Something New

I thought I'd extend a warm welcome to the recent additions in my friend's life....

Puppy

My friend Cathy got a new puppy. When she talked about it on her blog, the only comment I could make was "no comment". It sure looks cute with her baby, doesn't it? Obviously, I am making this about myself when I say, who has time for a new puppy? Potty training, kennel training, house training, and three kids! Oh wait, she also has a basketful of real chickens in her backyard as well. The more I think about it, the more overwhelmed I feel. Cathy is from a family of 17 kids, she can handle anything. I know my kids love her new puppy so we will just walk over there to see it when we start missing our dog.

MacBook Pro

Ahhhh Katy, Katy, Katy...... My dear friend Katy finally got.....get this......WIRELESS INTERNET and a new MACBOOK PRO! The only word I can think of is d.i.n.a.s.a.u.r. Yes, for as long as I can remember, Katy has had dial up Internet. That's just as old as the floppy disk. It's been kind of fun though because I've loved teasing her about it. At work we'd say, "Katy, that was on YouTube, didn't you watch it?" We'd interrupt ourselves and say "no wait, you didn't, you have dial up." Hours on end of joking. But no more, Katy succumbed to the ways of the world and has entered the new and improved cyberspace! Along with a sweet MacBook, Katy is set for success!

Shhh!!! Don't tell!!! Another friend, whose name I can't mention, has gotten herself an new Spring HTC phone. Though I don't know much about the phone, it seems pretty nice (not as nice as my iPhone). I can't mention her name because, well, her husband doesn't know she has it. She's hiding it from him. Way to empower yourself so-and-so! Can't wait to be the best of texting buddies! Too bad you don't have Words With Friends.

And now... the newest member to my family.....

iPad

I wish!!!! Not even close to getting one of these sweet devices. In my dreams....one day....I will own one. Until then, enjoy the new blogger template I made. That's about as new as I will get for a long time!

Simplify!

Since my last post....

The twins turned 2!!!

Max turned 11

We've gone to the Primary Children's Hospital with Kate for some visits

The past few months have been overwhelming. With pressure I put on myself, as well as pressure from outside sources, I've been a mental case. I had to take a step back and look inside my life to figure out how to LIVE each day and handle the unexpected blows that surface. For example: calls from the school and doctors office, politics from work, dealing with manipulative people, etc. I am trying to live as simple as possible so when unexpected problems show up, I can have a strong sense of self to know what I can or can not handle. I'm getting really good at saying "no" without hesitation. Feeling guilty is a waste of time. I am who I am. There are days that I am in tears and someone knocks on the door or someone calls. There's no point of pretending, you see me as I am where I am. Life is full of laughter, tears, disappointment, and joy. Why can't we all live these moments rather than thinking our life should be perfect? I am a mom of 5 kids, two of them being 2. I have no time to pretend, I only have time to be myself. Simplify!

Thank You?

Dear Mariana,

Thank you for giving me the Kymaro Body Shaper. Am I offended that someone would buy me something that, supposedly, sucks in all my fat? Not at all. I am fully aware of the rolls that hang from my stomach.

The box doesn't have complete instructions so I am wondering if you have some answers to my questions:

1. Is it supposed to take 15 minutes to squeeze into?

2. How are you supposed to breath while wearing it?

3. How do I take it off? It doesn't budge once it's on.

Thanks again for thinking of me! I appreciate someone who understands my tummy situation.

Alison

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!