Saturday, January 31, 2009

question...

ok i'm going to be very real for a minute...
have any of you taken antidepressants or meds for anxiety? if so, what side effects did you experience? did it help? what were your symptoms and were they alleviated? my doc thinks i would benefit from an antidepressant to handle my anxiety issues but i have alot of fears from it. could really use some advice.

Tuesday Fiona Whitt


October 11, 2006- January 30, 2009

Rest in peace, sweet baby... you're with Jesus now

Friday, January 30, 2009

please pray for tuesday

as i sit here, tears streaming down my face for a family i've never met, words are failing me. i began reading this family's story and my heart is breaking for them. their daughter, tuesday, has a form of incurable cancer. today she was sent home from the hospital to die. having a child the same age, i just can't fathom. my husband probably thinks i'm crazy, to be sobbing over a complete stranger (i'm not much of a crier). you can click on the link on my page and it will take you to their page. please pray.... whatever you are doing just take a few minutes. they need all they can get. thank you

snow days


thank the Lord, the kids went back to school today! i love my kids, don't get me wrong, but they are driving me crazy! three days of being stuck in the house is too many. it's been so cold that even playing in the snow only lasts about ten minutes. i am sooo ready for spring. i need some sunshine. if i get any paler, i will be translucent. i'm ready to break out the capris. every winter i say i am going to move somewhere warm. maybe florida? but they have hurricanes and huge bugs (ugh). i'm thinking one of the carolinas? i know they can get hurricanes too, but not as often. i'd like seattle, but with my hair rain is not my friend. california sounds nice but i may be too republican to live there. surely they have some kind of political questionnaire you have to fill out before you're allowed to live there. i think hawaii would be perfect. of course, i've never been there so who knows. i just can't live in the snow belt any longer. if i could convince all of our family to come with us i'd be out of here:) but since both sets of grandparents don't look as though they're going anywhere, i guess i'm stuck here.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

beautiful...

a beautiful reminder that ALL life is precious, from conception to death!



thanks sassy!

welcome to winter in Ohio!





we got thirteen inches in the last two days on top of an inch of ice! snow days for everyone! although, i'm about ready for them to return to school:) as you can see, they decided the beach toys would be fun in the snow. very creative! hope you're staying warm wherever you are!

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

my top ten pet peeves

these are just a few of the things that drive me crazy...

10. inappropriate use of common words (there, their, etc) also, people who try to use common sayings and confuse them with others. i don't know why it bothers me so much, it just does!

9. finding finger/toe nails on the coffee table. this is downright gross. they will be my kids or my husbands but either way it's awful. put them in the trash, the maid is on vacay this week.

8. bad drivers. i need a bullhorn on top of my car so they can hear what i have to say. about six months ago my horn stopped working for no apparent reason. themr says God did it so i couldn't honk at people anymore.

7. stereotypes. i try really hard not to judge a book by it's cover. i wish others would give me the same courtesy.

6. people who throw trash in my yard. we live in a pretty bad neighborhood so this is a constant. i get so tired of picking up other people's trash in my front yard.

5. people with a sense of entitlement (this one really gets to me)i have had the unfortune to know several people in my lifetime with this issue. as if the world owes them everything and they shouldn't have to work for it. get over yourself.

4. victim complexes, this kind of goes with number 5. you know what i'm talking about.. nothing is ever their fault or responsibility.

3. hypochondria. this comes from a family standpoint too :) i have quite a few of these in my immediate family. it's probably best if i don't say any more...

2. people who are rude to cashiers. how many times have you been in a store and some customer is mad about something or other and they're yelling at the cashier? as if she made the store policies or she personally made that item that wasn't right. give the poor people a break! they're only doing their jobs!!

1. people who are always late, like many members of my family. it drives me crazy. my husband feels that being on time is optional. i feel it is rude to others to show up late. we've learned to compromise. i tell him we have to be places 30 mins earlier than we do :)

what drives you crazy?

Monday, January 26, 2009

update on yesterdays post...

he's alive and well, so no need for a good alibi:) i have some raging PMS right now and for some reason he has the talent of really bringing it out! maybe because i can't take it out on the kids. thank goodness he's patient with me:)

Sunday, January 25, 2009

prayer for the day

dear Jesus,
Please help my husband not find himself strangled by the end of the day... and if he is, help me to have an airtight alibi. amen

Thursday, January 22, 2009

needing some parenting advice...

my daughter was invited to a sleepover this weekend. she loves sleepovers and usually i'm fine with it. here's the glitch, i do not trust these parents. every time she's stayed there things have happened that i don't approve of. each time i say it's the last time i let her stay there and my husband convinces me i'm overreacting. so tonight i told her she can't go. i'm done with those people. of course, she was hysterical because everyone else is going (which i doubt) and surely i'm trying to ruin her life. she said she feels like i'm punishing her. what kills me about it is that she's a really great kid so i hate to make her miss something fun. but that being said, i just don't trust these people. i feel like they have really poor judgement. they are the parents who want to be "cool" and let the kids do thing that are not appropriate for third graders. do you ever encounter this issue and how do you tell your kid? i know whatever reason i give her will repeated, verbatim, to the child who invited her. then most likely to her parents. my kids attend a relatively small, private school. i don't want to have issues with this family, i just don't want my daughter at their house. any advice?

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

for all my "full figured" readers....


i love magazines, love them. i used to buy one a week and have come to a point where i can't bring myself to spend the $4-$6. so my dear sister in law brings me hers when she's finished with them (thank you:) anyway, i'm reading one of them today and there's an article about celeb moms and how fast they lose their baby weight. of course, i have to read this because, lets be honest, i have ALOT of experience in the baby weight battle! it starts talking about christina aguilara and her (adorable) ten month old son. it says that she is happy with her post baby figure and that her husband is thrilled because he prefers full figured women. here's what made me about choke on my hazelnut iced cappaccino..... she weighs 120lbs! are you hearing this ladies?? 120 lbs is now FULL FIGURED! are you kidding me? this chick is probably 5'4 and she weighs 120 lbs and according to the media, she is full figured! i could not believe it. i don't know any real women who would be too upset about seeing that on the bathroom scale. i think i'd do some kind of crazy happy dance if i saw that. that's how much i weighed when i got married nine years and three kids ago... not to mention i was 22! see, this is the stuff that really ticks me off. this is the kind of journalistic (and that's a stretch) crap that women all over america read and then starve themselves because USweekly tells them they are overweight. this is why women are killing themselves at the gym two weeks after giving birth because angelina jolie had twins and she looks good three days later. here's the difference, those women have personal chef's that cook them healthy meals three times a day. they have a personal trainer and spend hours a day working out, most likely much sooner after birth than is healthy. they have a nanny to watch their sweet little newborns while they're doing all this and who gets up for all those night feedings (hey, i could work out four hours a day after giving birth if i wasn't so sleep deprived i would sell my next born for a nap) so even though we know all those things to be true, we still hold ourselves to the same standard and hate ourselves when we can't reach it. ladies, if 120 lbs is full figured then i'm clinically obese. but you know what? i got this body giving birth to four children. these breasts are stretched and deflated because i nursed those four babies. my once bright eyes may look haggard and tired to an outside observer, but to those who know me they are filled with joy at those little lives i have the honor of raising. and at the end of the day, my husband is always trying to get me naked, so i must not look that bad!

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

100 things that make me happy....


100. laptops
99. cinnamon rolls
98. texting
97. sleeping with the windows open when it's raining
96. "Friends" reruns
95. reminiscing about the good old days
94. sleeping in
93. little old women who wear big hats to church
92. enchiladas
91. hoodies
90. acoustic guitar players
89. downttowns that have a fountain
88. christmas songs
87. weddings
86. my husband's tattoos
85. laying in a hammock with a good book
84. chubby babies
83. watching skateboarders
82. wifi
81. puppies
80. social networking sites
79. letters in the mail
78. having babies
77. umbrellas
76. down comforters
75. iced mochas
74. bedtime for the kids
73. brownies
72. sunny days
71. funny movies
70. yearbooks
69. dreadlocks
68. kisses
67. vacations
66. peanut butter &jelly
65. volkswagons
64. babies' laughs
63. fitting into my "skinny" jeans
62. birthdays
61. silver hoop earrings
60. blogs
59. snowdays
58. grey's anatomy
57. lilacs
56. crown molding
55. painted toenails
54. "starry night"
53. fuzzy slippers
52. photos
51. cable
50. laughing with a girlfriend
49. snowglobes
48. white t shirts
47. adidas shelltoes
46. tattoos
45. diamond rings
44. fairy tales
43. helping a stranger for no reason
42. a great sale
41. new school supplies
40. love stories
39. picket fences
38. little girls with pigtails
37. the tooth fairy
36. fall
35. 80's movies
34. swimming
33. learning a lesson without doing so the hard way:)
32. skiing
31. libraries
30. massages
29. post it notes
28. spring
27. sharpies
26. being comfortable in my own skin
25. making new friends
24. hot chocolate
23. book stores
22. a hot bath
21. full moon
20. being best friends with my mom
19. talk radio
18. celeb gossip
17. finding money in a pocket
16. getting a good report at the dentist
15. seeing a band live
16. good mascara
15. sushi
14. movie theaters
13. tea pots
12. having a good hair day
11. the ocean
10. splashing in puddles
9. the hokey pokey
8. my kids' conversations with each other
7. knowing that each day is a fresh start
6. scooters
5. a nice tan
4. cake
3. valentines
2. living life to the fullest
1. being blessed enough to think of 100 things in my life that make me happy!

*what are a few of your favorite things?*

Saturday, January 10, 2009

weight loss goal!



this week i finally hit my prebaby weight! i'm officially the weight i was when i became pregnant with #4, which means a loss of over 45lbs in the last year. (i gained 70lbs with the pregnancy!) one of the ways i did this was to cut out fast food. i realized several months ago that i had to either give up my coffee drinks or fast food. no wavering there, i can't give up the coffee! so i've worked hard to not eat it, even when i get it for the kids. tonight on the way home from church i decided to run through taco bell (hence the pic of me with my enchirito:) so here's the funny thing, it didn't taste good at all. taco bell is what i always crave when i'm pregnant but after all these months of staying away from fast food, i'm realizing its really not very good. i had gotten in the really bad habit of eating it several times a week out of busyness and convenience. heart disease is rampant in my family so i knew i had to stop, not only for my weight loss goals but for my health. now that i've gone so long trying not to eat it, it doesn't appeal to me anymore. now if i could say the same for chocolate and sour cream and cheddar potato chips i'd be set! my next goal is to loose ten more pounds which would put me at the weight i was when i got pregnant with baby #2 (i was 24 then). we'll see!

what are they doing at that school?

my kindergartener was sent home from school yesterday with a sore throat. themr took him to the dr this morning and he has strep throat. before nap time, he was complaining that he needed medicine for his throat. he informed me that he wanted what the nurse gave him because it worked the best. the conversation went like this:

me: what did the school nurse give you?

him: it was purple and it worked the best.

me: what was it called?

him: ummmm... i think it was called alcohol. yeah, that's it. it was grape alcohol. after she gave it to me i felt much better.

me: alcohol? are you sure that's the name?

him: no wait, it was called tylenol! i want some purple tylenol.

uh, ok. i'm relieved to know that they're not giving my six year old alcohol at his private christian school, LOL!

Thursday, January 1, 2009

new years update

now that i'm somewhat rested and not so angry, i'll elaborate on our new years gone bad. we had a sitter for the first time and planned to have a wonderful date. dinner, a movie, lots of time without kids! we've had a gift card to a really nice restaurant 40 mins from our house for several months. we'd been saving it for a special occasion. it was a restaurant we'd never been to that was out of our normal price range. so the first glitch in our plans was that the restaurant only had a reservation for 8:30 which meant a movie was out. there was not a single theater in the area that had a movie time that would work for that. so we decided to go to a nearby mall, about twenty minutes away, and just walk around and look at stuff. so as we're getting ready to head out of town, themr asks if i'm sure that mall is open. i call and they are not. so now we have two hours to kill. we ended up stopping at a friend's party which was fun. we head to the restaurant, arrive, and realize this place is alot nicer than we thought. everyone there is dressed very nice and we have on jeans and sweatshirts! the menu is much more expensive than anywhere we go but that's ok since we have a $75 gift card. we order steak and crab legs and dig in! the bill comes and we produce the gift card. a few minutes later the manager shows up and tells us that the gift card is no good. he informs us that the restaurant used to be a part of a chain that has gone bankrupt so gift cards are no longer good. now for many families, finding out you have to pay for a $70 meal wouldn't be a huge deal, but for us, that was our grocery money for this week. my husband argued with the guy to no avail. we had to pay for it. in my mind i'm trying not cry as i wonder how we will buy food this week. we couldn't believe this was happening. for one, we never would have gone so far away for dinner in the first place if we hadn't had a gift card. secondly, we never would have gone to such an expensive place. the whole reason we went there was because it was the only way we could afford a date. so we ended up spending our weekly grocery budget to pay for dinner. i was so upset. as i start the first day of the new year, i am trying to focus on all the good and not how i will feed the family this week. there is literally no more money. that was it. but i'm sure something will come up, i just don't know what. as i said yesterday, i'm going to take this as a sign that this will be a good year, since it started out so bad! keep your fingers crossed :)

new year's not rockin eve

well, i was planning to get home tonight and write some inspirational blog about the new year that would make you all want to get healthy, lose weight, get out debt, quit smoking, start a retirement account, yell at your kids less, call your mom more, learn yoga, painting, hangliding and how to ball room dance. but.... our evening was a disaster. the first time in nine years we have had a sitter and a date on new years and it was a mess. so now i feel, well, blah and have nothing inspiring to say. i will say that the last two new years were fun and wonderful and the years that followed... not so much. so my new theory is that since this new year's kind of sucked that means this year will be awesome! hope yours is too :)