My Sweeties

Sometimes, my kids surprise me.  In the good kind of surprise way.

We probably eat fast food a little less than the average family. As a treat.  After all, we are a family of six.  Even the dollar menu at McDonalds adds up really fast. 

Today I ended up doing errands during lunch time.  I figured I had 2 choices:  1)make the kids (and myself) starve until we got home or 2) stop and get something to eat.  And eat.  In. The. Restaurant. 

I hope I don't have to explain why eating inside a fast food joint, with only myself and my 4 children should bring on the ominous music.  The potential for sirens and people running out of the building is very great. 

I do the "evil eye stare" and the "YOU WILL BE GOOD OR ELSE" chat before we go in. 
I sit them down at a table ( that only took 2 minutes to pick out), go order the food, get the drinks, get the food.  While my kids sat at the table with Jayce. 

We sat and ate.  The kids were pretty good really.  Kinda obnoxious, I thought, but weren't overly annoying. 

As we sat there eating, an older couple walked across the room and said "You have such a sweet family!". 
I said "Thank you!"

Josie said "I like your necklace!"

Jarrett said "I like it too!  Merry Christmas!" 

Jayce said "Thanks."

Jeven said "ROAAAAARRRRRRR!!!"  while showing off his muscles and grinding his teeth. 

Yup.  Those are my sweeties.

A HO and a Hum

HO:  Our computer decided to become infected with a gazillion different viruses and is taking sick leave.

Hum: My parents, with wireless internet, live 3 blocks away.

HO:  It is very difficult to do online schooling with the kids without actually being able to get online.
 
Hum:  See previous Hum.

HO:  It is very difficult to get in the Christmas spirit when we can't even manage to pay our bills.  Where is the money going to come from?

Hum:  Christmas is about way more than cash.

HO:  The medical procedure I was scheduled to have this month was going to cost over $10,000.  Insurance pays 80%, which is awesome, but it still leaves us with a bigger bill than we can handle.

Hum:  It wasn't a life saving procedure.

HO:  The same day I found out we couldn't afford to have this thing done (although not life saving it would have made things MUCH better around here)I was very uspet.  My kids were very concerned because I was crying so hard.

Hum:  When I calmed down and went to the mail box, I received a very pretty necklace and earring set from a dear friend.  That also happens to be my cousin.  My kids were then concerned because I was crying again. They were afraid the men in the white coats were on their way to pick me up.  Then, they would have to make their own dinner.
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This is a very busy week for us.  With the computer out, we will have to do school at my parents this week.  That's fun.  Packing up all the books plus toys for the little kids.  Hopefully, we'll be able to hook up the spare we have and it will actually work. 

Jayce's 11th birthday is Wednesday! 
Thursday is Jarrett's preschool Christmas concert.  He has a speaking part! 
Friday I have a party to go to while my husband stays home with Jayce and his friends. 
Saturday we have another birthday party.
Sunday.  Sunday?  I think there's something there too. I should probably check that out. 

Eventually, we need to get a tree.  We like to wait until after Jayce's birthday but it seems things just start going haywire and before you know it, it's the 23rd and we still have no tree.  Maybe THATS what we're doing on Sunday!

I hope you're having a hummer of a day! 

Stupid Comcast

Like to see that googled!

Currently, we have Dish Network for our t.v. programming.  Pay too much but still the cheapest we've ever found.  In fact, we called not that long ago and threatened to cancel and they lowered our bill even more.

We have Qwest for our phone and internet.  It's a "bundle".  Let me tell you, all the hype about "bundles" is overrated. 
We are under contract until Feb. with Qwest.  At that time, we will probably change phone/internet companies.

Today, my husband got off work early.  As happy as I was to see him, he makes it rather difficult to get any schooling done when he's home.  If it's his normal day off, I've planned accordingly.  But a surprise day off, I'm all flustered.

Being the astute husband he is, noticing my "not so thrilled" look on my face, he decided to take Jayce out to a friends house and work on manly things.  Something about a engine. 

With it being nap time, I saw a snooze on the couch for myself.  Since my student that I normally teach at this time of day would be gone-Jayce.

Kids are all snuggled in bed.  I'm sitting on the couch, eating my PBJ and thinking "when I get done with this gourmet lunch, I will lay down for a bit" .

Ding Dong.  Knock knock. 

It's a Comcast salesman.  A young kid.  (ha. probably like 25)

ANY time the doorbell rings in my house, whether you were in a coma or sitting in the bathroom, EVERYONE runs to see who it is.  So, of course, all the monsters children run to the door.  When they were suppose to be sleeping.  All of them with no pants on.  (they sleep half naked.  so what?)
Last thing I wanted was for this guy to see my half dressed kids. I tell them to go back to bed.

Now, this guy was honestly trying to make a living.  I respect that. 
But, right off the bat, he wasn't selling me.  He lost points one by one.

• Ringing the doorbell.  A sure negative right there.
• Asking me "Are your parents home".  I kid you not
• Asking me "Do you mind if I come inside so I can use your table?"
• Asking me "Can I have your phone number so I can call you and check back with you?"
• Asking me "What time will your husband be home?"

And lastly:

• Asking me for my neighbors "names so I can check with them and see if they're  interested in my awesome deal?" 

I hate people that come to my door and interrupt my life to sell me something. 


I guess I should be flattered he thought I was too young to be home alone! 
And, it wasn't a ploy to win me over, he was dead serious!!  Really, I don't think he was bright enough to try a ploy in the first place.

I Did It!

This is a big day for me.  I made it a whole month of posting every day.  AND it's my 200th post!!

Stop laughing. 

I know some of you either a) don't blog so don't understand the magnitude of such trivial things
or b) you blog every day already and passed the number 200 about 5 trillion posts ago.

I love blogging.  I like putting my thoughts on "paper".  I like looking back on the weird adorable things my kids have done. 

Awhile ago, I posted about all the grief blogging can cause.  But, I don't think I'm stopping.  I will probably back off a bit.  Maybe not. 

Someone said it's about finding a balance.  I thought I had a pretty good balance until I actually used a timer and saw the "real" time I was spending on blogging, reading blogs and other internet "social networking". 

It was disgusting!  It's really opened my eyes to why maybe, perhaps, things weren't getting done around here. 

But stopping all together isn't realistic for me. 

So, I'm off to find balance. 

Sometimes the Stars Align Just Right

At times, it seems life just kicks you when you're down.
Other times, it seems things go just right.

We bought a 46" LCD/HDTV Feb. of 2008.  It wasn't a hasty purchase.  It was something we researched for months before spending over $1000 on it.  Plus, the extra extended warranty. 

In May of that same year (when the t.v. was 3 months old) we had to have it fixed.  It was covered under the manufacturers warranty. 

Since then, we've had the stupid thing fixed over 6 times.  All through the extended warranty.  It has gotten to the point that our children now know the t.v. repair man by his first name. 
"Hi Dave!!  Look what I can do!" 

Thank God we purchased the extra warranty.  But, it still was ridiculous to keep fixing the thing.  We have now exceeded the cost of the purchase price. 

Everyone would tell us "Just ask for a new t.v."  and we did.  But, every time we'd ask, they'd just send "Dave" out to fix it.  These repairs came to about $800.   Each. 

Part of the problem was when I'd call the warranty company, the representative did not speak English as a first language.  It was easier to just go along with what they were saying than try to argue.  And, we figured at some point they'd give up and replace it. 

Well, this last week, the t.v. went out.  Again. 
I had enough!  I was determined to get it replaced, not repaired. 
I called the warranty company, planning on asking for an English speaking supervisor immediately. 

The representative answered.  It was a woman.  With a Texas accent.  I decided, my luck,asking for a supervisor would get me some non-English speaking dude.

I very politely told her my problem.  When I was done "Ida" says:  "Darlin'!  I cannot believe they've done this to ya!  Ya hold on now while I go talk to my supervisor.  M'Kay?"

After about 3 minutes she comes back on and tells me that a replacement has been approved! 
What they do is look up the specs. for our current t.v. and offer us a similar set or a check. 
Someone will be calling us in 3-5 days.  Oh, and they'll send a prepaid shipping box for our dumb defective set. 

The whole phone call took about 20 min.  After months and months of dealing with this issue. 

Some people will say I should have gotten firmer with the warranty company in the first place.  Believe me, I tired.  But in the end, I got the desired results by being nice.  And, good old Ida. 


By the way, I wrote down Ida's direct number so I can call her next time.  She is my new best friend.

Don't Ask Too Many Questions

One of these days, I'm going to count how many questions I get asked.  I would probably lose count by noon.

Some questions you would expect:  "Can I have breakfast?"  "Can I have chips for breakfast?"  "Can you tell Josie to stop looking at me?"  "What does gynecological exam mean?"
You know, the mundane questions you normally get from your children.

Then, there's the questions that you really wish they wouldn't ask:  "Are you going potty?"  "Why does your tummy look like that?"  "Why is that man so short?"  "Why does that woman look like a man?"

Then. Then there's the ones that drive me nuts: "Do you know this song?"  "Who was that on the phone?"  "Who is that present for?"  "Why are we buying that kind of cheese?"
These questions bother me more because I don't want to have to explain why I'm singing along to the radio.  I just want to sing!  I don't want to tell them who was on the phone.  The present is for someone they don't even know.  We are buying this kind of cheese because I want to. 

When you become a parent, you do give up things.  The privilege to do something without answering a million questions is one of them.   There have been times I've wanted to say "I'm going to fart now.  I just thought I would tell you all before hand so there will be no questions about it." 

But, I think the irony would be lost on them.

I Am Getting Too Old For This!

I got up at 3a.m. to go shopping. 

Just typing that sentence makes me seem a little crazy!

By 7a.m. we had hit 4 stores and were ready to go home.

The lines were long but I think the longest wait we had was about 30 min.  Not too bad really.
On a normal day at Walmart, I think that's about average. 

What I did notice that was different this year was everyone seemed happy.
We did not encounter one grumpy person.  All the cashiers were friendly and helpful (and they should be, considering how much money was spent in their fine establishment today).  Our fellow line people were friendly and were eager to exchange Black Friday stories.  I even heard one lady offer to hold a complete stranger' place in line since they had to go to the restroom.

Getting in the Christmas spirit can sometimes be hard for me.   Money, unfortunately, plays too big of a role in Christmas.  Especially when you have 4 kids that have wish lists.  Fortunately, my kids do keep them pretty simple and are easy to please. 

With the Christmas season upon us, I find my mood going up and then down.  Worried about the financial aspect of it but then happy about all that we do have and knowing that the important part is being together.  And, it's the birthday of my Saviour!  How can that not make me happy? 

Tonight, I am finding it hard to keep my eyes open.  I normally stay up late at night, reading or watching t.v.
I think I may beat the kids to bed tonight.

I will close with a funny:   I bought the little boys new socks today (50% off!).  When they tried them on, they both exclaimed that they made them run sooo fast! 
Jeven even said "These new socks make me dizzy!!" 

Hmmmm....I wonder if the new socks made him draw all over himself as well?