My Little Sucker-Upper

When you have a Teo, you need nothing else.

Yesterday, we babysat Miss Kirra (she turned one this week!). Within two minutes of walking in the door and realizing that her mom was going to leave her here, she began to throw a fit. In effort to calm her down, her mommy brought out the little container where she stored her puffs. Miss Kirra was obviously distraught and in her arm flailing, knocked the entire container to the floor, puffs and all. However, have no fear, within ten minutes of knocking them to the floor, the puffs were all gone. Teo ate them. One by one from the floor.

Today, the kids decided to color and do crafts, thus bringing out Isa's craft stuff (a bag and a container full of markers, crayons, stencils, paints, glue, paper, stickers, etc.). They were being fairly quiet so I didn't think much of it. Until Teo puts his hand out to show me his newest "snack"...the watercolor pebbles that he had turned into paint with his saliva. His hands and face were covered with watercolor paint. (Thanks Jill for buying a ton of watercolors, leaving them here, and ensuring that they were nontoxic.)

My Husband Forgets Things

A few years ago, he began this bad habit of forgetting his cell phone at home when he went to work, causing me to have no way to contact him. This was occurring about two or three times a week. Finally, I told one of his co-workers (and one of my friends) to let him know that the next time that he left his cell phone at home, I was going to shove it so far up his a** that when I called him, his tonsils would vibrate. Needless to say, he seemed to gain the ability to remember his cell phone much better after that.

Then, we began to battle about him leaving diapers on the floor after he changes Teo. When he changes him before bed or first thing in the morning, he would just leave the diaper laying on the rug in Teo's bedroom. I began to threaten that each diaper left would find it's way into his car. He's not great at it, but it's gotten better.

When he takes leftovers to work for lunch, he has this habit of leaving the containers in a plastic bag in his car for a week or so (no matter whether is it 80 degrees outside or not) and then, when he cleans out his car, he leaves the entire bag, with the plastic container and the nasty food inside, on the counter for me to wash when I do the other dishes. After I started gagging after opening one, I have began to threaten that those containers would be placed in his pillowcase, open, if he didn't take care of them. He doesn't wash them, (I think he throws them away) but at least I don't have to either.

Our newest battle is the late night snacks and drinks. He will get a snack and/or something to drink around 9 PM. Then, he fails to put his dishes in the sink when he goes to bed, no matter how many times I remind him. I'm getting tired of telling him to clean up after himself, but don't even have enough creativity to give him a threat. Last night, there was a coffee cup on the table from the coffee that I made him this evening and a open bottle of A&W Root Beer, half full still, tucked carefully between piles of laundry. Both of which I kindly asked him to take care of before he went to bed. I think I need a threat. Any ideas?

And although I didn't think of a creative threat to reinforce his cleaning up after himself, I did make sure to lay out his workshirt for today...with the coffee cup, the open bottle of root beer, and his empty bowl of cereal (which I found next to the chair) sitting on top of it...

My Husband's Date Without Me

My hubby is on a "man date" tonight.

In all honesty, it's humorous, but very significant at the same time.

First, the significant:

I cannot remember a night in the last year and a half or so since the affair when I have let him leave for such a long period of time without freaking out.

He has had the opportunity to do a couple things, like go to a movie alone or run to do shopping, but it's never been more than a couple hours. And even then, I have tracked him using the GPS on his phone (don't ask, but it's honestly not as stalkerish as it sounds). As I write this, he is still out and it's been over six hours. I never even thought twice about trusting him.

It's also significant because this is the first time since the affair that he has hung out with a male friend that I approve of. About a year ago, he went to hang out with a couple friends a couple times, but one of his "friends" in particular is not on my list of people that I like him with. This particular friend was there, during the affair, doing nothing short of patting Jose on the back for going through with it and getting away with it. Needless to say, I don't really care if he stops hanging around.

So, tonight has definately been eye opening that things are better between us, at least regarding the trust issues. Praise God!

Now, the humorous:

I am friends with the wife of the man that my husband is out with. Didja get that? Hehe. Here's a better understanding...Jose is on his "man" date with my friend, T's, husband. So, on Wednesday, I was on the phone with T and she was joking, "So, I heard your hubby and my hubby have a man date!" Jose overheard and started being all resistant to calling it a man date. Hence the joke began.

It gained momentum when Jose came home from work early and stated, "I'm picking Steve up at 5:30. Can I wash my car first?" Um. Okay. Hehe. Then, he primped and showered and got all dressed. I teased him that he was wearing his new jeans that make his butt look good for Steve. He told me to be quiet. Hehehe!

I did, however, leave Steve a note. Written on Jose's hand, it says, "Steve - Please do not hold my husbands hand on your man date. - Carla" and when Jose left, I called T (because we were already texting, but I got lazy) and she informed me that she was going to have Steve give Jose some Valentine's candy to start off their man date! Hahaha!

We are just awful to our husbands! They are such good guys to put up with our crap!

So, Jose, if you read this...or Steve, if you read this...I am glad that you two are friends. I am glad that I do not have to worry about who my husband is spending time with and that there is a great connection between two great guys. I hope you enjoyed your food court dinner, stupid movie (at least, it looks stupid to me), and your many hours shooting pool at the billards hall. You have my permission to have regular man dates from now on. (Plus, it helps that tomorrow, Jose's staying home with the kids so that I can go to a roller derby bout with T!)

Have a good weekend friends!

An Education In Ebay

So, last night, Jose was on the computer as I sat at the table chatting with a friend. He was quiet, but at one point asked me to help him. I asked what he needed help with, but he never responded, so I figured that he was doing okay.

[Let me interject that my husband is computer impaired. Aside from the hunt and peck typing, I have had to teach him basically everything about how to use a computer and the internet. He's not stupid, but just not the most savvy.]

Then, he came and sat down at the chair next to me. He looked serious as he asked, "If you are the highest bidder, do you have to buy it?"

My jaw dropped. My friend laughed and asked what he bid on.

"A phone."

Finally, I found words and asked how much he bid.

"Like $80."

I stared at him, speechless. So he continued to talk.

"I don't even want it. I was just messing around. I didn't know that I had to buy it."
I asked how much longer was on the auction, hoping that he'd be outbid before it ended. He just asked me to try to cancel it, so I sat at the computer. The auction had less then three minutes remaining and he was the highest bidder.

Then...he won. 



Fortunately, I thought to email the seller. Here is the message that they recieved, and I can only imagine the snickering that happened on the other end of the email:

"I want to apologize in advance, then I want to ask you what can be done. My husband decided that he *needs* a new phone. So, he got onto ebay, on my account, and started bidding on things, not understanding a darn thing about what auctions are, what ebay is, etc. Then, about ten minutes ago, he came and asked, if you win a bid, do you have to buy it? Uh. I nearly lost it. So, he bid on this phone, not even wanting it. Just to see how it worked. Needless to say, I am not happy with him right now. Is there any way to cancel the order? I know that once a bid is placed and confirmed, it's done. And I understand if you want us to follow through with our order. We will. I just wondered if there was anything that could be done? Thank you. And I am so sorry."

Within moments, I got an email asking for confirmation to cancel the order. Needless to say, Jose will not be allowed on ebay anytime soon...

Confession of a Real Life Mommy #12 & 13

#12. It's true. I have opted to use a half a case of baby wipes rather than deal with a screaming kid (or two) in the tub for ten minutes. It works, right?

#13. Although I swore that I would never say it, I have caught myself when I'm sweeping the floor, holding two loads of laundry, running the dishwasher and watching dinner cook on the stove, tell the eldest child, "Stop tattling. Fine, then just hit/bite/kick him back..."

Confessions of a Real Life Mommy #5 & 6

Buh-bye.

#5. I often threaten my kids with leaving them. At the house when we're headed out. At the store as we're checking out. In parking lots or restaurants. Whenever they feel as if throwing a temper tantrum is needed to get whatever they want, I just warn them that I'm leaving. They have the option to stop throwing a fit and come with me or risk being left behind.

#6. When I use the aforementioned method of tantrum stopping, it doesn't always work. So, I do what every parent would do. I leave. Kinda. I have gone so far as to have Isa and I fully dressed and Teo throwing a fit because he didn't want to put on a coat. I warned him and the tantrum continued, so Isa and I turned off all the lights, walked out the front door, and closed it. Then we stood on the front step for about two minutes, until Teo was convinced that we really left him and after that, he was more than happy to cooperate to go goodbye.

Confessions of a Real Life Mommy #1, 2, 3, & 4

#1. I have stepped on dry cereal and kept walking, never once thinking twice about it.

#2. When we move the couch, we find enough toys to fill a toybox. So, we just try to not move the couch but twice a year.

#3. Instead of sorting and matching socks, I throw them in a bag. There are about four in my bedroom right now (bags, not socks). They get sorted about as often as the couch gets moved.

#4. I have "accidentally" swept up small and annoying toys left on the floor just to be able to not deal with them anymore.

Prisoner In Teo's Room

Sometimes, plans that are not well thought out backfire. Sometimes, I fail to create well thought out plans. Today, one of those backfired.

Teo's door knob to his door fell off. The screw came out. But it was right when he began his nightly battle against sleep, so it worked out well because he would slam his door in anger, and then be unable to escape to play. (We have never once closed the door, but wait for him to close it himself.)

We have strategically placed the knob in the linen closet so that we can then open the door from the hallway once he falls asleep. And, Isa even knows where the knob is and how to use it to open the door.

There have been a couple of instances when we have had other children over to play and the door gets closed, but it's always been a quick fix and the benefits have been greater than the downfalls...until today.

This morning, while getting the kids ready, I went into Teo's room to grab a diaper and his pants. Isa followed me in, talking about socks or something. Then Teo came in also. I told him to lay down to change his diaper, but he didn't want to, so he yelled, "NO!" and turned around and slammed the door...

...with the only three people in the house in the room with no doorknob...

...with no cell phone...

...with no tools or utensils or toys that I could use to maneuver through the door mechanism to open it...

...with Isa freaking out that we would be locked in the room until Daddy came home around 4 PM.

However, mama didn't go to college for nothing. I learned a little something, even if it was just a little extra problem solving skills. I was able to remove the doorknob of Teo's closet and use it to open the door, with the help of Isa pulling the door open from the bottom since it opens inwards into the room.

Within moments we were free! Whew. I was scared that the three of us would be trapped in the bedroom for eight hours with no food, no coffee, and no bathroom...and that I would have ended up in a padded room with a straight jacket.

Kirby: The Vacuum To Save The World, Not The Pink Blob Guy

This was the scene at our house the day after Thanksgiving 2008. Seriously, I am traumatized enough that I remember the day. So, this was the scene at our house, except that we are Hispanic, not African American. And I was pregnant with Mateo.

This kid came in to demonstatrate all the wonders of a Kirby vacuum to us. And the thing I remember most from his demonstration was the huge hole in his shoe. Oh, and the tons of filth that he showed us that our house contained. And the way he convinced me that, since I was expecting, I was basically an unfit mother if I allowed my newborn child to live in the filth. And the way he impressed Jose with the vacuums extra features, that we would recieve as a free gift since we have no carpet in our house, including a floor sander and buffer. Yes. I am serious.

So, we did what any reasonable people would do. We bought it. (If your jaw just dropped, go read this post about how I'm a common sucker for saying no to things.) After all, they gave us this special deal and it only cost $1,000. And they financed it for us because of our amazing credit for only $80 a month. So, after about six hours of demonstrating its amazingness, he took our $50 deposit and our crappy old cheap Dirt Devil vacuum and left this beautiful 100 lb. metal robot of a vacuum that had the ability to save the world (plus all of it's thinga-ma-bobies).



But, something in my pregnant belly didn't feel right. And it wasn't indigestion. And it wasn't Mateo. So, I sat on google and researched Kirby. And looked up the prices for all the things, like floor cleaning solution, because it was also able to transform into a wet vacuum type of thing. And I studied the contract. And did the math.

The interest rate on our dust-killing, house-transforming, world-saving machine was going to cost us more than the vacuum itself. And our $80 a month was going to last longer than our car payments. So, I got to the fine print.

Within 3 days of signing the contract, a purchaser of a door-to-door sales pitch has the right to cancel the contract, in writing, with no fees or penalties. Immediately, I wrote a letter cancelling our purchase, made copies of the letter and the contract, and mailed it to the Kirby company that was halfway across the state, making sure that I paid the extra money to require them to sign for receipt of the letter.

That is when the story turns from a super-hero vacuum tale to a horror movie...

Once I recieved the card in the mail confirmed that they recieved the letter cancelling our order, I called. When I was finally able to speak to a person, they denied knowing anything about recieving the cancellation. I told them, straight up, that I had all the copies of what was sent, as well as the post office's confirmation of receipt of the letter. They said they needed to look into it and they would get back to me.

No one did. So, I waited. And waited. Then, around Christmas, the calls started coming in claiming that we were late on our payment for our Kirby vacuum. Our first installment payment. And that if we did not pay, we would be turned in to collections. I spoke kindly to the billing company, and explained that they needed to speak to the Kirby dealer. We cancelled our order.

After many games of "he said, she said," phone tag, and plain miscommunication and lies, the billing company asked us to fax them a copy of what was sent to Kirby. The Kirby dealer denied that we cancelled the order. I kindly obliged to the billing company and I also kindly gave the Kirby dealer a piece of my mind.

But yet, the vacuum sat at our house. And, I refused to pay for it. I wanted my crappy cheap Dirt Devil back. And I wanted my $50 deposit back. And I wanted them to take the monstrocity of metal that I couldn't even carry up the stairs because I was pregnant back. (Jose used it to clean though, simply because we had no other vacuum to use, and the rugs were dirty.)

After the New Year, I was tired of waiting. So I called and asked if they were going to come pick up their stupid vacuum. Arrangements were made for a salesguy to come pick it up when they were in town the following Saturday. We set the date and time and I promised that we would be home. And we were. All day. Morning, afternoon, and night. And no one came to get the vacuum. No call. No word whatsoever.

I was fed up, to say the least. And I was so done dealing with them. If they wanted their vacuum that supposedly cost more than a wii, a PS3, and an Xbox combined, they could do the leg work to get it. And I re-read the contract. It stated that they had 2 weeks to come pick up their vacuum. More than 2 months had passed.

So a week or two later, on a Saturday morning when we for some reason didn't have Isa at home, someone came to the door, but we were sleeping in so we didn't hear it. Then my phone began to ring. It was the Kirby people coming unannounced to pick up their vacuum. They even said, on the phone, that the noticed both cars in the driveway.

I went to the door, pissed off and 8 (or 9) months pregnant. I was within weeks of having Mateo. I told them to fuck off (Sorry for the language, but it's what I said.) and that they needed to read their own contract. That I was tired of dealing with them and that they were the least professional, most ridiculous "company" that I had ever dealt with. I chewed this man out. Then, he turned around and told me that if I failed to give them the Kirby back, they would hit me with the largest lawsuit that I have ever seen and that with being so pregnant, I didn't want to have the extra stress that they would bring me. He even insinuated that they would break us so much that we would lose everything, including our house. I am sure that I said the f-word about ten more times as I told him to get his stupid vacuum and that it wasn't even worth it. Then I threw it out the door and slammed, and locked, it.

That's when I broke down into tears and Jose looked at me shocked. And I realized that we didn't get our vacuum back or our $50...so I sent Jose out to ask them about it. They gave him a vacuum, someone else's old re-furbished vacuum, because they had no way of knowing which was ours and said the check would be mailed to us, because they "forgot" to get it.

We breathed deeply, then moved on. I figured we would wait a week or so for the check before worrying about it. And Jose went to use the vacuum that they gave us that they assured was the best of the best (aside from Kirby, of course). It wouldn't turn on.

I gave up. I called my mom, hysterical, and told her to deal with it. I was on the verge of giving birth to Mateo simply because of the stress of a freakin' vacuum. She called and told them that they had better give us a working vacuum and our check back. I don't really know what she said, and I don't care. She handled it and before Teo was born, we had both in our posession.

And when Teo was about a month old, the vacuum they gave us blew up and stopped working. Surprise, surprise.

Needless to say, now, when I see a door-to-door salesman, I ignore them. Unless of course, they are bearing hand soap, dish soap, or something equally appealing. Then, I open the door. I take the soap. And when the ask to come in, I tell them no, close the door and lock it...keeping the soap. I mean, they offered it as a gift, right? (And after having one ask me for the soap back since I wouldn't let him in, I decided that they need to learn the meaning of gift.)

Who Says Pink Is Not A Boy Color?

Thursday night, when I was feeling like MUCK, Jose was cleaning the living room and dining room and that included cleaning the floors intensely since the salt from outside gets on shoes and tracks through the house and can eat away the finish.

So, in an attempt to entertain the kids, while minimizing my movements, Isa begged to have me paint her toenails. When I set out five or so paints to let her choose, Teo was adement about his desire to have light pink polish.

I was unsure if he wanted it for his toes or Isa's, so I began painting hers with the dark pink that she chose. When he sat quietly and watched, I was pleased. When he began to push the light pink polish at me and set his toes on my leg, I knew that I couldn't let him down.

So...I polished his toes too. It's winter. Who cares? :]

My Son....My Personal Pain in the Butt

See this lil' guy...? He has been my personal pain in the butt since before he was born. And he has definately set it as his personal standard...

When I was pregnant, I had gestational diabetes. When they induced me about two weeks early, I figured it would be cake. I mean, seriously, I had my daughter without any pain meds, so the second one is easier, right? Wrong. This kid's mission has been to be a booger in my behind.

I demanded an epidural after just a few hours of being in labor. I attributed it to being exhausted from the rough pregnancy. However, it was more than that. His entire labor was more than that [but that's a different story for a different day]. When he finally was ready to grace this world with his presence, the first words I remember out of my petite Asian doctor's mouth was, "Oh! He's sunny side up!"

In real people terms, that means that he decided to be born face up instead of the normal face down. So what's the big deal? That means that the back of his skull rubbed down each and every one of my vertibrae as he traveled the birth canal. Fun.

So, now, he continues to hold his standard of pain-in-the-buttness high. Today is a perfect example.

This is a photo taken by our amazing neighbor, Deanna.

This afternoon, we had a playdate...about five or so other kids came to join Teo in lunch, playing and just having fun. After about ten complaints of Teo hitting them, one other boy requested to play the wii. No problem. I had him choose a game to play and I turned on the tv and the wii. Hit eject. Grinding noise, but nothing comes out. Hit eject again. Still nothing. So, I try to insert the disk for the game he wanted to play...but it won't go in. I look closer. I disconnect the wii and hold it upside down.

Out falls about five coins.

I shake it. Out comes about three more.

So, I hook it back up but there is still something blocking the disk from ejecting, so I wait for my husband to come home. He takes it apart and lo and behold, about four more coins.

That was more than enough of a pain in the buttness for me today. But, obviously not for Mateo...

So, around nine, Jose puts him to bed. Of course, I didn't expect him to sleep, but he was quiet, so I left him to do his own thing and wear down. Then, I heard plastic, like a grocery bag rustling...so I snuck upstairs to see what he was doing. There he stood in the mess that he had created.

He had pulled all the toilet paper that he could reach out of our stockpile. He also pulled out everything else he could grab. And shredded about two rolls of toilet paper that were strung across the hallway.

I put him back into bed. Cleaned the hall. And haven't heard him moving around since...hopefully.

He is lucky that he is so darn cute...

A Day in the Life...of Me.

This morning, as usual, the kids were up before the sun. Nothing new there. And, as usual, the kids had a good number of squabbles, arguements, and screming fits. Teo bit Isa, hit Isa, and I'm sure that if he was able to tattle too, we would hear what she did to him. At one point, she came into the room to tell us that Teo had dumped the cereal on the kitchen floor and we figured it couldn't be that bad because every morning, she pours a bowl of cereal. However, once we got up and around for the day, and stepped into the kitchen, we realized that it wasn't a bowl that he dumped out. It was an entire container of Fruity Pebbles, at least a box worth. And it was all over the floor, every inch of the kitchen tile was covered.

So, of course, we cleaned it up. Then, I clipped coupons for our trip to the store really quick and we headed out for breakfast.

At the restaurant, we had amazing food, but recieved not so amazing backtalk from my daughter. I was planning to go to the O.W.L. meeting with my ladies, but decided against it in fear that my hubby would go insane if left on his own with both of our kids today. After a small blowout or two as we finished eating and paying at the restaurant, we headed to Meijer.

Our shopping trip went well enough for our first coupon adventure in a long time. In all honesty, with our stockpile, we haven't really done much grocery shopping at all in the past month, aside from the staples and fresh foods. The carts filled up slowly and we headed to check out. Jose went in one aisle with his cart and I went into the other with mine. My cashier was amazing, fast, and awesome. When I was done, I let Isa go ride the penny pony and saw Jose still checking out. He looked furious. He was furious.

When we got home, he told me that the cashier was rude and wouldn't take half of his coupons for no good reason. She even went so far as to lean over and speak to the person in line behind him as he was loading the cart. He overheard her say something snippy about not understanding why people would use coupons when they are on EBT (food stamps) anyways.

So, he went back to face her and pay, paid in cash and said loudly, "I'm not on food stamps," before walking away. The only thing she had to base her opinion on was his appearance, and my husband does not dress down (like I do often!).

Either way, he calmed down, and we made leftovers for lunch as I cleaned out the refridgerator to make room for our food. We ate and then left the kids to watch a movie while we cut some fresh fruit to keep at hand in the fridge. All went well enough. I cut the entire watermelon and Jose packed it into a couple containers, eating it as he went along. Isa was assisting with the eating process. Both of them jokingly told me a few different times to not cut my fingers off. "Of course not," I replied.

Then, I began to cut the melon, but before I could get the first piece cut apart, the knife slipped, causing me to knick the back of my ring finger and slice down the flesh of my thumb. I dropped the knife, laughing at the irony, and turned to run the faucet over the blood. I told Jose to get me two bandaids and Isa, once realizing what happened, began her crazy dramatics of running in circles and screaming.

We got me bandaged up and it's no big deal, but afterwards, Jose turned to me and called me crazy, because it caused me to laugh and all he could do was not freak out with seeing a flap of my thumb hanging there. I pretty much cut it from the top of my nail to the base of my nail...fortunately, with pressure, the skin went back into place and the bleeding stopped.

So, now, we are having quiet time, which is good because I needed a break from all the excitement...and the day isn't even over yet!

[Edit:

After typing the above post, Isa came down from her "quiet time" and I decided to lie on the couch with her and snuggle. The snuggles were short lived as she soon hopped up, wanting to color, so I decided to treat myself to a nap, as she could entertain herself and Teo was upstairs napping, and Jose was too, as was evident from the snoring that vibrated through the living room ceiling, right about where he would be lying should he fall asleep on Teo's floor.

Basically, as soon as I started to fall asleep, screaming begin as Teo woke up and then before I could fall back asleep, Jose and Teo were in the living room with us. Teo wanted snuggles, so I agreed. Again, short lived, but perfect timing because my mom called to say that she was taking my niece to a store really quick and would be at my house to get my kids. We quickly made them chicken nuggets and gave them some string cheese for dinner, and packed them up to go.

As soon as they were out the door, we decided to treat ourselves to a dinner out. Jose chose the Chinese buffet, not my favorite, but it was quite good tonight. We ate and then returned home to decide what to do.

We decided (Well, Jose decided and I agreed kinda) to work on the house. On New Years Eve, Jose began the project of stripping all the paint and sanding the trim in the dining room. This includes two door frames and a wall to wall built in shelf that stretches floor to ceiling. When we moved in, the trim was a light pink color (yes, you read that right) and in our rush to make our house livable, we painted it dark brown. After three or so years here, however, life has taken its toll and there were knicks everywhere that has pink showing through the brown (this is an occurance in our living room as well, which I'm afraid may be next). I agreed that it was a good project to do, at the time, but now, I am just ready for it to be done. There is plastic draped everywhere, including hanging in the doorway and from the ceiling where the living room and dining room connect.

So, I agreed to help. He showed me how to use the heat gun and the five-in-one (scraper thingie) to remove the paint from the baseboards. Easy enough. I did about four feet worth while he used the sander, then I asked him to trade. My thumb hurt from holding the scraper. So, we switched and I sanded while he scraped. My arm jiggled and jiggled, but after quite awhile, I was ready to have the feeling back, so I asked to switch back. I began to melt and scrape again. Then, I bumped my scraping hand against the heat gun. And watched as a nice pink spot appeared on my skin. But, I continued to work. After a minute or two, the pain really got to me, so I got the aloe and applied it to the burn. Just my luck, eh?

Soon after, I begged Jose to stop working for the night so we could hang out and watch a movie, which is what we are doing now. Thank goodness today is nearly over and there is limited time for things to go wrong...lol!

:End Edit]

Co-Sleeping with Mr. Jibber Jabber

I have never been an advocate for or against co-sleeping. When it was necessary for me to get two hours of sleep with newborns, I co-slept. For my son, what that meant was that every night since birth for at least three months, I slept on my back with him laying on my chest until he eventually figured it out. Actually, until we figured it out, meaning a way to "trick" him into sleeping, which resulted in many nights of him sleeping in a car seat. Don't judge me. I had a LOT to deal with at that time.

Anyways, the carseat thing was a means to begin the process of self-soothing and allowing him to sleep on his own. As soon as he was sleeping flat on a mattress insead of in the carseat, he was moved to his crib in his own room. (Isa slept in her crib in our living room from the time we brought her home. We had a 1 bedroom apartment, so the living room became her oasis.) I do not think there is need to keep my kids in the room with me while I sleep. I also do not judge those who do. I know myself to know that I would fret and freak out about every peep and squeak made when they are next to me, so as soon as they are sleeping well on their own, they are in a separate room.

With both kids, we switched them from cribs to toddler beds early on. Isa was probably 2 or so when we made the switch. Teo was barely one. He loved going into Isa's room to lay (and play and jump and fall off of) her toddler bed, so when her feet began to hang off the edge and we got her a twin bed, we saw no reason to wait to make the switch. And, I believe it was a good choice. He adjusted well and he adjusted quickly. His room was already very baby proofed, and in case you didn't notice, Teo is twice the size of a kid his age (then and now). So the change to a toddler bed last spring was a success.

However, when we made the change, we also implemented the use of a baby gate in his doorway during naptime and night night time. He never climbs it or kicks it down (although he definately could if he just thought about it). The gate was not just to keep him in his room, but to protect him from the nearby stairs and from the dangerous small toys in the neighboring bedroom and more. But, since then, he has mastered going up and down the stairs, he has grown knowledgeable on where sissy's room is and where mommy and daddy's room is. And Isa has began to take it as her task to release him from his gated prison. So, as soon as he was awake, the gate came down, whether mommy or daddy knew or not. (I am sure this is a secret agreement amongst them, as their early morning routine includes playing quietly in Isa's bedroom, watching a video and eating whatever Isa has gotten for their breakfast, whether Mommy or Daddy are awake or not.) So, in the past week, the gate has slowly but surely become an option, not a necessity.

Last night, around 3:30 AM, I was waken from a deep sleep by wiggling and a tiny voice just talking and talking next to me in my bed. I have no idea what baby talk jibberish was being said, nor am I sure what all the movement was about. I have no clue how long he had been there. But, there he was, my lil' Teo...chatting away, wiggling to his hearts content, sandwiched between Jose and I in our bed. He seemed to be oblivious to the fact that Mom and Dad were not listening nor paying attention. That we were deep asleep. So, slowly, as I began to wake up, I talked softly with him and we spent about 15 minutes of chitter chatter, before I tried to awake Daddy to return Teo to his bed. I love his words. As I'm trying to shake Jose, all I hear is "DaDa. Nigh Nigh. BaBa. DADA!"

I am sure that this too will run its course and there will be a point where I get frustrated by this (I know this for a fact because the five year old little girl that we find in our bed causes me literal backaches with how she takes over the mattress), but right now, it makes me smile.

My Eyeballs!

Earlier this week, I recieved a solemn phone call from my optomitrist office. The woman spoke with such seriousness in her tone, that for a brief moment, I was afraid that my eyeballs were going to fall out or someting.

"I am so sorry to call you, Mrs. ******," she said, "but Dr. ****** has asked me to contact you regarding your appointment that you had in September." She hesitated.

Oh no, this is it, I thought, possibly being a little dramatic, something is horribly wrong. Then the logical Carla kicked in. What could possibly be wrong? They don't do lab work or anything that gets sent away, so if there was a problem, they would have known at my appointment.

She went on. "I hate to do this, but would it be possible for you to come in again, at your convenience, whenever you can fit it into your schedule for about ten minutes? Something happened and we cannot find the records of your past visit."

Whew, I get to keep my eyeballs!

I arranged to come first thing today, and told her it wasn't a big deal. I still believe that when I had my appointment there, my bad luck of the day is the cause of their computers crashing and hence, losing my file. So, it wasn't an issue. Plus, the office is probably a five minute walk from my house.

This morning, I got Isa on the bus and everything and went, full out in my stay-at-home/work-at-home uniform (sweats, a hoodie, and a hat) to the eye doctors.

My doc gave me a sheepish grin when I walked in and whisked me back to the exam room. She opened my file and handed me a gift card to Starbucks for the inconvenience. I told her it really wasn't an issue and that the gift card was much appreciated, but was not necessary. She quickly went through the normal exam. Read this line, cover this eye, look at this, better or worse, better or worse, and then...the pressure drops. Ugh, I hate those things. I laughingly told her that THOSE were the reason she felt she needed to give me a gift card, so she could put those drops into my eyes that somehow expand into invisible bricks, putting pressure onto them and making them feel like they are going to pop out of my ears.

But I survived, and it was very quick. I adore the doctor and the entire crew there at the office. I will refer people there forever, and I loved them with or without a gift card (although it was super sweet!

And wouldn't ya know, my eyes are the same from my last visit! ;)

This Old House

Let me begin with this intro: I love my husband. I swear I do. I love him dearly. But he is just not Tim the Tool Man Taylor. Nor does he come close sometimes.

Around 7:30 PM tonight, he retreated down into the basement, which we are in the lengthy process of finishing. So, drywalling the ceilings is one of the things we are in the midst of. Well, he decided that today would be the day to change the light fixture. To remove the crappy 1930 one and replace it with the awesome florescents that we removed from the kitchen when we moved in.

So, at 7:30, my television shuts off and my laptop stops charging. He shut off the power to the front side of the house. Yes, I could have just moved the laptop to the dining room and continued on, but I choose to talk on the phone. For two hours.

Around 9:30, he asks me to come downstairs. "Oooh, yay!" I thought to myself. "He's done!"

He is standing in front of a piece of drywall. He tells me that he's ready to put it on the ceiling. I ask if he checked the fixture. He said he did and it worked. So, we put up two pieces of drywall where the new light will go, right over the pool table.

(Let me just backtrack and say that this was an extremely uncomfortable feat, as I got the job of holding the drywall...while kneeling...on a slate pool table.)

Then, a little more work (aka, my husband supervising while I kneel on a pool table with a long florescent fixture carefully balanced on my shoulder and use both hands to connect wires while he hands me pliers and electrical tape) and the fixture is up. Before screwing it up on the ceiling, I asked if we should check it. "No, it'll work," he says. So we screw the fixture into the ceiling.

I finally am able to sit down and he goes over to the fuse box. He switches the switch. Darkness.

"Oh," he says, "The switch upstairs is off." So he goes and flips it. Darkness.

So, we look at the fixture. A wire is loose. He pushes it back into place and tries again. Darkness.

We put the old fixture up, thinking maybe the bulbs blew with all the wiggling we were doing. Darkness.

We proceeded to flip switches, check electrical currents, change bulbs, etc. Darkness.

We take the drywall back off the ceiling and undo the new wires, leaving just the old ones. Then we reattach the florescent fixture to the original wires (the same ones that allowed it to work the first time). Darkness.

Maybe the wrong wires are paired up. The old ones are both black, not the cool color coding we have now. So, we exchange them. Darkness.

So, we attach the original fixture to the original wires. Darkness.

We gave up for the night. And what do we have to show for it? The original fixture with original wires and a huge mess.

Ugh. Men.

Ugh. Houses.

Yes, Miss Isa, There are Genetic Abnormalities...

Isa kept complaining of an ouchie in her mouth. Sunday morning, she even demanded a bandaid for the inside of her mouth. I had to tell her "no" through my laughter.

I assumed that she bit her cheek or something. Never assume. We all know what that means.

Sunday night, Jose was going to poke her in the mouth and tease her about the gap in her teeth and when he went to do so, noticed that there was something protruding from the top of her mouth right behind her two front teeth.

That's right ladies and gentlemen, that there is a tooth.

So, first thing Monday morning, we call the dentist. The lady never asks questions about why I want my daughter seen, but sets up an appoingment for 10:40 AM. We go. The dental hygenist was nice and quirky. When explaining the tooth, she shrugged it off saying that it happened all the time that kids' permanent teeth fail to push out the baby teeth. Usually, it's on the bottom, she said. Usually, the kid is a couple years older, she stated. Then she saw the tooth. Oh, boy, was she intrigued. Doesn't look like a permanent tooth, she said. She discussed the statistical analysis of the possibilities. She prepped for an x-ray. Isa just sat there, calm as a cucumber, listening to the chatter and piping in when necessary.

As I predicted, the x-ray showed five teeth: two permanent teeth still embedded, two baby teeth, and an extra. (Turn your head or the computer screen sideways to properly view the x-ray.) The dentist came in and referred us to a pediatric dentist who specializes in kid's teeth and procedures on kids.

I called and explained the situation. They managed to squeeze us in a couple hours after the phone call at 1:30 PM. I dropped off Jose and Isa at the dentist (because we were running late, as always), then I ran Teo to the babysitter's house, and returned to the dentist. Jose was glad when I arrived because he didn't know how to fill out half of the paperwork. Ha!

Shortly after I got there, they took Isa back to take a look and we finished up paperwork. Then, they called us back to show us x-rays and what they planned to do. Isa was cool as an freezer on a hot day. They said that we could return to the waiting room while they did the procedure and they'd let us know when she'd be ready. She could care less if we stayed or if we went. She seriously had no fear about what was going on.

About twenty minutes later, they called us back again to pay the half up front and to get our daughter. She was a little loopy from the laughing gas and her upper mouth was super numb, causing her top lip to stick way out (like the reverse of a pout). They gave us the tooth in this tiny purple treasure chest and we were on our way.

To me, the tooth looked huge! She looked a little rough, but when I asked her if she wanted to run around with us or if she wanted to go to the babysitter's, she opted to go with Cindy, so we dropped her off. Drugged. Numbed. And missing a tooth that most people never have. :)

The dentist said to just watch it. Kids don't get dry socket, he said, so nothing to be too concerned about.

Now, some interesting facts for you all:

• 
  
  The extra tooth that Isa had is called a Mesioden. 
• 
  
  The disease of having extra teeth is called Hyperdontia and is genetic. When I was in second grade, I had to have my two front teeth removed as well as a mesioden and was toothless for well over a year. My mom also confirmed that she too had an extra tooth.
• 
  
  Approximately 2% of the population has at least one extra tooth.
• 
  
  The occurrance of extra teeth is more prevelant in males than females.

So...there's something for you to chew on....

(Haha! I crack myself up!)

Don't tell my legs, my achy breaky legs...

...that, deep down, secretly, I enjoyed the run that I took this morning with Merri and Jason. It wasn't much, but was killer to me. One way, I'm estimating between half a mile to a full mile. That means going and coming back we ran (I cheated and did some walking, but not much) between a mile or two. Wow. Ugh. I haven't ran like that since college, so over five years...I know I'm going to feel it in the morning. Ha! But, if possible, I will do it again next week. Maybe even twice. Lol. Here I am, overweight and a smoker, trying to run. I continuously told Merri that I A) was going to die and B) hated her. Obviously I didn't die and really, I love her. It was the burning in my legs talking, I swear.

After that, we went swimming. It was an awesome way to cool off and, although I didn't do much like laps, it was fun to have all the kids in there, splashing and playing away. Then, did a lot of just hanging around while Jason had a dentist appointment. Ate lunch, put the little ones down for nap (Teo sleeps in Thadius' big boy bed when he needs a nap there; it's so cute!) and once Jason got back, we went to the zoo for another hour or so of walking.

In all honesty, the part that was the worst was the sweltering heat. When I called time and temp around five, it was 91 degrees out. Uck.

Now, we are just hanging out in the storm. Jose's watching some Asian man cooking on PBS and Teo is in bed. Isa's spending the night at her friend Nessa's house.

Here is the day in pics:

This is how I found Teo this morning. Sometime in the middle of the night, he removed his diaper and then went back to sleep in the nude. It's cute now, but I hope he doesn't continue this into his teens. Haha!

Isa and Thadius at the zoo. :)

Teo at the zoo, up close and personal with the donkey. It was cool until the donkey started gnawing on our stroller. Bad donkey. Strollers are not food.

I was watching Teo as he got a cookie box off the table, got a cookie out, and then sat down at the table alone just like a big boy. He looks so tiny though, sitting there eating his cookie. I think this may easily be one of my favorite pix.

Jose, Teo and I went to Golden Corral for dinner after Isa went to a sleepover at Nessa's house. The first picture is classic Teo face. I love it. This is his "baby bird mouth" that I adore. He makes it when he's waiting for you to feed him. So cute. The second pic is just tired baby boy leaning on daddy's arm while eating. Sometimes, it's such a rough life...

And that is all. Good night world. Hope your weekend is stellar! :)

What Better Way to Glimpse My Life...[Part II]

Here is a continuation of the random photos found on my phone. :) Enjoy.

Isa, playing the "ball game" on my iPod.

A sick Teo, after his bath, which had the opposite of a calming effect. He looks so miserable, yet so adorable.

A good friend from church, Sarah. We realized while at a Tastefully Simple party that I needed a pic for my phone as her contact photo, so this is now what pops up when she calls. :)

Heidi leaves a pair of flip flops at our house for when she goes out to smoke. Teo loves to play with those flip flops. I caught him putting them in the crisper drawer...hmm. No wonder we can't ever find them when she's she is looking for them.

For a day or two, Teo had an ucky butt rash. I stayed home with him and let him air his booty out for short periods of time. Snapped this pic and just had to save it! I love that lil' bum! <3

There he goes with Heidi's flip flops again!

I went to WM after a long stint of sending Jose and FREAKED out when I realized that there were no shelves of junk between the aisles! I had to message Jose and ask him what was going on. It seriously was weird!

Got some money from a coworker of Jose's for helping him put together an "ask packet" for sponsorships. I used it to get the long awaited tattoo to add Teo's name to my wrist. The name and the star are his.

At my old job, I would often get bored, so I'd send a pic of me to Jose and the kids to say hi. This is one of those pix.

When we go to Meijer, it's as much of an entertainment thing as it is a shopping thing. Here's Jose and Isa.

We also have fun when we go out to eat. Here is Teo, Isa, and Jose and BDubs. Teo thinks he's a ladies man. Pretty sure he's on the phone with one of his many girlfriends in this pic. My hubs is just plain sexy. And Isa is playing with a toy from a Happy Meal, but Jose constantly laughs at the pic and says it looks like she's holding a turd. Ew.

This is my puppy, who isn't a puppy, and who kinda isn't mine anymore. Her name is Lacie. Short for Larceny. I <3 her so much. It's been six years since I got her and she lives with my mom on their huge country property. She is happy there (and well fed!).

This is what I got paid to do sometimes at the old job. :) It was a nice break from all the other "uck"...

When I saw him doing this, I laughed SO HARD! He is my ornery booger...

Last year, our art teacher came into work wearing a Twinkie costume (I'm hoping it was Halloween week). I was trying to eat her! :) HAHAHA! This is a horrible pic of me btw.

Around Halloween last year, Isa and Teo got these masks from Richards (we love to eat there, like some old fogies!) and they loved them so much. Teo didn't want to take it off! :) Haha!

My silly hubs is a GB fan. That means Teo has to try on somethings at the stores. Here he is modeling a hat. I told Jose "no" to buying it. He does look cute though!

One day, during one of my loooong nights at my old job, Jose sent me pictures of the kids playing. :) I forgot how bald Teo was for a short time...lol!

Another pic that Jose sent me while I was working. This was quite awhile ago....like a full year...Teo grew up so quickly, he didn't stay in his carrying seat for long!

Again, old photo. June of last year. This is my sister's high school graduation. Holding Teo is my stepmom, Linda, and next to her is my dollbaby, Isa. :) I was snuck into the picture too.

And to end the blog for today, here's what our backyard looks like every spring when we have crazy hard rain. :( Sometimes it's even more water than that. Yuck. Good thing is, it dries up pretty quick. Still is yuck though. I wish we could get enough free dirt to fill it up...

So, that's the end for today. What's your favorite pic and why? :)