14...I Can't Even Believe It!

Happy 14th Birthday Manga Dork!

14 thoughts about you

1. You have blossomed this year. I find it hard to look at you and see the little girl. You are a beautiful young lady.

2. Your obsession with mirrors is amusing and annoying.

3. You DO know that you can talk into a cell phone and not just punch buttons to spell out words. People may even talk back...that is if they realize they can talk into their cell phone too.

4. I love watching cheesy stupid reality shows with you.

5. I hate when you get mad at me. I DO have to be the parent occasionally. Trust me...it's for your own good.

6. When you take my hairbrush and I can't find it (almost everyday) it makes me want to shave off your eyebrows at night.

7. I look forward to seeing what career you choose.

8. I know your little sisters drive you nuts and add chaos to your wanna lay on the couch watching tv and texting schedule, BUT I know you love them. It makes me smile when I see the love between the 3 of you.

9. I am so proud of your accomplishments with your weight loss goals.

10. I need to get a life...I hate when you act like I am just a lame-o parent and you want to get away from me quickly.

11. No matter how hard you try to deny it...you are great with little kids...and they really like you!

12. I can't believe I gave birth to someone who loves to go camping! I may have to try going again...maybe somewhere DEEP inside me there is a camper.

13. Your choice of music sometimes scares me. I censor what you listen to because I care what goes into your ears and to your brain.

14. You are such a fabulously confident girl. Always do what YOU want to do and not what all the others are doing. Life is much more fun that way!

We are not celebrating Manga Dork's birthday today. She was given the choice between 2 birthday packages...

Package A: Birthday dinner at fave restaurant Empire Buffet (chinese), cake, 3 friends invited plus inlaws, lap top for her present.

Package B: Trip to Easton next Saturday, take 2 friends plus ME, stay at Hilton, come home Sunday evening, $100 spending money.

She chose package B...we will celebrate with cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory! Here is one last present for you sweetie...Anoop "Dogg" Desai...



Which package would you have chosen?

I'm Gonna Squish Out Your Goats!

Actual conversation...

Cutie: (Giggling while stealing a blanket from me while I make my bed) "It's mine."

Scrappy: (Pulling on blanket) "No, it's mine."

Cutie: (Giggling) "Mine!"

Scrappy: (Takes a pillow and drops it on Cutie who is in the floor) "I'm gonna squish out your guts." (She pretends to squash Cutie's tummy with her foot).

Cutie: (Still giggling) "You can't...they not here."

Scrappy: "Well, then where are they?"

Cutie: "Goats are in the barn."

Where Was I?

On 9/11/01 I had taken Manga Dork to kindergarten and was walking through my living room...the phone rang and my neighbor/childhood friend told me to turn on my tv. I sat on the edge of my couch with my hand over my mouth in shock! I couldn't believe what I was seeing. My immediate reaction was I wanted to go pick Manga Dork up and keep her safe. Dr. Hubby wasn't home, but I don't remember where he was...probably work. He was doing medical school rotations at that time.

The things that haunted me most were seeing the people jumping from the windows and 2 names on the list of people on the planes...I suspect they were mom and daughter...I can't remember the mom's name or age, but the little girl was Julia Ann McCourt (2). I couldn't imagine being a mom with a 2 year old in that situation.

In the months after 9/11 I was very anxious...things felt so unstable and dangerous to me. I remember sitting outside and thinking I was so glad to live in the country in an area that didn't give me any reason to think they would use it as a target.

Then when the anthrax scare came around I was full on paranoid. My mom would stand outside my glass sliding door and show me my mail...throw away the junk mail...then open my mail to inspect it. I remember feeling like she was so brave. I still had a hard time touching it even after she had checked it.

I love feeling safe and secure...I truly appreciate everyone who has fought to protect our great country. I am glad President Bush had the courage to protect us. I sometimes wonder what the terrorists would have done if we had a president who did not make them run for the hills...

Bird Brains & Flying Spaghetti

Yesterday evening the 2 little ones decided to try out how far you can push me when I am dealing with PMS...

Cutie said, "Mom...come look at my bird." She brings over my small laundry basket from the sand box. Inside is a dead bird. I freak out when I look closer and see maggots moving all inside its little head where its brains should have been! Yep...I gagged and immediately threw the 2 of them in the tub! Aren't you glad I can't upload photos for this post...

After the tub I had their dinner waiting on the dining room table. They sat down and I went in to fix my plate. I heard giggling, but nothing that made my "mom radar" go off. When I went back to the dining room Cutie was standing in her chair covered with spaghetti from head to toe. It was also on the table, floor, chairs, wall, and on the carpet in the living room. Off to the tub we went again...

BTW...at 9:09 PM I was sitting in a corner twiddling my thumbs and rocking back in forth chanting "I want to go to the Hilton." LOL!

A Creative Idea...

09.09.09

A very cute idea for a blog post and/or a scrapbook layout...document what you were doing at

9:09 AM and/or PM today.

At 9:09 AM I was driving home from dropping Wild Child off at preschool. At 9:09 PM I am going to take a pic of what I am doing for a scrappy layout. I would post it...but...

What were you doing at 9:09 AM and/or PM?

Just Gettin' This Off My Chest...

Not being able to upload photos to my blog is driving me completely BONKERS!

I talked to another person who was definitely from India (no personal invite to his country this time though). It is definitely something wrong with my computer. Now I have to depend on Dr. Hubby getting his computer nerd/buddy to come over to fix it. My photo uploading abilities are in the hands of a man who thinks blogging is keeping me from doing my normal daily work. I am DOOMED!

I can't even think of anything to write! I haven't gotten to show you my sweet children on their first day of school! I haven't gotten to show you the bracelet I won last week at TOPS! I can't share the scrappy layouts I have finally gotten to do! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

I don't think I am going to survive this...

I had a great time at my parents' home this past weekend. On Saturday we took our kids to an amusement park. We got there at 6:15 pm...they were closing early at 7:30! We got in for $42 instead of $93 and we had a blast! We would have liked more time, but we laughed, screamed, ate Pronto Pups (corn dogs), and got sticky with freshly made cotton candy!

On Sunday my parents' had a cookout. It was SO nice to spend time with my side of the family and BFF Ruth! It is SO hard to leave after having such a good time. They are so different from the family that is living here on the farm with us.

Cutie was very scared of Lilly-Grace our new puppy. She refused to walk on the floor if the puppy was around. I spent the last couple weeks trying to get her comfortable. This weekend we returned Lilly-Grace to my grandparents. It was so hard because I was already attached to her, but Cutie can not spend the rest of her life going from her bed to the back of the couch.

I just found out we (Dr. Hubby, me, Manga Dork, and hopefully Lil Sis) will be flying to New Orleans on Halloween! I am so excited. Did you know it is labeled the most haunted city in the US? Any good New Orleans travel tips?

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Things I Have Learned From Back To School...

Back To School Fashion Shows are fun...BUT...planning it on a certain day and at a certain time for your BIL & SIL's schedule and then waiting on them to arrive an hour and a half late is not fun.

The kids all feel special showing off their new clothes...BUT...the kids do not feel special when they do not get to finish all their outfits because BIL & SIL cut it short and want to leave.


This kiddo loves school...BUT...this kiddo does not love the current "find your own seat" situation in the cafeteria. Much stress.

Guinea pigs are great pets...BUT...when thrown 6 feet in the air and allowed to hit the ground a couple times can almost kill one.

Little dog + little dog poop + little kid (Cutie) on her first day of preschool + little brand spankin' new shoe = BIG mess all over the kitchen floor and about 15 minutes with an old toothbrush scrubbing poop out of little shoe sole crevices. Thank God for Clorox!

Attending a volleyball game without the two little ones feels good. Nothing to do but sit back and enjoy the excitement of competition.

When calling tech support for Hughesnet you will ALWAYS get a person with a foreign accent helping you do things that are completely "foreign" to you...BUT...you may luck out and get told that you are always welcome in the country of India...I kid you not.

When foreign tech support helper asks what you do for a living and you reply that you are a Stay At Home Mom...she will then ask the stupid question, "well what do you do with all the free time?" Surely she was joking...

After being invited to India by this offensive person she will find nothing wrong and tell you to call the computer guy...that it is not the satellite...argh.

This week has just about kicked my butt...I am spending the weekend at my parents! Woohoo!

TGIF!

Emptying My Brain

*Manga Dork's volleyball team won last night...she is like a new player...so much confidence...and where did she get that serve?!

*This back to school stuff is KILLING me.

*My computer is STILL refusing to upload photos...I'm calling tech support and telling on it.

*Why does there always have to be stupidity from family? Remember when Manga Dork didn't get to go camping with her cousins because they were bringing 2 16-year old boys along at the last minute? Well, that is the same aunt and cousins that saw the American Idol concert with us. Our punishment for making an "unpopular" parenting decision...they did not let their 2 girls spend a week with us this past summer. The first time in 10 years! We had gotten our AI tickets before the camping incident.

The aunt refused to spend the night at our home the night before the concert (she let the girls)...I had to get 5 kids ready the next day without her (she stayed with MIL/FIL). After the concert she said she was going to run in their house and get her pjs...she hopped out of the car and said "See ya in the morning" and shut the door real fast...the next day she left without even saying goodbye.

I felt so used and yucky. She was nice while we were shopping and at the concert. I guess she did the least amount possible with me...

*Having Manga Dork at home kept me on my diet...that's all I want to say about that.

Happy Wednesday!

Plain Jane...I Don't Think So!

I am really looking forward to seeing Dakota Fanning as Jane in New Moon. I came across a photo of her sporting the red eyes of a "non-vegetarian" vampire...spooky!

I got these photos from twilightersanonymous.com.

What character or scene are you looking forward to most?