Monday, January 31, 2011

My BFF


Me and My BFF !

There are times is life when a BFF is really the only one that you can turn to, you can't turn to your co-worker, or a neighbor, a relative or a child, sometimes in situations of great distress only a BFF will do!

My BFF and I have known each other since we were this size --- I know what your thinking the blonde must be me seeing as how I am towering over her --- ah ha - you forget that today is the anniversary of her birth, so the fact of the matter is that she is just older than I!  Hence forth at this time in our life, BIGGER , I mean taller than me!

As  you can see from the photo - she has always loved me. (or is she trying to push me out of my chair?)  However I can't say that I have always had those same feelings for her.(although I think I wanted her out of my chair!)  She was a wee bit spoiled in my mind, and while at that age I am sure my harsh assessment stemmed from extreme jealously... but I can't be certain of that all these years later.

I will say this - God brought her back into my life when I least expected it and in a way that I would have never imagined, and that was over 16 years ago. I must also say that I knew who she was all those years ago, and she had NOT a clue who I was until weeks later... to say that I was struggling to with the grown up version of my friend from so many years ago would be an understatement!

But because of her love for the Lord and complete cluelessness about my life long grudge against her, she called me because she wanted to be my accountability partner.  Hum - I can remember to this day, standing in my kitchen looking out the window, talking on a green phone on a cord about how that would be wonderful... who doesn't need a little accountability in their life? 

Well fast forward through our husbands and piles of kids to the present.  There has only been a few days in all these years that we have not spoken to one another at least once a day on the phone or via a text message or some other electronic messaging device. 

I would like to think that she is a great extension of me. Or maybe to say that she is my opposite and that is why we get along so well.  We can agree to disagree, she can get the items on the low shelves and I can reach the high - my Capri's are full length pants on her - we both love a good cup of coffee - mine is just way sweeter than hers- and we love a good cry and an even better laugh. She likes little cars and I like big trucks, she is numbers smart - I am the big picture girl.  She likes to have a plan, I like to fly by the seat of my pants! 

So many years ago, who would have known that God was preparing us for adult friendship, that kind that is only strengthened day by day, and where absence makes the heart feel like it is going to stop beating...or maybe that is just me having a panic attack because I cant reach her on my electronic devises...We rejoice together in one anothers victories, knowing that God has created us both in His own image, and that we are here to complement each other and bring our strengths to the forefront of our interactions with each other and our spouses and our children. If I never have another Friend like her, I can say that my joy has been completed in knowing and loving her!

Aunt Patty, Crazy Aunt Patty, Patricia, Chicken Little, Chica....

Happy Birthday to my Best Friend Forever and Ever and Ever !


Wednesday, January 26, 2011

What a Good Mom Am I ... NOT !

Well as you all know, our house has been plauged this year with illnesses. It seems that one right after another as we have rolled through pink eye, and chicken pox, stomach flu, and sinus infections.  As much as I hate that the crud won't leave our house, I am remembering that this is not the case every year, and I am thankful that the majority of the time, the majority of the house is functioning and healthy... 

However, Doc seems this year to be struck by everything... (except the stomach flu...knock on wood). 

This week she has been assulted by a tickle and a cough that is relentless.  We have tried a variety of medicine to help her sleep and stop coughing at night - none have worked.  So Tuesday, after having the day off school on Monday, and suffering through another sleepless night, I say to her... "I have something that will fix you right up...maybe?" 

I proceed to dig around in the cubboard for some cough medicine that my doctor gave me when I had pnemonia, that did not work at all for me. It was a pill.  I told Doc to take that , and then I followed that with a 12 hour cough medicine in liquid form, which had not been successful for her at all to this point. 

Doc heads to school and then to a field trip. It is a few hours til I see her again.  In she comes, yellow curls bouncing, to my office with a big cheery HI Mom!  Not exactly my Doc's standard greeting.  How was the field trip I ask, she indicates that it was great and that she really enjoyed watching the smoke of the incense curl and twirl into the air. (they went to a Buddist temple)

She then hops over to me and says, "my eyes are blurry, do they look blurry to you?" as she sticks her face in mine. Now I am wondering, what is going on with this girl.  She is rather excitable it seems, and in a far better mood than she has been in, say for about a year?!

I ask her if she feels okay, "yup" is her reply.  "Well, she says, talking very fast, I do feel funny, I am not able to stop talking and my head feels fuzzy."  All the while the swish of her yellow curls bouncing with each word.   

Then it hits me - the cough medicine that did not work for me, IS working for her and I also gave her the "back up" in case the pill didn't work, so I have esentially gotten my daughter high on cough medicine. Oh brother is all I can think, But instead I ask her this question, "Are you coughing?" 

NOPE, not coughing at all !!

Lesson learned, try one medication at a time, and never send a child with too much medication to the Buddist temple...

Apple I-Tunes Made $40+ off us this month

So what is the rage?  Technology is great ! We have Ipod shuffles, Ipod nanos, Ipod first gen, the newest latest greatest Ipod....

Flash back to last Thursday morning. About 7 AM.  The husband, a fresh cup of coffee in hand, sits at the computer to review the financial status of our family accounts.  He chokes on his coffee as he reads out loud, "Apple I-tunes, $29? Swipe fee $12.00 ?  Who, sputter, snort on coffee..." 

A round the 8 ft table the dwarfs that are present say, "We don't know anything about it, " with wide eyed innocence.  " I want all ipod delivered to this table now so that I can check histories and see who is downloading apps and music!!!" 

In a musical almost sing song voice Sleepy states , "it is not me, I don't have Internet "! Dopey pipes in with "my Ipod is linked to my personal bank account, so it is not me".  Doc insists that she did not purchase anything recently, and the Korean friend is excused because frankly she just looks confused by this situation. 

Dad says, where is Happy's Ipod?  Well Sleepy skips off to locate it, "happy" to be out of trouble on this one!  A full out search goes down in Sleepy's room, and no Ipod to be found. 

I think at this point it would be worth mentioning that there are never situations where a dwarf is allowed to take electronics to school, ipods, hand held video games etc... As Bashful sees the dwarfs tossing Sleepy's room, he pipes up with, "Hey I saw Sleepy slip his Ipod in his pants pocket this morning." 

Well Bashful does not have the reputation around here for honesty.  Often times he is caught jumping on the ban wagon of a sibling that he perceives is in trouble, happy to know that he is not, so we don't hold too much stock in what he says.

However on this day, because Dad is so mad about this charge on his account - he heads upstairs for a quick shower and change, and it may be worth mentioning at this point that is coffee is long forgotten, oh how adrenaline is a great substitute for caffeine, and heads off to the middle school that Happy attends.

Now I don't know about you, but seeing my six foot father, standing in my school office when I get called out of class, would put the fear of God in me.... but not so much for Happy.

When asked for the elusive Ipod, Happy says - "oh yea, it is home on my bed ."  Dad thanks him for his time, shoos him back to class and returns home to find the missing Ipod.  Dad and I spend about 10 minutes back in Happy's room. Yep, you guessed it...no IPod....

Now Dad is HOT, and I don't just mean his physical appearance.  I mean he is boiling mad about this missing piece of technology -and even though Sleepy has denied downloading anything other than the free app his sister hooked him up with, someone, in our home spend some serious money the day before on the Apple Itunes website!! 

I calm Dad down, sending him off to the office with the knowledge that he can investigate the charges on his account while at the office today and check with Sleepy when he gets off the bus about the Ipod. 

Fast forward to 3PM.  Happy gets off the bus and comes to say hello to his dad.  His father in his calm way says, "Hey Happy, your Ipod wasn't at home this morning when I went back to the house to look for it."  Oh Happy says, that is because it is stuck between the mattress and the frame, I hide it there so no one can take it."  "Oh but it is not" says Dad, "Mom and I removed your mattress, and all your blankets and pillows in an effort to find it.  Guess what? No Ipod. "   

"May I see your backpack?" Suddenly Happy says, "I am not feeling good, my stomach hurts."   And very well it should have since in the first pocket that Dad looks in viola .... IPOD!

As it turns out,  Happy did not know what he was doing when he opened his free app.  It seems that there were all kinds of options for him to download items that he needed to pay for, and since he tries to act like a normal functioning 13 year old, but is on a first grade reading level and understanding, he did not know that he was purchasing these items when he clicked yes ...nor did he know that his father keeps no additional monies in that account linked to the Apple Itunes account and that when he ordered these items there was an additional $12 fee because the account was overdrawn,  an honest mistake that could have been resolved if honesty had been his standard from the beginning. 

Happy has lost his Ipod for an undisclosed amount of time, has paid his father back, when he shows that he can be honest in his interactions with others, he can earn it back.  In the midst o f all this, we all learned that maybe Bashful really does pay more attention than we give him credit for! 

You really can't make this stuff up!

The case of the toilet paper hidden in the drawer!

Oh boy this one is a great one!  I will warn you in advance this story is a bit graphic - those with weak stomachs should probably not  continue on...

About three Saturday mornings ago, in a good mood, I stroll past Grumpy's room. As I look inside, I think, it is a bit messy, but he has been trying to keep it neat, so I will help out and while he is eatting breakfast, Iwill straighten up some stray items. 

I pick up some books and place them on the shelf, place his deodorant on the shelf, and then grab a handful of misc little items that would go well in his junk drawer.  I pull open the drawer, and find a rolled up pile of tissue paper.  Okay, this is where the weak of heart need to consider continuing on...
I pull out the tissue - to realize that it is toilet paper, covered in .... yes you guessed it, poop...URG!

I drop the paper as if it was on fire! My first response is, aside from GROSS, is are you kidding me? 
What is this?  I take a deep breath, call my husband, and tell him of my find.  He says, relax, I am sure there is a good explanation for it. Right, I agree, a good explanation. 

SO I calmly walk downstairs and tell Grumpy that he should come upstairs when he is finished with his breakfast. I go back to his room and wait for him. 
He arrives and spies the wad of offensive tissue - I say "Please can you tell me what this is and WHY it is here in your junk drawer."  The truth please.  Speak the truth. 

"Well you know the other day, he says, when I had diarrhea? Well I went to the bathroom and wiped and later when I got my PJ's on, I realized this was stuck in between my butt cheeks, so I took it out, but Dad said I couldn't leave my room, that I had to go to bed, so I put it in my drawer."  To that I responded, this is the time that you chose to be obedient?  Really? 

His father's response "Put that boy on a road march. If he can walk around for the greater part of the day with that wad of tissue between his cheeks and not realize it, he needs to be on a diet!"

Really, you can't make this stuff up!