Confessions of an Addict

• Step 1 - We admitted we were powerless over our addiction - that our lives had become unmanageable.

• Step 5 - Admitted to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our addiction. (I changed it a bit)
  

I love Fitzone Nation! It's the gym I go to every morning. I have gotten in the best shape I've ever been in. I've made great friends there who inspire me to be my best. This summer I'm planning on doing some triathlons and a 1/2 marathon. I guess FZN isn't an addiction per say, but I'm lovin' it!

Diet Coke is a given...old news. I was happy to hear when my friend, Misty, got back on.

Oh, the complete and utter joy I feel with my iPhone 3Gs. I never thought I could be so attached. I even sleep with the thing (well, I use it as my alarm clock). One of my favorite applications is the Google Search. I also dig the sweet map that will take me where I want to go. Really, I could go on forever about this thing. I left it at work on Christmas Eve and had to wait a day and a half to get it back. Seriously, I had nightmares about losing it. It's truly a beautiful device.

Words With Friends, an app on my iPhone. It's like scrabble. I hook up with my friends who have an iPhone or iTouch and we take turns playing. It's great for my friends who play with me because I usually lose. When I'm stuck, I go on a word finder app and I still lose. Soooo, anyone up for a game? My user name is Sweetuth. Just leave me a comment and tell me what your user name is and we'll play.

After making these confessions I've decided I'm not ready to give up on anything of these things. I guess it doesn't hurt to try!

Family Update

Here's a recent update on the the family:

Here's a picture of me with Gayle King. We walked by the XM radio studio when I was in New York. Probably the closest I'll be to meeting her.
I'm pretty beat from working 5-6 nights a week during the month of December. I was a negligent friend during the month and didn't do much for anyone. No Christmas cards, very few neighborhood gifts, and I was cranky. I'm glad it's over but I'll sure miss the money. I am grateful for the generous tips I received. I'm trying to get back into my lazy lifestyle. Don't be surprised if you see me in my pajama bottoms, no make up, and pulled back hair...ahhh...

Max finished his football season on an awesome note. His team made it to the regional finals. The final game was played in a terrible snow storm. They lost but it was fun to see his team get that far.

Michael recently joined a book club at school. He is so excited to be a part of it. I am excited a member of my family wants to read a book. Whenever he has spare time he has that book in his hand.

Maggie hasn't spent much time at home. These days she goes across the street and stays at the Harman's. We now refer to her as Maggie Harman.

The look on Claire's face says it all. She is a menace through and through. She's been sticking things up her nose. We've never had a child do this. She's put peas, cheerios, more peas, pencil erasers and paper. What to do, duct tape her nose?

Claire started biting the tips off of her binky. It was an obvious choking hazard so no more binky's for Claire. We decided to let Kate keep hers until she started passing it to Claire through the crib. We took the binky's away from both babies. Once the binky's were gone, they decided they would quit taking a nap. It was quite hellish to say the least. That lasted for a week and now they are doing pretty well. Little do they know they will be taking a nap until they are 18.

Andy celebrated his 40th on the 31st of December. We went to Tucci's to celebrate. Other than that, it was really low key.

I finally took Kate to the lab to get her blood drawn. I put it off to the very end of the year because I dreaded seeing her get her arms pricked. The blood test will determine if she has neurofibromatosis. Her blood will be tested in a lab in Alabama and we won't learn the results for 3 months.
When we finished at the lab (she was a champ) my mom and I went out to lunch. Kate was such a sweet girl. She was easy going, a good eater, and stayed in her chair the whole time. It was nice to spend some time with just her. I rarely get to enjoy her laid back personality when I have 4 other screaming kids around.

Ah, finally, the mattress. That's pink duct tape. Claire has never had a sheet over her mattress because she's always pulled it off. Recently we learned that she started picking the plastic off her mattress. Plus, the angel taught Kate how to pull her sheet off the mattress. Tonight, I duct taped the sheet to the mattress. We'll see how it works.

Cheetah

I'm still laughing at Maggie after this happened yesterday. Our babysitter of 9 years stopped by. I was talking with her and Maggie came up to me and quietly said "Mom, tell her what happened to Tiger Woods." It's one of those moments where we say to ourselves "where on earth did that come from?!?!" I've had to think long and hard to figure out how she knew what happened to Tiger Woods. My neighbor gave me her copy of People Magazine with Tiger on the cover. Max was really impressed that he married a blond and read part of the article. He recapped the story to me and I guess Maggie was listening.

So to go along with this blog entry, I'll end with a joke...What is Tiger Woods new name? Cheetah Woods!

Out to Lunch

This month is going to be crazy! Since the holidays are the perfect time to make extra money, I'll be working up to 6 nights a week. I'll be gone Saturdays from 2 until midnight. I also have this little cleaning job that I'll be doing during the week as well. I'm trying to make it to the gym every morning. Oh wait, did I tell you I have 5 kids too? Basically, any extra time I have this month will be dedicated to my family. So here's my disclaimer: I probably won't be a very good friend this month. My house will be a disaster. My kids will look like rag-a-muffins. I'll look like a zombie (I know, you are thinking "well, aren't you like this anyway?"). So if any parts of my disclaimer fall into your thoughts this month just say to yourself "she's out to lunch". I'll be nice and back to my friendly self in January!

Sweet Jared

Our friend's son passed away this morning, Jared Vance. He was 7 years old and died of a chordoma tumor. Though I didn't know Jared all that well, I remember him being a cute, sweet, quiet boy.

I've left a link for you to look at Jared's blog. Afterward, could say a prayer for the family and give your children a great big hug?

Jared's journey

Chordoma Foundation

You've Got Mail

Whenever I read Happy Thanksgiving I think of the scene from You've Got Mail:

Joe Fox: [speaking to the grumpy cashier] Happy Thanksgiving... it's your turn to say Happy Thanksgiving back.
Rose, Zabars Cashier: Happy Thanksgiving back.

I can see her face, I can hear her accent.

Gobble Gobble!

Reality Check

The other day a friend on Facebook wrote this on his status ...

I dropped my kids off at school today for the first time (my first time). I almost lost it when my baby girl gave me a big hug, looked up with a tear in her eye and in her sad voice said "bye, bye Daddy" Good thing I'm a man and I can control my emotions.

"Humm...", I thought, wishing I could drop ALL my kids off at school. My immediate response was, "You need to have more kids, then it won't be so hard."

Throughout the day I read other friends responses such as, "Been there. A precious moment u won't soon forget." or "that's pretty sweet".

As I read these, I contemplated my response and wondered if I was too negative. Should I feel guilty for being a bit heartless? Then I remembered the previous experience I had the day before when I dropped my kids off at school, it went something like this...

I'm driving the kids to school, they are being so nice to each other. No fighting, no snotty attitude, we aren't rushed, everything is going great. I say to my kids, "guys, I just want you to know I think you are awesome kids. I just really love you."

I pull up to the school. The regular drop-off area is totally full of cars so I say, "look, I'm going to drop you off right here instead of where all the cars are." Then the fun begins...

Kids: WHAT? NOO we are going to be late!!! Don't drop us off here!!! Mrs. Bird is gone and no one will walk us to the school! NO MOM!!!!!!!

Michael slams the door saying,"THANKS A LOT MOM, NOW WE ARE GOING TO BE LATE!!!"

Max, who had already left the car, gave me the meanest, crustiest look.

Did I feel guilty for saying that to my friend on Facebook? Not at all.


Did someone say New York? I am still lovin' my trip there...

This is my hero, Kipp. We stayed at his apartment and he helped us get to the bus station (that's how we got to Amy's wedding). We would have never gotten there if it wasn't for his city expertise. He looks like a hero, doesn't he?

This is where the wedding celebration took place. It was in Roscoe, New York.

Here's the beautiful bride, her beautiful mother, and moi.

Becky and I scrambled to get the tables set properly. I guess that's what happens when you work at a fine dining restaurant.

One of my favorite parts of the wedding was when this traditional Italian family sang and danced around the bride and groom to "That's Amore!"

Oh yeah..... I still got it!