides that she will just jump off from the side. Well, she kind of takes the machine with her as she goes, and we both go falling into the water, the waverunner almost flipping completely over on top of us. I have never seen it do that!!! We were flailing and laughing, she was spewing water that she swallowed on the way down. I could have beat her! My niece, she was whining and moaning the entire day. She's very ungrateful! (Though she talked to my other sister yesterday, and told her that she had a blast!) She never once thanked us for taking her, she never acted like she was even enjoying herself. It was whining and complaining the whole day. 'It's hot, I'm baking'...etc. etc. Regardless of what a whiner she was, I still managed to have a good day!

Oh, I didn't tell you about the best part of the day! My sister decided that she was brave enough to drive, but of course, wanted me on back. OMG!!! This had to have been how my face looked for that ride! It sure isn't easy to give up control of a machine that big, to someone that doesn't know how to drive it...AT ALL! Brian suggested that we take his, it's bigger and easier to control. We climb on, she's asking a hundred questions, I'm explaining how to excel and how to stop, what to watch out for, who has the right of way, etc. She goes to take off and is doing about 13 miles per hour. At that speed, the waverunner likes to rock back and forth. I'm telling her to give it some gas, so that it won't shake so much, she floors it and scares the crap out of herself, so then she stops. This is how we rode around the entire lake. Sudden bursts of speed, and then her getting scared and stopping. Finally, when we get close to shore, she speeds up to almost 40mph and then we coast in. She claimed today, that she was scaring the shit out of herself while driving too. Nice! Put your sister's life in danger and don't even have the balls to tell me that she was afraid she was gonna kill us until 2 days after the fact! LOL

The weekend was non-stop from there, one thing after the other. I won't bore you with the details of all of that. What I will tell you about, is that I got my oldest son's report card Saturday, and was pleasantly surprised to see that he had straight A's for the second card marking in a row. I'm very proud of him for that. Even though he has been such a booger to me recently, he is still doing excellent in school and I'm so so grateful for that!

My puppy has still been having issues with more seizures and I don't think that the meds are going to ever control them. I just have a feeling that he is going to decline pretty quickly. I see him walking kind of funny, like his back legs just don't want to work all of the time and I just know in my heart that whatever is causing these seizures, isn't a good thing. I'm also very scared to add any more meds than what he is already taking, I've heard such horror stories about mixing meds and things like that. I guess I really need to do some research and see what I can find out on my own, before I just give up on that possibility. We shall see. All I know, is that it will truly break my children's little hearts, if something bad happens to their puppy! That will kill me as much as it does them! Ugh...

Well, that's about it. Hope everyone has had, or is having a great Monday! (Well, as great as a Monday can be!)

Good morning everyone! Hope that your Friday has gotten off to a good start. Mine has been nice so far, (it's only 8:45). LOL I'm very glad that this week is coming to an end, it has seemed like an exceptionally long one. The weekend is totally booked already as well, but at least I can get up at a reasonable hour and I won't have to come into work. That's always a bonus.

As everyone has already noticed, I did change my layout. I've already gotten comments that it isn't showing up very well for some of you, and I'm sorry, but I really like it and spent lots of time on it yesterday. I'm giving it some time before getting rid of it!

We are planning on getting up around 8 tomorrow and heading out to the lake with my sister and niece. This should be fun, since neither my sister or niece have ever been on a waverunner before! At 6 tomorrow, we have plans to meet his family for a birthday dinner for his dad. (His dad and mine were born 4 days apart, same year and everything.) I've been racking my brain, trying to come up with something that we can get for him....not an easy task, when the man seems to have everything that he could possibly ever want or need! We are doing all that and then have a boat-trip meeting on Sunday evening. We go on this trip with 5 other couples and just found out that one of the couples dropped out. Should be fun, trying to come up with more people on such short notice.

The kids are alive and well, but the oldest is certainly giving me some grief. We had a knock down drag out last week that almost sent me over the edge. He lied to my face, and then had the nerve to tell me that I need to give him more respect! Oh, was I furious! What also really got me, was that he was lying to me, for his dad! Nothing like putting the knife in and turning it. His dad has changed jobs, he no longer works for $6 an hour anymore, and he doesn't want me to know it. I was trying to get in touch with him, so that instead of him coming and getting the boys at 4 last Friday, I would take them to the lake with us and then bring them to his house after. I couldn't get in touch with him and Corey wouldn't give me his work number. He said that he 'forgot' it. I could tell by looking at him, that he was flat out lying to me. Not to mention, that I just know better....Corey knows his dad's work number by heart! It was just a big fiasco. Now, he has been trying to make amends and things are pretty much back on track, but I still can't help but feel hurt knowing where his loyalty lies. It's pretty sad actually, considering all that I went through during the divorce, trying to protect and shield both the kids from all the heartache and grief that their dad was putting them through. But I do realize that my children will eventually see who had their best interest at heart. I'll just try and be patient and wait for that time to come.

Finally got the last of the parts for my pool last night. This has been no fun, at all. We started off at the pool store that is just 4 minutes or so from my house...they are useless. I'm considering calling there and lodging a complaint with a district manager or something. I've been to that store at least 4 times these past few weeks and have come out empty handed each and every time! They carry the pool filter that I have, but never have the parts in stock, and don't want to order them for us either. They tell us that it will take from 2-3 weeks to get them, and that we should probably check other stores before having them put the order in. We go right down the road, (about a 10 minute drive), where they don't even really sell my brand of filter, and they have the part sitting right there on the shelf and they are always very helpful with anything we ask about! Needless to say, I won't be going back to that other place, I refuse to give them any of my money or my business. So, I'm hoping that next week I will have my pool in order and we will be able to get a few weeks out of it, before the summer ends! LOL

Well, I hope ya'll have a great day and weekend!

~~HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!~~

Today would have been my dad's 72nd birthday! I certainly wish that I had the chance to talk to him, but that isn't in the cards for me. It's been a year and 2 months since he passed away and days like today, are certainly still a little tough.

Father's day wasn't very easy either. While I tried to keep myself busy all day, idle time still came eventually, and I was left feeling pretty upset. I know my sister is having a rough time as well, and I can relate to exactly what she's going through. Time does heal some, but it can't possibly make the emptiness go away completely. It's still a challenge sometimes!

Yesterday I went into my backyard and cut some roses to take to the cemetary. When I got there, I saw that my dad still didn't have any grass on his site and my mom's stone that I got for her, was broken right in half. I then went to pour some water into a vase that is in-between their two head stones and all the water poured right back out. I was none too happy, but it was nice to visit them.

I tried to post a letter to him and Blogger ate my post! Do I have great luck, or what? I also tried to get a pic of him in there and that didn't work either! I give up.

So anyhow, this goes out to my dad...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY...LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU BUNCHES!!

Tinker

~~IT'S BEEN FOREVER!~~

I know that it has seemed like I have forgotten about my blogging responsibilities, and I'm so sorry! I just haven't had the time or the incentive to write lately. There hasn't been too much going on to report, other than the same ol' stuff, only on different days! Such is my life.

Tyler has been back to school for a few weeks now, without incident. That's a good thing. We did meet with the dean and the principal before his return and we were warned that if anything like this should happen again, there is no more chances, he will be expelled. They aren't just talking about this year or next either, this is throughout his graduation! So yes, I have some stress and trepidation over all of that. Tyler isn't really the type of kid who weighs the pros and cons of things before he does them. Unfortunately, it just isn't a part of his genetic make-up! I'm sure that I will be on pins and needles for the next 7 years or so...until he walks down that aisle, donning a cap and gown!!!!

I'm on the hunt for a pool filter right now. Not having much luck so far, but I'm bound and determined that I will have the pool up and running soon. It's even kinda late to open it up, but I don't really care. As long as it's going in the next few weeks, I'll be pretty happy! (Not to mention how happy the kids will be.)

See there, two paragraphs in and I'm already racking my brain, trying to come up with something to type. That's pretty bad. Is my life that boring??? I think it apparently must be!

Work has been bearable, the kids have been into a little minor mischief (not doing their chores, stuff like that), my sister just kicked out her loser boyfriend. That's really about it!

I guess I will report back when I got more goods!!! Have a great day all!

~~LET THE DRAMA BEGIN...~~

Well, I knew that it wouldn't be long before craziness would ensue in my life. My stomach is churning and in knots right now, I will probably have a killer headache before the day is through and it's a good thing the ex is picking my son up from school because I might have had to beat the shit out of him!

I got a call from Tyler's principal about an hour ago stating that he had Tyler in the office because he had apparently sent a pencil whizzing by one of the teacher's heads. Of course this was witnessed by several people and Tyler admitted to doing it, because....(you ready for this one?)...."I don't like her! She always gets me in trouble!"

I haven't talked to Tyler yet, but my first question will certainly be, "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING????" Of course, they are talking about taking this to the dean and the principal says that it is completely out of his hands. I believe that there may be a hearing with the school superintendant and the dean. Still waiting to find out for sure.

Talk about frustration...

Edit: I have since found out, that we will not have to go through a hearing, but instead he will be suspended for 10 days and will have to meet with the dean before re-entry to school!

Things around here have been pretty busy. Even though summer is over a month away, it seems like it is already in full swing. Work and home have kept my engines running full steam ahead and has left very little time to relax at all.

I have a long list of things to accomplish, in and around the house. Getting the pool up and running, laying a new kitchen floor, working on various parts of my bathroom, etc. etc. The list goes on and on. To add to the mayhem, we have several trips planned within the next six months.

The kids are doing well...both got great report cards. The oldest, straight A's. Tyler doesn't get grades yet, but he either stayed the same or improved in everything. I'm a happy camper in that respect. Corey's hormones seem to be relenting just a bit and I'm seeing maybe a smidge more of the kid that I know and love. (That's not to say that he and his brother get along, AT ALL!) but you get my drift! LOL

Brian and I are doing very well! We've had our share of ups and downs over the past few months but I think that we are actually growing and our relationship is stronger, as a result. He just bought a new motorcycle, so we have been going out riding whenever we get the chance, that's been lots of fun. (Though, I was very opposed to him getting a bike at first!)

Oh, and I almost forgot to tell you....I went and saw Tim McGraw and Faith Hill over the weekend. They put on a spectacular show and I had a ton of fun! Going to see Rascall Flatts in a few weeks...can't wait for that one either!!

Well, I hope everyone is well and I will try to make my rounds and check in on everyone as soon as this posts!!! =)

~~I GOT NOTHING~~

There hasn't been much of anything to really talk about, these past few weeks. Everything is pretty much status quo, thankfully.

The weather has been very nice and I've been enjoying it immensely. We have taken up tennis and try and get out there at least 4 days a week. I love it, love it, love it. I'm not very sports inclined, and to actually find a sport that I'm pretty good at, makes me very happy! LOL We dropped the boys at scouts last night and spent the full 1 1/2 hours on the courts. Since we had no kids with us we did really great and were dripping with sweat by the time we finished. (Was almost as exhilarating as a great sex session!) LOL
Wink wink...not quite!

The boys have pretty much been staying out of trouble. Though, now that I go and publish this, they are bound to get into some big bad stuff! Always happens like that. It's hard to believe that my little boys are gonna be 13 and 11, in a few short months. Also hard to believe that the school year is almost over and they will soon be on vacation. Ugh!

Easter was very nice, spent it with Brian's family and then mine. The time I spent at my sister's was great quality time...we played a few games and then all napped. LOL Was a nice break from the constant running though.

We've taken the 4-wheelers out a few times now, and that has been lots of fun. Brian and I went by ourselves last week and I ended up getting covered in mud from my feet to my knees and also covering the 4-wheeler. I pulled into the marshiest area around...I have that knack. See there, not athletically inclined, but it did make us break out into a fit of laughter.

So, that's really about it. My life in a nutshell. Not too much happening! I hope that everyone is well.

~~Happy Easter!~~

Hope that everyone has a wonderful holiday!!!

~~GREAT WEEKEND~~

Other than the passing of Peanutt's grandma, this has been a pretty nice weekend. It feels like I have all my ducks in a row right now, and that really leaves me feeling at peace. It's not about every little thing being perfect either. My house isn't perfectly clean, my kids aren't the biggest angels, etc. It's just a relaxed, calm feeling from within.

Don't know where it came from, or how long it will stay, but I'm sure making it a point to just sit back and let it just be. Not going to spend the rest of my Sunday afternoon making the beds, or griping at the kids that there are things they need to do, I'm not going to sweep the kitchen floor, or dust. I'm just going to do what mommy wants. Yep, that's definitely my plan.

Anyone wanna join me????

~~Referee~~

As you may be able to see from my lack of posting, nothing much going on around here. These days, my primary roles have been...employee, referee, and maid. That's about it and mama's not too happy about it...

Dats all folks!

~~HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!~~

I know that many of you are probably already sipping on some green beer, as I type this. Hope that there is no upchucking in color this evening! LOL As for myself, I don't have a whole lot planned for the evening...we are headed to Canada to have some all-you-can-eat Perch with a bunch of friends and family and then I think just heading home. I'm really not in the mood to get wasted or anything and don't feel like stepping foot in the bar, on a night like tonight. So instead, I will just eat til I gain a few more pounds and then go and sit my arse on the couch and veg. Yes, that sounds mahvelous!

~~HELL WEEK~~

As you know, (from reading my last post), the week didn't start off too well for me. That trend has continued, it's really been a stressful, exhausting week.

I have been running really late for work, every single day. Today was no exception. I fell asleep on the couch last night and Brian woke me up to head to bed. In my haste to get into bed, I hurriedly brushed my teeth and fell right into the bed, forgetting to set the alarm. I normally get up at 6 a.m., and this morning it was 6:22. I decided that I'd let my son take a shower before me, so that I wouldn't get him running behind too. I guess I should have told him that mom was running late and he should hurry, but was so out of it, I neglected to do that. I wound up taking a quick shower and making it in to work only 5 minutes later than usual, which wasn't so bad considering everything. However, the morning at work, was pretty bad. Lots of people calling with major issues and problems, the nurse had the day off and the one doc we had working, was completely stressed out from all the problems and demands that were being placed on her shoulders. We've tackled all the problems that have come up, thus far and things are running much smoother now. (It's also nice that big mouth has left early...woo hoo!) So hopefully, the rest of the day will be pretty uneventful and we can just chill out! I think we are deserving!

~~CASINO OR NO CASINO?~~

My aunt and sister are headed to the casino tomorrow night! Still wondering if I should go, or not. I'm kind of getting the itch...what to do????

Okay, that's about all I have for now! Have a great night and weekend!

~~WHAT ARE THE CHANCES?~~

So, when you start your morning off with one kid missing the bus and the other plugging up your toilet and making you late for work. What do you think your chances are of having a great day?

~~UNDER MY SKIN~~

Yes, I am about to rant a little bit. The loud mouth at work is stressing me out beyond belief. I have talked about this before, and things have only progressively gotten worse since. Not only is she loud to the point that you simply cannot think ANY thoughts while she is talking, but she also has this way of acting "busy" whenever she sees a patient of hers coming her way. It's making all of us nuts. I am stressed to the point where I need a good masseuse to sit behind me at all times so that I may get through the day without the need for a Motrin 600! My neck and shoulders are so tense while at work, that I feel like my head is just going to explode, (either that or my temper), neither of which will be pretty!

I am honestly getting to the point where I might turn into this! Actually, the look on his face describes the way that I feel in her presence every single day. Something has to give before I start taking screwdrivers and jamming them into my eardrums, just so that I don't have to listen to her big mouth anymore!

(By the way, we are also logging how many of her patient's that we check in on a daily basis. Yeah, today she had a total of 28 patient's and we checked in/or out a total of 23 of those!) If that's not totally taking advantage of a situation, then I truly don't know what is.

What would all of you do, if you found yourselves in the shoes of Peanutt and I?

MONSTERS, CARS, AND MALLS OH MY!

This has been an eventful weekend, to say the least. For starters, we went to the Autorama yesterday and saw a bunch of these...........















We walked around there for a few hours and then headed to the Monster Jam at Ford Field. Where we saw lots of these...........
















Last but certainly not least, was my favorite of the night....














Today, we had to head to a birthday/anniversary party and then to the mall to get these.....













So maybe they aren't exactly like these shown, but it was as close as I could find to them. I have actually been searching for shoes for weeks and ended up just settling on these because I'm way too frustrated to shoe shop anymore. They are just for work and will mostly be hidden under long scrubs, so why do I care anyhow??? All a part of being female, I suppose! LOL

To sum it up, this has truly been a very busy weekend full of adventure...I'm glad that we did everything that we did (even though I did whine about it a little), and I'll also be very glad to chill after I get done with this last load of laundry for the day!

Hope everyone also had a wonderful weekend!!!

Please visit Poop and Boogies. They are in need of information and would appreciate all the help that they can get!

~~THE GAMES WE PLAY~~

While it's hard to understand why there are little games that have to be played in a relationship....I'm certainly learning how to play them. Men are vastly different from us (the emotional beings that we are), and I think part of it, is just understanding that they are NOT going to respond to things the same way that we will.

So, I have come to the conclusion that I don't want to be a sappy, emotional being anymore. I don't want to have a heart that breaks and bleeds because some harsh words are said, or I'm not thought of in the way that I think I should be. I have found the perfect solution, I'm gonna become a man! LOL

~~BLAH~~

The day started out good, I slept until I felt like waking up, right around 9:15. It was amazing that there were no phone calls, the dog was being good, etc. After having such a rough time sleeping last weekend, this was just what I needed.

My morning has been pretty productive, getting up and doing a few loads of laundry, cleaning and showering long before noon. This is all a miracle in itself, as usually I'm am not the most motivated person in the mornings.

So, after sleeping in today (which I rarely get to do), and then getting quite a bit accomplished this morning....why am I so blah right now???? Normally all of the above would have me in a great mood....not right now. Nope, not so much.

~~WHERE OH WHERE ARE MY MOLARS?~~

Question of the day from Tyler.....

"Mom?"

"Yes, Tyler."

"If I'm almost 11, why haven't my 10 year molars grown in yet?"

"Well buddy, everyone grows at different rates. Not everyone is the same."

"Hmmm...I still don't understand."

LOL

~~MEET MY MOM~~

This weekend I spent some time with my sister and Aunt, and we started going through some old pictures. I have been busy since, trying to scan all of them and make some copies for my brothers, sisters, and I to share. We found some really old black and whites of my mom during a time, when obviously she didn't mind having her picture taken. We don't really know the story behind these, but we think she may have been looking into modeling. Something that takes all of us by surprise.

So here she is, my mom....





















































These pics just literally amaze me, as my mom was never one the least bit interested in getting her picture taken. She was always the first to hide her face or run out of the shot. I guess there's a part of her that I just never knew. Well, enjoy!

Happy Monday all!

~~THE SLEEP GODS JUST DON'T LIKE ME~~

Yesterday at work, all I could think about was how much I couldn't wait to get home and just chill. I didn't feel like making any plans, I didn't even feel like going out of the house, I just wanted to relax. About 2 o'clock Brian calls to see what we were gonna be doing later...I said I didn't know, 'we'll talk about it later'. The last few hours of work I'm preparing for him to say that he wants to go to the casino or out to dinner, something like that. I call Brian when I leave the office, he's getting his hair cut, says he will be home in a while. Wow, he's not home, this is my opportunity, I rush home and throw on my terry capri pajama pants and a big ol' tee shirt, grab my biggest blanket, my pillow, and a book and to the couch I run. He calls to say that he is on his way home and asks what I'm doing...I tell him that I'm pooped and in my pj's already. He broke out into fits of laughter. He says he's by the video store and will run in and get some movies, we can order a pizza and just hang out at home tonight. 'That sounds GREAT!' I'm amazed that my plans for the evening haven't somehow been disturbed. Now I can just relax.

We watched a few movies, one was Flightplan with Jodie Foster. The beginning was a little bit slow, but I didn't want to stop watching. About half way through there is this twist, that you just never expect and then I COULDN'T stop watching. We got our pizza and then put in the next one. This was one with Cameron Diaz called, In Her Shoes. I made it through about 3/4 of it and was out like a light. Brian woke me around 11 and said, 'let's go to bed'. Great! I really am gonna get some good sleep tonight! That didn't happen...

Around 11:30, just as I was falling into a deep sleep again...his phone rings. It's work, they want him to come in to run a Vector machine. This is a machine that he hasn't run in about 10 years, and it's used for sewer back-ups. Brian tells them, 'no thanks' and that's that. I fall back asleep after a few minutes and was having a great night of rest when Brian's phone starts going off again. I look at the clock, yeah it's 5:40 a.m. It was work calling again, this time for a main break. Now that's his cup of tea. He's out of bed in about 2 minutes flat and is kissing me goodbye and out the door by 5:57. I figure, I can probably fall back asleep until at least 8 a.m. when 2 minutes later, Max is outside the bedroom door barking his freakin' head off. I get up and brush my teeth, let the dog out and figure this will do the trick. I'll go back to bed for a while. (I guess I'm a glutton for punishment).

I let the dog in, crawl back in bed, pull the covers up and realize, I'M WIDE AWAKE! I turn the tv on and watch for a little bit, there were so many choices at 6 am on a Saturday morning. I settle on a program, (World's Worst Drivers--3), and start getting drowsy again. I shut the tv off and actually fall back to sleep. I start having this crazy dream....my son (who's 12) is little again, maybe about 5. We are near my aunt's house about an hour and a half away. We are at some place where there are millions of lizards running around and you can get right in there and walk around with 'em. We leave this place to head home and when I get home my brother and my mom (who passed away years ago), are at home waiting for me. When I get in the door, we are all talking and my mom and brother are telling me that I shouldn't be so choosy, I should have accepted Brian's ring. (Brief history of me and my mom needed here...she used to refer to me as her blister on her side, because I was always either right next to her, or laying on her lap.) In the dream, I had just laid down on her lap and was talking to her when, my cell phone (in real life) started blaring. WTF?

So yes, that is when I decided that it's not in the cards for me to sleep anymore. I've done a bit of laundry, ran the dishwasher, headed out in the frigid temps for a cappuccino and am now gonna finish watching, the probably crappy movie that I couldn't hold my eyes open for last night.

Maybe tonight will be the night that I get some real sleep...or maybe I'm just destined to be tired forever. Who knows?! All I know right now, is that even when the conditions seem to be perfect for rest and relaxation, the sleep gods don't seem to like me very much!

Have a great day everyone!!!